Tag Archives: A. W. Tozer

When the bird of thought was let go!

March 28, 2019 by Steve 0 Comments

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When the bird of thought was let go!

(A.W. Tozer)

Anyone who wishes to check on his true spiritual condition may do so, by noting what his voluntary thoughts have been over the last hours or days. 
What has he thought about, when free to think of whatever he pleased? 
Toward what has his inner heart turned, when it was free to turn wherever it desired?

When the bird of thought was let go, did it fly out like the raven to settle upon floating carcasses–or did it like the dove circle and return again to the ark of God? 

Such a test is easy to run, and if we are honest with ourselves–we can discover not only what we are, but what we are going tobecome. We will soon be the sum of our voluntary thoughts!

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Self-sins!

January 16, 2019 by Steve 0 Comments

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Self-sins!

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves” 2 Timothy 3:1-2 

(A.W. Tozer)

We all have a number of self-sins:
  self-righteousness,
  self-pity,
  self-confidence,
  self-sufficiency,
  self-admiration,
  self-worth,
  self-love and 
  a host of others like them!
These self-sins are not something we do, they are something we are–and therein lies both their subtlety and their power. They dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures, to come to our attention–until the light of God is focused upon them. 

The grosser manifestations of these sins–egotism, pride, arrogance, self-elevation, self-promotion–are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy! They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust that it is not a cynical observation to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the  visible Church. 

Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ–is currently so common as to excite little notice! 

“They do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely” Philippians 1:17 

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The error of textualism

October 2, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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The error of textualism

(A.W. Tozer)

“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 

“But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name–He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26

“When He, the Spirit of truth comes–He will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13 

The doctrine of the inability of the human mind to understand divine teaching and the need for divine illumination, is so fully developed in the New Testament, that it is nothing short of astonishing that we should have gone so far astray concerning the whole issue. 

Evangelicalism has stood aloof from Liberalism in self-conscious superiority, and has on its own part fallen into the error of textualism–which is simply orthodoxy without the Holy Spirit. 

Everywhere among Conservatives we find people who are Bible-taught, but not Spirit-taught. They conceive truth to be something which they can grasp with the mind. If a man holds to the fundamentals of the Christian faith–then he is thought to possess divine truth.

But that is an incorrect assumption. The Bible is a supernatural book–and can be understood only by supernatural aid!

Conservative Christians in this day are stumbling over this truth. We need to re-examine the whole thing. We need to learn that truth consists not in correct doctrine–but in correct doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. A re-preachment of this vital truth could result in a fresh breath from God upon a stale and suffocating orthodoxy.

Most Christians see Bible knowledge as something to be stored away in the mind, along with an inert mass of other facts.

The modern scientist has lost God, amid the wonders of His world.
And we Christians are in real danger of losing God, amid the wonders of His Word!

Scripture truths must be experienced–before we can really know them. 

“Lord, I do believe in the authority of the Scriptures, and thank You for that foundation of truth. But I need to remember that even the inspired text is not alive–until the Holy Spirit takes it and enlightens the recipients. May the Spirit indeed take what I teach and embed it in the hearts and minds of my hearers. Amen.”

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My coward heart!

October 1, 2018 by Steve 0 Comments

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My coward heart!

(A.W. Tozer)

Father, I want to know You–but my coward heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from You the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my self–so that You may reign there without a rival. Deliver me from the tyranny of things–and from the idols of my heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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That very church which the world likes best!

April 26, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

That very church which the world likes best!

(Charles Spurgeon)

“As God has said: I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:16-18

That very church which the world likes best, is sure to be the church which God abhors most!

“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them!” 2 Timothy 3:2-5

“We have learned to live with unholiness in our churches, and have come to look upon it as the natural and expected thing. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend a church meeting, where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God’s professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to church with a stick of striped candy, in the form of religious movies, games and entertainments.”

A. W. Tozer

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And scarcely anyone appears to care!

