As Holy as You Want to Be
The depth of our spiritual experience is directly tied to the depth of our desire for God.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes that individuals are as holy and filled with the Spirit as they truly desire to be, based on the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:6. He explains that true hunger and thirst for righteousness can lead to a profound filling by the Holy Spirit, but many Christians remain complacent in their spiritual state. Tozer encourages believers to cultivate a deep longing for God, recognizing that the key to spiritual fulfillment lies in the intensity of their desire for Him. He calls for a heartfelt prayer for a holy longing that allows the Spirit to fill the void in their lives.
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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. --Matthew 5:6
It may be said without qualification that every man is as holy and as full of the Spirit as he wants to be. He may not be as full as he wishes he were, but he is most certainly as full as he wants to be.
Our Lord placed this beyond dispute when He said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Hunger and thirst are physical sensations which, in their acute stages, may become real pain. It has been the experience of countless seekers after God that when their desires became a pain they were suddenly and wonderfully filled. The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit Him to do so. The average Christian is so cold and so contented with His wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness. Born After Midnight, 8.
"Lord, quiet my heart today and fill me with this holy longing. I don't want to be contented with my present condition; I long for that vacuum of desire into which the Holy Spirit can rush. Amen."
Sermon Outline
- The Desire for Righteousness
- The Problem of Desire
- The Solution
- Want God sufficiently to permit Him to fill us
- Pray for a holy longing and a vacuum of desire
Key Quotes
“He may not be as full as he wishes he were, but he is most certainly as full as he wants to be.” — A.W. Tozer
“The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit Him to do so.” — A.W. Tozer
“Hunger and thirst are physical sensations which, in their acute stages, may become real pain.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Pray for a holy longing and a vacuum of desire to be filled with God's presence.
- Recognize the difference between being content and being satisfied in your spiritual life.
- Cultivate a sense of pain or discomfort in your spiritual life to prompt you to seek God more deeply.