You are the Aroma of Christ [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. When you come to the throne room of grace, boldly in your time of need, and you wonder what God is thinking of you, and you draw near to Him, I'll tell you what happens. He breathes in, and He says, ah, the smell of my son.

To God, you smell like Jesus. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in the series, Victorious Living, as presented at Rinaldo Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It's a book written by Pastor Alan called God Moments, and it can be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries.

As you listen to today's message, go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastoralan.org. That's pastoralan.org. Or call 877-544-4860.

That's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program. But right now, let's get started with today's teaching. Here is Alan Wright. What we really need from God is that someone so strong and mighty in His love that He doesn't merely accept us, He captures us. He is not deterred when Jonah flees to Tarshish. He does not stop loving when in suicidal depression Jonah has himself thrown overboard.

He has a great fish swallow him up. He is not deterred when Moses is too reluctant and complains of all his limitations. He has him throw his staff down and turn it into a wonder to prove to him that he'll be with him. He does not stop nor fail in his covenant with David because of David's sin with Bathsheba or his murder against Uriah, 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 3,000 would be saved. And God does not give up on you.

Thank God He captured us. And I'm glad to just be led along in the procession, which means secondly that we are the trophies of His accomplishment. So that's what a trophy is.

It is what you put on display to remind you of the one who won the victory. We moved a year and a half ago and so I went through all those boxes and boxes and boxes in the attic and threw away 90% of the junk that had accumulated there and become moth-eaten and rusted and dusty, but one old box that I found up there I decided to keep. It was a box full of childhood sports trophies, some of them falling apart, some of the tennis players missing their arms and there are some swimming trophies in there, although I really never liked the swimming.

I did it. And there are soccer trophies in there. There are even, believe it or not, football trophies from my peewee football days, tennis trophies that are in there, no golf trophies, and most surprisingly, you might find a surprise, there are hockey trophies that are in there. I played ice hockey at the Greensboro Coliseum as a kid and loved it, and I found the most interesting trophy in there, a hockey trophy I was awarded in 1972.

It was called the Mr. Hustle Award, 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. Hustle. I took it in my mind at the time to mean I was the second best player, but I think what the coach meant was you didn't improve a lot and you're certainly not the best player, but you really tried hard. I'd get in there and scrap, didn't mind getting checked by somebody twice my size, scrap around for the puck in the corners, fight my way in front of the net, work for the scrappy rebounds on the, and so I was Mr. Hustle. And I thought, you know, I've got this box of trophies, what am I gonna do? And so I just have 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 out of the car and I'm reminded there, I am Mr. Hustle. What's a 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 won. The victorious Christian life is living with an awareness of all that Jesus has won. There was a great awakening preacher who coined the term trophies of his grace. It was a marvelous sermon that Edward Griffin preached from Psalm 45 verse 5 that 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 warring sides 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 platoon compared to this. Against such an immeasurable host who for ages had been entrenching themselves throughout the world and every temple and every school behind every throne and every heart he went forth single handed. 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 fell, the oracles grew dumb, 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 dissolved the strongest hold of Satan, the heart of man.

He sent forth his arrows and three thousand were pricked in the heart at once. He still rides today through the nation's conquering and to conquer every saint on earth is a vanquished rebel whose heart was once pierced by the shafts of his quiver. God speed thee thou glorious conqueror go on and prosper. His signs of victory are not desolated countries but prisoners set free, souls delivered from the destroyer, sighs and groans comforted and the sting of death removed. These are his trophies, these are his spoils.

The high-minded spirit of medieval legend celebrated the feats of knights uninterested in their own gain who roamed the kingdoms supposedly to deliver oppressed females from enchanted castles or from gasps of giants and monsters. But how much more generous and kind a deliverer is here marching through the nations and rescuing the oppressed and those who have no helper from the tyranny of Satan. Oh the divine compassion of this godlike advance. May you be a trophy of his grace.

That's Alan Wright and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series. Ever been facing a problem when a well-meaning Christian friend said something like you just need to have more faith? The problem with such an exhortation of course is that telling someone that they ought to have more faith doesn't actually help a person have more faith. We all want more faith but what can we do to get more faith? In his highly acclaimed book God Moments, Pastor Alan Wright describes one of the most important biblical pathways to building your faith, remembering God's presence in your life.

When you see God's faithfulness yesterday, you'll find it easier to trust him tomorrow. Your life is full of God moments and through Alan Wright's teaching series and book, you'll have a treasure map to help you discover them all. When you make a gift to Sharing the Light Ministries today, we'll send you a very special bundle. It's Alan Wright's faith-building book God Moments and the CD album of the series that he has preached on the subject. We'll send you both when you make your gift today. It's time to discover your God moments from yesterday and be filled with fresh faith for today.

Call us at 877-544-4860 or come to our website sharingthelight.org. Today's teaching now continues. Here once again is Alan Wright. Each one of you is a different kind of trophy that puts on display something about the nature of our great general, Yeshua. I think I'm a trophy of how he is Jehovah Rapha, our God who heals. I'm just a trophy that puts on display what God can do when there's a baby boy from a broken family who doesn't know how to father except for the grace of Father God.

