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Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202418S
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00:06 [theme music] 00:09 ♪♪ 00:40 [calm music] 00:43 ♪♪ 00:55 >> Welcome to 00:56 It Is Written Canada. 00:58 Thank you for joining us. 01:00 The world is full of stories 01:02 of people who have been 01:03 badly hurt from the words 01:05 and actions of others, and the 01:07 resulting traumatic stress 01:10 has taken its toll 01:12 on far too many people. 01:16 >> What role does forgiveness 01:17 play in the healing 01:19 we are looking for? 01:20 Or here's another question, 01:21 what is forgiveness? 01:23 Holding on to unforgiveness and 01:25 bitterness about past events 01:28 too often holds us at the place 01:31 of the events that have been 01:33 so hurtful. 01:35 Whereas freedom and 01:38 finding the path forward 01:40 involves a 01:42 healthy understanding 01:44 of forgiveness. 01:45 of forgiveness. 01:47 [RENÉ] Today on 01:48 It Is Written Canada, 01:49 It Is Written Canada, 01:50 our special guest is 01:51 Pastor Bill Spangler, 01:53 who has led churches 01:54 in the maritime provinces, 01:57 British Columbia 01:58 and Alberta, 02:00 retiring from ministry 02:02 in 2020. 02:04 He has a Bachelor's of Theology 02:07 a Master's of Divinity degree, 02:10 and has trained and is certified 02:12 as a family mediator 02:15 and life coach. 02:16 >> Bill is married to 02:18 Gwen Yasako and they are parents 02:20 to two daughters and enjoy 02:22 two grandchildren. 02:24 Bill is the author of the book, 02:26 Lessons From the Wilderness, 02:28 a catalogue of life lessons 02:30 that are useful to anyone 02:33 seeking personal growth 02:34 and skills for making 02:36 relationships work. 02:38 >> Pastor Bill, welcome to 02:39 It Is Written Canada. 02:41 >> It's a pleasure to be 02:42 with you again. 02:43 I enjoy being here. 02:44 >> And we enjoy having you 02:45 with us. 02:46 I'm gonna look at your book 02:47 again, Lessons From the 02:49 Wilderness: Find Your Way Home 02:51 and Finish Well. 02:52 In here, you talk about 02:53 forgiveness, big topic. 02:55 And the 02:57 topic of forgiveness is 02:59 so huge in your journey 03:02 because it leads to healing. 03:04 And I think for most people 03:07 forgiveness is the journey 03:09 to healing. 03:11 >> I talk about healing. 03:12 I mean, I'm talking about 03:14 the healing of forgiveness 03:15 early in the book... 03:18 ...because it was such 03:19 a big part of the journey, 03:22 the wilderness journey 03:23 that I had. 03:24 So forgiveness is 03:25 a huge part 03:27 to all of our lives and 03:28 all of our experience. 03:29 We can... 03:32 ...experience all kinds of grief 03:34 and pain and bitterness 03:36 and anger and frustration 03:39 in life that all relates 03:42 to forgiveness in some way. 03:43 That's why it's such a 03:44 big topic and it's important 03:45 to talk about. 03:47 So what I had to process 03:49 in my journey was forgiveness 03:51 at three different levels. 03:53 One was the forgiveness 03:55 of God towards me. 03:57 I felt like 04:00 I didn't know 04:01 if He could forgive me. 04:05 So I had to wrestle with that. 04:07 And then I needed forgiveness 04:08 from my wife and my children and 04:10 my friends and my coworkers and 04:12 everybody that I knew 04:13 that knew me. 04:15 That's another level of 04:16 forgiveness that 04:17 I had to process. 04:18 And then there was 04:19 the whole piece about me 04:20 forgiving myself. 04:23 That's a tough thing. 04:25 People pull behind them 04:27 the trailer load of regrets 04:28 for their actions and 04:30 beat themselves up for 04:32 the things that they've done 04:33 and wrestle with it at night and 04:34 wake up at two in the morning, 04:36 and "If only..." and... 04:38 And so forgiveness 04:39 is a huge piece to that. 04:42 I have a friend who says... 04:47 And I think that forgiveness 04:50 is all part of that. 04:58 But it all takes 05:00 the opportunity 05:02 as well as the ability 05:04 to forgive. 