It Is Written

The Morning Star

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001386A


00:06 It has stood the test of time. God's book.
00:13 The Bible. Still relevant in today's
00:17 complex world. It is written sharing hope
00:25 around the globe.
00:35 Thanks for joining me today. I'm John Bradshaw
00:39 and this is It Is Written. In the north of England,
00:43 about half way between Leeds and Newcastle in North
00:45 Yorkshire, is the little village of Hipswell.
00:48 It's an unremarkable place as far as English villages go -
00:52 bucolic, surrounded by beautiful countryside,
00:55 it's slow, it's peaceful... nothing you wouldn't expect
00:58 to see from an English village. But there's something
01:02 that sets little Hipswell apart. It's the home of one of the most
01:06 remarkable men in all of history, certainly in terms
01:10 of his contribution to society and his role
01:13 in Christianity. In Hipswell long ago, a fire
01:17 began burning that would eventually burn so bright
01:20 it would illuminate all of England, and by extension,
01:22 the entire world. John Wycliffe was born here
01:27 or hereabouts. His family most likely hailed
01:29 from the area known as Wycliffe, about half an hour
01:32 north of here on the Tees River. And from this unlikely place
01:35 of origin John Wycliffe went on to become known
01:39 as the Morning Star of the Reformation - an advocate
01:42 for the rights of the people, a denouncer of the abuses
01:45 in the church, a defender of the King of England
01:48 and a fearless preacher of God's word.
01:55 Wycliffe's greatest contribution to the world
01:57 is that he put the word of God into the hands of the people
02:02 - a people who didn't have the word of God
02:04 and who were held in tradition and superstition.
02:08 If you've ever held a Bible in your hands, if you've ever
02:11 treasured the precious promises found in the Word
02:13 of God, if your heart has ever been warmed by the beauty
02:16 of Scripture, you probably find it hard to imagine a society
02:20 where God's word is not welcomed.
02:23 But 14th Century England was a different world.
02:27 John Wycliffe was born in around 1328 -
02:29 that's shortly after the death of Marco Polo.
02:34 The king at the time was Edward the 3rd, who came to the throne
02:37 when he was just 15 years old.
02:40 England was locked in some bitter disputes.
02:42 This was just after the time of William Wallace -
02:45 Braveheart - and around the time of Robert the Bruce -
02:48 and wars with Scotland and France raged during
02:51 Wycliffe's early life. Then in the middle
02:56 of the 14th Century the Black Death struck England,
03:00 killing somewhere between a third or a half
03:03 of England's population. The peasant class at the time
03:08 were essentially slaves, and the influence of the ruling
03:11 church was enormous. The Catholic Church
03:15 essentially controlled the country, and by later
03:17 in the 14th Century the pope was receiving 5 times
03:20 as much gold from the government of England as was the King.
03:25 And when it came to the teaching of God's word...
03:28 well the people were living in superstition and fear,
03:31 as priests as well as traveling monks and friars kept the
03:35 people in spiritual darkness. It was a common practice
03:38 for these monks to sell pardon for sins.
03:41 As a result, they often lived a luxurious life,
03:44 fleecing the flock instead of teaching the flock.
03:47 The monks were barely less ignorant of the things
03:49 of heaven than the people were, and the people were kept
03:52 in spiritual darkness. But out of the darkness
03:58 that was 14th Century England, God caused a bright light
04:02 to shine. The Morning Star
04:05 of the Reformation brought light to a nation and truth
04:10 to the world - and from England, John Wycliffe's teachings
04:14 would shine light into the hearts of men and women
04:17 everywhere. John Wycliffe
04:21 was a revolutionary. And what John Wycliffe gave
04:24 the world still speaks to us today....
04:28 ♪ [Bright, ♪ ♪ Classical String Ensemble] ♪
04:38 When Wycliffe arrived here as a student at Oxford,
04:40 the University was already 150 years old.
04:44 When he came here there were 30,000 students here.
