The Counselor Helps Renew & Restore

June 8, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Straighten up2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us the Holy Spirit-inspired Word of God does four things. Each of these things is also part of the definition of what the Holy Spirit does as our Counselor: teach, reprove, correct, and train.

The word for correct in this verse is the only time this Greek word is used in the Bible. It is the word epanorthosis. The prefix ep- means upon, at, by, across; and the root word -northosis means:

Do you notice the “re” words in this definition? The Holy Spirit wants to come upon us and use His inspired Word to (a) restore us to an upright state, and (b) renew the life and character of Christ in us. This is part of the meaning of being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Jesus lived on earth as a human being, and as such He did not use His God-ness. As a man Jesus could know God’s thoughts (see Matthew 11:25-26, where Jesus is speaking to God in obvious answer to what the Spirit had been speaking to His mind). Jesus also could know men’s thoughts (see Luke 6:6-9) because He was perfectly attuned to the Holy Spirit.

As Christians, this should be our normal life too.

When we discount our worthiness for The Counselor to restore and renew us—we begin to accept sub-normal as normal, and the normal become miraculous and only obtainable by a few “spiritual giants.”

The Father’s desire is for all of us to bear a strong, unmistakable family likeness to Jesus. Christ relied on The Counselor to tell Him God’s thoughts and men’s thoughts, so we must as well. If you would like to receive all that God has for you, ask Him to baptize you in the Holy Spirit. Then you, too, can enjoy the unbroken fellowship—the restoring and renewing—of The Counselor just as Jesus did.

I will be continuing our series on the Holy Spirit as The Counselor this Sunday, and I would love to have you join us!

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J.C. Ryle On Popular Trends

June 5, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

J.C. Ryle“‘The fear of man’ will indeed ‘prove to be a snare’ (Proverbs 29:25). It is terrible to observe the power which it has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide: what others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in the world. Most men are like sheep, they follow a leader. If it was the fashion of the day to be Roman Catholics, they would be Roman Catholics, if it was to be Islamic, they would be Islamic. They dread the idea of going against the current of the times. In a word, the opinion of the day becomes their religion, their creed, their Bible, and their God.” —J.C. Ryle

Are you reading the Bible for yourself? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to help you think critically? Are you willing to go against the crowd to hear the applause from the nail-scarred hands of Jesus?

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Links & Quotes

June 4, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

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“The faith of Abraham was a faith in the promise of God to make him the father of many nations. This faith glorified God because it called attention to all the resources of God that would be required to fulfill it.” —John Piper

“I rest with my whole soul upon the finished work of Christ, and I have not found anything yet that leads me to suspect I am resting where I shall meet with a failure. No, the older one grows, the more one gets convinced that he who leans by faith on Christ, rests where he never needs to be afraid. He may go and return in peace and confidence, for the mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, but God shall not change, and His purpose shall not cease to stand. Yes, God is worthy of our confidence. And I think we can say, by way of commending our God to others, that we feel we can rest upon Him for the future.” —Charles Spurgeon

Ryan Bomberger has a dead-on commentary for our culture: A More Genderless, Hopeless, Meaningless Society.

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Horatius Bonar On Healing

June 4, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Horatius Bonar“The Lord ends speaking and begins working; He comes down from the pulpit and enters the hospital [Matthew 8:1-3]. Such is His whole life: words and deeds intermingled; words of health and deeds of health.

“[The leper] wants to be made clean, and he casts himself on Christ for this. He is the Hyssop, the Water, the Blood, the Ashes, the Priest, the Physician, all in one. Thus we still come, doubting neither the willingness nor the power, yet casting ourselves on the will of the Lord; not presuming to dictate, yet appealing to His sovereign grace. As the needy, the sick, the unclean, we come; for the whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

“… Jesus speaks, ‘I will, be thou clean.’ … It is the voice of authority. It reminds us of Genesis 1:2-3. He speaks as One Who knew that He could cure. Not hesitatingly. Nor are the words a prayer, but a command. He speaks, and it is done. … Thus love, authority, and power are all conjoined. It is the voice of Omnipotence.

