sermon | Craig T. Owens

March 2026
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Altared To Be Altered

June 24, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

I love this verse from Isaiah: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). This foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit in the life of a Christian is powerful.

The Voice can be an audible voice, but not always. Sometimes the Holy Spirit says, “This is the way” through different modes. Things like:

Discernment. This is the Spirit’s help when we would normally rely on our own common sense (see Acts 5:3 and Acts 16:6-7).
Prompts. These motivate us to do something productive (Acts 8:29).
Checks. The flip side of promptings, these checks are to stop us from doing something unproductive (Acts 10:9-20).

But here’s an important thing to remember: The Voice of the Holy Spirit is not perceived by those people intent on doing things their own way. The Voice may be speaking, but those people are simply not tuned-in. The individuals that hear the Voice saying, “This is the way” are those who are determined to obey what the Voice says to them.

In Romans 12, Paul says that as our act of spiritual worship we lay our lives on the altar: we give up trying to control our own lives. He goes on to say that when we do this, we will quickly discover what God’s good, perfect and pleasing will is. In other words, we will be receptive to His Voice leading us into His perfect plan for us. So the Holy Spirit can direct us only after we’ve given up trying to direct our own affairs. Or said another way—

I altar my life, and the Holy Spirit will alter my life

“Oh, this baptism of the Holy Spirit is an inward presence of the personality of God that lifts, prays, takes hold, and lives in us with a tranquility of peace and power that rests and says, ‘It is all right.’ …Oh, this God of grace! Oh, this willingness for God to let us see His face! Oh, this longing of my soul that cannot be satisfied without more of God!” —Smith Wigglesworth

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: altar, Calvary Assembly of God, Holy Spirit, obedience, sermon, Smith Wigglesworth. Leave a Comment »

The Holy Spirit’s Power

June 23, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Here are some of the quotes I used in my message this morning…

“The Holy Spirit is not a luxury, not something added now and again to produce a deluxe type of Christian once in a generation. No, He is for every child of God a vital necessity, and that He fill and indwell His people is more than a languid hope. It is rather an inescapable imperative.” —A.W. Tozer

“There is nothing so still and gentle as the checks of the Holy Spirit if they are yielded to, emancipation is the result; but let them be trifled with, and there will come a hardening of the life away from God. Don’t quench the Spirit. … Guard as your greatest gift the anointing of the Holy Spirit.” —Oswald Chambers

“Jesus doesn’t say we will baptized with the Holy Spirit and power (see Acts 1:8), but that we will be baptized with the Holy Spirit AS power. There’s a huge difference! It means we will have everything we need to always overcome, to never be at a loss!” —CTO

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: A.W. Tozer, Calvary Assembly of God, Christian, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Oswald Chambers, power, quotes, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Broken And Poured Out

June 7, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor, do you preach your sermons to yourself? You should, because you need to hear the Word of God more than your congregation does!

If you are going to speak the living Word of God to others, you need to be a pure vessel for God’s use. You need to allow the Holy Spirit to break you and pour you out. Consider these words from Smith Wigglesworth—

You cannot take people into the depths of God unless you have been broken yourself. … God wants to bring you forth as a flame of fire with a message from God, with a truth that will disturb the powers of satan, and with an unlimited supply for every needy soul.

How important it is for all God’s ministers to be continually in prayer and constantly feeding on the Scriptures of Truth. … None of you can be strong in God unless you are diligently and constantly listening to what God has to say to you through His Word. You cannot know the power and the nature of God unless you partake of His inbreathed Word.

Oh, if I could only stir you up to see that, as you are faithful in the humblest role, God can fill you with His Spirit, make you a chosen vessel for Himself, and promote you to a place of mighty ministry in the salvation of souls and in the healing of the sick. Nothing is impossible to a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The possibilities are beyond all human comprehension. When you are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, God will wonderfully work wherever you go.

(From his book On Healing, emphasis added)

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: Bible, Holy Spirit, humility, minister, pastors, preaching, sermon, Smith Wigglesworth. Leave a Comment »

Counterfeit Or Authentic Spirituality?

June 3, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Charles Spurgeon said, “It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but satan’s work is just the opposite of this.”

Oswald Chambers said it even more succinctly: “satan counterfeits the Holy Spirit.”

It’s true that whenever there is an authentic move of the Holy Spirit, satan will try to pervert it or counterfeit it. He wants Christians disempowered, so he will do all that is within his power to get us off track, especially in regard to the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. That’s why Scripture tells us, “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, NLT)

Did you know that the Secret Service―who is tasked with tracking down those who counterfeit U.S. currency―spends more time studying authentic currency than they do counterfeit currency. Why is that? Because there are many ways to make a counterfeit bill, but only one way to make the genuine article! So these agents spend so much time handling and studying the authentic, that they can spot a fraud in a split second.

