April 28 1997

ARTICLE TOOLS

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This month marks the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Aiden Wilson Tozer, prolific author and popular preacher. Though lacking a formal education beyond grade school, A. W. Tozer in 1919 began a lifelong pastoral ministry in the Christian and Missionary Alliance and was regarded by many as a prophet for his time. He was the author of more than 40 books, many derived from his sermons. Among the best known are The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy. Selections from his writings are presented in this special collection in his honor.

God wants us
God wants us to worship Him. He doesn't need us, for He couldn't be a self-sufficient God and need anything or anybody, but He wants us. When Adam sinned it was not he who cried, "God, where art Thou?" It was God who cried, "Adam, where art thou?"

—Worship: The Missing Jewel*

Light is not sight
Religious instruction, however sound, is not enough by itself. It brings light, but it cannot impart sight. The assumption that light and sight are synonymous has brought spiritual tragedy to millions. The Pharisees looked straight at the Light of the World for three years, but not one ray of light reached their inner beings. Light is not enough. The inward operation of the Holy Spirit is necessary to saving faith. The gospel is light but only the Spirit can give sight.

—Born After Midnight*

Shepherd or Lord?
The gradual disappearance of the idea and feeling of majesty from the Church is a sign and a portent. Our God has now become our servant to wait on our will. "The Lord is my shepherd," we say, instead of "The Lord is my shepherd," and the difference is as wide as the world.

—Born After Midnight*

The God-absorbed life We are called to an everlasting preoccupation ...