It has stood the test of time.
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God's book.
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The Bible.
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Still relevant in
today's complex world.
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It is written sharing
hope around the globe.
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Thanks for joining me today.
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I4m John Bradshaw and
this is It Is Written.
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In the north of England,
about half way between Leeds
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and Newcastle in North
Yorkshire, is the little
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village of Hipswell.
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It's an unremarkable place
as far as English villages go -
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bucolic, surrounded
by beautiful countryside,
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it4s slow, it4s peaceful...
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nothing you wouldn't expect
to see in an English village.
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But there's something that
sets little Hipswell apart.
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It's the home of one of
the most remarkable men in all
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of history, certainly in terms
of his contribution to British
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society and his
role in Christianity.
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In Hipswell long ago, a
fire began burning that would
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eventually burn so
bright it would illuminate all
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of England, and by
extension, the entire world.
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John Wycliffe was
born here or hereabouts.
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His family most likely
hailed from the area known
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as Wycliffe, about half an hour
north of here on the Tees River.
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And from this unlikely place
of origin John Wycliffe went
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on to become known
as the Morning Star
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of the Reformation - an advocate
for the rights of the people,
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a denouncer of the
abuses in the church, a defender
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of the King of England
and a fearless preacher
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of God's word.
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Wycliffe's greatest
contribution to the world
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is that he put the word of
God into the hands of the people
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- a people who didn't have
the word of God and who were
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held in
tradition and superstition.
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If you've ever held a Bible
in your hands, if you've ever
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treasured the precious
promises found in the Word
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of God, if your heart has
ever been warmed by the beauty
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of Scripture, you probably find
it hard to imagine a society
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where God's
word is not welcomed.
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But 14th Century
England was a different world.
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John Wycliffe was born in
around 1328 - that's shortly
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after the death of Marco Polo.
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The king at the time was Edward
the 3rd, who came to the throne
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when he was
just 15 years of age.
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England was locked
in some bitter disputes.
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This was just after the
time of William Wallace -
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Braveheart - and around
the time of Robert the Bruce -
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and wars with Scotland
and France raged during
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Wycliffe's early life.
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Then in the middle
of the 14th Century
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the Black Death struck England,
killing somewhere between
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a third or a half of
England's population.
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The peasant class at the
time were essentially slaves,
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and the influence of the
ruling church was enormous.
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The Catholic Church
essentially controlled
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the country, and by later
in the 14th Century the pope
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was receiving 5 times as
much gold from the government
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of England as was the King.
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And when it came to the
teaching of God's word...
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well the people were
living in superstition and fear,
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as priests as well as traveling
monks and friars kept the
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people in spiritual darkness.
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It was a common practice
for these monks to sell pardon
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for sins.
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As a result, they often
lived a luxurious life, fleecing
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the flock instead of teaching
the flock instead of teaching
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the flock.
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The monks were barely
less ignorant of the things
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of heaven than the people
were, and the people were kept
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in spiritual darkness.
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But out of the darkness
that was 14th Century England,
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God caused a
bright light to shine.
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The Morning Star of the
Reformation brought light
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to a nation and truth to
the world - and from England,
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John Wycliffe's
teachings would shine light
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into the hearts of
men and women everywhere.
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John Wycliffe
was a revolutionary.
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And what John Wycliffe
gave the world still speaks
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to us today....
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When Wycliffe arrived
here as a student at Oxford,
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the University was
already 150 years old.
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When he came here there
were 30,000 students here.
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By the time the Black
Death had done its work,
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there were only 10,000.
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At it was while he was a student
at Oxford that John Wycliffe
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started to develop as a
champion of the word of God.
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John Wycliffe studied
here at Balliol College,
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which was founded in 1263.
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Five Balliol Students
have gone on to win the Nobel
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Prize - the most of
any of Oxford's colleges -
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as have 7 faculty members.
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Three British Prime Ministers
studied here, including
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Edward Heath and
Harold McMillan, London's Lord
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Mayor, Boris Johnson, as
well as authors Aldous Huxley
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and Graham Greene, and -
curiously - the noted atheist
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Richard Dawkins
also studied here.
