Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): You're just in time for today's Power Walk Ministries broadcast with Reverend Paul Cannings. Thanks for joining us. Today we continue with our series, The Holy Spirit's Work in Me. We often hear sermons on Paul, who said, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

Such was his total surrender and peace with God as he chose to live and function through the power of the Holy Spirit in him, challenging us to do likewise. Here's Pastor Paul Cannings with today's message, "He Is Our Peace."

Dr. Paul Cannings: The heart of the matter is this: The Holy Spirit is our helper, and He's here to guide and develop us and mature us and grow us to become just like Christ, because that's the objective. The objective is threefold that the Bible would teach us. One of the things is He said, "I died to give you life and life abundantly." John 10:10.

John 15:13, He said what kind of man is this that would lay down his life for a friend, not a religion, a friend. Paul would tell us the whole goal of all that is taking place in Colossians 1:28-29 is to present us complete in Christ, meaning that we should become so strong in the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 3:16, because He lives in our inner being so that Christ can dwell in our hearts. In other words, so that we can understand the Word of God illumination and grow and mature through that, come to a full understanding of God's Word, as he says in Ephesians 3:19. Well, all of that leads to the armor being put on.

Ephesians 6:10 says we have to stand in the might of the Spirit of God, in this might. Before I put on the armor, I need to be walking in the Spirit, chapter 5, verses 15 through 18 of Ephesians. Now I'm in Ephesians chapter 6. I can now wear the armor of righteousness because I am committed to live in the fullness of the Spirit.

So now I'm walking in the might. I could walk by faith. I could put on the helmet of salvation because I'm working out my salvation, but verse 13 says it's because of He who is within me, both to will and to do for His good purpose. Therefore, I can't work it out without the Holy Spirit, and I can't end up at peace.

I won't put on the shoes of peace. Why? The fruit of the Spirit is peace. John 14:27 says the Spirit is our peace. Peace is not a feeling, it's a person. And I can't get to the truth without the Holy Spirit, because the belt is the belt of truth. The sword is the sword of the Spirit. That's why He starts off, before He talks about the armor, to walk in His might, verse 10, because now we're walking in the Spirit.

Wonderful stuff, but how can I experience this constant movement of the Holy Spirit in my life day by day so that I can do that since He is the helper, since He is driving me to be all these different things, so I achieve the threefold objective that the Bible has for me?

So I become like Christ because I'm His friend and I have life and life abundantly because the Holy Spirit is the life in me that's abundant. So now I can be like Paul would say: the life I now live, I live in Christ because I'm becoming just like Him. So those are the objectives.

So when I get to heaven, it's like Enoch going to heaven. There was more space between him and earth than between him and heaven. That's why He's saying in 2 Corinthians 3:18, it's from glory to glory. So now, how does that happen on a day-to-day basis?

Here's the first thing we must remember the Spirit of God does for us every day. One of the things He does for us every day, the Bible says in John 14:26, is that He keeps bringing scriptures back to our remembrance. Please hear this. In chapter 16, verse 13 of John, He says He's a Spirit of truth, but He only functions based on what He hears.

What do I mean by that? The Holy Spirit is going to work with the words we choose to study. And that's why I always tell people, and this is a pattern in my life, I study what I'm going through, or I study what I'm going to take somebody else through that I need to clearly understand. And that's how it helps me to even remember the scriptures because it is a commitment to pour the scriptures in.

So I decide to work on a particular area of my life, then I practice that area. It is practicing, keeping the Word that leads to coming to sense the movement of the Holy Spirit. So if I don't keep the Word of God, like you see the Pharisees, Sadducees, and all these people just practicing religion and doing the religious things that are required of them to perfection, like Paul would say, "I was a Pharisee of Pharisees. I was a Hebrew of Hebrews," but I was a long way from Christ.

So it's not that. It is literally coming to know Him, meaning coming to know these things that He does for me. What does He do for me? When I choose to pour this Word into my heart, the Bible says the Holy Spirit will bring it up from time to time. When I need a Word, He's going to put that Word in my heart.

This is critical because people tend to think discernment is just, "Oh you know what, I just sense this in my spirit." It's not that subjective. Or "I had this dream." It's not that subjective. It's very objective. In other words, even if I have a dream that the Bible is saying seems very real, and those things do happen—the Bible never says dreams stopped—what He's saying is we must test every spirit.

1 John 4:2 says test every spirit. In other words, 1 Thessalonians 5:17-19, he would say don't quench the Spirit, but you must test what is taking place. In other words, if whatever I'm feeling is a discernment or God is moving in my heart or God is saying this, He's saying bring the Word of God to it.

