Christ Centered Evangelism Session 1

Amen. It's a joy to see you again and to serve you the Word of God once again as we are thinking about this week what I've called Christ-centered evangelism, doing God's work, God's way for God's glory. We're going to spend the day in 2 Corinthians chapter 2. So if you want to find that with me, 2 Corinthians chapter 2 will be there in just a moment. Now in the Southern Baptist Convention there are approximately over 16 million people who've gone through a Southern Baptist Baptistry that are walking around right now in our nation. And yet only 5 million of them show up at a church on Sunday morning. That's 11 million no-shows.

By Sunday night or the rest of the week, less than 2 million of that over 16 million would have any further interest to give any further connection with that particular local church that they're a member of. Now that means 90% of Southern Baptists are either total no-shows or Sunday morning spectators. And then what percentage of the less than 2 million who do show up again are giving 1st John birthmarks of the new birth in their life? Well this is a great tragedy. If it was a corporation and there were 90% of no-shows, the corporation would go into bankruptcy shortly.

And the reason is, is for many decades now, over three quarters of a century, we've been attempting to do God's work in our own ways. Using our own means, our own even message. And I'm submitting in this study that we are in desperate need of a reformation in our evangelism. And if you will come, if you'll turn off the idiot box, turn off the secondary issues in life, and you'll come and commit to come under this teaching this week and you'll come with a humble heart and a teachability, I promise you the Spirit of God will do a mighty work in your life in this area of evangelism.

Now you see in that workbook, you're going to be filling in blanks as we go along. We'll come to many Bible references that I'll quote. I'll give you the verse, we won't turn to each one, but you can have them and you can meditate on them in your own time. If you have questions that come to your mind as the week progresses, I pray you'll write them down. I'd love to speak with you about them. But with them no further delay, let's read our text. 2 Corinthians chapter 2, we're going to get into an introduction before we even begin to get to this text, but I want to read this text together if you would.

2 Corinthians 2 and verse 12, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, but at the same time on a human level," this is the Apostle Paul writing to the church at Corinth, and he says these words in verse 12, "Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find Titus my brother. But taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity. But as from God we speak in the sight of God in Christ. Now before we begin to get to that text, noticing your workbook with me, we're going to spend a few moments just in some introductory thoughts, kind of on the front porch before we walk in the door here.

Notice Roman numeral one, I asked this question, "What is eternal life?" If I walked in one of those Southern Baptist churches this morning in Brookhaven and I asked this question with PewDiePieu asking folks, "What is eternal life?" I'm certain I'd get some interesting answers. Some folks would immediately respond by saying, "Well that's going to heaven when you die." Or that's walking on streets of gold and looking at pearly gates or living in my mansion over the hilltop or having a reunion with grandma, but those are not biblical definitions of eternal life. If anyone knows what eternal life is, the Lord Jesus should know. Amen?

And he says letter A in John 17.3, "This is eternal life that they may know God the Father and fill it in, Jesus Christ his Son whom he has sent." So the Lord says eternal life is not found in a place. It's found in entering into a saving knowledge of a person, an intimate vital union with God the Father and God the Son. In other words, eternal life not only speaks as of an endless quantity of time somewhere, it describes a divine quality of life. Eternal life is the very life of God in the soul of a person.

This is eternal life that you might enter into a living vital union with God the Father and God the Son so that because of this living union, notice letter B, Jesus might be the chief object of your devotion, the chief source of your delight. This is precisely why the Spirit of God brings sinners into an intimate, personal, vital union with God the Father and God the Son so that because of that living connectivity, Jesus might become the supreme love of our lives, the sovereign Lord of our lives, the very epicenter of our universe so that you and I might treasure him, cherish him, worship him, follow him, serve him, and enjoy him forever.

Amen? That you and I might be among those who are known as disciples of the Lord, those who are delighting in the Lord, those who are devoted to the Lord, those who are displaying the evidences that we have been brought into this vital union with Jesus and what's the purpose so that flowing out of the fountain of this union with Jesus, letter C, the Lord Jesus might extend his life through you. He might express his character through you. He might exhibit his power through you. And what is the ultimate purpose of this union, this relationship? Is it only to get a ticket to heaven? Get some fire insurance out of hell?

