Lessons From The Ant

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise which having no guide, overseer or ruler, provided her meat in the summer and gathered her food in the harvest."

(Proverbs 6:8-10)

It's amazing that one of the smallest of God's creatures can become one of His greatest teacher, the ant. God often does his mightiest words to the lowly not on big creatures. The lessons that ANT teaches us can be summarized in this way- (ANTS Acronym):

I- A- Attitude of Initiative - You can see in the ants the attitude of initiative. Ants don't need commander to tell them to get started. "I must work the works of him that sent me." (John 9:4)
We need church workers w/out being told, who are willing to bear "the burden and heat of the day"

Illustration:
In the days of the stagecoach, a man undertook a journey. He was informed that there were first, second, and third class passengers. However, all the seats on the coach looked alike to him, so he purchased a third class ticket. All went well for a time and man was congratulating himself upon having saved some money. Presently they came to the foot of a very steep hill, when the driver stopped the horse and shouted:
"First class passengers, keep your seats."
"Second class passengers, get out and walk."
"Third class passengers, get out and push behind."

Lesson:
What we need in our Church are third class passengers. Those who will push! Not first class passengers who are contented to sit and look while the others are working. Not second class passengers who are willing to walk away when real work comes. But third class passengers who are willing to bear hardships for God's work."

II -N - Nature of Integrity - Ants work faithfully and need no outside accountability to keep them doing right. "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." (Ephesians 6:6). "Enthusiastic service comes from within and not having to be coerced by external pleasure." Jesus has done so much for us; what can we do for him? Let us begin to exhaust ourselves in service for Him.

III -T - Thirst for Industry - Ants work hard and will replace their anthill when it gets rained. As the song goes: "Toiling on, toiling on, let us hope, let us watch, and labor till the Master comes."

IV -S - Source of Insight - Ants store provisions in summer. "The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." (Proverbs 30:25). Ants teach us preparation, knowing that Christ's return will be sudden, should motivate us always to be prepared. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust corrupt; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth and rust corrupt." (Matthew 16:19-21). At the time of death, each of us will wish, we had invested less on earth where we must leave it and more in heaven where we will retain it forever. This is the time to check our investments and see where we have invested most then do something about it. The issue is not how much we have, but what we do with what we have.


(Messages By: Rev. Teofilito A. Rufon)

Lingering During The Countdown

" In the latter times, some shall depart from the faith."

(1 Tim 4:1)

Lingering means to take one's time, proceeds slowly, leave hesitantly. In the book of Genesis 9:15-16, 17 & 24, a man named Lot disobeyed God's command instead of hurrying to leave the sin city of Sodom and Gomorrah, he lingered and loitered. He does not want to abandon the wealth and comfort in Sodom.

I- Do Not Delay God's Offer of Salvation- Do not practice "wait-a-minute" mentality because time is running out. Saying " it's too early" makes it "too late."

II-Do Not Set Your Affections on Earth- we must not love the world. We must set our affections above.

III-Decide for Christ Before It's Too Late- here is a poem:

Blame Me Not

Ye call me master and obey me not;
Ye call me light and see me not;
Ye call me way and walk not;
Ye call me life and desire me not;
Ye call me wise and follow me not;
Ye call me fair and love me not;
Ye call me rich and ask me not;
Ye call me eternal and seek me not;
Ye call me gracious and trust me not;
Ye call me noble and serve me not;
Ye call me mighty and honor me not;
Ye call me just and fear me not;
If I condemned you Blame Me Not!

(Messages by: Rev. Teofilito A. Rufon)

Politics Without God and Bible

"I will send a famine, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but hearing the words of the Lord." (Amos 8:11)

One of the greatest scourge of a nation is "politics without God!" Leaders of every country should be mature Christians in order to have a free, strong and faithful nation.

I - Politics Without God and The Bible Is Like a Nation Without Freedom - "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32). Truth shall set us free. According to George Washington: "it is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible." According to Andrew Jackson: "the Bible is the rock on which our Republic rests." According to Abraham Lincon: "I believe the Bible is best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book."

II - Politics Without God And The Bible Is Like a Nation Without Foundations - "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand." (Matthew 7:26). Apart from the Bible, no one knows what is right and wrong. The Bible provides a moral compass. According Theodore Roosevelt: "if you educate a man in mind and not in morals, you educate a menace to society." In U.S, the divorce rate has these figures:

• In 1920 - 1 divorce for every 7 marriages.
• In 1940 - 1 divorce for every 6 marriages.
• In 1960 - 1 divorce for every 4 marriages.
• In 1972 - 1 divorce for every 3 marriages.
• In 1977 - 1 divorce for every 2 marriages.
• In 1990 and onwards - divorce will outnumber marriages.

