Most of us eat every day, some of us too much because yesterday's food
is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do some
of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna the word of God to keep us
through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change all that.
Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need to live healthy,
vibrant lives. Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host, author speaker
L. David Harris. Good morning, good morning, Good morning. It
is Friday, September twenty two, twenty twenty three. Hello, my name
is L. David Harris. I am your host, and this is your
Daily Portion where we give you God's word every single day, and today is
no exception. We are continuing through our lesson study series in the Book of
Ephesians with our caption for today, which is what the power of Unity.
We'll get into that in just a moment, but first I'd like to say
welcome, Welcome, Welcome to everyone joining us, especially those joining us for
the very first time. I would like for you to go over to your
Daily Portion dot com, join our online community, and also pick up your
Daily Portion book at your Daily Portion dot com. This is a way that
we can build faith and fellowship. Welcome to preparation day. Let's go ahead
and pray and then we will get underway. Father in Heaven, thank you
for giving us this privilege to connect with you today and for the fact that
you have entrusted so much in us. To us, Father, please teach
us unity in the faith in Jesus, they might pray, Amen and amen
again the power of unity. Now we have discussed this many times before during
this series through the Book of Ephesians, but today we're going to just take
a different perspective. Okay, We're going to begin with the quote from the
book Ellen White, Spalding and Megan Collection, page one hundred twenty one,
and it reads, an army in battle would become confused and weakened unless all
worked in concert. I hope you're getting the imagery here. If the soldiers
should act out their own impulsive ideas without reference to each other's positions and work,
they would be a collection of independent atoms. Think about war and how
it is done, and of course we're talking about the kinds that are necessary,
they would they could not do the work of an organized body. Can
I just pause here for a moment. I think they say, united,
we stand. Can you fill in the blank right there? United we stand
and divided we fall? Okay, let me come back to it. Here's
the quote. So the soldiers of Christ must act in harmony. They alone
must not be cherished. If they do this, the Lord's people, in
the place of being in perfect harmony of one mind, one purpose, and
consecrated to one grand object, will find efforts fruitless, their time and capabilities
wasted. And now here comes the catchphrase. Union is strength. This is
why we chose for our caption today, the power of unity. Union is
strength. A few converted souls acting in harmony, acting for one grand purpose
under one head. Who is the one head? Everybody? Huh? We
are the body of Christ. So the head is yes, Christ himself.
So acting for one grand purpose under one head will achieve victories at every encounter.
That is the end of the quote. And so what we are after
is the kind of unity that God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit have along with their retinue of angels. We are looking
for the kind of unity. When Jesus was praying the what is called high
priestly or mediatorial prayer. We see in John chapter seventeen he said that we
that I could make them one, that they could become one, even as
I and you Father are one. So God, in his divine providence,
would have us to be unified, that is one in purpose. As we
are living here on planet Earth waiting for the second coming of Christ. And
so we don't sit on our hands and just wait. We are in a
battle like this is a warfare. This is what we call the great controversy
between God and the Devil, between good and evil, and the battlefield is
in our minds. So God is giving us the privilege to seek His face
on a daily basis. Are you seeking God's face on a daily basis?
Are you saying, Lord, what would you have me to do? And
then see that He is marking out your path before you. Yes, when
there are difficulties and challenges, confusion and trials hard to bear, God is
saying that I am the one who is leading you. I am the one
that has given you the entire armor, so that when the devil starts to
fire his ordinance against you, like the fiery darts of the wicked one come
your way. Then I have my plan, so you will come out victorious.
And guess what. This plan is not a selfish plan. It is
not simply or merely just for you. It is for your family. It
is for those in your community. It is those for those at your workplace
and where you exercise, right where you shop, the transport that you choose
by taking a taxi or some other mode of transportation. When people encounter you,
they are supposed to be encountering the captain of the heavenly hosts, Jesus
Christ himself. They are supposed to be energized knowing that God, if he
is able to keep you from falling, fill in your name right here,
like if God is able to keep you from falling, then he is able
to keep someone else from falling. You see where this is going. And
so there is a discussion question here. In the lesson discussion question number four,
it reads, how should we treat those who are wounded on the battle
field of the Great Controversy? How should we treat those who are wounded on
the battle field of the Great Controversy? So we need to follow Jesus's example
treat them with compassion and love. And so in the Galatians chapter six,
in verse one, the Bible reads, Brethren, if any one of you,
if any man be taken in a fault, ye, which are spiritual,
restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest
thou also be tempted. Yeah, we will see people who fall. We
see people quote fall from grace all the time. And what the Bible is
teaching us here is that we are to have and really it's our privilege to
have compassion and to show love to those individuals. And by the way,
if you are a sinner just like me, saved by grace, just like
me, then that means if you see an individual taken in a fault,
who has fallen from quote grace, then you say, wait a minute,
that could be me, at any time of the day, on any day
of the year. Yes, that could be me. How would I want
to be treated? What would be of most benefit to me? What would
glorify God the most? And so we treat them with compassion and love.
Here is another one. We avoid condemnation and judgment. Remember there was a
woman caught in the very act of adultery and Jesus instead of instead of joining
ranks with those individuals who brought her there to Jesus's feet to indict her and
for her to be condemned and destroyed. He really forgave her, He really
cleansed her from all in righteousness. He really empowered her to do what he
would have her to do. But in the meantime, he even though it
would have been his right to condemn her, he even avoided condemnation and judgment.
And he said to the woman, as those men had to scamper away.
Long story short, he said, woman, where are those thine accusers?
Doth no man accuse thee? And she said, no man, Lord,
And he said, neither do I condemn thee? Sin go and sin
no more. And of course we want to encourage everyone, everyone taken an
a fault, to repent and then do our part to restore them into power
under the banner of Jesus Christ. I hope we have a wonderful day peace.
Thanks for joining us listening to friends. Always remember we cannot live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
This has been your daily portion with l David Harris. Make it a great day.