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You are listening to the Ron Dunn Podcast.
Ron Dunn is a well-known author and was one of the most in-demand preachers during the
latter part of the 20th century.
He led Bible studies all over the United States, Europe, and South Africa.
For more information and resources from Ron Dunn, please visit rondunn.com. and I want to read beginning with verse 12 and read through verse 14.
2 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 12 through 14.
Now 2 Corinthians is a little different from Paul's other letters.
In this letter, Paul is trying to answer some questions. He's trying to fend off some attacks that some of his detractors have made against him.
As a matter of fact, there were quite a few people in Corinth who were down on Paul.
Actually, this is about the third letter that Paul wrote.
We don't have the true second epistle of Corinthians.
It was lost somewhere.
But Paul had written and said that he was going to come to see them at a certain time.
But circumstances arranged themselves so that it was impossible for Paul to be there.
And so there were those who were his enemies.
And they took this occasion to criticize him and say,
See, that's just like Paul. He never never really follows through he's a fickle guy
he can't depend on him and then they pointed to some of the problems that
Paul had been having he had gone through quite a bit of persecution and there
were those who would say well now if he were a true apostle then I don't think
you know that all of those things would be happening.
And so what Paul is doing, and what he does, beginning with chapter 2 and verse 12,
all the way through chapter 6 and verse 10,
Paul turns aside, and in that particular passage, 2.12 through 6.10, Paul is describing and defending his apostleship
and this section that we're going to read tonight serves as an introduction
to that particular section and so with that background let's begin reading
verse 12 and we'll read through verse 17.
Now, when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ, and when a door was opened for me in the Lord,
I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother, but taking my leave of them, I went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God who always leads us in his triumph in Christ and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ
to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one an aroma from
death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life,
and who is adequate for these things.
For we are not like many peddling the word of God,
but as from sincerity, but as from God,
we speak in Christ in the sight of God.
I want to read again the 14th verse
because that's going to be our primary verse
tonight. But thanks be to God who always leads us in His triumph in Christ and manifests through us
the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Two or three weeks ago, Kay and I were in Knoxville, Tennessee, and we went to the Cracker Barrel to eat.
And so I went to pay the bill,
and I pulled out my new Visa card that has my picture on the back.
And with my bill, I gave that to the girl behind the cash register.
She took a look at my Visa card with my picture on the back and she looked up
at me and she said, well, this isn't you. Well, I knew what had happened. Kay and I, every once in a
while, get our cards confused. She'll borrow mine and I'll borrow hers. So I knew what had happened,
of course, is that I had, you know, I had's car. And I said, no, that's my wife.
And so I took it back, and I looked at it, and I said, no, it's not.
That's me.
And I gave it back to her, and I said, that's me.
She said, no, that's not you.
That doesn't look anything like you.
I said, well, the reason for that is that was taken when I was much older than I am now.
She was not convinced. But that's happened to you on occasions, haven't it? I mean,
you've seen a portrait of somebody and boy, they look one way.
And then when you see that person in the flesh, they don't look a thing like that picture.
Sitting in somebody's living room, and there, over there on the mantel,
is this portrait of, my goodness, this gorgeous Miss America type girl.
After a while, she walks into the room, and you say to yourself,
boy, what they can do with an airbrush nowadays, these photographers.
You don't want to ever order a mail-order bride.
No telling how they've touched up that picture.
But we've all had that experience, haven't we?
That somebody will have a photograph made,
and the photographer will touch it up and take all the wrinkles out
and put a little sparkle in the eye,
and you say, well, this is this person. And
then when you meet them in the flesh, they don't look a thing at all like your photograph. I've
had that happen to me. I've had people meet me at the airport or supposed to meet me at the airport.
And I walk right by them and there they are holding my photograph. And later on, when I
finally join up, they say, well, you know, I had your picture, but you don't look a thing like your picture.
And that's how I got the habit of saying, well, that was taken when I was much older.
We all have that experience that we see a photograph of somebody,
and then when we see that person for real, if we're honest, we'll have to say,
you know, I've got your photograph here, but you don't look a thing like your picture.
Well, it's safe tonight to say that in this New Testament that I hold in my hand, we have a photograph of the believer.
This is the picture, the portrait of a Christian. But it's just as fair for me to say, you know, folks, I look out among you tonight
and you don't look a thing like your photograph. Have you ever noticed that? You know, you read
the New Testament, especially like the book of Acts, and you read what Christians are and what
Christians do, and you read what they're supposed to be like
and then you lift your eyes from the pages of Scripture
and you survey the church members and you say,
hey, wait just a minute.
I was reading about them just a moment ago,
but they don't look anything at all like it says they ought to look.
I see your picture and I see your name here,
but when I look at you,
you don't look a thing like your photograph.
It has always disturbed me
that there seems to be a great gulf fixed
between what the Bible says we are
and what we really are.
