All right, turn over to John chapter 16, verse 33.
And as you're turning, I just want you to take a deep breath
through your nostrils. Go like this.
All right? Let it out.
Let's do it again. Deep breath in.
Let it out. I should have the chiropractor
come up do this because he sounds so much better.
Every time he pops me, he says breathe in, hold it.
And then he cracks me, right. And then the next time he says
breathe in now let it out. And you, you don't know when
he's going to do it, but when you get somewhere to the end.
Wow, there it is. And so take another deep breath
in, all right? You know what you're smelling.
It's victory. That's the smell of victory.
All right, so we're going to talk about that tonight, John,
Chapter 16, verse 33. You know what?
The Amplified Classic says it this way.
I have told you these things so that in me you may have perfect
peace and confidence. I can stop there and preach the
rest of the night, but I won't. In the world you have what?
Tribulations and trials and distresses and frustrations.
But be of what that means. Don't go to work and and being
sad and disgruntled like everybody else.
All right, you when you go to work here to be of what good
cheer and it doesn't matter that there are tribulations, trials,
distresses and frustration when you show up, people are should
be saying why are you so happy all the time?
Why you have such a a peaceful disposition?
How come it is when you walk in the room and all that's going
on, you act different. That's what we're supposed to
right? For those that are born of God,
he says be of good cheer, take courage, be confident, certain,
undaunted. I like that, which means you
understand the victory we walk in is certain.
That means we are undaunted by the things that are going on in
the world that are going on in in the lives of unbelievers that
are in a domain that God really wants them to come out of right.
And so he says be take courage, be confident, certain,
undaunted. For Jesus says this.
He says I have overcome the world.
Look what he says here, the amplified classic.
I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it
for you. Can I get an Amen?
That's good stuff right there. Now, that doesn't mean Jesus is
not saying when you're in this world that is not in its
original state, He is not saying you're not going to have
challenges the minute you get born again is not the red carpet
and all of a sudden nothing comes around you.
No, it still can come around you.
In fact, a lot of times when it comes, it is like the valley of
the shadow of but it's a valley and it's a shadow.
And if you'll stay with the Lord, you'll go through it
because his rod and his staff comfort you and you'll get on
the other side because ultimately death cannot take you
when you stay in steps with the Lord.
All right. And so here he's saying, listen,
I know you're going to have challenges because this world
doesn't look like what Dad intended in the beginning.
Now we know in Genesis chapter 1, God created the heavens and
the earth and man, this planet at one time recorded in our
Bible, was an amazing place. It was God, Adam and Eve in the
garden, no sin planet earth was amazing.
And God said in in Genesis 126, he said, let us make man in our
image according to our likeness and let him have what dominion
or rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky,
over all the earth, over every creepy theme that creeps on the
earth and over all the cattle, right.
And so man was to have dominion. In essence, man was to rule in
this realm as God rules in the heaven realm under his
authority, and he had that rulership.
That was amazing. That was our design, which means
everything we did was victorious because God the Father has never
lost a battle. He's never been defeated.
He's never been conquered even when one of his created anointed
cherubs tried to tried to overthrow his throne in heaven,
he cast him out. In fact Jesus accounts the
recounts this in Matthew. I believe it's chapter 10 when
he said I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
That's how fast that rebellion was dismissed from his realm
when he took the time to try to deceive other angelic beings to
come in and rebel against the crown of heaven, God and his
authority, which is final. Cast him out at a word.
I said at a word and cast him down.
Now obviously we know in Genesis 3 that this, you know, anointed
cherub now comes in looking like a serpent and he begins to have
the humans that are in the dominion that God gave them and
he they're in his likeness to question the God that created
them. And so he asked some question.
He said, Hey, he said, can you eat any fruit from the tree?
And you know, they Eve corrected him and said, no, we can eat
from any tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. We shall not eat for the day we
eat, we will what? Die.
Now, die doesn't mean just physical death.
What it means is separation. Death just means separation.
You know, us in the natural, we think, oh, someone passed away.
