“Men who have been used of God in any generation from Calvary down to this hour have not invented and preached new truths. They have simply had the anointed vision to discover truths that had been obscured by the overemphasis of certain other truths.
The church has lost her testimony. She has no longer anything to say to the world. Her once robust shout of assurance has faded away to an apologetic whisper. She who one time went out to declare now goes out to inquire. Her dogmatic declaration has become a respectful suggestion, a word of religious advice, given with the understanding that it is after all only an opinion and not meant to sound bigoted.
“Pure Christianity, instead of being shaped by its environment, actually stands in sharp opposition to it.”
Could it be that too many of God’s true children, and especially the preachers, are sinning against God by guilty silence?…I for one am waiting to hear the loud voices of the prophets and reformers sounding once more over a sluggish and drowsy church. They’ll pay a price for their boldness, but the results will be worth it.
“To be right with God has often meant to be in trouble with men. This is such a common truth that one hesitates to mention it, yet it appears to have been overlooked by the majority of Christians today.”
Apart from God nothing matters. We think that health matters, that freedom matters, or knowledge or art or civilization. And but for one insistent word they would matter indeed. That word is eternity.
We are in real need of a reformation that will lead to revival among the churches. The man who has been taught by the Holy Spirit will be a seer rather than a scholar. The difference is that the scholar sees and the seer sees through; and that is a mighty difference indeed.
The apostles went to jail, and that is not too revealing because they went against their will; but when they got out of jail and could go where they would they immediately went to the praying company. The choices of life, not the compulsions, reveal character.
Moral power has always accompanied definitive beliefs. Great saints have always been dogmatic. We need right now a return to a gentle dogmatism that smiles while it stands stubborn and firm on the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever.
The unsatisfied longings of the prophets for human understanding caused them to cry out in their complaint, and even our Lord Himself suffered in the same way. The man who has passed on into the divine Presence in actual inner experience will not find many who understand him.” -A.W. Tozer
7 comments
Amen!! This is so true and we need people to stand up. That’s my personal goal, with G-d’s grace. I’m glad your standing too. I found your blog about a month ago and quickly put it in my top 5 I read every day.
G-d bless,
Rachel
And great times of revival are always preceded by prayer. We need to dedicate ourselves to serious prayer to prepare the way.
Thanks for this! I really needed that dose of sanity!
I feel like I am going crazy sometimes when I am talking to Christians and mention something that is a really fundamental truth of the gospel (for example, stating that if you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have salvation), and my friends (and sometimes family) will challenge me for being so ‘black and white’ as they put it, telling me that we can’t know everything and we should just ‘love’ everyone.
I have felt like tearing my hair out. I think a lack of Biblical scholarship is often the root (at least that’s the case in my own circle).
There are pastor’s and evangelist who tell the truth. God has always had His remnant. I see how it is fashionable now to talk about “the gospel” and what it is and what it means to be lived out in practical life. The thing that amazes me is that some act as if they are the first ones to preach it and it’s novel. Some pastor’s and evangelist never left the gospel and, yes, were ridiculed for not being “deep”. But like the apostle Paul said “Rejoice that Christ is preached.”…and I do.
Thanks for your post. I have studied many of Tozer’s works. My brother and his wife sherri Hayes sent me this post. We are believing God for all of Oregon. It is nice to know that many are hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. Press on and press in, keep the devil under your feet. Thanks again, William
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