Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001355A
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00:07 It has stood the test of t God's book, the Bible.
00:18 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written...sharing hope around the glo 00:38 I'm John Bradshaw, and this is It Is Written. 00:41 Thanks for joining me today. This is Gettysburg, 00:44 Pennsylvania, the site of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 00:46 most famous battle of the American Civil War. 00:50 Today, the old battlefields of Gettysburg look a whole 00:53 lot like they did a century and a half ago. 00:55 A lot of effort has been taken to keeping the 00:58 Gettysburg battlefields in condition as original as 01:02 possible. The American Civil War lasted 01:05 four years, from 1861 to 1865. 01:09 Thousands of people perished during the American Civil 01:12 War, 700,000 is the number that is often quoted today 01:17 and several thousand individuals died here at 01:20 Gettysburg. Today, we refer to the war as 01:23 the American Civil War. But down through time, it has 01:26 been called a number of different things. 01:28 It was called the war between the states. 01:30 The South referred to it as the war of succession. 01:33 Immediately after the war, the North called it the war 01:36 of rebellion. There's a lot of controversy 01:39 over what actually brought about the start of the 01:42 American Civil War, but the facts are these. 01:44 Eleven southern states declared their succession 01:47 from the United States and began to call themselves the 01:51 Confederated States of America or, The Confederacy. 01:54 The remaining 25 states remained loyal to the United 01:57 States Government, and they became known as The Union. 02:01 After this split, really, fighting was simply 02:06 inevitable. One fact most people will 02:09 agree on is that slavery was a central issue in the Civil 02:14 War. The controversy became so 02:16 intense, so hot, that it brought about the end of some 02:19 political parties, including the Wigs and the No Nothing 02:21 party. And it caused the Democratic 02:23 party to be split in two, between the North and the 02:26 South. But the violence wasn't 02:30 contained only to the battlefield. 02:32 In fact, on the floor of the US Senate, a South Carolina 02:37 Congressman by the name of Preston Brooks, violently 02:40 assaulted a Republican politician by the name of 02:44 Charles Sumner. He beat him so badly that he 02:47 beat him almost to death. The reason for this violent 02:50 assault is that Sumner insulted Southern slave 02:54 owners and one of Brooks' own relatives as referring to 02:57 them as pimps for slavery. At the start of the Civil 03:02 War, there were 9 million people living in the American 03:04 South. Four million of them were 03:06 slaves, almost 50% of the population. 03:11 Slavery was a dark episode in the history of the United 03:15 States. Slavery has existed for 03:18 thousands of years. The Bible not only mentions 03:22 slavery but it provides guidelines as to how slaves 03:27 should be treated. And if a man smite his 03:30 servant, his slave, or his maid with a rod and he die 03:34 under his hand, he shall be surely punished and if he 03:38 smite out his manservant's tooth, or his maidservant's 03:41 tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake. 03:45 That's Exodus 21: 26, 27. Now let's not be confused by 03:50 this and think that because the Bible says that that God 03:53 somehow approves of slavery. God certainly does not. 03:58 In fact, it says this in Acts 17:24-26. 04:04 God that made the world and all things therein seeing 04:08 that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in 04:11 temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with 04:14 men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he 04:16 giveth life to all, and breath and all things, and 04:20 hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell 04:25 on all the face of the earth and hath determined the times 04:28 before appointed and the bounds of their habitation. 04:32 In fact, it was Jesus who said in Luke 6:27-31, love 04:35 your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them 04:40 that curse you and pray for them which despitefully use 04:43 you and unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer 04:47 also the other. And him that taketh away thy 04:49 cloak forbid not to take your coat also. 04:53 Give to every man that asketh of thee, and of him that 04:56 taketh away thy goods, ask them not again. 