Power Walk Ministries

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Power Walk Ministries broadcast. We're so glad that you've joined us today as Reverend Paul Cannings continues with the second volume in this series, Why Church. At the very outset, when Christ tells Peter that He will build His church in Matthew 16, Jesus immediately talks about severe opposition from the gates of hell itself.

Pastor Cannings addresses this opposition and the provision God makes for us and how we can be overcomers. Here he is now with the message, Opposition to the Church. Pastor Cannings.

Dr. Paul Cannings: Does Satan have a lot of power? Absolutely he does. He has a lot of power. The Bible is clear on that. You could see that vividly in the story of Job. When it comes to the king of Tyre in the Bible, how he could move him to do what he wanted him to do. Satan has a lot of power. He could afflict Saul. The Bible is clear on that. In Ephesians chapter 2, it also says he's the prince of the air. You vividly see that.

Satan has the power to give disease. You see that in the case of Job. He could take him within days of his life. So when we come to Satan and who he is and look vividly at that kind of power, the question for us is how are we protected? How are we protected against a roaring lion? First Peter chapter 5, verses 6 through 8 says he's seeking whom he may devour. You would say that God will build a hedge around me. Well yes, that is true. The Bible does teach that in Hebrews chapter 1, verse 14 and Psalm chapter 34, verses 7 through 8.

It's clear that the Bible says He would put angels to encamp around us. That's true. But what does that mean? How does that work? When he writes it in the book of Hebrews, he's talking about the supremacy of Christ and he's pushing the church. Because yes, we're more than conquerors. Yes, we could do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Yes, He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world. But when we talk about resisting the forces that Satan has, the Bible says we find that protection within the church. Because the church is the body of Christ. He is the head of the church.

The spiritual gifts are focused on making the church viable. The only organism that God is committed to is the church. He's not committed to anything else. The place that God teaches us that we can find our protection is in the church. That's what He says here in Matthew chapter 16 as we continue the series this week on Why Church. Why is it such a big deal to let church be something that I become engaged in and give to and serve in and seek to make viable?

Why church? Why not just stay at the house and look at a good sermon and be done with it? At least I've sought the will of God and seek to submit to the will of God, and that's great. But the Bible is teaching us that Jesus Christ went from working with Jews to building a whole new nation. First Peter chapter 2, verses 9 through 10 says, and that nation that He built, of one race he says it is, is His church.

He says this that allows us to gain protection against this force called Satan because Christ has defeated the very thing that Satan has that is the biggest attempt to destroy us, and that's death. Christ faced that, got up from the grave, sits at the right hand of the Father, so Satan doesn't have the power to even do that. Christ puts all of that into the church because He says that in Matthew chapter 16, we're now in the bottom part of verse 18 and this is what it reads: "And I say unto thee, Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

We talked about the rock. We talked about how He builds my church and what "my church" means. He says, "And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The gates of hell, watch this carefully. Why wouldn't He just say the gates through which Satan comes? He doesn't say that. He says the gates of hell, meaning the gates of Hades. Hades is a place of death. Death is a separation from life, just like light and darkness.

God is life. Anytime people are separated from life, they're in death. Death is not the grave because people, even though they are not saved, their soul goes to hell. They are coming up for the Great White Throne Judgment to go before God for their permanent description of how they would function in hell. We are coming before the Bema seat. When we pass away as believers, we go to sleep because absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and God is life.

We don't see death because we're never separated from God. When we come to this whole thing, He's saying that the people who are separated from God and Satan and his demons are coming and they have gates, which means they have different kind of ways to institute death. It could be disease. I just saw in the case of Job. It could be using drugs, alcohol. It could be all kinds of different forms that would lead people to be separated from God. But the Bible is saying that to us that we have the keys.

Understand this carefully when He says we have the keys. In the sense that you say, well that's going to Peter. "Upon this rock I'll build my church" and the revelation that is given to Peter. Therefore He's giving the revelation of God, the Word of God, to Peter. Peter, who preached the Pentecost, could therefore have the keys. No, later on in Matthew He gives the keys to all the disciples. And then He tells us in Second Peter chapter 1, verses 3 through 4, He says that we have everything we need for life and godliness through the Word of God.

The Word of God will equip the man of God for every good work. There's nothing that we don't have when we have to deal with all that Satan will bring our way because Christ is saying, "I give you the keys." In other words, the keys can only come through the ministry of the Holy Spirit which He's going to talk about later in John chapter 14 through chapter 16. The Holy Spirit guides us into truth. He allows us to be able, truth meaning the reality of what the Word of God means in day-to-day living. Colossians chapter 1, verse 9 through verse 11 explains that.