You've noticed that, haven't you?
Has that ever disturbed you?
How can it be that way?
For instance, here's a picture of the believer.
Romans chapter 8, Paul says,
as he is listing all of these powerful things,
both natural and unnatural,
he talks about heights and depths and angels
and powers and principalities and swords and famine.
And he says, but in all these things, in all these things,
we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Now that's not a promise.
That's a statement of fact. He's not saying that if we do such and so and we do such and so,
well then we will be more than conquerors. He simply says, no, no, it's a fact.
In all these things, we are supra-conquerors.
It's the only time that word's found in the New Testament.
It's almost untranslatable.
It means we are supra, super-conquerors.
We not only conquer, why, we go way beyond just conquering.
Now, every Christian I know believes we're going to win in the end I mean we are
it's going to be close
boy it's going to be nip and tuck there for a while
but we're going to win in the end
what's going to happen is
we're going to kick a field goal
in about the last three seconds
and beat the devil 17 to 14
going to win but
boy it's close
well that's not what the Bible says
Paul says that we don't win by the skin of our teeth
we don't win by a narrow of our teeth. We don't win by a narrow margin.
That we win by an overwhelming victory.
We are supra-conquerors.
I see your picture, but you don't look a thing like your photograph.
Here's another one.
John chapter 4, as he talks to the woman at the well,
she's offering him a drink of water.
And Jesus said,
whoever takes a drink of this water will thirst again.
But I tell you something,
if you take a drink of the water of life that I give you,
you will never thirst again.
And there again is that double negative,
terrible grammar, but great theology.
He said, whoever takes a drink of the water that I give
shall not never thirst again,
emphasizing that a taste of eternal life
would satisfy the longing of every heart.
What a tremendous thing.
And yet, everywhere I go,
I find Christians whose lives are full of thirst
and discontent and dissatisfaction and malcontent.
I see your picture,
but you don't look a thing like your picture.
John in his first epistle says,
This is the victory that overcomes the world,
even our faith.
I used to read that and I'd say,
That's why I'm not overcoming the world.
I don't have enough faith.
If I had more faith, I could overcome the world.
But if you read on,
he's not talking about the size of your faith.
He said, who is he that overcomes the world?
But he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God, you see.
In other words, John says if a person believes that Jesus is the Son of God,
he overcomes the world.
If I were to ask how many of you tonight believe that Jesus is the Son of God,
I'm confident
we'd all raise our hands.
But if I asked the second question, how many of us today have overcome the world, we'd
lose a few on that proposition.
I see your picture, but you don't look a thing like your photograph.
Well what's wrong?
Why the discrepancy?
The discrepancy is there because I believe that there is a,
oh, what shall I call it, a principle, a rule, a key, a secret,
all of those words.
But there is something, a principle, a truth,
that either we are ignorant of or knowing about it,
have chosen to ignore it or disobey it. But there is a certain truth, a certain principle,
a way of life, that if you and I, knowing about this, are obedient to it, will bridge the gap between what the Bible says we are
and what we really are. That will enable us to live in victory. Monday night I talked about how
to maintain your fellowship with God. Last night we talked about how to walk in the Spirit. Tonight
we're talking about how to live in victory. And the key is shown us by the words of Paul in that 14th verse when he says,
thanks be to God who always leads us in his triumph in Christ. Just those words. Thanks be
to God who always leads us in his triumph in Christ. Now notice the first word there is but, and it's an emphatic word.
If you go back to verses 12 and 13,
Paul is describing what might be called failure to some.
He's talking about going to Macedonia,
and there was a great door of evangelistic opportunity
open to him, but he couldn't find Titus, his brother there.
Things just didn't work out,
and so Paul had to turn away and leave, walk off and leave that open door. But he rushes in,
and before his detractors have a chance to say, yeah, see, he failed, Paul says, but thanks be
to God who always leads us in triumph. Even when you look at that experience, he's saying to his enemies, to you it may look
like failure, but I want you to understand something. He always leads us in triumph.
Later on in chapter 4 and even again in chapter 11, Paul is going to talk about all of the problems
he's had, the tribulations, the trials, the persecutions, the beatings. And he's saying at the outset, he said,
you're going to be hearing some mighty terrible things
that have happened to me on my journey,
but I want it understood from the very outset
that everything that happens to me,
it has been triumphant in Christ Jesus.
Even though as I describe it,
it will take on the appearance of failure
to you who look with eyes of unbelief.
But thanks be to God who always leads us in His triumph in Christ.
Now that word, or those words,
leads us in His triumph in Christ.
Seven words.