You know, Apostle Marcy's father passed away, and now we do not
see him on the earth. But really, he's just been
separated from us. His spirit and soul is separated
from his body now. OK, I actually still have his
body at the house. We're going to do a ceremony
later on. I had to get all the family and
then we're going to, you know, now not his whole body, OK?
His ashes. That's that would be morbid.
OK, Just do you want to clearly explain that we have his ashes
by which when you know, her brother quits traveling and you
know other loved ones can come in in November, we're going to
do a ceremony for him, OK. But even though I have his
ashes, he's not there. He's separated.
That's death, separation. OK, Now when God says to Adam,
you know Adam, you can eat from any tree of the garden, but of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not
eat, for the day you eat you will.
Surely that just means you'll become separated from me because
the minute you do things that are contrary to God's worth,
that is death. I said that's death.
God is life, and to do things opposite of of his word is
death. Now God gives you the choice.
Why? Because he wants you to love
him, because you want to love him.
He doesn't make you do what he says, but to not do what he says
is death. And so you know, here Adam and
Eve are in the garden in this anointed cherub who's been cast
out of heaven, tried to rebel. God's never lost, He's never
been conquered. He's always victorious, cast him
down and he's already given his son Adam a word.
He said, Adam, eat from any tree, but not this one.
So that's enough for him to conquer this enemy who has come
into the garden. He did not have to come down and
say, Adam, hey, Adam, listen, I just want you to know there was
a guy that I created in heaven. And, you know, he just didn't
sit right, had some problems, some issues, right?
He had some mental health stuff. And I'm not making fun of that.
But you know, he was not thinking, right?
And as a result of that, he rebelled and I kicked him out
because I'm victorious. You cannot overcome me.
I am life. And he became what death is.
So you need to be on watch for him.
He didn't have to do that. He already gave him a word.
Do you not eat the fruit? So really what Adam should have
done when this whole thing occurred is he should have
walked up to that serpent and says, listen, I don't know why
you're talking to my wife, but the things you're saying to her
are contrary to what my father has said.
You know, he created me and he gave me all this, you know, and
the reality is what you're saying is contrary to him, and
I'm not going to have a part of that.
So you need to shut up and get out.
And he had the authority to do that because he had authority
over all the animals. Are you hearing me?
But unfortunately, he listened, he entertained, he himself
decided, because we say this here, often the most dangerous
word in a Kingdom is independence.
And so all of a sudden, you know, Adam wanted to be
independent of God, which then led him into rebellion.
His wife eats, then he eats and sin enters the world.
And this is what we all call the fall.
And for anyone who's been to church, you know that the all of
us have fallen and fallen short of the glory of God.
It is now sin in the earth, which means the planet we're in
today is still the same planet he created, but the way it
functions is not how God designed it.
So again, when Jesus says you're going to have trials and
tribulations in this world, he's really not even saying planet
earth. What are you saying here?
Again, this is that Greek word which means systems within the
earth according to the systems that are in operation.
Because again, you know as well as I do that Luke chapter 4 in
the temptation of Christ, when Jesus was tempted of the devil
and he took him to a high pinnacle and showed him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And he said all these kingdoms, I'll give you if you'll just bow
down and worship me. Because the devil knows the
Bible's about a king, his Kingdom and his royal offspring,
right? And so as a result of that, he
says for this domain, this dominion has been handed over to
me, and we know he received that from Adam.
So the devil is called the God of this world according to
Second Corinthians 44, and he is using all the systems.
So in order for you to get out of those systems, you have to
become born again. That way you can see into those
systems that are corrupt, but you can live parallel to those
systems in a different system called the Kingdom of God and be
righteous. Do you understand we can we can
align ourselves in the in education, in government, in
business that follow Kingdom principles in this earth that's
not of the world. We can do things according to
the Scripture and the Kingdom of heaven because the Father said,
hey, when you pray, pray this way, our Father who art in
heaven, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom, your will be on as
it is. So his will in heaven can happen
on the earth. And So what do we do?
We hear his word, we act on that word, whether it's in education,
government, business, family, every sector of society.
And when we do that, then we are in a world we're not of because
we actually function from a different world.
