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Doing Spiritual Exploits
December 9, 2023

The Bible says that the people who do know their God will be strong and do exploits. Some translations show they will do great exploits. Whenever there is a challenge to the people of God, God finds a way to deliver His people that perfectly fits within His plan along the continuum of eternity.

One example of the people of God doing exploits, even great exploits is the history of the Maccabees who rebelled against their occupiers at a time between the Old and New Testaments. They went up against the Seleucid Empire and its King Antiochus Epiphanes, whose name means God Manifest. During his reign, he cracked down on Jewish practices likely thinking an internal religious squabble among Jews would lead to a larger rebellion. Instead of the temple sacrifices, the temple became the location of blended pagan-Jewish practices, including the sacrificing of animals that Jews would never sacrifice.

In his attempt to stop a rebellion, Antiochus Epiphanes’ actions became the catalyst behind a successful rebellion and a rededication of the temple which today is observed by Jewish people as Hanukkah. Before the rebellion, the Jews were outmanned and overpowered by their conquerors. The Maccabees did great exploits to bring about the freedom of the Jews, and many look to the writings of Daniel, who lived long before the Maccabean revolt, as a prophetic sign of this rebellion.

That abomination that makes desolate is thought to be that blended pagan-Jewish practices including the sacrifices of unclean animals. When we read the words of Jesus in a bit, we will see there is yet another abomination of desolation to come. Returning to the chapter in Daniel we see that flattery is used by those who seek to go against the truth, and that those who do know their God will be strong and do exploits, instructing many, even in the face of death. The prophecy of Daniel continues showing the king of the North will exalt himself above every god even speaking against God our Father in Heaven having initial success to fulfil prophecy. This person is egotistical and has no regard for any other person on earth valuing personal strength above all else.

Daniel 11:27-39
And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. 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. 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. 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. 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. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 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. And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

Jesus spoke of the abomination of desolation that Daniel wrote about. In the words of Jesus, it is yet future, something yet to happen. While the events of the Maccabean revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes fits within Daniel’s description, Jesus shows the abomination of desolation is something for the future, right before the end of time. Jesus warned that when we see this abomination of desolation standing in the Holy place, it is time for those in Judea to immediately flee to the mountains leaving all things of value behind. Today we do not have a Holy place like was available during the time of the Maccabees, so between now and this future event we would expect to see some type of Holy place established, like a temple for the Jewish faith. It will at this future time of the abomination of desolation that a false Messiah will come to the world’s attention. There will be false Messiahs and false prophets that if possible would deceive the very elect of God. Jesus then tells us that when he returns it will be easy to see as the sunrise. Jesus will not return to earth any other way. He will not return hidden or in an isolated location. It will be easy for everyone to see the return of Jesus.

Matthew 24:15-28
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand: Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Those false Messiahs and false prophets will try to exploit the world and if possible the elect of God. Instead of being exploited by these false people, we who today know God will be strong and do exploits, great exploits. We do not know exactly what kind of exploits we will have in our future, but we do know when the abomination of desolation is set up we should expect it to be a time of exploits by the people of God, even great exploits.

When we think of exploits, we think of the weak overpowering the mighty. We think of Robin Hood who stole from the rich to give to the poor. We think of the underdog sports team that takes out the overwhelming favorite to win. We think of David who used exploits to take out Goliath. Goliath was feared by all of the soldiers of Israel. Nobody wanted to go up against him because they only saw it as a death sentence. David on the other hand saw it as an opportunity to fight in the name of God. Instead of using conventional battle tactics, David used the tactics of a shepherd in the field defending his flock against a wolf, and David defeated and killed Goliath causing all of the Philistines to flee.

1 Samuel 17:41-51
And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

Another exploit that comes to mind with David was when he ate the shewbread at the altar. That bread was hallowed bread for priestly use, and even though the bread given to David was taken away from the alter because it was old, that did not change that it was for holy use.

1 Samuel 21:1-6
Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know anything of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present. And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread; if the young men have kept themselves at least from women. And David answered the priest, and said unto him, Of a truth women have been kept from us about these three days, since I came out, and the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in a manner common, yea, though it were sanctified this day in the vessel. So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.

It may bring to mind some questions how doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing was an exploit, yet that is what Jesus indicated in a discussion with Pharisees about the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and picked from the field as they walked through and right away the Pharisees were accusing them of breaking he Sabbath. To defend them, Jesus gave the example of David who ate the shewbread and definitively stated that the bread was only for priestly use, and then also gave an example of how even priests profane the Sabbath. Jesus then explained he was greater than the temple and was Lord of the Sabbath telling the Pharisees that mercy trumps sacrifice and that mercy was something the Pharisees did not understand. Mercy on our part is needed to do exploits.

Matthew 12:1-8
At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

When it comes to doing exploits it makes no difference what our physical strength is. God does not need us to have superhuman abilities to do exploits and is quite capable of having the average person, even a physically weak person do exploits by renewing strength and giving His people the ability to soar like eagles and to run when everyone else is ready to collapse.

Isaiah 40:27-31
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Having mercy is needed to do exploits as is being righteous. We may not think of ourselves as righteous, but God does reward us according to our righteousness. It is with God when we have mercy and righteousness within our life that mobs of people will be no challenge for us nor will physical barriers. When exploits are needed, God will be our shield protecting us from evil.

