The Smell of Victory - Kingdom Triumph

All right, turn over to John chapter 16, verse 33.

John 16:33

And as you're turning, I just want you to take a deep breath

through your nostrils. Go like this.

All right? Let it out.

Let's do it again. Deep breath in.

Let it out. I should have the chiropractor

come up do this because he sounds so much better.

Every time he pops me, he says breathe in, hold it.

And then he cracks me, right. And then the next time he says

breathe in now let it out. And you, you don't know when

he's going to do it, but when you get somewhere to the end.

Wow, there it is. And so take another deep breath

in, all right? You know what you're smelling.

It's victory. That's the smell of victory.

All right, so we're going to talk about that tonight, John,

John 16:33

Chapter 16, verse 33. You know what?

The Amplified Classic says it this way.

I have told you these things so that in me you may have perfect

peace and confidence. I can stop there and preach the

rest of the night, but I won't. In the world you have what?

Tribulations and trials and distresses and frustrations.

But be of what that means. Don't go to work and and being

sad and disgruntled like everybody else.

All right, you when you go to work here to be of what good

cheer and it doesn't matter that there are tribulations, trials,

distresses and frustration when you show up, people are should

be saying why are you so happy all the time?

Why you have such a a peaceful disposition?

How come it is when you walk in the room and all that's going

on, you act different. That's what we're supposed to

right? For those that are born of God,

he says be of good cheer, take courage, be confident, certain,

undaunted. I like that, which means you

understand the victory we walk in is certain.

That means we are undaunted by the things that are going on in

the world that are going on in in the lives of unbelievers that

are in a domain that God really wants them to come out of right.

And so he says be take courage, be confident, certain,

undaunted. For Jesus says this.

He says I have overcome the world.

Look what he says here, the amplified classic.

I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it

for you. Can I get an Amen?

That's good stuff right there. Now, that doesn't mean Jesus is

not saying when you're in this world that is not in its

original state, He is not saying you're not going to have

challenges the minute you get born again is not the red carpet

and all of a sudden nothing comes around you.

No, it still can come around you.

In fact, a lot of times when it comes, it is like the valley of

the shadow of but it's a valley and it's a shadow.

And if you'll stay with the Lord, you'll go through it

because his rod and his staff comfort you and you'll get on

the other side because ultimately death cannot take you

when you stay in steps with the Lord.

All right. And so here he's saying, listen,

I know you're going to have challenges because this world

doesn't look like what Dad intended in the beginning.

Now we know in Genesis chapter 1, God created the heavens and

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

the earth and man, this planet at one time recorded in our

Bible, was an amazing place. It was God, Adam and Eve in the

garden, no sin planet earth was amazing.

And God said in in Genesis 126, he said, let us make man in our

image according to our likeness and let him have what dominion

or rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky,

over all the earth, over every creepy theme that creeps on the

earth and over all the cattle, right.

And so man was to have dominion. In essence, man was to rule in

this realm as God rules in the heaven realm under his

authority, and he had that rulership.

That was amazing. That was our design, which means

everything we did was victorious because God the Father has never

lost a battle. He's never been defeated.

He's never been conquered even when one of his created anointed

cherubs tried to tried to overthrow his throne in heaven,

he cast him out. In fact Jesus accounts the

recounts this in Matthew. I believe it's chapter 10 when

he said I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

That's how fast that rebellion was dismissed from his realm

when he took the time to try to deceive other angelic beings to

come in and rebel against the crown of heaven, God and his

authority, which is final. Cast him out at a word.

I said at a word and cast him down.

Now obviously we know in Genesis 3 that this, you know, anointed

cherub now comes in looking like a serpent and he begins to have

the humans that are in the dominion that God gave them and

he they're in his likeness to question the God that created

them. And so he asked some question.

He said, Hey, he said, can you eat any fruit from the tree?

And you know, they Eve corrected him and said, no, we can eat

from any tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of

good and evil. We shall not eat for the day we

eat, we will what? Die.

Now, die doesn't mean just physical death.

What it means is separation. Death just means separation.

You know, us in the natural, we think, oh, someone passed away.

