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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001117A
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00:04 This is a place of immense suffering, misery, and death. 00:08 It's a place where lives were destroyed and changed forever. 00:15 This is Changi, Singapore. When Singapore fell to the Japanese 00:19 in World War II, 50,000 British, Australian and Allied troops 00:25 were imprisoned here. They were crammed together in terrible 00:29 conditions. They were often tortured and beaten. Life was 00:34 a daily struggle against humiliation, hunger, and disease. 00:40 Yet it was here in one of history's darkest hours where 00:43 conditions were at their worst that we find a story that is 00:47 heroic, moving, and most of all inspirational. In this dreadful 00:54 place one man, a British bombardier brought hope and 00:58 peace to the broken and dying men of Changi. And he did it in 01:03 the most unusual way. Stay tuned because his story will inspire 01:08 you and his secret could bring you hope and peace in your 01:12 darkest hour as well. 01:14 ♪ ♪ 01:31 Singapore Changi Airport is one of the largest transportation 01:35 hubs in Southeast Asia. It's the sixth busiest airport in the 01:40 world and the second busiest in Asia. Each week about 7000 01:45 flights land or depart from Changi or about one every 90 01:51 seconds with about 60 million passengers passing through the 01:57 airport each year. But Changi is more than just an airport. It's 02:01 a destination in its own right with a multitude of shopping, 02:06 dining and entertaining experiences on offer at the 02:11 airports four terminals. It's not surprising that it's 02:15 currently rated the world's best airport, a rating it's held for 02:20 the past five years. This airport has blossomed and boomed 02:26 over the past few decades, so it's not surprising that the 02:30 first airfield at Changi lacked the sophistication and marvelous 02:35 attractions of today's airport. But what is surprising is that 02:40 the very first airfield here at Changi was initiated by the 02:45 occupying imperial Japanese forces after the fall of 02:48 Singapore in 1942 and the first landing strips were built by 02:54 British and Australian POWs who were used as forced laborers. 02:59 When Singapore fell to the Japanese on the 15th of February 03:04 1942, it was Britain's greatest military defeat and the largest 03:09 surrender of troops in British history. Around 80,000 British, 03:14 Indian and Australian troops based in Singapore became 03:19 prisoners of war. The Japanese were astounded at the sheer 03:23 number of prisoners they suddenly found themselves with. 03:28 Clearly they had to do something with them and quickly. They 03:32 rapidly made a decision to segregate them along racial 03:35 lines and march them to Changi in the south of the island. Over 03:40 50,000 prisoners made that journey. They were crammed 03:45 together in terrible living conditions in a number of 03:48 barracks in the area. They were often tortured and beaten. Life 03:54 was a daily struggle against humiliation, hunger, and disease. 03:59 Changi was a living hell. Yet it was here in one of history's 04:04 darkest hours where conditions were at their worst that we find 04:09 a story that is heroic, moving and most of all inspirational. 04:14 In this dreadful place, one man, a British bombardier, brought 04:20 hope and peace to the broken and dying men of Changi. And he did 04:25 it in the most unusual way. Stanley Warren was born in 04:31 England in 1917. He was a talented artist and a religious 04:37 man. Stanley was employed as a commercial designer producing 04:40 poster ads with the Granada organization before the war. In 04:45 1940 he enlisted in the army to join the fight against Nazi 04:51 Germany. He was posted to the Royal Regiment of Artillery as 04:55 an observation post assistant. His responsibilities included 04:59 having to make quick drawings of panoramas that were used to 05:04 plot targets for the artillery guns. In early 1942, he was 05:10 posted overseas to Malaya with the 15th Field Regiment Royal 05:15 Artillery after the Japanese had invaded Malaya and Thailand 05:20 and Pearl Harbor had been bombed. On arrival their fight 05:25 against the Japanese was brutal and short lived. Soon his 05:30 battalion began retreating to Singapore. By the 12th of 05:34 February the situation in Singapore was desperate and 