A. Smells have power. A wonderful aroma can draw you closer to something or someone. Have you ever gone out to eat; you are hungry, and you smell a wonderful stake cooking before you ever enter the restaurant. You are ready to eat and the smell pulls you in. How many of you put on perfume or cologne before coming to worship today? You did that for a reason. You wanted people enjoy being around you. I actually rank my colognes in order of compliments. Depending upon the occasion, I use different colognes.
B. Smells have power. While I only talked about what most consider “good” smells there are also some very nasty smells. Maybe you have put a meat carcass in the trash after Thanksgiving and the next day, when you open the trash can the rancid smell comes wafting out at you. I am sure there are other smells that have turned you off quickly. Smells have power.
C. The original “Spice Girls” are in the Bible. The morning of the resurrection, Luke tells us that some women when to the tomb of Jesus to anoint the body with spices. They did that to honor the dead and keep the decaying odor from being offensive men or attractive to animals. Paul calls us the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus Christ to mankind and the wonderful aroma of Christ to God. But what does all that mean? And how does smell have much to do with our Christian walk. As we think about Thanksgiving, most of think about the smells of the meal and the time family spends together. Today, I want us to consider what it means to be thankful to God and I believe answer is found in our actions. Those actions are an aroma to both God and men. For some, our Christian smell will be sweet and wonderful, but to others, that action of Christianity will be the smell of death. Let’s open our Bibles and study this section of Paul letter to the Corinthians.
I. My Sadness Was Great
A. Read verses 12-13. I want you to remember how much Paul loved the church in Corinth. He had sent Titus to Corinth, maybe even with the first letter, and wanted to hear the result of such a harsh letter sent to people Paul cared for deeply. As we read last week, Paul said that when he wrote that letter tears flowed as he grieved for his fellow Christians whose walk was so contrary to what Jesus desired. He had no idea if his letter would push them farther away or be just hard enough to force them to think, repent, and walk again in the pathway of righteousness.
B. This very thing may have happened in your life. You push someone you love to a great height, but don’t know if the pushing is too hard. If it is, you may have lost the relationship forever. But, if it worked, if your pushing really brought about the desired changed, joy would fill you to overflowing.
C. While Paul was waiting and looking for Titus, he continued to preach the good news of Jesus to the people in Troas. God opened the door and the hearts of people in that place, but Paul was still anxious about the work in Corinth that he simply would not stay in Troas, but instead, traveled on to Macedonia looking for Titus. Here is the one time we find Paul actions counter to his norm. When God opens a door, Paul always walks in. When the Spirit of God leads, Paul follows. But even with an open door, Paul simply could not stay. It seems that his anxiety was wrapped up in the letter he wrote, the outcome of that letter and even the safety of Titus. Paul simply could not focus. It was like Satan was winning instead of God. But Paul would not walk down that path. Paul knew that God was in control. Paul knew that God was the victor, not worry or anxiety. Paul knew that he himself is God’s captive and led in God’s triumphant parade as the great conquering hero. This was not about to become a pity party for Paul. Paul changes his focus from himself to the one true living God who is at work among all men.
II. God At Work In Us
A. Paul simply shouts, “Thanks be to God!” Well how do you I do that? How can I give this praise and glory to God in my life today? As Thursday comes and you gather around your family table and eat great food, what does it mean to give thanks to God?
B. After the Steelers won the Super Bowl the city hosted a parade. Thousands lined the street to get a glimpse of the victorious team. This type of thing has gone on for a couple of thousand years. The Romans had such a parade for a victorious general who won a great battle, claimed new land for Rome and came back to Rome with prisoners who would become slaves. Read verses 14-16. In this passage it is God in Christ who is the victorious general leading the procession. He is the one leading the prisoners of which Paul is one.
C. How do you show your thanksgiving to God? Start by understanding God is victorious and you belong to him. We read in 1 Cor. 6:20 that we are “not our own, but have been bought with a price.” He tells the Christians in Rome that when we were saved from our sins we became “slaves of God.” To those who were slaves, he tells them in Eph. 6 that they should behave, not as slaves of men, but as slaves of Christ. It may not be a word you like, but Paul was very willing to call himself a slave, a servant, a bond-slave or other terms that signified his willful giving up of self and the joy of belonging to God as a willing servant. I begin my thanksgiving by humbling myself and seeing myself as a servant to be used.
D. How do you show your thanksgiving to God? Paul says that though him spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ. As a parent we understand how important education is to our children. We don’t let them skip school because they don’t like it. Should we not desire for others to have a knowledge of Christ as much as a knowledge of the things of this world? Brethren, I do not understand why some do not find collective Bible study to be important enough to participate in. We may not have the greatest of teachers, or the most exciting of classes, but I believe that you can share your knowledge if you come and help us. But it goes much farther than just classes and small groups. This knowledge that Paul says is fragrant, is the saving knowledge of Jesus as the Christ. I have to speak that which has been shared with me through God’s Spirit in the Bible. There are too many people who need to be a part of the procession of God’s conquered people instead of sitting with Satan on the sidelines, waiting only for a eternal condemnation.
E. What is the aroma that comes from you? Do you smell like Jesus? You want to give thanks to God, then learn to smell like him before others. Put your thanksgiving into action.
Conclusion:
A. Smells have power. They can attract or they can repulse. When you smell like Christ there are some who will be attracted to Jesus because of your actions, they way you smell. To them you are the fragrance of life itself. But to those who are dying in their sin and whose hearts are hardened before God, it is only the smell of death that reaches them. They refuse to change even when glory of God is revealed around them in Christian action. They cannot give up themselves, yield themselves over to another. They cannot walk in the procession because they don’t trust the victorious general who leads them. They won’t die to self in order to live for Christ.
B. Who is equal to such a task as spreading the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ? Truthfully, no one.
C. When Sarah was born, the doctor gave her to me to hold while she finished stitching up Kerri. During that time, Sarah wet herself all over me. When telling her that story several years ago, Sarah, think about how our dogs act, said, “I left my scent on daddy.” Let me tell you in a less disgusting way, that when we are conquered by Christ, he leaves his scent on us. We may not be equal to the task to salvation, but we can sure lead people to the one who can save.
D. How do you smell? Are you putting your thanksgiving to God into action? Are you marching in His parade as a willful servant? It really is the best place to be. If you have not given yourself to Him, then the only thing you smell is death. Let God today open you to aroma of Christ and bring eternal life to you.
