Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): Welcome to Power Walk. Let's begin our broadcast today by pausing to consider the time when you came to the Lord. Do you remember the excitement and the joy that filled your heart? Did you bow down and worship our Savior with everything within you? But then over time, have you become entangled with the motions of life and you've lost your convictions and your hope? Well, if so, returning to our first love is the title of our current series. Author and speaker Dr. Paul Cannings is ready to challenge you to trust afresh the testimony of God. So, let's join Dr.

Cannings now as he teaches us from the lesson titled The Voice.

Dr. Paul Cannings: I struggle many times when I read the Scriptures and think through how many disciples Jesus had because Jesus Christ came to a people that Old Testament spoke about all over the place that he's coming. It says where he's going to be born, how he's going to be born. It talks about uh his death, his resurrect I mean everything, the resume for Jesus. The qualifications for the Messiah is mapped out. There's no question. You go to the book of Daniel, it's there. Genesis chapter 3 verse 15, it's there. So, how can Jesus come to a people that is own?

John chapter 1 says, but they don't believe in him. How could that be? How can Jesus Christ come to Jerusalem, walk into the temple courts, and people want to kill him? How could that be? How could Jesus Christ come to a group of people that he's preaching to, serving, healing a man born blind, he raising Lazarus from the dead after 4 days? 4 days. How can Jesus come to them and when they're trying to kill him, disappeared in the temple and don't don't can't touch him? How can he do these majestic, awesome, powerful things day after day?

Some days he come and sit on the countryside and he would heal people all day long. How could this be that he only ends up but technically, even though there were 12 following him, 1 times 70 end up with 11 people? How could 11 people? He should have been thousands, but you don't have that. What you have is one guy at the cross and the other 11 can't be counted for. They're gone. How can he have one there when he said he's going to die and raise from the dead so much the Pharisees and the Sadducees knew, the people knew he's going to do this?

He loudly talked about Jonah being in the belly of the fish 3 days, 3 nights. I mean he he told them that he is going to die so many time. How could it be that only one is at the cross? Oh folks, this is the issue that Jesus Christ is talking about. He's talking to us about where our love really lies because that's what opens up our heart for everything else. What Jesus Christ is seeking to communicate to us is what they did not listen to, why they put them on a cross, why they could not accept that what he was doing in the name of God was coming from God.

See Jesus Christ is telling us this. He says in verse 25 of John chapter 10 he says Jesus answered and said, I told you and you do not believe. There's no deep conviction that comes over you. Now, what brings this conviction? The Holy Spirit. John chapter 16 tells us that. So, the Holy Spirit decided this person, even though Christ has made himself available to them, this person does not have a heart that's going to receive him. In John chapter 16 he says in verse 7 he says, but I tell you the truth and it's to your advantage that I go away.

And if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. And if I go away, I will send him to you and when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment concerning sin because they do not believe in me. And concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you no longer see me concerning judgment because the ruler of the world has been judged. There's no conviction. There's no belief. In other words, I'm doing the works of my Father. That's what he goes on to say. The works that I do in my Father's name, they testify of me.

They testify of my nature of who I am, my being. They testify. They proclaim. They speak loud. But even though the facts are in your face, there's no conviction in your heart. Why? Because when the spirit of God shows up and looks inside of your heart, he sees that you are not my sheep. The testimony of God is he says is visible in Romans chapter 1. He he he came to his own and they did not receive him. He went to the world. God so loved them. Where are we now? Are we just like the ones he came to?

Where's the conviction when anxiety takes over our lives that we could just pray and trust him to fix everything? Where is it? Jesus Christ is telling us if you are going to believe in me, the spirit of God will check your heart out. You confess with your mouth, but you have to believe in your heart. And that's when we're saved. So, salvation is even in question because some people say they're saved and all they do is go to church. The rest of the week they're not living for Christ. There's no conviction to do the things of Christ.

They could keep living sinfully and there's no conviction. 1 John chapter 3 says they're not saved. Many many shall say Lord Lord, but few will enter into the kingdom of God. These people in the temple are going we believe in God, but they're rejecting Christ and Christ God is saying the only way to come to me is through Christ and they're saying we don't believe in you. So, you can't believe in God when God is giving a a testimony that Jesus is the Christ and when the testimony is being done in the name of God and you rejected, then there's no way you could say you believe in God because God is now functioning in your face and you're not accepting it.

You're accepting with the Pharisees say, with the high priests say, you're accepting what the Levites say, you're accepting with the teachers of the law say, you're accepting with the elders say, but you not accepting what the facts say in front of your face. So, you don't have a heart for me. Don't don't say you believe in God. I'm doing God right now and you not buying it. He's saying to us same thing today. How can they be a manifestation of God in our face? And we say no. Oh you said but I go to church, but does there say any conviction in my heart to do the things of God?

Is there any conviction in my heart that when I sin, I have to confess it before God and say God forgive me? Is there any drive to to learn the word of God and apply the word of God? Is there any commitment to just follow him because I can't help but respond to his voice and do what he says? If you're my sheep, there will be a conviction. There'll be a following. That's what he says. You do not believe because you're not my sheep. He says my sheep hear my voice. The word means when they listen to it, they come with the heart to do it.

