Sorry guys, I posted the wrong one!! Here it is:
Boo!
Man…I gotta tell you, God’s got some very peculiar ways of telling me what to do next for Him. icon_blaugh.gif
Who here is a fan of Batman? If you are, raise your hand
ninja I’m a HUGE fan of Batman. I have been since I was 3 or 4. Man, I don’t think you can get as nerdy about Batman as I can (well…ok, that’s not true, but I rank up there!). Lately I’ve been heavily in the Batman mood. Batman has been on my mind for at least a week. Everyone I know, I keep asking, “Hey, do you like Batman?” lol, I’m sure that gets annoying, because that’s the first thing I’ve been asking people (that I know). I love the Night, he’s so cool! He has the integrity of a...Batman (couldn’t think of a better word to say
sweatdrop ) He fights bad guys, saves the day, and looks really stylish in black. Plus, he’s a good guy to the core. His motivations aren’t about money or fame, but just to help people. I admire that, even in a cartoon superhero. *faints * And he’s just SO cute!
wink Anyway, another thing I like about the Batman series are the villains. The villains aren’t superhuman beings that don’t need a special plan to get what they want. Each Villain is original, genius, and without super powers (except a few). My favorites are The Joker (my all time favorite), Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Bane, and The Scarecrow. Each one of these villains is genius, crazy, and just plan cool. Especially the Joker.
heart Well, the other night, while trying to satisfy this Batman craze I somehow got into, I watched Batman Begins. I love that movie. The plot is good, the action is good, the actors are good, and it’s just plain good. One thing I really love is how they made The Scarecrow. In that one, he’s a dinky little psychiatrist who has no natural means of defending himself, because he’s so small. But he does have something that can beat any foe. He made this gas that causes people to go insane with fear. This gas, which is called “fear gas” (Ironic, huh?
xp ) can make anybody who breathes it in go literally mad because they’re afraid of everything. Scarecrow wears a potato sack over his head with eyeholes in it, to help him scare people, which is also cool because he looks awesome (incase you don’t know what Scarecrow is like, he’s a video with him in it. It’s very short
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0L7ZUv-Ysoc) Well, while watching Batman Begins, I got this feeling I had to write a sermon using Batman’s Scarecrow as a reference. But, God wouldn’t tell me what to do the sermon about…the big goof. I had to figure it out. It took me a few days, but while riding the bus the other day, I finally thought to myself, “FEAR!”. Of course! Scarecrow is the scary dude! The Lord had set me in the Batman mood to help write this sermon about fear.
So, I’m writing this sermon in hopes that the Lord will help you combat fear.
We all fear something. Whether its spiders, or tacos, or snakes, or that moldy piece of cheese in your fridge, we all fear something. I haven’t met a single person who isn’t afraid of at least one thing. It’s all part of being on this earth. We may fear things because the Lord tells us it will hurt us if we don’t get away from it, like a fire or being under water for too long. That’s survival instinct that the Lord has placed in all of us. That fear, however, is a good fear. The Lord wants us to live until He decides for us to return to Him, and so we must take action against things that could kill us. However, there are fears that are not of the Lord. These fears are things that the devil’s henchmen place in us to try and make living a hell from time to time. This fear is something God did not give us at all.
7For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7I, for example, was afraid of spiders until a few months ago. Man, I would scream out loud if I saw a spider on me. I was so afraid of spiders I even feared fake spiders. I have this true story that happened to me maybe half a year ago. One day, I needed to do my laundry, and so I went to the basement of my home (because that’s where the laundry room is). When I got down there, right next to the washing machine, was a HUGE black spider just standing in the middle of the floor. I didn’t even scream. I dropped my clothes, turned around, and high tailed it upstairs. I was scared so bad that I was afraid to go downstairs for the rest of the day. I told my bro about the big “spider” and I told him that I wasn’t going downstairs. That was the worst mistake I could make, because telling my bro about it meant I was going to be teased. Well, later that night, my bro, sis and I were watching a movie together, sitting around and chatting when my bro goes downstairs to go do his laundry. I was like, “That brave soul…” and continued to watch the movie. When my bro returned, he said to me, “James, you know that big spider you were talking about?” I looked at him, feeling a little nervous. He then said, “here it is,” and threw the spider on me. I freaked out! I screamed loudly, and frantically tried to get it off me. The entire time, my bro and sister were laughing, pulling one of these
rofl . After I was finished freaking out, I grabbed hold of the spider, and realized something….it was plastic….it was a plastic spider ring from Halloween. Lol. My bro and sister kept doing this icon_rofl.gif while I did this icon_stare.gif. After a few minutes of
stare , I finally decided to do
rofl along side them. Wait, it gets funnier…my bro then picked the spider ring up again and threw it on me once more. Even though I knew it was a fake, I screamed out again.
sweatdrop Haha…I got teased for that for a good few weeks….did I say weeks? I meant months.
