It's been 2000 years since
the glorious light of the cross
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illuminated a world veiled
in darkness and confusion about
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the character of God. And
still today the greatest need of
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mankind is a revelation of God's
love as revealed in the life of
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Christ. Amazing Facts presents
the Everlasting Gospel with
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Pastor Doug Batchelor coming
to you each week from Sacramento
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Central Church in sunny
California. Discover hidden
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treasures in God's word today.
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I want to welcome our visitors
this morning. We're very
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thankful that you have come
to worship with us at Central
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Church whether you're
here visiting family or on a
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pilgrimage from some other
country. We're just delighted
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to see each of your here.
Earlier in this week, it's
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typically my custom once a
week I do the worship at Amazing
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Facts and it's just supposed
to be 10-15 minutes, a little
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devotional and in preparing
for a brief worship I saw the
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scripture that we considered
during our scripture reading
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this morning. Wasn't that fun to
see that dear little girl having
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to stand on a pedestal to open
her Bible, talking about ants
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from Proverbs and so I began
this little worship at Amazing
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Facts. In preparing for that
there was so much information
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there I was absolutely floored
with the diversity of the ants
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and how complex they are and the
very fact that they don't have a
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leader. The more I thought about
it and the more I studied I
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thought this is a whole sermon.
Well you know I did a sermon
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once just on lions became they
are in the Bible and I did a
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sermon on snakes. I don't know
how well that went over with the
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ladies. I did a sermon on bees,
eagles and I thought I've never
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done a sermon on ants. Now
there may be some of you who are
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thinking right now, Pastor Doug,
I dressed up before I came this
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morning and this is a holy place
Do we really need to talk about
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bugs? Well the Bible does.
You'll have to take that up with
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the Lord. God has asked us
at least two different places in
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the scriptures to consider ants.
And so I took God at his word
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and I did a study on ants. And
I think it's going to be very
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edifying for us this morning as
we direct our attention to some
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very interesting creatures in
our world that God tells us we
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can learn something through.
So I'd like to invite you to
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consider the ant, if you will,
and there's a lot we can learn.
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Ants are amazing, absolutely
amazing. For one thing just in
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the Amazon jungle they figure
that 15% of the biomass of all
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living creatures are ants.
In other words, if you were take
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all the animals that live in
the whole Amazon basin and weigh
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them, 15% of the weight of all
the animals there would be just
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ants. They're all the way across
the world from the tip of South
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America up to Alaska and just
about everything in between.
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You can go to deserts, you can
go to mountain tops, you can go
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to tundra; you will find ants.
You find them in virtually every
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color. Ants come in green, red,
brown, black, white, yellow,
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blue, purple and pink. Kind
of like people. Some colonies of
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ants like one they have on the
coast of Japan are reported to
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have an incredible 180 million
queens and 306 billion workers
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that are in 45 interconnected
nests. Just in doing a little
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more research this morning
on ants, they said they've now
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discovered networks of colonies
that are many miles wide under
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some cities. Some of you
remember in Arizona a few years
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ago they developed this green
house. They called it Biosphere
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Two. I used it a couple of times
as amazing facts for one of our
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evangelistic meetings. Some
millionaire donated this money
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to develop this Biosphere and
they filled it with all these
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different parts of the world.
they had one that was supposed
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to be like the rain forest
in one section of this great big
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self-contained greenhouse was
to be like a desert and one was
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supposed to be like a savannah
and a forest and they put these
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eight biospherians, sort of like
Noah's ark, in here. They were
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supposed to live entirely on
the environment for I think two
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years. And within a few months
everything began to die. All of
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the vegetation, the fruits they
were supposed to farm and just
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live off everything that was
inside this self-contained unit.
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They bribed some of the
observers on the outside to
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smuggle pizza inside. They all
began to fight among themselves.
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The whole thing just was total
disaster. They all came out long
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before their first few months
went by and they found out that
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the only thing that thrived in
there were ants and cockroaches.
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Everything else died. And
someone speculated that if the
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world was to ever end in some
nuclear holocaust ants would
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rule the world. Comforting
thought. So some advice.
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Make friends now with the ants.
There's a lot we can learn from
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them and I'll share a
little more trivia as we go on.
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For one thing, I think everybody
knows they're very industrious.
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They work hard. They
carry on very complex social
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organizations, building projects
communications. Now in most
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animals when there are groups
of animals, someone in the group
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is the leader. You get a pack of
dogs, you've got the alpha dog.
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You get a group of horses, a
herd of stallions and you've got
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one the leads the herd.
Even among cows they've got the
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matriarch and among elephants
they've got the leader. But ants
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accomplish so much and you say
well don't they have a queen?
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Yeah, but she never gives
any orders. She just lays eggs.
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There's nobody, unlike some
cartoons and things that have
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depicted like there are captains
and sergeants and all. No. They
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all seem to know what their job
is. And this has been one of the
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big conundrums for evolutionists
There is no logical way to
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explain how ants would ever
evolve with every one of them
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needing the other. Their very
complex structure, it all had to
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happen at the same time because
they all have different roles.
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Very industrious creatures.
Matter of fact, another
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conundrum for the evolutionist
is the fossils that they have
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found of ancient ants that date
back to some of the earliest
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dinosaurs that are supposed
to be 200 million years old are
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identical to ants today.
They don't know why haven't they
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changed in all that time. Well
of course, their dating method
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is all wrong. Again our verse,
Proverbs chapter 6 verses 6-8:
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Ants are not lazy. Go to the ant
you sluggard. You know what a
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sluggard is. That's the old
English word for someone who's
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sluggish and slow and lazy.
Consider her ways and be wise.
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And we'll talk about some of
that in our study. They are hard
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workers and there's something
we can learn from them. Ants are
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not lazy. They work and they
don't let some others take up
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the slack while they drag their
feet. They're all going full
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bore all the time when they're
working. Proverbs 13 verse 4:
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The soul of a lazy man desires
and has nothing but the soul
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of the diligent shall be rich.
We should be diligent like ants
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and industrious in serving
God as well as in our regular
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occupation. Oh, by the way, they
say that ants are probably the
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most intelligent of the insects.
They actually have a brain.
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Many insects they can't
find anything in them that even
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resembles a brain. Ants have
this little organ that's kind of
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mushroom shaped and when they
began to examine it they said it
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has the same material from which
human brains are made. And so
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believe it or not, they do
have an element of intelligence
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which is something to consider.
Something else about ants that
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I think we could learn from.
In spite of the fact that you
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think they're icky bugs, they
are actually very clean. Ants
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are some of the great cleaners
of the world. Not only do they
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spend a lot of time grooming
and cleaning each other to keep
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their bodies completely
disinfected, but ants also...
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You can drop something on the
trail. Pastor Mike reminded me
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of when he was in Central
America, he'd see these trails
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running through the jungle.
I actually put one up on the
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screen there that I found on
line. That's not a path. You've
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got to go back to the
other picture, there Cheryl, the
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previous picture. You'll see
that path there. That's not a
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human path. That is a path that
is made by either parasol, leaf
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cutter, army ants or something,
but they have some ants, their
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whole job is just to keep the
road clear. They're road workers
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And you go out and you drop
a piece of debris in their path
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and sure enough they all get
it and they throw it out of the
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path. Some of you have seen ant
hills and they've got their own
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little junk yard. You know
after they get done having their
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little feast you'll see all
the little grasshopper wings and
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debris and stuff. They pile it
neatly outside the den and they
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clean each other up. Matter
of fact, ants of so clean,
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scientists are trying to learn
what the chemical mechanism is
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but ants actually spray a
disinfectant on themselves and
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the food that they bring
down in the den because if some
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disease... This might be
why those ants thrived in that
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biosphere when everything else
got sick and died. If ants get
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some bacteria and they bring it
into the colony they know it'll
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spread and kill everybody.
So they keep themselves clean to
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avoid being contagious. Ants to
a great extent clean the world.
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You'd be surprised all around
the world ants are cleaning. If
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you were to add up all the
people in the world and put them
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on a scale, and get all the ants
in the world and put them on a
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scale the ants would weigh more
than the people. You and I make
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a lot more mess than ants do.
