Sept23’07
LIVING AND LEAVING A LEGACY
Zechariah 3:2
One of the talents that always amazes me is the talent for landscaping. I have enjoyed seeing what some of you have done with your yards and property. Without extravagance, you tidy your yard, place trees or bushes into certain places and have rocks or other objects to dress things up.
One day I went to my foster mom’s house to study. Instead, I was thrown in with my brother, Tim, and foster dad as we planted bushes and a small tree. What was incredible to me was Tim’s knack for putting a certain bush into a certain spot. And then laying out the bark and such. Wow! It was beautiful when we were finished. I could not have done that in a million years.
Some people have the knack and the rest of us just copy. We look through Architectural Magazine for ideas; or we see someone else’s yard in another town; or we just make something up as we go. Some of us have the landscape knack and some of us don’t.
In a similar sense, God used John Wesley to change the landscape of Christianity. Sure, up to that point we had some great leaders who contributed much to the Christian setting:
Tertullian in the 2nd century was a great defender of Christianity and was the first to write the word “Trinity” and put our faith in Latin.
Augustine in the 300’s who was stirred deeply by the preaching of Bishop Ambrose that he left his life of sin, was baptized and moved to the coastal African city of Hippo. There he lived as a pastor, preacher and administrator. He was a key to the foundational doctrinal statements of Christianity along with Athanasius.
Thomas Aquinas- the overweight Italian who was often called the “dumb ox” because of his size- lived and ministered in the 1200’s as a Dominican preacher and scholar. He wrote the “Summa Theologica”- a systematic summary of theology, philosophy and ethics. He also penned commentaries on the Old Testament and New Testament. He believed that God planted into the heart of every person this thing called “reason.”
Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the Middle Ages. He believed that true understanding came by walking in humility and communing with a loving God. He wrote a book called Grace and Free Will that argues for a salvation that only comes from God. He died as a lowly abbot in 1153.
Martin Luther hammered his “95 Thesis” on the door of the Wittenburg Castle Church on October 31, 1517. His protests against the Roman Catholic Church were the result of seeing the abuses of power and lack of accountability in the organization of Christianity. He was calling the Church back to living and ministering by the Scriptures and living the Christian life by faith alone.
John Calvin was best known as the greatest systematic theologian and disciplinarian of the Reformers. At only the age of 27, he released the first of his many editions of Institutes of the Christian Religion. Even to this day, this theology book remains what some have called the “Mount Everest” of systematic theology.
Who else could I speak of? How about Iraneaus- the first century theologian, Perpetua, the martyr of whose death marked the beginning of the fall of Rome; the mystic- John of the Cross and Teresa Avila; Thomas A’Kempis and his book The Imitation of Christ that Biblical students and Christian seekers still read; John Knox who took a simple and pure gospel message to the Scots; and on and on I could go.
[God and His People by Dr. James L. Garlow]
I mention these because they all left their mark on the landscape of Christianity. They spoke of the importance of living a life of piety. They spoke of understanding the logical-ness of Christianity. They taught about living and breathing a life of faith and trust in God; they pursued truth through Jesus Christ at the very point of death.
And then along came one man who embodied the various influences of Christianity and rearranged not only the front-yard of Christianity, but its backyard, its porches and the rooms inside.
John Wesley shows up at a time when the Anglican Church in England could not and would not reach the common man like you and me. The clergy was corrupt, parishes were without priests and the church did little to meet the spiritual needs of an ever-increasing urban population.
Without question, John Wesley presents to not only the Wesleyan Church but all of Christianity a model of a fulfilled Christian life through selfless ministry. And God used this man of emotion, organization and methodology to merge together the thought processes of our faith.
In many ways John Wesley’s thought represents the mainstream of Christian tradition. In a time when we seem to be so divided by denominationalism, consider what God brought together within the life of one man:
He was raised and spent all his life in the Anglican Church, which gave him an understanding and appreciation for the catholic faith.
Wesley’s mother was the daughter of a noted Puritan divine who instilled in her children the Puritan concern for righteousness based on principles from God’s Word.
As an 18th Century Oxford student and later an instructor, Wesley developed a thorough understanding and commitment to rationality.
Wesley also possessed a lifelong interest in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
His experiences as a missionary to Georgia filled him with fascination of the Moravians and their calm Christian faith. So much so, he traveled later to Moravia to learn more about them.
[The Wesley Bible, “The Wesleyan Perspective” pp. xxvii-xxviii]
What Wesley was able to bring out of all these experiences was a genuine blend (or synthesis) of Christian faith in which he seemingly took irreconcilable concepts and then developed a consistent system of Christian beliefs.
