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  PREACHERS WITHOUT POWER
  by A.W. Tozer
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Summary: The sermon warns against preaching without the power of the
Holy Spirit, which can lead to hardened hearts and a lack of conviction.

Topics: "Spiritual Empowerment", "Holy Spirit"
Scripture References: 1 Timothy 1:5

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DESCRIPTION
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A.W. Tozer emphasizes the critical need for preachers to be filled with
the Holy Spirit, warning that without this divine empowerment, their
messages may lead to spiritual apathy among listeners. He reflects on 1
Timothy 1:5-7, highlighting that teachings devoid of the Spirit can
result in a hardness of heart, causing hearers to disengage from the
truth. Tozer calls for self-examination among preachers, urging them to
seek the Spirit's guidance to avoid preaching in their own strength,
which can numb the hearts of their audience. He acknowledges the
challenge of preaching effectively without the Spirit's presence and
prays for deliverance from this error. Ultimately, the sermon serves as
a reminder of the necessity of spiritual authenticity in ministry.

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CONTENT
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Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a
good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having
strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the
law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they
affirm. --1 Timothy 1:5-7

Another thing that greatly hinders God's people is a hardness of heart
caused by hearing men without the Spirit constantly preaching about the
Spirit. There is no doctrine so chilling as the doctrine of the Spirit
when held in cold passivity and personal unbelief. The hearers will turn
away in dull apathy from an exhortation to be filled with the Spirit
unless the Spirit Himself is giving the exhortation through the speaker.
It is possible to learn this truth and preach it faithfully, and still
be totally devoid of power. The hearers sense the lack and go away with
numbed hearts. Theirs is not opposition to the truth, but an unconscious
reaction from unreality. Yet scarcely one of the hearers can tell
another what the trouble is; it is as if they had been hearing an echo
and not the voice, or seeing a reflection and not the light itself.
Paths to Power, 55.

"Lord, that's a challenging thought. I'm sure that I have many times
preached and taught in my own strength, without the filling and the
power of the Holy Spirit. Deliver me from that error, Lord, that no
one's heart may be hardened through my failure. Amen."

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/aw-tozer/preachers-without-power/
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