ltimpossiblewithman murray

7/28/2019 LTImpossibleWithMan Murray

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IMPOSSIBLE WITH MAN,

POSSIBLE WITH GOD

And he said, The things which are impossible

with men are possible with God Luke 18:2!"hrist had said to the rich #oung ruler, $ell allthat thou hast !!! and come, %ollow me! The#oung man went awa# sorrow%ul! "hrist thenturned to the disciples, and said: &ow hardl#shall the# that ha'e riches enter into the

kingdom o% God( The disciples, we read, weregreatl# astonished, and answered: )% it is sodi%%icult to enter the kingdom, who, then, can besa'ed* And "hrist ga'e this blessed answer:

The things which are impossible with men arepossible with God!

The te+t contains two thoughts, that in religion,in the uestion o% sal'ation and o% %ollowing"hrist b# a hol# li%e, it is impossible %or man todo it! And then alongside that is the thought,-hat is impossible with man is possible withGod!

The two thoughts mark the two great lessonsthat man has to learn in the religious li%e! )to%ten takes a long time to learn the %irst lesson,that in religion man can do nothing, thatsal'ation is impossible to man! And o%ten a man


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learns that, and #et he does not learn the

second lesson, what has been impossible to himis possible with God! .lessed is the man who

learns both lessons( The learning o% them marksstages in the "hristian/s li%e!

Man Cannot

The one stage is when a man is tr#ing to do hisutmost and %ails, when a man tries to do betterand %ails again, when a man tries much more

and alwa#s %ails! And #et 'er# o%ten he does note'en then learn the lesson: -ith man it isimpossible to ser'e God and "hrist! 0eter spentthree #ears in "hrist/s school, and he ne'erlearned that, )t is impossible, until he had deniedhis Lord and went out and wept bitterl#! Then he

learned it!ust look %or a moment at a man who is learningthis lesson! At %irst he %ights against it then hesubmits to it, but reluctantl# and in despair atlast he accepts it willingl# and re3oices in it! Atthe beginning o% the "hristian li%e the #oung

con'ert has no conception o% this truth! &e hasbeen con'erted, he has the 3o# o% the Lord in hisheart, he begins to run the race and %ight thebattle he is sure he can conuer, %or he isearnest and honest, and God will help him! 4et,


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somehow, 'er# soon he %ails where he did note+pect it, and sin gets the better o% him! &e isdisappointed but he thinks: ) was not watch%ul

enough, ) did not make m# resolutions strongenough! And again he 'ows, and again hepra#s, and #et he %ails! &e thought: Am ) not aregenerate man* &a'e ) not the li%e o% Godwithin me* And he thinks again: 4es, and )ha'e "hrist to help me, ) can li'e the hol# li%e!

At a later period he comes to another state o%mind! &e begins to see such a li%e is impossible,but he does not accept it! There are multitudeso% "hristians who come to this point: ) cannotand then think God ne'er e+pected them to dowhat the# cannot do! )% #ou tell them that Goddoes e+pect it, it appears to them a m#ster#! A

good man# "hristians are li'ing a low li%e, a li%eo% %ailure and o% sin, instead o% rest and 'ictor#,because the# began to see: ) cannot, it isimpossible! And #et the# do not understand it%ull#, and so, under the impression, ) cannot,

the# gi'e wa# to despair! The# will do their best,

but the# ne'er e+pect to get on 'er# %ar!.ut God leads &is children on to a third stage,when a man comes to take that, )t is impossible,in its %ull truth, and #et at the same time sa#s: )must do it, and ) will do it, it is impossible %or


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man, and #et ) must do it when the renewedwill begins to e+ercise its whole power, and inintense longing and pra#er begins to cr# to God:

Lord, what is the meaning o% this* how am ) tobe %reed %rom the power o% sin*

)t is the state o% the regenerate man in 5omans! There #ou will %ind the "hristian man tr#inghis 'er# utmost to li'e a hol# li%e! God/s law has

been re'ealed to him as reaching down into the

'er# depth o% the desires o% the heart, and theman can dare to sa#: ) delight in the law o% Goda%ter the inward man! To will what is good ispresent with me! 6# heart lo'es the law o% God,and m# will has chosen that law!

"an a man like that %ail, with his heart %ull o%delight in God/s law and with his will determinedto do what is right* 4es! That is what 5omans teaches us! There is something more needed!

7ot onl# must ) delight in the law o% God a%terthe inward man, and will what God wills, but )need a di'ine omnipotence to work it in me! Andthat is what the apostle 0aul teaches in

0hi2:19 :

)t is God which worketh in #ou, both to will andto do!

7ote the contrast! )n 5omans , the regenerate


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man sa#s: To will is present with me, but to do,) %ind ) cannot do! ) will, but ) cannot per%orm!.ut in 0hilippians 2, #ou ha'e a man who has

been led on %arther, a man who understands thatwhen God has worked the renewed will, God willgi'e the power to accomplish what that willdesires! Let us recei'e this as the %irst greatlesson in the spiritual li%e: )t is impossible %orme, m# God let there be an end o% the %lesh andall its powers, an end o% sel%, and lot it be m#

glor# to be helpless!

