"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all."--1 Chronicles 29:11
"Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Saviour of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable. This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show." Man: The Dwelling Place of God, p. 27
The words above were written by A.W. Tozer years ago. How true is that of us today as well! Sadly we are often more influenced by the popular portraits or pictures of God in contemporary thoughts and sermons instead of by the word of the living God.
Jesus said, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day... No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—... It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life... This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. (John 6:37-40, 44-45, 63, 65)
This is offensive to many today that have too high of a view of natural man and too low of a view of God's sovereign grace! What is needed is a renewal of the mind according to the word of God and a humbling of one's self to the authority of God.
Left to himself natural man cannot be saved because he doesn't want to be saved. His heart must be changed by the sovereign, omnipotent work of God. As Jonah rightly declared, " Salvation belongs to the Lord" (Jonah 2:9).
"Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Saviour of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable. This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show." Man: The Dwelling Place of God, p. 27
The words above were written by A.W. Tozer years ago. How true is that of us today as well! Sadly we are often more influenced by the popular portraits or pictures of God in contemporary thoughts and sermons instead of by the word of the living God.
Jesus said, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day... No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—... It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life... This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. (John 6:37-40, 44-45, 63, 65)
This is offensive to many today that have too high of a view of natural man and too low of a view of God's sovereign grace! What is needed is a renewal of the mind according to the word of God and a humbling of one's self to the authority of God.
Left to himself natural man cannot be saved because he doesn't want to be saved. His heart must be changed by the sovereign, omnipotent work of God. As Jonah rightly declared, " Salvation belongs to the Lord" (Jonah 2:9).
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