What's That Smell?

As parents, we constantly are playing the game: “What’s that smell?”

As a father of two teenagers, my wife and I find ourselves asking the question, “What’s that smell?”

Our daughter, Callie, has not always kept a clean room.

The smell we are usually trying to find comes from her bedroom.

The sense of smell is one of the least thought about of the five senses.

· Without the sense of sight = blindness

· Without the sense of hearing = deafness

· Without the sense of speech = mute

But what about the sense of smell?

The sense of smell is connected with the ability to taste certain flavors

The sense of smell is connected with the ability to be warned about something bad.

Drinking bad milk

Illus.: Drinking bad milk

The sense of smell is connected with the ability to know something good is coming.

Freshly baked apple pie

Illus. Freshly baked apple pie

The sense of smell is connected with our memories

Paul uses the sense of smell to help describe what we are to be as we live in our world.

Salt of the Earth

Jesus used terms such as:

Salt of the Earth

Light of the World The Aroma of Christ

READ:

Our lives should be a trigger that wets the appetite of those around us to taste and see that the Lord is good.

Our lives should be a warning to others that the need to turn from sin and come to Christ.

Our lives should be a trigger to others to remember the love and grace of God that is available to them through Christ.

Think about how you are living your life right now

What aroma is your life giving off?

When God takes a whiff of your life, how would he describe your life?

“That’s a sweet smelling saint!”

OR

“You stink!”

When someone looks at your life? What is their evaluation of what your life gives off?

Do we smell like Christ or something else?

If you are in Christ:

1. To God, we smell wonderful- because we smell like Jesus

(v. 15)

We are positionally in Christ as we appear before God.

He accepts us because we have been clothed in the righteousness of Chris Jesus.

But what about how we live our lives? Do we give off the aroma of Christ?

Worship is not just a Sunday event, but

true worship is living our lives each day for God’s glory.

In how we live our lives in the presence of God, do our lives smell sweet before Him?

In how we live our lives in the presence of God, do our lives smell sweet before Him? Or, do our lives stink to high heaven?

Or do our lives stink to high heaven?

If we are in Christ:

2. To others, the smell is in the nose of the beholder

(v.16)

To the saved: we should have a glorious sweet smell

They take a whiff: “You remind me of my precious Jesus.”

To the lost: we sometimes give a smell that reminds them of the very thing they dread: God

Because of where they are in their lives, away from God, our lives remind them that they are ultimately accountable to Him

How can something have an aroma that is sweet and good to one but horrible to others?

Illus. Cucumbers smell good to Cherie, but horrible to me

APPLICATION:

1. How does my life come across to God right now?

2. How does my life come across to others?

3. How do I improve my aroma before both God and others?

Get as close to Jesus so that He rubs off on you.

Illus. Female relative with strong perfume

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men. they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

When we spend time with Jesus, abiding with Him,

we will begin to live like Jesus, love like Jesus, and even smell lik