Smells good, smells bad. What is that? Well, what's been going on this morning? There's been some prayer, there's been some God's Word read, there's been some songs, some praise. Yeah? Well, let's read about that. Okay, 2 Corinthians 2, verse 14 says, But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved, and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, and to the other a fragrance from life to life. Do you know what that smell is? It's Jesus. He smells good. He smells bad. It just depends on who's smelling it. This will help you. In here, this is a fresh cut rose. What do you think that smells like? Smell it. Yeah, it smells good. I like it. It takes a while to get through all the pins. Yeah, fresh cut rose. That smells good. Yeah? Let's see what else we got in here. This? This is fresh cow poop. Not this kid. Some people call this manure, compost. Some people, they like it. But for this example, it's going to be the bad smell, okay? The death smell. The death of grass and oats. No, it's not that bad. It's fresh. Now, let's look at some examples throughout God's Word. And you guys let me know what you think these people smelled like. Because I want you to see that it's not God's Word is God's Word. The truth is the truth. But it's our heart. It's how we receive it. And to us, it smells either good or bad. Okay? Alright, so let's think back. Okay. The wise men, they came to Jerusalem. They went to King Herod, asking for where is the King of the Jews? Okay. To the wise men, how did that smell? Did that smell good or bad? It smelled good. The King Herod, how did that smell? That there was another king? Yeah, King Herod smelled bad to him, okay? All right. Jesus, when he went to Nazareth, okay, he went into the synagogue, took the scroll, he read through now what we would have as Isaiah 61, that messianic prophecy, that he was a savior, a deliverer, okay? How did that smell to the people of Nazareth? It smelled bad. They wanted to throw him off a cliff. They didn't like that. But you think that'd be good news, right? He came to set them free. What about to the paralytic that was lowered down through the roof when he said, your sins are forgiven? How does that smell? That smelled good. What about to the Pharisees that were in that same house? They didn't like it. Okay, what about you remember what Pastor Josh was preaching on recently when Jesus went across the sea? Okay, and there was the wild man demon-possessed. Okay, the people from the city came out and they saw that wild man sitting clothed in his right mind at Jesus's feet. How do you think Jesus smelled to that man? He smelled good. He'd been delivered and set free. Okay, what about the people from the city? that they wanted him to leave. Okay? What about the woman that was there crying over Jesus' feet, wiping and cleaning his feet, and he had said that her sins had been forgiven? How did that smell? That smelled really good. What about to the Pharisees in that same house? Yeah, that smelled awful to them. They didn't like that he had authority, that he was the Son of God, the Son of Man. And then even so much that even they, from there, start plotting out, how can we kill this man? How can we destroy him? How can we crucify him? But that same sacrifice that Jesus made was also a fragrance to God. Now let's read another verse. In Ephesians 5, chapter 2 says, Now, therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." So not only does the truth smell to other people, but it smells to God. Pastor Scott read this morning about a revelation that even our prayers… in the bowl of, like, incense that go before God, that that's pleasing to Him, that that sacrifice of intercession, prayer for others, is a fragrance to God. And now, when Christ… laid down His life. It wasn't just a one-time sacrifice, but His life from the time, you know, He left heaven and became flesh, you know, and lived His life. It was an ongoing, continuous sacrifice, and that was pleasing to God. And then that final sacrifice when He was crucified, when He was that perfect, spotless man of God that was slain for our sin, that was a pleasing sacrifice to God. And when we live our lives as Christians, You know, when we lay down our flesh for the sake of others, or we lay down our flesh to do what's right, that God sees that sacrifice, that He sees that self-denial, and that's pleasing to Him. That smells good to God. But also, that sacrifice that Christ made for the sins of His people, we're not atoning for other people's sins. Christ has done that once and for all. But, we still give a sacrifice when we deny ourselves, when we take up our cross and we follow Him. And that's pleasing to God, and it smells good to Him. And that, even in the Old Covenant, the sacrifice of animals, you know, or the sacrifice that Cain and Abel made before God. One with meat, one with fruits and vegetables. One was pleasing to God, and the other wasn't. One was of faith, and one wasn't. And the one of faith was pleasing to God. And so, when even in the Old Covenant, when the priest would slay the bulls and the goats, you know, and put them on the altar, That work itself isn't what was pleasing to God, but the people's heart when it was in faith to them, that's what was pleasing to God. Because there was times when that sacrifice, it smelled good to God, and there was times when that sacrifice didn't smell good to God. And it wasn't just based on the work that they were doing, but it was based on their heart, their faith before God, trusting in Him to atone for their sin, looking to that ultimate sacrifice to come one day through His Son, Jesus. And so, I want you guys to know that it's not about our, necessarily our obedience to God to do what we're told to do, but that what we're doing is out of faith and love for God, and that we are Imitating Him, laying down our lives, serving Him, and then to know that that smells good to God. Okay? And so, even when you may live your life or share the Gospel with someone else, and they revile you, or they spit on you, or they hate you, or they kill you, you know, that truth is the truth. And that sacrifice to share with them is pleasing to God. Okay, and that's what he desires for us to do. And so let's uh So just two questions for application When you hear God's Word when you hear the truth, how does that smell to you? That's not good. Or does that smell bad? Just think about it and Then with the way you live your life before God How does that smell to him? Does that smell good? Or does that smell bad? Okay, all right, well, let's pray. Dear Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you for the examples that you've given us. I thank you for the way that you change our hearts to trust you, to depend on you, and to do what's right before you. Help us to not obey out of our own self-will, to do what's right, but to do it out of a heart that wants to serve you, to do it out of love, to do it out of humility, to do it for your glory. And may our lives be a pleasing sacrifice to you. And thank you for your son Jesus and the sacrifice that he's made for us. And we pray, God, that we would share your love with other people, that as we go about in this world, that the pleasing aroma of your Son, Jesus, would spread, and that you would be glorified, and that people would turn to you in repentance and favor. In Jesus' name, amen.