You know, Apostle Marcy's father passed away, and now we do not

see him on the earth. But really, he's just been

separated from us. His spirit and soul is separated

from his body now. OK, I actually still have his

body at the house. We're going to do a ceremony

later on. I had to get all the family and

then we're going to, you know, now not his whole body, OK?

His ashes. That's that would be morbid.

OK, Just do you want to clearly explain that we have his ashes

by which when you know, her brother quits traveling and you

know other loved ones can come in in November, we're going to

do a ceremony for him, OK. But even though I have his

ashes, he's not there. He's separated.

That's death, separation. OK, Now when God says to Adam,

you know Adam, you can eat from any tree of the garden, but of

the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not

eat, for the day you eat you will.

Surely that just means you'll become separated from me because

the minute you do things that are contrary to God's worth,

that is death. I said that's death.

God is life, and to do things opposite of of his word is

death. Now God gives you the choice.

Why? Because he wants you to love

him, because you want to love him.

He doesn't make you do what he says, but to not do what he says

is death. And so you know, here Adam and

Eve are in the garden in this anointed cherub who's been cast

out of heaven, tried to rebel. God's never lost, He's never

been conquered. He's always victorious, cast him

down and he's already given his son Adam a word.

He said, Adam, eat from any tree, but not this one.

So that's enough for him to conquer this enemy who has come

into the garden. He did not have to come down and

say, Adam, hey, Adam, listen, I just want you to know there was

a guy that I created in heaven. And, you know, he just didn't

sit right, had some problems, some issues, right?

He had some mental health stuff. And I'm not making fun of that.

But you know, he was not thinking, right?

And as a result of that, he rebelled and I kicked him out

because I'm victorious. You cannot overcome me.

I am life. And he became what death is.

So you need to be on watch for him.

He didn't have to do that. He already gave him a word.

Do you not eat the fruit? So really what Adam should have

done when this whole thing occurred is he should have

walked up to that serpent and says, listen, I don't know why

you're talking to my wife, but the things you're saying to her

are contrary to what my father has said.

You know, he created me and he gave me all this, you know, and

the reality is what you're saying is contrary to him, and

I'm not going to have a part of that.

So you need to shut up and get out.

And he had the authority to do that because he had authority

over all the animals. Are you hearing me?

But unfortunately, he listened, he entertained, he himself

decided, because we say this here, often the most dangerous

word in a Kingdom is independence.

And so all of a sudden, you know, Adam wanted to be

independent of God, which then led him into rebellion.

His wife eats, then he eats and sin enters the world.

And this is what we all call the fall.

And for anyone who's been to church, you know that the all of

us have fallen and fallen short of the glory of God.

It is now sin in the earth, which means the planet we're in

today is still the same planet he created, but the way it

functions is not how God designed it.

So again, when Jesus says you're going to have trials and

tribulations in this world, he's really not even saying planet

earth. What are you saying here?

Again, this is that Greek word which means systems within the

earth according to the systems that are in operation.

Because again, you know as well as I do that Luke chapter 4 in

Luke 4 · chapter mention

the temptation of Christ, when Jesus was tempted of the devil

and he took him to a high pinnacle and showed him all the

kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And he said all these kingdoms, I'll give you if you'll just bow

down and worship me. Because the devil knows the

Bible's about a king, his Kingdom and his royal offspring,

right? And so as a result of that, he

says for this domain, this dominion has been handed over to

me, and we know he received that from Adam.

So the devil is called the God of this world according to

Second Corinthians 44, and he is using all the systems.

So in order for you to get out of those systems, you have to

become born again. That way you can see into those

systems that are corrupt, but you can live parallel to those

systems in a different system called the Kingdom of God and be

righteous. Do you understand we can we can

align ourselves in the in education, in government, in

business that follow Kingdom principles in this earth that's

not of the world. We can do things according to

the Scripture and the Kingdom of heaven because the Father said,

hey, when you pray, pray this way, our Father who art in

heaven, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom, your will be on as

it is. So his will in heaven can happen

on the earth. And So what do we do?

We hear his word, we act on that word, whether it's in education,

government, business, family, every sector of society.

