C:\Books\Copyright Pages WingSpread\Tozer on the Holy Spirit\Tozer on the Holy Spirit B.vp

431 Pages·2007·1.5 MB·English

MOODY PUBLISHERS
CHICAGO
© 2000 by
MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE
OF CHICAGO
LOC Control Number: 2007923981
Previously published by Christian Publications, Inc.
First Christian Publications Edition 2000
First WingSpread Publishers Edition 2007
First Moody Publishers Edition 2015
All rights reserved
Scripture taken from
The Holy Bible: King James Version.
ISBN: 978-1-60066-201-0
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PREFACE
A
idenWilsonTozerwasbornApril21,1897,onasmallfarm
amongthespinyridgesofWesternPennsylvania.Withinafew
shortyears,Tozer,ashepreferredtobecalled,wouldearnthe
reputation and title “twentieth-century prophet.”
Whenhewasfifteenyearsold,Tozer’sfamilymovedtoAkron,
Ohio.OneafternoonashewalkedhomefromhisjobatGood-
year,heoverheardastreetpreachersay,“Ifyoudon’tknowhowto
besaved...justcallonGod.”Whenhegothome,heclimbedthe
narrowstairwaytotheatticwhere,heedingthepreacher’sadvice,
TozerwaslaunchedintoalifelongpursuitofGod.
In1919,withoutformaleducation,hewascalledtopastora
small storefront church in Nutter Fort, West Virginia. That
humble beginning thrust him and his wife, Ada, into a
forty-four-year ministry with The Christian and Missionary
Alliance.
Thirty-oneofthoseyearswerespentatChicago’sSouthside
Alliance Church. The congregation, captivated by Tozer’s
preaching, grew from eighty to 800.
Hishumor,writtenandspoken,hasbeencomparedtothat
ofWillRogers—honestandhomespun.Congregationscould
onemomentbesweptbygalesoflaughterandthenextsitina
holy hush.
ButTozer’sfortewashisprayerlifewhichoftenfoundhim
walkingtheaislesofasanctuaryorlyingfacedownonthefloor.
TozerbiographerJamesL.Snydernotesthat“hispreachingas
wellashiswritingswerebutextensionsofhisprayerlife.”An
earlier biographer and confidante, David J. Fant, wrote, “He
spent more time on his knees than at his desk.”
Tozer’sfinalyearsofpastoralministrywereatAvenueRoad
ChurchinToronto,Canada.OnMay12,1963,hispursuitof
Godwasrealizedwhenhediedofaheartattackatage66.Ina
smallcemeteryinAkron,Ohio,histombstonebearsthissimple
epitaph: “A Man of God.”
AsTozeronceaffirmed,“TheHolySpiritmakesadifference!”
OurprayerforthesepagesisthattheyandHewillmakea
difference in your life.
Please note:
Eachpassagecitedisfollowedbyacodeandnumberwhich
represent the name of the book and the page from which the
quotewastaken.AlistofthereferencecodesandaScripturein-
dex are provided in the back of the book.
J
anuary

Put off concerning . . .[that]
WHAT THE
whichiscorrupt...andbere-
LORD MAY newedinthespiritofyourmind.
EXPECT OF ME —Ephesians 4:22-23
F
orsomeofuslastyearwasoneinwhichwedidnotacquit
ourselves very nobly as Christians, considering the infinite
power available to us through the indwelling Spirit. . . .
Themanofilluminatedmindwilllearnfromhismistakes,
yesevenfromhissins.Ifhisheartistrustingandpenitent,he
canbeabettermannextyearforlastyear’sfault—butlethim
not return again to folly.
Repentanceshouldberadicalandthorough,andthebestre-
pentanceforawrongact,asFenelonsaid,isnottodoitagain....
Brother Lawrence expressed the highest moral wisdom
whenhetestifiedthatifhestumbledandfellheturnedatonce
toGodandsaid,“OLord,thisiswhatYoumayexpectofmeif
You leave me to myself.” He then accepted forgiveness,
thanked God and gave himself no further concern about the
matter.
WOS095-096
“Tellthebackslider,”saystheLord,“Iammar-
rieduntohim.”Wasthereeveratenderermes-
sage?
SAN058
J A N U A R Y 1
As Christ was raised up from
TRUTH the dead by the glory of the
Father,evensowealsoshould
MADE PRACTICAL
walk in newness of life.
—Romans 6:4
W
ewhoprideourselvesonourorthodoxy...haveinrecent
yearscommittedacostlyblunder....Ourblunder(orshallwe
frankly say our sin?) has been to neglect the doctrine of the
SpirittoapointwherewevirtuallydenyHimHisplaceinthe
Godhead.
Thisdenialhasnotbeenbyopendoctrinalstatement,forwe
haveclungcloselyenoughtothebiblicalpositionwhereverour
creedal pronouncements are concerned. Our formal creed is
sound;the breakdown is in our working creed.
This is not a trifling distinction. A doctrine has practical
valueonlyasfarasitisprominentinourthoughtsandmakesa
difference in our lives.
POM060
Truthconsistsnotincorrectdoctrine,butincor-
rect doctrine plus the inward enlightenment of
theHolySpirit....Deityindwellingmen!....
No man has experienced rightly the power of
Christianbeliefuntilhehasknownthisforhim-
self as a living reality.
POM084,100
J A N U A R Y 2