Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW016111S
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00:00 [melodic symphony]
00:34 JB: This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 00:37 Thanks for joining me. And welcome to New Zealand. 00:40 New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean, 00:42 down near the bottom of the world. 00:44 The original inhabitants of this country, the New Zealand Maori, 00:47 named it Aotearoa, the Land of the Long 00:50 White Cloud. It's famous for Kiwi and kiwi - 00:55 and even the people are referred to as Kiwis. 00:58 People here might greet you by saying "G'day," 01:02 your friend is your "mate," something good is "sweet as," 01:06 people wear jandals or gumboots depending on the 01:09 season (or maybe not), the national sport is rugby 01:12 (the All Blacks are the world champions, the best team in 01:15 the world), and the national religion, well, that's rugby 01:19 too. New Zealand is known for movie 01:23 directors, musicians, actors, sportspeople, and a New 01:30 Zealander was the first person to split the atom. 01:33 New Zealand is the world leader in the dairy industry. 01:36 New Zealanders breed magnificent horses, and tourists flock to 01:41 New Zealand from around the world. 01:44 And why do they come? Because the country is 01:47 beautiful. Breathtakingly beautiful. 01:52 So I'm bringing you with me to New Zealand. 01:56 And you might expect that I'd take you to see the beautiful 01:58 Bay of Islands up north, or incredible Queenstown 02:01 down south. Or Milford Sound. 02:03 Or the thermal activity in Rotorua, or the beaches 02:07 of the Coromandel, or the surfing beaches, 02:09 or the wilderness getaways. [upbeat guitar music] 02:18 Or, as they say here, 'Yeah, nah.' 02:22 I'd like you to join me in my hometown, Ngaruawahia. 02:30 Ngaruawahia. Spelled N-G-A-R-U-A-W-A-H-I-A. 02:37 To spell it like a local all you have to remember is, 02:40 Nine Girls Are Running Under A Wharf And Here I Am. 02:46 It's surrounded by richly productive dairy land, 02:49 the Hakarimata Ranges mark the northern edge of town, 02:52 and a meat works was the backbone of the town 02:54 for decades. So what can I tell you about it? 02:58 Five thousand people. Culturally diverse. 03:01 A few churches. Oddly enough, a number of the 03:05 streets here are named after astronomers. 03:08 Galileo Street. Kepler Street. 03:11 Ellery Street. Russell Avenue. 03:13 Herschel Street. Newton Street. 03:16 A couple of the streets here are named after opera singers who 03:19 came from this town. But you know, when you think 03:22 Ngaruawahia, you don't typically think astronomers and 03:25 opera singers. Since the meat works employs a 03:29 lot less people than it used to, the town isn't as economically 03:32 sound as it once was. In the old days there was a 03:36 men's outfitters, two women's clothing stores, a movie 03:38 theater, a busy post office a department store, a pretty 03:42 high-end restaurant. But, you know, times change. 03:51 But I love it. It's beautiful and it's home. 03:56 Home! There's something about 03:58 being home. There were several things about 04:02 this town growing up here that really affected my upbringing. 04:06 Touchstones, I guess they were. One of those was the river. 04:10 I grew up in the Waikato River. Waikato means "flowing water," 04:15 which wouldn't surprise you. Another, the bush - 04:19 the Hakarimata. Profoundly beautiful, 04:23 peaceful...it's a jewel. The marae, New Zealand's largest 04:28 marae, and while I'm not Maori, growing up here, it can become 04:34 part of you. The rugby league club, where I 04:37 played as a kid for about eight seasons. 04:39 My high school - five years there and I never once got 04:42 the cane. Not bad going. 04:45 And, of course, my church, and my church school. 04:50 St. Paul's Church and St. Paul's primary school. 04:54 It was a small school, never a sporting powerhouse because we 04:57 didn't have very many kids, but a good school with a great 05:00 reputation. Four classrooms when I was going 05:03 to school here, four teachers, and two of them were nuns who 05:07 lived in a beautiful old home across the street before, well, 05:11 before progress, some might call it. 05:14 And my memories of going to school here are great. 05:18 Well, good. Well, mostly good. 05:22 You know how that goes. [soft piano music] 05:27 My family was in church every week. 05:29 Dad was especially faithful, made sure we were in church 05:32 with him, and I just never missed church. 05:35 In fact, as an altar boy, there was a time I went to church 05:38 every day for about three and a half years. 