Fragrance and Authority
The morning of January 1, 2023, I had a dream. It was all about essential oils – fragrance. I immediately thought of the verse in 2 Corinthians 2:14 which 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 God everywhere we go.” ESV
Then I heard the reference “Luke 10:19” in my spirit. I figured it would be a passage about Mary anointing Jesus with perfume. But when I looked it up, I was quite surprised with what I found.
In Luke 10 we read that Jesus had send out 72 of his followers, to heal the sick, and to tell people that “the Kingdom of God has come near you.” They came back rejoicing because the demons were subject to them when they used the Name of Jesus. Luke 10:19 is part of their debrief with Jesus:
“Now you understand that I have imparted to you my authority to trample over satan’s kingdom. You will trample upon every demon before you and overcome every power satan possesses. Absolutely nothing will harm you as you walk in this authority.” Luke 10:19 TPT
Hmm 🤔 Fragrance and Authority? What do they have to do with each other? Stay with me and let’s see if we can connect the two.
Since waking up on April 1st, 2022 with the words of Habakkuk 2:14 strongly filling my spirit, “The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” I have been asking how will this happen? How will the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord? I am sure there are multiple ways this will happen, but that first verse in 2 Corinthians 2:14 definitely gives us some clear clues of one way God has planned for it to happen.
First, we see that we are part of Christ’s triumphal procession that started when Jesus defeated the enemy on the cross. He bought us back from the enemy through His death and He proudly shows us off as trophies of His redeeming grace. Then, He changes us, giving us beauty for our ashes, causing our lives our to emanate a beautiful fragrance that speaks of the knowledge and power of God wherever we go. So we can see, if we all are living in the victory that Jesus secured for us on the cross over the enemy, very soon the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.
We will smell different to people. 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 in The Passion Translation says:
“We have become the unmistakable aroma of the victory of the Anointed One to God —a perfume of life to those being saved and the odor of death to those who are perishing. The unbelievers smell a deadly stench that leads to death, but believers smell the life-giving aroma that leads to abundant life. And who of us can rise to this challenge?”
Luke 10:19 gives us the answer. The only way we can actually rise to this challenge is by walking in the authority Jesus gave us. He wants us to use His authority to trample on the demons of hell and destroy the works of the enemy, to enforce the victory that He won on the cross. And He promises that as we do this, nothing will harm us. What are we waiting for?
God is calling us in this day and hour to rise up in His authority and trample down every demonic stronghold that has raised itself up against the knowledge of God. It is time for God’s people to live victorious lives over the enemy, to smell different than the world and diffuse that beautiful life-giving fragrance of knowledge of God wherever we go throughout the earth. Jesus wants to add millions even billions more to His triumphal procession. And He has chosen us to be His fragrance diffusers!
Are we ready to rise to the challenge?