Gospel of Luke | Craig T. Owens

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Compromised Leadership

January 24, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

If we are wise, we can learn invaluable leadership lessons even from those who fell short in their attempts. For example, consider Lot, the nephew of Abraham.

Lot was found “sitting at the gate” in Sodom. This was a place of leadership, the place where legal and business matters were discussed. That means Lot appeared to be accepted by the townsfolk (see Genesis 19:1-14).

But that also means Lot had compromised his values.

Lot didn’t walk right into this leadership role. The Bible tells us how Lot first lived in the vicinity of Sodom and Gomorrah, but then steadily moved closer and closer to the city, until eventually he compromised his values enough to be accepted into a civic leadership position.

Lot obviously did not live or speak according to God’s righteous standards because when he attempted to appeal to a depraved mob of Sodomites, they ridiculed him, reminding him that he was not one of them. And then when Lot tried to warn his future sons-in-law (men who were also Sodomites) about God’s impending judgment on the city, they only laughed at him.

Jesus warned us, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

The Sodomites spoke well of Lot when he was in the city gate, going along with them, not standing up for righteousness.

So too for us: People of the world will appear to be your friend as long as you don’t make them uncomfortable by standing up and speaking up for the truth. As soon as Lot tried to stand for God, the Sodomites showed him their true colors.

On the other hand, look at the examples of Joseph, Mordecai, Esther, Daniel, and Nehemiah to see righteous people who didn’t compromise their commitment to God’s ways in order to achieve a leadership position in earthly governments. Instead, their righteousness was blessed by God, and He gave them favor.

Ironically, Lot compromised God-honoring values to try to earn favor with men, and in the end, lost favor with them. Those other godly leaders resolutely stood for God regardless of what anyone may have said about them and God gave those leaders favor with men.

A mark of an ungodly leader is one who compromises godly values to gain a leadership status in the world’s eyes.

This is part 76 in my series on godly leadership. You can check out all of my posts in this series by clicking here.

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Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: compromise, Daniel, Esther, favor, Genesis, Gospel of Luke, integrity, Joseph, leadership, Lot, Mordecai, Nehemiah, righteousness, Sodom. 1 Comment »

Living In Kingdom Power

January 22, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Last week I shared a quote about this Kingdom Prayer from the YouVersion reading plan The Prayer That Turns The World Upside Down. Let me remind you of one phrase: “This prayer is dangerous, overturning the kingdom of the principalities and powers of this world.”

We live on Earth but we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. This prayer is a desire for that eternal Kingdom to be seen by Earthlings so that they will also obtain citizenship. So we saw last week that the phrase “Hallowed be Your name” is both an acknowledgement of God’s greatness and a request that we would display His greatness in our lives. The next phrase—Your Kingdom come (Matthew 6:10)—has that same two-part motivation: acknowledgment and request.

I wrote Shepherd Leadership to address the non-biblical practices in our churches that had taken on biblical weight. I think this is something that invades many Christian’s thinking about what “the Kingdom of God” actually is.

Here’s two things I know for sure: (1) Kingdom power ≠ political power, and (2) Kingdom power ≠ religious power.

A.W. Tozer wrote—

“In Christian circles today, the church that can show an impressive quantitative growth is frankly envied and imitated by other ambitious churches. Numbers, size and amounts seem to be very nearly all that matters…. The great goddess, Numbers, is worshiped with fervent devotion, and all things religious are brought before her for examination. Her Old Testament is the financial report, and her New Testament is the membership roll. To these she appeals as the test of spiritual growth and the proof of success or failure in most Christian endeavors. A little acquaintance with the Bible should show this up for the heresy it is.”

Jesus was clearly focused on His Father’s Kingdom. The phrase “Kingdom of God” is used over 50 times in the Gospels, and Jesus uses words like “Heaven,” “Hell,” and “eternal life” over 120 times.

In teaching us to pray, Jesus called us to focus on the eternal. We want people to see “Our Father in Heaven”—in all His hallowed majesty and glory—not merely in the ways we attempt to “Christianize” life on Earth.

Alan Redpath said, “Before we can pray, ‘Lord, Thy Kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My Kingdom go.’”

Jesus constantly taught like this, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like….” He said, “The coming of the Kingdom of God is not something that can be observed” (Luke 17:20). Or better stated: The Kingdom of God doesn’t arrive because I oversee something and announce it.

Peter summed up the ministry of Jesus like this, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:38).

Jesus told us to live the same way—“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, He gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:2).

