Calvary Assembly of God | Craig T. Owens

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The Journey Begins

February 17, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

As Tom Kaastra introduced our study of Ephesians he said, “There is no other book in the Bible that is as exalted in its thought and yet as earthly practical.” Our series is called Sit Walk Stand (three words that Watchman Nee gave to the overview of Ephesians), and Tom shared what those mean.

Sit—(1) to be in a place of authority (Ephesians 2:4-7; Hebrews 1:3); or (2) a rest from work. We sit down to enjoy what Christ has done for us, we don’t work to try to achieve it for ourselves. “God works and then He rests. We are invited to rest and then work” (Watchman Nee). Look at the Creation story: God’s seventh day of rest after working six days was man’s first day of rest before he started working.

Walk—an act of progression modeled by Jesus (Ephesians 4:1-3). A typical rabbi built a synagogue and invited people to come to where he was. Jesus always went to where the people were, and He invites us to follow Him in this walk. We cannot have a “just Jesus and me” mindset. If Peter wanted to walk with Jesus, he had to walk with Matthew too; there are no Lone Ranger followers of Christ.

Stand—firmly in place for spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-17). Ephesians deals with our warfare against satan more than any other book in the Bible. Sadly, George Barna reported that 60% of Christians think satan is a only a “force,” not an actual person. Paul uses this word stand as a military term to place our feet in a position ready for action.

Conclusions:

Keep your head in the clouds resting in the embrace of Jesus, while you are
Keeping your feet on the ground walking with others, and
Keeping your feet on the ground standing against satan.

Join us next Sunday as we continue our look at this amazing book.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible study, Calvary Assembly of God, Creation, discipleship, Ephesians, George Barna, God's Word, rabbi, rest, satan, sermon, spiritual warfare, synagogue, Tom Kaastra, Watchman Nee. 1 Comment »

Sit Walk Stand

February 12, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

This coming Sunday we begin a new series at Calvary Assembly of God called Sit Walk Stand: A Study In The Book Of Ephesians.

Why Ephesians? Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, who preached 232 sermons on this book to his packed-out church, said, “It is very difficult to speak of Ephesians in a controlled manner because of its greatness. Many have tried to describe it. One writer has described it as the crown and climax of Pauline theology. Another has said that it is the distilled essence of the Christian religion, the most authoritative and most consummate compendium of our holy Christian faith. What language! And it is by no means exaggerated.”

It is my desire that the congregation of Calvary Assembly of God be as biblically literate as I can encourage and resource them to be. So Tom Kaastra, a 38-year veteran pastor, is going to co-teach with me, and we’re going to spend the next 6-weeks mastering this powerful epistle. Then we’ll pick it up again around this same time next year, as we continue our way through the entire letter.

The name of our series—Sit Walk Stand—comes from Watchman Nee, who wrote, “Of all Paul’s epistles, it is in Ephesians that we find the highest spiritual truths concerning the Christian life. The letter abounds with spiritual riches, and yet at the same time is intensely practical.”

Please join us this Sunday at 10:30am.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible study, biblically literate, Calvary Assembly of God, Ephesians, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, practical, sermon, Watchman Nee. Leave a Comment »

Praying ‘Round & ‘Round

February 3, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

There are lot of different ways to look at the function of prayer, but please allow me to share one more with you. Perhaps this prayer cycle will help you see the value of each aspect of prayer.

(To download a PDF of this file, click here → Prayer cycle)

Each step in this cycle helps facilitate the next step. If any step breaks down, the whole cycle of prayer can grind to a halt. But as any part of the cycle is strengthened, the whole cycle expands and grows in potency!

We need to be be assured that God’s Word is true when it says to come to Him in prayer.
Once we are assured that God’s Word is true, then the Holy Spirit will illuminate His Word to our present circumstance, giving us the mind of Our Lord. This is called discernment.
Having discernment will bring us the peace that knows God hears us, and that God is working on our behalf and for His glory.
All of these steps flowing together allow us to pray and live in greater boldness, which fuels the whole cycle again.
At the heart of this cycle is the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, who helps us at each step along the cycle of prayer.

Here are some Scriptures that correspond with the various steps in the cycle:

Assurance—If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (John 15:7)

Discernment—But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

Peace—Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)

Boldness—After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)

Holy Spirit Empowerment—In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:26-28)

The only way I know of to learn how to pray better is to pray more! Don’t wait for a better opportunity to begin to pray … Start right now!

