It’s always an amazing thought to my heart to know that I have the opportunity to minister the word of God to you. And once again, we have that opportunity. So you take the infallible record of his word and turn to Second Corinthians chapter two. We're going to continue our exposition of this epistle under the heading this morning of "Gaining Victory over Heartache." Certainly a reality for many people who are struggling in serious ways. Let me read the text beginning in Second Corinthians two verse 12. Apostle Paul speaking here, "Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus, my brother; but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God, among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other, and aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God."

Heartache is the great risk of love. Most of us know that pain, the pain of betrayal. We all know that loving someone deeply opens up the possibility of being hurt deeply when that love is spurned. And certainly, the apostle Paul loved the saints in Corinth very deeply, and many of them hurt him deeply when they drank the Kool Aid that was passed out by those false apostles that infiltrated that church and turned many of them against him. Satan dispatched these men to slander Paul, to seduce the saints, who were already spiritually immature. They were babes in Christ. You will recall that they were worldly, heavily influenced by the pagan culture around them from which they came. They were divisive, they were hateful, they were selfish, they were disorderly, they were suing each other over trivial things. I mean, it was a mess. They flaunted their freedoms in Christ. They abused their spiritual gifts trying to show off making up their own version of tongues. It was so bad that someone cursed Christ in an unknown tongue and they thought it was from the Holy Spirit. So the church was a mess in many ways. And yet, there were some people there that were more mature, and they were all growing in Christ.

And by the way, I might add that churches that are immature, that are poorly taught, that are poorly shepherded are going to be undiscerning. And they're going to be easy prey for false teachers. And that's what was going on in Corinth. These wolves had come into Corinth, to assassinate Paul's character with trumped up allegations to somehow undermine his credibility and his authority as an apostle; to discredit his teaching and replace it with their own. This was heartbreaking to Paul. It was devastating. Now the slander was bad enough, but then to add on top of that, being rejected by people you love.

After writing First Corinthians to confront them on all of this, you will recall he had an intensely painful visit with them as we read in chapter two here in verse one, then he returned back to Ephesus. He wrote a severe letter to them that Titus had to deliver to them. And then he had to wait to hear how the people reacted; to hear whether or not they had repented and embraced him once again. So that's the context of what's going on here. Folks, it's hard to imagine the kind of emotional pain that the apostle Paul suffered. We know that he was beaten, he was stoned, he was imprisoned. I mean, the list goes on and on. In chapter one, beginning in verse eight, he describes some severe trial; we don't know really what was going on there. But he says, "For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction, which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we have the sentence of death within ourselves." And in Second Corinthians chapter four, in verse eight, he said, "We are afflicted in every way."

Worse yet, we know that Paul's ministry in Ephesus wasn't going well. There were a number of people that came to Christ as you will recall, but because of that, they were burning their idols, giving up their idols. And so all of the idol makers; that was a huge business there in Ephesus, those guys were really upset, so they attacked Paul and a riot happened there in Ephesus. Paul says in First Corinthians 16:9, was filled with "many adversaries," and so he has to leave and there's all kinds of problems going on for this. But folks, there's there is no pain like relational pain. That's the worst kind. And that's what's pictured so graphically here. We read about it as well in Second Corinthians 12, verse seven, he says, "Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations," referring to his opportunity to go into heaven and see those glorious things, "for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-- to keep me from exalting myself!" If things weren't bad enough, he had to endure this.

Let me comment on that for just a moment, the term "thorn," "skolops" in the original language; refers to something pointed, something that produces great pain. And in this case, the vexing torment was a quote, "messenger of Satan." In verse seven, the term "messenger"--"aggelos"-- is used 186 times in the New Testament. And in every case, it refers to a person, either a human being or an angel. And given the context of Second Corinthians, where he's defending his apostleship against these false teachers that are trying to destroy him, it's reasonable to believe that this messenger of Satan refers to the leader of that pack of wolves. This should be no surprise Paul says in chapter 11, verse 14, "Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it is not surprising if his servants also disguised themselves as servants of righteousness."

