1 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:12,760 We welcome you to the VI Zion Sermon Podcast. 2 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:15,640 We are a church based out of Chennai, India. 3 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,520 We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will 4 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:23,680 be refreshed, revived and energized by what you hear. 5 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,000 Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of 6 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:31,640 purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus. 7 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:37,640 The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess 8 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,160 our promise. We start a new sermon series 9 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:45,600 called Rekindled where we look closer at our own lives and ask 10 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:48,720 the Holy Spirit to revive and restore things that have gone 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,920 dormant in the dry seasons of our souls. 12 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,200 We pray that this series will help you dive deeper into 13 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,880 yourself and see where you need more of God. 14 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:04,000 A very warm welcome to our online service. 15 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,360 I am bringing the word today. It's Part 2 of what we looked at 16 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:10,000 last week. Last week we looked at a fertile 17 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,320 faith. We compared our lives to a 18 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:15,600 garden, just like King Solomon does in the Book of Songs of 19 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:19,840 Solomon. And we saw how the soil is is 20 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:21,760 responsible for the growth of a plant. 21 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:24,120 And we likened our soil to faith. 22 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,920 And the question we left you with was, is your soil fertile 23 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,520 or barren? Is your faith fertile? 24 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:34,920 Can supernatural things grow in your faith? 25 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:36,480 That was what we left you with. This week. 26 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:39,360 We're going to be looking at fragrant faith. 27 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,440 It's almost a part to it's a continuation of what we looked 28 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,760 at last week. If you're a millennial like me, 29 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,120 back in the 90s, there was this ad which used to come on TV 30 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,880 where this little boy used to be blindfolded or I think adults 31 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,160 were covering his eyes and he had to guess who it was. 32 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:57,920 And there was this one woman who covered his eyes. 33 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:02,560 And this little child in the advertisement would sniff and he 34 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:06,240 would say, oh, Auntie Sema or something to that effect. 35 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:10,800 Basically, because of her body odor, he was able to detect who 36 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,720 was actually behind him. And the the the ad would end 37 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,680 with her feeling really bad and then using that particular 38 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:21,520 deodorant. Jokes apart, the truth is that 39 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,600 even as believers in Jesus, we are known by the fragrance we 40 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,320 emit. I'm not talking about our body 41 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,360 odour or bad breath. I'm talking about the actual 42 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:35,680 spiritual odour that emanates of us that people catch a whiff of 43 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,680 in our everyday life. And I believe God is calling us 44 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,440 into a place of living with a fragrant faith, of faith that 45 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:46,440 attracts people to Jesus, that points people to Jesus. 46 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:50,600 I believe that before we even get into the fragrant part, you 47 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,280 know, the aroma that we bring, there are two things that 48 00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:56,960 actually cause us to be a stench to God. 49 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,680 God forbid that we are a bad smell that he detests. 50 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:03,160 And there are only two things that the Bible mentions. 51 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,600 The first thing is our foolishness. 52 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,880 Ecclesiastes chapter 10 verse one says dead flies make the 53 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,040 perfumer's ointment give off a stench. 54 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:16,000 So a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. 55 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,120 A little folly, a little foolishness outweighs any amount 56 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:22,160 of wisdom and honor we have accumulated. 57 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:24,320 And that is something that gives off a stench. 58 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:26,880 It says the second thing that the Bible very clearly talks 59 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:31,560 about giving off a stench is our sins, our sinfulness. 60 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,560 Proverbs 13 verse 5 says the righteous hate what is false, 61 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,680 but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on 62 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,520 themselves. Isaiah 65 verses 2 to 5 says All 63 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:47,040 day long I open my arms to a rebellious people, but they 64 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,160 follow their own evil parts and their own crooked schemes. 65 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,360 All day long they insult me to my face by worshipping idols in 66 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,760 their sacred gardens. They burn incense on Pagan 67 00:03:57,760 --> 00:03:59,600 altars. At night they go out among the 68 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:04,400 graves worshipping the dead. They eat the flesh of pigs and 69 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:06,480 make stools with other forbidden fools. 70 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:09,520 Yet they say to each other, don't come too close or you will 71 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,920 define me. I am holier than you. 72 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:17,240 These people are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that 73 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,640 never goes away. I pray that you and I would 74 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:25,040 never be a stench in the nostrils of God. 75 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:27,920 You know, sometimes when we read this we think, is God that 76 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:29,400 sensory? I believe he is. 77 00:04:29,400 --> 00:04:32,520 When we look at the book of Genesis and the story of Noah, 78 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,280 after Noah comes out of the ark, it says he takes some of these 79 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,240 animals that were allowed to be used for the sacrifice and he 80 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,600 offers a burnt offering. And it said God smelt the 81 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,760 sacrifice of Noah and he was pleased with it, and therefore 82 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,840 he made this covenant which says never again will I destroy the 83 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:53,520 earth. The stench of our sins, the 84 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,440 stench of our foolishness distance us from God. 85 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,640 It also harms people. But I believe today God is 86 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,880 calling us to look again at Songs of Solomon to understand 87 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:07,160 the depth of where this fragrance of our faith comes 88 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:08,960 from. So I'm looking at Songs of 89 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,840 Solomon chapter 4 verses 12 to 16. 90 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:14,440 And then I'm going to be reading chapter 5 verse one. 91 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,800 It says a garden locked. Is my sister my bride a spring 92 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,720 locked, a fountain sealed. Your shoots are an orchard of 93 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:27,560 pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard, nard 94 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,160 and saffron, calamus and cinnamon with all trees of 95 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:34,720 frankincense, myrrh and aloes with all choice spices. 