Heavenly Scent

INTRODUCTION — CHILDREN’S SONG

I want to begin tonight with something simple—

something every one of us learned before we could spell “theology.”

A children’s song.

We didn’t realize it at the time,

but that little song was preaching to us long before we understood it:

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy

Down in my heart.”

And every child, in every church, in every generation, would shout:

“Where?!”

And we would answer—louder and prouder:

“Down in my heart!”

We sang it with a smile.

We sang it with motions.

We sang it with innocence.

But God was planting something.

Because the older you get, the more you discover:

joy is not something floating on the surface of your life.

Joy is not something fragile, temporary, or circumstantial.

Joy is not something tied to good days, good news, or good luck.

Joy—real, gospel joy—

lives in a place deeper than trouble,

deeper than grief,

deeper than pressure,

deeper than fear.

Joy settles down in the heart.

Joy is not an emotion—

joy is a location.

And that children’s song wasn’t teaching us to feel something;

it was teaching us where God puts His greatest gifts.

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JOY’S BEAUTIFUL AUDACITY

Have you noticed joy’s audacity?

Joy shows up in hospital rooms.

Joy appears in funerals.

Joy whispers during heartbreak.

Joy visits prison cells.

Joy speaks in seasons where nothing “out there” explains why there is peace “in here.”

Joy refuses to wait for better circumstances.

Joy refuses to bow to the storm.

Joy refuses to surrender the heart.

Because joy isn’t anchored to the weather around you—

joy is anchored to the Jesus within you.

“Where is it?”

Down in my heart.

And once joy settles there…

it refuses to stay quiet.

Joy begins to rise.

Joy begins to breathe.

Joy begins to speak.

Joy begins to influence.

Joy begins to shape the choices you make.

Joy becomes the atmosphere of a transformed life.

Not the replacement for obedience—

but the atmosphere in which obedience grows.

Joy doesn’t compete with holiness—

joy perfumes holiness.

Joy doesn’t replace righteousness—

joy accompanies righteousness.

Joy doesn’t erase obedience—

joy makes obedience possible.

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PAUL’S WORD: WE ARE “THE SWEET AROMA OF CHRIST”

It was the apostle Paul who gave us one of Scripture’s most beautiful images of Christian life.

He said:

> “Thanks be to God,

who always leads us in triumph in Christ

and through us spreads everywhere

the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

For we are to God

the sweet aroma of Christ.”

— 2 Corinthians 2:14–15

Think about that.

Paul doesn’t say we are the “achievements of Christ.”

He doesn’t say we are the “projects of Christ.”

He doesn’t say we are the “employees of Christ.”

He says we are the aroma of Christ.

A scent.

A fragrance.

A presence.

Something people sense before they understand.

Something people experience before they analyze.

Something people feel before they can articulate.

A Christian is not just someone who “tries harder.”

A Christian is someone who carries Christ.

And when Christ has gone deep into the heart,

His presence begins to give off a smell—

a spiritual aroma,

a gospel fragrance,

a quiet evidence of His inner work.

Joy becomes the scent.

Joy becomes the atmosphere.

Joy becomes the unmistakable sign that Christ is not just visiting the life—

He is dwelling in the heart.

And when Christ dwells in the heart,

obedience stops being a burden

and begins to become a joy.

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WHAT GOD PLANTS AS JOY, HE GROWS INTO OBEDIENCE

This is the moment the message turns.

You see, joy doesn’t sit still.

Joy doesn’t remain silent.

Joy doesn’t confine itself to the soul.

Joy begins to rise into your habits.

It presses upward into your decisions.

It seeps into the way you handle temptation.

It shapes the way you speak,

the way you forgive,

the way you respond under pressure.

What God plants as joy,

He grows into obedience.

Joy doesn’t replace obedience—

joy transforms obedience.

Joy doesn’t weaken obedience—

joy strengthens obedience.

Joy doesn’t distract from obedience—

joy reveals whether obedience has reached the heart.

Because obedience without joy is compliance.

Obedience with joy is transformation.

Obedience from fear is slavery.

Obedience from joy is freedom.

Which leads us to the question that cuts to the center of the Christian life—

a question more searching than,

“Am I doing better?”

or

“Am I trying harder?”

Here is the real question:

**“Has the gospel touched me deeply enough

that obedience is becoming my joy?”**

Not my dread.

Not my limitation.

Not my duty.

Not my burden.

My joy.

Because when obedience becomes joy,

it means something profound has happened inside you.

It means the Spirit has done more than convict you—

He has changed you.

It means grace has done more than forgive you—