 The title of our sermon this morning is Follow Christ in Triumph. Follow Christ in Triumph. We're in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verses 12 through 17. So, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. Amen? Those words, penned by the Apostle Paul, who endured a life of ministry filled with devastating adversity. It's shocking the degree to which Paul suffered for the cause of Christ. Such severe adversity that apart from the leading of God in Christ by his spirit, the strongest among us would wither like a leaf and crawl away in defeat. Not so for those led by God in Christ. We are more than conquerors through him. Amen? Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. Paul, he escapes for his life under a sentence of death in Acts chapter 9. On his first missionary journey, he's run out of town in Acts 13, stoned, left for dead in Acts 14, imprisoned in Acts 16, chased by a mob in Acts 17, dragged before the Roman proconsul in Acts 18, the subject of a riot in Acts 19, and a list goes on and on. We're not unfamiliar with Paul's resume, are we? Five times, 40 stripes minus one, three times beaten with rods once he was stoned, three times shipwrecked a night and a day he spent floating around in the ocean. In journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, Paul says, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. He told the Corinthian church after his departure for Asia, he said to the present hour, we both hunger and thirst, we are poorly clothed, we're beaten and we're homeless, we labor working with our own hands, being reviled, we bless, being persecuted, we endure, being defamed, we entreat, we have been made as the filth of this world, the off-scouring of all things until now. That describes the apostle Paul, that's Paul's description of himself. In chapter one, verse eight of this letter to the Corinthians, Paul references the worst trial that he had ever faced. I don't want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had this sentence of death in ourselves. And Paul says, besides all these other things, as if all these external physical trials weren't enough, Paul says that what comes upon me daily is my deep concern for all the churches. Certainly, the mental anguish alone was sufficient to drive Paul to the point of discouragement and despair. He compares it to laboring in the pain of childbirth in Galatians chapter four, verse nineteen. Certainly, no church, no people, caused a greater anguish of heart and mind for the apostle Paul than the church at Corinth. It poured himself out on the sacrifice and service of their faith. The church at Corinth is beleaguered and ravaged by sin. There is division in the church. They've abused the Lord's supper. They've abused spiritual gifts. They're arguing with one another in the courts. There is gross sexual immorality among them, not even named among the pagans. Since then, false teachers have been allowed to gain a foothold in the church and a mutiny has broken out against Paul. The gospel is being perverted. Many are making shipwreck of their faith. Many have been influenced against Paul. One has even opposed him openly and to his face in the public assembly of the church. And the church has essentially done nothing to stem the tide of that wickedness. Paul wrote to them, chapter two, verse four, a severe rebuke. Paul says, out of much affliction and anguish of heart. Paul is deeply concerned for this church. Now, from what we already know now of Paul's correspondence with this Corinthian church, is Paul complaining here? Is Paul complaining? Is he recounting all this suffering, all this heartache for the purpose of grumbling against God? Is he playing the victim? Is he praying on our sympathies? Is he grumbling against God? That's in my shame. Now, I've been out witnessing before and complaining about the heat. And look at what Paul has endured for the cause of Christ. Look at what Paul endures for these people. Is Paul complaining here? Is Paul lamenting his suffering? No. No. Note the tone of victory in Paul's words. Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. There are a number of reasons. There are a number of reasons in Scripture for why Paul so vividly records the details of his suffering, right? Why he recounts the suffering that he endures for the cause of Christ. Consider five of those reasons with me. Reason number one, Paul recounts this suffering. Paul recounts his adversity for the sake of love. He does it for love. His suffering in the cause of Christ demonstrates his love for Christ. Paul takes up the mantle of ministry and for the sake of Christ, he endures suffering. His suffering demonstrates his love for the Lord's church. Bought with the very blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul labors to feed the sheep. His suffering demonstrates clearly his love for the Lord's people. He says in chapter two, verse four that he writes that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. Paul says I am willing to spend and to be spent for you. Paul does it for love. Secondly, he does it to establish the validity and the veracity of his apostleship. He tells the church in 2 Corinthians chapter six, verse four, we commend ourselves as ministers of