Actually five words, leads us in His triumph is the translation of one
Greek word. And that one Greek word was a word that described a custom that was very familiar
among the Roman armies of that day. So that when Paul wrote the Corinthians
and he used that word, the Corinthians, the moment they read that word, they knew what he was talking
about, of course, and so they got the message, made the application. Today, in the translation,
of course, we don't know what that word is, and we don't really see the picture, and so we lose a great deal of it. But
let me show you what that custom was to which Paul was referring. Back in those days when the Roman
army went to wage war, as soon as they had secured the victory, they would dispatch a runner,
a herald, H-E-R-A-L-D, a herald. And this man would run all the way back to the city of Rome,
and upon reaching the city of Rome, he would run through the streets announcing that the army had
been victorious. Now when the people heard that, they would immediately begin making preparation
for a victory celebration to welcome their conquering hero home,
you see. By the way, our word preach comes from that word herald, and that's what preaching is.
It is the Lord sending us ahead, telling everybody that the victory has been won,
so everybody can make ready to welcome the conquering hero.
And so anyway, as he ran through the streets announcing that the victory had been won,
people would begin making celebration.
In the pagan temples, there was a certain incense that was burned only on these occasions.
And they would begin to burn this incense. And you see, this is what Paul is
referring to when he talks about an aroma from life to life, an aroma from death to death,
and he manifests through us everywhere the sweet aroma of him in every place. Paul is referring to
this entire custom. So that if you were a Roman citizen and you stepped outside one morning and you
sniffed the air and you smelled that particular incense, you'd say, we're going to have a party.
And you'd get ready for that party. Now on the day of that great triumphant procession,
now you have to remember something, that not every general or every Caesar or every commander who won a battle got one of
these triumphant processions, you see. Not even Caesar got one of these all the time. These were
special. The war had to be of special danger. It had to be in a certain place, a certain number of
men risk, a certain number of men killed, a certain number of men risked, a certain number of
men killed, a certain number of men captured, a certain amount of booty taken.
Not just anybody.
See, they were always fighting wars, but just because they won one didn't mean that you
got to have one of these.
Even Caesar didn't get to have one of these simply because he was Caesar.
So it was a very, very special occasion when there would be awarded to
a general a triumphant procession. And so on that day, the people would line the streets,
and the procession was magnificent. You can read about it in an encyclopedia. First came the
senators and the city officials, and then came the priests with their little censers of incense,
and then came the musicians. Ah, but the central figure in that drama was the conquering hero.
Sometimes it was the Caesar himself, the emperor, sometimes one of his generals,
but he would be riding in a gold-plated chariot drawn by white horses. And as he rolled
through the streets, the people went wild. They threw confetti and garlands into the air. Oh,
by the way, this is just an aside, but it's interesting. Always in that golden chariot,
a slave would ride, and he would stand beside, behind that conqueror, and all the time
he would be whispering in his ear, this too shall pass away, this too shall pass away. Anyway,
so when the people saw that parade and saw that chariot, that was their conquering hero.
Now, right behind that chariot and chained to it
were the officers of the defeated army.
The rank and file of the army would be brought up later.
Most of them would be put to slavery.
Some would be put to death.
The officers would certainly be put to death.
But right now, when they were captured,
they were placed in chains,
and then they were chained to that chariot.
And as that chariot rolled through the streets,
it dragged those men along behind in the dust and in humiliation.
And when the people saw those, they really went wild. They really
cheered because, you see, what a public spectacle, what a public display of the power of our
conquering hero. He's got those men in chains. Now, that is the custom to which Paul is referring when he says,
thanks be to God who always leads me
in His triumph in Christ.
Paul baptizes that.
He Christianizes that.
He makes use of it.
And here's what he's saying.
He's saying, there was a time
when I was at war with Jesus Christ.
There was a time when there were hostilities between God and myself.
But he conquered me.
And I have yielded to him an unconditional surrender.
And I have been put in the chains of his lordship, and I am chained to that chariot,
and everywhere He goes, thanks be to God who always leads me in His triumph in Christ.
The New American translation translates this beautifully. It says, thanks be to God who continually leads us about captives in Christ's triumphant
procession. You see the picture? It's Paul who is chained to that chariot. It's Paul who is being
dragged behind that chariot. And everywhere he goes, of course,
he's just following in the wake of that triumph.
You still with me?
All right.
This is the principle.
This is the key.
This is the secret, however you want to call it,
that we either are ignorant of
or knowing it, ignore it or disobey it. And this is it. If you want to be an overcomer you must first be overcome if you want to be
a master you must first be mastered your victory in Christ will be in direct proportion to His victory over you.
And if there is an area in your life in which there is repeated, repeated, repeated failure and defeat, it is a good sign that there is an area in your life over which Jesus Christ is not
absolute, unrivaled Lord. If you want to be a conqueror, you must first be conquered.
