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Binitarians

May 20, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

I love this insight from Dick Brogden regarding too many Christians’ view of the Holy Spirit—

“Often our heads become stumbling blocks to our hearts. We cognitively admit that the Holy Spirit is a Person in the triune Godhead, but we live as functional binitarians. Comfortable with Father and Son, we are not quite sure how to interact with the Spirit….” —Dick Brogden

The promise of the Holy Spirit’s help for those who desire to follow God with all of their hearts permeates the entire Bible. Passage after passage in both the Old Testament and New Testament tell of the incredible life-altering, heart-molding, stronghold-breaking, love-creating, Christlike-empowering of the Holy Spirit.

How sad when we try to put the Holy Spirit in a box!

“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised….” —Jesus

“…You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” —Peter

“But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses….” —Jesus

“Now we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world, but the Holy Spirit Who is from God, given to us that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly bestowed on us by God.” —Paul

“But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true….” —John

I pray more and more of us will move from binitarians to full trinitarians!!

Please join me next Sunday as I continue our series called Come Holy Spirit.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: binitarian, Calvary Assembly of God, Dick Brogden, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, power, promise, trinitarian. 2 Comments »

Hot Pursuit

January 21, 2013 — 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.

While I was reading From Azusa To Africa To The Nations, I came across a fascinating statement from William Seymour, the pastor who led his congregation into that early 20th-century revival that shook the world. Pastor Seymour was so hungry for God’s presence in his life that he set aside five hours each day to seek God’s deeper touch. He prayed liked this for over 3 years. At this point He read about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, and something stirred in him to pray for this same outpouring on himself and on his congregation. He then increased his prayer time to seven hours a day, and continued to pray in this fashion for another two years before the answer came and the revival broke out.

I did the math. That means he prayed 11,500 hours!

How many of us get tired after praying just one hour?

Would it be easier for you to tenaciously pursue God in prayer if you knew He was also tenaciously pursuing you? Mark Batterson points out in The Circle Maker that the verb in Psalm 23:6 is poorly translated in English as shall follow me. He reminds us that it’s really a hunting term, used for a hunter in hot pursuit of his quarry. God’s love and mercy are in hot pursuit of you!

The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him! (Isaiah 30:18)

Want to see a great story about this in the life of Jesus? Matthew tells us about a get-away that Jesus and His disciples took. While they were relaxing, a woman barged in, imploring Jesus to heal her daughter. She would not be denied. She tenaciously implored Jesus to minister to her daughter. At last Jesus cried out, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

(Check out this video where I talk more in-depth about this persistent mother.)

It may sound like this woman was pursuing Jesus. But Jesus put Himself in a place for her to find Him. He pursued her first.

As a Canaanite (a non-Jew), it was unsafe for her to travel to southern Israel.
As a woman, it was unacceptable for her to go talk to a man.
As a mother with a sick child at home, it was unwise for her to leave home.

So Jesus traveled to a region He has never been to before, and would never go back to again. He pursued this mother-in-need so that she could find Him in prayer!

God is in hot pursuit of you, too. He hears every prayer, so keep on tenaciously praying. Don’t settle, don’t give up, don’t stop! Pray as long as it takes for God to say to you, “You have great faith! Your request is granted.”

To check out the others messages in this series on prayer called Praying Circles, please click here.

►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, church history, faith, Gospel of Matthew, healing, importunity, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Mark Batterson, Pentecost, prayer, Psalm, sermon, tenacity, William Seymour. 2 Comments »

From Azusa To Africa To The Nations (book review)

January 14, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Most people are familiar with George Santayana’s powerful reminder: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” This is why I love reading books of history. Denzil R. Miller has given us a powerful lesson of the history of the Pentecostal church in From Azusa To Africa To The Nations.

Denzil, a missionary in Africa, had a very specific motivation for writing this book: To remind African Christians how the full gospel message came to them, and how they should be responding to it. But I found that this book is a great reminder for all who call themselves Pentecostal.

From Azusa re-tells the story of the Pentecostal reawakening in the early days of the 1900s in a small church in Los Angeles pastored by William Seymour. From that small church, a worldwide revival to the fullness of the operation of the Holy Spirit began. It was a call to return to biblical roots; a call back to the message of Jesus, “You will receive power to be My witnesses after the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8).