04:59 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also 05:03 to them likewise. Unfortunately, many people 05:07 during the Civil War didn't see it that way. 05:09 What's tragic is that religious slave holders 05:13 professed Christians used the slavery guidelines found in 05:17 the book of Exodus to say that God actually supported 05:20 slavery. President Abraham Lincoln saw 05:23 this for what it really was. In a letter that he wrote to 05:26 Reverend Dr. Ide, dated May 30, 1864, he said this: 05:32 "Those professedly holy men of the South met in semblance 05:37 of prayer and devotion and in the name of Him who said 'as 05:41 you would all men should do unto you, do ye even so unto 05:45 them', appealed to the Christian world to aid them 05:49 in doing to a whole race of men as they would have no man 05:54 do unto themselves. To my thinking they contemned 05:58 and insulted God and his church, far more than did 06:03 Satan when he tempted the Saviour with the Kingdoms of 06:06 the Earth." We can thank God that slavery 06:09 has been abolished. Mauritania was the last 06:11 country in the world to abolish slavery and did so in 06:14 1981. However, because sin is what 06:17 sin is, slavery still exists. They say that because of 06:21 human trafficking, there are more slaves in the world now 06:23 than at any other time in human history. 06:27 I'm here in Gettysburg, in a store, a shop, that houses 06:30 many Civil War artifacts, including implements that we 06:33 used in slavery. These two items here that you 06:38 see are collars worn around the necks of slaves. 06:41 They are genuine and they were used. 06:44 The protruding spikes are there to discourage slaves 06:49 from trying to escape. If they tried to escape, the 06:51 spikes would get caught in underbrush or growth or 06:54 branches or so on and would lead to the slaves being 06:59 recaptured which, of course, would not be pretty. 07:05 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of 07:07 men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek 07:12 God. They are all gone aside, they 07:14 are all together become filthy: there is none that 07:17 doeth good, no, not one. Psalms 14:2-3. 07:26 [M It's time for today's 07:42 Bible question. A friend of mine says we need 07:46 to keep the 10 commandments in order to go to heaven. 07:50 But my preacher says that the law was nailed to the cross 07:53 and because of Jesus, we no longer need to keep the law. 07:58 He said something about the law being an old covenant and 08:00 now since the cross, all we need is grace. 08:04 Now wouldn't that be a funny thing! 08:06 Jesus telling people that it's okay to disobey him now. 08:10 Can you imagine that? Jesus saying it's okay to 08:13 commit adultery? It's okay to steal. 08:15 It's okay to kill because we are under a new covenant. 08:19 If grace is a ticket for people to live spiritually 08:22 irresponsible lives, than grace is something we could 08:25 do without. Let's be clear. 08:28 Salvation is given by grace through faith. 08:31 It's free. It's a gift. 08:33 We cannot earn it by our obedience or anything else. 08:38 The gift of salvation is not conferred based upon our 08:40 performance. But let's balance that. 08:43 Lookn the other side of the coin. 08:46 What about once a person has come to Jesus and has 08:48 received salvation. How should they live then? 08:52 Jesus said this in John 14:15. 08:54 If you love me, keep my commandments. 08:59 Saved people will obey God which isn't to say they will 09:02 never make mistakes, but their life is one 09:05 characterized by obedience and growing in obedience. 09:09 Love for God brings obedience into a person's life. 09:12 Revelation 14:12 describes the saved when it says: "Here 09:16 are they that keep the commandments of God and the 09:19 faith of Jesus. It isn't that their 09:22 commandment keeping earned them salvation but because 09:25 Jesus had come into their lives, their lives became 09:28 lives of obedience, lives of honoring God. 09:32 When you love someone, you want to please that someone 09:34 and it pleases God that we obey him, that we keep his 09:38 commandments. Look in the Bible. 09:41 It does not teach us that grace means we are free to 09:44 run off and sin. It's because of grace that we 09:47 don't want to do that because we know it hurts God. 09:52 If you have a question that you would like answered, go 09:54 to our website: itiswritten.com and click on 09:56 the "Questions" tab. Submit your question and in a 10:00 future program, we might be able to answer your Bible 10:03 ques Eyes for India is giving 10:09 sight to the blind and you can be a part of this amazing 10:13 work that God is doing. 15 million blind people live 10:16 in India, more than any other country in the world. 10:19 And many of the blind in India could see again, if 10:22 only they could have simple cataract surgery. 10:25 It Is Written is making that happen. 10:28 Would you support Eyes for India? 10:31 For just $75 you'll be giving the gift of sight to someone 10:36 who desperately wants to see. Here is all you need to do. 10:39 Call 1.800.253.3000 to donate and support Eyes for India. 10:47 Or, you can write to It Is Written, Box O, Thousand 10:50 Oaks, California, 91359. You'll also find Eyes for 10:55 India online at itiswritten.co 11:02 You can't really have the discussion about slavery in 11:04 the United States of America without mentioning the name 11:07 Frederick Douglas. Frederick Douglas was born 11:10 a slave in Talbot County, Maryland in 1818. 11:14 Now because slave mothers weren't allowed to raise 11:16 their own children, he never did know the exact date of 11:19 his birthday. When he was about 12 years 11:22 old, his owners' wife began to teach him the alphabet, 11:26 despite the fact it was illegal to teach slaves how 11:28 to read. Frederick Douglas would 11:30 describe her as a kind woman. She said that she treated him 11:35 the way one human being ought to treat another. 