05:05 So I had to process forgiveness 05:06 at all three of those levels. 05:09 >> I think the hardest thing 05:10 about all three of those levels 05:12 is that you know 05:13 that God knows 05:15 that you knew 05:17 that you were doing wrong. 05:18 Your family was being hurt 05:21 and, I mean, they were 05:23 trusting you and now you 05:25 hurt them or your church members 05:27 or your colleagues or friends 05:30 and also yourself. 05:32 You knew, you know? 05:33 Sometimes knowing better 05:34 is not the same as doing better. 05:35 And so you do it and you're just 05:37 like, "How...wow...what?" 05:39 you know, "How can I even 05:40 forgive myself? 05:41 I knew better!" 05:42 >> All of that. 05:43 Yeah, all of the above. 05:45 So I had to come to terms with 05:47 what forgiveness really is. 05:50 And so that's 05:53 the journey that I write about 05:54 here, the lesson that I 05:56 write about in my journey, 05:57 that forgiveness is so, so big. 06:02 >> So what 06:04 did you learn 06:05 then, Pastor Bill, 06:07 what forgiveness really is 06:09 for you? 06:10 What did you learn about that? 06:12 >> So I began to realize 06:15 that forgiveness is a gift that 06:18 we give ourselves, 06:20 that if I hold somebody... 06:24 ...hostage or at a distance or 06:26 push them away because I'm not 06:29 forgiving you for what 06:30 you did to me. 06:33 Forgiveness... 06:36 ...or the lack thereof, 06:37 then, is eating away at my soul. 06:39 So when I say to you, René, 06:40 "I will not forgive you 06:42 for what you did to me," 06:44 that's a statement about me. 06:46 It's not a statement about you. 06:48 You know, I can make it─ 06:50 make me think that I'm 06:51 making it about you, 06:52 but in reality, I'm choosing 06:54 not to forgive so then 06:56 I'm dealing with unforgiveness. 06:59 So we think that we're 07:00 the bigger person and 07:02 the right person to say... 07:05 ...I won't forgive you because 07:07 you've hurt me and therefore 07:09 these are my rights and 07:10 this is my 07:12 reason for not forgiving you 07:14 and I have a right to do that. 07:16 All of that just is stirring up 07:19 my soul and anger and bitterness 07:21 within me. 07:23 So one of the big things I 07:24 learned that forgiveness 07:26 was a gift I give myself. 07:28 So somebody maybe in my past 07:30 has hurt me and 07:32 I haven't seen them for a while, 07:34 and they don't even know that 07:35 I'm struggling with something. 07:37 They're going about their life, 07:38 and I'm working away over here 07:41 and grinding on my bitterness 07:43 about what they did to me 07:44 and what happened. 07:46 And my unforgiveness... 07:50 ...is all about me. 07:51 It's not about them. 07:54 So that was a huge piece for me 07:56 to recognize that... 07:58 ...forgiveness is actually 08:00 a work within myself 08:02 for my own peace of mind. 08:04 And... 08:07 ...wow! 08:08 We think forgiveness is a gift 08:10 we're giving someone else. 08:11 In reality, it's an inner work 08:14 for our own betterment 08:16 and our own future. 08:17 >> So when we talk about 08:18 forgiveness... 08:20 ...we think about someone being 08:22 set free, and then we realize 08:24 it's me. 08:25 I'm the one who set free because 08:27 I'm not holding on to that. 08:29 >> Sometimes we think that 08:30 forgiveness makes us stronger. 08:33 Does it make us stronger? 08:35 Is it about forgetting? 08:36 Is it about just saying, 08:39 "Hey, this is okay?" 08:42 What is it? 08:44 >> It's not about forgetting. 08:45 There is a phrase that always 08:48 rumbles around in this topic 08:49 that, we gotta forgive 08:50 and forget. 