(orchestral music) (patriotic music) - Today, we're exploring one of the great unknown stories of history, The Man Who Saved England. He was the unlikeliest of heroes. Small in stature, just 170 centimetres, or five foot six inches tall. He never carried weapons and
was a writer, not a fighter, but he saved England and without him, the world we know today would
be a very different place. This is one of the largest squares in the beautiful city of Paris. Its name is La Place de la Concorde, which in French means
The Place of Harmony. But few of the thousands of
tourists to come to visit can imagine the unspeakable terror that was unleashed right
here just over 200 years ago. Back then, it was known by another name: The Place de la Revolution. As the 18th century drew to a close, those who ruled the nations of Europe were entirely dishonest and unprincipled. Morality had reached a
low point everywhere. In France, this erupted
into a bloody revolution in the streets. The people of France
dramatically rejected all forms of traditional secular
and religious authority. They wanted to get rid
of both the aristocracy and of all Christian influence. A lawless and vicious
mob mentality took over. In just one year in the
period between 1793 and 1798, there were over 16,500
people killed in France. There was no justice, only sham trials. It was here at this very spot that the newly-invented
scientific method of execution, the guillotine, was set up. It was a popular form of
entertainment for the mob. Here, the women of Paris would calmly knit while head after head was lobbed off, and the most famous heads
to roll were King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. It was called The Reign of Terror. But I want to share with you the story of what happened across
the channel in England because there, a significant
percentage of the population wanted to follow France
but the majority didn't and England was saved. And it was at least in
part due to one man, an unsung hero, John Wesley. Our story starts today in a much more peaceful place in England. (dramatic music) (orchestral music) I'm here in the village of
Epworth, north of London. It was here in the old rectory that John Wesley was born and raised. He was the 15th of 19 children born to his mother Susanna
and his father Samuel who was the rector here at
St. Andrew's Anglican Church. Back in those days,
infant mortality was high. Parents often aimed to have
as many children as possible in the hope that some would survive. As it was, nine of John's
brothers and sisters never survived childhood,
leaving 10 mouths to feed. With so many children, the main thing John's
parents worried about was how to feed the family. To make things worse, Samuel
was hopeless at managing money. In fact, soon after little
John Wesley was born, his father was imprisoned
for several months because of his debts. When John Wesley was five years old, the rectory caught fire
one night and burned down. Samuel managed to get his
wife and children out, but in the confusion, no
one noticed that little John was still asleep in bed. Samuel tried to go back into
the house to save his child but the stairs had collapsed in the blaze. All he could do in his
distress was kneel down and commit John's soul to God. By this time, John had
woken up and incredibly, he climbed on a chest of drawers and opened a latch on the window. The neighbours then quickly
formed a human ladder and plucked him from the window just as the blazing roof
of the house fell in. After that experience,
Wesley always believed that he was a brand
plucked from the burning, from the fire. His mother came to believe that John had been
miraculously saved by God for some great work. When the rectory was
rebuilt, it was done in brick since it had already
burned down twice before. So this is the actual home
that John Wesley grew up in. Susanna tried to save money by teaching her children at home. So it was here that Susanna
ran the Wesley family school. It ran six days a week, from nine to five, with a break for lunch. The Bible was the only textbook and Susanna taught the children
to memorise large sections, and sometimes entire books from it. Susanna Wesley was an amazing woman and the most powerful
influence in John's life. Through his mother's example, John Wesley learned to trust God and he also learned what it meant to live a disciplined Christian life. (orchestral music) On June 14th, 1720, John began attending
classes at Christ Church, one of the leading colleges
of Oxford University. Wesley came from a long line of distinguished church ministers but he wasn't sure if that
was the right thing for him. This got him thinking about what he needed to do to please God. Was it enough to believe in Jesus? Or did Christians have to do good works to prove that they were saved? He talked with many people about this and concluded that he
didn't know the answer. But despite his questions and uncertainty, by the time he graduated in 1724, John Wesley had decided that
his future was in the church. And so he signed up to study
