Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): Thanks for tuning in to join us on this broadcast of Power Walk. Experiencing God's Peace is the current series brought to us by Pastor Paul Cannings. We feel at peace when we have various comforts in place, and yet when we see the lives of the apostles, Jesus rattled their comforts so they could be close to him.

And it's true, he does the same for us as well. The greatest of saints have imparted the greatest lessons through much sorrow, and Christ himself, we're told, learned obedience through suffering. Breaking this down for us, here's Pastor Paul Cannings as he brings this message, Prince of Peace.

Dr. Paul Cannings: Life has its moments when it brings us to points of anxiety and stress or distress. Just talking with a businessman, there's a lot of anxiety: employees to pay, health insurance coming in to pay, and therefore a lot of anxiety and distress. These things tend to happen to us even when we are saved and walking in the will of God.

He's talking to disciples here in John chapter 14. He's talking to disciples who have left everything to follow him. There's no more fishing business for Peter. There's no more tax collecting for Matthew. All of these things have changed. And as a result of that, they literally tell him in Matthew chapter 19, "We have left everything to follow you. We literally have nothing."

And they're asking, "Where are you going?" here in John chapter 14. "You can't die right now. We have forsaken everything." Jesus Christ is trying to deal with that uncertainty because when they get out to do ministry, there's a lot of uncertainty. There are a lot of problems ahead of them. And in teaching them, he teaches us. So let's turn to John chapter 14 as we continue this series this week on experiencing peace.

The thing that we have to remember now that is very important and significant to this process is where we started. We're at peace with God. We went through all of that. We're at peace with God. The next thing we looked at that is huge in this is that God, because he lives inside of us, he fights for us.

So therefore, because he's telling us that peace is not that the circumstances of life are going to be great because we've done all the right things. Peace is going to take place because we've got all our money stashed perfectly and we have a nice comfort zone that peace is going to still be there. He's not telling us that; he's not promising us that. Many times when we're in our comfort zones, then he rattles it to make sure that we walk with him.

Then we looked at the fact that victory over death, because we're going to face that, a time to live and a time to die. Are we going to die? No, biblically, because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and since we have life living inside of us because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we're going to immediately be taken into heaven so that we never are separated from life, so we never experience death.

In spite of all of that, there's a lot of anxious moments to the point where Paul would write, "Be anxious for nothing." So how do we be anxious for nothing? We're human. How could you not be anxious? So this is where we need to spend some time today.

The first place we're going to go to in dealing with this whole process of to not be anxious is to understand him saying these words. He says, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid," in verse 27 of John chapter 14. He's repeating that from chapter 14, verse 1. "Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God; believe also in me."

So he keeps saying, "Don't let your heart be troubled." In other words, this is something that you have to decide to release yourself to or not release yourself to. So the issue is, how do we anchor ourselves so we don't? It's something I release myself to or I don't. So how do I just not release myself? That's the question. And I'm purposely repeating the question because that's the pivot upon which Christ is going to build it.

So the first thing we have to look at in this passage, he says, "Let not your heart be troubled." So what is he after? The heart. What do we think of in the heart? Emotions, distress, feeling overwhelmed. He's bringing up fear. Don't fear. Fear is relying on my ability to solve something rather than his ability to solve something. When I rely on my ability, it creates fear. When I rely on his ability, it requires faith.

That's the reason why he's pivoting this issue on the heart, because the heart has so much emotion in it that is so powerful that it controls the mind. That's why the heart in the Old Testament is the life of the person; the heart in the New Testament is the mind of the person. So because the heart can dominate the person, the Bible is always trying to transition our hearts towards God. Because when it transitions our hearts towards God, the mind doesn't get all messed up all the time.

He comes to the disciples and he says these different steps that we must take in order for us to anchor our hearts so it doesn't cause us to become overwhelmed and therefore not experience God's peace. Here's the first thing he's going to teach us in this passage of scripture that is critical to this process that is incredibly important to this first fact.

The peace that we have is the person of the Holy Spirit, who is the very power and the very nature of who Jesus is. And Jesus is the very power and the very nature of who God is. So therefore, he didn't leave them a helper that is not capable of doing the things that Jesus Christ did.

So what Jesus Christ did to them is what he says this in chapter 14, verse 8 on, "Believe in me." In other words, "You see me do these things. So therefore, since the Holy Spirit has the same power that he has, there is nothing that is impossible for God. So there's nothing that you can't achieve that I've placed before you to achieve." That's why you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

When he is saying that, that we can do all things, he's saying it's through Christ. That's what he's back to here. The Holy Spirit, he's going to tell us, does these different things to anchor our hearts. What does he do? He tells us right here, because he's going to leave him with us. The word "leave"—don't forget—means, "I am going to make sure that his presence in you is continual. It never stops."

So that we have this constant power taking place, like having the light bill is paid for forever. Jesus Christ died on the cross, paid for our sins, so the light bill is paid. So no time could we be in darkness because the light bill is not on us to be paid; he paid it. So it's done.

