1. Mighty in the Scriptures (verses 24-25)
2. Missing the Savior (verse 26)
3. Ministering to the Saints (verses 27-28)

I want to begin this morning by telling you about Charles Wesley. He was born in 1707 into a pastor's family. He was born into a large pastor's family. There were 19 children born of his parents, although 9 of them died in infancy. Charles was the 18th child.

His mother was a godly woman, Susanna Wesley. Her life is so celebrated that books have been written about her life. I have even seen where she was buried, in Bunhill fields, in London. She had a profound spiritual influence upon Charles, reading the Bible to him at home, teaching him Scripture and helping him to memorize passages of Scripture.

Charles was a very smart child, receiving an academic scholarship in his younger years. Further, Charles was a very religious child. He grew up embracing the faith of his parents, pursuing the ministry himself, and training at Oxford during his college years.

So serious was Charles about his faith in college, that he formed a group which was later to be called the "Holy Club." It was a small group of men who met together for accountability to serve God "every hour of the day."^[1] These men dedicated daily time for reading the prayer and Bible study. They fasted twice a week. They celebrated the Lord's Supper several times a week. They were committed to loving those in need. They took food to the poor. They visited prisoners. They taught orphans to read. Charles Wesley was one of the leaders of this group.

He graduated from college with a master's degree in classical languages and literature in 1732. For three years, Charles trained for the ministry, being ordained into the ministry in September 1735. One of his first assignments was an evangelistic mission in America. He and his brother John sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to Savannah, Georgia. On the journey, they were as diligent as could be in their pursuit of God. They rose early for prayer and study of the Scriptures, participated in daily worship with others, and actively ministered to others on the ship.

His time in Georgia proved to be short and difficult. The journey across the Atlantic took six weeks (January 25, 1736 to March 9, 1736). He was in Georgia less than five months before returning home to England (leaving on July 26, 1736).

Little did Charles Wesley realize, that he, himself, was not converted. He was ordained for the ministry. He was preaching and teaching others of the way of God, although he, himself, was not trusting in the Lord. Romans 10:2-3 summarizes the state of his soul. Paul writes of the Jews, "I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness."

During the early days of his ministry, Charles Wesley was zealous for God. He traveled across the ocean to evangelize the lost. Yet, he was ignorant of the righteousness of God, not trusting in the righteousness of Jesus. He was seeking to establish his own righteousness. He was trusting in his own zeal. He sought to live a god-honoring life in the power of his own flesh.

Once back in England, he continued his ministry, preaching and teaching and visiting others. Yet, he himself was lost. He continued on for over a year. Then, he began having conversations with others about the "new birth" and "conversion." From his journal, he recorded eight conversations about this topic in a span of six months (between August 25, 1737 and February 1738).

In February of 1738, he met a man named Peter Böhler, who was a devout believer in Jesus. One day, Wesley came down with a bad toothache. The pain was so severe that he thought he would die. So, he called Böhler and asked him to pray for him.

Böhler asked Wesley, "Do you hope to be saved?" Wesley replied, "Yes." Böhler asked him, "For what reason do you hope it?" Wesley replied, "Because I have used my best endeavours to serve God." That is, "I have tried my hardest." Böhler merely shook his head, saying no more. Wesley noticed his reaction and records his thoughts, "I thought him very uncharitable, saying in my heart, 'What, are not my endeavours a sufficient ground of hope? Would he rob me of my endeavours? I have nothing else to trust to.'"^[2]

Wesley recovered from his illness. A few months later (April 19, 1738), Wesley came into town, hoping again to speak with Peter Böhler. A week after coming into town (April 28, 1738), Charles Wesley again fell ill, with a pain in his side, and with a fever. Once again, Böhler came to the bedside of Wesley. Wesley writes the following:

"He stood by my bedside, and prayed over me, that now at least I might see the divine intention in this and my late illness. I immediately thought it might be that I should again consider Böhler's doctrine of faith; examine myself whether I was in the faith; and if I was not, never cease seeking and longing after it till I attained it."

Wesley was totally aware of how he was unconverted. He wrote such things in his journal: May 1, 1738, "I felt a faint longing for faith; and could pray for nothing else." May 11, 1738, "I confessed my unbelief and want of forgiveness." May 13, 1738, "I waked without Christ; yet still desirous of finding Him."