Is it only to show up on Sundays and get our head full of enticing intellectual information about the Bible? What's the purpose? Is it to just have some nice moral relationships with other church people? Now the ultimate purpose, letter D, is that you might be on mission with God. You might cooperate with God's great mission in this world and thus bring glory to God through your life as you cooperate with God's mission. And we all know that a theology that does not produce a passion and purpose to be on mission with God is not a biblical theology.

A church that has no desire, no determination to be on mission with God, I don't know what it is but it's not a New Testament church. And a professing believer in the Lord Jesus who has no commitment to be on mission, actively on mission with God certainly ought to examine themselves for something's desperately wrong. For God redeems sinners like you and me so that we might fulfill the great commandment. We might pursue to love the Lord our God with 100% of our heart, mind, soul and strength and flowing out of that, you and I might fulfill the great commission, Roman numeral two.

This is why we call it the great commission because as the people of God, every born again child of God is to be cooperating with God's great mission in this county, in this state and even unto the ends of the earth. Amen? We know this, I'm just reminding you of the obvious in this introduction. We are cooperating, listen closely, with God's mission. I didn't originate this mission. I did not ordain this mission. This is not my mission primarily, this is God's mission. I am to be cooperating with God's great mission. And we know what this great commission is.

The Lord Jesus plainly, clearly, concisely laid out that great commission in Matthew 28. We know it well, letter A verses 19 and 20, where the Lord commands us to go therefore and get decisions of all nations. Is that what he says? Does he say go and get decision? No. He never said go and get decisions. This is why we have 11 million Baptists at the FBI can't find. The Lord has commanded us to go and make disciples and we understand that we go and make disciples by being witnesses unto Jesus. And the God who has originated the mission has also ordained the means to carry out his mission. And remember, I'm cooperating with his mission.

And as we look through the book of Acts, we clearly see God's ordained means for born again disciples to carry out God's mission. And one of those ordained means is for you and I to live a Jesus centered life before lost people around us. One of God's ordained means is also for you and I to be actively involved in passionate and persistent evangelistic intercessory prayer for the unconverted people that God has brought within the sphere of the influence of our life.

One of God's ordained means in God's mission is for you and I to be willing to be involved in voluntary sacrifice and even suffering persecution if necessary for the extension of his gospel into the hearts of sinners. And of course we know God's primary overarching means is for you and I to proclaim to Harold the bad news to sinners of their terrible condition before a holy God and the good news of God's tremendous provision in the gospel and urge them to repent and believe the gospel, plead with them, but then we don't step across the line into God's territory.

We prayerfully wait for God the Holy Spirit to accomplish what only he can accomplish in his timing and that's the birth from above. Amen? But I know I'm preaching to the choir in this introduction but I must remind you that the great tragedy is that in the last three quarters of a century at least there has been a subtle and I submit to you sinful shift away from using God's means to carry out God's mission and prayerfully waiting on God's timing to regenerate a spiritually dead sinner and grant them a supernatural birth from above which transforms them from a rebel into a disciple but instead the vast majority of Protestant churches have been in the business of attempting to get people to make decisions in our timing.

Instead of waiting for God to accomplish what only God can accomplish in his timing, we've been in the business of attempting to get decisions in our timing. And once you attempt to get folks to make decisions in your timing sooner or later, you know what that pastor, that preacher, that evangelist or that soul winner will do? They will begin to minimize the message. They'll begin to water down the message. They'll be tempted to dilute the message to produce immediate visible physical decisions.

They'll be tempted to create messages that do not fix the spotlight on the person and the work and the terms of Jesus and prosecute sinners of their desperate bankrupt condition. Instead they'll begin to fix the main focus of their evangelistic message on the felt needs of sinners. And we'll see this as the week progresses. The evangelical church has become guilty of distorting and diluting the message by deleting any truths that may appear to be hard or offensive to the sinner.

