You are the Aroma of Christ [Part 2]

Pastoral author and Bible teacher I will write when you come to the throne room of grace boldly and you wonder what God is thinking of you. You draw near to him. I'll tell you what happened this is this is the smell of my son to God. You smell like Jesus. That's Pastor Alan Wright welcome to another message of that will help you see your life in a whole new light and deliberate excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series victorious living as presented, it rebuild the church in North Carolina.

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Let's get started with today's here is Alan Wright what we really need from God. Is it someone so strong and mighty in his love doesn't merely accept us. He captures us he is not deterred when Jonah flees to Tarshish's. He does not stop loving when an suicidal depression.

Jonah has himself thrown overboard. He has a great fish to swallow. He is not deterred when Moses is to reluctant and complains of all his limitations he has and throw his staff down turn it into a wonder to prove to him that he will be with them. He does not stop nor fail in his covenant with David because of David's sin with Bathsheba is murder against Mariah, but he still fulfills his covenantal promises. He does not stop loving and pursuing Peter after Peter denied Jesus three times because God still intended to make him the preacher of Pentecost when 3000 would be say.

And God does not give up on you. Thank God he captured us and I'm glad to just be little long in the procession, which means secondary that we are the trophies of his accomplishment is what a trophy as it is what you put on display.

To remind you of the one who won the victory wave move year and 1/2 ago and so I went through all those boxes and boxes and boxes in the attic and throw away 90% of the junk that it accumulated there and become moth-eaten, rusted, dusty, but one old box that I found out there I decided to keep it was a box full of childhood sports trophies.

Some of them fallen apart some of the tennis players missing their arms and there's some swimming trophies and there although I really never liked the swimming.

I did it and their soccer trophies in their there are even believe it or not, all trophies from my peewee football days tennis trophies that are and there are no golf trophies and surprisingly found most interesting trophy and there hockey trophy. I was in 1972. It was called the Mr. hostile toward a little trophy. It wasn't for being the most valuable player. It wasn't for being the most improved hockey player.

It was just Mr. hostile. I took it in my mind at the time to me. I was the second best player, but I think what the code man was you didn't improve a lot and you're certainly not the best player but you really tried hard. I did and then scrap didn't mind it in the corners fight my way in front of the net for the scrappy rebounds on the and so I was Mr. hostile and I thought you know I got this about the triggers will not do, and so just put them on a shelf in the garage next to the oil and the cleaning supplies. I'm the only one that ever sees them when I get the car and I'm reminded there. I am also with the trophy, a trophy is a reminder of someone who did something wonderful and you are the trophy of God's grace. You are the one that reminds the entire cosmos of the accomplishment of Jesus Christ, the victorious Christian life is not about all that I have one, the victorious Christian life is living with an awareness of all that Jesus has one was a great awakening preacher who coined the term trophies of his grace. That was a marvelous sermon that Edward Griffin, Edward Griffin preached from Psalm 45 verse five it says your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies. I want to read you an excerpt from this great awakening sermon. The warning signs were the strongest powers in the universe, the Army collected to oppose this mighty king made up of all the inhabitants of two worlds was the greatest host that ever was marshaled since time began. The great army of Xerxes was a tune compared to this against such an immeasurable hosting for ages had been entrenching themselves throughout the world in every temple and every school behind every throne and every heart he went forth single-handed at he girded his sword upon his thigh.

He mounted the chariot of his gospel and marched directly into the heart of Satan's empire wherever he came he conquered at his approach. Devils fled their temples and altars felt the articles grew down the Roman Empire. The chief seat of Satan's visible kingdom shook to its center and afterwards opened to the conqueror and fell prostrate at his feet wounds he carried. But the very blood he shed dissolve the strongest hole of Satan, the heart of man, he sent forth his arrows and 3000 were pricked in the heart at once.

He still rides today through the nations conquering and to conquer every saint's own earth is a vanquished level whose heart was once pierced by the shafts of his quiver. God speed the valve glorious conqueror go on and prosper his signs of victory are not desolated countries. But prisoners set free souls delivered from the destroyer size and groans comforted in the sting of death, removed the saw his trophy. These are his spoils the high-minded spirit of medieval legends celebrated the feats of knights uninterested in their own gain. Rome, the kingdoms supposedly to deliver oppressed females from enchanted castles from gas giants and monsters, but how much more generous and kind of deliver is here marching to the nations in rescuing the rats and those who have no helper from the tyranny of Satan.

All of the divine compassion of this godlike advance. May you be of use is talent right will have more teaching moment from today's important series facing a problem when well meaning Christian friends said something like that. The problem was such an expectation. Of course, is that telling someone I have my faith doesn't actually help the person have more faith once more faith can we do to get more faith in his highly acclaimed book, God mimics Pastor Alan Wright describes when the most important typical pathways to building your faith, remembering God's presence in your life when you see God's faithfulness yesterday you find it easier to trust him tomorrow you like this phone of God moments and through Allen writes teaching series and book treasure map to help you discover them when you get to sharing the right ministries to go into a very special bond. Allen rights faith building but God moments series that he is preached on the subject, both when you make your gift, it's time to discover your God moments from last and be filled with fresh colors at 877-544-4860 or come to my website sharing the right leg. Today's teaching now continues here once again is Allen right.