04:48 By the time the Black Death had done its work,
04:50 there were only 10,000. At it was while he was a student
04:53 at Oxford that Wycliffe started to develop as a champion
04:57 of the word of God. John Wycliffe studied here
05:01 at Balliol College, which was founded in 1263.
05:06 Five Balliol Students have gone on to win the Nobel
05:09 Prize - the most of any of Oxford's colleges -
05:13 as have 7 faculty members. Three British Prime Ministers
05:16 studied here, including Edward Heath and Harold
05:18 McMillan, London's Lord Mayor, Boris Johnson,
05:22 as well as authors Aldous Huxley and Graham Greene, and -
05:25 curiously - the noted atheist Richard Dawkins
05:28 also studied here. Wycliffe was a brilliant
05:33 student, and studied not only philosophy and civil law,
05:38 but church law as well. He became known as
05:41 "The Flower of Oxford" owing to his academic excellence.
05:48 And it was here at Balliol in Oxford that John Wycliffe
05:51 began to study the Bible. In those days, the Word
05:55 of God was only written in the ancient languages
05:58 - and while the uneducated masses couldn't access
06:01 or understand the Word of God, scholars in some cases, could.
06:06 Wycliffe found in the Bible what he felt to be
06:08 clear evidence demonstrating that the Bible was the Word
06:12 of God and that Jesus Christ as the only hope for the sinner.
06:17 He wrote these words,
06:20 "Trust wholly in Christ, rely altogether on His
06:25 sufferings; beware of seeking to be justified in any other way
06:29 than by His righteousness. Faith in our Lord Jesus
06:33 Christ is sufficient for salvation."
06:37 And he came to the conclusion that confession to a priest
06:40 was not necessary. "Privy confession made
06:43 to priests is not needful," he wrote,
06:46 "but brought in late by the Fiend:
06:49 for Christ used it not, nor any of His apostles
06:53 after Him."
06:57 While early in his career at Oxford these thoughts
06:59 did not become issues for John Wycliffe, his study
07:03 of the Word of God soon set him on a collision course
07:06 with the Roman Catholic Church, which dominated
07:08 not only British life and religion,
07:11 but British politics as well. ♪ [Contemplative Melody] ♪
07:18 At the time, the papacy controlled both the church
07:21 and the state in England. Many church leaders
07:24 were fabulously wealthy and acted essentially as lords
07:27 over the nation. Growing up, Wycliffe likely
07:31 thought little of this, but exposure to the Bible caused
07:34 him to think carefully. As a child what he learned
07:39 of religion wouldn't have been much better than myths
07:42 and stories and moral lessons. The clergy themselves were not
07:47 generally noted for their piety, and Wycliffe realized
07:51 there was a serious blight on society that was going
07:53 to have to be confronted - the swarms of friars, men who
07:58 belonged to religious orders and depended on the charity
08:01 of the population to survive.
08:05 Now while the general principle of the orders
08:08 of the friars might seem harmless enough -
08:10 men who were devoted to living lives of poverty
08:12 and devoted to helping the poor - Wycliffe realized
08:15 that these men were a drain on society.
08:17 They were a corrupting influence.
08:19 They were idle, and rather than helping anybody at all,
08:23 they spent their time getting and gaining
08:25 and living riotous lives.
08:29 The pope had given the friars the authority to hear
08:31 confessions and grant pardon for sins.
08:34 This unBiblical system could only be corrupted -
08:38 and it was. The worst sinners were
08:41 "absolved" of their sins for sums of money,
08:44 while the friars continued to invent stories and legends
08:48 and tales so they could further manipulate the ignorant
08:51 masses.
08:52 This further strengthened the hold of the ruling church.
08:55 Ignorant people can't find answers when they don't even
08:58 know what questions to ask. Being told that all you had
09:01 to do to go to heaven was to acknowledge the supremacy
09:04 of the pope, give money to the friars and adore
09:06 the saints, didn't cause people to rely
09:09 on Jesus or be interested in genuine conversion.
