and get started. If you'd like
to follow along, please turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 2. 2 Corinthians chapter 2. I'm going to begin reading in verse
14. Now, thanks be unto God, which
always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest
the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are
unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved and in
them that perish. To the one we are the saver of
death unto death, and to the other the saver of life unto
life. And who is sufficient for these
things? For we are not as many which
corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God,
in the sight of God, speak we in Christ, in Christ. I read a bulletin the other day,
and a fellow had wrote a little article, and he quoted a church
sign he saw. That church sign was, your future
depends on how you live today. Now my first reaction was this,
dear Lord, I hope not. because I don't want the responsibility
of my future. One is Walter because I'm irresponsible.
And two is I can't. I cannot. But this fellow commented
on the fact, and it's true, that this is a perfect summation of
false religion in this day, and I will add this, and every other
day. That's true. This is the true
summation of the messages of free will, easy believism. It
depends upon what you do today, what your future is. Now that's
not what this book says. This book says your future depends
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. False preachers would tell us
that all our faults and failures are our own, which is true. But
they go on saying the cure is all up to you. You know, if you're
not healthy and wealthy, and if you didn't get that Cadillac
you wanted, Mac, it's because you don't have enough faith. Because if you had enough faith,
you'd get everything you want. And I'm sorry, folks, that's
a lie. That's all that is. This book,
God has promised to meet all our needs, not all our wants. As a matter of fact, James tells
us the reason you don't get what you ask for. He's talking to
believers there. He says, you don't get it because you ask
amiss. Why? Because you ask because you want
it. And you ask to consume it upon your own lusts. And besides that, right now,
right now, Children of God have everything they need and more
in Christ Jesus. And there's only one thing to
say unto that, thanks be unto God. That's my title, Paul, and
this message is thanks be unto God. Verse 14 starts out, now
thanks be unto God. So here's a question. When do
you need to thank God? Right now. Right now. Right now. Because now is all
that we have. Yesterday is gone. I can't change
anything I did yesterday, no matter how much I wish I could. Tomorrow, I may not have. Tomorrow, you may not have. Now
is all we have. And that's what Paul writes here.
Now, thanks be to God. Thanks be unto God. That's the
question. Where do you start when you start
talking about the things of God? Well this is where Paul starts. But I do remember, way back now,
testimony meetings. I don't know if y'all, Some of
y'all I know have been in some of these, okay? And I suppose
this is more of a common experience because I never really saw a
testimony meeting that went well. Not by what I think, anyway.
I remember some of those testimonies. Most of them, the ones that I
went to, way too many of them start with the word I. And they
don't start with the word Christ, and they don't start with the
word Lord, they don't start with the word God. They start with
I. And rarely did any of them involve
thanking God in any way. Because a lot of them, and I
hope that you haven't experienced this, but a lot of them turned
out, instead of being testimony meetings, they turned into being
woe is me meetings. I've had a hard week, Walter.
I've had bad things happen. The devil is after me. I heard
that more than once. Oh my. The others were some that
what I call, I did good meetings. I've wrestled with the devil.
Really? Nevermind. It was rare in any
of these meetings did anybody give any thanks to God, is all
I'm saying. Paul did. Paul did a lot. I'm not gonna go into all of
them. There's a bunch of them all throughout the scriptures, but
I'm just gonna use the Apostle Paul here. The Apostle to the
Gentiles. In 1 Corinthians 15 and 57 he
said, but thanks be to God which giveth the victory. through our
Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 16,
but thanks be to God which put the same earnest care into the
heart of Titus for you. 2 Corinthians 9 and verse 15, thanks
be to God for his unspeakable gift. Ephesians 5 and 20. giving thanks
always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1 and 3, we give thanks
to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always
for you. Colossians 3 and verse 17, And
whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. 1 Thessalonians 1 and 2, we give
thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in
our prayers. 1 Thessalonians 3 and verse 9,
for what thanks can we render to God again for you? For all
the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God. And here's one that's especially
blessed. 1 Thessalonians 5 and 18. In everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you. and everything give thanks. That's
hard to do. Second Thessalonians, two in
verse 13 says, but we are bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Because God hath from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. We had to get a lecture in there
somewhere. Thanks to God. Hebrews 13 and verse 15 says
this, by him therefore let us offer, what? The sacrifice of
praise to God continually. What's that mean? Well, that
is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. Isn't that something? The sacrifice
of praise to God is thanking God. Mm, I like that. Here's one of
my personal favorites. Romans 14 and verse six. This
is a strange one, you might think. But he that regardeth the day,
regardeth it unto the Lord. And he that regardeth not the
day to the Lord, he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth
to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not
to the Lord, he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. Now Paul starts
that chapter out in verse one, talking about him that's weak
in the faith receive. You understand? This assembly is built in Christ,
but the members, our members in particular, we're different.
