Is My Life A Pleasing Aroma

All In

Good morning! Today we have celebrated in a few ways. We celebrated our countries 250th birthday! Praise God we live in a free country for worship and that we aren’t bombarded with cease and desist from government or worst taken and beaten or put in jail because of our faith. Thank you to those who served our country and who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. I also love Baby Dedications. It is one of the greatest honors of being a pastor is dedicating these precious children to the Lord. Each child is special. Each family is important and each person has a part to play in it. Today we are also closing out our Fence Post Project series. We have looked at God is Holy. This is not a phrase we use or a thinking we ascribe to. It is just who God is. It is his essence, it is His attributes. He is HOLY and because He is holy we should not profane him. If we can understand that fencepost in our life. Once we understand that the Holiness of God is what sets everything else up. We can begin to rediscover the boundary lines that God put in place. Next we looked at because God is holy man is sinful our life when left to our own puts off a terrible aroma. This is the last post in the series. It is just as important as the first post of God is holy. It is what shows us the full boundary of the Lord? It is what allows us to measure ourselves and see if we are living in the boundary line that the Lord has shown us? Are we focused on living within His boundary or have we moved the line.

In the movie Remember the Titans Julian says to Gary at camp when they are tired/worn out and frustrated they are having to do this He says “Attitude reflect leadership captian.” Meaning we only do and our attitude is based on how you are operating. You can be influenced by many people. Social media is proof of that? Today is my life a pleasing aroma and am I All IN It is a look at our life that puts off a smell. People can see hear or smell what we are putting of. Our life puts off an aroma. Because we are sinful our lives cant measure up to a Holy God so because GOd is holy and he wants to commune with us He made a way where we could be with Him. He is forgiving. He takes our trash our sin our past and removes them so we can be forgiven and stand before him. All of these fencepost lean on one another. If God is not holy then my sin doesnt matter and if my sin doesnt matter then why do I need a forgiving God if God is not forgiving then my life is just mine it doesnt matter what others think This is one of the biggest lies that the church believes today is that our lives don’t matter. Romans 12 tells us

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Our life does mean something. So lets dive into today Is my Life Pleasing Aroma before the Lord?

Leviticus 1:9 NKJV

but he shall wash its entrails and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

The burnt offering was entirely consumed. It represented total surrender and dedication. It became a pleasing aroma because it met God’s standard of holiness.

Fire Bible Chapter 1

God was pleased with a person who offered a sacrifice in humble, obedient faith.

The Hebrew for pleasing aroma here means "soothing, tranquilizing, or quieting scent."

Let’s stop right here because as I was researching this one of the most asked questions people have asked about this verse and other verse about it being a pleasing aroma before the Lord that if God is a spirit why does a smell matter to him. So i did a little research and here is what I came up with based on scripture and commentary

Because God is a Spirit (John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”” ), He does not have a physical nose, nor does He consume physical food (Psalm 50:12–13 ““If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats?” ).

In Theology we use a big word called anthropomorphism (an-thruh-puh-MAWR-fiz-uhm) meaning assigning human characteristics to a non human thing. We see this done in a literary sense in books and stories but we also use it in theology so our finite minds can understand an infinite God.

The physical smell of the meat isn't what changes things in heaven. The aroma matters to God for three profound reasons: The smoke rising from the altar was proof of exact obedience. God gave highly specific boundaries for how to approach Him. When the smoke rose exactly as commanded, it meant the human heart had aligned with God’s instructions. The great Jewish scholar Rashi noted that the aroma is pleasing to God because "He spoke, and His will was done." The smell is the scent of a surrendered will.

Leviticus 3. The Procedure for Offering a Bull as a Burnt Offering (5–9)

This meaning

Because God is Holy and Man is Sinful, human rebellion stirs up God's righteous judgment. The burning sacrifice represents a substitute or the propitiation taking the fire of that judgment instead of the sinner. As the smoke rises, it signifies that justice has been satisfied and atonement has been made. The "aroma" soothes and quiets the separation between God and man, restoring peaceful covenant relationship.

Think about the physics of a burnt offering. You place a heavy, physical, earthly animal onto the wood. Fire consumes it, breaks it down, and turns it into smoke and vapor—things that are invisible and rise into the heavens.

We see this idea of a sacrifice as an aroma before the Lord in Genesis 8 we find the final ark days Noah and and his family are waiting for the waters to recede and as they exit the ark Noah builds and altar before the Lord

Genesis 8:21 NKJV

And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

The aroma here brought a promise of grace and restraint to a broken world.