The early Church was known for living differently—cared for the poor, the young, the sick, the elderly; honored marriage; built hospitals. They were not known because they had political clout.

Our living Kingdom-focused is the answer to our prayer for God’s Kingdom to come.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (1 Corinthians 4:20)

We hallow God’s name and we make His Kingdom visible when we seek Him as our only priority. Both of these phrases are acknowledgments of His absolute sovereignty and our desire to be empowered to be anointed by the Holy Spirit to go around doing good and delivering all who are under the power of the devil.

I love this short verse from A.B. Simpson—

Help me to work and pray,

help me to live each day,

that all I do may say,

‘Thy kingdom come.’

Check out the other messages in our series Kingdom Praying by clicking here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials—like this recent Bible study insight from the Gospels. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, A.B. Simpson, A.W. Tozer, Alan Redpath, Book of Acts, Calvary Assembly of God, Christian, eternity, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Lord's Prayer, prayer, quotes, sermon, shepherd leadership, video. 2 Comments »

Praying To Hallow God’s Name

January 15, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

We said our protocol in approaching Almighty God in prayer is found in just two words: Our Father.

Notice the transition: your Father (3x in Matthew 6:6, 8) to Our Father (6:9). How does this happen? Jesus makes it possible and the Holy Spirit continually reminds us of Christ’s completed work (Hebrews 2:11; John 14:13-14; Romans 8:15-16).

It’s not just “our Father” but “our Father in Heaven.” Let’s remember that our Father is both All-loving and All-powerful. The phrase in Heaven reminds us of His absolute sovereignty. “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him” (Psalm 115:3). What pleases Him? To give us His kingdom (Luke 12:32).

Then there’s another phrase that is vital: Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Hallowed means both to acknowledge His greatness and to keep Him separate from any profane things. What is profane? The dictionary says it is irreverence or contempt for God. The opposite of profane is holiness—something set apart exclusively for God. This is not something better than something else, but something exclusively that will bring glory to our Father in Heaven.

The root word for hallowed is “holy.” We see this literally translated in the name Holy Spirit. It is a word also referring to Jesus when He is called “the Holy One of God” (see Mark 1:24). The angel uses the word twice when he says, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

And that same word translated hallowed and holy is also translated saints. Literally that means “holy ones” or set apart people.

Jesus is teaching us that our prayer is BOTH an acknowledgment of how God’s name is to be hallowed AND a request that He would empower us to pray and live in ways that makes that happen.

This means our attitude needs to be focused on God’s reputation not my reputation (as in Matthew 6:5, 7:21-23).

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name” is both an attitude of prayer and a lifestyle.

We hallow God’s name when our prayer and daily lifestyle bring Him the supreme glory that is due exclusively to His awesome name! When we keep our eyes and hearts on Him, He will provide everything else we need (see Matthew 6:32-33).

To follow along with all of the message in this prayer series called Kingdom Praying, please click here.

The Prayer Protocol

January 8, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

Every monarch or president on the planet has certain protocols for anyone who interacts with them. There are requirements on how to walk into the room, titles that have to be used, the way you have to act, things you can or can’t say, and the list goes on and on.

So it’s natural to think that this is how we also have to approach the Sovereign King of the Universe. But this King so desires intimate conversation with His people that Jesus gave us this simple protocol: “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13).

Jesus told us that He wanted us to dispense with the world’s expected protocols. He said that when we approach God, those protocols are gone. In the preceding verses, He told us that we pray…

…NOT for show or else we are called hypocrites—putting on an act or performance to earn applause or approval.
…NOT with “alien” vocabulary or else we are pagans—adopting manners that aren’t our own as a means to be accepted.

The prayers of Jesus seldom sound like our modern idea of “prayer.” Instead, they sound more like an everyday conversation when He’s talking to His Father, and the sound like commands when He’s casting out demons or healing diseases (see examples in Matthew 8:3, 13, 26, 32; John 11:40-44).

Jesus also reminded us that we pray because…

He told us to
He wants us to seek God’s Kingdom
He wants us to receive God’s Kingdom
He wants us to live in the power of God’s Kingdom every single moment

(Matthew 6:5-7, 6:33-34, 16:16-19, 17:16-21; Mark 9:29; Luke 12:32)

Let me repeat: our protocol for prayer is nothing like the world’s protocols for interacting with rulers. Our protocol is simply coming to our Heavenly Father in simple, childlike love and anticipation.

Kingdom praying should be as natural as talking to the most loving Father you can imagine!

