Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): We welcome you to this broadcast of Power Walk with Pastor Paul Cannings. Our current series is titled God Reigns Supreme. Do you allow your circumstances to control you? Some situations, like health challenges, broken relationships, struggles with finances, and other issues can become so overwhelming that we allow them to consume us.

We find David in Psalm 86 in a dire situation, and yet his approach is quite different, challenging us to turn our focus on God and his attributes. Pastor Cannings brings us today's message titled, He is Merciful.

Dr. Paul Cannings: Not too long ago, I went to Guyana, South America, the place I grew up. I had the opportunity for my son and my grandson to be with me because my grandson was accepted and won the opportunity to be on the Guyana under-17 national football team, soccer team. So, my chest is sticking way out. I'm trying to stand behind my son, who has invested a lot into his son and loves his son deeply, and my chest is sticking out so big I can't breathe that well.

We landed and everything is great and we're excited. There's some things I started to recognize right away, like just going down to the pharmacy. I had to remember some conveniences that we have in America, like a CVS just down the street, those conveniences are not necessarily there. I had to adjust to the environment, but what was beautiful was God reminding me about my Guyanese people. They are friendly, loving, always trying to help you. Different things that take place that happen there make me forget about the inconveniences and focus on the culture and the people and some family members that are still there.

Sometimes when we get through life, we are so wrapped up in our culture and what this culture and whatever the conveniences that we may have been able to achieve. Some of it is just achieved because we're in certain neighborhoods now. We drive a certain way so we're not rolling the window down. We're driving and have a GPS system in the car and don't have to flip through a phone anymore. We have some conveniences set up in our lives because some people have achieved certain things.

Some people have not. Some people listening to this message today are in prison or are in jail and they listen. See, our environment is constantly changing that could make us be so influenced and controlled by our environment that we forget who we are dealing with in terms of the people that God may place in our lives that are beneficial to us. Many times that happens even with people who gain success. You can't get them to serve at all in the church anymore and they don't give to the level that God has called them to.

They don't have time to be at Bible study. Their success doesn't have time to serve in the capacities that they have the spiritual gifts called them to. Their success sometimes makes them around family members an uncomfortable experience because they now feel that they are above people. Their environment and what has taken place has changed their perspective on who they are until sickness hits them, until the economy crashes, and then all of a sudden a storm comes through.

Then all of a sudden, we're reminded of how frail we are, how needy we are of who God is. This is what we find here in Psalm 86, and we're still in verse five if you listened yesterday. We focused on one of the key things in this passage. What does it mean when we say "Lord"? Who is that? What does that word mean? But today, David could have been controlled by his environment. His enemy is formidable. David says, "I'm poor and needy. I don't have much."

When David looks at his enemy and how powerful and how well-trained they are, that's another problem that he has with his 400 mighty men. So David is saying, "I'm at a disadvantage." But what David does is David reminds himself of who God is. That's why he says these things that we need to remind ourselves of when life's circumstances are changing around us. The environment that we may be in may not be as friendly as we would like it to be.

As a result of that, the environment changes us rather than the God who is in us, because it is He who's within us both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Instead of going on the inside to grow up for the outside, we many times let the outside tear us down on the inside, so that instead of doing what's right, we sin and the wages of sin leads to spiritual death. We have to watch this carefully because David is in this situation and he says this: "The Lord is good."

In other words, Paul would put it this way in Romans chapter eight, verse 28: "All things work together for the good of those who love Him, those who choose to keep His commandments." John would say in John 14:15, if we choose to keep His commandments, then the word of God, as we discussed yesterday, is already powerful. We don't have to make it powerful. We just have to experience its power.

The Word of God never fails. It endures forever, as Peter would say. The Word of God does not ever come back void, as Isaiah would say in Isaiah 55:11. So the Word of God, by just holding to it, the Bible says it can't help but come out good. Good meaning it blesses our economy. In other words, I may be at the worst time to give because of where my money is, but it's the best time to give because I'm showing that I trust in who God is.

Because His word says this is what I do, I just do it because I trust Him to be able to supply my needs according to His riches in glory. Because of that, he's saying it can't help but bless your economy, because you see that in Malachi chapter three. He would say if a man chooses to love his wife and to cherish her and to function in a godly way towards his wife, "I will bless his economy."

So understand, if a man fears God and does what is right in God's sight, as Psalm 112 says, "I will bless him with riches." So when we come to this whole concept of looking at the Word of God, he says the Word of God being good turns out good. It is also talking about the economy that we are in. As a matter of fact, in Psalm 128, he says it's not politicians that make the economy good or bad. It is people who choose to walk righteous that makes the economy good or bad.

David, when he finished killing Goliath, look at this, David is coming into town and David's anointing that God has done not in front of everybody is now clearly in front of everybody, who David is. When David keeps doing what God called him to do, these 400 mighty men, everybody says, "David is our king." It worked out to his advantage by walking with the Word of God. The same thing with Daniel. Daniel, you're crazy. Just stop praying, just give it up or go in a corner, find a hole somewhere. Don't be doing this thing public.

