2 Corinthians. We're going to be looking today at chapter 2. And for those of you who are just joining us, haven't ever been to a study here with me, we're going through a verse by verse study of the book of 2 Corinthians. And the way I do that is I will take you through the book. I'll actually teach the book itself. And so we're going to be looking at it today, verses 12 through 17. And we're going to see the subject of the greatness of the gospel. In order to give you the most full study I can give to you. And seeing that I've been gone for the last couple of weeks. And there's three weeks in between the last study and all. I'll give you a little bit of a reminder of the things we've already gone through. And then I'm going to move into verses 12 through 17. In verses 12 through 17, you actually see Paul dealing with different things or building on certain things. So we'll take verses 12 and 13 together. Then we'll take verses 14 through 16 together. And then we'll conclude at verse 17. And you're going to see that. It actually flows in a certain direction, but there are various things he's dealing with. And I'm going to try to build these things up so that when you're reading this passage, you'll have a better understanding of what he was speaking about as he was writing to this church in Corinth, Greece. And so beginning at verse 12, reading to verse 17, 2 Corinthians chapter two, Paul writes, Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find Titus my brother. But taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one, we are the aroma of death leading to death. To the other, the aroma of life leading to life. And who's sufficient for these things? For we are not as so many peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. And so here's something for you. We'll begin our introduction by reminding you that Paul has been answering charges that are being lodged against him, accusations that are being lodged against him by false teachers who have infiltrated the church of Corinth. And throughout the book of 2 Corinthians, we actually see Paul answering charges, charge by charge. And you can see that in the way that he's writing that he's actually responding to something. And as we've been going through 2 Corinthians, I've been pointing out these charges and showing you by the way he's responding that he's actually dealing with the accusations of infiltrators. You see, when God begins to move, you need to remember this, when God begins to move, the enemy has a way of trying to stop God's movement. And one of the ways he does that is through infiltration. He'll have people that he motivates to go into a church who will bring false doctrine, bad teaching. And that will dilute and will prevent the healthy growth of the individual and the church body. And so in the time of Paul's writing to the Corinthians, there were people, and we'll be looking at them in some detail as we go through the book, who are entering into the church there in Corinth and we're calling into question Paul and his ministry. And so they're giving accusations about him. So all through 2 Corinthians, he is open heartedly dealing with these accusations and we have seen some up to this point. Remember, for example, in chapter one, verse 12, he answered the charge that he is selfish and uses fleshly wisdom. That's what they were saying about him. Then in verse 13, he answered a second charge of chapter one, that he's not forthright, he uses innuendo. Then we saw in chapter one, verse 17, a third charge, that he changes his mind and his plans easily. We looked at chapter one, verse 21, where they accused him of being self-appointed. In chapter one, verse 24, they said, he lords it over the church, he bullies him, he dominates their faith. So we saw that, we looked in detail at those different things. And the last time we were together, we looked at two other charges. There was a sixth charge that they gave concerning him in chapter two, verse four, and it was that he, they were saying, is an unemotional intellect that he didn't really love them. So let me read that verse to you. It says, for out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. He's answering the charge. He speaks concerning the things that he had endured, affliction, anguish of heart, he spoke of tears, and he said, I love you, I have an abundant love for you. Now those words that he gave there in verse four should have been sufficient for them to see that he had a deep love for them, that the things that were being said of him were not true. They should have known that, but apparently he needed to say that to him. Now, for those who are recording the various charges because I've been enumerating them, I forgot to label the seventh charge. And that charge was made because Paul had told the church to expel an unrepentant man. Remember with me that the Corinthians had actually had a sin taken place in their midst in the church that they weren't dealing with.  And Paul had in first Corinthians written to them and told them this is wrong. And rather than you showing sincere repentance, rather than you dealing with this the way you should, not realizing of course that a little leaven is gonna leaven the whole lump, the church is gonna become unholy because it's polluted with sin and you're not doing anything about it. He said, instead of dealing with it, you're glorying in it as if you've got some access of grace there that allows this kind of thing.  