Calvary Assembly of God

If you missed part 4 in our series on the book of Ephesians, here is a recap from our pastor’s blog.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie Elf is when Buddy is discovering all the amazing human things in New York City. In a public restroom he stands up on the toilet in his stall to shout to the person occupying the stall next to him, “Have you seen these toilets? They’re ginormous!” It was so amazing to him that gigantic wouldn’t cut it, and neither would enormous, so he combined them together … it’s ginormous!!

When I read Paul’s prayer for the Christians in Ephesus (see Ephesians 1:17-23), I get the sense that even the well-educated apostle was having difficulty finding enough adjectives to describe the amazing inheritance we have in Christ. He mentions things like…

• Out-of-this-world wisdom,
• divine revelation,
• deep and intimate knowledge of God,
• a flooding of heavenly light,
• supernatural hope, and
• an overflowing, incalculable, inestimable, eternally-compounding inheritance!

But then he comes to God’s power and his vocabulary almost fails him. Like Buddy the elf, he starts putting words together to try to convey the vast majesty of this power.

Most Bible translations say something like incomparably great power. But when you look at the Greek you see prefixes like hyper! and mega! and you realize that Paul is saying it’s so beyond gigantic or enormous … it’s ginormous!!

The word for power is “dynamis,” and many people have said that God’s power is like dynamite. But they have it exactly backwards! Dynamite has only been around for 200 years. When dynamite was created it was named after Christians who were living in the hyper-mega, ginormous, dynamic power of Jesus Christ. Christians’ power wasn’t named after dynamite; dynamite was named after empowered Christians!

This is the power in which Christians can live everyday in every way! This is the power God has for you! If you’re living in anything less than hyper-mega dynamite power, perhaps you should pray for yourself the prayer that Paul prayed for us!

We’ll be continuing our series in Ephesians this coming Sunday, and we’d love for you to join us.

Hey, Calvary Assembly of God, how did you do on your 1:one:(12) challenge for February? Hopefully you got your 1 in! Whether you did nor not, March is here, so get started on your 1 for this month. There are always lots of great things happening every month—like our series on the book of Ephesians: Sit Walk Stand—so go get your 1!

For our guests that may not know what 1:one:(12) is all about… just ask us!

If you missed part 3 of our series on Ephesians, you missed an exciting message. Here’s a recap from our pastor’s blog.

We have been working through our series on the Book of Ephesians, and I am so excited to share the speaking responsibilities with Tom Kaastra. Tom pastored a church in the Detroit area for nearly 40 years, and he is bringing such a richness of knowledge to this series!

“If you had one son in whom you found unspeakable delight, would it not be normal as a father to want many more? It is exactly so with the Eternal Father, Who by nature and choice, has desired and purposed to have a vast family of human-divine sons who are just like His Only Begotten Son.” —DeVern Fromke

The opening section of Ephesians 1 is just loaded with words of God’s delight:

• …it gave Him great pleasure… (v. 5)
• …the glorious grace He has poured out on us… (v. 6)
• …He is so rich in kindness and grace… (v. 7)
• …He has showered His kindness on us… (v. 8)
• …His own good pleasure… (v. 9)

Not only is God’s delight so ample in this section, but so is be the praise toward God which should be bursting out from us:

• …all praise to God… (v. 3)
• …so we praise God… (v. 6)
• …we bring praise and glory to God… (v. 12)
• …we would praise and glorify Him… (v. 14)

What is this thing in which God is so delighted, and for which we should be so filled with praise?

It is quite simply this: God has revealed Himself to us as a loving Father, His Son has made it possible for us to come into God’s family, and the Holy Spirit has given us the assurance that we have been adopted by our Heavenly Father.

That’s right … God’s plan was to adopt you into His family. When did He come up with this idea?

• …before He made the world… (v. 4)
• …God decided in advance to adopt us… (v. 5)
• …a plan to fulfill His own good pleasure… (v. 9)
• …He choose us in advance and He makes everything work out according to His plan… (v. 11)
• …He promised long ago… (v. 13)

God loves YOU so much that He had a plan from before the beginning of time to adopt YOU into His family. That’s what Jesus made possible through His death on the Cross, and what the Holy Spirit is constantly trying to reveal to YOU!! WOW!!

Please join us next Sunday as we continue our study on this amazing book in the Bible.

If you missed part 2 of our series Sit Walk Stand: A Study In The Book Of Ephesians, here is a recap from our pastor’s blog.

My friend Chuck and I have a sort of shorthand when we talk. We’ve been through so many experiences together, that now just a single word can bring to our minds the fullness of that time, with all of its tears and laughter. Someone listening to one of our conversations might not get the full impact, but we sure do!

It’s the same way when we read one of the Apostle Paul’s letters. He is writing to a church or an individual with whom he had a rich, personal experience. So when he alludes to something, those friends who went through that experience with him recall all of the fullness. When reading the letter to the church at Ephesus, you can experience some of that fullness by reading about Paul’s experience in that city in Acts 19.