Less than a month later (May 17, 1738), Wesley was reading Luther's commentary on Galatians. He was thinking long and hard about what Paul wrote in Galatians about justification by faith alone. Wesley wrote,

"I spend some hours this evening in private with Martin Luther, who was greatly blessed to me, especially his conclusion of the 2nd chapter. I laboured, waited, and prayed to feel 'who loved me, and gave Himself for me.'"

The next day (May 18, 1739), Wesley "confessesed [his] helplessness" to the Lord. He thought himself willing to die if he could but believe and trust in Christ alone. Yet he said, "I could not die till I did believe. I earnestly desired it."

Then, on Sunday, May 21, 1738, Charles Wesley had what he called, his own "Day of Pentecost." He was still sick in bed. Some friends came to be with him, and sing with him (No Zoom church in those days). A certain Mrs. Musgrave said to him, "In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise, and believe, and thou shalt be healed of all thy infirmities." Wesley wrote,

"The words struck me to the heart. Still I felt a violent opposition and reluctance to believe; yet still the Spirit of God strove with my own and the evil spirit till by degrees He chased away the darkness of my unbelief. I found myself convinced, I knew not how nor when. I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in hope of loving Christ. I saw that by faith I stood. I went to bed still sensible of my own weakness, yet confident of Christ's protection."

The next morning (on Monday), Psalm 107 was precious to him, "so nobly describing what God had done for my soul." The Psalm describes the perils of people, who cried to the LORD in their distress and God delivered them out of their distress. Wesley could identify with the Psalmist in his own experience.

On Tuesday morning, he began to write a hymn upon his conversion, "but was persuaded to break off, for fear of pride."

Though this wasn't the hymn he wrote at the time, it may well have been,

At the age of 31, the direction of Wesley's life was forever changed that day. Charles Wesley recovered from his illness and continued on for nearly 40 years, preaching and teaching faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He would write more than 6,000 hymns in his lifetime. Here are some of his more famous hymns.

O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
Ye Servants of God
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
And Can It Be?
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today
Rejoice the Lord is King
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
Jesus, Lover of My Soul
Soldiers of Christ, Arise

Charles Wesley is one of the heroes of Christian History. Now, I tell the story of the conversion of Charles Wesley, because this is exactly what we see in our text this morning: Acts 18:24-28. We will see a man named Apollos, an intelligent and eloquent man, one who was fervent in spirit, and mighty in the Scriptures. Apollos preached repentance and the need for righteous living. Yet, he, himself was lost, not trusting in the righteousness of Christ, until a man and a woman came into his life to show him "the way of God more accurately" (verse 26). He believed in Jesus, and became a hero of Biblical History. So, let's read his story.

Acts 18:24-28
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

My message this morning is entitled: "Mighty in the Scriptures." It comes from the end of verse 24, which the ESV translates, "competent in the Scriptures." But the old King James translates it, "Mighty in the Scriptures."

This name draws me back to the last lecture that John Broadus ever delivered to his students. John Broadus was one of the founders of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1859, where he would become the second president of the seminary. Charles Spurgeon called Broadus the "greatest of living preachers." Church historian Albert Henry Newman called Broadus "perhaps the greatest preacher the Baptists have produced."^[3] He wrote a classic book on preaching, "On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons," which is still being used in seminaries today (some 150 years after its publication).

When it came time for his last lecture to his students, one of those present recorded his final words. He said, "Young gentlemen, if this were the last time I should ever be permitted to address you, I would feel amply repaid for consuming the whole hour endeavoring to impress upon you these two things, true piety and like Apollos, to be men 'Mighty in the Scriptures.'"

Then he paused, stood for a moment with his piercing eye fixed upon his students and repeated over and over and over again in a slow, but wonderfully impressive style, "Mighty in the Scriptures," "Mighty in the Scriptures," "Mighty in the Scriptures." The student that remembered this scene said, "That picture of him as he stood there at that moment can never be obliterated from my mind."^[4]

Perhaps I remember this story well, because I had the opportunity to take a preaching class from a man named David Larsen. He is, perhaps, the closest person I have ever known to preach like Charles Spurgeon. He was an orator in every sense of the word. He taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for decades. I remember him speaking about Apollos in his last lecture to our class at the end of the semester. Perhaps he was telling the story of John Broadus. Perhaps he was reenacting it himself (I can't remember). But he repeated, as only Dr. Larsen could, "Mighty in the Scriptures," "Mighty in the Scriptures," "Mighty in the Scriptures." He exhorted all of us in his class to be "Mighty in the Scriptures." I remember his message to this day, such was the effect that it had upon my soul. This has been the aim of my ministry to you all, that I might be "Mighty in the Scriptures."