Furthermore, I might add that the verb translated "torment" refers to harsh treatment from another person throughout the New Testament. So this thorn in Paul's flesh was probably a demonically possessed false apostle; a messenger of Satan, who treated Paul with such contempt. The language that is used is likened to being struck in the face. That's how bad it was. But sadly, a number of the people in Corinth believed this guy and others who were with him. He had his sycophants, as all these kinds of divisive people do. They believe the slanderous lies. This was heartbreaking to the Apostle Paul. And I might add for anybody that's in pastoral ministry, in whatever capacity, certainly as a pastor, ministry can be very, very difficult. Satan absolutely despises those in leadership. I can give you many testimonies of men that I have known over the years who had to endure such terrible things that they were afraid it was going to cost them their life and they gave up.

One example cited in A.T Robertson's, "The Glory of the Ministry," reveals why one pastor threw in the towel. Here's what he said. He wrote to a another pastor, missionary friend by the name of Jim. He says, "My dear Jim, I'm through. Yesterday I handed in my resignation to take effect at once. And this morning I began to work at an unnamed certain company. I shall not return to the pastorate. I think I can see into your heart as you read these words, and behold, not a little disappointment, if not disgust. I don't blame you at all. I'm somewhat disgusted with myself. Do you recall the days in the seminary when we talked of the future and painted pictures of what we were to do for the kingdom of God? We saw the boundless need for an unselfish Christian service and longed to be among men doing our part toward the world's redemption. I shall never forget that last talk on the night before our graduation. You were to go to the foreign field and I to the first church," and he names the church. "We had brave dreams of usefulness, and you have realized them. As I look back across 25 years, I can see some lives that I have helped, and some things which I have been permitted to do that are worthwhile. But sitting here tonight, I am more than half convinced that God never intended me to be a minister. If he did, I am not big enough and brave enough to pay the price. Even if it leads you to write me down as a coward. I'm going to tell you why I've quit. In these years I have found not a few earnest, unselfish consecrated Christians. I do not believe that I am specially morbid or unfair in my estimate. So far as I know my heart, I am not bitter. But through all these years, a conviction has been growing within me, that the average church member cares precious little about the Kingdom of God, and its advancement, or the welfare of his fellow men. He is a Christian in order that he may save his soul from hell and for no other reason. He does as little as he can, lives as indifferently as he dares. If he thought he could gain heaven without lifting a finger for others, he would jump at the chance. Never have I known more than a small minority of any church, which I have served to be really interested in and unselfishly devoted to God's work. It took my whole time to pull and push and urge and persuade the reluctant members of my church to undertake a little something for their fellow men. They took a covenant to be faithful in attendance, but upon the services of the church, and not one out of 10 ever thought of attending prayer meeting. A large percentage seldom attended church in the morning, and a pitifully small number in the evening. It didn't seem to mean anything to them that they had dedicated themselves to the service of Christ. So I'm tired. Tired of being the only one in the church from whom real sacrifice is expected. Tired of straining and tugging to get Christian people to live like Christians. Tired of planning work for my people, and then being compelled to do it myself or see it left undone. Tired of dodging my creditors when I would not need to if I had what is due me. Tired of the frightening vision of penniless old age. I'm not leaving Christ. I love him. I shall still try to serve Him. Judge leniently old friend. I cannot bear to lose your friendship. Yours as of old, William.

While all pastors and missionaries, and anybody involved in ministry is going to be a target of Satan, and it's going to experience great difficulties, it's interesting how some quit and others persevere. The early days of Charles Spurgeon's ministry the pain of slander and scorn was so great that his wife Susanna would hide the morning newspaper to protect him from further insults. He described his melancholy this way, quote, "The iron bolt, which so mysteriously fastens the door of hope and holds our spirits in a gloomy prison needs a heavenly hand to push it back." His ministry was very difficult. Spurgeon struggled with depression, but he never quit. Why do some quit and others persevere? I know of no one who has suffered like the apostle Paul. I sure haven't; I haven't even come close. I will admit there have been times, especially early on in my ministry here at Calvary Bible Church, that the pain was so great in dealing with wicked people that I prayed on numerous occasions that God would just take me out of the ministry or take me home. I would rather die than go on the way that it was. I know that pain. I was tempted to quit. But I will tell you that the text that we're looking at this morning was one of the texts that the Lord used to speak to my heart in those early days of ministry.

So how did Paul overcome the debilitating discouragement that he experienced? How did he gain victory over heartache? Well, this text is going to help us answer this question. And I might add that it applies to every Christian, not just those in ministry, as you will see, giving you a very simple outline, we're just going to have two headings. We're going to look at the tragedy and then secondly, the triumph. And under the triumph, we're going to look at five practical insights into gaining victory over heartache.