08:52 I don't think it's possible 08:54 to forget some things. 08:55 I don't think that 08:57 we can even do it if we─ 08:59 even if we tried. 09:01 And God certainly 09:02 doesn't forget. 09:03 I mean, He can't forget. 09:05 He has a memory that never ends. 09:09 He forgets in the sense 09:10 that He puts our sins 09:12 in the bottom of the sea 09:13 where He doesn't bring them 09:14 back up again. 09:16 But it's not that He doesn't 09:17 remember what we did 09:18 or didn't do. 09:20 So it's not─ forgiving and 09:21 forgetting don't necessarily 09:22 go together. 09:24 I think that it's, it works 09:26 like this. 09:27 If I have forgiven you, Mike, 09:29 for something that you did 09:30 to me that was very hurtful, 09:32 if I have forgiven you for that, 09:34 and then somebody says 09:36 "That Mike Lemon, remember him?" 09:39 and I remember that event, 09:42 because I have forgiven you, 09:44 remembering the event 09:45 doesn't bring up the pain 09:47 of whatever that event was. 09:50 I think there's a great story 09:52 that I heard a long time ago 09:54 about Clara Barton, who was the 09:56 person who began the Red Cross. 09:59 And I don't know what 10:00 the story was. 10:01 I don't know what the event was, 10:02 but somebody brought up 10:04 something to her and she said, 10:07 "I don't remember that." 10:09 And they said, "You don't 10:10 remember that? 10:11 What do you mean you don't 10:12 remember that? 10:13 It was such a big story." 10:15 "No, I don't remember that." 10:17 And they were in shock and said, 10:20 "It was in the newspapers. 10:21 It was a scandal. 10:23 It was nationwide." 10:25 And she said, "You know, 10:26 I distinctly remember 10:28 forgetting that." 10:30 And that's what I think 10:32 forgive and forget means. 10:34 I forgive, therefore I am never 10:37 going to bring this up again. 10:39 Yeah, it's there. 10:41 Yeah, the story happened. 10:45 We... 10:46 ...remember the story, 10:48 but it doesn't bring 10:49 the same angst or pain 10:51 because forgiveness 10:53 trumps remembering. 10:55 Forgiveness─ I remember, 10:57 but I have forgiven. 10:58 Let's talk about this. 11:00 >> That's very helpful. 11:01 And when I think of the Bible 11:03 and what you said, that God 11:04 doesn't forget, oh, it says 11:06 in the Bible that... 11:10 Well, in the Word, if you read 11:12 the Bible, there are records 11:14 of sins. 11:15 You got David killing... 11:19 ...Uriah, you know? 11:21 And Uriah 11:22 was a good man. 11:24 And he... 11:25 Can you imagine the two of them 11:26 meeting in heaven? 11:28 So... 11:29 And David, I mean, 11:31 he was the one who ended up 11:33 having him killed. 11:35 And Uriah can read that 11:36 in the Bible. 11:37 But are they going to hold it 11:39 against each other? 11:40 No, they can look at the memory 11:41 of it and it's not painful 11:43 anymore because David's 11:44 a different person. 11:46 He has confessed his sins. 11:47 He has put it right with God. 11:49 And who is Uriah to hold it 11:50 against him? 11:52 Or think of Paul, you know, 11:54 stoning of Stephen, you know? 11:56 Stephen's gonna meet him in 11:58 heaven and embrace him and say, 11:59 "I'm glad you're here." 12:01 Obviously there was a 12:02 change of heart. 12:03 Something happened to you. 12:04 So forgetting is actually 12:06 a good part of... 12:09 ...forgiveness is 12:10 not the forgetting, but the 12:11 remembering. 12:12 Because if someone steals 12:14 my wallet, I want to remember.. 12:17 ...that they have a problem 12:19 in that area, which is a 12:20 loving thing to remember that 12:22 because I don't want to 12:23 leave my wallet on the table 12:25 next time, because I know that 12:27 you might have a weakness 12:28 in that area. 12:29 So I can forgive that, but 12:31 remembering that that is perhaps 12:33 a weakness of yours 12:34 is good for you. 12:36 I'm not gonna put temptation 12:37 in your way. 12:38 >> Absolutely. 