cavell
13th April 2008, 09:14 AM
That the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. Corinthians 4:7
In the days of John Wesley, lay preachers with limited education would sometimes conduct the church services.
One man used Luke 19:21 as his text: "Lord, I feared Thee, because Thou art an austere man"
Not knowing the what the word 'austere man' indicated, he thought the text spoke of "an oyster man"
As he preached he explained how a diver must grope in the dark, freezing water to retrieve oysters. In such attempt, he cuts his hands on the sharp edges of the shells. After he obtains an oyster, he rises to the surface, clutching it "in his torn and bleeding hands."
The preacher added, "Christ descended from the glory of heaven into . . . sinful human society, in order to retrieve men and women and bring them back up with Him to the glory of heaven.
His torn and bleeding hands are a sign of the value He has placed on the object of His quest."
Afterward, 12 men received Christ. Later that night someone came to Wesley to complain about unschooled preachers who were too ignorant even to know the meaning of the texts they were preaching on.
The Oxford-educated Wesley simply said, "Never mind. The Lord got a dozen oysters tonight."
That the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
What a lovely story. Jesus chose humble fishermen to follow Him, as much as the schooled Saul of Tarsus. We are all one in Christ Jesus. And He can use any one of us.........at any time as He may chose.
In the days of John Wesley, lay preachers with limited education would sometimes conduct the church services.
One man used Luke 19:21 as his text: "Lord, I feared Thee, because Thou art an austere man"
Not knowing the what the word 'austere man' indicated, he thought the text spoke of "an oyster man"
As he preached he explained how a diver must grope in the dark, freezing water to retrieve oysters. In such attempt, he cuts his hands on the sharp edges of the shells. After he obtains an oyster, he rises to the surface, clutching it "in his torn and bleeding hands."
The preacher added, "Christ descended from the glory of heaven into . . . sinful human society, in order to retrieve men and women and bring them back up with Him to the glory of heaven.
His torn and bleeding hands are a sign of the value He has placed on the object of His quest."
Afterward, 12 men received Christ. Later that night someone came to Wesley to complain about unschooled preachers who were too ignorant even to know the meaning of the texts they were preaching on.
The Oxford-educated Wesley simply said, "Never mind. The Lord got a dozen oysters tonight."
That the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
What a lovely story. Jesus chose humble fishermen to follow Him, as much as the schooled Saul of Tarsus. We are all one in Christ Jesus. And He can use any one of us.........at any time as He may chose.