From the Library of A.W. Tozer

8/8/2019 From the Library of A.W. Tozer

1/15


2/15

INTRODUCTION

Thereisaphenomenon in natur known as th prfct storm.It occurs whn a rar combination of wathr pattrns convrgand join forcs against a vunrab rgion of th gobwarm airfrom a ow-prssur systm in on dirction, for amp, mtingcoo and dry air from a high-prssur systm in anothr, thn bothstrams bing mdd and infamd by a burst of tropica moistur.

Th rsuting storm is said to b prfct in its powr, prfct in itsforc and duration, prfct in its capacity for impact.This phnomnon is not imitd to th wathr, howvr. Thr

ar tims in th word of human bings whn a confunc ofinhrnt abiitis, spiritua gifts, and shr forc of wi transforman individua into th prfct woman for an appointd task, thprfct man to spak to his gnration. Ths mn and womn

nvr pass quity from birth to dath as a facss mmbr of thcrowd. Rathr, thy stand out. Thy bcom sard in our mmory.Thy mak an impact and, if God is with thm, thy av thword a bttr pac than whn thy found it.

Aidn Wison Tozr was such a man.Tozr was giftd with a th physica toos ncssary for a

modrn-day propht: a commanding voic and dmanor, a pr-cis diction, and an inhrnt abiity to prss himsf cary andpowrfuy. Mor important, thos natura toos wr joind bymany bssings from th Hoy Spirit, incuding a kn insightinto bibica truth and an unfinching prcption of th word

w


3/15

12

around him. Most important, Tozrs incinations and abiitiswr hond and sharpnd into th pursuit of two a-important

goas: to bring gory to God through a passionat pursuit of Hishoy prsnc, and to faciitat spiritua transformation in a wakand thargic church.

As h succssfuy fufid thos goas yar aftr yar, h gratybssd th pop around him, and th church h srvd so ongand so w has nvr bn th sam.

A Short BiogrAphy

Born Apri 21, 1897, in th mountains of wstrn Pnnsyvania,Tozr (as h ikd to b cad) passd an unrmarkab ary ifin various towns throughout th Midwst. Things changd justbfor his svntnth birthday, though, whn h ncountrd a

strt prachr in Akron, Ohio.Tozr was waking hom from his job at a rubbr factory whn

h hard about having a rationship with God. If you dont knowhow to b savd, just ca on God, th prachr said. H invitdhis istnrs to pray, lord, b mrcifu to m, a sinnr. Tozrdidnt stop and pray on th cornr of that strt, but th simpmssag that it was possib to know God stuck with him as h

continud hom. Upon arriving, Tozr wnt upstairs to his atticsanctuary in ordr to wrst with th ida. Whn h mrgdsvra hours atr, h was a nw cratura nw man. H hadfound th rationship that woud dfin vry day of his if fromthat momnt on.

Tozr was mntord by th woman who atr bcam his

mothr-in-aw. Sh ncouragd him to study th Bib and prayrguaryhabits that vntuay maturd into major piars of hisspiritua if. Sh aso ncouragd him to rad good books, andthis, too, bcam a ifong pursuit.

Fiv yars aftr his convrsion, Tozr rcivd a ca to pastor


4/15

13

a sma church in a sma town with th charming nam of Nuttr

Fort, Wst Virginia. Othr pastorats foowd, incuding focks

in Ohio and Indianapois, which vntuay d Tozr to accptan invitation to srv as pastor of th Southsid Aianc Church

in Chicago in 1928.

It was at Southsid, whr h srvd mor than thirty yars,

that Tozrs infunc grw across th nation, and thn around th

word. Attndanc at Southsid sharpy incrasd aftr his arriva,

moving from ighty mmbrs to ight hundrd ovr th cours of

his pastorat, comping th church to construct argr faciitis in

1941. In 1950, Tozr was chosn as ditor of thAlliance Weekly

magazin (now cad Alliance Life). In 1951, h bgan hosting a

popuar radio program on th Moody radio station WMBI.

