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- Feb 9, 2004
- Messages
- 17,078
Acting Out Unbelief
A.W. Tozer
Human sin began with loss of faith in God. When our mother Eve listened to Satan's sly innuendos against the character of God she began to entertain a doubt of His integrity and right there the doors were opened to the incoming of every possible evil, and darkness settled upon the world.
The Bible talks about mans being alienated from and an enemy to God. Should this sound harsh or extreme you have only to imagine your closest personal friend coming to you and stating in cold seriousness that he no longer has any confidence in you. I do not trust you. I have lost confidence in your character. I am forced to suspect every move you make. Such a declaration would instantly alienate friends by destroying the foundation upon which every friendship is built.
Until your former friends opinion of you had been reversed there could be no further communion. Only a restored faith could bring about a restored friendship. Now, it is well known that people do not go boldly to God and profess that they have no confidence in Him, and no one except the rare professional unbeliever is willing to witness publicly to his low view of God. The frightful thing, however, is that people everywhere act out their unbelief with a consistency that is more convincing than words.
Admiring God
A.W. Tozer
The dictionary says that to admire is ?to regard with wondering esteem accompanied by pleasure and delight; to look at or upon with an elevated feeling of pleasure.? According to this definition, God has few admirers among Christians today. Many are they who are grateful for His goodness in providing salvation. At Thanksgiving time the churches ring with songs of gratitude that all is safely gathered in.
Testimony meetings are mostly devoted to recitations of incidents where someone got into trouble and got out again in answer to prayer. To decry this would be uncharitable and unscriptural for there is much of the same thing in the Book of Psalms. It is good and right to render unto God thanksgiving for all His mercies to us. But God?s admirers, where are they? The simple truth is that worship is elementary until it begins to take on the quality of admiration. Just as long as the worshiper is engrossed with himself and his good fortune, he is a babe. We begin to grow up when our worship passes from thanksgiving to admiration.
As our hearts rise to God in lofty esteem for that which He is (?I AM THAT I AM?), we begin to share a little of the selfless pleasure which is the portion of the blessed in heaven.
A.W. Tozer
Human sin began with loss of faith in God. When our mother Eve listened to Satan's sly innuendos against the character of God she began to entertain a doubt of His integrity and right there the doors were opened to the incoming of every possible evil, and darkness settled upon the world.
The Bible talks about mans being alienated from and an enemy to God. Should this sound harsh or extreme you have only to imagine your closest personal friend coming to you and stating in cold seriousness that he no longer has any confidence in you. I do not trust you. I have lost confidence in your character. I am forced to suspect every move you make. Such a declaration would instantly alienate friends by destroying the foundation upon which every friendship is built.
Until your former friends opinion of you had been reversed there could be no further communion. Only a restored faith could bring about a restored friendship. Now, it is well known that people do not go boldly to God and profess that they have no confidence in Him, and no one except the rare professional unbeliever is willing to witness publicly to his low view of God. The frightful thing, however, is that people everywhere act out their unbelief with a consistency that is more convincing than words.
Admiring God
A.W. Tozer
The dictionary says that to admire is ?to regard with wondering esteem accompanied by pleasure and delight; to look at or upon with an elevated feeling of pleasure.? According to this definition, God has few admirers among Christians today. Many are they who are grateful for His goodness in providing salvation. At Thanksgiving time the churches ring with songs of gratitude that all is safely gathered in.
Testimony meetings are mostly devoted to recitations of incidents where someone got into trouble and got out again in answer to prayer. To decry this would be uncharitable and unscriptural for there is much of the same thing in the Book of Psalms. It is good and right to render unto God thanksgiving for all His mercies to us. But God?s admirers, where are they? The simple truth is that worship is elementary until it begins to take on the quality of admiration. Just as long as the worshiper is engrossed with himself and his good fortune, he is a babe. We begin to grow up when our worship passes from thanksgiving to admiration.
As our hearts rise to God in lofty esteem for that which He is (?I AM THAT I AM?), we begin to share a little of the selfless pleasure which is the portion of the blessed in heaven.
