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Tonight I wanted to address the 
children, young people, and the adults with some lessons from 
some small creatures. I preached this section several 
years ago. There's probably a few here that 
may remember the particular lessons that these little animals afford 
to each of us. I just want to read beginning 
in Proverbs 30 at verse 24. It says, there are four things 
which are little on the earth. but they are exceedingly wise. The ants are a people not strong, 
yet they prepare their food in the summer. The rock badgers 
are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags. The 
locusts have no king, yet they all advance in ranks. The spider 
skillfully grasps with its hands, and it is in king's palaces. 
There are three things which are majestic in pace. Yes, four 
which are stately and walk, a lion which is mighty among beasts 
and does not turn away from any, a greyhound, a male goat also, 
and a king whose troops are with him. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, we pray that You would 
guide us now as we look at these little animals. Help us to understand 
the lessons that Solomon would have for us in this particular 
section. We pray, God Most High, that 
we would see their temporal, but even more so, their eternal 
benefit and application. God, help us to take these things 
to heart and help these things to shape and mold us and to cause 
us to reflect on those things which are most important in this 
world. We would ask in the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Well, if you remember at the 
end of Job, when God is calling upon that man, He uses behemoth 
and leviathan to instruct Job. The wise man here uses many aspects 
of the creation as lessons. Our Lord Jesus does the very 
same thing. Remember when He is cautioning 
or calling His disciples not to be anxious in terms of food 
and clothing. He says, look at the lilies of 
the field. He says, look at the birds of 
the air. He uses those creatures. He uses 
those portions of God's creation to teach spiritual lessons. And 
the man of God does the same thing here in Proverbs 30, verses 
24-28. I read 29-31 because there is 
a bit of a contrast. Here in verses 24-28, there are 
four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly 
wise. Verse 29, there are three things 
which are majestic in pace. Those things that are unique 
to an ant, a lion doesn't necessarily have to have, because he's scately, 
he's powerful, he's a formidable foe in the forest. He doesn't need to prepare. When 
he wants to eat, he goes and he eats. The ant, by virtue of 
its smallness, has to have something in its makeup, has to have something 
in its character to assist it in survival. So we'll look at 
these four small animals and we'll draw out four lessons from 
each one. And the first is the ant. And 
the idea here is preparation. It says that in our text. The 
ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in 
the summer. They do not let their smallness 
affect them adversely. Now, I know that ants are very 
strong. In fact, sometimes you might 
see a piece of food moving along the ground. Pieces of food don't 
normally move along the ground. Generally, there is an ant underneath 
of it, carrying it along. And they are amazingly strong 
for their size. But nevertheless, they are tiny. We could take our foot and kill 
a great bunch of ants all at once. You could take a magnifying 
glass and on a hot day, you can burn ants. I don't recommend 
that you do that. There's something sadistic and 
a little bit twisted about such a thing, but you can't do that. 
And so the prophet here, the man of God, identifies that they 
are small, they are not strong, and yet they prepare. Dropping 
down to verse 30, a lion which is mighty among beasts and does 
not turn away from any. Preparation isn't a big deal 
for a lion, as I've already mentioned. When a lion wants to eat, he 
goes out and he kills and he eats. He destroys what he needs 
at the particular time. He doesn't have to be ingenious. 
He doesn't have to prepare. He doesn't have to think about 
the coming weeks and months and years. He's hungry. He goes and 
he eats. Not so with the ant. They are 
exceedingly small. They are little. In order for 
them to effectively survive, they have to prepare. The Scriptures 
already identified the fact that they are diligent. If you go 
back to Proverbs 6. The writer says, go to the aunt, 
you slugger. Consider her ways and be wise, 
which having no captain, overseer, or ruler, provides her supplies 
in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. How long 
will you slumber, oh slugger? When will you rise from your 
sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of 
the hands to sleep. So shall your poverty come on 
you like a prowler and your need like an armed man. So, the ant 
is one who prepares. That's the lesson Solomon wants 
his sons to take away as they look at that little ant in its 
colony. Now, when we talk about preparation, 
obviously in this world we need to prepare. If you're a young 
man or a young woman, you ought to work hard in school. You ought 
to apply yourself diligently. You ought not to love sleep. 