And when we do that, then we are in a world we're not of because

we actually function from a different world.

So Jesus says, now in this world that's not mine, you're going to

have tribulation, but be of good cheer, this trouble out there

and all these sectors of society, I'll overcome.

This is why you're not subject to those ungodly pathways of

sectors of society, because you're in a Kingdom.

You've been transferred out of the domain of darkness and

transferred into the Kingdom of his beloved Son.

So we have victory in all accounts and so the enemy has

created things in the earth because he has dominion in the

domain of darkness and he manipulates and deceives people

to function because you and I all know that while we were

sinners, Christ died and we've all been separated from God and

lived lives that were like man, it were bankrupt.

It didn't work. I was trying some of us even

trying to get to God through through the things of the world

and realize it's just not going to happen.

But God, come on, but God, all right, So John first, John 5,

four and five says this. For whatever is born of God, are

you born of God? For whatever is born of God, are

you born of God? OK, overcomes the world.

Are the systems of the world same thing?

It's not Earth because God still loves planet Earth.

I mean, if you get to the back of the book of Revelations, we

know there'll be a new heaven and a new right.

So again, God is not finished with planet earth.

He's going to revitalize it. He'll burn it with fire and then

there'll be a new earth. Hallelujah.

OK, and then new heaven. So whatever is born of God

overcomes the world or the systems, and this is the victory

that overcomes the world. Our faith, faith comes by

hearing and hearing from the word of God or the word of

Christ or the word of the King. And so when we hear from Jesus,

who was Lord of all, and we apply that word firmly,

persuaded that what our king says is going to take place,

then we overcome the systems of the world, Hallelujah.

And we're not subject to them like the rest of those who are

in the world. Again, what did Jesus say?

He said, Lord, don't take them out of the planet, right?

He said they're in the world, but they're not of the world.

We're not of the world because we're born again.

We are children of God. So this is the victory or

whatever is born of God overcomes the world.

And what overcomes the world is our faith.

Verse 5, Who is the one who overcomes the world?

But he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, do you

believe he's the Son of God? Come on, is he Lord of your

life? Hallelujah.

So we need to understand this, and we've said this before,

faith in God is not for self preservation but for self

revelation. Because the minute I became a

child of God, God's spirit came and lived on the inside of me.

He bears witness now with this new spirit that I am.

The Bible says that I'm a new creature in Christ.

That spirit that was dead, did not know God, could not get to

God, no matter how much it tried to, it was always in rebellion

to God. It was taken out of this skin

suit. A new spirit was placed in me in

the likeness of God and the Holy Ghost now bears witness with my

spirit. I am a what child of God, which

means I'm no longer a Sinner saved by grace.

I was a Sinner. I'm saved by grace.

Now I'm a believer, a child of God and have access to him by

his Holy Spirit. Glory to God, that is awesome.

So the Holy Spirit now one of his assignment is to teach me

who I am. Now in Christ.

He gives me this new identity. He said, now this is who you

are. Now and again on Sunday we refer

to this. If you weren't here Sunday, I

encourage you to go online and listen to the message focus

because as a believer, I do not focus on what the Scripture

calls the old man. I focus on the new man because

the new man is anointed by the Spirit of God.

The old man will separate it from God.

So I don't do the deeds of the old man because I'm not subject

to that old man anymore. He has left me in the Spirit,

but in the realm of the being born again.

I'm a new creature in Christ now.

I'm a new man. And now I'm, I subject myself to

the voice of God, 'cause now I can hear God.

And as a result of that I can live an anointed life above and

beyond and out of the things of this world, the things that pull

us down and can put us in, in death and destruction.

So faith in God is not about where are you going to go when

you die? Jesus never preached it that

way. It was never to be pushed as the

gospel. Where are you going to go when

you die? Because all religions preach

that Jesus is was. You need to know why you were

originally made. And because of what I'll do, I

can get you back there. Hallelujah.

So again, salvation is not about destination.

Salvation is about destiny. It's about identity.

It's about being who you are now while you're in the earth

because yes, there is another place to be.

There is a present with the Lord for sure.