III - Politics Without God And The Bible Is Like A Nation Without Faith - "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17). God's laws were given to free us. They restrict us from doing things that cripple and keep us from doing our best. They help us follow his path and gives satisfying answers. Faith comes alive at the points where we apply Scripture to our lives. The Bible is like a medicine-it goes to work only when you apply to the infected area. If only people will humble and pray, then, it's the only time God will heal their land.

We Can Overcome

"Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world."

(1 John 4:4)

In this world, there are 3 powerful enemies that we have to face and overcome:

1. Spiritual Adversaries
2. The World's Allurements
3. Overcoming Our Anxieties

I - Overcoming Our Adversaries - Our adversaries may be our jobs, our lifestyles, our clothes or the music on your i-phone. Here is a story: An old deacon who used to pray every Church Service at Prayer Meeting always concluded his program the same way: "And Lord, clean all the cobwebs out of my life." It got too much for one fellow in the prayer meeting, and he heard the old deacon one time too often. So when the man made that prayer, the fellow jumped to his feet and shouted: "Lord, Lord, don't do it! Kill the spider! That's what needs to happen!!" The lesson is, let's attack sin squarely. Don't blame the cobwebs! Blame the spider! Don't figure out other ways to justify sin! What is sin?
Man calls it accident; God calls it abomination.
Man calls it blunder; God calls it blindness.
Man calls it defect; God calls it disease.
Man calls it chance; God calls it choice.
Man calls it liberty; God calls it lawlessness.
Man calls it weakness; God calls it willfulness.
Man calls it triffle; God calls it tragedy.
Billy Sunday, the Baseball Evangelist preached Christ as the only answer to man's needs until his death in 1935. He said:
"I'm against sin. I'll kick it as long as I've got a foot."
"I'll fight it is as long as I've got a fist."
"I'll butt it as long as I've got a head."
"I'll bite it as long as I've got a tooth."

II - Overcoming the World's Allurement - Allurement are the temptations and attraction of the world. This means enticing a person to do something wrong. We must not love worldly things. Consider this: A newly converted woman told an unsaved friend of her: "Just one letter of the alphabet makes all the difference between us now. "You love the "World" and I love the "Word." Anything that cools our love for Christ is the world. Some folks take up religion as a kind of insurance against hell - and then are not willing to pay the premiums. We must do all things for God's glory, thank Him that we can do it, do it in the name of Jesus as if He sent us and pray for God's blessing and His guidance in all we do.

III - Overcoming Our Anxieties - "Perfect love casteth out fear." ( 1 John 4:18). Anxiety or worry is the number one killer of our time. A survey of about 5,000 students in 21 colleges in America confirms that worriers get the lowest grades. The reason why worry kills more people than work is that, more people worry than work.
Consider this illustration:
A French Soldier in World War I carried with him this little receipt for worry:
"Of two things, one is certain. Either you are at the front, or you are behind the lines. If you are at the front, of two things one is certain. Either you are exposed to danger, or you are in a safe place. If you are exposed to danger, of two things one is certain. Either you are wounded or you are not wounded. If you are wounded, of two things one is certain. Either you recover, or you die. If you recover, there is no need to worry. If you die, you can't worry. So Why Worry?"
The lessons here are:
1. We must ask for God's help through prayer. A Negro woman lived for 90 years. When asked the secret of her longevity, she said: "When I work, I worked so hard. When I sit, I sit easy. And when I worry, I pray and go to sleep.
2. We must not be afraid. Look at the birds: The little birds of the field do not worry because they have God as their Provider.
3. Remember that the beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of faith is the end of anxiety.

The Natural, The Carnal and The Spiritual Man

"Walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." Romans 8:1

Our Church's great need today is spiritually mature Christians who will proclaim clearly their faith in Christ and then live that faith in their daily lives. The Church's strength is the strength of its members. Our community needs a strong Church, and the world needs a strong Church.

The Bible classifies all mankind under 3 Categories:
1. The Natural man
2. The Carnal man
3. The Spiritual man

I - The Natural Man - He cannot understand God's beautiful message. Why? Because the lines of communication are broken and he cannot hear what God is saying. Just as a tone-deaf person cannot appreciate music. The Holy Spirit does not live within the natural man, thus he cannot discern spiritual things. He sees nothing wrong with perverted life-styles that is why our nation and our world are facing so many problems today, high crime rates and lawlessness.

II - The Carnal Man - is compared to that of a "diamon diferous" (mineral which is half-diamond-half charcoal) as miners call, because this material should have been diamond but it stopped short in its development. It's just like copper that is on its way to become gold, but by some accident of nature it stopped short of its development. The Carnal man is like half-diamond-half -charcoal and copper. He started out to be Christian but stopped short. He is controlled by his own desires. Paul speaks of Carnal Christians as "Babes In Christ" (1 Cor. 3:1). They are not knowledgeable in the Scriptures, they have little or no prayer life. They are spiritual dwarfs.