You ought not to love pleasure. You ought not to love those things 
which will ultimately result in bad. You want to love the 
things that God says are lovely, And you want to prepare yourself 
with reference to life in the future. The same is true for 
adults. We need to be men and women who 
prepare. We need to be cautious or we 
need to be concerning what's going on in the world around 
us. There needs to be a degree of preparation in our lives. 
But certainly the spiritual or the eternal application here 
is preparing for the world to come. Now Solomon isn't specifically 
concerned with ants making sure they have food in their colonies. That is simply the lesson. That is simply what he wants 
his sons to see. And he wants to draw their attention 
to the fact that you need to prepare. There is a day of judgment 
coming. We saw that this morning in Acts 
17, when the Apostle is preaching at the Areopagus. He says that 
God will indeed judge all men. He has furnished proof of this 
by raising Jesus from the dead. And I would ask each and every 
one of you here right now to consider this fact. Are you prepared 
for that day of judgment? Are you ready to stand before 
the Holy God of Scripture? Are you ready to give an account 
for deeds done in the body, whether good or bad? Are you ready to 
stand with God and have Him survey every aspect of your life? The 
Scripture says that we will give an account for every idle word. How much more the blasphemies 
that we've spoken? How much more the curses that 
we've spoken? We will all stand before the 
Lord Jesus Christ. And it is imperative that we 
prepare for that. That's one of the reasons why 
when you come to church on Sunday, you hear the gospel. The attempt 
is being made to prepare you for that day of judgment. You 
cannot stand there in your own righteousness, because you have 
none. You cannot stand there in your 
own strength, because you have none. You cannot stand there 
in your own law-keeping, because you have none. There is one way 
to prepare for that coming day of judgment, and that is to believe 
on the Lord Jesus right now. The Proverbs tell us that the 
name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it 
and are saved. My encouragement to each and 
every one here, yes, as a young person, prepare through hard 
work in school. Prepare by learning a good work 
ethic. Prepare by going to college or 
getting a trade or finding a good job or whatever it is. But all 
that aside, Prepare your heart. Prepare your mind. Prepare for 
this day. Do not be indifferent. We saw 
that this morning in Acts 17. Some mocked the Apostle Paul. 
Some said to him, oh, we'll listen to this another day. And others 
believed. Be among those who believe. They're 
the only ones prepared to stand before this thrice holy God on 
the day of judgment. J.C. Ryle said, dear children, 
in a little book called Girls and Boys Playing, I think that's 
the name of it, or The Two Bears. It's a series of sermons directed 
specifically to children. I highly recommend it by J.C. Ryle. And he addresses his comment 
here with reference to this text to children. He says, Dear children, 
the best time for seeking pardon, grace, and the friendship of 
God is the time of youth. Didn't Solomon say that elsewhere 
in Ecclesiastes? Remember your Creator in your 
youth. What happened? The longer you 
live, the harder you get. It's not generally the case that 
somebody who consistently rejects Jesus, who consistently hardens 
themselves against the overtures of God's grace, automatically 
gets softer as they get older. They usually get a lot harder 
to the things of God. And Ryle recognizes that. He 
says, youth and childhood are your summer. Now you are strong 
and well. Now you have plenty of time. 
Now you have few cares and troubles to distract you. Now is the best 
time for laying up food for your souls. Now is the acceptable 
time, the Scripture teaches. Today is the day of salvation. Do not tarry. Do not wait. Do not put this off. The claims 
of the Gospel aren't so difficult that you can't understand them. 
the youngest child here that is conscious of hearing my voice. 
You can believe the Gospel. Believe everything the Scripture 
says concerning Jesus. Believe that He alone can save 
you from your sins. You believe that, the Scripture 
says, and you will be saved. Bridges commenting on the ants 
in preparation. He says, a quickening sermon 
do these little insects preach to us. They make preparation 
for the coming winter. It's amazing, isn't it? You ever 
talk to older people about the gospel and they just reject it? 