12:40 Forgiving doesn't necessarily 12:41 mean that there are 12:42 no consequences. 12:44 Forgiving is a state of mind 12:46 a state of mind 12:48 to bring peace to me. 12:49 But it doesn't mean that we 12:51 erase all boundaries and that, 12:53 you know, there are consequences 12:55 that happen even in 12:57 the midst of forgiving. 13:00 >> So, Pastor Bill, 13:01 is forgiveness when you say 13:04 to someone, "I forgive you 13:06 for what you did," 13:07 or, "I forgive you for 13:08 hurting me, and it's okay?" 13:10 >> That's a great question, René 13:13 people do equate 13:14 the need to 13:16 forgive with, okay, 13:18 if in order to forgive, 13:20 I have to grind my teeth 13:21 and say, "It's okay 13:22 what you did." 13:24 Those two things do not 13:25 go together. 13:27 forgiveness does not have to 13:28 come to a place where 13:30 I tell you 13:32 it's okay. 13:34 Forgiveness 13:35 stops at a place 13:37 before we have to go there. 13:39 It will never be okay 13:42 what people do to each other. 13:43 It will never be okay 13:44 if you hurt me, it will never 13:45 be okay if I hurt you. 13:47 Whatever I said, whatever action 13:49 I do, whatever happens... 13:52 ...that will never be okay. 13:54 However, forgiveness says 13:57 in spite of the fact that you 13:59 did that to me and it was 14:01 very hurtful, I am not going to 14:03 hold this against you. 14:05 I am not going to let it damage 14:07 our relationship. 14:08 I want to step into 14:10 the future together 14:13 or in a healed way. 14:15 If I carry around the bitterness 14:17 of you did that to me, and I 14:19 remind myself about that 14:21 in the night or in the morning 14:22 or every day, or every time 14:23 I see you. 14:24 Yeah, there goes that Mike, 14:26 but I remember when 14:27 he stole money out of my pocket 14:30 or did this or whatever it is 14:32 that he did, and I remember that 14:33 all the time, I'm just 14:35 making myself a 14:38 bitter, miserable person. 14:40 And I know people who have 14:42 spent their lives that way. 14:44 I recently heard about somebody 14:46 that I knew from a child. 14:48 She was actually a relative 14:50 of mine that I didn't ever 14:52 really know, but... 14:55 ...she was very hurt 14:56 in a relationship situation 14:58 that happened. 14:59 And I never saw her for years. 15:01 In fact, I never saw her again 15:03 after I was a little child. 15:05 But recently I heard from 15:07 her granddaughter that 15:09 before she died, she said, 15:12 "I wasted my life 15:14 in bitterness." 15:15 And I think it's so tragic 15:17 that people remember the hurt 15:19 and remember the hurt and 15:21 remember the hurt and remember 15:22 the hurt. 15:23 And I can never say, it's okay, 15:25 so I can't forgive you. 15:27 No, it's not okay. 15:29 But I can still choose 15:30 to forgive. 15:32 And I believe that 15:35 healing of our lives and healing 15:37 of relationships cross paths 15:40 with forgiveness 15:42 that were never going to heal 15:43 until forgiveness comes 15:45 into the picture somewhere. 15:47 So, like you, I have heard 15:48 outstanding stories of people 15:51 who have been hurt badly. 15:53 Maybe their children murdered, 15:55 or maybe their 15:57 spouse is murdered. 15:59 That beautiful story of the lady 16:01 from South Africa whose husband 16:03 and son were tragically murdered 16:05 and burned and 16:08 in the trial, 16:09 she said, "I forgive the man 16:12 who did it, and the only thing 16:14 I want is for him to come 16:16 to see me once a week so that 16:18 I can love on him 16:19 like my own son." 16:21 And that kind of forgiveness 16:23 comes from a place of... 16:26 ...from God only, because the 16:28 human heart is not willing 16:29 to do that. 16:30 So of course she remembers 16:32 and it's not okay what he did, 16:34 but she wanted to forgive and 16:36 step into a better place. 