0raise God %or the di'ine teaching that makes ushelpless(

-hen #ou thought o% absolute surrender to Godwere #ou not brought to an end o% #oursel%, andto %eel that #ou could see how #ou actuall# couldli'e as a man absolutel# surrendered to Gode'er# moment o% the da#, at #our table, in #our

house, in #our business, in the midst o% trialsand temptations* ) pra# #ou learn the lessonnow! )% #ou %elt #ou could not do it, #ou are onthe right road, i% #ou let #oursel'es be led!

Accept that position, and maintain it be%ore God:6# heart/s desire and delight, God, isabsolute surrender, but ) cannot per%orm it! )t isimpossible %or me to li'e that li%e! )t is be#ondme! ;all down and learn that when #ou are


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utterl# helpless, God will come to work in #ounot onl# to will, but also to do!

God Can

7ow comes the second lesson! The things whichare impossible with men are possible with God!

) said a little while ago that there is man# a manwho has learned the lesson, )t is impossible withmen, and then he gi'es up in helpless despair,and li'es a wretched "hristian li%e, without 3o#,

or strength, or 'ictor#! And wh#* .ecause hedoes not humble himsel% to learn that otherlesson: -ith God all things are possible!

4our religious li%e is e'er# da# to be a proo% thatGod works impossibilities #our religious li%e is tobe a series o% impossibilities made possible and

actual b# God/s almight# power! That is what the"hristian needs! &e has an almight# God that heworships, and he must learn to understand thathe does not need a little o% God/s power, but heneeds, with re'erence be it said, the whole o%God/s omnipotence to keep him right, and to li'e

like a "hristian!The whole o% "hristianit# is a work o% God/s

omnipotence! Look at the birth o% "hrist esus!That was a miracle o% di'ine power, and it wassaid to 6ar#: -ith God nothing shall be


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impossible! )t was the omnipotence o% God!Look at "hrist/s resurrection! -e are taught thatit was according to the e+ceeding greatness o%

&is might# power that God raised "hrist %rom thedead!


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wholehearted, undi'ided surrender to it, weshould learn what blessedness there is indwelling e'er# hour and e'er# moment with an

almight# God! &a'e #ou e'er studied in the .iblethe attribute o% God/s omnipotence* 4ou knowthat it was God/s omnipotence that created theworld, and created %ight out o% darkness, andcreated man! .ut ha'e #ou studied God/somnipotence in the works o% redemption*

Look at Abraham! -hen God called him to be the%ather o% that people out o% which "hrist was tobe born, God said to him: ) am God Almight#,walk be%ore me and be thou per%ect! And Godtrained Abraham to trust &im as the omnipotentne and whether it was his going out to a landthat he knew not, or his %aith as a pilgrim midst

the thousands o% "anaanites, his %aith said: Thisis m# land, or whether it was his %aith in waitingtwent#=%i'e #ears %or a son in his old age,against all hope, or whether it was the raising upo% )saac %rom the dead on 6ount 6oriah when he

was going to sacri%ice him, Abraham belie'ed

God! &e was strong in %aith, gi'ing glor# to God,because he accounted &im who had promisedable to per%orm!

The cause o% the weakness o% #our "hristian li%eis that #ou want to work it out partl#, and to let


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God help #ou! And that cannot be! 4ou mustcome to be utterl# helpless, to let God work, andGod will work gloriousl#! )t is this that we need i%

we are indeed to be workers %or God! ) could gothrough $cripture and pro'e to #ou how 6oses,when he led )srael out o%


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men are possible with God*

5emember what we ha'e said about 0eter, hissel%=con%idence, sel%=power, sel%=will, and how he

came to den# his Lord! 4ou %eel, Ah( there is thesel%=li%e, there is the %lesh=li%e that rules in me(And now, ha'e #ou belie'ed that there isdeli'erance %rom that* &a'e #ou belie'ed thatAlmight# God is able so to re'eal "hrist in #our

heart, so to let the &ol# $pirit rule in #ou, that!

the sel%=li%e shall not ha'e power or dominiono'er #ou* &a'e #ou coupled the two together,and with tears o% penitence and with deephumiliation and %eebleness, cried out: God, itis impossible to me man cannot do it, but, glor#to Th# name, it is possible with God* &a'e #ouclaimed deli'erance* >o it now! 0ut #oursel%

a%resh in absolute surrender into the hands o% aGod o% in%inite lo'e and as in%inite as &is lo'e is&is power to do it!