Check out the others messages in our series Kingdom Praying by clicking here.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, God's Kingdom, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Heavenly Father, hypocrites, intimacy, Jesus Christ, prayer, video. 4 Comments »

Kingdom Praying

January 3, 2024 — Craig T. Owens

Jesus made it clear time and time again that He came to reveal the Kingdom of God to us. He described what the Kingdom was like and told us that He came to be the means by which we could enter God’s Kingdom.

He also told us how God’s children could access the power and privileges of our Heavenly Father through the means of prayer. He assured us with words like, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

Jesus said quite simply that we had access to our Father through prayer. And then to make sure we didn’t miss out on this awesome privilege, He instructed us, “This, then, is how you should pray” (Matthew 6:8).

Please join me this Sunday as we go point-by-point through this Kingdom-accessing model prayer. We will learn just how truly expansive and all-encompassing this short prayer is.

Check out all of the messages:

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, God's Kingdom, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ, prayer. 20 Comments »

Don’t Underestimate God’s Grace

December 28, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

It may be the world’s best-known song, but I wonder when was the last time you really listened to its message?

Check out this episode of The Podcast.

Some resources to go along with this video:

The story of the lost sons is found in Luke 15:11-32.
One of my most-viewed sermon series on God’s grace is God’s Favor.
Another blog post that may help you is What if I sin?
If you are the parent of a “prodigal son,” you can be encouraged by this post: The Wait of Parenting.
Here are a bunch of ways to get in touch with me and follow along with other projects on which I am involved

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this video where I explain what the Bible means when we “examine” our lives. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: God's favor, Gospel of Luke, grace, prodigal, video. Leave a Comment »

Helping Skeptics See The King

December 26, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

I once worked with a guy that was the epitome of “all talk and no action.” After a while people just stopped listening to him or believing anything he said. But something worse is someone who says he will do something but doesn’t have the power to finish what he started. In that case, you may have believed him and not taken any steps of your own, so when he finally admits defeat, you are totally unprepared to step in to help finish the task.

I think that comes close to the two attitudes people had prior to the First Advent of Jesus in Bethlehem. Some people thought all of God’s promises had just become “all talk and no action.”

But after Jesus began His public ministry, His skeptics may have originally thought He was also “all talk and no action,” but when they saw how the people responded to Him, they realized He at least had the power to sway a crowd. But they certainty didn’t think He could finish what He started.

The religious elite—the Sanhedrin—had their own plans in the works, and it appeared to them that Jesus was just going to get in the way. So they hatched a plan to have Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, have Jesus crucified. As Jesus is hanging on the Cross, you can hear the skepticism and derision in the voices of these religious elite—

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked Him. “He saved others,” they said, “but He can’t save Himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the Cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue Him now if He wants Him, for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Matthew 27:41-43)

After all, they had experienced “messiahs” before (Acts 5:35-37) so they thought this Jesus from Nazareth was just the next in a long line of pretenders. “King of Israel, indeed! Ha!”

But when someone tells you what they are going to do, and then they actually do it, skeptics are turned into believers. We see this happen in people like Nathaniel, a whole village of Samaritans, and one of the thieves that was crucified alongside Jesus (John 1:43-51; John 4:9-42; Luke 23:39-42)

Even though Jesus told His disciples exactly what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem—and then it did!—they were still skeptical of the claims of His resurrection until they saw it for themselves (Matthew 20:18-19; John 20:3-8).

Just like the prophets told us how Jesus would come from a virgin and be born in Bethlehem—and then it happened!—so Jesus foretold His death and resurrection.

There is a common theme here that turned all these skeptics into believers:

Philip said to Nathaniel, “Come and see Jesus”
The Samaritan woman said to her fellow townsfolk, “Come and see Jesus”
The criminal saw and heard Jesus’ loving words when He forgave His crucifers
And the doubting disciples ran to the tomb and “saw and believed”

(See John 1:46; John 4:29; Luke 23:34; John 20:8)

Skeptics need to see and hear for themselves that Jesus has the power to do what He says He will do. We are the ones that preach this Good News to them by the way we live.

We have to live as good citizens of the King of kings so that people will “come and see” what a good and loving King He is. For those who are skeptical of the claims of Jesus the King, we have to live in a way that makes it real. We have to help them see the King of kings!

Advent isn’t just a long-ago event that we fondly remember. The First Advent is proof that God has the power to keep His word. And just as we have seen the First Advent, so we will see the Second Advent.

