At The Scent of Water...
PPT 1 title
PPT 2 text with pic of dead tree stump
Job 14:7 "For there is hope for a tree, When it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And its shoots will not fail.
Job 14:8 "Though its roots grow old in the ground, And its stump dies in the dry soil,
Job 14:9 At the scent of water it will flourish And put forth sprigs like a plant.
This is a man named Job speaking, who went through some very painful things. 10 children killed, all his possessions gone, painful boils covering his entire body, that hurt so bad he was scraping himself with broken pottery. And yet he speaks of the evidence of hope as seen in nature around him. While, at this point in his spiritual journey Job does not yet speak of a resurrection of the dead, he still recognizes that something like it happens in nature. Before this book named after him ends he will boldly declare his faith in the resurrection of the dead.
He talks about trees that are very dead and yet come back to life. That is a word picture, and I believe it is a word picture that God has brought to the forefront of my mind and spirit this Lord's day, because of what some of you are experiencing and going through. Hang on, help is on the way!
PPT 3 pic tree stump coming back to life
This morning I am going to talk about things reviving at what our text calls the scent of water.
PPT 4 text with scent of water highlighted.
The scent of water is poetic language, because as we know water doesn't smell, and if it does it is probably contaminated with some nasty stuff and you don't want to drink it, or at the least you should use extreme caution. Researching this message I came across an unusual word, "petrichor." Does anyone know what that word means?
PPT 5 Petrichor defined
"A pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm dry weather.
Could anyone use some rain after a long period of spiritually dry weather? Anyone have a situation that as far as the eye can tell is beyond hope? Perhaps God has given me this message to share today as a means of bringing the scent of water to someone here, who desperately needs it.
As I said the text is poetic language and it describes life returning to something that has suffered dry rot and is for all practical purposes dead. And yet it says that with just a wisp of hope it will spring back to life. What I want to do in our time this morning is give a couple examples of that from scripture, and then explain a couple of difficulties with the text.
PPT 6 text
Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones.
Ezekiel 37:2 And He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry.
Ezekiel is one of the people who has been taken to Babylon as a captive because of God's judgment on the Jewish nation for serving false God's. But even in a place of judgment and punishment God gives his prophet a word of encouragement and a word of hope for the nation. Later in the chapter God will explain the meaning of the vision He has given Ezekiel.
PPT 7 text
Ezekiel 37:11 Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.'
Ezekiel 37:12 "Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.
So the picture before us is of a people whose hope had gone, and they are described as dead bones, but the prophet makes his own observation about them, "Lo they were very dry." Seasons of death had passed over these bones. The time where hope could still be had, had long passed. It reminds me of our text in Job 14:8 "Though its roots grow old in the ground, And its stump dies in the dry soil,
And yet God says to the dry bones that He was going to cause breath to enter into them, and they would live again. That kind of a word spoken in a dark and difficult time is like the scent of water to a person in a dessert dying of thirst.
Another example comes to us from the life of a woman named Hannah, and here it is:
PPT 8-10 text
1 Samuel 1:13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.
1 Samuel 1:14 Then Eli said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you."
1 Samuel 1:15 But Hannah answered and said, "No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.
1 Samuel 1:16 "Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman; for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation."
1 Samuel 1:17 Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him."
1 Samuel 1:18 And she said, "Let your maidservant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
Hannah had been unable to have children. Her husband married a second wife, perhaps with the specific aim of having heirs. But the second wife was an evil vile woman. She taunts Hannah and mocks her inability to have children. In 1st Samuel we read this second wife "provoked her sore to make her fret" (KJV) The word translated fret is rawam and it means to make thunder. In other words she was trying to make her explode! Anyone here under and attack of the enemy that is so pronounced you are feeling pressure to explode, or break down? This word is for you. Further, we are told this happened year in and year out, we read of Hannah weeping bitterly many times over the situation. Like Ezekiel 37 her hope is all but gone, and her spiritual bones are very dry from a prolonged drought of hope.
Yet, in the words of a backslid and corrupt high priest who would soon die from God's judgment, she heard the word of the Lord, "go in piece and may the God of Israel grant you the desire of your heart." It was not a prophetic word, but a wish spoken by a man, a high priest whose corruption would cause him to see the death of his two sons, the theft of the Ark of the Covenant, and upon hearing that news he would fall over backwards and die. In spite of all that, he was used by God to bring the scent of water for her, a wisp of hope, the idea that her situation can and would change, help was on the way. That prayer revived her - we read in verse 18...