What kind of trophy are you? And a final image that emerges from this beautiful metaphor of the triumphance is that we are called by Paul here the aroma of Christ to God, a fragrance. He says it's a fragrance that to some is death to death and others is life to life. To all the citizenry of Rome as they gather on their scaffolding and public steps and alleyways and streetways, they would smell this rich incense that was literally engulfing the general, the imperator in his chariot. And so as the great celebration was taking place, they would breathe in this aroma which became to them symbolic. It was literally the smell of victory. And 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'd ever been to a triumph and later catch a whiff of that that incense, they would be reminded that they were a citizen of the greatest kingdom on earth.

They were part of the victorious empire. And Paul is saying that we are like that. We're the fragrance of the victory of Christ. It's the fragrance that surrounded the general and we're the ones who've been conquered and we're right in the midst of it and so we smell like that. And to anyone who has their eyes being opened to the love of God, you are smelling so sweet to them. But to the powers and forces of hell, you're a stench in the demon's 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. One of my favorite texts I've preached in many places and many times.

You've heard me mention it 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 and 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 is supposed to receive the blessing. He's the one who's supposed to receive a double portion of the inheritance. But Jacob is a conniver and a deceiver, a crook, and he goes in 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 hairy skins because Esau was evidently very hairy so he wanted to be able to feel that hairy-like skin and he put on Esau's clothing.

Esau worked the fields and his clothing would have smelled of the farm. So he goes in and at first Isaac is unconvinced. He says in Genesis 27, 21, please come near me. I may feel you my son to know whether you're really my son Esau or not. So Jacob went to Isaac his father who felt him and said the voice is Jacob's voice but the hands are the hands of Esau. He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. He said are you really my son Esau?

He said I am. And then he said bring it near to me that I might eat of my son's game and bless you. So he brought it near to him and he ate 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 as the smell of a 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. It's a story about an unthinkable exchange in which the younger brother gets the blessing that the older brother deserved 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 that should have been reserved for him. I preached this in Alabama many years ago and an old man Pastor TD Hall approached me afterwards been a pastor longer than I'd been alive and he had tears in his eyes and he said I couldn't help when you're preaching this thinking about Paul's words to the Corinthians that we are the aroma of Christ to God and that's when I saw it and wept myself. Paul said put on Christ we are imputed with the righteousness of Jesus it is like you've put on a coat it's like you've put on the clothing of Jesus and you are forgiven in Christ and you're given his righteousness you're clothed with him so when you come to the throne room of grace boldly in your time of need and you wonder what God is thinking of you and you draw near to him I'll tell you what happens he breathes in and he says ah the smell of my son to God you smell like Jesus no matter where you go you are the one that's been conquered to be a trophy of his grace and to live out your life as a fragrant aroma of Christ himself you are therefore in Christ the smell of God's victory here's what happened one way you could see the whole drama of it all is that there was a great conflict and a huge opposition to God and everything that was good and right it began the day that a serpent slithered into the garden lured the man and the woman into disobedience and 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 and so God came he came not as anyone would suspect and royal raiment or as the kind of general that anyone would have expected instead he came humbly as a baby born in Bethlehem but he surely was God of God man of man truly God truly man and he said if you see the finger of God at work expelling the demonic you'll know the kingdom of God has come and though he was humble and though he was persecuted he had so much authority he could speak and a raging storm would be calmed or a dead man would come out of a tomb he was a conqueror and he conquered with love and right at the moment that that serpent thought he had defeated this conqueror in Jesus's death the victory was won 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 had been met many had been conquered thousands who had been opposition had been taken and it had extended the kingdom and brought and secured peace yes the general should be declared imperator and there should be a great triumphus in his honor and so it is that still when any sinner 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 been captured by his grace you've been conquered you're the aroma of Christ you are a trophy of his grace and that's a gospel Alan Wright in today's teaching you are the aroma of Christ from our series on 2 Corinthians all about victorious living today and Alan is back here in just a few moments with additional insight on this for your life in today's final word God's always been there in every moment you narrowly escaped from danger in every moment you were surprised by a blessing in every moment you just knew the direction to take God was there your life is defined by countless moments of God's grace perhaps they've been covered by the sands of time or have just gone unnoticed in the rush of life but your life is full of God moments when you make a gift to sharing the light ministries today we'll send you a special bundle both pastor Alan's heart-stirring book God moments and a CD album containing all his audio messages on the subject make your gift today and start your spiritual treasure hunt to uncover your God moments how you remember yesterday will determine how you live tomorrow the gospel is shared when you give to sharing the light this broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support when you give today we will send you today's special offer we are happy to send this to you as our thanks from sharing the light ministries call us at 877-544-4860 or come to our website sharingthelight.org I often think it's just insane that we are where we are a part of God's family we've got his name we're his child he's our father and and then you got this part about this you smell I've heard preachers talk about this you smell like Jesus and boy it comes right here from this that you've been teaching us it's a it is an image of we his people having been conquered by him and by his love and the thing I've increasingly seen 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's no greater news than he conquered my sin for me and he conquered my stubbornness and brought me into the kingdom of light out of the kingdom of darkness he made me his own so that I belong to him when you think of this you're thinking 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 peace security and I think hope in this world we've been captured by him there's no better news thanks for listening today visit us online at pastor alan.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 if you only caught part of today's teaching not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free find out more about these and other resources at pastor alan.org that's pastor alan dot o-r-g today's good news message is a listener supported production of alan wright