If you want to exercise authority, you must first submit to authority. But you see, that's the rub
right there, isn't it? All of us want
to be conquerors, but who wants to be conquered? I know what my problem is. My problem is I
want to ride up front with the Lord, don't you? You know, kind of get up there in the
chair and help Him drive. I like to do that. I like to do that. I say, Lord, it seems to
me like we're moving mighty slow. Don't you think we ought to kind of put the pedal to the metal a little bit
and kind of, you know, let's get with it.
Sometimes I say that.
Sometimes I say to the Lord, Lord, we're on a terrible road here.
We've passed a lot of super slabs.
Why don't we get on a smooth road?
Sometimes I want to say, Lord, I'm so tired.
Let's just pull over here and have a picnic.
You know, we're always wanting to help the Lord run our lives.
We want to help Him drive.
But that's not where we belong, you see.
If you want to be a master, you must first be mastered.
If you want to be an overcomer, you must first be overcome.
But everybody wants to exercise authority,
but nobody wants to submit to authority.
Everybody wants to teach. Nobody wants to study.
Everybody wants to lead. Nobody wants to follow. Everybody wants to lead, nobody wants to follow.
But the principle of it all is this.
If you want to be a conqueror, my friend, you must first be conquered.
Now the best illustration I think you'll find of this in the New Testament
is found in Matthew chapter 8.
You remember the centurion.
The centurion came to Jesus and he said to Jesus,
Master, my servant is sick.
Well, we may as well just read that. Matthew chapter 8.
Now that I've said it, I hope I can find it.
Yes, here it is.
Verse 5,
And when he had entered Capernaum,
a centurion came to him, entreating him, and saying,
Sir, my servant is lying paralyzed at home,
suffering great pain.
And he said to him, I will come and heal him.
But the centurion answered and said,
Lord, I am not qualified for you to come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me.
And I say to this one, go.
And he goes to another, come.
And he comes.
And to my slave, do this.
And he does it.
Now here's the kicker, verse 10.
Now when Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who were following,
Truly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.
Now I'm going to confess to you folks two things.
Number one, I didn't see what was so great about what the guy said.
And the second thing, I couldn't see a thing that had the world to do with faith.
I mean, let's look at what the centurion said.
The centurion said, Lord, my servant is sick.
Jesus said, I'll come to your house and heal him.
The centurion said, No, Lord, I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof.
Just speak the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man under authority with soldiers under me.
And I say to this one, go, and he goes.
To this one, do this, and he does it.
And when Jesus heard that, he marveled.
Well, I think it'd take quite a lot to marvel Jesus, don't you?
I mean, he's seen it all.
What could you show him he hasn't already seen
since he made the whole business?
And yet when Jesus heard that, the Bible says he was amazed.
And he said, I've never found such great faith, not even in Israel.
Only two times in the Bible where it says Jesus was amazed
and at both times it was at the faith of a Gentile.
Isn't that interesting?
Anyway, let's get back to this one.
What was so great about what this guy said?
I can't see anything great about it.
Can't see that it has anything to do with faith.
Well, we'll read it again.
I'm not worthy to have you come under my roof, Lord.
Just speak the word and my servant will live,
for I too am a man under authority.
Now let's stop right there.
I too am a man under authority.
All right, I would expect now the very next words
for him to say would be something like this.
And when I'm told to go somewhere, I go somewhere.
And when I'm told to do something, I do something.
Isn't that what you'd expect?
He says, I'm a man under authority.
I would expect the next words would be, I do what I'm told.
Oh, but that's not what he says.
He says, for I too am a man under authority.
What?
With soldiers under me.
Oh, there it is.
I'm under authority.
And therefore I have authority.
And I say to this one, go, and he goes.
And to this one, do this, and he does it.
You see, a centurion had authority over 100 men.
That's why they called him a centurion.
He was under the authority of the emperor.
As long as he was under the authority of the emperor,
he had the emperor's authority over those 100 men. If he rebelled
against the authority of the emperor, he lost his authority over those 100 men. So there's
the principle, isn't it? If you want to exercise authority, you must submit to authority. That's
the principle, isn't it? But that's not what impressed Jesus. Do you know what impressed Jesus?
A three-lettered word impressed Jesus.
Do you know what that word is?
T-O-O.
Or some translations may read also.
For some reason, the King James just flat left it out.
All right.
Sin turned and come and said,
My servants paralyzed.
Jesus said, I'll come to your house and heal him.
Oh, don't do that.
I'm not worthy to have you come under my house.
For I too.
What's he saying?
Just like you, Jesus.
He's comparing himself to the Lord, you see.
For I, too, am a man under authority, Lord, just like you.
I have soldiers under me, and so I don't have to run my own errands.
If I want something done, I just speak the word, and they'll do it for me.
And, Lord, I know that you operate and live by the same principles,
so you don't have to come to my house.
Just speak the word, and my servant will live.
And then Jesus said, I'm telling you, that's amazing.
I can't believe this Gentile understands
the principle by which I myself live.