09:13 Who needed any of that when you can buy your way
09:15 into heaven? Now John Wycliffe wasn't
09:18 the first to notice or to protest the corruptions
09:21 of the friars, but he would be the one to do the most
09:24 to curb their excesses. ♪ [Hopeful Melody] ♪
09:38 Wycliffe understood that what the people needed
09:40 was the word of God. This was the one thing
09:43 that could free them from the tyranny of the friars.
09:45 It would liberate them from popes and from purgatory
09:48 and from purchase for pardon. But how in the world could
09:51 he get the word of God into the hands of the people?
09:53 Wycliffe knew what the Bible meant when it said in Psalm
09:57 119:130, "The entrance of Your words gives light;
10:03 It gives understanding." What the people needed
10:10 was God's word. The one thing that not even
10:12 money couldn't buy. So John Wyycliffe took
10:16 the word of God to the people. He preached to them publicly
10:17 in places such as St Paul's Cross, in the church
10:22 out here in St Paul's Cathedral in London.
10:24 Now this is not the same St Paul's as stood when
10:27 John Wycliffe was here - this is the new model, designed
10:31 by Sir Christopher Wren and rebuilt after the Great Fire
10:34 of London in 1666. But it was here in the church
10:39 yard at St. Paul's Cathedral, at St. Paul's Cross,
10:42 that John Wycliffe publicly preached God's Word.
10:45 A plaque commemorates the very spot that he stood
10:48 and preached. His preaching had a dramatic
10:51 effect on those who heard. It wasn't the pointless
10:54 prattle of the friars, it was the pure word of God.
10:58 Those who listened knew that they were listening
11:02 to something of divine origin. But how would the Bible
11:06 get into the hands of the people?
11:07 Wycliffe had an idea. It was a bold idea.
11:11 It was an idea that would change England forever.
11:17 ♪ [Hopeful Melody] ♪ Every Word is a one
11:19 minute Bible-based daily devotional presented
11:21 by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially for
11:24 busy people like you. Look for Every Word on selected
11:28 networks or watch it on-line everyday on our website
11:31 ItIsWritten.com
11:34 ♪ [Rythmic and Hopeful Melody] ♪
11:41 The child Samuel had been taken by his mother to live
11:44 at the temple - his life had been dedicated to God.
11:47 And one night something remarkable happened.
11:50 It's recorded in 1 Samuel 3:4 The Bible says, "The Lord called
11:54 Samuel: and he answered, 'Here am I'"
11:58 The Lord called Samuel - in a way Samuel actually heard.
12:02 Now - the vast majority of us aren't ever going to hear God
12:04 audibly. And that's okay.
12:06 You don't have to hear a voice - but you can hear God
12:10 speak to you. He'll speak to you through His
12:12 word or through providences of through other people -
12:15 and if you're dedicated to Him and if you spend time with God
12:18 you'll recognize the sound of His voice
12:20 when He speaks. God called Samuel
12:22 - and He's still calling. If you listen carefully
12:25 - you'll hear God calling you today.
12:28 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written.
12:30 Let's live today by Every Word.
12:34 Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written.
12:36 I'm John Bradshaw and today, we're looking at the life
12:39 and the ministry and the message of John Wycliffe, the Morning
12:43 Star of the Reformation - the man who brought the Bible
12:46 to the people of England. Wycliffe realized that the Bible
12:48 could be powerful, not only in the life
12:51 of the individual but also in a society,
12:54 and also in an entire nation. [Contemplative Melody and roar
13:00 ♪ of a bus] ♪ After becoming the Master
13:02 at Balliol College in Oxford, Wycliffe pursued his
13:05 theological studies, eventually becoming
13:07 a Doctor of Divinity. And not only was he
13:11 relentless in his condemnation of the practices
13:13 of the mendicant friars, Wycliffe believed strongly
13:16 that the church had no business receiving tribute
13:19 money from a sovereign government.
13:22 In the year 1365, Pope Urban the 5th demanded that England
13:26 submit entirely to the authority of the Church of Rome
13:31 - which would be an admission that the pope was
13:33 the legitimate sovereign of England.
