As I mentioned, this is going to be our last time for two weeks as we go through the Pilgrim's Progress. Hopefully you brought your copy. We still have some loaner copies if you ever need one. But we're going to return tonight to our journey through the Pilgrim's Progress. And as we do, we find Christian finally at the bottom of the hill of difficulty. So there have been some creative individuals that have made maps of the Pilgrim's Progress, and some of them are kind of classic work. You might want to look at that, but this hill of difficulty really is a hill. It doesn't just go up and plateau. It actually goes up and then comes down. So he worked his way up, stayed up at the top, working his way back down. And I say finally, because that's probably, just from what we know about Christian so far, is how he felt about it. If you remember, it took him longer to get up the hill than he anticipated because he fell asleep about halfway up in that arbor. And then, of course, he had to go back down to that arbor when he discovered that his roll of assurance had fallen out of his pocket when he was asleep. So he was frustrated with that. And then when he gets to the top of the hill, that's where the Palace of Beautiful, which represents the church, was established. He did enjoy his stay there for five days, but it seems like he was raring to go just after those days with his new family. In the second part of Pilgrim's Progress, which we will not be getting to this year, Christian's wife, Christiana, along with their children, they actually spend upwards of a month at the palace, beautiful, on the top of the hill. So five days compared to a month, he was ambitious, ready to get going. Christian, like Bunyan himself, seems to be one of those people who always needs to be on the go, not only in the journey of life, but even in their journey of faith. There are some people that just aren't patient with what God is trying to teach them and do in their lives, but we need to learn that patience, and Christian will learn that lesson tonight. So the question is, was he truly ready to leave the church? Was he truly ready to leave the House Beautiful for what he was about to face when he got to the bottom of the hill? Well, we actually get a hint about this when on page 32, Bunyan describes his descent. And at the end of paragraph seven, we saw this last Sunday, Bunyan tells us that he began to go down this hill of difficulty, but very warily, yet he caught a slip or two. Now, those slips were spiritual slips. So perhaps he wasn't quite as ready as he thought he was to leave the palace beautiful. Perhaps he hadn't proved all of his armor as much as he should have. His slips on the way down the hill of difficulty are described for us even more in that second part of Bunyan's tale, and I wrote some of these words down for you. There's a new character in part two that we are introduced to by the name of Mr. Great Heart. He actually tells Christian's wife, Christiana, about the valley of humiliation that they were about to enter. So you've got the hill of difficulty. On the very top is the palace, beautiful. At the bottom is the valley of humiliation. And he says this. We need not to be so afraid of this valley. Now, that's kind of a surprise when we realize what Christian finds in that valley. But he says we need not to be so afraid of this valley, for here is nothing to hurt us unless we procure it. We get it to ourselves. Tis true, he says to Christiana, his wife. Christiana or Christian did here meet with Apollyon. With who he also had a sore combat. But that fray was the fruit of those what? Of those slips that he got in his going down the hill. For they that get slips there must look for combats here. And hence it is that this valley has got so hard a name. So what we will read tonight about this fight between Christian and Apollyon in the Valley of Humiliation is not always the way God uses to bring us to humility. It is a way that God can use to humble us, but it's not always the way. There are times, though, when God must resist the proud. And I think that probably is where we find those slips of Christian. He was experiencing pride in his life. He wanted to get going. He wasn't patient. He thought he was ready, but he wasn't. And so we begin our reading tonight, again on page 32, close to a little past halfway, where we begin, Bunyan writes, but now, in this valley of humiliation, poor Christian was hard put to it. For he had gone but a little way before he espied a foul fiend coming over the field to meet him. His name is Apollyon. Then did Christian began to be afraid, and to cast in his mind whether to go back or to stand his ground. But he considered again that he had no armor for his back, and therefore thought that to turn the back to him might give him the greater advantage with ease to pierce him with his darts. Therefore he, Christian, resolved to venture and stand his ground. For, thought he, had I no more in mine eye than the saving of my life, it would be the best way to stand. So he went on and Apollyon met him. Now the monster was hideous to behold. He was clothed with scales like a fish, and they are his pride. He had wings like a dragon, feet like a bear, and out of his belly came fire and smoke, and his mouth was as the mouth of a