It was aso at Southsid that Tozr wrot th matria for most

of his books. H pubishd fwr than tn during th cours of his

if, incuding two that hav sinc bcom spiritua cassics: ThePursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy. Aftr his dath,

matria from his srmons, ditorias, and othr sourcs was com-

pid into dozns of posthumous pubications, so that h is now

rcognizd as th author of mor than forty books.

Tozrs infunc was about mor than his writing and spak-

ing, howvr. H was a adr during a tim whn th churchwas in dsprat nd of guidanc and corrction. As biographr

Jams l. Snydr put it, Tozr saw through th fog of modrn

Christianity, pointing out th rocks on which it might foundr if

it continud its cours. H has bn dscribd as a modrn-day

prophta dscription that was accurat during th cours of his

if and on that rmains accurat as his words and dds continu

to guid foowrs of Jsus today.

Aong with his wif, Ada Ccia Pfautz, Tozr spnt th fina

yars of his if in Toronto, whr h srvd as pastor of Avnu

Road Church. Tozr passd away on May 12, 1963. Th simp


5/15

14

pitaph on his grav can sti b rad today: A. W. TozrA

Man of God.

Why you Should reAd thiS Book

A.W. Tozr was famous for his rputation as a voracious radr.

H appid himsf rguary to mining th writtn word in sarch

of powrfu idas, storis, and spiritua truthsand thn mdi-

tating on th nuggts h uncovrd. In addition to a dp studyof th Bib, his rading ist spannd svra cnturis of church

historyfrom th ary church fathrs, to th mystics of th midd

cnturis, to th notd pastors and prachrs of th gnration

that prcdd him.

Throughout th pags of this book, you wi find nary two

hundrd crptd radings from th mn and womn whos writ-ings wr instrumnta in Tozrs intctua and spiritua forma-

tion. Th highightd writrs ar som of th most famous and

infuntia minds in th history of Christianity, and th crpts

providd for you in th foowing pags rprsnt th pinnac of

thir achivmnts.

So, why shoud you rad th matria providd in this book?

Bcaus A.W. Tozr rad it and bnfitd from it. Mor than

thatbcaus this matria payd a significant ro in Tozrs

spiritua growth. Indd, Tozr himsf strssd again and again

that ths writrs shapd his faith and practic from an ary ag.

And without thir words to srv as guids aong th Pigrim Way,

Tozr nvr woud hav bcom th man of God that mrgd so

fortuitousy for his gnration and for th ons that foowd.

Tozrs amp continus to spak, ncouraging us to drink

dpy of ths hros of th faithjust as h ncouragd th

mmbrs of his own congrgations.


6/15

15

hoW to reAd thiS Book

This book has bn dividd into ight sparat chaptrs, ach of

which mphasizs a major thm from Tozrs if and writings

from worship, to practicing th prsnc of God, to iving th Chris-

tian if. Th radings thmsvs ar short in ngth and focus on

subjcts that ar important to your if and dvotion to God.

On way to us this book is to mak it a part of your daiy

dvotiona princ. Considr rading on crpt ach day,

aong with a passag of Scriptur. As you do, b sur to aow

yoursf tims of sint rfction in ordr to think dpy about

what ach author is communicating (as was Tozrs custom). You

may vn want to rad this book in concrt with The Knowledge

of the Holy or anothr of Tozrs mastrpics, thrby gaining

a ra-tim undrstanding of how ths writrs infuncd and

guidd him.

This book can aso srv as an cnt ducationa rsourc.

Taking a broadr ook at ach chaptr wi hp you arn a grat

da about th ssntia doctrins and practics of our faith; it wi

aso hp you find wisdom for dvoping transformativ habits

and ovrcoming th many obstacs you find as you wak th

path of God.

If you ar not famiiar with a of th authors rprsntd in th

foowing pags, arning a bit about thir storis in th Biographis

sction at th back of this book wi hp you to bttr apprciat

what thy hav to say. In addition, as you idntify crtain passags

and writrs that ar spciay impactfu to you, considr rading

th compt voums from which thos crpts wr takn. You

find th sourc of ach crpt istd on th sam pag, and you

can idntify a of th books crptd by ach author using th

ecrpts Takn From . . . sction.


