As the years went on, Protestant movements grew and gained more power throughout the world. Spiritually, however, each movement varied greatly from person to person. Most Protestants were just as complacent and biblically ignorant as the Romans whom they were first “protesting” against. To deal with the spiritual apathy, many preachers began to teach in “revivals”—emotionally-charged presentations of the gospel, to inspire new faith in those who were spiritually dead.
His Story:
John Wesley was born in England in a fairly well-off household and was raised in the Anglican church. He had an excellent education, but decided to use what he could to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, instead of gaining for himself. After he graduated, he went to the “wilderness” of Georgia in America, to preach the gospel to the English colonists and the Native peoples. He gained little success there and left to go back home. During the trip, though, John met some Moravians who taught him that he could be free from anxiety and trust in the work of Jesus. John accepted this with joy, but also observed that Jesus taught that the faith of the kingdom must be accompanied by love.
John later heard that a zeal for Jesus was sparked in America, and this encouraged him to begin such a work in England. Not having room in the English churches for hundreds of people to listen to God’s word, John began to preach in open fields. Hundreds and then thousands came to hear his teaching. But these that came weren’t from well-off homes like what he was from. Rather, they were coal miners and their families who would work all day and then go to bed at dusk, tired, hungry and often without hope.
John became very busy. He would wear out horses, riding from one town he was teaching in to the next, but he himself would teach without stop. He also had time to begin small group meetings, where people would be held accountable to worship the Lord, pray and to give of what they had to the poor. John also participated in helping the poor as often as he could. He also had a wife and many children, whom he did not see frequently because of his work
When John Wesley taught, he did so carefully. He did not use a brief text and then use many stories and pithy cliches to illustrate his point, which may or may not teach what Jesus taught. Instead, John had the Scripture at the beginning, middle and the end of his teachings. He taught on the Scripture alone, and taught it as accurately as he could. He used his education not to teach on theology or on man’s reasoning, but to teach the kingdom of God, the law of Christ and the death of Jesus. He taught the pure word and focused on what the Bible said, not his own ideas.
He focused on teaching the love of Jesus and that we are to live out the love of Jesus. He gave as much as he could to the poor and taught others to do the same. He provided for his family but he often would receive nothing for his teaching. All throughout his life, he was a slave for the word of God, looking for God’s reward rather than his own earthly gain.
WWJD
Jesus spurred himself on in the same way John did—He never stopped teaching, never stopped travelling from town to town, Just like John, he put his family second, taking all of his effort to build God’s kingdom. Many people think that it would have been better if John had had more balance in his life—taking more time for rest and his family—but John lived out a life that was exactly the same pattern as Jesus.
Although he only worked within the Anglican church, John Wesley was the inspiration for many American denominations, including the Methodists, the Holiness churches and the Nazarenes. John inspired millions to live lives of purity and service before God. And thousands of others were inspired by John’s life, becoming “circuit riders” preaching from place to place in the early United States. It is rare to find people today so willing to give their energy to God’s work.
A Word From Our Sponsor:
Jesus sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. And He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics apiece. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. And as for those who do not receive you, as you go out from that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them." Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. Luke 9:2-6
Helpful Hint: Teaching the Lowly and Outcast
Some Christians focused on teaching the rich and powerful. But the Faithful mostly taught the lowly and those rejected by society. They did this following the example of Jesus who said that it was the sick that needed the doctor, not the healthy. John Wycliffe taught the Bible not only to those who could afford it, but to those who were rejected as teachers. George Fox and John Wesley taught the poor and lowly the Bible and encouraged them to teach others. As we will see, Jim and Elizabeth Elliot and Hudson Taylor sought out those who did not know the gospel to specifically give it to them. The best of the Faithful are not those who have expensive pulpits, but those who teach those who cannot afford it or are considered “unworthy” by others.
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