It Is Written

England's Great Reformer

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001244


00:07 It has stood the test of time,
00:11 God's book -- the Bible.
00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world.
00:24 It Is Written ...
00:29 sharing hope around the globe.
00:36 Thanks for joining me today.
00:37 I'm John Bradshaw and this is It Is Written.
00:41 Every now and then someone appears on the world stage
00:44 that makes a dramatic difference.
00:47 As the old saying puts it, Cometh the hour, cometh the
00:49 man.
00:51 The 'hour' we're talking about today was the 18th
00:53 Century - a time when England had degenerated, religiously,
00:58 into a tired and formulaic routine.
01:01 The Church of England was now the state church in the
01:03 United Kingdom, and though it had broken from Rome, and
01:06 several of Rome's doctrines had been rejected, the forms
01:09 of Rome had been largely retained by the Church of
01:12 England.
01:13 And the monarchy had simply taken the place of the pope
01:16 as the head of the church.
01:18 The road to Protestantism had been rocky.
01:22 Men and women had won freedom from Rome at a great cost -
01:25 many lost their lives being murdered, or martyred, and
01:29 persecution was intense.
01:32 By the 1700s, Protestantism in England wasn't the vital
01:35 force its founders had hoped it would be.
01:37 The vitality had just seeped right out of the church.
01:41 Formalism and nominalism had taken over spiritual life.
01:45 Something was needed.
01:47 Someone was needed.
01:50 [Music] And in the early 1700s - June 28, 1703, the
02:01 15th of Samuel and Susanna Wesley's children was born
02:05 here in Epworth, in Lincolnshire, England.
02:09 Epworth is about 45 miles south of York and about the
02:12 same distance from Leeds, and today has a population of
02:15 less than 4000 people.
02:17 Obviously much smaller back then.
02:22 The Wesleys had moved here in 1695.
02:26 Yet from this unassuming place came the man who would
02:28 go on to become one of the great religious reformers of
02:32 all time.
02:33 He would become the founder of the Methodist Church -- and
02:36 would breathe new life into Christianity in England -- and
02:39 provide inspiration to Christians all over the
02:42 world.
02:46 Only 10 of Samuel and Susanna Wesley's 19 children
02:50 survived.
02:51 And if you think that was a large family, Susanna's
02:54 father - a dissenter pastor who had separated from the
02:58 established church - had 25 children, and Susanna was the
03:02 25th.
03:06 Samuel Wesley - who went to school with Daniel Defoe, the
03:10 author of Robinson Crusoe - had graduated from Oxford and
03:14 was the church of England pastor here - and this is
03:18 where the Wesley's lived.
03:24 At that time the rectory was a wooden building and it had
03:27 a thatched roof.
03:28 When John Wesley was 5 years old, the Rectory burned down.
03:32 His father would say that he believed the fire was set
03:35 intentionally by discontented church members.
03:38 Little Jacky (as his mother called him) was rescued in
03:41 dramatic circumstances.
03:43 John wrote later that he was saved 'as a brand plucked
03:46 from the burning'.
03:48 This new Rectory was built in 1709 at a cost of £184, not
03:55 quite $300 USD.
03:58 When John Wesley was about 13, certain events lead
04:00 people to believe that this Rectory was haunted.
04:03 People urged Samuel Wesley to take his family away from
04:06 here and get them to safety.
04:08 Samuel said that he believed the devil should flee from
04:11 him, and not the other way round...
04:28 [Music] Samuel Wesley, John's father, was the pastor of
04:32 this church.
04:33 This is St Andrew's Church, the parish church of Epworth.
04:38 Parts of this building date back to the 12th Century.
04:47 And as a young man, John Wesley was the curate of the
04:50 parish church in the little village of Wroot, about 5 or
04:54 6 miles from Epworth.
05:01 He is buried here, just yards from where he used to preach.
05:05 John Wesley would come back to Epworth and come here to
05:08 St. Andrews and step up on top of his father's tombstone
05:12 and use it as a pulpit from he would preach the Word of
05:15 God.
05:21 When he'd come back to Epworth to visit his family,
05:24 John Wesley would normally stay right here, at the Red
05:28 Lion Inn, and because the wasn't allowed to preach in
05:31 the churches, he'd preach from unorthodox places, such
05:35 as from right on top of his father's tomb and he would
05:38 preach here, from these very steps, in this exact place
05:43 and from these steps take his Bible in his hand, proclaim
05:47 the Word of God and encourage the people of Epworth to
05:51 follow Jesus Christ by faith.