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Wycliffe was a brilliant
student, and studied not only
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philosophy and civil
law, but church law as well.
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He became known as
"The Flower of Oxford" owing
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to his academic excellence.
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And it was here at Balliol
in Oxford that John Wycliffe
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began to study the Bible.
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In those days, the
Word of God was only written
00:05:58.90\00:06:00.46
in the ancient languages
- and while the uneducated
00:06:00.46\00:06:03.66
masses couldn't access or
understand the Word of God,
00:06:03.66\00:06:06.46
scholars in some cases, could.
00:06:06.46\00:06:10.90
Wycliffe found in the Bible
clear evidence demonstrating
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that the Bible as the Word
of God and that Jesus Christ
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as the only hope for the sinner.
00:06:19.73\00:06:22.13
He wrote these words,
"Trust wholly in Christ,
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rely altogether on His
sufferings; beware of seeking
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to be justified in any other
way than by His righteousness.
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Faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ is sufficient
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for salvation." And
he came to the conclusion
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that confession to a
priest was not necessary.
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"Privy confession made
to priests is not needful,"
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he wrote, "but brought in late
by the Fiend: for Christ used
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it not, nor any of
His apostles after Him."
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While early in his
career at Oxford these thoughts
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did not become issues
for John Wycliffe, his study
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of the Word of God soon
set him on a collision course
00:07:07.36\00:07:10.60
with the Roman
Catholic Church, which dominated
00:07:10.60\00:07:13.73
not only British life and
religion, but also British
00:07:13.73\00:07:16.86
politics as well.
00:07:16.86\00:07:18.13
At the time, the papacy
controlled both the church
00:07:18.13\00:07:26.16
and the state in England.
00:07:26.16\00:07:28.20
Many church leaders
were fabulously wealthy
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and acted essentially
as lords over the nation.
00:07:29.33\00:07:33.83
Growing up, Wycliffe
likely thought little of this,
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but exposure to the Bible
caused him to think carefully.
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As a child what he learned
of religion wouldn't have been
00:07:42.46\00:07:45.83
much better than myths
and stories and moral lessons.
00:07:45.83\00:07:50.23
The clergy themselves were not
generally noted for their piety,
00:07:50.23\00:07:53.23
and Wycliffe realized
there was a serious blight on
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society that was going
to have to be confronted -
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the swarms of friars, men
who belonged to religious orders
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and depended on the charity
of the population to survive.
00:08:04.40\00:08:09.56
Now while the general
principle of the orders
00:08:09.56\00:08:12.40
of the friars doesn't seem
to be harmless enough - men who
00:08:12.40\00:08:15.30
were devoted to living
lives of poverty and devoted
00:08:15.30\00:08:17.80
to helping the poor - Wycliffe
realized that these men were
00:08:17.80\00:08:20.73
a drain on society.
00:08:20.73\00:08:21.90
They were a
corrupting influence.
00:08:21.90\00:08:24.76
They were idle, and rather
than helping anybody at all,
00:08:24.76\00:08:27.66
they spent their time
getting and gaining and living
00:08:27.66\00:08:30.73
riotous lives.
00:08:30.73\00:08:31.90
The pope had given the
friars the authority to hear
00:08:31.90\00:08:36.23
confessions and
grant pardon for sins.
00:08:36.23\00:08:38.96
This unBiblical system
could only be corrupted -
00:08:38.96\00:08:43.16
and it was.
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The worst sinners were
"absolved" of their sins
00:08:44.16\00:08:45.53
for sums of money,
while the friars continued
00:08:45.53\00:08:49.06
to invent stories and legends
and tales so they could further
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manipulate the ignorant masses.
00:08:54.56\00:08:57.43
This further strengthened
the hold of the ruling church.
00:08:57.43\00:08:59.96
Ignorant people can't find
answers when they don't even
00:08:59.96\00:09:03.10
know what questions to ask.
00:09:03.10\00:09:05.23
Being told that all you
had to do to go to heaven
00:09:05.23\00:09:07.53
was to acknowledge the supremacy
of the pope, give money
00:09:07.53\00:09:09.30
to the friars
and adore the saints,
00:09:09.30\00:09:11.73
didn't cause people to
rely on Jesus or be interested
00:09:11.73\00:09:15.53
in genuine conversion.