96 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:38,920 A garden found in a well of living water and flowing streams 97 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:42,520 from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind, and come OS 98 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,640 wind, blow upon my garden. Let its spices flow. 99 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,240 Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its choice as 100 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,080 fruits. I came to my garden, my sister, 101 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:55,080 my bride. I gathered my myrrh with my 102 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,680 spice. I ate my honeycomb with my 103 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,320 honey. I drank my wine with my milk. 104 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,640 What is King Solomon writing about? 105 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,920 He is talking about the the bride being likened to a garden. 106 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,520 And this garden is not ordinary. It's a fruit orchard. 107 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,520 It's also called spice trees. It's also got all these herbs 108 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,160 that could have medicinal purposes and other things. 109 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,800 So it's, it's a varied, a multi purpose garden, right? 110 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:26,160 It's beautiful. And what happens is the the 111 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:31,160 bride is actually inviting the the Spirit of God, who is 112 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,480 likened to a wind to come in there and ruffle things about so 113 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,280 that the spices, the smell of the spices, the smell of the 114 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:43,040 perfumes rise up and the beloved man, the beloved bridegroom can 115 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,240 smell it. We all know that the imagery is 116 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,640 very similar to Christ and his church. 117 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,120 Christ the bridegroom, we the church, the bride. 118 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:55,160 And I believe God is now today reminding us that the the 119 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:57,680 fruits. Of this, of the garden of our 120 00:06:57,680 --> 00:06:59,920 life. The spices and the perfumes that 121 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:04,040 we, we carry in our lives are only emitted with the help of 122 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:08,160 the Holy Spirit coming in, having freedom to move around so 123 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,880 that, like it says, let its spices flow, right? 124 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,400 So this week when we look at fragrant faith, you may ask me, 125 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:17,840 why do I need a fragrant faith? Is it important? 126 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:21,240 Why can't my faith just be mine? It can be like the seed inside 127 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:22,880 my heart. I believe in Jesus. 128 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:24,720 I believe that he died and rose from the grave. 129 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,080 I believe that I have eternal life with him. 130 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:29,320 The Holy Spirit is with me. I believe all of this. 131 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,160 Why does it matter that I need? Why does it matter for me to 132 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:34,520 have fragrant faith? I believe there are three 133 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,160 reasons that we actually derive from this passage. 134 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:39,360 If you notice, there were three kinds of trees. 135 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:42,200 And I believe the first reason you and I need a fragrant faith 136 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,320 is that like incense, it'll bring delight to the Lord. 137 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:50,520 Many times we look at our journey of faith with Jesus and 138 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:53,120 you know, we, we have been taught and it's been ingrained 139 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:57,040 in us to do things for God to to, you know, bless the world. 140 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:00,040 But I think primarily we need to come to this place of going to 141 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,040 God and saying, Lord, am I bringing delight to you? 142 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:04,880 I know you love me. I know you already rejoice over 143 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,600 me, but God is my presence in your presence. 144 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:10,880 Bringing delight to you is the fact that I. 145 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:12,600 Turn to you above everything else. 146 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,440 Does that delight you? I want to read from Exodus 147 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,640 chapter 30 verses 7:00 to 9:00 to give you a background on the 148 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,440 incense. Every morning when Aaron 149 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,040 maintains the lamps, he must burn fragrant incense on the 150 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:30,640 altar, and each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again 151 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:32,400 burn incense in the Lord's presence. 152 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:36,080 This must be done from generation to generation. 153 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:40,799 Do not offer any unholy incense on this altar or any burnt 154 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:43,760 offerings, grain offerings, or liquid offerings. 155 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:47,120 Now here's the thing, the rule that was given to the Levitical 156 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:51,240 praise by Moses from God was that they had to burn incense 157 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,720 twice a day, morning and night. And the thing about incenses, if 158 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,440 you ever lit incense sticks, we used to light incense sticks 159 00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:01,280 outside in our garden because we had so many mosquitoes which 160 00:09:01,280 --> 00:09:03,360 would eventually make it say it's way inside. 161 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:07,200 So we used to get these small little incense blocks and just 162 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,760 light it up so that it keeps the place insect free and the thing. 163 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:14,520 About it, when you light it, the smoke is so dense that it gets 164 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:17,280 on your clothes, it gets on your skin, you smell of incense. 165 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,560 The smoky smell stays on you, right? 166 00:09:20,680 --> 00:09:25,200 And this is the thing about incense, the the incense leaves 167 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:27,960 you marked. When you have been in the 168 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:30,240 presence of incense, you are left changed. 169 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:34,600 And in the New Testament, what does incense actually mean? 170 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:37,120 Revelation chapter 5, verse 8 says. 171 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:40,320 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the 24 172 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:42,320 elders fell down before the lamp. 173 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,520 Each one had a harp, and they were holding golden balls full 174 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:49,720 of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. 175 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,320 Your prayer life will mark you like incense marked the priests. 176 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,320 If you find yourself more often than not in the presence of God, 177 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:02,320 praying, interceding, crying out to Him, when you leave the holy 178 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,960 place, when you leave the place where you have met with Him and 179 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:10,120 you go back to your regular work, people will smell it on 180 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,360 you. It will be a fragrance because 181 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:15,680 of the fact that you have come from the presence of God. 182 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:20,600 Many times we go into spaces, prayer less, leaving us 183 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:21,680 powerless. In turn. 184 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:25,080 We enter spaces, We speak out of our own knowledge. 185 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,400 We speak out of our own experience, without having the 186 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:30,480 wisdom of God, because we came there into that meeting, into 187 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:35,560 that encounter without prayer. But God is saying that like 188 00:10:35,560 --> 00:10:37,400 incense, our prayers delight him. 189 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,960 It brings delight to him. He loves hearing his children 190 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:43,400 pray. He loves meeting. 191 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,920 Us when we pray. I think in today's day and age, 192 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:49,160 we have made it even more simple already. 193 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:52,160 The Christian faith has got it's, it's so easy for us, but 194 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:55,440 we have even further dumbed it down by saying, oh, you know, on 195 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,120 the go, just pray on the go. Do this, turn your worries into 196 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:03,320 prayers. But there is still a requirement 197 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,600 from us to turn to God and pray consistently. 