11:37 Now, when the slave master found out what was going on, 11:40 he strongly disapproved. He said this must not happen. 11:44 Frederick must not learn how to read because should a 11:46 slave learn to read, why then a slave would want to learn 11:49 to write. And should a slave learn how 11:51 to right, then a slave would be wanting his own freedom. 11:57 Later, Douglas described these words as the first 12:00 decidedly antislavery lecture that he would ever hear. 12:05 In spite of his owner's discouragement, Frederick 12:08 Douglas did learn to read. He learned from white 12:11 children living in his neighborhood and by looking 12:13 at the written materials owned by the men with whom he 12:16 worked and then Douglas escaped. 12:20 He fled to New York and he became an advocate for the 12:22 abolitionist movement and once a free man, Frederick 12:26 Douglas had some very interesting things to say 12:30 about slavery. "From my earliest 12:33 recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep 12:37 conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me 12:41 within its foul embrace. And in the darkest hours of 12:45 my career in slavery, this living word of faith and 12:49 spirit of hope departed not from me but remained like 12:53 ministering angels to cheer me through the gloom. 12:57 It was as though Frederick Douglas, even though he had 12:59 been raised to believe that he was nothing more than 13:02 cattle, always suspected that slavery was wrong. 13:05 It was something it seems in the back of his mind that 13:08 always told him that that was the case. 13:10 And do you think that Douglas' case was unique or 13:13 did the other slaves feel the same way? 13:15 Of course they did. They had the reminders around 13:18 them all of the time as to what their true condition 13:20 really was. They were owned by somebody 13:23 else. They often had irons weighing 13:25 them down. They often felt whips cutting 13:28 into their backs and they heard the cruel words of 13:30 their masters. They recognized that they 13:32 were slaves because those reminders were around them 13:36 all of the time. Their lives told them what 13:38 they really were. But you might be surprised to 13:42 know that there are many people today who don't 13:44 realize that they are in bondage. 13:47 In fact, you might be one of them. 13:50 Find out more in just a moment. 13:56 In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says, It is written, man 14:00 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that 14:04 proceeds from the mouth of God. 14:06 Every word is a one minute Bible-based daily devotional 14:09 presented by pastor John Bradshaw and designed 14:12 especially for busy people like you. 14:15 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch it 14:18 on-line everyday on our website, itiswritten.com. 14:22 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 14:24 Watch Every Word. You'll be glad you did. 14:27 Here's a sampl Back in 1988 14:39 Presidential Candidate George H W Bush addressed a large 14:42 audience at his party's National Convention and said, 14:45 "Read my lips, no new taxes." That was a promise, and he 14:52 meant it. But promises can be hard to 14:54 keep, and even politicians find that on occasions their 14:57 promises can be harder to keep than they thought when 15:00 they made them. Later, President Bush wanted 15:03 to reduce the budget deficit and so some taxes were raised 15:07 - and the one-term President Bush wasn't reelected - the 15:10 broken promise, many way, was a a key factor in his defeat. 15:14 Many people make promises to God and find they can't keep 15:17 them. "I'll do better, I won't do 15:19 that again, I'll never commit that sin .... 15:22 Ever again..." - all promises that sound 15:24 good but are actually doomed to fail. 15:27 In Philippians 3:9 Paul wrote, "and be found in Him, 15:31 not having my own righteousness, which is from 15:34 the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the 15:38 righteousness which is from God by faith." 15:41 Philippians 3:9, NKJV Our righteousness doesn't come 15:43 from us trying to do better. Paul knew the righteousness 15:46 he needed was Christ's righteousness, the only 15:49 righteousness that can open the gates of heaven to us. 15:53 And Paul makes clear that the only way he could get that 15:55 righteousness was through faith, and not by trying 15:58 harder. I'm not saying there's no 16:01 effort involved in being a Christian, because there 16:03 certainly is. But the greatest effort we 16:05 can make in our Christian experience is the effort to 16:08 surrender to God, and allow Him to make our heart His 16:12 own. If we can learn to yield to 16:14 God, to surrender, He'll give us His righteousness - the 16:17 only kind of righteousness that will do us any good. 16:20 You can make promises to God, but it's better to believe 16:23 God's promises to you. I'm John Bradshaw for 16:26 It Is Written. Let's live today by Every 16:31 Frederick Douglas has said that the pathway from slavery 16:34 to freedom is knowledge. And he was absolutely right. 