And we looked at that last time we were together, we spoke to you on the subject of church discipline and all of that, so he had said, you need to deal with that. Well, what was going on and Paul begins to speak about it is that there were some in the church who were in disagreement with Paul. And these are the ones who have been influenced and infected by false teachers. Notice how he had said in verse six the chapter two, this punishment, which was expelling them, this punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man. And I pointed out to you when he said by the majority that tells me that that was a majority but there's a minority that didn't agree with him. And that's what happens. You'll have a church full of people and many of them may say, no, that's the right thing to do but you'll always have people who say, I don't think that's the right thing. And what that was is it was demonstrating that the false teachers had influenced a certain portion of the church. And so he was dealing with that. So now Paul is gonna resume his explanation concerning the fact that he had changed his plans. Now, why would he do that? Why does Paul have to speak concerning this? You see, Paul had gone to chores but now he's giving the reason why he had done so. Why does he have to do that though? Why should he explain to the church? I mean, isn't his conscience before the Lord and should he be answerable to God alone? I mean, why do I have to he would say, he could say, why do I have to tell you what I did? God led me to do something, you ought to trust me. But you know what happens is the false teachers will infiltrate and they'll say, look, if this guy really loved you, he'd have been there. He told you he was gonna come and he didn't show up. And because he had told you he was gonna come and didn't show up, it demonstrates that you can't trust him and also shows he doesn't love you because if he loved you, he wouldn't have disappointed you. And we were seeing that last hour together but that's what's taking place. Why does he have to explain himself to these people? It's because ministers must be people of integrity. Their yes is to be yes and their no is to be no because anything different than that is gonna undermine the gospel and they will not be trusted. When a minister is not trusted, the gospel message itself will be called into question. And so he has to be a person of character. Somebody wrote, according to scripture, virtually everything that truly qualifies a person for leadership is directly related to a character. It's not about style, status, personal charisma, clout or worldly measurements of success. Integrity is the main issue that makes the difference between a good leader and a bad one. And so his integrity is being called into question and Paul is a man of integrity, he's a man of character. So it's in that area, integrity and character, it's that area that he comes under attack. Paul's word was being questioned and when his word is being questioned, it impacts his ministry, it impacts his credibility. So he had written his first letter, the letter to the Corinthians, first Corinthians and in that letter he had written that he was planning on paying them two visits when he came into their area. He said he had hoped to pass their way on his way up north and then he said, I hope to see you when I return south. And he had said in first Corinthians chapter 16 verse six, it may be that I will remain or even spend the winter with you. In verse seven of the same chapter, he went on to say, I do not wish to see you now on the way but I hope to stay awhile with you if the Lord permits. So apparently the words it may be and I hope to stay with you awhile with you were not sufficient. His detractor said, well, Paul changes his mind easily. He's unstable and thus he's untrustworthy because of these charges and their serious nature. He's answering each one individually. So in verse 12, he says this, when I came to trust to preach Christ's gospel, a door was opened to me by the Lord. So he begins by answering once again that accusation. I came to Troas. When you're looking at a map and if you looked at Israel and you went north and a little to the west, you have the coast of Turkey. And the coast of Turkey is where Troas was. It's an ancient port city. It was on the northern tip of the western coast of Turkey. And so he's speaking of this city and he said, the reason I went to this area was to be faithful to my call as an evangelist. Notice verse 12 how he says that God had opened up a window of opportunity for him. He speaks of it in that way, that God had opened up a door. Notice verse 12, he says, a door was opened to me by the Lord. A door in Christian ease is a window of opportunity. When we speak about God opening a door, that's what we're saying. God has opened up a pathway to us, given us an opportunity to minister the gospel. There's a receptivity to the message of the gospel. A door allows the evangelist to enter in and it reveals that the hearer has a welcoming heart. Well, the Corinthians of all people should have understood this because Paul had come to share the gospel with them. They came into existence as a church on his second missionary journey. They should have understood that his greatest passion was preaching the gospel. They themselves were beneficiaries of that. It was his desire to preach the gospel that motivated him to take difficult and dangerous and even long journeys. We're gonna look at that in chapter 11 when we get there. But it was his desire to preach the name of Christ where Jesus' name had yet to be preached. He said, lest I should build on another man's foundation. He had told the Romans in chapter 15 verse 20. So he had come to Troy us because he had gone through a riot in the city of Ephesus. That's recorded in Acts 19. And when he came to the city, he found a great opportunity to preach the gospel. There he says, the Lord opened up a door for me to preach. Now an open door is an evangelist's dream. Every evangelist wants an opportunity to preach the gospel. Everyone does. Everybody who loves the Lord and wants to share the faith asks God to open doors. Lord, open the door so I can do this. Give me an opportunity that I might do this. Long before I was pastor in a church, I was looking for open doors. Long before I passed at a church and I find opportunity when the door would open and the way the doors would open is you'll begin to hear something in a conversation that can lead you in a direction of speaking about the Lord and what God can do. And you can find open doors all the time if you're praying for them. If you're asking for them. If you're