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It was recognized at an
early stage that the boy John Wesley had an unusual mission to fulfill on
earth. Although the form it was to take was not clearly defined at this stage,
his parents; particularly his mother, Susanna Wesley did not hesitate to play
her role in preparing him for this very special assignment. She admits to
taking special care of him. On the
evening of May, 17, 1711 Susanna wrote concerning John as follows:
“What shall I render unto the Lord for all His mercies?...I would offer unto
thee myself and all that thou hast given me…I do intend to be more particularly
careful of the soul of this child, that Thou has so mercifully provided for,
than ever I have been; that I may endeavour to instill into his mind the
principles of thy true religion, and virtue. Lord give me grace to do it
sincerely and prudently, and bless my attempts with good success”
The incident that left
this impression on John’s parents was his narrow escape from a fire outbreak
when he was the age of five. On February 1709, the thatched roof of the Epworth
Rectory caught fire, and in the mist of the confusion, everyone run out of the
house with the exception of John; who was asleep on the attic. When he woke up
to find the whole house on fire he threw himself out of the window and was
caught by two young men, just before the blazing roof caved in. He was thus referred
to as “a brand plucked from the burning”.
The interpretation
given to this event, being that John was delivered from the fire because he had
a great mission in life, had a lasting impact on the Wesley household including
John Wesley himself and probably explains his exceptional zeal and
dedication. It is therefore not
surprising that, a prime minister two centuries later, described John Wesley as
“undoubtedly the greatest religious
leader the Anglo-Saxon race ever produced.”
Rev. John Benjamin Wesley has been
rightly described as the founder of Methodism. He, through his ministry, led a
revival that swept through the whole of England and subsequently the USA. A man
once declared, during one of Rev. John Wesley’s ministrations “now I know you are a prophet of the Lord”. What did this person mean by saying
John Wesley was a prophet?
TWO PHASES OF WESLEY
MINISTRY
John Wesley’s ministry
could be divided into two phases. Some writers have suggested that John Wesley
experienced two distinct conversions, the first being his high church
conversion and the second his evangelical conversion.
His ordination in 1725
significantly marked the commencement of the first phase of his ministry. A
significant event that characterized the first phase of his ministry was his
failed missionary exploit to Georgia in 1735, purportedly to convert the
Indians. However at this stage the “unusual
works of the Holy Spirit” which followed his ministry were not to be until,
“his strange heartwarming experience” at Aldersgate Street in 1738.
On the 24th
of May, 1738 as John Wesley recounts himself: “in the evening of that day, I went very unwillingly to a prayer meeting
in Aldersgate Street. About 8:45, I was listening to a reading of Luther’s
preface to the Epistle to the Romans. While he was describing the change which
God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed.”
It remains without
doubt that, what distinguished the second phase of Rev. John Wesley’s ministry
from the first was his Aldersgate Street experience; partly because several
events distinguished this part of John Wesley’s ministry to affirm this
assertion. The Lord healed the sick and
delivered the oppressed whenever John Wesley ministered. There are reports of persons being slain under
the power of God during such ministrations. The following are but the slightest
fraction of the manifestations of God’s power that characterized the Founder’s
Ministry after his Aldersgate Experience.
1.
John Wesley recorded one such
incident in his journal thus; “those who
received this new living faith through the Holy Spirit continued to meet
together. About sixty of us were holding a love feast on New Year’s Eve on
Fetter. At about three in the morning, as we were continuing in prayer, the
power of God came mightily upon us. Many cried out in complete joy. Others were
knocked to the ground. As soon as we recovered a little from that awe and
amazement at God’s presence, we broke out in praise”.
2.
On another occasion he felt while
preaching in a prison to say that; “God
wills all men to receive this saving faith”. He therefore called to God to
bear witness to this truth. Immediately
one, and another, and another sunk to the ground. People dropped on every side
as though thunderstruck and some of them cried aloud. The next day the whole
prison was filled with the cries of those whose hearts were being touched by
God and two of these are reported to have received joy in a moment to the
astonishment of the onlookers.
3. Also
at Baldwin Street while Rev. John Wesley preached on the fourth chapter of the
Acts of the Apostles, he asked God to confirm this teaching. “Immediately a woman cried out loud as though she was in the agonies
of death. Two other persons were likewise seized with pain and were later able
to burst forth praise to their Saviour.” Countless of such powerful
manifestations, which for want of space cannot be recounted, continued to
characterize the founder’s ministry.
It worthy of note that,
the greatest miracle remained to John Wesley the conversion of person to the
saving knowledge of Christ. The movement grew and waxed strong even in the face
of opposition. In 1739 approximately five thousand converts were made and
several thousands influenced. Indeed, some writers have suggested that it is
doubtful if an equal number of genuinely evangelical Christians have ever been
born into the Kingdom of God in an equal length of time.
SOME CRITICAL QUESTIONS
It is imperative, at
this stage to ask ourselves, some critical questions.
·
Would an observer describe and identify
the people called Methodists with these powerful manifestations that were a
normal feature of the Founder’s ministry?
·
Do we as Methodists still lay emphasis on the unusual works of the Holy Spirit which followed and blessed our Founder’s
ministry?
If our answer to any of
these questions is no, then it would
not be out of place to suggest that we take a moment to reflect on our
Methodist heritage. We would find embodied in this very rich and intense
heritage, an electrifying powerful, charismatic and prophetic ministry which
unlike others has the desired aim of bringing the lost to also have the
Aldersgate experience.
It could conclusively
be stated that Methodism has firm roots in the prophetic ministry and thus by the
declaration of 2012 as a YEAR OF THE
PROPHETIC by the Kumasi Diocese of the Methodist Church Ghana, the Church is
only revisiting its roots; which exercise has usually proved to have positive
impact on the expansion of the Kingdom of God.
Are you a Methodist?
Well, if your answer is yes then you must know that a true Methodist is the one
who desires the infilling of the Holy Spirit for unusual works; for this was
the path treaded by our Founder Rev. John Wesley and most importantly Jesus
Christ our Lord.
This guest post is by Sarah N. Nkansah
An archivist at the Methodist Diocesan office Kumasi.
References
1.
Robert Aboagye Mensah, John Wesley
and the Methodists, 2005
2.
W. T. Watkins, Out of Aldersgate,
1937
3.
Clare George WeakleyJr(Ed.), The
Nature of Spiritual Growth,- Wesley’s Messages on the Holy Spirit, 1977
