Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202018S
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00:00 >> Hello and welcome to
00:02 It Is Written Canada. 00:04 We all know that for the 00:05 longest time the entire world 00:07 has been plagued by an 00:09 invisible terrorist that has 00:11 taken lives, devastated our 00:12 economy, our social 00:15 relationships, our mental 00:17 health, altered our schooling 00:19 system, and the very fabric 00:21 of our society. 00:24 >> It's hard to believe that 00:26 the response to a microscopic 00:27 virus has done all this, 00:30 but it has. 00:32 However, viruses are not 00:34 really invisible because with 00:36 the assistance of an electron 00:39 microscope, we can see them 00:41 and by magnifying a virus, 00:43 we can make it appear bigger 00:45 than it is. 00:47 >> And this is the key to how 00:48 we can defeat small, scary 00:51 things from our lives. 00:52 So let me explain. 00:54 So what do you do when you 00:56 magnify something? 00:58 You make it bigger than it is. 00:59 So how big? 01:01 Well, this might seem a bit 01:03 strange, but if you take an 01:04 electron microscope and you 01:06 magnify human eyelash hairs, 01:08 I'm sure it's something you 01:09 wouldn't be tempted to do, 01:10 but if you do, they can be so 01:11 big, appear to be so big, that 01:13 they are as large as a 01:15 bamboo forest, 01:16 I've seen the pictures. 01:17 Or you can magnify a 01:19 microscopic section of a piece 01:21 of woven fabric so big that it 01:24 appears to be larger than the 01:26 International Space Station. 01:29 [René] Or a microscopic virus 01:31 can be expanded to a 01:33 magnification that causes it 01:35 to eclipse the entire earth. 01:38 >> And whenever you, 01:40 or myself, magnify our fears 01:43 and our failures, 01:45 the injustices of life, 01:47 they can convince you that 01:49 life is hopeless and it's not 01:51 worth living. 01:52 >> And maybe you've felt 01:54 that way. 01:56 Maybe you've felt like the 01:58 obstacles in your life are too 02:00 big and you wanna give up. 02:03 >> If you have felt like that, 02:05 I want to tell you from 02:07 experience that if you do not 02:09 believe in God, I want to 02:11 appeal to you to watch our 02:13 program today because we are 02:15 going to share with you the 02:17 story of a man's life that was 02:19 so well-documented and it 02:21 revealed so many miraculous 02:24 occurrences that no one who 02:26 ever met this man and knew him 02:28 personally could ever not 02:29 believe in God because he 02:32 magnified God. 02:34 And if by the end of today's 02:36 program you decide to give God 02:38 a chance and choose to magnify 02:40 God in your life, too, 02:42 instead of, you know, focusing 02:44 on our problems like I tend to 02:45 do at times, then your soul 02:48 will be flooded with 02:49 confidence and hope and peace. 02:51 Look at this from the Psalms, 02:53 Psalms 40, verse 16, 02:54 it says... 03:07 >> In a moment we are going to 03:09 introduce you to this amazing 03:11 person who did just this. 03:14 He magnified God. 03:17 And the answers he received to 03:19 his prayers caused people to 03:21 believe that the age of 03:23 miracles had not ended. 03:26 ♪♪ 04:03 >> Welcome again to 04:04 It Is Written Canada. 04:06 This man's story may be new to 04:08 you, but his story is one of 04:11 my favourite faith stories 04:13 of all time. 04:15 This man who received 04:16 thousands of miraculous 04:18 answers to his prayers by 04:20 magnifying the power of God, 04:22 he was born in Germany at the 04:24 time of the Napoleonic wars, 04:27 there was godless brutality, 04:29 extreme poverty that produced 04:32 throughout Europe by all of 04:34 these wars, thousands of 04:36 children were left homeless. 04:39 [René] Orphans whose parents 04:41 had been taken by war were 04:43 left on the streets. 04:45 They lived on the streets, 04:47 begging and stealing 04:48 to stay alive. 04:50 >> You may be aware of 04:51 Charles Dickens's story of 04:52 Oliver Twist which revealed 04:54 the conditions of poor orphans 04:56 living on the streets of 04:58 England in that time. 05:00 >> These were impoverished 05:02 children, but the person we 05:04 are talking about was not an 05:06 impoverished child. 05:07 He was a rich young man, 05:10 yet he lived like a thief. 