Springtime of the Heart
We can experience spiritual springtime by appealing directly to our hearts and stirring ourselves up to meet the sun.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the possibility of experiencing a spiritual renewal akin to springtime, urging individuals to actively engage their hearts and wills in the process. He highlights that unlike nature, which must wait for the seasons to change, humans can stir themselves to seek spiritual awakening and transformation. Tozer insists that true revival must begin within the individual, as collective experiences without personal impact lack genuine faith. He calls for a proactive approach to spiritual growth, encouraging believers to run towards the light of God and create their own spiritual crises for renewal.
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It is possible for us to go through spiritual experiences that can rouse us, the spiritual equivalent of a springtime in the meadow. I have seen it happen, and I would like to see it happen today. . . . . . . We can have the spiritual equivalent of springtime in the meadow, but we have to enter in. The tree waits it out, and even the animals have to wait it out. But you and I, being made in the image of God and having wills of our own, can do something about it. We can appeal directly to our hearts. We do not need to lie like a field covered over with snow. We can stir ourselves up. We can run to meet the sun. We can create our own crisis, because the job is not for meadow and grass, but for our own hearts. These other things only illustrate spiritual springtime.
We can stir ourselves up.
We can bring out the sun, and we can bring on the springtime. How do we get this to happen? First it must come to the individual. I have no faith in anything that happens to a church that does not happen to the individual. If it does not affect the individual, numbers of individuals, if it is only a sort of social overtone that affects everybody momentarily, I have no faith in it at all.
Sermon Outline
- The Possibility of Spiritual Springtime
- A spiritual experience that rouses us, like springtime in the meadow
- This experience is not automatic, but requires individual effort
Key Quotes
“We can stir ourselves up. We can run to meet the sun. We can create our own crisis, because the job is not for meadow and grass, but for our own hearts.” — A.W. Tozer
“We can bring out the sun, and we can bring on the springtime.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- To experience spiritual springtime, you must take individual responsibility for your heart's growth.
- You can create your own crisis to bring about spiritual transformation in your life.
- The job of spiritual growth is not for others, but for your own heart to accomplish.