05:41 And, in fact, from here, up in the Hakarimata Ranges, I think 05:45 we can just about see the church I attended growing up here in 05:48 this town. We had great priests, 05:51 good people, not a negative word to say 05:54 about any of them, not from me or anybody else, 05:57 for that matter. Now, I do remember one priest 06:00 who used to spend an awful lot of time in one of the local 06:02 pubs, and there were times early in the morning, 06:05 I'd have to go to his house because a crowd of us had 06:08 gathered at church, and there was no priest, 06:11 and we were locked outside and couldn't get in, 06:13 and so I was nominated to go to his house, knock on the door, 06:16 "Father, Father!" Knock on the door. 06:19 Call out again. Eventually he'd stir, I'd go 06:23 back to the church with the good news, he'd saunter over, 06:25 say Mass, go right on, like nothing had ever 06:29 happened. Those were the days. 06:33 A lot of my formative experiences surround 06:36 the church. When I was 7 years old or so, 06:40 I made my first confession and then my first holy communion, 06:44 as you do. Later I was confirmed. 06:47 I attended primary or elementary school here from the age of 5 to 06:51 the age of 12, when I left and went to high school. 06:54 And this is where I learned about God. 07:02 God was present in pretty well every part of our lives. 07:05 We prayed before we ate. I prayed every night before 07:08 I went to sleep. At church school, of course, 07:11 God is front and center. I never once doubted the 07:14 existence of God. I never doubted the love of God. 07:18 But when you're raised in a certain church or raised with 07:21 certain values or with a certain belief system, there must come a 07:25 time that you step back and you say, "Is this really true?" 07:30 And as I was growing up, just as sure as night 07:33 follows day, questions started to arise. 07:37 [Music] For example, if you're a 07:45 believer in God, then the question of sin is very real. 07:49 And then what to do about those sins. 07:52 In the tradition in which I was raised, an important part of 07:55 that was confession. As a little child I made my 07:59 first confession, known as the ' Sacrament of 08:03 Reconciliation', or the 'Sacrament of Penance.' 08:05 And in confession the penitent, the sinner, would go and 08:10 see the priest. He or she would confess his or 08:13 her sins, and the priest, in behalf of God, would 08:17 grant absolution to the sinner, and would declare - 08:21 I think almost always - that the penitent had 08:24 been forgiven. And then because you'd been 08:26 forgiven you had to do some penance. 08:29 Ordinarily for me it was the Lord's Prayer, to say that a 08:33 couple of times, and along with the Lord's Prayer, 08:36 maybe two or three Hail Mary's. 08:39 And by the time we knew how to pray those prayers, all of that 08:42 penance would take approximately one minute to get through. 08:45 We'd get up off our knees and we'd go out the door, 08:47 and we were forgiven. [Music] 08:54 But if you're a thinking person, you've got to at least have to 08:57 ask yourself if that's the way forgiveness should come. 09:01 Confess your sins to a man? A man who the night before might 09:06 have been propping up a bar? Well, I started to read 09:10 the Bible. And when you read the Bible, 09:13 that's when things can happen. I'll be back with more in just 09:17 a moment. [Music] 09:25 If you're looking for the security of salvation, 09:28 let me suggest that you call and request today's free book, 09:30 "Steps to Christ." This book will help you in your 09:33 daily walk with Jesus. Please call or write us, and 09:38 "Steps to Christ" will be on its way to you. 09:41 There's no cost and no obligation. 09:43 It's our free gift to you. Just call 1-800-253-3000 09:49 and ask for the book "Steps to Christ." 09:52 The operator needs only your name, your address in 09:54 North America, and your phone number. 09:56 Lines are open 24 hours daily. They may be busy, so please 09:59 do keep trying. You may also request this free 10:02 book by writing to It Is Written, P O Box 6, 10:06 Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37401, 10:09 and we'll mail a copy to your address in 10:11 North America. For immediate access, you can 10:14 download a free electronic version of the book 10:17 "Steps to Christ" from our website, ItIsWritten.com. 10:21 It Is Written is a faith-based ministry made possible by 10:25 viewers like you. If you wish to help the 10:28 worldwide outreach of It Is Written, your 10:31 tax-deductible gift may be sent to the 10:33 same address. Or you can make a gift online at 10:35 ItIsWritten.com. Thank you for your 10:39 correspondence and for your continued 10:41 support. Our toll-free number is 10:43 1-800-253-3000, and our web address is 10:48 ItIsWritten.com. 10:52 [Music] Here's today's Bible question: 11:10 I accepted Jesus into my life over 20 years ago, 11:13 but after a time I fell into sins of a moral or immoral 11:17 nature. I've asked over many years 11:19 for forgiveness. But what I read in the Bible 11:22 about those who do what I have done says that they're not able 11:25 to enter into God's kingdom. I committed these sins after 11:28 I became a Christian. Will God ever forgive me for 11:31 these awful sins? I ask God nearly every day for 11:35 these sins to be forgiven. That's a meaningful question. 