The pleasing aroma of the sacrifice brought about a promise that God would never destroy the earth with a flood again. Noah and his family were the only ones left in the world. They are embarking on a journey and it will take a total surrender of their lives before God. But we know that the world did not stay sinless. It became sinful and so much so that people tried to substitute and create a false sense of worship in the presence of a Holy God. I want to say this right here the enemies plans have never changed. The enemy is not inventing new ways to trip you up. It is the same old routine but we keep falling for it like we have never seen it before. He makes us think that we are bigger than we are and that this one thing is not actually going to hurt us and then we are hooked stuck to what ever he desires for us and that is to keep us from God. IN fact we can go through the motions but it will never actually get you anywhere because its just motions there is not actual power behind it.

Amos 5:21–22 NKJV

“I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.

This proves it was never about the physical smell; it was always about the heart posture.

I want give some background on this scripture because it seems very harsh. What we find is during the time of Amos Israel had seen a boom in wealth and church growth They thought their financial wealth and religious busyness meant they were safe inside God's boundaries. But they were completely out of bounds While they were singing praises at the altar, they were crushing people outside the church doors. The wealthy elite were using crooked scales, taking bribes, and legal loopholes to steal land from the poor, selling the needy into debt slavery

It is incredibly easy to buy a lamb, walk up to an altar, and check a religious box. It costs nothing but money. But righteousness  and justice  require changing how you treat people, how you handle your money, and how you live when no one is looking. Israel preferred the transaction of ritual over the transformation of relationship.

“You cannot live like the world Monday through Saturday and expect to emit a pleasing aroma on Sunday. God doesn't want the noise of our songs if our lives don't carry the scent of His justice.”

Micah 6:8 NKJV

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

This is the kind of life that God is looking for.

SO God is not after the aroma but the obedience of our lives. Obedience is the action that brings about the blessing in our lives. I want to clarify here that blessing flows out of the obedience of our heart. We must be cautious or we can make God transactional. If we do good we get blessed. That is not the purpose of God either. He is not just a trophy giver who brings good things in our lives. However God doesn’t bless disobedience or even thinking you are good but living however you want. This is not the action that God is looking for. Anyone can fake it till you make it. God is not asking you to fake it from Gen 8 when Noah came off the boat until Jesus died the aroma of the sacrifice was obedience to the Lord. It was not just another day or another piece it was truly obedience to God.

Numbers 28:1–2 NKJV

Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.’

God demands consistency. These regular morning and evening sacrifices kept the people constantly aligned with God’s presence, reminding them daily of where His boundaries were.

Why does consistency make a pleasing aroma before the Lord?

It Proves Devotion Over Emotion

Anyone can offer a sacrifice when they are feeling highly emotional or when they are in a desperate crisis. That’s reactive faith. But preparing a lamb at 6:00 AM on a random Tuesday when you’re tired and have a hundred other things to do? That takes deliberate, disciplined devotion. Consistency proves that God is your King, not just your emergency contact.

It established the boundary of your day

A pleasing aroma isn't built on a once-a-year bonfire of religious zeal; it’s built on a daily, steady flame of faithfulness. Consistency beats intensity every single time.

Every single day, those priests had to bring a new lamb because yesterday’s lamb was gone. The aroma was temporary. It was a beautiful shadow, but it could never permanently secure the boundary between a Holy God and sinful man

When Jesus died, Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”

Jesus didn't just cover today's sins; His sacrifice was so powerful, so perfect, and so holy that its "pleasing aroma" filled the throne room of God forever. Hebrews 10 tells us He sacrificed once for all time.

The moment you place your faith in Jesus, God takes the perfect, pleasing aroma of His Son and coats your life in it. 2 Corinthians 2:15 “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”

When you step inside the boundary of faith, God doesn't smell your past. He doesn't smell your failures, your shame, or your brokenness. When God looks at you, He smells the perfect, beautiful, holy aroma of His Son, Jesus. You are wrapped in His fragrance.” This however does not give you the freedom to just live how you want. You can’t claim to be a follower of Christ and act like an enemy of the state. You are not a “double agent” you can’t live one way and expect the aroma of the sacrifice to cover you. You must be living fully surrendered to the Lord. We must understand that Jesus covered all the penalty for my sin.

PZ If Jesus did it all, why does Paul tell us in Romans 12 to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice?

Jesus' sacrifice took care of your position before God (you are justified, safe inside the boundary). But your living sacrifice is about your progression (living out that holiness daily).

The old preachers used to say it best: The problem with a living sacrifice is that it keeps crawling off the altar.

A dead lamb stays where you put it. But you and I wake up every morning with our own wills, our own flesh, and our own selfish desires. The alarm goes off, and our natural instinct is to crawl right off that altar and walk out of bounds.

“Because of Jesus, the boundary lines have been secured forever. He provided the perfect aroma that makes us acceptable to a Holy God. But now, the question of the Fence Post Project lands squarely on us. If we are carrying the fragrance of Christ inside of us, what does our life actually smell like to the people around us on a random afternoon?

