Successful Failures
Revival - Part 3
Sunday, April 25, 2021
Romans 4:3-5; 5:1-11
And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5
John Wesley records what has become his famous “Aldersgate experience” in his journal on May 24th, 1738.
In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading [Martin] Luther's preface to the Epistle to the 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. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.
What stands out to me the most in this passage is the first line… “I went very unwillingly.”
Only a few months before, John had returned from a life-shaking journey to Georgia. He went to “save the heathens” that in the process he might save his own soul. Not only did he never get a chance to minister to the natives in the American Colony whom he had called heathens, but he experienced multiple failures and crises of faith along the way.
The journey began on his three month voyage across the sea when he was overcome by his fear of death in the midst of a storm. At the same time, he watched as the Moravians on the ship sang Psalms of praise even in the face of death while he cowered in fear. Where did their faith come from and why wasn’t his as strong?
After arriving in Georgia, he started off on the wrong foot by destroying all the rum on the ship, needlessly turning all of his would-be parishioners against him. He continued his ministry by setting an extremely high legalistic bar, requiring attendance at the 5 am prayer service everyday in order to receive communion. Finally, he created a public spectacle by refusing communion to Sophia Hopkey after she married someone else against his desire for her to remain his own celibate partner. He was ultimately sued for defamation of character and returned to England in shame.
The story of Wesley’s missionary journey in Georgia is so riddled by scandal, failure and utter humiliation that we could imagine such a preacher would have quickly found himself on the streets in our day of global social media. Who would ever invite such a man to stand in their pulpit?
And yet this is not the end of the story. We must never forget that the heart-warming experience of Aldersgate does not happen apart from the horrendous failures in Georgia. Wesley came to Aldersgate that night “very unwillingly”, broken, ashamed, and hopeless because of his own failures, his own pride, or dare I say, because of his own sin. He came in the midst of a “crisis of faith”, caught between the questions about how God had seemingly failed him in Georgia and the guilt over the ways he had failed God.
Consider your own failures. Consider the various crises of faith you have experienced. If you have not experienced such a moment outwardly, consider the subtle doubt and shame that you try to keep hidden below the surface. Remember, it is not Wesley’s “goodness” that made him a great leader of a global revival, it was God’s grace. Faith doesn’t come from your own strength. It comes when we recognize God’s strength in our weakness.
As Paul writes, “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6).
Where is God inviting you to put yourself in the path of grace this week, even if you have to go very unwillingly?
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
For more on the Wesleyan Revival, check out Adam Hamilton’s book, “Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It”