Ants are cleaning the world all
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the time from debris. Now
Christians can learn something
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from that. God's commanded
us in his word that we should be
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clean. Isaiah chapter 1 verses
16 and 17: Wash yourselves
clean. Put away the
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evil from your doings from
before my eyes. Cease to do evil
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learn to do good. Like the ants
we should spray ourselves with
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the antibiotic of Jesus' blood
and be clean. Amen? Something
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else I thought was interesting
as I began to study ants. They
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have interesting, complimentary,
considerate relationships in
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God's world in a number of ways
and I'll just tell you about a
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few of them right now. There are
ants, for instance, when they
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live in a tree, they take care
of the tree. Like they might
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live in a acacia tree. This
is a picture where you can see
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a little ant holding this acacia
tree or this vine and they clean
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the tree. The tree provides food
for them. They protect it from
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other bugs, but they will
not bother the bees that come to
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the tree to pollinate the
tree. They know what animals and
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caterpillars to keep away from
eating it that will harm their
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home but they take care of
it. There are ants that live in
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birds' nests that will protect
the birds and their chicks.
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They live in the nest. The ants
inhabit it. Matter of fact, in
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some cases the next is the
ant colony and they have this
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symbiotic relationship. They'll
clean the birds' home and all
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and all over the birds but they
won't bite them. All through
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nature they've got a lot of
this very interesting symbiotic
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relationships where they protect
and they care for. In other
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words, there's a loyalty there
that you can expect. You know
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ants typically will not bite
you. If you're just standing
00:12:46.60\00:12:50.29
somewhere and an ant walks along
and he runs into your foot they
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won't bite you. It's when you
get close to their house and you
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start creating problems for
their environment. That's when
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they're more of a threat.
Ants farm. You know in the Bible
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Christians are told to farm too
aren't we? It's amazing. I mean
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they really farm. There are some
ants in Texas for instance that
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have fields that are one or two
square yards around their nest.
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They collect rice from other
places, the grain. They plant
00:13:14.43\00:13:19.60
the rice. They keep the
rice cleared. They keep away the
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other bugs. They let it
grow. They cut it down and they
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harvest it just like farmers.
They put the seeds in the
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ground. They wait. They know
when to put them in the ground
00:13:30.45\00:13:33.34
when it's watering. They know
how to weed around it to keep
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everything out of the rice
except the rice and then they
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bring the grain back in and save
it for the winter. By the way,
00:13:39.74\00:13:43.96
we've been invited to farm.
II Corinthians chapter 9 verse 6
00:13:44.00\00:13:49.29
Paul says: By this I say, he who
sows sparingly will also reap
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sparingly and he who
sows bountifully will reap
00:13:54.62\00:13:57.86
bountifully. You know,
Christians are compared to
00:13:57.90\00:14:01.07
farmers. Jesus said the Bible is
like gospel seed and we are to
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spread it, we are to cultivate
it, we're to harvest it.
00:14:05.54\00:14:09.52
One sows, one reaps. Our food,
our bread of life, is the word
00:14:09.56\00:14:14.33
of God. Some of you have heard
of leaf cutter ants. How many of
00:14:14.36\00:14:17.82
you have heard of leaf cutter
ants? These are very interesting
00:14:17.86\00:14:20.99
If you've been down to Central
and South America in the jungle
00:14:21.02\00:14:24.25
have any of you seen them in the
wild? It's really interesting.
00:14:24.28\00:14:27.48
They are found in many parts
of the world, mostly in the
00:14:27.51\00:14:29.76
tropical regions. These ants can
totally strip a large tree of
00:14:29.80\00:14:35.36
most of its leaves in one day.
Their jaws, their mandibles,
00:14:35.40\00:14:40.50
are made like scissors
that overlap. They've got a zinc
00:14:40.54\00:14:45.57
coating so they don't wear out.
Their heads vibrate. They make
00:14:45.61\00:14:49.50
this resonating high-pitched
sound with their heads so their
00:14:49.54\00:14:52.72
heads are vibrating. Do any of
you remember those knives that
00:14:52.76\00:14:55.68
you could turn on the electric
know for carving the turkey or
00:14:55.72\00:14:58.81
whatever. It was actually
serrated and vibrating and they
00:14:58.85\00:15:01.58
found it cut much faster that
way. So here their heads are
00:15:01.62\00:15:05.08
vibrating while their cutting
through these leaves with these
00:15:05.11\00:15:08.12
mandibles that are sharp and
serrated with zinc on them to
00:15:08.16\00:15:11.64
keep them sharp. And just think
it only took 50 million years
00:15:11.68\00:15:15.99
for that to evolve that way;
an electric knife. And so they
00:15:16.03\00:15:19.36
are constantly cutting these
pieces of leaves. But then they
00:15:19.40\00:15:22.95
take the leaves after they
cut them. They bring them down.
00:15:22.99\00:15:26.47
They carry them and it's really
something. Sometimes you'll see
00:15:26.51\00:15:29.53
them cut flowers and you'll see
a whole trail of moving petals.
00:15:29.57\00:15:33.15
Sometimes they're called parasol
ants instead of leaf cutter ants
00:15:33.18\00:15:36.68
because they always carry them
over their heads. And there's a
00:15:36.72\00:15:39.90
couple reasons for that. One
reason is it's probably easier.
00:15:39.93\00:15:44.20
The other reason is there are
wasps that like to eat them and
00:15:44.23\00:15:47.74
they try to use it to try to
fan the wasps away if they come
00:15:47.77\00:15:50.67
after them because they can't
protect themselves when they've
00:15:50.70\00:15:53.87
got this piece of leaf or this
rose petal in their mandibles
00:15:53.90\00:15:57.03
and their mandible is the only
way they can use their pincher
00:15:57.06\00:15:59.95
to protect themselves. Matter of
fact, one group of leaf cutter
00:15:59.99\00:16:02.85
ants... Can you tell I'm
excited about this? I've enjoyed
00:16:02.88\00:16:05.81
this study. It's increased my
faith. There's one group, they
00:16:05.84\00:16:08.89
actually take a hitchhiker on
the leaf with them, another ant,
00:16:08.93\00:16:12.33
that is there to ride shotgun.
And so every ant is not only
00:16:12.37\00:16:16.24
carrying a leaf, he's carrying
a buddy. Did I mention they can
00:16:16.27\00:16:19.92
carry 20 times their own weight?
Some ants more. They're very
00:16:19.95\00:16:23.44
strong. And so they carry these
leaves back down into their den.
00:16:23.47\00:16:26.82
They don't eat the leaves. They
put the leaves way down in the
00:16:26.85\00:16:29.98
den. They have another group
of ants, much smaller, they chew
00:16:30.01\00:16:33.11
them up into a very small
pulp and in one day... Oh they
00:16:33.14\00:16:37.90
disinfect every leaf they bring
down with this disinfectant they
00:16:37.94\00:16:41.91
spray on them. In one day those
leaves that are chewed into a
00:16:41.94\00:16:44.95
pulp begin to grow a fungus.
Have you ever seen mushrooms
00:16:44.99\00:16:47.93
grow overnight? Just in one day
they make a fungus. They make a
00:16:47.97\00:16:51.45
bread out of it. They dry it,
they store it and then they eat
00:16:51.48\00:16:54.78
that. Then they take out the
debris after they've made their
00:16:54.82\00:16:57.82
bread and they bring in new
leaves. They constantly have
00:16:57.86\00:17:00.94
this factory down there where
they are growing, or farming,
00:17:00.98\00:17:04.34
this fungus. They call them
fungus gardens that they have
00:17:04.38\00:17:09.69
down there. Isn't that
appetizing? Potluck next week.
00:17:09.72\00:17:14.96
You know it says in Proverbs,
I told you there are a couple
00:17:15.00\00:17:19.99
of scriptures that talk about
ants. Proverbs 30 verses 24, 25:
00:17:20.03\00:17:24.99
They are a very amazing, strong
people. It's interesting that he
00:17:40.07\00:17:45.52
calls them a people. You
know not only do they farm, they
00:17:45.55\00:17:49.26
bake. Ants actually bake.
There is another group of ants,
00:17:49.30\00:17:52.94
Mediterranean ants. They will go
out and they will gather grain.
00:17:52.98\00:17:57.81
They plant the grain. Catch
this. This is really amazing.
00:17:57.84\00:18:01.62
The grain sprouts. As soon
as it sprouts they grab it.
00:18:01.65\00:18:04.70
It's because it softens the
seed as soon as it breaks the
00:18:04.73\00:18:07.71
sprout. They cut off the sprout.
They bring it back down to their
00:18:07.75\00:18:11.77
den. They've got these workers
and they're only job is they
00:18:11.80\00:18:15.07
take their big mandibles. They
mash this stuff up and they make
00:18:15.10\00:18:18.34
a dough out of it. Then another
group of ants make it into
00:18:18.37\00:18:21.07
cookies. They actually
shape it into little bitty anty
00:18:21.10\00:18:23.73
cookies. They then bring it back
out of the den. On a hot day
00:18:23.77\00:18:27.93
they set them out in the sun.