lion. When he was come up to Christian, he beheld him with a disdainful countenance, and thus began to question him. Whence come you, and whither are you bound? I am come from the city of destruction, which is the place of all evil, and am going to the city of Zion. By this I perceive thou art one of my subjects, for all that country is mine, and I am the prince and God of it. How is it then that thou hast run away from thy king? Were it not that I hoped thou mayest do me more service, I would strike thee now at one blow to the ground. I was born indeed in your dominions, but your service was hard, and your wages, such as a man could not live on, for the wages of sin is death. Therefore, when I was come to years, I did as other considerate persons do, look out if perhaps I might mend myself. There is no prince that will thus lightly lose his subjects, neither will I as yet lose thee. But since thou complainest of thy service and wages, be content to go back. What our country will afford, I do here promise to give thee. But I have let myself to another, even to the king of princes. And how can I, with fairness, go back with thee? Thou hast done in this, according to the proverb, changed a bad for a worse. But it is ordinary for those that have professed themselves his servants, after a while, to give him the slip and return again to me. Do thou so too, and all shall be well. I have given him my faith and sworn my allegiance to him. How then can I go back from this and not be hanged as a traitor? Thou didst the same to me, and yet I am willing to pass by all if that if now thou wilt yet turn again and go back. What I promised thee was in my knowledge and besides. I count the Prince under whose banner now I stand is able to absolve me, yea, and to pardon also what I did as to my compliance with thee. And besides, O thou destroying Apollyon, to speak truth, I like his service, his wages, his servants, his government, his company, and country better than thine, and therefore Leave off to persuade me further. I am his servant, and I will follow him. Consider again, when thou art in cool blood, what thou art like to meet with in the way that thou goest. Thou knowest that, for the most part, his servants come to an ill end, because they are transgressors against me and my ways. How many of them have been put to shameful deaths, And besides, thou countest his service better than mine, whereas he never came yet from the place where he is to deliver any that served him out of their hands. But as for me, how many times as all the world very well knows have I delivered, either by power or fraud, those that have faithfully served me from him and his, though taken by them. And so I will deliver thee. His forbearing at present to deliver them is on purpose, to try their love, or that they will cleave to him to the end. And as for the ill end thou sayest they come to, that is most glorious in their account, for for present deliverance, they do not much expect it, for they stay for their glory. And then they shall have it when their prince comes in his and the glory of the angels. Thou hast already been unfaithful in thy service to him, and how dost thou think to receive wages of him? Wherein, O Apollyon, have I been unfaithful to him? Thou didst faint at first setting out, when thou wast almost choked in the Gulf of Despond. Thou didst attempt wrong ways to be rid of thy burden, whereas thou shouldst have stayed till thy prince had taken it off. Thou didst sinfully sleep and lose thy choice thing. Thou wast also almost persuaded to go back at the sight of the lions. And when thou talkest of thy journey and of what thou hast heard and seen, thou art inwardly desirous of vain glory in all that thou sayest or doest. All this is true. And much more which thou hast left out But the prince, whom I serve and honor, is merciful and ready to forgive. But besides, these infirmities possessed me in thy country, for there I sucked them in. And I have groaned under them, been sorry for them, and have obtained pardon of my prince. Then Apollyon broke out into a grievous rage, saying, I am an enemy to this prince. I hate this person, his laws, and people. I am come out on purpose to withstand thee. Apollyon, beware what you do, for I am in the king's highway, the way of holiness. Therefore, take heed to yourself. Apollyon straddled quite over the whole breadth of the way and said, I am void of fear in this matter. Prepare thyself to die, for I swear by my infernal den that thou shalt go no further. Here will I spill thy soul. And with that, he threw a flaming dart at his breast. But Christian had a shield in his hand with which he caught it and so prevented the danger of that. Then did Christian draw, for he saw it was time to bestir him. And Apollyon, as fast, made at him, throwing darts as thick as hail. By the witch, notwithstanding all that Christian could do to avoid it, Apollyon wounded him in his head, his hand, and foot. This made Christian give a little back. Napoleon, therefore, followed his work of Maine, and Christian again took courage and resisted as manfully as he could. This sore combat lasted for above half a day, even till Christian was almost quite spent, for you must know that Christian, by reason of his wounds, must needs grow weaker and weaker. Then