11:39 Please listen very carefully to this very simple answer. 11:42 Here's what the Bible says; I'll give you two verses. 11:45 Write down these Bible references if you need to, 11:47 and never forget them. First John 1:9, and 11:51 Matthew 12:31. Firstly, Matthew 12:31. 11:54 It says, and this is Jesus speaking, "All manner of sin and 11:59 blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men." 12:03 He goes on to say that the sin against the Holy Spirit won't be 12:05 forgiven, but that's not what you've committed, don't worry 12:08 about that. But I hope you got that. 12:10 "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven." 12:13 And that would include what you have done. 12:15 Shall be forgiven. First John 1:9 says, and I want 12:18 you to mark this down and memorize it, it says this: 12:20 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us 12:25 our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 12:29 You've sinned. Yes, you have. 12:33 But you have confessed sincerely. 12:35 And based on God's own word, we know that He has forgiven you. 12:39 My advice to you is to stop asking God to forgive these 12:43 sins, because He has already done so. 12:45 Instead, thank Him that He has forgiven you. 12:49 And ask him to keep you clean. Remember, Paul wrote that, 12:52 "where sin abounds, grace does much more abound." 12:56 It's right to feel bad about what you've done. 12:58 You should. But you should also rejoice that 13:00 you are forgiven. Don't worry about this for even 13:03 another moment. You've been forgiven, friend, 13:05 and that is good news. If you'd like me to answer your 13:08 Bible question on this program, go to ItIsWritten.com, 13:11 send me a question, I'll do my best to answer it 13:14 on this program. 13:22 [Piano music] 13:35 This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 13:38 Thanks for joining me in my hometown of Ngaruawahia, 13:43 New Zealand. It's been a long time since 13:45 I lived here, but this is where I grew up. 13:48 And I've got great memories of living here for 20 years. 13:52 [Music] And an enormous part of 13:58 my life here was my local church. 14:01 I was baptized here - well, christened, actually - 14:04 when I was just a few days old. This is where I came to church, 14:08 and I never missed Mass on Sunday, not ever. 14:12 I kept up my streak for years and years and years. 14:16 See, to miss Mass voluntarily, or of your own volition, was 14:21 considered to be a mortal sin, one that would condemn you 14:24 to hell. So that was a pretty powerful 14:26 motivator to come to church every week. 14:29 At least, it was for me. Now, one of the first things you 14:33 do growing up in a church like this - that is, when you get 14:35 to about 7 or 8 years old - is you make your first 14:38 confession, after which you're free to go 14:41 and confess your sins to a priest and receive absolution 14:45 for your sins. And so, that's what we grew up 14:48 doing. We'd come to church here, 14:50 sit in the back couple of rows, and when it was your turn, 14:53 you slipped into the confessional, a little booth, 14:55 behind a gauze-covered screen, and confessed your sins to 15:00 the priest. I would begin by saying, 15:03 "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. 15:05 It has been, oh, let's say, two weeks since my last confession. 15:09 Here are my sins." Now, by that time the priests 15:12 were speaking in English. But some of them still slipped a 15:15 little Latin into what they did. And at the end of the 15:18 confessional service the priest would say, "Ego te absolovo." 15:23 "I absolve you." 15:29 [Music] Now, no matter how you cut it, 15:36 what you have is a situation where a human being is being 15:39 inserted into a transaction that should be between God 15:43 and the sinner alone. In the Word of God we have some 15:46 pretty clear instruction about how confession of sin and 15:50 forgiveness of sin ought to operate. 15:53 Let's think of at least two examples. 15:56 In one, a woman taken in sin is brought to the feet of Jesus. 16:00 She is repentant. And Jesus says to her, 16:03 "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more." 16:08 No mention of an earthly priest being brought into that 16:11 situation. In a parable Jesus taught, 16:14 two men are praying in the temple. 16:17 One has issues of spiritual pride. 16:19 The other strikes his breast and he says, "God be merciful to me, 16:25 a sinner." And the Bible says that man went 16:28 down to his house justified or, in other words, forgiven. 