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Most of us eat every day,
some of us too much because yesterday's food

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is not enough to supply energy for
today's needs. Why then, do some

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of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly
manna, the word of God to keep

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us through today's challenges. On this
program, we are going to change all

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of that. Let's experience God's words
today and receive the power we need to

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live healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome
to your Daily Portion with your host,

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author speaker, Elle David Harris.
Good morning, Good morning, Good morning.

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It is Wednesday, December twenty twenty
twenty three. Hello, my name

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is El David Harris. I am
your host, and this is your Daily

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Portion where we give you God's Word
every single day, and today is no

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exception. We are continuing in our
Lesson study series. God's mission, my

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mission, and our caption for today
is for such a time as this,

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for such a time as this.
We'll get into this in just a moment,

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but first I'd like to say welcome
to you and ask you to go

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over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please join our online community. Please

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also let us know in that box
when you get there where you are in

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the world and pick up your Daily
Portion book at your Daily Portion dot com.

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This is a way that we can
build faith and fellowship. Let's go

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ahead and pray and then we will
get underway. Father and Heaven, thank

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you for giving us the privilege of
opening up your word today. And I'm

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asking you to please give us understanding, teach us how to love you and

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to serve you. Today. Father, I'm asking you now to give us

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the fullness of your Holy spirit,
and understand when you position us in certain

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ways that it is for such a
time as this. In Jesus's name,

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I pray, Amen and Amen again. So I spoke to a friend and

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business owner the other day, and
I've spoken to teachers here in Jamaica,

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an entire school full of teachers and
principles and assistant principles and others about this

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one thing. Right, everybody is
not a leader. And you're like,

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of course, everybody's a leader.
Everybody needs to learn how to be a

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leader. And I'm like, well, okay, if everybody's a leader,

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then who are followers? If everybody's
a leader, who are support staff?

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Like, if everybody's a leader,
then what are they leading? If everybody's

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a leader? You hear where I'm
coming from with this. So regardless of

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whether you're a leader, that's only
eighteen percent of the population, and probably

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only one percent of those eighteen percent
are really really good leaders. Sounds kind

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of harsh, but yeah, that
means that whatever station we find ourselves,

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whether we are leaders, we are
support orders, we are followers, we

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are whatever we are, God has
positioned us in those spaces and places for

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such a time as this. I
need you to wake up in the morning,

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regardless of your behavior style, regardless
of your spiritual gifts, regardless of

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the number of spiritual gifts you have
or don't have, I need you to

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wake up in the morning with this
on your mind. God has positioned me

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in this particular place and space for
such a time as this. Now you

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can determine whether Esther was a leader
or not. You can determine whether Mordecai

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was a leader or not. But
I promise you both of them, both

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of them were positioned in their places
and spaces for the time that we are

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referencing in the Book of Esther,
especially beginning in Esther chapter verse one.

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And so what I want to do
is make application, because you and your

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spare time can read through the story
of Esther and today focus on chapter four.

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But I want you to begin to
personalize. I want you to say,

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God, what does this have to
do with me in this country,

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this state, this province, this
city, this parish wherein I live?

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How does this apply to me?
Okay? So let's begin with Esther chapter

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four and verse fourteen. The Book
of Esther, chapter four and verse fourteen.

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My Bible moved from here. Let
me put it back up here Esther

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chapter four, and I will read
just verse fourteen in this case, and

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I will read from the King James
version of the Bible. Let's go here

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here, And I think I got
it, y'all, I got it.

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I got it. For if thou
all together holdest thy peace at this time

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you are coming into the conversation late. You haven't read the story yet,

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but you can catch up a little
later. For if thou all together holdest

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thy piece at this time, then
shall their enlargement and deliverance arise to the

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Jews from another place. But thou
and thy father's house shall be destroyed.

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And who knoweth whether thou art come
to the Kingdom for such a time as

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this? And so now Esther is
given, is given some good counsel and

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advice about wait a minute, you're
in this space. I think I said

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that a minute ago. You're in
this place, and there is impact that

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you can have because if you do
nothing, it can have a negative impact.

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So God is calling you for such
a time as this. Yeah,

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it was a question, but it
was rhetorical. Okay, So embrace divine

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appointments. That's our point number one
for today. Embrace divine appointments. Recognize

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that God places you in particular circumstances
for a purpose. Just as Esther was,

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huh, be open to the roles
God has for you in his larger

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plan. I wish I had the
time. I have been in some really

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interesting, strange places and spaces since
probably well many years, but specifically since

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about age twenty three. I'm fifty. Now I wish I had the time.

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I need to write a book just
about that. And now I understand

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some of how these puzzle pieces came
together short times, long times, various

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and sundry interesting assignments. Yeah,
and so God wants us to be open

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to the roles that He has positioned
us in for his larger plans. Some

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of the roles don't feel like big
and in big and happy role. Sometimes

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they're painful. I've been through those. Too powerful to the outside people,

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but painful internally. Okay. Number
two, act courageously for the right reason.

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See Esther's willingness to approach the king
despite the risk shows the importance of

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courage when standing for what is right, especially when other people's lives are at

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stake. You see, there are
some of you who are activists, and

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I'm talking about positive good activists.
I wish I had the time to go

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through the Bible to show some positive
good activists. Right. There are some

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of you who take up the cause
of the poor, the laying, the

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main, the blind, the people
who have no parents, the people who

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have lost their their husbands, their
wives. And God says that this is

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there is a true religion that is
undefiled, that looks out for these people

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and the oppressed. And to set
the captive is free. Right. And

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so so God wants you to act
courageously. He wants me to act courageously

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for the right reasons. Number three, fast and pray in crises. Fast

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and pray in crises, and so
In Esther, chapter four and verse sixteen,

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the Bible reads, go gather together
all of the people of God that

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are present in Shushan and fast ye
for me, neither eat nor drink three

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days nor night or day. I
also and my maidens will fast likewise.

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So Esther was getting armored up,
like she was getting ready to go and

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to do something that she wasn't one
hundred percent sure it would out how it

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would play out. But she said, you know what, my life may

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be on the line, but for
God's honor and for the benefit of my

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people, I'm willing to do this. But I need you to pray.

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Would you fast and pray with me? And the Bible says, and so

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so I will go in unto the
king, which is not according to the

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law. And if I perish,
ooh, she said, if I perish,

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I perish. If I perish,
I perish. And so when fasting

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and praying during crises, you're not
worried about what happens to you. All

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you care about is God's honor,
God's name and the desired outcome. Also

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stand for your community, trust God
over fear, and then intercede for others.

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And while you're doing it, accept
the sovereignty of God. He knows

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exactly what he's doing. Have a
wonderful day, peace. Thanks for joining

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us listening. Friends. Always remember
we cannot live by bread alone, but

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by every word that comes from the
mouth of God. This has been your

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daily portion with El David Harris.
Make it a great day, Yeah,