05:38 Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival who was in charge of 05:41 the British-Malaya command ordered the troops into 05:45 Singapore town. Three days later the British surrendered 05:50 and Stanley was interned as a prisoner of war at Robert's 05:54 Barracks in Changi. Stanley joined other POWs who were 05:59 forced to work around Singapore repairing the damage caused by 06:03 the Japanese attacks and restoring essential services to 06:08 working order again. They endured appalling conditions 06:12 of overwork, starvation, sickness and torture. Disease 06:18 was widespread and medical supplies were scarce. As a 06:23 result of the extreme hard labor and the horrific conditions, the 06:28 men's morale and health deteriorated rapidly. Stanley 06:34 suffered terribly. He developed a severe kidney disorder that 06:39 was complicated by dysentery and malnutrition. He was close to 06:44 death and was finally admitted to the Robert's Barracks 06:48 hospital in a comatose state. Later he was transferred to the 06:52 dysentery wing at Block 151. The building housed a chapel 06:58 that the prisoners had built and dedicated to St. Luke, the Bible 07:04 physician. While recuperating Stanley heard the sound of 07:08 Australian prisoners singing hymns and carols in the chapel 07:12 and the sound of those voices inspired him to use his artistic 07:19 talents to create a symbol that would bring hope and peace to 07:23 his fellow prisoners. As soon as he was strong enough, Stanley 07:29 joined the choir and agreed to paint a series of murals on the 07:33 chapel walls. He wondered what he could paint that would lift 07:39 the prisoners spirits and give them hope in their darkest hour. 07:42 Then he realized that there was only one source of lasting hope 07:48 and peace. He requested a Bible and focused on the four gospels, 07:53 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John from which he drew his 07:57 inspiration. He decided to paint a series of murals that would 08:03 show the very heart of Christian belief. At the time when Stanley 08:08 was preparing his draft drawings of the murals, the Japanese began 08:14 an action which would become infamous as the bombardier 08:17 Barracks incident. The Japanese demanded the prisoners' leaders 08:22 sign a no escape pledge. This was shortly after the recapture 08:27 of four escaped soldiers. This type of declaration is against 08:33 the Geneva Convention and the prisoners' leaders rightly 08:37 refused to sign. The Japanese response was to have the four 08:41 recaptured soldiers executed on Changi Beach. Then 17,000 08:47 prisoners were ordered from their barracks and forced to 08:51 assemble in Selarang Barracks Square. They had to stand there 08:55 in the open for nearly five days exposed to the elements without 09:00 water or sanitation until the no escape pledge was signed. 09:05 Against this backdrop Stanley began to paint the Changi Murals 09:10 One of the biggest challenges he faced was finding paint and 09:16 brushes. But the prisoners rallied and at risk of their 09:20 lives they managed to scrounge paint, make brushes from human 09:25 hair and gather materials for the project. Despite still being 09:32 very ill Stanley began to work on the first mural. His illness 09:36 and meager diet meant that he could only paint for a limited 09:40 period each day. For perhaps 10 to 15 minutes at a time followed 09:45 by a rest. He fainted often which also slowed his progress. 09:51 Stanley decided to use the same technique he used when he worked 09:57 as a cinema billboard artist before the war. He drew in clear 10:03 bold outlines so that the murals could be seen at a glance or 10:08 from a distance. To compensate as much as he could for the lack 10:12 of available color he resorted to large brush strokes and areas 10:18 of solid color. The result was to be murals of very low tones. 10:24 The first mural Stanley painted featured the nativity or birth 10:29 of Christ. He painted each of the three Wiseman who presented 10:34 gifts to the Baby Jesus as being from different racial groups. 