desiring them. You can find opportunities to share the gospel. And you see it all through the scriptures. We look at the book of Acts in chapter eight. There's a man whose name is Philip. And Acts eight tells us about how Philip was walking along a road in the middle of a desert. And as he was walking, he encountered a government official who was returning from a visit to the city of Jerusalem. And as Philip saw him, he saw that he was reading the Bible and he walked up to him, he approached the man and he says to him, do you understand what you're reading? Now that's where the Lord opened up a door for Philip. The man says to him, how can I understand unless someone guides me? What an open door. How can I understand unless someone explains what it means? Because the guy asks, is this man speaking of himself or some other man? And what he was doing is he was reading Isaiah 53. And so Philip saw the open door there and began to explain to him that that one in Isaiah 53, that suffering servant was none other than Jesus Christ and he preached the gospel to him. And when he did, this man listens to him and says to him, there's some water. He says, what forbids me from being baptized? And the answer came, well, you can if you believe with all of your heart. And he says, I believe that Jesus Christ is Messiah and he was baptized. That's an open door. We get those fairly often, not all the time but fairly often. And if you have eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart that's willing, you'll be blessed. How many times do you have a chance to share a little bit about Jesus and the gospel? Again, that is the heart of the Jesus movement. That was what we were all trained to do when we first got saved. I didn't look for an evangelist. I didn't say, oh man, I wish Billy Graham were here to share with you. When I spoke to my parents, I didn't say, oh, I wish Billy Graham were here. I just knew I'm supposed to do the work of an evangelist. We were told to do that because what we are is we're thirsty people who can tell other people where to get a drink of water. That's what we are. We're hungry people who can tell somebody else where you can have some bread. And that's what we do when we preach the gospel. We're just pointing people to the one who can satisfy their need. And we pray for these open doors. We ask God, give me opportunity, Lord, I wanna share and the Lord opens those doors. And so we pray, we pray for that. It's good to pray that the Lord opens doors for you. In Colossians 4, verse three, Paul said it like this. He said, pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. In Revelation 3, verse eight, we read, I know your deeds, behold, I have placed before you an open door no one can shut. He says, so the Lord has given to us an opportunity, there's an open door notice to preach Christ's gospel. And so he speaks of notice verse 12, Christ's gospel. It was an invented by Paul. It was revealed to him by the Lord. When I was in a secular college, I took a comparative religions class. I wonder how many of you have had opportunity to do that. I did when I went to college and I wanted to take something that related to religion and I was not in a Christian college at that time, I was a secular, a non-Christian college, a state college and I took comparative religion and I still remember one of the professors, well the professor of that particular class, I still remember how he spoke concerning Christianity, the gospel and the apostle Paul. And he said that the apostle Paul was the originator of Christianity. He said that, he said the Christian message came from the apostle Paul. No, he was wrong about that. He doesn't read the Bible so obviously Paul can't correct him because Paul would have differed with him about that because the gospel that Paul preached was something he received. In Galatians chapter one, verses 11 and 12, he said it like this, I want you to know brothers that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it. Rather, I received it by the revelation from Jesus Christ. So he's speaking about preaching Christ's gospel and he's saying it isn't something that was invented by me, it belongs to him. When you read your Bible, you see the gospel spoken of in various ways. You'll see that the word gospel is actually sometimes used to describe certain aspects of what God is doing. For example, in John chapter three, verses three and five, the gospel there, the message of being born again is referred to as the gospel of the kingdom because it reveals that in trusting the message, people entry into the kingdom of God. And so it can be referred to as the gospel of the kingdom. It's also referred to as the gospel of God. In second Corinthians 11 verse seven, Paul says that he said, did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? Well, it's a gospel of God because God is the source of the gospel. It's also called the gospel of his son because Jesus is the theme of the gospel. In Romans 1.9, it says, God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son. That without ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayers. It's called the gospel of grace because it's all about grace. In Acts 20 verse 24, Paul said, none of these things move me nor do I count my life dear to myself so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. In other words, the message of the gospel leaves no room for human work or merit. It's the everlasting gospel because another gospel will never replace it, never. There are those who bring messages and say that they have the latest iteration of the gospel, that they have a new revelation. But the fact is, no, it's the everlasting gospel. There's never another message to replace it. In Revelation 14 verse six, I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. And so a door has been opened for him to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and he's about to do that. That's why he went to Troas to preach Christ's gospel. That's why he didn't come to them when he said he would be there because they of all