Fish Farts Save Lives

This is the devotion that I gave to our first ever Middle Madness group tonight. Middle Madness is our summer ministry aimed directly at the middle schoolers of Light Force.

Did you know?

– There is a fish in the ocean that farts as a self
defense?

– Researchers have discovered that the herring, when its
school is being attacked by killer whales, fart.

– When a school of herring fart at the same time the tiny
bubbles of smelly gas actually distract and deter the killer whale from eating
its prey.

– The study’s authors perhaps say it best: “Farting may
save their lives.”

– Think about it like this… if the herring did not fart
in self-defense, more herring would be die. 

What does this odd
fact have to do with you?

– More than you’d like to admit I am sure

o We
all fart.

o It
is natural.

o Just
as you laughed at the idea of thousands of herring farting in masse to save
their little lives, we too find farting to be funny.

– Farting is actually a God designed defense mechanism
for these fish. It helps them survive in the wild waters of the ocean.

What defense
mechanisms has God built in for us spiritually?

– A person who knows Christ has two forms of self-defense
from attackers.

o Holy
Spirit John 14:26 “But the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”

§ What things?

· The Holy Spirit guides and protects us.

· He reminds us of what we’ve learned about God.

· He teaches us new stuff.

o Our
conscience Romans 1 describes our conscience as God’s “divine nature in all of
us.”

§ This is something that every single person has
in them from birth.

§ Defined as “The awareness of a moral or ethical
aspect to one’s conduct together with the urge to prefer right over wrong”

§ The conscience tells us how to get out of
trouble.

                                        § The conscience tells us how to stay out of trouble.
 

So we laugh at the
herring. It farts to get away from being devoured by the killer whale.

And yet we too are created by God with two very important defense
mechanism.