They bake their cookies. Then
00:18:27.97\00:18:31.19
once they're dry they bring them
back down again and they store
00:18:31.22\00:18:33.75
them and they eat them through
the winter. They eat cookies all
00:18:33.78\00:18:36.28
winter long. Isn't that amazing?
And they're so different.
00:18:36.31\00:18:40.25
Not only that there are some
ants that are called honey pot
00:18:40.28\00:18:44.15
ants. Have any of you ever heard
of honey pot ants? Look at that.
00:18:44.19\00:18:48.25
That is the ant's abdomen.
That almost looks edible.
00:18:48.28\00:18:52.71
You've heard of people eating
ants before. Have any of you
00:18:52.75\00:18:56.91
ever eaten ants? Accidentally.
My brother and I one day, I
00:18:56.95\00:19:01.04
remember, Tujunga, California,
vividly still one of my memories
00:19:01.08\00:19:04.15
earliest memories. Sitting out
in my grandma's pool. Sometimes
00:19:04.19\00:19:07.52
she'd give us ice cream on a hot
day. We're sitting out there in
00:19:07.55\00:19:10.39
the back yard and my brother
told me, you know Dougy, there's
00:19:10.42\00:19:13.36
some people that eat chocolate
covered ants in Paris. He was
00:19:13.39\00:19:16.06
older than me. He used to
make fun of me. I said really.
00:19:16.09\00:19:20.11
He said yah, put some in
your ice cream. So I trusted my
00:19:20.14\00:19:25.25
brother. I don't remember any
ill effects. I felt sorry for
00:19:25.28\00:19:30.21
them swimming around in the
melting ice cream in my bowl
00:19:30.24\00:19:33.53
and I put a bunch of ants
in there and I ate them. Yah.
00:19:33.56\00:19:36.92
I mean if you don't feel
sorry for them what a way to go.
00:19:36.96\00:19:40.50
Drown in ice cream, that can't
be that bad. But these ants are
00:19:40.54\00:19:43.98
really interesting. What they
do they're not born like that
00:19:44.01\00:19:47.27
obviously. None of us are born
like that but some of us get
00:19:47.31\00:19:51.51
that way. What happens is these
ants, after they're born, they
00:19:51.54\00:19:56.13
are fed a lot of nectar by the
other ants with an objective and
00:19:56.16\00:20:00.72
then they hang themselves
from the ceiling. Go to the next
00:20:00.75\00:20:03.81
picture. Then they suspend
themselves all winter long.
00:20:03.85\00:20:06.84
When the other ants get hungry
they come along and they just
00:20:06.88\00:20:09.48
sort of tickle them with their
antlers, what do they call those
00:20:09.51\00:20:12.86
things, they antennae and they
then excrete some of the honey
00:20:12.90\00:20:17.40
that they've stored. So they're
feeding them and nourishing them
00:20:17.43\00:20:21.10
and they give it back. You know
one of the things that excited
00:20:21.13\00:20:24.59
me about ants, there's a lot we
can learn about ants. They don't
00:20:24.62\00:20:29.28
think about themselves. They are
very selfless. It's not about
00:20:29.31\00:20:34.03
any one individual, it's all
about the whole colony. And you
00:20:34.07\00:20:38.55
know church is something like
that in that you and I are all
00:20:38.59\00:20:43.00
just different parts of the body
of Christ. I might be the pastor
00:20:43.04\00:20:48.50
but really I'm just doing my
part I am called to do. I'm no
00:20:48.53\00:20:52.29
more important than any other
part of the body. We are all
00:20:52.33\00:20:56.06
parts of the body and
God's given us different gifts.
00:20:56.09\00:20:58.73
And the big thing is that we are
here to represent Christ in the
00:20:58.77\00:21:02.88
world. Sometimes everybody's
so interested in what is in the
00:21:02.91\00:21:06.52
church for me, what can I get
out of the church, what can they
00:21:06.55\00:21:10.33
do for me. You're not thinking
like an ant. You didn't know you
00:21:10.36\00:21:14.09
were supposed to. But the Bible
says we should consider it.
00:21:14.12\00:21:19.04
They're wise. It's not all about
one individual. Something else
00:21:19.07\00:21:23.96
about ants I thought was
interesting. Oh we'll talk about
00:21:23.99\00:21:27.68
the honeypot ants how generous
they are. They store for others.
00:21:27.72\00:21:31.17
Let me give you a few verses on
that. Let each of you look out
00:21:31.20\00:21:35.45
not only for his own interests
but the interests of others.
00:21:35.49\00:21:38.91
Isn't that the Christian spirit?
It's not just all about me.
00:21:38.94\00:21:42.39
It's about us. I'll remind you
in the Lord's Prayer you know
00:21:42.43\00:21:45.84
you don't find the word I
anywhere. It's lead us, deliver
00:21:45.88\00:21:49.22
us, give us, feed us. We should
all be thinking more as a body.
00:21:49.26\00:21:55.31
Amen? Ephesians chapter 4
verse Let him who stole steel no
00:21:55.35\00:21:59.99
longer but rather let him labor
for what purpose? Working with
00:22:00.02\00:22:04.23
his hands what is good that
he might have something to give.
00:22:04.27\00:22:08.64
It's not just about getting as
Christians. We're working so we
00:22:08.67\00:22:12.67
we can give to others. Matter of
fact, Paul, when addressing the
00:22:12.70\00:22:16.67
wealthy in the church, he said
you should be ready to give,
00:22:16.70\00:22:19.30
willing to share. It's this idea
about feeding others. We should
00:22:19.34\00:22:23.30
all be honey pots, right?
Be willing to store that we may
00:22:23.33\00:22:26.82
give to others. By the way, that
was I Timothy 6:18. I heard a
00:22:26.86\00:22:31.26
story one time about a man
who had a dream and he was taken
00:22:31.29\00:22:36.70
and given a glimpse of heaven
and hell. And at first glimpse
00:22:36.73\00:22:42.24
he saw that in heaven there was
a banquet table spread will all
00:22:42.28\00:22:47.27
of the most wonderful delicacies
and people sitting at the table.
00:22:47.31\00:22:51.60
Then we was taken down and he
saw in hell there was a banquet
00:22:51.63\00:22:55.53
table spread with all of
the very same delicacies. People
00:22:55.57\00:22:59.40
were dressed the same sitting at
the same kind of table. And he
00:22:59.44\00:23:02.63
turned to his angel. He said
I don't understand. He says they
00:23:02.67\00:23:05.25
have got the banquet and the
feast in heaven and they've got
00:23:05.28\00:23:07.61
the banquet and feast in hell.
And the angel said look closer.
00:23:07.65\00:23:10.31
And he looked closer and it
didn't look like the people in
00:23:10.35\00:23:13.26
hell were very happy but the
people in heaven were very happy
00:23:13.29\00:23:16.00
and he couldn't understand.
And the angel said look closer.
00:23:16.04\00:23:19.68
And he looked closer and he
could see that people all had
00:23:19.72\00:23:24.32
these three-foot chop sticks
taped to their hands and in hell
00:23:24.36\00:23:28.51
they were all miserable sitting
at the table and starving
00:23:28.55\00:23:32.63
because they could not get the
food to their mouths with these
00:23:32.67\00:23:35.78
three-foot chop sticks taped to
their hands. In heaven everybody
00:23:35.82\00:23:38.90
was happy because they were
feeding each other. They'd take
00:23:38.93\00:23:42.90
the food and they'd feed someone
else and someone would feed them
00:23:42.94\00:23:45.15
And you know this is kind
of the way it should be for the
00:23:45.18\00:23:49.87
Christian church. If we're
all preoccupied with bearing one
00:23:49.90\00:23:54.09
another's burdens and, by the
way ants are good burden bearers
00:23:54.13\00:23:58.29
aren't they? Bearing one
another's burdens, making sure
00:23:58.32\00:24:01.66
the others are fed and loving
each other. You know I think
00:24:01.69\00:24:05.14
before Jesus comes back the
church is going to return to the
00:24:05.17\00:24:09.87
place that's described in Acts
where it says no man said that
00:24:09.91\00:24:14.58
ought that he had was his
own but every man gave and
00:24:14.61\00:24:17.40
sacrificed that others might
be cared for. That we're all so
00:24:17.44\00:24:21.21
preoccupied about giving to
each other that you wouldn't
00:24:21.24\00:24:24.94
have the selfishness and the
squabbling that is so often seen
00:24:24.98\00:24:29.02
today. Something about ants
that I thought was fascinating.
00:24:29.06\00:24:33.07
Christians should be good
shepherds. Jesus talks about
00:24:33.10\00:24:36.09
hireling shepherds that don't
really care about the sheep.