00:09:15.53\00:09:17.56
Who needed any of that
when you can buy your way
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into heaven?
00:09:20.60\00:09:21.70
Now John Wycliffe
wasn't the first to notice
00:09:21.70\00:09:22.83
or to protest the corruptions
of the friars, but he would
00:09:22.83\00:09:26.46
be the one to do the
most to curb their excesses.
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[Music]
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Wycliffe understood
that what the people needed
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was the word of God.
00:09:54.30\00:09:55.26
This was the one thing
that could free them from
00:09:55.26\00:09:58.00
the tyranny of the friars.
00:09:58.00\00:09:59.16
It would liberate them
from popes and from purgatory
00:09:59.16\00:10:02.83
and from purchase for pardon.
00:10:02.83\00:10:05.06
But how in the world could
he get the word of God into
00:10:05.06\00:10:07.20
the hands of the people?
00:10:07.20\00:10:08.20
Wycliffe knew what the Bible
meant when it said in Psalm
00:10:08.20\00:10:11.60
119:130, "The entrance
of Your words gives light;
00:10:11.60\00:10:17.70
It gives understanding."
00:10:17.70\00:10:22.46
What the people
needed was God's word.
00:10:22.46\00:10:25.23
The one thing that not
even money couldn't buy.
00:10:25.23\00:10:28.83
So John Wyycliffe took
the word of God to the people.
00:10:28.83\00:10:31.00
He preached to them publicly
in places such as St Paul's
00:10:31.00\00:10:34.83
Cross, in the church
out here in St Paul's
00:10:34.83\00:10:38.00
Cathedral in London.
00:10:38.00\00:10:39.00
Now this is not the
same St Paul's as stood when
00:10:39.00\00:10:42.20
John Wycliffe was here -
this is the new model, designed
00:10:42.20\00:10:45.76
by Sir Christopher Wren and
rebuilt after the Great Fire
00:10:45.76\00:10:48.83
of London in 1666.
00:10:48.83\00:10:50.80
But it was here in the church
yard at St. Paul4s Cathedral,
00:10:50.80\00:10:55.06
at St. Paul4s Cross,
that John Wycliffe publicly
00:10:55.06\00:10:58.30
preached God4s Word.
00:10:58.30\00:10:59.33
A plaque commemorates
the very spot that he stood
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and preached.
00:11:03.06\00:11:04.06
His preaching had a dramatic
effect on those who heard.
00:11:04.06\00:11:07.46
It wasn't the
pointless prattle of the friars,
00:11:07.46\00:11:11.33
it was the pure word of God.
00:11:11.33\00:11:13.26
Those who listened knew
that they were listening
00:11:13.26\00:11:16.76
to something of divine origin.
00:11:16.76\00:11:18.46
But how would the
Bible get into the hands
00:11:18.46\00:11:21.70
of the people?
00:11:21.70\00:11:22.03
Wycliffe had an idea.
00:11:22.03\00:11:23.76
It was a bold idea.
00:11:23.76\00:11:25.70
It was an idea that
would change England forever.
00:11:25.70\00:11:31.20
In Matthew 4:4 the Word
of God says "It is written
00:11:33.83\00:11:37.66
'Man shall not live by bread
alone but by every word that
00:11:37.66\00:11:41.40
proceeds out of the mouth
of God'." Every Word is a one
00:11:41.40\00:11:45.76
minute Bible-based
daily devotional presented
00:11:45.76\00:11:47.20
by Pastor John Bradshaw and
designed especially for busy
00:11:47.20\00:11:50.30
people like you.
00:11:50.30\00:11:51.66
Look for Every Word on selected
networks or watch it on-line
00:11:51.66\00:11:55.56
everyday on our
website itiswritten.com.
00:11:55.56\00:11:58.93
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:11:58.93\00:12:01.16
Watch Every Word.
00:12:01.16\00:12:02.46
You'll be glad you did.
00:12:02.46\00:12:05.36
Thanks for joining me
today on It Is Written.