There is a lifetime with Christ. But yet God did not leave us

down here, broke, disgusted, barely getting along and just

hanging on till we could get to heaven when we die.

No, we have the life of God in us.

We're different species of being now and we acknowledge it

because Christ is our Lord. So faith is not about self self

preservation, but but for self revelation.

I'm always discovering who I am in Christ and what God, what

Christ is the price He paid for me so that I could live out of

victorious life for Him in the earth.

Faith also is not a coping mechanism but a conquering

mechanism. You know, we're not in the

church 'cause we're just trying to cope with life.

You know, life's so tough. I just go to church to just

cope. It's not a coping mechanism.

It's a conquering. We conquer, we overcome.

And again, it's not us, but it's Christ in us, the life we now

live, not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, overcome because

Jesus, when he was on the planet, he was not conquered.

He was never destroyed. He willfully gave himself up

because even when they took him to the cross, he had to say it's

finished. Hallelujah.

So He willfully let go of His spirit because the reality is he

had never sinned. Sin brings death.

Jesus had not sinned, and if the devil never would have messed

with him, he'd still be on the planet today.

However, he let go of His spirit and God took our position.

He took on our wrongdoing. He paid the price of our

penalty. What we could not do, He did.

Hallelujah. Aren't you excited about that

and thankful? So this faith that we have in

God is not coping to get through till we, you know, die and get

to heaven one day. It's about conquering now and

then we have the hope of heaven later.

Isn't that amazing? So cope just means to deal with

an attempt to overcome problems and difficulties.

Well, it's an attempt to, but you understand when you're in

Christ, He says you will overcome.

You are to be undaunted. You are to be certain, you are

to be confident. And again, it's not a confidence

in me. It's a confidence in the one who

died for me, who left his word for me.

That is, that is the authority of God that I can stand on.

All right and so the passion translation says it this way you

see every child of God overcomes the world for our faith is the

victorious power that triumphs over the world.

So who are the world conquerors defeating its power?

Those who believe that Jesus is the son of God.

So overcome means to conquer, Vanquish, subdue, prevail, to

come off superior in a judicial cause to get the victory.

We get the victory. Amen.

So when trouble comes, no one's denying that there's issues

factual, there's problems. But I take a step back through

prayer in the reading of the Word and say, Lord, how do you

want me to move forward in this situation?

And when you get that word from God and then begin to speak His

word, that word will come to pass in your life.

I mean, anyone that's been in church for any time knowing the

salvation comes through Christ, that if someone tonight stepped

out and came down and said, I want to give my life to the

Lord. I believe that he came and died

on the cross and rose from the grave.

I acknowledge him as the one that paid the price for my

wrongdoing and I call him Lord, which is not a religious word

that means supreme and authority.

OK. And so I, I call him Lord of my

life. I am going to be submitted to

him and his way of living. I accept him.

As my Lord, well, nobody here, although they'll leave with the

same clothes on, have the same face, hair's going to be the

same, OK, But all of us will say they're born again, even though

we cannot see that old spirit leave and a new one come in and

the Holy Ghost come in with him. We never see that, but we

believe according to the word. That's what the word says.

All who call on the name of the Lord will be so we rejoice with

the angels, say well glory to God, they're saved.

Hallelujah. Like water baptism on Sunday.

We baptized 4 people. I believe it was those people

made a profession of faith that Christ was Lord.

I can't see that spirit inside them, but I said, have you

called on Jesus? They said yes.

I said according to your confession of faith, I baptize

you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

We baptize them, Amen. And they're believers now,

they're children of God, but they're outside suit looks the

same, but we are related. But which means now that they

are, they can conquer, they can subdue, they can prevail, and

they can come off superior to any trial that happens in the

earth. Hallelujah.

Aren't you glad we've been given a great king?

So Colossians 26 to 8. The good word translation says

it this way or God's word, it says you received Jesus Christ

the Lord. So continue to live in as Christ

people, sink your roots in Him and build on Him.

Be strengthened by the faith you that you were taught and

overflow with Thanksgiving. Be careful not to let anyone rob

you of this faith through a shallow and misleading

philosophy. Such a person.

Such a person follows human traditions and the world's ways.