So Jesus says, now in this world that's not mine, you're going to
have tribulation, but be of good cheer, this trouble out there
and all these sectors of society, I'll overcome.
This is why you're not subject to those ungodly pathways of
sectors of society, because you're in a Kingdom.
You've been transferred out of the domain of darkness and
transferred into the Kingdom of his beloved Son.
So we have victory in all accounts and so the enemy has
created things in the earth because he has dominion in the
domain of darkness and he manipulates and deceives people
to function because you and I all know that while we were
sinners, Christ died and we've all been separated from God and
lived lives that were like man, it were bankrupt.
It didn't work. I was trying some of us even
trying to get to God through through the things of the world
and realize it's just not going to happen.
But God, come on, but God, all right, So John first, John 5,
four and five says this. For whatever is born of God, are
you born of God? For whatever is born of God, are
you born of God? OK, overcomes the world.
Are the systems of the world same thing?
It's not Earth because God still loves planet Earth.
I mean, if you get to the back of the book of Revelations, we
know there'll be a new heaven and a new right.
So again, God is not finished with planet earth.
He's going to revitalize it. He'll burn it with fire and then
there'll be a new earth. Hallelujah.
OK, and then new heaven. So whatever is born of God
overcomes the world or the systems, and this is the victory
that overcomes the world. Our faith, faith comes by
hearing and hearing from the word of God or the word of
Christ or the word of the King. And so when we hear from Jesus,
who was Lord of all, and we apply that word firmly,
persuaded that what our king says is going to take place,
then we overcome the systems of the world, Hallelujah.
And we're not subject to them like the rest of those who are
in the world. Again, what did Jesus say?
He said, Lord, don't take them out of the planet, right?
He said they're in the world, but they're not of the world.
We're not of the world because we're born again.
We are children of God. So this is the victory or
whatever is born of God overcomes the world.
And what overcomes the world is our faith.
Verse 5, Who is the one who overcomes the world?
But he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, do you
believe he's the Son of God? Come on, is he Lord of your
life? Hallelujah.
So we need to understand this, and we've said this before,
faith in God is not for self preservation but for self
revelation. Because the minute I became a
child of God, God's spirit came and lived on the inside of me.
He bears witness now with this new spirit that I am.
The Bible says that I'm a new creature in Christ.
That spirit that was dead, did not know God, could not get to
God, no matter how much it tried to, it was always in rebellion
to God. It was taken out of this skin
suit. A new spirit was placed in me in
the likeness of God and the Holy Ghost now bears witness with my
spirit. I am a what child of God, which
means I'm no longer a Sinner saved by grace.
I was a Sinner. I'm saved by grace.
Now I'm a believer, a child of God and have access to him by
his Holy Spirit. Glory to God, that is awesome.
So the Holy Spirit now one of his assignment is to teach me
who I am. Now in Christ.
He gives me this new identity. He said, now this is who you
are. Now and again on Sunday we refer
to this. If you weren't here Sunday, I
encourage you to go online and listen to the message focus
because as a believer, I do not focus on what the Scripture
calls the old man. I focus on the new man because
the new man is anointed by the Spirit of God.
The old man will separate it from God.
So I don't do the deeds of the old man because I'm not subject
to that old man anymore. He has left me in the Spirit,
but in the realm of the being born again.
I'm a new creature in Christ now.
I'm a new man. And now I'm, I subject myself to
the voice of God, 'cause now I can hear God.
And as a result of that I can live an anointed life above and
beyond and out of the things of this world, the things that pull
us down and can put us in, in death and destruction.
So faith in God is not about where are you going to go when
you die? Jesus never preached it that
way. It was never to be pushed as the
gospel. Where are you going to go when
you die? Because all religions preach
that Jesus is was. You need to know why you were
originally made. And because of what I'll do, I
can get you back there. Hallelujah.
So again, salvation is not about destination.
Salvation is about destiny. It's about identity.
It's about being who you are now while you're in the earth
because yes, there is another place to be.
There is a present with the Lord for sure.
There is a lifetime with Christ. But yet God did not leave us
down here, broke, disgusted, barely getting along and just
hanging on till we could get to heaven when we die.