people should have known that he was gonna go where the Spirit led him. So as he's saying that, notice verse 13, he goes on to say I had no rest in my spirit because I didn't find Titus my brother. Taken my leave of them, I departed from Macedonia. So he's explaining his route to them. But he says in verse 13, I didn't have any rest because I didn't find Titus. There's a door open, but Paul had no rest in his mind. He was agitated. Now why? Well he tells us, he says I didn't find Titus. Why would that matter? Well this man Titus was one of his sons of the faith and Titus had not returned with word concerning the condition of the Corinthians. It's interesting when you read the writings of Paul that Paul was not moved when he encountered conflict. He was never moved when he encountered opposition. That was something he was prepared for and he wouldn't get agitated about it. He was expecting to be opposed. He was expecting persecution. He was expecting various things. He was prepared to go anywhere and to do anything for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. I remember a portion of Scripture in Acts 20 that shares how Paul was meeting with a group of church leaders from Ephesus. And he was speaking to them and he said, I have served Jesus with humility, tears and trials. And then he told him that he knew the road ahead of him would be filled with difficulties. In Acts 20, 23 he said, I am seen. Now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem not knowing the things that will happen to me there except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city saying that chains and tribulations await me. But he moves on to say none of these things move me nor do I count my life dear to myself so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. I don't let anything stop me or deter me afflictions and chains, tribulations await me but they don't overly concern me. I've been prepared for this kind of life. So here's the thing to notice. What did move him? What moved him was his concern for the church for their spiritual state. Paul was more concerned that the infiltrators had impacted the church that the infiltrators were undermining their faith. He didn't want their faith undermined and his labor to be in vain for nothing. Now this is something I think, let me share from my heart for a moment with you. This is something, this attitude of Paul that I'm addressing right now and we'll look at in some detail is something that many in church fellowships even like this one, even perhaps this one that many in churches don't understand. They think what's the big deal? As long as they say Jesus and as long as they go to church once in a while doesn't that make them a Christian? And please stop being so harsh and judgmental if you point out errors in something else don't you have errors yourself and what makes you qualified to say bad things about other people? And we have this kind of attitude in the church. It's infected the church to the degree that the lack of discernment is frightening today because if somebody opens up a Bible and quotes it they say obviously this man must be telling us the truth this woman must be speaking truth because while they're very wealthy they're on TV, they've got a radio program they must be telling us the truth. And so when people like me stand up and say you need to watch out for these things then people say oh you're a judge didn't Jesus say you're not supposed to judge? You know there are two scriptures that people know by heart you know judge not lest you be judged and the second one is wives submit into your husband. Those are the two scriptures that we memorize right? Those are the only two that most that's the only one that most men know wives doesn't say somewhere in there you're supposed to submit to me. So what we do is we selectively cherry pick scriptures without understanding the context and then we live by them and we get deceived. That's what happens. That's why I encourage you as a pastor read the word. Stay in the word of God. Study it and pray and ask God direct you daily so that you're being immunized against error you're being immunized against deception. Paul was greatly concerned about that because these people had infiltrated the church and were saying things about him and it wasn't a personal thing it wasn't that Paul couldn't take it. You know I've had people over the years you can imagine I've been teaching the word since 1973. So you can't imagine the weird things that have been said to me when it comes to mind I don't know why but it does. So I'll share it with you. I was given a Bible study that was as many years ago it was at my house. Marie and I you know I was hosting a Bible study you know a woman came to the Bible study and at the end of the Bible study she walked up to me and I'm used to people saying hello and this and that but she said something different.   I said uh-huh and good day to you too you know I said oh really she goes yes she says but I'm trying to figure out why. Oh good she's a thinker. I said really she goes I she goes I don't know if I hate you because you represent authority or because I'm sexually attracted to you. I said you hate authority. I am positive that you hate authority. You can't imagine you can't imagine the things that are said after Bible studies. You can't imagine the things that people will say maybe you've been guilty of saying a few things yourself you can't imagine how things can be blown out of proportion how things can be said and all of that and how things can begin to snowball to undermine just by someone's personal opinion or somebody's feelings and these infiltrators had entered into the church of Corinth and they had been saying things about Paul undermining, undermining, undermining him to the point where he now has to respond to it and he's concerned. He wasn't concerned about the afflictions that he endured. He wasn't concerned about the jail time that he experienced. He wasn't concerned about the tribulations that he had, the persecutions and the things he went