June 14, 2009

Christianity’s Family Tree: Methodism

A Man Named Wesley

Matthew 22:34-40

Opening Words: There are six billion people in the world today. Two billion profess to be Christians. What links all Christians together is the very first creed of the church, Romans 10:9. It says, “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” From the very beginning the early church knew the importance of the resurrection. It separates us from the rest of the world. Over two thousand years later, the only thing that still really matters is your belief in the resurrection, everything thing else is secondary.

Today, we come to the end of our sermon series, Christianity’s Family Tree. To date we have looked at seven different branches of the tree. I have done my best to go in chronological order. We started with the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church, the Baptist Church and the Pentecostal Church. Today we end with our branch of the family tree, the Methodist Church. There approximately ten million United Methodist in the world. In your most recent edition of the AT&T phone book there are 57 congregations listed within our area. This morning we are instructed from the twenty-second chapter of Matthew, verses thirty-four through forty. Let me call this message A Man Named Wesley.

Matthew 22:34-40 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

I love the story of the great preacher George Whitfield, who disagreed with John Wesley on some theological matters. However, he was careful not to create problems in public that could be used to hinder the preaching of the gospel. When someone asked Whitfield if he thought he would see Wesley in heaven, Whitefield replied, "I fear not, for he will be so near the eternal throne and we at such a distance, we shall hardly get sight of him." His response leads us to an interesting question.

When you get to heaven who do you want to see? I don’t just mean family members, like parents or grandparents. I mean famous personalities from history? You are going to be in heaven for eternity so you are going to have an opportunity to make the rounds. Assuming everyone you are interesting in makes it to heaven, who would you like to see? Is there anyone here today that would like to spent some of eternity talking to Napoleon? Is there anyone here today that would like talking to King Henry VIII? (What was it like having six wives?) Is there anyone here today that would like talking to Christopher Columbus? When I turn that question my direction, I will admit there are three people from history I must see. The first is Ben Franklin. The second Abraham Lincoln. The third is John Wesley, the founder of the great Methodist movement. It is impossible to study the Methodist Church without looking a the life of John Wesley.

History tells us John Wesley was born on June 17, 1703. He was the fifteenth of nineteen children, however nine died in infancy. He was a P.K., a “preacher’s kid.” His father, Samuel, served the Anglican Church in Epworth, England for decades. However, it was his mother who prepared him for life in every way. It must have been a proud day for the Wesley’s when John announced he wanted to go into the ministry. He enrolled at Christ Church (College), Oxford. He was a good student and in time was ordained an Anglican priest. His future looked bright! The problem was his academic success didn’t transfer into the real world. Have you ever known anyone who excelled in the classroom but failed to hold a job?

That was the story of John Wesley. He tried to serve the local church but he was the pastor no one wanted. Admitting the local church wasn’t his calling he looked to the missions fields. He found himself serving as a missionary to the Indians in Georgia in North America. After a short period of time he noticed it wasn’t going well so he boarded a wooden ship to sail back home to England. Using any definition you want, John Wesley was a failure. He boarded that ship with the question in his heart that we all have asked, “What does God want me to do with my life?“ However, it was on that wooden ship that God began to answer that question. You may remember the story, I told you several weeks ago.

A great storm hit that wooden ship. It was tossed around in the ocean’s water like a toy and Wesley was terrified. It was in that moment of crisis he discovered something about himself. As he cried, he heard other passengers singing songs of praise. Those other passengers were the Moravians. The contrast was striking. The only difference between the John Wesley and the Moravians was faith. The Moravians had great faith but John Wesley had no faith, just information from books. It was at that moment that John Wesley decided to go on a great spiritual quest. If he was going to discover God’s purpose for his life then he did not need another continuing education unit. He needed, what we are need, FAITH!

On May 24, 1738 John Wesley received the faith that he was lacking and his life completely changed. He was on Aldersgate Street in England when the Holy Spirit washed through his heart. In his journals he simply wrote, “My heart was strangely warmed.” We are not exactly sure what happened that day. We called it his sanctification experience. Sanctification means “set apart.“ Wesley never mentioned it again but something profound happened. He found a new authority or power that enabled him to do ministry. He was consumed by the Holy Spirit and won his world for Jesus. Historians tell us he never wanted to start a new denomination, he was concerned there were too many branches on Christianity‘s family tree. The only thing he wanted was to revive the Anglican Church. But as the Master said, “spirit blows were it may.” If you are glad the history lesson is over say, “Amen!”

