It Is Written

Not Against Us

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: John Bradshaw

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW001211


00:07 It has stood the test of time.
00:11 God's book.
00:13 The Bible.
00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world.
00:22 It is written sharing hope around the globe.
00:50 Kim Philby was destined to make his mark in the world.
00:53 The son of a rather brilliant father, he was educated at
00:56 the best schools in England, including Trinity College in
00:58 Cambridge.
01:00 For 30 years Philby worked for British intelligence,
01:04 rising to a very high rank in the British Secret
01:07 Intelligence Service, M.I.6: he ran its entire
01:10 counterespionage programme - that is, he was in charge of
01:14 stopping spies collecting information on Britain - and
01:18 he set up the section that spied on the Soviet Union.
01:33 But what nobody knew was that while Kim Philby was in
01:36 charge of an important part of Great Britain's spy
01:39 programme, he himself was in fact a DOUBLE AGENT: while
01:46 supposedly protecting Britain from spies, Philby was a spy
01:50 himself, working for the Soviet Union.
01:54 He provided a lot of information to the Soviets
01:57 that led to the deaths of a large number of agents, and
02:00 he inflicted real damage to both American and British
02:03 intelligence.
02:18 Kim Philby died in Moscow in 1988.
02:21 A brilliant man, a capable man, but a double agent.
02:27 Nobody really knew just whose side he was on.
02:35 I've wondered often just how many people know whose side
02:37 GOD is on.
02:39 I'm not suggesting for a second that God is a double
02:41 agent, but that many people aren't entirely sure just
02:43 whose side He is on, as life plays out here on Planet
02:47 Earth.
02:48 God gets blamed for an enormous amount of bad
02:52 things: in 2005, not long after Hurricane Katrina, Time
02:55 Magazine featured an article titled, "Where Was God?"
02:59 It investigated the myriad responses from people about
03:03 the cause of the calamity - masses felt that it was God's
03:06 judgment for just about everything.
03:10 After the Asian tsunami, the Archbishop of Canterbury
03:13 said, "Of course, this makes us doubt God's existence."
03:16 So very often when personal tragedy strikes, the question
03:21 asked is "Why did God allow this?"
03:24 Now that's not always a bad question you know - even
03:27 Jesus cried out, My God, My God, Why hast thou forsaken me?
03:32 But all too often present in the question is the
03:34 suggestion that God is the villain.
03:37 And the question gets murky for some when we start to
03:41 wrestle with matters of personal sin - "Does God
03:44 still care for me, does God still love me, is God still
03:47 with me after what I've done?"
03:50 How far does the love and patience and acceptance of
03:53 God stretch in the case of sinners committing sin?
03:57 Serious questions.
03:59 And the Bible provides us with serious answers.
04:03 You don't really have to go too far in the Bible to
04:05 figure this out.
04:06 John Ch. 8 describes how Jesus handled
04:09 a broken life.
04:11 We find Jesus in the temple where you'd expect it to be
04:15 very reverent, very quiet, when something strange
04:19 happens.
04:21 A group of apparently upstanding men bring to Jesus
04:24 a women who had just been caught in an act of
04:27 immorality.
04:28 Angry men, a cowering, perhaps a weeping woman,
04:33 there is tension in the air as justice is being demanded.
04:37 Here's how John describes the scene.
04:39 John, Ch. 8: Then the scribes and
04:43 Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.
04:47 And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him,
04:50 "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the
04:52 very act.
04:55 "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should
04:57 be stoned.
04:59 But what do You say?"
05:01 (John 8:3-5) Well, what could He say?
05:04 If she's guilty, she's guilty.
05:06 Really, that settles it.
05:08 But aren't you glad that doesn't actually settle it in
05:11 the mind of God?
05:13 Not right away.
05:14 If guilt "settled it", our collective goose would have
05:17 been well and truly cooked a long time ago.
05:20 And according to the Bible, we're all in the same
05:22 situation.
05:23 Romans 3:23 says For all have sinned and fall short of the
05:28 glory of God. (Romans 3:23) If our misdeeds
05:32 settled it, if our sins settled it, none of us would
05:36 ever have the slightest hope of going to heaven.
05:39 We'd be done!
05:41 So how did Jesus respond?
05:41 John 8.
05:44 We pick it up in verse 6.
05:46 John 8:6, 7 But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground
05:49 with His finger, as though He did not hear.
05:52 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and
05:56 said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let
06:01 him throw a stone at her first."
06:05 Now, they were right.
06:07 She was a sinful woman, and she had done wrong.
06:11 But Jesus challenges those individuals and tells them to
06:15 go right ahead and stone this poor creature as long as they
06:20 themselves were without sin.
