I Dreamed a Dream
(Journey Series)
October 19, 2003
Hebrews 11:25-28

Today if you hear of a minister being arrested you fear the worst. Was he sexually molesting children? Did he swindle his followers out of millions of dollars? So you jump to the wrong conclusion when you hear that a preacher named John Bunyan was arrested and imprisoned in the seventeenth century. Before you say you'll have nothing to do with such a fellow, consider that his "crime" was not sexual or financial misconduct. His "crime" was that he was preaching without authorization of the established church. Yes, that could get you arrested then.

And so it was that John Bunyan was arrested and imprisoned in 1660. He would spend the greater part of the next 12 years in prison. It was in the prison cell, however, that he accomplished some of his greatest work, including writing the book The Pilgrim's Progress, a book which has been more widely read than any book in English except the Bible.

It begins like this,

"As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, and I laid me down in that place to sleep: and, as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. I looked, and saw him open the book, and read therein; and, as he read, he wept, and trembled; and, not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, ‘What shall I do?'"

The man we meet in the author's dream is named Christian. The two main features to notice about Christian are the book in his hand and the burden on his back. Something he has read in this book has distressed him terribly. He realizes that the city in which he lives, called the City of Destruction, is doomed, and therefore he also is doomed if he does not find a way out of it. This is why he cries out, "What shall I do?" But the burden on his back weighs him down, making a move in any direction difficult. Besides this, he doesn't know which way to turn.

We read how his grief and confusion immobilize him,

"I saw also that he looked this way and that way, as if he would run; yet he stood still, because, as I perceived, he could not tell which way to go. I looked then, and saw a man named Evangelist coming to him, who asked, ‘Wherefore dost thou cry?' He answered, ‘Sir, I perceive by the book in my hand, that I am condemned to die, and after that to come to judgment; and I find that I am not willing to do the first, nor able to do the second.'"

Evangelist is able to help Christian. He gives him a parchment roll with the words written on it, "Flee from the wrath to come." Then, this happens,

"The man, therefore, read it, and looking upon Evangelist very carefully, said, ‘Whither must I fly?' Then said Evangelist, pointing with his finger over a very wide field, ‘Do you see yonder wicket-gate?' The man said, ‘No.' Then said the other, ‘Do you see yonder shining light?' He said, ‘I think I do.' Then said Evangelist, ‘Keep that light in your eye, and go up directly thereto: so shalt thou see the gate at which, when thou knockest, it shall be told thee what thou shalt do.'"

Thus begins that pilgrim's progress, a journey that does not end with the "wicket-gate" but only begins there.

Christian has two motivations for the journey. The first, as we have seen, is his fear that his city will be destroyed. The second motivation is the desire to find a better place. The book that he reads tells him about a remarkable Celestial City and the delights to be found there.

As he first moves out toward the wicket-gate a neighbor comes along, intending to join him. The neighbor is named Pliable (which tells us how committed he might be to a long pilgrimage). Christian talks to Pliable about the destination,

"There is an endless kingdom to be inhabited, and everlasting life to be given us, that we may inhabit that kingdom for ever... There are crowns and glory to be given us, and garments that will make us shine like the sun in the firmament of heaven. There shall be no more crying, nor Sorrow, for He that is owner of the place will wipe all tears from our eyes...

"There we shall be with seraphims and cherubims, creatures that will dazzle your eyes to look on them. There also you shall meet with thousands and ten thousands that have gone before us to that place; none of them are hurtful, but loving and holy; every one walking in the sight of God, and standing in his presence with acceptance for ever. In a word, there we shall see the elders with their golden crowns, there we shall see the holy virgins with their golden harps, there we shall see men that by the world were cut in pieces, burnt in flames, eaten of beasts, drowned in the seas, for the love that they bear to the Lord of the place, all well, and clothed with immortality as with a garment."

