1 00:00:01,159 --> 00:00:05,879 Most of us eat every day, some of us too much because yesterday's food 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,679 is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do some 3 00:00:10,759 --> 00:00:15,359 of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to keep 4 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:20,079 us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change all 5 00:00:20,199 --> 00:00:25,399 that. Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need to live 6 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:31,320 healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome to Your Daily Portion with your host, author 7 00:00:31,399 --> 00:00:34,640 speaker L. David Harris. Good morning, Good morning, Good morning. 8 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:40,240 It is Thursday, September fourteen, twenty twenty three. Hello, my name 9 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,719 is L. David Harris. I am your host, and this is your 10 00:00:42,799 --> 00:00:46,840 Daily Portion where we give you God's word every single day, and today is 11 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:51,560 no exception. We are continuing in our Lesson study series through the Book of 12 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:59,640 Ephesians. Our caption for today is Wrestling against Evil Powers. Wrestling against evil 13 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:03,600 Powers. We'll get into that in just a moment, but first i'd like 14 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:06,640 to say welcome to you and ask you to please go over to your Daily 15 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,280 Portion dot com join our online community if you have not already done so, 16 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,519 and also please pick up the Your Daily Portion book and let us know where 17 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,840 you are in the world. There's a little form to say, this is 18 00:01:19,879 --> 00:01:23,000 where I am in the world, and that is encouragement to me and to 19 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,799 my son Josiah when we look at where people are to say, wow, 20 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:34,120 this is spreading around the world like God's word is moving and we are thankful. 21 00:01:34,439 --> 00:01:38,359 Let's go ahead and pray and then we will get underway. Father in 22 00:01:38,359 --> 00:01:41,400 heaven, thank you for giving us this new day and for the privilege we 23 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:45,640 have to be in your presence. Yes, thank you for the radio, 24 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,079 television, the Internet and all of the different platforms, and for the fact 25 00:01:49,159 --> 00:01:55,159 that you bring us even together and fellowship through these virtual means. I pray 26 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:00,079 that we will now wrestle not with our own strength, but that we will 27 00:02:00,159 --> 00:02:05,680 yield our will to you in Jesus name. I pray Amen and Amen again 28 00:02:05,879 --> 00:02:12,479 wrestling against evil powers. Now, it's interesting that we keep going over and 29 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:17,520 over the passage in Ephesians chapter six, and I want to make sure that 30 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:23,080 we get it at least at the base level, like foundationally. And so 31 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:30,800 with our takeaways for today, I want to begin with the intimacy of spiritual 32 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:34,560 warfare. And you're like intimacy that sounds like a strange word. Maybe I 33 00:02:34,599 --> 00:02:39,800 can say closeness like closed quarters are close. Pardon me, quarters combat kind 34 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:44,919 of style. Right, And so the Bible reads in Ephesians chapter six, 35 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:50,719 in verse twelve, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against 36 00:02:50,879 --> 00:02:55,639 principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, 37 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,360 against spiritual wickedness in high places. And you're like, well, we've read 38 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:07,319 this before. You have said many times before that it is not against humans 39 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,960 that we fight. We don't use weapons of human ingenuity in this battle because 40 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,360 we would lose. Right, we yield our will to God. So what 41 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:20,800 did we miss in the passage, Dave? Well, maybe it's one word 42 00:03:21,840 --> 00:03:27,560 wrestle to wrestle. Yeah, it doesn't take much, no matter what culture 43 00:03:27,759 --> 00:03:34,879 you're in to begin to understand that wrestling is not a long range experience. 44 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,439 You can look it up on the internet. Like, wrestling is very close. 45 00:03:38,919 --> 00:03:46,680 It is very intimate. It is a struggle, and these spiritual battles 46 00:03:46,719 --> 00:03:53,120 that all of us face are intense, they are close, they are personal, 47 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:00,159 and it's not a distant conflict. Like you don't send long range missiles 48 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:05,199 to a wrestling match, right, it is not long range, and it 49 00:04:05,439 --> 00:04:13,240 impacts our daily lives and our inner beings. This means that we have to 50 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,759 have a close connection with God. This means that when Jesus said that he 51 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:20,920 wants to dwell in us, he said, abide in me and my word 52 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:25,519 must abide in you. And if you do that, you will ask what 53 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:30,120 you will and it shall be done unto you. So the battle is close, 54 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:34,519 and therefore we need our God to be close. That seems rudimentary, 55 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:39,000 but sometimes we forget that, like we make it seem as if it is 56 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:44,600 some distant thing, some big cosmic conflict that does not include us right where 57 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,279 we are, like me in Saint Catherine in Jamaica, Land we love at 58 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:54,399 five minutes after the hour, like right now, there is a battle going 59 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:58,879 on right in where I am, like the space that I'm in. And 60 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,879 