This is the title of my message. This is my first point.

1. Mighty in the Scriptures (verses 24-25)

Apollos was a mighty man. We are introduced to him in verse 24,

Acts 18:24
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.

For the last few months in the book of Acts, we have been tracing Paul's travels on a map. Here is a map of his second missionary journey. He began in Antioch, traveled through Galatia and Macedonia and Achaea, stopping briefly in Ephesus, before returning home to Antioch by way of Jerusalem. The story of our text today pans away from Paul's life and takes us to Ephesus, where Apollos was preaching the Scriptures.

Apollos wasn't a native of Ephesus. Verse 24 tells us that he is from Alexandria, down south, on the northern edge of Egypt. Alexandria was an important city in the ancient world. It held one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, "The Lighthouse of Alexandria." On the screen is an artistic rendering of what it may have looked like. This comes from the descriptions of those who saw it.

It was built during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (280–247 BC). Estimates measure the lighthouse as being over 300 feet tall. It was one of the tallest man-made structures in the ancient world. It stood for more than 1,000 years, before falling to several earthquakes over the centuries. "At its apex was a mirror which reflected sunlight during the day; a fire was lit at night" so that travelers to Alexandria could navigate the shoreline. Existing Roman coins place a statue of Poseidon or Zeus at the top of the tower. Surely, it was a site to behold!

I mention this because it shows the prominence of Alexandria in the ancient world. It was a place of culture and achievement. It was also a place of learning. Alexandria was the home of one of the largest libraries of the ancient world. There were an estimated 400,000 scrolls in the library, which is remarkable for the ancient world, when every scroll had to be written by hand. All that to say, this is the home of Apollos. He was a man of culture. He was an educated man. He was "mighty in the Scriptures." We read in verse 24 that "He was an eloquent man."

That is, he didn't stutter or stammer in his speech. I am often amazed when I watch a sports telecast at how smooth the commentators are. They rarely stumble on their words. They don't say, "Um, uh." They just speak in complete sentences. The same is true of many quality news reporters, or YouTubers, or preachers. They are eloquent. They don't stammer or stutter. They don't restart their sentences. I'm not like that. I start and stammer. I stumble over my words, often saying a different word than I mean. Not so with Apollos. He was an eloquent man. He was an eloquent preacher.

Verse 25 describes him further,

Acts 18:25
He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.

He knew the ways of God. He was zealous about the truth of God. He was an accurate teacher of the Scriptures. This verse here shows how much he was like Charles Wesley. Apollos was educated. He was instructed in the Scriptures. He was zealous for the ways of God. But he was ignorant of the ways of Jesus. From what he knew, he taught accurately. But he didn't know fully about Jesus. He was only familiar with the baptism of John.

Do you remember John the Baptist? Do you remember what he taught? His message was simple: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the one who would prepare the way of the Lord. Isaiah had prophesied that one would come before the Messiah. He would be "the voice of one crying in the wilderness; Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight" (Matthew 3:3). John the Baptist called people to return to the Lord. He called them to walk in righteousness. He commanded people to "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

John's baptism was a sign of repentance. As he said, "I baptize you with water for repentance" (Matthew 3:11). John's baptism was a pre-cursor to Christian baptism. Believers in Christ today are baptized in water as an expression of their repentance from their sins. When the Pharisees tried to come to John for baptism, John turned them away, knowing that they were not right in their heart before God, calling them "a brood of vipers" (Matthew 3:7).

I would suspect that the preaching of Apollos was much the same. "Repent! Turn to God! Walk in his ways!" I would suspect that his preaching would have included some sort of hope in the Messiah. Again, verse 25, "he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John." Yet, his preaching and teaching was incomplete. Apollos didn't know of the particulars of Jesus of Nazareth, and his atoning death upon the cross, dying for our sins, that we might gain his righteousness through faith alone.

I would suspect that the preaching of Charles Wesley was much the same as well. "Repent! Turn to God! Walk in his ways!" Yet, Wesley's preaching was incomplete as well. Before his conversion, Wesley didn't preach faith in the righteousness of Christ. He preached our own righteousness. He preached our own effort. One way that you might say this is that Apollos (and Charles Wesley) were

2. Missing the Savior (verse 26)

This is my second point. Although Apollos was mighty in the Scriptures (verses 24-25), he was missing the Savior (verse 26), until a godly couple came into his life and showed him a better way. We read about them in verse 26,

Acts 18:26
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

The problem with Apollos and his preaching wasn't in what he said. Rather, it was in what he didn't say. We read in verse 25 that "he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus." But now, in verse 26, we see Priscilla and Aquila taking him aside and explaining the way of God "more accurately." Apollos was teaching "accurately" before. But now he was learning what is "more accurate."