06:23 You know, when that woman heard what Jesus had said,
06:26 she no doubt thought she was dead.
06:28 These holy, righteous men, she thought.
06:32 They come off as being so holy they'll probably all be
06:35 throwing rocks at me.
06:36 It'll be a blizzard!
06:38 But instead they drop their rocks and walk away, leaving
06:43 Jesus, the perfect, holy, righteous Son of God - God in
06:48 the flesh - alone with this miserable, wicked, corrupt
06:54 individual, who really did deserve to have the book
06:57 thrown at her.
06:58 Now let's see how this story ends.
07:00 John 8:10-11 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no
07:05 one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those
07:09 accusers of yours?
07:11 Has no one condemned you?"
07:13 She said, "No one, Lord."
07:16 And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go
07:21 and sin no more."
07:24 Can you imagine how she felt?!
07:26 You know how good you feel when you got pulled up for
07:29 speeding and the police officer let you off with just
07:31 a warning, right?
07:33 And all you avoided was a $100 fine.
07:35 This woman escaped with her life.
07:38 Now why did Jesus do that?
07:39 Because that's whose side Jesus is on.
07:45 We remember the famous verse in John 3:16 but what about
07:48 John 3:17?
07:49 It says this: "For God did not send His Son into the
07:54 world to condemn the world, but that the world through
08:00 Him might be saved."
08:02 God is in the business of SAVING people.
08:05 In fact, God gives us an incredible illustration to
08:09 help us understand just whose side He is on today.
08:12 God had Israel build Him a dwelling place, a sanctuary.
08:18 In Exodus 25:8 the Bible says this: And let them make me a
08:23 sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
08:28 God wanted to spend time with His people.
08:33 Now this sanctuary was mobile - it traveled with the
08:36 Israelites through the wilderness.
08:39 And it was magnificent - gold plated boards set in sockets
08:42 of silver, fine linen, beautiful curtains, golden
08:47 candlesticks with seven lamps giving light day and night,
08:51 gold-plated furniture and items of pure gold.
09:03 And most magnificently of all, the Shekinah Glory was
09:07 in there - the presence of God Himself.
09:11 Of course, in time the mobile sanctuary was superceded by
09:17 the temple.
09:18 Yet you'll remember that when Jesus died the veil in the
09:20 temple was torn in two by an act of God.
09:25 God was signifying that the temple services were now
09:29 obsolete - the True Lamb had come and died.
09:32 As such, it was redundant for God's people to offer animal
09:34 sacrifices anymore.
09:36 In fact, you could say it was offensive - to have faith in
09:39 a lamb sacrifice would be to fail to recognize the True
09:43 Lamb had died.
09:45 The temple had really served its purpose.
09:48 So what is the Bible talking about when it talks about a
09:50 sanctuary that is still important to us today?
09:54 In the book of Hebrews we discover a sanctuary in
09:57 heaven.
09:59 And according the book of Exodus, Moses was told by God
10:02 to build the earthly sanctuary and pattern it
10:06 after the heavenly.
10:08 Now why is that important?
10:09 The simple existence of the building itself isn't the
10:15 item of most major importance.
10:18 What is most important is what is going on in that
10:20 sanctuary.
10:22 What is going on there shows us where God's mind is
10:27 towards the sinners of this world.
10:29 I'll tell you in a moment where Jesus is and what he is
10:32 doing.
10:33 And the answer will bless you incredible.
10:38 Today's Bible Question: I heard a preacher say that
10:57 hell is not a real place and that God is so loving that in
10:59 the end everyone will be saved, since they are all his
11:03 children and a loving God wouldn't kill any of them.
11:06 Do you agree with that?
11:07 Let me tell you this.
11:09 Jesus certainly believed in hell.
11:11 In Matthew 10:28 Jesus said, "And fear not them which kill
11:14 the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather
11:17 fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
11:20 hell."
11:22 It isn't a pleasant thought at all, but the truth is that
11:25 the wages of sin is death, according to the Bible,
11:29 sinners ultimately will be destroyed in a lake of fire.
11:32 You read that in the book of Revelation.
11:35 Yes, God is loving.
11:37 Yes, God wants everyone to come to repentance.
11:40 But for those who do not, God isn't going to drag them
11:44 kicking and screaming into heaven.
11:46 If someone really doesn't want to go there, God is not
11:49 going to drag them there.
11:51 I'd like to prod your thinking a bit.
11:54 Hell has been a favourite for some preachers.
11:57 They'll preach up the hottest hell and then almost scare
12:00 people into accepting Jesus just so they can avoid the
12:04 fires of hell.