16:39 >> What if the person 16:40 doesn't ask for forgiveness? 16:42 What if they never say 16:43 they're sorry? 16:44 Can you still forgive? 16:45 >> Absolutely. 16:46 Forgiveness is a choice. 16:48 I choose to not bring this up 16:51 to you again, even though you've 16:53 never brought it up to me, 16:54 even though you have never asked 16:55 me about it, I choose to 16:58 not dwell on this. 16:59 I choose to not let it stay 17:00 between us. 17:03 I think about 17:05 the opportunity to forgive. 17:08 Jesus said that we should 17:09 love our enemies, 17:11 pray for them 17:12 that despitefully use us. 17:16 Wow. 17:18 That's...that takes a gift 17:20 from heaven, too, 17:22 to kneel and... 17:25 ...bring that person's name up 17:27 in prayer and ask God 17:28 to bless them. 17:29 I mean, really? 17:31 Bless them? 17:33 And that's what He asks us 17:35 to do, because he knows 17:37 it's good for us, 17:38 for our peace of mind, 17:40 for our joy, 17:43 for our freedom. 17:47 Someone has said, you've 17:48 probably heard this statement, 17:49 that unforgiveness 17:51 is like taking poison 17:53 and hoping that you get sick. 17:56 So I drink the bitterness and I 17:58 drink the poison and I drink 17:59 the anger hoping that you will 18:02 suffer for whatever it is that 18:04 you did for me or to me. 18:06 And it just doesn't work 18:07 that way. 18:09 >> So if I forgive someone, 18:12 I'm letting them off the hook? 18:15 >> Yeah, in reality that's what 18:17 we're doing. 18:18 We're letting them off our hook. 18:21 God says, 18:23 "Justice is mine." 18:25 And He will deal with 18:27 all things at some point 18:29 in better ways than I could. 18:31 I'm glad that, and you should 18:32 be glad, that I'm not the judge 18:34 of you or the world, because 18:37 my human heart wouldn't 18:38 get it right. 18:38 But God will always 18:40 get it right. 18:40 His justice and His judging 18:43 is holy, so it can't be wrong. 18:46 But yes, we let them off 18:47 our hook. 18:48 "God, I am not going to worry 18:51 about this situation any longer. 18:54 It's now Yours." 18:55 I think of the story of Joseph 18:57 and his brothers who put him 19:00 in the pit and then sold him 19:02 to the Ishmaelites traders 19:03 and off to Egypt he went. 19:05 He got down there, he went 19:06 to prison for something 19:07 he wasn't guilty of. 19:08 He─ life wasn't good. 19:11 And then suddenly he's the 19:13 prime minister of Egypt. 19:15 And lo and behold, his brothers 19:17 come to buy grain, 19:19 and he sees them 19:20 bowing before him. 19:22 He could have evoked 19:24 all kinds of punishment on them 19:26 right then and there. 19:28 Instead, he sent them home, 19:30 knowing they'd be back again. 19:33 "Is your father alive?" 19:35 "Oh, we have another brother." 19:36 "Oh, how is he?" 19:37 you know? 19:38 He was so engrossed in 19:40 hearing about the family 19:42 and knowing who he was 19:43 dealing with. 19:44 And then they came the next 19:45 time and he said, "I am Joseph. 19:48 Don't worry. 19:49 God brought me here so that 19:50 I could take care of you. 19:51 Go get our father. 19:53 Move him here. 19:54 Everything will be okay." 19:55 He was letting them off 19:56 the hook. 19:57 Absolutely. 19:59 But it was something that 20:01 we still tell the story about 20:03 because of how gracious he was. 20:06 >> They meant it for evil, 20:08 but God meant it for good 20:10 and brought about that good. 20:11 >> Yes. 20:12 [MIKE] And I think of Jesus 20:13 hanging on the cross. 20:14 He was saying, "Father, 20:15 forgive them." 20:17 They weren't asking for 20:18 forgiveness. 