16:32 No earthly priest required; this was between the sinner 16:36 and God alone. First John 1:9 says, 16:39 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 16:42 to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from 16:45 all unrighteousness." First Timothy 2:5 makes 16:49 it clear: "There is one mediator 16:51 between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 16:55 If you search the Bible, and if the Bible is your standard, will 17:01 you find any mention of the need for an earthly priest in this 17:06 dispensation, to be involved in the sin issue between a 17:11 human being and God? No, you won't. 17:14 You won't find that anywhere at all. 17:16 Now, that's clear, isn't it? One mediator, and that's Jesus. 17:22 So from a biblical perspective, is there anything to suggest 17:25 that God's will is that we have a human mediator? 17:30 Well, no, there isn't. Now, in the Bible you do read 17:34 about an earthly priesthood, and that's appropriate. 17:37 That's in the Old Testament, in the sacrificial system, where it 17:41 was necessary to have a priest interceding between God and men. 17:45 But once that sacrificial system was made obsolete, the only 17:50 priesthood that you read about in the Bible concerning people 17:53 on earth is the priesthood of all believers. 17:57 And all believers in Christ are to be part of that priesthood. 17:59 In fact, the writer to the Hebrews in the book of Hebrews 18:04 made it very clear that our priest today is a heavenly high 18:07 priest, and that he is Jesus, and that anybody, no matter 18:15 how sinful, no matter how weak, no matter how big a failure, 18:18 can come to God through faith in Jesus, 18:21 and directly find forgiveness for his or her sins. 18:25 There are some incredible promises in the Bible 18:27 talking about this. I'll look at them with you in 18:29 just a moment. [male narrator] 18:32 "Every Word" is a one-minute, Bible-based, daily devotional 18:34 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed especially 18:37 for busy people like you. Look for "Every Word" on 18:41 selected networks, or watch it online every day on our website, 18:44 ItIsWritten.com. [upbeat music] 18:54 JB: The day before Thanksgiving in 1971, a man who became 18:57 known as D. B. Cooper hijacked a plane in Seattle 18:59 and demanded $200,000. He disappeared with the money 19:03 when he parachuted from the plane at 10,000 feet, and he 19:06 was never seen again. To this day, the FBI doesn't 19:09 know who D. B. Cooper was. But several years ago the FBI 19:13 reopened the case, hoping they'd get it worked out finally. 19:17 And you know, the Bible is like that D. B. Cooper case for many 19:21 people: a mystery. But it really doesn't have 19:24 to be. Jesus said in John 8:31-32, 19:27 "If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples 19:29 indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and 19:32 the truth shall make you free." You shall know the truth. 19:35 God wants to guide you in your understanding of the Bible. 19:38 If it's a mystery to you, continue in God's Word 19:41 and He'll show you what you need to know. 19:43 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 19:45 Let's live today by every word. [driving piano solo] 20:06 Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written in my hometown 20:09 of Ngaruawahia, New Zealand. Growing up here, faith in God 20:12 was very important to me, to my family. 20:15 And, of course, anything involving faith in God has to 20:19 have something to do with what to do when you sin. 20:21 You confess your sins; everybody's taught that. 20:24 And I was taught to confess my sins to God through a priest. 20:29 The priest had been authorized by the church to dispense the 20:32 grace of God via the sacrament of reconciliation. 20:36 And so the priest had an awful lot to do, everything to do 20:40 with me getting right with God. Well, when I got a little bit 20:44 older, I started to read the Bible. 20:47 And I discovered that the Bible doesn't support such a thing. 20:53 Instead, when you read the book of Hebrews, you discover 20:55 several things. Number one: Jesus is divine. 20:59 Number two: Jesus is man. In addition to that, 21:03 you discover that Jesus, even though He wasn't 21:05 from the tribe of Levi, is qualified to be a 21:08 priest. And then, Hebrews tells us, 21:12 Jesus is our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. 21:16 Listen to this: Hebrews 4:15-16. "For we have not an High Priest 21:21 which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities, but 21:25 was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." 21:32 Jesus lived on Earth as a man, He understands our battle with 21:37 sin, He was tempted in all points just like we are tempted, 21:42 and yet He did not sin. Now verse 16. 21:45 The book has been saying Jesus is our High Priest, and then it 21:49 says, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, 21:53 that we may obtain mercy, and grace to help in time of need." 22:00 No matter who you are, no matter what you've been through, 22:04 no matter what sort of past mistakes you've made, 22:07 no matter how bad you've been, you can come confidently 22:12 to Jesus. We're invited to come to His 22:15 throne, and notice the Bible calls it a throne of grace. 