00:12:07.80\00:12:09.90
I4m John Bradshaw and
today, we're looking at the life
00:12:09.90\00:12:13.00
and the ministry and the message
of John Wycliffe, the Morning
00:12:13.00\00:12:16.40
Star of the Reformation -
the man who brought the Bible
00:12:16.40\00:12:19.53
to the people of England.
00:12:19.53\00:12:21.13
Wycliffe realized that
the Bible could be powerful,
00:12:21.13\00:12:24.13
not only in the
life of the individual
00:12:24.13\00:12:25.13
but in a society, and
also in an entire nation.
00:12:25.13\00:12:34.06
After becoming the Master
at Balliol College in Oxford,
00:12:34.06\00:12:37.23
Wycliffe pursued
his theological studies,
00:12:37.23\00:12:40.33
eventually becoming
a Doctor of Divinity.
00:12:40.33\00:12:42.56
And not only was he
relentless in his condemnation
00:12:42.56\00:12:45.23
of the practices of
the mendicant friars,
00:12:45.23\00:12:47.76
Wycliffe believed
strongly that the church had no
00:12:47.76\00:12:51.13
business receiving
tribute money from a sovereign
00:12:51.13\00:12:53.56
government.
00:12:53.56\00:12:55.60
In the year 1365, Pope Urban
the 5th demanded that England
00:12:55.60\00:12:59.86
submit entirely to the
authority of the Church of Rome
00:12:59.86\00:13:04.46
- which would be an
admission that the pope was
00:13:04.46\00:13:06.66
the legitimate
sovereign of England.
00:13:06.66\00:13:09.00
John Wycliffe was strenuous
in his opposition to the Roman
00:13:15.26\00:13:18.20
Church exercising
power over the English crown.
00:13:18.20\00:13:22.00
Add to that his Bible
teachings that collided
00:13:22.00\00:13:24.56
with the doctrines
of the Catholic Church,
00:13:24.56\00:13:26.76
and Wycliffe became to be
viewed as more than a thorn
00:13:26.76\00:13:29.23
in the flesh of the Church
of Rome - by the time he became
00:13:29.23\00:13:32.46
the rector of the
church in Lutterworth,
00:13:32.46\00:13:34.50
Wycliffe was
considered to be a heretic.
00:13:34.50\00:13:37.83
Which was not surprising -
after all, Wycliffe had begun
00:13:37.83\00:13:40.93
to teach that the pope of Rome
was the antichrist of the Bible.
00:13:40.93\00:13:45.53
He even claimed the
pope was the man of sin in
00:13:45.53\00:13:47.83
2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
00:13:47.83\00:13:51.06
[Music]
00:13:52.56\00:13:56.00
Things have changed a
little since John Wycliffe
00:14:01.30\00:14:03.20
came here to petition
Parliament to remove all
00:14:03.20\00:14:05.70
of the wealth of the church
and bring it under the power
00:14:05.70\00:14:07.96
of the Crown.
00:14:07.96\00:14:11.40
The Parliament Buildings
you see today weren't here
00:14:11.40\00:14:14.33
in the 14th Century.
00:14:14.33\00:14:15.33
The Palace of Westminster
- as Parliament is known -
00:14:15.33\00:14:19.13
was built in the 19th Century.
00:14:19.13\00:14:21.13
Big Ben is just
over 150 years old.
00:14:22.90\00:14:27.56
Westminster Abbey was
standing when Wycliffe came here
00:14:27.56\00:14:30.03
to Parliament - in fact,
Richard the 2nd, the king
00:14:30.03\00:14:33.86
who was reigning when Wycliffe
died, is buried in there
00:14:33.86\00:14:37.70
but there was no Buckingham
Palace, or much that you'd
00:14:37.70\00:14:41.03
recognize in London today.
00:14:41.03\00:14:42.76
It was a very different place.
00:14:42.76\00:14:45.93
In 1377 John Wycliffe came
here to this area to address
00:14:45.93\00:14:50.43
the Parliament with regard
to the pope's claims to have
00:14:50.43\00:14:53.20
authority over England.