through. Again we'll see that later on in the book when he begins to address the things he's gone through the shipwrecks and the beatings and all. That wasn't what was concerning him. What concerned him is that his labor might have been in vain. That the false teachers would come and undermine and that's why to the Corinthians in First Corinthians he had said though you may have 10,000 instructors yet you have but one father I begot you in the gospel. I have a father's love for you a concern for your spiritual well-being and this is what you see in the heart of a true shepherd this is what you see in the heart of Paul because they were coming in and undermining and he did not want their faith undermined. He didn't want his labor to be for nothing. It wasn't just to the Corinthians, to the Galatians in chapter four verse 11 he said to them I'm afraid for you lest I've labored for you in vain to the Philippians in chapter two verse 16 he said holding fast the word of life so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. In First Thessalonians three verse five for this reason when I could no longer endure it I sent to know your faith lest by some means the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be in vain. It wasn't the afflictions, it wasn't the tribulations it wasn't the shipwrecks, the beatings it was his concern for the church. He's concerned for them. He's concerned for those he ministers to. He was concerned that his ministry to them would not be undermined. He needed an encouraging word from Titus. Are they doing okay? What are the effects of the epistle that I'd written to them? What do you see and take place? And so he says in verse 13 I had no rest in my spirit because I didn't find Titus my brother taking my leave of them I departed from Macedonia. Well, Titus brought good news to Paul. We'll see that in a moment I'm gonna quote this to you and you'll say it in chapter seven. So at this point there's kind of a change of mood if you will he's been speaking in a certain way but now he's gonna change his tone in a way in verse 14 because he says I had no rest in my spirit but in verse 14 he goes on to say now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place for we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. Notice verse 16 to the one we are the aroma of death leading to death to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And then he asks the question who is sufficient for these things? Who is sufficient for these things? Now at this point though things looked bad he's saying Christ leads us on and he's worthy of all praise and he makes it plain that he's not in the state of spiritual defeat with all that he had to deal with with all the pressure that he lives under he's blessed listen he knew that in Christ he's protected and in Christ he's an overcomer like it says in Psalm three verses three through five you are a shield around me oh Lord you bestow glory on me and lift up my head to the Lord I cry aloud and he answers me from his holy hill I lie down and sleep I wake again because the Lord sustains me that's something you can know too by the way you know though everything rages around you everything the messages that you hear you know in life the voices that you hear in your head of you're never gonna make it or you're a failure or you're never gonna be any different than you've been those are all lies because in the Lord Jesus Christ you're a new creation and Lord Jesus Christ you can do all things and the Lord Jesus Christ you're more than a conqueror and the Lord Jesus Christ you're brand new and you need to understand that because the enemy has a way of undermining the grace of God and he does it by trying to cause you to be defeated and Paul's saying no I am not defeated I am more than a conqueror and praise be to God who leads us on in his victory and that's what he's talking about here you see God is a shield around you God will bestow glory upon you because of Jesus Christ and that's why he says in verse 14 thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ God leads us notice in triumph he'd been greatly concerned and agitated as he was awaiting Titus Titus needed to bring word concerning the church and he hadn't arrived he's internally in turmoil but God was still using him to reach others that's because God will have his way in spite of what we may be going through and that's what caused Paul to suddenly burst out in praise you see we'll see in chapter seven verses five through seven that Titus showed up and gave him good news of the church in 2nd Corinthians seven five through seven he says indeed when we were in Macedonia our bodies had no rest but we were troubled on every side outside were conflicts inside were fears nevertheless God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus and not only by his coming but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you when he told us of your earnest desire your mourning your zeal for me so that I rejoiced even more I was concerned until he came and he shared with me these good things about what's going on with you and so the good news encouraged Paul and he praises God who leads us in triumph literally the God who leads us in his triumph in his triumph now I'm gonna look at this for a second because when he speaks about God who leads us in triumph this is really a picture of a Roman procession of honor in the days of Rome a general would go even the emperor himself could but a general would go into a war he'd go into battle and after winning and defeating his enemies they would have a procession of honor in the city of Rome the street would be lined with incense sensors that would be producing beautiful sounds and there'd be smells and there'd be music and there would be petals that were thrown before them and it was a procession where the general would come and there would be the people that had been conquered along with them somebody wrote it like this it was a public celebration in ancient Rome to welcome a returning victorious commander in his army there would be