Oh, but if you do a careful survey of the book of Acts, you'll find that the gospel message in the book of Acts was never altered or obscured to accommodate the culture. But we can become guilty of minimizing the message. Not only that, when we're attempting to get decisions in our timing, we become guilty of humanizing the means. And we see it all around us. Churches attempting to invent all manner of humanly concocted techniques and tactics that are nothing but the inventions of the arm of the flesh of these methods and even manipulations have not been given to us by the Lord. They've not been authorized by the Lord.

They're not found in the plumb line of the word of God. They're nothing but the concoctions of men. And why? Because both churches, organizations, individual witnesses have become obsessed with getting numerical decisions in our timing instead of following the great commission and seeing God transform rebels into disciples in His timing. Amen? But letter B, this is our great commission. We are to be cooperating with God's mission to go and make disciples.

Now, I'm still on the front porch, but notice if God, the Son has commanded us to go and make disciples using His means to carry out His mission and waiting on His timing and not to go and get decisions in our timing, but if making disciples for the glory of God is the great commission, then that brings me to this question in the introduction letter C, what is a disciple? Now, let's paint some biblical pictures of what a true disciple is. Number one, what is a disciple? A devoted student of Jesus as their great and final prophet. That's a disciple.

It's someone who by the saving grace of God has begun coming after Jesus as their master teacher. I've probably shared in this room before that before my conversion, I was an agnostic, argumentative, arrogant, rock and jazz drummer. I would love to argue with you that there was no God and yet I had never opened the Bible in my life. I didn't know Genesis and Revelation. Oh, but when the Spirit of God resurrected me from spiritual death, suddenly God gave me an insatiable appetite for the Word of God. Jesus became my teacher. I became His devoted learner.

When the living God comes to live in a person, He gives them an appetite for the will of God and the Word of God. The Word literally becomes a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their path. That's a disciple. What is a disciple? I'm just painting some obvious pictures. Number two, a determined follower of Jesus as King. For when a sinner is transferred out of the kingdom of death and darkness and sin and into the kingdom of God's dear Son, when they enter into this new kingdom, they come under the authority, under the rule, under the reign of a new King.

For authentic conversion is the very implantation of the throne of Jesus in the heart of a sinner. This is why the Bible says if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord King Master and believe in your heart that God is raising from the dead, thus making Him Lord King and Master, you shall be saved. Conversion is not the end of slavery. It's the exchange of masters. For 30 years, sin was my master. But when I was converted from a rebel into a disciple, Jesus became my master. That's a disciple. He or she is a determined follower of Jesus as King.

But thank God also, number three, a disciple is a dependent believer on Jesus as their great High Priest. If you're born from above in this room this morning, you have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus Christ the Son of God. Amen? For even though Jesus is my King and I'm walking on the narrow road, I don't walk on that road perfectly. But if and when I sin, I have an advocate with the Father whom I am to run to. Amen? In confession and repentance. We have a mediator with the Father who takes our service with all of its fleshiness and frailties and makes that service acceptable to the Father.

We have a great High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for the saints. What are you saying, brother? I'm saying when a sinner is genuinely converted, the Lord Jesus Christ becomes their prophet to teach them, their priest to intercede, atone, and mediate for them, and their King to guide and govern their life. That's a disciple. And we are to go and make disciples. Now what's your point in these introductory remarks? Letter D, if we're going to make disciples, we must be willing to do God's work, God's way, for God's glory.

If we're going to see genuine births from above, vibrant, verifiable conversions, and not just more superficial, artificial, phony professions of faith, but authentic followers of Jesus whose lives are truly transformed for the glory of God, then it is not enough for me to go into Brookhaven and say I'm going to do God's work any old way. For God has a way to carry out His work. God has given ordained means to carry out His mission. Now just some introductory thoughts in this first session. Notice Roman numeral three as we continue to think about God the Father's great mission. What is God up to in this county, in this nation, in this world?