00:14:53.20\00:14:54.90
John Wycliffe lead the movement
to turn back the demands
00:14:54.90\00:14:58.70
of Rome, and in fact he
called upon Parliament to reform
00:14:58.70\00:15:02.36
the relationship
between church and state.
00:15:02.36\00:15:05.43
And that was truly historic.
00:15:05.43\00:15:08.83
Wycliffe told Parliament
that the national resources
00:15:13.93\00:15:15.93
were for the nation,
and not for a foreign power
00:15:15.93\00:15:18.83
like the church of Rome.
00:15:18.83\00:15:20.36
He said that Rome was wealthy
enough already, and that if
00:15:20.36\00:15:23.13
anyone should be
entitled to the type of taxes
00:15:23.13\00:15:26.40
that Rome was demanding,
it ought be the government
00:15:26.40\00:15:29.10
and not the church.
00:15:29.10\00:15:30.16
Especially at a time
that England was trying
00:15:30.16\00:15:31.56
to finance a war very
expensive war against France.
00:15:31.56\00:15:35.43
And Wycliff believed
that the people really needed
00:15:35.43\00:15:39.80
to be able to read and study
and interpret the Scriptures
00:15:39.80\00:15:43.23
for themselves.
00:15:43.23\00:15:45.30
But how were they ever
going to be able to do that?
00:15:45.30\00:15:49.06
[Music]??????
Wycliffe incurred the
00:15:50.70\00:16:07.20
wrath of the church.
00:16:07.20\00:16:08.33
He had been teaching
that the friars were a blight
00:16:08.33\00:16:10.96
on society.
00:16:10.96\00:16:11.96
He taught and wrote that priests
had no authority to forgive
00:16:11.96\00:16:14.50
sins.
00:16:14.50\00:16:15.76
And he was strenuously opposed
to the sale of indulgences,
00:16:15.76\00:16:17.93
when people
would buy forgiveness,
00:16:17.93\00:16:21.93
when the monks would
sell the pardon of God.
00:16:21.93\00:16:26.33
""It is plain to me that our
prelates in granting indulgences
00:16:26.33\00:16:29.13
do commonly
blaspheme the wisdom of God,"
00:16:29.13\00:16:32.90
he said.
00:16:32.90\00:16:33.90
Related to this he said,
"Private confession ... was not
00:16:33.90\00:16:37.76
ordered by Christ and was
not used by the apostles."
00:16:37.76\00:16:41.50
He taught that the
mass was blasphemous
00:16:41.50\00:16:44.66
and that the
eucharist - the communion wafer
00:16:44.66\00:16:46.93
- was not really the
actual body of Jesus.
00:16:46.93\00:16:50.63
The Roman Catholic
Church taught - teaches -
00:16:50.63\00:16:52.03
that when the bread
and wine are consecrated
00:16:52.03\00:16:54.66
they become the true body
and the true blood of Jesus.
00:16:54.66\00:16:58.86
Wycliffe's
understanding was different.
00:16:58.86\00:17:02.23
"The bread while becoming
by virtue of Christ's words
00:17:02.23\00:17:05.76
the body of Christ does not
cease to be bread," he stated.
00:17:05.76\00:17:09.73
And Rome was not happy.
00:17:09.73\00:17:12.76
In fact, even some of Wycliffe's
defenders urged him to turn down
00:17:12.76\00:17:16.20
the volume, but by
now he was committed
00:17:16.20\00:17:20.03
to speaking against
what he believed to be
00:17:20.03\00:17:22.70
the
inconsistencies of the church.
00:17:22.70\00:17:26.96
Wycliffe was eventually
kicked out of Oxford - which
00:17:30.33\00:17:32.73
had been pressured by the church
to have nothing to do with him.
00:17:32.73\00:17:35.86
After speaking to Parliament,
he was summoned to a church
00:17:35.86\00:17:38.96
trial here at Lambeth
Palace - the official residence
00:17:38.96\00:17:43.10
of the Archbishop of Canterbury
and just across the river
00:17:43.10\00:17:46.23
from Parliament buildings-
but his enemies were unable
00:17:46.23\00:17:49.66
to silence him.
00:17:49.66\00:17:50.66
The Morning Star would
continue to shine for truth.