February 19, 2018 by Steve 2 Comments

(A.W. Tozer)

The only power God recognizes in His Church, is the power of His Spirit. Whereas the only power actually recognized today by the majority of evangelicals, is the power of man. God does His work by the operation of the Spirit–while Christian leaders attempt to do theirs by the power of trained intellect. Bright personality, has taken the place of the divine influence. But only what is done through the Eternal Spirit, will abide eternally.

For centuries the Church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was:

a device for wasting time,
a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience,
a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability.

But of late she appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god entertainment–she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his power.

Christianity is so entangled with the world, that millions never guess how radically they have missed the New Testament pattern. Compromise is everywhere!

Evangelical Christianity is now tragically below the New Testament standard.

Worldliness is an accepted part of our way of life.
Our religious mood is social, instead of spiritual.
We have lost the art of worship.
We are not producing saints.
Our models are successful business men, celebrated athletes and theatrical personalities.
We carry on our religious activities after the methods of the modern advertiser.
Our homes have been turned into theaters.
Our literature is shallow, and our hymnody borders on sacrilege.

And scarcely anyone appears to care!

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Religious entertainment!

February 10, 2018 by Steve 5 Comments

Religious entertainment!

(A.W. Tozer)

A great company of evangelical churches have already gone over into the area of religious entertainment, so that many churches are tramping on the doorstep of the theater!

The tragic results of this spirit are all about us:
shallow lives,
hollow religious philosophies,
the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings,
the glorification of men,
trust in religious externalities,
quasi-religious fellowships,
salesmanship methods,
the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit.

These and such as these, are the symptoms of an evil disease–a deep and serious malady of the soul.

Religious entertainment has so corrupted the Church, that millions don’t know that it’s a heresy. Millions of evangelicals throughout the world have devoted themselves to religious entertainment. They don’t know that it’s as much heresy, as the “counting of beads” or the “splashing of holy water” or something else. To expose this, of course, raises a storm of angry protest among the people.

Isn’t there a difference between worship and entertainment?

The church that can’t worship, must be entertained. And men who can’t lead a church to worship, must provide the entertainment. That is why we have the great evangelical heresy here today–the heresy of religious entertainment!

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The God of contemporary Christianity!

February 3, 2018 by Steve 1 Comment

The God of contemporary Christianity!

(A.W. Tozer)

“These things you have done, and I kept silent. You thought that I was altogether like you! But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face!” Psalm 50:21

The God of contemporary Christianity is only slightly superior to the pagan gods of ancient Greece and Rome–if indeed He is not actually inferior to them, in that He is weak and helpless–while they at least had some imagined power.

Among the sins to which the human heart is prone, hardly any other is more hateful to God than idolatry; for idolatry is at bottom a libel on His character. The idolatrous heart assumes that God is other than He is–in itself a monstrous sin–and substitutes for the true God, one made after its own likeness. Always this god will conform to the image of the one who created it–and will be base or pure, cruel or kind, according to the moral state of the mind from which it emerges.

The essence of idolatry, is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. Wrong ideas about God are not only the fountain from which the polluted waters of idolatry flow–they are themselves idolatrous. The idolater simply imagines things about God–and acts as if they were true.

If we insist upon trying to imagine Him–we end with an idol, made not with hands but with thoughts. And an idol of the mind, is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand!

Before a Christian Church goes into a decline, there must first be a corrupting of her Scriptural thoughts of God. She simply gives a wrong answer to the question, “What is God like?”–and goes downhill from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed–her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is–and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind!

The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God, until it is once more worthy of Him–and of her!

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That irresponsible, amusement-mad paganized pseudo-religion!

January 13, 2017 by Steve 1 Comment

That irresponsible, amusement-mad paganized pseudo-religion!

In many churches, Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak . . .
 that if it were poison–it would not hurt anyone; and if it were medicine–it would not cure anyone!

We must have a new reformation! There must come a violent break with that irresponsible, amusement-mad paganized pseudo-religion which passes today for the faith of Christ and which is being spread all over the world by unspiritual men employing unscriptural methods to achieve their unspiritual ends!