People who put a lot of stock in preparation for other areas 
of life, they got their investments in check, they got their jobs 
in check, they got everything ready, laying up goods for that 
maybe 20 years, the last 20 years of their life. They put all their 
efforts, all their energies, all their eggs in that basket, 
yet they could give no concern whatsoever to the coming judgment, 
to eternity, to the time when we will live forever and ever, 
world without end. These little ants show us something 
about preparation. He says, what must be the thoughtlessness 
of making no provision for the coming eternity? I've used this 
illustration before. Perhaps you're like our house. 
Somebody is coming and they wanted to sell you an alarm system. 
That's the most important thing in the world, is that alarm system 
for your house. Or somebody might be selling 
you insurance, the most important thing you need for your car. 
Fire insurance, because your house could burn down. Car insurance, 
because your car could be destroyed. Building insurance, because somebody 
can come and kick lights and start fires and watch your building 
burn down. This is the most important thing 
in the world. Ask them. What think ye of Christ? Oh, that's not my concern. Okay, so you want me to be consumed 
and concerned about the burning down of a particular structure, 
which we should be concerned about. I'm not saying we shouldn't. 
But you give no stock whatsoever to eternity? You don't think 
about the fact that there will be a world without end, a world 
of bliss for God's people, a world of punishment for those who are 
not God's people. He says, what must be the thoughtlessness 
of making no provision for the coming eternity? Whiling away 
life in inactivity as if there was no work for God, for the 
soul, for eternity. Shall not we learn to be wise, 
to improve the present moment of salvation, not to wait for 
the winter, the verge of life when that grace offered now shall 
be offered no more? Just think about it. What if 
some of those men are right? And we see the imposition of 
martial law. We see the stripping away of 
all Bibles and religious books. Banner of Truth is shut down. 
Presbyterian and Reformed publishing is shut down. Sermon audio is 
taken off the internet. We have no more access to the 
means. What would you think then? Boy, 
I sure wasted a lot in terms of resource. He says, Sinner, 
if all be lost by your indolence, will you not be the great loser? What else have you to do but 
to prepare for eternity? That's a great question. What 
else have you to do? You've got stuff that's more 
important than getting ready for the judgment to come? You 
have stuff that's more important than standing before the King 
of Kings and Lord of Lords? You have stuff that's more important 
than the bliss of heaven or the punishment of hell? Are there 
things that are more demanding upon your time and attention 
than those great realities of heaven and hell? He says, what 
hope can you have of heaven at the last if you have never seriously 
thought of heaven before? Praise God, there was a thief 
converted in the eleventh hour. Matthew Henry says, one, so that 
we would not lose hope. But not a lot, so that we don't 
become hardened, so that we don't put it off until the eleventh 
hour. He goes on, oh, before it be too late, throw yourself 
at His feet, whose heart overflows with love. So what we learn from 
these little ants, these exceedingly small ants, who by virtue of 
the fact that they're not strong, at least in terms of other animals, 
they have to prepare. They have to be diligent. They 
have to get ready. And the very valuable lesson 
in terms of eternity is to prepare for the judgment to come. Notice 
the next animal. Verse 26. The rock badgers are 
a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags. These 
are identified as conies in the King James Version. I like conies 
because the word that I relate here is caution. And cautious 
conies just goes well together. Hopefully, cautious conies will 
stick in your mind and in your heart. Cautious conies will stick 
in your conscience. These were unclean animals according 
to Leviticus chapter 11 and verse 5. They are rock badgers, probably 
the Syrian rock hydrants. Now it's interesting, they live 
in colonies from 6 to 50. Six to fifty. And these conies 
like to sun themselves. Where we came from in California, 
you would often see rattlesnakes. Not often, but thankfully not 
often, but in certain parts you'd see rattlesnakes. Or any snake, 
I guess, likes to lay out in the sun to get the rays. Now, snakes aren't like conies. 
Snakes don't have to post guards. They don't have to be cautious 
because they're snakes. Most people don't want to go 
near snakes. Most people. Most people don't want to touch 
snakes. Most people don't want to get anywhere near snakes. 