I was not raised in the Methodist Church. I am like many of you. I chose to be a United Methodist. I stay in the United Methodist Church not because I find itinerancy to be the best way to move pastor’s, to go to Annual Conference or to pay large sums to apportionments. I stay in the United Methodist Church for several reasons. One of those reasons is our Wesleyan theology. In my time in the academic world and in my time in the real world I find Wesley’s theology to be on target. If you get nothing else out of this sermon, get this. Wesley believed the only way to change the world is one heart at a time. You don’t change the world from the outside in or the top down. You change the world from the inside out or the bottom up. The answer to our world’s problems is not another big government program. The answer to our world’s ills is Jesus. John Wesley was the first one to be in the disciple making business. So today let us look at both sides of Wesley’s theology, Personal Holiness and Social Holiness. So if you are ready to begin say, “Amen!”

Personal Holiness

Wesley taught something called personal holiness. Wesley understood we are all sinners, saved by grace and by grace alone. You and I don’t deserve to go to heaven but we are going to heaven. Why? because we worship a perfect Savior, Jesus. Wesley had a very high view of mankind. We are people of integrity. He knew that one of your responses to going to heaven was to admire the one who makes it possible. If you really appreciate what Jesus has done for you then you should want to be like Jesus! Does anyone here admire Jesus? Would anyone here today say, Jesus is your hero? Discipleship or personal holiness is nothing more than being a little more like Jesus everyday. I have said it a million times, it all begins and ends with Jesus. Wesley understood in the life of the church the only thing that really matters is Jesus.

Historians tell us one night John Wesley had a dream. In that dream, he was ushered to the gates of Hell. There he asked, "Are there any Presbyterians here?" "Yes!", came the answer. Then he asked, "Are there any Baptists? Any Episcopalians? Any Methodists?" The answer was Yes! each time. Much distressed, Wesley was then ushered to the gates of Heaven. There he asked the same question, and the answer was No! "No?" To this, Wesley asked, "Who then is inside?" The answer came back, "There are only Christians here." The only thing that really matters is Jesus! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Wesley understood the only things that really mattered in the life of the church was Jesus. He was consumed with telling people about Jesus. Wesley said, “the world is my perish” and he told his world about Jesus, riding 250,000 on horseback to preach in the open air or in churches were he was invited. As contemporary Methodists we must be commanded to tell our world about Jesus. John Wesley said, “Get on fire for God and men will come to see you burn.” Is anyone here on fire for Jesus or are you as cold as ice? When was the last time you told someone what Jesus means to you? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” As Methodists we are going to change our world one heart at a time.

Social Holiness

Wesley taught something called social holiness. Wesley understood we are all sinners, saved by grace and by grace alone. You and I don’t deserve to go to heaven but we are going to heaven. Why? Because we worship a perfect Savior, Jesus. Remember, Wesley had that high view of mankind. We are people of integrity. You first response to God’s grace was to be like Jesus, your hero. Your second response to God’s grace is your desire to express your appreciation. We thank God by remembering someone the world has forgotten. That is why missions or social outreach is so important. I believe everyday you get up you should find a new way to thank God for saving your soul.

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, looked at his son Bramwell and said, "Did you know that men sleep out all night on the bridges?" "Well, yes," the son replied. "A lot of poor fellows I suppose do that." "Then you ought to be ashamed of yourself to have known it and to have done nothing for them! Go and do something! We must do something!" The son replied, "What can we do?" "Get them a shelter!" "That will cost money," replied Bramwell. "Well, then go and raise some money. Something must be done. Get hold of a warehouse and warm it, and find something to cover them. But mind, Bramwell, no coddling!" And with those words, the Salvation Army began. It shouldn’t surprise you that William Booth was a Methodist. We have always been concerned with the down and out in this world. Taking care of them is the best way to thank God for saving you. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

That is why in this church we can never do to much missions. That is why we will continue to collect food, bake cookies for prisoners, send youth on mission trips, make comfort blankets, send people to Russian orphanages and pay mission apportionments. We don’t do those things to earn our salvation, that is works righteousness. We do those things to thank God for saving us. If there is one word that I never grow tired of, it is the word THANK-YOU!. What have you done for someone today to thank God for saving you? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me end by saying this.

John Wesley preached his last sermon of February 17, 1791, in Lambeth, England. His final sermon came from Isaiah 55:6, "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.” The following day, a very sick man, he was put to bed in his home on City Road. During the days of his illness, he often repeated the words from one of his brother's hymns: I the chief of sinners am, But Jesus died for me! His last words were, "The best of all is, God is with us!" He died March 2, 1791 but the great Methodist movement continues until this day!

You and I stand in the shock wave of the Adlersgate experience. As Methodist we believe in two things. First, we believe in personal holiness. We are sinners who are going to heaven because of the precious blood of Jesus. We should want to be a little more like Jesus everyday, he is our hero. Second, we believe in social holiness. We are sinners who are going to heaven because of the precious blood of Jesus. You are a person of integrity, you may want to thank God for saving you. The best way to thank God is to help a person the world has forgotten. If you think you can use these things in your spiritual development say, “Amen”