fragrant clouds of incense rising from altars and from sensors on the parade route the victorious general led prisoners of war they were called spectacles before the multitude of onlookers who would line up the streets with some prisoners being taken to a dungeon or to their execution and others who were set free and so they took the captive armies and most of them would go to a dungeon and be executed ultimately but others who were set free those who were set free it was said that they passed from the ranks of the lost because they were about to go and be killed they were passed from the ranks of the lost and they entered the ranks of the saved and so this is the picture that Paul is given he's saying Paul and Christians are willing captives who are privileged to be part of God's triumph at one time before we were saved we were his enemies in a hostile opposition in warfare against him you know you all know this but let me say it quickly if there's anything that the church needs to remind be reminded of ourselves but really needs to remember is that there really aren't any good people you know I was in Israel as all of you may know and our guide that we had this time was not a Jewish believer he was a Jewish man with the Jewish faith and not a Jewish believer he was into messianic he's not a Christian man at all and he kept on and it was just the way that he was and he's not a bad guy at all in terms of you know he was I liked him and all of that but he kept on saying something about good good people and I didn't want to argue with him you know you want to he listens to the messages we're given I just want the messages to speak to him without starting arguments because then maybe some of you might profit from hearing what I'm about to say because when people say how come bad things happen to good people the Bible says there's none good no not one there's none good no not one so there was only one good person there's only one good person and they killed him that good person is Jesus he's the only one who is without sin so when someone says why do bad things happen to good people we ought to say why do good things happen to bad people because that's I think that's more real you know that's true that's more real you know and it's all because God causes his son to shine on the just and the unjust alike because God makes his reign to fall on the just and the unjust like which means that a Christian farmer out there planting his crop you know the rain falls on his land but there's no line of demarcation where there's the unbelievers crops are dying now the rain falls on all and so the rain is a picture of God's grace and God is gracious to mankind and so when people are talking about good you know that good person please let's understand none of us is good not a single one there's only one who ever was and that's Jesus Christ he's a hundred percent good and again remember what happened to the only good man he was crucified because that's what the world does to goodness it tries to wipe it out the Bible is different when it speaks of us let me share with you what the Bible says it's found in the book of Romans the Bible says in Romans chapter five verse six at just the right time when we were without strength Christ died for the ungodly in Romans five eight God demonstrated his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Romans five ten for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life so Paul speaking of us says that we were without strength meaning we couldn't save ourselves we are ungodly meaning without God we are sinners meaning we miss the mark and we are hostile opponents of God that's why when God says this is black we will argue and say this is white that's why God will say this is right and we'll say no right is what I'm doing and even though it may be wrong we are hostily opposed there's a cosmic war that is in my heart so when God says go I say no when he says do I say I won't that's the rebellion of the human heart and you see it in your children they got it from their moms now it's human nature it's human nature they get upset easy you know sometimes infants if they if they could grow to be six feet two fifty they would kill you in a heartbeat they would they would gum you to death if they could if they could have teeth they'd chew you up you see that and you say well you're so upset about you know I said you can have this ice cream I'll kill you I'll kill you one of these days these arms will be long enough to reach your throat that's human nature I mean anybody who says that kids are born perfect they're not parents they never had a kid they never had a kid it's human nature I think it is it is so commonsensical and yet God says in his word he says you're without God you're sinners he says and your enemies that's what we are that's what the Bible says it does it does and we all practically know that to be true but Paul made it clear those are the ways that were described in yet God didn't leave us in that condition God loved us God loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten son it's the heart of the gospel where God gave to those who didn't care and he gave us his son to take upon himself my sin to pay a price I owed but couldn't pay that's what God did he saw us he looked down he saw that in my heart the only thing that went on all the time was just evil constantly so he said I need to give him a new heart and that's what he does when you're born again you receive a new spirit and a new nature and God didn't leave us in that condition we were without strength we were ungodly we were sinners and enemies and all of that but but Jesus died for us and through his sacrificial death on our behalf reconciled us to himself and we reconciled to Christ to God through Christ by faith Romans 5 1 and 2 Paul says being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God so this is a picture of God in this he's represented as a victorious general we are his prisoners we are his willing captives of his love of his grace and he's leading us in this triumphal