00:24:36.12\00:24:40.33
Do you know ants are shepherds?
Ants have domestic livestock.
00:24:40.37\00:24:45.10
Yes they do. Many different
kinds of ants do this. One of
00:24:45.14\00:24:49.46
the cases of this is a lot
of the ants take care of aphids.
00:24:49.50\00:24:53.59
How many of you have heard this
before? They have little bitty
00:24:53.63\00:24:56.87
aphids and they take the aphids
and they put them on the tree
00:24:56.91\00:25:00.40
or the plan that happens to
be where their home is and they
00:25:00.43\00:25:03.59
move them from place to place
so these aphids can lock into
00:25:03.63\00:25:06.78
the plant and they drink sap
from the plant and then when the
00:25:06.81\00:25:09.73
ant gets hungry it comes along
and it sort of milks the aphid.
00:25:09.76\00:25:12.46
Except the aphid doesn't have an
udder. I won't tell you how he
00:25:12.50\00:25:15.06
gets the milk. But he strokes
them and the aphid gives him a
00:25:15.10\00:25:18.53
little bit of nectar. So
they take care of these aphids.
00:25:18.57\00:25:21.77
They move them and when the
plant starts drying out in a
00:25:21.81\00:25:24.76
certain spot, they pick them
up and they carry them off to
00:25:24.80\00:25:28.73
another plant and they do this
again. And they watch over them
00:25:28.76\00:25:32.40
and they vigorously protect
their little bugs that they take
00:25:32.43\00:25:36.05
care of and their bugs like them
evidently. There's not been an
00:25:36.09\00:25:39.38
interview yet but eventually I'm
sure someone will figure out a
00:25:39.42\00:25:42.68
way. They carry them around,
they protect them, they feed
00:25:42.71\00:25:45.59
them. Matter of fact, they'll
even make, yah, so that next
00:25:45.62\00:25:49.42
picture. I thought that was
a beautiful photograph. See the
00:25:49.45\00:25:53.54
little ant take care of all his
little bugs. They've got these
00:25:53.57\00:25:58.00
other ants called herdsmen ants.
When they drain the resources
00:25:58.03\00:26:02.43
in this one location, the
herdsmen ants go pick up their
00:26:02.46\00:26:04.80
their little baby bugs. They'll
take them to another tree.
00:26:04.84\00:26:07.85
They'll set them down. They
even build barns for them to
00:26:07.88\00:26:10.82
protect them. It's just amazing.
They're good shepherds. Here's
00:26:10.86\00:26:14.27
another one of all the big
ants taking care of their little
00:26:14.31\00:26:18.54
domestic livestock. Those are
called shoot bugs. Now I don't
00:26:18.58\00:26:21.89
know what they are. They're just
some little bugs that they take
00:26:21.92\00:26:25.20
care of, they feed them, they
guard them and protect them.
00:26:25.23\00:26:28.23
And they milk them every now and
then. They don't eat them. They
00:26:28.27\00:26:33.05
protect them. The Bible says
that we are to be shepherds and
00:26:33.09\00:26:37.33
to be good shepherds. Jesus said
I am the good Shepherd and he
00:26:37.37\00:26:40.82
appoints us as under shepherds.
What did Jesus say before he
00:26:40.86\00:26:44.23
ascended to heaven to Peter?
If you love me, feed my sheep.
00:26:44.26\00:26:47.60
Right? We should take
care. Jesus said, I am the good
00:26:47.63\00:26:50.72
shepherd. The good shepherd
gives his life for the sheep but
00:26:50.76\00:26:54.72
a hireling is he who is not the
shepherd, one who doesn't own
00:26:54.75\00:26:57.80
the sheep. He sees the wolf
coming and he leaves the sheep
00:26:57.83\00:27:00.84
and he flees. And the wolf
catches the sheep and scatters
00:27:00.87\00:27:03.81
them. The hireling flees because
he's a hireling and he doesn't
00:27:03.85\00:27:07.42
care about the sheep. We ought
to be jealous for and care about
00:27:07.45\00:27:11.86
each other's welfare. We ought
to protect one another. One of
00:27:11.89\00:27:16.03
the great challenges when you
have a larger church like this
00:27:16.07\00:27:20.01
is to make sure that people
don't slip between the cracks,
00:27:20.05\00:27:23.92
that folks are cared for. It's
so easy for people to miss a few
00:27:23.96\00:27:28.18
weeks and then you forget about
them and the wolves come in and
00:27:28.21\00:27:32.31
get them. And so what you need
in a church is the pastors need
00:27:32.35\00:27:35.61
under shepherds who will also
care about the sheep and who are
00:27:35.65\00:27:39.85
watching out for each other and
making sure that the sheep are
00:27:39.89\00:27:44.53
prospering and that they are
being fed. Something else about
00:27:44.56\00:27:49.17
ants that I thought was
fascinating. Ants are good
00:27:49.20\00:27:52.68
soldiers. You've all heard about
army ants and the idea of army
00:27:52.72\00:27:57.69
ants strikes terror into a
lot of people, but you've got to
00:27:57.72\00:28:02.43
respect them because they
are very dependable soldiers.
00:28:02.47\00:28:06.77
Not just the army ants but
in almost every ant colony they
00:28:06.81\00:28:10.93
have some that are the soldiers
that protect. Sometimes they
00:28:10.96\00:28:15.49
will be 400 times bigger than
the other ants. For instance,
00:28:15.53\00:28:20.43
in a leaf cutter colony of ants
they've got these soldier ants,
00:28:20.46\00:28:25.33
the guard ants and they are
hundreds times bigger than the
00:28:25.36\00:28:29.44
itty bitty ants that are on the
inside that are mashing up the
00:28:29.48\00:28:33.08
leaves and they are there as
guards to protect the trails and
00:28:33.11\00:28:37.42
to protect the den and they are
very tenacious. They'll lay down
00:28:37.46\00:28:41.80
their lives to protect the other
ants. Something else about army
00:28:41.84\00:28:46.49
I thought was interesting. Army
ants don't really have a nest.
00:28:46.53\00:28:51.15
They have what they call a
bivouac. They don't dig a hole
00:28:51.18\00:28:53.95
in the ground, they don't dig
a hole in the tree. What they do
00:28:53.99\00:28:58.66
is they are pilgrims. When they
travel from place to place they
00:28:58.69\00:29:02.77
carry their babies with them,
they carry their queen with them
00:29:02.80\00:29:07.36
and they're pilgrims. They're
on a journey. They'll bivouac
00:29:07.40\00:29:11.11
somewhere for a few days and
they'll go on raids and they'll
00:29:11.14\00:29:14.82
clean up everything in the
jungle that's in their way.
00:29:14.85\00:29:17.20
Pastor Mike was telling me
in Central America if army ants
00:29:17.23\00:29:19.51
came through your house you had
to move out for a little while,
00:29:19.55\00:29:21.98
but he said it was great. When
you came back in there wasn't
00:29:22.01\00:29:24.78
a mosquito, there wasn't a
lizard, there wasn't a cockroach
00:29:24.81\00:29:28.48
He said everything was totally
cleaned up. Then they go back
00:29:28.51\00:29:31.70
to their bivouac. When they
move you can see army ants when
00:29:31.74\00:29:34.44
they're moving their bivouac
they've got their queen and
00:29:34.48\00:29:36.77
there's 50 of them carrying
their queen and there she is
00:29:36.81\00:29:39.51
laying eggs along the way and
they're carrying their babies
00:29:39.55\00:29:43.50
on the nest and they're carrying
all of their supplies. I don't
00:29:43.53\00:29:47.15
know what they have, pots and
pans and things, but they live
00:29:47.18\00:29:50.77
like pilgrims. You know
the Bible tells us that we're
00:29:50.80\00:29:53.65
something like that. Hebrews
chapter 11 verse 13: These all
00:29:53.69\00:29:58.02
died and they confessed that
they were strangers and pilgrims
00:29:58.06\00:30:02.26
in the world. Like army ants,
we should be brave and we should
00:30:02.29\00:30:06.46
also recognize that we're
just here for a little while.
00:30:06.49\00:30:09.68
II Timothy 2 verses 3 and
4, Paul says we're soldiers.
00:30:09.71\00:30:13.97
Now, therefore, endure hardness
as a good soldier of Jesus
00:30:14.01\00:30:18.17
Christ. No man who wars, we're
involved in a war here in this
00:30:18.20\00:30:22.33
world, entangles himself
with the affairs of this life.
00:30:22.36\00:30:25.69
Army ants, they don't put
their roots down because they're
00:30:25.72\00:30:29.61
living a war. We don't become
entangled with this world.