Don't just say, "I feel it, thought it, this is what I know God is saying." No, you have to test it. If what I'm feeling or thinking or feel is a movement of God about and it is not found in the Word of God, it is not from Him, and we have to be committed to that because we're misleading a lot of people saying things that God never said.

Please understand. In 2 Peter 1:3-4, "I've given you everything you need for life and godliness through the Word of God." He is saying there is no guesswork in walking with Him because everything is being led to Christ, not some great emotional feeling. He says it's to Christ. It's not for our own edification in terms of what we get out of it that makes people look at us and go, "You're wonderful because when you speak, I could just tell God is talking through you."

No, when I speak, is there a place I could find it like the Berean Christians would do with an Apostle Paul, that wrote half the New Testament? They tested what he had to say. I'm going to read it in Philippians 1:9-11. He says, "For this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, discernment."

Making judgments between whether or not what I'm saying is of God and whether or not the way I'm leading somebody in counsel is of God. It must be of the judgment that takes place based on the knowledge of God against the situation that I'm dealing with. I'll read it another way. That you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.

You may approve the things that are excellent because of the knowledge that you choose to put in that is illuminated by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:10-15, He says He's the only one that can tell us what's going on with the Spirit of God. And He's the only one that can reveal to us the things of God. He's the only one that can expose to us what God is saying. He's the only person.

There's nobody could do that for Him. Prophecy takes place not by the will of a human being. It takes place by the will of God based on the Word of God. That is critical. Even Peter could not announce that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, without God revealing it to him.

Right after that, just a few verses down, right in the midst of that context of that awesome revelation, He says to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan," because Peter got all puffed up. The revelation, we understand, the Spirit is the one who brings it back to us, and until we practice it—Hebrews 5:14—our senses don't become trained to know good and evil.

We can't make judgments and, as a result of that, we're not able to speak saying that the Spirit of God is saying anything. I have to stay connected to the Holy Spirit because He is the only one that can bring to my remembrance the Word of God. He is the one that guides me into truth. He is the one that makes the Word of God become a reality in my life every day.

That's what truth is. It is not until I get this focus in the Holy Spirit that I'm set free from all of those things that the flesh could influence me to do. So that's why this is very huge. And that's why he would say this in Colossians 1:9, "For this cause we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that he may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom."

In the application of God's Word. I can't get wisdom if I don't have the Spirit of God opening up the Word of God by bringing it back to my remembrance because I take the time to study it and to practice it. And this leads to a spiritual understanding. There's a deeper insight into the issues I face in life because the Spirit of God takes me deeper.

That he might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God. He says according to the glorious power, which is the Holy Spirit, unto all patience and longsuffering—that's His fruit—with joyfulness. And I can worship God all day long giving thanks unto the Father, which had made us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light.

This inheritance, Ephesians 1:13-14 says, is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. We can become more evangelistic in our approach to life because people see this light shining through us. Could only take place. Jesus Christ is the light. The Holy Spirit is the helper. When we study God's Word, practice it, the depths of the Holy Spirit moves in us.

And then when we're living each and every day, He keeps bringing back verses, bringing back verses, bringing back verses. Why? Because He's after the goal line that God has for us. Jesus is the way, salvation, the truth. The Holy Spirit, He guides us to life and life abundantly because we put in the work, we put in the practice, and He leads us to become more and more like Christ and takes us to the depths of God so that we grow up into the fullness of God.

And when we do that, we could keep walking in completeness before God because the Word of God never comes back void, and it is powerful and sharper than a double-edged sword. As Paul is saying, man, I'm anxious for nothing. Bring what you got to bring because I know your schemes and I've got a plan forward. So even in darkness, Paul would say, I may get perplexed, but I don't lose hope. Stay focused.

Guest (Male): That's a great illustration, Pastor Cannings. Living with electricity but not using the power outlets. Folks, that's exactly what we do when we don't rely upon the Holy Spirit and depend on His support through life.

Now, to review this series or pass it on to a loved one, secure your copy online at powerwalkministries.org. That's powerwalkministries.org. Or call us at 281-260-7402. And if you have questions about what it is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and to have the power of the Holy Spirit working in you, then give us a call at 281-260-7402.

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

Come and be blessed. The conference is the way forward: how do 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): Call us at 281-260-7402 or find us online at powerwalkministries.org. Our mailing address is Power Walk Ministries, P.O. Box 920517, Houston, Texas, 772092.

And if you're ever in the Houston area, stop by Living Word Fellowship Church where Pastor Paul Cannings serves as senior pastor. The church is located at 7350 T.C. Jester Boulevard in Houston.

And now remember, Paul was focused on making Christ's message known to all and fulfilling the good works God purposed in advance for him, and we can too through the power of the Holy Spirit in us.