[Pro 6:6 KJV] 6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

[Pro 30:25 KJV] 25 The ants [are] a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

On the island of Java this is the season of flying ants. In the evenings after rains the ants appear in great numbers and swarm around the lights.

Since science tells us they are the most numerous species and insect on the face of the earth, and since the Scriptures refer to the ants as being instructive, what can we learn from them?

Before our eyes the ants mill around and sometimes successfully evade geckos (small lizards) that are eagerly waiting to chase them down and eat them. It is evident that the wings were not made for very much permanence. Soon wings are all over the floor and dead ants are there as well. The photo shows a little of the carnage.

What we are told is happening is this. Periodically, when the conditions are right, an ant colony will create larvae with wings. These are not for anything such as the sustenance of the colony of origin, but simply for the purpose of flying away in what is called nuptial flight to eventually start a completely new colony. A colony can survive for thirty years with the same queen, but these flying ants are created for the purpose of propagating the species elsewhere.

On the nuptial flight they fly away, never to return; but hopefully to reproduce not just ants (that happens in the colony all the time) but to duplicate colonies. Judging from the numbers and the casualties, it looks like very few of them succeed.

On this nuptial flight the male and female mate and the male shortly dies. The female chews off her wings and looks for a place to lay eggs and begin the new colony.

Isn’t this a picture of what a successful church should be doing? A successful church will be evangelizing and discipling but a good church will also be sending out missionaries who completely leave the neighborhood and even the country, not only to evangelize and disciple elsewhere, but to give their lives to plant churches. This is a Kingdom pattern and one which the Lord invited us to pray for. When He told us to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers, He was suggesting that some of us will be equipped with wings to fly far and to be productive. So be it.

[Isa 6:8 KJV] 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me.

God Bless,

Larry DeVilbiss

Global Recordings Network USA

If you are interested in learning how to share links on social media that will promote use of our recordings and the Gospel in general, please contact RolandHeck@GlobalRecordings.Net

Previous “The Next Language” posts

Sunda: Cirebon – Post 119

God’s Winks – Post 118

Chain Links – Post 117

The Hunt, part 3 – Post 116

Torah Meditations – Post 115

The Hunt II – Post 114

Reset – Post 113

The Hunt – Post 112

Bit by Bit – Post 111

The Dark Side – Post 110

All or Nothing – Post 109

The Emptying – Post 108

Back to the Crib – Post 107

Truly Sustainable Service – Post 106

The Mountain Taker – Post 105

Give Me That Mountain – Post 104

Epicenter of Languages – Post 103

Holy Envy – Post 102

Watchman – Post 101

First the Blade – Post 100

Marghi – Post 99

Talents – Post 98

Berom – Post 97

God is my Wit(h)ness – Post 96

Scarlet Chested Sun Bird – Post 95

Fountains of Water – Post 94

A Glorious Landing – Post 93

Tale of Three Sisters – Post 92

Collaboration – Post 91

Pick Your Fears Carefully – Post 90

Mixteco del Progreso – Post 89

Go – Post 88

Those Word Lists – Post 87

Altars – Post 86

Oh, for a Thousand Tongues – Post 85

Voices in the Wilderness – Post 84

Nigeria – First Impressions – Post 83

From the Land of Nod – Post 82

Tribute to Mexico – 1967 – 2022 – Post 81

Miniaturization – Post 80

Knowing The Times – Post 79

God Comes to a Dirty World – Post 78

Corn in Mexico – Post 77

When the Church Says No – Post 76

War – Post 75

Theirs Is the Kingdom – Post 74

The Hippie Era Lives On – Post 73

Genesis of a Recording Set – Post 72

Back Tracking – Post 71

Witnesses- Post 70

Who Is Your Owner? – Post 69

An Unsolicited Endorsement – Post 68

Oral Tradition – Post 67

Works of  Man – Post 66

Deliverance – Post 65

New Discoveries – Post 64

The Wall of Pain – Post 63

Is There a Place for the Gospel in Your Story – Post 62

The Love Pyramid – Post 61

Obsession – Post 60

Verb Tenses in Hebrews – Post 59

The Unseen Weapon – Post 58

The Gospel Arrives in Zapoteco:Elotepec – Post 57

Fishing – GRN Style – Post 56

A New Day in Mexico – Post 55

Seeking – Post 54

Pick Your Battles – Post 53

How Big Is Your God? – Post 52

A Muted Gospel? – Post 51

Dedication Service for Marcos – Post 50

Two Weeks, Two Months, Two Years – Post 49

What Will You Give to Jesus – Post 48

Special Assignment – Post 47

The Good and the Best – Post 46

How Many Languages Are There? – Post 45

Verifying Speech Varieties – Post 44

Those God Things – Post 43

Meet Notch, the Desert Cottontail – Post 42

The Lost Languages – Post 41

The Rest of the Yoke – Post 40

What About Those Last Languages – Post 39

A Yoke That Fits – Post 38

The Other Side – Post 37

It Is Finished – Post 36

On the Ground in Culiacan – Post 35

I Will Go With Thee – Post 34

Unseen Warfare – Post 33

God of the Gaps – Post 32

The Father of Faith Missions – Post 31

WAIT – Post 30

Our Ultimate Weapon – Post 29

What Are You Doing Here – Post 28

Recordist Training Course Update – Post 27

Still Shameful – Post 26

Numbers Update – Post 25

The Gospel and Idolatry – Post 24

Could Ye Not Pray – Post 23

John the Baptist and the New Normal – Post 22

Genesis of a Script – Post 21

Embena Experiences – Post 20

An Easter Like No Other – Post 19

Go Or Stay Home – Post 18

The Next Language – Post 17

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