But you see, the coney is a prey animal. And so while there may 
be 6 to 50, and while some of them like to sun themselves, 
the coneys do something very unique and interesting. They 
post guards on the perimeter. It's amazing, isn't it? And then 
they squeal with a high-pitched squeal if a predator comes along. That then alerts the other conies 
and then they find crags. They find crevices. They find 
cuts in the rock where they can hide themselves. They're not 
a strong folk. They're not like the snake. They 
can't just lay out there. They're not like the lion. Lions 
don't have to post guards. Lions don't have to post sentinels 
around and make a high-pitched squeal. Why? Because no one's 
going to mess with lions. But a predator wants these little 
prey animals, wants these little conies. And notice what it says, 
they are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in the crags. They are cautious. The ants prepare, 
the conies are cautious. The application of caution is 
myriad. As Christians, we need to be 
cautious. As Christians, we need to make 
sure that our attitude imitates that of the psalmist in Psalm 
119. We are always in dependence upon 
God. We are always seeking blessing 
from God. We are living our lives in prayer 
and in the Word. We are acknowledging that statement 
in Deuteronomy and repeated by our Lord in Matthew 4, that man 
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds 
from the mouth of God. We realize that in and of ourselves, 
we are weak. We are bad. We are wicked. We are evil. We are always prone 
to wander and to leave the God that we love. We need to be cautious. We need to be cautious in terms 
of friends. The Bible speaks to this repeatedly. Bad company corrupts. You need 
to seek out those who are going to be of assistance to you, who 
are going to help you. Those whom you surround yourself 
with are going to have an effect upon you, either for good or 
for ill. The Konies teach us something 
about caution. The Proverbs set forth this aspect 
of a godly life several times. Proverbs 4 at verse 14. Proverbs 4 at verse 14. Do not 
enter the path of the wicked and do not walk in the way of 
evil. Avoid it. Do not travel on it. 
Turn away from it and pass on. What's he trying to tell you? Look at what he says here. I 
know it's late. I know it's hot. Listen to what 
he says. He doesn't want you getting near evil. He doesn't 
want you playing games with wickedness. Do not enter the path of the 
wicked. Do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it. Do not travel 
on it. Turn away from it and pass on. 
How much clearer could this man be to his sons than to tell them, 
be cautious. Guard your heart. Watch out. Realize those whom you travel 
with will have an effect upon your soul. Realize that those 
who you surround yourself with are going to affect you for good 
or ill. He does this in Proverbs 5. Notice 
in verse 7, Therefore, hear me now, my children, and do not 
depart from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her 
and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your 
honor to others and your ears to the cruel one. He's telling 
his sons, don't go near this harlot. Don't go near this woman. Don't go near the door of her 
house. He doesn't say don't go near 
her bed. He says don't go near her door. Stay far away from her. Don't think you can go past her 
door, get near her bed, and think that somehow you're going to 
be protected. You're not. You need to be cautious. You're not that godly. You're 
not that holy. There was a time I had coffee 
with two retired Baptist preachers. These were old men, older men, 
very much seasoned saints of God. And one of them brought 
up Gandhi. Allegedly, Gandhi could lay between 
two beautiful women and not do anything wicked. One of these 
old Baptist brothers said, I could never do that. Gandhi's one in six billion. The rest of us aren't like that. 
What does the Scripture say? Be cautious. Don't click the 
mouse button. Don't look at the video. Don't 
go near the door of her house. Be cautious. Sound the alarm. When you hear the alarm, find 
the crags. Run and hide. Proverbs 22, verse 
3. A prudent man foresees evil, 
and what does he do? He hides himself. You're not a coward to hide yourself 
from evil. You're not a baby. When people 
pressure you and say, oh, come on, you'll really be a man. No, 
you won't. God recognizes a prudent man 
who foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are 
punished. The same thing is repeated in 
27.12. A prudent man foresees evil and 
hides himself, the simple pass on and are punished. We need 
to be cautious. We need to listen to God's Word. We need to be prayerful. We need 
to seek counsel of godly men and godly women. We need to be 
in fellowship. We need to be in a church. We 
need to be connected corporately. We need to put a lot of value 
on our family. We need to make sure we're searching 
out good friends. We need to be cautious. That is what the Konies teach 
us. Thirdly, we have locusts. Notice, 
verse 27, the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in 
ranks. The locusts have no king, yet 
they all advance in ranks. Locusts are small, aren't they? 
