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Andrew Murray
Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917). South African pastor, author, and revivalist born in Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony, to Dutch Reformed missionary parents. Sent to Scotland at 10, he studied at Aberdeen University and Utrecht, Netherlands, returning ordained in 1848. He pastored in Bloemfontein and Worcester, later moderating the Dutch Reformed Church’s Cape Synod. In 1860, he sparked a revival in the Orange Free State, preaching to thousands across racial lines despite apartheid’s rise. Murray wrote over 240 books, including Abide in Christ (1882) and With Christ in the School of Prayer, translated into dozens of languages. His emphasis on holiness, prayer, and divine healing influenced global Pentecostalism. Married to Emma Rutherford in 1856, they had eight children, four becoming missionaries. He founded theological seminaries and the Huguenot College for women. Despite chronic illness, he traveled to Europe and America, speaking at Keswick Conventions. His devotional works remain widely read, shaping Christian spirituality across denominations.
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Sermon Summary
Andrew Murray emphasizes the call for Christians to live an unworldly life, highlighting the pervasive influence of a society estranged from God that can subtly weaken our spiritual vitality. He asserts that the Spirit of God empowers believers to overcome this worldly spirit, enabling them to embrace a heavenly life that transcends worldly values and threats. Murray encourages Christians to cultivate a deep fellowship with God, allowing His light and strength to guide them in their earthly lives, thus perpetuating the unworldly nature of Christ among His followers.
Scriptures
We Are Called to Live an Unworldly Life
The whole of society around us, as far as it is not very definitely ruled by the Spirit of God, constitutes an environment, an atmosphere from which, at every pore, we breathe in the infection of a life that is estranged from God. And yet, because it is a secret, hidden spirit; because it has accommodated itself to the teaching and the worship of Christ, we may be utterly unconscious of the evil that is hindering and weakening our spiritual life. It is to conquer and cast out and entirely dispossess the spirit of this world that the Spirit of God is sent into the hearts of God’s children. With Pentecost the kingdom of God came in power, the kingdom of heaven was begun on earth. Men and women were to live an unworldly, an other-worldly, a heavenly life, superior to all the good the world can offer, and to all the evil it can threaten, free from all its modes of thought and motives of action. The altogether, even externally, unworldly life of Christ was to perpetuate itself in the inner circle of his chosen disciples and friends. They were to be so wholly given up to fellowship with the heavenly world, to wait and labour so patiently and perseveringly to receive the light and leading, the joy and strength their Lord could give, that they might be able to communicate to their brethren about that heavenly life and power which would enable them in their earthly calling to live the unworldly life. (Excerpted from The Coming Revival, by Andrew Murray , pg. 27)
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Andrew Murray (1828 - 1917). South African pastor, author, and revivalist born in Graaff-Reinet, Cape Colony, to Dutch Reformed missionary parents. Sent to Scotland at 10, he studied at Aberdeen University and Utrecht, Netherlands, returning ordained in 1848. He pastored in Bloemfontein and Worcester, later moderating the Dutch Reformed Church’s Cape Synod. In 1860, he sparked a revival in the Orange Free State, preaching to thousands across racial lines despite apartheid’s rise. Murray wrote over 240 books, including Abide in Christ (1882) and With Christ in the School of Prayer, translated into dozens of languages. His emphasis on holiness, prayer, and divine healing influenced global Pentecostalism. Married to Emma Rutherford in 1856, they had eight children, four becoming missionaries. He founded theological seminaries and the Huguenot College for women. Despite chronic illness, he traveled to Europe and America, speaking at Keswick Conventions. His devotional works remain widely read, shaping Christian spirituality across denominations.