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 Monday, April twenty two, twenty twenty four. 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 the Great Controversy.
Our caption for today is Light Vanquishes the Darkness. Light vanquishes the darkness.
We'll get into that in just a moment, but first I'd like to say
welcome, Welcome, Welcome everybody, and I'm asking you to please go over
to your Daily Portion dot com. Please join our online community, pick up
the Your Daily Portion book and let us know where you are in the world
at your daily portion dot com. This is a way that we continue to
build faith and fellowship. Let's go ahead and pray, and then we will
get underway. Father and Heaven, thank you for giving us this new day
and for the privilege we have to open up your word. I pray God
that you will help us to live in the light, even as you are
in the light. In Jesus name, I pray Amen and Amen again,
light vanquishes the darkness. Let's go ahead and begin by reading in the Book
of Jude. The Book of Jude. It's one of the last books of
the Bible, and it only has one chapter. So we're going to verse
number three and it reads, Dear friends, although I have been eager to
write to you about our common salvation, that is, the salvation that we
have in common, I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to
contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
Notice now that the Bible is not saying Jude, who was the brother of
James, who was also the half brother of Jesus. Judas the half brother
of Jesus. Yeah, he's not saying that we're supposed to be having arguments
about the scriptures. That is not what he's saying. He's not saying that
we're supposed to stage a debate to prove how intelligent we are. He's definitely
not saying that. But we need to say, like, this is the
good Gospel of Jesus Christ that is transformative in our lives, to the point
that now when I was blind, I can now see you see where this
is going. Like when I was dark in my imagination and loved things that
God didn't love, Now I am aligned with God. I love godly things.
Like when I was not about committing to one woman as a husband,
you were not committed to one man as a wife. Now we can be
committed. Why because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are people who
will try to take the faith of Christ out of your life and experience,
and you should contend so that does not happen. You don't lay down and
say, well, whatever happens happens. No, God has entrusted us with
a faith that cannot fail when people come in and try to mix truth with
error. You're in a faith community, and people mix up all kinds of
things and then try to feed it to the people of God. You're supposed
to contend and not allow that to happen. For certain men have secretly slipped
in among you, men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation.
I am about to describe ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God
into a license for evil, and who deny our only Master and Lord,
Jesus Christ. This is a clarion call, like Judas putting him out there.
He's not allowing these wolves in sheep's clothing to come into the fellowship of
believers and then spread all kinds of wicked propaganda. During the pandemic, there
was all kinds of wicked propaganda. And it's not the only time in history,
but that one is one that all of the people of God would have
felt for the period of time that the pandemic had its teeth sunken into our
skin and had its grip on us. But God is saying no, no,
no, no, no no. I want you to contend and earnestly
for the faith that was once for all entrusted to all saints. In the
last days, we will see all kinds of abominations creeping in We talked about
creeping compromise, and the lesson writer actually says this admonition meant even more to
the believers of the Middle Ages, after pagan practices had flooded into the Church
and human traditions compromised the word of God. Let me just say, not
compromise the word of God, but in the hearts and minds of the people.
It was snatched out of the hearts and minds of people for centuries,
many centuries, people like the walled Denscenes, and you need to look them
up. These people, these people when when God's people were being persecuted from
hither and yon like, when they were when they were challenged to either keep
the truth in their hearts or to yield to the way that the world and
the false Church had been pushing forward. The Waldensians stood, according to the
Lesson Writer, as champions for the truths of Scripture. They believed that Christ
was their only mediator and the Bible their sole source of authority. Let me
just pause right here. Do you still believe that Jesus Christ is the one
mediator between God and humanity, I'm saying, Or do you believe that there
was a human being that has to stand in the gap for you. I
know we say it, stand in the gap for me, brother, stand
in the gap for me, sister. And when we say it, if
we say it according to the way that the scriptures would approve, we're simply
saying, like, talk to God about me, talk to God for me.
Not because we can't do it ourselves, not because the person that we're
asking to pray for us somehow has more power with God. No intercession is
just another opportunity for God to hear the voices and the christ and the petitions
of his people on behald half of others, so that He can do what
his will is in our lives anyway. But sometimes people take that too far,
like that standing in the gap concept. They take it too far,
and they make it seem as if some person in a box in some room
has power to keep us in connection with God or out of connection with God,
that somehow they are able to put God into a little wafer and stick
him in your mouth. And I know that sounds sacrilegious, Well that's because
it is. We are not living on planet Earth with humans that have power
with God that we don't have because There's one mediator between God and humanity,
and that mediator is Jesus Christ, who took on human flesh. He lived
the life in the way that we should live it, powerfully, full of
the Holy Ghost, right completely surrendered to the will of his father, and
his his victory now can be transferred into our lives if we will just trust
him by faith. When Jesus lived his perfect life, he died, He
died in our place, but he still had his perfect record with God.
Yes, and then he took up his life again one beautiful Sunday morning.
And he took up his life having all authority in his hands, the keys
of hell, death, and the grave in his hands, the ability to
unlock those things in your mindset, my mindset, those things that have so
easily beset us over the generations because Grandma and Grandpa had challenges. And he
says, no, you can stop right here. You can stop right here.
The buck stops right here. You can decide to serve me. You
can decide no matter what your DNA or genealogy has determined, you can follow
me. And now a quote from the book Great Controversy, page sixty one.
In every age, there were witnesses of God for God, people who
cherished faith in Christ as the only mediator between God and man, who held
the Bible as the only rule of life and hollowed the truth of the Sabbath.
That is the end of the quote. And so we give God thanks.
Why do we give God thanks? Because He's able to keep us in
these last days. He can shine in our hearts as the light shines in
the darkness. Yes, and we can do what God says. Why,
because He's empowering us even in twenty twenty four and beyond, to do and
to live according to His principles. Come what may? Is that your commitment?
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,