What world's way of doing things rather than following Christ?

When you're born again, you have to make sure you do not allow

yourself to go back into the way the world functioned, because we

now can overcome the world's way.

Prior to that, I could not. No matter how much you tried to

stop things, you found yourself doing it right, you know, And

then you tried to find peace and all kinds of things,

relationships, substance, jobs, all kinds of stuff, right?

Careers, education, whatever the case may be.

But the reality is without Christ is always a dead end.

You're faced with yourself. You can't get rid of the guilt

and shame of different things you've done wrong.

But in Christ you can do something.

But now once you're born again, you have to stay focused there

and not entertain things that are worldly in thought.

OK, So what does the faith, what is our faith in God's Word looks

like in the world now? This is really powerful.

This is the passage I wanted to get to tonight.

Second Corinthians chapter 2, verses 14 to 17.

2 Corinthians 2:14–17

I'm gonna read out the new American standard.

It says it this way. But thanks be to God, who always

leads us in triumph in Christ. You see that?

But thanks be to God, who? What?

How many times? Come on, how many times?

How many times always leads us in triumph?

Now, if you're not following, this may be the reason why

you're not in victory. Triumphing in Christ comes by

following. It's not because you are born

again. Now being born again gives you

the triumph over death, right? Eternal separation or damnation,

or what is called the second death, the lake of fire.

However, in this life, you have to allow the leading of the

Spirit to cause you to overcome everything going on in the

world, and that's through His leading.

This is how you triumph in every situation.

Because when things are telling you, it cannot be, when you have

a word of God, the word of the King, you're like, no, this is

what he said to me. I'm staying with it.

And when you stay on it and allow that to lead you, then

you're going to be triumphant in whatever it is you're standing

and believing. But it goes on and says this and

manifests through us. The sweet aroma you smell, the

victory, the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

Look at this verse 15. For we are a fragrance of Christ

to God among those who are being saved and among those who are

perishing. Oh man, this is good to the one,

an aroma from death to death to another, an aroma from life to

life. And who is adequate of these

things? Verse 17, it says, For we are

not like many peddling the word of God, but as from a sincerity,

but as from God. We speak in Christ in the sight

of God. Let me read this out of the

Passion translation and then I'm going to make a few comments.

God always makes His grace visible in Christ, who includes

us as partners of His endless triumph through our yielded

lives. He spreads the fragrance of the

knowledge of God everywhere we go.

In essence, when you're in Christ and staying connected to

Christ, you're putting on the Kingdom.

Cologne or perfume right now. I mean, I have some colognes

that I like, you know, specifically.

And you know, I've worn them enough that honestly, I only

smell them when they're coming out of the bottle and hitting my

clothes. Outside of that, I don't smell

them. But every once in a while, I'll

come across somebody that they'll catch a whiff of my

fragrance and they'll say hi. I really like that Cologne.

Right now. They like the Cologne, but you

understand, I'm carrying another fragrance.

Hallelujah. I remember my wife and I, we

were walking in Charleston, WV in a mall cuz you know, we

purchased this mall. So I was in another mall and it

looked worse than our mall when we bought the mall, right?

I mean it was like 3 stories and there are so many people not in

that mall. I mean, you know, there's so

many stores. And I was just, you know,

dreaming a little bit. You know how I am.

I'm like, you know, what could you do in this place right here,

right. But my wife and I were holding

hands walking. All of a sudden this lady came

up. She goes, wow, you, you are such

a beautiful couple. I mean, I know where now I'd

like to think that I'm GQ, but you know, I know better than

that and I know I'm married up. I understand that as well, but I

sense my wife and I both says, you know what?

It's the fragrance of God. It's the godliness about our

lives that all of a sudden is radiating and developing A

fragrance. And you know what?

The word supports that thought. So let's go on and keep reading

this passage of Scripture. It says this verse 15.

For we have become the unmistakable aroma of the

victory of the anointed one to God, a perfume of life to those

being saved, and the odor of death to those who are

perishing. The unbelievers smell a deadly

stint that leads to death. But believer smell the life

giving aroma that leads to abundant life.

And who of us can rise to this challenge?