7/15

16

Moving ForWArd

Aidn Wison Tozr was a man who ddicatd his if to pur-suing a passionat and intimat rationship with a hoy God andto hping othrs in th church do th sam. His if stands out asrmarkab bcaus h succdd in his ddication and achivdwhat h pursud. His ovra book sas aon attst to that sig-nificant impact on th church.

A significant part of that succss is du to Tozrs wiingnss to

b continuay discipd by th grat mn and womn of God, thmystics, vangists, writrs, and tachrs, who had prcdd himthrough cnturis of church history. His mntors had on thing incommonthrough Jsus Christ thy sought to os thmsvs ina dp union with an inffab God, princing joy unspakaband a pac that passs a human undrstanding. lik th apostPau thy wr wiing to surrndr vrything for th princ

of knowing his intimat mbrac and dp fowshipth Dprlifan princ shard by a of thm but givn diffrntdscriptions and circumstancs.

You now hav th opportunity to b simiary discipd andtrmb in rvrnt aw in th prsnc of a hoy God, basking inth ocan of his imitss ov and mrcy.


8/15

1

Worship:

The Chief en d of Man

I can safy say, on th authority of a that is rvad in thWord of God, that any man or woman on this arth who isbord and turnd off by worship is not rady for havn.

Whatever Happened to Worship?


9/15


10/15

19

D. l. MOODY

Th Tn Commandmnts

Phiosophrs ar agrd that vn th most primitiv racs of man-kind rach out byond th word of mattr to a suprior Bing.It is as natura for man to f aftr God as it is for th ivy to faftr a support. Hungr and thirst driv man to sk for food, andthr is a hungr of th sou that nds satisfying, too. Man dosnot nd to b commandd to worship, as thr is not a rac sohigh or so ow in th sca of civiization but has som kind ofgod. What h nds is to b dirctd aright.

This is what th first commandmnt is for. Bfor w can wor-ship intignty, w must know what or whom to worship. God dosnot av us in ignoranc. Whn Pau wnt to Athns, h found anatar ddicatd to Th Unknown God, and h procdd to tof Him whom w worship. Whn God gav th commandmnts

to Moss, H commncd with a dcaration of His own charactr,and dmandd cusiv rcognition. I am th lORD your God,who brought you out of egypt, out of th and of savry. Yousha hav no othr gods bfor m (eodus 20:23).


11/15

20

JOHN BUNYAN

Christ a Compt Savior

God is th chif goodgood so as nothing is but himsf. H isin himsf most happy; ys, a good and a tru happinss arony to b found in God, as that which is ssntia to his natur;nor is thr any good or any happinss in or with any cratur orthing but what is communicatd to it by God. God is th onydsirab good; nothing without him is worthy of our harts. Right

thoughts of God ar ab to ravish th hart; how much morhappy is th man that has intrst in God. God aon is abby himsf to put th sou into a mor bssd, comfortab, andhappy condition than can th who word; ys, and mor than ifa th cratd happinss of a th angs of havn did dw inon mans bosom. I cannot t what to say. I am drownd. Thif, th gory, th bssdnss, th sou-satisfying goodnss that

is in God ar byond a prssion.It was this gory of God, th sight and visions of this God of

gory, that provokd Abraham to av his country and kindrdto com aftr God. Th rason why mn ar so carss of and soindiffrnt about thir coming to God is bcaus thy hav thir ysbinddbcaus thy do not prciv his gory. God is so bssd

a on that did h not hid himsf and his gory, th who wordwoud b ravishd with him; but h has, I wi not say rasons ofstat, but rasons of gory, gorious rasons why h hids himsffrom th word and appars but to particuar ons.

