Do You Know Your God?
Do You know Your God?
You may be taken aback by this question. You may even be offended by this question. But it is a question that needs to be asked. I know about president Obama but I really don’t know him. I know about many people that I really do not know especially when it comes to predicting their behavior. When it comes to knowing God, I submit to you that knowing God is trusting God. We have never seen God. We have faith and trust that God exists and that He is who He has said He is.
In our study of Daniel chapter 11, we come across the vision that he was given on things to come in his future. The vision is about great wars that will take place and various maneuvering, intrigues and posturing by political leaders/rulers. The visions have come true as we understand them. In fact the visions of chapter 11 are enlargement of visions of previous chapters about the kingdoms of Persia and Greece. Tucked in the midst of these vision narratives is a profound statement about those who know their God and what they can accomplish. I would like us to focus on this for our lesson today.
Daniel 11: 1-4; 28-39 (Please read the entire chapter 11)
1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.) 2 "Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. 4 After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others
28 The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.
29 "At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30 Ships of the western coastlands [d] will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
33 "Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. 34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. 35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
36 "The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. 38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price. [e]
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have.
1. The whole of chapter 11 is an enlargement and more specific details of the previous visions announcing the Persian and Greece kingdoms. Most of this chapter deals with the details about the Greece kingdom initiated by Alexander the Great. Alexander’s kingdom will “be broken up” after his death and his generals will try to rule and fight each to gain power vs. 2-3. We will leave it at that for now. For us, we know from history that it eventually came to pass. This validates our God and that what He says happens.
2. We notice from the maneuvering that one of the kings which represent to us the world system will employ lies, deceit and flattery to gain power and win the people. vs. 32 “With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him” vs. 32. This leads us to the question of the day. Who is flattering us and lying to us? Have we violated our covenant with God? Do you know your God or how much of Him do you know?
3. I believe Daniel 11:32 is one of the keys to understanding the whole book of Daniel. Remember that the theme of Daniel is the sovereignty of God. In various passages we saw it stated such as “the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes” Daniel 5:21. The whole encounter of Daniel in dreams and vision was to bring him to the true knowledge of this His God who is sovereign. Therefore, those who know their God, his promises, his abilities and power and that He has everything under His control will not be flattered but will be able to resist lies and various forms of opposition. They will stand for truth at all times and at all cost.
4. In the New Testament we are told that the Spirit is in constant war against the flesh. The flesh is full of falsehood, and false feelings that if we rely on the flesh we cannot do anything that will please God. But when we walk by the spirit and walk by faith, we bring pleasure to God. Read Hebrews 11.
5. Knowing God is also trusting God and walking by the Spirit. In fact the Holy Spirit is the one who teaches us about God and leads us to the truth (for God is truth). See John 16: 5-11.
6. Lets’ take a minute and think of the things and the ways we are lied to. The first lie is that there is no God so we do not have to give account and thus just do whatever we please. The second lie is that it all ends here so live the fullest here and there is no life after death. To some degree, we have bought into theses because most of our decisions reflect things that only have impact here and last only to this side of eternity. Most of us train our children for success in this world and pour most of our resources into them but we do not spend close to a fraction of the same efforts in training our children for the Kingdom of God. We will rather boast of our children having “Harvard” than having the “Holy Spirit” and living with God’s world view. There is nothing too wrong with Harvard education except that Harvard degree without God is useless.
7. Please take a minute and ask yourself (and I am doing the same), “How am I being flattered or lie to?” Some of us are being flattered by good looks as if we are taking this body anywhere. It is pure dust and I am not advocating for dirty clothes but we spend so much dancing to this world’s mold. We are being called to a radical living where only God matters and that we please him. No wonder Apostle Paul cried out “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ”. Philippians 3:7-8. Is this your cry and yawning? The Holy Spirit of God and His Word will help us know God.
9. How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119: 9-12
Have I provoked you? More so has the Holy Spirit provoked you to re-evaluate what matters to you and how much of your God that you know and can trust? Another translation says 32 “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits”., Are you doing “great exploits”, “mighty things” for God? Are you foiling the plan of Satan by exposing his lies and refusing to be flattered in your marriage, family, work or school? When you know your God, you are at peace because you know He has everything under His control and that includes you and me.
Lord, I confess that I do not know you as I should. Please Lord, help me to know you. Lord, reveal yourself to us in Jesus name, Amen.