22:20 And what do we find there? We find mercy and grace 22:25 to help us. It's just a phenomenal thought. 22:28 Sin brings separation from God. Sin brings death. 22:33 Sin caused the death of God's own Son. 22:36 And yet God says you can come directly to Him. 22:39 He's willing to hear from you. He will forgive you and He will 22:42 cleanse you and He will make things right. 22:44 You can go straight to God and know that He welcomes you to 22:47 do so. It's important we get this 22:50 right. If we don't, we're going to find 22:53 ourselves slightly off track, that is, with the Bible and 22:58 in our experience with God. [Music] 23:09 You know, a lot has changed in the 40 years since I used 23:11 to come here, climb these very trees, swim right here 23:15 in the river right behind me. A lot has changed between 23:18 now and then. But some things haven't changed, 23:21 including the need for the human heart to be reconciled to God. 23:27 And God knows that. Which is why He invites us to 23:30 come to Him directly through faith in Jesus Christ. 23:35 And you can come; you don't need a human intermediary, but come 23:39 to God in the name of Jesus. And come to Him right away. 23:42 Think of some of the people in the Bible who came to God in 23:45 repentance: Manassas. With a history like his, 23:49 you might have thought Manassas didn't have a chance, 23:51 but he came to God in repentance, and God 23:53 forgave him. Solomon, who drifted so far away 23:57 from God. What did God do? 23:59 He welcomed Solomon back and reestablished him. 24:03 David, with all of his profound problems. 24:06 Saul, who became Paul. Each one of these came from the 24:10 position of wickedness and sin back to faith in God, and 24:16 they did so directly. Now, think of the invitations 24:19 given us in the Bible. Isaiah 1:18 says, 24:23 "Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as 24:26 white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, 24:29 they shall be as wool." Psalm 86:5 says, "You, Lord, 24:34 are good and ready to forgive." He's ready to forgive you; 24:39 He'll do it now. It doesn't cost you anything. 24:42 It's not hard work. Just be willing to accept Jesus 24:45 Christ into your life. God will forgive you. 24:49 Jesus will live in you. He'll not only forgive you, but 24:52 He'll also cleanse you from your sins, and bring a power into 24:56 your life so that you don't have to go back to your own ways 24:59 ever again. Let's pray together - I'd love 25:03 to pray for you. Our Father in Heaven, thank you 25:05 that we can come to you through faith in Jesus Christ. 25:08 Thank you that you are willing to forgive. 25:11 Thank you that you're good, that you are a God who is 25:13 gracious and kind and loving. Right now, I know that there are 25:18 some - many - who need to make things right with you, that is, 25:21 they need to throw off the weight of guilt that they carry 25:25 around, and accept freedom and pardon and forgiveness 25:29 in its place. I pray that as you invite us to 25:31 lay our burdens at your feet, we will do so. 25:34 Thank you that Jesus would live His life in us. 25:36 Thank you that we can go from this moment of prayer forgiven, 25:38 and one with you. We thank you, we praise you, and 25:44 we pray in Jesus' name, Amen. [Music] 26:22 What does it mean to be saved? 26:24 The answer can be found in a little book called 26:26 "Steps to Christ." It's our free book offer 26:29 for today. This book will help you in your 26:31 daily walk with Jesus. Please call or write us and 26:35 "Steps to Christ" will be on its way to you. 26:38 There's no cost and no obligation. 26:41 It's our free gift to you. Just call 1-800-253-3000 and ask 26:47 for the book "Steps to Christ." Lines are open 24 hours daily. 26:52 They may be busy, so please do keep trying. 26:54 You may also request this free book by writing to 26:57 It Is Written, P O Box 6, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 37401, 27:03 and we'll mail a copy to your address in North America. 27:07 For immediate access, you can download a free electronic 27:10 version of the book "Steps to Christ" from our 27:12 website, ItIsWritten.com. It Is Written is a faith-based 27:17 ministry made possible by viewers like you. 27:21 If you wish to help the worldwide outreach of 27:24 It Is Written, your tax-deductible gift may be 27:26 sent to the same address. Or you can make a gift online at 27:30 ItIsWritten.com. Thank you for your 27:34 correspondence and for your continued support. 27:46 Thanks for joining me today. I look forward to seeing you 27:47 again next time. Until then remember, 27:49 it is written: Man shall not live by bread alone but by 27:54 every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 27:58 [Music] |
Revised 2022-09-20