LOL. When I think about that, I laugh.
I fear a lot more than that. My worst fear is the fear I get whenever I’m stuck in the middle of spiritual warfare. That fear is crippling and it once made me want to die. I feared what I might do to people. I feared the horrible thoughts I was having, and most of all, I feared the devil. I remember very clearly being crippled with fear whenever that damn devil tried to get me to hurt others. I don’t want to hurt people, and I certainly wasn’t going to, yet the devil kept at it for months. It was horrifying! I was so afraid that I might endanger the safety of people that I was going to end it all.
Fear can drive you over the edge. It really can. That’s why the Scarecrow uses it against people. When the Scarecrow has somebody breathing in that fear gas, they go so nuts that they a.) attack others or b.) kill themselves. Well, the devil uses the same tactics. Like the Scarecrow, the devil will use fear demons to try and a.) get you to attack others (that doesn’t necessarily mean physically), and b.) get you to kill yourself (that also doesn’t necessarily mean physically. That could mean the person you once were has died because the devil made you fear too much).
7For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7Fear isn’t just an emotion. It is a demon. It is a demon trying to make your life harder.
We all know the feeling when a demon attacks you, doing whatever it can to destroy you and those you love. It’s tough. It requires lots of strength to get past. Your strength alone cannot defeat them. They have been attacking people for thousands of years, and they know what they’re doing. Kinda like Scarecrow, they have the means to beat your, no matter your strength. Scarecrow’s fear gas cannot be beaten by people’s own natural defenses. Demons are the same.
However, Scarecrow’s fear gas has an antidote. That antidote completely defeats the fear gas. When that happens, the person who was gased could probably beat Scarecrow up something serious, because Scarecrow is very small and cannot fight. Satan and his demons are the exact same. Don’t fear. God is our antidote. God is our protection, and He will take away all your fear. Once God has given you the means to face that fear and beat it, He will give you the strength to beat up little dinky Satan. Like the Scarecrow, Satan is powerless without his fear. Do not fear the devil (reference sermon “Armor of God” by Gini). He’s only a brat on the inside, a brat that needs to be punished for all the evil he does. He has no power. None. He cannot harm you if you don’t let him. He cannot harm you if you let the Lord use his mighty arm to push Satan aside.
6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"[a]I love that verse. It’s so true. Of course, we are the Lord’s, not the other way around, and we are The Lord’s servants, but even so, The Lord is our helper (as well as like a bajillion other things). If Satan is coming at you, roaring like a lion
(8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.1 Peter 8:8-9), don’t hesitate to go “Lord, do your thing” The Lord loves us all SO much I cannot even begin to word it. He will roar louder than the devil ever could, and the devil will flee!
*Dramatic reenactment! George Cluny is playing me, Arnold Schwarzenegger is playing the devil, and God is playing God.*
Devil: Arrrgghhhh! Fear me! Blahahahahahahah! Boo! Boo! Shackala! Blah! *roars like a lion*
Me:….Lord, yes please, mate.
Lord: *Looks at devil* Boo. *Roars REALLY intensely, shaking the ground and everything around it.*
Devil:
gonk let’s get out of here! *Runs away*
Lord: :mr.green: *thumbs up*
What reason do you have to fear if you’ve got the Lord backing you up wherever you go? I need to remind myself of that everyday. I’ve noticed that the devil becomes more offensive each time I’m thinking up a sermon. He tries to scare me out of trying to help the Lord anyway I can. Sometimes, I almost give in. When I forget the Lord and the devil tries to make me fear, it’s terrifying. It really is. Before I came to the Lord/Jesus, I didn’t want to live I was so scared of what I might do. You can’t face the devil alone. But don’t fret. The Lord is here! He’ll kick the devil’s buttocks if you let Him! He certainly has for me!
20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Romans 16:20
Haha. This verse makes me smile. It gives me a very amusing visual.