Well, first of all the tragedy and I've already given you some background, but remember, Paul's preaching in Ephesus eventually caused a riot. So he had to, he had to get out of dodge, as we would say. And so we read here in this text that he goes to Troas, which was a seaport on the Aegean Sea; it would have been in Western Asia Minor, the northwest part of Turkey; look at Greece go across the Aegean Sea, and that's where he would have been; 10 miles from the legendary city of Troy, home of Helen, remember that story in Greek mythology in the Trojan War, and all of those things.

So let's read more of the tragedy here in verse 12. He says, "Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ, and when a door was opened for me in the Lord, I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother;" when he says "the door was open for me in the Lord," that's a phrase that Paul commonly used to describe a favorable opportunity to preach the gospel; an opportunity where people were literally responding to the gospel. So he had this door open to him, but his heart was in turmoil. It was breaking over all of this that was going on in Corinth; all that was happening to him. And he was anxiously awaiting to hear from Titus, wanting to hear how they responded to First Corinthians; how they responded to the severe letter that he wrote. And he knew Titus would need to pass through Troas to return to Ephesus, but he couldn't find him there. So it says, and he says at the end of verse 13, "but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia." So he went across the Aegean Sea to northern Greece. Folks, for Paul to have left an open door tells you that he had to have been severely depressed, really struggling. I can't imagine the loneliness, the anxiety, wondering what happened. I mean, there were no cell phones, no email, no way of communicating. I mean, think about that. But Paul didn't give up, even though as he says in chapter four and verse eight, that he was "afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not despairing." Well, I wonder why.

Well, the second part of what he has to say helps us understand that we moved from the tragedy to the triumph. This is how he gained victory over his heart ache. Let me give you a quick answer, and then we're going to expand upon it. How did he gain that victory? He set his mind on things above, not on the things of this earth. He changed his focus by counting his blessings. He literally breaks into a doxology of praise, as he refocuses his thoughts.

Notice verse 14, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him and every place." My what are the abrupt change between the previous verses? Now, we're not sure why the sudden shift, I mean, there's no indication that suddenly he found Titus and he heard some good news. And we know that he eventually does hear some good news, but he doesn't talk about that until chapter seven. And even if that were so, he still would have known that the false apostles were still in that church, that his sycophants were still there, and some of the skeptics would still be there, and that there would be pockets of resistance that still needed to be dealt with.

By the way, this is the whole purpose of Second Corinthians, to deal with that. Remember, God refused to remove Paul's thorn in the flesh, this messenger sent from Satan; to keep him from exalting himself; that character would have still been there. So folks, the change here is not in circumstance, the change is in perspective; an obvious work of the indwelling Spirit of God. Here's an example of God's all-sufficient grace at work. Remember, in chapter 12, verse nine, The Lord answered him about the removing of the thorn, he said, "'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly," Paul says, "therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." You know, this is reminiscent of Job isn't it? Remember, he finally saw the glory of God and in his sovereignty, and he was so overwhelmed by it that he repented of his pride, of his of his ignorance and of his presumption, even before God changed his circumstances. Causing Job to say, "I have heard Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees Thee."

Now I wish to draw your attention to five perspectives that really gripped Paul's heart that emerged from this text that really contributed to him gaining victory over heartache. Five essential preoccupations, if you will. Preoccupations of his heart that helped him transcend the inevitable sorrows of this life that are passing away and experience the blessings of the unseen spiritual world that will last forever; to get a little taste of heaven, this side of it. To keep him from losing heart when his heart is breaking. Before we look at this, I might remind you of what he says later in Second Corinthians 4:15, he rejoices in quote, "the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to a bound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. But though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen, are eternal." So how did he gain victory over heartache? Well, number one, he was grateful for God's leading in his life. He was grateful for God's leading in his life.

Notice verse 14, "But thanks be to God, who always leads." Folks, what a profound comfort to know that God's hand of Providence is always leading us, according to his perfect plan, according to his purpose. It's astounding to me to think that God governs all things, to pre-ordained ends; that his sovereignty is always at work. He's always at work in our life, as I say often, he's always up to something in our life. God leads us. I think of Psalm 23, where David asserts the sovereign ruler of the universe, and he condescends in such a way as to is to take up the task of shepherding for us in a personal intimate way. He says, "The Lord is my shepherd," my shepherd. "I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake." You see, Paul celebrates this in his life as we all must do. Therefore, he could say with David, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil." Why? "For you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Dear friends, are you grateful for God's leading in your life?