procession his former enemies he's displaying us as trophies of his grace to the watching world notice what it says in verse 14 where he says through us defuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place when he speaks of the fragrance of his knowledge the word fragrance is an allusion to the perfumes and the incense that is along the triumphal way he's saying God is using us to spread the gospel far and wide now we're only the vessels we're the ones carrying the fragrance and that fragrance is Jesus Christ in his gospel it's the gospel of the Lord in 2nd Corinthians he'll say in chapter 4 verses 5 through 7 we don't preach ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your bond-servants for Jesus' sake for it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ but we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us so you have a woman who has an alabaster vase filled with costly ointment and she breaks that vase and pours the ointment on the head and feet of Jesus Christ the costly ointment was of extreme value but it was of no use until it was emptied out of the container when it was emptied from the container then its purpose was fulfilled it anointed as long as it stays in the container it's simply not being fulfilled it's not being used the way it's designed to be in order for that ointment to be put to use requires that the container be broken so that that container when the neck is broken no longer is holding the the expensive perfume but is now permitting it to be released there are times when you are broken you go through an affliction you go through hurt you go through pain you go through sorrow you go through loss and your heart breaks you might find yourself on the floor in your bedroom just you and God weeping to the Lord saying God I can't take this anymore I don't know what's going on I just received word for this or this is taking place I don't know what to do I don't know what to do my son has been arrested or my daughter just came and told me she's pregnant she's not married Lord what are we going to do I just got fired from my job or I'm behind in my payments and I don't have a way to pay these things I'm going to be evicted what am I going to do all of us have been in one way or another in a position where we are helpless where we can't do anything we want to the desire is there the ability to do that which we desire is not what am I going to do how is this going to happen God I don't know and you might cry out to God and you may say God you know when I came to know you I asked you to forgive me I thought you did but I feel like you've got something against me now I feel like you're holding it against me because Lord every time I take a step forward it's two steps back what's going on have you ever been there many of you have have you ever been there where you're on your face before the Lord it's just you and God crying and you say God I don't know what to do I don't know what to do your boss walks up to you and says I'm sorry the company's been sold we're only keeping a few employees and you're not one of them you're going to need to pack your stuff in you're going to need to be gone we're giving you two weeks we're going to give you a month's severance pay and you say but I'm 59 years old who's going to hire me now you ever been in a place like that many have and you cry God I'm afflicted my soul I feel like it's withered up I'm dead inside you know that costly ointment is released when the vessel's broken that's the only way it's released have you ever said God make me like you God I want to be more like you God I want I want to know what faith really is have you ever been there maybe you haven't maybe it doesn't matter to you some of you it has it has with me that's when the Lord began to teach me something and I've taught over and over again it's the main theme of the way that I believe and teach and it's this the only vessel and that is of worth in the hands of the master is the broken one and God breaks the vessel because those whom he bruises he uses that's how it works he breaks you he puts you in a place where you could I don't know what I'm going to do and he says that's exactly the best place for you that way you won't take credit when you see what I'm about to do and what I'm about to do is going to make people's ears tingle telling you don't give up don't give up don't give up somebody needs to hear that right now don't give up hold and see the glory of the Lord see what God could do oh God can do things abundantly above all you could ever ask or think it's never hard for him do you think there's anything too hard for the Lord? God I've got a cold I could pray in faith for that because if it doesn't get healed a few days I'll be okay what happens when you have the other C word cancer? all of a sudden you're on your face crying and rolling around I don't know what I'm going to do is cancer worse than colds to God? is there anything too hard for him? I'm not making light of it by the way it could sound like I am and I'm not what I'm speaking of is perspective if God could bring this whole universe into existence can't he work in my life too? what's keeping him from doing that? so when the Lord begins to work we have this this power we have this this treasure in earthly vessels that the excellence of power may be of God and not ourselves so that God gets all the glory and God breaks us and that fragrance of what he's doing begins to spread as the vessels are broken he leads us in triumph and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place you see we are to God verse 15 the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing we have an impact on this world we have an influence you see as the prisoners who are being led in that triumph were being led they would smell the incense and as they smelled it and these were about to be released and they were going to be able to go free that was the smell of life but the ones who are going to the dungeon who would be executed that was the smell of death and so he's saying we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing to the one we are the aroma of death leading to death to the other the aroma of life leading to life and so when you preach the gospel and sharing it to some people they see the life they see the benefit it's a fragrance of life to them but to others who reject it it's really a smell of death to them and they want nothing to do with it and then this is this great message that sets people free who put us in a position of going to heaven and being with the Lord and it's a message that is amazing and that's why he asked in verse 16 who is sufficient for these things? It's so beyond everything who's truly qualified for such a holy task that involves such tremendous issues who's able to do that?  