And there may be some little things in which we might disagree,
but here's the thing. What Paul tells us, he says,
he that regardeth the day, regard it unto the Lord. You understand? Don't despise a weaker faith
brother, and don't let the weaker faith brother Be mad at the stronger
fan. He's talking about eating meat.
He talks in another place about eating meat offered unto idols.
You understand, an idol is nothing. And an idol does not curse a
piece of meat that was offered to it. But we are not to eat
it if we know it's been offered to an idol. Because it might
offend a weaker brother, and it gives credence to their idol. But here it is, give thanks to
the Lord. Whether you eat or you eat not. What? In everything, give thanks
to the Lord. Thanks be unto God always. I love that, always. You understand,
my failures are my own. My faults and my sins are my
own, but in Christ, thanks be unto God. Thanks be unto God. Because thankfully, my future
is not up to me. Thanks be unto God. But he puts
it in this way, which always causes us to triumph in Christ
and makes manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every
place. Now, the direct context here Now, the direct context, in 2
Corinthians chapter two, he's talking about preaching. He says
it here, where was it? Furthermore, when I came to Troas,
to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of
the Lord. I had no rest in my spirit, because
I had found not Titus my brother. And I went from there to Macedonia.
Now, thanks be to God, which causes us to triumph in Christ. Not granted, no. Pointed out
clearly. The only triumph we ever have
is in Christ. And that's always. Always give
thanks unto God. Why? Because the only triumph
we're ever gonna have is in Jesus Christ. It's not in ourselves.
But here it says, maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by
us in every place. If we preach or proclaim or witness
truthfully to the gospel of Jesus Christ, we triumph. We triumph. And I mean that not
only for preachers, but for people, just believers who witness. You understand? If you speak
the truth of Christ and lie not to the best of your ability,
you've triumphed. He's gonna get into what it means.
And the beauty of this thing is here, just fascinates me,
because we triumph, we triumph even when we are unaware. We
triumph if you preach Christ and him crucify, and if you witness
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ You triumph even if you think
you have failed. Because the triumph's not in
you, the triumph is in Christ. And what does he say here? And maketh manifest the savor
of his knowledge. It's not the savor of your knowledge,
it's the savor of his knowledge, by us in every place. Because
here's the thing, and he's gonna go on to it, we're gonna get
to it in just a minute. We triumph even if no one believes a word
we say. And you know what you're supposed
to say then? Thanks be unto God. It's hard. It's hard. When the gospel's rejected, Walter,
it's painful. It's painful to me. Been there,
done that, shouldn't make up a t-shirt. But you understand,
it's hard, it hurts. And it's not hurt because it's
an offense against me. I found this out. It's an offense against God.
You understand, if people reject the truth of God in Jesus Christ,
even if you said it to the best of your ability, to the best
of the knowledge that God has given you, Don't be offended. They're rejecting Christ. Now
they might be rejecting you too, but that's not the problem. That's
not the point. The point is they're rejecting
the Son of God. And here's the thing. People
do every day. And what are we supposed to say?
Thanks be unto God. Thanks be unto God. He says it this way, for we are
unto God a sweet saver of Christ in them that are saved and in
them that perish. Thanks be unto God. To the one
we are the saver of death unto death, and to the other the saver
of life unto life, and who is sufficient for these things?
Not me. Thanks be unto God. Not you. Thanks be unto God. Oh my. See, it says here, thanks
be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and
maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge. It's God that
has to make manifest the savor of his knowledge, not you, not
you. For we are, and here's the point,
unto God a sweet savor of Christ. Thanks be unto God. And it says it. In them that
are saved and in them that perish. Thanks be unto God. Thanks be
unto God. Isaiah wrote it this. Who is
sufficient for these things? Not us. Isaiah wrote. So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void. But it shall accomplish that
which I please. And it shall prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it. Thanks be unto God. in them that
are saved, and in them that are perishing. Thanks be unto God. You understand, God is glorified
by the preaching of Christ, by the witnessing of Christ. Thanks be unto God. Let's be clear. It says here,
For we are unto God a sweet saver of Christ in them that are saved
and in them that perish. It doesn't say that unto men
you're a sweet saver of Christ. Unto man we might not be sweet
at all in their nostrils. Paul writes it's unto God. And
thanks be unto God for that. Unto God we are a sweet saver
of Christ. For we are not as many which
corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity. But as of God,
in the sight of God, speak we in Christ. What? Don't corrupt the word
of God. Many do. Many do. We are surrounded. Don't corrupt
the word of God. Thanks be unto God. All of God's children, man, woman,
boy, girl, young, old, barbarian or Scythian. I always like saying
that because I always wanted to be the barbarian. Doesn't
matter. If you speak the things of Christ,
thanks be unto God. If you speak the things of Christ
truthfully, you're a sweet saver in the nostrils of God, a sweet
saver of Christ, mind you, not your own saver. But it says we
are. Thanks be unto God. And it says that everyone who speaks, we are told to speak
in Christ and of Christ as if we are speaking in the very presence
of the Father on the throne. Because, in a very real sense,
you are. And thanks be unto God. I don't say that to scare you,
but it might. Because it scares me. When you
come to speak about the Lord Jesus Christ, and his glory,
and his power, and his salvation, and his word, and I don't even,
Walter, I don't wanna be an error, but I don't even wanna make a
mistake. You understand? I don't wanna call Noah Moses
and Moses Noah. But we do. But that's not the
point. The point is, if you preach in
Christ, thanks be unto God. Speak the truth, and the truth
of God is in Christ Jesus and nowhere else. He is the truth. He said it himself. Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life. What's that mean? No man. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me. Give thanks unto God. We are to give thanks unto God
because it is due to him. We owe him thanks. We owe him
thanks. This is the thing. I'm not going to go into that.
