Dear Friends,
We have come to the end of our Deeply Rooted sermon series together. We have studied what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and one that is Wesleyan. We split off into Connect Groups and Sunday School Classes and Bible studies and went deeper in the three points of Discipleship which are:
- To Be with Jesus
- To Be Like Jesus
- And to Do as Jesus Did
I wanted to end our series with a devotion that summarized what we have learned and then end with Wesley’s Three General Rules. I have found these Three General Rules helpful as I navigate this complex world we live in as we try and live out our Wesleyan faith.
When we began the series in August, we shared that discipleship is more like apprenticeship because we are learning from the Master and we aren’t there yet. In order to learn this, we must spend time with the Master and abide in the vine if we are to bear fruit. In order to really have our lives transformed by Jesus, we have to adopt spiritual practices that go beyond the two hours of worship and study, once a week. As we abide in Christ, we become more like Jesus not in our own strength or grit, but because of the work of the Holy Spirit working through us. And it doesn’t happen alone; we need each other and we need the diversity of each other to challenge, grow and sustain our community of faith. The following week we studied how to become people that do as Jesus did when we are open to being used by the Holy Spirit to go out and share the Gospel. With the Gospel being Good News that brings great JOY, it is a message lived out in our attitudes, priorities and relationships. But speaking of relationships, sometimes it is really hard to be a person of faith when there is so much hatred and fear and division right now. Rev. Gary Mason from Northern Ireland shared about how to put the Kingdom of God first above Nationality, citizenship or political party, because as members of God’s Kingdom, we lead with this identity first and foremost.
As we moved on in our Deeply Rooted Sermon series, we talked next about how we are or how we are becoming Wesleyan disciples. We learned a lot about John Wesley and the early Methodists. We learned about their radical message, their fearless evangelism, their deep care and conviction for the poor, marginalized and immigrants. We learned how they loved God with their minds by teaching the poorest coal miners to read, how they loved God with their hearts by worshipping daily and participating in Communion as often as possible and how they went deep in their accountability in community by loving God with their souls.
Friends, we come from a rich history and we come from a community of faith that has been transforming lives from the very beginning of its movement. I heard this last week a quote from pastor and teacher, Tim Ward who came and spoke about Church Vitality to our Clergy here in the east Central District. He said, “We (Wesleyans) have a grace-filled theology that the world so desperately wants to hear and needs to know now more than ever.” And he is right. Now more than ever, we have a focus on God’s transforming grace and love for ALL people and the world needs to hear it, believe it and embody it in their transformed lives.
I want to end with John Wesley’s Three General Rules. Remember when Jesus was approached by the Pharisees and Sadducees asking what the Greatest Commandment was (Matthew 22:34-40)? Jesus summarized all of the Laws with this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Said another way, we summarize what it means to be a Wesleyan Disciple with these three general rules, they seem simple, but they are not. They will transform the way you speak, the way you work, you spend your money, you spend your time and they are a litmus test for a Deeply Rooted faith.
- Do No Harm
- Do Good
- Stay in Love with God
As you ponder these general rules and how they might be lived out in your life, I invite you to end your time with this Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition.
I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, Praised for you or criticized for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service. And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it also be made in heaven.
AMEN