When we come to receive the Word of God, the knowledge of God, and then we need to know the application of it, the person who illuminates that, who helps us to see that, who helps us to understand that is the Holy Spirit. That's why it's important once we get the Word of God to practice it. Hebrews chapter 5, verse 14 says that when we practice it, we're able to train up our senses to discern good and evil. He's saying to us, "Nobody can give you the keys but Me." Why? Because the Holy Spirit, John chapter 14, verse 16 through 17, He provides the Holy Spirit as our helper.

The only person that can give us the keys is Jesus Christ because He is the one that we must believe that He died for our sins, rose from the dead. We must believe that in our hearts, the Bible says in Romans chapter 10, verse 9. When we believe that in our hearts, the Bible says we are saved. In other words, we confess it with our mouth, but He checks the heart. He checks to see if we're sincere about turning our lives over to Him.

He's sincere about turning our lives over to Him and willing to go through the process of being transformed functionally into a new creation. I have the heart for that. I have the mind for that. I have the will to get it done. When He sees that in our hearts, He says you're saved because He says many, many shall say "Lord, Lord," but few will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Because He provides salvation to us, He is the way, the truth, and the life. So once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit is poured into us. He illuminates the truth and it allows us to experience life and life abundantly, not death. That's why it's important, the Bible is saying, that Jesus Christ who gives us the key, meaning it becomes something we possess. That's what the word "to give" means. It's a permanent possession.

When we experience this, He says, we now have the ability to respond to any attacks that Satan can put upon us in order for us to deal with all of the gates that he places to us. The keys to the second thing I'm saying is the fact that we are not going to be separated from God. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Satan can't bring us to death because Christ provided us salvation, and that salvation overcame death.

When that salvation overcame death, when we die, the Bible is saying that we now go into the presence of God and we live with God forever. If we are faithful, we wear a white gown. He gives us several different crowns we can wear. If we were overcomers committed to overcome and do what God says, we share His throne with Him. The Bible says He has a place prepared for us. So going to heaven, the Bible is saying, it is a glorious experience.

He still does not defeat us and he can't take us to hell because we are now in heaven. If Satan opens up the gates, if Satan comes with us trying to destroy us with drugs and alcohol, if Satan comes and tries to destroy a person's life because he takes them where the person is going to decide to live in sin, the Holy Spirit in John chapter 16, verse 17 will convict us.

When that conviction come is to drive us back to God. The Bible says God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Satan cannot drive me using that sin habit in my life if I confess it, if I'm willing to submit my life to God, if I'm willing to respond to God. The Bible says I cast that sin as far as the east from the west because I paid the price for that sin.

Once you confess it, Satan can't use that sin to drive us to death because we got the key. When we are facing all that Satan can bring to us, there is no way Satan can prevail. He can't prevail, why? Because it is on the revelation, the Holy Spirit illuminating the word, that the church is built. And Jesus is building up the church.

How can Satan come through the body of Christ and attack people in it? Ephesians chapter 3, verse 10 says we will announce to Satan through the wisdom of God the victory that we have through the church. When I am committed to build up the church, Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11 through 13 says how that works, the gates of Hades cannot overcome. They cannot prevail when the church is set up the way God has instructed it to be.

Church is huge. It's important when we have a vicious enemy named Satan. We can't take it for granted. We can't just shove it to the side. We have to go and make it a viable place because that is the only place that Christ would use to impact the world. We as believers must make it viable. It is our defense. It's our protection.

Guest (Male): Amen, Dr. Cannings. Thank you. Christ is our defense and protection against all the schemes and wickedness of the evil one. Now friend, if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus and you'd like that protection against the schemes of the devil, then give us a call. Our phone number is 281-260-7402.

Dr. Paul Cannings: I praise God that this ministry has blessed many lives with the notes that we've received, the calls that many people have provided. It encourages us to keep going. So I pray folks that you will partnership with this ministry by encouraging other people to come and listen to us, by getting on our website, making purchases, by supporting our ministry. I pray that God would move on your heart to do just that.

And I guarantee you, it will go to the better use of God's kingdom resources to touch lives. That is our heart because of who we felt God was calling us to is to touch lives. And I pray that you've been blessed by this ministry. Share the word, pass it on, and pray for us regularly. God bless.

Guest (Male): Now, if you're joining us today and you'd like to obtain this volume two in the series Why Church, then please call us at 281-260-7402. Again, that's 281-260-7402. You can also log on to PowerWalkMinistries.org to secure your copy. And as we leave you, remember today's takeaway: that we can be so much more strong to resisting the enemy when we walk this life in fellowship with other believers.