Sermon Central
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William Wilberforce
Contributed by Davon Huss on Mar 13, 2021 (message contributor)
Jesus is the supreme example. He cares so much about completing His mission on earth that he lets himself be killed. That total commitment to God’s will literally costs Him His life. It also saves it, as the resurrection proves. There are many examples from history of persons who have proved Jesus true. One of my favorites is William Wilberforce, a British Parliamentarian of the 18th century. As a youngster, Wilberforce was an indifferent student, wasting his way through grade school, then college. Upon the completion of his formal studies, he plunged into London’s social whirl and entertained himself for 3 years in ways that he later regretted. To his peers, he seemed quite the successful young man about town. In 1784, he went to Nice, France, with Isaac Milner, an old friend who cared enough about him to ask what he was going to do with his life. Milner hated seeing a person of such potential wasting it the way he thought Wilberforce was. He admired the talents God had given his friend and wanted him to use them. When they returned to England, through the influence of John Newton, Wilberforce handed himself over to God, for whatever purposes God could use him. Within 3 years, Wilberforce knew what God wanted of him. He would bring an end to England’s slave trade. It was an enormously expensive decision. He was single-handedly taking on England’s most powerful businessmen and politicians. The leaders of the British empire sincerely believed it would not survive without slave labor. The animosity Wilberforce received took him to the brink of death. No one was more devoutly hated. He could very well die in his struggle to free the slaves. Then die he must. God had called him. It took 46 years, but God gave Wilberforce the victory when the British Parliament declared every slave in the Empire free. It happened because one man was ready to die. Because he was indifferent to his own fate. Because he loved. And, like Jesus, he has found glory.
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