198 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,680 Is it part of your life? Is it part it is? 199 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:12,880 Is it ingrained in you to sit in the presence of God and have a 200 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,280 dialogue with God? Not that I said dialogue. 201 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:18,000 It isn't a monologue. This is a relationship. 202 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:22,920 Many times it will require that you sit in his presence, You 203 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,400 speak to him, unload on him, absolutely, but wait to receive 204 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:30,040 from him, because that is what marks you. 205 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:35,600 That is what sets you apart. I was reading of the story of a 206 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,080 young girl called Marianne Adlard. 207 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:39,440 I don't know if you've heard of her. 208 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,080 A mighty woman of God because of one simple reason. 209 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,440 She was a young woman who was crippled, who was bedridden. 210 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,720 She lived in London. And her desire, she had heard, 211 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:53,640 and this is in the late 1800s, she had heard about this 212 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,440 evangelist called DL Moody. And she had believed that, you 213 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,120 know what? If DL Moody comes to my town, to 214 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,280 my church, a revival could break out. 215 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,280 Our church needs it. Our city needs it. 216 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:08,080 I'm going to pray. So Mary and Adler went on to 217 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:12,240 pray for weeks and months on end just because of the reports she 218 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:16,560 was hearing from America. Fast forward a couple of months 219 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:21,080 later, DL Moody actually is on his way to Ireland from America 220 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:23,680 for a sabbatical. He was exhausted. 221 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:26,120 He needed a break so he was travelling to Ireland. 222 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,960 He was stopping over in London when a local church pastor 223 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:32,560 reached out to him and said would you come and do a morning 224 00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:34,760 and evening service for us? Would you lead us? 225 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,040 So although DL Moody was in the midst of a sabbatical, he 226 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:40,720 decided to honour him and said sure, I'll come. 227 00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:43,920 So he went there in the morning. Morning service, he said there 228 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:48,120 were 100 people or so there, but the word didn't fall on 229 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:50,400 receiving years. Nobody was interested. 230 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:54,360 The crowd looked bored and DL Moody left that morning meeting 231 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:56,440 very discouraged. He said, God, what's going on? 232 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,880 No one received what I preached. There was no receptive heart in 233 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:02,920 the room. Do I really need to go back in 234 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,240 the evening? But he thought, you know what, 235 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:09,080 I've given my word to the pastor, let me go again he went 236 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:12,280 in the evening and this time something had shifted. 237 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:16,720 The entire congregation answered the altar call to receive Jesus 238 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:18,560 in. He couldn't believe it. 239 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:21,360 So what he did was he made all of them sit down and he preached 240 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:26,000 the gospel again to them and, and emphasized on repentance and 241 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,480 confession of sin and turning to God and living a changed life. 242 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,040 And again, when he gave the altar call, even more people 243 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,360 stood up. He couldn't believe it. 244 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,800 He made them sit down. He said, you know what, if 245 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:39,280 you're serious about following Jesus, I want you to come to 246 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:41,880 another room where me and the pastor will pray for you. 247 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:45,480 And so he finished the meeting, wrap it up, goes to the other 248 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:47,160 room. The other room is packed out 249 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:50,760 with all the people who had decided to make a commitment to 250 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:53,360 Jesus. Moody couldn't believe it. 251 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:56,360 He finished that meeting, went on to his break in Ireland, But 252 00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:59,800 that moment never left him that evening, what happened never 253 00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:03,000 left him. So he decided to investigate and 254 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,360 he dug around and he told God, Lord, I want to find out because 255 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:07,120 I believe someone was praying for me that day. 256 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:12,480 And turns out Marianne Adlord was the girl who had been 257 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,200 praying consistently for DL Moody to come into her town to 258 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:20,240 touch the, the land there, to speak to the people there. 259 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,280 And God had answered her prayer. When he heard about it, that 260 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:28,360 this young girl who was a cripple living in, in Hospice 261 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,040 had been praying for him, he was amazed because it didn't require 262 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,320 a whole prayer convention to get things moving. 263 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:40,640 One person, one person's prayer, a young girl, no kind of huge 264 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:43,400 pedigree in, in theology or any of that. 265 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:46,800 She just believed if I pray, I believe something will happen. 266 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,840 Our prayers mark us. They delight the Lord. 267 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:53,640 God loves it when we pray for these larger than life things. 268 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:56,360 Too many of us are restricting ourselves, just praying for our 269 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,640 health, our wealth, our strength. 270 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,560 But God is saying, will you ask me for big things because I'm a 271 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,040 big God? Ask me for the nations. 272 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:05,720 Ask me. Ask me for more than what you 273 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,520 think is possible. Pray those dangerous prayers 274 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:10,480 which says, Lord, your will be done, not mine. 275 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:16,480 Let your Kingdom come on earth. He's calling us that we would 276 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,480 pray and our prayer would be like incense. 277 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:20,920 You know, every prayer you pray is like incense. 278 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,120 Even those prayers where you pray for yourself are very 279 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,600 important. A prayerless life is a powerless 280 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,920 life. It's a life that is devoid of 281 00:15:29,920 --> 00:15:34,640 enjoying this relationship with a God who is longing for his 282 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,000 people, longing for communion with his people. 283 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,080 So I would urge you, if even if you're thinking I'm just one 284 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:41,960 person, my prayers, what is it going to do? 285 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,280 I really believe that after you've heard this story that you 286 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,920 will be moved to pray. Pray for the big things, pray 287 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:52,720 for our country, pray for the injustices, pray for things, 288 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:54,640 because this moves the heart of God. 289 00:15:55,040 --> 00:15:59,000 It moves his heart that someone would cry out for the least of 290 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,080 these. So that's the first thing, like 291 00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,840 incense, A fragrant faith delights God. 292 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:09,880 The second thing is, like perfume, fragrant faith draws 293 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:14,160 others to Christ. There's this beautiful story in 294 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:18,040 the New Testament of this woman. In all probabilities she's Mary 295 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:22,160 of Bethany, the the sister of Martha and Lazarus who did this. 296 00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:25,160 Beautiful thing for Jesus just before the Passover. 