Justification By Faith - June 11th 1738 John Wesley

 

(The picture above is from St Mary’s Church in Oxford, England. My son and I visited there in 2023. Our tour guide sent me this excerpt of a message John Wesley preached there. C. S. Lewis preached his famous sermon, “The Weight Of Glory,” here. Dr. R.T. Kendall believes that preaching the doctrine of Justification by Faith is a key to the next move of God. This sermon may sound harsh by today’s standards but hell is real. And Jesus is our only savior. How can one be found if he doesn't realize he is lost?)

John Wesley

"Justification by faith"-June 11^th,1738.

He gave this sermon at the Church we all visited (St Mary the Virgin)..this was about 3 weeks after his dramatic encounter with The Holy Spirit (May 24th) at Aldersgate London.

After this encounter Wesley was dramatically changed-and this sermon was one of the first fruits of that change:

                                   JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH-June 11^th 1738

"......Thou ungodly one who hearest or readest these words, thou vile helpless miserable sinner!

I charge thee before God,the judge of all,go straight unto Him with all thy ungodliness.

Take heed thou destroy not thy own soul by pleading thy own rightousness..more or less go as altogether ungodly-guilty-lost-destroyed-deserving and dropping into hell......and thou shalt then find favour in His sight and know that He justifieth the ungodly...as such thou shalt be brought into the blood of sprinkling.....as an undone-helpless-damned sinner!

Thus look unto Jesus-there is The Lamb of God who taketh away thy sins!

Plead thou no works-no righteousness of thine own.......

No-humility-contrition-sincerity!-in no wise that were in very deed to deny The Lord that bought thee....no plead thou singly the blood of the covenant......

....the ransom paid for thy proud stubborn soul....who art thou that seest and feelest both thine inward and outward ungodliness?

Thou art the man!

I want thee for my Lord!...I challenge thee for a child of God by faith!...The Lord hath need of thee.

Thou who feelest thou art fit for hell, art just fit to advance His glory-the glory of His free grace, justifying the ungodly and him that worketh not.

O come quickly!. Believe in The Lord Jesus and thou, even thou art reconciled to God".

Hope that will help put the finishing touches to your Christian history trip to Oxford.

Shalom and Blessings,

Steve

Quiet Prayer: The Prayer Series

"For what purpose did Christ go up into the mountains? To teach us that loneliness and retirement is good when we are to pray to God...for the wilderness is the mother of quiet; it is a calm and a harbor, delivering us from all turmoils." - John Chrysostom, (c347-407) 

Technically, there is no such thing as wordless prayer. Prayer's very definition is talking to God. Prayers can be loud or silent, but communication is always involved. We may weep in God's presence or groan under immense emotional or physical pressure. God knows the intentions of the heart. The Holy Spirit prays for us  "with groaning too deep for words."

The Father knows what we need before we ask him. He created us for fellowship with himself. There are times when all we can do is groan or utter the word help - God is with us in our pain. 

Silence is a good habit to practice to cultivate the presence of the LORD in our lives. In the life of Jesus, silence seems more about the atmosphere, not the lack of words.

Jesus often slipped away to be alone with his Father. He told us that we would not be heard for "our empty phrases" or "vain repetitions."

Strategic pauses in prayer are important. 

If we talk all the time, how can we ever listen? Unlike non-Christian religions, our prayers are fueled by the knowledge of God and His Word. Our prayer lives as followers of Jesus should be informed by Scripture.

Sound doctrine (biblical teaching) protects us from listening to the wrong voices. Knowing your Bible protects you from allowing culture or various voices (human or demonic) to form your thought life.

Guard your hearts and minds. Pray silently and pray loudly. Pray all kinds of prayers. Let your focus always be on the triune God. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit

Scripture to meditate on:

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[a] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." - Romans 8:26-27 ESV

“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words." - Matthew 6-7 ESV

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." - Luke 5:16 NIV

"In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety."  - Hebrews 5:7 NASB 95

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." - Ephesians 6:18 NIV

(1) Gerald L. Sittser, Water From A Deep Well, Page 131