for a master's degree at Oxford to prepare for ministry. In 1725, John was ordained as a minister of The Church of England and he taught here at Lincoln College, one of the smaller undergraduate colleges located in the very
heart of historic Oxford. Lincoln College is an architectural gem and it's ivy-clad buildings ooze history. You can just imagine the young John Wesley hurrying past the groomed
lawns and manicured gardens on his way to his class. John Wesley became a
fellow of Lincoln College. Today, the college keeps a
Wesley Room in his memory and there is a commemorative plaque in the chapel quadrangle, marking the actual site
of John Wesley's rooms. On the wall of a residence building in one of the Lincoln College quads is a bust of John Wesley and his name is etched on the glass doors of the magnificent chapel to
commemorate his time here. By now, his brother Charles
was also studying at Oxford and Charles started a club for people who wanted to
live Godly, Christian lives, and John quickly became
the leader of the club. Because of the low level of spirituality at Oxford at the time, John
and Charles were ridiculed and the club was mockingly
called The Holiness Club. By today's Christian standards, I'd have to say that they
were pretty over-the-top. They would meet everyday for three hours, fast two days a week, and pray every hour. John even developed a checklist for people to go through everyday to examine their own behaviour, as well as other members of the club so that they could keep each other on the straight and narrow. Because they were so methodical in their approach to religion, people started to mockingly
call them Methodists. Secretly, John didn't mind at all. It's easy for us to judge
John Wesley's approach to Christianity as being way
to strict, and it probably was. But you have to see it in the context of his time and society, a time in which spirituality
was in serious decline and in which England looked to be following France into chaos. But what happened next was
to shake John to his core. John had been invited to travel to the colony of Savannah,
Georgia in North America to serve as vicar of the church there. For John, the idea of being a missionary and converting all those
Indians was irresistible. He and his brother Charles travelled to the New World on a ship, together with another group
of Christians called Moravians who were originally from Bohemia,
The Czech Republic today. One night, John and his fellow passengers were all totally terrified in
the middle of a fierce storm. (thunders roaring) Mountainous waves were
crashing over the ship, the mast had broken off, and the sails had been torn to pieces, but when he went to check
on his new Moravian friends, John found that they were
peacefully singing hymns together and they told him that they
weren't at all afraid to die. John Wesley knew right then that for all the
strictness of his religion and all his good works,
he had missed something, perhaps the most important thing. Although he was a pastor,
he hadn't discovered what true faith was all about. This realisation was to torment
him for the next few years. In Savannah in the New World,
today in the state of Georgia, John tried to impose his
strict brand of religion on his new church. And of course, he ended
up with no one liking him. Even worse, his church
didn't prosper at all. One of the rules that
John had made for himself was that he would never marry so that he could focus strictly
on his spiritual duties. But while in Savannah, he fell in love with a
young lady called Sophia. Day and night, John was
tormented by his love for Sophia and his vow to never get married. Eventually, Sophia married another man and John was tremendously
upset at losing her. So much so that he publicly
embarrassed himself and had to shamefully
leave the colony at night. They've erected a statue to John Wesley right in the heart of Savannah, Georgia. But two years after having arrived here, John embarked on the
voyage back to England, a dismal failure, a broken man. During the voyage back,
not only was he seasick, he was also utterly depressed. He was doubting everything
he'd previously believed. He dreaded landing in England. How could he face his family and friends? How could he continue
as a Christian minister when he didn't know
what to believe himself? For Wesley, the journey
to true faith wasn't easy. When he arrived back in England, he remembered the Moravian Christians who had had such peace in the storm and he spent long days speaking with them. When John's brother Charles accepted salvation by grace alone, purely as a gift from God,
John was very upset at him but one event started
to change John's mind. He was sharing the gospel
with a man in prison who had been sentenced
to hang the next day. John watched the man accept
salvation through Jesus and as he did that, he
himself suddenly realised the truth about salvation. That prisoner didn't have any
time at all to do good works to prove that his faith was genuine. He was being hung the next day. John realised that God's
love was great enough to save people without the need
