If you take your Bibles open to 2 Corinthians chapter 2, we'll read verses 12 through 17. But as I said this morning, during the evangelism conference, I was reading 2 Corinthians and I came upon this passage and I kind of camped out there. And I've read it ever since, most of the days since then, and then began to study it. But it just meant a lot to me as far as my thinking and during the evangelism conference, it kind of went along with that. And as I thought about this, it talks about being an aroma. And I thought about how the gospel appeals to our senses as believers and non-believers. It says in the Bible that you are the salt of the earth and salt appeals to taste. And these are metaphors, but they describe these things. You are the light of the world to sight. Um, and also, uh, in first Peter two, it says you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of the darkness and delight. So we are to proclaim as well. So the gospel is heard and appeals to that sense. Um, and also I, I thought about touch and there, You know, a good example, I think, in the Bible about that, Jesus, you know, touched many people and healed them. But the men that was the friend of the paralytic, and they went up to the roof and took the roof apart and lowered him down. I mean, that's a good example of hands-on evangelism, really. With that in mind, this evening, as a metaphor, we're gonna be looking at us as being in a Roman. So let's read 2 Corinthians 2, 12 through 17. When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was open for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia, But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not like so many peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God, we speak in Christ. So in verse 12, when Paul came to Troas to preach, it says there was a door open for him there. And there was a door that he could preach the gospel and have a freedom to preach the gospel he was able to preach. And that always wasn't always the case that there would be a door open. Act 16.6 says this, Paul was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. So really God didn't allow him to speak in Asia at that point. He wasn't allowed by God. And there's also some circumstances that prevented him from preaching. Colossians 4.3, Paul writes this, he writes, pray that God may open to us a door for the word to declare the mystery of Christ on account of which I am in chains in prison. So Paul was in prison. He didn't have the freedom to go about and preach as he wanted to preach. So there was those circumstances that kept him from doing that. And I think there's been times in our society and times throughout the ages of the church that the door of opportunity to preach the gospel has been closed. And we know that from communist countries. People going into these countries are prohibited from preaching the gospel. And I think we see that also in our current day with the pandemic, that people today, still there are people who haven't been back to church that are Christians. And it's, you know, travel is not possible to certain countries. You can't go freely as you would have. But yet that doesn't hinder the church from growing. God will still grow his church. But then again, in 1st Corinthians 619, Paul says this, for a wide door for effective work has been opened to me, and there are many adversaries. So here when it says there's a wide door for the effective work, that means that God is saving people. The hearts of people are open to the gospel. And not only is there a door that he can go freely and preach the gospel, that he's seeing lives changed by God as well. But in the midst of that, I find it interesting that he says there are many adversaries. You know, in Acts 19, it says when Paul was in Ephesus, he was going and God was doing great things. And the fact that that there were those that were making gods and different things, but it said even in their witchcraft and the things they were doing that their lives were being changed and they brought their books and stuff to even burn them in a matter of repentance. But then that's where Demetrius Silversmith really caused a riot. So there was, in the midst of all this, he said, we've got to do something, talking to the other guys that made idols. And he said, we've got to do something because our livelihood is at stake. And a riot ensued. Paul wanted to go in the riot. The apostles, the other disciples wouldn't let him go in, even though he wanted to go in. there is much adversary when preaching the gospel. And sharing the gospel can be difficult, and it's not easy, and there is opposition. And this rolls around in my mind, and it has rolled around in my mind a lot. And I ask myself, should I just be satisfied to live within these church walls and be satisfied that whoever would come in here to hear the gospel, is that enough? And I find myself saying, no, that isn't enough. But I think, too, I want to see, and we all want to see God do a work. But it takes us going out and sharing the gospel. And really, opposition should be grounds for encouragement. Because when opposition comes, it means that God's awakening the consciences of people. And whether it be good or bad, their consciences are being awakened. In verse 13, it says, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went to Macedonia. So you see, even though the door was open for the gospel, God was doing things, Paul decided to leave. Why did he leave? Well, my guess is that he was supposed to meet Titus in