Oh, to have been a mouse on the wall when Priscilla and Aquila talked with Apollos! I would love to hear what they said to him. Perhaps it went something like this:

Apollos, we so appreciate your preaching ministry. Obviously, the Lord has gifted you greatly. You are a man of learning. You are a man of integrity. You are a capable preacher. You read the scriptures with clarity. You teach with passion. You are always careful to be truthful in all that you say. We love your illustrations and your cross references and your applications. We love how you match up Scripture with Scripture. We love your boldness. You remind us of John the Baptist. We never heard John preach, but in hearing you preach, we think that we have heard him preach.

We detect that you are also sensitive to John's ministry, that he came as a forerunner to the Messiah, and this is what we want to talk with you about. We want to talk with you about the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah. The scriptures foretold that the Messiah would come, born of a virgin in Bethlehem. The scriptures foretold that the Messiah would do great miracles, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, healing the lame, opening the tongue of the mute, that they might sing for joy. (You know what Isaiah 35:5-6 says). Jesus did it all! The Scriptures also teach that the Messiah would do no wrong, yet be hated by men. The Scriptures teach that the Messiah would suffer, bearing our sins in his body.

Jesus did that in Jerusalem. Though declared innocent by Pontius Pilate, he was still condemned to death, death on a Roman cross. Upon that cross, Jesus suffered for us. "He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquity. the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (You know what Isaiah 53 says). Jesus did it all. He suffered in our place, to become righteousness for us. He proved it all by raising from the dead, just like the Scriptures foretold. "You will not let your holy one see corruption" (Psalm 16:10).

His resurrection from the dead demonstrates that everything that he said was true. Apollos, we know that you didn't know these things. You have not been around Jerusalem, or the disciples of Jesus to hear this. But you are hearing it from us now. So, if you want to teach the way of God 'more accurately,' we encourage you to preach Jesus as the Messiah. We encourage you to preach that we come to God, not on our own righteous merits, but upon the merits of Jesus, given to us when we believe in Jesus. We aren't saved by our works. We are saved by faith in Jesus, the Messiah, who died for our sins. Apollos, we are your friends. You will find no greater supporter in ministry than us. We believe in you. We trust that the Lord will do great things through you. So preach Jesus Christ and him crucified!

Priscilla and Aquila may have said some things like this. I trust, however, that their conversation was much longer than this. Perhaps it took place over several days. I'm sure that there was some back and forth. I'm sure that they pulled out some scrolls and read and talked back and forth about it. But in the end, we find out later that Apollos took their advice. He was teachable. I want for you to look down at verse 28,

Acts 18:28
for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

This is Paul's sermon: "The Christ was Jesus." In Thessalonica, "he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, 'This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ'" (Acts 17:2-3). Apollos went on to do this as well, "showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus" (Acts 18:28).

Here's a huge point of application for us this morning. If Apollos was "mighty in the Scriptures," but "missed the Savior," you could easily be in this state as well. If Charles Wesley was "mighty in the Scriptures," but "missed the Savior," you might be in this situation as well. You might be "mighty in the Scriptures," but "missing the Savior." You come to church each Sunday. You are well taught in the Bible (I believe). Yet, you can easily be trusting in being a good "churchman." In our prayer meeting today, before we prayed, we thought about our parents and what they taught us. There were several at the meeting who had good church-going parents, church going, but lost, until later in life, when they found Christ. Is this you? If this is Apollos, if this is Charles Wesley, this could be you.

Now, as I look out among you all, I don't have any of you in mind. But it may just be that deep down, you are trusting in your own righteousness, not in the righteousness of Jesus. You are trusting in your own efforts, not in the work that Jesus Christ did upon the cross. Your Christianity consists of the things you do, not the things that were done for you. Recently in my Bible reading, I read in John 6. The crowds were asking Jesus, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" (John 6:28). Jesus replied, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent" (John 6:29). In other words, "What must I do to be saved?" The answer is simple: "Believe in Jesus."