You see, that's the principle by which Jesus lived.
He lived under the authority of his Father.
He said over and again, I can do nothing. I can do
nothing of myself. The son can do nothing of himself. But since he was under the father's
authority, he had the father's authority over death, disease, and demons, and he didn't have
to run his own errands. All he had to do was to say the word and it would be done. And that centurion
lived by the same principle. He was under the authority of the emperor. Therefore, he had the emperor's authority. And all he had to do was speak the word and it
would be done. And that's the principle by which Paul lived. He said, if you want to be a conqueror,
you must be conquered. Thanks be to God everywhere I go, there's victory. Why? Because I'm simply
being led along in the wake of his triumphant procession. And that's the key right there.
Now, having said that, let me just very quickly mention three characteristics of this victory,
living in victory. Three things. Number one, this victory is God's victory through His Son. Now, I say I'm reading
from the New American Standard, but thanks be to God who always leads us in His triumphant Christ.
I used to preach this from the King James, but I stopped, and the reason is the King James but I stopped and the reason is the King James
translation there is not accurate the King James reads like this thanks be to
God who always causes me to triumph am I right some of you have King James
tonight is that the way it reads may I don't know if it's in the new King James
I'm who leads me in His triumph.
You say, Preacher, aren't you making a big deal over something so small?
No, it's not something so small.
It's the difference between Paul riding in the chariot and Jesus riding in the chariot.
I'm not the one who conquers.
I'm not the one who triumphs.
It is God's triumph in Jesus Christ, you see.
It is His triumph.
And here's what I'm saying,
that this victory is God's victory through His Son.
It is not my victory.
And right here, so many of us as Christians,
we fail because we think that it is up to us to win the victory.
See?
I mean, after all, we talk about the victorious Christian life.
And I'm preaching tonight on how to live in victory.
You say, boy, I sure hope I find out how to live in victory.
I haven't been doing a good job of it lately,
but I guarantee you I'm going to rededicate my life tonight to the Lord,
and I'm going out there tomorrow,
and I'm going to live the victorious life if it kills me,
which it more than likely will.
See, we think it is up to us to go out there and win the victory over the world the flesh and the devil no that victory has
already been won it was won 2,000 years ago by Jesus on the cross.
The first thing that you and I need to understand is this,
that it is not my responsibility to win the victory.
I have a responsibility.
We'll get to that in just a moment.
But my responsibility is not to go out there and win the victory. There are no victories to win.
They've already been won
when Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago.
You remember David?
You remember David and his brothers were at war
and his mother one day told him to take lunch to...
That bothers me.
What kind of wars did they fight back in those days?
I mean, you know, it just seemed
kind of strange to me, kind of, you know, mom says, David, your boys are at war, and take them this
sack lunch. There's a cup of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and I mean, what kind of war
was that? I mean, you know, you just take, here, here, boys, here's your lunch. Well, he goes down
there, and he takes them that sack lunch, but when he gets down there
he notices this big old bruiser over here by the name of Goliath taunting the people
of Israel.
And here's Israel and all the armies of Saul cowering over here behind bushes.
And David, of course, like a kid who doesn't know what he's talking about, said, What?
Won't you all do something about that guy?
Now, son, just leave the sack lunch. Go on home. You don't have any idea what's going on. You don't you all do something about that guy? Now, son, just leave the sack lunch.
Go on home.
You don't have any idea what's going on.
You don't understand.
Well, I wouldn't let him get by with that.
Oh, you think you could handle him?
I know well I could handle him.
I know well I could handle him.
Okay, we're going to let you do it.
Here's Saul's sword, and here's his armor.
Oh, I couldn't move if I got on that thing.
Listen, I don't need anything.
I got my slingshot and my five smooth
stones. Crazy kid. Little old David goes out there, walks said to Goliath?
He said, the battle is the Lord's.
Oh, I thought the battle was mine. Oh, if it was mine, I'd have Saul's sword.
Well, I thought the battle was Israel's.
Yeah, they did too.
That's why they're hiding behind the bushes.
The battle is the Lord's.
He has delivered you into my hand.
It's a done deal.
And what you and I must learn to do
is to stand before the Goliaths in our lives
and say the battle is the Lord.
And, Pastor, every night when I come in here this week,
and it's every night of my life,
I started this back in seminary
when I walked into a place where I was going to preach
and I felt like I will never make it.
And the Lord spoke to me like this,
and I don't suppose there's been a time
I've walked into a service since then
and sat down but that the words didn't come to my mind.
The battle is the Lord's.
Whatever is going to happen here tonight in this service
is not my battle.
My responsibility is not to bring people down the aisle.
My responsibility is not that.
I have one but that's not it.
Like in Matthew 16, you remember where Jesus says,
upon this rock I will build my church.
You know, we Baptists, we have a bad habit
of calling churches by the pastor's names.