05:13 His name was George Müller 05:16 and by the age of ten he was 05:18 stealing government money from 05:20 his father who was a tax 05:21 collector in Germany. 05:24 As a young person, 05:25 George Müller was a thief, 05:28 a liar, a gambler, 05:30 and a play boy. 05:32 Not because he was poor, but 05:34 because he was living a life 05:36 of complete self-centredness. 05:39 He was a willful, 05:41 self-absorbed soul. 05:43 >> Now, you might think we 05:44 were judging him, but that 05:45 was by his own admission. 05:47 His only interest was 05:48 personal pleasure and 05:50 at the age of 14 while his 05:52 mother was dying in bed, 05:54 he was out playing cards and 05:56 drinking with his friends. 05:57 And the next day when he was 05:59 told of her death, 06:01 he hardly shed a tear. 06:03 >> At the age of 16, Müeller 06:05 spent five weeks in prison for 06:07 not paying hotel bills. 06:09 You see, he made a habit of 06:11 staying and eating at 06:13 expensive hotels and then 06:15 hiding and running away before 06:17 it was time to pay the bill. 06:20 However, one time, at the age 06:21 of 16, he was caught before he 06:24 could escape and he ended up 06:25 in prison. 06:26 >> This so far it doesn't 06:28 sound like a miraculous story, 06:29 but after five weeks in jail, 06:31 his father paid his debts, 06:34 severely beat his son, 06:37 and that didn't change his 06:38 heart, not at all. 06:40 >> At the age of 20, 06:42 while studying at the 06:43 University of Halle, 06:44 Müller said of himself... 06:51 [Mike] Müller's father had 06:53 sent him to study to become a 06:56 pastor, but not for the 06:58 purpose of serving God. 07:00 His father saw it as an 07:03 opportunity for George to 07:05 acquire a secure career with a 07:07 lucrative salary in a 07:08 state church. 07:11 >> When he wasn't absorbed in 07:13 his wild living, George loved 07:15 to read countless books. 07:18 In fact, he owned over 300 07:21 books and had mastered the 07:23 reading and speaking of six 07:25 different languages. 07:26 He was brilliant. 07:28 >> Brilliant, yeah. 07:29 >> A brilliant man. 07:30 However, George never owned a 07:32 Bible and had seldom read any 07:35 words from the Bible. 07:36 >> In his autobiography, 07:37 George Müller wrote about 07:39 that time, he said... 07:43 So he understood 07:45 he was off track. 08:07 >> While George studied 08:08 Divinity in Halle, he met a 08:10 fellow student named Beta, 08:13 a good Christian young man. 08:15 And one Sunday afternoon, 08:17 he invited George Müller to 08:19 join him at a Bible study. 08:21 It was at that home Bible 08:24 study where George was so led 08:27 by the Spirit of God that a 08:29 swift transformation began in 08:31 in his behaviour. 08:32 [Mike] George later wrote 08:34 these words: 08:44 >> After seeing a man on his 08:46 knees praying to God, he was 08:48 convinced of his need for 08:49 salvation. 08:51 George said... 09:04 And while the owner of the 09:06 house prayed, he thought... 09:14 [Mike] And when he returned to 09:16 his room that evening, he 09:17 knelt by the side of his bed 09:19 and he prayed a real earnest 09:21 prayer and he asked God to 09:23 forgive him of his sins. 09:26 >> And soon George stopped 09:28 drinking, stealing, and lying 09:31 and developed the hope of 09:33 becoming a missionary. 09:34 >> And this time it 09:35 really stuck. 09:36 He was a good man from that 09:38 time on, but soon after, 09:39 George met some of his 09:40 drinking buddies, 09:41 a couple of guys, and he was 09:43 sharing with them about his 09:45 new-found faith in God and he 09:47 immediately expected them to 09:48 fall on their knees and to 09:49 accept God into their hearts 09:50 as well, but instead they were 09:53 like, "We don't see our" 09:54 "need of God at all." 09:56 "We're not sinners." 09:57 And so George immediately, 09:59 to change their perspective, 10:01 he went to his room, 10:02 he fervently prayed for his 10:03 friends, that they would see 10:05 their need of God. 10:08 [René] And later the same day, 10:10 he met them again and these 10:13 two friends were weeping 10:15 uncontrollably and when George 10:18 asked them what happened, 10:19 they said, "We don't know!" 10:22 "Suddenly we just felt this" 10:24 "overwhelming sorrow." 10:26 And they said that they 10:27 were sinners and in need 10:28 of a saviour. 10:31 >> From that time on, George 10:32 shared his faith openly. 10:35 He bought and he handed out 10:37 more than 300 missionary 10:38 pamphlets every single month. 