Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): We welcome you to today's broadcast of Power Walk. We're so glad that you've tuned in as Dr. Cannings continues teaching on the topic of brokenness. We go on to part two of our series, When Faith Takes You Through Dry Places. It's true, life is not easy and there are dry spells when nothing seems to be working out in our lives, and we wonder where God is and what he's doing.

Can you relate to that? Urging us to love God and trust him through those dry spells, using the example of Joseph in scripture, Dr. Cannings leads us to viewing our situation through a different perspective. Let's listen.

Dr. Paul Cannings: Despite the evil of Joseph's brothers, Joseph worked hard in Potiphar's house. Despite the evil, Potiphar said this man, everything he touched produced good. I want you to see that, but I want to take you to Colossians. Because I want you to see this is the same process in the New Testament. It doesn't change.

Look at Genesis chapter 39 first. Let's get the framework for where we're going. Don't forget, when you are doing the will of God and nothing changes, does it change you or does it make you better, stronger, more effective? When you're doing God and nothing changes, does it make you better or does it make you faint? Because that exposes our level of faith, exposes our relationship with God, and it gets us to learn who God is.

Because once I'm emptied of myself, that's when I learn the ability of God. As long as I think I can add something to the plate, I don't trust God as much. Look at Genesis chapter 39 and then we'll go to Colossians. In Genesis chapter 39, look at what this guy says about Joseph in verse three. Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he had to prosper in his hands.

The word "hand" in the Bible means power, a place of authority and control and influence. That's what the word "hand" means. To us it's just hands; to them it means that it is power, it's authority, it's control. He's saying, "When I put anything under this guy's authority and control, it comes out great."

Since they worship all kinds of gods—that's why in Egypt that's why he kept playing with all these flies and the Nile, they worship all of that stuff. Egyptians worship anything that moves. So, anytime they are seeing all this good coming out of Joseph, he's going, "Your God must be blessing you." This man didn't know Joseph's God, but he saw Joseph trust God.

Now, understand this. Joseph did not mature in this job because Joseph had great ability. It never said that. It said that Joseph just worked hard with whatever God put in his hands. If God gave him this to do, he did it well. Look at Colossians. Sometimes we go to jobs and we go, "Oh Lord have mercy."

Matter of fact, I used to tease somebody because they had a hooptie. And they used to say to me, "Oh I'm so tired of my hooptie." Don't say that. I used to tell them that all the time. Don't say that. I want you to wash it, clean it, fix it, do it. "Pastor Cannings, that car ain't worth nothing." No, it's driving you somewhere.

I said, "Are you serious?" "Yeah, that's how I did my hooptie." I'd clean it, I changed the oil, I flushed the engine. I think it drove to 185,000 miles because I gave it away to somebody. I just gave it away. So I can remember, she says, "Why you do that?" I said, "Listen, whatever God has given me, when I'm faithful to the little he gives me, that's how I end up with much.

So if I don't be faithful with the little, I'm going to stay with the little. It's not how much money you have, it's how much verse you want to walk with. So I wash my hooptie, clean it, the paint be falling off. My son used to say, "Dad, you actually going to make us wash this car?" I'm doing it with you. "But Dad, why would you wash it?" Because it's my car and it needs to be cleaned. This is not complicated science.

And he used to say, "So you're going to do all this to the car?" Yes, because son, God has given us this car. We are blessed to have transportation. And he says, "If I'm faithful with a few things, he'll bless me with more." So if I want more, I better take care of little. It's not my bank account, it's my obedience.

Look at Colossians chapter three. Look at verse 22. Chapter three. "Slaves," yep, I did say slaves. "In all things, obey those who are your masters," talking about a job, "on earth. Not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord." What did Joseph do? He feared God. "I can't touch this man's wife because I fear God." Ain't got nothing to do with the man; got to do with God.

I fear God. Look at this. "Whatever you do, you do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward," not a reward, the. In other words, whatever God has to bless us, when we go to that job and give it everything we got to do, no matter—matter of fact, the next verse says, "No matter how mean, ugly, unfair, lying, cheating the boss may be."

He says, "I can still take you in that mess of a lion's den and bless you because you took this job and you did it with the fear of me, not the boss, not the people, not whether I get a raise, not whether my evaluations are good. It's all irrelevant. You're doing this for me." When you do that, the reward I have for you, you get it.

My wife and I had this big plan. We were going to—I was living at my mom's at the time with my youngest, oldest boy and we're getting ready to get our apartment and settle down to go to Dallas Seminary. And we couldn't make all of that work without being at mom's for six months, setting it up, getting the money together and all this stuff. So my mom and dad said, "No problem, you're going on to school and this is how you get settled, just come on in and live here."