Romans 12:1–2 NKJV

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Fire Bible Chapter 12

Jesus’ followers must possess a strong passion to honor him in every aspect of life. Out of gratitude to God for his mercy and salvation, we should be completely devoted to loving him, living by his standards and serving his purposes for our lives. (1) Our goal should be to show God’s holiness his moral purity, spiritual wholeness, separation from evil and then live with complete dedication to God in all we do. This requires separation from the patterns and practices of the world so we can pursue a deeper relationship with God. As we consider his sacrifice for us, offering ourselves to him as “living sacrifices” is good and pleasing as our spiritual act of worship (v. 2). (2) We must offer our bodies to God as dead to sin and alive to God and as the temple of the Holy Spirit . (3) We must realize that true godly worship involves a lifestyle that brings honor to Christ in words and actions. It is not necessarily a great sacrifice to voice our worship to God in a church service where people are gathered for that very purpose. Worship becomes a true sacrifice when we take it outside of the church by living in a way that truly honors, exalts and brings positive attention to God

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 12

This expression might indicate that believers are to continually offer themselves in service to God. It also could describe believers as dead to sin yet alive to God

A living sacrifice is daily giving up yourself to Him. It is living every day for the honor of the Lord. We are not looking to create moments on Sunday or when we are feeling it but offering ourselves to Him is how we spiritually worship Him. It is our act of worship. So this is Paul referencing the sacrifice in the OT and Jesus sacrifice that pushes it to us as offering ourselves unto God.

So today as we look toward my life. I want to take the rest of our time and be introspective. I don’t expect the altar to go any particular way Today we are going to take a survey of our lives. Are we living within the boundary line God has laid out? Is our life a pleasing aroma before the Lord? Do we truly look to God has holy us as sinful and God as forgiving and if so how are we living our life? Are we living selfishly for our own accord? Do we pursue ourselves our hopes our dreams our desires Do we trust God in what He says? Or are we trying to create our lives to be fully surrendered to Him? Does He have all of you? is anything you do for you? or is everything you do for Him? Do you trust Him with everything? Why do we still deal with things? Because if I am living for him then my life is for him it doesn’t matter what happens? It doesn’t matter if I don’t have? It doesn’t matter if I am the best or the brightest He uses everyone as long as you are fully surrendered to Him. Fully surrendered does not mean you aren’t going to face trials. In fact it means you are probably going to face more? There is a promise that the Lord has given us that He is always with us. He is there when we are formed and there when we take our last breath. All things are His. We are just managers of the time we are given. King Solomon in all his wisdom wrote Ecclesiastics and in it He says that all things are worthless Time, money, seasons, even pleasure is fleeting. So what’s the point

Ecclesiastes 12:8 NLT

“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless.”

Ecclesiastes 12:13 NLT

That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

This is the whole thing Fear God and obey His commands this is everyone’s duty. All purpose is to obey the Lord and Fear Him. So today as we close as we bring this thing to a landing. I want to take some time and let you look introspectively at yourself.

Today I Believe the altar to be between you and God? Here are the 4 questions that I want us to ponder and ask the HS for clarity.

1.) Do I view God as Holy putting him in his rightful place in my life and living as such

Is my view of God that He is Holy? Meaning do I believe that God is the most holy most awe inspiring reverent person? The way I know I view God as Holy is the way I see my sin?

2.) Do i view my sin in the proper way?

If i view my sin in the proper way against God’s holiness then I will see myself as small and Him as Large. I will see him in his proper light. As Isaiah says Woe is me I am undone. MY life is a mess compared to God. But because I view him as holy and my sin as separating I can know that God is forgiving. So

3.) Have I fully given everything to the Lord?

Am I holding onto anything the Lord has asked me to remove from my life? Am i still dabbling in sin hoping it is never found out? Am i gossiping when I have told the Lord I would stop? What is the one area God has asked me to trust Him that I am still holding onto it? If my God is holy and my life is sinful but because God is forgiving I can fully surrender to Him and look into

4.) Is my life a pleasing aroma or do i put off a smell of myself?

Is my life full of me? Do I smell of myself or am I a pleasing aroma before the Lord.

Church I want to say that if we can learn to live within the bounds that God has laid out we will never have to leave the promise of the Lord. He is faithful and when we are living within the bounds of his purpose He will never fail.

So today the Altar is open. A pleasing aroma before the Lord? I want us to take some time and really walk through these questions? I want us to reflect on our lives? If you need to cry then cry if you need to worship then worship? If you need to give your life to the Lord today is a great day to do that. I want to walk through these individually and corporately. So I am going to begin

As the WT plays today we are going to be walking each question out. I want to challenge you to come find a spot at the altar and sit before the Lord today as we walk this out?