George Whitefields Passion
John WesleyGeorge Whitefield had been accused openly and in public by his familiar friend Wesley who denounced Calvinism. One time a friend who also felt betrayed by Wesley asked this:
"George, Will we see Mr Wesley in Heaven?"
Whitefield pondered the question and then answered Solemnly.
"No"
"Mr Wesley will be so far up the front praising Jesus that we will be unable to see him."
When reading through Whitefield and Wesley's friendship you can not help be amazed at the grace and time Whitefield gave to his close friend Wesley through letters.
Everyone knows the name Wesley as there are Wesley hospitals, Wesley colleges and Wesley churches.
Whitefield preached across the world to far more people then Wesley opening orphanages and schools but his name is scarcely remembered. Whitefield said of his name "Let the name of Whitefield die so that the cause of Christ may live."
Close Encounters With Death
In 1744 George Whitefield almost became a martyr. A man yielding a gold-headed cane came at him with ferocious swearing and force beating him to the ground until he lay unconscious.
On another occasion at age 42 in Dublin Ireland where
he was preaching to a large crowd, Dirt and stones were thrown at him and a mob gathered to take his life and even those with him fled and he was left to travel a half mile alone while rioters threw stones at him from all directions leaving him covered with blood. "I received many blows and wounds; one was particularly large near my temples."Last Sermon
In his later years he prayed "Lord Jesus, I am weary in thy work, but not of thy work. If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for thee once more in the fields, seal thy truth, and come home and die."
He then gave his last Sermon titled: Faith and Works barely able to stand at first but he preached for 2 hours to a crowd that no building then could contain.
His last words were "I'm dying" before the Lord himself received Him and would say "You Live"
He was buried as he requested under the pulpit of the Old South First Presbyterian Church. Thousands attended his funeral. (1770: only 55 years old)
Further Reading:
George Whitefield Early Years
George Whitefield Biography
George Whitefield's Letter to John Wesley
Wesley's Sermon against Predestination and in essence Whitefield
Add Your Comment(5)
George Whitefields PassionPosted by Correy Wednesday, January 11, 2006
After reading many creeds and belief statements
I decided to stick to my own
5 Comments:
Very good! Love the story between Whitefield and Wesly.
Doug
What an amazing heart for the lost!!!
if only more men and women today could honestly pray...
"Lord Jesus, I am weary in thy work, but not of thy work. If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for thee once more in the fields, seal thy truth, and come home and die."
WOW!
You got your story about Whitefield and Wesley mixed up. It's the other way around. Welsey made that statement about Whitefield. Check out this link. It's a biography on Wesley.
http://wesley.nnu.edu/john_wesley/methodist/ch11.htm
Well here are a few resources which say otherwise.
Google Whitefield said it 319 resources
Google Wesley Said it 26 resources
Looks to me like more sources say it was Whitefield who said this then Wesley and also it was a friend of mine who told me this as he got it from a printed book which is why I quoted it from memory rather then word for word. As I wasn't there I don't know for certain if either men said this but I must say that in my judgement it sounds like Whitefield as he was a very gracious man. Your Wesley article did not talk of the Whitefield history teaches me.
"Mr Wesley will be so far up the front praising Jesus that we will be unable to see him."
This also goes to show the humility that Whitefield displayed. Although we may disagree greatly with Wesley, Whitefield knew that Wesley was a man who knew God (1 John 2:13a). Great post. Thank you for your survey on the puritans, as they are very resourceful.
Dan (T&Z)
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