Notice letter A. The Father is giving a love gift to His Son. This is what God is up to throughout the timeline of scripture history. Out of a race of rebel sinners, spiritually dead, spiritually enslaved, spiritually lost sinners who deserve nothing but the unmitigated wrath of God who should all be condemned to eternal hell, and yet God the Father is putting the eternal glory of His amazing grace and marvelous mercy and astounding love on display in the truth letter B that He is gathering in a bride for His Son.

That little phrase, the Bride of Christ, it's a beautiful metaphor for the redeemed church of the Lord Jesus, a number of sinners that no man can beat number who will be the Lord's reward for His suffering. God has given a love gift to His Son. Letter C from every tribe, every tongue, every nation throughout the timeline of history. God is on mission in this world, gathering in this love gift that He has given to His Son. No wonder the Lord Jesus says in John 6, 37, "All that the Father has given me will come to me, and those who come to me, I will in no way cast them out." I'll tell you, that's eternal security, amen?

Jesus would never cast out a portion of the gift that the Father has given to Him. This is why the Lord Jesus says in John 6, 39, "This is the will of the Father who has sent me, that of all He has given me, I should lose none of them, but raise them up on the last day." This is precisely why the Good Shepherd proclaims in John 10, 27, "My sheep hear My voice, I know them, what's the evidence I know them?

They follow Me, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." Listen, "My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all." This is why the Lord Jesus, the great high priest, begins His high priestly prayer in John 17 in verse 2, where He says, He's praying to the Father, "Father, You have given Me authority over all flesh." What percentage of flesh is all flesh? "You have given Me authority, Father, over 100% of humanity, so that I should give eternal life." To who? To as many as you have given Me. Now, what's your point?

This Roman numeral four, "If you are redeemed, you are part of that love gift." Have you ever thought about yourself in that way? That you are part of a gift that God the Father has given to God the Son? This former agnostic, two-bit, no-good-for-nothing rock and jazz drummer is part of a gift that the Father has given to the Son? Well, that ought to set our hearts aflame. God, the Father has given you to His Son. For what purpose? To sit on your blessed assurance? To be a religious spectator? No.

He hasn't given us to His Son, though, so that we might live a life of whirling, His complacency, apathy, negligence, being constantly distracted by lesser things? No, letter A, to be on mission with Him. As He gathers in the rest of this love gift who will worship the Lord and the Lamb forever. He has brought us into a living union with Him so that we might say from the depths of my heart, "Lord, here am I. Send me to that neighbor, that relative, that acquaintance, that workmate, that friend. Send me, Lord. I'm ready. I'm willing.

If I'm not equipped, I'm going to get equipped so that I am willing to go anywhere, to anyone, at any time, at any cost, to cooperate with your great mission. To be personally and intimately involved in this great mission. To learn how to do your work, your way, for your glory, and then do it." Notice letter B. I'm still in the introduction. John 15, 16, the Lord is speaking to the original eleven disciples. Judas has gone. The false branch has gone out into the night. He's speaking to these eleven and He says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should sit." Well, there's a time to sit. There's a time to go.

He said, "I've appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain." Now, notice what the Lord Jesus is saying to these original eleven disciples in every born-again disciple. He's saying, "I have selected you out of this world, but for what purpose?" To propel you back into this world for the purpose of communicating the Lord Jesus Christ through your life and your lips. I've ordained you to be a proclaimer, to be a herald, to be a witness unto me. And notice what He says in verse 8, "By this my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit, so you will prove to be my disciple." Here's how my Father gets glory.

Now, every born-again disciple of Jesus wants to bring glory to God. Amen? There is nothing that we should value more than for God to be glorified, for Jesus to be magnified through our lives. But how do we bring glory to the Father? Jesus says that you bear much fruit. So you prove to be one of my genuine disciples. And that brings us to Roman numeral five, and we begin just to touch on the text. What is that fruit?

Well, in light of the passage I read this morning in 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, that fruit in that text is depicted as, it is pictured as, letter A, the fragrance of the life of Jesus being made manifest in and through our lives. As God sovereignly brings sinners within the sphere of the influence of your life, your very life might be disseminating the sweet fragrance of a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through the life that you live and the message that you proclaim.