10:40 That's like ten a day 10:41 on average. 10:42 He visited and he prayed with 10:44 the poor and the sick and he 10:45 preached regularly in churches 10:47 every single week. 10:49 But his father was very upset 10:51 because he thought that his 10:53 son was throwing away the 10:54 opportunity of a lifetime, 10:56 to have a good career and make 10:58 a lucrative salary. 10:59 And so his father told him 11:00 that if he was to stick with 11:02 this course that he was 11:04 following, that he was no 11:06 longer to be considered 11:08 his son. 11:10 >> And so from that time on, 11:13 with the help of friends, 11:14 he learned how to depend upon 11:16 God to provide for his needs. 11:19 >> At the age of 24, 11:21 George became a missionary. 11:22 He moved to London England, 11:24 but the smog in London at the 11:26 time was so thick that it made 11:27 him feel so sick, he couldn't 11:29 breathe properly so his 11:31 friends decided to send 11:32 him to Devon. 11:33 And he went by the sea there 11:34 and he was breathing in the 11:36 fresh air and he had time to 11:38 rest and recuperate and 11:40 restore his health. 11:42 >> It was in Devon that he had 11:45 a second conversion 11:47 after he started reading the 11:48 Bible daily. 11:50 Up until this time, 11:52 George avoided reading the 11:54 Bible as he preferred to read 11:56 Christian authors and 11:58 commentaries on the Bible, 11:59 but not the Bible itself. 12:02 But while he started a new 12:04 habit of reading the Bible 12:06 every morning, he learned 12:08 about baptism by emersion. 12:10 So he was baptized by emersion 12:13 at the age of 24 and after 12:16 that, the Bible became the 12:19 foundation of George's faith. 12:21 >> And when George would get 12:22 up in the morning and he 12:23 started reading the Bible, 12:24 his thoughts became fuzzy 12:25 and scattered. 12:26 I don't know if you feel like 12:27 that, but there are times when 12:28 I definitely do. 12:29 And so he felt that when he 12:31 would get out of bed in the 12:32 morning, he would go for a 12:34 walk and he would take his 12:36 Bible with him out into nature 12:38 and then he would start 12:39 reading while he was actively 12:42 walking and he really found 12:44 that that was the key to 12:46 unlocking the secret of his 12:48 time alone with God. 12:50 He felt that he had to be 12:50 active physically to 12:52 grow spiritually. 12:54 And so it was at Devon that 12:56 George Müller not only met 12:58 with God and really connected 13:00 with Him, but he connected 13:01 with a young lady by the name 13:02 of Mary Groves whom he married 13:04 after meeting her within 13:05 three months. 13:07 This newly-wed couple decided 13:10 that they would only tell God 13:13 about their own financial 13:15 needs and about the needs of 13:16 the poor people that they were 13:18 trying to help. 13:19 They decided to pray big, 13:22 huge prayers. 13:24 And so they put on paper, 13:25 "A Scripture Knowledge" 13:27 "Institute," something they 13:28 hadn't founded yet, but they 13:30 put it before God and they 13:31 said, "If this is up to You," 13:32 "we leave it in Your hands." 13:34 And they had five objectives 13:35 and this is the first one: 13:36 To run Christian church 13:38 schools with Godly teachers 13:41 who could point out the way 13:42 of salvation. 13:43 Now here's people who had no 13:44 money, had guarantee in salary 13:46 and they're saying, 13:47 "We're gonna establish" 13:48 "church schools." 13:49 >> The second objective was 13:51 to assist children from 13:52 poorer families to attend 13:54 these schools. 13:56 [Mike] The third thing was to 13:57 distribute the Holy Scriptures 14:00 as the Bible alone is the 14:02 foundation of instruction. 14:04 In his lifetime alone, 14:06 George Müller distributed 14:07 close to 300,000 Bibles, 14:11 one and a half million 14:13 New Testaments alone, and over 14:15 200,000 other religious texts 14:17 which are translated into 14:19 20 other languages. 14:20 >> Whoa! 14:21 The fourth objective was to 14:24 support missionaries. 14:26 There were many missionaries 14:28 all over the world, including 14:30 Hudson Taylor in China, 14:32 who were dependant for their 14:34 funding on George Müller. 14:37 >> And the fifth objective was 14:39 to establish an orphan house. 