God to you in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tummels, in the labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings, in other words, in our suffering. False teachers in Corinth had spread the lie, the false accusation that Paul couldn't possibly be a real apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ because Paul suffered too much. Now we might expect many false apostles to say the same thing in our day, right? Health, wealth, and prosperity. If you become a Christian everything's going to work out great. Your life is going to be wonderful, no need to worry, right? It's just sort of expected in our day and age that that's the message you're going to hear, not so, not so from the word of God, not so in Paul's day, not so in our day. The lie that Paul couldn't be an apostle because he suffered too much was turned on its head, turned against those false teachers. Paul turns that very accusation against them in defending the authenticity, the genuineness of his ministry. He does it to establish the validity and the veracity of his apostleship. Third, why does Paul recount his suffering? Because Paul wants us to understand the place and the significance of Christian suffering in the Christian life. Paul wants us to understand that despite what many might say, despite what many false teachers might say today, Christians will suffer. Christians will suffer. And Christian suffering serves a glorious purpose in our union with Christ. We'll see that today from our text. Paul refers to our trials as the sufferings of Christ themselves in chapter one, verse five. Paul says that he rejoices. He rejoices that he fills up in his flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, the Lord's body, the church. Listen to this from Peter in first Peter chapter two, verse 19. Peter says this is commendable. It's commendable because of conscience toward God when one endures grief, suffering wrongly. Peter says what credit is it if when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently. But when you do good and suffer, if you take that patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, Peter said, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. For Paul does it to exult in God's victory. We'll see that in verse 14. Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. And fifth, Paul recounts his suffering to provide a faithful example of what Christian ministry, what a joyful, enduring, persevering, faithful Christian ministry looks like in the midst of great adversity, in the midst of difficulty. Paul wants to show us by his example that in all these things, in all these things, even all these things, as Paul recounts them, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. If Paul can suffer as he suffered, we can certainly face our suffering in Christ, can't we? If Paul lived by faith for him who loved him and gave himself for him, we can live by faith in Christ and suffer with him. And if Christ endured such hostility to hands of sinners, we can endure, can't we? By faith in him. Diversity or difficulty, adversity, suffering, trial, will accompany a Christian's labor in the cause of Christ. If you are faithful to the call of God in Christ, to preach the gospel, and to stand for righteousness in this wicked and perverse generation, then you will taste a sampling of what Paul has endured here. You're going to get a little piece of it, right? You will taste the sampling of what Christ endured at the hands of sinners. A servant is not greater than his master. How will you respond? When that difficulty, when that adversity comes, will you shrink back in fear? What will be your response to it? Maybe you're here today and you're considering Christ. You're considering turning from your sin and following him. Maybe you're looking at what the Bible has to say about forgiveness in Christ and the Christian life and the cost of following Christ. Will you shrink back in fear? How will you respond? How long do you think it'll take before you experience some of this adversity preaching at the abortion mill? How long? How many doors do you have to knock on before you're going to face a little adversity for the cause of Christ? How many people do you have to evangelize to? How many conversations do you have to have? How long confronting sin and error before you are scorned by this world? Not long. Not long. We are not above our master. How will you respond when the adversity comes? Will you compromise God's word? Are you like that plant that springs up, receiving the word with gladness and joy, only to shrink back wither and die when the heat of this world, the heat of this life, the persecution, the adversity, the difficulty, the heat of the scorching sun withers you? Will you for a fear of man be silent? What about the fear of God? Will you compromise God's word? It's very likely, extremely likely that none of us will ever face the degree of suffering that Paul explains here. But Paul says all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. You can be sure that heaven is never attained on flowery beds of ease. That's the modern message of the gospel, right? Let go and let God, listen, just say this prayer, whisper this prayer that will change your eternity