1 Samuel 1:18 And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad.
Her face was no longer sad. At the scent of water depression disappeared, at the scent of the water of hope the oppressive power of the other wife was broken. The seed of the word of God took root immediately, and pushed away the weeds of sorrow, hopelessness, and depression. I believe God is wanting to do that for some here today, and others who will read this message.
I have seen this type of thing many times, one sentence from God, even coming through a corrupted vessel can be a life restoring scent of water for a person desperately looking for hope.
I have seen in countless times praying over people around the altar, "how did you know to pray that?," countless times after a sermon, "that message was for me." Trees with shriveled up roots can quickly come back to life.
I have a nephew whose wife has brain cancer. She read a little clip about brain cancer research that was ongoing and she posted a picture about it on Facebook and said, "I have hope!" She got the scent of water, or renewed life from an article on the Internet. Oh if you are here today, and you are not one whose hope has been languishing, then the word of the Lord to you is to be a waterboy/girl for someone who is. You don't have to be the super bowl quarterback, you can be one of the many assistants who spray water into the players mouths so that can be rehydrated and press on in the battle.
So now I want to quickly look at two problems in our text, first the easy one.
How can the scent of water revive a persons hope?
Perhaps the best way to illustrate it is to think of a person who lives in a country that is enduring severe famine, and they have no food and they are dying. And they have been walking from place to place looking for food. Now imagine a smell wafting by in the air, a smell of food cooking, they come up over a hill and see a large group of people, and a number of trucks with the letters UN boldly written on the side. Their body that was near dead from hunger suddenly springs to life and they run, not walk to where the trucks are. Smells can energize you.
Now for the question that is more difficult on the surface, but not really.
If something is dead, how can it be revived by smell, it is dead?
If the root is dead in the ground, how can "it" smell?
The answer is that it can happen in the same way Lazarus could hear when Jesus said, "Lazarus, come forth" when he was dead in the ground.
It is because it was not up to the ear to hear nor is it up to the nose to smell, these things no longer operate when something is dead.
The power and ability to spring back to life must come from that which is alive, in this we are talking about God. God whose words carry with them the power to make dead things hear, and dead things smell, and dead things come back to life.
Isaiah 55 tells us Gods words will not return to Him void, or said another way they wont return with nothing having been accomplished.
PPT 11 text
Isaiah 55:10 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
So how did Lazarus hear Christ if Lazarus was dead? The same way Lazarus came forth. It was an enabling command; it was an effectual voice. It was God bringing something out of nothing. It was God extending His life into Lazarus so that Lazarus might not only hear and not only perceive, but also carry out the command of God.
The ability to hear and smell is not limited by the deadness of a person or situation. When God speaks things that have been long dead, without hope, that seasons of suffering have passed over can quickly spring back to life. The deadness and dryness of the bones is irrelevant, what matters is the power of God released through His word.
You can catch the smell of water in the testimony of another.
You can catch the smell of water when you see God touching someone near you.
You can even catch the smell of water in the prayers of another.
I came across this testimony of a pastor while preparing for this message:
"I saw a godly friend praying for people at a leadership meeting. When he prays, he has a strong sense of God's heart for each individual, so his prayers are specific and accurate. I witnessed as he prayed for a women, he offered up a prayer of hope specific to her situation. Time seemed to freeze into a moment where life returned to her eyes the way someone is awakened out of a deep coma. I believe that she caught the scent of water. Her persevering roots were rewarded with God's elixir of hope."
One last look at our text:
PPT 14 text
The scent of water can overcome destruction
The scent of water can overcome decay
The scent of water can overcome death.
The power of life in the word of God, is greater than the power of death.
God wants us to bring the scent of water to others. Bring hope. People with relationships that are dying, people with bodies that are dying, people with hope that has died, people who are dead in trespass and sin.
Prayer for those struggling with a very difficult situation.
Close: Listen to the lyrics of this song and let them speak to you. The altar is open for prayer.
Lyrics Do it again
Walking around these walls
I thought by now they'd fall
But You have never failed me yet
Waiting for change to come
Knowing the battle's won
For You have never failed me yet
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I'm still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You've never failed me yet
I know the night won't last
Your Word will come to pass
My heart will sing Your praise again
Jesus, You're still enough
Keep me within Your love
My heart will sing Your praise again
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness
I'm still in Your hands
This is my confidence, You never failed