I will save the theology lesson for later, but let me say this much: Wesley did far more for the Christian faith that he does not get credit for. However, in recent years, Christians from all sorts of backgrounds are beginning to see and credit him with his contributions to our faith.
Now, how does this fit with you and me? How do we take his influences on the world and apply them to our puny little lives here in Small-town, USA?
I have four aspects of his life that I believe will help us better appreciate ourselves as Wesleyans and encourage each of us in our quest to serve our Lord.
1. Salvation on Horseback.
Wesley rose at 4 am every day and then efficiently used the next 18 hours of his life to minister to people all over England. He had a customized a table built for read and writing while riding horseback between towns and churches. Until he was a seventy year old man, he continued to travel by horse. Then he converted to carriage for his elder years.
a. Example.
I can think of no better example of putting the Christian disciplines into action like Wesley. His early to rise so that he could preach to the men and boys coming to the factories at daylight is incredible to think about. His organizational skills and willingness to delegate tasks to others is a model for all those in leadership. And yet he took his responsibilities serious enough to fight through snow-drifts and rain-storms to preach the gospel personally all over England, Scotland and Ireland.
b. Energy.
There are very few people who could out-do Wesley and the energy that sprung from his spry 5’5” and 125 pound body. He ate sparingly and properly. He lived a long life and I will bet a good reason for that is his willingness to do without excesses in living.
How much more effective would any of us be for God’s service if we would eat healthier and exercise more? Perhaps some of our ailments and short-comings could be changed if we changed some of our habits. [But I love the Chinese the buffet!]
c. Efficiency.
Money is an example of his efficiency in life. John Wesley was one of the richest preachers ever but had very little money in the end. He sold penny tracks and made a fortune. But he lived as he preached: “Earn all you can, save all you can and give all you can” were hallmarks of an efficient life.
His trilateral was all about giving. You earn all you can so you can give more. You save all you can- not so you can have more- but so you can give more. Everything about money was viewed through lenses of giving to God’s kingdom.
John Telford, in his biography of John Wesley, tells of Wesley’s meticulous adherence to being punctual for all appointments. Wesley’s frame of mind was that he never had a moment to lose. Once, when he was kept waiting for his carriage he was heard to say, “I have lost ten minutes for ever.” He always expected his coachman to be ready at the precise moment fixed. “Have the carriage at the door at four,” he said to him at Hull in 1788. “I do not mean a quarter or five minutes past, but four.”
2. A Brand from the Burning.
At the age of five the home of Samuel and Susannah Wesley caught on fire in the night. All the children (some 19 in all) were removed safely from the house, but when they were counted, John was missing. You can only imagine the frantic search for him. A farmer from nearby spotted little John- looking out of an upstairs window in the midst of the leaping flames. Several neighbors climbed on each other’s shoulders, until the man on top was able to put his arms around the boy and pull him out of the flames to safety. Only moments after he was rescued, the entire house exploded in flames. Ever after, for the rest of his life, John Wesley referred to himself “as a brand plucked from the burning,” quoting Zechariah 3:2.
a. Your Value and Identity in Jesus Christ.
What about you? Have you considered the value of your life and the identity that you have in Christ Jesus?
b. A Special Purpose for One Moment in Time.
For me, pastoring and preaching are the calling of a lifetime. I cannot begin to image myself as anything else. And for Wesley, his life of preaching, teaching, pastoring and organizing was his call of a lifetime. He simply could not do anything else. He knew that God had called him to a special purpose for this one moment in time.
What is your call of lifetime? What is it that God has called you to do as a Christian? Is it to be a spiritual leader to your grandchildren? Is it to turn your work environment into a mission field instead of a place to earn a living?
Wesley understood his calling. He knew what God was calling him to. And so he did it- to the very nth degree of his being.
Wesley was like the Apostle Paul who wrote in Colossians 1:29- “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which works so powerfully in me.”
Do we understand our special purpose? Do we realize that when this moment passes there will be no other opportunity and no more time to make a difference?
He understood the ramifications of what it meant to follow after God.
This resulted in seeing what even other churches saw:
3. The Resources are in the Harvest.
John Wesley saw potential that the Church was somehow not seeing. He soon realized the kind of people he was reaching were untrained and even illiterate people who longed for something life-changing. He recognized that in order for these new Christians to truly grow, they didn’t need theologians in the pulpits, they needed pastors.
Where would he get them?
