The Wesleys Come to America

On February 5, 1736 John and Charles Wesley set foot on American soil at Peeper Island (now Cockspur Island) just outside of Savannah, Georgia. The young Anglican ministers had come to the colonies to do missionary work among the Native Americans. John was also to be the minister of Savannah while his brother Charles went 100 miles south to St. Simon’s Island where he was the minister at Fort Frederica.

The brothers were unconverted men at this time; they did not yet know the Lord. In addition to his desire to convert the heathen, John Wesley had another, more personal, reason for coming to America. He had been pursuing a life of holiness for years but had not attained it. “My chief motive, to which all the rest are subordinate, is the hope of saving my own soul. I hope to learn the true sense of the gospel of Christ by preaching it to the heathen” (letter of John Wesley as quoted by Iain Murray in Wesley and Men Who Followed, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, p. 7).

Wesley also hoped to escape certain temptations that had hindered him in England, but he found no refuge in Georgia. He had determined to live a life of celibacy, but he fell deeply in love with a young Savannah woman. Because of Wesley’s decision to remain celibate the relationship eventually soured, and her influential uncle, who didn’t like Wesley anyway, brought charges against him of defaming his niece. The community was divided over their minister (they didn’t like his heavy-handed ways), his brother Charles had gone home in defeat over a year earlier, and now he was facing an unjust trial; so young Wesley sailed for England, never to return. He later famously asked, “I went to America to convert the Indians; but O! who shall convert me?”

What John and Charles Wesley didn’t realize at the time was that the Lord was using these discouraging events to work some wonders. God worked wonders in the southern colonies through the subsequent ministry of George Whitefield, who succeeded Wesley in Savannah and enjoyed the results that had eluded the brothers. Apparently the trouble that the Wesleys had in Georgia “plowed the field” and prepared people to give the gospel a better hearing.

The Lord also worked wonders in the lives of John and Charles. A few months after John’s return to England in February 1738, he attended a meeting at the Aldersgate Street church in London. Someone was reading the preface to Luther’s Commentary on 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” (John Telford, John Wesley: Into All the World, Greenville, SC: Ambassador Publications, p. 101). John Wesley finally found peace in Christ by faith. His brother Charles also was saved around this time.

The Lord frequently works in ways that we can’t comprehend at the time. Our place is to render unto Him the obedience of faith. Our best works will not save. Christ has paid the full price for our sins. Our service for Him is the outworking of the grace that God has worked in us. A heart warmed by His grace is the motivation for a life of service. The results of our service are not always apparent to us, but God will not forget our labor of love. We may be surprised in eternity to find out all the good that God worked through our efforts that we thought were in vain.

Thank God for servants like the Wesleys and Whitefield coming to America with the Gospel!

The Wesleys Come to America

Speak, Lord, in the Stillness (pt. 1)

I’ve been meaning to write something about the first day session of Whetstone 2007. It was a message by my pastor, Mark Minnick, and was titled, “Speak, Lord, in the Stillness.” Pastor Minnick took his text from Exodus 33: 1-17 and raised the question of the necessity of getting alone with God. Acknowledging that many preachers argue against the necessity of seeking quiet times with the Lord, Pastor Minnick demonstrated from Scripture that it seemed to be something highly desirable and was the practice of God’s men from the time of Moses onward.

Some in the ministry argue that because of the nature of their ministry and the demands made on their time they can meet with the Lord anytime, anywhere without something as time-consuming as private devotion. Pastor pointed out that if any man, other than our Lord, had those kinds of demands made of him and had that kind of access to God so that he might feel no need of private time with the Lord, it was Moses. Yet from this point on in the wilderness journey “Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting” (Ex. 33:7). This was before the tabernacle was erected. So Moses, to whom God spoke face to face as a man speaks with his friend, felt the need for shutting out the world for times of getting alone with God. In this way he foreshadowed our Lord Jesus Christ, who had greater demands made of Him and unbroken fellowship with the Father, yet He would often slip away for seasons of private prayer.

The picture on the brochure for the conference is of a room that John Wesley set aside in the heart of London for getting alone with God. Wesley was 76 years old when he moved into this house, and he was still pursuing the same thing that Moses was. The purpose for such a place and time for meeting with God is to shut out the clamor of the world so we can focus our attention on the Lord. Jonathan Edwards used to walk out into the woods to meditate and be alone with God. A.W. Tozer had a small study behind the platform in the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church he pastored. He used this room for getting alone with God in the south side of Chicago. When he entered the room, he would change into a pair of old pants he called his “praying pants” and get down prostrate on the floor with his nose pressed into a handkerchief to avoid breathing dust from the carpet. And there he met with the Lord. This just seems to be the felt need of God’s men from the time of Moses down to the present. While this passage in Exodus doesn’t mandate the practice, it definitely presents private devotion as something highly desirable.

I’ll try to post more on this message soon and bring out some of the details from Exodus 33 that are “written for our admonition.”

Speak, Lord, in the Stillness (pt. 1)

For a Closer Walk with God

William Cowper penned the words to the following hymn which has been the theme of the Whetstone Conference 2007.

O for a closer walk with God,

A calm and heav’nly frame,

A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

Where is the blessedness I knew

When first I saw the Lord?

Where is the soul refreshing view

Of Jesus and His word?

The dearest idol I have known,

Whate’er that idol be,

Help me to tear it from Thy throne,

And worship only Thee.

So shall my walk be close with God,

Calm and serene my frame;

So purer light shall mark the road

That leads me to the Lamb.

I’ve looked forward to this conference for about four years (since the last one). My eager expectations have not been let down. Praise the Lord! We have been enjoying some of the finest sermons and lectures on communion with God. I say “finest,” not because the speakers are world renown, but because they are humble, “unprofitable” servants exalting their Savior who is worthy of all praise.

The graphics for the conference banner and literature consist of a peaceful view of John Wesley’s prayer room. This particular room was set aside by Wesley when he purchased this home at the age of seventy-eight for a place to spend quality time communing with his God. This has served as an appropriate reminder of our need for secret communion with God.

I knew that Wesley was born in June in the year 1703 but I had been confused as to the actual date. Some sources site the 17^th, and others site the 28^th. I just learned that the difference is in the calendar used. According to the ‘old style’ calendar, prior to 1752, the date was June 17. According to the ‘new style’ calendar, after 1752, the date is June 28. So, it was neat, for me, to see a connection with John Wesley and the timing of this conference.

I wish that all of you could be here this week. We have truly been blessed by the Lord. Tim and I hope to give more information on the conference lectures over the next week or so.

For a Closer Walk with God