They're like a grasshopper. Locusts are very similar to the 
grasshopper. On their own, they're not very 
threatening, are they? Some of you boys have probably 
caught grasshoppers and put them in a jar. Doesn't seem like a 
mighty foe at that particular time, does it? But consider this. Taking wing together, they may 
move 1,200 miles from their native home. That would be from Chilliwack, 
British Columbia to Palmdale, California. 1,200 miles. They fly in compact 
formations large enough to blot out the light of the sun. So one, not too scary. A locust plague, you're in trouble. Damage estimates in modern times 
have exceeded 30 million dollars in a single locust plague. That's amazing. What's the lesson 
that we learn here? They have no king, they all advance 
in ranks. I think the lesson is cooperation. They're not a monarchy like a 
bee colony. They have no king, and yet they 
cooperate together to do the very specific task of eating 
fields of food. It's amazing. The lion doesn't 
have to cooperate with anyone. He doesn't team up with other 
lions and say, let's go get this gazelle. I understand a certain 
breed of apes or chimpanzees do this. They strategize in an 
almost diabolical way to head off their prey and destroy them. 
Monkeys are scary. They do some interesting things 
and are funny and cute, but they can be vicious. See, the locusts 
need to cooperate or they don't eat. The locusts need to band 
together, or they are not effective. They don't have a king, and yet 
they manage to get along well together. We look at the family. We have a king in the family. 
The father. The husband. He is the head of 
the home. There ought to be cooperation. 
We ought to have harmony. We ought to be all singing off 
the same page. We ought to all be trying to 
help one another. Be all that we can be under Jesus. 
Cooperation is an essential element for effective family life. If 
we do not have cooperation, everybody is going their own way. Just 
recently reading through the book of Judges, three times that 
statement is made. At the time that the Judges judged 
Israel, there was no king in Israel and everyone did what 
was right in their own eyes. The locusts, even though they 
don't have a king, they cooperate. That is a great application and 
something that we need to take heed to. But as well, the church 
is a place that needs cooperation. We have a king. This is a monarchy. It is literally a Christocracy. Jesus rules by His Word and by 
His Spirit. So the church ought to be marked 
by this locust-like characteristic. We ought to cooperate with one 
another. That doesn't mean we're all going 
to agree on every single thing. But we're going to agree on those 
things most surely believed among us. Those 32 chapters in our 
Confession of Faith. That London Baptist Confession 
of 1689 defines for us what we believe are paramount doctrines 
that the church needs to rally around. When we see that people 
differ from us in matters of preference, in matters of Christian 
liberty, we're going to remember to exercise charity. We're going 
to try and cooperate. We're going to try and love one 
another. We're going to pray for one another. We're going 
to encourage one another. Bridges says many professors, 
instead of going by bands, prefer an individual course. This is 
something that I'm sure you've seen in your life. You've met 
somebody. They say, well, I have a relationship with Jesus. What 
church do you go to? Well, I don't need to go to church. 
Are you smarter than Jesus? Is He building His church so 
that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, so you 
can go on your own? The church is not perfect, my 
friend. The church has its issues. The church has its blemishes. 
The church has its multitude of problems. But there's no better 
place to be than the church. May I recommend a good book by 
a man named Kevin DeYoung and his friend and assistant, Ted 
Cluck, I believe is his name. Kind of an interesting name, 
Ted Cluck. But it's called, Why We Love 
the Church. And it's a beautiful statement 
concerning this reality that though she has faults, though 
she has trials, though she has blemishes, though she has spots, 
there's no safer place for the Christian. That locust who leaves 
the swarm and goes it on his own isn't going to be successful. He needs the tightness, the compactness 
of that body. He needs the camaraderie and 
the unity. Bridges says, many professors, 
instead of going by bands, prefer an individual course. They belong 
to no cohort. They are under no discipline. 
This unsettled principle can never issue in a Christian steadfastness. Unity, not diversity, brings 
the good thing of the heart, established with grace. Hebrews 
13.9. The strength of the church is, not as an army of irregular 
soldiers, a regiment of loose disorder, unconnected with each 
other, but when she goes forth by bands, united, concentrated, 
well-disciplined, every officer at his post, every soldier in 
his ranks, each under rule, helpful to each other and to their great 
cause. That's what the church ought 
to look like. Cooperation. Ephesians 4. Paul speaks to this 
issue very candidly, very openly, very fervently in Ephesians 4. 
as he begins to make application of the doctrine that he has already 
set forth. Chapters 1 and 2 primarily in 
Ephesians are the doctrine of the Gospel. Chapter 3 is a bit 
of a transition where Paul highlights how he prays for the Ephesians. 