297 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,640 We're going to read it together. John chapter 12 verses one to 298 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,520 three. Six days before the Passover, 299 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:35,200 Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had 300 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,760 raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus 301 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,400 honor. Martha served while Lazarus was 302 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:43,480 among those reclining at the table with him. 303 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:48,000 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard and expensive perfume. 304 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,680 She poured it on Jesus's feet and wiped his feet with her 305 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:56,240 hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the 306 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,360 perfume. So this week I did this thing 307 00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:02,880 where I actually picked up a bottle of Nard, you know, and I 308 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,400 found it on Amazon. I don't know how authentic the 309 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:10,160 flavour is, but there is something about this oil that is 310 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:14,319 so fragrant that even just opening it in a corner of a room 311 00:17:14,319 --> 00:17:17,319 fills the whole house. That's the beauty of this. 312 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:20,359 It smells amazing, it's beautiful, but the thing about 313 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,280 it is it's a very expensive perfume and there were a bunch 314 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,079 of naysayers in that room. 1 was Judith who was helping himself 315 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:30,760 regularly from the Money Box, it says, and he actually said, why 316 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:32,920 did she waste this? This could have been used. 317 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:34,680 The money could have been used to feed the poor. 318 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,240 And Jesus then continues in Matthew, Jesus continues and 319 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,880 says Matthew 26 verses 12 to 13 says when she poured this 320 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:45,800 perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 321 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,360 So it was a very prophetic act. What Mary did, Mary of Bethany 322 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:51,800 did, was she poured it on his feet. 323 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:54,840 She wiped his hair, his feet with her hair. 324 00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:57,600 Right. But you have to see this one 325 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,000 line from John which says the house was filled with the 326 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,760 fragrance of the perfume. Like I said, this beautiful 327 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:06,640 perfume, you just open it in one corner of the room, the whole 328 00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:09,520 room begins to smell of it. And that's the beautiful thing 329 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,840 about a life of fragrant faith. It's like perfume. 330 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:15,240 It fills the room you're in. You could be the most 331 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:19,200 insignificant person in a room, but when you believe in Jesus, 332 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,280 when you live in a way that honours and pleases Him, your 333 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:26,040 fragrance will spread in rooms. But interestingly, it doesn't 334 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,400 stop in a room. When you look back at Matthew 335 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,680 chapter 26, verse 13, it says, truly, I tell you, wherever this 336 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,240 gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done 337 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,800 will also be told in memory of her. 338 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:44,920 So not just did it remain in that room, the fragrance he's 339 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,320 predicting Jesus is prophesying that in the future, every time 340 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,600 the gospel is shared, this story of Mary will be shared. 341 00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:54,480 And isn't it true? We talk about spikenard, we talk 342 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:56,120 about the alabaster job being broken. 343 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:57,800 We talk about extravagant worship. 344 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,440 She's the prototype. She's the OG worshipper. 345 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:06,520 She gave such an expensive gift for his feet to anoint him and 346 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,680 prepare him for what Rd. he was going to walk towards and I'm 347 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,520 wondering. Whether we live in such a way 348 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,600 that our faith fills the rooms we are in and whether that those 349 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:21,520 rooms will eventually emit those smells into the watching world. 350 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,960 It's so important to understand that our lives, the presence of 351 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,720 our faith or the absence of it can be either so fragrant that 352 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,120 it draws others to Jesus or it can be such a stench that it 353 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:37,800 pushes people away from God. How are you and I living? 354 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:41,080 How are you and I living? I was reading the story of this 355 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:45,480 believer in Jesus. His name is Sean Shipler, and he 356 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,240 was on a work trip. He was in one part of the US. 357 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:52,200 He was in a work trip and he was in a hotel and as he was going 358 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,360 to wrap up his trip and. Head. 359 00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:57,680 Home, he saw those small bits of soap that I leftover after you 360 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,560 use it at a hotel, you know, the small bits of soap that I left 361 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:03,400 around and the and the, you know, shampoos and things. 362 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:07,160 And he looked at it and thought, I wonder what happens to these 363 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:09,520 bits of soap? Like, do they just get wasted? 364 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,200 Do they get thrown in a dump? What happens with it? 365 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,440 So that question moved him to start to research, and 366 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,680 eventually he started a nonprofit called Clean the 367 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:20,960 World. And what they do is basically 368 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:25,600 collect these kind of sanitary objects like soaps and it and 369 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:27,800 shampoos and, you know, lotions and other things. 370 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:32,000 They bring it, they sterilize them, they clean them up and 371 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,880 then repackage them and send them to third world nations 372 00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:38,280 where people who have had no access to any kind of hygiene 373 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:40,840 products, any kind of soap or things that could actually 374 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:44,760 prevent preventable diseases now have access to them. 375 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,400 Africa and India and Southeast Asia and so many places are 376 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:51,320 recipient of this incredible non profit organization. 377 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:58,200 It started in a room in America where he decided what actually 378 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,000 happens to this. He asked the question. 379 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,880 He decided to become the answer. And that aroma reaches the ends 380 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:07,760 of the ends of the world. What are you and I doing with 381 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:13,080 what God has given us? Is our faith in Him so tangible 382 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:17,600 that it fills the rooms we walk into so important to think that? 383 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:22,440 We sometimes just are so caught up in holding ourselves together 384 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,360 that we forget this faith is to draw others to Jesus. 385 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,440 I can't be selfish about my faith in Jesus. 386 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:30,680 I cannot be selfish about what He has done for me. 387 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:33,760 It's time I get loud about it. So when you meet. 388 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:38,320 Someone tell them what? Jesus did for you the third 389 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,920 thing. The third thing, first thing was 390 00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,120 that like incense, it delights the Lord. 391 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:48,200 Second thing was like perfume, it draws people to Jesus. 