We get a glimpse of this in his testimony to Timothy in First Timothy one, beginning in verse 12. He says, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor and a violent aggressor." My, talk about God leading in our life. He goes on to say, "Yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant. With the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am the foremost of all. Yet for this reason, I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example, for those who would believe in Him for eternal life." Beloved, we can either fret in our misfortunes, or we can rejoice in our fortunes; we really have a choice. And certainly, that would include having a heart that is filled with gratitude. Oh, God, thank you that even in the midst of my pai and my suffering, thank you, that you are sovereignly at work in my life, and that you are leading me toward a preordained end for my good and for your ultimate glory. To know that, you will never abandon me, to know that there will be times that you will let me wander, but you will never let me go.

I was thinking about this, when our now five-year-old little granddaughter, she was probably maybe threeish or so, she had a tendency to want to wander off, as all kids do. We were in the mall, and we're always saying you hold Papa’s hand or hold Nana's hand, and of course, they're always pulling away, and they're wanting to wander off someplace. And I remember one time, we were in a particular store, and she kept doing that, and I thought, okay, let's just see what happens. So her grandfather kept an eye on her, but you know, how they have these round circles of clothes and all that type of stuff; she was wandering off and I just kind of kept my eye on her. And then eventually, she realized that she was alone. And all of a sudden, you hear the scream, and she doesn't know what to do. And she starts running around. And I thought, you know what, I'm just gonna let her panic here for a minute. People are looking and here's this child running desperately looking for Papa and for Nana. And some, I don't know if there was a clerk or who came and tried to comfort her; and about that time, I appeared and she came running toward me. And you know, the only good thing about, well the good thing about it is, I think she learned a lesson. The bad thing is I had to carry her for about the next hour. But that's the point, in such a more glorious way. Our heavenly Father is constantly watching over us. He's constantly caring for us. And we need to be grateful for his leading in our life.

Well, secondly, he was grateful for the privilege of serving Christ and sharing in his triumph. Look at the text again, "But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ." Now, here, Paul uses a familiar metaphor that they would have understood; that of a Roman triumph and his opportunity here to serve under Christ, the conquering king of kings and Lord of lords. I want to read a description of this triumph, written by a theologian, a scholar, William Barclay. I can't improve upon this, this is really helpful. Here's what he says, "In Paul's mind is the picture of a Roman triumph and of Christ as a universal conqueror. The highest honor which could be given to a victorious Roman general was a triumph. To attain it, he must satisfy certain conditions. He must have been the actual commander in chief in the field. The campaign must have been completely finished, the region pacified, and the victorious troops brought home. 5000 of the enemy at least, must have fallen in one engagement. A positive extension of territory must have been gained and not merely a disaster retrieved or an attack repelled. And the victory must have been won over a foreign foe, and not in a civil war. In a triumph, the procession of the victorious general marched through the streets of Rome to the Capitol in the following order. First came the state officials and the Senate. Then came the trumpeters. Then were carried the spoils taken from the conquered land. For instance, when Titus conquered Jerusalem, the seven branched candlestick, the golden table of the showbread and the golden trumpets were carried through the streets of Rome. Then came pictures of the conquered land and models of conquered citadels and ships. There followed the white bowl for the sacrifice which would be made. Then were walked the captive princes, leaders and generals in chains, shortly to be flung into prison, and in all probability almost immediately to be executed. Then came the lictors, bearing their rods, followed by the musicians with their lyres, then the priests swinging their sensers with sweet smelling incense burning in them. After that, came the General himself. He stood in a chariot drawn by four horses, he was clad in a purple tunic, embroidered with golden palm leaves, and over a purple toga marked out with golden stars. In his hand, he held an ivory scepter with the Roman Eagle at its top, and over his head, a slave held the crown of Jupiter. After him, rode his family and finally, came the army wearing all their decorations and shouting, 'lo triumphe," which in Latin means triumph. As the procession moves through the streets, all decorated and garlanded amid the cheering crowds. It made a tremendous day which might happen only once in a lifetime." That is the picture, he says, that is in Paul's mind. He sees Christ marching in triumph throughout the world and himself in that conquering train. It's a triumph which Paul is certain nothing can stop.

