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 manner the word of God to keep
us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change all
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 Wednesday, August two, two twenty three. Hello, My name
iss LL 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,
and our caption for today is Christ Dwelling in your Heart, Christ Dwelling
in your Heart. We'll get into that in just a moment, but first
I'd like to say welcome to you and ask you to go over to your
Daily Portion dot com and join our online community, and there you can find
a faith and fellowship. Maybe not faith, you can build faith with us
and fellowship, and the Lord will instill in your heart every single day if
you are willing a new level of faith, so we can all have access
to His power to transform our lives. And also you can pick up the
your Daily Portion book, which is such a blessing to so many at this
point. And if you have already picked it up, go ahead and put
a one in the chat. And if you have not put a zero,
and whoever's typing in zero, please go ahead and pick it up and we
can build together. Let's go ahead and pray, and then we will get
underway. Father in heaven, thank you for this day and for the privilege
we have to connect with you again. And I pray God that you will
teach us to have Christ in our hearts. Help us to embrace You in
Jesus name. I pray amen and Amen again. You know, immediately my
mind goes to the passage that says Christ in you the hope of glory,
the hope of glory, like we're looking forward to the day that God restores
in the fullness what he intended when he created us. In Isaiah chapter forty
three and verse seven, the Bible says that God created us for his glory,
So he wants us to reflect him now. And as we learn to
reflect him in this light, in this life, pardon me. As the
time goes by and we get to the point where Jesus finally returns, he
will find his people finally as dazzling and bright as he intended, where we
fully glorify him in all ways and at all times, and we will be
locked into that relationship. I don't mean in a negative way, like bound
against our will. I'm saying that finally we will have made our decision to
be on the Lord's side. And the Bible says those who are righteous and
holy will be righteous and holy still at just the right time. So in
the meantime, though we want Christ in us, Christ in us. The
Bible says that if you abide in Christ and His word abides in us,
then we will ask what we will and it shall be done unto us.
When is the last time you ask the Lord to dwell in your heart?
When is the last time you ask for the Holy Spirit to be in your
heart in mind and actions and how you relate to other people. You see,
when the Holy Spirit is dwelling in us, he is teaching us whatsoever
Jesus commanded, and he has promised to be with us always, even to
the end of the earth. That is a promise. And so let's go
back now to the Book of Ephesians. This is our textbook for the next
several weeks. The Book of Ephesians will read chapter one. We're going back
to chapter one and we'll read beginning at verse sixteen, and the Bible reads,
I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in
my prayers, that the God of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Father
of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. Do you realize
that our mindset is be clouded by our sinfulness, by some of our bad
past experiences. So God wants us. And it's here that Paul is manifesting
his desire right that we would learn and receive enlightenment, that ye may know
what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory
of his inn heeritance of the saints or in the saints verse nineteen, And
what is the exceeding greatness of His power? We're not talking about a little
thing here. We're not talking about just the ability to say no to some
unhealthy food, which is a big deal. I mean no disrespect, But
we're talking about transformation and character. We learn to love where we used to
fear. Right. We learn how to have compassion where we were discompassionate,
and maybe God forbid even hue inhumane. Right. We learn how to respect
people when before we had no regard for them, their lives or their families.
Right. So he is now giving us the exceeding greatness of his power
to us word who believe according to the working of His mighty power. Whose
power we're talking about his power. We're not talking about our will power,
even though yes, we should surrender our will to God. And once we
are doing that, then there is nothing that can overcome us once our will
is surrendered to God. But it is not brute force of our will.
It is a yielding where the Holy Spirit now is in the driver's seat,
and He is the one making us holy with our consent. Let's go now
to Ephesians chapter three. We're laying a foundation here Ephesians chapter three, and
I will read beginning at verse fourteen and the Bible reads for this cause,
I bow my knees. We're talking about prayer again. Paul is praying.
I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, of
whom the whole family in heaven and Earth is named. HM. That's interesting
that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory. There it
is again to be strengthened with the might, with might by His spirit in
the inner man. Can I just pause here for a moment. Some of
us have learned to type our lives and outward behavior such that we begin to
believe that that tidying of our behavior is holiness. I pray two three,
four times a day. Tick, I do my quote good deed for the
day. Tick I fill in the blank for my spouse, tick fill in
the blank at my job. Got it. And then we begin to congratulate
ourselves because, oh, I avoided looking at someone, but even still in
my heart, I'm lusting after that same someone. Well, at least I
didn't show anybody that I was tick. I was not murderous in my actions,
but I did have anger against my brother without a cause. We're in
Matthew chapter five with these last two examples, right, tick, I did
it? Now God owes me something. No no, no, no,
no, no no no. What God is promising and now we hear it
in the voice of Paul, is that we be strengthened with the might of
His Holy Spirit in the inner man. That's what nobody else can see.
Like what our thoughts are is who we really are? For seventeen, that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and
grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints. What is
the breadth, oh my, and the length and the depth and height?
And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. So Paul is saying
that you can get to know the love and knowledge of the love of Christ,
which is beyond knowledge. Did you get that? Let me say it
again, You get to know the love of God that's beyond knowing. So
what he's saying is that our natural ability to pick up and to know things.
Yeah, God's love is far beyond that. But what He's going to
do, because he loves us, he is going to reveal the mystery of
his love in our bosom. He is going to transform our hearts and character,
such that we reflect that love. Let me go again and to know
the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all
the fullness of God. Did not the Bible say that Jesus is the fullness
of the Godhead bodily? Did not the Bible say that the Holy Spirit comes
to teach us whatsoever Jesus commanded. Listen, We need Christ in us the
hope of glory, and we will one day see Him as he is.
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.