Our Grit and God's Grace
Tozer encourages listeners to sell out to God, pray more, read the Bible more, and break bad habits by the power of God, becoming Christians after God's heart.
A.W. Tozer encourages believers to fully commit to God, emphasizing the need for increased prayer, Bible reading, and active participation in faith communities. He calls for a return to the strong, unwavering faith of early Protestant Christians, urging the congregation to reject the complacency of modern Christianity. Tozer highlights the importance of personal grit in the Christian journey, reminding listeners that while they provide the determination, God will supply the necessary grace to overcome challenges. He invokes the legacy of faithful forebears who shaped the nations, challenging the audience to live up to that heritage. Ultimately, Tozer inspires a bold stand for authentic Christianity in a time of spiritual decline.
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I am cheered to know so many of you are with me on this. We are going to go to the New Testament and be Bible Christians. We are going to sell out to God and not the devil. We are going to pray more, read our Bible more and attend prayer meeting more. We are going to give more and break bad habits by the power of God. We are going to become Christians after God's heart. We are going to be protesters in an hour when the smooth, sickly, slippery, rotten, backslidden, degenerate, apostate Christianity is accepted.
We are going to stand for God, to act like simple Protestant Christians, to act like our Presbyterian Scottish forebears, to act like our English Methodist forebears, to act like the dear old Baptist who broke the ice in the creek and baptized people in the freezing water.
They had a saying in those days, "Nobody ever caught a cold getting baptized in the ice." God Almighty saw to it that nobody ever died of pneumonia. Those Protestant forebears made these two nations, the United States and Canada. They made this continent. Are we going to be descendants of which they should be ashamed? Or are we going to say, "Lead on, we are following. You followed Jesus Christ, and we are following you." John Thomas was a dear old Welsh preacher I used to hear.
While he preached he would raise his hands and say, "You supply the grit and God will supply the grace." He was right. You've got the grit; God has the grace.
Sermon Outline
- Selling Out to God
- Becoming Christians after God's Heart
- Following in the Footsteps of Our Forebears
- Emulating the courage and conviction of our Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist forebears
- Following Jesus Christ and trusting in God's supply of grace
Key Quotes
“You supply the grit and God will supply the grace.” — A.W. Tozer
“Nobody ever caught a cold getting baptized in the ice.” — A.W. Tozer
“Lead on, we are following. You followed Jesus Christ, and we are following you.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Pray more and seek God's guidance in your life.
- Read the Bible regularly to deepen your understanding of God's Word.
- Break bad habits by relying on God's power and seeking His enablement.