Have you noticed that?
Where are you this week?
Oh, I'm over at Brother Cat's church.
Oh, that's a good church, yes.
Where were you last week?
Oh, I was down there at Brother Sumr Cat's church. Oh, that's a good church, yes. Where were you last week? Oh, I was down there at Brother Sumrall's church.
You know, I was in Dr. Criswell's church last year.
And we have a way of calling these churches
by the pastor's name.
Now, we pastors know that it's not really our church.
Sort of.
But after a while, you know, you hear it enough,
you hear it enough, and you begin to think, well, it is my church. Oh boy, this is my church.
Well, I'm responsible for this thing. If this thing doesn't move, I'm responsible. I'm responsible for how many people come down the aisle. I'm responsible for how the budget goes. I'm responsible for everything else.
No wonder we have a thousand men quitting the ministry every year in our denomination. That's
just too much. Well, I was doing the same thing at MacArthur Boulevard. I'd been there six months,
hadn't taken a day off because, well, you never catch up. Besides, MacArthur Boulevard. I'd been there six months, hadn't taken a day off
because, well, you never catch up besides my church.
I've got to build that great church there.
I've got to build that church.
That's what God's called me to do.
Well, I was reading Matthew chapter 16.
Jesus said, upon this rock I will build my church.
And I caught those words, my church, my church.
I said, Lord, do you mean to tell me this is your church?
Yes.
Welcome to it.
I was never glad to get shut of anything in all my life.
Boy, I tell you, it's moving.
And then he said, I will build it.
Oh, but Lord, I thought I was supposed to build it.
Well, that's been one of our problems, son.
You mean to tell me you'll build this church?
Yes.
And then I remember Paul knew this. He said,
one man waters, another man plants, but it is who? God that gives the increase.
Boy, that liberated me. That set me free. This isn't my church. This is the Lord's church.
I'm not to build this church. The Lord is the builder of this church.
You say, well, does that mean you don't have anything to do?
Oh, no, I have got plenty to do.
But the first thing I need to understand is what I do not have to do.
And my responsibility is not, first of all, to win the victory to build this church.
I'm not responsible for results and produce in this church.
Point number two.
Number one, this is God's victory through His Son.
Number two, it becomes ours through submission.
Ah, there we are.
There we are.
How do I enter into this victory?
Oh, it's simple
just living chained to the chariot
submitting to the chains
why?
because you see when you're chained to the chariot
God always leads you in His triumph in Christ
I mean everywhere you go aren't you just following in the wake in His triumph in Christ. I mean, everywhere you go,
aren't you just following in the wake of His triumph?
My sole responsibility in the Christian life
is to make certain that I am chained to that chariot,
that I am, as best I understand,
yielded unconditionally to His Lordship.
You say, is that all? If you say that, I know you've never tried it. That's a full-time job.
Had a seminary student come to see me one day when I was pastor. Part of their project was they were interviewing pastors trying to find out what they felt was their primary job.
So one of the questions was,
Now, Brother Dunn, as pastor of this church,
what do you consider to be your number one priority?
I said, As pastor of this church, my number one priority is me.
Well, I could tell he kept waiting for me to say, add to that, you know,
that that somehow just didn't sound right.
I said, write it down right there.
My number one priority is me.
Well, Brother Dunn, I... Well, let me explain it to you a little bit fuller.
First of all, let me say to you that as pastor of this church,
my number one priority is not to the lost of this community.
Let me say to you that is pastor this church my number one
priority is not to the saved and the members of this church as pastor this
church my number one priority is to me to make certain that the pastor of this church
is moment by moment filled with God's Spirit
so that as that Holy Spirit overflows the banks of his life,
it will minister to the lost of the community
and to the saved members of this church.
You see, folks, I can't minister to anybody. If the only thing that
touches you this week or touches you tonight is me, my personality, my thoughts, then it's been
nothing. It must be the life of Jesus dwelling in me that must somehow express itself through
my human personality.
That's what ministers to people. That's what blesses people. Paul, writing over in the fourth
chapter of this second letter, says, we always bear about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus.
Why? So that the life of Jesus might be made manifest through our mortal flesh I cannot bless anybody
I cannot minister to anybody Jesus said if someone comes to me and drinks and
believes out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water that's
what's needed isn't it rivers of living water the living water of the Spirit
flowing out Jesus said son you provide the riverbed,
I'll provide the rivers.
And so I try moment by moment, day by day,
make certain the riverbed of my life
is clean and pure and unclogged.
And as I do that, He will pour through it
all the rivers of the Holy Spirit.
And as the rivers of life, the life of Jesus,
as it overflows the bank of my life,
it will touch you and it will touch you
and it will minister to your need
and it will minister to the need of the others.
That is the only hope.