Verse 17 says for unlike us so many, we are not peddlers of

God's word who watered down the message.

We are those sent from God with pure motives who speak in the

sight of God from our union, union with Christ.

When you are impurity really just want to serve God because

you love him and that's all that matters.

Well, then all of a sudden it carries an aroma, and to those

that are outside this Kingdom, when they get around you, all of

a sudden they smell not you, but them, that the stench of their

life begins to come up. It reminds me of the testimony

of the guy on the bus with Smith Wigglesworth when he was sitting

there. And Smith Wigglesworth, you

know, who was a powerful man of God, and God used him

tremendously in miracles, signs and wonders.

And he was just sitting on the bus there in England.

And that guy got up to get out and he goes, your mere presence

convicts me of my sin. Well, it was a fragrance because

he was godly. He was smelling himself.

Are you hearing me? It reminds me of another story

when I say story, a life account.

When my father, he owned a painting company and we were

doing some hotel, a hotel. And so it was, you know, just

doing some touch up work. They were at the point where

some cleaning people were coming in to clean the windows and all

this type of stuff. Well, you know, I was doing some

touch up. I don't remember exactly

painting or maybe I was puttying something.

But regardless, there was an individual that showed up in the

room. Now they had a lot of perfume

on, but the perfume was on to try to disguise the body odor

which made the combination gaggable.

And you understand the world is trying to put on a form of

godliness but are denying the power thereof.

But when you come in with the true fragrance of God, 'cause

you love him because He saved you, because He's changed you,

because your lifestyle models the life of the king and this

new life that you're in, well, all of a sudden those that are

living subpar, that smell will come up in their lives.

This is why some people that you get come to work or family

members you know, or people you encounter at various places that

you show up and you say a couple things and they are all of a

sudden aggravated and agitated at you.

And you're almost like, what did I do?

You just walked in the room because for those that are

dying, that stench of their own life starts to show up.

Now the good news is if they would repent, it could be

stripped. It would be stripped and it

doesn't matter how much self religion and and and self

righteousness that you try to put your clone and perfume on

your smells there and God knows it.

You're hearing what I'm saying. So you need to ask yourself, how

do I smell when I go into a room?

Because know this how you live for God, God knows.

So God knows your smell. And do you have a smell of

defeat and death or do you have the smell of victory?

Come on, do you have the smell of victory, man?

I'm going to have the smell of victory.

I want to be able to come into a room, man, and the smell of

victory. And again, that's why you're

going to have adverse reactions from people who want to see you

fail, who want to see you fall, who want to see you not be

successful, who want to see you sick and stuck in the hospital,

who want to see tragedies come to your life, who want to see

you fire all those things. Why?

Because they are jealous of the godliness that you are.

But you are praying for them that they could come out.

You're there to help liberate them.

So again, what is it that we have triumphed over in Christ?

Now, I'm going to give you a list that comes out of Galatians

5, Ephesians 5, and Philippians 2.

All right, you can look these up for yourself.

So I'm just doing some bullet points because you understand

when you are born again, this is the victory that overcomes the

world, our faith. And when we live according to

the Word, then these are things we can triumph over.

In essence, they no longer rule us or we're subject to them or

we have to fall into them. We can resist them.

Jesus was tempted on all accounts like we have been, yet

without sin Now we've been recreated in His likeness.

We have received His anointing with and when that occurs then

we have the ability. That doesn't mean this list.

You could not fail. You can, and if you did, God is

merciful. You can repent.

Ask God to forgive you and He'll treat it like you've never done

it. But yet if you know going in

that you know what, if this starts to come, you know what?

I can just resist. I can resist.

So here's the list. This is what you have triumphed

over in Christ. You have triumphed over sexual

immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after

things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of

those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentments

when others are favored, temper tantrum, drug use, angry

quarrels, jealousy, self promotion, selfless selfishness,

pride filled opinions, being envious of the blessings of

others, murder, uncontrolled addiction, wild party greed,

idolatry and obscenities and worthly insults.