Daniel says no. God was the one who fought the battle because it turned out to Daniel's advantage. So now when he comes out, the king is up all night concerned about him. He comes out and the king says, "You know what? All your enemies are now dead. I'm going to go ahead and promote you." It worked out for his advantage. Same thing with Joseph. Joseph came out as a prince because it came out for his advantage. That's why he's saying, "For thou, Lord, art good." In other words, there's nobody else good, so what's the point going anywhere else?

What's the point changing my mind and letting the circumstances dominate how I operate? Let me look at the people involved here. Let me look at the people who are kind. I live in heavenly places, as Paul would say. Why? I've got the Holy Spirit inside of me, poured into me. Not a little bit at a time, but poured, as Titus chapter three, verses four through eight says. Poured meaning all of Him is there. I've got all spiritual blessings, as Ephesians chapter one, verses three through four says. I don't get a little bit here and a little bit there. I've got it all.

He's saying that if I choose to walk right, as Hebrews chapter one, verse 14 says, angels are around me. Colossians chapter three, verses one through three says I live in Christ and Christ lives in God. I'm in heavenly places. So since I'm in heavenly places, I'd rather focus on that protection, that covering, instead of letting the circumstances around me corrupt the people that are constantly loving me. That's why he says, "and be ready to forgive."

In other words, if in the midst of all of this, I'm human. The Bible says if a person says they have no sin, they're a liar and the truth is not in them, in 1 John chapter one. He's saying there's times when this situation is going to make a person maybe get mad at their spouse and use foul language, or slam the door, or just don't pick up the phone when the person calls, or just walk past them at church. Different things that people may do or circumstances may make a person not give because I don't agree with where they're going in this church.

You have all of that happening, or people get bad attitudes because somebody's singing their song in the choir when they missed choir practice forever. All these different attitudes could pop up in us and David knows about that. By this time, David knows the goodness and the grace of God and he says, "God forgives." In other words, He doesn't keep a record of wrongs. God does not hold a debt against me. When I ask Him to forgive me of my sins, God acts like I didn't do nothing. That's what he's saying here.

God doesn't keep a record. I don't have a debt towards Him. So once He forgives me of my sins, it is as far as the east from the west. It is not like He's going to bring it up again. So that's why he says, "and he's plenteous in mercy." In other words, I don't deserve grace many times. I deserve His pity. Like, "David, I could kill you right now. I've given you this, I've anointed you, I've done all these different things and what are you going to go out here and sin with Bathsheba? Why are you going to go out here and do this evil?

Look at you, you're standing on top of a Davidic city looking down at this woman. What is wrong with you looking at her? Come on, David. You don't even have to go to war anymore. These guys go out there and fight for you because they believe that God's anointing is upon you and they fight for Israel and they put their lives on the line. Come on, David." Yeah, God is plenteous in mercy. Plenteous. In other words, He forgives me of my sins because I'm trying to do the right thing and do it the right way but I just had a bad thought that just wasn't good.

In this situation, the circumstance, and as a result of that, a bad thought. I may not have said anything but I thought some things that were not good. He says, "Okay, so God forgive me." He doesn't keep a debt, it's done, let's keep going. But there's times when I just keep pressing and doing things that are not right and I justify it, and I do the things that I know that God is not pleased with, but I'm just too angry to stop. He says in those times, He's plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon His name.

That's what we're going to pick up tomorrow, that call upon His name. You see, folks, the circumstances can make us forget the Holy Spirit, angels around us, Christ at the right hand of the Father, God. Who is God all the time? Always good, always grace, always present, always loving, always kind. But don't let the circumstances let us do that. The circumstances should make us more dependent. Circumstances should make our prayer life be stronger. The circumstances should make us run to God, should make us pant after God. I pray that no matter what you face, the circumstances of your life, don't forget the people that love you most. Stay focused.

Guest (Male): Amen, Pastor Cannings. God is indeed merciful. He's a covenant-keeping God that will never leave us or forsake us. So let's not allow our circumstances to overwhelm us so much that we lose sight of God.

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, doing what they're teaching in their churches. You cannot miss this conference. Come April the 23rd through the 25th at Living Word Fellowship Church. Come and be blessed. The conference is the way forward, how we can be productive despite the challenges ministries can experience. You go to powerwalkministries.org and you will get all the information you need. Powerwalkministries.org. Look forward to seeing you.

Guest (Male): Power Walk Ministries is a listener-supported broadcast. So could we ask you to partner with us by making a one-time or ongoing financial contribution? You can do so when you log on to powerwalkministries.org. That's powerwalkministries.org. Our mailing address is Power Walk Ministries, PO Box 920517, Houston, Texas, 77092. We appreciate your partnership.

And now as we leave you, remember you can allow your circumstances to turn to God or away from Him. As we read in Psalm 86, God reigns over all and is merciful towards us. So let's call on Him.