Daniel 11:32

Knowing God

Intro. This scripture is a prophecy and was fulfilled in the time of Judas

Maccabeus. Who with a small band of men, dedicated fully to God,

attacked and defeated the superior forces of Antiocus Epiphanies

over and over again. Before each battle he would encourage his men

to be willing to give their lives for God. The exploits of these

men became legendary. There is a truth here that goes beyond the

prophetic fulfillment by the Maccabees.

I. The people who do know their God.

A. In John 17:3 Jesus said, "And this is life eternal, that they

may know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have

sent."

1. There is a vast difference between knowing God, and

knowing about God.

2. All but the fool know about God, it is only the fool

who has said in his heart, "There is no God." Paul

said, professing themselves to be wise, they became

fools as they sought to change the glory of the

incorruptible God and they began to worship and serve

the creation more than the creator.

3. This is a reference to knowing God in a personal

intimate way. In such a way as you carry on daily

conversations with Him, and seek His advise before

making any major decisions. You look to Him daily for

comfort, advise, and strength, He is your closest

friend and confidant.

B. How do you get to know God in this way?

1. By learning of Him. Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you

and learn of Me."

a. There is only one textbook whereby you may know

God in truth, and that is the Bible.

b. A lot of books have been written about man's

concepts, and ideas about God, these can be

very confusing.

c. The Bible is an autobiography in which God has

revealed Himself to man. It shows how He has

related to man through history, and how you can

relate to Him.

2. Through Jesus Christ.

a. God who in different times and in various ways

spoke to man through His prophets, has in these

last days spoken to us by His own dear Son.

Jesus is the final and perfect revelation of

God to man, for He is God.

b. When Philip said to Him, just show us the

Father and we will be satisfied, Jesus

answered, "Have I been with you all of this

time, and have you not seen Me, He that has

seen Me has seen the Father."

c. In his latter years John wrote in his 1st

epistle, "That which was from the beginning

which we have heard, which we have seen with

our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our

hands have handled of the Word of life. For the

life was manifested and we have seen it, and

bear witness, and show unto you that eternal

life, which was with the Father, and was

manifested unto us."

d. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the

life, no man cometh to the Father, but by Me."

e. Again Jesus said, "Neither knoweth any man the

Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son

revealeth Him."

d. Jesus is the true revelation of God for He is

God. In the beginning was the Word, and the

Word was with God and the Word was God, the

same was in the beginning with God, and the

Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we

beheld His glory as of the only begotten of

the Father full of grace and truth.

II. The outcome of knowing their God.

A. They shall be strong.

1. As we were sharing last week, we are in a spiritual

battle in which physical force is ineffective, for we

are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but

spiritual powers. In the context of this spiritual

warfare mentioned in Ephesians Paul said, "Be strong

in the Lord, and the power of His might."

a. Our strength is in Him, "Be strong in the

Lord."

b. Our power comes from Him. "And the power of His

might."

2. When Paul was praying for the Ephesians, he prayed that

they might know the exceeding greatness of His power

toward those who believe.

3. In his second prayer for them he asked that they might

be strengthened by His Spirit in their inner man.

4. When Paul was praying for his own infirmity the Lord

spoke to him and declared, "My grace is sufficient for

you, My strength will be perfected in your weakness."

5. You can, as Isaac Watts, be a physical wimp, but a

spiritual giant. He said as he stretched himself out to

his full four foot eleven inch stature,

"Were I so tall to reach the pole,

Or span the ocean with my hand,

I must be measured by my soul,

The mind is the standard of a man."

6. You may be a physical giant, and a spiritual wimp.

a. Goliath was a physical giant nine feet tall,

but he did not know the God of Israel, and he

defied Him.

b. Goliath fell before a stripling of a youth,

who knew the God of Israel.

B. They shall do exploits.

1. I would take you to Hebrews 11 to show you the exploits

of the men and women who knew their God.

a. Gideon with his 300 men routing over 135,000

Midianites.

b. Barak with the help of Deborah, routing the

forces of Sisera with his many iron chariots.

c. Sampson with a jawbone of a donkey as his only

weapon facing and destroying 1000 Philistines.

d. "Out of weakness were made strong, waxed

valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies

of the aliens.

2. The Bible is replete with stories of the great exploits

of those men who knew God and trusted in Him.

III. The bottom line question, do you know God?

A. Some people claim that He is unknowable, they claim to be

agnostics.

1. This is a claim usually made by those who suppose that

they are to intellectually sophisticated to believe in

a personal knowable God.

a. It is the problem of starting with an earth

base and seeking to reach heaven.

b. The finite, can never reach the infinite.

2. The friend of Job asked, "Who by searching can find out

God to perfection?"

B. To know God is the most important thing in life.

1. Jeremiah said, "Let not the wise man glory in his

wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let

not the rich man glory in his riches, but he that

glorieth let him glory in this that he knows Me, that

I am the Lord that exercises lovingkindness, judgment

and righteousness in the earth."

2. Paul told the Corinthians that God had not chosen many

wise, or many mighty or many noble men, for He has

chosen to use the foolish things of this world to

confound the wise. And the weak ones of this world to

confound the mighty, that no flesh should glory in His

sight.

a. God wants to do exploits on this earth, but it

is difficult to use the wise, for men will then

glory in the wisdom of men.

b. It is difficult for the same reason to use the

mighty and the strong.

C. There is no excuse not to know God. He has revealed Himself in

nature, which should lead you to His word, which will lead you

to His Son.

1. And this is life eternal, that they may know You the

only true God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.