In every circumstance, whatever circumstance, and this is very
hard to do, give thanks unto God. What did Paul say? Give
thanks unto God always. I still remember what Scott Richards
said, wasn't it? Thank God my dog died. That's
hard to do. It's hard to do. You're going
to have to go to a funeral, Matt. It's hard to give thanks unto
God at a funeral, but we need to, we should, because here it
is, everyone that's living, everyone that's dying, which is everyone
that's living, and everyone that has passed on, our Lord knows exactly where
and why and what forever happened. You understand? I believe in
the sovereign God that this Bible preaches, this Bible teaches.
Thanks be unto God. You read of Job sitting on that,
oh my, sitting on that pile of rocks and picking at his bulls
with a piece of shattered pottery. Sitting there. What'd he say? The Lord gave, the Lord taketh
away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Amen. What's that mean? Thanks be unto
God. Thanks be unto God. In whatever circumstances, give
thanks unto God. In whatever condition we find
ourselves in, give thanks unto God. Understand, whether you're
low or whether you're high, whether you're right in the middle, give
thanks unto God. I wish I could thank God the
way I should. I wish I could. I wish I could
know most everything I need to be thankful of, basically. You know how depraved I am? I
don't have any idea about how God has blessed me, for the most
part. I know the superficial things. But thanks be unto God. No matter
what. Because God causes us. You understand? This is the thing.
You understand? It's not that we're triumphant
in Christ. We did it. No. God causes you
to triumph in Christ. You understand? If there's any
way you have triumphed in Christ, it's because God caused it. Thanks be unto God. Thanks be
unto God. We are to give thanks unto God
for Christ, we are to give thanks unto God by Christ, and we are
to give thanks unto God in Christ. In Christ. I think about this assembly some
days. And I am, when I say I'm glad
to be here, I am glad to be here with you. Because this assembly, Earl and I talked about this
several times, that this assembly, even back in the old days, it's
a strange thing. Where two assemblies came together
as one, and Walter and I have talked about this, came together
as one in the same building. We had
a little church down there in Browns Road. And we left and
came up and joined with Earl Cochran and Mab Scott and you
people that were there. And you know what? We've been
together for 37 years after that. What do you say about something
like that? Thanks be unto God. Thanks be unto God. We have been given so much in
our Lord Jesus Christ. Walter, why in the world would
we give up what we had to come join? Why? It was what God wanted us
to do. And God has blessed this assembly.
We're not big. But God never commanded us to
be big. He told you to be faithful. He
told you to preach the word of Christ, to witness the word of
Christ, and to assemble together to hear the words of Christ. Why? What is it? He is making manifest the savor
of his knowledge by us in every place. What? Every place where his people
are. If it's just two of them sitting down together, what?
Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I
am in the midst of them. There I am. What? Give thanks unto God. We have
a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Thanks be unto God. Thanks be
unto God. For we is not as many which corrupt
the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of
God, speak we in Christ. That's what I want to do from
this place, right here. is to speak in Christ. My message is of no value. It's his message
that has all the value. And if he doesn't make it manifest,
I can't help you. I do the best I can for the God,
but that's all we can do. Speak the truth in Christ, lie
not, and give thanks unto God, whatever happens. Almighty Father, God, you are always more ready to
hear than we are to pray. You have given us your Son, He has given us his life, and
he has given us his message. We do thank you in our own pitiful
way, and we know we can't thank you as you deserve. But we pray
also that you'd be with Paul and Walter as they come to preach,
and to illustrate, illuminate, proclaim, and preach your word,
the word of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In whose name we
pray.