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 Sabbath, March nine, 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 through the Book of
Psalms, and our caption for today is longing for God in Zion, Longing
for God in Zion. We'll get into that in just a moment, but
first I'd like to say welcome to you in a happy Sabbath wherever you happen
to be in the world. I know that some of you have gotten a
head start on me. It's only five o'clock where I am in the morning,
but some of you have gone deep into your sabbath because of where you
live, and so thank you. Thank you for hanging out with us while
we are getting into the throes of the morning light. Today, I'd like
to just say welcome to everyone joining us, especially those joining us for the
very first time. Please go over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please
click the button under the join. It's a big header that says join.
Click that button and then sign up for our online community. It is a
way that we continue to build faith and fellowship at your Daily Portion dot com.
Let's go ahead and pray, and then we will get underway. Father
and Heaven, thank you for this day and for the privilege we have to
study and to open up your word. Please, Father, give us your
will. Please give us a longing in our heart to serve you, a
longing in our heart to be with you forever, and then let it change
our lives. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen and amen again,
longing for God in Zion. Now this brings, of course to my mind,
because you know, if you've been on the program for any period of
time, you know that I think in songs. I think in songs,
and so this brings to my mind. The Lord in Zion reigneth. Number
seven in our hymno, the Lord and Zion reigneth. Let the world,
all the world, rejoice and come before his throne of grace with tuneful heart
and voice. The Lord in Zion reigneth, and there his praise shall ring
to him, Shall princes bend the knee, and kings their glory bring so
much else I could say about that hymn, but you understand, we're just
getting into the mind frame of our subject for today. Let's go ahead and
begin by reading verse two of Psalm the Psalms chapter eighty four, and the
Bible reads. My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of
the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God.
There are times when we feel like we're exiled from home. Yes, during
the pandemic, God's people suffered in many parts of the world, probably all
parts of the world, where we could not congregate and have and have corporate
worship because the pandemic was spreading a certain at a certain pace that the civil
authorities said, you will not congregate. And so we can identify in some
ways with the Psalmist, where where if he was not able to go into
the courts of God because he was on the run, or whatever else was
happening in his life, and he remembered, as we see in Psalm chapter
forty two, he remembered what it was like to come into the presence of
God among his people on Holy Day, as he said the Sabbath, and
so here his heart and soul and life longs for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the Living God. Have you
ever felt separated from God? It felt like He wasn't hearing you. It
ever felt like you prayed and prayed and prayed some more and could not detect
that God was listening and answering, listen to you and answering your prayers,
and you long for that moment where you can sense and experience the connection with
God. Well, this is obviously among the things that are happening with the
Psalmist here, and so we can identify that. Now the songs, according
to the lesson Writer of Zion, our joyous hymns that magnify the beauty of
Zion and the sovereignty of the Lord who reigns from his holy mountain. These
psalms often praise the merits of God's House and express a love for the sanctuary
that can be found in other psalms as well. Many of these psalms were
composed by the sons of Kora, who had first hand experience of the blessedness
of the Lord's House as the temple musicians and keepers of the gates. Now,
what makes Zion the source of hope and joy? Zion represented God's living
presence among God's people. So let me just ask you what would cause us
to not sense the living presence of God among us? I've given a few
examples. How about like when we are not repentant. When we're not repentant,
there was a time in case David's life when, as you know,
for a year it was like it was like his bones were being eaten up
because he would not confess and agree with God what he had done in the
situation with Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite. And he did not agree with God.
He did not come to God and come clean and say, yes,
God, you're right about the situation. I should not have had a sexual
experience with her because she was not my wife. I should not have coveted
her. I should not have taken her from your yah. I should not
have killed and had others to conspire without to kill him, and I did.
He did not come into God's presence and say, but God, you
have given me so much right, You've given me so much authority and responsibility.
The anointing that you placed on my life part of me, and then
I squandered it, and then I misrepresented you. And to whom much is
given, much is to be required, you see. And so until then,
until then, it was like a He was like a fugitive from his
own mind. In his own mind. The Bible teaches us that finally,
as in recorded in Psalm chapter fifty one, that finally the Holy Spirit got
through to him through Nathan the prophet, and the story is clear that he
wanted to have his life restored and the Holy Spirit not to be removed from
him, and then he promised to teach transgressors his way, God's way.
And so that is another time that we feel separated from the presence of God,
as in Isaiah chapter fifty nine, Verses one and two, and so
confessing to God agreeing with him positions us to be in an experience of worship
with God in a right relationship. And so there's so many more things we
can learn. Let me just draw from a few passages, as we have
only a few minutes left. Verse two of Psalm chapter eighty four, the
Bible reads, I desperately want to be in the courts again. I'm reading
of the Lord's temple. My heart and my entire being shout for the joy
of the Living God. Deepen your desire for God's presence. Yes, God
wants us to have a deeper desire for his presence. And then in verse
one and verse one, in verse one, how lovely is the place where
you live, O, Lord who rules overall, Cherish the congregation of God's
people as spiritual zion. When God's people are aligned with him. See that
as spiritual zion, your local church as a representation of God's presence and a
source of spiritual nourishment. And then let's see if we can get a couple
more, a couple more here. In verse one of Psalm chapter forty six,
the Bible reads, God is our refuge and our strength, a very
present help in trouble. Seek refuge in God. Seek refuge in God during
our troubles. And then, of course we want to engage in the Gospel
mission where Jesus said, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. We want to bring people globally into this fellowship, into this mountain
called Zion, this experience of God's presence, so that we together we long
for God in Zion. But we are satisfied because the Lord in Zion he
reigns. Does he reign in your heart? 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,