Each one of you is a different kind of trophy that puts on display. Something about the nature of our great general, yes you, I think I'm a trophy of how he is Jehovah rough our God who heals, and is a trophy that puts on display what God can do. When is a baby boy from a broken family who doesn't know how to father except for the grace of God. What can a trophy or you and the final image that emerges from this dutiful metaphor of the triumphant's is that we are called by Paul here. The aroma of Christ to God, a fragrance is is is a fragrance that dishonest death to death and others is life to life to all the citizenry of Rome as they gather on their scaffolding in public steps, alleyways and street ways they would smell this rich incense that was literally engulfing the general. The apparent tour in his chariot and so is the great celebration was taking place. They would breathe in this aroma, which became to them symbolic. It was literally the smell of victory.

What Paul is saying is that, imagine to a Roman citizen any time that they would catch a whiff. No matter where they were.

If they ever been to triumphant later catch a whiff of that that incense they would be reminded that they were citizens of the greatest kingdom on earth.

They were part of the victorious empire. And Paul is saying that we are like that where the fragrance of the victory of Christ is the fragrances surrounded the general and we're will want to been conquered and were right in the midst of it. So we smell like that and anyone to anyone who has their eyes being open to the love of God, you are's smell and so sweet to them but to the powers and forces of hell you are a stench in the demons nostrils. Do not be surprised when you are persecuted or disdained for no reason. For those who are perishing, you smell like death unto death, but always to God. You are the aroma of Christ. When my favorite text preached in many places and many times you verbally mentioned many times in Genesis chapter 27 there is a beautiful picture that takes place in real world history of how the blessing of God gets passed on from patriarch to patriarch in a surprising twist takes place because Isaac has two twin boys Esau and Jacob and Esau is the older and he's the one who supposed to receive the blessing is one is supposed to receive a double portion of the inheritance. Jacob is a connivers and a deceiver crook and he goes and when his father Isaac is old and blind and pretends to be Esau so that Isaac would inadvertently bless the younger rather than the older son he puts on Harry skins because Esau was evidently very hairy so I want to build a feel that Harry likes can and he put on Esau's clothing. Esau worked the fields in his clothing would've smelled of the farm, so goes and and that first Isaac is unconvinced please says in Genesis 27, 21, please come near me. I may feel you my son to know whether you really my son Esau are not so Jacob went Isaac his father, Felton said the voice is Jacob's voice but the hands of the hands of Esau did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hand is are you really my son a song that I am and they said bring it near to me that my even my son again and bless you say brought it near to many a and then his father Isaac said to him, come near and kiss me.

My son, so he came near and kissed him, and Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him, and said see the smell of my son is is the smell of the field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine is a story about a an unthinkable exchange was the younger brother gets the blessing that the older brother deserve, and it points us to Jesus the firstborn of all creation who deserved only blessing, but instead hung on the cross and took the curse so that we, the younger the undeserving could receive the blessing the should of been reserved for him. I preach this in Alabama many years ago an old man pastor TD Hall approached me afterwards been a pastor longer than I've been alive. They had tears in his eyes and he said I couldn't help when you are's preaching thinking about Paul's words to the Corinthians that we are the aroma of Christ to God. And that's when I saw it, wept myself. Paul said put on Christ. We are imputed with the righteousness of Jesus. It is like you put on a coat like you put on the clothing of Jesus knew our forgiven in Christ and your given his righteousness are closed with him. So when you come to the throne room of grace boldly in your time in the and you wonder what God is thinking of you.

You draw near to him. I'll tell you what happened this he breathes in cases the smell of my son to God. You smell like Jesus matter where you go, you are the one that's been conquered to be a trophy of his grace in the live out your life as a fragrant aroma of Christ himself. You are therefore in Christ. The smell of God's victory is what happened. One way you can see the whole drama of it all is that there was a great conflict in a huge opposition to God and everything that was good and right and began the day that the serpent slithered into the garden, lured the man and the woman into disobedience.

Ever since that time, everyone born in sin was born in opposition to God running away from everything that was good. Pushing away from all the affections of the father so God came he came not as anyone would suspect an Royal raiment or is the kind of general that anyone would have expected. Instead, it came humbly as a baby born in Bethlehem, but he surely was God of God, man of man truly God and truly man, and he said if you see the finger of God at work expelling the demonic you know the kingdom of God is, though he was humble and very he was persecuted. He had so much authority he could speak in a raging storm would be calm under a dead man would come out of the tomb, he was a conqueror and conquered with love and right at the moment that that serpent thought he had defeated this conqueror in Jesus's death, the victory was one and I suppose it was as if the heavens were petitioned and it came before the heavenly Senate should he be granted a triumph and all the criteria have been met. Many had been conquered. Thousands who had been opposition have been taken and it had extended the kingdom and brought in secured piece.

Yes, the general should be declared imperative or and there should be a great triumphalist in his honor. And so it is that still when any center confesses Christ as Lord. There is a triumphant celebration that continues in the heavens, and you and I are the ones that are taken along, having captured by his grace we been conquered near the aroma of Christ. You are a trophy of his grace in this gospel, Helen Wright based teaching you are the aroma of Christ from our series on second Corinthians all about. Tori is living today and Alan is back here in just a few moments with additional insight on this for your life.

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These are father and that and then the that this part about this. The smell I've heard preachers talk about this, you smell like Jesus in white it comes right here from this that you been teaching as is it is an image of we as people having been conquered by him and by his love and the thing of increase leasing in my walk with Christ, Daniel, is that the more I see it being all about his victory rather than mine. The more secure I am so in other words, there is no greater news than he conquered my sin for me and he conquered my stubbornness and brought me into the kingdom of light on the kingdom of darkness. He made me his own so that I belong to him. When you think of this near thing about the victory of Christ and that's how you're the aroma of Christ we are the trophies of his grace and when you see it that way, it changes everything about your P security, and I think hope in this world we been captured by him is no better today.

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