The Power To Create Hunger
Scripture: Matthew 5:6, 13; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4;
Introduction
We often associate memories with certain scents. For example, when spring time comes you can actually smell the freshness in the air; the smell of fresh flowers or a newly mowed lawn. Many of us also have fond memories of Christmas and what I call the "scents of the season." Freshly baked cookies, cakes and bread all comes to mind when I think of the scents of the Christmas season. Our ability to "smell" creates so many opportunities for us. Our sense of smell creates both hunger and memories that stays with us throughout our lifetime. It also intensifies our ability to taste food; I will talk more about that later. This morning I want to talk with you about your smell as a Christian. I could have titled this message "Smelly Christians" but that would have taken us in the wrong direction and I want you to walk away this morning knowing that you have something within you that can draw people to Christ or push them away.
Have you ever been so busy that you forgot that you had not eaten? Maybe you had been so focused on the activity at hand that eating never occurred to you. To this point, do you ever recall "not been hungry" until you walked into a place, smelled something that made your mouth water and all of a sudden you were famished? In my message this morning I want to use this analogy to discuss how we, as Christians, are able to draw people to Christ (or push them away) by the fragrance of Christ that we give off or suppress. Our foundational scripture is found in Matthew 5:6 and 13.
I. Scents That Attract or Repel
Our sense of smell impacts has a direct impact on our hunger and our ability to taste food. Let me give you an example. When I was growing up, my grandmother would cook chitterlings during the winter. For those of you who may be unaware, chitterlings are hog intestines. When she would cook them, the smell would repel me. I refused to eat something that smelled bad to me. Goat cheese and cabbage are also ranked up there with the chitterlings. When I smell these foods, they do not create within me a desire to eat but they actually cause me to lose my appetite. The scent that food gives off when it is being prepared affects our hunger drive. If we like what we smell we get hungry. If we do not like what we smell we can lose our appetite. As I stated earlier, it is our sense of smell that help us enjoy the food that we are eating. Think about the times when you were so congested that you could not breathe through your nose. Remember how your food tasted? Possibly you could barely make out the taste of the food because your sense of smell was off. That is why you often see people pinching their nose when they are taking medicines that taste really bad. The pinching of the nose inhibits the taste buds in the mouth from really "tasting" the medicine. It is the smell (aroma) of the food that intensifies the taste (and enjoyment) of the food we consume. Whenever I am in the kitchen baking bread, no one in my house shows up to the kitchen until the bread comes out of the oven and the smell of the fresh baked bread reaches their noses. Once they smell it, they begin to make their way to the kitchen. It was not me working in the kitchen that made them come, it was the scent given off from the fresh baked bread that drew them.
There are scents that draw us and there are scents that repel us. The scents that draw us are pleasing to us. Some scents may be refreshing to me and that same scent could repel someone else. It is the same with cologne, some fragrances attract people and some do not. Because this is so specific to the individual, there will always be disagreements between individuals as to what really smells good. One thing is for certain, not every scent will be pleasing to every person and that is why we need a variety. Whether that scent is coming from food or perfume, there will always be a need for variety and that brings me to this point. As a Christian, does the scent you give off draw people to Christ or repel them. Turn to Matthew the fifth chapter and look at verses six and thirteen.
II. Christians Creating Hunger
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled….You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." Matthew 5:6, 13
In verse six of chapter five, Jesus said "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled." How are they to be filled? They are to be filled through the Christians helped them realize that they were hungry in the first place. Our walk with Christ will create a hunger within others to want to eat from the same source we are eating from, if they can see the source and not just us. This may seem strange to you, so let me explain it another way. Have you ever met someone and you just "sensed" that there was something special about them. When you talked with that person you discovered they were a Christian who walked in joy with God? And in your mind, did you not have a desire to have what they had? You may not have known exactly what it was that they had, but you knew that you wanted it to. This, my friends, is what I am talking about, how we as Christians create hunger by how we live and allow Christ to flow through us. Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (a relationship with Him) will be filled. But before they can be filled, they must first recognize that they are hungry and that goes back to my earlier point. If you are so focused on what you are doing that you forget to eat, your project overrides your need and/or desire to eat. However, when you smell some good food, all of a sudden you realize that you are hungry. This is the way it is spiritually.