00:17:50.66\00:17:54.30
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He returned here to
his parish in Lutterworth.
00:18:52.26\00:18:55.13
His 'poor priests' -
the Lollards - were sent
00:18:55.13\00:18:58.56
by Wycliffe to preach the gospel
all over England, and truth
00:18:58.56\00:19:02.30
began to flourish where
error and superstition had been
00:19:02.30\00:19:06.00
so powerful.
00:19:06.00\00:19:07.36
Wycliff not only preached
but he wrote prodigiously
00:19:07.36\00:19:11.66
in an effort to share the Word
of God and its liberating power
00:19:11.66\00:19:15.00
with as many people as possible.
00:19:15.00\00:19:18.36
[Music]
00:19:20.06\00:19:25.33
From this now very
historic building John Wycliffe
00:19:27.53\00:19:30.06
ministered to the world.
00:19:30.06\00:19:32.36
His influence was felt,
obviously, here in England,
00:19:32.36\00:19:35.40
but it was Wycliffe's
ideas that influenced another
00:19:35.40\00:19:38.56
great early reformer, John
Huss, in what is now the Czech
00:19:38.56\00:19:41.93
Republic.
00:19:41.93\00:19:43.93
The Queen of England,
in Wycliffe's later years,
00:19:45.30\00:19:48.10
was Anne of Bohemia,
which is where Huss was from.
00:19:48.10\00:19:52.30
Oxford students from Bohemia
took Wycliffe's ideas back
00:19:52.30\00:19:55.63
to their homeland, where
they were shared by Huss and had
00:19:55.63\00:19:59.43
a major impact in Europe.
00:19:59.43\00:20:00.66
But Wycliffe's work
was suddenly stopped.
00:20:00.66\00:20:05.20
Just short of his 60th
birthday John Wycliff came down
00:20:05.20\00:20:08.00
with an illness that
appeared as though it was going
00:20:08.00\00:20:10.43
to take his life.
00:20:10.43\00:20:12.56
The monks were jubilant.
00:20:12.56\00:20:14.70
They came here to Lutterworth
and they gathered around
00:20:14.70\00:20:17.36
Wycliffe's -- what
they thought was Wycliffe's
00:20:17.36\00:20:19.43
deathbed, and they
said to him, "You have death
00:20:19.43\00:20:23.53
on your lips.
00:20:23.53\00:20:24.83
Retract now in our presence
all the things that you have
00:20:24.83\00:20:28.16
said to our hurt." Wycliffe
raised himself up from his
00:20:28.16\00:20:32.60
bed and he said, "I shall
not die, but live; and again
00:20:32.60\00:20:39.20
declare the evil
deeds of the friars."
00:20:39.20\00:20:41.00
The monks hurried
out, and Wycliffe recovered
00:20:41.00\00:20:44.76
and went to work on the project
that would have the greatest
00:20:44.76\00:20:47.76
influence of
anything that he had ever done
00:20:47.76\00:20:49.86
in England.
00:20:49.86\00:20:51.30
With the help of some close
friends, John Wycliffe went
00:20:51.30\00:20:54.36
to work on translating
the Bible into the language
00:20:54.36\00:20:57.80
of the day.
00:20:57.80\00:20:58.80
The one who had been known
as the 'Gospel Doctor" committed
00:20:58.80\00:21:02.10
himself to sharing that
gospel with as many people
00:21:02.10\00:21:05.13
as he possibly could.
00:21:05.13\00:21:06.96
John Wycliffe's dream
was that everybody in England
00:21:06.96\00:21:10.96
would have the opportunity
to read the Scriptures in their
00:21:10.96\00:21:14.46
own language.
00:21:14.46\00:21:16.46
Still a couple of hundred
of years before the invention
00:21:18.70\00:21:21.23
of the printing press,
it was here in Lutterworth
00:21:21.23\00:21:23.03
that John Wycliffe translated
the Bible from the Latin
00:21:23.03\00:21:26.66
into English.
00:21:26.66\00:21:29.06
The Scriptures were
copied slowly by hand.