“He is the same Christ still; with the same love, and authority, and power. He is still the Healer, and the worst of diseases fly from His touch and voice. Let us go to Him with all that afflicts us. … Be persuaded to present thyself to Him, just as thou art. Give this divine Healer thy simple confidence. Take Him for what He is, and He will take thee for what thou art. Thus shalt thou meet in love; thou to be healed, and He to heal; thou to have the joy of being healed, and He to have the joy of healing thee, and to announce to heaven, in the presence of the angels of God, that another leper has been healed!” —Horatius Bonar (emphasis added)

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Links & Quotes

June 3, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

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“How is it that the Father can embrace the prodigal? He is fresh from the swine-trough: look at him; look at his rags; how foul they are! We would not touch them with a pair of tongs! Take him to the fire and burn the filth! Take him to the bath and wash him! That lip is not fit to kiss; those filthy lips cannot be permitted to touch that holy cheek of the glorious Father. But it is not so. While he was yet a great way off, his father saw him—rags, and poverty, and sin, and filth, and all—and he did not wait till he was clean, but ran and fell upon his neck and kissed him, just as he was. How could he do that? Why, the parable does not tell us; for it did not run on with the subject to introduce the atonement; but this explains it: when God accepts a sinner, He is in fact only accepting Christ. He looks into the sinner’s eyes, and Se sees His own dear Son’s image there, and He takes him in.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Wide as the reach of satan’s rage
Doth Thy salvation flow;
’Tis not confin’d to sex or age,
The lofty or the low.” —Isaac Watts

“Today’s complacency is tomorrow’s captivity. There is no such thing as comfortable Christianity.” —Samuel Rodriguez

David Wilkerson explains how God wants us to grow in grace.

Father Frank Pavone says, “The pro-life movement has been talking about abortion since before Roe v. Wade, all the time inviting the American public to talk about it with us.” Please read this: Let’s Talk About Abortion.

Fascinating! Scientists are working on a way to treat people suffering from paralysis by using light to get cells to respond.

[VIDEO] John Maxwell explains the difference between bad pride and good pride—

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Links & Quotes

June 2, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

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“People who suffer the loss of a loved one will tell you that your presence is comforting, not your answers. In his first sermon after losing his son to suicide, Pastor Rick Warren advised his congregants that if they were unsure about what to say in a tragedy, say nothing. Just be there. Job’s friends initially did that. It was only after they began to speak that they made matters worse. If you’re hurting right now, I risk making matters worse by giving intellectual answers to emotional pain.” —Frank Turek

“Men may as well build their houses upon the sand and expect to see them stand, when the rains fall, and the winds blow, and the floods come, as to found free institutions upon any other basis than that of morality and virtue, of which the Word of God is the only authoritative rule, and the only adequate sanction. All societies of men must be governed in some way or other. The less they have of stringent state government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet. It may do for other countries and other governments to talk about the state supporting religion. Here, under our own free institutions, it is religion which must support the state.” —Robert Winthrop, speaker of the US House of Representatives (1847–1849)

Some wonderful quotes from Maya Angelou.

“Anything which you have in this world, which you do not consecrate to Christ’s cause, you do rob the Lord of.” —Charles Spurgeon

“If we don’t kill every hint of immorality, we’ll be captured by our tendency as males to draw sexual gratification and chemical highs through our eyes. But we can’t deal with our maleness until we first reject our right to mix standards. As we ask ‘How holy can I be?’ we must pray and commit to a new relationship with God, fully aligned with His call to obedience.” —Steve Arterburn

[VIDEO] So are Christian scientists biased in their research? Yes! Any scientist is, but that is why there are controls—

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Links & Quotes

June 1, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

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“The thing required is not to add to the good actions we have already done, but only to do that out of love to God which men of reputation and virtuous lives due from a principle of honor and regard of themselves. …  Let us do all the same honest and virtuous actions, but let us do them for the sake of Him Who made us and to Whom we owe our all.” —Françoise Fenelon

“If, when no one is watching us, we are building ourselves up in the Word of God, then, when a crisis comes, we shall stand; but if we are not building on the Word of God, when a crisis comes we shall go down, no matter what our wills are like.” —Oswald Chambers

“So the issue for us is: Do we eagerly long for the coming of Christ? Or do we want Him to wait while our love affair with the world runs its course?” —John Piper

For all of my pastor friends who have kids, this post from Pastor Dave Barringer is an important read.

Dr. Tim Elmore uses John Wooden as a great example to ask the question: Are You A Coach Or A Teacher?

Have you heard that there are fewer Christians in America? Check out John Stonestreet’s analysis of the latest reports.

