Choosing God's Side
Choosing God's side means accepting and conforming to His moral will and trusting in His wisdom.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the importance of aligning our lives with God's will, highlighting four key areas where our paths may diverge from His: moral standards, way of life, plans, and the acceptance of God's truth. He asserts that true righteousness is found in conforming to Scripture rather than personal moral codes, as human hearts can be deceitful. Tozer encourages believers to submit their plans to God, recognizing that His ways are ultimately better for us. The sermon calls for a deep commitment to God's standards and a willingness to surrender our own desires in favor of His divine guidance.
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The points at which God's way and man's intersect are likely to be four (though there may be others), and we will usually find our differences with God to occur somewhere in these four areas. . . .
Second, our moral standards. There are probably as many ideas of righteousness as there are people in the world, and it would be futile to argue that one is better than another. The test is not which code is best but whether or not any code agrees with the Scriptures. In the Christian Scriptures, the Lord of the whole earth declares His own moral will for mankind, and it is profound wisdom to seek it and conform to it. Otherwise, we are at the mercy of our own deceitful hearts. For all men of faith, God's will is righteousness. The believing soul will not argue about it; he will accept it and bring the controversy to an end.
The third point of possible controversy is in our way of life. This embraces the whole of our lives on earth as decided by our basic moral ideas. Our way of life is simply our moral code in its daily outflow. p>The fourth is our plans. The Christian who has in principle accepted God's truth as his standard of conduct and has submitted himself to Christ as his Lord, may yet be tempted to lay his own plans and even fight for them when they are challenged by the Word of God or the inner voice of the Spirit. We humans are a calculating, planning race, and we like to say, "Tomorrow I will . . ." But our Heavenly Father knows us too well to trust our way to our own planning, so He very often submits His own plans to us and requires that we accept them. Right there a controversy is sometimes stirred up between the soul and God. But we had better not insist on our own way. It will always be bad for us in the long run. God's way is best.
Sermon Outline
- God's Way and Man's Way
- The Christian's Moral Code
- Our Way of Life
- Our Plans
- Four Areas of Controversy
- Moral Standards
- Seeking God's Will
- Conforming to God's Will
- Daily Outflow of Moral Code
- Submitting to God's Plans
- Accepting God's Way
Key Quotes
“God's way is best.” — A.W. Tozer
“Otherwise, we are at the mercy of our own deceitful hearts.” — A.W. Tozer
“We had better not insist on our own way.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Seek God's will and conform to it in your moral standards.
- Trust in God's wisdom and submit to His plans.
- Accept that God's way is best and avoid insisting on your own way.