Participants: Pr. John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001226
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00:07 It has stood the test of time.
00:12 God4s book, the Bible. 00:17 Still relevant in today4s complex world. 00:22 It Is Written -sharing hope around the globe. 00:36 I'm John Bradshaw. 00:37 Thanks for joining me today on It is Written. 00:40 Part of Czechoslovakia for 75 years, the Czech Republic is 00:44 bordered by Germany, Austria and, Slovakia and Poland. 00:48 Its capital is the cit of Prague. 00:50 It dates back to about1100 AD. 00:52 It is an especially historic city, teaming with 00:55 magnificent historical sites. 00:57 [Background music] Prague castle, the largest castle in 01:23 the world, was likely founded in the 9th century. 01:26 It covers over 750 thousand sq ft or about 17 acres. 01:35 The Charles Bridge was built in the 14th Century by 01:38 Charles the IV who at the time was the Emperor of the 01:42 holy roman empire. 01:44 Prague was the capital of that empire and it has been 01:46 the seat of kings and an important commercial and 01:49 cultural center. 01:58 Now Prague isn't stuck in the past. 02:01 Its theaters and museums and galleries are world class. 02:04 Its scenery has inspired Hollywood to come and film 02:08 here and some of its architecture is whimsical and 02:11 quirky. 02:14 This is the magnificent Old Town Square. 02:17 It dates back to the 12th Century. 02:19 It's surrounded by fabulous buildings including two 02:21 massive churches and the old town hall. 02:24 Tourists from all over the world flock here to take 02:27 pictures of the churches and the steeples. 02:30 On the hour, they rush over to the clock tower to listen 02:33 to the chimes ringing and to see the figurines moving. 02:40 They throng to the many merchant stands which crowd 02:42 this place, especially during the summer months. 02:48 But in the process of running to and fro, many people often 02:50 miss the significance of something right here in the 02:55 middle of the old town square. 02:57 Unlike the rest of pretty well everything here in the 02:59 old town square, it's not really very old. 03:02 It was built at the beginning of last century, a statue 03:05 erected in honor of one of Prague's most famous sons. 03:10 You know, over time, there have been many, many famous 03:13 Czechs and we can think of tennis plays such as Ivan 03:16 Lendl and Martina Navratilova, Olympian, Neal 03:19 áááá, the writer, Franz Kafka was from Czech Republic as 03:23 was composer Antonín Dvoóák, and a number of Nobel prize 03:26 laureates, but none of them have had the profound effect 03:30 on the world as has this favorite son of Prague. 03:37 So, how well known is this man in his home town? 03:41 While he may be remembered and perhaps even revered here 03:43 in Prague, if you go outside of Prague, outside of the 03:46 Czech Republic, a lot of people are not even aware of 03:50 who this man is or what this man did. 03:52 His contribution to world history has lost a lot of its 03:55 luster. 03:56 What he did in favor of religious history and 03:59 religious freedom has been pretty well forgotten. 04:02 [Music in the background] This man, one of history's 04:09 great heroes, I think we can say, was ultimately executed 04:13 as a criminal, as a dangerous enemy of the state in the 04:17 year 1415. 04:19 So, what was it that led this family-oriented, 04:23 peace-loving, Bible-believing, 04:25 Bible-preaching man to be persecuted and executed? 04:30 The story of John Huss is inspiring. 04:33 It's full of lessons for people interested in 04:36 religious freedom. 04:37 Now, keep in mind you don't have to be a Christian or a 04:40 religious person to believe in religious freedom. 04:44 The truth is down through time many Christians had been 04:46 fabulously intolerant of the religious freedoms of others 04:49 and even atheists ought to be thankful for religious 04:52 freedom. 04:53 In another age, atheists would have been relentlessly 04:56 persecuted because they choose not to follow the 04:58 religious protocols of the day. 05:00 In fact, today, if you enjoy religious freedom, if you 05:04 believe in a person's right to believe what they want as 05:07 they want, if you believe in your right to take your faith 05:10 directly from the Bible and believe it as you wish, then 05:13 you owe a lot to this famous son of Prague. 05:18 John Huss was born around the year 1370 in the village of 05:22 Husenik in Southern Bohemia. 05:24 Southern Bohemia became part of what is now known as the 05:27 Czech Republic. 05:30 In fact, John Huss took his name from the name of his 05:33 village, Ian Huss or John Huss came from rather an 05:37 anonymous family. 05:40 There is not a whole lot known of the details of his 05:42 early life but what we know is this. 05:45 Influences in his family or from some other part of his 05:47 early life led him to ultimately make the decision 05:51 to become a priest. 