WesleyGospel Ministries

The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. – 1 Corinthians 2:14 (KJV)

You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!  –Acts 7:51 (NIV)

A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened. –Acts 16:14 (KJV)

Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?…Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.   –Luke 24:32, 45 (KJV)

John Wimber, Power Evangelism.

—. Power Healing.

—. Power Encounters.

—. Power Points.

Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit.

—. Surprised by the Voice of God.

—. Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit.

—. Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God, ch. 3: “The Miracles of the Scottish Covenanters.”

—. The Beginner’s Guide to the Gift of Prophecy.

John Paul Jackson, The Biblical Model of Dream Interpretation.

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology.

—. The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Today.

Sam Storms, The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts.

—. Understanding Spiritual Gifts.

Guy Chevreau, Catch the Fire. (Jonathan Edwards link to the Vineyard).

We must take heed that we do not halt with God, through an inconstant, wavering faith: Peter, coming to Christ upon the water, because he fainted in faith, was in danger of drowning; so we, if we begin to waver or doubt, it is to be feared that we shall sink as Peter did, not into the water, but into the bottomless pit of hell-fire. –John Wesley quoting Thomas Cranmer

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. –John 14:2 (KJV)

“You’re imprisoned in the love of God and there’s no way to escape. Now go on. Walk with Him from glory to glory” (7:25). This would be the eternal security part of Paul Washer’s gospel presentation that I would disagree with. As a Wesleyan, I believe that the witness of the Spirit is essential to authentic faith in the Gospel (Romans 8:16); and so, the loss of that witness will in turn lead to a loss of that justifying faith, which is necessary for salvation from Hell. This is why it is important to maintain a devotional life. Wesleyans believe that we are not saved by our devotions: we are not saved by those works of piety. But rather, we are saved by the witness of the Spirit (real saving faith), which will as a matter of course, appear during devotional times. This is why we are commanded to hold on to “faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander” (1 Timothy 1:19-20). Other than this one detail, I would say that Paul Washer’s gospel presentation is sound doctrine, and would play an important role for all preachers who want to escape from the lies of seeker-sensitive Christianity, and understand the truth of salvation as its shown in Scripture. To balance out what his booklet The Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches, you can read my own book by the same title, and also read Wesley and Sanctification by Harald Lindstrom, Wesley on Salvation by Kenneth J. Collins, and Adam Clarke’s Christian Theology. –J. B.

Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity. –Hebrews 1:9 (KJV)

Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.   –Revelation 3:16 (KJV)

Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting. –Ephesians 5:4 (KJV)

God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.  –Romans 1:24 (NIV)

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.  –1 Corinthians 6:18 (KJV)

—

SermonAudio: Top Ranking Sermons Against Pornography.

The Largest State Universities Ranked by Enrollment. (to get the biggest crowds).

Dr. John R. Rice, Adultery and Sex Perversion (Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1978). I’m leaning towards imitating Dr. Rice’s preaching style on this subject.

—. Evolution or the Bible–Which? (Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1963).

David Wilkerson, The Vision, ch. 3: “A Flood of Filth.”

—. Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth, ch. 2: “The ‘Horrible Thing’ in God’s House: Adultery, Fornication, and Divorce.”

—. Racing Toward Judgment, ch. 4: “The Flash Points of Judgment.” (on porno)

John Wesley, “The Spirit of Bondage and of Adoption.”

Jed Smock, Who Will Rise Up? (Vital Issues, 1985). This would definitely be worth reviewing, with a critical eye, especially against any “dirty old man” sex jokes. I hear he was able to draw huge crowds while preaching against sexual sin. But some of his expressions were extreme, so read and imitate with Bible in hand, and with caution. The video below shows how Brother Jed used to preach on college campuses two years after he finished this book. The main thing I see wrong with his method is the use of the words “whore” and “whoremonger” (both KJV words)–to point at a girl and call her “whore” or “slut” if need be. This whole thing was based on 1. Just being a jerk. 2. Drawing a crowd. 3. To bring shame on the sin of fornication. 4. And again, just being an insensitive a-hole. But there’s no question that open air preachers could still learn some valuable lessons from him. Look at his crowd! Look at how many kids are just sitting there thoughtfully listening! He’s doing SOMETHING, although not everything, right! Certainly not the whore part.

Holy Hubert Lindsey, Bless Your Dirty Heart (Logos, 1973). A Jesus movement preacher at Berkeley. He was so provocative that he was nearly beaten to death, went into a coma, and then was made permanently blind. Smock said, “Dr. Lindsey has influenced my ministry more than any other living man.” As you can see in the second video below, they associated with one another. Just off the bat, Hubert strikes me as an extremely mean-spirited preacher. I mean really, laughably so: RIDICULOUSLY MEAN. But he was able to draw crowds. So again, its probably worth studying the sermon topics that he preached on, if for no other reason but to learn how to draw crowds. He was in the habit of calling people “sinners” and “masturbating devils.” Again, this is just insulting speech: and probably illegal disorderly conduct. A very LOW-BROW preaching style for sure. But the subjects usually are: 1. Sexual Sin. 2. Evolution. And huge crowds form and stay.

—

BOOKS RECOMMENDED BY DR. JACK DEERE

John Wimber, Power Evangelism.

—. Power Healing.

—. Power Encounters.

—. Power Points.

Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit.

—. Surprised by the Voice of God.

—. Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit.

—. Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God.

—. The Beginner’s Guide to the Gift of Prophecy.

John Paul Jackson, The Biblical Model of Dream Interpretation.

Roberts Liardon, ed, Smith Wigglesworth: The Complete Collection of His Life Teachings.

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology.

Craig Keener, Miracles (2 vols).

—. Miracles Today.

—. Acts (4 vols).