Denzil Miller aims to call the African churches back to their Pentecostal roots, but this is a call for all Pentecostals, regardless of the continent on which they live. This is a short, but powerful book, that I encourage you to check out.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Azusa Street, book review, church history, history, missionary, Pentecost, William Seymour, world history. Leave a Comment »

Holy Spirit-Controlled

August 25, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

I am loving my time reading Spirit Rising by Jim Cymbala! This passage I just read leapt off the page:

“Many of us want more of God but not to the point of being ridiculed. Our Western minds think, I will serve the Lord, but I will remain in control as I do it. But whether we like it or not, that’s not how the church began. The church began with Spirit-controlled Christians who yielded themselves to God. That’s radical, yes, but that’s the way the Lord did it.

“Some might say, ‘Yeah, but we’ve improved upon the New Testament style of Christianity.’ If that’s true, I want to see the spiritual fruit our improvements have produced. People may have mocked those first, ‘unsophisticated’ Christians, but thousands got saved in the first four chapters of Acts. The Word of God was treasured. The churches were filled with sacrificial love. A holy excitement pervaded the atmosphere. Have we really improved upon that?”

Oh, how I want that in my life, and in Calvary Assembly of God, and in my city!

If it takes being “unsophisticated” and ridiculed, bring it on, Lord!

I want to be totally Spirit-controlled.

Bring. It. On!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, Cedar Springs, Holy Spirit, Jim Cymbala, Pentecost, quote. Leave a Comment »

Be Pleased To Visit Your Church

June 24, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Several folks have asked me to share the prayer from Charles Spurgeon that I used to open our service this morning.

Dear God,

Be pleased to visit Your Church with the Holy Spirit.

Renew the day of Pentecost in our midst, and in the midst of all gatherings of Your people, may there come the downfall of the holy fire, and the uprising of the heavenly wind.

May matters that are now slow and dead become quick and full of life, and may the Lord Jesus Christ be exalted in the midst of His Church which is His fullness.

May multitudes be converted; may they come flocking to Christ with holy eagerness to find in Him a refuge as the doves fly to their dovecotes.

Amen!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Charles Spurgeon, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, prayer, salvation. Leave a Comment »

Thursdays With Oswald—The New Thinking Of Pentecost

April 5, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

The New Thinking Of Pentecost

Everywhere the charge is made against Christian people, not only the generality of Christians, but really spiritual people, that they think in a very slovenly manner. Very few of us in this present dispensation live up to the privilege of thinking spiritually as we ought. This present dispensation is the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. The majority of us do not think according to the tremendous meaning of that; we think ante-Pentecostal thoughts, the Holy Spirit is not a living factor in our thinking; we have only a vague impression that He is here. Many Christian workers would question the statement that we should ask for the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). The note struck in the New Testament is not ‘Believe in the Holy Spirit,’ but ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ That does not mean the Holy Spirit is not here; it means He is here in all His power, for one purpose, that men who believe in Him might receive Him. So the first thing we have to face is the reception of the Holy Spirit in a practical conscious manner. …

So as Christians we have to ask ourselves, does our faith stand ‘in demonstration of the Spirit and of power’? Have we linked ourselves up with the power of the Holy Spirit, and are we letting Him have His way in our thinking?

From Biblical Ethics

There are two dangerous extremes: (1) We can become so intellectual, that we never ask for the Holy Spirit’s help, or (2) We can become so “spiritual” that we ignore the development of our intellect.

I believe the proper balance is a both-and approach.

In the Old Testament, David asked for the Holy Spirit to search his heart and thoughts (Psalm 139:23-24).
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth (John 16:13), and that He would help us to recall the things we have heard from Christ (John 14:26).
The apostle Paul talked about the Holy Spirit searching our mind and revealing God’s mind to us (1 Corinthians 2:10-16).

(check out all of the above Scriptures by clicking here.)

All of these speak of a partnership. We have to do our part AND we have to listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice. And from personal experience, I’ve found that I think much more clearly and thoroughly when I listen to the Holy Spirit!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, creative thinking, Gospel of John, Gospel of Luke, Holy Spirit, Oswald Chambers, Pentecost, Pentecostal, Psalm, thinking, video. Leave a Comment »

Why Not Here…

October 11, 2011 — Craig T. Owens

…why not now?

Sometimes I get tired of the excuses:

“I would have loved to live when Jesus lived.”
“I remember when church used to be good.”
“I long for the good old days.”

