The Need for a Missionary Revival Is Urgent.
The church needs a missionary revival, driven by a special intervention of God's omnipotence, to cast aside mere religiosity and live at the height of our profession.
Andrew Murray emphasizes the urgent need for a missionary revival within the church, calling for a departure from mere religious formalities and a genuine commitment to God's mission. He challenges believers to take personal responsibility for the work of God, urging them to sacrifice their comforts and live out their faith actively. Murray stresses that true spiritual understanding and empowerment come only through God's intervention, and he calls for a deep reflection on what individuals have truly given to the mission. The time has come for the church to awaken and fully engage in the work of spreading the Gospel.
Text
The incapacity to grasp spiritually the meaning of God's command and his
promise of the power of the Holy Spirit for our work, can only be cast out
by a special intervention of God's omnipotence.
It is high time for the church to bestir herself; we have played at missions
long enough. What we need is to cast aside the mask of all mere
religiosity, all that is simply form and tradition, and to live at the height of
our profession.
Long enough have we patronized the work of God and interested
ourselves in it as amateurs; what we want today is to make it our work, to
feel each of us his personal responsibility, to spend and be spent for it -
not what we possess and can spare, but our very selves.
In reality what have we done? What have we given? What have we
sacrificed? Where does this spirit show itself in the details of daily life?
What discipline are we willing to submit to? What ease, what luxuries,
have we denied ourselves? The need for a missionary revival is urgent.
(Excerpted from The Coming Revival, by Andrew Murray , pg. 53)
Sermon Outline
- The Incapacity to Grasp Spiritually
- The Urgency of a Missionary Revival
- The Current State of the Church
- The lack of genuine sacrifice and discipline
- The need to deny ourselves ease and luxuries
Key Quotes
“It is high time for the church to bestir herself; we have played at missions long enough.” — Andrew Murray
“What we want today is to make it our work, to feel each of us his personal responsibility, to spend and be spent for it - not what we possess and can spare, but our very selves.” — Andrew Murray
Application Points
- We need to cast aside mere religiosity and live at the height of our profession, feeling a sense of personal responsibility for the work of God.
- We must be willing to sacrifice and deny ourselves ease and luxuries in order to truly follow God.
- A missionary revival requires a special intervention of God's omnipotence, and we must be open to this kind of intervention in our lives.