God Works in Man

.ut again, we came to the uestion o% absolutesurrender, and %elt that that is the want in the"hurch o% "hrist, and that is wh# the &ol# Ghostcannot %ill us, and wh# we cannot li'e as peopleentirel# separated unto the &ol# Ghost that iswh# the %lesh and the sel%= li%e cannot beconuered! -e ha'e ne'er understood what it is


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to be absolutel# surrendered to God as esuswas! ) know that man# a one earnestl# andhonestl# sa#s: Amen, ) accept the message o%

absolute surrender to God and #et thinks: -illthat e'er be mine* "an ) count upon God tomake me one o% whom it shall be said in &ea'enand on earth and in &ell, he li'es in absolutesurrender to God* .rother, sister, the thingswhich are impossible with men are possible withGod! >o belie'e that when &e takes charge o%

#ou in "hrist, it is possible %or God to make #oua man o% absolute surrender! And God is able tomaintain that! &e is able to let #ou rise %rom bede'er# morning o% the week with that blessedthought directl# or indirectl#: ) am in God/scharge! 6# God is working out m# li%e %or me!

$ome are wear# o% thinking about sancti%ication!4ou pra#, #ou ha'e longed and cried %or it, and#et it appeared so %ar o%%( The holiness andhumilit# o% esus, #ou are so conscious o% howdistant it is! .elo'ed %riends, the one doctrine o%

sancti%ication that is scriptural and real and

e%%ectual is: The things which are impossiblewith men are possible with God! God cansancti%# men, and b# &is almight# andsancti%#ing power e'er# moment God can keepthem! h, that we might get a step nearer to our


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God now( h, that the light o% God might shine,and that we might know our God better(

) could go on to speak about the li%e o% "hrist in

us, li'ing like "hrist, taking "hrist as our $a'iour%rom sin, and as our li%e and strength! )t is Godin &ea'en who can re'eal that in #ou! -hat doesthat pra#er o% the apostle 0aul sa#: That hewould grant #ou according to riches o% his glor#,

it is sure to be something 'er# wonder%ul i% it is

according to the riches o% &is glor#,to bestrengthened with might b# his $pirit in the innerman* >o #ou not see that it is an omnipotentGod working b# &is omnipotence in the heart o%&is belie'ing children, so that "hrist can becomean indwelling $a'iour* 4ou ha'e tried to grasp itand to sei?e it, and #ou ha'e tried to belie'e it,

and it would not come! )t was because #ou hadnot been brought to belie'e that the thingswhich are impossible with men are possible withGod!

And so, ) trust that the word spoken about lo'ema# ha'e brought man# to see that we must

ha'e an in%lowing o% lo'e in uite a new wa# ourheart must be %illed with li%e %rom abo'e, %romthe ;ountain o% e'erlasting lo'e, i% it is going too'er%low all the da# then it will be 3ust asnatural %or us to lo'e our %ellowmen as it is


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natural %or the lamb to be gentle and the wol% tobe cruel! @ntil ) am brought to such a state thatthe more a man hates and speaks e'il o% me, the

more unlikable and unlo'able a man is, ) shalllo'e him all the more until ) am brought to sucha state that the more the obstacles and hatredand ingratitude, the more can the power o% lo'etriumph in me, until ) am brought to see that, )am not sa#ing: )t is impossible with men! .ut i%#ou ha'e been led to sa#: This message has

spoken to me about a lo'e utterl# be#ond m#power it is absolutel# impossible, then we cancome to God and sa#: )t is possible with Thee!

$ome are cr#ing to God %or a great re'i'al! ) cansa# that that is the pra#er o% m# heartunceasingl#! h, i% God would onl# re'i'e &is

belie'ing people( ) cannot think in the %irst placeo% the uncon'erted %ormalists o% the "hurch, oro% the in%idels and skeptics, or o% all the wretchedand perishing around me, m# heart pra#s in the%irst place: 6# God, re'i'e Th# "hurch and

people! )t is not %or nothing that there are in

thousands o% hearts #earnings a%ter holiness andconsecration: it is a %orerunner o% God/s power!God works to will and then &e works to do!These #earnings are a witness and a proo% thatGod has worked to will! h, let us in %aith belie'e


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that the omnipotent God will work to do among&is people more than we can ask! @nto him,0aul said, who is able to do e+ceeding

abundantl# abo'e all that we ask or think, untohim be glor#! Let our hearts sa# that! Glor# toGod, the omnipotent ne, who can do abo'ewhat we dare to ask or think(

The things which are impossible with men are

possible with God! All around #ou there is a

world o% sin and sorrow, and the >e'il is there!.ut remember, "hrist is on the throne, "hrist isstronger, "hrist has conuered, and "hrist willconuer! .ut wait on God! 6# te+t casts usdown: The things which are impossible withmen but it ultimatel# li%ts us up high, arepossible with God! Get linked to God! Adore and

trust &im as the omnipotent ne, not onl# %or#our own li%e, but %or all the souls that areentrusted to #ou! 7e'er pra# without adoring &isomnipotence, sa#ing: 6ight# God, ) claim Thinealmightiness! And the answer to the pra#er will

come, and like Abraham #ou will become strong

in %aith, gi'ing glor# to God, because #ouaccount &im who hath promised able to per%orm!

Andrew Murray

ltimpossiblewithman murray

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