Troas. And when Titus wasn't there, Paul wanted to hear Titus went on to Corinth. And Paul sent him to Corinth to see how the church was doing since he had written his first letter. And so he was anxious to see how the Corinthians was doing. He didn't feel at peace to stay, even though God was doing great things. But if we just turn over to 2 Corinthians 7, verse 5, it says this. For even when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. But we were afflicted at every turn, fighting without fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also the comfort by which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing and your mourning and your zeal for me, so that I still rejoice more. For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that the letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance, and that leads to the salvation without regret." So you see that Titus, Finally caught up with him in Macedonia, he gave a good report to Paul of how the Corinthians were repenting and turning to Christ, and it was encouraging to Paul. He had a deep, deep love for that church. So, verse 14, but thanks be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. Paul here gives a glory. First he says, thanks be to God. He gives a glory to who it is due. He realizes that it's in Christ and not of himself. And in ourselves we are weak. He realizes that you can't save yourself and that you can't sanctify yourself. It's it's of Christ, and that's why he gives him the glory and all of that. This triumphal triumphant well also. He said this that our victories are in Christ Romans 837. We are more than conquerors through him who loved us, and it says that we always. He always leads us in this procession. So it's not sometimes, it's not indifferent in any way, but it's always. And this triumphal procession, it's a military term. I've been listening on Sermon Audio to a guy by the name of Roger Higginson, and he's from Northern Ireland, and he's a really good preacher, and he preached on this topic, which I also read in a commentary that this is a military term, And as he was sharing that the Roman armies were common at this time to go out and have great victories. And as they went out and began to have these victories, they would take plunder and spoil from the places they had been. And sometimes they would bring in captives as many as 5,000 people with them. So when they marched, they'd have victory parades, and as they marched through the streets, they had censors. There were people on censors on the side of the street that would wave incense, and it'd be burning, and it'd be a smell, a victory smell. And for them, it would be the victory smell. But for those who were in that procession that were captives, it was the smell of death because chances are they would have to go to the Colosseum and face their death. So it kind of goes along with these verses. And it was common for these Corinthians to understand this type of thing, this terminology. In this victory march, there'd be from the general of the utmost importance down to the lowest soldier, but they all shared in the victory as well. But the victory that we have is in Christ, and Christ is the chief commander. You know, Jesus Christ came to this earth as a man, and he led the perfect life. And he also went to the cross and suffered a death that was terrible death and took on the wrath of God. But because he did that, we can have salvation in him. And that's a great thing. And as we fight this battle, we're not fighting for the victory, for the victory has already been won. But we're fighting in the victory because Christ has won it. Now we have this message of hope of the gospel and As we look at this, the fragrance of the knowledge of him, that knowledge of him is the hope of the gospel. And we can share that with people. And it's successful. The gospel is very successful. And also when it talks about this fragrance, You can go back in the Old Testament, I think the first reference to an offering was Noah, of being a sweet fragrance to God. As Noah, you know, the floods subsided, Noah got out and offered sacrifices of the clean animals to God. And it said it was a pleasing aroma to him. And as you go on and look at that, you can go through Leviticus and several, there's several references of pleasing aroma to God. But Ephesians 5, 2 says this, and walk in love as Christ loved us. And he gave himself up for us a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. So Christ is the fragrant sacrifice to God, the final sacrifice to God. He sacrificed himself by love, and that sacrifice was acceptable to God. As we look also in here, it says we are an aroma of Christ to God, those who are being saved and those who are perishing, a fragrance to death to death, and the other a fragrance to life to life. It says we are. So if we're saved, we are in a Roma. I mean, there's just no doubt about that. And I think being in a Roman Christ. It's something because our hearts and our nature is corrupt and sinful. But yet, in 1 Corinthians 6, 20, it says, you have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body. The precious blood of Christ is who bought us. Romans 12, 1, we are to be a living sacrifice unto God. 1 Peter 2, 5 were living stones being built into spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So it's because of Christ that we are an aroma to God. But this aroma is a pleasant smell of incense, but it's not only to God, but it's also to man as well. The gospel is successful. And there