16:39 You know, there are so many people in this world today 16:41 who are slaves but they are unaware of their true 16:43 condition. They are born into bondage 16:47 and unless the truth reaches them, they will never be 16:50 free. Well, what kind of slaves am 16:53 I talking about? Jesus said this in John 8:34 16:57 to 36, Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin 17:04 is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in 17:07 the house forever but a son abides forever. 17:11 Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free 17:15 indeed. Whoever commits sin is the 17:19 servant or the slave of sin. If we have sinned then we 17:24 have become slaves and the Bible says that all have 17:27 sinned and have come short of the glory of God. 17:31 But, here is the thing. While most people would 17:33 recognize I have made a mistake or two, most people 17:35 would not go that step further and say that as a 17:38 sinner, I have become enslaved, I am in bondage, I 17:41 am in chains. As a sinner, I am the servant 17:45 or the slave of sin. And the most dangerous thing 17:49 about this is that people might be born into a world of 17:51 sin and think that they are okay. 17:55 Yes, I stumble. Yes, I do this. 17:57 Yes, I err. I am faulty. 17:59 But I am okay. When perhaps they are 18:03 anything but okay. We have been talking about 18:07 the social climate in the 1800's that brought about the 18:10 conditions whereby people accepted slavery and I know 18:14 many people that I have spoken to have shaken their 18:16 head and they have said, "how could people accept such an 18:19 atrocity as though it's okay." 18:22 Well, I'll tell you this during the 1860's, the 18:25 churches of the South signed a document stating their 18:30 support for slavery. In an open letter to the 18:32 Christians of the world, the leaders of the churches of 18:36 the confederacy wrote a letter in which they said 18:38 this: "And we testify in the sight of God, that the 18:42 relation of master and slave among us, however we may 18:46 deplore abuses in this as in other relations of mankind, 18:51 is not incompatible with our wholly Christianity. 18:54 And that the presence of the Africans of our land is an 18:57 occasion of gratitude on their behalf before God. 19:02 Seeing that thereby Divine providence has brought them 19:05 where missionaries of the cross may freely proclaim to 19:08 them the word of salvation and the work is not 19:11 interrupted by agitating fanaticism. 19:14 The South has done more than any people on earth for the 19:18 Christianization of the African race." 19:21 Now this statement was not made by some obscure group of 19:25 believers. This was written and signed 19:28 by the leaders of the Baptist, Methodist Episcopal, 19:32 Methodist Protestant, Presbyterian, Lutheran and 19:36 German Reformed Churches just to name a few. 19:40 Now in contrast to this, listen to what Frederick 19:42 Douglas had to say about Christian slave-owners. 19:46 I assert most unhesitatingly that the religion of the South 19:50 is a mere covering for the most horrid crimes, 19:54 a justifier of the most appalling barbarity. 19:57 A sanctifier of the most hateful frauds and a dark 20:00 shelter under which the darkest, grossest and most 20:04 infernal deeds of slaveholders find the strongest 20:06 protection, I should regard being the slave of a religious 20:10 master the greatest calamity that could befall me, 20:14 for all of the slaveholders with whom I have ever met, 20:17 religious slaveholders are the worst. 20:22 Now, let me make something abundantly clear. 20:24 I'm not bringing any of this up to be critical of anybody. 20:27 I am not trying to criticize any religious groups and I 20:30 certainly am not trying to throw the South under the 20:34 bus. But here's the point. 20:37 Here's what we really have got to understand. 20:40 Without the power of God in our lives, left to ourselves, 20:45 left in a state of being the captives, the slaves of sin, 20:50 all we've got to look forward to is lives of sin and anger 20:55 and malice and lust and ....and slavery. 21:00 I know it's easy to look back on the past and wag our 21:03 finger at those who come before us and criticize them 21:05 for their ignorance, and say "how could they?" 21:07 But the truth is this. With a heart of stone. 21:11 Without the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit in 21:13 our lives that's what we are all like. 21:16 The bible says all have sinned and have come short of 21:20 the glory of God. But there is a way out. 21:23 No, it's not will-power. No amount of will-power is 21:26 going to break the chains that bind you in sin. 21:28 No pledge, no promise, no accountability partner. 21:32 No, that's not what gets the job done. 21:35 There's one way to get out of the shackles of sin and 21:38 that's through Jesus. Remember that verse we looked 21:41 at before, from John 8. Therefore, if the Son of God 21:44 shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. 