14:41 And for all of these 14:42 objectives, they depended upon 14:44 one promise and it was found 14:46 in Zechariah 4, verse 6 14:47 which says... 14:54 So he was truly led by God's 14:56 Spirit and to do all of this, 14:59 George Müller never once 15:00 asked any human being 15:03 for any assistance. 15:05 He and his wife would pray 15:06 earnestly to God and God 15:08 always supplied their needs. 15:10 [René] Wow! 15:12 He felt called by God to meet 15:14 the peculiar need of 15:16 establishing an orphan house 15:19 because he said he could not 15:21 walk by these poor children 15:22 in the streets every day 15:25 and do nothing. 15:26 >> And so he prayed for seven 15:29 acres of land and he saw some 15:31 land in a place called 15:33 Ashley Down for sale. 15:34 And so George went to the 15:36 owner's house, he knocked on 15:37 the door, and he met with the 15:39 man and the man said to him, 15:41 "I've been praying about" 15:43 "this, Mr. Müller, and God" 15:45 "spoke to me through" 15:46 "the night." 15:47 "He had convicted me and told" 15:48 "me that I should sell the" 15:50 "land to you for £120 an acre" 15:54 "instead of the going price" 15:56 "of £200 an acre." 15:58 >> Wow, what a deal! 16:00 So within ten minutes, 16:01 the deal was signed and 16:04 immediately the work went 16:05 forward with, get this: 16:08 free architects, free builders, 16:11 and all the money in place. 16:14 All the time, talents, and 16:17 money were volunteered without 16:20 George or Mary asking anyone 16:23 but God and God sent 16:26 what they needed. 16:27 >> So there are people who 16:28 looked at what George Müller 16:29 did and they said, 16:30 "There must be another" 16:31 "explanation for this." 16:33 But there was 16:34 no other explanation. 16:36 He didn't ask anyone else for 16:37 money and randomly, all over, 16:39 it was kind of orchestrated. 16:40 The first house that was built 16:42 was in 1849 and it housed 16:45 300 children. 16:47 And within a year of its 16:49 completion, it was so full 16:51 that they now had to start a 16:53 second house and that was full 16:55 and then a third and a fourth 16:57 and a fifth house with 400 17:00 children in each of those 17:01 houses, the last one, 17:02 450 kids. 17:04 So by 1870 there was room for, 17:07 get this: 2,050 orphans. 17:11 [René] And there were many 17:12 times that the children would 17:13 sit at the table to eat, 17:16 thank the Lord for their food, 17:18 but there was no food 17:20 on the table. 17:21 And then as soon as they 17:23 finished praying, a knock 17:25 would be heard at the door and 17:28 it would be the baker or the 17:30 milk man or a farmer who said 17:33 he was told by God to bring 17:34 them food. 17:36 The children witnessed how God 17:39 provided every single day. 17:42 >> So during his lifetime, 17:43 George Müller received gifts 17:45 and donations to the total of 17:47 over 1.5 million British 17:50 pounds in that value at that 17:52 time so that's, today, 17:54 in today's money, over 17:56 100 million British pounds or 18:00 171 million Canadian dollars. 18:05 >> So who can explain that? 18:06 >> I know. 18:07 There is no other way other 18:09 than to say, he said the 18:10 answer was prayer and God 18:12 answered his prayers. 18:14 >> And all the records were 18:15 meticulously kept and are 18:17 housed today in the 18:18 George Müller Museum in 18:20 Bristol, England. 18:23 >> So if there is a song whose 18:25 words illustrate the life of 18:28 George Müller, it would be 18:31 Live Out Thy Life Within Me. 18:34 >> Yes, that's true. 18:37 So right now, let's listen to 18:39 James playing the piano and 18:41 Nick singing that song by 18:43 Cascade Falls in 18:45 Mission, British Columbia. 18:47 ♪♪ 18:59 ♪Live out Thy life within me 19:05 ♪Oh Jesus, King of kings 19:12 ♪Be Thou Thyself the answer 19:18 ♪to all my questionings 19:25 ♪Live out Thy life within me 19:31 ♪in all things have Thy way 19:37 ♪I, the transparent medium 19:43 ♪Thy glory to display 19:51 ♪♪ 19:59 ♪The temple has been yielded 20:05 ♪and purified of sin 20:10 ♪Let Thy Shekinah glory 20:16 ♪now shine forth from within 20:21 ♪And all the earth 20:24 ♪keep silence 20:27 ♪the body henceforth be 20:33 ♪Thy silent, gentle servant 20:39 ♪moved only as by Thee 20:46 ♪♪ 20:54 ♪But restful, calm and pliant 21:02 ♪from bend and bias free 21:08 ♪Awaiting Thy decision 21:15 ♪when Thou hast need of me 21:20 ♪Live out Thy life within me 21:27 ♪Oh Jesus, King of kings 21:34 ♪Be Thou the glorious answer 21:40 ♪to all my questionings 21:57 >> I'm sure you will agree 21:59 that Jesus did live out His 22:01 life within George Müller 22:03 because George submitted his 22:04 life to Jesus and Jesus truly 22:07 was the answer to all his 22:09 questionings, 22:10 to all his prayers. 