05:53 Now, Huss has admitted that he became a priest initially, 05:55 at least, for status and money. 06:00 But, over time, his focus changed. 06:03 As John Huss studied, his love for God grew, as did his 06:06 commitment to ministry. 06:09 And, something else grew as well. 06:11 And, that is John Huss' love for and commitment to truth 06:16 and that is what ultimately led him to a lot of trouble. 06:20 What John Huss found out is that truth is not always 06:23 popular. 06:26 I'll tell you more in just a moment. 06:44 Time for today's Bible question and thank you for 06:47 submitting your questions. 06:50 I was raised going to church with my parents, and was 06:53 baptized as an infant. 06:56 When I grew up I left the church and now that I'm quite 07:00 a bit older and hopefully wiser, I've come back. 07:03 Do I need to be re-baptized? 07:05 What is baptism for anyway? 07:08 Well, let me tell you something. 07:11 The truth is that when you were an infant you weren't 07:14 baptized. 07:15 Like me, you were christened. 07:17 The word baptize means to 'fully immerse' or to 'plunge 07:21 under the water' - unless you were put all the way under 07:25 the water when you were an infant-and that's not very 07:27 likely--then you weren't baptized. 07:29 So, now that you've come back to faith in God and you've 07:31 reconnected with a church, it would be right to express 07:34 your faith in God by being baptized. 07:36 Baptism signifies that you have accepted Jesus, that 07:39 you've repented of your sins, and that you've died a death 07:43 to the old way of life. 07:44 That's why you're being BURIED as it were, and then 07:47 'raised up' to live a whole new life, under a whole new 07:51 power - the power of God. 07:52 The passage in the Bible that speaks right to this is in 07:56 Romans chapter 6. 07:57 From verse three it says, "Know ye not, that so many of 08:01 us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized 08:04 into His death? 08:05 Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: 08:09 that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by 08:12 the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in 08:17 newness of life." 08:20 It isn't that you ought to be rebaptized. 08:23 It's time for you to be baptized. 08:26 It'd sn outward sign of an inward change, letting the 08:29 world know, and God know, and YOU know that you've changed 08:33 sides - that you're no longer following the old life, but 08:37 that Jesus has made you new--so new, it can best be 08:41 described or really only be described as if you had died 08:45 and been raised from the dead. 08:49 That's baptism. 08:50 If you have a question you would like answered, please 08:52 go to our website - www.ItIsWritten.com and click 08:55 on the questions tab. 08:56 Submit your question, and in a future program we might 08:59 answer your question. 09:02 If you have a Bible question for pastor John Bradshaw, 09:05 please write to It Is Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks 09:09 California 91359 or visit our website itiswritten.com and 09:12 send us your questions on-line. 09:25 Today, I am in Prague, in the Czech republic. 09:28 This city was the home of John Huss, a man who was 09:31 uncompromising in his faith in God, and who was 09:33 uncompromising in his faith in God's Word. 09:37 A man whose faith in God and in his Word saw him burned at 09:41 the stake. 09:43 So what was it about this great man of faith that saw 09:45 him fall foul of the religious leaders of his day? 09:50 Now, the conventional wisdom is that John Huss was not the 09:53 most remarkable university student that there ever was. 09:57 He did receive his master's degree in 1396 and a few 10:01 years later, he became a professor at the University 10:04 where he received his master's degree. 10:06 Then, in 1402, John Huss became the preacher at the 10:10 Bethlehem chapel, a church that was founded specifically 10:15 so people could hear the Word of God proclaimed in the 10:17 common language. 10:19 A practice, which in itself, was not very common in that 10:22 day. 10:31 Bethlehem chapel has changed a little bit since 1391. 10:35 Some years ago, a fire pretty well destroyed Bethlehem 10:38 chapel but when it was rebuilt, they retained some 10:41 of the original Bethlehem Chapel in what we see today. 10:45 It was in this very place some 600 years ago that John 10:49 Huss began to have a profound impact on the religious world 10:53 and, therefore, on the world at large. 10:57 Back in those days, the religious world was dominated 10:59 by the Roman Church and the Roman Catholic church took a 11:02 pretty hard line with dissenters. 11:06 Back then, people believed pretty well what they were 11:09 told to believe and so, the church was riddled with 11:11 ignorance and superstition. 