12:05 That's what we might call, Fire Escape Religion - the
12:09 idea of getting religion just to escape the fire.
12:12 Now, I do believe that hell ought to act as a
12:16 disincentive to sinful living, that's for sure.
12:18 But it isn't even nearly the best disincentive to sinful
12:21 living.
12:22 The best inducement to draw a sinner away from sin and to
12:24 the heart of Jesus is the love of God.
12:28 And you know something?
12:29 Even hell-fire, when you understand it correctly, is a
12:32 manifestation of the love of God.
12:34 There is a hell, and it is hot, but I think it is
12:39 important to try to really accurately understand
12:41 hell-fire, and see that all God does is a reflection of
12:45 His character and a revelation of what he is
12:48 really like.
12:50 I'd love you to read an article I've written about
12:52 hell.
12:53 You can download it from our website, ItIsWritten.com And
12:56 if you have a question you would like answered, you can
12:59 go to that same website ItIsWritten.com, click on the
13:02 questions tab and submit your question.
13:05 And I would love to do my very best to answer your
13:08 Bible question.
13:11 If you have a Bible question for pastor John Bradshaw,
13:13 please write to It Is Written, Box O, Thousand
13:16 Oaks, California 91359 or visit our website
13:20 itiswritten.com and send us your questions on-line.
13:25 After Jesus died on the cross, we know where
13:27 he went to.
13:29 He went to the grave.
13:30 I know it says that in the Apostles' Creed - "He
13:32 descended into hell, on the third day He rose again..."
13:34 - but that's true in the Biblical sense where the word
13:37 'hell' is often used to mean the grave.
13:40 Jesus descended into the grave.
13:42 When he died, He didn't go to some hot place in the centre
13:44 of the earth.
13:45 That's just fantasy, with no Biblical basis at all.
13:48 The wonderful news is, though, that the grave could
13:51 not hold Jesus!
13:52 He came forth triumphant - then where'd He go?
13:56 He went to heaven.
13:57 And what did He go to heaven for?
13:59 Was it just to bide His time as He waited for
14:02 the Second Coming?
14:03 No, Jesus went to heaven to do far more than that.
14:07 According to the book of Hebrews, Jesus is performing
14:11 a specific role in heaven.
14:13 Hebrews 4:14 says, Seeing then that we have a great
14:18 high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
14:21 Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
14:26 Jesus went to heaven to be our High Priest.
14:29 Now let's look at Hebrews 8, verses 1 and 2.
14:35 We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand
14:39 of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.
14:42 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle,
14:47 which the Lord pitched, and not man.
14:51 Jesus has gone to heaven, to the heavenly sanctuary that
14:55 God made, so that He can be our High Priest.
14:58 Now think about what that means for us.
15:01 The old sanctuary service was essentially the gospel in
15:04 types and shadows.
15:06 How could God help Israel understand what the plan of
15:08 salvation was really all about?
15:12 He taught them - it's like this, He said.
15:14 Sin causes death.
15:16 I want to show you how it will cause the death of my
15:19 Son, so I'll put that in the figure of the death of a
15:21 lamb.
15:23 Because of your sin the lamb dies.
15:26 Here's what they'd do.
15:27 The sinner would take a lamb to this sanctuary.
15:30 He'd confess his sins over the lamb, and his sins would
15:33 be transferred - figuratively, obviously - to
15:36 the lamb.
15:38 The Lamb would be killed, and the blood would be taken
15:42 inside the sanctuary (some of the blood).
15:45 In that way, the sin was transferred into the
15:48 sanctuary.
15:50 At the end of the year the entire sin record would be
15:53 dealt with, on the Day of Atonement.
15:56 The sanctuary would be cleansed, and the people
15:59 would rejoice that they stood before God absolutely pure
16:04 and clean.
16:05 Does this relate to our salvation today?
16:08 You bet it does.
16:09 When we need cleansing from sin, we come to Jesus.
16:12 The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, and then prompts
16:14 us to come to God.
16:15 We come - we are drawn to Him by God Himself.
16:19 We confess our sins.
16:21 Who takes our sins?
16:22 Jesus, the Lamb.
16:24 He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins once
16:26 and for all.
16:27 So we come to Christ, we profess faith in the
16:31 sacrifice of the Lamb when Jesus died on the cross, and
16:35 God takes our sins away.
16:37 Now, back in the OT time, when the sinner confessed,
16:40 there was a middle man - a priest, or a high priest.
16:43 Today, there's a Middle Man - our High Priest, Jesus.
