well played sir

When I read near the end of Wesley's sermon, I thought about what he was saying from what I would guess to be his perspective. It was interesting to me how it seemed as though in section 8 he was, in a sense, challenging the listeners to believe what he was saying. As christians, our reaction a lot of the time to sermons that talk about our sins and failures is simply denial. We hear what is said and immediately treat it like it is being said to somebody else. In Wesley's sermon, this is exactly what he tries to prevent in section 8 when he says "Now let each of us lay his hand upon his heart and say, 'Lord, is it I?'." After presenting his congregation with ideas that they likely will want to deny, he challenges them to examine themselves.

The cool thing though, is what he does after he challenges them. In sections 9 and 10, it is almost as if Wesley assumes that his challenge has done its job in the way he essentially gives them different areas where people could struggle and thus improve on. I found this interesting mainly in the way Wesley seems to present his message. His challenge to his congregation, through his further instruction and appeals in sections 9 and 10, is proved to be in genuine concern and conviction for his flock's well being.

So I guess I'm sorry this isn't super in depth about what he's actually saying, I was actually just really impressed with how he challenged the listeners to this sermon. Too often, pastors will stop at simply convicting listeners without providing them any insight into what can be done. In Wesley's case, he presents them with the challenge, convicting them, and immediately after reveals his intentions very clearly to the listeners in his instruction and appeal to improve on their situation rather than simply dwell in their conviction.