The devil: I am a jerkface! I hurt people because I tried to rebel against God, knowing that I didn’t stand a chance! I like to smell my own butt! Blah blah blah bl- Gaaaahhhhhh!!!
gonk *is crushed by the giant foot of God*
Remember this always. It will save you from fear.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4
There was this one song that came out in 1995 called “Gangster’s Paradise” by Coolio. In that song, Coolio repeatedly quotes this verse. I wasn’t a believer then, so it really meant nothing to me, but I loved the song when I was a kid (because there was this gangster character in a game called Tekken that I really liked, so I thought about him and his funky hair whenever I listened to this song) Since then, I’ve always loved this verse, even though I didn’t believe it. Now that I am a believer, this verse means so much more to me. When you’re in a bad place, scared of what’s around you, remember this verse. Though you walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, you will fear no evil. For God is with you, watching over you, protecting you. Nothing can hurt you then.
Who here believes in Guardian angels? I do. After I was told this story by a dear friend I’ve always been intrigued by Guardian angels.
Quote:
I believe angels are our Guardians as well. My sister's friend said that she has seen her Guardian angel. She was really scared one time, because Demons were attacking her in her sleep when she was 5 or so. She got up to go to her mom's room, but when she got to the hallway, she saw this huge, ghostly like figure with glowing red eyes. She wasn't afraid at all, she told me. If were her, I would have freaked out icon_sweatdrop.gif, but she told me there was nothing threatening about it. It was her guardian, and she knew it. God had sent it to protect her. She didn't go to her mom's room. She just went back to bed with a smile on her face. I love that story.
heart Man….I can’t get enough of that story. It really makes me think. Do I have a Guardian Angel? Do I have an Angel that protects me from Evil? I wonder what it looks like…
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
Pslam 91:11When I read that, I was so happy. The Lord has a Guardian Angel for me! He has one for all of us! I jumped up and down with joy. When I’m facing the devil’s fear and not going to God for whatever reason (maybe I forget because I’m so afraind, I don’t know), I’m not alone. There is an angel, correction, there are many angels making sure that we don’t give in. That’s so cool! The Lord’s angels will protect us! I remember a few nights where demons would terrorize me, and when that happened, before I even prayed, I knew something was fighting these demons. I believe it was an angel…my angel. I get such an excited feeling inside thinking about that. Something was fighting for me. What do you think your Guardian Angel/angels do/does for you??
You’re not alone. You’ve got the help of not only your Lord God/Jesus, but the help of His angels. Celebrate that! There is no choice!! Don’t make me get the hose! icon_blaugh.gif
There is more to it, however, then just going to God and letting angels fight. YOU need to decide to be brave enough to keep fighting for God, regardless of what’s going on. So many times I’ve considered just letting myself stop fighting for God, but each time I realized how wrong, stupid, and cowardly of me that would be. I mean, the Lord has done so much for me, for all of us, and I know for a fact He exists and that I’m doing the right thing following Jesus, but because I know this, because we know this, The devil is going to be more of a jerkface. He’s going to be like Scarecrow and try and make you fear. But the Lord asks you to have courage. He asks you to keep on keeping on. You will defeat this fear, and you will do it swiftly. I know the Lord has conquered a lot of your fears, if not all of them. The Lord has conquered my fear whenever I decide to be a warrior and face it! It’s a miracle!
Going back to the whole spider phobia I used to have. One day, I got fed up of that fear, and asked the Lord to take it away. When I was going to bed, the Lord did something that was great. On the ceiling above my bed was a spider. Usually I’d be freaking out just by seeing a spider, but I didn’t this time. I was calm. I got undressed, and got under my blanket. The spider just stood there, and I stared at it, still calm. The Lord Jesus was there. I wasn’t afraid. I was just…tired. So, I went to sleep, completely forgetting about the spider. Ever since, I have not been afraid of spiders (besides those big bird eating ones in the Rain Forest….*shrieks*) The Lord Conquers fears indeed!
At the end of every Batman comic or episode or whatever, the bad guy gets caught and thrown into Arkam Asylum. Well, the bad buys that oppose the Lord (demons, Devil, etc.) will be thrown into the lake of fire. Take that, devil!
I love you all. You all mean so much to me…there’s no words. Jesus loves you so much more!
Vader (ok, I’ll call Him that just this once
4laugh ) in Heaven, Jesus Christ Almighty God,
Thank You for conquering our fears. Thank You for being our support whenever we walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death. Thank You for kicking devil butt! You so rule! You’re the best, the King of Kings. Jesus, thank You for Your ultimate sacrifice. Thank You for everything…thank You. Take all praise. It belongs solely You.
Man! This is one of my absolute favorite worship songs….I love it so much! I can’t help but love Jesus while listening to it.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jt4Ke7Hz7o8 
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