00:30:29.65\00:30:33.80
We are pilgrims. We're on
our way somewhere else. No good
00:30:33.83\00:30:37.91
soldier entangles himself with
the affairs of this life that he
00:30:37.95\00:30:42.59
might please him who has chosen
him to be a soldier. Army ants
00:30:42.62\00:30:47.30
are also fearless. It would be
good for us to live without fear
00:30:47.33\00:30:51.52
I thought this was a great
picture. Here you've got one ant
00:30:51.55\00:30:57.62
taking on a snake. If anybody
threatens the colony they'll lay
00:30:57.66\00:31:03.70
down their lives to defend
it. Absolutely fearless and
00:31:03.73\00:31:09.09
courageous. It reminds me of
that passage in Deuteronomy 20
00:31:09.13\00:31:13.82
verse 8. When the Israelite
army was about to go into battle
00:31:13.86\00:31:17.51
Moses had instructed the priests
to gather the soldiers together
00:31:17.55\00:31:20.77
and one of the first things the
priests were supposed to say,
00:31:20.80\00:31:23.51
there's only one time in
the Bible it's recorded they did
00:31:23.55\00:31:26.19
this and that during the time of
Gideon. The priest was to say,
00:31:26.23\00:31:29.69
if there's anyone among
you soldiers who is fearful and
00:31:29.72\00:31:33.27
faint-hearted, go home, because
your fear will be contagious
00:31:33.31\00:31:37.08
among the troops and you cannot
be faint-hearted when you're
00:31:37.11\00:31:40.35
charging into battle. You
must have courage in your heart.
00:31:40.39\00:31:43.98
God's people must be without
fear. How many times did Jesus
00:31:44.01\00:31:48.31
say don't fear? The world's
already afraid. We shouldn't be
00:31:48.34\00:31:51.65
afraid. People will be attracted
to a place where we've got
00:31:51.68\00:31:55.67
courage in our hearts. Joshua
going into the Promised Land
00:31:55.71\00:31:58.94
over and over he said be
courageous, be courageous, be
00:31:58.98\00:32:02.15
very courageous. So we can learn
something from ants. They're not
00:32:02.18\00:32:08.19
afraid. They work together, they
cooperate doing their different
00:32:08.22\00:32:14.19
responsibilities. Romans chapter
12 verses 4-6. You know I
00:32:14.22\00:32:19.29
thought that this was
interesting. How many of you
00:32:19.32\00:32:22.14
have seen a variety of different
ways where ants have some big
00:32:22.17\00:32:25.53
obstacle and they manage to move
something no one of them could
00:32:25.57\00:32:28.89
ever move, but they
move... Have you ever heard the
00:32:28.92\00:32:30.80
expression, ants can eat an
elephant one bite at a time?
00:32:30.83\00:32:34.23
Have you heard that expression
before? I mean, it's amazing how
00:32:34.27\00:32:37.27
much they do when they work
together. They can just move
00:32:37.31\00:32:40.60
tremendous things. Ants,
by undermining something, have
00:32:40.63\00:32:44.01
moved giant boulders just by
digging under them. Little by
00:32:44.05\00:32:47.07
little this whole bolder starts
to roll and it's because ants
00:32:47.11\00:32:50.05
are digging under it and
undermining it. They accomplish
00:32:50.08\00:32:52.95
great things by working together
We should be working together.
00:32:52.99\00:32:57.79
I started reading this verse.
Romans 12 verses 4-6: For as we
00:32:57.82\00:33:01.96
are many members in one body
and all members don't have the
00:33:02.00\00:33:07.04
same office, so we being many
are one in Christ and every one
00:33:07.07\00:33:12.08
member is a member of one
another having gifts differing
00:33:12.11\00:33:16.22
according to the grace that is
given to us. One of the things
00:33:16.25\00:33:19.55
that impressed me as I was
preparing and studying about
00:33:19.58\00:33:23.29
ants, it's almost like every ant
in the colony with his little
00:33:23.32\00:33:29.14
bitty brain is one cell in a big
collective brain. I mean it's
00:33:29.17\00:33:34.95
the closest thing you've
ever seen to communicating
00:33:34.98\00:33:40.02
psychically with others without
speaking. It's like bees when
00:33:40.06\00:33:44.01
they find honey they'll
come back and they do this dance
00:33:44.04\00:33:47.15
to show where the honey is and
they've figured out how these
00:33:47.18\00:33:50.39
bees communicate location with
a dance. Have you heard about
00:33:50.43\00:33:54.08
that? They can't figure out how
the ants manage to communicate
00:33:54.12\00:33:57.74
with each other but somehow
it's almost like they've got
00:33:57.78\00:34:00.18
telepathy where their brain cell
is connected with the combined
00:34:00.21\00:34:04.26
brain cells forming one brain
of the colony and they all know
00:34:04.30\00:34:07.86
what to do and their jobs to get
it right. They know right where
00:34:07.90\00:34:12.15
to put their pebble when they
carry it. Wouldn't it be nice if
00:34:12.19\00:34:16.41
the church was like all
collectively the brain of Jesus?
00:34:16.44\00:34:19.80
We all had collectively the mind
of Christ and we're all doing
00:34:19.84\00:34:24.13
our part, our role, in the body
and showing the world what the
00:34:24.17\00:34:28.43
body of Jesus is like.
I Corinthians 12 verse 4.
00:34:28.46\00:34:32.54
Do you know what your place
is in the body of Christ? If you
00:34:32.58\00:34:36.87
are a Christian, if you are
in the church, you have a job.
00:34:36.91\00:34:42.38
Maybe pastors are just longing
for you and the elders to let
00:34:42.41\00:34:47.81
them know that you want to help,
that you've got a spiritual gift
00:34:47.85\00:34:50.37
waiting to be activated and
you've just been kind of coming
00:34:50.40\00:34:53.31
saying well it's nice to be
saved and come to church and
00:34:53.34\00:34:56.18
have a church and I grew up in
this church. But you're not part
00:34:56.21\00:34:58.68
of the body, you're not doing
anything. You want to make a
00:34:58.72\00:35:02.63
good ant. Don't mean to insult
you but every ant's busy doing
00:35:02.66\00:35:06.60
something for the colony. Every
Christian ought to be using
00:35:06.63\00:35:10.49
their gift in some capacity for
the body. Now some of you might
00:35:10.53\00:35:15.20
be thinking, oh Pastor Doug,
you know I'm getting up there in
00:35:15.23\00:35:19.11
years and I can't do much
physically, I can't sew any more
00:35:19.14\00:35:23.08
Well you be a prayer warrior.
Can you think. I mean every body
00:35:23.11\00:35:26.45
if you can pray you can be
part of it. Everybody has a role
00:35:26.48\00:35:30.05
that they can use in the body of
Christ. It's not good for your
00:35:30.09\00:35:33.63
soul to be sitting on the
sidelines. It's a sign of health
00:35:33.66\00:35:37.41
for you to be engaged using
whatever gifts Jesus has given
00:35:37.45\00:35:41.10
you. I Corinthians 12 verse 4:
There are diversities of gifts,
00:35:41.13\00:35:44.93
but the same Spirit. There are
differences of ministries but
00:35:44.97\00:35:48.73
the same Lord. There are
differences of activities, but
00:35:48.77\00:35:51.83
it's the same God working all in
all by the manifestation of the
00:35:51.86\00:35:56.21
Spirit, each one is given for
the profit of all. God has given
00:35:56.24\00:36:00.33
you some gift to be used in
profiting the body of Christ.
00:36:00.36\00:36:04.38
It's like the parable of the 10
talents. Jesus said that to each
00:36:04.41\00:36:09.51
one of these servants he gave
something according to their
00:36:09.55\00:36:13.55
ability. God has given you
gifts to be used in his service
00:36:13.58\00:36:19.52
somehow. Have you heard
about weaver ants? Weaver ants.
00:36:19.56\00:36:25.43
They've got these ants that live
in Australia, we've got some
00:36:25.47\00:36:28.53
friends from Australia here,
maybe they have weaver ants
00:36:28.56\00:36:31.56
where they live, I don't know.
