July 14th 2013 Witnesses: A.W. Tozer – Born to Worship

In our summer series “Witnesses” we continue looking at various heroes of the faith, not to compare, envy or feel unworthy, but because God promises that he wants to work in similar power in our lives as he has in others. This week we look to the life of A.W. Tozer to be encouraged, as he modeled that we are made for a life of worship.

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Witnesses: A.W. Tozer-Born to Worship

July 14th, 2013  by Kasey Crawford

Today’s Passages:  John 17:3, Romans 1:19-25, Ex. 38:18, Rev. 3:20

 “One of the greatest tragedies that we find, even in this most enlightened of all ages, is the utter failure of millions of men and women ever to discover why they were born…We believe that is was distinctly the will of God that men and women created in his image would desire fellowship with him above all else. In His plan, it was to be a perfect fellowship based on adoring worship of the Creator and Sustainer of all things.  -Tozer, Whatever happened to Worship?, pp. 49,51

In other words, we are born to ______________.

He also makes a connection between fellowship with God and worship. We are made for worship, which happens through a ____________ fellowship with God. Tozier believes this is why Jesus describes eternal life with such simplicity.

“And this is eternal life: that they may know you (fellowship), the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 

“Full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter…” Tozer

 We are made to worship greatness, the greatest of which is God. But since God is a _____________ being, it is going to take time (eternity) to get to know all of God’s greatness and reached a perfected fellowship.

 

But what happened to worship?

Claiming to be wise, they became fools and…they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator…” Romans 1:19-25

We humans have all, in some way, exchanged the glory of the creator for the creature, and worship the _____________ rather than the _____________.

 

So what can we do now?   Stand boldly before God and cry out:

“Please, _________ ______ your glory.”  Exodus 38:18

“I want to deliberately encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long, in vain.” –Tozer, The Pursuit of God, p. 17

 

Is it true that “complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth?”

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. ² Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.  Isaiah 55:1–2

Yes, complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth because, quite simply, if you are not ___________, you are not going to _______, and if you don’t eat you wont grow in more _____________ of who God is!

 

Is it true that “God waits to be wanted?”

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Rev 3:20

Yes, and this is Jesus’ ______________ to us ______________.

 

Living it out….Above all else have you made it your intentional, determined, simple goal: to daily fellowship with Jesus in order to “lift up our souls to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord” so that our soul worships more and more in the fullness of joy they were made for and God gets the glory He is worth?

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