Satan has a lot of people minds blocked so that they do not realize that they are hungry and in need of Christ. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4: "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." When you visualize what Satan is doing, those who are lost are so busy focusing on "other" things of this world that they do not realize that they are hungry and need to eat. This is where we come in. Our fragrance (the love of Christ flowing through us) should be such that it is a sweet odor that draws those who are lost, hurting, or seeking Christ. When these individuals are around Christians, they should realize by what they "smell" within us that they need Christ. As long as those who are lost are blinded by Satan to the point where they do not realize that they have a need, they will never seek a fulfillment for that need. Just like each of us, we can get so busy working on a project that we forget to eat because we do not realize that we are hungry. However, when we stop, or smell something good that makes our mouth water, then we realize that we are hungry.
When those who are lost encounter a situation that makes them stop what they are doing, even if it is for a brief moment, and they "smell" the fragrance that is radiating from the Christian they are interacting with, it is then that a need is recognized. When the lost recognizes that they have a need, they become aware that the need that they have can only be filled through Christ. We have the answer to their need. That is why Jesus said that "you are the light of the world" because the world is in darkness and it is our light that shows them the way. Remember, when Jesus made this statement it was very dangerous to travel at night because they did not have street lights outside of the city. Even within the city the alleys were so dark they became dangerous. These people understood what Jesus was saying about being a light in the darkness. Once those who are lost see our light, it is then that we have the opportunity to feed them what they need. Imagine walking around outside in the darkness and you cannot find your way. Would you be thinking about being hungry at that time or would you be focusing on getting out of the dark? Those individuals who are lost are walking in the dark, they cannot see. We provide them the light and once they see the light and they are no longer in the darkness, they are open to eating and fulfilling the secondary need. Their first need was to get out of the darkness and once delivered from the darkness, the secondary need (a need for food) kicks in. But as long as they are in the darkness they are not be seeking food because that is secondary to them being in the darkness. Light gives us the ability to see, to help find our way to safety and that is what we represent to the world.
Finally Jesus said in Matthew 5:13 that "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." What is the function of salt? Salt adds flavor to food, but it is also used as a preservative. Just read the package of any sandwich meat as to it sodium content. Salt adds that extra something that makes food taste good. However, when the salt has lost it saltiness, Jesus said that it then becomes good for nothing. It is each of us that adds flavor to this dark, tasteless world. Not only do we add flavor, but we also preserve. Everyone that accepts Christ through some interaction with a Christian enters into Christ preservation process. However, if we have lost our saltiness, if we have lost our ability to add flavor and to preserve, then we have lost our purpose.
Conclusion – How Do You Smell
Let me recap the primary point of this message. We play a very important role in this world in which we live. Our Christian walk is characterized by days when we are at total peace and days when it seems like we are carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. However, regardless of what type of day, week or month we are having, the core of who we are in Christ remains the same. The joy that we have internally remains the same. The faith that we have on the inside, remains the same. This is what bleeds through wherever we go, no matter what we are experiencing. The love of Christ being alive within us reaches out to those we come into contact with. The problem is that we sometimes do not allow His fragrance to get through because our own personal fragrance is too strong. In this situation, instead of people smelling the fragrance of Christ within us and becoming hungry for what we have, they smell us and are repelled, missing the opportunity to have their needs met.
Have you ever thought about how you smell spiritually? It is not about how much you go to Church or how active you are in Church. Many Christians are very active in Church yet spiritually they stink. Have you ever smelled something that was so bad that even air freshener didn’t overcome it? That is how some of us Christians are; we are so busy promoting our own fragrance that others cannot even get close to smelling the fragrance of Christ within us. We are so busy creating our own spirituality that we fail to understand that we can draw no one to Christ within our own power. Within our own power, cannot create a hunger within others for Christ – it is Christ within us that does the drawing and the creation of hunger for Him.
Today and for the rest of your life you will have the opportunity to spiritually bathe in the fragrance of Christ. You will have the opportunity to allow the fragrance of Christ to overshadow you, cleanse you and use you to create hunger in others. People are more susceptible to allowing the fragrance of Christ to flow out of them during this season and our job is to continue to allow it everyday from this day forward. If you’re wondering what Christ’s fragrance is it is love. As I said, many people find it easier to show love during this season than any other, but imagine what it would be like if everyone had the "Christmas Spirit" everyday of the year. How do you smell today? Can others smell Christ on you?
May God bless and keep you.
