Wisdom of the ants

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 17:04

Today I want to start the service by asking a question. How many have ever noticed how it works in an ant colony? Actually these small insects are very efficient, and extremely strong. Surely most of you must be thinking that there is nothing we can learn from a group of insects as inferior to men, but if you think so, I invite you to pay careful attention to the message today. You must pay close attention because the church today needs this exactly, the church today needs to become a colony of ants. So today we'll be talking about the ants. We will be talking about this insect which is the most common and the largest on earth. We now turn to the Word of God to find out if there is something about these insects are so small.

Proverbs 6:6-8 - Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise; 7The Which having no chief, and ruler, or lord, in the summer 8Prepara their food, And out in the time of harvest maintenance.

To gain a better understanding of the message that God has for us today, we will need to know some brief details about this book and its author. I'm sure there are many who know where is this book in the Bible, that is, everyone knows well that is part of the Old Testament. However, there are many believers who do not know very well the great significance of this important book in the Bible. However, its purpose and meaning is something that is well stated in Proverbs 1:2 -6 when we read "To know wisdom and instruction, For prudent reasons, 3For receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and fairness opinion; 4For give wisdom to the simple, the young man knowledge and discretion. 5Oirá sage, and increase learning, and understanding will acquire advice 6For understand a proverb and statement, words of the wise, and that depth. "How can we appreciate this is an important book because it found powerful messages of wisdom . In this book we find powerful tips on how we act in certain situations, and find how to behave if we truly seek to please God. It is a book full of wisdom because most of the book was written by Solomon. And as we all know Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Note how this is something that is clearly stated in 1 Kings 3:9-12 we read "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, and to discern between good and evil, for who can judge this thy great people? 10Y pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11Y God said, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of your enemies, but demands for intelligence to hear you opinion, 12he here I have done according to your words, behold, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, that she has not been before you another like you, neither after thee shall arise another like you. "As we see clearly stated, Solomon was the wisest man who has existed, and he left us a legacy of wisdom written in three volumes which are: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. But ever wondered what is a proverb? In reality, a proverb is a short sentence, concise, which contains a moral truth. So we can confidently say that the book of Proverbs is a collection of wise statements covering a wide range of topics. In other words, proverbs are a collection of short sentences or those which are commonly received and that in most cases contain doctrine or morals. Keeping in mind these few details now continue our study today.

In the verses we are studying today we find that we are told "Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise." Why are you suppose we are told that we look at the ants? The reason is because when we take the time to examine how the ants work, they soon discover that there are three qualities that every believer should seek to possess. These three qualities are: The ant is determined, the ant is opportunistic, and the ant is concerned about the welfare of others.

Unfortunately, these are three qualities that many people in the People of God are, this is especially true when it comes time to work for God. Let us examine these three qualities more closely to understand well what I say.

The ant is determined. Although the ant is one of the smallest insect, the ant has a great determination. I say this because this little bug never gives up. That is very interesting to see how these little insects work, these small insects are able to overcome any obstacles that try to stop the work they have started. This little creation of God is able to move things much bigger and heavier than themselves. And if by some chance something can not, then they communicate with others, form a group, and together move or carry what they have to move. They are a creation persevering, never give up, have a determination that is unmatched by anything. We must now ask, does the man this sort of determination? Unfortunately this type of determination is not one easily found in the lives of many. What happens more often in the lives of many is that when confronted with difficult situations, or tripping over an obstacle, most people give up. A good example is when we begin to minister to a person. Everything always starts great, we have a great enthusiasm and spoke with authority. In other words, we started with great determination, we start with the best intentions in the world, we do it because feel the love of Christ and we want to share as we must. What happens is that by doing this, often bump into obstacles, bump against religion, we're going against the views, we're going against the traditions, we're going against excuses and bump against the stubbornness and disbelief of many. What usually happens? What usually happens is that people give up. Most do not seek the help of his brothers and sisters and the ugliest of all is that they often fail to seek the help of one that actually can help us not seek the help of the Lord.