Well he answers the question in chapter three verse five when he simply says our sufficiency is from God when you trust yourself to have the wisdom and ability and persuasiveness then you're doomed to failure but when you say God, Lord I'm your vessel just use me for your glory Lord just give me words to speak I have to tell you I've said this before perhaps some of you haven't heard this but I haven't always been a pastor and I haven't always and I went to college but I didn't always go to Christian schools I went to non-Christian schools and then very often I was the only Christian or one of the few in the room and the professors very often in secular college had no liking for Christianity and were pretty open about it and you would feel that the weight of their doctorates and the weight of their master's degrees and all and here I am somebody who graduated from high school with a D minus average that oughta scare some of you about right now but that's how I graduated from high school I had a D minus average I didn't go to my senior year school to me was an option I go when I felt like it and so I just barely got out of high school you know the only books I ever read were comic books for years and they you know so who am I to be in a class with this I remember one of my teachers two PhDs and and a master's degree in a literature class and I talked to a friend of mine I was 23 24 years old I spoke to a friend of mine I said man you know I want to tell her about Jesus but this woman here is a secular school this woman here she's got earned degrees you know she spent many years in school and he looks at me I'll never forget this in my friend Nikki and he says to me Dave he says betcha doll is the doughnut she's never read the Bible she may have read a lot of books but I bet she's never read the Bible yeah I said you think so he goes I think so ask her I said I will so I went to class and I still remember walking out with my professor as I was walking out of the class and I looked at her and I said you know like it says in the book of Job and she looks at me and she says the book of Job I said have you read it she goes no I've never read the Bible I said gotcha and I shared with her from Job I had another professor he's a homosexual at Cal Poly Pomona and I took a family class from him marriage and family interesting and I wrote a paper on the father being the priest of the home and I got an A I boast but I got an A but he wrote I have never heard this before so after class I waited and held his hand no I waited and took and took I don't know why I said that just see if you listen I walked with him and I shared with him what the meaning of being the priest of the home is you will find opportunities doors that are open when you pray and there are people who will say I can't do that who is sufficient for these things but remember chapter three verse five our sufficiency is of God God is able and I better I just noticed I've been talking to you a long time I'll close with verse 17 we are not as so many peddling the word of God we are of sincerity but as from God we speak but as of sincerity but as from God we speak in the sight of God in Christ so I'll close very quickly here I have to I'll pick up next week I feel like talking oh the teacher you want to know what happened with him he didn't listen which is typical but you know what I planted seeds in his heart and that's all that's all I really need to do one man sows and another man waters but God gives the increase that's the way to work it anyway I better hurry right we give the eighth charge I'll pick this up next week I can see I'm I'm amazed at how long I'm talking today the eighth charge he's a false teacher notice he said we are not as so many peddling the word of God he's a false teacher adulterating the word of God for personal profit and he's saying I did not pervert I did not corrupt I did not adulterate the gospel for personal gain the gospel has been entrusted to me and I preach this gospel with sincerity and because I preach this gospel with sincerity you can trust me the false teachers were making profit off of the people but Paul said I wouldn't do that any more than I as a father would take financial advantage of my sons or daughters which I would never do you could ask them if I take them out to eat I pay the meal not because they don't want to they do want to but because the father lays up for the children and not the children for the father and as long as I have two nickels to rub together I will feed my children that's what I do and they can't pay for me sometimes they may but it's always cheap you know cheap meals buy a hot dog daddy no no no we're going to Flemmings no Paul said I don't peddle the word of God I don't make a profit to the Corinthians Paul didn't even receive from them any substance they didn't support him other churches did we'll see this later so that nobody could say that he profited off of them now I did this for you out of love for God and so nobody can call Paul a false teacher because he didn't profit off of them so that was the eighth charge they said he's a false teacher using the gospel for personal gain but he said we are not as so many peddling the word of God we are sincere we speak in the sight of God in Christ we'll pick up on this next time let's close with prayer