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 of 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, Elle David Harris. Good morning, Good morning, Good
morning. It is Tuesday, October thirty one, twenty twenty three. Hello,
my name is El 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 in our Lesson study series. God's
mission, my mission, and our caption for today is our Excuses. Here
we go again. This time it's about inconvenience. That's an excuse some Pece
people we'll use for not doing what God says in terms of mission inconvenience.
We'll get into that in just a moment, but first I'd like to say
welcome to you and ask you to go over to your Daily Portion dot com.
Join our online community. Click Also on if you're watching YouTube, click
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where you are in the world. We are still looking at where people are,
knowing that God is spreading his word into all the world for a witness
so that Jesus Christ can come, and come very soon your Daily portion dot
com. Let's go ahead and pray, and then we will get underway.
Father and Heaven, thank you for today. Please teach us not to use
excuses, especially not that your work is inconvenient. In Jesus' name, I
pray a man and a man again. Let's clear up something just very quickly
here. God does love us, and he does care how we feel and
what we think about, but not to the degree that it will overrule His
will in our lives. You hear what I'm saying. He does care,
He is concerned. He knows that we have certain weaknesses and challenges. He
knows that we have our everyday lives with which to contend. All of that
is true. But when He gives guidance and he gives a command to go
He therefore into all nations, and then he gives the rest of the command.
He's not saying, do it if it's convenient. He's not saying do
it if it feels good. He's not saying, do it if you have
any time left after you've done everything that satisfies you. When God gives us
a bidding, he also provides the empowerment to do. God's biddings are enabling.
God's biddings are enablings, and so of course Jonah Jonah did not really
too much find what God had to say to be very convenient for him.
He had a perspective about how his ministry should run. And when God said
go left, he went far to the right. God said go up.
He went way down. But of course, because God does not easily take
no for an answer with someone that is he's working with, he goes in.
If you want to say, search of Jonah. Of course he didn't
have to search for him. God always knows where we are at all times.
But God went after Jonah and let him know that his calling on his
life was absolute. Now Jonah could choose to reject God fully, he didn't,
but he could have, and that would have been a different discussion.
But in these moments of disobedience, God goes to Jonah and shows him who
God is versus who humanity is, whose command matters versus who is there to
receive the command? And inconvenience about Jonah's reputation, inconvenience about whatever Jonah had
planned to do for the next hover long were irrelevant in this case. And
so we want to look at the power of an obedient witness. Now from
the Book of Jonah, chapter three and verse five we read, and the
people of Ninevah believed God. This is finally after Uah, Jonah's specially prepared
sea creature spits him up on the on the on the land, and then
Jonah goes and does Finally, after a bunch of belly aching in contention,
he goes and does what he is supposed to do. The Bible says,
and the people of Ninevah believed God. They called for a fast and put
on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them, and
for those who know the Bible, some of you, because you have a
critical nature of s and Yeah, but they ultimately unrepented about their repentance.
I know that sounded confusing. Some of them turned back from their repentance,
and then God ultimately did destroy nine of it. But the Bible shows us
here that there were people who repented and that was the goal. That was
the goal. So despite Jonah's reluctance, his obedience in delivering God's message resulted
in an entire city. Can you imagine put in your city in the chat?
Like what if your city is New York. What if your city is
San Francisco. What if your city is Toronto. What if your city is
London, your city is Mbasa? Like what if your city is Accra.
There are cities around the world that need the word of God. And God
is saying that if he calls God his people to these places to speak a
message of hope, to speak a message of correction, that he will empower.
He will empower those whom He's called to do exactly what he says.
And the outcome is up to the people. Will they choose yes, will
they choose no? But God will provide the power that they can choose yes.
Right, And so the whole city of Nineveh turned to God in repentance.
Here is an action step for me. Here is an action step for
you. Embrace the significance of obediently proclaiming God's message. It is critical mission,
critical right obedience of doing what God says, and recognize that despite our
inadequacies. You may feel like you can't speak, you can't share, you
can't give your testimony, you can't sing, you can't play, you can't
share food. Whatever it is that God is calling you to do doesn't matter,
because God's word will not return void if we do what he says.
Here's another one witnessing transcending personal prejudices. Okay, we're going to verses one
and two from Jonah chapter three, and the Bible reads, then the word
of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, arise, go
to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it. The message
that I tell you here is the action step. Here is the action step
I want you to commit to letting God's love and mission supersede your personal biases
and prejudices. God, They're not going to listen to me God. They
come from a certain type of people that whatever with my type of people.
UH, ensure that your hearts, Ensure that your hearts and minds are aligning
with the heart of God for all people. Did he not say in Isaiah
chapter fifty six, verses one through seven, ultimately that his house, God's
house is a house of prayer for all people. And so, no matter
what your prejudices and bias, biases have been, because of your socialization,
because of your spiritual whatever, God is saying, go and do what I
have called you to do at the time that I have called you to do
so and to the people that I have called you two Okay. Also,
we're reading from Jonah chapter three and verse five again, but we're going to
cut it in half this time. And the people of Nineveh believed God.
We're embracing sacrifice in mission. Right. Our action step is to be prepared
to embrace the inconveniences. God is not going to pull up a clock and
say, well, based on your time zone, then this is the convenient
way for you to do what I've comemand you to do. Right, So
the challenges and inconveniences in God's mission, understanding that our sacrifices can pave the
way for divine interventions. Everything that we do requires a sacrifice. And when
we do what God says yielding our will completely to him. We are just
simply modeling the behavior of Jesus when he was in the garden of Gethsemane,
saying, if there is another way, God, let this cut pass from
me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And
guess what that sacrifice meant, that you and I, brothers and sisters could
be saved. You think it was convenient for Jesus to go on the cross.
I think not. Every wonderful day, Peace, Thanks for joining us
listening. 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 El David Harris. Make it a great day, Yeah,