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 L. David Harris. Good morning, Good morning, Good morning.
It is Thursday, August twenty four, two 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 in our Lesson study series through the Book
of Ephesians. Our caption for today is spirit filled Worship. Spirit filled Worship.
I am thankful that you are here, and hopefully you have clicked the
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I want you to please go over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please
click that join link joined the online community and also click the link to pick
up the book at your Daily Portion dot com. Let's go ahead and pray
and then we will get underway. Father in Heaven, thank you for this
new morning and for the privilege to open your word again. And I'm praying
that you will give us your holy spirit, that we will learn from him,
and that we will serve you even in our worship experiences. In Jesus
name, I pray, Amen and they men again. You know, sometimes
we minimize, we minimize worship to a time, a time like you woke
up this morning and hopefully you had your personal quote worship. Or yes,
if you are a person who goes to Bible study on a Tuesday or a
Wednesday and you come together, somebody may open up and say, whether two
or three are gathered together, there is God in the midst and that is
called quote worship. Or on a Sabbath. Yeah, you may gather in
a place or in a place or a combination between a place and a virtual
space, and you quote worship God there, And that's what we're talking about
in some time in some cases where worship is concerned, but God wants us
to broaden our horizons, broaden our perspective. Worship is how we relate to
God when we give him all of our dedication. It is not relegated to
a time on a clock or a date on a calendar. But in this
case, in this case, we aren't talking about a gathering. I just
wanted to kind of put that out there before we limit the discussion to a
gathering, which is completely necessary. By the way, some of us settle
for self worship. Can I say that right here? Some of us settle
for self worship. Let me say this before I get into Ephesians chapter five.
There was a man who prayed in a story that Jesus told. He
stood up and he was in the temple, and he stood up and prayed
with himself, saying, Lord, I thank you that I am not like
and then he starts to point at other people like he is recommending himself to
God. He is writing his own resume, and he is saying to God,
I'm thankful that I'm not like them. And then he begins to tell
God how wonderful he is. I tied in this way, I give in
that way, and therefore I am so wonderful. And then in contrast,
there was a man who would not so much as lift up his eyes toward
Heaven, the Bible says, and he started to smite himself on his chest,
which was a symbol of humility in that culture at that time, and
he said, you know, Lord, be merciful unto me. I'm a
sinner. And the Bible says that the one, the last one that I
mentioned, he is the one who went home justified, that is, seeing
just as if he had never sinned, the one who was forgiven and cleansed
from all unrighteousness and empowered to do God's will, he went home. He
went home justified, rather than the other one who worshiped himself. Well,
the text doesn't say worshiped himself, but you see where this is going.
He prayed with himself, saying, yeah, where did his prayers go?
We understand now, so God is about not us worshiping ourselves, but of
us, connecting with Him and worship, worshiping him. In the Book of
Ephesians, chapter five, beginning at verse eighteen, the Bible reads, and
be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit,
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart unto the Lord. So we are singing and making melody
in our hearts to the Lord with what again, psalms, Yes, hymns
and spiritual songs. So God is saying that in these worship experiences we should
be elevated, elevated into the presence of God. Because doesn't the Bible say
that God inhabiteth the praises of his people. So God is saying, come
into My presence with thanksgiving, and into my courts with praise. Yeah.
And these spiritual songs, these hymns, these psalms are in kind trust to
an excessive lifestyle, a drunken lifestyle. I'll come back to that verse twenty.
Give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the
name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. So when you come into the presence
of God with worship, you're coming in the name of Jesus Christ. That
means that your worship must meet the stamp of approval of Jesus, God,
the Father's Son. When we speak, when we pray, when we praise,
when we give thanks, when we sing, when we are quiet and
silent, lingering in the presence of God, because He's been so good to
us. We are doing it. If it's real, if it's genuine,
yes, if it is accepted, it is in the name of Jesus.
It is the way that Jesus would have done it, if it were Jesus.
Right, we hand ourselves into God's care. We know that the Holy
Spirit, he is the one that educates our minds. He's the one who
gives us the inclination. He's the one that makes our prayers worth hearing,
because we don't know what we ought to pray for, right, but he
gives our prayers that groanings, that moanings, worship like that cannot be uttered.
And all of this now is in the name of Jesus. And now
we are worshiping spirit filled worship. And of course, as I said earlier,
it is in contrast to the way that a lot of people came into
his presence with babbling, came into his presence under the influence of substances,
alcohol in particular. And the Bible says here in Proverbs chapter twenty in verse
one, that wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever
is deceived thereby is not wise. There are people who in the fellowship of
Christ right or they say it's the fellowship of Christ, And in the presence
right in corporate worship, they bring yes inebriants. Some of you take communion
with alcoholic beverages. Can you imagine when God is saying wine is a mocker,
strong drink is raging. Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Let
me go to Proverbs chapter twenty three, beginning at verse twenty nine. Who
hath woe, who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling?
Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry
long about at the wine, excuse me that go to seek mixed wine.
Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color
in the cup, when it moveth itself a right, and at the last
it biteth like a serpent. And stingeth like an adder. Go ahead and
type in the chat if you've ever been bitten by alcoholic beverages. Yeah,
if you've ever been bitten by alcoholic beverages, if you've ever been drunk or
somewhat tipsy, or your mind wasn't functioning perfectly because you were under its influence.
Right, the Bible says that this is what would happen, and stingeth
like an adder Verse thirty three. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and
thine heart shall utter perverse things. I won't ask anybody who's ever been in
that situation. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the
midst of the sea, or he that lieth upon the top of a mast.
Right, you see people stumbling when they're under the influenced Verse thirty five
and final, they have stricken me, shalt thou say, And I was
not sick. They have beaten me, and I've felt it not? And
when shall I awake? So God is saying, be sober, don't be
drunk. Worship God in the beauty of holiness. 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 L. David Harris. Make it a great day.