22:11 George's life became the 22:13 transparent medium for God to 22:16 display His glory in such a 22:18 practical and powerful way 22:20 that no one could deny it. 22:23 >> It's so true. 22:25 From the time George Müller 22:26 was converted from a thief, 22:29 a drunkard, a gambler, 22:31 and a womanizer to a devoted 22:33 follower of Jesus Christ, 22:35 he obeyed the will of God 22:37 for his life. 22:38 >> People used to always ask 22:40 George one question: 22:42 "How do you know God's will" 22:44 "for your life?" 22:46 And here is a summary of 22:47 the seven points that 22:49 he would give. 22:50 First, he would say... 22:59 He was like Jesus who prayed, 23:02 "Not My will, but Thy will" 23:04 "be done." 23:06 >> Secondly... 23:13 So George relied on faith 23:16 and not feelings. 23:18 >> Thirdly, he wrote... 23:27 So he had to have a connection 23:28 with the Spirit of God. 23:30 >> Mm-hmm. 23:31 And next, fourthly... 23:38 He would look for how God was 23:41 already opening doors and then 23:43 he would walk through 23:44 those doors. 23:46 >> And fifthly, Müller was 23:49 always a team player... 23:53 In Proverbs chapter 11, 23:54 verse 14, it warns... 24:04 And then, sixthly, he wrote... 24:32 >> And finally, 24:34 the seventh point... 24:44 You know, it would be 24:46 dangerous to think that 24:48 all of George Müller's life 24:50 was smooth sailing. 24:52 The reality is that his life 24:55 had much pain and trials. 24:58 All his four children and his 25:00 first wife, Mary, died 25:02 before he did. 25:04 Then after he remarried, 25:06 his second wife, Susanna, 25:08 died before he did, too. 25:11 >> He would not have called 25:13 himself a man of miracles. 25:14 Instead, this is how, 25:16 in his own words, 25:18 he described himself... 25:34 >> What a beautiful life. 25:35 >> Mm-hmm! 25:37 >> Let's pray. 25:41 Oh, Lord Jesus, now this is 25:44 the confidence we have in You, 25:47 that if we ask anything 25:50 according to Your will, 25:52 You will hear us. 25:55 And if we know that You hear 25:57 us, whatever we ask, we know 26:00 that we have the petitions 26:03 that we have asked of You. 26:05 Lord, we want You to be 26:08 magnified in our lives. 26:11 [Mike] Lord, we know that as 26:15 we continue to magnify You, 26:18 You will supply all of our 26:19 needs according to Your riches 26:22 and glory in Christ Jesus, 26:24 in His lovely name 26:25 we pray, amen. 26:28 >> The life of George Müller 26:30 teaches us about the necessity 26:32 of prayer, of talking with God 26:34 as a friend. 26:36 So our free offer for you 26:38 today is Talking With God. 26:41 >> So if you want the 26:42 information, get out a pen, 26:43 piece of paper, or take a 26:44 screen shot with your cell 26:46 phone of the information that 26:47 you will need to receive 26:49 today's free offer, 26:50 Talking With God. 26:52 >> To request today's offer, 26:54 just log onto 26:55 www.itiswrittencanada.ca 26:59 That's www.itiswrittencanada.ca 27:03 If you prefer, you may call 27:05 toll free at 1-888-CALL-IIW. 27:08 Or if you wish, 27:09 you may write to us at: 27:11 It Is Written, Box 2010, 27:13 Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 7V4. 27:17 And thank you for your prayer 27:19 requests and your generous 27:20 financial support. 27:21 That's It Is Written, 27:23 Box 2010, Oshawa, 27:24 Ontario, L1H 7V4. 27:36 >> Friends, we would also like 27:38 to invite you to follow us on 27:40 Instagram and Facebook 27:42 and subscribe to our 27:43 YouTube channel and also 27:45 listen to our Podcasts 27:48 and if you go to our webpage, 27:50 you can see our latest 27:51 programs including our 27:53 exercise workouts called, 27:54 Experiencing Life and our 27:56 short spiritual messages 27:58 entitled, Daily Living. 28:01 >> They are all there for you, 28:03 free to watch whenever you 28:05 choose because we want you to 28:07 experience the truth that is 28:09 found in the words of Jesus 28:10 when He said, "It is written," 28:12 "man shall not live by bread" 28:14 "alone, but by every word" 28:16 "that proceeds out of the" 28:17 "mouth of God." 28:19 ♪♪ |
Revised 2021-01-28