He highlights his role in redemptive history. And then beginning in 
chapter 4, he begins application. And he says, therefore, chapter 
4, verse 1, the prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy 
of the calling with which you were called. with all lowliness 
and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in love, 
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
peace." Do you see that? Bearing with one another in love. That's what is required of us 
in the local church. To cooperate with each other 
means to bear with one another in love. Bearing has the idea 
that we're not always fully in agreement. There's things I do 
that bug you. There's things that you do that 
don't bug me. And we need to bear with one 
another. And then he says, endeavoring 
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Brethren, 
I can testify. I've been in church life where 
there wasn't the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 
And I believe we're in a period where we're in the unity of the 
Spirit in the bond of peace. I'll take this. Thank you. very 
much. Do we have blemishes? Do we have 
issues? Do we have problems? Do we have 
trials? Yes. But one that we don't have 
is everybody at each other's throats, spiritually speaking, 
opposing one another. We are seeking, by God's good 
grace, to cooperate, to be like these locusts. So even though 
they do not have a king, proceed dignified and according to rank. And then he goes on to say in 
verse 4, there is one body and one spirit, just as you were 
called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 
one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all 
and in you all. The oneness of Christ's church 
dictates that we take this characteristic of the locus and that we cooperate 
with one another. And then the fourth and final 
animal, the fourth and final lesson is the spider in verse 
28 of Proverbs 30. It says, the spider skillfully 
grasps with its hands and it is in king's palaces. The margin 
reads spider. It's difficult to know if it's 
spider or if it's a lizard. I take it as a spider and I think 
the idea is simple. Well, maybe not too simple, but 
I think as I explain it, it will be simple. The idea here is ambition. We hear ambition and we start 
to freak out. Wait a minute. We as Christians should be ambitious 
for the glory of God and for the good of souls. A spider is 
a little animal. One that doesn't get invited 
into the king's palaces. But generally, when we see spiders, 
we like to escort them outside. Some like to just crush them 
and throw them in the trash. I actually am one of those kind 
of guys that likes to take them outside. I think spiders serve 
a good purpose. Flies, not so much. Spiders are 
cool, so I try to make sure that they live long, healthy and happy 
lives, just not where I am. So if I find them, I capture 
them and I take them outside. I don't invite them in. Now the 
odd time I might see a spider in a web in a certain place and 
leave them alone. But for the most part, I don't 
open the door to either my house or the office here and say, spiders, 
come on in and hang out. Kings don't do that. They probably 
have servants, whose whole job it is to get rid of the spiders. 
The first church that I went to, we rented a place that wasn't 
so good, the nursery. We used to have spider patrol. 
We used to have to go in and make sure that all the spiders 
were gone. These were big desert, nasty, 
mean spiders. that we're afraid would carry 
away our little children. So you want to get rid of them. 
You see, they're not invited in. They're not welcome guests, 
but they always are there. They got ambition. They don't 
want to hang out outside. They want to be in the king's 
palace. They want to chill where it's nice. hosed spiders down 
in their webs before, only to find them the next day. It's 
almost as if they are challenging me. Okay, give it your best shot. 
Try to get us out of here. They come back. They're ambitious. They've got vision. They've got 
perseverance. They don't back down in the face 
of adversity. They don't go home crying to 
their father's spider. They do the job. They get it 
done. They overcome. They improvise. They do what is necessary. If 
there's an obstacle, they will go over it. That's the point 
that Solomon is instilling in his sons. We need to be men. We need to be earnest. We need 
to be ambitious in a godly way. Ambition is not a bad thing. We need to imitate God in this. He is about getting glory for 
Himself. We're not about getting glory 
for ourselves, but glory for God. Ambition as individuals. We ought to have holy ambition 
in our fighting the good fight. You cannot tell me, when you 
look at the life and the ministry of the Apostle Paul, that he 
was not an ambitious man. He was ambitious in terms of 
finishing the race, of keeping the faith, of fighting the good 
fight. That is the spiritual ambition 
that I am seeking to encourage all of us with. Not this, oh, 
it's hard to be a Christian, so I'm going to stop. Or it's 
hard to fight this sin, so I'm going to stop. Or it's hard to 
say no to my friends, so I'm going to say yes. Or it's hard. 