But these ants actually all work
00:36:31.59\00:36:36.33
together. When they make their
nest they grab onto different
00:36:36.36\00:36:40.12
parts of a leaf and little
by little they start to pull it
00:36:40.15\00:36:43.11
over. At first they can't reach
both ends of the leaf, so they
00:36:43.14\00:36:46.03
grab the legs of the other ant
in front of them and they kind
00:36:46.06\00:36:48.92
of make these human chains,
except they're not human, they
00:36:48.95\00:36:52.67
are ant chains, and they pull
the leaf over and they all pull
00:36:52.71\00:36:56.17
together in the same direction,
which is really phenomenal. Then
00:36:56.21\00:37:00.47
what they do is they take the
larvae, the little babies, and
00:37:00.51\00:37:05.66
they take them and just at the
right moment these babies know,
00:37:05.70\00:37:09.26
I don't know whether the ant
is pinching them to make them do
00:37:09.30\00:37:13.39
it, but they start to squirt out
a silk and they use this silk
00:37:13.42\00:37:17.07
and they start to sew and weave
back and forth on these leaves
00:37:17.11\00:37:21.05
all night long and then it dries
and it holds them together. And
00:37:21.09\00:37:25.00
they build these whole big
nests by weaving these leaves
00:37:25.04\00:37:27.97
by weaving these leaves together
and sewing them together and
00:37:28.00\00:37:30.39
they're stitching it on the
inside and they're stitching it
00:37:30.42\00:37:33.18
on the outside and when they're
done they're extremely strong.
00:37:33.22\00:37:36.01
And the wind can blow at them.
Matter of fact, here's a picture
00:37:36.04\00:37:38.88
of the ants weaving together.
Oh you already saw that one.
00:37:38.91\00:37:43.45
Yah, there they are all pulling
and stitching together. Weaver
00:37:43.48\00:37:48.45
ants. I thought that was amazing
A colony may have 150 nests on
00:37:48.49\00:37:53.43
20 trees over a span of 600
yards and sometimes they use
00:37:53.46\00:37:56.98
them to protect the trees.
They'll run off beetles and
00:37:57.02\00:38:00.46
birds. Well you know Christians
are supposed to be sewing a
00:38:00.50\00:38:07.19
tapestry of love, helping
others find the robe of Christ's
00:38:07.23\00:38:13.42
righteousness. Have you ever
heard of trap jaw ants? Another
00:38:13.45\00:38:18.69
ant called trap jaw. I know that
looks pretty scary. Listen to
00:38:18.73\00:38:23.29
this. Keep that picture on the
screen for just a second. Trap
00:38:23.33\00:38:28.68
jaw ants close their mandibles
at a speed of 145 miles/hour.
00:38:28.71\00:38:34.45
Researchers say, listen to this,
it is the fastest self-powered
00:38:34.48\00:38:40.19
predatory strike in the world.
The average duration of the
00:38:40.22\00:38:45.03
strike is a mere 0.13
milliseconds. That's a
00:38:45.07\00:38:51.01
thousandth of a second. It's the
fastest snap of anything in the
00:38:51.04\00:38:58.84
animal kingdom. Matter of fact,
I've heard that some doctors use
00:38:58.87\00:39:06.63
some ant heads and their
mandibles as stitches. Have you
00:39:06.67\00:39:11.28
heard of that before? Yah,
that's right. They found that
00:39:11.32\00:39:15.87
they'll take the heads of these
ants and there may be a human
00:39:15.90\00:39:20.02
wound and you can pinch together
with your fingers this cut. You
00:39:20.05\00:39:23.82
take the ant, you press his head
there and he will bite and pinch
00:39:23.85\00:39:27.59
it together and then you twist
it. It will break off and he
00:39:27.62\00:39:30.54
won't let go. And they leave
them there until they basically
00:39:30.57\00:39:32.81
dry up and fall of naturally and
you never need to remove them.
00:39:32.84\00:39:36.75
And I guess that they're sterile
as I said. So we'll try this out
00:39:36.79\00:39:41.62
after church if anyone wants to
volunteer. I wasn't sure exactly
00:39:41.65\00:39:47.33
how to apply that about the
trap jaw ants mouth's closing so
00:39:47.37\00:39:52.03
quickly. But maybe there's
something we could learn about
00:39:52.06\00:39:55.41
closing our mouths sooner than
we normally do. I don't know.
00:39:55.44\00:39:59.53
It's just I wanted you to know
that amazing fact. Ants protect
00:39:59.57\00:40:04.71
their own. They are very loyal
to their colony. If some outside
00:40:04.74\00:40:09.85
force whether it's another
bug or animal or ant comes to
00:40:09.88\00:40:14.60
invade, they will lay down their
lives to protect their own.
00:40:14.64\00:40:20.33
Matter of fact, all ants in a
colony are brethren. Talk about
00:40:20.36\00:40:25.37
incest. Every ant, technically
they're all sisters, did you
00:40:25.41\00:40:30.07
you know that? The queen
ant when they start a new colony
00:40:30.10\00:40:34.70
there are a few male eggs that
are laid and hatch and all their
00:40:34.73\00:40:38.73
job is they mate with the
queen. Once that happens they
00:40:38.77\00:40:42.09
die and they're gone forever.
Then every other egg she will
00:40:42.12\00:40:46.12
lay, and she may lay a million
eggs in her life. A queen could
00:40:46.16\00:40:51.92
live 15-20 years. One queen
at minimum is 5 years and they
00:40:51.96\00:40:56.57
spend all their time taking
care of her so that she'll keep
00:40:56.60\00:41:01.15
producing eggs. One of their big
missions is to take care of that
00:41:01.18\00:41:04.01
queen because if the queen
doesn't make it the colony is
00:41:04.05\00:41:07.28
doomed. She's sort of
like evangelism for the church.
00:41:07.31\00:41:10.80
I mean if we're constantly
spreading the gospel, it saves
00:41:10.83\00:41:13.73
us, it saves others and that's
got to be our goal. Oh back to
00:41:13.76\00:41:17.39
the brethren. So every other egg
she lays is a female and they're
00:41:17.43\00:41:21.03
all sisters. Well every
illustration could fall apart at
00:41:21.06\00:41:25.64
some point but you know I like
this. Have you been to churches
00:41:25.67\00:41:28.68
before where everybody says
brother this and sister that and
00:41:28.72\00:41:31.69
it's like they're all family.
It's not so much anymore.
00:41:31.73\00:41:36.18
But the little church I first
got baptized into everybody
00:41:36.21\00:41:40.59
talked to someone else and they
said brother so-and-so, sister
00:41:40.62\00:41:43.23
so-and-so. And when our kids
would talk to the others in the
00:41:43.27\00:41:46.75
church we would say this is Aunt
Linda, this is Uncle Joe and to
00:41:46.78\00:41:49.73
this very day even some of our
kids that are in their 30s, they
00:41:49.76\00:41:53.50
still call our friends back
in Covelo aunt and uncle because
00:41:53.53\00:41:57.40
they just had that family feel.
Wouldn't that be nice. The ants
00:41:57.44\00:42:01.28
they're all sisters, they're
all brethren you might say.
00:42:01.31\00:42:04.56
We should really look at each
other as brothers and sisters.
00:42:04.60\00:42:08.22
We're a family, right? That
doesn't mean you're not allowed
00:42:08.26\00:42:11.85
to fight so don't get
discouraged. Families fight so
00:42:11.88\00:42:13.84
you can still fight but you're
still family, right? You were
00:42:13.87\00:42:17.55
starting to worry. All brethren
and they protect each other.
00:42:17.59\00:42:21.20
They bear one another's burdens.
Romans 12:15: Rejoice with those
00:42:21.23\00:42:26.89
who rejoice, weep with those who
weep. They're community minded.
00:42:26.93\00:42:32.55
That's what I got out of
this study that I thought was so
00:42:32.58\00:42:36.02
helpful. You know another
part was encouraging to me was
00:42:36.06\00:42:39.43
they care tenaciously for their
young. Ants when threatened the
00:42:39.47\00:42:47.08
first thing they will do is
they will run to the nursery.
00:42:47.11\00:42:49.88
If there's a threat from flood,
if there's a threat from fire,
00:42:49.91\00:42:54.62
if there's some problem they
have a mechanism that triggers
00:42:54.66\00:42:59.13
and they run to the nursery and
they begin got collect the eggs
00:42:59.16\00:43:03.60
and you'll see them begin
to pour out of the nursery to
00:43:03.64\00:43:06.41
protect the eggs. They're very
tenderly carrying the eggs from
00:43:06.45\00:43:09.39
the queen after they're laid.
They put them in the nursery.
