Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us for today's Power Walk Ministries with Pastor Paul Cannings. Today we begin the series titled Tap In. We've all witnessed so many tragedies in our country lately, between the fires and the plane accidents and so many more. Besides the national grief we bear, we have our own individual personal problems as well.

In this series, Pastor Cannings takes us to 2 Corinthians Chapter 3. Through Paul's testimony, he encourages us to put our confidence in God as we go through these trials. Let's listen now as he brings us the message Confident Assurance.

Dr. Paul Cannings: It is easy when we look at this world and all that is taking place in this world to think that God is just absent, he's just not concerned about what's taking place. Not too long ago, you had people on a plane just getting ready to land and going on a routine flight, and they're no longer here.

Folks in California not too long ago had a home one day, and in just seconds, minutes, hours, it was gone—everything they've spent their lives working for. Many people are sometimes just living their lives and then they find out they have terminal cancer and they have to manage that. Sometimes you wonder, "God, are you absent? Are you silent? Are you unconcerned about what is taking place in our lives?"

For the next few days, I would like to explain to us: how do we tap in to what's already there? It's not that God is not there; it's not that he's not concerned, especially when things in our lives can be horrific or tragic issues happen. But when it comes to this life of Christ and being in this life of Christ and experiencing it, whether the tragic things take place or horrific things happen, at least we are in this process of walking with Christ.

How do we tap into that? He doesn't promise us that life will always be a rose garden every day. He does not say that to the disciples who he discipled for three years, and sometimes people would say three and a half years. He would say to them in John 16:33, "You will have much tribulation."

He doesn't promise us that everything is going to be fine. The Bible talks about all of the tragic things that would take place in Matthew Chapter 24 in these last days. They don't prevent them. He told Paul his ministry would be very difficult. In Acts Chapter 19, he would have a terrible ministry experience in terms of difficult life experiences, and he sure did.

Paul would list them for us: 39 lashes, imprisonment five times, shipwreck three times. He goes down the list, so he counted it loss, meaning he reckoned with everything he had achieved in his life and had to say, "In order to strive towards Christ, I have to count it loss," in Philippians Chapter 3.

As we go into this process of how we tap in, it's critical. He hasn't promised us a rose garden every day. How do we tap in so that we end up like a person like Paul, who would say, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain"? The struggles of this present time don't compare to the glory to be revealed. Paul would say, "I've learned to be anxious about nothing."

How does he get there? How do you become like David: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want"? I shall not lack anything, no matter what I go through, no matter what difficulties I face, I don't lack anything because the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

When we face life issues, how do we tap in? That's what we're going to focus on this week. We're going to turn to a passage in 2 Corinthians Chapter 3, and we'll work our way through verse 4 through verse 6. Because of the time that we have, I like to take our time through a passage rather than do a bunch of them.

Maybe it's a message that the Lord uses to touch your life. The Holy Spirit is your teacher, so he determines what will impact your heart and your life because the Spirit of God connects with your spirit to illuminate the word of God and then convict us to grow in it and to walk in it so that we grow closer to Christ. That's what God does once this message is presented.

If we do a little piece at a time, as we eat a meal, you still have to take one bite at a time. Let us look at verse 4. In verse 4 of 2nd Corinthians Chapter 3, this is what we find: "And such trust have we through Christ toward God." It sounds like a very simple verse, but he is literally breaking that verse down, and if you think of Paul's life, that verse has a whole lot in it.

He says, "For such trust we have in God." What is this "such trust" we have in God? In verse 1, he leads us into this process. It actually starts out in Chapter 1 verse 1, and then you look at Chapter 2, you see all these different things. In verse 1 of Chapter 3, he says, "Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. Furthermore, as we manifestly declare to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but in fleshly tablets of our hearts."

For such trust, in other words, here's what Paul is saying. I wanted to read that to you so you get context. What Paul is saying is, "We're serving you." To the folks in 2nd Corinthians, he's writing to defend his ministry. People are attacking him and saying he did things with the money and that Paul is not a true apostle. They got his background thrown in his face and said therefore he couldn't be a true apostle since he didn't physically walk with Christ. There are preachers in the church of Corinth that are attacking him and they're believing in those people.

Paul is now certifying his ministry based on what is taking place in their lives, what has happened, and how God has effectively developed his ministry to impact the lives of people. Don't forget what Christ would say: only good can come from God. Whatever is going to spiritually benefit somebody's life, help a person to understand the scriptures more effectively, help a person to grow spiritually to the point where the character of Christ is bigger than their character, could only happen from God. That's what Christ would say.

Paul is saying, "You can look at the script that we gave you in terms of how we operated with you, how we served you, how effectively we did what we did." In Chapter 9, he would say, "I didn't even come to you demanding that you pay me a certain amount of money like some other people did." Paul says, "I came with a commitment to make a difference in your life," and he says, "That should have been written on your heart. You see the results of it." He says, "We trust in that."

Hear me, folks. There are a lot of things in your life. Many times you don't even know how you got up in the morning, how you made it through a day with all of the different things that are transpiring. There could be situations in the church that you're struggling with, maybe situations on your job that makes the job a constant stress on your family, decisions kids are making in college—all of these different dynamics are taking place.

What we have to look at is the work that Christ is doing in our hearts. We need to see how that is impacting the lives of other people. Then we have to trust that God, using us to be a benefit to other people or what the work he's doing in us, is a good work. When we commit to apply the scriptures, when we commit to walk in the word of God, that's huge to our Christian growth.

That's why this ministry is named Power Walk. Many times we hear a word, we pocket it and we keep going, and we use common sense when the Bible is careful to tell us: do not use common sense. Please understand that is Satan's major strategy; it is to get us into common sense. You see the temptation of Jesus Christ: common sense. You go to Adam and Eve: common sense.

That's a danger in the last days. Romans Chapter 1 says that people will move towards their intelligence, and as a result of that, Christian people will bring this world into a whole lot of immorality and all kinds of issues because we move to our intelligence, not to a commitment to obedience.

The word of God becomes alive in us when we commit to walk in the light as he is in the light. Then we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ keeps purifying us. That's why he says things like this in Chapter 2 verse 4: "For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that we should be grieved, but that he might know the love which I have more abundant upon you." In other words, "No matter what I went through, I focused on doing what Christ called me to do because that's all that mattered."

What would he say? "I've learned that I can do all things through Christ," through his word, through the influence of the Holy Spirit who strengthens me while I'm doing it. The application of the scriptures is everything. David would say, "The word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." This is what causes the Lord to be a shepherd. No matter what I lack, he helps me to be able to do all things through Christ, through God's power that strengthens him.

Paul is in that same process of saying, "I trust you." No matter what I face, I trust you. David standing in front of Goliath: I trust you. It doesn't matter. Daniel: I trust you. Put me in a lion's den; it's your decision, Nebuchadnezzar. It's okay. I trust him. It doesn't matter what Joseph went through. I will not touch you, Potiphar's wife, because it's a sin against God.

We tap in by first saying, "God, I totally surrender to you. I'm going to be totally dependent on your word." Trust is no different than this: jumping out of a plane in a parachute. It's after you've jumped you hit the chute. Trust is this complete dependency. A doctor doing surgery—you don't even ask, "Let me see your credentials." We trust. We trust when we have direct deposit and a bunch of bills that have 30-year mortgages, and nobody promised us the job for 30 years.

Folks, that's trust. It's a complete dependency, a complete reliance. Paul says, "I trust him." Until we get to this one nugget today, when we do that, we'll look at the struggles that this world is having in our lives and we will immediately go to the scriptures, immediately pray, immediately get prayer partners, and immediately seek God's will because I trust him.

One of the things that really gripped my heart as a father was one day my son had his friend in the back seat and we were driving in a lot of rain. In Houston, when it rains, it rains. The car would slip and slide sometimes, so I wasn't driving fast. I remember, I guess they felt something in the back seat and they felt some of the movements of the car that made my son make this comment to his friend as they were playing with cars on the seat. They were just kneeling down there way back when he was small—it was umpteen years ago—and he said to his friend, "Don't worry, my dad is driving. We'll be okay." When the storms of life come, will I be like my son and say, "It's okay, my daddy's driving, and he loves me, and he promised to never leave me nor forsake me"? Stay focused.

Guest (Male): Indeed Pastor Cannings, trust is so critical for any healthy relationship, and that's exactly what God wants of us. God is so worthy of our trust. Now, to purchase a copy of this message or the entire series, log on to powerwalkministries.org. That's powerwalkministries.org. Or call us at 281-260-7402.

Dr. Paul Cannings: I am so excited about April 23rd through 25th because it is a conference with lots of notes, great teachers, well-educated, well-prepared, doing what they're teaching in their churches. You cannot miss this conference. Come April 23rd through 25th at Living Word Fellowship Church at 7350 TC Jester Boulevard. Come and be blessed.

The conference is "The Way Forward: How Can We Be Productive Despite the Challenges Ministries Can Experience?" You go to powerwalkministries.org and you will get all the information you need. Powerwalkministries.org. Get in early so you can get those special prices. Look forward to seeing you.

Guest (Male): Power Walk Ministries is a listener-supported broadcast, so we ask for your prayers and your financial support to keep us on the air on this station. To do so, visit powerwalkministries.org or write us at PO Box 920517, Houston, Texas 77092. And once again our phone number is 281-260-7402. And now remember, we too can say with Paul, we have such confidence in God through Christ, no matter what we face in our lives each day.