Rut, Rot or Revival: The Condition of the Church

Rating:
Summary: A Prophetic Call to the Church
Review: A.W. Tozer is simply amazing. He was truly a Spirit-taught man of God who learned how to wait in God's presence and allowed the Lord to open His Word to him. Out of his relationship with Jesus came many powerful books. All of Tozer's works are gems.

In this classic book, Tozer takes aim at the comfort level of most churches. He says that we are on a course of either rutting as the children of Israel did in the wilderness, rotting as many of the bodies of the Israelites did (1 Cor. 10:1-13) or revival. It is our choice. While Tozer may seem to be moving toward an Arminian understanding of revival, he clearly believes that we must wait for God's presence to come to truly declare a revival.

Good reading from Tozer.

Rating:
Summary: Hitting The Nail On The Head
Review: This collection of messages complied by James L. Snyder on A.W. Tozer's theme of "Rut, Rot, or Revial: The Problem of Change and Breaking Out of the Status Quo", is a challenge to all Christians. Tozer presents to us the present condition of the church universal even though it was written more than 35 years ago. The message within this book is timeless as Tozer uses a wide variety scripture to support the decayed portion of the church. Tozer challenges all of us who label ourselves as Christian to wake up from our long sleep, or rut as he called it and press on to the higher calling of God. He makes it clear that change is the most difficult thing a church does and it comes at a price. He also shares the importance of the individual in the body of Christ and change is dependent on all the individuals changing so the church can change. The book flows well considering it is a compilation of sermons preached on this specific topic. If there is a downside, it would be some of the illustrations are outdated. Keeping in mind the messages were given back in the early 60s and it is sometimes hard for the modern reader to get the point. However, it is excellent reading for any Christian who wishes to deepen their spiritual life

Rating:
Summary: Hitting The Nail On The Head
Review: This collection of messages complied by James L. Snyder on A.W. Tozer's theme of "Rut, Rot, or Revial: The Problem of Change and Breaking Out of the Status Quo", is a challenge to all Christians. Tozer presents to us the present condition of the church universal even though it was written more than 35 years ago. The message within this book is timeless as Tozer uses a wide variety scripture to support the decayed portion of the church. Tozer challenges all of us who label ourselves as Christian to wake up from our long sleep, or rut as he called it and press on to the higher calling of God. He makes it clear that change is the most difficult thing a church does and it comes at a price. He also shares the importance of the individual in the body of Christ and change is dependent on all the individuals changing so the church can change. The book flows well considering it is a compilation of sermons preached on this specific topic. If there is a downside, it would be some of the illustrations are outdated. Keeping in mind the messages were given back in the early 60s and it is sometimes hard for the modern reader to get the point. However, it is excellent reading for any Christian who wishes to deepen their spiritual life

Rating:
Summary: The Dying Church
Review: This is one of the best collections of Tozer's sermons available. It deals with a single theme: the rapid decay of the Church. Tozer rightly discerns that the Church is in dire need of a return to Spirit-filled, Christ-centered, God-adoring worship and ministry!

Chapter Titles:
1. The Christian's Greatest Enemy
2. Errors in Thinking
3. Awakened Out of Sleep
4. The Church in a Rut
5. Getting Out of the Rut
6. Dealing With Spiritual Problems
7. Three Spiritual Laws
8. Breaking the Status Quo
9. The Voice of God Speaking
10. An Unchanging Book in an Ever-Changing World
11. Two Portraits of the Church
12. A Biblical Concept of the Church
13. A Model Church
14. The Voice of Faith
15. The Great Test: Modifying the Truth

From Back Cover:
"Change is one of the ingredients of Christianity. If people could not change, the gospel would be absolutely meaningless.... The fact that people can change is the only hope they have." (from chapter 4)

"Try what I call the pad and pencil method. This method is very simple and consists of getting on your knees with your Bible, a pad of paper and a pencil. Read the Bible and then write down what is wrong with you." (from chapter 6)

"Somebody once said that man is made of dust and tends to settle. People tend to settle down and do the samne things year in and year out, slowly going around in a circle. When this gets into religion, it is deadly and evil." (from chapter 8)

May God use the words of this great saint to direct the Church back to her first love in this corrupt and perverse age.