The only way we could shut this light off is if we continually sin. The wages of sin is death; we shut it off. Not that we lose the Holy Spirit; we end up walking in darkness, the Bible says in 1st John. So if I keep walking in God's Word, I keep the lights on. But it doesn't mean that the electricity is stopped flowing because the Holy Spirit still stays in me forever.

Then he says, "I give him," meaning it's a permanent situation that will constantly take place. And he's emphasizing it; he says, "I give him and I leave him." So therefore he is overemphasizing that this Holy Spirit isn't going anywhere. The issue is how do you work him out?

So that in the middle of anxiety, in the midst of the difficulty, in the midst of the pain, Paul would say one of the ways to do it is to pray. Why? Because the Holy Spirit, when I can't find the words to pray, in Romans chapter 8, verse 26, is going to pray the very groans of my heart. He will relate to God the pain that I'm feeling.

So therefore I don't have to let my heart drive me in directions, controlling my mind and my will and my life because the Holy Spirit I can depend on. When I am praying and I am supplicating, he's going to relate to God what he needs to say to God, and I can depend on that because he's given me this Holy Spirit and he's leaving him.

Now here's the next thing that's huge. The Holy Spirit, he says in John chapter 14:26, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you." Two things in here that are huge.

He will teach you; he will shape your heart to understand clearly what direction you're supposed to go in. The word *didasko* means whatever direction I was going in, he's going to do whatever it takes to drive me in the direction I need to go in.

The second thing he's going to do, he's going to bring up verses because when I study what I'm supposed to study, the Bible says he will help me to remember what I need to know to the path to take. What is he saying? He is saying that no time since the Holy Spirit is an illuminator of the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is the light inside of me, no time when life is perplexing and difficult will I ever be in the dark.

No time—1st John, same writer, chapter 1—if you walk in light as he's in the light, we'll have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin. So you see, he's saying the more I walk in the Word that the Holy Spirit is going to remind me of, that he's going to illuminate it and make sure it's truth, the more I walk in that Word is the more I walk and I can see through the issues that I face. So therefore there's no need for me to be overwhelmed, perplexed, can't figure out what to do, because the Holy Spirit will help me to make my way through.

And he will constantly, each and every step... We tend to want ten steps ahead. The Holy Spirit gives us one step ahead because he's requiring faith. So therefore I need to trust God in each step that I take. That's why Paul would say "walk in the light." Take one step after another and then you'll get the confidence level up so you can run the race that is set before us.

It lets the Holy Spirit—Ephesians chapter 5, verse 15 through verse 18—guide us to the point where we no longer walk in the flesh; we walk in the Spirit—Galatians chapter 5, verse 21 on. And when we start walking in the Spirit, the peace of God brings us... The fruit of the Spirit is peace because we're practicing, we're walking, we're doing what he says.

Guess what it produces? Life. Because Jesus Christ is saying right here in John chapter 14, verse 6, he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So now I experience life and life abundantly. Now I see the fruit of the Holy Spirit pouring out of my life, and when the fruit of the Holy Spirit is pouring out of my life, there comes the joy in the midst of hard times. There comes the peace in the midst of difficult times. There comes the strength for longsuffering. I'm walking in the dependency of the Holy Spirit with constantly trusting in the Word of God because I've seen the Word of God live on Earth powerfully, functioning on Earth. So therefore the Spirit that has the same ability could do the same thing for me.

I can walk and experience the peace of God so I'm no longer, no matter what's taking place in my life, living in distress. Folks, it's a daily thing to experience God's peace. I'm not walking based on what I can see; I'm walking based on what I can't see because I trust his ability and his Word to guide me through whatever I'm facing. It is not my war; it is his war to fight.

The only battle I have is will I trust him or will I not? The fight you have is the fight of faith. So folks, I understand decision-making can create anxiety. Decision-making should just drive us to the scriptures. Decision-making should drive us to pray, to trust the Lord each step of the way. Decision-making should drive us to constantly trust the Lord to bring back to our remembrance what we need to do. Because once we get to the light, there's no darkness. Stay focused.

Guest (Male): Will I trust him or will I not? That's really the question, isn't it, Pastor Cannings? It's true there are those times when it can be really hard to give up self-reliance and trust an invisible God. And yet this is exactly what he calls us to do in order to know his peace.

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, a new book coming out, *When We Pray*. So thank you so much for being a part of powerwalkministries.org, powerwalkministries.org.

Guest (Male): Another tool you'll find helpful in saying no to doubts is Pastor Cannings' book, *Giving Fear a Knockout Punch*. You'll find that at powerwalkministries.org. If you'd prefer to call, our number is 281-260-7402. That's 281-260-7402.

And if you live in the Houston area and you don't have a church home, you're invited to join Pastor Cannings at Living Word Fellowship Church where he serves as senior pastor. You'll find the location and service times at lwfellowship.org. And now remember, the trials you face are not yours to resolve. It's not your war to fight, but rather look to God, trust him for guidance, and learn to enjoy his peace.