III - The Spiritual Man - He walks, works, and has wisdom of Christ. He "walks" worthily, honorable, morally admirable, with highest honor. He "works" fruitfully, diligently, persevering, tireless, quietly and steadily with enthusiasm. (1 Cor. 10:31). He has the "wisdom" by allowing what God teaches to make a difference in our lives. He always pleases God by searching the Scripture. He has a reputation not because he knows the Bible but because he obeys what the Bible tells. Obeying God's word gives him more reputation because it is not what he knows but what he does that counts. His wisdom begins with God, leads to right living, and results in increased ability to tell right from wrong.

Now Is The Time

"Walk.. not as fools, but wise.. redeeming the time... because the days are evil."

Ephesians 5:15-17

I- Our Time on Earth is Limited - We must be careful how we live because our time on earth is limited. "The days of years are 3-score years & ten; and if by reason of strength they be 4-score years... for it is soon cut off & we fly away." (Psalm 90:10). Since life is too short, don't neglect what is truly important. Neither you nor I have a guarantee of even one day to live. The Bible tell us not to count on tomorrow because tomorrow may not come for you and me. All we have is right now. You cannot do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late.

II- Make The Most of Every Opportunity - This is the meaning of "Redeeming the Time". Paul gives a reason "because the days are evil." Jesus said that Satan is a robber or thief and one of the things he tries to rob from us is our time because time is a very precious possession. Just think of the time wasted in bars, gambling, shallow affairs, gossiping, spreading rumors, worrying. We get so caught up in the here and now that we fail to attend to eternal things. The major maladies of our time is "anxiety and stress." It is like we are overloaded with: commitments, possessions, appliances, credit cards, work, internet information.

If one lives to 70 years of age - he spends:

• 20 yrs. sleeping
• 20 yrs. working
• 6 yrs. eating
• 7 yrs. playing
• 5 yrs. dressing
• 2 1/2 yrs. smoking/eating candies
• 2 1/2 yrs. in bed (sick)
• 3 yrs. waiting for somebody
• 1 yr. gossiping
• 1 yr. tying or putting shoes

Total: 68 yrs. - How about the remaining 2 yrs? Where did you spend your 2 years? God's allocated time may be zero if you don't go to Church for 2 yrs.

III- Understand What The Will of Lord Is -What do you think God's will is for you? Establish your priorities. Worshiping the lord is the first priority. No one should interfere with this. Next priority is to have a quality time with your family. Don't forget - Home is the first target of Satan. The third priority is to LEARN HOW TO LIVE TODAY. The two greatest enemies of time are REGRETS for things we did in the past and WORRY about what will happen to us in the future. Many of us are living either in the past or in the future. Now is the time to be with our God.

A life That Stands Through A Storm

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto wise man, which built his house upon a rock."

Matthew 7:24

In this sermon God tells us to place our life upon a "rock". "Unto thee is my rock, our only rock and salvation." (Psalm 28:1). In Matthew 7:24, there are two builders which God set as an example: the " wise" man who built his house upon the rock and the "foolish" man built his house upon the sand.

The lesson here is: We must be like the wise man who puts God as his firm foundation ( 1 Cor. 3:11). By building our home upon a rock not on the sand like the foolish man did. A building is only as solid as its foundation. The foundation of our lives is Jesus Christ. He is our base and our security. " The foundation of God standeth sure." (2 Tim. 2:19).

Fierce storm will challenge the structure of our house. The rain speaks of manifold or diverse temptations. The wind symbolizes challenge. The house of wise man stood firm into storm.

The Lord did not promise us trouble-free life but he promised to give us strength for life building challenges and he sends strength to spirit to overcome. God doesn't save people from pain. For daily need there is daily grace. For sudden need there is sudden grace. For overwhelming need, there is overwhelming grace.

Building our house upon the sand is a foolish thing. It's just like putting ourselves on material things not on eternal things. We must lay up ourselves treasures in heaven. Remember that material and wealth are temporary things. Moth and rust will consume every property we have. Even thieves will break in and steal. And when the strong wind blew all will fly away to nothingness like the sand swept by the raging storm.

Our Bible Students

"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men."

Nil Queben Alubog Fosana (left) and John Abet Fabula Falcunit (right) , active members of Young People Ministry, are our Bible Students studying at Bible Baptist Church in Katipunan, Cebu City under Pastor Armie Jesalva. Nil (who is a twin) is the eldest son of our Deacon Nilo Fosana and Deaconess Janilyn Fosana. Abet is the 2nd son of Mercy Falcunit our active Church Choir member. They both come from Odiongan, Romblon.

Nil and Abet's response to the full time Christian ministry was a great blessing to our Church and we thank God for this. Our Church is always praying and supporting them to surpass adjustments and challenges and hopes that many Church members and young people will also respond to the call of serving God.