“If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:13-14a (NLT)
Just recently my friend David Holt (Pastor of Living Hope) text me asking if I had a specific book that he could borrow for a few weeks. The book’s name? The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney. It took me awhile to locate my copy but when I found it I got back to him. Crazy thing was, he had just found his own copy that was stashed somewhere in their House of Prayer, so he didn’t need my copy! With my copy sitting next to me on the couch I sensed the Lord wanted me to revisit this valuable resource. This book impacted me 20 some years ago and its truths are just as insightful and convicting today. So here are a few quotes from it (sorry that it may seem long, but this really is just a sample of the treasures in this book). Hopefully it will stir you to locate your own copy and chase after the treasures yourself!
• “The bottom line is that people are sick of church because Church has been somewhat less than what the Book advertised! People want to connect to a higher power!” p2
• “You can no more catch Him than the east wind can catch the west… So can we catch Him? Not really, but we can catch His heart.” p4-5
• “God doesn’t really care about anything you can ‘do’ for Him! He only really cares about your answer to one question: ‘Do you want Me?’” p11
• “He is not going to pour out His Spirit where He doesn’t find hunger. He looks for the hungry. Hunger means you’re dissatisfied with the way it has been because it forced you to live without His fullness.” p12
• “We can get so caught up doing things for Him that we forget about Him.” p14
• “If God’s glory can’t flow through the aisles of the church because of seducing spirits and manipulating men, then God will have to turn somewhere else as He did the day Jesus rode past ‘the house of bread’ (temple) in Jerusalem on a donkey.” p21
• “There is as much of God in most bars as there is in most churches.” p23
• “God has no grandchildren. Each generation must experience His presence.” p25
• “A hungry heart inside a man with an unbowed head (mind) and unbroken (unsubmitted) will is a recipe for misery.” p36
• “When this happens (the manifest presence of God), there is a strong sense and awareness that God Himself has ‘entered the room.’” p37
• “His favor flows wherever His face is directed… God is everywhere, but He doesn’t turn His face and favor everywhere.” p37-38
• “One reason we like to linger in the anointing is that it makes the flesh feel good. On the other hand, when the glory of God comes, the flesh doesn’t feel comfortable… Something dies within us every time we are confronted by His glory… When more of our flesh dies, more of our spirit lives.” p44
• “I believe that God will literally destroy the Church as we know it if He has to so He can reach the cities. He is not in love with our imperfect versions of His perfect Church; He is only out to claim the house that God built.” p46
• “God chasers want God! Not even the ‘things of God’ will satisfy someone who is a ‘man after God’s own heart.’” p54
• “Nowhere in the Bible is the altar ‘the place of blessing.’ An altar exists for only one thing. Just ask the lamb that was brought to the altar… this is not a place of blessing; it is a place of death.” p55
• “If there is flesh present when the glory of God comes, then it will have to be dead flesh, because nothing can live in that presence.” p57
• “Knees are better than feet for entering the Holy of Holies.” p58
• “God would rather have moments with a few who really love Him than for everybody to come and be entertained.” p61
• “The greatest blessing doesn’t come from God’s hand; it comes from His face in intimate relationship.” p63
• “Breakthroughs only come to broken people who are not pursuing their own ambition, but who are after the purposes of God.” p64
• “Fire doesn’t fall on empty altars… If you want the fire of God, you must become the fuel of God.” p65
• “No true revival has ever occurred simply because people sought revival. They are birthed when people sought Him. In our presumptuous thinking, we have said, ‘Okay, we’re going to hold a revival.’ You might as well try to hold a hurricane! If you can hold it, then ‘it ain’t revival.’” p75
• “The last time I checked, He was still looking for a bride, not a girlfriend; one who will stick with Him… The babe of revival is hewn from the granite rock of commitment to the Bridegroom. Babies are always birthed from intimacy.” p77
• “True church growth… springs forth from an intimate knowledge of our living God.” p79
• “Intimacy with God requires a certain level of brokenness because purity comes from brokenness… God is calling people who want serious revival into a place of transparent purity… He wants you to draw near, but at the same time, if you come near, then He will have to deal with you. That can only mean one thing; You must die.” p80
• “We want God to change the world. But He cannot change the world until He can change us.” p101
• “When we stake our cities as God’s people, we are in effect declaring open war on satan’s kingdom. Our acts are bold acts of outright aggression without apology or hesitation. We’re telling the devil, ‘We have declared this before God, and now we are telling you, ‘we will take this city!’” p105
• “God is going to redig or uncap the old wells first, before the newer artesian wells break open… Unfortunately, digging the debris out of an old well is not a pleasant task” p105&107
• “The reason people who know you aren’t interested in your God may be because you don’t have enough of the presence of God in your life.” p113
• “We need to seek brokenness and repentance, and say by our actions as well as our words, ‘God, we want You. We don’t care if You ‘do’ anything or not. We are crawling up on the altar. Let Your fire of cleansing fall so we can finally see Your face.’” p116
• “The hungry need fresh bread in abundance, not the stale crumbs in the carpet from last century’s wedding rehearsal dinner.” p119
• “Our churches are filled with ‘career prodigals’ who love their Father’s things more than their Father… It was the Father’s blessing that actually ‘financed’ the prodigal son’s trip away from the Father’s face! And it was the son’s new revelation of his poverty of heart that propelled him back into his Father’s arms.” p121
• “Did you notice that God didn’t break Mary’s alabaster box? Mary had to break it. If you want to have that kind of encounter with God, then you will have to ‘break’ yourself. The highest level of worship comes from brokenness, and there are no shortcuts or formulas to help you ‘reach the top.’” p136
• “When we discover that God’s best and deepest treasures require death to self, we often don’t pursue Him any further.” p139
• “The best thing we can do as God’s kids is to lay down His gifts long enough to go sit in the Father’s lap. Seek the Giver, not the gifts! Seek His face not His hands!” p142
• “While all flesh dies in His glory, all that is of the Spirit lives forever in His glory.” p148
• “Seeker friendly is fine; Spirit-friendly is fire! … Let’s create a comfort zone for God and a discomfort zone for man by repentant worship.” p150
Whether you get the book yourself or not, may these quotes draw you deeper in Him, rouse a hunger for Him and awaken in you a passion to be a God chaser! Purpose in your heart to chase after and seek Him with your whole heart, for He will be found by you when you do. Ask God to release a grace in His church in our city to become a God chasing bride, with a single focused passion for Him! For unless revival happens in us personally and in our churches, how can we expect God to pour it out on our city?
