The Message

The day began peacefully in the English village of Pensford as men, women, and children made their way to a large green area on the village outskirts. The great preacher, John Wesley, would be there, and people were eager to hear him. Being short in stature, Wesley climbed onto a table and preached the gospel he found in Jesus Christ, explaining it was twofold. First, all are sinners in need of a Savior; no one can save themselves, no matter how “good” they try to be. Justification is by faith alone. Second, God offers freedom from the power of sin. Salvation could not be complete without this promise of the gospel, Wesley explained. All children of God are given freedom from the guilt of sin through justification and its power through sanctification. As Wesley preached, a rumble grew louder. A mob, hired by local clerics, was soon upon them, pushing along an agitated, bloodied bull. The bull, however, refused to charge into Wesley and the crowd, instead running around them as they “quietly sang praise to God and prayed for about an hour.” Frustrated, the mob grabbed the bull and forced it into the table where Wesley was standing. As he fell, friends caught him and quickly carried him to another area, where he continued preaching. Meanwhile, “the rabble wreaked their vengeance on the table, which they tore bit from bit.” This was just one of many disruptions John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, and his followers faced as they preached, as Wesley called it, “scriptural Christianity.” Sometimes stones were hurled; other times Methodist preachers were smeared with sewage and beaten. Mobs often raided Methodist homes, “destroying furniture and goods, plundering whatever they chose, and brutally abusing men, women, and children.” Nevertheless, assured of God’s presence, Wesley and his compatriots pressed on. By the end of his life, adherents to Wesley’s teachings numbered more than 100,000. So why the viciousness against Wesley and his teachings? Why the hatred? Because he dared to preach the truth. “There is,” said Wesley, “the closest connection . . . between the law and the gospel. On the one hand, the law continually makes way for, and points us to, the gospel; on the other, the gospel continually leads us to a more exact fulfilling of the law. . . .‘With man this is impossible.’ But we see a promise of God to give us that love, and to make us humble, meek, and holy. We lay hold of this gospel, of these glad tidings: it is done unto us according to our faith, and ‘the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us,’ through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” In the book Desire of Ages we read, “Christ was treated as we deserve that we may be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. 'By His stripes we are healed.” What imagery, of the Love the Father has for you and me. Earth is on a Cosmic Collision Course with Eternity! What a thought! What an event! Soon, Jesus will return to bring us home. I am truly longing for that event as I am sure you are as well. As we turn the pages of the Bible to the book of Revelation each event that we read verse by verse leads us to the climax of the book. The Second coming of Christ. And just before that cosmic event there is a message that will ring throughout the world. We find that message in Revelation chapter 14. We call this message the 3 Angels Messages. The message begins with the preaching of the Gospel and concludes with a the description of a group of people ready to go home. Chris Camacho