In other words, you got a community sheep pen. So, in the morning when the shepherds come early in that morning, they will go and they say they would call out their sheep and the sheep would hear their voice. So, what one shepherd calling out sheep follow him, another shepherd calling out sheep follow him, another shepherd calling out sheep follow him. When one shepherd calls, the rest of the sheep stay in because they're not his sheep. So, they have a visible representation of what Christ is saying and he's saying to them, here I am. You you got a shepherds that came a different way.

He he says it earlier on in chapter 10. They came a whole different way. They didn't enter into the gate. They didn't come to the gate like a shepherd should and call out the sheep. They jumped over the fence. You you know how corrupt it is, but you come anyway. So, he says you you do this to respond this these particular shepherds because you don't come to hear. In other words, when I stand at the gate and I am the gate and I call out, he says earlier on in chapter 10, he says you don't listen to follow.

You listen like all the sheep listen in the community pen. They hear every shepherd that comes and talks. They just don't follow every shepherd that comes and talks. So, he's saying you you you hear you you standing here listening to me teach, you you watching the miracles, you you see me manifest the power of God in the name of God. You you see it all. It's like shepherds all standing at the gate calling their sheep in the morning. You're there, but when you hear my voice, you don't have a heart to follow me because you're not my sheep.

Just like a shepherd standing there calling out the sheep, the other sheep don't follow him because they don't they're not his sheep. And the other shepherds is who they belong to. You belong to these shepherds that you follow. You're not my sheep because when if you were my sheep, you would hear my voice, meaning you would come with a heart to walk out the sheep pen and trust me. I know there wolves out there. I know there's pain out there. I know you're going to have to have an anointed oil on your head. I I understand that there's a valley in the shadow of death, but I'm a good shepherd.

Come out the gate. Trust me. Walk with me because you started out with a conviction that I'm the Christ. Because you started out with that conviction, then you can hear my voice and do what I say. You know there's a lot of voices, voices in terms of all the preachers, all the stuff that's out there. I understand that. But he says voice. I don't go even to my voice first. That's not not the issue. The issue in their context of this passage is all the voices at the sheep pen. But when he says voice here, he's describing his nature and the only way that a person can hear this voice, he talks about it in chapter 14.

The person has to be saved. What do you mean by saved? The person has to believe that Jesus is the Christ. That's what the problem is here in John chapter 10. They don't believe he's the Christ. So, they can't hear his voice. Then when they do that, they have to become a brand new creation which the only thing that can happen at that point is when they are committed to confess him with their heart, not just their mouth. Many many say Lord Lord, but few will enter into the kingdom of God. He said there may be many prophets and preachers who say they come from God, but they're not.

So, he says this this is going to be a problem. He tells us that. The issue is this voice. Number one, salvation. Number two, he tells us it will be a spirit of truth. We will have a heart for the truth. Anytime there's falsehood, we we we will be like the Berean Christians. Let me check you out Paul. Let me let me make sure you got this right. Let me check out this Bible. Not just run to commentary. Let me do some word studies. Let me go into a theological dictionary that's really explaining the word.

Not a Webster dictionary, but a theological dictionary. Let me Let me Let me get down because I'm going to do whatever it takes to find the truth. This person would have a heart for the truth because the person who comes into them is the Holy Spirit and he's the spirit of truth. They're not concerned about anything else but the truth. So, this is the voice. He says they will know me. They still can hear me because they know me. What does that mean? 1 John talks about this. They're so committed to hear, meaning listen to his voice and commit to obey it because they're consistently obeying it, they get in tune with the spirit.

Once you renew the mind, the spirit will transform our lives and we will now do the perfect will of God because we've committed to work out our salvation in fear and trembling and he who is within us works for his good and for his purposes. So, the spirit of God now begins to dominate how we walk, how we talk, how we function. So, we get to know more about the spirit than the flesh. So, we come to know God since the spirit is the very nature of Christ, the very nature of God. So, we come to know him.

So, when we come to know him, we will know when he is speaking because we know his voice. The issue today is when Christ speaks, do we hear his voice? Folks, because that's all that matters. Stay focused.

Guest (Male): Thank you Pastor Cannings for reminding us that how we live life is determined by what we believe. Friends, we're so thrilled to bring you our current series Returning to our First Love. It's our prayer that God will use it to enrich your walk with him. Before the end of our broadcast today, we want to reach out to those who don't know Jesus as their personal Savior. If that describes you, Christ gave himself on the cross so that you and I can experience an abundant life with him. We urge you to draw near to God just as you are and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord.

And with that decision, you'll begin a journey in which you're never alone.

Guest (Female): Please save the date, December 5, 2026 as Dr. Paul Cannings will be hosting a fundraiser luncheon. Dr. Tony Evans, founder and president of the Urban Alternative, will be our guest speaker. The luncheon will be at 11:00 a.m. at Crown Plaza in Shenandoah, Texas. Please visit us online at powerwalkministries.org for reservation and further details. We hope you'll be with us this December 5th to join our host Pastor Paul Cannings at 11:00 a.m. for the luncheon and for a message from God's word by Dr. Tony Evans. December 5th, get your reservation powerwalkministries.org. We hope to see you there.

Guest (Male): We'd love to connect with you, so call us 281 260 7402. Especially if you made that decision to receive Jesus, please reach out to us. Again, call 281 260 7402 or log on to powerwalkministries.org. That's powerwalkministries.org. There are many voices calling us in different directions, but remember the only voice that matters belongs to Jesus Christ. So, listen for that voice.