Great Exploits
. "The people who know their God, shall be strong and do great exploits." (Daniel 11:32)
In the mist of corruption and deceitful flatteries, Daniel’s exemplary life was a proof that truth works as he assures us of this perennial promise.
So what was it that made Daniel to distinguish himself above his high ranking peers where to the point they tried to test him severely for this truth? Pretty obvious it was his strong relationship with his God….but, if you were to connect the dotted lines, you will find there is more to this great relationship.
On this account, let me then take you to the other side of the bush…or rather around the bush?
Here’s the scenario.
Imagine you are embarking on a sea voyage to the other side of the big blue marble. You got everything in order, e.g. food stacked up and barrels of drinking water enough for a non-stop year trip and of course, you hire a sea captain who has an unflinching courage and a remarkable sailing skill. Only thing that you are unaware of, i.e., there is just an itty bitty little teeny weeny crack about a meter long at the bottom of your mini ‘Endeavour’.
And if you did find it out in the middle of the ocean, singing “Amazing Grace†for another ten thousand years will not help you to reach your destination. As a fact, it wouldn’t take much time to sink that charming sailboat especially so through the boisterous storms.
A wise person once said; “A leak in the roof can be fixed easily enough, as can a broken window or a busted pipe. But when the foundation is compromised in any significant way - then all bets are off. Everything now stands in jeopardy - because it stands upon a crumbling base.
A person's life can be this way. Every person you meet believes something. They have and hold to a set of opinions, ideas, notions, values, and beliefs that make up the basis for how they live. This is their foundation. As long as nothing of any consequence rattles their world they may amble along in life quite blissfully; supposing all is well and good. And on the surface it may very well be - until the bottom drops out.â€
Sadly enough, this faulty foundation have become a common plague in the lives of many believers. I used to scratch my head wondering why many of my Christian friends and even ministers have very serious flawed marriages, financial or family issues that even time could not treat it. Aren’t we all supposed to be more than conquerors in Christ, doing great exploits in our marriages, finances and family where we become extraordinary to the world like Daniel?
I am aware too that we are supposed to be vagabonds and scams of the earth and true enough that is what we are suppose to be, but towards the world system beliefs that our light becomes a convicting conscience to them of who God actually is.
That is the core of this message-Who God actually is. In what way can we truly know Him as a Person if our foundation of Him is so screwed up by our own ideologies?
In the fifties, most men have portrayed Him as God of gloom and doom Who has no sense of understanding towards some lonely shattered soul. Only a hand few who thought otherwise were the ones who truly knew the God of the Scriptures.
Then comes the seventies, where Father God becomes Daddy Cool! Even, Jesus has risen to a superstar status during the hippie days when the fact is, He was the One Who created the supernovas out of nothing before the beginning of days.
As time goes by, it gets no better where superstar Jesus becomes my ‘fluffy Jesus’. I find the superstar Jesus label is bearable compared to the fluffy Jesus Who has no clue what sin is because He knew no sin-hence, I do what is ‘right’ in my own eyes because He truly loves and understands me despite my ‘acts’ and vices. O yes too, my Daddy God, He is so sweet that He is dying to meet every of my whims and wishes at the drop of the hat.
Of course, we don’t ever want to think or say it in a such striking upfront and pestering manner towards God, but honestly our actions and our subconscious mind does speak the intend of our heart. I have done that many times and I am still learning to die to self-hard work but it is restful and refreshing once we have this honest attitude about our self centeredness and the needing to crucify our flesh daily-Hebrews 4:11-12; Matthew 11:27-29.