[VIDEO] John Maxwell talks about the consistency and perseverance of the professional—

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The Counselor Brings Reproof

June 1, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

Search meNo one likes being rebuked, but it is necessary. In fact, it is vital for healthy growth. As a Dad, I didn’t look forward to the times I had to rebuke my children. But what’s the alternative? What happens if I just let misbehavior slide? We must rebuke those we love if we want them to mature.

The Counselor—the Holy Spirit—not only teaches us, but He reproves us as well because of His love for us. And we all need it!

  • The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? (Jeremiah 17:9)
  • For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing… (Romans 7:18)

This knowledge of my wickedness becomes even more painful when I think that Jesus calls us to perfection (Matthew 5:48). I can’t “do” perfect on my own. But thankfully Jesus didn’t tell us to “do” perfect things, but to BE perfect.

The Holy Spirit reproves us—that is, He shows us where we are deviating from the mark—so that we can BE perfectly at one with Jesus, with our lives demonstrating Christ’s perfect nature.

Warning: the enemy wants to pervert The Counselor’s reproof. He wants to whisper to you that God is mad at you, that you’ve blown it too many times, that you’ll never be good enough.

Just like Jesus countered all of satan’s temptations with the Spirit-breathed Scripture, you need to do the same thing. You tell him, “My Father loves me so much that He sent His One and Only Son to die on a Cross for me! He wants me to display the glory of Jesus in my life because that’s what brings Him pleasure. He only reproves me because He loves me. If He didn’t care about me, He would leave me alone!”

Because He loves you and wants the very best for you, here’s what you can boldly pray:

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

I will be continuing my series on the Holy Spirit as our Counselor this Sunday. If you are in the Cedar Springs area, please come join us!

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Links & Quotes

May 25, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

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“The test for apostles and teachers is not that they talk wonderful stuff, not that they are able to expound God’s Word, but that they edify the saints (Ephesians 4:12).” —Oswald Chambers

“Does your self-esteem need attention? You need only pause at the base of the Cross and be reminded of this: The Maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you.” —Max Lucado

“Sometimes the enormity of war overwhelms the truth that all great struggles are just the sum of individual stories. Each is more than just the story of one soldier’s service and sacrifice. Their service ripples across their families, friends and their communities. Memorial Day reminds us it is the noble sacrifice of many that makes us who we are.” —James Carafano

“How can we expect to foster a pro-life culture if we hide our beliefs in the shadows? Abortion clinics have flourished by boldly and unapologetically declaring their stance. As a result clinics like Planned Parenthood have become a mainstream part of our culture; being invited into our government’s budget, school systems and communities. Pro-life options have been bullied into a corner where their life affirming options are patronized under a label of intolerance.” I love this: a pro-life pregnancy center is going to open in Georgia just 10 feet away from an abortion clinic.

Here’s another reason I love Cedar Springs: our City has adopted an family escaping war in Africa.

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The Counselor Instructs Us

May 25, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

The life of Jesus“The Counselor” is the name Jesus gave to the Holy Spirit. Looking at the definition of the word Counselor, there are four main things the Holy Spirit will do in our lives which corresponds to another well-known passage of Scripture—

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16)

The Counselor teaches/instructs, rebukes, corrects, and trains. And He does this through The Word that He inspired.

The Bible is one huge “the Holy Spirit said” Book. Men wrote the words of Scripture as the Counselor Spirit inspired them (2 Peter 1:19-21). That same Counselor then helps us apply those inspired words to our lives.

Jesus is our Ultimate Example of One Who was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and fully controlled by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1). The Counselor helped Jesus the Man be able to apply the inspired Scripture:

Jesus told His followers to received the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, 8), so we could be His witnesses in the world (see Acts 8:26-35 and 10:38-43).

“God does not give us power to imitate Him: He gives us His very Self. … We are not put into the place where we can imitate Jesus; the baptism of the Holy Spirit puts us into the very life of Jesus.” —Oswald Chambers

This should be our normal life! But if we discount the Holy Spirit—or even discount our worthiness to commune with The Counselor—we begin to accept sub-normal as normal, and the normal become miraculous and only obtainable by a few “spiritual giants.”

The Father’s desire is for all of us to bear a strong, unmistakable family likeness to Jesus. Christ relied on The Counselor, so we must as well.

Next Sunday I will be continuing our series on the Holy Spirit called The Counselor. If you are in the Cedar Springs area, please join us.

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