I'm just painting some pictures of what that fragrance is, letter B, that our lives might tell the truth about Jesus Christ to your neighbors, to your friends, to your acquaintances, to your relatives, to your workmates, to all those that God brings within the sphere of the influence of your life, letter C, our lives might bear a family resemblance to the Lord Jesus.

He that says he abides in Jesus, ought himself to walk even in the same manner as Jesus walked, in an ever-growing manner, in an ever-enlarging, ever-expanding manner, because unconverted sinners all around us desperately need to see you living a Jesus-focused life before them and you taking opportunities and making opportunities to proclaim a Jesus-centered message to them.

Just painting some pictures of what this fragrance of his knowledge is, letter D, that our lives might bear the birthmarks of the new birth, not just in a Sunday morning or Sunday evening service, but seven days a week our lives might manifest the first John evidences that we are a disciple of the Lord. We are one who is devoted to the Lord, one who is delighting in the Lord, because we are displaying the first John birthmarks that we've truly been born from above. Letter E, our lives might bear the evidences, the road signs, if you will, that we are on the narrow road that leads to life.

I haven't entered the wide gate of counterfeit conversion. I'm not walking on the broad road of religious deception, only to hear Jesus say to me, "Depart from me. I never knew you." Oh no, I've entered through the straight gate of authentic conversion. I'm walking on a narrow road of a living vital union with Jesus. But how would we know? Well, that person is bearing the road signs that testify. They're on the right road, headed to the right destination, because your character, your conduct, your conversation is disseminating the fragrance of a saving knowledge of Jesus within your sphere of influence.

Now, letter F says, "Without me, you can do..." What? Nothing. It's obvious that unconverted people can do nothing of any spiritual significance, any eternal value, anything that would be acceptable in God's sight. But remember, the Lord is not speaking to unconverted sinners there. He's speaking to these original eleven disciples. He's speaking to those who were branches in union with the vine, those who know Him. And He says, "Listen, without my presence, my power, my wisdom, you can do nothing of any eternal value, any spiritual significance whatsoever." Oh, but John 15.5 says, "This is where you've been, President. I just heard that.

He who abides in me, and I in Him, bears much fruit." If we're going to exhibit the fragrance of His knowledge in every place, in ever enlarging manners, it's going to flow out of the spiritual reality of abiding in this vital union, an intimate communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, that word you've just learned this, I'm sure, actually has a dual meaning. To abide in Jesus in one sense is the evidence that a person is converted.

Because the word "abide" means to continue in Him, to persevere in Him, to remain in Him, to abide, keep on continually abiding in Him, which is the evidence that a person has truly been born from above, that they have a saving faith in Jesus, and not a temporary superficial artificial faith. But there's another picture of that word "abide." It also means to make your residence in an intimate communion with Jesus, to continue to make your home in the fire and freshness of a first love intimacy with Jesus.

And the key to bearing much fruit for disseminating the sweet fragrance of the saving knowledge of Jesus in your life is for you to continue to make your home in a living connectivity, a sweet personal communion with the vine. It's to live in Him, to live by Him, to live unto Him, to live for His glory. And notice down there a letter G, what is the ultimate purpose for this abiding in Jesus? Well notice it. So that the fragrance of the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. Our mortal flesh within the sphere of the influence of our lives, and thus magnify Jesus. And thus glorify the Father. Now that's the introduction.

Let me step through the front door for about ten minutes and we'll close. Notice Roman numeral one. If we're going to do God's work, God's way, for God's glory, there are four essential truths that we are going to proclaim and prayerfully apply this morning and this evening. The first one is this. It's right out of our text. If we're going to do God's work, God's way, for God's glory, we must first learn to focus on our position in union with Christ.

This is what Paul is teaching us at the beginning of verse 14 when he says, "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in this vital union with the vine." Notice he does not say who 35% of the time leads us in triumph, or almost always leads us in triumph. No. He says, "Thanks be to God who always leads us in victory in union with the one who has defeated death, hell, and the grave." You know what Paul is saying? I have victory in Jesus. And it's more than a hymn. It's a reality. I have continuing triumph in this vital union with the vine. God is always leading me in triumph.