That's why I say that we have much to learn from the ants, and the first thing we must learn is to be specific people. The first thing we learn is that we can not be lazy, in other words we can not be lazy. We must possess a boundless determination. Brethren, when one ant bumps into something he can not move, the first thing is to seek help. The first thing is to go for more ants and soon it was impossible is now possible. Soon that appeared to be insurmountable obstacle is overcome. It passed because the determination of the colony is greater than any obstacle. The people of God must be the same. We can not be defeated when the enemy put obstacles in our way. We serve the God almighty. Remember that for God nothing is impossible, and this is something that is very well stated in the words of our Lord as found in Luke 1:37 when we read "because nothing is impossible with God." Brethren, and if we truly believe in God, if we truly trust in His glory, majesty and power, then there is no obstacle that the enemy can put in our way that we can not tear down . Take heed how this is something that is very well reflected in the words of our Lord as found in Mark 9:23 we read "Jesus said: If you can believe, believes all things are possible." And of course we never forget Philippians 4:13 that says "I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me." Tell the person you have at your side, we have to be determined. The disciples had is great quality, they had to overcome many obstacles. The disciples taught something very different to what was accepted. They taught as found in Acts 4:11-12 we read "This is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the capstone. 12Y there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. "This is what they announced to the world. But now ask yourself, what obstacles they had to overcome? Actually had to overcome many obstacles, but I'd say the two biggest were the traditions and religion. They persevered, and the fact that we are here today proves that. The determination of this group of men was greater than any obstacle that the enemy try to put in their paths. Like them, we must find ways to overcome these obstacles. We must find ways to overcome all that stops or prevents us to serve God.

The ant is opportunistic. I say opportunistic because ants are generally not an aggressive insect. That is except the different species of ants are aggressive, meaning they hunt, most of the ants come out to collect. Ants reap what they have sown, in other words, this bug makes the most of the surrounding circumstances to obtain the maximum benefit. This is a great quality. As I said a short while ago, one of our biggest flaws is that we give up easily. But the trouble is that once we give up, once we admit defeat, then we are blind to the opportunities God gives us to carry out His work. In other words, we are not looking for the opportunities God gives us and stop by the gates through which the Lord I will have to fulfill our mission. I say this because despite the situation, however it appears to be a hard thing, The Lord always provides an opportunity for us to fulfill our mission we always have I the doors so that we can bring the message of salvation to the world that so needs it. But to recognize these opportunities we have to stay in communication with Him, we must be determined to fulfill our mission, we must be prepared to take full advantage of the circumstances around us to get the best possible benefit. The ant never admits defeat, the ant simply use every opportunity to carry out their work, do you know why? The answer lies in the third quality.

The ant is concerned about the welfare of others. When we examine the way ants work soon see that this quality is well defined. I say this because the ants cooperate with each other without asking questions or have interest. A good example of this is when one finds something big or heavy you can not move alone. What happens then? In some way or form they communicate, and when you see a group of them and move what they have found among all. In other words, all working together for the welfare of the colony. This is a quality needed by many within the church. I say this because everyone here has given us a great responsibility we all have a responsibility to bring the gospel to every creature in this world, in other words, we are called to care about the welfare of others. But what often happens is that we are so preoccupied with our affairs of others that we do not care or know. But this is something we can not allow to happen in our lives. As true believers, we must work together with one goal, the ants act together with one goal, the welfare of the colony, the believers have to act together with one goal, to enlarge the Kingdom of God here on earth. It is time that the people of God are one to fulfill our mission. We all want a revival, we all want to see the movement of the Holy Spirit in the world, but often are not willing to work. We are not willing to do our duty as Christians. We are not ready because we're not really worried about the welfare of others. A great reality is that everyone here is the life of a person in our hands. Each of us here are able to save the lives of not one but hundreds of thousands of people. Now, I'm not talking about physical life of a person as this does not last, but I am talking of eternal life. I want to pause here for a brief moment and make a clarification. With what I just said I'm not saying or implying that any of us can give eternal life to another person. None of us can do this, none of us can forgive and absolve anyone from sin, there is only one if you can and his name is Jesus. But what if I'm saying is that we have known the truth and that truth must be communicated, that truth has to be a minister and preacher. We must unite as the body of Christ we are and carry the message of salvation to every creature. As faithful believers we can not allow the enemy to distract us with concerns, and we must stop making excuses. We must recognize that if we are not acting properly, in other words, if we ignore or not care about the welfare of others, then we are not acting like our heavenly Father desires.

To conclude. We must learn that God's people as we can not accept any defeat. In every war there are battles that are won and lost, but the important thing is not to focus on a battle that can be lost, but concentrate on the war. There is a war we all know between the powers of darkness and God, although there are many battles but the war is won. Take heed as this is something that is very well stated in Revelation 20:10 we read "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. "Christ has won the war, and has given us the victory. The church today needs to become a colony of ants, we need to be determined, in search of the opportunities the Lord provides, and most importantly care about the well being of others. Today learn these words of wisdom that God has provided. Let us act together with all my heart for the growth of the Kingdom of God here on earth, and bringing the message of salvation completely confident that God has given us the victory. Tell the person you have at your side, is an ant!

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