Napoleon, espying his opportunity, began to gather up close to Christian, and wrestling with him gave him a dreadful fall, and with that, Christian's sword flew out of his hand. Then said Apollyon, I am sure of thee now. And with that, he had almost pressed him to death, so that Christian began to despair of life. But as God would have it. While Apollyon was fetching of his last blow, thereby to make a full end of this good man, Christian nimbly stretched out his hand for his sword and caught it, saying, Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy. When I fall, I shall arise. And with that, and with that gave him a deadly thrust, which made him give back as one that had received his mortal wound. Christian, perceiving that, made at him again, saying, Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. And with that, Apollyon spread forth his dragon's wings and sped him away, that Christian, for a season, saw him no more. In this combat, no man can imagine, unless he had seen and heard as I did, What yelling and hideous roaring Apollyon made all the time of the fight, he spake like a dragon. And on the other side, what sighs and groans burst from Christian's heart. I never saw him all the while give so much as one pleasant look till he perceived he had wounded Apollyon with his two-edged sword. Then, indeed, he did smile and look upward. But it was the dreadfulest sight that I ever saw. So when the battle was over, Christian said, I will here give thanks to him that delivered me out of the mouth of the lion, to him that did help me against Apollyon. And so he did, saying, Great Beelzebub, the captain of this fiend, designed my ruin. Therefore, to this end, he sent him harnessed out, and he, with rage that hellish was, did fiercely me engage. But blessed Michael helped me, and I, by dint of sword, did quickly make him fly. Therefore to him let me give lasting praise and thank and bless his holy name always. We will end our reading for tonight there. So the battle between Christian and Apollyon, which is really a riveting story in and of itself, took place in the Valley of Humiliation. As I mentioned earlier, the reason for that is pretty clear. It's because he needed to be humbled. Christian, like the rest of us, needed to be humbled in his heart before the Lord. Bunyan draws his character, Apollyon, from Revelation 9-11. And he is there described as the angel of the bottomless pit. You just have to read through Revelation to find out what he's describing there. So Apollyon is not the devil, but rather he's one of the princes of the devil, but his desire is the same as the devil. It was to seek whom he may devour. In fact, the name Apollyon means destroyer. He was out to destroy Christian. But you know, the truth is you may not always find the valley of humiliation, the valley of learning humility from God to be such a dark and fearful place as Christian did. I already mentioned this earlier when Mr. Goodhart told Christiana that it really is kind of what you make it to be. But he also describes, in the second part of Bunyan's book, the valley as a fruitful place. As fruitful a place as any, the crow flies over, he says. So, when you humble yourselves before the Lord, that's exactly where God wants you to be. He also told Christiana, you know, this valley of humiliation, it is the best and most fruitful piece of ground in all these parts. Behold how green this valley is. Also how beautiful with lilies, for indeed is a very fruitful soil and doth bring forth by handfuls. Truly the valley of humility or the valley of humiliation is a place where there's spiritual growth. It's a good place. It's a healthy place. If by God's grace we are ready. And the reason for this is what we find in James chapter four. So to begin our Bible time in this service, let's go to James chapter four. Familiar verses to us, but in James chapter four, verse six, probably know this by heart, it says, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. So yes, God used Apollyon to resist the proud heart of Christian, but he did so, so that at the end, he could give grace to his servant, give grace to the humble Christian. God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. And so what we find in this valley is God using this battle to teach Christian greater humility and greater trust in the Lord. And perhaps if you face spiritual battles in your life, whatever they might be, maybe God's doing the same for you. But what do you do when you find yourself face to face, toe to toe with an Apollyon of yours? Well, again, James tells us in the last part of verse six of the first part of verse eight was you say, God resisted the proud. but giveth grace unto the humble. So submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. So like Christian, you need to learn how to resist the devil. Now, you may not always face these kinds of battles as strong as Christian did, but when you do, you need to be ready. You need to know how to resist the devil and the devices that he uses to draw you away from the Lord. In fact, Paul even tells the Corinthian church, we are not ignorant of the devil's devices. We're not ignorant of what he uses to try us and test us and tempt us away from the Lord. So tonight, I want us to look at three of the devil's devices that you and I