13:35 ♪ [Piano, Playful Classical] ♪
13:42 John Wycliffe was strenuous in his opposition to the Roman
13:44 Church exercising authority over the British crown.
13:48 Add to that his Bible teachings that collided
13:50 with the doctrines of the Catholic Church,
13:53 and Wycliffe became to be viewed as more than a thorn
13:56 in the flesh of the Church of Rome -
13:58 by the time he became the rector of the church
14:00 in Lutterworth, Wycliffe was considered
14:02 to be a heretic. Which was not surprising -
14:06 after all, Wycliffe had begun to teach that the pope of Rome
14:09 was the antichrist of the Bible. He even claimed the pope
14:12 was the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
14:16 ♪ [Lively classical music] ♪
14:27 Things have changed a little since John Wycliffe
14:30 came here to petition Parliament to remove all
14:32 of the wealth of the church and bring it under the power
14:34 of the Crown.
14:38 The Parliament Buildings you see today weren't here
14:40 in the 14th Century. The Palace of Westminster -
14:44 as Parliament is known - was built in the 19th Century.
14:49 Big Ben is just over 150 years old.
14:54 Westminster Abbey was standing when Wycliffe came here
14:57 to Parliament - in fact, Richard the 2nd, the king
15:00 who was reigning when Wycliffe died, is buried in there
15:04 but there was no Buckingham Palace, or much that you'd
15:07 recognize in London today. It was a very different
15:10 place. In 1377 John Wycliffe came
15:15 here to this area to address the Parliament with regard
15:19 to the pope's claims to have authority over England.
15:22 John Wycliffe lead the movement to turn back the demands
15:25 of the Pope, and in fact he called
15:27 upon Parliament to reform the relationship
15:30 between church and state. And that was truly historic.
15:40 Wycliffe told Parliament that the national resources
15:42 were for the nation, and not for a foreign power
15:45 like the church of Rome. He said that Rome was wealthy
15:48 enough already, and that if anyone should be entitled
15:51 to the type of taxes that Rome was demanding,
15:54 it ought be the government and not the church.
15:57 Especially at a time that England was trying
15:59 to finance a war very expensive war against France.
16:03 And Wycliff believed that the people really needed
16:06 to be able to read and study and interpret the Scriptures
16:10 for themselves. But how were they ever going
16:14 to be able to do that?
16:15 [Dramatic Cello Sting]
16:25 Wycliffe incurred the wrath of the church.
16:28 He had been teaching that the friars were
16:30 a blight on society. He taught and wrote that priests
16:33 had no authority to forgive sins.
16:35 And he was strenuously opposed to the sale of indulgences,
16:38 where people would buy forgiveness,
16:41 when the monks would sell the pardon of God.
16:45 ""It is plain to me that our prelates in granting indulgences
16:48 do commonly blaspheme the wisdom of God,"
16:52 he said. Related to this he said,
16:55 "Private confession ... was not ordered by Christ and was not
16:59 used by the apostles." He taught that the mass
17:04 was blasphemous and that the eucharist
17:06 - the communion wafer - was not really the actual body
17:09 of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Church
17:12 taught - teaches - that when the bread
17:14 and wine are consecrated they become the true body
17:16 and the true blood of Jesus Christ.
17:19 Wycliffe's understanding was different.
17:21 "The bread, while becoming by virtue of Christ's words
17:25 the body of Christ, does not cease to be bread," he stated.
17:30 And Rome was not happy. In fact, even some of Wycliffe's
17:34 strongest supporters urged him to turn down the volume,
17:37 but by now he was committed to speaking against
17:40 what he believed to be the inconsistencies
17:43 of the church.
17:47 Wycliffe was eventually kicked out of Oxford -
17:50 which had been pressured by the church to have
17:52 nothing to do with him. After speaking to Parliament,
17:55 he was summoned to a church trial here at Lambeth Palace,
17:58 right behind me. - the official residence
18:00 of the Archbishop of Canterbury and just across the river
18:04 from Parliament buildings- but his enemies were unable
18:07 to silence him. The Morning Star would
18:10 continue to shine for truth.