06:02 In Matthew 4:4 the Word of God says, "It is written, man
06:05 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that
06:09 proceeds from the mouth of God.
06:11 Every Word is a one minute Bible based daily devotional
06:14 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed
06:17 especially for busy people like you.
06:21 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it
06:27 on line every day on our website itiswritten.com.
06:32 Receive a daily spiritual boost.
06:36 Watch Every Word.
06:37 You'll be glad you did.
06:40 Here's a sample.
06:42 I read an article recently that investigated why it is
06:45 that kids in other countries seem to take on
06:48 responsibility more readily than American kids.
06:51 The article said that children in many other parts
06:53 of the world seemed to be more disciplined, and that
06:56 Western kids -- Surprise!
06:57 Surprise!
06:58 -- are indulged.
06:59 Parents seem to coddle and spoil them, the story said.
07:02 But look at what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 29:17,
07:05 "Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he
07:08 will give delight to your soul."
07:09 Not cruelty, discipline - which is
07:12 virtually the same word as "disciple".
07:15 Many parents want to be their kids' buddy, but not their
07:16 parent.
07:18 And maybe it's because self-discipline is slipping
07:20 slowly away.
07:21 Sometimes you've got to put your foot down.
07:23 Parents with children, absolutely.
07:25 But also put your foot down in your own life.
07:28 Our parent, God, might want to correct us.
07:30 And when he does, we need to let Him do so.
07:32 Let's live today by Every Word.
07:35 It is written is dedicated to sharing the gospel around the
07:38 world.
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07:42 visit our website: itiswritten.com.
07:45 And browse the dozens of pages that describe what we
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07:49 Let's get to know each other better.
07:51 Visit our website itiswritten.com today.
07:55 [music]♪♪♪♪♪♪ John Wesley studied
08:11 at Christ Church at Oxford University.
08:14 It was and still is a very prestigious school.
08:17 King Edward the 7th was educated here.
08:19 William Penn, the founder of the State of Pennsylvania,
08:21 and the current Archbishop of Canterbury.
08:25 In fact, Christ Church has produced as many Prime
08:27 Ministers of Great Britain - 13 - as the other 45 Oxford
08:31 colleges combined.
08:32 And it was while he was here that John Wesley began to
08:40 experience personal spiritual revival.
08:43 Along with his brother, Charles, and others such as
08:45 George Whitefield, or Whitfield, depending on your
08:47 pronunciation, John Wesley formed the Holy Club - a
08:51 group that met regularly and were determined to live a
08:54 holy life dedicated to God, in a very systematic way.
09:05 Wesley sought to be holy.
09:08 So he adopted a very rigid approach to his life, often
09:12 denying himself and following certain 'methods' of living
09:16 that he believed would enable him to live that life that he
09:19 wanted to live.
09:21 This 'methodical' approach to faith in God saw Wesley and
09:25 his fellows in the Holy Club here at Lincoln College
09:29 become branded as "Methodists." To begin with,
09:33 this term "Methodists" was intended as an insult but
09:38 Wesley and his friends came to embrace the term as they
09:42 believed it reflected God's will for their lives.
09:53 [Music] When Wesley came to Oxford University, he knew
09:55 full well just what faithfulness to the Word of
09:57 God could cost.
09:59 He knew that in 1536 another former Oxford student,
10:02 William Tyndale, had been burned at the stake for his
10:05 faith in Jesus Christ and for daring to disobey the orders
10:08 of the Roman Catholic Church.
10:10 And Wesley had another very graphic reminder of what
10:13 faithfulness cost.
10:14 You see, right here behind me is the very spot in which
10:19 Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley and Thomas were burned at the
10:23 stake for their faith in the Word of God.
10:25 Latimer and Ridley in 1555 and Cranmer, who had been the
10:28 the Archbishop of Canterbury - in 1556.
10:32 It is said that Latimer said to Ridley as they were about
10:35 to be burned, "Be of good comfort."
10:38 "We shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in
10:42 England, as I trust shall never be put out."
10:46 Now Cranmer, on the other hand, recanted his opposition
10:49 to the Roman Catholic Church several times but then he
10:53 recanted his recantations.