00:43:09.43\00:43:12.57
They roll them. They keep them
the right temperature to make
00:43:12.60\00:43:15.55
sure they're going to grow and
when they get the place where
00:43:15.59\00:43:18.47
the little larvae are going to
shed their shell, they're there
00:43:18.50\00:43:22.31
to help them to unpack and
to unfold and they care for them
00:43:22.34\00:43:26.02
so tenderly. They know that
if they don't take care of the
00:43:26.05\00:43:29.84
young the future of the colony
is doomed. I was listening to
00:43:29.87\00:43:32.93
the announcement that Alberta
was sharing with her husband
00:43:32.96\00:43:36.54
earlier about the school and
caring for the young and if we
00:43:36.57\00:43:39.82
don't rightly train the young
now and the church is just a
00:43:39.86\00:43:44.10
slow death is all we're going
to see. I saw a church service,
00:43:44.14\00:43:47.55
large church, on TV this morning
Won't say where it was. Matter
00:43:47.59\00:43:51.07
of fact, I don't know where
it was. And while I was dressing
00:43:51.10\00:43:54.55
I was watching the service
somewhere and they took an
00:43:54.58\00:43:56.55
audience shot and quite frankly
it was just a lot of senior
00:43:56.58\00:44:02.15
citizens. And I thought oops.
If you don't have some young
00:44:02.18\00:44:06.24
families, if you don't have
some children that are getting
00:44:06.27\00:44:09.82
involved and being kept active.
And you know from the time an
00:44:09.85\00:44:13.92
ant is born and it crawls out
of it's little shell, it goes to
00:44:13.96\00:44:17.29
work doing something. That's
why you saw today we got little
00:44:17.32\00:44:20.35
kids up here participating
in the service. They're helping
00:44:20.39\00:44:23.80
with the music. You've got to
get them involved in the work of
00:44:23.83\00:44:27.58
Christ right from the beginning.
I'm not in favor... I think it's
00:44:27.62\00:44:31.33
OK sometimes for the youth
and the kids to have a special
00:44:31.36\00:44:34.59
service for them. It's OK to
have special things. It's OK to
00:44:34.62\00:44:37.94
have a women's meeting and a
men's meeting and stuff, but if
00:44:37.97\00:44:41.55
the women met separately every
week we'd have problems wouldn't
00:44:41.59\00:44:45.13
we? If the teenagers and all the
kids are relegated during the
00:44:45.17\00:44:48.52
worship service to some other
part and they're not part of the
00:44:48.55\00:44:51.87
family you've got a problem
there. I don't think that's
00:44:51.90\00:44:53.37
healthy personally. I think that
we all need to see ourselves as
00:44:53.41\00:44:57.03
family, study together, worship
together and develop these
00:44:57.06\00:45:00.82
habits. When I saw that service
today with all those senior
00:45:00.85\00:45:04.65
citizens sitting in the pews
together and not a young face
00:45:04.68\00:45:08.15
in their midst, I thought they
came from the generation where
00:45:08.18\00:45:11.62
coming to church was a
commitment. You did it no
00:45:11.65\00:45:14.18
matter what and they have that
commitment. We need to raise up
00:45:14.22\00:45:17.84
another generation that has that
kind of commitment and watch
00:45:17.88\00:45:21.47
out for our young. Say
amen. Watch out for the youth.
00:45:21.50\00:45:28.35
Ants are sacrificial and by
the way this is my last point.
00:45:28.39\00:45:35.20
Ants are sacrificial. I mean
what chance does an ant... I
00:45:35.24\00:45:39.60
got this one picture I didn't
think it would bother you too
00:45:39.63\00:45:43.58
much to see an ant biting
down on someone's finger nail.
00:45:43.61\00:45:47.49
But an ant will take on a giant
if it means he needs to lay down
00:45:47.53\00:45:52.63
his life to save the colony,
they do it. You've probably seen
00:45:52.66\00:45:56.26
ants getting to the place where
there's some chasm that they
00:45:56.29\00:45:59.87
can't cross or some height that
they can't reach and they join
00:45:59.91\00:46:03.99
all their bodies together and
make a bridge and some of them
00:46:04.02\00:46:07.77
will basically donate themselves
They'll say I'll just stay here
00:46:07.80\00:46:11.46
and hang on as long as I can and
you walk across me. They create
00:46:11.49\00:46:15.01
a bridge and all the other ants
pass over. What's really amazing
00:46:15.05\00:46:18.22
is when you seeing them develop
a ladder like the picture on the
00:46:18.25\00:46:21.99
right there. They go up and they
lift each other up and everyone
00:46:22.03\00:46:25.74
climbs up on them. We want
to do that, don't we friends.
00:46:25.77\00:46:29.94
We want to offer ourselves as a
bridge that others might cross.
00:46:29.98\00:46:32.18
You know, Jesus came to be a
bridge between heaven and earth.
00:46:32.22\00:46:35.98
The cross is the ladder between
heaven and earth. Jesus said to
00:46:36.15\00:46:40.31
Nathaniel, hereafter you will
see the angels of God ascending
00:46:40.35\00:46:44.38
and descending on the Son of Man
Jesus provided that link between
00:46:44.41\00:46:48.41
earth and heaven. We've been
separated by our sin. And ants
00:46:48.44\00:46:51.99
do that. They say, I'll be a
bridge, walk on me. Wouldn't it
00:46:52.03\00:46:55.71
be nice if every Christian had
that attitude, I'm going to be
00:46:55.75\00:46:59.74
meek. I'm going to be spent
by God. Use me, Lord, to help
00:46:59.77\00:47:03.77
others find their way back
to you. Sometimes if there's a
00:47:03.80\00:47:07.73
flood, especially this happens
in the Amazon basin and the ants
00:47:07.77\00:47:12.16
are at risk of drowning, they'll
ball themselves together and
00:47:12.19\00:47:16.55
here's a raft of ants that
you'll see. They put all the
00:47:16.58\00:47:19.77
babies on top. Remember what
I said about taking care of the
00:47:19.81\00:47:22.52
young. They'll all
link themselves together.
00:47:22.55\00:47:24.23
They'll say the only way we're
getting through this storm is if
00:47:24.27\00:47:27.70
we hook together. Some of them
know they're going to be at the
00:47:27.74\00:47:30.65
bottom of the raft and yes ants
do drown because they breathe
00:47:30.68\00:47:33.56
through their skin. And
they will die clinging together
00:47:33.59\00:47:38.06
sacrificing themselves that
those up on the top might live.
00:47:38.09\00:47:43.09
They're extremely sacrificial.
You know I think you realize
00:47:43.13\00:47:48.10
that's a principle for
Christians in the Bible.
00:47:48.13\00:47:50.48
I remember the prayer of Moses
where he said when Israel got
00:47:50.52\00:47:55.00
into trouble, he said Lord yet
now if you'll forgive their sin
00:47:55.04\00:47:59.94
but if not I pray blot me out of
your book that you've written.
00:47:59.98\00:48:04.85
Paul said something similar
in Romans where he said I am
00:48:04.88\00:48:08.61
willing to perish that Israel,
my people, might be saved.
00:48:08.65\00:48:11.91
That spirit of sacrifice. It's
not about what's in it for me?
00:48:11.95\00:48:16.38
It's about God's glory. And what
did Jesus say? Greater love...
00:48:16.41\00:48:21.11
John 15:13: Greater love has no
one that this; to lay down his
00:48:21.15\00:48:27.32
life for his friends. You know
sometimes in an army a general
00:48:27.36\00:48:32.87
will order a group of reluctant
soldiers to their death and they
00:48:32.91\00:48:38.39
will march off on a suicide
mission for the sake of others.
00:48:38.42\00:48:43.96
Nobody tells an ant to go off
on a suicide mission. They all
00:48:44.00\00:48:48.95
do it on their own. It's built
into every one of them to be
00:48:48.98\00:48:53.74
willing to sacrifice their lives
I love this verse. Romans 5
00:48:53.77\00:48:59.46
verse 6, Paul said: For when we
were yet without strength in due
00:48:59.50\00:49:04.57
time Christ died for the ungodly
and then Paul begins to muse in
00:49:04.60\00:49:09.09
his heart and say for scarcely
for a righteous man will one die
00:49:09.13\00:49:13.02
yet peradventure for a good
man some would even dare to die.
00:49:13.05\00:49:16.24
Even in this world occasionally
people will lay down their lives
00:49:16.28\00:49:19.43
to save a child or some other
good person. But look at the
00:49:19.47\00:49:24.12
amazing love of God.
He's inviting us. He says, God
00:49:24.15\00:49:26.85
commended his love towards
us in that while we were sinners
00:49:26.89\00:49:31.82
enemies of God, Jesus died for
us. He sacrificed his life for
00:49:31.85\00:49:36.67
us even taking a risk that
we wouldn't accept it, while we
00:49:36.70\00:49:40.95
were enemies because he loved
us that much. Maybe you didn't
00:49:40.98\00:49:45.43
know we could learn so much from
little bugs. But I think that
00:49:45.47\00:49:49.89
even as you behold the things
that God has made there are
00:49:49.92\00:49:54.45
little stars, there are
illuminations, there are little
00:49:54.48\00:49:58.94
sparkling spots that reveal the
character of God in the things
00:49:58.98\00:50:03.74
that he's made. Yes, even ants.