forever. Just ABC, admit, believe, and confess. You can be sure from Paul's words that heaven is never attained on flowery beds of ease. In the face of difficulty, will you pour yourself out on the sacrifice and service of your brother's faith, on your sister's faith? Will you run with endurance the race that is set before you? Count the cost? Or will you be sidelined by doubts? Will you triumph or will you be sidelined by fears, sidelined by comfort, by leisure, by competing priorities? I just have too many other things to do. Will you be sidelined by a love of this world, by the lust of the flesh? Paul viewed the enduring proclamation of the gospel in the face of severe persecution. He viewed the enduring faith of God's people in the midst of great diversity or great difficulty, great adversity. Paul viewed his own endurance of suffering for the cause of Christ. He viewed all of that as a glorious string of divine and heroic victories. And he would eventually give his own life. Paul was beheaded in Rome for the cause of Christ, and yet his prayer holds true. Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. So as we consider our text this morning, 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 verses 12 through 17, we want to take up this example of Paul. We want to consider the subject of Paul's example and allow the Spirit of God to exhort us to follow Christ in triumph as he did. The Christian life is a triumphant life. Despite its difficulties, despite its persecution, its adversity, the Christian life is a triumphant life. Why? Because Christ, our Lord, is triumphant. Praise be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. The Christian cause is a triumphant cause. The Christian life is a triumphant life because we serve a triumphant Christ. As we open our text together in verse 12, looking at verse 12 together, we're reminded once more of the difficulties that Paul faced in Corinth. In these two verses, 12 and 13 were reminded of the severe letter, the severe rebuke that Paul was pressed to write to the Corinthian church and were reminded of how tentative and how fragile, how sober, how serious the circumstances were in Corinth. Paul didn't know how it would all turn out. He wasn't sure if the church would repent or if they would be lost. He wasn't sure if all his labor among them was in vain. Paul had sent that severe letter of rebuke to the church at Corinth with Titus, his beloved son in the faith as he says in Titus chapter 1, and Paul had planned to meet Titus in Troas to hear how the Corinthians had responded. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 12. Verse 12, furthermore Paul says, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit. Why, Paul? Because I did not find Titus my brother there, but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia. So if you look at verse 12, Paul's primary purpose in going to Troas was to preach the gospel there, preach the gospel. If you remember, false teachers in Corinth had gained some traction accusing Paul of being indecisive about his travel plans. Here we see again verse 12 that Paul is being directed by God, who in the passive, if you notice there in verse 12, it was God who opened a door for him by the Lord that door was opened so that he could preach the gospel in Troas. However, Paul had another interest in Troas also. While in Troas, Paul had expected to find Titus there. Paul had sent his letter by the hand of Titus and expected to run into Titus again in Troas to hear how the Corinthians were doing, to get an update about how the Corinthian church had responded to that very severe, very painful letter. You wanted to know how they would respond to his call for repentance, to the rebuke that he had to level against them considering their sin. So Paul is fretting. Paul is concerned. Paul's anxiety level is up. When Titus didn't show, Paul, verse 13, had no rest, no peace. The word there means no relief, no relief from his distress, no relief from his concern over Corinth. Had the circumstances in Corinth deteriorated, had they gotten worse? Would all his labor for them, all his prayers, all his tears, all his ministry, all his pleading, would it all have been in vain? Now Paul loves these people. He loves them. And because of love, because of the Lord's love for them, because of Paul's love for them, Paul is in anguish. He is in agony over them. Will they repent? Will they turn to the Lord? Not knowing, not knowing, is simply vexing Paul, finding it hard to concentrate on anything else. This is so deeply distressing to him. And so finally in verse 13, Paul makes the decision to leave for Macedonia over land in hopes of finding Titus along the way. And that's what he does. Paul describes this state of mind further regarding this in 2 Corinthians chapter seven, verse five. Turn a couple of pages to the right and look at chapter seven in verse five. What was on Paul's heart and mind? This was further example of adversity that Paul faced, a further example of his difficulty. And in verse five, Paul says, for indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest. This Paul couldn't sleep. He was so worried, so concerned for the church at Corinth, right? Paul says, we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts. Everywhere