The Pilgrim's Progress has been widely read for such a long time, as I have said. Still, it is not Scripture and for that reason we must stop from time to time and consider whether or not the ideas promoted in it ring true with the Word of God. In order to do that, today and each time in the series we will compare the journey of Bunyan's pilgrim to the life of Moses. I think you'll find some interesting parallels between the two.

Moses' story is in the Old Testament, but let's consider a passage from the New Testament,

Heb 11:24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
Heb 11:25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.
Heb 11:26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
Heb 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

Do you see those same two motivations there? Just as Christian was motivated to escape the City of Destruction, so Moses sought to escape his comfortable Egyptian home. And, just as Christian was motivated to press on to a Celestial City on the promise from his book, so Moses pressed on to a promised land, trusting in the word of the God who singled him out to lead the mission. And both of their lives were changed forever. Clearly, the Word of God confirms the lesson in Bunyan's book.

That brings us to a point of application. Simply put, The Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory of the Gospel. Where does the Gospel start? With a holy dissatisfaction. I say "holy dissatisfaction" because there are many kinds of dissatisfaction which are not a bit holy. Some people are just unhappy, and for that reason are constantly critical of everything and everyone around them. It's no credit to the Holy Spirit if a man browbeats a waitress or a mother belittles her child. Nor is holy dissatisfaction the same as low self-esteem. Again, it's not the Holy Spirit that makes people complain, "Nobody likes me," "I can't do anything right," or "I should just quit trying." Moses did not reject Egypt because of low self-esteem – though there is reason to think he suffered from it. He rejected Egypt because it was his City of Destruction, and he couldn't get himself and his people out of it fast enough.

The application is not hatred of country. Remember that Bunyan's book is a spiritual allegory.

Holy dissatisfaction is agreement with the Word of God that "there is none righteous, no not one," and that includes me! "All have fallen short of the glory of God" – me too! "All we like sheep have gone astray," and I am no exception. I cannot overstate the importance of this. It is the beginning of salvation, and there is no salvation without it.

In The Pilgrim's Progress it is represented by the terrible burden that is on Christian's back, a burden that he will carry with him for the first part of his adventure.

I find that holy dissatisfaction is extremely rare. Instead, most people are generally satisfied with the state of their soul. Most of the time this manifests in the assumption that, "If there is a Heaven, I have as good a chance as anyone," and the expectation is that they will be admitted.

Sometimes, it's expressed oppositely, yet with exactly the same meaning. For example, Santana has a song that's popular right now called "You and I."
Part of the chorus goes like this,

"Why Don't you and I get together
And fly to the moon and straight on to Heaven
'Cause without you they're never gonna let me in."

There is a bit of pride that some people carry around with them that they have not exactly lived their lives by Heaven's standards. What they are really saying is that their standards are better.

A young man sat in my office explaining that he was knowingly planning a certain course of action, agreeing that it was a sin, and recognizing that it goes against the Word of God. He said playfully, "Maybe I'll go to Hell for it," but he wasn't the least bit worried that he might.

So I ask you, Have you come to that point in your spiritual life where you know for sure that on your own merit you are sunk when it comes to Judgment Day? You are no longer playfully experimenting with sin, nor trusting that your good deeds have certainly outweighed your bad deeds. It's a point of spiritual despair without which you will have no reason to look for a Savior.

Second, Do you have the hope of Heaven in your heart? Do you believe that there is a better way to go and a better destination to aim for?

In the book, the pilgrim is pointed toward a wicket-gate which can only symbolize the way of Christ. Jesus said,

Mat 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
Mat 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
John 14:6 ...I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

What I am describing today is accepting Christ. Some may think that such a decision is the end of the Gospel, but we'll find out in the coming weeks from Christian's journey that it is only the beginning. Christian's friend Pliable seems to have made the same decision as Christian, but we'll see next week how easily his faith caves in. And each of us will have the opportunity to find out if it is really ourselves that we have our faith in, or religion, which is no better, or Christ. He alone can save, so the whole weight of our trust must rest in him alone.