You see, friends, Paul understood that victory comes through suffering. But victory does come. Notice again, verse 14, "But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ." Not occasionally, but always, even when the world scoffs at us. Even when the world mocks us. Even when we suffer at the hands of wicked man, even when our hearts are breaking. He's always leading us as victorious soldiers in a triumphal procession. Folks, we are marching to glory. Someday the world will see the Son of Man returning in power and great glory, and we are going to be with him. Dwell upon that the next time you're in pain, right? The next time you are suffering.

Matthew 24, Jesus speaks of this, beginning of verse 29. He says, "But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other." And dear friends, because as Paul says in Colossians, three, verses three and four, because "you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." Boy, talk about a triumph. The saints are going to accompany our glorious King. We read about this in Revelation 19 verse 14, let me read that in context beginning in verse 11, "And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood and his name is called The Word of God." And catch this. Here we are, "the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses." Magnificent imagery. "From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

Dear friends, this is the triumph that awaits us. And it's for this reason that there is nothing more important in life than serving our Lord, our Savior and our King. Lightfoot comments, quote, "The veil which now shrouds your higher life from others, and even partly from yourselves, will then be withdrawn. The world which persecutes, despises, ignores now will then be blinded with the dazzling glory of the revelation." And you're drowning in sorrow and unable to function over what? You see the point? Folks, you just have to change your perspective. Oh Child of God, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Yes, the pain is real. I've been there. It is real and I'm not in any way trying to mitigate that reality. But you simply must not lose perspective. Someday you are going to join in that triumphal procession. Someday every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. And the key to gaining victory over heartache is to stay focused on the glories of Christ, not the sorrows of your life. Remember, we are in Christ, right? We are eternally united to him, we have died with Christ. We've been crucified with Christ. We've been buried with Christ. We've been raised from the dead with Christ. We are now seated with Him in heavenly places. We read all of these amazing truths; we're going to be glorified with Christ. Therefore we can rejoice as Paul did and say, "Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ." Dick Mayhew says, quote, "His life is our life, His punishments are our punishment. His death, our death. His resurrection, our resurrection, His righteousness, our righteousness, His ascension and glorification, our ascension and glorification," in quote. So naturally, we can be thankful as Paul did, knowing that he's always lead us in triumph in Christ, even when we think all is lost. That is what's ultimately happening. Even when our heart is breaking, and we think we can't go on. That is what God is up to. And the victory is certain.

So Paul was grateful for God's leading and grateful for the privileges of serving Christ and sharing in his triumph and thirdly, he was grateful for the privilege of proclaiming Christ. My what a story we have to tell. Verse 14 we read, "He manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him and every place." And once again, Paul applies the metaphorical imagery of a Roman triumph where priests carrying censers would burn incense to carry praise to these made up gods. And this sweet aroma would also be mixed with the somewhat pungent smell, or I should say, that pungent smell of that incense would be mixed with all of the flowers, all of the garlands that would be spread out over everywhere. Moreover, according to D.E. Garland, he says, quote, "Filets and garlands bedeck 125 stall fed oxen with gilded horns being led as sacrifices by young men wearing aprons and handsome borders, and boys attending them carrying gold and silver vessels of libation. My goodness, what a scene that would have been. Well, obviously the sweet aroma that was carried about on the breeze that wafted across the spectators, and all of those in the triumph; that breeze would have would have carried the aroma of the incense and of the flowers. And that aroma would be one of triumph and joy to the victors. But that same aroma would be an aroma of defeat and death for the prisoners.

Well, the analogy is obvious. Again, the end of verse 14, he "manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place." Folks think about this, even as the sweet smell of garlands and the pungent odor of incense are distinct and quickly capture the attention of our olfactory senses, so too the knowledge of Christ, when the secret wind of the Spirit causes it to waft about through the faithful proclamation of the saints. It's going to be offensive to some, and it's going to be precious to others. When Jesus explained to Nicodemus the need to be born again, remember what he said in John three, beginning in verse six, "'That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit of spirit. So do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'" And he makes the statement, "'The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from, and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.'" Aren't you thankful that the wind of the Spirit blew in your direction, and by the power of the Spirit, you saw your sin, you came to saving faith in Christ? And beloved, everywhere we go as believers, by the power of the Spirit, we manifest the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ in every place.