he went, he faced difficulty. Everywhere he went, he faced adversity. And inside, Paul says, were fears. Now based on what Paul says previously in chapter two, and then based on what Paul says further in chapter seven, we know exactly what happens here. Paul meets up with Titus in Macedonia, and he finally gets some good news out of Corinth. Light finally dawns in the morning. Chapter seven, Paul relates the reaction of the Corinthians to the news in verse six, look at verse six. Nevertheless, God, who comforts the downcast, that's how he describes himself here, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoice even more. Praise God. Look at verse eight, even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, I regret that it was necessary to send it to you, but I don't regret it because it led you to repentance. I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Verse nine, now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. Finally, right? Right. Finally, finally some good news out of Corinth. This was the news that Paul was hoping and praying for. And recalling his joy over their genuine repentance, Paul worships the Lord back in chapter two, verse 14. Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. Labor, right? The toil, literally the blood, the sweat and the tears, the hours spent in prayer, ministry that he had among them, toiling and laboring over them, striving in agony with them, calling them to repentance, correcting, confronting, rebuking, instructing, encouraging, exhorting was spent in Corinth. Paul wore himself out on the sacrifice and service of their faith. Paul didn't give in. He didn't throw in the towel. He could have turned his back after that first 18 months, he could have turned his back on the church at Corinth and said, let God deal with them, let somebody else deal with them. I've got other things to do. But while he's over here ministering at Ephesus, what are you doing? He's laboring in prayer over the church at Corinth. When he's in Troas and a door to the gospel was opened and Paul is preaching the gospel and listen, when God opens the door, people are getting saved. There are people getting saved in Troas, a great joy to the apostle Paul and where is his heart and mind? It's on this beleaguered, sinful, wretched church in Corinth. His emotions invested, his heart on his sleeve, right? Thanks be to God who leads us in triumph. Finally, finally, right? There's a turn. Now, that's not the end of the story because Paul's writing 2 Corinthians and there's 13 chapters of additional rebuke, 13 chapters of additional instruction. He tells them at the end of the book, 2 Corinthians chapter 13, listen, examine yourselves whether you're even in the faith or not. Do you not know that Christ is in you unless you're disqualified? Difficult circumstances, hard ministry. What does Paul do? Paul endures, Paul perseveres. He takes up the mantle of that difficult ministry and he serves the Lord Christ by loving and serving those people. Paul gives credit where credit is due. Don't doubt for a second. Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. It's God in Christ who led the Corinthians in triumph. It's God in Christ who led Paul in triumph and the gospel triumphs in Corinth. However, considering Paul's example in ministry there, what a glorious example, amen? A faithful perseverance suffering through difficulty and adversity, loving his brothers and sisters there, right? What a great example. What a great example. That example in ministry there, culminating in verse 13. That example of difficulty of adversity culminates in verse 13 with a restless trip to Macedonia. It becomes apparent to us that God uses the means of Paul's faithful endurance among them to bring about the desire to triumph. Paul's efforts, Paul's endurance, Paul's suffering, Paul's faithfully facing difficulty, all of that used by God as a means to bring about their repentance, to bring about triumph in Corinth. Point one on your notes. If you want to follow Christ in triumph, then trust him for endurance. We must trust him for endurance verses 12 and 13. Paul continues to endure this little trip to Macedonia, sort of the culmination of a long road of hard ministry in Corinth. And Paul finally gets good news. Trust Christ for endurance. God always leads us in triumph in him. This triumph in Corinth was brought about by God through Paul's patient and enduring ministry among them. We know this to be true, right? That often God's timetable doesn't match our own. We have such small attention spans, short attention spans, especially when it comes to fruit in the gospel, fruit in ministry, faithfulness of the Lord. This is the fruit. This is the fruit of great, enduring toil in the ministry. Who knows how many tears shed? Paul knows, or God knows, who knows how many hours spent in agonizing and prayer, the ridicule, the scorn of false teachers, the faithless, heartless negligence of the Corinthian church. Yet Paul is long suffering toward them, just as God was long suffering toward him. Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. The kind of patient, persevering endurance necessary to great commission ministry in the Lord's church is realized only by faith in Christ. Happens only by faith in Christ and never apart from it. You want to endure in triumph in Christ. You must endure by faith. We have to trust the Lord, right? We have to trust the Lord in our continuing investment. Trust the Lord in our continuing labor. Trust the Lord in prayer. Trust the Lord in service. Step out in faith, trusting the Lord when you do what you're called to do in the Lord's church and watch out for your brother and your sister. Perseverance, endurance. C. H. Spurgeon said that by perseverance, the snail reached the ark. So this is what it feels like, amen. How long did it take this snail to climb the ramp? A long time. Patient, endurance. James says it this way in chapter 5, verse 10. My brethren, James says, take the prophets. Consider the prophets, James says, who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering and patience, patient endurance. Indeed, we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and have seen the end intended by the Lord. You've seen that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful. Amen, James. Bible often describes the Christian life and the Christian ministry as war. I like that. War describes it as war. It's a battle. It's a struggle. Very common metaphor in the Bible. You see metaphors like that throughout the scriptures. War is a good analogy because it speaks of the sacrifice necessary, the struggle, the labor, the fight, the effort involved. It is appropriately described as a war. It is a war. It's also a good analogy for the stakes involved because we're talking about life and death, heaven or hell. War involves giving up comforts, doesn't it? Going to war involves giving up comforts. It involves leaving the safety and the comfort of home, laying down your life on a battlefield. Paul told Timothy, Timothy, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life, wage the good warfare. Another common metaphor in scripture for this kind of endurance that is necessary to triumph in Christ, faith-fueled endurance, is that of a race or an athletic struggle. Right, 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 24, do you not know that those who run in a race all run but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. Let you be the one who gets it. Verse 26, therefore Paul says, I run thus, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and I bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Often an athletic struggle or a race. Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. We war. We war. What do we need if we would see triumph in the battle or triumph in the race? What do we need if we would see triumph in our ministry to the Lord's people? What do we need if we would see triumph and fruitfulness in our evangelism? We need a faith fueled endurance in the ministry. We need perseverance in the work, in the face of difficulty, in the face of temptation to throw in the towel. We need endurance. Many Christians, many professing Christians never experienced that kind of joy or that kind of triumph in their professing Christian lives. Why is that? Why is that? Because they've never gone to battle. They're not engaged in the warfare. The Christian life is a race. It's a struggle. It's a fight. It's a wrestle. It's a war. And if you don't know what I'm talking about and you don't know Christ, the Spirit wages war against the flesh. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't have the Spirit. This is a battle. This is warfare. Why is it that many professing Christians never experienced the joy of triumph? It's because they're not in the battle. Maybe you're here today and you just have worked yourself into a bit of a rut in your Christian life where you're not experiencing the joy of triumph, right? Even these seemingly small graces that are not small graces at all, they're enormous graces. You're not experiencing that because you're not in the fight. Why is it that many professing Christians never experienced the joy of triumph in Christ because many professing Christians have made no sacrifices? They've never truly joined the cause for Christ. They're loveless, heartless, or faithless. Whatever the case, they recline on their couch rather than going out with the army. That wasn't the apostle Paul, right? That wasn't the apostle Paul. True, genuine faith will not last there very long, right? We've got to be in the fight. We've got to be in the battle. We've got to serve. Love our brothers and sisters. You hear the Word of God? You respond to the Word of God. You obey from the heart and the power of the Spirit and you wage the good warfare. That's what Christians do. We have the greatest cause ever. We can't say that it was conceived by man. It's not imaginable by man. It is God given. We have the greatest causes, the greatest wise ever. We need to engage in the fight, be in the war. 2 Timothy, chapter 2 verse 8. Turn there with me. Let's look at the example again of Paul. 2 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 8. Do you want to experience triumph? Then step out in faith in obedience to the Lord's commands and follow him by faith. Preach the gospel. Love your brothers and sisters. Spend and be spent for Christ in the cause of Christ. Stand for righteousness. You will experience the joy of triumph in him. 2 Timothy, chapter 2, look at verse 8. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seat of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel, Paul says, for which I suffer trouble as an evil doer, even to the point of chains. But the word of God is not chained. Listen, verse 10. Therefore, because the word of God is not chained, I endure all things for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Notice that Paul does not say in verse 10. Therefore, I endure all things for the sake of my comfort. Therefore, I endure all things for the sake of my own salvation. Certainly, Paul is taking heed to that. Therefore, I endure all things for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. That's Christian ministry. That's the ministry of every single person who is called to Christ. Every single Christian has that ministry. This is a faithful saying, Paul says in verse 11, for if we died with him, we shall also live with him. And if we endure, we shall also reign with him. Amen. Right? If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. Praise God. He cannot deny himself. Near the end of his life, exhorted Timothy. He said to Timothy, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all endurance, with all long suffering and teaching. He said to Timothy, be watchful in all things. Timothy, endure afflictions. Do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry? Now, someone might say, wait a minute, Paul's talking to Timothy there. Wasn't Timothy a pastor? Yes. Why are pastors given to the church, Ephesians chapter four, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry? Doesn't exempt Timothy from that work, but it doesn't exempt you or I from that work either. Right? Endure afflictions. Be watchful in all things. Do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry. Look at 2 Timothy chapter four. 2 Timothy chapter four and drop down to verse six. Paul is just a good example of an enduring, persevering, faithful Christian brother executing the ministry that God has given him. He endures in the faith. Look at verse six. Paul says, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. He's about to die. Paul says in verse seven, we want to be able to say this to you. Amen. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Amen. Verse eight. Paul says, finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. Drop down to verse 17. Verse 17. All this by faith in Christ, the Lord helping look at verse 17. The Lord stood with me and strengthened me so that for the purpose that the message might be preached fully through me and that all the gentiles might hear. Isn't that a glorious thought? Listen, the Lord will help in your distress. The Lord will aid you in your ministry. You step out in faith. The Lord will supply the strength that you need will supply the wisdom that you need. Why? Because all mighty God who created you and who saved you intends to use you so that the Gentiles can hear the gospel and be saved. Amazing, right? That the Gentiles might hear. Also, Paul says, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. Verse 18. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom to him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Thomas Watson said that with faithful endurance, the Christian is invincible. God is sovereign. Amen. God is the one who looks over you. God is the one who will deliver you. And so you are invincible until God is through with you. Paul did not die not one second before God was through with him and didn't live one second longer either. Of course, our greatest example, our greatest example of the patient endurance that we need to fulfill faithfully our Christian ministry is the example of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse three, we're instructed, consider him Christ who endured such hostility from sinners against himself lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You've not yet resisted the bloodshed striving against him. Consider Christ. Consider Christ. It was Paul's faith in Christ that fueled Paul's endurance in ministry. It was Paul's faith in Christ that fueled Paul's endurance in all his circumstances, in all his difficulty, all his adversity. But Paul would say to himself, I can trust him in every instance, right? Once you've been through difficulty like that, once you've been through trial and you trust Christ through it and you see how the Lord is faithful to deliver you, right? Faithful to help you. Doesn't that strengthen you for the next trial that comes around the corner? Right? Yes. You with Paul can say, listen, I can trust him in every single adversity that I face, every second of difficulty I can trust him, no matter how difficult, no matter how hard, no matter the degree, no matter the scope, no matter what comes my way, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. He will deliver me. We can trust him. Trust him. You can step out in faith and trust him. Don't sit on your couch in fear. Don't shrink back. Don't let other priorities crowd out what you've been called to. You've been called to a glorious ministry and you're expecting and anticipating a glorious inheritance. He will lead you in triumph. Step out in faith. Go out with the army and wage the good warfare, right? Trust him. Trust him. Point two on your notes. Trust him for the victory. Trust him for the victory. Thanks be to God. Verse 14. Second Corinthians chapter two verse 14. Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. Thanks be to God who always, always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. Look at the scope of this glorious promise. Leads us in triumph. Verse 14. One Greek word, three on Buo, three on Buo. The word literally means to triumph over. Now think about that for just a moment. It's very interesting, right? The word literally means to triumph over, three on Buo. In using this word, Paul in the first century would have had in mind the triumphal procession of the Romans, the military triumphal procession of the Romans. When Roman generals returned from a successful military campaign, they would lead a procession of triumph through the cities of Rome, through the streets of Rome, a great parade, right? Through the streets. The general would lead the way in his chariots drawn by four stallions, sometimes drawn by elephants. There was a great parade in Rome. He would be clothed in purple. He'd have a crown on his head, probably the laurel crown of victory. He'd have a scepter in his hand, all the regalia of a conquering hero in his day. This was meant to be just stocked with pomp and circumstance, right? This Roman triumphal procession. Behind the general, behind the conquering king, so to speak, and behind him were his troops. The troops would follow. Behind the troops, they would parade a collection of conquered artifacts, enemy chariots, sometimes the bowels of enemy ships, enemy weapons of their warfare, and lastly, behind all of that, at the end of the parade would follow the multitude of enemy captives, kings of the enemies, generals, soldiers, all arrayed in their uniforms, bringing up the rear, so to speak. Add to this the beating of the drums, pagan priests along the parade route, burning incense. You get the picture of what Paul has in mind here. Triumph. Triumphant procession. The triumphal procession, incidentally, would end with the public execution or enslavement of the enemies. All of those men taking captive, lagging behind at the end of the parade route, in shame and humiliation, would die by execution or be sent into slavery. Trium Buo, it means to triumph over. It means to triumph over. The only other place where this word is used in the New Testament is in Colossians 2 verse 15, where Christ is said to have disarmed principalities and powers at the cross, making a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it. Trium Buo. Considering that for a moment, considering the context of verse 14, how are we to understand the use of this word by Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14? Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph, 3 on Buo, in Christ. Isn't the conquering general in the procession? He's not the conquering king. That's reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who triumphs and leads in triumph over us is God in Christ. Now, some might say that Paul is in the general's army, behind the chariot, following close behind him. But the key to understanding lies in the use of this term, 3 on Buo, to triumph over. In this term, Paul sees himself in the triumphal procession as the one triumphed over. Paul sees himself as the conquered enemy slave being led to his death. Now, think about that for a moment. God in Christ conquered the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter 9. Paul was gloriously converted. And from then on, Paul joyfully considered him to be a slave of Christ. He uses that term over and over in the New Testament, a bondservant or a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ now leads him in his triumph, Christ the conquering king, Christ the general at the head of the procession. Christ now leads him in his triumph until he finally comes to die in him. Christ conquered Paul. Displaying along Christ's triumphal procession in doing this, he's displaying the glory, the power, the honor, the majesty and the might of God, his conquering king. Paul has been conquered by Christ and now Christ leads him in triumphant procession. Paul would say, hard pressed on every side, on every side, yet not crushed. Paul said, we are perplexed, but not in despair. We are persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ that the life of Jesus also may be paraded, so to speak, may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be, and here it is again, manifested in our mortal flesh. Interesting, isn't it? Interesting, isn't it? It puts the suffering of the Christian in its proper perspective, the place of suffering in the life of a conquered slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about it that way. As Paul is thinking about it here, our suffering and our suffering procession through this Christian life is a means through which God displays his conquering grace. Our suffering along this Christian life, our suffering procession, so to speak, is the means through which God displays his conquering mercy, his conquering love. It's a means through which God illustrates the conquering triumphant procession of the gospel. Verse 