No, we have the life of God in us.
We're different species of being now and we acknowledge it
because Christ is our Lord. So faith is not about self self
preservation, but but for self revelation.
I'm always discovering who I am in Christ and what God, what
Christ is the price He paid for me so that I could live out of
victorious life for Him in the earth.
Faith also is not a coping mechanism but a conquering
mechanism. You know, we're not in the
church 'cause we're just trying to cope with life.
You know, life's so tough. I just go to church to just
cope. It's not a coping mechanism.
It's a conquering. We conquer, we overcome.
And again, it's not us, but it's Christ in us, the life we now
live, not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, overcome because
Jesus, when he was on the planet, he was not conquered.
He was never destroyed. He willfully gave himself up
because even when they took him to the cross, he had to say it's
finished. Hallelujah.
So He willfully let go of His spirit because the reality is he
had never sinned. Sin brings death.
Jesus had not sinned, and if the devil never would have messed
with him, he'd still be on the planet today.
However, he let go of His spirit and God took our position.
He took on our wrongdoing. He paid the price of our
penalty. What we could not do, He did.
Hallelujah. Aren't you excited about that
and thankful? So this faith that we have in
God is not coping to get through till we, you know, die and get
to heaven one day. It's about conquering now and
then we have the hope of heaven later.
Isn't that amazing? So cope just means to deal with
an attempt to overcome problems and difficulties.
Well, it's an attempt to, but you understand when you're in
Christ, He says you will overcome.
You are to be undaunted. You are to be certain, you are
to be confident. And again, it's not a confidence
in me. It's a confidence in the one who
died for me, who left his word for me.
That is, that is the authority of God that I can stand on.
All right and so the passion translation says it this way you
see every child of God overcomes the world for our faith is the
victorious power that triumphs over the world.
So who are the world conquerors defeating its power?
Those who believe that Jesus is the son of God.
So overcome means to conquer, Vanquish, subdue, prevail, to
come off superior in a judicial cause to get the victory.
We get the victory. Amen.
So when trouble comes, no one's denying that there's issues
factual, there's problems. But I take a step back through
prayer in the reading of the Word and say, Lord, how do you
want me to move forward in this situation?
And when you get that word from God and then begin to speak His
word, that word will come to pass in your life.
I mean, anyone that's been in church for any time knowing the
salvation comes through Christ, that if someone tonight stepped
out and came down and said, I want to give my life to the
Lord. I believe that he came and died
on the cross and rose from the grave.
I acknowledge him as the one that paid the price for my
wrongdoing and I call him Lord, which is not a religious word
that means supreme and authority.
OK. And so I, I call him Lord of my
life. I am going to be submitted to
him and his way of living. I accept him.
As my Lord, well, nobody here, although they'll leave with the
same clothes on, have the same face, hair's going to be the
same, OK, But all of us will say they're born again, even though
we cannot see that old spirit leave and a new one come in and
the Holy Ghost come in with him. We never see that, but we
believe according to the word. That's what the word says.
All who call on the name of the Lord will be so we rejoice with
the angels, say well glory to God, they're saved.
Hallelujah. Like water baptism on Sunday.
We baptized 4 people. I believe it was those people
made a profession of faith that Christ was Lord.
I can't see that spirit inside them, but I said, have you
called on Jesus? They said yes.
I said according to your confession of faith, I baptize
you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We baptize them, Amen. And they're believers now,
they're children of God, but they're outside suit looks the
same, but we are related. But which means now that they
are, they can conquer, they can subdue, they can prevail, and
they can come off superior to any trial that happens in the
earth. Hallelujah.
Aren't you glad we've been given a great king?
So Colossians 26 to 8. The good word translation says
it this way or God's word, it says you received Jesus Christ
the Lord. So continue to live in as Christ
people, sink your roots in Him and build on Him.
Be strengthened by the faith you that you were taught and
overflow with Thanksgiving. Be careful not to let anyone rob
you of this faith through a shallow and misleading
philosophy. Such a person.
Such a person follows human traditions and the world's ways.
What world's way of doing things rather than following Christ?