or dependence on good works. However, John Wesley's true conversion happened on the 25th of May, 1738 while he attended a Moravian meeting in Aldersgate Street in London. Today, a plaque commemorates
this important event in Wesley's life. That day, part of Martin
Luther's commentary on the book of Romans was being read aloud and this is what Wesley wrote
in his journal for that day. - [Narrator] "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." - Finally, he had found
lasting peace in his heart. Finally, he had found what
true religion was all about. Finally, he could face God without fear and without depending
on his own strict works. This was the turning point
in John Wesley's life. Without this dramatic turnaround, Wesley's name would've been forgotten in the annals of history. John Wesley would never have become The Man Who Saved England. Now, John had finally
realised his heart's desire to be a true Christian and he felt compelled to tell others how to be saved by faith too. He understood that true holiness,
the right way of living, could only come once he
had truly accepted Jesus as his saviour. Now, all his good works
were done not to be saved but because he was saved. Wesley made it his mission
in life to tell others, and the message he shared
changed the heart of England. From that time on, Wesley began to travel across Great Britain and
Ireland on his horse, sharing the good news about Jesus. And wherever he went, he
formed small Christian groups. These people were all called Methodists. During the early part of his ministry, Methodists were persecuted
by the established church. Sometimes, they would
even be attacked by mobs and Wesley himself was barred from preaching in parish churches. His friend, the evangelist,
George Whitefield, had also been barred from
preaching in churches and so he started
preaching in the open air. He suggested to Wesley
that he should do the same and that's exactly what he did. He began taking every opportunity to preach outdoors
wherever a crowd gathered. More than once, Wesley
used his father's tombstone at Epworth right here as a pulpit. Eventually, the Methodists started building places of worship
which they called chapels. A statue of John Wesley stands outside one of these chapels called
The New Room Chapel in Bristol. And for a period of time, this was one of Wesley's major bases. For 15 years, Wesley continued
crisscrossing the country, preaching wherever he could. And by the end of it, he had become one of the most popular and beloved men in all of England. During his lifetime, Wesley
rode over 400,000 kilometres. That's further than
all the way to the moon and he preached more than 40,000 sermons. In 1778, Wesley built this
chapel here in City Road, London. Even today, there's a
thriving congregation here. Right next to the chapel,
he built a house for himself which you can visit today. It was in this house that Wesley
lived, studied, and wrote, but even more importantly,
it was from here that he directed the vast movement that methodism had now become and it's surprising that
despite Wesley's strictness in religious matters and
despite the culture of the time, he encouraged women to teach
and informally to preach. Wesley's vision of holy Christian living went well beyond just the words. He taught that you couldn't
say you believed in Jesus and not be transformed
in your personal life. And more than that, true holiness also had to transform our communities
and our society for good. Because of this approach, Methodists applied the biblical principles of kindness and charity to the
social problems of the day, and as a result, they became key leaders of many of the pressing
social issues of the day. Wesley and his companions
fought against the alcoholism that was destroying the nation. They dedicated themselves to
feeding and educating the poor and raising them up out of the gutter. Wesley fought against the
slave trade all his life. And together with his companions, he campaigned against
bribery and corruption. They fought against cruelty to animals, they campaigned for prison reform, and to improve the conditions
of factory workers. In short, there was no
area of English society that wasn't improved through the influence and work of John Wesley and
the movement that he founded. (dramatic piano music) As he lay dying, Wesley grasped the hands of his friends who were
with him, said farewell, and as he did that, he repeated the words, "The best of all is God is with us." He died in 1791 at the age of 87. This is Wesley's tomb at his
chapel on City Road, London. He died poor because over
the course of his lifetime, he'd given away everything
that had come his way to others in need. In fact, it's estimated that he gave away 30,000
pounds during his lifetime, an astronomical sum of money back then. But Wesley's legacy could
never be measured by money. He left behind a nation that
was far richer and stronger than the country he'd been born into. He left behind an England that when the tides of
revolution batted it from France had the spiritual and
moral strength to resist. Because 100 years after Wesley, Europe broke out into a
series of bloody revolutions. Terror reigned in France,