(A.W. Tozer)

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We might as well sing Mother Goose rhymes!

November 25, 2016 by Steve 7 Comments

We might as well sing Mother Goose rhymes!

“My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine; For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.”

We sing that — but we might as well sing Mother Goose rhymes, because we do not mean what we are singing!

If God Almighty compelled us to be entirely 100 percent honest, we simply could not sing the the average hymn — because their words would not be true of us!

“All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.”

(A.W. Tozer)

🤔My Thoughts…

This morning after reading this quote, i thought about our popular and modern “Worship” songs, and how a lot of them are about our feelings, our happiness and what God can do for us. Rather than elevating His Holy name as we sing His Glory and Praise as we are lost in Wonder!

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The evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity!

November 20, 2016 by Steve 10 Comments

 The evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity!

Any objection to the evangelistic methods of our present golden-calf Christianity, is met with the triumphant reply, “But we are winning the lost!”

And what are you winning them to?

To true discipleship?
To cross-carrying?
To self-denial?
To separation from the world?
To crucifixion of the flesh?
To holy living?
To nobility of character?
To a despising of the world’s treasures?
To total committal to Christ?

Of course, the answer to all these questions is NO!

(A.W. Tozer)

 

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Purify & Elevate

October 6, 2016 by Steve 5 Comments

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“The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him”

A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy,

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The Popular Christ

March 24, 2016 by Steve 2 Comments

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“Unfortunately, the ten-cent-store Jesus being preached now by many men is not the Jesus that will come to judge the world. This plastic, painted Christ who has no spine and no justice, but is a soft and pliant friend to everybody, if He is the only Christ, then we might as well close our books, bar our doors and make a bakery or garage out of our church buildings. The popular Christ being preached now is not the Christ of God nor the Christ of the Bible nor the Christ we must deal with finally. For the Christ that we deal with has eyes as a flame of fire. And His feet are like burnished brass; and out of His mouth cometh a sharp two-edged sword (see Rev. 1:14-16). He will be the judge of humanity. You can leave your loved ones in His hands knowing that He Himself suffered, knowing that He knows all, no mistakes can be made, there can be no miscarriage of justice, because He knows all that can be known… Jesus Christ our Lord, the judge with the flaming eyes, is the one with whom we must deal. We cannot escape it.”

A.W. Tozer, And He Dwelt Among Us: Teachings from the Gospel of John

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If Man Had His Way

March 23, 2016 by Steve 3 Comments

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“If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus’ fist, but by His nail-pierced hands; not by muscle but by love; not by vengeance but by forgiveness; not by force but by sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered in order that He might win; He destroyed His enemies by dying for them and conquered death by allowing death to conquer Him.”

A. W. Tozer

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One Accord

July 30, 2015 by Steve 2 Comments

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“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become “unity” conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified.”

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

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Meekness Is His Method

June 24, 2015 by Steve 1 Comment

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“Jesus calls us to his rest, and meekness is His method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort.”

A.W. Tozer, Pursuit of God

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A Generation Of Zombies

June 16, 2015 by Steve 1 Comment

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“Secularism, materialism, and the intrusive presence of things have put out the light in our souls and turned us into a generation of zombies.”

A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

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The Walking Dead

June 9, 2015 by Steve 0 Comments

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“One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organization do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team.”

A.W. Tozer

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Symptoms Of An Evil Disease

May 26, 2015 by Steve 10 Comments

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“We now demand glamour and fast-flowing dramatic action. A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals…The tragic results of this spirit all all about us: shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies…the glorification of men, trust is religious externalities….salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such of these are the symptoms of an evil disease.” 

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

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No Fear

July 5, 2013 by Steve 7 Comments

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We are often hindered from giving up our treasures to the Lord out of fear for their safety; this is especially true when those treasures are loved relatives and friends. But we need have no such fears. Our Lord came not to destroy but to save. Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.
A. W. Tozer

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