If we are going to test everything related to the Holy Spirit, we don’t need to focus on all of the counterfeit displays, but simply get to know the authentic. Here are six authenticating proofs we can look for to know the baptism of the Holy Spirit in our lives is genuine.

Our live are producing better quality and more fruit

When you bear much fruit, My Father is honored and glorified, and you show and prove yourselves to be true followers of Mine. (John 15:8, AMP)

We are experiencing empowered spontaneous ministry

Notice in the first Pentecostal church how the Spirit-baptized Christians just did ministry whenever and wherever (see Acts 2:42-47 and 4:32-37). They didn’t form committees or discuss strategies; they just did what needed to be done to make Jesus known.

We have an increased sensitivity to sin

Things bother us now that didn’t bother us before, because we don’t want there to be anything in our lives that strains our relationship with God (see Galatians 5:16-25).

There’s a noticeable growth in our spiritual maturity

In Acts 4:8-13 the religious leadership was astounded at how Peter and John showed spiritual maturity beyond their training. The Holy Spirit helped them to pull out and apply Scripture to the circumstances they faced.

We experience greater sensitivity to God’s promptings

In Acts 16:6-7, we see the Holy Spirit stopped Paul and his companions from preaching the gospel. He was directing them to the perfect time and place for their ministry. This reminds me of the Old Testament promise: “Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a Voice will say, ‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21)

We have a greater desire to tell others about Jesus

The Holy Spirit empowers us to tell more and more people about Jesus with greater boldness than we had before (Acts 1:8 and 4:31).

Don’t worry about trying to study the fakes. Get to know the authentic move of the Holy Spirit, and you will have no problem knowing what a genuine move of the Spirit looks like!

I am continuing my series called Come Holy Spirit this upcoming Sunday. If you are in the area, I would love to have you join me.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Calvary Assembly of God, Charles Spurgeon, fruitful, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, maturity, ministry, Oswald Chambers, Pentecost, sermon, witnessing. 2 Comments »

Filled Or Baptized?

May 27, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Imagine I took a trip to the eastern seaboard of the United States, and I spent much of my time there walking along the shore in awe of the majesty of the Atlantic Ocean. When it came time for me to head home, I wanted to find something that would be a lasting memento of my time at the beach, so I took a glass bottle out into the surf and filled it with salty Atlantic Ocean water.

I now have the ocean in a bottle.

But showing my small bottle to a friend who had never seen the Atlantic Ocean for himself and trying to convey to him the majesty and splendor of this powerful ocean would be a pitiful experience.

Yes, my bottle contains some of the Atlantic Ocean. But it is limited, while the ocean is nearly limitless. The water in my bottle is tame, compared to the wild strength of the pounding Atlantic surf. The water in my bottle is stagnant, while the Atlantic is constantly moving and churning.

My bottle contains the ocean. But what if the ocean contained my bottle?

This is an good example of someone who is merely filled with the Holy Spirit (the Spirit in their bottle) versus someone who is baptized with the Holy Spirit (their life immersed in the ocean of the Spirit).

At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit enters the bottle of our lives as a deposit of our assurance of salvation and eternal life. But it is limited and tame, and can become stagnant if we’re not careful. But when someone is baptized in the Holy Spirit—when the bottle of their life is plunged into the limitless resources of the Spirit—a new power and effectiveness is released.

After His resurrection Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” But before His ascension, Jesus instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted more for them … and He wants more for you too!

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Christ intended for it to be the normal state of a healthy Christian! Are you baptized in the Spirit, or are you content with merely being filled with the Spirit? I pray that you will allow your bottle to be plunged deep!

I am continuing my series called Come Holy Spirit next Sunday. Please join me!

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Atlantic Ocean, baptism, Calvary Assembly of God, filled, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Pentecostal, sermon. 2 Comments »

Ministers Are Standard-Bearers

May 17, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Pastor, this is a challenging word to us all…

“Your sermon on Sabbath lasts but an hour or two; your life preaches all the week. Remember, ministers are standard-bearers. satan aims his fiery darts at them. If he can only make you a covetous minister, or a lover of pleasure, or a lover of praise, or a lover of good eating, then he has ruined your ministry forever. Ah! Let him preach on fifty years, he will never do me any harm. Dear brother, cast yourself at the feet of Christ, implore His Spirit to make you a holy man. Take heed to yourself and to your doctrine.”