11:14 John Huss started to rise to prominence at the same time 11:17 as the teachings of England's John Wycliffe started to gain 11:22 traction. 11:24 Bohemian students at Oxford University were exposed to 11:27 Wycliffe's ideas. 11:28 They brought them back here to Prague where John Huss got 11:31 a hold of them. 11:32 As John Huss read Wycliffe's teachings, he was moved. 11:36 Wycliffe was teaching ideas such as the authority of the 11:40 Word of God and justification by faith and they were 11:46 radical ideas for that time. 11:48 John Wycliffe didn't have any time for tradition, ignorance 11:51 or superstition or the teachings of men rather than 11:54 the teachings of God. 11:56 What Wycliffe wanted to see was the purity of the Word of 12:00 God get loose and become known and find its way into 12:04 people's hearts, so people could be liberated from sin 12:07 and connected with God. 12:09 John Huss started to teach John Wycliffe's ideas and it 12:13 was from there that Huss' ideas spread like wildfire 12:17 around Prague and around what we now know as the Czech 12:21 Republic and John Huss started to powerfully impact 12:24 his world. 12:27 So, it isn't difficult to see how somebody like John Huss, 12:30 educated, committed, zealous for the truth of God's Word 12:33 would get exercised by some of this. 12:37 The church, in John Huss' day, was teaching traditions 12:39 and errors and it was suffering from a real 12:41 leadership crisis, not simply that they couldn't decide who 12:44 the legitimate leader was, but on a more local level, 12:48 the church leaders were pretty corrupt. 12:51 Their abuses were legendary. 12:52 John Huss believed that the clergy ought to be model 12:57 Christians but they were far from model Christians. 13:01 Many of them were drunks and gluttons. 13:05 They were fabulously - maybe that's the wrong word- they 13:09 were famously immoral and self-centered, power-mad and 13:10 money-grabbing and John Huss decided that something had to 13:13 be done and he spoke out against this and in favor of 13:16 the Word of God. 13:19 John Huss was especially incensed by the practice of 13:23 simony. 13:24 That is when the church would make merchandise of or would 13:27 sell its blessings. 13:29 The people had to pay for the sacraments. 13:31 In fact, many people paid to have their sins forgiven. 13:37 John Huss didn't set out to be a troublemaker but he 13:39 really believed that God had called him to encourage 13:41 people to be liberated from this. 13:44 England's King Edward the III said "The Lord commissioned 13:51 the Apostles to lead the sheep to pasture and not to 13:53 fleece them." 13:54 And John Huss could see that there was a lot of fleecing 13:56 going on. 13:57 John Huss wasn't prepared to stand idly by while such 13:59 shocking behavior was going on. 14:02 So, he taught the Word of God as effectively as he could 14:05 and he opposed the appalling practices that were taking 14:08 place. 14:09 John Huss didn't mean to pick a fight and I don't believe 14:12 he expected to receive such stiff opposition but 14:15 something Jesus said suggested that John Huss was 14:18 in for a battle. 14:19 We read this in John 15:20 and 21, Remember the word 14:24 that I said to you. 14:26 A servant is not greater than his master. 14:29 If they persecuted me they will also persecute you. 14:32 If they kept my word, they will keep yours also. 14:35 But all these things they will do to you for my 14:38 namesake because they do not know him who sent me. 14:41 That's exactly what happened to John Huss. 14:44 Strong opposition started mounting against him. 14:47 Not because he was teaching contrary to the Bible but 14:49 because he was preaching strong, plain, clear Bible 14:54 truth. 14:58 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says "It is written 'Man 15:02 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that 15:06 proceeds out of the mouth of God'." 15:08 Every Word is a one minute Bible-based daily devotional 15:10 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed 15:14 especially for busy people like you. 15:16 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it 15:20 on-line everyday on our website itiswritten.com. 15:24 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 15:26 Watch Every Word. 15:27 You'll be glad you did. 15:33 It Is Written is dedicated to sharing the gospel around the 15:35 world. 15:37 Our Dream is do impact the world for God 15:39 Our television programs only one aspect have try to 15:42 accomplish that to discover more about 15:45 it is written I invite you to visit our Website 15:47 itiswritten.com and browse the dozens of pages that 15:51 describe what we do and how we do it. 15:53 You'll also find an archive of past programs and script full 15:57 and its streaming video and audio files along with may other 16:03 helpful inspirational resources Let'ts get to know 16:05 each other better Visit our website 16:07 itiswritten.com today. 