392 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,080 The third thing is it will distinguish you from others by 393 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,320 your fruit in that's you know, the the garden that Songs of 394 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:57,240 Solomon describes. There are a lot of fruit trees, 395 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,320 pomegranate and apples and all of that. 396 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,000 The fruit of our lives speak for us. 397 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,680 You can talk up a big game. You can. 398 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,000 You can say all these high sounding phrases. 399 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,480 You could have these little sayings that you come up with. 400 00:22:11,720 --> 00:22:14,360 You could have Bible verses that you quote by wrote. 401 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:17,400 You could pray the most theologically sound prayers. 402 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:21,480 But if the fruit that you bear in your life is non existent or 403 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:26,240 bad fruit, that will speak way louder than any prayer you pray 404 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:28,440 or any theological discourse you give. 405 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,400 And it's so important to understand that a good tree 406 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:34,960 bears good fruit, a bad tree bears bad fruit. 407 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,720 Jesus talks about this in Matthew Chapter 7 verses 17 to 408 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,720 20. He says likewise, every good 409 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,960 tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 410 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,400 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear 411 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:51,040 good fruit. Every tree that does not bear 412 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,040 good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 413 00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:57,240 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 414 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,480 Is it possible for those of us who are followers of Jesus to 415 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:05,480 have accepted him by salvation to begin to bear bad fruit? 416 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:08,280 Absolutely. If our roots are in the wrong 417 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,960 things, if our dependency is not on Christ alone, if I have 418 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:16,520 decided to move where the wind goes, to be pliant with culture, 419 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:20,040 my fruit will show it. It's very simple. 420 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,520 John 15 verse 8 says when you produce much fruit, you are my 421 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,880 true disciples. This brings great glory to my 422 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,040 Father. The fruit you bear brings glory 423 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:31,000 to God. What? 424 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:35,840 Are some of the fruits that a Christian ought to bear OK, a 425 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:37,720 few things. We know the fruit of the Spirit, 426 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,120 Lovejoy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 427 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:43,920 faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. 428 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:47,800 In the book of Ephesians, Ephesians 5/8 to 11, it talks 429 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:50,120 about another kind of fruits, the fruit of light. 430 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,720 It talks about the fruitless deeds of darkness, but it talks 431 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:55,600 about being children of the light. 432 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,360 And this is what it says. For you were once darkness, but 433 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:01,440 now you are light in the Lord, live as children of light. 434 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:04,760 For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, 435 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,240 righteousness, and truth. And find out what pleases the 436 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,600 Lord have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but 437 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,960 rather expose them. It's so interesting. 438 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,200 It says the fruit of the light consists of goodness, 439 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:22,200 righteousness, and truth. And so it's important to 440 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,000 understand that our fruit will distinguish us. 441 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,640 How you wait in traffic, whether you're patient or impatient and 442 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,120 railing at everyone around you distinguishes you. 443 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:38,240 How you cope with that difficult Co worker, it distinguishes you. 444 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,720 Whether you respond to gossip by gossiping and slandering, or 445 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,920 whether you quieten down and move away, distinguishes you. 446 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,840 Every little thing we do and say will either separate us from the 447 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,720 crowd or put a smack dab in the middle, and a fruit will either 448 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,800 make us stand out or make us fit in. 449 00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:01,320 And God is calling us to be people who are bearing good 450 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:05,880 fruit, fruit that others will enjoy and long to be around. 451 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,800 And eventually that fragrance, like perfume, will draw them to 452 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,200 Jesus. These are so interconnected. 453 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:14,400 These three things that I'm talking about, the incense, the 454 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:18,000 perfume, the fruit are so interconnected because when 455 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:21,800 people taste of our fruit, they begin to come closer. 456 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:23,880 They start to smell the fragrance of Jesus. 457 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:27,760 They, they're drawn to Jesus. And then when we begin to invite 458 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,120 them into our prayer lives, when we begin to pray for them and 459 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:33,520 things start to happen, it's like sweet incense that's going 460 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:34,960 up. It's delighting God. 461 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:39,240 God moves and it's this beautiful cyclical thing which 462 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:41,080 is constantly happening in our lives. 463 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:46,960 Hopefully, and I believe that God is calling us today to make 464 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,920 this commitment between him and me, between him and you to be 465 00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:56,000 the aroma of Christ. 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 14 466 00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:01,040 to 16 it says but thank God. He has made us His captives and 467 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:05,520 continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. 468 00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:09,760 Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere 469 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,440 like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ like 470 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:17,680 fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived 471 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:21,120 differently by those who are being saved and by those who are 472 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:23,640 perishing. To those who are perishing we 473 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,240 are a dreadful smell of death and doom, but to those who are 474 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,840 being saved we are a life giving perfume. 475 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,960 And who is adequate for such a task as this? 476 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,320 I want us to look at this one portion first. 477 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:41,320 It says, thank God He has made us his captives. 478 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:46,400 My question is, there has to be a condition for this fragrance 479 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:49,600 to be emitted from us, correct? There are two conditions to 480 00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:51,920 which your faith becomes fragrant. 481 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:55,480 And before we get in, I want to ask you if you're ready for 482 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,280 these conditions because it is based on whether you accept this 483 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,400 condition or not that you either are a fragrance or you're a 484 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,680 stench. The first thing is condition 1 485 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,040 is in order for you to be the aroma of Christ, you have to be 486 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:10,520 captive to Him first. We preach up so much about the 487 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:14,000 freedom we have in Christ that we sometimes forget we are now 488 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:18,040 captives of Christ, meaning we're committed, holy, devoted 489 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,000 all in to Jesus. It's not by shackles, it's by 490 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:26,520 love that we are bound to Him. And it's a beautiful kind of 491 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:30,040 binding which happens. The problem is most of us have a 492 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:34,120 divided loyalty to Jesus. It's like Jesus plus things. 