20:19 They weren't saying, "I'm sorry 20:21 that I nailed to the cross," 20:22 but He was still asking 20:24 for their forgiveness and 20:26 willing to give forgiveness 20:27 because He knew their ignorance, 20:29 but He doesn't hold that 20:30 against us when we sin. 20:32 >> Right. 20:33 I think that forgiveness... 20:37 ...other people don't ask 20:38 for forgiveness. 20:39 We do it because forgiveness 20:41 is an internal work. 20:42 It's a work on our own 20:45 well-being. 20:46 Books have been written on the 20:49 health of people who hang on to 20:52 bitterness versus the health 20:53 of people who forgive, and that 20:55 it's actually a physiological 20:57 benefit to us to forgive, 21:00 to let things stay, 21:02 to set things down. 21:04 Like I just said, this lady, 21:06 "I wasted my time. 21:07 I wasted my life in bitterness." 21:10 What a tragic thing to say 21:12 on your deathbed. 21:14 >> And the person that you're 21:15 not willing to forgive probably 21:17 doesn't even know. 21:18 >> May not even─ probably 21:19 doesn't even know. 21:21 [calm music] 21:24 ♪♪ 21:44 >> So, Bill, what happens 21:46 if I don't forgive? 21:50 >> Well, the reality is, 21:51 unforgiveness is the 21:53 downhill slide into 21:55 victimhood, 21:57 where we start to live as... 22:01 ...someone who has been damaged 22:02 beyond healing, I can─ there's 22:05 nothing better for me because 22:07 you did this to me. 22:09 And I start to live in 22:10 that place where everything... 22:13 ...comes back to that event 22:15 or that experience that I had 22:17 with you. 22:18 I may talk about this, but I'm 22:21 gonna bring it around to you 22:22 because I'm a victim of you. 22:23 My life is worse because of you. 22:26 I hurt because of you. 22:27 I live in this place 22:30 because of you, 22:31 and I am the victim. 22:34 If I don't forgive, 22:35 life is a dreary place. 22:38 I think about the phrase 22:40 that says, "Well, if I don't 22:41 forgive you, I let you live 22:44 rent free in my head." 22:46 So if somebody lives rent free, 22:48 they enjoy the heat, they enjoy 22:49 the lights, they enjoy the 22:51 water, they enjoy everything 22:53 and they don't pay anything. 22:54 If you live rent free 22:55 in my head, you take my joy, 22:58 you take my happiness, 23:00 you take my peace of mind. 23:01 And you are the one who is 23:04 stealing that from me. 23:06 And I don't get any benefit from 23:09 the fact that you live there. 23:11 So not forgiving 23:13 is a dreary life. 23:15 >> So, Pastor Bill, can we go 23:17 back to those three levels 23:19 of forgiveness, and can you 23:22 share with us your process 23:24 or a process of how we can 23:26 follow through with those 23:27 three levels of forgiveness? 23:29 >> Yeah, so this is my journey 23:31 through all three of those. 23:33 With God, needing the 23:35 forgiveness from God, 23:37 I had assurance 23:39 from the words in the Bible 23:42 that God forgives. 23:44 But in my darkest hours, 23:46 I wasn't sure that He could 23:47 forgive me. 23:49 I─ there was a sense that 23:51 I know that you like to forgive, 23:53 I know the Bible says, I know 23:55 there's a theory of forgiveness, 23:57 but personally, I needed 24:00 to be assured that... 24:03 ...my name was on 24:04 His forgiveness, too. 24:06 So I read stories of people who 24:08 were forgiven in the Bible. 24:11 I think about 24:14 the man let down 24:16 through the roof. 24:17 God forgave him 24:19 without him even asking. 24:21 He came to get his legs healed, 24:23 God went for his heart. 24:26 There's just so many stories 24:27 of where people, where God said, 24:30 "I forgive you." 24:31 You just mentioned the people 24:33 crucifying Him. 24:34 "Father, forgive them. 24:35 They don't know what 24:36 they're doing." 