I. A New Fragrance
A. Text: II Corinthians 2:14-16 “…thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.”
B. Go with me to Luke 24. Let’s read verses 1-3
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” (NIV)
C. After the death of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome –the spice girls - went to His tomb to anoint His body. This would begin their embalming process, to keep the body from smelling.
D. When they arrived, they found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.
E. Now, these ladies had the right intentions. But, how many of you know that good intentions often times lead you to and empty tomb? Good intentions are usually a dead-end road.
F. You see, these ladies had come to anoint a dead body. They had come to anoint a dead Jesus that had already promised that He would be raised on the third day!
G. Folks, I have good news for you today (and it’s not even the Easter season)….I have good news, folks…..He got up! He’s not dead! He has risen, just as He said He would! Hallelujah!
H. By their coming to pour spices and fragrances on the body of Christ, this was their last chance to offer their praise to Him.
I. There was only one problem…He wasn’t there!
J. Folks, you can’t praise a dead god anyway! No matter how hard you try!
K. You can’t anoint and offer fragrant worship to a dead god!
II. Sweet Smelling Worship
A. Did you know that God desires your worship – that it is a sweet smelling fragrance – and incense – in the nostrils of God!?
B. Folks, God has the sense of smell.
C. And there are various Scripture references that show us what God likes to smell, and what He doesn’t like to smell.
D. In Genesis 8:20, when Noah – after the flood – had built an altar to God – an altar of thanksgiving and worship – an altar offering a sacrifice of praise to God – the Word tells us it was a sweet smelling aroma to God!
E. All throughout Exodus and Leviticus, and Numbers it speaks of the sweet smelling incense offered up to God through a burnt offering.
F. Worship is a sweet aroma in the nostrils of God!
G. True worship will be worship that is offered to the Living God! From a heart that is alive.
H. Don’t try and offer the perfumes of praise to God if you are spiritually dead in your praise yourself.
I. God said, in Malachi 1:11 – “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,’ says the LORD Almighty.” (NIV)
J. But, folks, you can’t worship Him like He’s dead. Your worship cannot be dead. Your spirit cannot be dead! Your heart cannot be dead.
K. You see, these ‘spice girls’ came with a broken heart – a grieving heart – to anoint a dead king. But, He wasn’t there, because He wasn’t dead any longer!
L. Folks, God no longer wants your “Old Spice!” He wants a fresh worship, a fresh praise; He wants a worship that is alive because He is alive! Put away the “Old Spice” in the name of Jesus!
III. What’s That I Smell?
A. It all is dependant upon how you come to Him to worship Him!
B. These women came to anoint Him thinking He was dead.
C. There was another time when Mary came to anoint Him as she poured the oil over Him.
D. Look at Matthew chapter 26. This woman mentioned here is assumed to be Mary Magdalene. Look at verses 6-26
“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’ Aware of this, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.’”
E. She poured her praise on Him!
F. Folks, we’ve got to pour our praise on Him like from Mary’s alabaster box!
G. Proverbs 27:9 says, “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart…” (KJV)
H. Ointment is the same Hebrew word for ‘anointing.’ That’s why you may often hear me say the word ‘anointment.’ It comes from the Hebrew word ‘shemen’ which means seed. When you want the smell of a seed, you must crush it. Then the ointment will flow. If you want the anointing of the seed of David, then you must realize that Jesus has already been crushed and His anointing now flows over our lives! If you crush a peanut you will get…peanut oil. If you crush an olive, you will get… olive oil. I wonder where they get baby oil?
I. Ephesians 5:1-2 says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (NIV)
J. But, you see, disobedience is nothing more than that Old Spice! It is a bad aroma in the nostrils of God. Folks, disobedient children ‘stink’ to God! Because disobedience speaks of sin and sin speaks of death and death is a bad odor to God!
K. And, I ask you, how do you come to God in your worship? How do you live your daily walk? How does your life honor God? Are you content with merely having seven scheduled services and calling it a revival…or would you rather be passionate about the call of God enough to say, I want true revival and revival that will change souls eternally.
L. I want to perpetuate the power of His presence!
M. Can you say, “I’m passionate about wanting more and more of Him everyday?” Is your life a sweet smelling fragrance in His nostrils?
N. Ecclesiastes 10:1 declares, “As dead flies give perfume a bad smell, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.” (NIV).
O. What are you going to do with that?
P. I’ll tell you what not to do – don’t think about stink, in the name of Jesus!
III. Can You Smell It?
A. Put away the Old Spice.
B. Put away the old way – the dead way – of what you thought was worship and splash on a little “Passion” or how about a little dab of “Obsession?”
C. One perfume or cologne designer’s enemy would have to be the imitator. You see you can’t patent a smell. Therefore, imitators abound. Folks, you can try to imitate a fragrance that God enjoys, but you cannot! He knows the real thing!
D. Folks, listen…if you hear nothing else today, here this…worshiping God with all your heart, soul and mind – makes scents!
E. The creators of different perfumes and colognes have learned that – in doing so – they can generate a tremendous amount of money! Men, just in case you haven’t gone out in a while to buy your wife a nice smelling, new bottle of perfume…let me just tell you…they’re not cheap!
F. I did a little research and found that the creators of cologne have a vast variety of fragrances to tap into, somewhere around 3000 different ingredients ranging from fruits, flowers, woods and animal musk or glands.
FYI –
The most expensive ingredient is musk, which is the secretion produced by a male elk in some remote part of the world. Musk is sold at the staggering price of $75 000 a kilo!
G. One sign on a fishing wharf said: "Old fishermen never die; they just smell that way!" The sign reminds me of carnal Christianity that always has the smell of death about it. It stinks. It has a repulsive odor.
H. Put away the Old Spice and get “Passion” for Jesus…get an “Obsession” for God’s presence!
I. And in doing so, you’ll walk in it for “Eternity!”
J. When we have obsession for Him and are passionate for His presence, we begin to smell like Him! Hallelujah!
K. We started out in II Corinthians 2, but if you were to go to II Corinthians 4, you would find where Paul said “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
L. God uses old clay pots (sometimes even cracked pots) to contain His presence! Think about it, child of God! You have within you the very power that spoke this world into existence! Praise God!
M. God is passionate about you – He must be since He sent His only Son to die for you!
N. God is obsessed with you! Matthew 10:30 declares that the very hairs on your head are numbered!
O. Isaiah 49:6 says, “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands…” (KJV)
P. God has passion for you. He is passionate about you! He sent His only Son to die for you!
Q. I end by asking you this question…
“What’s that I smell?”
R. Esther spent a long time (a year) bathing in perfumes and oils just to spend 5 minutes with the King! Think about it!