10:38 The figure holding the cup is Asian, the robed and turbaned 10:43 Wiseman kneeling at the front is middle eastern and the third 10:48 Wiseman is European. This helped convey the concept of 10:52 universality, that we're all equal and part of the one human 10:58 family that shares this planet. Above the mural he painted the 11:03 words that the angels used to announce the birth of Jesus - 11:09 Pease on Earth to Men of Goodwill. Despite serious 11:13 illness Stanley persevered and managed to complete the mural 11:17 in time for Christmas. This lifted the spirits of the 11:21 prisoners. That Christmas the chapel was absolutely packed and 11:28 others stood outside and listened to the service and 11:31 hymns. There was peace in Changi Prison that great Christmas of 11:38 1942 and in the hearts of many of the POWs as well. And the 11:43 fact that his nativity mural contributed to that made Stanley 11:48 glad. Stanley feared that he would die before he completed 11:54 the mural project so he decided to paint the ascension of Jesus 11:59 return to heaven next after the nativity so that the chapel 12:05 would at least have two murals representing the beginning and 12:09 the end of Christ's time on earth. Fortunately his health 12:15 improved and he was able to complete the second mural on 12:18 another wall within several weeks. The ascension mural 12:24 features the risen Christ saying to his disciples Go and Teach 12:28 the Nations. I Am With You. The third mural to be painted was 12:35 crucifixion and Stanley deliberately chose slaves to 12:40 carry out the crucifixion. The slaves, clad only in loin cloths 12:45 were a direct reference to the prisoners' own conditions. Loin 12:51 cloths is what many of them wore But there's an additional subtle 12:56 more important message here. By using slaves Stanley was also 13:01 inferring that the Japanese soldiers were under orders when 13:05 they carried out the many atrocities that they committed. 13:08 Stanley was a committed Christian and in this mural he 13:12 was forgiving his captors for the mistreatment of the POWS. 13:16 Above the mural he painted the words, Father Forgive Them, They 13:22 Know Not What They Do. To emphasize the concept of 13:27 forgiveness Stanley painted Jesus with his eyes closed so 13:30 that he wouldn't see and recognize those who were harming 13:34 him. He wouldn't hold it against them. That's true forgiveness. 13:39 The message of this crucifixion mural was so powerful that even 13:44 the Japanese guards would come into the chapel and gaze up at 13:49 it. And whenever the chaplains met with small groups of 13:53 prisoners they chose to stand under this mural. Next came the 14:00 painting of the last supper. The mural depicts Christ sharing 14:05 the very first communion with his disciples before his 14:08 betrayal by Judas Iscariot and his subsequent torture and 14:14 crucifixion. The inscription reads This Is My Blood of the 14:18 New Testament Which Is Shed For Many. Christ was telling of the 14:24 suffering and death that he was soon to endure. The prisoners 14:29 found hope and affinity in this suffering Messiah. They felt 14:33 he understood their situation and that brought them comfort. 14:38 The final mural shows an aged St. Luke in prison writing his 14:44 gospel while a Roman centurion and others watch on. The walls 14:48 of the prison are broken down to show that the human spirits 14:53 and true hope cannot be contained. Christ's word would 14:58 go out to the world despite imprisonment. The Changi murals 15:03 were completed by May 1943. Their effect on the atmosphere 15:09 in the prison camp was quite remarkable. In that living hell, 15:14 in one of history's darkest hours when conditions were at 15:19 their worst Stanley Warren's paintings boosted the moral of 15:23 the men, brought them spiritual uplift, provided them peace and 15:28 gave them hope. The murals and their message played a role in 15:33 the survival of many Changi POWs After he started painting the 15:39 murals Stanley was informed that his work party was to be sent 15:45 north to work on the Thai-Burma railway. The Colonel in charge 15:49 of the hospital who was aware of his work on the murals 15:52 intervened to have Stanley transferred back to the hospital 15:56 so that he could continue his work in the chapel. Most of 16:01 Stanley's unit who went to the Thai-Burma railway never 16:04 returned. If Stanley went in his weakened condition he most 16:10 certainly would have died there. So the murals very directly saved 16:15 his life in a way he could never have foreseen. After the war 16:21 Stanley returned to England where he married and became an 16:24 art teacher at a school in London. Meanwhile St. Luke's 16:28 chapel at Changi was turned into a storeroom. The murals were 16:34 painted over and forgotten. And