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Although
A. W. Tozer died in 1963, his life and spiritual legacy continue to
draw many into a deeper knowledge of God. Tozer walked a path in his
spiritual life that few attempt, characterized by a relentless and
loving pursuit of God. He longed to know more about the Savior—how
to serve and worship Him with every part of his being.
Throughout his life and ministry,
Tozer called believers to return to an authentic, biblical position
that characterized the early church—a position of deep faith and
holiness. "He belonged to the whole church," says James
Snyder in the book, In Pursuit of God: The Life Of A. W. Tozer.
"He embraced true Christianity wherever he found it."
During his lifetime, Tozer pastored
several Christian and Missionary Alliance churches, authored more
than forty books, and served as editor of Alliance Life, the
monthly denominational publication for the C&MA. At least two of
Tozer's books are considered spiritual classics, The Pursuit of
God and The Knowledge of the Holy—a tremendous
accomplishment for a man who never received a formal theological
education. The presence of God was his classroom. His notebooks and
tools consisted of prayer and the writings of early Christians and
theologians—the Puritans and great men of faith.
Tozer's conversion to Christianity
came when he was seventeen. As a result he gained an insatiable
hunger and thirst for the things of God. A cleaned-out area in the
family's basement became his refuge where he could pray and meditate
on the goodness of God.
Tozer once wrote, "I have found
God to be cordial and generous and in every way easy to live
with." To him the love and grace of Jesus Christ were a
recurring astonishment," writes Snydner.
Although he had not attended Bible
college or seminary, Tozer received two honorary doctorates. He
accepted an offer to pastor his first church in West Virginia in
1916. By December 1921, Tozer and his wife, Ada, moved to Morgantown
where they had the first of seven children, six boys and a girl.
Money was extremely tight in the early
days of his ministry. The Tozers made a pact to trust God for all
their needs regardless of the circumstances. "We are convinced
that God can send money to His believing children—but it becomes a
pretty cheap thing to get excited about the money and fail to give
the glory to Him who is the Giver!"
Tozer never swayed from this
principle. Material things were never an issue. Many have said if
Tozer had food, clothing, and his books, he was content. The family
never owned a car. Tozer, instead, opted for the bus and train for
travel. Even after becoming a well-known Christian author, Tozer
signed away much of his royalties to those who were in need.
His message was as fresh as it was
uncompromising. His single purpose in life was to know God
personally, and he encouraged others to do the same. He quickly
discovered a deep, abiding relationship with God was something that
had to be cultivated.
While pastoring a church in
Indianapolis, Tozer noticed his ministry changing. While he did not
depart from the theme of evangelism, God began to lead him into a
new phase of ministry. For the first time he began to record his
thoughts on paper. This change eventually carved out a place for him
as a prolific writer.
In 1928, Tozer accepted a call to
pastor the Southside Gospel Tabernacle in Chicago, where he remained
for thirty years. The church grew from a small parachurch to a
full-fledged church. Missions and the deeper life in Jesus Christ
were its two primary focuses.
"Tozer's sermons were never
shallow," writes Snyder. "There was hard thinking behind
them, and [he] forced his hearers to think with him. He had the
ability to make his listeners face themselves in the light of what
God was saying to them. The flippant did not like Tozer; the serious
who wanted to know what God was saying to them loved him."
Everything Tozer taught and preached
came out of the time he spent in prayer with God. It was there that
he shut out the world and its confusion, focusing instead only on
God. "Our religious activities should be ordered in such a way
as to leave plenty of time for the cultivation of the fruits of
solitude and silence," wrote Tozer.
He realized early in his ministry that
Christ was calling him to a different type of devotion—one that
required an emptying of self and a hunger to be filled to
overflowing with God's Spirit. It was also a devotion that consumed
him throughout his life.
Leonard Ravenhill once said of Tozer,
"I fear that we shall never see another Tozer. Men like him are
not college bred but Spirit taught."
"God discovers Himself to
'babes,'" wrote Tozer, "and hides Himself in thick
darkness from the wise and the prudent. We must simplify our
approach to Him. We must strip down to essentials and they will be
found to be blessedly few.
A. W. Tozer died on Monday, May 12,
1963, almost a week after preaching his last sermon. The pursuit was
over, the destination reached. A simple epitaph marks his grave in
Akron, Ohio: A. W. Tozer—A Man of God.
The wondrous pursuit of God is more
than a legacy. It is a way of life passed on to us that we too might
experience what A. W. Tozer lived.
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