You know what? Life is hard. There are obstacles. There are trials. There are difficulties. Be like the spider and overcome 
it. If the king throws you out, find 
your way back in. Make your web. Hang out. Chill 
out. Enjoy what he's got while the 
getting is good. Paul is able to say in 2 Timothy 
4, verse 6, I am already being poured out as a drink offering. And the time of my departure 
is at hand. I have fought the good fight. 
I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. That's 
an ambitious man, brethren. That's a persevering man. That 
is a man who doesn't let obstacles and trials and difficulties keep 
him from the prize. Here is a man who even though 
he is beaten, who even though he is shipwrecked, who even though 
he is in prison, who even though he is in most difficult circumstances, 
never loses sight of the prize, never takes his eyes off of the 
reward, never underestimates the power of his God to see him 
through any trial and any difficulty. The man Moses had this in Hebrews 
chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 23. By faith Moses when he was born 
was hidden three months by his parents because they saw he was 
a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the king's command. 
By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called 
the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction 
with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of 
sin. Notice, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than 
the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward." You see 
what he says? I don't want all this nonsense. I esteem those greater riches 
that are in Christ. That's a holy ambition. That's 
a holy drive. That's a godly vision. And notice, 
this is what carried him on. Verse 27, by faith he forsook 
Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as 
seeing Him who is invisible. That kept him going. He understood 
that through all these trials and all these obstacles and all 
these difficulties, there was an invisible God to whom he would 
one day come to. Holy ambition. Be like the spider. And as the church, we have a 
rich heritage in the Reformed faith. We have such excellent 
doctrine. That's not meant to sound proud 
or arrogant. We've got beautiful, excellent 
truths that we have a rich heritage. We look back at the history of 
the church and we see godly men expounding those Scriptures. 
We see the fruits of it today in the confessions and creeds 
that we possess. Brethren, let it not be a dry 
or a dead or a dusty orthodoxy, but let it be a vibrant, living, 
throbbing, firing up thing in our lives. Let us be holy and 
ambitious to serve the Lord in our generation. Let us be like 
those spiders. Even though they are tried and 
have obstacles, they persevere. Even though by man's difficulties 
and devises we may see difficulty, let's persevere. Let's pray to 
God. Let's be like that psalmist in 
Psalm 119. Revive me. My soul clings to 
the dust. Revive me according to Your Word. 
So those are the four lessons from these little animals. Preparation, 
caution, cooperation, and ambition. And brethren, I would submit 
that if we study these things, we see their spiritual import 
and their spiritual application, we will be the better for it. 
Do not discount teachings like this in the Scripture. There 
are four things which are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly 
wise. If we would be exceedingly wise, 
we would learn the lessons, we would apply them unto ourselves. 
Be prepared for that day of judgment by grace alone through faith 
alone in Jesus Christ alone. Be cautious in your Christian 
lives. Be cautious in your companionships. Be cooperative with reference 
to your families. It ought not to be that a Christian 
home is chaotic and everybody doing what is right in their 
own eye. As long as your father and your 
mother aren't telling you to send children, submit. Obey. Honor. That is your calling. Children, obey your parents and 
the Lord, for this is right. Why not cooperate? Why have all 
the chaos and the disharmony? And then finally, ambition. Let 
us, as God's people, persevere. Come whatever may. Let us press 
on. Let us press through. Let us, 
when we see evil, hide ourselves and keep moving forward to the 
celestial city. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for these lessons and we pray, God, that you would 
help us to take these things to heart and to put them into 
practice in our own lives. And I pray this, especially for 
the young people. I pray, God, that they would 
learn from these small animals. that they would learn the exceeding 
wisdom of these little animals and that they would take these 
things and seek by Your grace to apply them in their lives. 
Go with us now, Father, we pray. Watch over us in this coming 
week and help us, God in heaven, to love You and to love one another. 
And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.