In Acts 19 you will meet the followers of Jesus who were already there and see them get baptized in the Holy Spirit … watch Paul teach for three months in the synagogue before the Jewish troublemakers run him out … see Paul lecture for the next three years in the Hall of Tyrannus, so that everyone in that province heard the Word of God … see how God authenticated Paul’s ministry with miracles … experience those who tried to counterfeit what Paul was doing … see many in that city turn from their witchcraft and idol worship … and finally experience the tumult of a near-riot started by the merchants who were losing their income on sales of mythological trinkets because so many were turning to Christ.

With this backdrop, you can then understand why Paul uses such specific language in the opening greeting of his letter to Ephesus (see Ephesians 1:1-3). By doing so he is contrasting the followers of Jesus with the followers of Artemis—

• Christians for whom God has a specific plan (“by the will of God” [1:1a]; see also 1:4 and 2:10) versus Artemis’ followers who felt like they had no choice (Acts 19:26).
• Christians who are called saints (set apart for God’s special use) and faithful (trusting Jesus implicitly [1:1b]) versus those followers of Artemis who are self-serving (Acts 19:24, 25).
• Christians who experience God’s grace and peace (1:2) versus those followers of Artemis who did not even know why they were there (Acts 19:32).

But the most specific language is in Ephesians 1:3—Praise be to THE God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (emphasis added)….

• Not “a” god, but “THE” God.
• Not a god that needs to be appeased, but THE loving Father.
• Not a god that may or may not be able to respond, but OUR Lord Jesus Christ Who overcame death, hell and the grave so that our sins can be forgiven!

The question Paul invites the Ephesians to consider is the same question we must consider:

What God / god will you choose?

We will be continuing our study on the book of Ephesians next Sunday, and I would love to have you join us!

We are big fans of the En Gedi Youth Center. They are doing an amazing job of providing a safe and nurturing place for our students every day after school.

Currently En Gedi is providing their after-school services to students in 6th through 8th grades. High school students have been involved, but in leadership positions. Now En Gedi is expanding into the high school to provide after-school opportunities for those students as well.

En Gedi is fully funded by the donations from individuals, churches, and businesses. They only have one big fundraiser every year, which is coming up on Friday, March 21, with their fundraising auction. We are encouraging everyone to participate in this auction. Tickets are $10, which will give you access to all of the great items up for bid. You can purchase your tickets in advance (see Pastor Craig), or at the door. You can get more information by clicking here.

Let’s do all we can to support this amazing after-school ministry!

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.

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.”

Pastor Craig says, “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.

This Sunday we will be honoring Sanctity of Human Life Month. This post is from our pastor’s blog.

“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. We would love for you to join us!

This is an encouraging word from our pastor’s blog! You can read more encouraging posts from him by clicking here.

My friend, God is fully aware of the situation you are facing. He knows what is happening in your life. Here’s the good news—the great news: you are not going down, but you are going through!

“What does God want from you in your difficult time? He wants you to believe His Word—His promises! He wants you to fully trust that He is with you in your struggle. It does not matter if all hell is coming at you, His presence will never be taken from you, even in the midst of your fears and tears. No dart of the devil—no powerful attack against you—will destroy you. Your Father already has a plan of deliverance in place. God is waiting for you to cling to Him in blind trust. He wants you to be able to face all your ferocious temptations, and say, ‘I may not understand this but I know my Lord will not forsake me. I am trusting Him to see me through!’ … God is saying, ‘You’re not going down. I am with you through all of this! If you will just seek My face and trust Me, I will bring you through—because I am always with you!’” —David Wilkerson

In Hebrews 13:5 God says, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”

But in English this isn’t quite strong enough. In this short phrase the Greek language uses five negatives. Let me try to state God’s words as they are literally written—

I will never, certainly not, by no means ever loosen My grip on you, and I will never, certainly not, by no means ever leave you behind, nor leave you helpless, nor leave you abandoned.

Commenting on this verse, Charles Spurgeon wrote—

“This priceless Scripture does not promise us exemption from trouble, but it does secure us against desertion. We may be called to traverse strange ways, but we shall always have our Lord’s company, assistance, and provision. … Come, my heart; if God says He will never leave you nor forsake you, be much in prayer for grace that you may never leave the Lord, nor even for a moment forsake His ways.”

Oh my, what a word of hope! God has not abandoned you, friend. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that He is close to the brokenhearted and the beat-up. He will never, certainly not, by no means ever leave you, so don’t leave Him but cling even more tightly to His unshakable promise!

This is from our pastor’s blog. You can read his daily posts by clicking here.

His heavens shall drop down dew (Deuteronomy 33:28).

“What the dew in the East is to the world of nature, that is the influence of the Spirit in the realm of grace. How greatly do I need it! Without the Spirit of God I am a dry and withered thing. I droop, I fade, I die. How sweetly does this dew refresh me!” (Charles Spurgeon)

May you find the refreshment of the dew of God’s Holy Spirit today!