—Robert Murray McCheyne

Posted in Pastoring. Tags: Holy Spirit, humility, integrity, Jesus Christ, ministry, pastoring, pastors, personal holiness, Robert Murray McCheyne, sermon. Leave a Comment »

Come Holy Spirit

May 14, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

The Bible is so full of the amazing promises that come when we allow the Holy Spirit to move in our lives. Things like…

Anointing for service
Empowerment for telling other about Jesus
Answering those who criticize the gospel
Praying more intimately
Wisdom
Growing in Christlike character
Insight into difficult situations
Discernment
Creativity where there was stagnation
And on and on and on

With all of the blessings that come with the Holy Spirit’s move in our lives, why wouldn’t we pray more frequently, “Come Holy Spirit”?

Beginning this Sunday I will be talking about some of the roles the Holy Spirit plays in the lives of Christians. I hope you can join me each week at Calvary Assembly of God.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: anointing, Calvary Assembly of God, Christlike, creativity, criticism, discernment, empowerment, Holy Spirit, Pentecostal, prayer, sermon, wisdom. Leave a Comment »

Smith Wigglesworth On Healing (book review)

May 6, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

Whenever I read Smith Wigglesworth’s sermons, my faith is challenged to reach farther than it’s ever reached before! In this collection of messages entitled Smith Wigglesworth On Healing, once again I found myself wanting so much more of God!

Wigglesworth didn’t write his books, he preached them. This plumber-turned-preacher was one of the most faith-filled dynamos I’ve ever heard from. On page after page he confronted me with how much more there is to experience in my relationship with God, and then backed it up with his own personal experiences. In this particular book, the focus is on people who were physically healed (including Wigglesworth himself) from diseases which perplexed doctors. Time and again I found myself saying, “Yes! I want to see this today!”

If you want to give your faith a boost to believe God for miracles, I can think of no better preacher to read than Smith Wigglesworth.

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: book review, faith, healing, miracles, preaching, sermon, Smith Wigglesworth. 2 Comments »

Act Or Attitude?

May 6, 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.

Yesterday morning I showed my congregation this verse: As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another… (1 Peter 4:10 KJV). I then asked them, “What do you think of when you see the word minister in this verse?” The first answer given was “pastor.” Others said things like “encourager” and “helper.”

Then I shared that the Greek word for minister is the word from which we get deacon. I then asked them what deacon made them think of. They answered “administrator” and “leader.”

But the closest definition to what we have today for that Greek word is waiter or waitress. The NIV tries to capture this thought when it translates the same verse: Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others….

Serving is not something that comes naturally to most people, as typically we prefer to be served.

In biblical times, a disciple was always very devoted to his rabbi. The disciple would serve almost in the role of a servant to his rabbi.

Almost.

Even the rabbis didn’t requite their disciples to remove their sandals, because it was considered so menial and demeaning to the disciple. So foot washing was reserved for the lowliest of servants.

Then along comes Jesus who knows that God has placed all authority under Him (John 13:3), who uses His authority to take on the lowest of lowliest positions: a foot-washer. As He finishes washing, He says, “Now that you’ve seen Me do this, you need to do the same thing: Be the humblest of servants.”

In our culture, most people don’t need to have their feet washed when they come into your home or a restaurant, like they did in first century Israel. It is not the act that is important, but the attitude. Jesus stooped to wash His disciples’ feet. He made Himself lower than anyone else in the room. Jesus showed us that there was nothing beneath Him.

I’ve heard this before: “How do you know you have a servant’s attitude? When you don’t mind that someone treats you like a servant.”

But I think a better question might be: “Do I think anything (or anyone) is beneath me?” If I do, my attitude is not Christ-like (Philippians 2:5-7), nor is it Christ-blessable (John 13:17).

Jesus calls us to be servants—to be waiters and waitresses to others. This will show the love of Jesus like nothing else can.

Check out all of the other messages in our series Live Together by clicking here.

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Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: attitude, Calvary Assembly of God, deacon, Gospel of John, Jesus Christ, minister, Philippians, sermon, servant, serve, waiter, waitress. 2 Comments »

Servanthood

May 5, 2013 — Craig T. Owens

This morning we wrapped up our series called Life Together—where we looked at the one another phrases in the New Testament that related to the Church—with the thought of serving one another.

I think this 1-minute video from John Maxwell captures this thought about servanthood well…

From The Personalized Promise Bible we looked at this prayer that comes from the servanthood example of Jesus in John 13:13-17—

Jesus is my Mentor and the Lord of my life. He has left me an example of the greatest servitude the world has ever known. I will do as he did and wash the feet of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I will see the real good and benefit of others through humble service. With a tender heart of compassion, I will take the time to do good to those around me. Through this generosity of service and willingness to give of myself to others, no matter how humbling the service may be, I store up for myself favor upon favor, and blessing upon blessing.