the Changi murals remained 16:38 forgotten for 13 years until an unnamed RAF national serviceman 16:45 was told to clean up the store room which had served as the 16:48 POWs chapel. He noticed that some streaks of color lay under 16:54 the outer coat of paint and reported it to his officer who 16:59 realized the importance of the discovery. The outer coat of 17:03 paint was carefully removed revealing the five murals, but 17:08 there was no signature on any of the murals and so the identity 17:12 of the artist was a mystery. An all out search was then put into 17:17 operation involving the national press in Britain. In February 17:23 1959 Stanley Warren was finally found living in London with his 17:28 wife and son still teaching his beloved art. The RAF contacted 17:35 Stanley and persuaded him to make three trips back to 17:38 Singapore to restore his murals. And today, 60 years later, 17:44 Stanley Warren's Changi murals continue to inspire people with 17:50 their enduring message of hope just as they did for hundreds of 17:54 his fellow prisoners of war back in the darkest days of World War 17:59 II. What is it about hope that's so important to us as humans and 18:08 our well-being. It's said we can go three weeks without food, 18:14 three days without water, three minutes without oxygen, 18:17 but how long can we exist without hope. The loss of hope 18:22 is a terrible thing. Without hope life's challenges bring 18:27 discouragement, despair, depression and even death. 18:31 Without hope we are broken people. That's why the Bible 18:36 lists hope as one of the three great Christian virtues. 18:40 It links hope to faith and love and it indicates that these 18:46 three virtues are amongst the most important gifts that God 18:49 gives us and that they will remain or last. Notice what the 18:54 Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 13: 19:08 So there you have them, faith, hope and love. These are three 19:14 gifts that God gives us and they are linked, they're united. What 19:19 happens to one happens to all and what happens is that they 19:24 remain, they never end. Many people understand hope is 19:28 wishful thinking, a desire for something they may or may not 19:33 receive as in, I hope something will happen. Like I hope I get a 19:39 new job or I hope it'll be a sunny day tomorrow, but not 19:44 knowing if they'll happen or not But this is not what the Bible 19:48 means by hope. The Bible definition of hope is confident 19:53 expectation. It refers to a desire for something we are 19:58 certain to receive, an assurance concerning the future. The 20:04 Christian hope is based upon what God has already done in the 20:08 completed work of Jesus. It's built on fact. This is true hope 20:14 It's far greater than just a wish or a desire. This is hope 20:20 that lasts forever and this is what Stanley Warren communicated 20:25 in his murals. He simply told the story of Jesus. He pictured 20:31 the most important events in his life, the very heart of 20:34 Christian belief. He brought hope into the lives of the POWs 20:39 at Changi death camp by communicating faith, hope and 20:44 love. In his first mural featuring the nativity or birth 20:49 of Christ Stanley showed that God is not far away like some 20:55 uncaring absent landlord. Rather in Jesus Christ he came to this 21:01 planet of ours and became intimately and actively involved 21:05 in providing a solution to the problems we face. And right 21:10 there when Jesus was born we are reminded of what's really 21:14 behind our major problems. Notice what God said regarding 21:18 Mary and the birth of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21: 21:33 Jesus came to this planet for one purpose, to save us from our 21:40 sins. The Bible says that because of the wrong things we 21:44 do everyone falls short of who God wants us to be. Because of 21:48 the wrong things we do sin separates us from God, but Jesus 21:54 came to earth over 2000 years ago to pay the price for our 21:59 sins. That's why he came and that's the message of hope that 22:03 Stanley shared in his nativity mural. Then in the mural of the 22:08 last supper Stanley shared how on the Thursday before his 22:12 execution Jesus sat down at the table with his disciples to eat 22:17 his final meal before his crucifixion and resurrection. 