16:12 [background music] Some years before, a Pope Gregory had 16:44 outlawed the preaching of the Gospel here in the local 16:48 language, in the language of Bohemia. 16:50 So, news of what John Huss was doing started spreading 16:54 like wildfire and it made him very unpopular with some 16:58 particularly powerful people. 16:59 John Huss was summoned to appear before the Pope, which 17:03 many people believed would lead to his execution. 17:06 The King and Queen of Bohemia rallied to his defense as did 17:10 university faculty and government officials and 17:13 other people as well. 17:14 The Church responded by placing the City of Prague 17:18 under Interdict. 17:20 Interdict would fill the lives of people with dread 17:23 and fear. 17:25 When the Church stands in the place of God, putting a city 17:29 under interdict effectively locks people out of heaven. 17:35 That's because people now couldn't get married in the 17:38 church, they couldn't get forgiven from the church. 17:40 If somebody died, they couldn't get buried in a 17:44 church funeral service or a church graveyard. 17:46 Huss began to be perceived as someone who was a troubler of 17:51 the people. 17:52 He responded by leaving Prague. 17:54 Instead of being silenced, his voice was given greater 17:57 volume as he went from place to place, powerfully 18:00 proclaiming God's Word. 18:02 It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 13:8 which says: 18:05 We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. 18:10 After a time, John Huss came back to Prague and preached 18:13 once again in Bethlehem Chapel, this time with 18:15 renewed zeal and he didn't labor alone. 18:19 Like Paul had Silas and Barnabas had John Mark, Huss 18:23 labored together with Jerome. 18:25 Their varied talents and gifts complimented each other 18:27 well. 18:30 About this time, another controversy began raging and 18:33 it was a big one. 18:35 Several different individuals each claimed the right to be 18:38 pope, all at the same time. 18:40 The French Cardinals had elected themselves a pope and 18:44 then the Roman Cardinals elected a pope of their own. 18:47 Each rival pope sang that whatever happened under the 18:49 authority of the other pope was invalid, which means, of 18:53 course, that the pardoned were not really forgiven and 18:57 the married were not really married. 18:59 Well, to add to the confusion or in fact, there was an 19:01 attempt to clear up a confusion, the Council of 19:04 Pisa elected a third person pope, Alexander V, who told 19:09 the other two to give up their ideas about being pope, 19:13 which they were not about to do. 19:17 So, you had Alexander V ruling from Pisa, Gregory 19:20 XII, another pope ruling from Rome, and Benedict XIII 19:25 ruling from, by now, Spain. 19:29 Each Pope claiming the right to be Pope. 19:31 How would they settle the question? 19:34 Well, the next large Council wasn't going to be held until 19:36 1414 in Constance in Germany. 19:39 Here, they said, this issue of the popes would finally be 19:43 settled. 19:44 Thousands of people descended upon Constance. 19:47 In fact, it was said that 1500 prostitutes were kept 19:50 busy during the Council of Constance. 19:53 This strange mingling of men of the cloth and ladies of 19:56 the night has been memorialized in a large 20:00 statue unveiled in 2002 at the entrance to the harbor in 20:04 Constance, Germany. 20:07 So, by the time the Council of Constance came about, 20:10 Europe was a stir. 20:12 The two anti popes had been summoned to appear at the 20:15 Council of Constance, as was John Huss who was to answer 20:18 to his teachings. 20:20 The two popes chose to stay away, out of concern for 20:23 their safety. 20:24 And even though his safety had been guaranteed by the 20:27 Emperor, Sigesmund, John Huss really felt that he was 20:31 traveling to his execution. 20:34 When he got to the Council of Constance, John Huss was 20:37 going to explain to the delegates what it was he 20:40 believed and why he believed it. 20:42 But, shortly after he got there, he was arrested by 20:45 order of the Pope and the cardinals and was locked up 20:48 in a foul dungeon. 20:50 Interestingly enough, one of the popes also was 20:53 imprisoned, the other two popes were deposed and a new 20:57 pope was elected. 20:59 And at this Council, the Council of Constance, it was 21:02 decreed that the bones of reformer John Huss should be 21:06 dug up and burned. 21:09 John Huss did have supporters of the Council of Constance. 21:12 But they were unable to change the minds of his 21:14 enemies. 21:15 When he was brought to appear before the Council, he was 21:18 bound in chains and was dreadfully ill. 21:20 John Huss, at his trial, spoke boldly in defense of 21:23 Biblical truth and against the excesses and corruptions 21:26 of the church. 