Again, I say this with a heavy heart, where I have known ministers who have very flawed marriages or are at the brink of divorce because of this faulty foundation, which is based that God is either their blazing torch or their buddy sidekick. In this case, nine out of ten do treat Him as their greasy grace sidekick God. -2 Timothy 3:1-5
The truth of the matter is, God does not only have love, but He is love. And God is also a consuming fire- 1 John 4:8 and Hebrews 12:28-29. We need these both truths of God’s character which is His foundation-14 Justice and judgment are the foundation of Thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before Thy face. (KJV, NKJV)
The question is how can we love God when we are so afraid of Him? Yes, you can never love or have a meaningful relationship with someone whom you are so afraid of. The answer is found in Exodus 20:20, where it seems to be that Moses was imparting some oxymoron lesson to us. Or was he? Quite contrary but rather, he was differentiating of ‘being afraid of God’ and ‘fearing†God. How does this actually equates?
Here are two typical extremes. Imagine you work for a CEO who runs a multi-million dollar investment. I am not referring to a harsh and corrupted CEO but an easy going good guy. How would your work attitude and relationship towards him be like? Would you cringe in great terror when you hear his approaching footsteps? And every time he opens his mouth, do you feel like a dead fried meat at his presence?
Or in your daily routine, do you slap his back and say “Yo mate, blessed be your name. I love you so much and I really need a big favour from you as always. Could I have one of your many gorgeous rich daughter/son to marry because my biological clock tick is speeding and I am dead broke? And if you don’t respond to my dire needs now, I will come over to your house and keep knocking the door down with my great faith! And Man, I love you so much and hope you understand my actions and predicaments.
(And how can you say you truly love God when you keep breaking His heart with you wilful disobedient lifestyle or self centred life(sin)? -John 14:21)
Or do you work with your whole heart not desiring any favours in return, simply because you highly respect and love your boss with your own life? If you can understand this bit, then you can understand what it means to truly love God and yet have such reverential submissive attitude towards Him at all times.
Question now is, would you want a God Who serves your purposes or a God Who you want to serve without any reservation or motive?
The good news is, once you have a right foundation of Who God actually is, your priorities will then fall perfectly into place.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.-Matthew 6
8 “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them†(which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.â€-Hebrews 10
Error is to truth as sleep is to waking. I have observed that one turns, as if refreshed, from error back to truth. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
. "The people who know their God, shall be strong and do great exploits." (Daniel 11:32)
In the mist of corruption and deceitful flatteries, Daniel’s exemplary life was a proof that truth works as he assures us of this perennial promise.
So what was it that made Daniel to distinguish himself above his high ranking peers where to the point they tried to test him severely for this truth? Pretty obvious it was his strong relationship with his God….but, if you were to connect the dotted lines, you will find there is more to this great relationship.
On this account, let me then take you to the other side of the bush…or rather around the bush?
Here’s the scenario.
Imagine you are embarking on a sea voyage to the other side of the big blue marble. You got everything in order, e.g. food stacked up and barrels of drinking water enough for a non-stop year trip and of course, you hire a sea captain who has an unflinching courage and a remarkable sailing skill. Only thing that you are unaware of, i.e., there is just an itty bitty little teeny weeny crack about a meter long at the bottom of your mini ‘Endeavour’.
And if you did find it out in the middle of the ocean, singing “Amazing Grace†for another ten thousand years will not help you to reach your destination. As a fact, it wouldn’t take much time to sink that charming sailboat especially so through the boisterous storms.
A wise person once said; “A leak in the roof can be fixed easily enough, as can a broken window or a busted pipe. But when the foundation is compromised in any significant way - then all bets are off. Everything now stands in jeopardy - because it stands upon a crumbling base.
A person's life can be this way. Every person you meet believes something. They have and hold to a set of opinions, ideas, notions, values, and beliefs that make up the basis for how they live. This is their foundation. As long as nothing of any consequence rattles their world they may amble along in life quite blissfully; supposing all is well and good. And on the surface it may very well be - until the bottom drops out.â€
Sadly enough, this faulty foundation have become a common plague in the lives of many believers. I used to scratch my head wondering why many of my Christian friends and even ministers have very serious flawed marriages, financial or family issues that even time could not treat it. Aren’t we all supposed to be more than conquerors in Christ, doing great exploits in our marriages, finances and family where we become extraordinary to the world like Daniel?
