We Must Live as the Channels of God's Love to a Perishing World.
Andrew Murray emphasizes the necessity for believers to live as channels of God's love to effectively reach a perishing world through personal and communal revival.
Andrew Murray emphasizes that every believer is called to be a channel of God's love to a perishing world, highlighting the church's failure to fully grasp this responsibility. He urges Christians to recognize the urgency of preaching the Gospel to the millions in need, rather than being complacent with minimal contributions. Murray calls for a personal revival that begins in the hearts of believers, which will empower them to fulfill their divine calling. He stresses that true Christian life is about living for God's glory and the salvation of others, inspired by the love of Christ and the Holy Spirit. The sermon encourages believers to offer themselves to God for this great cause, leading to renewed confidence and joy in their work.
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Alas, how little the church understands or teaches this -- that every believer, just like every branch on a tree, exists only to bring fruit and blessing for the glory of the husbandman and the life of men. Christ gave God's love in charge to his people, entrusted himself and the eternal life to them, that everyone whom the great 'whosoever' includes might hear and live. And Christians profess to believe that the hundreds of millions are committed to their care, and must, as the most urgent and important work in the world, have the Gospel preached to them, and yet rest content in giving, out of their abundance, a few pounds a year. And their mind and heart and strength they give to the interests of time. They have no conception of the true Christian life, of the calling and the glory and the blessedness of, like Christ, living as the channels of God's love to a perishing world.
We do indeed need a great, a mighty revival. Let us plead with God that it may begin with ourselves in secret. It will reveal to us the force of the three great words -- the perishing world, God's saving love, and the Christ who through his members carries life to that world. However ignorant we may be of what we ought to do, or impotent to do what we see of this great work, let us offer ourselves unceasingly to God, to live for nothing less than what he lives for, he will inspire and guide and make us bold. When the great revival begins in our own hearts, it has begun and it will spread. We shall have new confidence in prayer and new power in work. And our work will have a new joy as we realize how it is the devotion to a great cause, which has its beginning in the love of God, its law in the life of Christ, its strength in the power of that Holy Spirit who makes us one with him in the work of conquering the world for God.
(Excerpted from The Coming Revival, by Andrew Murray , pg. 64)
Sermon Outline
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I
- Understanding our purpose as believers
- The role of the church in spreading God's love
- The urgency of preaching the Gospel
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II
- The need for personal revival
- The impact of revival on our lives
- The connection between personal and communal revival
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III
- Living as channels of God's love
- The importance of prayer and work
- Finding joy in our devotion to God
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IV
- The power of the Holy Spirit in our mission
- Conquering the world for God
- The call to action for every believer
Key Quotes
“Christ gave God's love in charge to his people, entrusted himself and the eternal life to them.” — Andrew Murray
“We do indeed need a great, a mighty revival.” — Andrew Murray
“When the great revival begins in our own hearts, it has begun and it will spread.” — Andrew Murray
Application Points
- Seek personal revival through prayer and dedication to God's mission.
- Recognize the urgency of spreading the Gospel to those who are lost.
- Embrace the role of the Holy Spirit in empowering our efforts to serve others.