need to use or that we need to be aware of so that we can resist him and repel them. Three devices of the devil. The first device is this. He will test your faith as a child of God. He will test your faith as a Christian. Your faith in the Lord, who is your new master. And in fact, he will test your faith sometimes in very subtle ways. He will often bring questions into your mind and even doubts into your mind. For example, doubts about the Lord's protection of his people. Doubts about the Lord's protection of his people. If you remember at the beginning of this encounter with Christian, Apollyon threatened Christian and said, I perceive thou art one of my subjects. Were it not that I hope that thou mayest do me more service, I would strike thee now at one blow to the ground. So no doubt Christian was afraid. No doubt Christian was experiencing great fear. And even if our fears of whatever they might be are not induced by the devil or brought to mind by the devil, they still may cause us to doubt God's power to protect us as his servants. You go with me to 2 Corinthians 7, just a few pages over. You know, the Apostle Paul experienced fear. Yes, that great, powerful apostle to the Gentiles that we saw even this morning, he experienced fear. In fact, all throughout 2 Corinthians, he describes his fears. But in 2 Corinthians 7.5, he writes, for when we were coming to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side, without were fightings and within were fears. So what can you do when the devil tests your faith in God's protection through fear? What can you do? Well, if you go on in 2 Corinthians 7, you need to remember the comfort of God like Paul did. He says, oh, we face these fightings, we face these fears, but nevertheless, God that comforted those that are cast down comforted us by the coming of Titus. You see, the comfort of God is what will see you through any fear and any threat that you might face. And we find the comfort of God in different ways. We find the comfort of God through his word, we find the comfort of God through his spirit, and we even find the comfort of God through his people. I think Christian left the palace beautiful way too soon, way too early. He wasn't ready for that valley yet. But you also need to remember, as Christian did, you no longer, if you are a child of God's, you no longer belong to the devil. You're no longer his subject. And so when he places these doubts in your mind and these fears in your heart, you say, I have let myself to another, like Christian said, even to the king of princes. So how can I, with fairness, go back with you? When you're tempted with these doubts and fears, say, I'm not going to go back there. I don't have to go back there because I have let myself out. I am now the servant of the king. That's one way the devil might test your faith. Another way is by bringing doubts into your mind about the Lord's provision for his people, the Lord's protection on one hand, and then the Lord's provision on another. If you remember, Apollyon reminded Christian of how many of God's servants have been put to shameful deaths. and how he never came yet from the place where he is, referring to heaven, to deliver any that served him. And Christian might have been starting to think about what he had seen in the palace beautiful. Remember some of the rooms that he went to there? And the first room that they took him to was the study, the library, if you will, where there are a lot of books, books that told him more about the Lord, but there are also books that told him about the Lord's disciples. And some of those books told about how they were killed and martyred for their relationship and their faith in the Lord. And perhaps he was starting to think about these persecutions and wondered, could Apollyon be right? Does God really protect his people? I mean, after all, look at all these deaths. Look at all these martyrs. Look at all this persecution. Now, how would you respond if you had those doubts? Even in Canada. Yes, our neighbor up north, there have been pastors that have been put in jail within the last couple of weeks because of the whole COVID thing, because they recognize the importance of God's people gathering together for worship and fellowship and prayer, and they were arrested for having church. And perhaps they're starting to think, perhaps they're having these doubts planted in their mind. Is God really gonna protect me? Where is God's protection in all of these things? How would you respond? Well, Christian also had to learn that even though God may not deliver them physically from the persecution and dangers of this world, yet from Hebrews 1140, that same Hebrews 11 chapter that describes all of the people that by faith did things and even sometimes by faith were martyred, according to Hebrews 1140, God has provided all of his people something, some better thing for us, it says. Some better thing for us. And Christian finally recognized that. You see, we're not living our lives for the best life now. We're living our lives for the glory of someone else, for the glory of God. And we will experience that glory in heaven someday. And that is why he could say directly to Apollyon for for present deliverance. They do not much expect it. And so Christians should not much expect present deliverance, even though God could. And sometimes God does. But don't expect it. Why? Because we stay. We wait for our glory. and then you will have it. When your prince comes in his and the glory of the angels, you will receive that better thing that God has for his people. So when the devil tests your faith, and he plants doubts in your mind or in your heart about the protection of God and the provision of God, remember this truth about him as found in his word. Remember as Christian did, his service, God's service, God's wages, God's servants, God's government, God's company, and even his country are so much better than what the devil has ever offered to you. So don't let him test your faith. Resist the devil, James says. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. But then there is another device that the devil will suddenly bring into our lives as Christians. Not only will he test your faith, he will then also try your faithfulness, your faithfulness to the Lord, your new master. Again, he'll bring these questions and doubts into your mind, not just about the Lord, but he will even bring questions about you and your devotion to your Lord. And maybe this is even stronger to us than the doubts about God's protection and provision for us. This was Apollyon's next ploy to defeat Christian in his mind without ever throwing a dart. It was with an accusation. Did you catch that? He accused Christian by saying these words. You have already been unfaithful in thy service to your new king, and how dost thou think to receive wages of him? This is what the devil is a master at doing. He brings and digs back up those things that we know we disappoint in God, and we know we have failed, we know we've sinned, and he brings it back to our minds, brings it back to our hearts, accuses us before God, and says, you're not one of his. You don't deserve his forgiveness. You have been unfaithful. So Apollyon then rattled off a list of Christian sins and fails, and I think that surprised Christian, because remember, Christian even asked, how have I been unfaithful? Oh, and then he starts to say, when you were in the slow of the spawn, when you were on the hill of difficulty, when you were here, there, the other, and then he gets down to the root of pride in his heart. Oh, he knew how unfaithful he'd been. probably surprised him. You see, the devil is true to his name. He is the accuser of the brethren. And you can bet, when he accused Christian of his unfaithfulness, he brought those same accusations to God in heaven, just like he did Job. So what can you do when the devil brings back up those accusations against you? And he will. Maybe even tonight, he is doing so. If he brings them back to your mind, you can be certain that he's bringing them back up to God. So what do you do? Well, you need to remember, like Christian, no matter what the accusation is, you now have an advocate. Christians have an advocate before the Father against all the accusations of the devil. Go with me to the book of 1 John. We'll spend a little time in 1 John tonight. In 1 John chapter two, Remember what John tells us, verses one and two of 1 John 2? He writes, my little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not. Oh, he doesn't want us to sin. God doesn't want us to sin. God wants us, like we sang earlier, to yield not to temptations. And he gives us the strength and the ability to do so. But, he goes on, if any man sin, we have an advocate with a father. And who is that? Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the propitiation, the satisfying sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. We have an advocate when there's an accusation against us, before God, or even in our own hearts. And though Christian did remember his sin, even more than Apollyon did, he then remembered that he had a greater savior. He told Apollyon, remember, The prince whom I serve is merciful and ready to forgive. And not only that, Christian recognized that he had already obtained a pardon from the Lord for all of his sin, past sin, present sin, and even the future sin that he was about to commit in his fight with Apollyon. So when the devil tries your faithfulness, By bringing up railing accusations against you, remember that you have a greater advocate than any accusation the devil will ever bring up. And he is Jesus Christ the righteous. So, James 4, 7 again, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. What is the answer in each of these so far? When the devil tests your faith, or the devil tries your faithfulness, the answer is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our advocate. But then we find the third device of the devil, and that is he will often tempt your flesh. He will tempt your flesh in order to cause you to stumble and sin against the Lord in fresh ways. So Apollyon at first tried a subtle attack, all right? He was going behind the scenes, trying to get into his mind, get into his conscience, get into his heart. It failed. So since Apollyon couldn't defeat Christian in his mind, he sought to defeat him through his flesh. And that is all too often where he succeeds. Because even though, as Jesus said, the spirit indeed is willing, what's your flesh like? What's my flesh like? The flesh is very, very weak. So as Christians, the