00:21:29.06\00:21:32.20
There were some people
who were able to buy an entire
00:21:32.20\00:21:34.20
copy of the Bible while
others were able to secure
00:21:34.20\00:21:36.83
just a portion.
00:21:36.83\00:21:38.70
But John Wycliffe's
dream was being realized.
00:21:38.70\00:21:41.26
The Word of God was
making its way into the hands
00:21:41.26\00:21:44.90
of the people.
00:21:44.90\00:21:46.53
It was still going to be some
years before laws were passed
00:21:46.53\00:21:49.50
banning the
production of or the possession
00:21:49.50\00:21:53.30
of the Bible and the Scriptures
was distributed widely.
00:21:53.30\00:21:56.63
While England was fighting
battles on various fronts,
00:21:56.63\00:22:00.33
one of the greatest victories
in her history was realized
00:22:00.33\00:22:04.16
when the Word of God was
translated and made available
00:22:04.16\00:22:08.10
in the English language
to the people of England.
00:22:08.10\00:22:11.73
Long after John Wycliffe was
dead the establishment church
00:22:11.73\00:22:15.96
had to reckon with a
force that was far more powerful
00:22:15.96\00:22:19.50
than he ever was.
00:22:19.50\00:22:21.76
"The entrance of
your word gives light.
00:22:21.76\00:22:25.36
It gives understanding."
00:22:25.36\00:22:27.46
People began to
learn the great principles
00:22:27.46\00:22:28.56
of Scripture - "Man
shall not live by bread alone,
00:22:28.56\00:22:32.20
but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth
00:22:32.20\00:22:35.66
of God." Matthew 4:4.
00:22:35.66\00:22:37.63
"All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God,"
00:22:37.63\00:22:41.56
2 Timothy 3:16.
00:22:41.56\00:22:44.13
[Music]
00:22:46.30\00:22:51.30
Principles that are
the foundation of Biblical
00:23:06.06\00:23:08.96
Christianity were heard by
the masses for the first time
00:23:08.96\00:23:12.13
throughout England.
00:23:12.13\00:23:13.80
While it is true not all
of John Wycliffe's teachings
00:23:13.80\00:23:16.10
were perfect, and while
the Reformation wouldn't take
00:23:16.10\00:23:18.73
hold for some time
yet, the foundation
00:23:18.73\00:23:21.80
for the Reformation was laid
in England and throughout Europe
00:23:21.80\00:23:25.56
by John Wycliffe, the
Morning Star of the reformation.
00:23:25.56\00:23:29.53
And here in St. Mary's
Church where John Wycliffe
00:23:29.53\00:23:31.40
was the pastor many
hundreds of years ago,
00:23:31.40\00:23:34.10
in the pews of this church
today are English language
00:23:34.10\00:23:38.20
Bibles and anybody who
picks up one of these Bibles
00:23:38.20\00:23:41.43
and leafs through its
pages owes a great debt to John
00:23:41.43\00:23:45.13
Wycliffe without
whom Biblical Christianity
00:23:45.13\00:23:49.56
and Christianity itself
would have unfolded in a rather
00:23:49.56\00:23:52.93
different fashion.
00:23:52.93\00:23:55.16
At his third trial, John
Wycliffe met his accusers
00:23:55.16\00:23:57.90
with these words: "With whom,
think you, are you contending?
00:23:57.90\00:24:03.96
With an old man on
the brink of the grave?
00:24:03.96\00:24:06.90
No!
00:24:06.90\00:24:07.90
-- he said -- with Truth--
with Truth that is stronger
00:24:07.90\00:24:12.20
than you, and
will overcome you."
00:24:12.20\00:24:16.56
[Music] John Wycliffe died
00:24:17.36\00:24:32.60
of natural causes
at about the age of 66,
00:24:32.60\00:24:33.96
in the year 1384.
00:24:33.96\00:24:36.86
At the Council of Constance
in Germany the early 1400s -
00:24:36.86\00:24:42.40
the papacy decreed that
Wycliffe's remains should
00:24:42.40\00:24:45.73
be exhumed and his bones burnt,
00:24:45.73\00:24:48.70
and his ashes were then
cast into the River Swift
00:24:50.70\00:24:57.46
near Lutterworth.
