Tomorrow is the birth anniversary of John Wesley, one of the greatest preachers ever and the founder of the Methodist church. He was born on the 17th of June back in 1703, in England, the fifteenth of nineteen children of Samuel and Susanna Wesley.
Now like I said, John Wesley was a wonderful preacher – and he preached a lot on the subject of hypocrisy – he took as his text Matthew 7:5, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”
Well, when it comes to this verse, I feel about the same way you do, friend, I don’t want to be a hypocrite. Every day I want to shorten the distance between that which I profess and that which I actually live. In other words, I don’t want any gaps between my “talk” and my “walk.”
It’s why I so appreciate this “Test for Self-Evaluation” written by John Wesley. This great preacher suggests that every morning we should ask ourselves, “Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I’m a better person than I really am? Do I laugh at the mistakes of others, reveling in their errors and misfortunes? Do I insist on having my own way?”(Oh boy… I hope my husband, Ken, is not listening right now.) John Wesley goes on and says, “Is there a tendency for me to put others down so that I’ll be thought of more highly? Do I pass on to others what is told to me in confidence? Am I thoughtful in expressing ‘thanks’ to people for what they’ve done for me, no matter how insignificant it seems? Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits? Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying? Did the Bible live in me yesterday? And is it living in me today? Did I disobey God in anything yesterday? Did I insist on doing something about which my conscious was uneasy? Did I handle discouragement well or did I have to be coddled?” John Wesley asks, “Am I enjoying prayer? When did I last speak to someone about Christ? Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize or hold resentment toward? If so, what am I doing about it?” And finally, John Wesley writes, “Is Christ real to me?”
Friend, I hope this little sermon by John Wesley has hit home with you as it has touched my heart today. I tell you what – come by our website or give us a call at Joni and Friends because I'm going to ask the folks at the ministry to make this little sermon by John Wesley available to you in print. And if you would like to pin John Wesley’s words up somewhere, the words I just shared, or tuck it in your daily journal, then write us at Joni and Friends. And refer to John Wesley’s questions often. Purpose to shorten the gap between what you say and what you live. Let our Christian walk before others always match what we say. And to that John Wesley would say, “Amen!”
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