Now this is an amazing declaration when you consider the immediate context in which he makes this declaration. Notice letter A. What is the context? Well, Paul is in the midst of great burdens and concerns. He has just told us in the previous verse, "I am distressed. I'm troubled. I'm distracted in my spirit." Notice number one, Paul is in the midst of great burdens and concerns. That's what he's saying when he says, "I had no rest in my spirit." Now the great apostle faced many diverse afflictions, adversities, all manner of assaults and persecutions, not only from the unconverted Jewish world, but from the unconverted Gentile world.

But more than all those troubles and trials and tribulations, he has a profound concern that he's exhibiting here over the church. And in particular, the church at Corinth. Number two, what is Paul troubled about? He's internally burdened over the church at Corinth. He is troubled over their response to his letter of correction. You're well aware that the apostle Paul is the one who planted this church in this pagan city. He poured 18 months of his blood, sweat, and tears into the founding of this church. He fed this church through the exposition of the word.

He led this church through the example of his life as it was lived out among them and before them. But we well know that in his absence, pseudo apostles, false teachers had slithered into this church. Dangerous wolves had infiltrated the flock at Corinth. And we know that these religious con men were preaching a phony Jesus, a phony gospel. It was a Jesus plus keeping the ceremonial law. Jesus plus circumcision. It was another gospel. And they wanted to take the position of leadership and they were seeking to take that position by assaulting Paul's character, attacking his ministry behind his back.

And we know that there was much sin in the camp of this infant church. The false teaching brought division, dissension. There was actually a mutiny building against the beloved apostle Paul. Notice number three. What are some of the problems at Corinth? There were two main issues that are always the main issues under troubled church. Letter A, they were defiled doctrinally.

Their doctrine had been corrupted by these false teachers to such a degree that they were believing lies about the attributes and activities of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, even to the extent that they were in danger of believing a false gospel, a false Jesus. They had been defiled doctrinally but not only that letter B, they were defiled morally. This local church had become polluted with a worldliness, immorality, pride, rebellion, and they were breaking Paul's heart with their spiritual treason and rebellion. But God always corrects his younging. And God sent two letters of correction to this church.

One of them is the letter of 1 Corinthians. It's a letter of correction. The other letter is not in the scriptures. It was called the severe letter. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2.4, "For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears." And here is Paul saying, "I am deeply disturbed in my spirit." Now that leads me to number four. Just a few minutes and we close. Number four, what did these verses tell us about a believer who's bearing genuine fruit in his or her life? Surely if anybody was doing God's work, God's way for God's glory, it was the Apostle Paul. And here he is deeply troubled in his spirit.

What does this tell us? Notice letter A. As we do the Lord's word using his means to carry out his mission, the letter A, there will be times of great blessing. As we seek to magnify the Lord, there fruit for the Lord. There are going to be seasons where there are going to be great mountain top experiences, authentic conversions. There are going to be times of wonderful receptivity to the word, sweet liberty and ministry. There are going to be positive times, encouraging times, invigorating times, but letter B.

There will also be times of disappointment, troubling times, disheartening, disturbing seasons, even times of dryness and difficulty and distress, even disillusionment, rejection of the word, refusal of the word. Times of profound disappointment and some of the greatest disappointments don't necessarily come from outside the church walls. Many times those profound disappointments take place inside the church walls. Notice number five, page five. He came to Troas. Why does he come to Troas? Do you remember the text? He came for a twofold purpose.

He came first of all to preach the gospel, but he had also made an appointment with Titus to meet in Troas because Titus was returning from Corinth to bring Paul the Corinthian response to his letter of correction, that severe letter. And they planned to meet in Troas. But while Paul was waiting to meet Titus, God gave him a wonderful blessing of evangelistic opportunity, where A says, "A door was opened by the Lord." God supernaturally opened an effectual door for Paul to proclaim the gospel. There were people being converted. Eventually Acts chapter 20 says, "A church was planted there." I'm talking about they are having a revival meeting.