Hallelujah. You know, in the political

season, for those that are born of God, you know they really

have to do a very. They have to gain access to

their mouth because you can give some unworthy insults, they can

give you an advantage right and you know our whole again, that's

the way of the world. Bash this one to elevate

yourself, but you understand the Kingdom.

That's not how we do that. I said that's not how we do that

and and essence if we would follow the kingdom's way of

doing it. The Bible says he who humbles

himself will be oh man. And I'm telling you, if we

follow his plan, then you can get into promotions that you

never would have gotten into if you just try to do it the

world's way, you know, talking about the other employee and and

saying things about them, you know, to try to make you look

better. Now, I'm not saying you don't

have an honest report about someone's performance.

No one is saying that. If you were, you know, in HR and

you're evaluating someone and they're not performing, you're

being honest, but you would also give a corrective action.

And you know what, it's not wrong for you to say, you know

what, you're not fitting the organization and we're going to

have to let you go. And that's honesty.

That doesn't mean you're trying to get above them.

They didn't perform on their own free will.

But if you're doing it so that you could take their position,

are you hearing what I'm saying? Because again, these things that

we say we are, you know, you can identify them in some of them as

actions. Again, murders, pretty easy to

see. However, remember what Jesus

said. Jesus said, you've heard the

ancients say are those of the past that came from my father in

his writings, thou shalt not commit adultery.

But I say unto you, if you've lusted after a woman in your own

heart, you've committed that sin, which tells me you can.

You may be faithful to your spouse physically, but

emotionally you're already in an adulterous affair.

And if God's looking at it, that's how he looks at it.

So we may not always be able to identify a person's heart motive

of why they're doing something, but God does.

I said God does. And the good thing about being

in Christ is God will speak to us and say, why are you doing

that? Give you a check so that then

you can lead the way. God would want you and you keep

your smell of victory. Amen.

Because let me tell you, nobody can take what God has ordained

for you. Whatever door he opens, no man

can shut, and whatever door he shuts, no man can open.

So you're not threatened by anyone.

You're not in competition with anyone.

God designed you to do something specific for Him and His church,

and when you follow Him, you can get any place He needs you to

be. Hallelujah.

So aren't you glad that you had the victory over these things?

So this whole list, Paul finishes up and says it this

way. Haven't I already warned you

that those who use their freedom?

So again, he's talking to people in the church that are saying by

God's grace I'm saved. I didn't earn it, so I can still

do what I want to do and be right with God.

He is saying if they're using their freedom, he goes on and

says for these things will not for these things will not

inherit the Kingdom realm of God.

So again, God did not save us out of something for us to stay

participating in it, right? Because he's given us a new

nature and then God himself lives in US.

Wow, how amazing is that? So with that being said, first

1 Peter 2:11

Peter chapter 2 verse 11 says it this way.

He says, I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refuge

in this world, do not give in to bodily passions, which are

always at war against the soul. Those things that we mentioned,

you know, in Scripture is fleshly things that are contrary

to spiritual things. And we are to resist the flesh,

when in fact we are to crucify the flesh and be led by the

spirit. So the systems of this world,

the way of this world, the things that you're doing at

work, you've seen in maybe past relationships, maybe you have

some friends that are in some relationships and the way they

treat each other. You know, there may be business

practices that are going on in the world, all kinds of things

that are contrary to the Kingdom that you have to make sure it's

waging to get war against your soul.

And you have to say, you know what, I'm not going to do that.

I'm not going to do that. I'll give you a case in point.

This is very simple one, but Sunday when we playing flag

football, Leo comes flying across the field out of nowhere

and catches the ball and goes out.

I happen to be on the sideline not in the game at that time

because we playing four on four and we had five and they only

had four and I saw it right now. The refs on that side said he

didn't catch it, but I'm like, he caught it and he's not on my

team. Because at the end of the day,

if we're going to if we're going to win, I want to win honestly.

And I get it. Some people can make a wrong

call, but the reality is honesty is of the Kingdom lifestyle,

right? And that's just a very simple,

we get when you start getting into business, all kinds of

things, you know, there's all kinds of ways that the world

will attack your mind to say do it this way.

Well, you nobody's going to know it's OK here.

Da da, da, da, da, that wages war in your soul.

