- Home
- Speakers
- John Wesley
- For The Persecuted
John Wesley
John Wesley (1703 - 1791). English Anglican clergyman, evangelist, and co-founder of Methodism, born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, to a rector’s family. Educated at Oxford, where he earned an M.A. in 1727, he was ordained in 1728 and led the Holy Club with brother Charles, emphasizing disciplined faith. After a failed mission to Georgia (1735-1737), he experienced a transformative conversion in 1738 at Aldersgate, London, feeling his “heart strangely warmed.” Wesley preached over 40,000 sermons, often outdoors, sparking the 18th-century Evangelical Revival, and traveled 250,000 miles on horseback across Britain and Ireland. He authored 400 works, including A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1777), and edited The Christian’s Pattern. Founding Methodist societies, he trained 650 preachers and ordained ministers for America, influencing millions. Married to Mary Vazeille in 1751, their childless union strained, but his brother’s hymns enriched worship. A tireless advocate for the poor, he opened dispensaries and schools, and his 1787 sermon against slavery stirred abolitionism. Despite tensions with the Church of England, he never left it, shaping global Protestantism. His maxim, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can,” inspired generations to active faith. Wesley’s journals and letters, still widely read, reveal a legacy of practical holiness and social reform
Download
Sermon Summary
John Wesley emphasizes the importance of prayer and perseverance for those who face persecution, drawing inspiration from a hymn that reflects the trials endured by Charles Wesley. He encourages believers to take up their cross and remain steadfast in their faith, regardless of the disdain or challenges they encounter. The sermon highlights the superiority of the Christian life, which transcends earthly concerns and focuses on the power of God's love and salvation through Jesus Christ. Wesley calls for a life that testifies to the joy and purity found in a relationship with God, urging all to embrace the message of forgiveness and redemption.
Scriptures
For the Persecuted
Think of those who persecute you and try to pray this hymn. In their notes on the following hymn the editors of the Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley say: “This hymn echoes the riots and persecutions which Charles Wesley faced in Cornwall, Sheffield, Staffordshire, Ireland, etc., without a murmur.” Thy power and saving truth to show A warfare at thy charge I go; Strong in the Lord and thy great might, Gladly take up the hallowed cross, And suffering all things for thy cause Beneath that bloody banner fight. A spectacle to fiends and men, To all their fierce or cool disdain With calmest pity I submit; Determined nought to know beside My Jesus and him crucified, I tread the world beneath my feet. Superior to their smile or frown, On all their goods my soul looks down, Their pleasures, wealth, and power, and state: The man that dares their god despise, The Christian, he alone is wise! The Christian, he alone is great! O God, let all my life declare How happy all thy servants are, How far above these earthly things, How pure when washed in Jesu's blood, How intimately one with God, A heaven-born race of priests and kings. For this alone I live below: The power of godliness to show, The wonders wrought by Jesu's name. O that I might but faithful prove, Witness to all thy pard'ning love, And point them to th'atoning Lamb! Let me to every creature cry, The poor and rich, the low and high, Believe, and feel thy sins forgiven! Damned, till by Jesus saved thou art; Till Jesu's blood hath washed thy heart Thou canst not find the gate of heaven. (427)
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
John Wesley (1703 - 1791). English Anglican clergyman, evangelist, and co-founder of Methodism, born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, to a rector’s family. Educated at Oxford, where he earned an M.A. in 1727, he was ordained in 1728 and led the Holy Club with brother Charles, emphasizing disciplined faith. After a failed mission to Georgia (1735-1737), he experienced a transformative conversion in 1738 at Aldersgate, London, feeling his “heart strangely warmed.” Wesley preached over 40,000 sermons, often outdoors, sparking the 18th-century Evangelical Revival, and traveled 250,000 miles on horseback across Britain and Ireland. He authored 400 works, including A Plain Account of Christian Perfection (1777), and edited The Christian’s Pattern. Founding Methodist societies, he trained 650 preachers and ordained ministers for America, influencing millions. Married to Mary Vazeille in 1751, their childless union strained, but his brother’s hymns enriched worship. A tireless advocate for the poor, he opened dispensaries and schools, and his 1787 sermon against slavery stirred abolitionism. Despite tensions with the Church of England, he never left it, shaping global Protestantism. His maxim, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can,” inspired generations to active faith. Wesley’s journals and letters, still widely read, reveal a legacy of practical holiness and social reform