Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us for today's Power Walk Ministries broadcast. We're so glad that you've tuned in to join us today as Reverend Paul Cannings continues with the series titled "Why Church?". Why church when it might seem more convenient to stay at home and watch sermons online?

Reverend Cannings urges us to look to our answer in God's Word and learn His purposes for assembling together in our local churches. Let's listen to Dr. Cannings' message titled "Being the Church."

Dr. Paul Cannings: Why church? Why not just stay at the house now, get a nice cup of coffee, a bagel, and relax and watch church? Why even get up and go anymore? Found a way to do all of this virtually. Don't even go to the movie theater no more; same way, so I could just stay at home and get the same movie that's in the theaters now. So why not do church the same way? That's where we are today.

But there's no person who goes to work every day to twiddle their fingers and then pick up a check. No, people go to work because there's a productive result that's expected. No one goes to work, whether it's driving a bus or flying a plane, without seeking to arrive at a destination. And there's a lot of people behind that bus and behind that plane to make it fly and land, and that bus to arrive where it's going productively. See, this is why when we talk about church, it can't be just virtual.

Because God did not design the church for us to just sing and be happy and encouraged and feel like, "Okay, now I love the Lord and I'm giving, so everything is wonderful and I can go out about my life and make sure I do what's right and go to heaven." That is not what God created the church to be. He didn't create it as a place for us to have entertainment. As a matter of fact, there was very little entertainment, if any, in the New Testament church.

They came together—that's why the benediction was there—there was persecution. There were people attacking it. There were folks going before in arenas with lions eating them. So the benediction was a way of providing a blessing, trusting that God will keep them safe and honor that prayer. There are people that are broken and hurting. Like I've said earlier, people are still committing suicide. There are people who are emotionally distressed. There are people who are hurting in terms of being able to function. And guess what the church is about? Encouragement. That hits emotions.

Renewing the mind so that the powerful Word of God can be a sword of the Spirit that guides them through any difficulty by providing them wisdom, providing them knowledge, providing them understanding, so that they're not using logic and reason and politics to figure out what to do. Church affects the person not just emotionally, but also spiritually, where the person now when they're growing spiritually, it doesn't matter if it's a lion's den, it doesn't matter how difficult the situation may be, it doesn't steal their peace, their joy, their strength for long-suffering and kindness when people are ugly.

So when we come to this organism—not just an organization here, but an organism, because it's the body of Christ—when we come to that, there's a purpose in it. It's not just for us. That's why we said earlier on in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 23 through verse 26, "Go to stimulate one another to love and good deeds." Spiritual gifts that we defined is for the benefit of the body. That's what he was saying in 1 Peter: He has given each person a gift, employ it, because it's work to do. Ephesians chapter 4, verse 13: "Go do work of service to impact the body of Christ so that each part is built up for the glory of God."

1 Peter chapter 4, verse 10 through 11 will explain to us, so that we are strong and find strength in God. "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him do as to the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever, amen." It's for to produce lifting Christ up so that He will draw all men unto Him.

We're going to let this body become what is designed to be, and that is the very nature of who Christ is being manifested to the world each and every day so that when people say, "Well, what is Jesus doing?", it is not a question anymore because the product that is produced is this Christ that is manifested in this collective group of people that are impacting the community and the world and everybody that walks through the doors.

And that's why in this port city, this diverse city in Corinth, with much division in the church, this dysfunctional church, he says to them in verse five, "There are differences of administrations." What does he mean by administrations? The differences in administrations—because he's constantly talking about there is a variety of things—you got diversity, verse four; differences, verse five; and he's going to say diversity again in verse six. Again, I spent time on that when we were talking about these differences because many times in churches, we're trying our best for everybody to like the same things.

Some churches are just even upset if people are not a part of the same political party. If that's what makes us unified, we have issues. The Bible is not talking about those things that make us unified that are secular things. God doesn't need political parties in heaven. He is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. So when we are coming to this whole process, we have to accept that things will be different. There'll be people who have the gift of teaching, they'll be people who have the gift of wisdom, they'll be people who have the gift of helps, people have the gift of intercession, and we all need one another.

So God gives people an ability to go do a job. Ecclesiastes tells us when they enjoy what they're doing, that's their lot. That's why the Bible is saying work to eat. In their culture, if they don't work, they don't eat because they plant to eat. They take out animals to eat. So the Bible is saying, yes, you have to manage your home. You have to be a provider. So those things take care of being a provider. Those things take care of salt and light going out into the world, salting the world because they're in a job setting working every day.

So the Bible is finding that to be the reason that He allows the person to be effective for their family and for the Kingdom of God once they disperse from the church. But it doesn't mean when they bring that ability, it automatically operates within the local church. He's saying, "No, no, no, that's a decision that God makes." We said here in 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 10 through 11, that's a decision that God makes right here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 4 through verse 7, because the Spirit of God determines what gift takes place.

Because He comes into our lives, He's poured into our lives at the point of salvation. When He's poured into our lives at the point of salvation, He brings with that pouring, Titus chapter 4, verse 4 through 8, He brings with that pouring in spiritual gifts. Some people may have two, some may have one. But it doesn't matter because He tells us not to compare ourselves among ourselves in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 12. So when we come here, it says diversity and there's an administration. So the administration here literally has to do with the world of priestly service. It could also be interpreted as ministries. There's differences of ministries.

Okay, so a gift of wisdom goes to elders. A gift of wisdom could go to a counseling ministry. A gift of wisdom could go to somebody who may not be a counselor, but that person may be somebody who, when people walk forward in church on Sunday, they may provide them advice and counsel on that Sunday because they may not come back for counseling. That person may be there for that. A gift of service could be a person who helps those that are weak, those that are broken, providing food and cloth. It could be as a gift that definitely a deacon needs.

So what he's saying is these spiritual gifts end up developing ministries. That's why it's so critical at Living Word when I'm developing these things. I was saying, "No, no, no, we can't develop a ministry where there's no spiritual gift." Because then we just develop a work to do. We got a good deed we're doing, but it's not the work of the ministry. The work of the ministry has to find with it spiritual gifts because that's the empowering. And here's the key thing: that's what leads to the unity of the body. Watch this carefully: but the same Lord.

Even though that ministry, for instance, a person who may have the gift of service sings, because there's no gift of singing. But when the person is singing but they have the gift of service, they sing and bless people because that gift is pouring through them to somebody else. Singing is an ability. That's why a person in the world can sing and knock your socks off, because they have an ability to sing. The person in the church has a singing attached to a spiritual gift of service, a gift of wisdom, a gift of encouragement.

You got all of these different ministries operating and functioning within a local church. There's tons of them. Gift of discipleship, a person gifted in teaching and helping to shape the lives of people. Because teaching in the Bible is not just giving out information. Teaching in the Bible has to do with the person was going in one direction, they thought they were going right, but it's obviously they're going wrong, and the person gave them the right directions so they turn out to be right and the person achieves what they're trying to get to and therefore the person was helped. That's what teaching in the Bible means, didaskó. It's to shape the life of the person to go in a direction they wouldn't otherwise go.

And that's why teaching them to be disciples is critical in the scriptures. So when you have all these different dynamics taking place in the church body, but if there's no cohesiveness about it, where the Lord is determining how it all operates based on His Word—Lord, Word—He runs everything, He's the head of the church. Then there's no cohesive nature of this body because everybody is doing their thing, but they're not doing it for the collective purpose of producing the character of Christ in the life of each person.

Because when the character of Christ is developed in the life of each person, now you have Christ in the home as a husband. You have church in the home for a wife. You have a child in the home that would listen to their parents, and their life will be long in the land. You have people who go out and they're salt and light to the world, salting the world because they're in a job setting working every day. You have people who find strength for long-suffering. They got people who can have peace in their home, not violence and anarchy in their homes because of stress, because their peace that surpass understanding will guide their hearts and their minds in Christ Jesus.

They can still have joy in their home and they could rejoice and again I say rejoice. And when they're anxious, they will learn to pray and they could find intercessors in the local church to keep them going. They're not totally wiped out because people can give them wisdom and counsel and advice, and they can make it through whatever they're dealing with. We are walking in the light as He's in the light, and what we have is fellowship with one another. We have a cohesive group of people functioning for the glory of God.

Christ is leading and the character of Christ is pouring out of people. So Christ is lifted up, people are drawn to this person who gives them love, kindness, strength, and power. And they're drawn and want to know: who is this Christ? Because the church is being the church. That can't happen with us doing virtual and when we stay at the house. It can't happen that way in order for it to be effective. And that's why the Bible says, "Do not neglect the assembling of yourselves together as is the habit of some," in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 22 through verse 26. So I challenge you in the name of Jesus: we need to be the church. Stay focused.

Guest (Male): Thank you, Dr. Cannings. While it's about following a scriptural mandate, it's also about community. The church is the only organism put in place by Christ of which He is the head, through which He wants to fulfill His agenda. Now if you're just joining us today for this series called "Why Church?", please visit us online at powerwalkministries.org, where you'll be able to obtain the entire series.

Dr. Paul Cannings: I would love for you to go to our website at powerwalkministries.org, powerwalkministries.org. We have a new book out on prayer, *When You Pray*, and it finishes that sentence throughout the book. And I know you will be blessed. We've put a lot of work into that. New book coming out, *When We Pray*. So thank you so much for being a part of powerwalkministries.org, powerwalkministries.org.

Guest (Male): Also, if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and would like to speak to us, call us at 281-260-7402. Again, that's 281-260-7402. And remember, while there may be many challenges even within our churches, may we strive to keep unity, work in peace, and be the salt and light in our world that God calls us to be.