Sunday, September 9, 2007
Mark 1:15
Senior Pastor
I am so glad you are here this morning because we are embarking on a new sermon series I am calling 10 Reasons to be a Proud Methodist. For these next several weeks I will be sharing with you what I believe are ten of the most important facets of our life together as United Methodists. Our denomination is so big – we are truly a global church – that I find we have lost touch with all of the good that we do and some of the distinctive things about how we function as United Methodists.
If you grew up in a different denomination, you will learn many things that you may never have heard before about practicing your Christian life in a United Methodist context. I think they will really help you. If you didn’t grow up in a church setting at all, I will be sharing information that will help you understand why we structure ourselves and function in the ways that we do. You will gain a clearer picture of how the church is described in the Bible and how we are supposed to function and see how closely we approximate that. If you have been United Methodist all of your life, some of this will be review for you, but I assure you that I am working diligently to make sure that there is new information in these sermons so that you too learn something new every week. I think we will all be more aware of who we are and why we can surely be proud of being a part of the body of Christ that goes by United Methodist.
But for all of us, these sermons are designed not only to teach you something new about life in the church but, to give you something you can apply readily in your own efforts to live a Christian life. They are designed to put you in touch with foundational Biblical and theological concepts upon which you can build a life that is spiritually and emotionally and relationally sound. I think you will not only be proud to be a Methodist but also energized and inspired to grow into an even more deeply devoted disciple of Jesus Christ.
This morning we are going to explore the importance of continuing to listen for God’s guidance over a lifetime. Our town and our country are full of people that have started on the path of following Jesus but for one reason or another have become distracted or mislead or have experienced a sense of failure in their efforts. It may have happened to you before. You may be struggling with that right now or, if not you, then someone you know. And if failure is too strong a word, then maybe you are in that place that we all find ourselves at times where we simply lack the zest and energy and excitement that we once had for following Christ. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was a spiritual giant but he too had this experience of failure in his Christian walk.
Wesley was born in England in June of 1703. His father was a priest in the Church of England and his mother was the daughter of a clergyman as well. He was a good student and as a young adult became very serious about his faith. He gained his educational credentials at Oxford and was ordained a priest in the Church of England in 1728 at the age of 25.
In 1735 he was invited to travel to the “New World” and become a missionary to the colonists and the Native Americans. He went with high hopes but he could hardly have made more mistakes. He attempted experimental worship, which the colonists did not understand or appreciate at all. He then fell in love with an eighteen-year-old girl, he now was past thirty. She ran off with another suitor. John then barred her from Holy Communion, at which time he was sued by the new husband. A formal grand jury was called and after six months of hearings Wesley finally fled the colony a beaten man.
Embarrassed, humiliated and feeling let down by God, John
Wesley was at a crossroads. He
could have given up on God and tried another path in life. But, rather than abandoning God, he
continued to seek God. And this is the
lesson for all of us when we feel abandoned or let down or when we are struggling
with an experience of failure. We can
allow these kinds of experiences to drive us away from God or drive us
toward God.
For Wesley he continued to seek God’s presence and direction. By 1738 he is back in England. He is reading and studying Scripture, he is talking earnestly with other Christians. He is seeking a sense of forgiveness and sense of peace that he is truly loved by God. He has a whole series of experiences that lead him closer to God but he describes one in his journal in most dramatic terms.
It is May 24, 1738 and he writes: “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the laws of sin and death.” (in John Wesley, edited by Albert Outler, p. 66)
Do you see the lesson here? He had failed, but he persevered. He continued to seek God. Perhaps that is why the text we read today was his favorite text from which to preach in the early days of the revival (see Outler in Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit, p. 12). The kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe the gospel. Repent and believe. Wesley knew from Scripture and now personal experience that God is available and at work in our world and in our lives.
He failed but God used him and used him in mighty ways. This assurance of faith made an even greater impact on him when he began to preach in the fields and on the roadsides and saw others experiencing this assurance of God’s love to be found through trust in Christ. Repent and believe the Gospel! He used this text some 200 times.
It is quite interesting to note that if Wesley had died before 1739, that is before he was 36 years old, he would have never been known. (See Outler in Evangelism in the Wesleyan Spirit, p.16ff.) He had no visible fruits of his faith or of his efforts, only a string of failures. Yet, he continued to seek God. He continued to listen for God’s guidance. He continued to repent and believe. He was a faithful founder. Hear these words anew from the lips of Jesus: The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news. Amen and thanks be to God.
…learn something ______ every week.
…you can apply readily …designed to put you in touch with
foundational Biblical and _____________________ concepts…
…the importance of continuing to listen for God’s
guidance
over a ________________.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, was a
spiritual giant… had this experience of ______________…
Wesley was born in England in June of ________.
In 1735 he was invited to travel to the “______ __________”…
…feeling let down by God, John Wesley was at a crossroads.
…to drive us away from God or drive us toward ______.
“…I felt my heart strangely warmed.
I felt I did trust in ____________,”
…his favorite text from which to preach in the early
days of the ______________…
He failed but God used him… in ____________ ways.
____________ and believe in the good news!
Kid’s question: Who is the founder of Methodism?