24:37 The thief on the cross 24:38 beside Him. 24:40 "Be at peace. 24:41 You will be with me 24:42 in Paradise." 24:43 He loved to forgive. 24:45 And so then I begin to read 24:47 those stories and put myself 24:49 in their place and think, 24:52 well, would He say that to me? 24:54 I guess He probably would. 24:56 And when I began to personalize 24:58 those stories myself, 25:00 that's when I could say, 25:03 "Okay, I will receive 25:04 your forgiveness." 25:06 >> Bill, thank you so much 25:07 for sharing that with us. 25:08 We've come to the end of 25:09 our time together. 25:10 I wonder if you could pray 25:11 for our viewers. 25:13 Maybe there's someone who's 25:14 holding on to some kind of 25:16 bitterness. 25:17 They're struggling to be able to 25:19 forgive or to accept God's 25:21 forgiveness of them, 25:22 forgiving themselves. 25:24 Could you pray for them 25:25 right now? 25:26 >> I sure will, thank you. 25:27 Dear God in heaven, 25:29 the human heart, 25:31 with sin in it... 25:33 with sin in it... 25:35 ...struggles with all kinds of 25:36 emotion and we do things 25:39 or people do things to us, 25:41 and we struggle to 25:43 process it in a healthy way. 25:46 The enemy sits on our shoulders 25:48 and reminds us of the pain 25:50 that others have brought. 25:51 May we break through all of that 25:54 to a place of peace where You 25:56 can speak to us and say, 25:58 "I forgive you. 26:00 Do forgive them, too." 26:02 We know that when that happens, 26:04 peace reigns, joy comes back 26:07 and the future is bright. 26:09 So for anyone who is struggling 26:11 and holding on to anger 26:12 and bitterness, I just pray 26:13 for them that they would find 26:15 the softening presence 26:16 of the Holy Spirit to speak 26:18 to them and help them to see 26:20 the beauty of stepping through 26:22 that into a place of freedom. 26:25 Thank You for loving us the way 26:26 You do, and we love You, too. 26:28 In Jesus name, amen. 26:30 >> Amen. 26:31 >> Pastor Bill, thank you 26:32 so much for joining us on 26:34 It Is Written Canada again. 26:36 >> It's my privilege and I'm 26:37 glad that I can be here to share 26:39 some of the journey that I've 26:40 been on. 26:42 >> Wherever you find yourself 26:44 on your spiritual journey, 26:46 whether you are just testing 26:48 the waters of belief in God, 26:50 of the Bible, or a long-time 26:53 churchgoer, our free offer, 26:57 Daring To Ask For More, will 26:59 inspire and challenge you 27:02 to a life of faith and purpose. 27:05 >> Not only will Daring To 27:07 Ask For More challenge you 27:08 to pray as you've never prayed 27:10 before, but it will give you 27:12 extremely practical tools and 27:14 specific pointers on how to 27:16 develop the spiritual discipline 27:19 needed as you open your heart 27:21 to Jesus more intimately 27:24 each and every day. 27:27 >> Before you go, we would like 27:29 to thank all of you who have 27:31 supported the ministry of 27:32 It Is Written Canada 27:34 with your prayers and 27:35 financial contributions. 27:38 Without your support, 27:40 this television ministry 27:42 could not have reached 27:44 so many people 27:46 for so many decades. 27:48 >> Yes, thank you. 27:49 And we would like to invite you 27:52 to follow us on Instagram and 27:53 Facebook and subscribe to our 27:56 YouTube channel, and also listen 27:58 to our podcasts. 27:59 And if you go to our website, 28:01 you can see our latest programs. 28:06 [RENÉ] Friends, if you want 28:07 [RENÉ] Friends, if you want 28:08 the kind of healing 28:09 Pastor Bill Spangler 28:10 experienced, we recommend you 28:13 open the Bible 28:15 where it is recorded that 28:16 Jesus found His assurance 28:18 to defeat the devil through 28:20 the Word of His Father 28:22 when He declared... 28:35 [uplifting music] 28:38 ♪♪ |
Revised 2025-01-30