493 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:38,680 Jesus plus those networks, those connections, those friendships, 494 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:41,800 those relationships. Jesus plus that substance. 495 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,680 Jesus plus entertainment. But God is calling me to this 496 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:50,120 place of saying. If I if you are to emit this 497 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:53,800 beautiful aroma that draws people to me and to eternal 498 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,080 life, then you need to first of all be captive. 499 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,720 To me, this is a hard message to preach, and I'm sure it's a hard 500 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,880 message to receive because we have been taught in the times we 501 00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:07,680 live in that inclusivity is everything, Anything goes. 502 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,360 We have created words and jargons like social drinking. 503 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:13,680 Drinking is drinking. Whether you do it socially or 504 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,240 not is drinking. And the Bible is very clear 505 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,560 about consuming alcohol. It says it leads to debauchery. 506 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:23,440 Read the book of Ephesians. We are giving. 507 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,280 Ourselves allowances diminishing our sin and saying that you know 508 00:28:27,280 --> 00:28:30,880 what I love Jesus, I, I, you know, I'm all in and all of 509 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:32,720 this. But there is this conditional 510 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:35,080 attachment in our life, something that has been attached 511 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:37,520 wherein we are not captives of Jesus. 512 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:39,760 We are captives to the things of the world. 513 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:42,800 We are mistaken. God is calling us back into a 514 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:46,400 love, a binding relationship of love with Him. 515 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,560 When this, when you look at the imagery, it's basically like in 516 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,720 those, if you watch the movie Gladiator, you know how the 517 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:57,120 gladiators are paraded in this procession for the people to see 518 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:01,680 them behind their captors. But here Jesus is the one who's 519 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:03,920 leading us. He's going ahead of us and it's 520 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,320 a victorious procession because he won over sin and death. 521 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,800 And here we are walking behind him as devoted disciples, 522 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,040 followers of Jesus. We are all in. 523 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:16,960 Till the death. We till death, we are following 524 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:18,560 Him. We have not turned our back. 525 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:22,960 We keep going where he leads us. But the point is that many of us 526 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,760 are captive to other things, and therefore this loyalty is so 527 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,920 conditional. It feels unreal. 528 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:32,680 Sometimes it feels like, you know what? 529 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:37,440 You're so caught between these two spaces when you look at the 530 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:41,400 priesthood, right? When we looked at all that was 531 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:44,600 happening in the wilderness, the priesthood were being set apart. 532 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:50,240 And it was very clear they were completely consecrated for God. 533 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:52,800 In fact, they had a tablet here that says holy to God. 534 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:55,080 It basically meant they were set apart. 535 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,440 They were all in for God for his service. 536 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:03,920 And I wonder whether you and I are completely captive to Jesus 537 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,320 or is it Jesus plus an addiction? 538 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:10,720 You just cannot do without that vape. 539 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:16,080 You just cannot do with that one glass of wine or alcohol just to 540 00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:18,160 get you through that hard conversation. 541 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,960 You're not able to get past, get into a night's sleep without 542 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,840 watching that one pornographic video. 543 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:30,200 You can't get through a day without that one act which 544 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,240 you're ashamed of, which you keep relegated to a private part 545 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,360 of your life. Maybe it's Jesus plus 546 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:38,240 entertainment. You know, we're a generation 547 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,720 that needs entertainment. We need to be entertained all 548 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:42,480 the time. You look at little kids when 549 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,320 they're being fed their lunches, they need a tablet in front of 550 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:48,560 them and we are no different. Let's not judge those little 551 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:49,440 kids. We are no different. 552 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:52,800 When we watch TV. We we are doing multiple things, 553 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:55,680 but we want to be entertained from every sensory direction. 554 00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:59,920 And sometimes we look at Jesus letter and say, well he's not so 555 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:02,760 entertaining. I need Jesus plus there's a 556 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:05,600 constant entertainment. I need the the jarring of my 557 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:07,480 phone, I need Netflix, I need Amazon Prime. 558 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:11,520 I need all of it plus Jesus. I'm not, I'm not a captive 559 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,600 audience to the audience of one I'm I'm captive to so many other 560 00:31:14,600 --> 00:31:16,480 things. Maybe it's Jesus plus a 561 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:20,000 significant other, that one relationship, that toxic 562 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,480 dependency, because certain relationships can hold us 563 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:26,400 captive. They can hold us completely 564 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,120 committed to them that there's little or no energy left. 565 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:31,720 Or pursuing a relationship with Jesus. 566 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,240 Maybe it's Jesus plus things. We live in a time when 567 00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,480 everything is just a click away. Zepto swiggy blanket. 568 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:42,040 I need it. I don't need it, I can still get 569 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,640 it to me. Accumulation of things we are 570 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:46,560 becoming borders on another level. 571 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:51,000 And maybe we're so captive to consumption that we're just 572 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:57,160 unable to pour out anymore. I would ask that you would 573 00:31:57,480 --> 00:31:59,800 relook at the deepest parts of yourself. 574 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:04,200 Examine Where is my captivity? Am IA captive to Jesus? 575 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:08,880 Am I bound by love for Him? Or am I captive to the things of 576 00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:10,360 the world? That's the first. 577 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:12,640 Condition. The second condition we're going 578 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:18,200 to look at Exodus chapter 30, verses 22 to 38, it's talking 579 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,240 about the anointing oil. Then the Lord said to Moses, 580 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:26,120 take the following fine spices, 500 shekels of liquid mule, half 581 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:29,840 as much, that is 250 shekels of fragrance, cinnamon, and then 582 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:33,320 calamus cassia, all according to the sanctuary. 583 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,600 Shekel and a hen of olive oil. Make these into a sacred 584 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:40,720 anointing oil of fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. 