Today We looked at Daniel chapter 11 again and considered its application in our lives Today.

First from Daniel 11:28, they that know their God will be strong and they that "do" - the word do is the ability to make a change, this is the Exploit. To understand the context of this passage (or any scripture) we will look at a birds eye view of the story and How God had been dealing with people concerned in the story line. 

Since the days of Adam through to The children of Isrealites, to the time when the Isrealites
demanded a king to be crowned by Samuel, who was God's appointed High priest. Saul was chosen, but he fell. Then Solomon, Rehoboam all the way to the Northern and Southern tribes of Israel. The tribes have always gone away from the ways of God but the priests have been called to remind the people of God to remind them of the expectations of God over them. The priests convey the mind of God to the people of God. In the advent of the kings, the prophets reminded the people on many occasions to repent, if they don't they will face exile but if they repent they will see God promises in their lives. 

The captivity of the Isrealites by the Babylonians was predated by the prophesies of Jeremiah and many others, but the Isrealites failed to take God serious but they became alien to God and did not know their Him. As a result, they were not strong in the knowledge of their God to remain faithful to Him who brought them out of Egypt. On the other hand, a few like Daniel and the 3 Hebrew boys were brought up well in the way of God so that at their young age, they knew the prophecy from God and understood that God's word will not fail but happen as it was said by the prophets. The young men understood by the prophets because they had been living the word of God before they could see the word of God as true.

So, have you received this kind of revelation to know God and to Do what He created you for? Do you know that what God created you for is what he desires of you? Their is a time and place to every word of God and since God speaks to people so that we can hear and do, what then will you say when your own time and place come, will you be prepared and able to stand strong for God? 

Daniel is an example, Jesus has shown the way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus has laid for us the condition for anyone to be able to stand upright no matter the situation and how I feel.

There has always been prophetic a words from God to guide his people aright, since the beginning of time seen in Gen 3:3, but the last of all Solutions is Jesus Christ. 

Acts 4: 11-12 "He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

What will you do now?

Understanding the word in a manner that it was supposed calls for knowing the Where, why, to who, by who and for what? By asking questions, we are able to understand the word of God instead of reading and taking time to decipher why God is making us here his word and what we are suppose to do as a response to what God is saying.

Example in Daniel 11:32 - what is the passage talking about?
To do [Exploit] you have to be strong
To be strong, you have to know [your God]

I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me, I can of myself Do nothing. But only through Christ can I DO exploit (that God is referring to in Daniel 11). Many times, we want to do exploit but in our own strength. but we will begin to realise that "I can only do as God strengthens me" hence, we are actively able to yield to the word of God after knowing that it is only God that can make us do Exploit.

So....

We are God's tool, to be a tools that can do exactly what the Lord needs, we must yield to the will of God from the heart all the way through to the how I live, what I say and how I live. 

Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will". What fills us is the same content that can come out of us, however, it is the word of God that can transform us, convict us from inside out. And word of God gives life to us from inside out

What then...? 

It is not what you do (by itself) that matters, but why and who authorised it? How have we been responding to what God has said to us. Have we been reading the word of God and missing the whole point? 

This is a time we must begin to realise that the Word of God did not just apply to people of old, but it RIGHTLY applies to us also in this present time. The Word of God is prophetic but are we going to let ignorance steal the word from being fulfilled in our lives?

...........but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits!

Message taken from Daniel 11:32 "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". (KJV: biblegateway)

Anyone who has not come to the knowledge of God and have decided to surrender their authority to His, will automatically be making a decision to be under the influence of the world.

God is seeking for that person he can use but first will need to be prepared by God Himself, those who know Him. 

"How well do you know God? How can you live in God's promise for you if you don't know what God has promised you? 

God is looking for those who are no defiled or contaminated by the nature of this world, those who know their God, those who have decided in their hearts not to defile their body and souls for the eternal sake of God their creator. These people will not allow anything (power, privileges, gains, pleasure, delicacies and any other thing known to man) - A man like Daniel.

The Righteousness of God, which make a man to be in good standing with God is only attained by faith in Jesus Christ - Romans 3:22.
All men outside Jesus have sin in them, even if we have been going to church all our lives. The grace of God is for those who admit their wrong doing and as forgiveness of their sins. A good man that man who is Good by God's standard - Psalm 32:1-3. We have to come to a place where we admit the state of our heart and Let God help us so that He himself can redeem us by grace through the Good news He has sent - Jesus

​The Power of His Resurrection: counting it all loss for the sake of Christ

Philippians 3 vs 3-11
 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 
4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 
6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
​7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 
10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 
11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

What drove Paul to this point of coming to a conclusion that all His credentials and rights are a loss to him for the sake of Christ Jesus, only so that he may know Him. What does it mean to count it all loss for Christ and what does it mean to know Him?