10:55 He was brought to this spot on Broad Street in Oxford and
10:59 burned at the stake.
11:00 And when he was, he did what he said he would do.
11:03 He took the very hand that had written the recantations
11:06 and thrust it into the flames.
11:10 Today, a cross commemorates the spot at which these men
11:14 gave their lives for their faith in Christ, while near
11:17 this sport stands the Oxford Martyrs' Memorial, in
11:20 remembrance of Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer.
11:24 The inscription on the base of the memorial says this:
11:28 "To the Glory of God, and in grateful commemoration of His
11:31 servants, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh
11:35 Latimer, Prelates of the Church of England, who near
11:39 this spot yielded their bodies to be burned, bearing
11:43 witness to the sacred truths which they had affirmed and
11:45 maintained against the errors of the Church of Rome, and
11:50 rejoicing that to them it was given not only to believe in
11:54 Christ, but also to suffer for His sake." John Wesley
12:02 knew that the road to reform would not be easy.
12:06 He understood what opposition to truth could look like.
12:09 But he was determined.
12:10 He was determined to live a life of faith.
12:13 A life to the glory of God.
12:15 A life that would result in personal transformation.
12:19 But just as the road to reform in the church would no
12:22 be easy, Wesley discovered that the road to reform in
12:26 his own personal life would not be easy either.
12:30 You see, like most people, John Wesley had to learn the
12:33 secret of living a life of faith.
12:36 So what was it that John Wesley learned that changed
12:39 his life?
12:40 And could it change your life?
12:43 More in just a moment.
12:47 Planning for your financial future is a vital aspect of
12:50 Christian Stewardship.
12:51 For this reason, It Is Written is pleased to offer
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12:57 For information on how we can help you, please call
13:01 1.800.992.2219.
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13:28 Our toll-free number again is 1-800-992-2219 and our web
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13:42 Perhaps something in today's program has sparked your
13:44 interest in greater Bible study.
13:46 We invite you to visit our website itiswritten.com where
13:50 you will find a host of inspirational resources
13:53 including free Bible study guides, there's also a
13:56 complete archive of past television programs and
13:58 special video seminars that you can view on-line or
14:01 download.
14:02 Discover more at itiswritten.com It was in
14:08 1735 that John Wesley and his brother Charles, newly
14:12 ordained to ministry, left England bound for the
14:15 province of Georgia in the American colonies.
14:18 They left from Gravesend, near where the River Thames
14:21 runs into the English Channel, on a ship called The
14:24 Simmonds.
14:25 And it was on that journey that John Wesley came face to
14:28 face with what he perceived to be his own great spiritual
14:32 lack.
14:33 While crossing the Atlantic Ocean, a terrible storm
14:36 arose.
14:37 Wesley believed that he was going to die - and he was
14:40 terrified.
14:43 But also aboard the ship were a number of German Moravian
14:46 believers, members of a religious group that had its
14:48 origins in the teachings of John Huss - who himself was
14:52 strongly influenced by another English reformer,
14:55 John Wycliffe, the Morning Star of the Reformation.
15:01 During this storm the Moravians remained calm - no
15:05 panic, and they had a peace that Wesley didn't possess.
15:09 In fact, they sang as the storm raged around them.
15:13 Wesley later asked them if they had been afraid to die.
15:16 No, they said, we were not afraid to die.
15:19 And it was then that Wesley realized that in spite of his
15:23 methodical approach to his religious life, he was
15:26 missing something tremendously important.
15:29 His brother Charles had a similar experience.
15:32 It was thought at one time that Charles was going to
15:34 die.
15:35 He had become so ill and somebody asked him upon which
15:38 he rested his hope of salvation.
15:41 Charles answered by saying, "I have used my best
15:44 endeavors to serve God." Led to believe his answer might
15:48 have been lacking just a little bit, Charles thought,
15:51 "Are not my endeavors a sufficient ground of hope?
15:55 I have nothing else to trust to!" The Wesleys had thought
16:01 that living a virtuous life and observing all the right
16:04 forms would bring them to the place where they had peace
16:07 with God.
16:08 But they came to understand that genuine Christian living
16:11 involves an inward change that affects the thoughts and
16:15 the feelings, not just the words and the actions.
16:18 They came to understand that this inward transformation
16:21 was an integral part of genuine Christian living.