When you're born again, you have to make sure you do not allow
yourself to go back into the way the world functioned, because we
now can overcome the world's way.
Prior to that, I could not. No matter how much you tried to
stop things, you found yourself doing it right, you know, And
then you tried to find peace and all kinds of things,
relationships, substance, jobs, all kinds of stuff, right?
Careers, education, whatever the case may be.
But the reality is without Christ is always a dead end.
You're faced with yourself. You can't get rid of the guilt
and shame of different things you've done wrong.
But in Christ you can do something.
But now once you're born again, you have to stay focused there
and not entertain things that are worldly in thought.
OK, So what does the faith, what is our faith in God's Word looks
like in the world now? This is really powerful.
This is the passage I wanted to get to tonight.
Second Corinthians chapter 2, verses 14 to 17.
I'm gonna read out the new American standard.
It says it this way. But thanks be to God, who always
leads us in triumph in Christ. You see that?
But thanks be to God, who? What?
How many times? Come on, how many times?
How many times always leads us in triumph?
Now, if you're not following, this may be the reason why
you're not in victory. Triumphing in Christ comes by
following. It's not because you are born
again. Now being born again gives you
the triumph over death, right? Eternal separation or damnation,
or what is called the second death, the lake of fire.
However, in this life, you have to allow the leading of the
Spirit to cause you to overcome everything going on in the
world, and that's through His leading.
This is how you triumph in every situation.
Because when things are telling you, it cannot be, when you have
a word of God, the word of the King, you're like, no, this is
what he said to me. I'm staying with it.
And when you stay on it and allow that to lead you, then
you're going to be triumphant in whatever it is you're standing
and believing. But it goes on and says this and
manifests through us. The sweet aroma you smell, the
victory, the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.
Look at this verse 15. For we are a fragrance of Christ
to God among those who are being saved and among those who are
perishing. Oh man, this is good to the one,
an aroma from death to death to another, an aroma from life to
life. And who is adequate of these
things? Verse 17, it says, For we are
not like many peddling the word of God, but as from a sincerity,
but as from God. We speak in Christ in the sight
of God. Let me read this out of the
Passion translation and then I'm going to make a few comments.
God always makes His grace visible in Christ, who includes
us as partners of His endless triumph through our yielded
lives. He spreads the fragrance of the
knowledge of God everywhere we go.
In essence, when you're in Christ and staying connected to
Christ, you're putting on the Kingdom.
Cologne or perfume right now. I mean, I have some colognes
that I like, you know, specifically.
And you know, I've worn them enough that honestly, I only
smell them when they're coming out of the bottle and hitting my
clothes. Outside of that, I don't smell
them. But every once in a while, I'll
come across somebody that they'll catch a whiff of my
fragrance and they'll say hi. I really like that Cologne.
Right now. They like the Cologne, but you
understand, I'm carrying another fragrance.
Hallelujah. I remember my wife and I, we
were walking in Charleston, WV in a mall cuz you know, we
purchased this mall. So I was in another mall and it
looked worse than our mall when we bought the mall, right?
I mean it was like 3 stories and there are so many people not in
that mall. I mean, you know, there's so
many stores. And I was just, you know,
dreaming a little bit. You know how I am.
I'm like, you know, what could you do in this place right here,
right. But my wife and I were holding
hands walking. All of a sudden this lady came
up. She goes, wow, you, you are such
a beautiful couple. I mean, I know where now I'd
like to think that I'm GQ, but you know, I know better than
that and I know I'm married up. I understand that as well, but I
sense my wife and I both says, you know what?
It's the fragrance of God. It's the godliness about our
lives that all of a sudden is radiating and developing A
fragrance. And you know what?
The word supports that thought. So let's go on and keep reading
this passage of Scripture. It says this verse 15.
For we have become the unmistakable aroma of the
victory of the anointed one to God, a perfume of life to those
being saved, and the odor of death to those who are
perishing. The unbelievers smell a deadly
stint that leads to death. But believer smell the life
giving aroma that leads to abundant life.
And who of us can rise to this challenge?
