Strennght For Exploits

STRENGHT FOR EXPLOITS

Study Text: Daniel 11:30-35

Dan 11:30-35: For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

-Three ideas are contained in verse 32, which is our topic verse. There is the thought of knowing God, being strong and doing exploits. God’s people are characterised by what they know, what they are and what they do. Believers (Christians) are different from worldly and unconverted people in these three respects - in the matter of knowing, being and doing. Notice that these three characteristics of the child of God are related, for only as we know God can we be strong; and only as we are strong can we undertake exploits in the name of the Lord. Conversely, if we are not doing exploits for God it is because we are not strong; and if we are not strong it is because we do not know God well enough. In this study we shall examine the three ideas in Daniel 11:32.

1. KNOWING GOD

- What does it mean to know God? So many claims to know God or many live on the assumptions that they know God, while in the real sense, they did not know Him at all or only know little of Him.

- It is not enough to know about Him. It is possible to know much about the Lord, His nature and attributes, and yet not to know Him personally. Rom 10:1-10: Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)

7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

- We can, of course, only come to know God through the Lord Jesus Christ – John 14:6-7: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.This is the initial sense in which we come to know God as our loving heavenly Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour; but we must go on to know Him progressively, for there are degrees of knowing Him.

- How do we really get to know God?

1. We get to know Him as we spend time in communion and in fellowship with Him.

- We can only really get to know anyone by spending time in his or her presence, and we can only really get to know God as we spend time alone with Him and cultivate fellowship and friendship with Him – as Enoch did, Gen 5:22-24: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: