Power Walk Ministries

Announcer (Male): Thank you for joining us today on this broadcast of the Power Walk Ministries. Pastor and author Reverend Paul Cannings is teaching this week on the life of the Samaritan woman and Jesus' encounter with her. In this brief conversation, Jesus is able to bring to light her past, learn about her religious background, understand her present situation in the community, and bring to light her sin, as well as offer her the greatest gift of all: forgiveness and a new life. Today Reverend Cannings brings us the message titled, "Drink." Let's listen.

Dr. Paul Cannings: Christ came to give us life and life abundant. That is the focus for which he came. The focus is to reestablish what was lost in the Garden of Eden. I love what 2nd Corinthians Chapter 3, Verse 18 talks about. It would say we are going from one place to the next to develop the image of God inside of us. That's why Paul would say, "I no longer live." That is the ultimate experience of Christ. And Paul says, "I count all things loss to experience that powerful movement of the Holy Spirit inside of his life."

Not just go to heaven eternally, but experience this process on earth so that all the promises that God has made relevant to what this eternal life is about, I can experience it. Folks, this is what Christ is driving to in John Chapter 4 with the Samaritan woman. We've talked a lot about this woman as we've proceeded forward in addressing the fact that this lady is not dumb. She is a smart woman. We remember her past of immorality, but Jesus Christ is a person who, when he forgives us of our sins, he transforms us into a brand new creation so the past is the past. The present and the future is a glorious thing to experience life and life abundant.

But many people come to Christ, they get to know Christ, they go to church, but they still are not experiencing what this life produces. Paul nails it for us when he says in Galatians Chapter 5, Verse 22 on that the love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, gentleness, self-control, all these things come out as fruit in this person's life. John would say in John 15 we would bear fruit, much fruit, not just a little fruit, much if we keep abiding in him.

This is what Christ is after. He so wants to erase this woman's past that her future is much fruit. Folks, this is why when he's talking to her in Verse 14, the emphasis is this life. So that when you're transformed, this life moves you so far away from the past, you can't even remember why you did what you did. This takes place as we started off yesterday in Verse 14: whoever drinketh of the water. It's a decision for the person to do it. If a person does not decide to live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, it's not going to happen.

Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. So if I don't experience what the Word of God means in day-to-day living, then obeying God, abiding in him, Chapter 15 of John, is not going to happen because I don't know how to apply day-to-day living in the truth which the Holy Spirit will guide us into, John Chapter 16, Verse 13. Because he's the Spirit of Truth, he is the one who guides us into experiencing what it means day-to-day. That's why in John Chapter 14, Verse 16, he brings it back to our remembrance. That's why in 1st Corinthians Chapter 2, Verse 10 through 15, he illuminates the Word of God so we know how to apply it.

The Spirit is focused on making the Word of God relevant, and when we move away from it, he convicts us, John Chapter 16, Verse 7 through 13. So watch what's taking place here. When he brings it back to our remembrance, we have to take cognizance of that. That's when we decide to drink. When we are convicted in John Chapter 16, we have to submit to that conviction and go about making the repentance necessary and adjust our lives to where we need to go. That's what repentance means. That's a decision to drink from the influence of the Holy Spirit.

When we hear the Word of God, we commit to renew the mind. Why is that important? Because Paul tells us in Romans Chapter 12, Verse 2, that's transformed us into the new creation we actually are so we experience the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. So we don't keep doing the things we don't need to do, Romans 7. We end up doing the things the Spirit empowers us to do, Romans Chapter 8. Because we're no longer slaves to the flesh, Romans Chapter 6. So now we function under that conviction, we repent, and we now start to obey God's Word. What does that mean? John Chapter 16, we have decided to abide in his Word.

When we decide to abide in his Word, we move from slaves to the flesh to friends. That's why he says when you become friends, you're no longer slaves because we have the nature of God. That's why he is teaching us: we have to drink. If we are not committed to drink of this water, that is a spring of water. In other words, when we are drinking, it springs and springs and springs. It's not like when we are drinking we have to say, "Come on more, I need more Holy Spirit. Come on, Holy Spirit, come on, come on, give me more." No, he's saying the minute we commit to abide in his Word, to walk in his Word, we get thirsty for the Word.

Sometimes you get up and you go, "Man, I need to study my Bible." That's not us. That's the Spirit of God preparing us to learn what to do about what's coming up. And he's trying to get us ready. That's why he says we'll become like babies thirsting for milk in 1st Peter Chapter 2. So I have to decide not to walk in the flesh but to walk in the spirit. When I do that, the spirit now keeps bringing the spring up that leads to us getting drunk in him because now we're so soaked with him.

Colossians Chapter 3, Verse 1 through 4, that the Holy Spirit is in us, we're in Christ, Christ is in God. We're just soaked. That spring is just constant refreshment. We're hearing a verse here, we're getting a word there, we open up our Bibles for devotions and man, he's filling us. We turn on the radio and that's exactly what I need. We say it many times. That's the spirit of God. He's constantly seeking to raise us up to be this image that God is talking about because his job is to help Christ.

What did Christ come for? Christ came for God to become our friend, for us to experience life, the Holy Spirit inside of us, abundantly springing up with us over and over and over again. That's why he's saying drink of this. Drink of this. He's telling the Samaritan woman this is it. Your past is your past. In other words, we have to accept that we are sinners. We have to accept that Jesus Christ is our Savior and he is the one that will redeem us because he is life and life abundant. But we have to first commit to drink or we're not going to ever end up working through it.

So he says to this woman, "Whoever drinks, it doesn't matter your background, don't care, whosoever. I came for whosoever. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him. I don't need this well, but I will give you who's totally dependent on God." I like this equalizer. We all need Jesus the same way and the transformation process is the same. Salvation is the same for everybody and what we do about our salvation and working it out in fear and trembling and how we serve in the local church is what matters.

That's why he says focus on abounding in the things that matter for eternity, not on the stuff that is earthly. And this woman is focusing totally on the earth stuff. And he's trying to transition this and that's why he says, "The water that I shall give him shall never thirst." Man, I struggled with that because many times even in our spiritual growth we thirst, but he's saying they will never thirst. Paul would say, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. I've arrived." So that's why Paul becomes this model for me in the Scriptures of how you never thirst.

Why does he not thirst? He tells us why. He says, "I've learned how to pray." So when I'm anxious, I know to pray. And if the issue in my life and he's writing this under house arrest where people are threatening to kill him when he writes Philippians. So he says, "Hey listen, if they're planning to kill me and God allows it, fine." He says in Chapter 1, "For me to live is Christ. If they let me out of this house, I'm doing Jesus. If they kill me, what am I losing? I've still got the same person I'm living for."

But there's a lot of things to be anxious about. Prayer, I'm going to pray about it. And if it continues, I'm going to supplicate. I'm going to get on my knees. I'm going to cry before God. I'm going to keep hollering because he can rescue me anytime. So Paul says, "You know what, this is the focus of my life. I'm going to press towards this mark." The mark I'm pressing towards is to experience the power of the resurrection. So if I am dying, I'm still powerful because I'm living in the very power that Jesus Christ lived in so that he can function even after death.

I can still do all things through Christ once I start living in the power of the resurrection because he strengthens me as I keep living. But Paul, you're broke. "I've learned to be content." But God keeps supplying my needs according to his riches in glory. Not according to your checkbook, but according to my riches. Will you thirst? No. Paul walks around making tents. Did he thirst when he was broke when the Philippian people were giving him money? No, I've learned to be content because the spirit of God brings peace, self-control, and strength for longsuffering.

The issue that Christ is trying to do for this lady is not just solve her past but give her a future that makes her forget about the past because the future is so overwhelmingly great. We will never thirst. That just blesses my heart. All this thing can happen around me but it never steals my joy. It never removes my peace. It never stops me from having the self-control I need and the strength for longsuffering. And it doesn't matter what people do, I can still be kind and gentle. Folks, that's the dream. That's the mark I press towards. Let us do it together as we continue to drink.

Announcer (Male): Thank you Reverend Cannings for explaining clearly what this living water means that Jesus Christ is speaking of. What an incredible gift of the Holy Spirit who leads, guides, convicts, and helps us on our journey through life. Please call us at 281-260-7402. Again, that's area 281-260-7402. Once again, here's Reverend Cannings.

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.

Announcer (Male): Thank you, Dr. Cannings. For all of our ministry resources, you can visit us online at powerwalkministries.org. That's powerwalkministries.org. If you'd prefer to write us, our mailing address is P.O. Box 920517, Houston, Texas, 77092. Think about and pray about becoming a Power Walk partner today. As always, we value your prayers for our ministry as we serve not only in our community, but nationally and internationally as well.

Now as we leave you, remember that you too can have an abundant life. You too can seek a quiet place to meet God and experience the power of his resurrection in your life.