Inspired by Tozer

Description

When A. W. Tozer talked about worship, people listened. Tozer lived and wrote a century ago, casting a vision of authentic faith that has taken root in the hearts of each new generation. Lauren Barlow of BarlowGirl is one who has been prodded by Tozer. Now she and a stellar lineup of artists, writers, and leaders who have also been inspired by Tozer have created a book of sixty digest-sized, melt-your-heart, inflame-your-passion readings. Contributors include Natalie Grant, Charles Swindoll, Ravi Zacharias, Randy Alcorn, Bill Johnson, Darlene Zschech, Dan Kimball, Lisa Bevere, Rebecca Barlow of BarlowGirl, Joni Eareckson Tada, Susan Perlman, Kurt Warner, Elmer Towns, Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, Kirsten Haglund, Mike Bickle, Shane Claiborne, Britt Nicole, Kenn Gulliksen, Kris Vallotton, Bodie and Brock Thoene, Nancy Alcorn, Britt Merrick, Johnny Hunt,  Bianca Juarez, Gregg Matte, Cynthia Heald, Judah Smith, Ben Kasica of Skillet, Jenn Gotzon, Michael Catt, Kimberly L. Smith, Dudley Rutherford, James Mead of Kutless, Alex McFarland, Scott Smith of K-LOVE radio, Tommy Walker, Ted Travis, Jane Albright, Mark Foreman, Alyssa Barlow of BarlowGirl, Adam Agee of Stellar Kart, Lisa Robson, Torry Martin, Abbie Smith, Stephen Christian of Anberlin, Jamie Owens Collins, Robert Whitt, Wes and David Beavis, David Carr of Third Day, Esther Lovejoy, Vince and MaryAnn Barlow, Pam Farrel, Paul Clark, Bruce Wilkinson, Tony Nolan, Stan Jantz, and Cecil Murphey.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 14 octobre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441265883
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

© 2011 Lauren Barlow
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-6588-3
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Other versions used are:
ESV— Scripture taken from the English Standard Version, Copyright © 2001. The ESV and English Standard Version are trademarks of Good News Publishers.
KJV—King James Version. Authorized King James Version.
THE MESSAGE— Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
NASB— Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NIV— Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
NLT— Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation , copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
TNIV— Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version ® TNIV ® . Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society ® . Used by permission of International Bible Society ® . All rights requested worldwide.
Photo of Kristen Haglund by Kathleen Lantos.
C ONTENTS
I NTRODUCTION
P REFACE
1. G OD I NCOMPREHENSIBLE
Charles R. Swindoll
2. M AINTAINING A H IGH V IEW OF G OD
Mike Bickle
3. A L IFE OF E XCELLENCE
Kurt Warner
4. I F W E W OULD R EMEMBER . . .
Bianca Juarez
5. E XPERIENCING H IS P RESENCE
Stan Jantz
6. D ARING TO L ISTEN
Lisa Bevere
7. D ISTINGUISHED BY H IS P RESENCE
Bill Johnson
8. M ERCY T RIUMPHS O VER J UDGMENT
Nancy Alcorn
9. H UNGERING FOR G OD
Rebecca Barlow of BarlowGirl
10. H OW D O W E K NOW W HO G OD I S ?
Dan Kimball
11. S AYING Y ES TO THE U NKNOWN
Lauren Barlow of BarlowGirl
12. P URITY , T HEN . . .
Johnny Hunt
13. S IN C ANNOT B E H OUSEBROKEN
Joni Eareckson Tada
14. G IVING T IME TO G OD
Ravi Zacharias
15. L IVING WITH S ACRED E XPECTATION
Cynthia Heald
16. S ACRIFICING S TYLE AT THE A LTAR OF T RUE W ORSHIP
Michael Catt
17. F REE TO S OAR
Britt Nicole
18. W ORSHIP : I T’S N OT A BOUT U S
Natalie Grant
19. A B EAUTIFUL S URPRISE
Darlene Zschech
20. F ASCINATED
Britt Merrick
21. L IVING FROM THE L IFE W ITHIN
Kenn Gulliksen
22. G OD IN THE D ARK
Jamie Owens Collins
23. T HOUGH I’ M U NWORTHY
Lisa Robson
24. E MBRACE G RACE
Judah Smith
25. D ISCOVERING THE K NOWABLE G OD
Tommy Walker
26. H EAVEN’S J OY
Dudley Rutherford
27. A T ENUOUS H OPE V ERSUS A C ERTAIN T RUTH
Randy Alcorn
28. T HE P ROBLEM WITH T RUTH
Susan Perlman
29. S TRAIGHT R IVER
Paul Clark
30. A WARENESS OF THE D IVINE
Scott Smith of K-LOVE
31. A C ONTAGIOUS F IRE
Robert Whitt
32. T O F IND G OD’S W ILL , D O G OD’S W ILL
Gregg Matte
33. F ROM M OURNING TO D ANCING
Kirsten Haglund
34. G RATITUDE IS M ORE T HAN A F EELING
Ted Travis
35. T HE I MPORTANCE OF G ETTING A G OOD S TART
Jenn Gotzon
36. T HE S PEAKING W ORD
Bodie and Brock Thoene
37. D OING G REAT T HINGS FOR G OD
Cecil Murphey
38. W HAT L EADS TO L IFE
Vince and MaryAnn Barlow
39. C ONTAGIOUS C HRISTIANS
Ben Kasica of Skillet
40. T HE L AP OF A F ATHER
Abbie Smith
41. F OOLISH T HINGS
Torry Martin
42. S TRANGELY N ORMAL
Wes and David Beavis
43. C ALLED TO B E P ECULIAR
Jane Albright
44. G OD’S W AY
Esther Lovejoy
45. T URNING B ACK TO G OD
James Mead of Kutless
46. G OD-SIZED F AITH
Pam Farrel
47. T HE SW EET W ILL OF G OD
Tony Nolan
48. P RIORITIZING P RAYER
Adam Agee of Stellar Kart
49. T HE “H IGHLY -S OUGHT ” G OSPEL THAT D OESN’T E XIST
Alex McFarland
50. E NJOYED BY G OD
Mark Foreman
51. T ENDING THE E TERNAL F LAME
Alyssa Barlow of BarlowGirl
52. D EADLY W ORK
Kimberly L. Smith
53. F REEDOM FROM S TUFF
Shane Claiborne
54. T HE G IFT OF B EING U NNECESSARY
David Carr of Third Day
55. P URSUING G OD’S T OUCH
Elmer Towns
56. C OMPLETING O UR A SSIGNMENT
Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer
57. F ROM P OSSESSOR TO P OSSESSION
Bruce Wilkinson
58. T HE D ANGERS OF C HASING THE W IND
Stephen Christian of Anberlin
59. RISKY BUSINESS
Kris Vallotton
60. T HE P ERFECT L OVE S TORY
Lauren Barlow of BarlowGirl