You may be taken aback by this question. You may even be offended by this question. But it is a question that needs to be asked. I know about president Obama but I really don’t know him. I know about many people that I really do not know especially when it comes to predicting their behavior. When it comes to knowing God, I submit to you that knowing God is trusting God. We have never seen God. We have faith and trust that God exists and that He is who He has said He is.
In our study of Daniel chapter 11, we come across the vision that he was given on things to come in his future. The vision is about great wars that will take place and various maneuvering, intrigues and posturing by political leaders/rulers. The visions have come true as we understand them. In fact the visions of chapter 11 are enlargement of visions of previous chapters about the kingdoms of Persia and Greece. Tucked in the midst of these vision narratives is a profound statement about those who know their God and what they can accomplish. I would like us to focus on this for our lesson today.
Daniel 11: 1-4; 28-39 (Please read the entire chapter 11)
1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.) 2 "Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king will appear, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. 4 After he has appeared, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others
28 The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.
29 "At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30 Ships of the western coastlands [d] will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
31 "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
33 "Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. 34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. 35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
36 "The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. 38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price. [e]
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have.
1. The whole of chapter 11 is an enlargement and more specific details of the previous visions announcing the Persian and Greece kingdoms. Most of this chapter deals with the details about the Greece kingdom initiated by Alexander the Great. Alexander’s kingdom will “be broken up” after his death and his generals will try to rule and fight each to gain power vs. 2-3. We will leave it at that for now. For us, we know from history that it eventually came to pass. This validates our God and that what He says happens.
2. We notice from the maneuvering that one of the kings which represent to us the world system will employ lies, deceit and flattery to gain power and win the people. vs. 32 “With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him” vs. 32. This leads us to the question of the day. Who is flattering us and lying to us? Have we violated our covenant with God? Do you know your God or how much of Him do you know?
3. I believe Daniel 11:32 is one of the keys to understanding the whole book of Daniel. Remember that the theme of Daniel is the sovereignty of God. In various passages we saw it stated such as “the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes” Daniel 5:21. The whole encounter of Daniel in dreams and vision was to bring him to the true knowledge of this His God who is sovereign. Therefore, those who know their God, his promises, his abilities and power and that He has everything under His control will not be flattered but will be able to resist lies and various forms of opposition. They will stand for truth at all times and at all cost.
4. In the New Testament we are told that the Spirit is in constant war against the flesh. The flesh is full of falsehood, and false feelings that if we rely on the flesh we cannot do anything that will please God. But when we walk by the spirit and walk by faith, we bring pleasure to God. Read Hebrews 11.
5. Knowing God is also trusting God and walking by the Spirit. In fact the Holy Spirit is the one who teaches us about God and leads us to the truth (for God is truth). See John 16: 5-11.
6. Lets’ take a minute and think of the things and the ways we are lied to. The first lie is that there is no God so we do not have to give account and thus just do whatever we please. The second lie is that it all ends here so live the fullest here and there is no life after death. To some degree, we have bought into theses because most of our decisions reflect things that only have impact here and last only to this side of eternity. Most of us train our children for success in this world and pour most of our resources into them but we do not spend close to a fraction of the same efforts in training our children for the Kingdom of God. We will rather boast of our children having “Harvard” than having the “Holy Spirit” and living with God’s world view. There is nothing too wrong with Harvard education except that Harvard degree without God is useless.
7. Please take a minute and ask yourself (and I am doing the same), “How am I being flattered or lie to?” Some of us are being flattered by good looks as if we are taking this body anywhere. It is pure dust and I am not advocating for dirty clothes but we spend so much dancing to this world’s mold. We are being called to a radical living where only God matters and that we please him. No wonder Apostle Paul cried out “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ”. Philippians 3:7-8. Is this your cry and yawning? The Holy Spirit of God and His Word will help us know God.
9. How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119: 9-12
Have I provoked you? More so has the Holy Spirit provoked you to re-evaluate what matters to you and how much of your God that you know and can trust? Another translation says 32 “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits”., Are you doing “great exploits”, “mighty things” for God? Are you foiling the plan of Satan by exposing his lies and refusing to be flattered in your marriage, family, work or school? When you know your God, you are at peace because you know He has everything under His control and that includes you and me.
Lord, I confess that I do not know you as I should. Please Lord, help me to know you. Lord, reveal yourself to us in Jesus name, Amen.
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