Ants, Conies, locusts, and spiders. Four of the most amazing little evangelist’s heaven ever employed to deliver a very personal and eternal message to all of us here.
Proverbs 30:24-28 (NKJ) There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; The rock badgers (conies) are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the cliffs; The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks; The spider (lizards) skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.
1 The message of the ant! Prov. 30:25 (prepare for your eternal future)
2 The message of the conies! Prov. 30:26 (is to run to the rock of ages and hide in it. JESUS)
Proverbs 30:27 Locusts—they have no king, but they march like an army in ranks.
Locusts are the most frequently mentioned insect in the Bible. It was locust which invaded Egypt in the 8th plagues that Moses called down from heaven. In Leviticus 11 Locusts and grasshoppers are listed as the only insects that the Israelites were permitted to eat. And in the New Testament you’ll recall that Locusts were a major part of John the Baptist’s diet.
They would advance across the country in huge swarms. They have no apparent leader yet they come by millions banded together as a fine tuned army with total destruction in their path.
Proverbs 30:27 Locusts—AMP “ The locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands;” (The message of the locust is unity)
Here we have one of the baser creatures on this planet and yet they are able to advance together. Take one little locust by itself and you can step on it and mash it flat and it will provide no threat to anyone. But take millions of them together and they become one of this world’s most destructive forces. They were the dread scourge of the orient. They can break down a great tree, yet they have no seen leader.
Think about this! If the locust could be united without a king how much more should people with a king be united?
Who is our King?
In Matthew 2:2 the Wise Men asked “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? Christ came into this world being called a “King”
In Matthew 27:37 A signboard was fastened to the cross above Jesus’ head that said, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” And Jesus died being called a “King”.
And in 1 Timothy 6:15 Tells us that Christ will be revealed from heaven by almighty God as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The New Testament tells us who our king is: Jesus Christ.
Acts 2:44 AMP “And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in common;”
And may I suggest this was the last time in the history of the church that “all the believers” agreed on anything.
Throughout the remainder of the New Testament we see churches made up of people unable to get along. As history progressed we see with more and more people becoming Christians there became more and more divisions and divisions of divisions. There are more denominations, sects and gatherings today, each claiming to be Christians, then at any other time in history.
We need to realize that although we are different we serve one King and are loyal to one God. And our primary loyalty has to be to God and the Kingdom of God and the winning of people to God’s Kingdom not ours. That means that we can’t be trying to protect our interest but need to be concerned abut God’s interests.
Unity in the Church is one of our greatest weapons against the devil.
Colossians 2:2 talks about the church being knit together in love,
Ephesians 4:3 speaks about the unity of the Spirit
Ephesians 4:13 talks about the unity of faith.
John 17:23 AMP “I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me. “ Jesus prayed for unity.
We have a King! King Jesus, so we should at least be able to advance together like locust who have no king.
If we unite under Him there is no power under heaven or hell that can stop the army of the living God.
United we stand-divided we fall when the devil can separate us - he can win.
Psalm 133 AMP “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in UNITY. It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron (the first high priest). That came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments. (Consecrating the whole body)
It is like the dew of (lofty) Mt. Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore (upon the high and the lowly).”
The precious oil-
Head Our Brain, Knowledge, Wisdom
Hands We work with our hands
Feet We walk and action
The anointing flows from the top of the head to the bottom of your feet. The Church must be united. Who is the church?
Unity means U, and I, Ty
Billy Graham said, “Church goers are like coals in a fire. When they cling together, they keep the flame aglow; when they separate, they die out.” Flame of fire together.
Four lessons from Geese.
We will never become a church that effectively reaches out to those who are missing out if we shoot our wounded and major on the minuses. Instead of being fishers of men, as Christ has called us, we will be keepers of an ever-shrinking aquarium. Next fall when you see geese heading south for the winter, flying along in V formation, you might be interested in knowing what science has discovered about why they fly that way. It has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. (Christians who share a common direction and a sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling on the thrust of one another).
’Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. (If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are going.)
When the lead goose gets tired, he rotates back in the Wing and another goose flies point. (It pays to take turns doing hard jobs--with people at church or with geese flying south.) The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. (What do we say when we honk from behind?) Finally, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by a shot and falls out, two geese fall out of formation and follows him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly, or until he is dead, and then they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their original group. (If people knew we would stand by them like that in church, they would push down these walls to get in.) You see, all we have to do in order to attract those who are missing back to church is to demonstrate to the world that we have as much sense as geese here at church. That seems little enough price to pay to win the lost and minister to one another. Even geese have sense enough to know it works every time.