devil will try to attack you at your weakest point. And your weakest point is your flesh. And even he will try to attack you with your greatest struggles within your flesh. So the sins that so easily beset you, the same sins that you struggle with every single day, those are the ones he's going to keep attacking. So you shouldn't think, okay, I made it through this temptation, so I'm probably going to be okay for a while. No, he's going to keep attacking those gates. He's going to keep attacking that flesh. So even though Christian was able to use his shield of faith to catch that first flaming dart that Apollyon threw at his heart, which indicates that he was testing his devotion and love for the Lord, well, he had enough faith to get rid of that dart and say, no, I do love God. In fact, I like him. I like his service better than your service. But Christian really was no match for the darts that he threw at him, as Bunyan wrote, as thick as hail. So they just started coming one right after the other, one right after the other, kept coming, kept coming, and finally he was wounded. His shield of faith, though it probably would have been strong enough and large enough to catch them all, but the truth is none of us have that kind of faith. And like Christian, we too will be wounded. In fact, he was wounded in much the same ways that Adam and Eve were when they sinned in the garden. Did you recognize how he was wounded? He was wounded in his head, his hand, and his feet. And in the margin, actually Bunyan describes what these wounds are. So the first wound was to his head. Now, it didn't lop off his head. He didn't lose his salvation. You can't lose your salvation. The helmet was still on there, but he was still wounded in his head. And Bunyan describes this as his understanding being wounded. And perhaps that's because the pride of life was still deeply ingrained within Christian. Remember, five days only at the top of the hill, compared to the month that his wife and his kids stayed there. And so he thought he was ready, but he wasn't ready, and the pride of life got in the way. And so the devil tempted his pride. Remember what John tells us in 1 John 2, verses 15 and 16, not too far from where we are? He says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And I think that those three categories of temptation are what we find wounded in Christian. There was still a lot of pride in his heart. So a lot of pride in his life, and that seems to be why he left the palace so early. It seems to be why he slipped on the way down the hill on his way into this valley of humiliation. So recognize this, the devil will often use your pride to tempt you. So that's why we say, search me, O God, and see if there be any wicked way in me, any pride. See, pride is a very subtle sin, and it's probably the one that he often will throw the first dart at. But then Christian was also wounded in his hand, wasn't he? In fact, it was the right hand, the hand in which he held his sword, the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. And Bunyan describes it, the wounding of his faith. So he did have faith, he did have the shield of faith, he was able to get rid of that one dart, but then his faith was wounded. Perhaps this was Apollyon's attempt to appeal to Christian's lust of the eyes, his lust of the eyes. Because what is the opposite of walking by faith? It's walking by sight. Instead of looking up and setting your affections and eyes and hearts on things above, you set them back down on the earth. And I think that's probably what Bunyan was describing here. It seems like Christians' eyes strayed from heavenly things back to earthly things. And the devil will still use the things that you can see to tempt you away from the things that you cannot see apart from faith. And your faith will be wounded. But you need to remember what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, 18. We look not at the things which are seen as Christians, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. They only last for a while, but the things which are not seen are eternal. So when you're struggling with this temptation for your eyes, remember what is eternal. But then, Christian was also wounded in his foot. Bunyan describes it as his conversation. That's just an old-timey word for his life, his walk, his mannerisms. And this might refer to Christian's lust of the flesh, the temptation, because this wound, along with the others, it says he grew weaker and weaker until Apollyon pounced on him, wrestled with him, and caused Christian to fall and lose his grip on his sword. When he was coming down the hill, he slipped a couple of times. Now, under the temptation of Apollyon, he falls. In other words, Christian sinned some great sin against God, even as a Christian, even as God's child. And in doing so, he neglected the very means that God gave him for his help, which was the word of God. And that's why, when he fell, the word of God went flinging away from his hand, that sword. He was defenseless. He had nothing to fight with. And isn't this something that we face in our own lives? When we slip, fall, sin, what's the first thing that goes? So often, the word of God. We stop reading God's word. We stop praying to God. We stop listening to his word. We stop