16:24 Up until now, they had been trying to achieve
16:27 righteousness by works but now they began to understand
16:30 that great foundational teaching of Christianity -
16:34 righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
16:38 By 1738, John Wesley, now 35, and his brother Charles, 31,
16:46 returned to England.
16:47 And it was that year that something remarkable
16:51 happened, something that would the world.
16:54 On May 24, 1738, John was attended a Moravian meeting
16:59 in London, right here on Aldersgate Street.
17:03 This is what he would later write about what happened
17:05 here that night.
17:08 "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in
17:12 Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface
17:15 to the Epistle to the Romans.
17:17 About a quarter before nine, while the leader was
17:20 describing the change which God works in the heart
17:22 through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely
17:26 warmed.
17:27 I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an
17:32 assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins,
17:35 even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
17:51 [Music] John Wesley would never be the same again - and
17:54 nor would the world.
17:56 He continued to live his methodical, self-denying
17:59 life, but now as the result of his faith in God, and not
18:04 the ground of his faith in God.
18:06 Wesley came to understand that the grace of God is the
18:09 foundation of a believer's existence and he realized
18:12 that grace resulted in obedience.
18:16 Wesley dedicated his life to preaching these great truths
18:19 - justification through faith in the blood of Jesus, and
18:23 the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in a person's
18:26 life.
18:28 Today we've looked at individuals whose lives were
18:30 changed because of the power of the Word of God.
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19:20 It could absolutely change your life or the life of
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19:25 Be sure also to visit our website itiswritten.com where
19:29 you will discover additional helpful resources on a host
19:32 of life-changing topics.
19:33 It Is Written is a faith-based outreach made
19:36 possible by viewers like you.
19:38 Thank you for your letters and emails and thank you for
19:42 your continued financial support.
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19:47 Bible truth all over the world.
19:50 Our toll-free number is 1.800.253.3000 and our web
19:56 address is itiswritten.com Like many reformers, John
20:01 Wesley had no intention of starting a new denomination
20:04 when he founded Methodism.
20:06 It's interesting - Catholicism had been the
20:08 state religion, and it needed serious reformation.
20:11 Out of that milieu came the Church of England - which
20:14 itself came to the place where IT needed to be
20:17 reformed.
20:18 To begin with, John Wesley wanted to teach and preach
20:20 within the confines of the Church of England.
20:22 But it wasn't long and he wasn't welcome in the Church
20:25 of England.
20:26 He was ardently opposed to the Calvinist teaching of
20:29 predestination, believing instead that people were free
20:32 to choose whether they wanted to accept or reject
20:35 salvation.
20:37 This pitted him against his good friend, George
20:39 Whitefield, with Wesley saying that he believed
20:42 Calvinism represented "God to be worse than the devil."
20:46 After Whitefield died, John Wesley wrote that "in some
20:50 things, people might agree to disagree".
20:54 That's the first time we know of that the phrase "agree to
20:56 disagree" ever appeared in print.
21:03 And John Wesley was a committed abolitionist.
21:06 He was friends with William Wilberforce and with John
21:09 Newton who wrote the hymn Amazing Grace.
21:12 So this was another point where he differed from his
21:14 friend George Whitefield, who had argued in favor of
21:17 slavery.
21:19 John Wesley usually travelled on horseback, and he preached
21:21 two or three times a day.
21:23 Stephen Tomkins wrote that Wesley traveled "more than
21:26 250,000 miles, he gave away 30,000 pounds, ...
21:31 and preached more than 40,000 sermons.
21:34 Now all this travel was not especially good for Wesley's
21:37 marriage.
21:38 When he was 48 he married Mary, a 40-year-old widow.
21:43 Wesley's philosophy was pretty simple.
21:45 He wrote, 'I cannot understand how a Methodist
21:48 preacher can answer it to God to preach one sermon or
21:52 travel one day less, in a married than in a single
21:55 state.' Mary had a hard time seeing it that time.
21:59 She grew weary of his relentless travel schedule,
22:02 and she become jealous of the attention that Wesley was
22:05 getting from other women.
22:07 Now it cannot be said that John Wesley handled all of
22:10 the pressure on his marriage like a saint.
22:13 He actually wrote and said some pretty scathing things
22:15 to Mary.
22:16 Biographer Robert Southey wrote 'There are few stomachs
22:19 which could bear to have humility administered in such
22:22 doses.' Molly actually left Wesley several times, but
22:26 after he would beg her to return, she'd come back.