God is opening the hearts of sinners, but right in the middle of this tremendous evangelistic opportunity, do you notice what Paul says? He says, "I had no rest in my spirit. I'm troubled in the depths of my heart because I did not find Titus my brother." God has given him an open door to preach the gospel, a door through which people are being gloriously converted and right in the middle of it. The greatest evangelist who ever lived besides the Lord Jesus himself says, "I'm distracted. I'm distressed. I'm troubled in my soul because I've been waiting for Titus to come and give me the response to the letter of correction, but he has not come.

I've heard nothing and my heart is breaking for that church." And he was so distressed, so distracted that notice what he did letter B, but Paul departs from Troas and heads from Macedonia. But taking my leave of them, I departed. I went to Macedonia. Listen, he loved the church at Corinth with all of his heart and that church was shattering his heart. And he was so burdened, so distressed, so disturbed that he walks away from an open door that God has given him for evangelistic opportunity. And why? Because his heart is troubled. Will they deal with their sin? Will they repent? Or will they side with the false apostles? And he had no answer.

And notice letter C, this is a time of possible weakness and testing. Friends, it's always a potentially dangerous time when a believer is troubled in their spirit, when they're distressed, distracted in their heart. But this is the great apostle Paul speaking. Yes, but he's just a man. He has flesh like we have flesh. And he can make a wrong turn here. He could develop a wrong attitude here if he kept his focus on his troubled spirit. But here's what I want you to see. And I promise we're closing letter D. Paul looks beyond his troubled spirit and beyond his circumstances. Notice what happens.

He doesn't become paralyzed by the circumstances. What does he do? Number six, he focuses on his position in Christ. You notice the tenor of the text radically changes somewhere in the space between verse 13 and verse 14. Verse 13, "I had no rest in my spirit." Verse 14, "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ." You know what Paul did? In his troubled time and the time of difficulty, the time of possible rejection, he preached the gospel to himself. He fixed his mind off of the troubled circumstances and fixed his heart on his position in union with Jesus.

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ." You know what he's saying? "As I trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean not on my own understanding but in all of my ways acknowledge him." Excuse me. "He shall direct my path." And that path will be paths of triumph. Why? Because I'm more than a conqueror through Jesus who loved me. And you know that victory is a grace gift to every born again child of God. 1 Corinthians 15, 57 says, "Now thanks be to God who gives us the victory in our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice in the troubled time, in the negative time, Paul doesn't focus outward on the circumstances.

He doesn't focus inward on his own possible weaknesses. He doesn't even focus downward at the devil. He focuses upward on his position in union with Jesus. And he says, "Let her be. God always leads me in triumph in the Lord." Number one, no matter the outward circumstances, I have victory in Jesus. Whether I'm on the mountaintop or I'm in the valley of adversity, God is leading me in triumph.

No matter the trial, trouble, tribulation, no matter the problems, no matter the pressures, no matter the persecutions you see there in your workbook, no matter the way things appear on the surface, whether they appear positive or negative, whether there appears to be great liberty and victory in ministry or there appears to be great negative difficulty, great distress, great resistance. Listen, it doesn't matter. God always leads me in triumph in Christ. No matter the response to the gospel, I have victory in Jesus.

Whether I preach as Peter did at Pentecost and 3,000 are soundly converted or I preach as Stephen did a few chapters later and I'm stoned to death. God is leading me in triumph. Now would you say Stephen's victory, Stephen's ministry manifested victory in Christ? Well, there was totally a negative response. No one responded positively. Well, there was one who responded positively. The Lord Jesus Christ stood up to welcoming home. I'd say that's victory. Amen? At all times and always in all situations, God is leading me in triumph in Christ.

If we're going to do God's work, God's way for God's glory, we must learn to focus on our position in this vital union with the vine. Why could Paul say this with such confidence, such assurance that God is always leading me in triumph? We'll find out this evening. Pray you'll come back and come with me through this study, Brother Chris.