sermonette: The Ant
The Way of the Ants
Bill Cherry
Given 21-Feb-04; Sermon #652s; 9 minutes
Description: (show)
Zealous as well as slothful people can learn lessons from the ant, including self-motivation (working with or without supervision), ability to plan, concern for community, industriousness, and love for work. Having God's law implanted in our hearts will make us spiritually self-motivated, having an almost instinctive orientation to God's direction for our lives.
Please turn to Proverbs 6 and verse 6. Go through the ain't that sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise. If a sluggard can learn from an ant. How much more can a zealous Christian who is interested in putting his word in his heart and taking on the nature of
God, learn from a name? So the lesson to it from an ant is for all of us. And so for this summer, we are going to go to the aunt, we are going to consider her ways and see how we can increase our
wisdom. So look at verse 7 and 8. We will read it. Which having no God, overseer, or ruler. Provides her meat in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. So a God is one who teaches or educates and trains, and a guy can also be a book that gives you, that is given to you to use as a source of knowledge. But if you have a guide, if you do not need a guide, you know what to do and when to do it. An overseer coordinates the workers, make sure they work in harmony and
peace, unity of spirit, unity of action, and make sure the job gets done, and he keeps individuals on task and doing the job that they should be doing. A ruler is the ultimate head, the CEO, chief executive officer, the one that they are all under. Preparing meat in the summer, gathering in the harvest represents planning. You foresee what you need, and you know what you need and you gather it at the appropriate time. The harvest, a farmer knows when the harvest comes and a gardener knows when the harvest comes, the plants are ready, not at your convenience. But at the harvest of the the harvest is ready, and if you do not get the plants, then if you do not harvest it, it rots, and so there is a time to gather, and if you do not gather at the right time, you do not gather, there is nothing to gather. But the ant is expert, knowledgeable in its field. It's efficient, and it knows how to do the work of the ant perfectly. It gets along with its co-workers and its bosses. It's loyal to the to the task, and you will not see an aunt walking off on the job singing. It's only 12:30, but I do not care. It's 5 o'clock somewhere. It's only 12:30, but I do not care. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, so it ain't not going to walk off on a job. And I asks when the harvest is ready. If a piece of bread is left on the countertop and one ain't see it. He goes to the hive, he communicates, he might tap on the nest with his, the hind part which is called, oh I forgot what it's called, with with his tail, or else he might put out a scent that tells him, or he might make a noise, but instantly, almost instantly, the line of ants will come and they will come and you will see. Bread crumbs moving and it'll look like a, a, an aerial view of an interstate highway going 70 miles an hour back and forth without interruptions. So they do not stop. They are known for their industry and they will move and, and they keep going and very um. I do not think I've ever seen an ant sitting still, and you probably haven't either. But they only gather what they need. They do not clutter their nest with entertainment devices, objects of impulse, clothing, furniture, and things that they do not need and will never use. So the aint is a great example and lesson for us of industry, of planning, appropriate action at the appropriate time. And how does I do it? Well We know that it's a gift of God. He does it automatically, and it's an instinct that God gives him. A correct response at the correct time. Now, God is going to give all of Israel, what I'm calling in this sermon that divine instinct. He's going to put his laws in their hearts and minds. Please turn to Hebrews chapter 8. And we will read verses 10 and 11. verses 10, verse 10, for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. I will put my laws in their mind. I will write them on their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother saying know the Lord. For all shall know me from the least to the greatest, a society in which everyone knows God. Everyone knows God's word. And how is he going to do it? Well, God is going to be the guide. God is going to be the overseer, he's going to be the ruler. He's going to be assisted by spirit beings who have already learned to live his way, and they are going to be helping him, but they have been trained by living by God's word. And the, the knowledge of God will be presented to them, their minds will be open, God, they will have access to God through prayer and They will learn through Working in a society and an environment that's free of Satan's devices and it will be an ideal environment to learn and through learning, they will take on God's divine nature because they will learn by doing it and doing it that God's way leads to
joy and happiness and peace and harmony, and they will.
Love the Lord with all their heart, and they will put God's word in their heart, and they will teach it diligently to their children. And so this will become like a divine instinct if some they hear a harsh word that they respond with
kindness, or they hold the answer and study to answer or they follow the laws that God has given us of human conduct, and They will learn how to deal with other people in that way. Uh, for us, what about us? See, our minds are already open. God has given us the time of harvest. The piece of bread is on the counter as we come to
Sabbath services. We have access to God's word, and the harvest is right now. So, Unlike the unlike the society of Israel, we live in a distracting, pleasure-seeking, materialistic society. But we must put God's word in our heart now and live it and let it become a divine instinct for us and the way to live. So in conclusion, God gave us a tiny insect to teach us wisdom. Sometimes this insect bites us and steals our food to remind us and get our attention. But A sluggard makes excuses for himself. He's indolent, he's lazy. And selfish And if we see those tendencies in ourselves, we can go to the ant. Consider her ways and be wise.