18:13 He returned here to his parish in Lutterworth.
18:16 His 'poor priests' - the Lollards - were sent
18:20 by Wycliffe to preach the gospel all over England, and truth
18:23 began to flourish where error and superstition had been
18:27 so powerful. Wycliff not only preached
18:31 but he wrote prodigiously in an effort to share the Word
18:34 of God and its liberating power with as many people as possible.
18:41 ♪ [Foreboding melody] ♪ From this now very
18:46 historic building John Wycliffe ministered to the world.
18:50 His influence was felt, obviously, here in England,
18:53 but it was Wycliffe's ideas that influenced another
18:56 great early reformer, John Huss, in what is now
19:00 the Czech Republic.
19:03 The Queen of England, in Wycliffe's later years,
19:06 was Anne of Bohemia, which is where Huss was from.
19:10 Oxford students from Bohemia took Wycliffe's ideas back
19:13 to their homeland, where they were shared by Huss and had
19:17 a major impact in Europe.
19:20 But Wycliffe's work was suddenly stopped.
19:23 Just short of his 60th birthday John Wycliff came down
19:26 with an illness that appeared as though it was going
19:29 to take his life. The monks were jubilant.
19:33 They came here to Lutterworth and they gathered around
19:35 Wycliffe's -- what they thought was Wycliffe's
19:37 deathbed, and they said to him,
19:40 "You have death on your lips. Retract now in our presence
19:45 all the things that you have said to our hurt."
19:48 Wycliffe raised himself up from his bed and he said,
19:53 "I shall not die, but live; and again declare the evil
19:58 deeds of the friars." The monks hurried out,
20:02 and Wycliffe recovered and went to work on the project
20:05 that would have the greatest influence of anything
20:07 that he had ever done in England.
20:09 With the help of some close friends, John Wycliffe went
20:12 to work on translating the Bible into the language
20:15 of the day. The one who had been known
20:18 as the 'Gospel Doctor" committed himself to sharing that gospel
20:22 with as many people as he possibly could.
20:25 John Wycliffe's dream was that everybody in England
20:29 would have the opportunity to read the Scriptures
20:32 in their own language.
20:36 Still a couple of hundred of years before the invention
20:38 of the printing press, it was here in Lutterworth
20:42 that John Wycliffe translated the Bible from the Latin
20:45 into English. The Scriptures were copied
20:47 slowly by hand. There were some people
20:50 who were able to buy an entire copy of the Bible while
20:52 others were able to secure just a portion.
20:56 But John Wycliffe's dream was being realized.
20:58 The Word of God was making its way into the hands
21:02 of the people. It was still going to be some
21:05 years before laws were passed banning the production
21:08 of or the possession of the Bible and the Scriptures
21:12 was distributed widely. While England was fighting
21:16 battles on various fronts, one of the greatest victories
21:20 in her history was realized when the Word of God was
21:23 translated and made available in the English language
21:28 to the people of England. Long after John Wycliffe was
21:31 dead the establishment church had to reckon with a force
21:35 that was far more powerful than he could ever be.
21:39 ♪ [Thought provoking melody] ♪ "The entrance of your word
21:42 gives light. It gives understanding."
21:45 People began to learn the great principles
21:47 of Scripture - "Man shall not live by bread alone,
21:52 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth
21:54 of God." "All Scripture is given
21:57 by inspiration of God,"
22:04 ♪ [Building and driving theme] ♪
22:15 Principles that are the foundation of Biblical
22:17 Christianity were heard by the masses for the first time
22:20 throughout England. While it is true not all
22:23 of John Wycliffe's teachings were perfect, and while
22:26 the Reformation wouldn't take hold for some time yet,
22:29 the foundation for the Reformation was laid
22:32 in England and throughout Europe by John Wycliffe,
22:35 the Morning Star of the reformation.
