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 Sunday, October fifteen, twenty twenty three. 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. God's mission, my
mission, and our caption for today is moving beyond our comfort zone. And
I'm going to illustrate this just in a way like today, I'm moving beyond
my comfort zone because I normally wouldn't do this, but I just want to
give God thanks for fifty strong years of mercy in my life. It's my
birthday. I am feeling blessed. And I know that I am highly favored
because God loves me just like he loves all of you out there. And
so I just want to give God thanks on this platform to say, boy,
if he had not been so good to me, where would I be?
Where would I be? So thank God for his mercies fifty strong years.
And yeah, let's go ahead and pray and get underway. Father in
heaven, thank you for giving us this privilege to open your word again today
and for starting and starting us off in our week with your truth. Please,
Lord, when we are in our comfort zone, just disturb us a
little bit, show us how we can be better at re people. And
I just want to give you thanks God for extending my life so I could
see today in Jesus name, I pray, Amen and Amen again. Moving
beyond our comfort zone now, the lesson writer pointed out something very important.
In order to reach others, God intends for us to move beyond our comfort
zone. Yeah, growth is not comfortable. There are people all over the
world who need to hear this message and listen. You could be in a
metroplex like the one I grew up in. I grew up in New York
City and in New York City like it is the mixing pot or melting pot,
depending on how you look at it. I lived in Washington, DC
and then the DC region for twenty some years, and that was also a
mixing and melting or melting pot. And how do you reach people when you
live in these societies where there are people from every nation, kindred tongue tribing
people right where you are right And so we have to move outside of our
comfort zone. And in nineteen sixty eight, March thirty one, a few
short days before doctor Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated, he preached at the
National Cathedral in Washington, DC. And all of these years later, something
that he said there still resonates. He said something very very key. He
said, eleven o'clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of America.
Of course, he was talking about worship time for most Protestants and Catholics.
Now, of course, even the Sabbatarian sabbath keepers like me, sabbath keepers
like many of you out there who are listening and watching, it is the
same. Eleven o'clock on Sabbath morning is also among the most segregated. And
even in twenty twenty three hours in America, and maybe you could say so
in other parts of the world as well. And so what we want to
do is really undo this and say, Okay, God, you confuse the
languages at Babel Babel, you confuse the languages of that time, and the
people were scattered around the world. Yes, but then you brought us back
together over the years. Yes. But then at the day of Pentecost following
Jesus's resurrection, the Bible teaches us that when Peter and the other apostles were
there for one mission, which is to reach as many people as possible.
The Bible says that the people were hearing God's word in their own languages Parthians
and Meads, people of Mesopotamian, Cappadocia, Panphilia, Phrygia, and other
parts of the world way out they were hearing the wonderful words of God and
so and so it is necessary for us to be intentional. It is necessary
for us to unconfuse this reality and begin to bring people together, because when
you read in the Book of Revelation in other places, God continues to sit
on the point the messages for every nation, kindred tribe tongue and people,
Well, how do we do that if we keep separating ourselves. I wish
I had the time to deal with that, But let's keep it very simple
today and use action steps. Here in the Book of Galatians, chapter three
and verse twenty eight, the Bible reads, there is neither Jew nor Greek.
There is neither bond nor free. There is neither male nor female,
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. This was talking about people who
accept the faith of Abraham, the same Abram faith that Abraham had, the
kind of faith that transforms our lives, and we begin to keep covenant with
God. This is the driver for this passage, that we all become heirs
according to the promise that God made to Abraham. Aren't you glad that God
has given us unity and diversity in Christ? Unity and diversity. In those
days, the Bible says that they that that God broke down the middle wall
of partition between God's people who who had one sort of ethnic perspective and spiritual
and who would be called the gentiles like everybody else. And he broke down
that middle wall of partition and said, now we are no longer separating you.
There is no separation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and we
build faith and fellowship together. That's why I say it so often. And
then another action step is to show no partiality. Let's read from the Book
of James, chapter two, verses one through four, and the Bible reads,
my brethren have not the faith of our Lord j My brethren have not
the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory. With respect
of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold
ring in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man of vile
arraignment, and ye have respect to him that weareth the happy clothing, and
say unto him, sit thou here in a good place, And say to
the poor stand there, or sit here under my footstool. Are ye not
then partial in yourselves? And are become judges of evil thoughts? Now,
there was not a race or ethnicity thing here. It was all about to
have and have not disparity. Sometimes we have to get out of our comfort
zone and call this challenge what it is like to be honest and open and
say, yeah, there are times that we treat people who appear to be
more well to do better. It's true. Sometimes we treat those who seem
not to have as much more terribly. It's true. This is why Jesus
said, as ye have done it unto the least of these, as ye
have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have also
done it unto me. As ye have not done it unto the least of
these, my brethren, ye have not done it unto me. And so
we need we need to see people in the way that God sees people.
Okay, now we have to look at hospitality. The Bible reads here in
the Book of Romans, chapter twelve and verse thirteen, that we are to
be distributing to the necessity of the saints given to hospitality. So we pursue
hospitality. He realized that on the job description of the people that should be
leading God's people is hospitality. And I know it's not easy for all of
us. So we talked about the different races and ethnicities and tongues and tribes
and people. We talked about the have and have not disparity, people who
have more money than others, who have less money and means than others.
And now we have to have an open minded open armed approach to say we
welcome you into the presence of the assembly of God's people. We welcome you
because God said that his house is a house of prayer for all people,
and that is not always comfortable, but it's holy everyone over 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,