The Living Waters Podcast Ep. 124 - The Life of John Bunyan
In today's episode, the guys discuss the English writer, John Bunyan. His most famous book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, has been printed 250 million times. He was born in 1668 in Elstow, England. Married at 21, and was brought to Christ through the Christian books his wife brought into their marriage. He recounts the many overwhelming temptations he felt to let go of his faith.
Charles Spurgeon was radically impacted by Pilgrim’s Progress and quoted it often in his own sermons. In Pilgrim’s Progress, Bunyan stresses that no matter who you are, you can exercise faith in God. For anyone listening who has the desire to create, there is an opportunity to reach out into the Heavenly realm and bring back something which displays the glory of God. This same calling which John Bunyan exercised to write his books is still prevalent in our lives today. He wrote 9 books while imprisoned. After four years of being saved and becoming a minister, his sermons began to draw huge crowds. Though he was a very poor man, Bunyan became popular during the restoration of King Charles II, during which time those who would not conform to the church of England were arrested. In January of 1661, Bunyan was thrown into jail with the opportunity to be released if only he stopped his preaching, which he declined. In a stunning reversal, by the age of 59, Bunyan had become one of England’s most famous authors. In 1688, while riding through heavy rain to reconcile a father and son, he became ill and died.
Much of the greatness Bunyan produced was born out of times of great difficulty and struggle. We are reminded that God has a plan for each of our lives. We must trust in Him and learn to not despise the difficulty He places before us. Then, the guys touch on prayer as one of the most difficult practices of Christians. We are reminded that God is a God who both listens and speaks. In closing, listeners are urged to run to Jesus and be forgiven.
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Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.
Ray Comfort
Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne
Mark Spence
Oscar Navarro