Thursday, September 25, 2008

Obedience

Here is today's Tozer:

Revival: It Requires Obedience

But why do you call Me "Lord, Lord," and not do the things which I
say?
--Luke 6:46

It is my conviction that much, very much, prayer for and talk about
revival these days is wasted energy. Ignoring the confusion of
figures, I might say that it is hunger that appears to have no
object; it is dreamy wishing that is too weak to produce moral
action. It is fanaticism on a high level for, according to John
Wesley, "a fanatic is one who seeks desired ends while ignoring the
constituted means to reach those ends."...

The correction of this error is extemely difficult for it entails
more than a mere adjustment of our doctrinal beliefs; it strikes at
the whole Adam-life and requires self-abnegation, humility and cross
carrying. In short it requires obedience. And that we will do
anything to escape.

It is almost unbelievable how far we will go to avoid obeying God.
We call Jesus "Lord" and beg Him to rejuvenate our souls, but we are
careful to do not the things He says. When faced with a sin, a
confession or a moral alteration in our life, we find it much easier
to pray half a night than to obey God. The Size of the Soul, 18-19.

Our pastor likes to say that we should not waste our time with stupid prayers. In other words, don't pray about the adulterous relationship you're in. The Bible makes it clear what we are to do. Now we may pray for the grace to obey what God clearly commands, but we certainly do not need any direction. We just need to obey.

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