If you’ve missed any of the messages in this Advent series, you can check them all out here.

The King Of Glory

December 18, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

I did a series of Advent messages a few years ago called “The Carols of Christmas” with the premise that many of our old familiar carols had become too familiar and we had lost the true meaning in those beautiful songs.

I think the same is true with the sentiment of wanting to experience the glory of God. Sometimes you will hear people say, “We just want to see God’s glory!” but I’m not sure they really mean this or really want it.

Throughout the Bible, “glory” comes from the Hebrew word which means weightiness. When God appears—or even one of His angels glowing with His glorious presence—people collapse under the weight of His glory. Look at the examples of Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, and even John the beloved disciple of Jesus (Exodus 3:6; Isaiah 6:3-5; Daniel 8:15-17; Revelation 1:12-17).

In the light of Christ’s glory everything is exposed. We have no excuses for our sin. We are seen exactly as we are, and the fear of God’s judgment causes us to collapse under that weight.

But the First Advent story is filled with the phrase “Fear not.” Let me show you two examples. First, notice the strong emotions when the angels appear to the shepherds—

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:9-10)

What was this good news that would turn their fear into joy? Listen to the angelic message to Joseph—

Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. (Matthew 1:20-21)

Notice the phrase, “HE will save His people from their sins.” Part of what contributes to our fear of God’s glorious presence is knowing that we are helpless to remove our sins. The fact that Jesus would do this for us was foretold in prophecies like Isaiah 25:7-9 and 59:15-16.

How will Jesus do this? In 1 Corinthians 15:53, Paul says that in order to enter into God’s presence our perishable, mortal lives have to be exchanged for something imperishable and immortal. We are unable to do this, but in the Incarnation, the immortal God put on mortal flesh!

Paul goes on in 1 Corinthians 15 to say, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)!

If our sins were still clinging to us, spending eternity in the presence of the King of Glory would be torturous! Our fear of His weighty glory is only changed into joy when we accept that He has saved us from the penalty of our sins. Now our fear of His glory isn’t a crippling fear, but as we worship Him for His salvation our fear becomes reverential worship.

Or we could say it this way—When we fear the King of Glory we fear nothing else!

Charitie Lees Bancroft captures that idea in these stanzas of her poem:

When satan tempts me to despair

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look and see Him there

Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free;

For God the Just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there! The risen Lamb,

My perfect, spotless righteousness;

The great unchangeable “I AM,”

The King of glory and of grace!

One with Himself I cannot die,

My soul is purchased by His blood;

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ, my Savior and my God.

With our sins forgiven by our faith in Jesus, we can now enjoy an eternity in the weighty, awesome presence of the King of Glory!

If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series Long Live the King of Kings, you can find them all by clicking here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. Like this video where I talk about the logic in Psalm 119. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, Advent, Calvary Assembly of God, Christmas, Christmas carols, Daniel, eternal life, eternity, Exodus, First Advent, forgiveness, God's glory, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, Incarnation, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, joy, poem, poetry, Revelation, sermon, sin, video. 1 Comment »

Infinitesimal

December 13, 2023 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

I do my best to take care of my physical body. I exercise every day, l try to watch what I am eating, and I attempt to get the correct amount of sleep. I attend to all of these things because I want to keep my body as healthy as I can.

But in all of these efforts, I would never presume that I could determine how long I’m going to live. I thought of this the other day when I read an interesting statement from Jesus.

In my Bible, this section of Luke’s Gospel has been given the heading “Do Not Worry.” Jesus tells us that we shouldn’t fret about our lives, our food, or our clothing because our Heavenly Father will take care of those things. Then Jesus says, “Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (v. 26).

What is this “very little thing” Jesus says I cannot do? In the previous verse, He says, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

I don’t know about you, but that seems like a very big thing to me! How could I add any time to my life!? I have no idea when my time is up. If I think that controlling the number of days I have left to live is a big thing, then the daily concerns of providing food, clothing, and shelter, seem small by comparison.

But Jesus says determining the length of my days is a very little thing. If that’s how He sees it, how infinitesimal it must be for Him to provide the basics of life for His trusting children!

This is why Jesus says to us over and over again, “Do not worry.”

If anything will rob my life of years and my years of life, it is worry. Every time worry creeps into my heart, I need to be quick to turn that fretful concern over to my Heavenly Father. He loves me so much that Jesus promised, “Your Father has been pleased to give you the [eternal] kingdom.”

If God is giving me eternity, that means there is never a cause for me to worry about infinitesimal things!