And you have to say, you know what?

I'm I'm not going to do it because I want to maintain the

smell of victory in my life that when I walk around, I am the

righteousness of God in Christ. I am a doer of his word.

And man, when people see me, victory walks in the room,

right? Victory walks in the room.

So Galatians 522 to 23 says it this way.

How can you be assured of these types of victory?

Well, you have to be born again because those who are born again

now have fruit from the Spirit of God, That's the Holy Spirit.

Before I was born again, I did not have this fruit.

OK, I may have tried to put on this fruit.

I may have tried to demonstrate these practices.

However, I had alternative motives.

You know, a person can be patient.

I'll give you a case in point. When I wasn't living for the

Lord in high school, I was really patient with females.

Until you get what you want, say Amen.

Anyway, it's been a long time. I know.

Are you shocked? I get it.

You know, I was, I was a heathen.

I was backslidden, not living for the Lord and living

according to my flesh. And so, you know, there were

things you're pursuing and you're patient.

And for me, I was patient. And then I would be super kind

to the parents because if the parents like me, I'm in, I'm in.

And when I break up, the parents will blame the daughter.

Crazy as that sound. Well, he was such a nice guy.

See mode of it in there. It looks like you're kind.

So again, not everyone kind is kind.

That's why, you know, I'm cautious when I call good people

good and bad people bad, you know, because not everybody that

does supposedly good things are good people.

So I say, well, they're acting nice for sure.

That I know about them is they're nice, but I don't know

them enough to determine, is that fruit good?

Right anyway. But when you're born again, this

comes by the Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit is Lovejoy,

peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, right,

gentleness and self-control. Which means then that whole list

that we're talking about, how would I fall into sexual

immorality? When the temptation comes, I

pull out the fruit called self-control.

Cause before I was born again, didn't have that, did not have

that. Nope, did not have self-control.

Did not have it. But now that I'm born again, I

have self-control. I said I have self-control.

Now, I've told this story before, my wife knows it, that

when we were at Rhema, I worked at Bergen Brunswick, which was a

pharmaceutical company. And you know, I sold everybody

at class out by, you know, Bible college.

I was a drug pusher because I pushed, you know, prescriptions

down the line every night filling orders for pharmacies.

What do you do for a living? Well, I'm a drug pusher.

I was always a good talking point.

Anyway, there was a lady that was over that area and one day

we were staying a little late because you have to pull all the

orders where we go. And she kind of caught me by

myself and set up on the thing and started talking to me.

And basically he was asking me don't go to my home, come to

hers. And I was like, no, you don't

really like me. What you need is Jesus.

Now that ended that pretty quick.

When I said that, she never approached me again.

All right, when I said, you know, I'm not the man you want,

the man you want is Jesus, the man, I said that she's like, OK,

I got to go, right? But yeah, I mean, because again,

she was not attracted to me. She was really smelling the

victory. She wanted some victory, but she

can't get victory that way. And so I was letting her know

how you can have this smell is that you can have Jesus, right?

Well, you understand self controls there, right there.

You're like, no, there's no way. Why?

Because I'm a child of the King now I operate in a fruit that no

longer I'm subject to the world where I have to be this guy that

always is being unfaithful to his spouse.

I'm not that guy, I'm a child of the king.

I'm faithful to one person and why can I do this?

Closing scriptures this first John 4/4 come on, you know it.

It says this, you are from God little children and have

overcome them because greater is he who is in you than he who is

in the world. Now you understand so many

believers quote that but are not living that.

How in the world can I say I have a the greater God in me,

yet am always failing in the world?

I'm always being subject and I'm I'm lying like everybody else,

cheating like everybody else, swindling like everybody else,

deceiving like everybody else, manipulating like everybody

else, complaining like everyone else, gossiping like everybody

else. No, I have the triumph over all

those things because of God in me, and now I get to move this

thing on in the life of God because Christ has set me free.

Whoo, glory to God because the greater 1 is on the inside of

me. Man, that's such good news.

We are not of this world anymore.

And when we walk in a room, people should say there's

something different when they get around you eventually, what

is it? And then it's going to come out.

His name is Jesus.