Verse 17 says for unlike us so many, we are not peddlers of
God's word who watered down the message.
We are those sent from God with pure motives who speak in the
sight of God from our union, union with Christ.
When you are impurity really just want to serve God because
you love him and that's all that matters.
Well, then all of a sudden it carries an aroma, and to those
that are outside this Kingdom, when they get around you, all of
a sudden they smell not you, but them, that the stench of their
life begins to come up. It reminds me of the testimony
of the guy on the bus with Smith Wigglesworth when he was sitting
there. And Smith Wigglesworth, you
know, who was a powerful man of God, and God used him
tremendously in miracles, signs and wonders.
And he was just sitting on the bus there in England.
And that guy got up to get out and he goes, your mere presence
convicts me of my sin. Well, it was a fragrance because
he was godly. He was smelling himself.
Are you hearing me? It reminds me of another story
when I say story, a life account.
When my father, he owned a painting company and we were
doing some hotel, a hotel. And so it was, you know, just
doing some touch up work. They were at the point where
some cleaning people were coming in to clean the windows and all
this type of stuff. Well, you know, I was doing some
touch up. I don't remember exactly
painting or maybe I was puttying something.
But regardless, there was an individual that showed up in the
room. Now they had a lot of perfume
on, but the perfume was on to try to disguise the body odor
which made the combination gaggable.
And you understand the world is trying to put on a form of
godliness but are denying the power thereof.
But when you come in with the true fragrance of God, 'cause
you love him because He saved you, because He's changed you,
because your lifestyle models the life of the king and this
new life that you're in, well, all of a sudden those that are
living subpar, that smell will come up in their lives.
This is why some people that you get come to work or family
members you know, or people you encounter at various places that
you show up and you say a couple things and they are all of a
sudden aggravated and agitated at you.
And you're almost like, what did I do?
You just walked in the room because for those that are
dying, that stench of their own life starts to show up.
Now the good news is if they would repent, it could be
stripped. It would be stripped and it
doesn't matter how much self religion and and and self
righteousness that you try to put your clone and perfume on
your smells there and God knows it.
You're hearing what I'm saying. So you need to ask yourself, how
do I smell when I go into a room?
Because know this how you live for God, God knows.
So God knows your smell. And do you have a smell of
defeat and death or do you have the smell of victory?
Come on, do you have the smell of victory, man?
I'm going to have the smell of victory.
I want to be able to come into a room, man, and the smell of
victory. And again, that's why you're
going to have adverse reactions from people who want to see you
fail, who want to see you fall, who want to see you not be
successful, who want to see you sick and stuck in the hospital,
who want to see tragedies come to your life, who want to see
you fire all those things. Why?
Because they are jealous of the godliness that you are.
But you are praying for them that they could come out.
You're there to help liberate them.
So again, what is it that we have triumphed over in Christ?
Now, I'm going to give you a list that comes out of Galatians
5, Ephesians 5, and Philippians 2.
All right, you can look these up for yourself.
So I'm just doing some bullet points because you understand
when you are born again, this is the victory that overcomes the
world, our faith. And when we live according to
the Word, then these are things we can triumph over.
In essence, they no longer rule us or we're subject to them or
we have to fall into them. We can resist them.
Jesus was tempted on all accounts like we have been, yet
without sin Now we've been recreated in His likeness.
We have received His anointing with and when that occurs then
we have the ability. That doesn't mean this list.
You could not fail. You can, and if you did, God is
merciful. You can repent.
Ask God to forgive you and He'll treat it like you've never done
it. But yet if you know going in
that you know what, if this starts to come, you know what?
I can just resist. I can resist.
So here's the list. This is what you have triumphed
over in Christ. You have triumphed over sexual
immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after
things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of
those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentments
when others are favored, temper tantrum, drug use, angry
quarrels, jealousy, self promotion, selfless selfishness,
pride filled opinions, being envious of the blessings of
others, murder, uncontrolled addiction, wild party greed,
idolatry and obscenities and worthly insults.
Hallelujah. You know, in the political
season, for those that are born of God, you know they really
have to do a very. They have to gain access to
their mouth because you can give some unworthy insults, they can
give you an advantage right and you know our whole again, that's
the way of the world. Bash this one to elevate
yourself, but you understand the Kingdom.