What is havn without God? But many thr b who cannot


12/15

21

abid God; no, thy ik not to go to havn, bcaus God is thr.Th natur of God is cross to th usts of mn. A hoy God, a

gorious hoy God, an infinity hoy Godthis spois a. But toth sou that is awaknd, and that is mad to s things as thyar, to him God is what h is in himsf, th bssd, th highst,th ony trna good, and h without th njoymnt of whom athings woud sound but mpty in th ars of that sou.

Mthinks, whn I considr what gory thr is at tims uponth craturs, and that a thir gory is th workmanship of God,

O lord, say I, what is God himsf? H may w b cadth God of gory, as w as th gorious lord; for as a gory isfrom him, so in him is an inconcivab w-spring of gory, ofgory to b communicatd to thm that com by Christ to him.Thrfor t th gory and ov and biss and trna happinssthat ar in God aur you to com to him by Christ.


13/15

22

FRANOIS FNelON

Maims of th Saints

Of th ov of God, thr ar various kinds. At ast, thr arvarious fings which go undr that nam.

First, thr is what may b cad mrcnary or sfish ov.That is, that ov of God which originats in a so rgard to ourown happinss. Thos who ov God with no othr ov than thisov Him just as th misr ovs his mony and th vouptuousman his pasursattaching no vau to God, cpt as a mansto an nd; and that nd is th gratification of thmsvs. Suchov, if it can b cad by that nam, is unworthy of God. Hdos not ask it; H wi not rciv it. In th anguag of Francisd Sas, It is sacrigious and impious.

Scond, anothr kind of ov dos not cud a rgard to ourown happinss as a motiv of ov, but rquirs this motiv to

b subordinat to a much highr onnamy, that of a rgardto Gods gory. It is a mid stat, in which w rgard oursvsand God at th sam tim. This ov is not ncssariy sfishand wrong. On th contrary, whn th two objcts of it, God andoursvs, ar rativy in th right positionthat is to say, whnw ov God as H ought to b ovd and ov oursvs no morthan w ought to b ovdit is a ov which, in bing propry

subordinatd, is unsfish and is right.


14/15

23

BeRNARD OF ClAIRVAUx

On loving God

You want m to t you why God is to b ovd and how much. Ianswr: th rason for oving God is God Himsf, and th masurof ov du to Him is immasurab ov. Is this pain? Doubt-ss, to a thoughtfu man; but I am dbtor to th unwis aso. Aword to th wis is sufficint; but I must considr simp fok, too.Thrfor I st mysf joyfuy to pain mor in dtai what is

mant abov.W ar to ov God for Himsf bcaus of a twofod rason:nothing is mor rasonab, nothing mor profitab. Whn onasks, Why shoud I ov God? h may man, What is ovy inGod? or What sha I gain by oving God? In ithr cas, thsam sufficint caus of ov istsnamy, God Himsf.

First, of His tit to our ov. Coud any tit b gratr than

this, that H gav Himsf for us unworthy wrtchs? And bingGod, what bttr gift coud H offr than Himsf? Hnc, if onsks for Gods caim upon our ov, hr is th most important:Bcaus H first ovd us (1 John 4:19).

Ought H not to b ovd in rturn, whn w think who ovd,whom H ovd, and how much H ovd? For who is H that

ovd? Th sam of whom vry spirit tstifis: You ar my God:my goods ar nothing unto You (Psam 16:2). And is not Hisov that wondrfu charity which sks not hr own (1 Co-rinthians 13:5)? But for whom was such unuttrab ov madmanifst? Th apost ts us: Whn w wr nmis, w wr


15/15

24

rconcid to God by th dath of His Son (Romans 5:10). Soit was God who ovd us, ovd us fry, and ovd us whi yt

w wr nmis.And how grat was this ov of His? St. John answrs: God soovd th word that H gav His ony-bgottn Son, that whosovrbivs in Him shoud not prish, but hav vrasting if (John3:16). St. Pau adds: H spard not His own Son, but divrdHim up for us a (Romans 8:32); and th Son says of Himsf,Gratr ov has no man than this, that a man ay down his if

for his frinds (John 15:13).

From the Library of A.W. Tozer

Documents

Transcript of From the Library of A.W. Tozer