Next Sunday I am continuing our series on prayer. If you are near Cedar Springs, please join us!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Bible, Calvary Assembly of God, God's Word, Holy Spirit, infographic, Jesus Christ, peace, prayer, Scripture, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Sunday Recap

February 2, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Another great Sunday worshiping with my church family and learning more about prayer! Here are a few take-aways that I hope encouraged you today.

Prayer isn’t supposed to look like this Jonny Hawkins cartoon!

In the cycle of prayer, your level of peace will determine your level of perseverance. This is why it’s so important to be immersed in God’s Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to give you His discernment. Keep on praying!

“The worst of it is that we can believe God about everything except the present pressing trial. This is folly. Come, my soul, shake off such sinfulness, and trust your God with the load, the labor, the longing of this present.” —Charles Spurgeon

“God’s silences are His answers. … Some prayers are followed by silence because they are wrong [this is where we need God’s discernment], others because they are bigger than we can understand [this is where we need His peace].” —Oswald Chambers

God was going to give Hannah a son, but the time was not yet right. God needed a strong man in a dark time, and it wasn’t dark enough yet! (see 1 Samuel 1:1-17)

God feels & sees

In the meantime, remember this: God feels all of your infirmities, and He sees all of your tears.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, cartoon, Charles Spurgeon, God's love, infirmities, Jonny Hawkins, Oswald Chambers, perseverance, prayer, tears. 1 Comment »

God’s Answers Are Bigger

January 22, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

I’m studying for our current series on prayer at Calvary Assembly of God, and I came across this amazing story (see John 20:10-15). I’m not sure if we will have time to get to it during this series or not, but in either case it’s just too good to hold back any longer …

If you are praying for something right now and the answer hasn’t arrived yet, keep on praying. God is doing something in the waiting time. Perhaps He wants you to modify your prayer, or perhaps He has something even bigger in store for you, bigger than you could have even imagined.

Keep on praying!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: blessing, Calvary Assembly of God, Jesus Christ, perseverance, prayer, video. Leave a Comment »

Prayer’s Empowerment

January 20, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

Prayer is not about insurance, but assurance. Prayer is not about figuring things out, but about getting God’s mind on a subject.

But how does the faith to believe for that assurance, and the faith to capture God’s discernment come to us? It comes through the Third Person of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us; He’s the central part of our prayer life.

Check out what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit’s role in your prayer life (see John 14:15-27).

Assurance—the Counselor [will] be with you forever (v. 16). The Holy Spirit doesn’t come and go, but He abides constantly. Jesus said I will not leave you as orphans (v. 18), but you will be loved by My Father (vv. 21-23). The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in bringing you into this intimate relationship (Romans 8:15).

Discernment—Jesus said a key component of your prayer life was if you remain in Me and My words remain in you (John 15:7). The Holy Spirit helps teach you what the Word says, and He will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26). The more you can be reminded of God’s Word, the more you can pray and live with God’s discernment.

Peace—My peace I give you … do not be afraid (v. 27). One of the names given to the Holy Spirit is Comforter. The Amplified Bible defines this title as, “Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby.”

Boldness—when you have greater assurance of God’s Word, deeper discernment into the mind of the Lord, and a more tranquil peace because of prayer, you can pray and live boldly! Want to see boldness in action? Check out how the followers of Jesus lived and prayed after they were baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; 2:14; 4:8; 4:31).

Make no mistake about it:

How we pray is how we will live!

Our prayers and our lives will be more assured, more discerning, more peace-producing and more bold when we let the Holy Spirit empower every aspect!

We will be continuing our series on prayer—If You Will Ask—next Sunday. I would love to have you join us!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: assurance, baptism, Bible study, boldness, Calvary Assembly of God, discernment, faith, God's Word, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, peace, prayer, Scripture, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Sunday Recap

January 19, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

In remembering Sanctity of Human Life Sunday we looked at some sobering, heart-breaking stats—

Planned Parenthood reported:

They performed 327,166 abortions in the course of one year and only 2,197 adoption referrals.
That’s 149 abortions for each adoption referral (149:1).
In order to hit this astronomical number they had to perform approximately one abortion every 96 seconds.
That means they killed more than the population of Grand Rapids AND Lansing. Combined!
They did all of this while receiving over $540 million in government grants and reimbursements.