21:28 At his trial, he stood before the very emperor who had 21:31 guaranteed his safety. 21:33 John Huss, in spite of his bold stand for God, perhaps, 21:38 because of his bold stand for God, was sentenced to burn at 21:42 the stake. 21:44 This was a man who had been sentenced to death because he 21:47 upheld the authority of the Bible. 21:50 Because he spoke against excess and corruption in the 21:53 church. 21:54 Because he dared to defy the authority of a pope. 21:57 Up until the time of his death, he lived in inhuman 21:59 conditions. 22:01 His suffering was great. 22:03 He lived in deplorable filth. 22:05 He was alone. 22:07 John Huss had been abandoned, but never once did his faith 22:11 in God come close to wavering. 22:15 John Huss remained ardent in his faith in God and in his 22:17 faith in God's word. 22:20 At his trial, he was given the opportunity to recant. 22:23 He would not do so. 22:25 A large procession of people led him away to the place 22:27 where he would be burned at the stake. 22:30 Again, once reaching that spot, John Huss was given the 22:33 opportunity to recant. 22:34 He wouldn't do so. 22:35 In fact, his reply was this: "What errors shall I 22:40 renounce? 22:41 I know myself guilty of none. 22:44 I call God to witness that all that I have written and 22:48 preached has been with the view of rescuing souls from 22:51 sin and perdition. 22:53 And therefore, most joyfully, will I confirm with my blood 22:59 that truth which I have written and preached." 23:03 As the flames burned around him, John Huss sang until his 23:07 voice was silenced forever. 23:12 Huss' life and ministry show us that truth is not always 23:17 popular. 23:19 John Huss' heroic example shows us that even when the 23:22 truth is not popular, God's Holy Spirit moves upon his 23:27 faithful ones and inspires them to stand for God anyway. 23:31 Paul addressed this very thing when he wrote to his 23:36 young friend, Timothy. 23:38 Here is what he said: "Preach the Word. 23:41 Be ready in season and out of season. 23:44 Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and 23:48 teaching. 23:50 For the time will come when they will not endure sound 23:53 doctrine but according to their own desires because 23:56 they have itching ears. 23:58 They will heap up for themselves teachers and they 24:01 will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned 24:05 aside to fables. 24:07 2 Timothy 4:2-4 You see, that is really the choice that we 24:15 have to make. 24:16 To stand on the Word of God and let God's Word guide out 24:20 lives and mold our existence or stand instead with human 24:25 teachings and human traditions and that would be 24:28 a mistake and I hope you and me would never make. 24:31 You see, the Bible is not just another book. 24:35 The Bible is God's Book. 24:37 Did the death of John Huss silence the man? 24:42 Maybe it silenced the man, but it didn't silence his 24:46 message. 24:48 You see, the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture 24:53 is given by inspiration of God." 24:55 And Jesus said, in John 8: "The truth will make you 25:00 free." 25:01 Writing to a friend once, John Huss wrote these words. 25:03 He said: "Truth (and that is God's truth), Truth prevails 25:07 overall. 25:09 Interestingly, the Czech government has adopted John 25:12 Huss' words as their national motto. 25:15 "Truth prevails". 25:18 And I certainly hope that will be true in your 25:20 experience. 25:22 John Huss had it right. 25:24 God's truth does prevail over all. 25:28 Let me pray with you: Father in heaven, we thank you for 25:32 truth and we thank you for John Huss and men like him, 25:35 people like him and for their example. 25:38 And I pray that by your grace, I, we would be 25:41 faithful and committed to standing for you, to standing 25:45 on your Word and allowing your Word to be the guide and 25:50 the rule of our lives. 25:51 I thank you today for the Bible. 25:54 And we pray today in Jesus' name, Amen. 26:12 Perhaps our program today is touch your heart and impress you 26:15 with the personal need for a deep bible studie 26:19 I you decide to listen to God and follow where He leads 26:22 We have a wonderful resource than can help you 26:23 do that in a systematic way, 26:26 The discover Bible Guides This study guides will take you 26:29 thru the essential true of scripture, they give you the big 26:32 picture showing how all fits together 26:35 The Discover Bible Guides are a wonderful way for you to become 26:39 grounded in the word of God and to see how Jesus Christ 26:43 relates to all the areas of our 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written, man shall not 27:53 live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from 27:56 the mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-02-06