21:47 Isaiah 43:11 says this: "I, even I am the Lord, and 21:53 beside me, there is no other." 21:55 So, what do you do when you find yourself living a life 21:57 where you say "There's no power and I'm stuck in a rut, 22:00 I'm stuck in an old way, I'm stuck someplace I don't want 22:03 to be." What do you do? 22:05 There's one thing to do. When you find that sin has 22:09 the mastery over you, call out to Jesus. 22:12 You can do that. No, God is not some cosmic 22:15 cop with a big stick looking to punish you or looking to 22:18 send you off to hell, if that's what he was all about, 22:21 he could have done that long ago. 22:23 Instead, the Bible says this in John 3, not verse 16, but 22:26 verse 17. It says this: For God did not 22:30 send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but 22:33 that the world through him might be saved. 22:36 Paul wrote to Timothy, and he said in 1 Timothy 1:15 that 22:40 Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. 22:45 The writer of the book of Hebrews said in Hebrews 7 22:48 that Jesus is able to save to the uttermost those who come 22:52 to God through Him because he lives to make intercession 22:55 for us. If you desire a new life, 22:59 freedom from the old ways, freedom from the old habits, 23:02 if you want that power that comes from Jesus Christ, all 23:05 you need do is ask Jesus to come into your life and he 23:09 will. It's as simple as that. 23:11 And then, when you are tempted to put somebody else 23:13 down, when you are tempted to engage injustice or 23:17 oppression, when you are tempted to be drawn into that 23:21 old life again, here's what you do. 23:23 You turn your eyes upon Jesus. 23:25 And the old song says "look full in his wonderful face" 23:29 and when you do, you'll experience a newness in our 23:32 life, a power in your life. It's real. 23:35 You can experience it today. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 23:39 5:17, if anybody is in Christ, that person becomes a 23:44 new creature. Old things are past away. 23:47 Behold, all things become new. 23:51 What do you want to be made new in your life today? 23:54 Well, let me put it another way ... 23:56 what are you a slave to? What is keeping you down? 23:59 What is holding you back? Is there something? 24:03 You can invite Jesus to take that away and replace it with 24:05 the power of his presence today, now, and he will do it 24:09 for you. Years after Frederick Douglas 24:12 found his freedom, he wrote these words: I have often 24:16 been asked how I felt when first I found myself on free 24:20 soil and my readers may share the same curiosity. 24:25 There was scarcely anything in my experience about which 24:28 I could not give a more satisfactory answer. 24:32 A new world had opened upon me. 24:34 If life is more than breath and a quick round of blood, I 24:38 lived more in one day than in a year of my slave-life. 24:43 It was a time of joyous excitement, which words can 24:45 but tamely describe in a letter written to a friend 24:49 soon after reaching New York, I said, I felt as one might 24:52 feel upon escape from a den of hungry lions. 24:56 Anguish and grief, like darkness and rain, may be 24:59 depicted but gladness and joy, like the rainbow, defy 25:05 the skill of pen or pencil. Frederick Douglas experienced 25:09 freedom from slavery and you can experience freedom from 25:14 the slavery of sin through Jesus when you accept him 25:17 into your life. Would you do that now? 25:20 Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, we 25:23 thank you today for freedom in Jesus. 25:27 We thank you, Lord, that through Christ, we can true 25:30 freedom, no longer the servants or the slaves of sin 25:34 but the servants only of the God of heaven. 25:37 We thank you for new life. We accept it gratefully. 25:41 Lord, let your son Jesus live his life in us and we pray 25:46 with thanks today for freedom in you. 25:49 In Jesus' name, Amen [M 26:32 Today, our free book offer is for one of my very 26:34 favorite books, Steps to Christ. 26:36 Just what you need in your daily walk with Jesus. 26:39 Just call or write and Steps to Christ will be on its way. 26:43 There is no cost or obligation. 26:46 It is our free gift to you. Just call 1.800.253.3000 and 26:51 ask for Steps to Christ. Lines are open 24 hours. 26:55 If it's busy when you call, just try again. 26:58 You can also request this free book by writing to It Is 27:01 Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, California, 91359. 27:06 And we will mail a copy to your address in North 27:08 America. Please note, this free book 27:10 is limited to the supply on hand, so call soon. 27:13 For immediate access, you can download a free electronic 27:17 version of the book Steps to Christ from our website, 27:19 itiswritten.com. It Is Written is a 27:22 faith-based ministry made possible by viewers like you. 27:26 Thank you for your letters and for your continued 27:28 suppor Thanks for joining me today. 27:33 Look forward to seeing you again next time. 27:35 Until then, remember, It is written, man shall not live 27:39 by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the |
Revised 2015-07-08