And if all I do as a minister of this church
is say I've got to grow this and I've got to do this
and I've got to do this and I do not understand
this one great principle,
that brother, there's not anything I can do.
And if all you are touched by this week is touched by me,
then you've been touched by death.
That's all.
It is the life of Jesus manifested in my mortal flesh
that brings about fruit,
brings about blessings,
brings about ministry, you see.
And so this victory becomes mine through submission.
And as I submit myself to the Lord Jesus Christ,
and of course when that happens,
those rivers of living water are going to be flowing Jesus Christ. And of course, when that happens, those rivers of living water
are going to be flowing through me.
And then, you see,
I will touch the lives of those people
that I speak to, that I minister to.
No, somehow or another,
the life of Jesus,
which is captured in my body,
must somehow escape my human flesh
and reach out and touch you. And so Paul comes,
said the only way that can happen is if death works in me and life works in you. And so
Paul is one of those guys chained to that chariot, and he's going to be killed just
like the rest of them. But as he dies to himself, the life of Jesus is manifested to everybody around.
Finally, number three, this is God's victory through his son.
It becomes ours through submission.
And number three, it remains ours in any situation.
It remains ours in any situation.
There are two phrases in verse 14
that you'll want to notice.
The first one is the word always.
Paul says, thanks be to God who always.
That's kind of convicting, isn't it?
I'd have felt a lot better if he had said
whoever once in a while.
Boy, I had a good day back in 86.
Didn't you?
But he doesn't say that.
He said, thanks be to God who always, always, that's time.
Then down at the bottom, he talks about every place.
That's space.
We're time and space creatures.
Everything we do, we do in time and space.
Paul says always, anyways, everways,
anytime, all the time, every time,
every place, any place, all places.
I mean, you name it, you know, everywhere he goes,
no matter what the time of the day,
no matter what the place, he said,
there's victory, there's victory.
Why?
Well, because he's chained to the chariot.
I will not say I've learned to do this.
I will say I'm learning to do it.
But I'm learning that when I wake up one morning
and find that my life has suddenly gone bad and sour
and suddenly destruction has come or disappointment
or I've got the bad phone call at midnight
or I got the bad report from the doctor.
What I'm learning to do upon immediately hearing that situation,
the first thing I do is to check to see if I'm still chained to the chariot.
By that I mean to see if still I'm under his lordship
I went to bed last night under his lordship
and I woke up in the middle of the night
with this terrible terrible phone call
that broke off on the news
let me check to see if I slipped out of his chains
no I'm still there
and when I determine that I'm still chained to his chariot then I
can say two things about this situation number one God led me into it well if
I'm chained to his charity couldn't have gotten there any other way coulda and
number two he's already overcome it why, because he leads me about in his triumph.
I'm just following in his triumph.
So he's already overcome it.
Well, when I was a young person in college,
I pastored a little church in Oklahoma.
It was out in the hills of Oklahoma. You got there by going on a good
highway. Didn't stay on the good highway long. Then you took a secondary road. And then after
a while, being on the secondary road, you took a third of dairy road. is that a word?
I have as much right to make up words as Webster.
You took a Thirdaderry Road,
and then you got on a road that had remnants of asphalt on it.
But eventually you got on a dirt road, gravel road, dusty road.
And you may have the same thing in Georgia, but in Oklahoma and a lot of places like that when you get back in the hills you'll be
driving these little dusty roads and you'll come across a little branch
little rivulet you know it's about this deep and it's crystal crystal clear you
know you can see and you can see shell and gravel underneath it,
and you just splash right through it.
And there were two or three of those
on the road there to the church.
And I remember it was Easter Sunday morning,
and it had been raining about, oh, my, boy,
it had been pouring down rain
for about the five previous days,
but bless God, He had given us a beautiful Easter Sunday,
not a cloud in the sky.
I was driving my 46 Ford over to my church. but bless God, he had given us a beautiful Easter Sunday, not a cloud in the sky.
I was driving my 46 Ford over to my church.
I had on a new Easter suit.
It was sky blue, sky blue,
about the blue of that boy's T-shirt back there.
It's a beautiful thing.
Had on some new shoes.
And so I was driving along.
And you know, when you go to a place twice a week
like that, Sunday morning, Sunday night,
you don't pay attention to where you drive naturally.
I mean, you know where you're going, right?
I mean, you don't, you know, you just,
you're thinking about a thousand other things,
and you don't pay attention.
You just go.
I mean, you know, you just go.
You don't have to pay attention.
And in those days, when I would drive over to my church,
I'd practice on my sermon, see, preach my sermon,
because I was worried I wouldn't be able to preach long enough.
I mean, this was a long time ago, folks.
And what I would do is I'd time myself,
and I would make sure that I could preach for 45 minutes.
I figured that if I could preach for 45 minutes in the car,
that when I got up in front of people and get scared,
I could squeeze out 20, 25, 30 minutes.
