VOICE OF A PROPHET

[Pages:135]VOICE OF A PROPHET

? 2014 James L. Snyder Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014 ISBN 978-1-4412-6751-1

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means--for example, electronic, photocopy, recording--without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

CONTENTS

Introduction: The Prayer of a Minor Prophet 1. Whose Church Is It, Really? 2. The Blight of Today's Church 3. God's Message to His Church 4. When God Chooses a Prophet 5. How God Prepares His Prophet 6. Getting the Prophet's Attention 7. The Secret of the Prophet's Success 8. The Challenge of the Prophet 9. Where Is the Lord God of Elijah?

10. The Sovereign Call of God 11. The Dynamics of Experiencing God 12. We Need Prophets, Not Promoters 13. The Privilege of Being Sent of God 14. The Voice of a Prophet in the Wilderness

15. The Agenda of a Prophet 16. The Man Who Saw God on the Throne 17. Jesus, the Last Prophet, the Last Voice 18. The Ladder into Kingdom Power 19. Prayer of a Prophet

INTRODUCTION

THE PRAYER OF A MINOR PROPHET

When A. W. Tozer was just beginning his preaching ministry, he was interviewed for ordination by a group of elders and ministers. Up to this point, he had been preaching on street corners, under gospel tents and now in a little storefront church in the hills of West Virginia. After interviewing him, the group of elders met together and all came to one conclusion: This man was not ready to be ordained; he had never finished high school; he had never attended a Bible college or seminary; he had no training whatsoever in ministry.

The men had almost come to the point of refusing to ordain Tozer when one man spoke out and said, "This man has a real passion for ministry; and even though he has no college education or ministry training, I think we ought to give him a try."

Reluctantly, they agreed to the ordination. Granted, Tozer did not fit the ministry template of his day. I am sure he would not fit today's template, either. The prophet God uses is uniquely called of God. He never volunteers for the job. He is called. Think of the lives of such biblical prophets as Elijah, Elisha and even John the Baptist. Think of David. Nobody thought David the shepherd could be king, but he turned out to be the greatest king Israel ever had. A. W. Tozer was sort of like David. Few people thought he would ever amount to anything in the ministry, and yet he became one of the leading voices of his generation, with a message that continues even to this day to those who have ears to hear. It was not man's approval that made Dr. Tozer the prophet of his day; it was God's call--His choosing of a man who was willing to be used of God. It is impossible to define that "call." I think Tozer would agree when I say that those who seem right for the job are not the ones God calls. God chooses a man or a

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