then also in my mind there is a battle of supremacy, a battle for 61 00:05:04,079 --> 00:05:08,319 supremacy. Maybe that's a better way of saying it. Where God is like, 62 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:11,959 just yield, Dave, yield your will to me, and I will 63 00:05:12,079 --> 00:05:17,959 deal with the devil. Number two takeaway. All evil powers are subjugated, 64 00:05:19,759 --> 00:05:27,560 subjugated to Christ. Jesus is in control of all powers. See, all 65 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:30,879 we need to do is yield our will so he can be in control of 66 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:35,199 those powers, so those powers do not overcome our lives. He wants us 67 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,600 to give him permission, okay, to work in our behalf. And so 68 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,680 in Ephesians chapter one, verse twenty one, and you need to think about 69 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,040 that as you are deciding what you're going to eat today, what you're gonna 70 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:51,000 drink today, how you will relate to people in your intimate relationships or in 71 00:05:51,079 --> 00:05:57,079 business relationships, right, how you're going to relate to your governments, how 72 00:05:57,079 --> 00:06:00,279 you're going to relate in every way, Like, is this something that you've 73 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:06,000 given to Christ so he can be powerful over all things in your life? 74 00:06:06,319 --> 00:06:10,800 And so in Ephesians chapter one, in verse twenty one, the Bible reads 75 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:16,079 far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is 76 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:20,879 named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come. 77 00:06:21,240 --> 00:06:27,000 And so our takeaway is despite the magnitude of the evil forces, remember 78 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,560 we're not talking about flesh and blood. We're not talking about people we can 79 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,879 see who can be wounded, right, people that can be locked up if 80 00:06:33,959 --> 00:06:40,279 they if they do something illegal. Right, The security forces in your country 81 00:06:40,319 --> 00:06:45,240 have no power against the enemy, the devil. Right, But despite the 82 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:51,759 magnitude of evil forces, Jesus is supreme over all in him, we believers, 83 00:06:51,879 --> 00:06:56,120 if we're surrendered to him, and you need to be answering that question 84 00:06:56,759 --> 00:07:00,040 between you and God, like have I surrendered my will to Him? And 85 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:06,519 if you have surrendered to him? The assurance of victory is there over all 86 00:07:08,399 --> 00:07:14,240 spiritual opposition, and you need to take that to heart. You need to 87 00:07:14,279 --> 00:07:18,000 take it to heart when you are dealing with a temptation that is hard to 88 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:24,240 bear. You have in the past made poor spiritual decisions, and now you're 89 00:07:24,319 --> 00:07:28,839 faced with another decision. And sometimes people are fearful and like, Lord, 90 00:07:28,879 --> 00:07:31,240 will I go down the right pathway? Like will I open the right door 91 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:35,160 and walk through it? Or will I allow the enemy to overcome me? 92 00:07:35,639 --> 00:07:39,519 I'm struggling right now. I'm talking about David, like the one who is 93 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,360 right here speaking to you. You're listening to me, you're watching me. 94 00:07:43,839 --> 00:07:47,720 Yes, every day there is a battle, a battle of the mind, 95 00:07:48,079 --> 00:07:51,600 a battle of my will, a battle of your will. But know that 96 00:07:51,639 --> 00:07:57,480 the victory is in Christ, and all we need to do is surrender to 97 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:01,399 him. Number three. God equips us for the battle. See, he 98 00:08:01,439 --> 00:08:03,319 did not leave us in a position where we don't know what went next. 99 00:08:03,839 --> 00:08:07,240 How are we gonna deal with this? When David was to face the giant 100 00:08:07,439 --> 00:08:13,839 Goliath, he was given some armor from the king, and he's like, 101 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:18,319 no, I haven't tested or proven this armor. This is not for me. 102 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,439 This is not for me. I need to go to God and God 103 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:24,920 give me the armor I need. In fact, we see, of course 104 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:28,759 that God says in Ephesians chapter six and verse eleven, to put on the 105 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:35,240 entire the whole armor of God. So God does not send us into a 106 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,960 battle without appropriate armor. When Jesus was in the wilderness, he was tempted 107 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:46,320 of the devil. He was first led by the Holy Spirit, filled with 108 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:50,279 the Holy Spirit, and then comes the battle. Jesus didn't go in there 109 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,559 alone, he didn't go in there unequipped. God gave him what he needed 110 00:08:54,639 --> 00:08:58,639 in order to win. We are not left defenseless in this spiritual battle. 111 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:09,240 God provides every necessary tool truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation you 112 00:09:09,279 --> 00:09:15,240 see it, and the Holy Spirit to ensure that we can face and overcome 113 00:09:15,399 --> 00:09:22,360 all spiritual challenge challenges and four and number four and final dependence on Christ's victory. 114 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:28,000 The Bible reads in Romans chapter sixteen, in verse twenty, and the 115 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:33,639 God of Peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our 116 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:39,639 Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Jesus already defeated Satan, and 117 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,279 he is giving that victory to you so that you can win in this battle. 118 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,360 If a wonderful day. Thanks for joining us listening. Friends. Always 119 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:50,720 remember we cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from 120 00:09:50,759 --> 00:09:56,799 the mouth of God. This has been your daily portion with l David Harris. 121 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:00,320 Make it a great day.