Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): Welcome to this broadcast of Power Walk with Pastor Paul Cannings.

Guest (Male): Well, you should come because we never stop learning. A conference such as this one would just impact you so much that you will grow.

Guest (Male): I am so excited about the conference coming up April 23rd through the 25th. I really am ecstatic about it. Pastors have come together on a committee to help with the process moving forward. We were excited about our first conference last year, but this conference this year is going to be greater.

There are about 40 classes here. Let me give you a taste: The Pastor and Deacon's Functioning Under the Leadership of Christ, A Biblical Approach to Resolving Conflict in the Church, Traits of Successful Biblical Leaders, Cultivating a Healthy and Productive Team Environment, Overcoming Stagnation in the Church, Discipling Leaders, and Dealing with How We Grow People and Do Evangelism at the Same Time.

Despite all the difficulties churches are facing, we can find a powerful, effective way forward. A lot of teachers are coming to teach. They're well-trained, well-educated, and practicing these principles within their church. Come be a part of April 23rd through the 25th. Go to powerwalkministries.org so that we could move forward together for God's glory. Look forward to seeing you. You will not be in any way disappointed at this conference.

Guest (Male): With a passion to share truth from scripture and to encourage, uplift, and challenge people to pursue God wholeheartedly, Pastor Cannings teaches on this broadcast each weekday. Today he continues with our special Easter series, "What Kind of Love is This?" taking us to the book of John, chapter 20, and the first news of Christ's resurrection. Pastor Cannings encourages us to consider what Easter really means for us and to respond with the depth of love that Mary Magdalene had. Here is Pastor Cannings with the message "Passionate Love."

Dr. Paul Cannings: As we go through this week, yes, I'm still stuck on the fact that we're celebrating love this week. Yes, we say we celebrate the resurrection. I get that. I'm a pastor and I know what that means. But what I'm saying to you is that that is the end result of love. That is a love that has exposed itself because a person spent thousands of years seeking to reach man, to redeem man back to himself.

Because he lost man in the garden, the Bible is saying in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18, from glory to glory, Christ is seeking to move our image from where it used to be with Adam and Eve, perfect in the garden, to the time when Christ can so develop us to be a brand-new creation. So that all things pass away, so that everything becomes new. Because as we work out our salvation in fear and trembling, it is he who's within us both to will and to do for our good pleasure.

So that we no longer live, it is Christ that lives and dominates our lives. The Holy Spirit so empowers us, we are now drunk with the Spirit. That is the person that he's seeking to get us to, and he did everything possible to arrive there, providing us churches on every corner, Bibles everywhere, radio programs, television programs. He is so seeking to reach his kids and bring them back to himself. Even when you go through the Tribulation period, two witnesses show up trying to talk to people, interact with people, trying to save people, bring them to himself. The only people that are left are those who constantly keep rejecting him.

This is this passionate love that is transferred to Mary because Mary truly surrendered her life to Christ. That's why the Bible would say in 1st John chapter 4, verses 7 through 11, anybody that knows Christ, it's impossible for them not to love Christ and to love others. It is literally impossible. He says in John chapter 13, verse 34 through verse 35, you will know my disciples, those who learn from me, apply what I say, willing to deny themselves, pick up a cross and follow me, are the ones that will so love me, they will end up becoming like me so they can love even enemies.

This is what captures in a woman who had seven demons. A woman who you would not think would be in the Bible. A woman when you look at her past, you would say, "Why is Rahab there?" but that's the love of Christ. You would say, "How could he go to Zacchaeus's house?" but that's the love of Christ. How is he going to take a cussing sailor and put him up to preach at Pentecost? But that's the love of Christ. How would he take a murderer named Paul and have him write half the New Testament? But that's the love of Christ.

When it grabs somebody and that person responds, they respond just like Mary Magdalene. Seven demons. There is no descriptive way of saying Mary deserved to be with Christ, but Christ came to seek and to save those who were lost, and Mary grasped that. And when she got it, this is a love that came out of her that made a difference as to why she became someone who can be written into the scriptures to exemplify what loving Christ is all about.

He doesn't have Peter in this passage showing that. He doesn't even have John in this passage showing that. No, he has a woman that had seven demons because it doesn't take this beautiful array of descriptive, excellent credentials to make it all work. It takes this heart that is delivered to Christ that makes a difference. Here's the next thing about this love that we're going to talk about it to prepare for Resurrection Sunday. It's love. That's what this is about. It's the love of God. Where does that touch us?

Bluntly speaking, we say we love Christ. We would show up at football games. We would catch planes. Airports backed out. I've seen people in malls. I've seen people do everything but church. People at football games, basketball games, screaming to the top of their lives as they celebrate their god. But yet, when it came to Christ, they were not there and still not thinking about it.