14, through us then, he diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. Paul makes reference to his suffering in verses 12 through 13, and then he praises God. Now, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, his place in proper perspective, so to speak. Our conquering king says, doesn't he, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, the instrument of his own execution, and follow me. Follow you where Christ, follow me in triumph and procession. And this is a faithful saying, for if we die with him, we shall also live with him. If we endure, we shall also reign with him. We may be seen on this side of eternity as conquered enemy slaves, all praise, glory, and honor be to him. But we're not merely conquered enemy slaves, we've been adopted as sons, right? We've been adopted as daughters, sons and daughters of the king. And as such, we have an inheritance from him to look forward to, not merely conquered enemy slaves, but sons and daughters. And we're awaiting our great inheritance. Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. Otherwise, if you're not in him by faith, if you've not submitted to him as king, if you're not trusting him to deliver you at the end, if you haven't turned from your sin to follow him alone, then you are in procession toward death. You are being led away even now to execution. The sentence has already been rendered. You are on death row, so to speak, walking the green mile, so to speak, behind your enemy's parade. You're on your way to hell, on your way to death. If you would follow Christ in triumph, if you would follow Christ in triumph, you must turn from your sin and put your faith and trust in him alone. He will deliver you. He will give you inheritance and inheritance. You will follow him in triumph. You must trust him for endurance. You must trust him with the victory. Imagine with me for a moment. Imagine, right? What if Paul had said to himself, you know what? I'm not going to go to Corinth. I like it in Antioch. I'm comfortable in this church, comfortable with the way things are going here. I'm not going to Corinth. What if Paul had never followed the Lord Jesus Christ outside the doors of his church to preach the gospel to lost people? Would he have faced the difficulty that he faced? Would he have the persecution? Would Paul have been stoned? Would Paul have been beaten? Would Paul have been imprisoned? Would Paul have been threatened? What if Paul had never preached Christ in a synagogue, never preached Christ in the town square? What if Paul said to himself, listen, I'm just going to avoid the Jews altogether? Well, you can be assured that the Gentiles would persecute him. What if Paul said, I'm going to avoid Jews and Gentiles? I'm just simply not going to preach the gospel. What if Paul said, I'm going to stay at home and keep my mouth shut? Well, Paul would have looked like a vast majority of professing Christians today. No persecution, no difficulty, no adversity, no triumph, no triumph. Paul could have avoided his circumstances and so can you, so can I, right? We can avoid our circumstances. We can avoid the call. We can avoid the commands of Christ. Paul could have complained and whined, bemoaned his state. Paul could have attempted to control his circumstances. Rather than any of this, rather than any of this, Paul instead turns his attention to the difficulty that he faces for the cause of Christ. He turns his attention to the significance of what he's doing. He doesn't bury his head in his trials, right? Doesn't bury his heart in how hard things are. He doesn't focus his eyes on this thing that happens and that thing that happens and this guy that mistreated me over here and that guy that said this thing over here and I'm fearful of going to that city because of what those guys might do to me. Paul didn't do that. Paul turns his attention from his circumstances and puts it on the significance of what he's doing for Christ and what Christ is doing through him. He puts his eyes by faith on Christ and Paul determines, determines in his heart and mind to follow Christ in triumph. That's a decision that you and I must make. We have clear commands from the Word of God. There is a clear ministry called in the life of every single Christian. What will you do with that? Will you shrink back or will you follow Christ in triumph? Will you stay fearful and silent or will you follow Christ in triumph? Will you stay at home away from the camp, so to speak, while your brothers and sisters gather with the army? What will you do? Let's determine heart, soul, mind and strength. Determine to follow Christ. If you determine to follow Christ, you will follow him in triumph. Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ. Amen? Let's pray together. Take a few moments and just with God before you, with God as your witness, pray and ask what the Lord would have you do. Search your heart where you are in need of repentance and turn from sin. Put your faith in Christ. Think now. Don't let the Word of God go unheeded in your heart and mind. Pray that he would lead you in triumph over your own flesh, over your own sin, over your own negligence, over your own laziness. And pray that you would honor him and follow him in triumph. Let's pray.