22:29 But things were not good at home.
22:31 Write John Pollock wrote that Mary was actually seen
22:35 dragging Wesley across the floor by his hair.
22:38 No wonder, then, that after 15 years of marriage, Mary
22:41 left.
22:42 And when she did, Wesley wrote, ", 'I did not forsake
22:45 her, I did not dismiss her, I will not recall her.' [Music]
22:56 Wesley's Chapel here on City Road in London was built in
23:00 1778.
23:02 Wesley preached in this very chapel - continuing to
23:05 proclaim the powerful grace of God that is able to
23:09 forgive sins and change a human heart.
23:12 Wesley taught a lot about the Holy Spirit, and the
23:15 infilling of the Holy Spirit, which he believed to be the
23:19 privilege of a believer to receive.
23:21 He taught on the doctrine of sanctification, how a person
23:25 could have the "mind which was in Christ, enabling us to
23:28 walk as He walked" as Wesley said.
23:31 He taught that a person is restored "not only to the
23:34 favor, but likewise to the image of God." Wesley died in
23:45 1791, almost 87 years old.
23:48 His emphasis on personal revival based on the power of
23:52 the Bible and the work of the Holy Spirit in a person's
23:54 life saw him leave behind 135,000 Methodist Church
23:59 members and over 500 itinerant Methodist
24:02 preachers.
24:03 And he died poor.
24:06 Virtually everything he owned or had earned he had given to
24:09 the cause of God.
24:12 When he was dying, he took hold of the hands of those
24:15 with him in his room and said again and again, "Farewell,
24:18 farewell." And finally he said, "The best of all is,
24:23 God is with us".
24:24 And he said it again: "The best of all, God is with us."
24:29 And then, he died.
24:36 He's buried here, just behind this chapel.
24:40 His Godly mother, Susanna, is buried just across the street
24:43 in Bunhill Fields cemetery as is John Bunyan, the writer of
24:48 one of the most magnificent and famous literary works in
24:51 the history of Christianity - Pilgrim's Progress.His
24:55 brother Charles is buried about two miles from here.
24:58 Charles is famous for writing some of Christianity's
25:00 best-loved hymns.
25:02 Hymns such as "And Can it Be"; "O For a Thousand
25:06 Tongues to Sing"; "Christ the Lord is Risen Today";
25:10 "Soldiers of Christ Arise."
25:13 What an active place this is going to be on the morning of
25:16 the resurrection, when "the dead in Christ shall rise."
25:21 Like so many of us, John Wesley had a religion that
25:24 was all about the forms or religion but didn't have the
25:27 power of living faith.
25:29 His belief system didn't change his heart or give him
25:32 assurance of salvation.
25:35 But everything changed because John Wesley met Jesus
25:40 - the real Jesus, a personal Saviour, a close friend.
25:45 John Wesley discovered the power of the presence of
25:49 Christ in his life.
25:50 I want you to know that the same Jesus that changed John
25:55 Wesley's life can change your life.
25:59 The same Bible that brought such power into John Wesley's
26:03 daily existence can bring power to where you are right
26:06 now.
26:08 And the same Holy Spirit that brought transformation and
26:12 assurance of forgiveness of sins and the life of Jesus
26:15 lived out in John Wesley's life can bring all those
26:20 things into your life right now.
26:23 Just one man - John Wesley - and the world was changed.
26:28 Just one man - Jesus - and you're life can be changed,
26:34 today.
26:35 Let me pray with you...Our father in heaven, from this
26:39 really rather sacred spot, I want to thank you today for
26:43 Jesus, the Jesus that John Wesley met, the Jesus who
26:46 changed his heart and changed his life.
26:49 And the Jesus who can come into our lives right now and
26:51 make them everything they ought to be.
26:54 I thank you today for assurance.
26:57 I thank you that you forgive us for our sins and I thank
27:00 you that Jesus will live his life in us and make us
27:04 completely new.
27:05 Let us live now believing and knowing and leaning on you
27:10 and trusting in Christ for our salvation.
27:13 We pray and thank you in Jesus' name, Amen.
27:40 [Music] I want to thank you for joining me today and
27:42 until next time, remember: It is written, man shall not
27:47 live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from
27:51 the mouth of God.


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Revised 2015-02-06