So I decided, you know what? We're going to go and buy all our furniture cash. So I'm going to go and work eleven to seven, and then I'll come home, eat, go to the other job, and then sleep. That's what I did. So I worked from eleven to seven and I'd come in. And it got worse. The more I clean is the bigger the sheets got.

I would go in there and they had these big crates that you roll around. And when I went in there, I'm washing the sheets, I'm done like 3:00 in the morning, I'm done. Next day I went in, a little taller. Next day I went in, it's like whoa. I'm not exaggerating, I'm telling you the truth. It was two of those things full. And all I could hear in my head is, "Wash them sheets, fold them sheets, do this stuff."

So it wasn't the nicest job, but hey, it took care of the plan my wife and I had. And I'd stuff it in there, take it out, fold the sheets. And I'm literally don't even go on a break sometimes because I've got to finish this. And the woman one day, somebody started telling on me. Just all kinds of stuff. This guy don't do this, don't... and that supervisor who never saw me one day in my life other than when she hired me told them to all shut up because at the end of the day, this boy does his work and y'all leave it for him.

See, I would have—she could have... they were her friends and she supported me. I could have lost my job and didn't even know why if I just didn't do what God put to my hands to do. He used that to protect me from all these friends getting together during the day and me getting fired over nothing. So sometimes we don't know how God is working.

Here is Joseph in jail. He is doing what he's supposed to do in jail and God sent a butler and a cupbearer and gave them a dream. And God was the one who gave him dreams and taught him to trust what God is doing. If Joseph was sitting in jail going, "Aw man, I'm tired of this. I don't even know why I'm here. I ain't doing nothing. That woman put me here when I ain't even touch her. I'm trying to do the right thing and here I am doing God." He would have stayed there longer probably.

That's what I'm saying. When faith takes you to dark places, faith is what rescues you. Joseph's hard work demonstrates his desire to submit to the will of God. Just do God. Joseph's hard work causes Potiphar to promote him. Joseph refused to do evil in the sight of God. So Joseph did not follow peer pressure. He did not get involved in sexual sin.

Joseph decided that in the midst of his trials he's going to do God and he prospered. And Joseph did not return evil for evil. Look at Genesis 50:15. He did not return evil for evil. Sometimes God, after people do stuff to you, you end up watching them dead in the face and got the power to chop their head off.

God's going to say, "Now let me see what you're going to do." When you have the authority to take advantage of the situation, what are you going to do? Are you going to still do God now that you're out of all this mess? Are you going to say, "Well, when I needed a ride, y'all weren't around. So y'all just going to get back what you deserve because when I was hurting didn't have a ride and trying to take all these children and y'all weren't even caring about me.

So now I got my ride, I got this going on, I got some money, y'all... I'm praying for y'all." Or do we say, "I know what it's like for them to hurt like that, and even though they did me wrong, I can help them now." How do we respond? In Genesis chapter 50, this is what Joseph's brothers are scared.

Look at verse 16, verse 15. And Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him?" And they sent a messenger to Joseph saying—they didn't come, they sent a messenger—"Your father charged before he died, saying..." Do you think this father would have brought the sons together and worked it all out? No he didn't. He talked to the son to say this is what you do when I die.

"Thus you shall say to Joseph, 'Please forgive me, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin and that they did you wrong.' Now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Oh they got real righteous. "The servants of the God of your father." I mean we're hooked up here.

And Joseph wept. Now, Joseph, this is time when you beat them down like a dog. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then Joseph's brothers came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants." Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid. For I am in God's place." In other words, I didn't get here by Joseph. I got here by God. So the place that I'm in is God's place and I can't make this God's place messed up. So I still have to do what God says even though right now as Pharaoh I don't need to get no court hearing or nothing, I can take you out. It's still an issue about what does God say I do?

Guest (Male): Amen, Dr. Cannings. A powerful message. God used Joseph's obedience to protect him. How about you? Do we go off track and off the course when things get tough? Let's take the message to heart and not grow weary in doing good, even to those who've betrayed or hurt us.

Now if you're struggling today and wondering what to do next in your life, why not reach out to us? Give us a call at 281-260-7402. That's 281-260-7402. I'd also like to encourage you to visit us online at powerwalkministries.org.

When you're there, would you consider obtaining a copy of this message series for a struggling friend or a loved one? Also, if you're in the Houston area and you don't have a church home, we invite you to join Dr. Cannings and his congregation at Living Word Fellowship Church on Sunday mornings at 9:45 a.m.

The church is located at 7350 TC Jester Boulevard in Houston. As we leave you, remember: protect and nurture your fellowship with God and continue to be diligent in the responsibilities that he's given you and let him work in your situation.