There is a phrase that has been kicked around church plant circles for awhile: The resources are in the harvest. When a church begins to plot its way in ministry and that ministry begins to make traction and start growing, God somehow plants within that growing ministry the resources necessary to keep growing and moving forward.
Wesley saw the human resources right away: the very ones who were getting saved would be the very ones he would train to be leaders. By the time Wesley died he had over 120,000 lay preachers.
Two things are important for us to understand about this:
a. First, we need our younger people here to rise up and be willing to be led into leadership.
If you are young and name Jesus as Lord, then you need to be willing to be used of God in any capacity God calls you to. This is where pastoral leadership comes into play. Furthermore, you are called- not to run rough-shod over the old people and their old ways- but to learn to love and lead with a heart of love. Together, young and old can blend their perspectives and differences about certain things.
We need your energy and your ideas.
Let’s face it: every local church is always in danger of being a dying church. However, God sends people our way for them to be used in the ministry to keep the ministry alive and growing.
b. This means that the rest of us need to do those things that develop others into new leaders.
I realize that some here have passed their more productive days. But God can still use you as a spiritual guide and prayer warrior for someone else.
Some of you know that we have a new puppy in our home. Yes, we are finally grand-parents. This Shi-tzu pup loves to run, and jump and play- all over our old dog, Sky. Sky can’t run like she used to. Sky has arthritis, her liver is shot and she gets out of breath easily. But this pup insists on playing and so Sky plays with her. It’s a hoot to watch!
The other day, Donna and I were speaking on the telephone. Donna understands animal behaviors because The Farm uses animals as a means of counseling with some people. I mentioned this to her and she told me that a young puppy will actually help breath new life into the old dog.
Hmmm. What does that mean for us? As new people come into our church, as babies are born, and new things happen, perhaps we who have been in the church awhile might learn some new tricks.
So let’s band together in prayer as we seek to raise up new leadership for this ministry.
And then watch as God works through you and me in a powerful way.
4. An Un-Bottled Message.
John Wesley was so full of knowledge that he was almost like a two-liter bottle of Coca-cola. And when the Holy Spirit got a hold of his life, that bottle got shook up big-time and God’s Spirit was poured out all over England and it spread to America.
Wesley’s message was very simple: “Rest from the guilt of sin by justification and from the power of sin by sanctification.”
a. A life-time of experiences.
You and I have within our Christian lives, certain experiences and knowledge, that if we would let the Holy Spirit shake up our life, we would see God work in amazing ways.
Consider the hardships we face. These things shake us up but do we allow it to be used by the Holy Spirit?
b. A Christ-life to share.
We face good times and bad times but do we let either one be used by the Holy Spirit to pour out the message of Christ throughout Oceana County?
Wesley’s life was used to change England. Most historians say that England would certainly have experienced a bloody revolution like France did in those days had it not been for the holiness preaching of Wesley and Whitefield among others.
What kind of influence could your life bring to your family that may be torn apart of disagreements and trouble? What kind of influence can we as a church have on a community that is divided politically in this very time?
We are not called to keep this treasure we have to ourselves but to share ourselves with those all around us and with those God has called us to.
Conclusion:
John Wesley’s life was not perfect. He dealt with a bad marriage that I am sure created some gossip baggage and he fought emotional issues like others do. But his life of holy living demonstrated the Christ-life in such a way that even those who hated him couldn’t help but respect him.
You don’t have to be a jerk to change the world. You just simply have to be a person willing to let God use you with the set of talents, abilities and gifts that he has given to you by the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, if you tune in closely to the Lord, you just may hear that still small voice calling you to something specific he has just for you.
We can sum up what it means to be a Christian by what those early Methodists lived by so that their lives would be all that God called them to be:
o Devotions: Begin and end every day with God.
o Ministry: Be diligent in your calling.
o Christian Service: Employ all spare hours in religion.
o Holiness: Examine your heart every night
o Work Ethic: Avoid idleness
o Temptation: Resist the very beginnings of lust
o Good Deeds: In every act reflect on the end.
John Wesley was instrumental in the abolition of slavery, which he condemned often and wrote against. He also worked diligently for civil rights, and popular education.
At the age of 86 he was still preaching to huge gatherings of people two and three times a day, seven days a week.
On October 7, 1790 he preached his last outdoor sermon in a churchyard in Kent. His last sermon was given in a house in the country village of Leatherhead on February 23, 1791. His last sermon text was, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).
A few days later, at 10:00 in the morning, on March 2, 1791 John Wesley spoke his final words, “Farewell.” Thousands of people walked by his open coffin in the City Road Chapel in London. John Whitehead preached from II Samuel 3:38 at his funeral,
“Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?”
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