22:21 The last supper was very significant because Jesus showed 22:26 his disciples he was about to become the Passover Lamb of God. 22:31 His shed blood would open the door to freedom. His followers 22:36 would exchange slavery to sin and death for eternal life in 22:40 God's kingdom. This mural carries a powerful message of 22:45 hope to the prisoners here as they were literally slaves. This 22:50 mural gave those slaves hope. The crucifixion mural continued 22:55 the message of hope for those prisoners in Changi. When Jesus 23:00 died in our place on the cross, he paid the penalty for our sins 23:04 He broke the power of sin and death and created a new 23:09 relationship with God for us and that brings true freedom. No 23:15 matter what our circumstances, no matter what mistakes we've 23:19 made, we can have the assurance that our sins are forgiven if we 23:25 bring them to the cross and leave them there. Next came the 23:30 resurrection mural. Here Stanley shared with his fellow prisoners 23:34 that by rising from the dead Christ promised that new life 23:39 became sure and certain. Even though they were facing death, 23:43 Stanley's resurrection mural gave these prisoners hope, a 23:49 living hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. And so 23:53 through all their challenges and persecution Stanley Warren and 23:58 and his fellow prisoners fixed their eyes upon the Lord Jesus 24:03 Christ, their hope. And with all the hopelessness and despair of 24:07 this dark place they found hope, true hope, through these murals 24:13 that pointed them to Jesus. As I stand here in the Changi chapel 24:19 gazing at Stanley's hope filled murals it's as if I can hear the 24:24 voices of those prisoners echoing down the years singing 24:28 the old favorite hymn of faith and assurance: 24:46 What about you? Have you lost hope? Where do you find your 24:51 hope in the trials and storms of life? When you accept Jesus and 24:57 allow him into your life, then he will bring life giving 25:01 forgiveness into your situation and bring you hope, real hope. 25:07 With Jesus in your life you'll never face your problems alone. 25:11 You'll know victory instead of failure. You'll have true hope 25:15 to face your challenges. You can stand with Jesus and he will 25:20 guide you through life in ways that are far better than you can 25:25 ever think or imagine. Jesus will put your life together 25:29 again, give you hope and walk with you step by step. If you'd 25:34 like to have that hope in your life why not ask for it right 25:39 now as we pray. 25:41 Dear Heavenly Father, we all face challenges in the journey 25:47 of life and sometimes it seems that the trials and storms of 25:51 life are about to overwhelm us. And when we're down it's so easy 25:57 to fall into discouragement, despair and depression. Please 26:03 point us to Jesus. Uplift us and give us the hope that comes from 26:07 knowing him. Lord, we want to stand with you and have you 26:11 guide us through life. Please bless us and give us hope. 26:16 We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. 26:20 If you feel as if you've lost hope or would like to find out 26:29 more about Christian hope, then I'd like to recommend the free 26:33 gift we have for all our viewers today. It's the Christian 26:39 classic Steps to Christ. This book is our gift to you and is 26:44 absolutely free. There are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:49 Thousands have become acquainted with Jesus and found hope 26:53 through this book and it has helped many more including those 26:57 who have walked with him for years to know him better. So 27:02 please don't miss this wonderful opportunity to receive the gift 27:06 we have for you today. Here's the information you need: 27:11 Phone us now on 0481315101 or text us on 0491222999 or visit 27:26 our website theincrediblejourney.tv 27:30 to request today's free offer. So don't delay. Contact us 27:35 right now. Be sure to join us again next week when we'll share 27:42 another of life's journeys together and experience another 27:46 new and thought provoking perspective on the peace, 27:49 insight, understanding and hope that only the Bible can give us. 27:55 Until next week remember the ultimate destination of life's 27:58 journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth and God will 28:03 wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more 28:07 death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for 28:12 the former things have passed away. 28:14 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-09-21