That's not how we do that. I said that's not how we do that
and and essence if we would follow the kingdom's way of
doing it. The Bible says he who humbles
himself will be oh man. And I'm telling you, if we
follow his plan, then you can get into promotions that you
never would have gotten into if you just try to do it the
world's way, you know, talking about the other employee and and
saying things about them, you know, to try to make you look
better. Now, I'm not saying you don't
have an honest report about someone's performance.
No one is saying that. If you were, you know, in HR and
you're evaluating someone and they're not performing, you're
being honest, but you would also give a corrective action.
And you know what, it's not wrong for you to say, you know
what, you're not fitting the organization and we're going to
have to let you go. And that's honesty.
That doesn't mean you're trying to get above them.
They didn't perform on their own free will.
But if you're doing it so that you could take their position,
are you hearing what I'm saying? Because again, these things that
we say we are, you know, you can identify them in some of them as
actions. Again, murders, pretty easy to
see. However, remember what Jesus
said. Jesus said, you've heard the
ancients say are those of the past that came from my father in
his writings, thou shalt not commit adultery.
But I say unto you, if you've lusted after a woman in your own
heart, you've committed that sin, which tells me you can.
You may be faithful to your spouse physically, but
emotionally you're already in an adulterous affair.
And if God's looking at it, that's how he looks at it.
So we may not always be able to identify a person's heart motive
of why they're doing something, but God does.
I said God does. And the good thing about being
in Christ is God will speak to us and say, why are you doing
that? Give you a check so that then
you can lead the way. God would want you and you keep
your smell of victory. Amen.
Because let me tell you, nobody can take what God has ordained
for you. Whatever door he opens, no man
can shut, and whatever door he shuts, no man can open.
So you're not threatened by anyone.
You're not in competition with anyone.
God designed you to do something specific for Him and His church,
and when you follow Him, you can get any place He needs you to
be. Hallelujah.
So aren't you glad that you had the victory over these things?
So this whole list, Paul finishes up and says it this
way. Haven't I already warned you
that those who use their freedom?
So again, he's talking to people in the church that are saying by
God's grace I'm saved. I didn't earn it, so I can still
do what I want to do and be right with God.
He is saying if they're using their freedom, he goes on and
says for these things will not for these things will not
inherit the Kingdom realm of God.
So again, God did not save us out of something for us to stay
participating in it, right? Because he's given us a new
nature and then God himself lives in US.
Wow, how amazing is that? So with that being said, first
Peter chapter 2 verse 11 says it this way.
He says, I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refuge
in this world, do not give in to bodily passions, which are
always at war against the soul. Those things that we mentioned,
you know, in Scripture is fleshly things that are contrary
to spiritual things. And we are to resist the flesh,
when in fact we are to crucify the flesh and be led by the
spirit. So the systems of this world,
the way of this world, the things that you're doing at
work, you've seen in maybe past relationships, maybe you have
some friends that are in some relationships and the way they
treat each other. You know, there may be business
practices that are going on in the world, all kinds of things
that are contrary to the Kingdom that you have to make sure it's
waging to get war against your soul.
And you have to say, you know what, I'm not going to do that.
I'm not going to do that. I'll give you a case in point.
This is very simple one, but Sunday when we playing flag
football, Leo comes flying across the field out of nowhere
and catches the ball and goes out.
I happen to be on the sideline not in the game at that time
because we playing four on four and we had five and they only
had four and I saw it right now. The refs on that side said he
didn't catch it, but I'm like, he caught it and he's not on my
team. Because at the end of the day,
if we're going to if we're going to win, I want to win honestly.
And I get it. Some people can make a wrong
call, but the reality is honesty is of the Kingdom lifestyle,
right? And that's just a very simple,
we get when you start getting into business, all kinds of
things, you know, there's all kinds of ways that the world
will attack your mind to say do it this way.
Well, you nobody's going to know it's OK here.
Da da, da, da, da, that wages war in your soul.
And you have to say, you know what?