22:38 And here in St. Mary's Church where John Wycliffe
22:40 was the pastor many hundreds of years ago,
22:43 in the pews of this church today are English language
22:47 Bibles and anybody who picks up one of these Bibles
22:50 and leafs through its pages owes a great debt to John
22:54 Wycliffe without whom Biblical Christianity
22:58 and Christianity itself would have unfolded
23:01 in a rather different fashion. At his third trial,
23:05 John Wycliffe met his accusers with these words: he said
23:08 "With whom, think you, are you contending?
23:12 With an old man on the brink of the grave?
23:15 No! -- he said -- with Truth--
23:19 with Truth that is stronger than you,
23:22 and will overcome you." ♪ [Stately orchestral Theme] ♪
23:35 John Wycliffe died of natural causes
23:38 at about the age of 66, in the year 1384.
23:42 At the Council of Constance in Germany the early 1400s -
23:47 the papacy decreed that Wycliffe's remains should
23:50 be exhumed and his bones burnt, which they were,
23:55 and his ashes were then cast into the River Swift
23:58 near Lutterworth.
24:05 A writer later penned these words.
24:09 "Thus the brook hath conveyed his ashes into Avon;
24:13 Avon into Severn; Severn into the narrow seas;
24:18 and they into the main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wycliffe
24:23 are the emblem of his doctrine which now is dispersed
24:27 the world over."
24:30 One man dedicated to the proposition
24:34 that the Word of God could make the difference
24:37 in a person's life. John Wycliffe was a man who
24:40 experienced the power of the Word of God.
24:44 He experienced it in his life and he saw what the Word
24:47 of God could do in the lives of others.
24:51 You know, I'd like to offer you the opportunity
24:53 to experience God's Word in your life.
24:56 Friend, what are you doing about the Word of God?
24:59 Does the Word of God own you? Has it impacted you?
25:03 Has it set you free like the thousands
25:06 and the millions who are set free through
25:08 the Word of God by the work of John Wycliffe and those
25:10 who followed after him? ♪ [Musical Interlude] ♪
25:22 Your Father God, your creator and originator,
25:25 is also the God of the future.
25:27 In His ability to tell us what is still ahead, God reminds us
25:30 of His sovereignty and power over all things.
25:34 To help us to trust Him, God has provided amazing evidence
25:37 of His reliability, and the reliability of His Word.
25:41 Today I'd like to send you a booklet that demonstrates how
25:43 God foretold world events with absolute accuracy
25:47 thousands of years in advance. This booklet is called
25:50 "Can God Be Trusted, and it's absolutely free.
25:53 Just call 1 (800) 253-3000, and ask for "Can God Be Trusted."
25:59 If the lines are busy, please do keep on trying.
26:02 Or you can write to us at It Is Written, Box 6,
26:06 Chattanooga, TN 37401, we'll mail a free copy to
26:10 your address in North America. It Is Written is a faith-based
26:14 ministry, and your support makes it possible for us to share
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26:26 at itiswritten.com. Thank you for your continued
26:29 prayerful support. Again our toll free number is
26:32 (800) 253-3000 and our web address is:
26:36 itiswritten.com
26:40 ♪ [Inspirational theme] ♪ I'd like to pray for you today
26:44 that God's word would truly bring his presence
26:49 and his power into your life.
26:52 Let me pray.
26:54 Father in heaven, at this almost sacred spot,
27:00 where the ashes of one of your faithful
27:02 reformers, one of your faithful servants
27:04 were cast, at this spot I pray.
27:08 I pray that we would experience the power
27:11 of your Word. I pray that the Word of God
27:15 and its great promises, the great principles
27:18 of Scripture would be the foundation upon which
27:21 our lives are based. I pray that we can experience
27:24 in our lives reformation, that which comes through
27:27 the power and the presence of your Word
27:30 and through Jesus Christ living his life in us.
27:34 Let that be so I pray, and I thank you, in Jesus' name,
27:40 amen.
27:47 ♪ [It Is Written Theme] ♪ Thanks for joining
27:48 me today. Until next time remember,
27:50 It is written, man shall not live by bread alone
27:54 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
27:59 ♪[It Is Written Theme swells]♪


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