585 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,760 It will be a sacred anointing oil. 586 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:45,560 Then use it to anoint the tent of Meeting, the Ark of the 587 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:49,000 Covenant, the table, its articles, the lampstand and its 588 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,200 accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt 589 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,560 offering, its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 590 00:32:54,840 --> 00:32:57,720 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and 591 00:32:57,720 --> 00:32:59,720 whatever touches them will be holy. 592 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:03,360 Anoint Aaron and his sons, consecrate them so they may 593 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:05,720 serve me as priests say to the Israelites. 594 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:08,720 This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the 595 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,040 generations to come. Do not pour it on anyone else's 596 00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:15,960 body, and do not make any other oil using the same formula. 597 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:20,400 It is sacred, and you are to consider it's sacred whoever 598 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:22,680 makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone. 599 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:25,720 Other than a priest must be cut off from their people. 600 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:29,520 This anointing oil like what I just showed you of this gnard. 601 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,280 This anointing oil was made of more and cinnamon and calamus 602 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:35,440 and cassia mixed with a bit of olive oil. 603 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:39,560 It sounds like they were probably just fried together and 604 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:41,000 mixed with olive oil. No, it was. 605 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:44,560 It was made by a huge process of pressing and crushing. 606 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:48,560 Spices were crushed. They were pressed down. 607 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,560 All the juices from within them had to be withdrawn. 608 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:53,960 And that happened because of crushing. 609 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:59,400 And I wonder if the second condition, if the first 610 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,040 condition was not hard to stomach, the second one will be 611 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:05,040 harder because the second condition for having a fragrant 612 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:06,880 faith is a willingness to be crushed. 613 00:34:07,840 --> 00:34:11,199 The first one is willingness to be captive to Jesus. 614 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:13,520 The second one is a willingness to be crushed. 615 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:19,719 Every single spice tree that was in the, the, you know, the songs 616 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,320 of Solomon garden, every one of them are used in different 617 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:25,639 things in in earlier, the earlier book of Exodus, we see 618 00:34:25,639 --> 00:34:28,560 that all of them are used to create, you know, anointing, 619 00:34:28,560 --> 00:34:31,960 oil, perfuming, all of that. All of them are produced by 620 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,400 crushing. You don't get the best aromas by 621 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,239 just leaving them be. They have to be crushed. 622 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:42,040 They have to be rolled on. Leaves, roots, bark, all kinds 623 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:44,639 of things are crushed to get that beautiful flavour out. 624 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:48,800 Why is our life any different? Our life isn't any different. 625 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:51,920 It is through the crushing that the Holy Spirit brings about 626 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:57,360 this beautiful fragrance. A fragrance that draws people to 627 00:34:57,360 --> 00:34:59,640 Jesus. It may not draw people to you, 628 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:02,080 and that's OK, but it will draw people to Jesus. 629 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:05,360 It could be that you've experienced already a crushing 630 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:07,760 in your marriage. It could be a crushing in your 631 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,880 parenting, in your children. It could be a crushing on you in 632 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:16,360 your health, in your work life. Wherever the crushing happened, 633 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:18,120 if you notice, there'll be an aroma. 634 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:22,200 Had you allowed the Holy Spirit to work in that situation, there 635 00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:24,920 would be an aroma that emanates from that. 636 00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:28,280 And this is the interesting thing about the fragrance. 637 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:33,240 The fragrance of faith will set you apart, consecrate you will 638 00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:36,600 literally kind of bring you outside of the, the madding 639 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:40,000 crowd, right? The priest in the, in the 640 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:43,040 Levitical order basically would be completely dressed in his 641 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,600 priestly garb. And the beautiful thing was 642 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,400 Bezalil had created this beautiful outfit for Aaron and 643 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,440 his sons. But when Moses anointed them, he 644 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:54,320 didn't look at, you know, oh gosh, the, the white tunic's 645 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:56,240 going to get spoiled and it's going to, you know, all the 646 00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:58,920 beautiful intricate stitching is going to get soaked in oil. 647 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:01,080 None of that. He took the anointing oil, 648 00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:04,760 poured it on Aaron and his sons. He poured it on Aaron the high 649 00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:06,680 priest, and it dripped off his head. 650 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:11,880 It came onto his tunic and rolled down him so. 651 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:18,040 Every time Aaron and his sons were serving, they would smell 652 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:22,600 of this beautiful anointing oil. And even when they removed their 653 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:25,200 clothes, got into regular clothes and went back to their 654 00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:29,040 tents, they would still carry the aroma because it had flown 655 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:31,640 down from their heads onto their beards and everything else. 656 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:34,080 So they would carry the aroma on them. 657 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:38,920 And these men also stood before these altars that alter the most 658 00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:42,720 holy of holies, and he they would offer incense, so they 659 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:47,400 would carry the smoky smell on their hair, on their bodies, and 660 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,760 on the edge of their. Robes where these tassels with. 661 00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:53,960 Pomegranates, you know. Pomegranates are symbolic of the 662 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:58,400 fruitfulness of our lives, and I can't help but think that we are 663 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:00,440 no different. The new priesthood according to 664 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:03,320 Peter and one Peter, he talks about you are a chosen 665 00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:08,800 priesthood, a royal generation of people chosen by God to show 666 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,800 others the marvellous deeds that God has done and taking you from 667 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:14,240 the Kingdom of darkness and putting you in the Kingdom of 668 00:37:14,240 --> 00:37:16,160 light. And it's beautiful because we 669 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:19,240 are no different. The anointing that has come out 670 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,920 out of the Holy Spirit's work on us is precious. 671 00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:25,240 It has come through crushing and it will set you apart. 672 00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,920 The the perfume of God is on you. 673 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:34,240 The the aroma of your prayers reaching heaven and God 674 00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:38,880 answering it will be on you and that will speak to others. 675 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:42,280 It will show them just how much delight your God finds in you. 676 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,720 And it's beautiful because your fruitfulness will speak many 677 00:37:46,720 --> 00:37:48,640 times for you. You don't have to speak about 678 00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:51,360 your worth in a room. Your fruit will speak for you. 679 00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:55,120 But the thing about this is you have to understand there's a 680 00:37:55,120 --> 00:37:58,160 second part of that passage which says to those who are 681 00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:01,320 perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. 682 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,800 But to those who are being saved, we are a life giving 683 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:07,880 perfume. And who is adequate for such a 684 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:10,320 task as this? It's so interesting. 