O God, be Thou exalted over my possessions. Nothing of earth’s treasures shall seem dear unto me if only Thou art glorified in my life. Be Thou exalted over my friendships. I am determined that Thou shalt be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth. Be Thou exalted above my comforts. Though it mean the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses, I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee. Be Though exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream. Rise. O Lord, into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, my health and even my life itself. Let me sink that Thou mayest rise above.
Ride forth upon me as Thou didst ride into Jerusalem mounted upon the humble little beast, a colt, the foal of an ass, and let me hear the children cry to Thee, “Hosanna in the highest.”
Amen Pg 112
Discussion
1. We Changed Our Location
Sin disrupted the relationship man had with God.
“He adopted toward God an altered attitude, and by so doing destroyed the proper Creator-creature relation in which, unknown to him, his true happiness lay.” Pg 103
2. Jesus Can Change Us Back
“The atonement in Jesus’ blood makes such a change judicially possible and the working of the Holy Spirit makes it emotionally satisfying. The story of the prodigal son perfectly illustrates this latter phase.” Pg 104
What does Tozer mean when he says that Jesus’ atonement makes this change “judicially possible”?
3. Determining the Reality of Where God Is.
You don’t know where you are until you know where God is.
“We must begin with God. We are right when, and only when, we stand in a right position relative to God, and we are wrong so far and so long as we stand in any other position.” Pg 105
What does it mean to “begin with God” when evaluating our lives?
How can we recognize when we are trying to make God fit our preferences?
4. Nothing Changes Until We Change Our Mind
You Have Choices
“The moment we make up our minds that we are going on with this determination to exalt God over all, we step out of the world’s parade. We shall find ourselves out of adjustment to the ways of the world, and increasingly so as we make progress in the holy way. We shall acquire a new viewpoint; a new and different psychology will be formed within us; a new power will begin to surprise us by its upsurgings and its outgoings. Pg 106
What is the difference between agreeing that God should come first and deciding to put Him first?
Where might honoring God put you out of step with the expectations of others?
What do your daily choices reveal about what you value most?
5. Your Choices Become Simplified.
“His Christian life ceases to be the complicated thing it had been before and becomes the very essence of simplicity. By the exercise of his will, he has set his course, and on that course he will stay as if guided by an automatic pilot. If blown off course for a moment by some adverse wind, he will surely return again as by a secret bent of the soul.” Pg 107
How can deciding beforehand to honor God simplify a difficult choice?
Does having a clear direction make obedience easy, or does it make the right choice clearer?
When you get off course, what helps you return to your commitment to God?
6. God Honors Our Efforts.
“I hope it is clear that there is a logic behind God’s claim to preeminence. That place is His by every right in earth or heaven. While we take to ourselves the place that is His, the whole course of our lives is out of joint. Nothing will or can restore order till our hearts make the great decision: God shall be exalted above.” Pg 108
What distinguishes efforts God honors and efforts He won’t?
Do you believe God is honoring your efforts to draw closer to Him? Why or why not?
What needs to change for God to open the windows of heaven? (…prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10)
WARNING
Fundamental consideration: What does effort look like?
“Another saying of Jesus, and most disturbing one, was put in the form of a question. ‘How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?’ If I understand this correctly, Christ taught here the alarming doctrine that the desire for honor among men made belief impossible. Is this sin at the root of religious unbelief? Could it be that those ‘intellectual difficulties’ which men blame for their inability to believe are but smoke screens to conceal the real curse that lies behind them?” Pg 110
In what ways can the desire for other peoples approval interfere with our honoring of God?
Would you be the same Christian today if nobody could see any of your efforts? What does this reveal about who your efforts are really for?