are those, it's successful when people perish under it, and it's successful when people live under it. If they perish under it, they willfully reject it. They're hardened by it. But the humble soul is quickened to his sin, and it gives life. As I'm in the spring, usually fixing fence and riding a four-wheeler and driving through a pasture, and there's wildflowers and wonderful smells, but we have a place that we call Death Valley, and it's where we haul our dead animals. If you come across Death Valley at the wrong time, when there's been an animal there for just a few days, it's a terrible smell. In a sense, you have to hold your breath, and you want to get out of there quickly. Well, I kind of compared this to my life when I was in college and I was not a Christian yet. I was meeting with a guy and we were in the union there at Lincoln and University of Nebraska and the guy's name is Dave Wilson. And if you've ever listened to Family Life today, there's Dave and Ann Wilson on that show. This is the guy. And he's bumping me on the arm, and he said, are you growing? Are you growing? And I'm sitting there looking around and hoping that nobody sees me that I know, because I'm embarrassed. And I'm feeling the weight of my sin, I mean, as far as that goes. And I tell him, no, I'm not growing. Well, how come? You know, and next week we'd meet there. And he goes, are you growing? Are you growing? And I just wanted to get out of there. It wasn't pleasant to be there. But then it came down to the point when he said, well, next week we're going to go out witnessing. And that night I called him up and I said, Dave, I'm quitting meeting with you. I said, there's no way I'm going to go out witnessing. Well, I wasn't a believer and it was uncomfortable. And this, this, uh, fragrance of death. And as I look at it, you know, I think about it as bringing people to repentance. You know, you're in an uncomfortable situation. Not everybody that hears the gospel the first time responds. And a good example of what I thought was in our evangelism conference when they talked about the fellow in Canada that had the church, that he sometimes went to somebody 100 times and was rejected many times. And I thought about that, that, you know, there's those that, We may never repent, but there's those that it may take time to repent, and there's hope for them. Because we really don't know the effects of the gospel on people. And it says, who is sufficient for these things? God uses the believer in all our imperfections to carry the gospel, and it's a great responsibility. And that's why he says, who is sufficient for these things? But in all this, I ask myself the question, these last several weeks, what kind of an aroma am I? Jesus said in Matthew 5, 13, he said, you're the salt of the earth, but if the salt lost its taste, is your spiritual life tasteless, I thought. Now, you know, I'm going to church. and I'm busyness of life, and I'm thinking, you know, so I began to think about being an aroma of Christ when I'm around people, and when I'm around non-believers, and thinking, am I an aroma to them? Am I an aroma of life? Am I giving off Christ's aroma? But really, the real solution, I believe, in being a good aroma for Christ is spending time with Christ. When I'm out working cattle and I walk in the back door and Penny looks at me and she might catch a whiff of me and she goes, hey, you need to get in the shower now. I'm with those cattle, I smell like the cattle. But when we're with Christ, we produce his aroma as well. Here, I don't know if it was over a week ago, I felt that God wanted me to talk to a fella here in town. And I had the good opportunity to do it, and I kept trying to talk myself out of it. But finally, I went and I talked to him. And it was a great gospel conversation. I don't know if I had any better. And he was very open to the gospel and shared my testimony with me. And afterwards, he thanked me. And he thanked me again and again. He said, I just appreciate what you're doing. This is so timely. for me. And I said, well, do you have a Bible? Are you reading your Bible? He said, you know, I don't, I don't read. He said, I probably wouldn't read it. I'm not a reader. Um, you know, as we look on here, I was reminded of this in second Corinthians three, two, he says, you yourselves are a letter of recommendation written on our hearts to be known and read by all our lives are to be read by all. And I think that sometimes we may not realize it, but some people in Saint Francis, they may never go to church, they may never hear a sermon, they may never have read a Bible. So we're it. I mean, we're God's aroma to them. I keep going back to this verse in Ephesians 5 too that I read about Christ being the sacrifice. And it says, walk in love as Christ loved us. And I said, I think about walking in love. Jesus said by this, all men will know you are my disciples if you have love for one another. And I keep thinking that as we love each other and as we love non believers with our life, the fragrance of the knowledge of him will spread. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for this time. I thank you, Lord, that that you've done a work in our lives here. And Lord, that we are in a Roman. And Lord, I just pray that. That as we are that you would use us in this community. And with friends and people that we have. And Lord, how I pray that you'd be honored with that and glorified that with that. And Lord, I pray you draw many people to yourself. In Christ's name I pray.