"ANTS ARE PEOPLE TOO!"..........(Proverbs 6:6-11)-(30:25)-topic

This passage is God's message to LAZY people. Being lazy on God is the worst kind of lazy! The tears on judgement day (as millions are thrown into the lake of fire), are due in great part to our LAZYNESS!-(Churches like this don't just happen-people are at work!)

 ( Psalm 19:1-"The HEAVENS declare the glory of God....")(Nahum 1:3-"the Lord hath his way in the WHIRLWIND and in the STORM, and the CLOUDS are the dust of his feet.") , yet here we are reminded that God's workings are often overlooked! Solomon here writes that God's glory can be seen in even the smallest of things. It has been said that the things we step over in life are often our best examples!

 *LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ANT'S..........

(a)....STABILITY

You could drop an ant out of an airplane at 30,000 ft without oxygen or a parachute; and when you landed you would see that same ant walking around without a scratch!-(does the least little thing trip you up?)

(b)....STRENGTH

An ant has 8-10 times the muscular strength of our own bodies. (Elijah/Moses/Disciples?)

(Phil.4:13-"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. ")

(c)....SPEED

In Australia, some ants grow up to 2" long and can run 18 mph!

(Lev.26:8-"And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred shall put ten thousand to flight...")

 *THE WAY OF THE ANT IS A..............

(1)-COURAGEOUS WAY

An ant rarely takes account of the assailants, no matter how big or how powerful! Have you ever been bitten or stung by and ant??? A 6' man is 100,000's bigger than an ant...but that doesn't stop the ant's courage! (Ps. 27:3-"Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.")

*Simply put, some things are worth fighting for!-(Our COUNTRY, Your FAMILY, this CHURCH!)....An ant will not become the slave of any other insect; it would rather DIE first!

 (2 Tim.4:8-"I have FOUGHT a good fight, I have FINISHED my course, I have kept the FAITH")

An ant's courage isn't license to be IGNORANT...an ant respects the property of others! In other words, they never abuse their strength!-(playing with temptation-boy swimming ex.)

*An ant respects other's business, and avoids any occasion for conflict....it just seems that BUGS CARE MORE ABOUT LIFE THAN PEOPLE DO!!! (Ecc.9:10-"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.")

 (2)-COURTEOUS WAY

An ant helps others carry the load! Carring a big-bug, building a big-nest, or fighting a big-battle is always a JOINT EFFORT! ( I watched a group of ants carrying a grasshopper, while 2 or 3 rode on top!!! SOMEONE IN THE BUNCH IS ALWAYS WANTING A FREE RIDE....even in the ant kingdom!!!) If a ditch is too deep to cross, ants will build a bridge out of their own bodies and let others WALK ALL OVER THEM to get them across!!!!-(THE LOST!)

 (3)-CONSIDERATE WAY

When a bee dies, its body is thrown out of the hive! When a termite dies, the other termites eat him! But, when an ant dies, it is carried out for a private burial!-(CONSIDERATE OF EACH OTHER!)

 Ants have no other aim in life but to live selflessly, and to give to the happiness of others! (Phil. 2:3-"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other BETTER THAN THEMSELVES.") An ant who is wearied in its journey is assisted by guards, and caressed until it regains its strength! If a fellow ant is surrounded by the enemy, it will try to help it...but not so as to endanger himself! (Gal. 6:1-"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness...")

Most ants are TRANSPARENT, so you DON'T SEE THEM....just their CONTENTS! The different colors of the ant can be attributed to what is on the inside of them! If an ant sees 4 or 5 hungry ants, it will feed them by emptying itself...it will gladly walk away EMPTY, but HAPPY!

 (4)-CONTRIBUTORY WAY

I've never known an ant to ask for repayment!-(Paul said-"I am a debtor") The ant is a GIVER...not a TAKER! The ant says, "what can I GIVE" -not- "what can I get out of this"!

If a parasite or a termite is hungry, the ant will invite them into the nest to eat! Jesus told us to LOVE, BLESS, and PRAY for our enemies!

 (5)-CONSISTENT & COOPERATIVE WAY

From the time God created them....4,000 yrs later when Solomon wrote this.....and today, nearly 3,000 years later, the ANT IS KNOWN FOR ITS CONSISTENTCY! *There are no merit placks or awards hanging in an anthill....most of the ant's work in done in the dark where no man can see; but when MORNING COMES, then you see the finished anthill!

(Ants are determined to stay with the MASTER of the colony until death!!!)

 (6)-COMMUNICANT WAY

Like people, ants desire to live in peace. Two colonies will fight, but finally see that it is useless to destroy each other! They wish to STAY TOGETHER! One way they STAY TOGETHER is that they "MARK" the pathway with an odorous fluid....not to find their way back, but to KEEP OTHERS ON THE RIGHT TRAIL!!! You see ants walking in a straight line becaose SOMEBODY WALKED STRAIGHT BEFORE THEM!!!

*Ants can't see! They walk by faith, not by SIGHT!.....their only sense of communication is by "touching antennas"-(attendance)-(12 yr issue wanted to TOUCH Jesus!).

 (7)-CONSTRUCTIVE WAY

(ANTS CAN BUILD ANYWHERE, AT ANY TIME!)....The ants depicted here in proverbs built nests 5 feet deep, covering 3 football fields!-(That's ONE NEST-ONE CHURCH!)

*Nests are constucted for: WARMTH---Anthills are 20 degrees warmer than surroundings!

WORK------Communion halls for adults, Graineries for children!

WAYS------Only one entrance into the nest...the top!

(8)-CLEANSING WAY

An ant will rub and polish itself over 20 times a day! It also has 5 noses....WHY?...so it can smell out the PICNIC!!!

Pastor Brian Eades