685 00:38:10,320 --> 00:38:13,440 It says over there to those who are perishing. 686 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:17,960 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death 687 00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:21,840 and doom. I want to ask you for all the 688 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:25,840 people pleasers like me who are watching this, how ready are you 689 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:29,400 to be a stench to people because you're choosing to be a 690 00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:34,320 fragrance unto God? Or are you so desperate to fit 691 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:37,600 in that no longer do you have a discernible flavour about you 692 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:42,760 when you live to please God? It's possible that you're not 693 00:38:42,760 --> 00:38:47,560 everyone's flavour. Not everyone likes you not. 694 00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:49,240 And you might think they just don't like my face. 695 00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:51,160 Well, maybe it's because you carry Jesus. 696 00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:53,160 Maybe it's because of the way you live your life. 697 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:56,600 Maybe because of the things you say no to that you're a stench 698 00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:58,200 to some. Maybe it's because you had 699 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:02,200 chosen to live in a certain way that honours God but doesn't 700 00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:05,240 really bless people. It doesn't really help people 701 00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:06,800 because you're no longer part of the crowd. 702 00:39:07,560 --> 00:39:11,480 You could become a stench. I'm not talking about you being 703 00:39:11,480 --> 00:39:14,400 a stench because of your foolishness or your injustice. 704 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:18,080 No, I'm talking about you being a stench to people because when 705 00:39:18,080 --> 00:39:20,360 you are found in Christ, like those priests, you are 706 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:22,880 different. You are consecrated. 707 00:39:22,880 --> 00:39:27,400 You live differently. My question to you as we end is, 708 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:31,240 do people smell devotion to Jesus on you? 709 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:34,880 Do they smell your surrender to the living God? 710 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:39,960 Or do you smell like everyone else in the crowd because of 711 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:41,800 culture, because of the trending things? 712 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:44,960 Are you just so desperate to fit in that you don't smell of 713 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:50,960 anything different? My question to you is, do you 714 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:54,360 reek of compromise and foolishness? 715 00:39:55,480 --> 00:40:01,760 Do you stink of unconfessing? Do you have the odor of hidden 716 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:05,520 vices? Maybe it's time that you allow 717 00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:08,920 the Holy Spirit to come into the garden of your life and to start 718 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:13,120 to do His work so that the stench leaves and the aroma 719 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,080 starts to waft up. Can we just pray? 720 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:19,760 Even as we pray together, I want you to look closer at yourself 721 00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:24,960 that you would say, God, I'm ready to be crushed. 722 00:40:25,360 --> 00:40:28,480 By you. I'm ready to be captive to you 723 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:30,600 alone. Some of you have been going 724 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:33,800 through situations in your life which you've been attributing to 725 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:36,320 just bad luck. You've been saying, well, it's 726 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:40,520 just not a good timing. But maybe, just maybe, it's an 727 00:40:40,520 --> 00:40:44,320 unwillingness to be wholly captive to Jesus. 728 00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:48,760 Maybe you've just been captive to so many things that God is 729 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:53,320 getting your attention right, and He desires that you would 730 00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:54,720 come to Him, that you would turn to Him. 731 00:40:54,720 --> 00:40:57,560 You know, when we bring our prayer before Him like incense, 732 00:40:57,560 --> 00:41:00,840 it's showing Him that I'm completely dependent on Him. 733 00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:03,440 I don't have a Plan B. And it delights Him. 734 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:08,360 And so, Father, I just pray for those of us here who are 735 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:10,440 longing. For a touch from you who are 736 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,960 longing to emit a fragrant faith. 737 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,680 A faith that is so fragrant that it delights you when you. 738 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:21,720 Smell it of us. We pray, O God, that our prayers 739 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:24,120 will reach you now. We pray that every barrier to 740 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:27,000 our prayers will break. I pray that Lord, people will 741 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:30,600 begin to confess and repent of sins so that barriers are 742 00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:34,800 lifted, blocks are removed, and that, Lord, every prayer will be 743 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:37,160 heard. Father, I pray right now for 744 00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:41,200 those who are longing to draw others to Christ. 745 00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:45,640 I pray, O Father, that you would make their lives like a sweet 746 00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:50,760 perfume, that Lord, like Mary, they will take those small steps 747 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:52,760 to just bring your aroma into rooms. 748 00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,760 And I believe, oh God, that you will breathe a flesh upon it, 749 00:41:55,760 --> 00:41:57,480 taking the aroma to the rest of the world. 750 00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:04,720 Father, I pray for those who have been struggling in the area 751 00:42:04,720 --> 00:42:06,800 of bearing fruit. I pray today they would stop 752 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:10,160 striving and they would make room for the Holy Spirit to 753 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:11,920 bring about the fruit in their lives. 754 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:16,000 We pray, O Lord, that You would address areas of their life that 755 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,080 need a dressing. I pray you would make them 756 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:21,160 receptive, open their eyes, open their ears, open their hearts. 757 00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:26,280 God, I pray for areas in which we have compromised, in which we 758 00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:30,280 have chosen to live like the world, where we have refused to 759 00:42:30,280 --> 00:42:34,080 be captive to You, Father, we pray that you would draw us back 760 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:38,680 gently in love. We are open, O God, to You, 761 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:41,640 crushing the parts of our life that bring the greatest 762 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:44,760 fragrance to You. We're open to you using us as 763 00:42:44,760 --> 00:42:47,480 you see fit. Phyllis. 764 00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:53,200 Phyllis, I pray for those who are struggling with hidden sins, 765 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:55,560 who are struggling with guilt and shame. 766 00:42:55,560 --> 00:43:00,120 Father, I pray they will lay it down at the altar today and 767 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:03,840 that, Lord, they will receive a fresh spirit. 768 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:08,120 They will receive a fresh heart. Stony hearts will be replaced by 769 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:11,280 fleshy hearts which can actually receive from their maker. 770 00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:16,120 We pray that Lord, when they walk into rooms, people will 771 00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:18,960 know they are different. Give them the courage to say no 772 00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:21,200 to the things that you desire them to say no to. 773 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:25,000 Help them to say yes to you again and again. 774 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:29,000 In Jesus name I pray, Amen. Amen. 775 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:31,520 God bless you. I pray that you have the most 776 00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:35,240 fragrant faith that many are drawn to Jesus through. 777 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:38,920 You, God bless you. Thanks for listening to this 778 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:42,040 message. We hope you were blessed to hear 779 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:45,760 more messages like this. Make sure to subscribe and check 780 00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:48,400 out our podcast channel for past episodes. 781 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:52,200 If you like what you are hearing, consider rating us, 782 00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:55,320 subscribing and even sharing it with friends. 783 00:43:55,720 --> 00:44:00,040 That would really help us. For more content from Via Zion 784 00:44:00,400 --> 00:44:04,560 and to connect with us, go to Via Zion dot in. 785 00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:08,680 Remember, whoever finds Jesus finds life.