16:49 Look at what we read in 1 John 2:1 - the Bible says: My
16:59 little children, I write these things to you that you
17:05 sin not.
17:06 But if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
17:09 Jesus Christ the righteous.
17:11 As our High Priest in heaven, Jesus intercedes for us.
17:14 We come to Him with our sins, repentant.
17:17 He takes our sins from us, appeals to God in our behalf,
17:21 and gives His own perfect righteousness in place of our
17:26 sins.
17:27 What this tells us is that in heaven there is a Savior who
17:31 invites us to come to Him, just as we are, knowing that
17:35 He will have mercy on us.
17:38 Remember what it said back in Hebrews?
17:40 Hebrews 4:14?
17:43 "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest that is
17:46 passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
17:51 hold fast our profession."
17:54 If you're a sinner who has faith in Jesus and you've got
17:57 your struggles, the answer is not to let go!
18:01 The knowledge that a holy, righteous Jesus is your High
18:04 Priest in heaven absolutely must inspire you to hang on
18:07 tight!
18:09 The Greek word that is translated into "hold fast"
18:12 means "to cling to tenaciously."
18:16 That's like a barnacle clinging to the side of a
18:18 ship.
18:19 You can hardly pry those things off!
18:22 And when you know that Jesus is on your side in heaven,
18:25 that ought to give you confidence to live on in such
18:28 a way that nothing can pry you off.
18:32 Continuing in Heb 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly unto
18:41 the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find
18:46 grace to help in time of need."
18:49 We are to come with confidence, because Jesus is
18:52 our High Priest, and our intercessor.
18:55 I spoke to someone recently who said to me, I hope I'm
18:58 good enough to go to heaven.
19:00 And you know what I told this person?
19:02 I said, You'll never be good enough.
19:04 That's why we need Jesus!
19:06 And in fact, if you're hoping to ever be good enough for
19:09 God to save you, you need to stop hoping that right now.
19:13 Now, if what you mean is that you hope to be ready, or you
19:16 hope to see Jesus, well that's fine.
19:19 But if you're hoping to be good enough to go to heaven,
19:22 you've got another thing coming.
19:24 Now this might surprise you, but I've taught my children
19:27 to never pray that God will help them to be good.
19:31 Now why would I say that?
19:33 I'll tell you why in a moment.
19:43 It Is Written is sharing the gospel around the world.
19:48 Part of our mission is to bring the Word of God to some
19:50 of the most remote places on earth.
19:53 Right now we are providing audio Bibles to the people of
19:55 Papua New Guinea.
19:57 We call this audio Bible the Godpod.
20:00 Through this solar powered mp3 player, people can hear
20:03 God's word in their own language.
20:09 If you'd like to help It Is Written share the Word of God
20:11 by providing solar-powered Godpod Bibles, please call
20:14 our toll-free number 1 800 253 3000.
20:18 Call right now.
20:20 Just tell the operator you would like to help with the
20:22 Godpod project.
20:24 You can also participate by sending your gift to It is
20:27 Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, California 91359.
20:31 And for your convenience you can also make a gift on line
20:34 at itiswritten.com.
20:38 This ministry uses every reasonable effort to fund its
20:41 projects as described.
20:42 Should the project become fully funded or should the
20:45 nature of the project change due to unexpected
20:47 circumstances, funds will be directed toward similar,
20:50 worthy projects.
20:51 Our toll-free number 1 800 253 3000 and our web address
20:57 is itiswritten.com I have taught
21:03 my children to never pray to be good.
21:06 I remember my little boy praying that - "Dear Jesus,
21:09 help me to be good."
21:10 And I said, No, we are not going to pray that way.
21:13 Not that I want my children to pray to be bad, you
21:15 understand!
21:17 But what happens if you pray to be good?
21:20 You're doomed to fail.
21:22 In Romans chapter 3, Paul is quoting the Psalms when he
21:25 writes these words: (Romans 3:10) As it is written:
21:29 "There is none righteous, no, not one."
21:33 And then verse 12 adds.
21:35 There is none that doeth good, no, not one.
21:39 (Romans 3:12) So you're going to try to be good, or pray to
21:42 be good?
21:43 All you can do is FAIL!
21:45 The person who prays to be good is sooner or later going
21:48 to figure out that such an approach cannot work, and
21:51 before long one of a couple of things is going to happen:
21:54 they're either going to give up on God, or just as bad,
21:58 they're going to stay in the church and be miserable and
22:00 feel condemned.
22:02 But God didn't ever ask us to be good.
22:04 He asked us to be HOLY!
22:07 And where are you going to get holiness from?
22:09 Not from yourself, that's for sure!