Psalm 18:20-30
The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

When we think of what we must do to have these exploits, we look to Enoch who walked with God. If we are walking with God, we are going in the same direction to the same destination. We know God will be part of the Kingdom of God, so when we walk with God as Enoch did, we embody the words of Jesus who said to seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. There is nothing we do with any type of exploit that deviates from that pursuit of God’s righteousness and the Kingdom of God.

Genesis 5:22-24
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

The spiritual exploits we do will never result in sin. We will never bring harm to another person in any manner. We will never use our pursuit of God’s righteousness and the Kingdom of God to bring any type of harm to another person. With God as our shield, we will do what is needed spiritually knowing God will protect us from others.

In doing what is needed spiritually while relying on God for our protection and defense, we will be acting through faith, and if we are the modern day stewards of the mysteries of God, as was the case throughout history, we too must be faithful living a life where we value the judgment of Jesus and God instead of the judgment of other people. We know that other people may not judge us fairly at this time, but we know at the return of Jesus everything will come to light and if we have been faithful to God and Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear from their judgment.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

To do exploits, we will be people of faith and be grounded by love knowing that whatever is set before us in this life, we have the power of the Holy Spirit working within us. With the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us we have access to God and Jesus Christ who are able to do much more than we could ever imagine. Those who try and spiritually stifle us do not comprehend with Whom they are dealing. They may see us as mere humans not comprehending that through the Holy Spirit within us they are dealing with the children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 3:14-21
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

To do exploits we need to realize that at times, the life we physically live might seem unbearable. If life were always easy, there would be no need for exploits, because life would be easy and our response to life would also be easy. We are not called to that easy life but we do know with the life we are given, through the Holy Spirit and with access to God the Father and Jesus Christ, we can do these exploits to pass through what is hard in life knowing in faith grounded in love that God is our shield. We will never let the hardships of this life be reason to give up on the faith we have. Even if we are dismissed by society because of our faith, or even persecuted by society because of our faith, we do not give up on the faith we have. We hold the confidence of our faith knowing that doing the will of God will lead to our place in the Kingdom of God. We never shrink back in faith. When times are spiritually rough, we do spiritual exploits and get through those spiritual rough parts of life.

Hebrews 10:32-39
But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

We do spiritual exploits knowing we have this common spiritual enemy, Satan the devil who seeks our common destruction. When Satan is accusing us and trying to destroy us, we do not give in knowing we have the blood of Jesus Christ, the word of our testimony, not loving our lives till the death. We never shrink back in the faith, nor are we afraid of physical death as we look forward to the Kingdom of God.

Revelation 12:7-12
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Doing spiritual exploits will lead us to be constant in the faith and to keep the commandments of God. We never see faith and keeping the commandments as mutually exclusive. Having faith and keeping the commandments go hand-in-hand. We may be persecuted and suffer in the present age, but in the future when the identity of the beast of Revelation is clear and we see the result of all those who took the mark of the beast, we will see their spiritual suffering and punishment and our great spiritual exploit during that time will be not being part of that and not suffering as they suffer.

Revelation 14:9-13
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

If we love Jesus Christ and by extension, God the Father there will be no question about keeping commandments or having the Holy Spirit and it is through the Holy Spirit we will be comforted. The world in which we live does not have the Holy Spirit and so it is through the Holy Spirit that we have this ability to do spiritual exploits.

John 14:12-18
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Doing spiritual exploits will lead us to have love for others of the faith and it is that love that we have for each other that serves as the greatest sign to non-believers of where the people of God are.

John 13:31-35
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

The love that we have for each other and the spiritual exploits we do will continue as the times become more and more evil. Eventually society will come to the point where those not of the faith will seek to torment and kill those of the faith, and those of the faith will be hated by the world that is under the sway of Satan. During this time spiritual exploits will involve enduring to the end when it seems impossible to do so.

Matthew 24:9-14
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

In our life we should expect to do spiritual exploits that defy all conventional wisdom and logic. However, we are not called to rebel today against other people and the governments that exist. Even though we know down the road others will turn against us, we do not turn against them. We submit to the laws of mankind regarding the laws of God to be higher when there is conflict between the two. By living what is seen as a law-abiding life we are able to do what God expects of us.

1 Peter 2:13-17
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

Doing spiritual exploits requires us to render to all their dues. We honor God with what is God’s and we honor people and the governments of man with what is theirs. Doing spiritual exploits does not mean we sow discord within society or break the laws of man’s governments that have no bearing on the laws of God.

Romans 13:1-7
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

The spiritual exploits we will do will reflect our faith. Through faith there are certain things we do. We do not show faith by the words we say but by what we do, and the spiritual exploits we will do are no different. Those spiritual exploits will not be opposed to the faith we have, but fully in alignment to the faith that we have.

James 2:14-26
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also

As we move closer to the end time, we move closer to the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies about the end time. Some of the events will test us to the limit but those who endure to the end will be saved. Those who seek first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness will have their needs taken care of. The Bible says that the people who do know their God will be strong and do exploits. Moving closer to the end of time, the people who will do those spiritual exploits, those great spiritual exploits will be people like you and me. It will make no difference how challenging the times will be because whenever there is a challenge to the people of God, God finds a way to deliver His people that perfectly fits within His plan along the continuum of eternity. And if we endure to the end we will be part of that eternal Kingdom of God having done great spiritual exploits.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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