00:24:57.46\00:25:01.26
A writer later
penned these words.
00:25:01.26\00:25:05.36
"Thus the brook hath conveyed
his ashes into Avon; Avon
00:25:05.36\00:25:09.70
into Severn; Severn
into the narrow seas;
00:25:09.70\00:25:15.13
and they into the main ocean.
00:25:15.13\00:25:16.13
And thus the ashes of Wycliffe
are the emblem of his doctrine
00:25:16.13\00:25:20.93
which now is
dispersed the world over."
00:25:20.93\00:25:26.76
One man dedicated
to the proposition
00:25:26.76\00:25:29.76
that the Word of God
could make the difference
00:25:29.76\00:25:34.06
in a person's life.
00:25:34.06\00:25:35.70
John Wycliffe was a man
who experienced the power
00:25:35.70\00:25:38.50
of the Word of God.
00:25:38.50\00:25:39.86
He experienced it in his
life and he saw what the Word
00:25:39.86\00:25:43.63
of God could do in
the life of others.
00:25:43.63\00:25:46.63
You know, I'd like to
offer you the opportunity
00:25:46.63\00:25:49.10
to experience
God's Word in your life.
00:25:49.10\00:25:51.73
Friend, what are you
doing about the Word of God?
00:25:51.73\00:25:55.00
Does the Word of God own you?
00:25:55.00\00:25:56.63
Has it impacted you?
00:25:56.63\00:25:58.56
Has it set you free like
the thousands and the millions
00:25:58.56\00:26:02.50
who are set free through
the Word of God by the work
00:26:02.50\00:26:05.90
of John Wycliffe and
those who followed after him?
00:26:05.90\00:26:08.73
I want to offer you today
a little book called Promise
00:26:08.73\00:26:12.26
of Power, promises from the
Word of God given to us by God
00:26:12.26\00:26:16.26
specifically that we
might experience the power
00:26:16.26\00:26:19.73
of the Word of God in our lives.
00:26:19.73\00:26:21.10
Contact us at It Is
Written and I will send to your
00:26:21.10\00:26:24.20
address in North
America, Promises of Power.
00:26:24.20\00:26:26.76
You can call or write or
come to our website and download
00:26:26.76\00:26:32.20
Promises of Power.
00:26:32.20\00:26:33.26
I would like you to have
this book so you can experience
00:26:33.26\00:26:37.06
what John Wycliffe
experienced and what the many
00:26:37.06\00:26:41.26
experienced through
what John Wycliffe had done.
00:26:41.26\00:26:44.80
I'd like to pray for you
today that God's word would
00:26:44.80\00:26:50.66
truly bring his presence
and his power into your life.
00:26:50.66\00:26:56.03
Let me pray.
00:26:56.03\00:26:57.76
Father in heaven, at this almost
sacred spot, where the ashes
00:26:57.76\00:27:04.06
of one of your faithful
reformers, one of your faithful
00:27:04.06\00:27:07.13
servants were cast,
at this spot I pray.
00:27:07.13\00:27:11.96
I pray that we
would experience the power
00:27:11.96\00:27:15.80
of your Word.
00:27:15.80\00:27:16.80
I pray that the Word of
God and its great promises,
00:27:16.80\00:27:20.06
the great principles
of Scripture would be
00:27:20.06\00:27:22.73
the foundation upon
which our lives are based.
00:27:22.73\00:27:26.40
I pray that we can experience
in our lives reformation,
00:27:26.40\00:27:29.13
that which comes through
the power and the presence
00:27:29.13\00:27:32.73
of your Word and through Jesus
Christ living his life in us.
00:27:32.73\00:27:37.33
Let that be so I pray, and
I thank you, in Jesus' name,
00:27:37.33\00:27:43.40
amen.
00:27:43.40\00:27:45.53
[Music] Thanks for joining
00:27:48.96\00:27:52.63
me today.
00:27:52.63\00:27:53.10
Until next time remember,
It is written, man shall not
00:27:53.10\00:27:56.36
live by bread alone but
by every word that proceeds
00:27:56.36\00:28:00.56
from the mouth of God.
00:28:00.56\00:28:04.56