As Far as We Enter Into the World, and Please It, We Lose Our Power.
The true power of the church comes from embracing separation from the world and being crucified to its spirit.
Andrew Murray emphasizes that true discipleship requires a complete separation from the world, as exemplified by the cross of Christ. He highlights that the power of the disciple, like that of Paul, comes from being crucified to the world and not seeking its approval. The sermon stresses that as believers engage with and please the world, they diminish their spiritual power. Murray calls for the church to embrace this separation to effectively bless the world, just as Christ did.
Text
What is law for the head, is law for the members; the disciple must be as his master. So Paul understood it when he cried: "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our lord Jesus Christ by which I am crucified unto the world, and the world to me."
There we have for all time the response of the true disciple to the Master's call not to be of the world. The cross proves how the world cannot understand the disciple, how the disciple dare not blot out the difference between the spirit of the master and the spirit of the world; dare not please the world or seek to be reconciled to it; dare not look upon the world, and its spirit, in any other light than this: 'I am crucified to the world, and the world to me.'
As it was the separation of Christ from the world by the cross that gave him the power over the world, and gave Paul his, it is this alone that will give the church of our days its power. Just as far as we enter into the world, and please it, we lose our power. 'Not of the world even as Christ was not of the world,' we shall be able to bless it.
(Excerpted from The Coming Revival, by Andrew Murray , pg. 31).
Sermon Outline
- The Call to Discipleship
- The Power of Separation
- The Consequence of Worldliness
- Entering into the world and pleasing it leads to loss of power
- The church must be separate from the world
Key Quotes
“God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our lord Jesus Christ by which I am crucified unto the world, and the world to me.” — Andrew Murray
“Just as far as we enter into the world, and please it, we lose our power.” — Andrew Murray
“Not of the world even as Christ was not of the world,” — Andrew Murray
Application Points
- As a follower of Christ, I must be willing to be separated from the world and its spirit.
- The church's power is directly tied to its separation from the world.
- I must not seek to please the world or be reconciled to it, but rather be crucified to its spirit.