I don't get scared anymore.
Have you noticed?
And so anyway, I'm driving along there.
Boy, I'm just preaching up a storm.
And it's a pretty good sermon, as I recall.
And, you know, it's a beautiful, thank you, Lord,
for giving us such a beautiful Easter day.
Boy, I'm telling you, just so wonderful.
And driving along, not paying any attention to course
where you are, because you know where you are.
And all of a sudden, my car just kind of went, you know, just kind of bucked
a little bit and kind of gurgled and conked out. My feet felt had happened is that all that rain,
four or five days,
well, it was coming down from all those hills and mountains,
and that little rivulet that was usually about like that thing
was about like that.
And, of course, I hadn't paid any attention.
I just plowed right into it in a car just deader than a doornail
where there was nothing to do but take off my new shoes
and roll up my breeches leg
and get out and walk the last mile, mile and a half to church.
Now, preacher, does this story go anywhere?
I mean, is there?
Yes, yes, there is a point to this.
One day I came to Jesus Christ
and I yielded to him an unconditional surrender.
And he put me in the chains of his lordship
and chained me to his chariot,
and we took off down a superhighway.
Oh, I'm telling you, I was so happy.
Praise God, hallelujah.
Boy, it's fun being a Christian Christian just praising Jesus every step of the
way well we kept on going like that for a good while and then one day we turned off that main
highway and got on kind of a a rough asphalt road had a few potholes in it but that doesn't bother
me man I'm trusting Jesus hallelujah praise God It's fun to be a Christian, just trusting Jesus all the way.
And we went on that road for a while,
and then after that, we turned off even to a rougher road.
I mean, it was really a rough road,
and bumped here and bumped there,
but that doesn't bother me.
Boy, I'm just trusting Jesus.
Hallelujah.
Praise God.
Oh, it's fun to be a Christian. Just trust in Jesus all
the way. Well, after a while, we turned off that road and got on an old dusty road. Oh, that dust
gets up in your nostrils and gets in your eyes, but it doesn't bother me. Boy, I'm willing to
suffer for Jesus. Just trust in Jesus. Hallelujah. Praise God. Boy, it's fun to be a Christian just trusting Jesus all the way.
And then I noticed that my feet felt damp.
And I looked down, and sure enough,
we were passing through one of those little rivulets,
and the water was just, well, it wasn't over my feet.
It was just on my feet.
Well, that doesn't bother me.
Just trusting him.
Praise God.
Hallelujah.
Man, it's fun to be a Christian just trusting Jesus all the way. Well, we just't bother me. Just trusting him. Praise God. Hallelujah. Man, it's fun to be a Christian.
Just trusting Jesus all the way.
Well, we just keep on going.
After a while, the water gets up to my knees.
Well, it doesn't bother me.
I'm just trusting Jesus all the way.
Hallelujah.
Praise God.
Boy, it's fun to be a Christian.
Just trusting Jesus.
And then the water gets up to my waist well
hallelujah
and then the water gets up to my shoulders if I don't get out of these
change he's gonna drown me and so I of these chains, he's going to drown me. And so I
broke those chains and I swam
to shore and got free.
Do you know what victory is?
Victory is staying chained
to the chariot
even if the water goes over
your head.
That's victory.
Victory isn't the Lord emptying the pool
and getting you on a super highway.
No.
Well, I'll trust him as long as he leads me in nice places.
No.
No. as long as he leads me in nice places. No, victory is when even the water
begins to slide over your head.
You say, I will not go out free.
I love my master.
And you stay chained to the chariot.
You see, John said, faith is the victory. He says that in 1 John. Faith is
the victory. He doesn't say faith brings the victory. He does not say faith obtains the victory.
He says faith is the victory.
Just faith itself is victory.
I meet you as you come outside the doctor's office,
and I say, well, what was it?
Bad news.
Do you still believe?
Yes, that's victory.
I come and stand beside you at the hospital bed, just before you go under, and they wheel
you out to surgery.
And I say, how's it look?
Doesn't look good.
I say, do you still believe?
And you say, oh yeah, I still believe.
That's victory.
A few days later, I stand at the cemetery and I say
to you
as
they lower your husband
in the grave
and I say
do you still believe?
And you say oh yes, you still believe?
And you say, oh yes, I still believe.
That's victory.
I come to you when your business has gone bankrupt.
You've lost your job.
I ask you a question.
Do you still believe?
Oh, yeah, I still believe.
That's victory.
I ask you,
about your kids.
Oh, I don't want to talk about it.
Do you still believe?
Yes, I still believe.
That's victory.
You see, folks, there is no conceivable situation in life
in which Jesus Christ cannot give us victory if we know how to
live chained to the chariot that is victory would you bow your heads with me
now for a moment? Thank you. materials, sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from his study Bible, please
visit rondunn.com.