You can see the goodness of God.
00:50:03.77\00:50:07.82
There are some lessons for the
church in cooperation, in love,
00:50:07.86\00:50:11.54
in bearing one another's burdens
in sacrifice. You know before I
00:50:11.57\00:50:16.17
run out of time I saw this
study that I thought had some...
00:50:16.20\00:50:20.57
Quick outline here. Look at some
things that people do and then
00:50:20.61\00:50:25.69
look at what ants do. Livestock
farming, ants do that. They herd
00:50:25.72\00:50:30.77
aphids, they milk them for
nectar-like food, cultivation,
00:50:30.81\00:50:34.79
ants do that. Growing,
underground and above ground,
00:50:34.83\00:50:37.31
gardens for food. Childcare in
nurseries, feeding and tending
00:50:37.35\00:50:41.50
young, providing intensive care
nursery. Education, teaching
00:50:41.53\00:50:45.65
younger ants the tricks of
the trade. Climate control,
00:50:45.69\00:50:49.17
maintaining a strict 77 degrees
Fahrenheit for developing ants.
00:50:49.21\00:50:54.68
Career specialization, changing
and learning new career. They
00:50:54.72\00:50:58.54
do. Sometimes they'll train and
they'll change careers as they
00:50:58.58\00:51:03.55
age. Armed forces, raising an
army of specialized soldier ants
00:51:03.58\00:51:08.52
for security. Well
that's another thing. Security,
00:51:08.56\00:51:10.60
warding off other ants, insects
and mammals. Earth movers,
00:51:10.63\00:51:15.17
moving at least as much soil as
earthworms do. Social planning,
00:51:15.20\00:51:19.50
they maintain a ratio of workers
soldiers and those who reproduce
00:51:19.54\00:51:23.80
and clean and they just keep
things balanced. Engineering,
00:51:23.84\00:51:28.53
they can tunnel from two
directions and meet exactly in
00:51:28.57\00:51:30.77
the middle. They know how to
build retaining walls, they know
00:51:30.81\00:51:34.35
how to build flood control
and they don't have but a brain
00:51:34.38\00:51:37.89
bigger than a
fraction of a grain of sand.
00:51:37.92\00:51:41.25
Communications, complete tactile
chemical communication system
00:51:41.29\00:51:45.74
and they seem to use telepathy.
They still don't know how they
00:51:45.77\00:51:50.03
give information. And they have
a limited free will. They have
00:51:50.06\00:51:53.84
interrelationships that are more
symbiotic than coercive. They're
00:51:53.87\00:51:57.74
not forced. They seem to choose
to sacrifice themselves. They go
00:51:57.78\00:52:01.05
out scouting on their own. They
bring back the information. They
00:52:01.09\00:52:04.33
are amazing; the ants are
amazing. You know I'm inspired
00:52:04.36\00:52:09.31
by ants. Maybe you think, Doug
you're easy. I'm inspired by
00:52:09.35\00:52:13.52
ants. I want to be a better
servant. I'm inspired by their
00:52:13.56\00:52:17.77
selflessness. They attitude...
Now I'm not teaching communism
00:52:17.81\00:52:21.99
here. I'm teaching Christian
body that we would have the
00:52:22.03\00:52:26.89
spirit of it being about the
body of Christ, about the church
00:52:26.92\00:52:30.71
and saying Lord how can you
use me in your cause? I want to
00:52:30.74\00:52:34.16
serve you. Is that your desire
friends? Am I the only one who
00:52:34.20\00:52:37.75
found this was fascinating.
If for no other reason I thought
00:52:37.79\00:52:41.62
how could evolution be believed
by anybody. There are over 8,000
00:52:41.66\00:52:44.87
different kinds of ants that
I've only given you a fraction
00:52:44.91\00:52:48.82
of the diversity and amazing
things that they do. But I see
00:52:48.85\00:52:52.83
a picture of God in that. And
I see inspiration to be a better
00:52:52.87\00:52:56.76
servant, to be a better part of
God's colony called the church.
00:52:56.80\00:53:00.60
Do you share that desire? Would
you like to say as we close,
00:53:00.63\00:53:04.05
Lord, that's my plan. Now our
closing song is not going to be
00:53:04.08\00:53:07.52
in your hymnal. It'll be on
the screen and I think it's a
00:53:07.55\00:53:11.29
familiar song. Oh, you're
kidding! I didn't even practice.
00:53:11.32\00:53:15.03
We didn't have the
music for this and so...
00:53:15.06\00:53:19.94
I wrote the cords for you.
00:53:19.98\00:53:21.40
All right. I didn't
have anything to do with it.
00:53:21.44\00:53:26.52
Did you check to see if
it's in tune? All right, let's
00:53:26.56\00:53:31.15
stand together and sing
this. It's on the screen. It's a
00:53:31.19\00:53:34.71
simple Gaither chorus.
We'll do this a couple of times.
00:53:34.74\00:53:38.22
I will serve thee
Because I love thee.
00:53:38.26\00:53:48.95
You have given life to me.
00:53:48.98\00:54:00.09
I was nothing
before you found me.
00:54:00.12\00:54:07.77
You have given life to me.
00:54:07.81\00:54:16.76
Heartache, broken pieces,
00:54:16.80\00:54:25.68
ruined lives are
why you died on Calvary.
00:54:25.72\00:54:36.08
Your touch was what I longed
for You have given life to me.
00:54:36.12\00:54:52.88
Say Amen. How many would like to
say Lord by your grace I'd like
00:54:52.92\00:54:57.93
to be a better part of your body
bearing the burdens of others,
00:54:57.96\00:55:02.77
be willing to be spent and spend
myself for Christ. Is that your
00:55:02.81\00:55:07.58
prayer? Let's ask him right
now. Father in heaven, we are so
00:55:07.62\00:55:12.83
thankful for the things that
we learn from taking your word
00:55:12.87\00:55:17.23
literally. You've asked us
to consider the ant. Well we've
00:55:17.27\00:55:21.56
done that today, Lord, and it's
been inspiring as we contemplate
00:55:21.59\00:55:27.24
the incredible, miraculous,
power and features the we see in
00:55:27.27\00:55:31.77
this part of your creation.
We're also inspired by the way
00:55:31.81\00:55:35.68
they cooperate, the way that
they sacrifice, the way that
00:55:35.72\00:55:40.04
they give. Lord I pray that
we humans with brains that are
00:55:40.08\00:55:44.50
infinitely greater can model
those attributes of Jesus of
00:55:44.54\00:55:48.52
love and sacrifice and work,
industry, cleanliness, giving.
00:55:48.56\00:55:52.29
I pray that you'll bless each of
us that we can be better parts
00:55:52.32\00:55:56.02
of your body and that you'll
give us that selfless, self
00:55:56.05\00:56:00.37
sacrificing spirit, the mind of
Christ. Be with us Lord. I pray
00:56:00.41\00:56:04.10
that you will give us wisdom
about how to apply these things
00:56:04.13\00:56:08.15
in a practical way in our lives
and in our church. We ask in
00:56:08.19\00:56:12.18
Jesus' name. Amen.
00:56:12.21\00:56:15.12
If you've been encouraged by
today's message and would like
00:56:15.15\00:56:18.58
to know more of what God's word
says to you today, Amazing Facts
00:56:18.61\00:56:22.69
invites you to visit
our educational web site at
00:56:22.72\00:56:25.33
www.BibleUniverse.com. At
Bible Universe you'll discover
00:56:25.37\00:56:29.81
exciting truths that will
fill you with peace and purpose.
00:56:29.85\00:56:34.22
The mysteries of the Bible will
unfold for you at your own pace.
00:56:34.26\00:56:38.02
Visit www.BibleUniverse.com
today. Expand your universe.
00:56:38.06\00:56:44.74
Amazing Facts ministry has been
broadcasting the gospel since
00:56:44.77\00:56:49.72
1966 when it aired it's first
radio program in Baltimore,
00:56:49.75\00:56:53.95
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the speaker/director for more
00:56:53.99\00:56:58.65
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00:56:58.68\00:57:03.31
would become a multifaceted
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00:57:03.34\00:57:07.03
heartbeat of the gospel
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00:57:07.06\00:57:10.68
heard today on radio, television
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00:57:10.71\00:57:15.43
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00:57:15.46\00:57:20.14
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00:57:20.18\00:57:23.60
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00:57:23.63\00:57:28.09
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