Revival 6 of 6: Persevering to the End

•Transfiguration Sunday

Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany

With Proverbs 31:8-9 and Matthew 5:10-12

6 of 6 on Adam Hamilton’s 2014 book Revival: Faith As Wesley Lived It

• I have been doing a sermon series on this book for the history and witness and inspiration. This book does not replace scripture, neither do I worship John Wesley or Adam Hamilton. I do find both of them to be disciples and worth learning about and from.

This is the sixth and final message in the series.

A brief recap of some of the things we’ve covered in the last five weeks:

Chapter 1 – We learned about John Wesley’s parents Samuel and Susanna and how they were involved in the faith lives of their children, and about how the social and economic scene in 17^th century England set the stage for John Wesley’s revival.

Chapter 2 – We looked at JW’s school years and how he intentionally sought holiness.

Chapter 3 – JW traveled to America. He weathered actual storms as well as depression.  A takeaway from chapter 3: seek God in the midst of and in spite of storms.

Chapter 4 – Participate in the means of grace… position yourself to receive God’s grace.

Chapter 5 – Be involved in works of mercy.

And today, Chapter 6: Never stop. Never give up.  Title of this sermon might be “Can You Imagine.”

• When I was in my first solo pastorate I met a church member, 90-something Catherine Walters, who told me: “You’re the pastor. Stick to your guns.”

The opening paragraph of chapter 6:
Jesus promised his disciples there would be opposition to their ministry: “In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!” (John 16:33).  When you have a vision, some will oppose it. When you challenge the status quo, you’ll ruffle feathers… (AH/R, p. 123).

JW’s preaching challenged the status quo with his zeal and passion, with his condemning and convicting words, with his attitude that said gospel over tradition.

Not only was he not received as a church speaker (leading him to preach outdoors), but churches and church leaders HIRED rabble-rousers to heckle him and oppose him... JW recorded hundreds of instances in his journals:

…I went to the [town square] in Bolton. There was a vast number of people, but many of them [were] utterly wild. As soon as I began speaking, they began thrusting to and fro, endeavoring to throw me down from the steps on which I stood. They did so once or twice, but I went up again and continued my discourse. They then began to throw stones; at the same time some got upon the cross behind me to push me down. – 8/28/1748 journal entry

During 19 years of sermons, JW was pelted with rotten tomatoes, manure, and stones, but he refused to give up… For 19 years this was Wesley’s weekly, even daily experience. He was dragged before magistrates, beaten with fists, pummeled with rocks. Homes where he stayed were set afire. How discouraging it must have been. But he refused to give up, and his perseverance in the face of opposition made all the difference. (AH/R p. 126)

Can you imagine.

•JW never retired, and never eased up.

In his late sixties, and through the final two decades of his life, JW preached and published against the slave trade. (re-read today’s scripture reading Speak out on behalf of the voiceless… Prov 31:8-9).

It was the 1770s, 80s. Nearly a century before American Civil War, and 30 years before any European nation banned slave trade (Denmark 1803, Britain 1807).

In 1788, at the age of 85, he preached a sermon against slavery in The New Room at Bristol.

Many members of the Methodist society made their living off the slave trade in one way or another, so his sermon wasn’t welcomed by all. He described in his journal what happened:

The people rushed upon each other with the utmost violence, the benches were broke in pieces, and nine tenths of the congregation appeared to be struck with the same panic.

Wesley’s sermon actually provoked a fight in the congregation between those for and against slavery. They didn’t just exchange angry words; they were breaking up the pews! Wesley, even as an elderly man, was not afraid of offending others in proclaiming the gospel. (AH/R p. 132-133)

Can you imagine.

• One key teaching of JW’s had to do with stewardship, the use of your resources. JW warned against the temptations of wealth, complacency, disregard for the needy… He preached a sermon called “The Use of Money” in which he urged hearers:
Gain all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can.

One year his salary was 30 pounds. He lived on 28, gave 2 away.
The next year he earned 60. He lived on 28… gave 32 away.
In his lifetime he gave away 90% of his income.

Can you imagine.

He might wonder today… What does your bank statement say about your spiritual life, priorities?

He might also point out that giving money, while important, is not the primary aim of the Christian life; it is merely a reflection of our faith. The aim of the Christian life is being wholly devoted to God, and loving God and neighbor, which in turn leads to financial generosity.

To Wesley, tithing might be a good initial goal, but giving all you can – money, time, and heart – was the real measure. (AH/R p. 135-136)

• JW never retired. He died at home, old age (87). He faced death without fear but peace, at home, with loved ones, with a hymn on his lips. “Best of all, God is with us.” May we aspire to such a death. To such a life.

• I’ll praise my maker while I’ve breath, Isaac Watts.

At my funeral I would like to have this hymn: Beams of Heaven As I Go. Charles Albert Tindley. Philadelphia, 100 years after JW. Son of slave. Self educated, learned Hebrew and Greek, passed Methodist ordination board, ordained 1889. Like JW, beaten and opposed for his preaching. Regard for poor and opposed.
Built legacy. 10,000 members 100 years ago. Persevered.

How will you spend your life?

• Hymn 524: Beams of Heaven As I Go

Proverbs 31:8-9        (Common English Bible)

8 Speak out on behalf of the voiceless,
and for the rights of all who are vulnerable.

9 Speak out in order to judge with righteousness
and to defend the needy and the poor.

Matthew 5:10-12        (Common English Bible)

10 “Happy are people whose lives are harassed because they are righteous, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

11 “Happy are you when people insult you and harass you and speak all kinds of bad and false things about you, all because of me. 12 Be full of joy and be glad, because you have a great reward in heaven. In the same way, people harassed the prophets who came before you.

Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It, by Adam Hamilton

Chapter Six: Persevering to the End

Do you remember seeing cartoons of stage performers getting booed off the stage with the throwing of rotten tomatoes? During 19 years of sermons, John Wesley was pelted with rotten tomatoes, manure, and stones, but he refused to give up. He was dragged before magistrates, beaten with fists, pummeled with rocks. Homes where he stayed were set afire. But he refused to give up. (from p. 126) (re-read verses 10-12 above)

Wesley did not “play it safe” in his ministry, even into his eighties. In 1788, at the age of 85, he preached a sermon against slavery… that wasn’t welcomed by all. His sermon actually provoked a fight (a FIGHT!!) in the congregation between those for and against slavery. They didn’t just exchange angry words; they were breaking up the pews! Wesley, even as an elderly man, was not afraid of offending others in proclaiming the gospel.

Some of you reading this book are in your sixties, seventies, and eighties. Are you speaking out for those who can’t speak? Are you standing against injustice, for the rights of the poor and needy, for the dignity of those who have been pushed down or made to feel small? … (from p. 132-133)