A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Si
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A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by Si » Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:19 pm

I heard Steve mention this book on The Narrow Path recently. I have to admit that I have only heard Tozer's name, yet was not familiar with his work. I got home today and did a search for the audio book, and came up with this free public domain version:

https://librivox.org/the-pursuit-of-god ... son-tozer/

Just thought I would share, I sure am looking forward to listening!

For those who have iPhones, there are several different print versions available in the iBooks app, some also free.

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TK
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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by TK » Tue Feb 20, 2018 1:17 pm

It’s one of my favorites.

This paragraph from Ch 2 of The Pursuit of God has always stuck with me- describing the process of putting "self" to death:

“Let us never forget that such a truth as this cannot be learned by rote as one would learn the facts of physical science. They must be experienced before we can really know them. We must in our hearts live through Abraham's harsh and bitter experiences if we would know the blessedness which follows them. The ancient curse will not go out painlessly; the tough old miser within us will not lie down and die obedient to our command. He must be torn out of our heart like a plant from the soil; he must be extracted in agony and blood like a tooth from the jaw. He must be expelled from our soul by violence as Christ expelled the money changers from the temple. And we shall need to steel ourselves against his piteous begging, and to recognize it as springing out of self-pity, one of the most reprehensible sins of the human heart.”

Si
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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by Si » Tue Feb 20, 2018 8:33 pm

I'm 7 chapters in and chapter 2 also stood out to me. What beautiful writing this is, edifying yet also challenging. I listened to chapter 2 last night before bed and sat up for a while thinking and praying about the things and people that have taken God's rightful place in the temple of my heart. It really gave a depth to the story of Abraham and Isaac that I had not considered before.

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TK
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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by TK » Thu Feb 22, 2018 9:42 am

I must admit that the practical “how” of dying to self is difficult to grasp. It is clear we are to do so, but when it comes to actually doing it I am less clear. It seems that preachers often state something along the lines that you must pick up your cross and die daily but very rarely go on to explain how exactly to do so in a practical sense.

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Homer
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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by Homer » Thu Feb 22, 2018 10:30 am

Hi TK,

Long ago, reading Charles Finney, and perhaps others, I think I got a lot of help in this matter. The idea is that God has established a perimeter beyond which we sin. We can satisfy the desires of the flesh within that perimeter. For example, if we are hungry, eat but do not be a glutton. Share with those who have no food. Desire sex? Be married and do not lust, and so on.

Within that perimeter we have freedom in Christ. Beyond the boundary of His will we must not go. "Put to death the deeds of the body"; those that are beyond the perimeter.

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TK
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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by TK » Thu Feb 22, 2018 11:35 am

Homer that is great counsel!

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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by Singalphile » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:30 pm

Homer wrote:Hi TK,

Long ago, reading Charles Finney, and perhaps others, I think I got a lot of help in this matter. The idea is that God has established a perimeter beyond which we sin. We can satisfy the desires of the flesh within that perimeter. For example, if we are hungry, eat but do not be a glutton. Share with those who have no food. Desire sex? Be married and do not lust, and so on.

Within that perimeter we have freedom in Christ. Beyond the boundary of His will we must not go. "Put to death the deeds of the body"; those that are beyond the perimeter.
That doesn't make sense to me. In fact - strong language warning - that's ridiculous! Going beyond "the perimeter" is the temptation, and you cannot satisfy the sinful desires within the perimeter. If you could, they wouldn't be sinful desires!

Sure, you (or anyone) can easily get a a godly, fit, curvy/strong, beautiful/handsome, 25 year old woman/man to fall in love with you and marry you after a few days of courtship (and perfectly maintain all of those attributes for 50 years of marital bliss), but our flesh will still, at some point, desire another godly, fit, curvy/strong, beautiful/handsome, 25 year old woman/man. Sure, you (or anyone) can easily study and train for years and then work hard for a couple decades and eventually have the wherewithal to acquire comfort and financial security, but our flesh will still want to get there a few months earlier through a bit of cheating and lying. (That was all sarcasm, just to be clear!)

Everything's like that, isn't it? ... except for those temptations which truly have no godly outlet. All we can do is steer clear of anything that triggers temptations (which might mean "cutting off" our most important asset), keep God and His message at the forefront of our minds, and pray for the ungodly desire to be taken away, trusting that he will provide a way of escape so we can endure. But it can be tough.

Sorry for the rant! Perhaps I'm missing something?

I am glad that many people enjoy sermons. I admit, they have never done anything for me. I read something like what TK quoted, and it just sounds like blather. Very, very few sermons, if any, have ever beat just a straight reading from the gospels or epistles, for me. (If they were any, it's only because they used scripture to address a modern topic that is not directly addressed in scripture.)
... that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. John 5:23

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TK
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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by TK » Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:15 pm

Listen to “ten shekels and a shirt” by Paris Reidhead.

http://ia800504.us.archive.org/14/items ... ID2575.mp3

Singalphile
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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by Singalphile » Thu Feb 22, 2018 8:34 pm

I will. Thank you. I listened to a bit of the Tozer reading a couple days ago.
... that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. John 5:23

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steve
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Re: A. W. Tozer - The Pursuit of God

Post by steve » Fri Feb 23, 2018 12:20 pm

Reidhead and Tozer were good friends. Reidhead preached Tozer's funeral. The audio exists somewhere.

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