In verse 11 of John chapter 20, it says but Mary stood. The disciples came in and out. They are gone. John, the disciple that Christ loved, he came in, he went out. He stayed to the cross. You've got to give it to John. He went through the inquisition. He was there. But John came into the tomb and left. Mary didn't. This passionate love doesn't move until God answers. This passionate love doesn't move until God gives a reason and a direction to go in.

She doesn't move until Christ tells her to go to the disciples and tell them what happened. She doesn't move. Passionate love will cause us to come before Christ and just be totally engulfed in seeking him. Mary is here, verse 11. And Mary stooped without at the sepulcher weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher. When she looks in, she sees two angels. Did John see that? Did Peter see that? No, they didn't because the Bible says when you seek me, you will find me.

To come in there is not the most inviting situation to start with, but she came anyway. And she stayed there anyway. And it's quite obvious she's not moving. The disciples are gone. But because of this heart, what is set in scripture is powerfully manifested. It is vividly portrayed that Mary is here. Constantly stooping down, she's crying. You don't see any of that in Peter and John. She's stooping down, she's crying. She is going into this sepulcher, and she's not moving from there. The body is gone, but she's totally engaged in this.

And the angels start to speak. Let's be serious about this. If you went into a sepulcher and two angels arrived, we are either running out or we fainted. So for Mary to be engaged tells you the depth of her passion. If I walked in there, to start with, it's intimidating. These guys left. Then two angels appear, head and foot. Mary's not engaged in the historical processes that are there. She's just so engaged that two angels don't move her.

Watch what she does. Now two angels were sitting there, one on the head and one on the other feet where the body of Jesus had laid. They came because Mary doesn't move. And Mary's not going anywhere, so they have to respond to this. Again I say, this is just encouraging to me. When we seek God, we will find him. But it's not about him not making himself available. It's about us having this kind of heart when we seek him.

He responds and in verse 13, it says, and they said unto her, "Woman, why weepest thou?" Why weepest thou? This is a Hallelujah time. He is not here. She said unto them, "Because they have taken my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. I came to do a job. I wanted to take care of him, and he's not here. So you have to tell me where he is because I'm not going anywhere."

Folks, love becomes sometimes overwhelming when we don't have the right message. Sometimes we seek God, but we're not seeking him on the right message. So we end up feeling overwhelmed, like we can't find him. We end up feeling like he's disappointed us, like he's not available to us, like he's not responding to us. But many times we have to seek the scriptures to see if the thing we're seeking him for is what he is telling us to seek him for.

He's been talking about he's going to raise from the dead. As I said yesterday, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the high priest all heard it. So they making sure that nobody ever thinks he rose from the dead by projecting a bad message when the soldiers came. They knew he's been raising people from the dead after four days, Lazarus getting up from the ground. So they understand that, and it's not like they didn't know who he was. In John chapter 5, verse 39, it says you know who I am.

The message that Jesus Christ was teaching, Mary didn't understand it. And when she didn't understand it, her frustration, her stress about where Jesus Christ is, is where many times we are. Some of us do have this passion. Some of us do have this love, but we many times go on the wrong message. We are going to Christ about things he's not saying he's going to provide to us. I've seen people seek God for things that God has not promised in the scriptures.

I never forget the story of a woman who was walking through the halls of Living Word, and I couldn't help but get out of my office and say, "Ma'am, are you okay?" And she said to me, "Sir, I'm not a part of this church. I just wanted to come in the church and to pray to God because it seemed like everybody in the church I go to is blessed but I'm not blessed. I give to God, I serve, I cry out to him, but I don't have the money they have. I don't have the material things they have. Why is God not blessing me?"

I looked at her and I said, "Ma'am, nowhere in the scriptures does God promise that he will bless you with all the material things of the world. He says if you love it, you will hate him. 1st John chapter 2, verse 15 through 17, you will hate him if you keep loving the things of the world. He's not promising you those things. What he is saying to you is that if you keep walking with him, he will bless you. Blessings are not just money, they are not just things."

"Blessings are attached to your health, your strength, your protection. Blessings are attached to those things that cause you to experience the work of the Holy Spirit in your life so you find joy and peace and strength and longsuffering. Blessing is where godliness becomes so high you get to a point of contentment." She looked at me strange like, "What are you talking about?" Many times you're into a message that God is not speaking, and as a result of that we think he's not responding. When we seek God, it must be on his terms because he promises us his word will never return void. Stay focused.

Guest (Male): Amen, Pastor Cannings. God continues to pursue us and promises us his eternal life if we will only receive his gift of salvation. Now, if you're not sure about what a personal relationship with Jesus Christ looks like and perhaps you have questions about Easter, then give us a call at 281-260-7402. That's 281-260-7402.

For more information about our ministry, log on to powerwalkministries.org. That's powerwalkministries.org. Our mailing address is P.O. Box 920517, Houston, Texas 77209. And now remember, God did everything possible for us to have a relationship with him and to be with him for eternity. Reach out to God and embrace his love and care for us.