22:12 I've encouraged my children to pray instead that Christ
22:16 will live in their hearts; that God would forgive them
22:19 and give them new hearts.
22:21 See, if you are praying to be good, it'll never work.
22:24 If you pray for Jesus to live in your heart, it'll never
22:26 fail!
22:28 When Jesus comes into your life He brings His goodness,
22:31 His righteousness, His power and His holiness.
22:34 And that's what we need.
22:36 And we can get that - sinners like us!
22:40 We can receive Christ's holiness freely when we come
22:43 confidently to the throne of grace.
22:47 So what's the worst thing that can happen if you admit
22:49 to God that you are a sinner?
22:50 Do you think God is going to be shocked to find that out?
22:53 I don't think so!
22:54 When Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me all ye
22:58 that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
23:00 rest," He wasn't referring to just the holy folks!
23:03 If you are burdened, if you are weary, if you are feeling
23:08 crushed by the weight of the mess in your life, Come to
23:11 Jesus, just as you are!!!
23:14 Hebrews 9:24 is a powerful text.
23:17 It tells us that Jesus has gone "into heaven itself, now
23:27 to appear in the presence of God for us."
23:32 Now I'm not attempting to minimize the seriousness of
23:34 the spiritual mess we find ourselves in, but I'm telling
23:37 you it is impossible to overstate the importance of
23:41 the wonderful truth that Jesus is in heaven, as our
23:46 High Priest, FOR US!
23:49 Not against us, but FOR us!
23:53 That means He will give you spiritual help.
23:56 He will provide emotional help.
23:58 He will not cast you off the moment you make a mess.
24:02 Hebrews 7:25 says this: Wherefore He is also able to
24:08 save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him,
24:13 since He always lives to make intercession for them.
24:17 Jesus lives "to make intercession" for us.
24:20 You can know where Jesus is -He is in heaven.
24:23 You can know what He is doing - He is acting as your High
24:25 Priest.
24:27 And you can know that He is for you, and not against you.
24:31 And that's good news.
24:34 I want to thank him for that right now.
24:37 And why don't, as we pray, we commit ourselves to accepting
24:41 Christ, His ministry as our High Priest, and whenever we
24:46 ask God for help, to trust that Jesus through His
24:49 ministry will do in our lives everything he wants to do.
24:53 Let's pray together.
24:54 Our Father in heaven, we thank you today that we have
24:56 a High Priest in heaven.
24:58 Jesus isn't AWOL, He isn't missing.
25:01 We know where He is.
25:02 In heaven's temple.
25:05 Heaven's sanctuary.
25:06 And we know what He is doing.
25:07 He is not sitting around on a fluffy cloud eating grapes,
25:10 hanging out with angels just waiting to return to this
25:13 earth.
25:14 No.
25:16 He is actively engaged in our salvation.
25:18 Interceding for us in your presence.
25:20 And so we thank you.
25:22 We thank you for his blood shed that we might be
25:25 cleansed from all of our sins.
25:28 Lord, give us grace to have faith in you.
25:31 Give us confidence knowing Jesus is in heaven for us and
25:37 not against us.
25:39 And we pray with thanks today in Jesus' name.
25:42 Amen.
26:07 Perhaps our program today has touched your heart and
26:11 impressed you with a personal need for deeper Bible study.
26:14 If you desire to listen to God and follow where he
26:17 leads, we've got a wonderful resource that can help you do
26:20 that in a systemic way, the Discover Bible Guides.
26:24 These study guides will take you through the essential
26:27 truths taught in Scripture.
26:28 They give you the big picture showing how it all fits
26:31 together.
26:32 The Discover Bible Guides are a wonderful way for you to
26:35 become grounded in the Word of God and to see how Jesus
26:38 Christ relates to all the areas of our lives.
26:41 Please call or write us and the Discover Bible Guides
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26:46 If you live in North America, we'll mail these Bible guides
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26:50 Or for even easier and immediate access from
26:53 anywhere around the world, you can get these wonderful
26:55 Bible lessons on our website itiswritten.com.
27:00 Request the Discover Bible Guides by calling our toll
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27:06 Call right now and tell us the name of today's free
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27:14 Lines are open 24 hours.
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27:18 You can also request today's offer by writing to It Is
27:22 Written, Box O, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359.
27:27 Thank you for your letters and for your continued
27:30 support.
27:31 Our toll free number is 1 800 253 3000
27:34 and our web address is itiswritten.com
27:41 Thanks for joining me today.
27:42 Look forward to seeing you next time.
27:45 And until then, remember - It Is Written: man shall not
27:50 live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from
27:55 the mouth of God.


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Revised 2015-02-06