But we also learned some happier stats from Alpha Family Center of Cedar Springs—

Alpha has been providing pro-life, pro-family services in Cedar Springs for 22 years.
11,300 baby and toddler related items were given out in 2013. That includes 1000+ packs of diapers, 214 cans of formula, 900 jars of baby food & baby cereal, and nearly 5200 articles of clothing for babies, toddlers and pregnant women.
Alpha’s counselors provided over 1000 peer counseling sessions, taught 850 parenting classes, and gave 70 free pregnancy tests.
And they did all of this without one cent of government aid!

Please support Alpha with your prayers and financial support.

In our series on prayer, I shared this great quote from Charles Spurgeon:

“Why do I not call on God’s Name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and invent plans? Why not at once roll my self and my burden on the Lord?”

Great questions! In answering those we learned this great truth: How we pray is how we will live!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: abortion, adoption, Alpha Family Center, Calvary Assembly of God, Charles Spurgeon, Planned Parenthood, prayer, pregnancy, pro-family, pro-life, sanctity of human life. 1 Comment »

Valuing Life

January 15, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

“As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.” —David, in 1 Samuel 26:24

This is as strong of a pro-life statement as any in the Bible!

The Hebrew word for value in this verse means…

to grow up
to become great or important
to do great things

Throughout the Old Testament this word is used to describe people growing from a small, infantile state to a place of maturity and prominence.

David held King Saul’s life in his hand. Since Saul was hell-bent on messing up David’s life (even killing him, if he could), we could say that David had plenty of rationale to justify ending Saul’s life. But David would not touch Saul because he recognized Saul’s God-given human dignity.

David asked God to value his life in the same way that David valued Saul’s life. Even Saul himself affirmed this when he said, “May you be blessed, my son David; you will do great things and surely triumph” (v. 25).

What if God only valued your life as much as you valued others’ lives?

What if God only spoke up for you as much as you spoke up for the not-yet-born?

What if God only blessed you as much as you blessed the aged and disabled?

How much would your life be blessed by God?

Something to think about as we celebrate Sanctity of Human Life month. We will be honoring Sanctity of Human Life Sunday this week by bringing our donations for Alpha Family Center of Cedar Springs. I would love for you to join us!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Alpha Family Center, blessing, Calvary Assembly of God, David, dignity, King Saul, pro-life, sanctity of human life, unborn, value. Leave a Comment »

Blessed Insurance

January 6, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

I’ve been bailed out by an insurance company many times. Homeowner’s insurance for the damage caused by a falling tree, medical insurance for surgery, auto insurance for car wrecks.

But here’s the thing about insurance: It’s only helpful after you’ve had a problem.

Workman’s comp is good after you’ve been injured
Auto insurance is good after you’ve smashed your car
Health insurance is good after you’re sick
Life insurance is good after you’re dead

Sadly, many people treat God like an insurance policy. They try to handle their lives themselves, and then after they’re beat-up, tossed around, and kicked to the curb they pray that God’s insurance will bail them out. It’s like they’ve changed the words of the old hymn to, “Blessed insurance, Jesus is mine!”

God desires for us to have a blessed assurance! He wants us to know His love and involvement in our lives every single day. Look at the assurance in these verses—

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him. (1 John 5:13-15)

If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (John 15:7)

The Bible isn’t just a book to be read, it’s a book to be prayed. Get His Word in you, and stay immersed in His Word, and watch how your prayers change. You don’t have to wait for prayer to be your insurance policy, but you can live every day in a blessed assurance that God is for you.

Read the Bible, pray the Bible, and watch God do amazing things!

I will be continuing our series on prayer—If You Will Ask—this Sunday at 10:30am. Please join me!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: assurance, Bible, Calvary Assembly of God, confidence, God's love, insurance, Jesus Christ, prayer, promise. 2 Comments »

Week Of Prayer

January 1, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

I love beginning the year with prayer. We talk about prayer, and most importantly we set aside lots of time to pray.

In addition to our Sunday series on prayer—If You Will Ask—we will be having a special prayer focus each day next week. You can download our prayer guide here → Week of prayer guides ←

The church building will be open for prayer Sunday from 5-6pm and Monday through Friday from 5:30-6:30pm. If you are able to join us, we would love to have you come pray with us. If not physically, please join your prayers with ours each day next week as you pray from home, work or school.

Pray, without ceasing pray, your Captain gives the word; His summons cheerfully obey, and call upon the Lord: To God your every want in instant prayer display; pray always: pray, and never faint; pray, without ceasing, pray.

In fellowship, alone, to God with faith draw near; approach His courts, besiege His throne with all the power of prayer: His mercy now implore, and now show forth His praise; in shouts, our silent awe, adore His miracles of grace. —Charles Wesley