applying his word. We stop listening to even good counsel and advice So what happened? Christian failed. God. Just like we all do. Christian had fallen. So the question is, could Christian be forgiven? A great fall, a great sin, and of course the answer, as we all know as Christians, is yes, of course. Because even when the devil tempts your flesh, even when you yield to those temptations as God's child, you have this promise. Go to 1 John chapter four, verse four. John writes, year of God, little children, and have overcome them because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. There is no Apollyon in this world that is greater than he that is in you. And he will see you through. How did Christian gain the victory over Apollyon? I love how Bunyan puts it. But as God would have it. In other words, it wasn't Even Christian trying to pull himself up by his bootstraps and see if I can do this better. No, it was still God's grace at work in his Christian's life to bring him up from whence he fell. As God would have it, Christian regained his sword, the sword of the spirit, claimed the victory through the Lord. And he used, once again, the word of God. And we see this in Matthew 4 when the devil tempts Jesus. How does Jesus defeat the devil? How does Jesus resist the devil? Time after time, he uses his word. Time after time, he quotes scripture. And so that's what Christian, again, does. Romans 8, 37, he uses. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. You need to realize that no matter how the devil, no matter how your Apollyon tries to defeat you, the victory is yours when the battle is the Lord's. So use the sword he has given you. When you are deep in the throes of temptation, don't throw your sword away. Instead, bring it back to you. Now, you may not, when you're tempted, have the Bible right in front of you. So where do you need to put the Bible? In your head and in your heart. Have it ready. Have it ready. Also, remember that according to First Corinthians 10, 13, God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that year able. None of these temptations were fatal to Christian. None of these temptations were inevitable for him to fall. No, God will not suffer you, allow you to be tempted above that year able, but then even in the midst of those temptations, keep on the lookout for that way to escape. that ye may be able to bear it." Now, even though Christian is not yet out of the woods, or out of the valleys, if you will, he learned what he needed to learn in this valley, the valley of humiliation. Because then Christian himself comments, Christian goes on his journey with his sword drawn in his hand. I think he learned his lesson. Because before he had it in the sheath, and he was walking through that valley thinking, I've got this. But now he realized, I need the word. That word that drew him to the Lord is that word that will keep him with the Lord through that valley, whatever it might be. So how about you tonight? How are you going on your journey? Do you still have your sword in your hand, or if not in your hand, in your heart and in your mind? Only then, when the devil or any of his minions, like Apollyon, attempts to test your faith, try your faithfulness, or even tempt your flesh, what can you boldly say as a child of God? Hebrews 13, six, the Lord is my helper. And I will not fear what man or even the devil himself shall do unto me. So resist the devil and he will flee from you. Let's close our time in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you again for this very descriptive account of Christians experience in the valley of humility humiliation with Apollyon and Father we recognize that we won't all face this kind of combat the spiritual combat But there's still a spiritual warfare out there But in his case and sometimes in our own cases Lord it you allow it So that we might humble ourselves So that once again you might raise us up But Lord, when we are in the valley of humiliation and we are faced with these kind of spiritual combats, I pray that you'll help us to remember how to resist the devil so that he might flee from us. And thank you, Lord, that we are not ignorant of his devices. In fact, we know very well what he will use to try to draw us away from you. He will test our faith. He will try our faithfulness. He will tempt our flesh. And so, Lord, I pray that in each of those cases, even when we're wounded, we will not cast off our sword. We will not cast off the other armor that you've given us, especially all prayer, where we come to you. Instead of running away from you in times of temptation, we run back to you knowing that you are gracious and merciful, and we will find help from you. So, Father, I pray that there's anyone here who is going through that temptation tonight or will go through that temptation sometime this week. Oh, Father, I pray that you will help them through the lesson that we had here in the life of Christian and really the lesson that we've all experienced in our own lives, learn how to resist the devil so that he might flee from us. And yet, Lord, we know that we cannot resist him in our own strength and our own might, but we must rely upon you. And father, we thank you that you are a refuge and our help. We ask all these things in Jesus name. Amen.