43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just a Closer Walk with Thee., June 15, 2007
AW Tozer's works have one aim in sight; that the believer walk with God in Spirit and in Truth. His holy zeal is for nothing more than for the believer to have an experience with the living God, and not be content with what Paul called "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."
It is fitting that Rev. Tozer would begin this work with the scripture from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12 v. 12 "And further, by these, my son, be admonished : of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh."
One merely has to go to their Christian bookstore and see that there is an endless supply of spiritual books, promising everything from wealth and riches in this life, deliverance, a Godly marriage, prayer, etc. However Rev. Tozer's writings are on an altogether higher spiritual plain. His Christianity is without pretense or promises. His one aim is to "know Him in the power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His sufferings." Tozer's words cut to the quick. You can see that as he received his insight by revelation it required that he go to the same Cross he is pointing the rest of us to.
Tozer spares not what he calls "the Adamic ego." Whether we refer to this as "the flesh," or the "old man," the fact remains that there MUST be a death if we are to ever become what God ordained us to be.
Tozer is a firm believer in prevenient grace; God is on the throne at all times. Approaching this great and august Being presumptuously is to do so in vain. To Tozer, God was not an inference, a deduction, but rather a reality.
I can honestly say that I can only read a page or two of Tozer's writings at one sitting. He condenses spiritual truth so that if you do not read in a prayerful way, it is easy to miss his point, it is that sublime.
I have long recommended his works to those who want a closer walk with the Lord. Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God" was written first; this book is billed as a prequel written two years later. Both are worthy of intense study and incorporation into your daily quiet time.
You won't be disappointed. I know what Tozer's works have done for me.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life is in God, June 7, 2007
God's Pursuit of Man is A. W. Tozer's prequel to
The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst For the Divine, companion books that explore the truth of Philippians 3:12 (although I do not recall Tozer's referencing this scripture): "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."
In this book, the author further develops truths about what is required for intimate communion between redeemed man and God by shifting his focus from man to God, but not entirely. He still writes quite a bit about man's part, particularly the imperative command of God that His own be separate from the world, and the absolute necessity of our uncompromising obedience to God in this regard, His having left us no middle road of compromise.
I love that early in the book he says, "Without doubt we have suffered the loss of many spiritual treasures because we have let slip the simple truth that the miracle of the perpetuation of life is in God" (p. 11). The simple assimilation of this "simple truth" by believers could go far toward our overall understanding of, not just what God has, but who God is, what God is all about, what He does and desires to do, in, through and for us, and how He chooses to do so. It could also help to balance doctrinal difference which divide seekers and believers from each other. For example, Tozer is a trinitarian, a fact that may be sufficient to turn oneness believers away from his writings; I think that would be unfortunate.
Tozer spends quite a bit of space talking about the absolute need for separation from the world and is careful to warn that the world may not be what we think it is, and says, "...whether the world presents itself in its uglier aspects or in its subtler and more refined forms, we must recognize it for what it is and repudiate it bluntly. We MUST do this if we would walk with God in our generation as Enoch did in his. A clean break with the world is imperative" (p. 127). He talks about the Pharisaical spirit as one with which the Lord Jesus Christ was engaged in active warfare during His entire ministry on earth, and this spirit as one which did not stop until it had murdered Jesus.
There can be no union between the Church and the world, and Tozer describes that travesty in Chapter 9, "Why the World Cannot Receive," when he says that we have tried to marry the Church and the world, a union for which there is no scriptural authority, and in fact, one in which no union is possible, and he says what we end up with is an abomination to the Lord (p. 116). We need to remember that God is not just jealous over us, as individual children of His, but as "Ish" (ideal husband) is jealous over us as His bride, and desires to keep us pure, holy unto Himself and Himself alone.
Without using the term Jezebel spirit, Tozer describes it quite well, "The world's spirit is strong, and it clings to us as close as the smell of smoke to our garments. It can change its face to suit any circumstance and so deceive many a simple Christian whose senses are not exercised to discern good and evil. It can play at religion with every appearance of sincerity. It can have fits of conscience...and even confess its evil ways in the public press. It will praise religion and fawn on the Church for its ends. It will contribute to charitable causes and promote campaigns to furnish clothing for the poor. ONLY LET CHRIST KEEP HIS DISTANCE AND NEVER ASSERT HIS LORDSHIP OVER IT. This it will positively not endure" (p. 121). Those interested in reading more about the Jezebel spirit may want to start with
Confronting Jezebel: Discerning and Defeating the Spirit of Control and
My Spiritual Inheritance, the author of which also recommends
Jezebel Vs. Elijah: The Great End Time Clash, a book I have not yet read, but understand it is very good on the subject.
God's Pursuit of Man is worthwhile reading, as is
The Pursuit of God: The Human Thirst For the Divine.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better Than The Pursuit of God, October 11, 2008
One of the best books I have ever read. This book captures the heart of the gospel - that it is really God who pursues man and not man who pursues God. He has in His plan from the foundation of the world been in pursuit of us. He created us, watched us fall in the garden, used His chosen people to demonstrate grace and then at the planned moment in time sent His Son out of eternity into the world as the only way back to Him.
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