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 Wednesday, May one, twenty twenty four. Hello,
my name is Elle 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 christ Alone, Grace Alone, christ Alone,
Grace Alone. We'll get into that in just a moment, but first
I'd like to say welcome to everyone joining us, especially those joining for the
very first time. 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 at your Daily Portion dot Com. This is a way that we continue
to build faith and fellowship. Welcome. Let me just say welcome one more
time, and thank you for everybody who continues to support this ministry with your
sharing of this link or whatever it is, how you actually reach out to
people, letting them know that we are here. Let's go ahead and pray
and then we will get underwig Father in Heaven. Thank you for giving us
this new morning, for the opportunity that you have entrusted to us to open
your word again, and not just open it, but live by the truths
that are found in your word. Please fill us with your Holy Spirit in
Jesus name, I pray, Amen and Amen again, Christ alone, Grace
alone. Now we have used the terminology reformation reformation multiple times in the last
about week and a half. This is obviously I should say, this is
I should not say obviously because some may not be familiar. But we're talking
about the Protestant Reformation that was over five hundred years ago, Martin Luther being
one of the Reformers, and how the people of God decided that they would
not allow any community, they would not allow the predominant culture of the church
that they were attached to to determine how they would live if it did not
align with the scriptures, if it did not align with the scriptures. And
one of the things that they struggled over was whether Jesus Christ was enough.
Huh, whether Jesus Christ was enough? Like? Is he the only mediator
between God and humanity? Is he the one who gives salvation? Or is
it that somehow the Church is doling out salvation somehow? And then by grace
alone means that there is power. There is power that comes from God that
says, even though you're not worthy, even though you are deserving of death,
I AM going to give you the strength to overcome your sins and then
make you holy, not because of something that you can do, not of
works, but based on God's power in our lives. Right. So,
without going too far into that, I would like to read from the Lesson
study and then go into the Bible. The lesson writer said Martin Luther,
and the Protestant Reformers discovered Christ and Christ alone as their source of salvation.
It was then that Luther began to preach the mesas of Christ's saving grace.
Crowds flocked to hear his heart felt, life changing messages. Let me pause
right here, No pilgrimages, right, nobody beating themselves or flagellating. Look
up that, look that up. There is nothing that we can do to
save ourselves. We cooperate with God, we yield our will to God,
but there's no action in terms of our own works that somehow gives us merit.
Where God now owes us salvation? Okay, and let me continue,
Let me continue. The people were shackled by the traditions of the medieval Church
and kept in bondage with centuries old rituals that provided no spiritual life. Let
that settle in. And so this is what Martin Luther taught. And let's
go into the scriptures first and see if we have time for another quote now
the Bible in the Book of the Ephesians, chapter two, verses eight through
ten. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone
should boast. You. See, when I go to work, if I
have a job, if I go to work and then I complete my tasks
according to my contract or whatever's in the employee handbook, then according to the
prescription there then I am to get paid. So that means that my employer
owes me whatever the agreed upon amount is, because I have done my work.
Well, this is not how salvation works. You see, humans are
broken, we're sinful, we have need of salvation, and so even when
we do good things, we fall woefully short. And so what does God
do? He gives us the gift of salvation, the power to do God's
will. And then he says, I am going to require this at your
hand. I'm going to write my lungs in your heart and on your mind,
so that now when I come to you and I say, this is
the requirement, this is how you should live. Now I can come to
you God speaking and expect that you will do it. Why because I've already
empowered you. I've already given you the faith that is necessary. I've given
you the ability to do my will. And now it is reasonable, more
than reasonable for me to expect that you are doing what I have called you
to do. Verse ten. For we are His creative work, having been
created in Christ Jesus for good works. See, God created us to live
godly. He created us to do good works right that God prepared beforehand.
So we can do them. This is the blessing. God does the work
first and then we cooperate. Man say that again, God does the work
first and then we cooperate. But what does that look like. Well,
there is a requirement that we should love God like if you love me,
keep my commandments. Right. Well, let's start with the love part.
The reason we can love is because of God, it says. The Bible
says that we love him be cause He first loved us. Our ability to
love God is caused by God. He puts love in us through Christ,
so we can love him. And then he said, keep my commandments.
You know that's required, right, That's not something we can just gloss over.
And if we want to, we do it. If we don't,
then it doesn't matter. Wait a minute, no, we do. We
do keep his commandments right if we love him. But here is the promise.
If God's love is resident in our lives, then he promised that he
will do in us the will and to do of his good pleasure. So
how does that look with the commandments? The Bible says in Romans chapter eight,
in the way that the law was weak in the flesh, then he
by sending Christ in this flesh, he fulfilled the requirements of the law in
us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit.
So Jesus's success in keeping all of the ten Commandments law is how he
is able to embed in our hearts spiritually the ability to also keep his law.
So he gives us the ability to keep his law by faith. Oh,
faith is required? Okay, well how do we get faith? God
is the author. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, so
love we can love him because he first loved us faith. He is the
author and finisher of our faith right good works. Then he was successful in
the flesh, so that we can do his law. You see. And
I could go on and on through the list of things that are required by
God that he first gives us. So it is by grace that we are
saved through faith. One more passes before we go Romans chapter six and verse
twenty three. For the wages of sin or the payoff of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. Can you
imagine when those individuals were hearing for the first time that there was nothing they
could do, nothing they could do, but everything that God did so that
we could be saved. It's power of God unto salvation. To everyone who
believes, including you, have a 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,