400 Dead Buffaloes
The Victorious Life • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Fear can be and often is a natural part of life. Without fear we would not have the fight or flight response that protects us. Without natural fear or healthy fear we would take unnecessary risks.
Fear what the future may hold.
Fear what will happen with my kids lives.
Fear decisions. Are we making the right choice.
There is plenty of things to have a healthy fear of in this life.
For the Christian there is only one fear that is considered healthy in the Kingdom of God.
Today I want to deal with the unhealthy, anxiety producing fear that destroys faith. Truly, if we are going to live the victorious life that God intends for us. We will have to deal with and overcome fear in favor of faith!
Four times God makes a statement to Joshua in various forms about fear or not being afraid.
“And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass.
“And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.’
Deu
Joshua 1
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Now the Lord said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land.
And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.”
Did you notice it? Between what God was saying. God is pointing to an obstacle to the promise he has given Joshua. Three times it is the enemy that occupies the land, and one time it is the fear that they would be abandoned.
Why?
Problem: Fear will cause rational people to do irrational things.
Last week in Namibia people found 400 dead buffaloes that had drowned in a river. That is an abnormally large amount of buffaloes to go for a swim, let alone drown at the same time.
Investigators found that from initial indications the herd of buffalo were being threatened by a pride of lions and stampeded into the river trying to escape. More than 400 drowned due to the massive movement of trampling and falling from steep river banks.
Would buffalo normally herd into a dangerous part of a river? Of course not. As matter of fact, buffalo have been known to successfully defend against lions.
The fear of the lions caused many more to die than had the buffalo turned to defend against the attacking pride. As fear swept across the herd and they began to stampede…that fear took control. They leapt from the steep cliffs of the river bank to drown in the water.
Some one would say, yeah but those are buffalo. People can be just as irrational when fear takes control.
I remember arriving home from school one day. Walking up to the house where the garage door was open. I could see my mom in there working on something. As I stepped into the garage I greeted her with a “Hey mom”.
She spun around with terror in her eyes and began to scream.
It completely caught me off guard. My mom is a very composed person not willing to make a scene. Here she is screaming so loud the neighbors I am certain can hear her.
I stood there holding my backpack on my shoulders and started saying “mom?” repeatedly.
Later she was telling someone about it. She had been working alone in the garage and heard a man close behind her say something. She spun around to find a man towering over her and she just began to scream.
After a bit it was the “mom” coming thru all the screaming that made her realize it was her now grown little boy that had arrived home from school.
Fear can cause us to do some irrational things.
Question: Is fear impacting the promise God has for you?
“And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.’
Your eyes have seen.
Your eyes have seen.
God uses two kings that have just been defeated by an outmatched Hebrew army as a picture of future victories to come. Those victories were for Joshua to see the hand of God at work.
What you have seen here…I am going to do to the other kingdoms you are going to pass through.
Some victories are so you know God is with you.
You must not fear them.
You must not fear them.
God tells Joshua to not to fear them. Which indicates that to fear something is a choice.
Joshua choose not to fear them.
The thing you fear gets magnified.
If you choose to fear the enemy. The enemy is empowered.
If you choose to fear the Lord. The Lord is empowered.
You are mentally giving more power to the thing that you fear.
Because you can choose what you will fear. Choose to fear God.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mt
1 P
Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Choose to fear God over every other obstacle and God will be magnified in every situation you face.
God fights for you.
God fights for you.
“And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you.’
De
Call for music. I am getting ready to give opportunity for God to speak to us.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:35-
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Call for music.
Gladys Aylward, missionary to China, was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yangcheng. But she could not leave her work behind. So with only one assistant, she led more than a hundred orphans over the mountains toward Free China.
In their book The Hidden Price of Greatness, Ray Besson and Ranelda Mack Hunsicker tell what happened: "During Gladys's harrowing journey out of war-torn Yangcheng ... she grappled with despair as never before. After passing a sleepless night, she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety.
A 13-year-old girl in the group reminded her of their much-loved story of Moses and the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.
"'But I am not Moses,' Gladys cried in desperation.'Of course you aren't,' the girl said, 'but Jehovah is still God!'"When Gladys and the orphans made it through, they proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel, God is still God, and we can trust in him.
-- Jonathan G. Yandell.Garden Grove, California. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 1.
There is only one God, his name is Jesus. You are not him. He fights for you!
Surrender the battle to Him. Give the fear of the situation you find yourself in over to Him. Conquer that fear today.
Church family - join me around the front. Guest we would love for you to join us. We are going to give the Lord the opportunity to speak to us. We will surrender some things and leave them at the altar.