Believe that he came down from heaven to earth, to save you from your sins. Not merely to persuade you to follow God, but to save you from your sins. Not merely to convince you of the ways of God, but grant you forgiveness of sins by faith alone. This is the gospel. Too many church-goers in this world are trusting in their church-going and in the knowledge of the Bible, and not in the finished work of Jesus Christ. So, trust in Jesus. Trust in him alone. May his Spirit come upon you and transform you into his image.
_____________

Do what you can to influence others in seeing the Savior in the scriptures. If it's with leaders at church, or administration at the Christian School your children attend, or leaders of some Christian organization with which you are involved, be a Priscilla and Aquila, that our "Christian" organizations be thoroughly Christian, and not merely calling for repentance as John the Baptist did, without the clear teaching of Jesus dying in our place for our sins. I fear that many professing Christian organizations can be like this. So, bring the gospel to bear. Bring Christ crucified into attention, that we are justified by faith alone. If you have opportunity, be a Priscilla and Aquilla.

Now, if you are a Priscilla and Aquilla, take note of the care with which Priscilla and Aquila showed their love for Apollos in correcting him. First of all, they took him aside. They didn't rebuke him publicly. They did so in private. Further, they spoke in such a way as to win Apollos. When I tried to put before you a possible conversation that they had, did you notice how I prefaced their comments with a commendation of the ministry of Apollos? I did that because I have experienced those who have confronted me and sought to correct me, and when people have come to speak with me with nothing but criticisms, I have found their counsel hard to take. But when people have come in love, assuring me of their commitment to me and belief in me, I have found their counsel easier to take. Don't get me wrong. Correction is always difficult. But Priscilla and Aquila did it in such a way that won Apollos to their view. I do believe that their words came with much encouragement as well.

So, I would encourage you to do the same, whether with your spouse, or your children, or your co-worker, or someone in leadership at church. Seek to win people with your words, not merely pointing out the faults. "With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone" (Proverbs 25:15).

Note also, the role of the wife. Priscilla is mentioned first here. In fact, most often in the Bible, Priscilla is mentioned first. I believe that she was the more outspoken, gifted one of the couple. That's why she's mentioned first. I would suspect that she did much of the talking with Apollos. I would suspect that she knew the Scriptures very well, and played a large role in persuading him. So, women, you can have a crucial role in the life of the church, helping and directing the leaders of the church with your insight.

The words of Priscilla and Aquila prepared Apollos for some great ministry. This is my third point: We have seen Apollos mighty in the Scriptures (verses 24-25). We have seen him missing the Savior (verse 26). In verses 27 and 28, we see him

3. Ministering to the Saints (verses 27-28)

Acts 18:27-28
And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.

These verses describe how Apollos left Ephesus and went to Achaia. We aren't filled in as to why. We don't know the circumstances. All we know is that he did. We know from Paul's letter to the Corinthians, that Apollos had a mighty ministry in Corinth (which is in Achaia). In fact, it was so mighty, that some preferred the ministry of Apollos to the ministry of Paul. Paul wrote, "Each one of you says, 'I follow Paul,' or 'I follow Apollos,' or 'I follow Cephas,' or 'I follow Christ'" (1 Corinthians 1:12).

Now, this was not a good thing. It's not good for people to follow after others. It's not good for people to say, "I'm of John MacArthur," "I'm of John Piper," "I'm of Matt Chandler." They are prone to fall. But worse than that, we are all followers of Christ, not people. Let's follow Jesus. Paul rebuked such attitudes saying, "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Corinthians 1:13). We follow after Jesus Christ, our Savior, crucified for our sins, following him by faith.

With my third point, I said that Apollos was ministering to the Saints (verses 27-28). That's the picture we get in verses 27 and 28. His ministry was primarily to those in the church. He ministered to the "brothers." "When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed" (Acts 18:27). In other words, Apollos was far more the pastor than the evangelist. He helped those who believed in Jesus.

Note again, how they believed. It was "through grace" that they believed. Salvation comes to us when God brings his grace to us, granting us faith to believe and trust in Jesus alone. Salvation is all the work of God. So is the church. It's all the work of God.

1 Corinthians 3:1-9
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human?

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

It's all God's grace.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on May 22, 2022 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Club.

[2] You can read Wesley's journal here: https://archive.org/details/earlyjournalwesl00wesluoft/page/144/mode/2up. I was greatly helped by the following article in guiding me through some key quotes of Wesley's journal: https://thepoetpreacher.com/the-conversion-of-charles-wesley-an-event-or-a-process/.

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Albert_Broadus.

[4] https://www.invertedchristian.com/post/the-preacher-must-be-mighty-in-the-scriptures.