WHAT’S THAT SMELL
INTRODUCTION
One day while walking through the department store, I decided to stop by the cologne displays and try on some cologne. Now, I just couldn’t just try on one (could I?) I had to try on all the different brands that they had. Need less to say when I got into the car, my wifes first question was: WHAT’S THAT SMELL? Cologne or perfume is a very wonderful invention, it helps us smell nice and pretty. (Even when we’re not nice and pretty) However what happens to perfume after a while of wearing it? It starts to fade and wear off. Not only does it happen to perfume, but too many times in our lives as Christian. We let the world and things in the world pull and drag us down and in the process the pleasing aroma of Christ in our lives sometimes gets worn off. This morning we will look at sin and the affects of sin in our lives, and how if we let it continue in our lives will keep us from being a frangerent offering to Christ!
I. UNDERSTAND THE AFFECTS OF SIN
The affects of sin in our lives are sometimes subtile. Sin makes it’s way in among us and if we are lacks at all, it moves in and makes a home. But how does sin affect us? One way sin affects us is through our attitude. (Php. 2:5 says that our attitude should be the same is that of Christ Jesus....) When we have sin in our lives, our lives can never be like that of Jesus! Another affect of sin is deception. Satan tempted Adam and Eve, to eat the fruit and they were deceived. Satan today trys to deceive us as well. He says things like, “no one will ever know what you’ve done, You got away with it before, God isn’t really watching what we do all the time”. To those foolish statements I would say read (Gal 6:7 where it states, Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows) When we allow sin to make it’s home among us, we deceive ourselves that everything is fine, that everything is great. However by reading that verse, I’m not so sure that should be the way we look at things. Because God cannot be mocked a man reaps what he sows! A final affect of sin and maybe the most important is separation from God. (Isa. 59:2 says, But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear) When we allow sin to creep into our lives, it slowly separates us from a God who loves and cares for us, a God who wants nothing more than for us to spend eternity with Him! I hope by now your started to understand the affects of sin.
II. BE SEPARATED FROM SIN
We all know that we need to be separated from sin, but like I said earlier: SIN IS SUBTILE! One day some children wanted to see a movie so they went and asked their dad it they could see the movie. They said the movie was pretty clean, it only had three 4 letter words, it only used the Lords name in vain twice, and the violence and killing wasn’t that graphic and in the end the good guys did win. After telling their father all the wonderful points of the movie they asked if they could go see the movie and the dad simply turned and said “No”. He gave no explanation for his decision, but he got up and went into the kitchen and made some brownies. He was percise in following all the directions except one. When the brownies were done, he took his brownies out to his children and asked if they would like one. He said that he had followed the recipe exactly except for one small ingredient. He had added some dog pooh, but everything else was of the highest quality. No matter how hard he tried to get his children to eat one of his brownies, he just couldn’t, even though almost everything was the same. That’s the way it is with sin. Sin is sutile, sin changes the whole picture. Today in our country there is a need to be separate from sin, in our churches there is a need to be separate from sin, in our lives there is a need to be separate from sin! (Ro 6:1-2 says, What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?) If we have truly turned away from sin, how can we live in it any longer? The answer is we can’t! *Read Romans 6:11-14* Sin shall not be your master! Therefore count yourself dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus!
II. UNDERSTAND THE FRAGRANCE OF GOD
What is the Fragrance of God? Well (Eph 5:1-2 says, Be imitators of God therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just a Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God) The fragrance of God, is for us to be imitators of God, to live a life of love and follow the example of Jesus! If we are going to be the fragrance of God, then we need to be imitators of God! How are going to get this done? *Read Eph 5:3-17* The way were going to get this done is by being careful how we live-not as unwise but as wise, by making the most of every opportunity, by putting away our foolishness and finally by understanding what the Lord’s will is! When people look at our lives, there should be something about our lives that just hits them in the face! Something that makes them ask WHAT’S THAT SMELL? And our answer should be it’s the FRAGRANCE OF GOD!
CONCLUSION
A man went into the doctors office and when the doctor came in, he told the man that he had some bad news and some even worse news. The man asked to hear the bad news first and doctor told him, he only had a week to live. The man was even more nefarious when he asked to hear what the worse news was, but he asked anyways. The doctor replied, I should have told you all this last week! Sin works in much the same way. The news and affects of sin go from bad to worse, and so do the consequences. You see sin is a disease that keeps getting worse and if left untreated will lead to death. However there is a cure and that cure is separation not separation from life, but separation from sin and it’s affect on our lives. If we will kick sin and those problems areas out of our lives and fill ourselves with the Fragrance of God, then we will be a pleasing aroma to God, because we are covered by Christ!