I'm I'm not going to do it because I want to maintain the
smell of victory in my life that when I walk around, I am the
righteousness of God in Christ. I am a doer of his word.
And man, when people see me, victory walks in the room,
right? Victory walks in the room.
So Galatians 522 to 23 says it this way.
How can you be assured of these types of victory?
Well, you have to be born again because those who are born again
now have fruit from the Spirit of God, That's the Holy Spirit.
Before I was born again, I did not have this fruit.
OK, I may have tried to put on this fruit.
I may have tried to demonstrate these practices.
However, I had alternative motives.
You know, a person can be patient.
I'll give you a case in point. When I wasn't living for the
Lord in high school, I was really patient with females.
Until you get what you want, say Amen.
Anyway, it's been a long time. I know.
Are you shocked? I get it.
You know, I was, I was a heathen.
I was backslidden, not living for the Lord and living
according to my flesh. And so, you know, there were
things you're pursuing and you're patient.
And for me, I was patient. And then I would be super kind
to the parents because if the parents like me, I'm in, I'm in.
And when I break up, the parents will blame the daughter.
Crazy as that sound. Well, he was such a nice guy.
See mode of it in there. It looks like you're kind.
So again, not everyone kind is kind.
That's why, you know, I'm cautious when I call good people
good and bad people bad, you know, because not everybody that
does supposedly good things are good people.
So I say, well, they're acting nice for sure.
That I know about them is they're nice, but I don't know
them enough to determine, is that fruit good?
Right anyway. But when you're born again, this
comes by the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit is Lovejoy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, right,
gentleness and self-control. Which means then that whole list
that we're talking about, how would I fall into sexual
immorality? When the temptation comes, I
pull out the fruit called self-control.
Cause before I was born again, didn't have that, did not have
that. Nope, did not have self-control.
Did not have it. But now that I'm born again, I
have self-control. I said I have self-control.
Now, I've told this story before, my wife knows it, that
when we were at Rhema, I worked at Bergen Brunswick, which was a
pharmaceutical company. And you know, I sold everybody
at class out by, you know, Bible college.
I was a drug pusher because I pushed, you know, prescriptions
down the line every night filling orders for pharmacies.
What do you do for a living? Well, I'm a drug pusher.
I was always a good talking point.
Anyway, there was a lady that was over that area and one day
we were staying a little late because you have to pull all the
orders where we go. And she kind of caught me by
myself and set up on the thing and started talking to me.
And basically he was asking me don't go to my home, come to
hers. And I was like, no, you don't
really like me. What you need is Jesus.
Now that ended that pretty quick.
When I said that, she never approached me again.
All right, when I said, you know, I'm not the man you want,
the man you want is Jesus, the man, I said that she's like, OK,
I got to go, right? But yeah, I mean, because again,
she was not attracted to me. She was really smelling the
victory. She wanted some victory, but she
can't get victory that way. And so I was letting her know
how you can have this smell is that you can have Jesus, right?
Well, you understand self controls there, right there.
You're like, no, there's no way. Why?
Because I'm a child of the King now I operate in a fruit that no
longer I'm subject to the world where I have to be this guy that
always is being unfaithful to his spouse.
I'm not that guy, I'm a child of the king.
I'm faithful to one person and why can I do this?
Closing scriptures this first John 4/4 come on, you know it.
It says this, you are from God little children and have
overcome them because greater is he who is in you than he who is
in the world. Now you understand so many
believers quote that but are not living that.
How in the world can I say I have a the greater God in me,
yet am always failing in the world?
I'm always being subject and I'm I'm lying like everybody else,
cheating like everybody else, swindling like everybody else,
deceiving like everybody else, manipulating like everybody
else, complaining like everyone else, gossiping like everybody
else. No, I have the triumph over all
those things because of God in me, and now I get to move this
thing on in the life of God because Christ has set me free.
Whoo, glory to God because the greater 1 is on the inside of
me. Man, that's such good news.
We are not of this world anymore.
And when we walk in a room, people should say there's
something different when they get around you eventually, what
is it? And then it's going to come out.
His name is Jesus.