Those are just excuses for why God isn’t moving right here right now. Surely we’re not saying God is somehow limited by a time or place! Charles Spurgeon said it this way,

“God’s power is independent of place. Think ye that there was any sanctity in the upper room at Jerusalem? Behold this room is quite as sacred as that filled by the Spirit in years gone by. Dream not that the city of Jerusalem of old, in the days of the Savior was a more proper theater for divine working than this is; He can make [your city] rejoice even as He did Jerusalem of old. Equally is the divine power independent of time. Do not dream that the ages have changed, so that in this day God cannot do His mighty works.”

I believe God wants to move in Cedar Springs today just as He moved in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. No!! Even more… I believe God wants to do MORE in Cedar Springs!!

Now all glory to God, Who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

I’m living in this expectation: God’s power right here, right now!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Cedar Springs, Charles Spurgeon, Ephesians, God's power, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, revival. Leave a Comment »

Light Us Up

May 19, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

This Sunday, May 23, is a pivotal day for the Church. It’s Pentecost Sunday: the day the promised empowerment from God came upon the first believers and turned them into power-packed dynamos!

Wow, what a day!

But that empowerment is still for all Christians today. Unfortunately far too many people shut the Holy Spirit out of their lives. So I’m chomping at the bit to launch our new series this Sunday: Ignite: The Empowerment Of The Holy Spirit.

There is so much to say, so I’m trying to reign myself in a bit. Hope you can join us at Calvary Assembly of God over the next few Sundays as we talk about how to get lit up by the Spirit of God.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, empowerment, Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Pentecostal, sermon. 1 Comment »

Sharper Thinking

May 29, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday I was challenged to do a lot of thinking. To think about things I’ve not considered before, and to think about things I have considered before but from a different perspective.

Yesterday a fellow pastor convened a Pastor’s Leadership Thinking Lab. The purpose was to use Warren Bullock’s book When The Spirit Speaks as a springboard to talk about the vocal gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation in our church services (see 1 Corinthians 12-14). At the outset, we all reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to our fellowship’s fundamental truths—those were non-negotiable. The challenge was to think about and discuss the practicalities of the how’s in our church services.

It was a bit intimidating being in the room with such smart people. These are guys with way more education and experience than me—guys who have had the privilege of studying and discussing this topic with some of the greatest Pentecostal thinkers of our generation. I felt a little out of place. In fact, during the lunch break, one of my friends commented, “Have you ever felt like that in a roomful of tuxedos you’re the one brown shoe?” My feelings exactly.

But King Solomon wrote, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). The iron of my colleagues definitely sharpened me yesterday.

I also like what John Maxwell said, “Some of my best thinking has been done by others.” In other words, these really smart guys have thought about some things in ways I haven’t; they’ve been exposed to some great thinkers that I haven’t; they’ve experienced some things that I haven’t. But spending the day with them was like getting that education they received, having those conversations with great thinkers they had, and experiencing those things they experienced.

Did I agree with everything that was shared? No.

Was I challenged to think differently? Yes.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, “The truest test of a first-rate mind is the ability to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

If you really want to sharpen your thinking, get around some people smarter than you. Spend time with people who see things differently than you. But most of all, make sure these folks are one in purpose with you. All of the guys in this Lab shared the same passion to see God glorified and people drawn into a deeper relationship with Jesus. That’s what made yesterday so rewarding for me.

Do you have some “iron” friends in your life that are sharpening your thinking?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Corinthians, Assembly of God, church, F. Scott Fizgerald, friends, Holy Spirit, John Maxwell, lifelong learner, Pentecost, proverbs, quotes, Solomon, thinking. 7 Comments »

Heritage & Legacy

November 21, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

My heritage will be their legacy

Heritage (hěr’ĭ-tĭj): something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth.

I’ve been reading today about the early history of the Assemblies of God, so I’ve been thinking about my own heritage. I am blessed to be the son of A/G Pentecostal parents; and both of my parents come from Pentecostal A/G parents too, as well as two Pentecostal great-grandmothers. That makes me a fourth-generation “holy roller”! But the definition of heritage says that just came to me by reason of my birth; in other words, I had nothing to do with making that happen.

Legacy (lěg’ə-sē): anything handed down from the past.

Whereas I had nothing to do with my heritage, I have everything to do with the legacy I leave behind. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2).

Mom & Dad, thanks for the heritage you have entrusted to me. You have helped make me into the man I am today.

Harrison, Samantha & Brandon, with God helping me I promise to do my very best to leave you a legacy that will make you proud to be fifth-generation Pentecostals. May you be so equipped with my heritage to raise up the sixth generation of Pentecostals in our family!