T OZER -G RAMS
C ONTRIBUTORS
T HANK Y OU
I NTRODUCTION
A. W. Tozer was a man of many achievements and passions. Some might say he was a bit overcommitted, but others would argue his impact on this world in all he did was worth that sacrifice. Tozer’s real strength came from his prayer life. He often commented, “As a man prays, so is he.” His entire ministry of preaching and writing flowed out of fervent prayer. What he discovered in prayer soon found expression in sermons, articles, editorials, books and spiritual mentorship. For his extensive work, he received two honorary doctorate degrees.
In 1919, five years after his conversion and without formal theological training, Tozer began 44 years of ministry with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. For 31 of those years, he gained prominence as pastor of Southside Alliance Church in Chicago, serving there from 1928 to 1959. During his time there, he was also editor of The Alliance Weekly , the official publication of the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. Under Tozer’s leadership, the magazine’s circulation doubled. During his later years (1951–1959), WMBI—the Moody Bible Institute radio station—broadcast a weekly program, Talks from a Pastor’s Study , originating in Tozer’s study at Southside Alliance. Of course, during all this time he was preaching at most of the major Bible conferences in the country and writing books.
Of the 40 books that he wrote in his lifetime, two have become classics: The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy . His legacy continues to grow, because half a century after his death, new books by A. W. Tozer—such as The Purpose of Man and Experiencing the Presence of God— are still being published. How did that happen? James Snyder, the official biographer of Tozer, came upon about 600 previously un-transcribed audiocassettes of Tozer teaching. Working with Tozer expert David Fessenden, James vetted the tapes, mining fresh material, and Regal Books agreed to publish the new manuscripts. Regal’s editors even started putting Tozer quotes on Twitter, and as of the printing of this book, he has more than 60,000 followers.
More and more people are following and re-tweeting his words; people such as Francis Chan, David Platt and Louie Giglio have quoted him in their writings; and Tozer’s own books continue to appear on best-seller lists. Although A. W. Tozer died in 1963, his spiritual legacy continues to satiate those thirsty for the deep things of God. Many who are familiar with the writings of A. W. Tozer know little about the man behind the books. Even during his lifetime, most people respected him, but few knew him with any degree of intimacy. By disposition and design, he walked alone, preferring God’s fellowship to people’s. His relentless pursuit of God—though not without price—accounted for his spiritual strength and has resulted in the sustained popularity of his books.
In all that Tozer did and in all that he sacrificed, his passion was to see God’s people come to the desperate realization of how much we need Him—because he knew all lives were meaningless without Him. As you read through the pages of this book, may the words of this man of God make a mark in your heart.
PREFACE
A P ASSION FOR A. W. T OZER

In my 26 years on this earth, never once did I think I would be writing an introduction to a book. I certainly never thought I would be the editor of one. I was that sassy child in homeschool who tried convincing her mother that she didn’t have to take English class because “drummers don’t need to diagram sentences.” Well, I have a very strong mother, so that one didn’t go over so well. In retrospect, I’m glad it didn’t. (But don’t tell my mom I said that.)
I may not have always enjoyed the more “technical” side of grammar, but one thing that has been my obsession since I was young was my love for reading. I loved reading all sorts of books, but it was always difficult for me to dig into the more spiritual ones because it was so hard to focus. At least, that was the case until one day, about five years ago, when a friend of mine told me I needed to read A. W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God . I decided I’d pick up a copy— after all, it was a really thin book so it seemed painless enough. Little did I know how that book would change my spiritual life.
Words can’t describe the way I felt after reading the first chapter. It was like every word and thought jumped off the page and shot like an arrow straight into my heart. I didn’t skim; I dug in. This man’s writing communicated such a depth and passion for the things of God. His words ignited something inside of me. His