And for this, Paul was so grateful. Oh, dear child of God, let this sink in for a moment. What a glorious privilege it is to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ. There is nothing more important in all your life than that. Paul understood this in his life. Remember, in Ephesians, three, beginning in verse seven, he said, "I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace, which was given to me according to the working of his power. To me the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ." You see, Paul understood that contemplating the reality of this privilege is the greatest of all antidepressants. Folks, ask yourself, does this privilege of being able to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ, does this bring joy to your heart? Is this a passion of your heart? Are you just caught up in all of the difficulties of life, living for yourself? You know, I learned a number of years ago, and I have to confess that I have to pray that the Spirit will help me when these things come up, but I learned that when I'm experiencing relational pain, especially in the church, when I've been slandered, or you know, something's going on, that's really hard, I've learned that the best thing to do is just double down in your service to Christ. Because what Satan wants you to do is, 'oh, woe is me,' you know, get in the fetal position on the couch, put your thumb in your mouth, and just get all depressed and you just can't function. I am just not going to do that. You just can't do that. What a privilege we have to proclaim Christ. I'm going to double down. So I don't know, I guess I go into some manic mode and I'm writing emails and letters and I'm calling people and saying, 'I'm just going to fight all the harder folks.' That's what we have to do. Satan wants to distract us from being that sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ in every place.

John MacArthur says, "No preacher should take light lightly his inestimable privilege of proclaiming the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whether or not preachers are successful, achieve popularity or fulfill their ambitions, it's immaterial. The satisfaction of having an eternal influence for Jesus Christ should be sufficient. The issue is not results, but privilege. The disheartened preacher is disheartened because he focuses on circumstances. The joyful preacher is joyful because he focuses on the eternal worth of his service to God. The disheartened preacher considers his difficulties, the joyful preacher considers his privilege." Dear friends, if you're struggling right now, with some great heartache, may I encourage you to focus on this privilege, and perhaps get on Facebook and just unleashed the gospel? Boy wouldn't that be nice? I mean, a lot of times, Nancy will show me something on Facebook, and I just start losing brain cells. I mean, it is absolutely absurd, watching people trying to get affirmation, putting pictures of themselves and you know, all of this silly stuff. Unleash the gospel, what a privilege we have. Be that sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ in every place, go to the barbershop or the hairdresser, if you can get in. I understand that the dynamics right now, but, but what that's always a captive audience, to begin to share your testimony. And you watch people start squirming and getting on their phones. But oh, what a wonderful opportunity. You say, but Pastor, all that does is bring further pain and rejection. People don't want to hear that stuff. Well, of course they don't. They're spiritually dead. But it's the gospel that gives them life. Isn't that what happened with you? Well, of course, therein lies the problem. If that's your attitude, you're ashamed of the gospel. You fear man more than you fear God. It's a very dangerous place to be. Paul said in Galatians, 1:10 "For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

And this leads us to the fourth preoccupation of his heart. Number four, he was grateful for the opportunity to be pleasing to God. What an amazing thought, verse 15, again, "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing." Do you realize that the sweet-smelling odor of the knowledge of Christ that was diffused in every place by the Ministry of the apostles, and that is diffused in every place by the Ministry of the saints today? Do you realize that odor, a sin is to the nostrils of God, do you realize that that is pleasing to Him? You see, folks, we proclaim Christ ultimately to God, not to men. It's important for you to remember that he is our primary audience, not men. And I must say, and I hope you hear this in the spirit that it's intended, when I preach, I really care nothing about the size of the audience, or even their reaction. In many ways, I don't even see those in front of me. I have an audience of one and that's God himself. And I preach to be pleasing to Him, and let him deal with everything else. Same is true when I write. I write ultimately for him.

This was the grueling passion of Paul's heart. In chapter five and verse nine, he says, "Therefore we also have as our ambition whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him." Is that the passion of your heart? Colossians 1:10, so that we are to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects." First Thessalonians, two, four, "just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts." Folks, what an astounding blessing. What an amazing opportunity we have to be pleasing to God by sharing the knowledge of Christ to others. Is that a priority in your life?