revolution broke out in Germany, Poland, Italy, and The Austrian Empire. In fact, England was only
one of very few countries that didn't degenerate
into violence and chaos. Why? Because John Wesley
had prepared the nation to withstand the forces of terror. Because the influence of
Wesley's spiritual revival had transformed England into
a very different society than that of France. By calling people back to true religion, John Wesley is The Man Who Saved England. He almost certainly changed
the course of history and his call to personal
and social holiness still challenges Christians today. As we look around at our society today, we see more and more a rejection of the God and the authority that underpinned our society in the past. One wonders what the future holds. The story of John Wesley
is a great example of the principle the Bible
teaches in Proverbs 29:18. "Where there is no revelation, "the people cast off restraint, "but happy is he who keeps the law." What this means is that where there is no knowledge of God's word, when the Bible and its
message are ejected, there are no limits to the
evil that people will do. That's what happened in France and it almost happened in England. But the message of John Wesley
called people everywhere to recognise their need of God in both their personal lives
and throughout their society. It was a practical religion that worked to reform
those areas of society where there was most moral
bankruptcy and suffering. The great religious revival in England that followed the work of John Wesley is just one of the many
examples from history of what happens when people
rediscover the gospel, the good news of Jesus. What happened in England as a
result of John Wesley's work highlights the power and
importance of the Bible. It highlights the truth of
the promises of God's word and the importance of following him. Notice what the Bible
says in 2 Chronicles 7:14. "If my people who are called by my name "will humble themselves
and pray and seek my face "and turn from their wicked ways, "then I will hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin "and heal their land." This doesn't just apply to nations or even just to churches. It also applies to us, to you and me at a very personal level. If you'd like to experience
the power of God in your life, if you'd like to experience a personal revival in your own life, if you are ready to be humble
before God and seek him, then I'd like to invite you to commit your life to
him right now as we pray. Dear Heavenly Father, you have promised that
when we turn to you, you will give us new
strength and a new life. Thank you for the story of John Wesley because we can see that you are faithful and that your promises are true. What you did back then,
please do for us today. It's difficult to do
the things we want to do and to change the things we
need to change in our lives. Please come into our
lives and transform us, but not only our life,
but may our families and our communities be
transformed as well. We pray not just for ourselves,
but for our nation also. And we ask these blessings
in Jesus' name, amen. For many years, John Wesley battled with disappointment
and deep discouragement as he struggled to find out what it meant to live life as a Christian. When he discovered the secret, not only was his whole life transformed but its impact uplifted every area of the life of his nation. We have a very special offer for you today and it's a free gift to all our viewers. If you'd like to rediscover the gospel and its power in your own life, then I'd like to offer you
a powerful combined booklet and Bible lesson package. The free Bible lesson is
What Must I Do To Be Saved?, and the bonus booklet is
The Best Insurance Policy. This special package is our gift to you and is absolutely free. There are no costs or
obligations, whatsoever. In this package, you'll be able to work through the
step-by-step Bible lesson about what you need to do to be saved. It'll be as if Wesley
were teaching you himself. So please don't miss this
wonderful opportunity to receive the gift we have for you today. Here's the information you need. - [Announcer] Phone or
text us at 0436-333-555 or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's free offer and we'll send it to you
totally free of charge and with no obligation. So don't delay. Call or text 0436-333-555 in Australia or 020-422-2042 in New Zealand, or visit our website, www.tij.tv to request today's offer. Write to us at PO Box 5101 Dora Creek, New South Wales 2264 Australia or PO Box 76673 Manukau,
Auckland 2241 New Zealand. So don't delay. Call or text 0436-333-555 in Australia or 020-422-2042 in New Zealand, or visit our website to
request today's offer. Don't delay. Call or text us now. - Be sure to join us again next week when we will share another
of life's journeys together. Until then, remember
the ultimate destination of life's journey. Now, I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth, and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death,
nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. (uplifting music) (intense music)
