God-Pleasing Aroma of Goodness
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January 24, 2010 |
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 "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, 'Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, 'Rabboni!' (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, "I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord,' and that He had said these things to her."(John 20:15-18)
As beautiful and fragrant flowers make us happy, those who serve other from the depths of their hearts give out the pleasing aroma of goodness and are able to touch other peoples' hearts. Mary Magdalene was the woman who gave out such a God-pleasing aroma. So she was blessed to be the first person who saw the resurrected Lord. Then, what is the aroma of goodness that pleases God the Father like Mary Magdalene?
First, it is service.
Those who serve from heart will sincerely serve any kind of person. They don't just serve their seniors or those who are worthy to be served. They will obviously serve their seniors as is proper, as well as their juniors or subordinates. It does not matter whether they are children, adults, the poor, or the rich, they serve everybody.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:42, "And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward." Anybody can give a small child a cup of cold water to drink. However it is this kind of service that pleases the Father and for such service He will give us rewards. When Jesus said 'in the name of a disciple,' it means to serve others with good hearts that are cultivated by the word of God.
It is not service coming out of educated etiquette or human sympathy. It is when the goodness in service comes from the heart and is shown as true deeds. Because such people can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and receive His guidance very well, they can serve others exactly according to the others' situations.
Mary Magdalene served Jesus by understanding His heart completely, and she desired nothing in return. Jesus gave her such great love and grace and she loved the Lord so much that Mary just served with a heart that could sacrifice her everything without sparing anything. In this same way, if you serve without wanting something in return because you are just happy to serve even though others don't recognize you or your service, it is the service of loving goodness.
Secondly, aroma of goodness that pleases God the Father is from the heart that rejoices with the truth.
The spiritual love in 1 Corinthians 13 has this attribute. This is the attitude of sincere rejoicing even when others bear more fruit, and receive more praise, recognition, and more love than you. God the Father wants all of you to have the heart of goodness to sincerely rejoice. When others are well-off, you rejoice like it's your own good fortune. When others bear more fruit than you, you are thankful that they filled up the amount that you couldn't fulfill. When others go into whole spirit quicker than you, you rejoice together for there has come forth a fruit that fulfills the Gospel of Holiness. If you have this kind of heart, you will give out the aroma of goodness that pleases God.
At the time of Jesus there were many other women and disciples in addition to Mary Magdalene. When Jesus complimented somebody, Mary Magdalene rejoiced as if she had been complimented. If somebody pleased Jesus and became strength to Him, she was grateful to that person. She did not become discouraged thinking, "Why can't I become strength to Jesus? Why can't I please Him?" She just remained at Jesus' side fulfilling her duty faithfully with joy and thanks. This is the way that Mary Magdalene always gave out the aroma of goodness that pleases God.
Thirdly, the aroma of goodness that pleases God is to love the Lord more deeply in all situations.
When is the moment that you can feel the love of Mary Magdalene for the Lord to the utmost degree? It is when Jesus was taking the sufferings of the cross. When Jesus was arrested, most of the disciples ran away out of fear of also getting into trouble. But Mary Magdalene, along with the Virgin Mary, stayed with Jesus until He died on the cross. She stayed with Jesus until the end with the kind of mind that thought only, "If I could just take the blood that my Lord shed! If only I could just bear the pain of the Lord! How can I comfort Him in His pain? How can I share His pain?"
After Jesus died, she was the first to go to His tomb in the early morning to put perfume on His body. She was blessed to be the first person who saw the resurrected Jesus Christ. Many people followed Jesus when He was performing many signs and wonders. Mary Magdalene just seemed to be one of them at that time. But during those times, Mary Magdalene increased her love for the Lord. She received the words of the Lord as her own and she bore the perfect fruit of spirit in her heart. As a result, she could show deeper love for the Lord when He was in the worst of situations. God the Father wants you to love the Lord more deeply and show perfect love in any kind of situation.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in the church we can see the fruits of the leaders are different when they take care of the souls, according to how much they are united with the Lord in love. The more they are united with the Lord in love, the more love of the Lord is delivered to the souls through those leaders. So, the believers are also connected to the Lord and they grow in their faith. Therefore, to be united with the Lord in love is very important. In the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray that you will not only lead many souls into salvation and sending out a God-pleasing aroma from your love for the Lord, but I hope that you will become a precious one in the kingdom of Heaven!
To read this message in more detail, visit our website (www. manmin. org) and click on 'sermon'.
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