Verse 15, "For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other, an aroma from life to life." You see, folks, if I can stick with the analogy here, the smell of the gospel will produce joy to repentant sinners who are longing to be reconciled to a holy God and be in fellowship with Him; to have their sins forgiven, and to gain the righteousness of Christ. But the smell of the gospel is going to produce guilt and anger and hatred and fear to those who reject Christ. Remember, they spend their life, according to Romans one, "suppressing the truth in unrighteousness." Constantly trying to keep a lid on what they know to be true about a holy God and their sinfulness. They don't want to hear it, they don't want to think about it. They love darkness rather than light. So you come along with the gospel, and oh my, that's the light. And as I say, it's like flipping on a light down in a cellar and suddenly you see the cockroaches running for cover. Isn't that how you feel? A lot of times when you get around unsaved people and you start sharing Christ, man, they just run for cover. But boy there's going to be some that will hear it and be saved. Men love darkness rather than light. But we are to be the light. Remember, according to Hebrews four, verse 13, for "the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of the soul and the spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart." People don't like that, but that's what the word does. The text goes on to say, 'And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

Oh, how grateful we should be for the opportunity to please God through our gospel witness, knowing that yes, it's going to be used to harden the hearts of some, but it will be used to soften the hearts of others. And this leads us to the fifth and final preoccupation that we see here that Paul dealt with. He was grateful for God's leading; he was grateful for the privilege of serving Christ and sharing in his triumph. He was grateful for the privilege of proclaiming Christ for the opportunity to be pleasing to Him. And finally, he was grateful for Christ who strengthened him. He says in verse 16, at the end there, "who is adequate for these things?" The answer is, of course, no one. We are only strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And we only tap into the power that is there when we live lives that are consecrated to him. When we are faithfully serving our master. Verse five of chapter three, he makes this clear, he says, "Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God." Jesus said, "'Apart from me, you can do,'" what? "'Nothing.'" But oh, what a joy it is to experience the power of Christ in your life. Lots of times we don't even realize it's happening until maybe it's over. In Colossians, one, verse 29, Paul says, "I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." And back to our texts in verse 17. It closes this section and he says, "For we are not like many, peddling the word of God. The term "peddling" in Greek "kapeleuo" is an interesting term. It's used to refer to someone who is selling something or offering something that is secondhand through false or deceptive practices. And of course, here he's focusing in on these false apostles that have taken over the church in his absence. He's saying basically, I'm not like them. I'm not using the word of God as a means to promote my Judaistic opinions because that's what was going on largely; mixing law with grace and mixing other manmade philosophies in with Christianity, like so many people do, even to this day; To somehow seduce people into believing things that are not true. And also so they can line their pockets; make a buck off the gospel. I fear that most people in pulpits today are more entrepreneurs than they are true shepherds. But in verse 17, he just says here that, that we're not walking like many peddling something through the word of God, "but as from sincerity." The term "sincerity" in the original language is one used in this context that would speak of a life and message that can withstand the most intense light of divine scrutiny. In other words, he's saying, there's no pretense here, folks, I'm not coming to you in deceit. I am not putting on a charade here unlike the phony predators that have conned you, with a false gospel, filled with all manner of clever deceptions to make a buck off of you. My life and my message is sincere. And that's why he says at the end of verse 17, "but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God." In other words, God is our witness. And for this reason, Christ strengthened him right? He said in Second Corinthians Nine, eight, "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed." That pretty well covers it.

I would say, oh, dear Christian, if your heart is breaking over some trial, may I encourage you don't give up. Look up. Don't give up. Look up. Remind yourselves of these great truths. Have a heart that is filled with thanksgiving; be grateful for God's leading in your life. Be grateful for the privilege of serving Christ and sharing in a triumph that is inevitable; that is coming. Be grateful for the privilege of proclaiming Christ, and for the opportunity to be pleasing to Christ. And then finally, be grateful for Christ who strengthens you. And when your heart is truly filled with this kind of grateful praise, for these kinds of things, you will see that God will restore your joy, even in the midst of a heart that is breaking. Let's be thankful to these ends. Let's pray.

Father, thank you for these great truths. May they bear much fruit in our lives. Especially Lord, during these times that we all experience when our heart is breaking. Bring these things to remembrance. And may they be so powerful in our mind and in our heart, that we are animated to praise and therefore opened up to the joy that you will bring to us as we get a sense of your soul satisfying presence. I thank you and I'll give you praise for these great truths. Bless us with them. In Jesus name. Amen.