I am aware too that we are supposed to be vagabonds and scams of the earth and true enough that is what we are suppose to be, but towards the world system beliefs that our light becomes a convicting conscience to them of who God actually is.
That is the core of this message-Who God actually is. In what way can we truly know Him as a Person if our foundation of Him is so screwed up by our own ideologies?
In the fifties, most men have portrayed Him as God of gloom and doom Who has no sense of understanding towards some lonely shattered soul. Only a hand few who thought otherwise were the ones who truly knew the God of the Scriptures.
Then comes the seventies, where Father God becomes Daddy Cool! Even, Jesus has risen to a superstar status during the hippie days when the fact is, He was the One Who created the supernovas out of nothing before the beginning of days.
As time goes by, it gets no better where superstar Jesus becomes my ‘fluffy Jesus’. I find the superstar Jesus label is bearable compared to the fluffy Jesus Who has no clue what sin is because He knew no sin-hence, I do what is ‘right’ in my own eyes because He truly loves and understands me despite my ‘acts’ and vices. O yes too, my Daddy God, He is so sweet that He is dying to meet every of my whims and wishes at the drop of the hat.
Of course, we don’t ever want to think or say it in a such striking upfront and pestering manner towards God, but honestly our actions and our subconscious mind does speak the intend of our heart. I have done that many times and I am still learning to die to self-hard work but it is restful and refreshing once we have this honest attitude about our self centeredness and the needing to crucify our flesh daily-Hebrews 4:11-12; Matthew 11:27-29.
Again, I say this with a heavy heart, where I have known ministers who have very flawed marriages or are at the brink of divorce because of this faulty foundation, which is based that God is either their blazing torch or their buddy sidekick. In this case, nine out of ten do treat Him as their greasy grace sidekick God. -2 Timothy 3:1-5
The truth of the matter is, God does not only have love, but He is love. And God is also a consuming fire- 1 John 4:8 and Hebrews 12:28-29. We need these both truths of God’s character which is His foundation-14 Justice and judgment are the foundation of Thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before Thy face. (KJV, NKJV)
The question is how can we love God when we are so afraid of Him? Yes, you can never love or have a meaningful relationship with someone whom you are so afraid of. The answer is found in Exodus 20:20, where it seems to be that Moses was imparting some oxymoron lesson to us. Or was he? Quite contrary but rather, he was differentiating of ‘being afraid of God’ and ‘fearing†God. How does this actually equates?
Here are two typical extremes. Imagine you work for a CEO who runs a multi-million dollar investment. I am not referring to a harsh and corrupted CEO but an easy going good guy. How would your work attitude and relationship towards him be like? Would you cringe in great terror when you hear his approaching footsteps? And every time he opens his mouth, do you feel like a dead fried meat at his presence?
Or in your daily routine, do you slap his back and say “Yo mate, blessed be your name. I love you so much and I really need a big favour from you as always. Could I have one of your many gorgeous rich daughter/son to marry because my biological clock tick is speeding and I am dead broke? And if you don’t respond to my dire needs now, I will come over to your house and keep knocking the door down with my great faith! And Man, I love you so much and hope you understand my actions and predicaments.
(And how can you say you truly love God when you keep breaking His heart with you wilful disobedient lifestyle or self centred life(sin)? -John 14:21)
Or do you work with your whole heart not desiring any favours in return, simply because you highly respect and love your boss with your own life? If you can understand this bit, then you can understand what it means to truly love God and yet have such reverential submissive attitude towards Him at all times.
Question now is, would you want a God Who serves your purposes or a God Who you want to serve without any reservation or motive?
The good news is, once you have a right foundation of Who God actually is, your priorities will then fall perfectly into place.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.-Matthew 6
8 “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them†(which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.â€-Hebrews 10
Error is to truth as sleep is to waking. I have observed that one turns, as if refreshed, from error back to truth. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