• Paul has has experienced a revealing of the content of his heart and opened his eyes to realised that the salvation he was after is not in the zeal of man (as we know that Paul was so active in crucifying disciples of Jesus who seemingly are against the going against the ancient doctrine laid down by Moses). 
• Paul has come to a place where he has agreed that the evidence of a life that is pleasing to God is not in what a man does or has achieved, but it is in the fullness of the life that such a man carries.
• Paul also has come to a place of total surrender, and has disregarded all his earthly credentials in order to surrender ALL to Jesus.
• Verse 7-8 for the excellency of Jesus Christ to become knowledge to you, all other things must be counted as a loss. Failure to do this means whatever we hold on to is worth more than Jesus. You will remember that the bible says in Matt 6:24 that you cannot serve 2 master, instead you will love one and hate the other.... For you to grow in the knowledge of the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of the suffering and being conformed inwardly to His death and by so doing share in the resurrection of Jesus's death, I will have to leave all other things aside and count 

Counting it all loss for Christ is what Christianity is all about. It is not a religious exercise but is a style of live that has the sole evidence of Christ. This way of living is what is called discipleship, where you are daily living as a follower of Jesus Christ, growing in the knowledge His death and resurrection. This is a life hidden in Christ Jesus,sold out to Him.

Are you sold out to Him yet? Don't forget that until you do so, That life of Christ is yet to be maximised over your life and your time is running out day by day.

Here is God's purpose and promise to all of us, Matthew 5:14 - "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." If we will let Jesus do the making in our lives, God will definitely be lifted up on us and make us shine.

It is important for all to know that  for God, Any other life style aside being being a light or an extension of Him automatically make such person not useful to God. This is where we need to ask God to help us, so that we can desire after His will and that He can help us to come to that place where by following Jesus, we also are the light of God. Romans 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

2 peter 1:3 - According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue [KJV]
 
God has given to us, all that we need. Whatsoever we need in the life to please God has been given to us. God is ministering to us that He has made His move and He needs to make our move. Again, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that anyone who is now in Christ is now a born again; this means that as new creations, we must know that It is no longer us that leave but Christ in us. This means that under this new Kingdom we find ourselves, we now must live by every provision made available by Jesus.  We must live our lives in Christ but We must decide, with intention that this is now the live we have settle with and let God take charge of every part of our life.
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2 Corinthians 3: 15-18, - Even during the ministry of Moses, God Showed His back to Moses, and as a result, Moses face shined. How much more the ministry of the Holy spirit.

2 Corinthians 4: 3-6
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Unless our hearts are blinded by the things of this world, the word of God is intended to shine through us by default. When this is not shining as intended, we should run to God and cry out for help for He is the author of our lives, He can lead us to that place where His work can shine from inside of us through us to the world.  

​The open door is suppose to lead us to a place, a place of intimacy with the Lord. This is a place where staleness has no chance, doubting faith have no room and we can grow under the arm of the Lord.

As Believers, when our relationship with God goes stale or broken, the only help God offers us is the open door, Why? Because this is the only way to reconnect with God. This open door is Jesus, It is a relation with Jesus, who has the key to link us to God.

So, when we go through the door, through Jesus, what lies ahead of us? There is a reason why God has called us unto himself. John 10:9 - The Aim of the door is not only to feed us and provide physical things we need but we are in and through the door so that we can journey along the way that the door leads to - John 14:6. 

How do we find the door? God convicts us in our heart to seek a more personal relation with himself. It is not everyone that is convicted that seeks God, but God is faithful to His word and He will convict a heart that seeks Him. 

Is the lord convicting you today to enter a more intimate relationship with Himself? Will you be responding to Him today? Remember Matthew 6:33 says  Seek yea first the kingdom of God, and God's (Kind of ) righteousness and every other thing shall be added unto us. You and I will have to accept God's Conviction personally. This is a call to follow Jesus, It is a personal affair.

May the lord bless His word in your heart. Amen.

Come in, the door is open. Revelation 3:7-8.
God is the keeper of the door, He allows what comes in and what goes out.

John 10:9 - The first door we should seek to open it that of the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33 also said seek ye first the kingdom of God and everything else will follow. This is the entry to all open doors for anyone that will be enter into God's provision for their life.

The door is open, God has the key to open and close all doors as He sees fit for anyone who is committed into His hands. Matthew 6.33 said " seek first the Kingdom of God and everything else shall be added...." This a promise to everyone who decides to seek God's kingdom to come over his or her life. The door is open to let God's kingdom come... Will you come in?

God determined what door to open to us and When. We can be rest assured that According to Jeremiah 29:11,whichever door God chooses to open or close are all for our good.

Genesis 1:26-27 - "26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 27 So God created mankind in his own image,  in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” - God Himself is the architect of marriage, He is the designer, He has established relationship between man and woman in such a way that the woman is fit for the man. He has the knowledge of what He has planned for every individual and He made provision for us to develop a relationship that will lead to exhibit God's plan for our lives. 

Valentine is mostly seen as a day to express romance, but in the Domain of God, we are to communicate real genuine love. This REAL and GENUINE love comes from Jesus Christ, Christ's type of Love holds the highest grade of love that any man can exhibit. 
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