What’s That Smell?
Scripture Reference: II Corinthians 2:14-17
Preached at Mount Zion Baptist Church on May 19, 2019
Delivered by Rev. John Daniel Johnson
Illustration:
We few weeks ago, our family went up to Chattanooga, TN for a few days. We were up there ministering and also getting a little family time in. Our family was in the vehicle, windows down taking in the mountain air, and traveling down one of the back roads in the area. It was around noon, and that’s when it hit me. The smell of BBQ filled my vehicle. We were passing a local BBQ Restaurant and I witnessed the chimney of the restaurant billowing out the sweet aroma of cooking pork. My mouth instantly began salivating and my animal instincts set in. I wanted meat, now! Being tempted by that smell, I wanted to make sure the rest of the family had the same sensations I was feeling and tasting. So I quieted down the children and asked this question, “What’s that Smell?” Without missing a beat, all three of my girls screamed out, “It wasn’t me.”
Opening:
When the LORD designed us, He gave us five wonderful senses. Even though there are exceptions to this rule, God has given most us of the senses of hearing, vision, touch, taste, and smell. I’ve told you many stories about my past life, so many of you know that my top two senses are taste and smell. I love to eat and I love to smell what I eat.
However, when the LORD designed us, one of the key senses He created in us is the sense of smell. It is a wonderful gift that helps us daily. We are exposed to thousands of different smells every day. We know the time of day by the smell. If we smell bacon and sausage, we usually know it is breakfast. Smells remind us of events and places. When I smell suntan oil, I think of the beach. When I smell hot cocoa and an open fire, it reminds me of winter nights with my family. We are a people who are affected by smells. If you don’t believe me, try not bathing for a week or putting on deodorant and see how many people you affect! We use body sprays, perfume, cologne, or at the very least, we hopefully use soap to improve our smells.
The Scriptures tell us that we are created in the image of God. This also means that He has the sense of smell. This morning, I want to ask a few questions…how do you smell to God? What kinds of aroma do you give off that prove you are born again? By being a child of God, what godly fragrances do you leave behind in your daily walk?
Transitional Sentence:
Today, we are going to look at the biblical fragrances that a child of God emits to those who are in this world, and how to give off the aroma that pleases the LORD.
Read Scripture:
Let me draw you attention to verse 15 once again. Scripture states,
“For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those
who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”
(II Corinthians 2:15)
When the Holy Spirit penned this passage by the hand of the Apostle Paul, every Jewish reader knew what this terminology meant. Throughout the Old Testament, Scriptures tells us what fragrances pleased the LORD.
First, the aroma of sacrifice pleases the LORD. In Genesis 8 we find of the first times of the aroma of sacrifices pleasing God.
“Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every
clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt
offerings on the altar. 21the Lord smelled the soothing aroma;
and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the
ground on account of man…”
(Genesis 8:20-21)
My brother and sisters, if you want to truly please the LORD, try sacrificing something to Him. While it’s great to put off certain things and to sacrifice things to the LORD, there is only one that truly He wants. Scripture tells us…
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
(Romans 12:1)
The Lord is pleased when we present our life to Him. When we give Him our old ways, our old life, former ways of behaving, and be conformed to the image of Christ, we please the Father. Christians let me pause here for a moment and say this. If you’ve sacrificed your old self, it is dead. A sacrifice means death; it is never to return.
Secondly, the aroma the anointing pleases the LORD. Throughout the Old Testament, certain people were chosen by God and anointed to consecrate them for service.
People/Items Anointed in the Bible
1.Prophets were anointed - 1 Kings 19:16
2.Priests were anointed - Exodus 40:13
3.Kings were anointed - 1 Samuel 16
4.Holy objects were anointed - Leviticus 8:10
5.Sick were anointed - Mark 6:13 / James 5:14
Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful?
He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call
for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing
him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith
will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if
he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
(James 5:13-15)
Whether the role was to be a king or a prophet, a person was anointed with oil to separate them from everyone else. The anointing marked them for service. Just like the blood on the doorposts of the Hebrews in Egypt marked their homes so the death angel would pass over them, the anointing marks us.
Even Christ was anointed. After His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove upon Him.
“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the
Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good
and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
(Acts 10:38)
“and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,
‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.’”
(Matthew 3:17)
Christ was also anointed before His death. He was anointed a prophet, now He’s anointed as the priest and king.
“Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard,
and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair;
and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.”
(John 12:3)
“While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and
reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial
of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and
poured it over His head.”
(Mark 14:3)
And here’s the great news. We may never be a prophet, priest, or king, but we can receive the same type of anointing they received. Once we become a true child of God we are given the Holy Spirit and He anoints us from on high. Scripture states…
“For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him
Amen, to the glory of God through us. 21Now He who
establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is
God, 22who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in
our hearts as a guarantee.”
(II Corinthians 1:20-22)
Anointing Oil Ingredients
“Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23“Take also
for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh…,
and of fragrant cinnamon…, and of fragrant cane…,
24and of cassia…, and of olive oil... 25You shall make of
these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a
perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil…
It shall not be poured on anyone’s body, nor shall you make
any like it in the same proportions; it is holy, and it shall be holy to you.”
(Exodus 30:22-25, 32)
Anointing oil, mentioned 20 times in Scripture, was used in the Old Testament for pouring on the head of the high priest and his descendants and sprinkling the tabernacle and its furnishings to mark them as holy and set apart to the Lord (Exodus 25:6; Leviticus 8:30; Numbers 4:16).
The origin of anointing was from a practice of shepherds. Lice and other insects would often get into the wool of sheep, and when they got near the sheep's head, they could burrow into the sheep's ears and kill the sheep. So, ancient shepherds poured oil on the sheep's head. This made the wool slippery, making it impossible for insects to get near the sheep's ears because the insects would slide off. From this, anointing became symbolic of blessing, protection, and empowerment.
A.W. Tozer, a 20th-century pastor, preacher, author, magazine editor and spiritual mentor to many, put it this way:
“The fragrance of the anointing oil was unique. If someone went near an Old Testament priest, he could say immediately, ‘I smell an anointed man. I smell the holy oil!’ The aroma, the pungency, the fragrance were there. Such an anointing could not be kept a secret.”?
What does this mean that you are anointed with the Holy Spirit?
1.It means that you are anointed for Christian ministry while you live in this world.
2.It means that you have been enabled, entrusted, and empowered to accomplish God's will.
Truth: Similar to King David, the anointing of God is the difference between tending the sheep to become a leader of a nation. It is the anointing that takes a slingshot and takes down a giant.
What the Anointing Does
1.The Anointing Removes the Yoke
“It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken
away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And
the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.”
(Isaiah 27:10)
2.The Anointing Separates Us
3.The Anointing Grants Boldness
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men,
they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”
(Acts 4:13)
4.The Anointing Provides Power
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8)
5.The Anointing Delivers Victory (Psalm 23:5)
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.”
(Psalm 23:5)
Closing:
So, let’s return to the questions I asked at the beginning. What do you smell like to the LORD? Are you delightful to His senses? Do you release His fragrance to the world? Do people know you’re anointed just because of being in your presence? If you answered, “I don’t know” to any of those questions, today is the day to make it right.
