It Is Written

My Hometown, True Confession

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants:

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Series Code: IIW

Program Code: IIW016111S


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


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Revised 2022-09-20