Methodist being Conformist

In reading Wesley's sermon the Character of a Methodist, I am struck by the degree to which he seems to call out similarity with the Anglican church; there's nothing he identified as a mark of Methodism that seems contrary to what any Christian at that time would claim.  Additionally, he noted, and I'm paraphrasing, the opinions that aren't essential to Christianity may differ without detracting from another's faith.   I presume that his motivation for writing the text was to persuade the powers that be he isn't, in fact, intending to start a new religion, that he is not a non-conformist.  Given the penalty for being a non-conformist, that seems quite practical to make that argument.  I wonder what impact his words had in the immediate term.  Was anyone persuaded by this?  Was there another motivation for him to deliver this sermon in the time/space that he did?