1 00:00:01,159 --> 00:00:05,559 Most of us eat every day, some of us too much, because yesterday's 2 00:00:05,599 --> 00:00:10,400 food is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do 3 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:15,039 some of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to 4 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:19,760 keep us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change 5 00:00:19,879 --> 00:00:25,120 all that. Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need to 6 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:30,800 live healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome to Your Daily Portion with your host, 7 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,840 author speaker L. David Harris. Good morning, Good morning, Good morning. 8 00:00:35,079 --> 00:00:39,799 It is Monday, August twenty one, two twenty two. Hello, 9 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,399 my name is L. David Harris. I am your host, and this 10 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:46,520 is your Daily Portion where we give you God's Word every single day, and 11 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:51,079 today is no exception. We are continuing in our Lesson study series through the 12 00:00:51,079 --> 00:00:57,759 Book of Ephesians, and our caption for today is walking as Children of Light. 13 00:00:58,119 --> 00:01:03,159 Walking as Children of Light. We'll get into that in just a moment, 14 00:01:03,159 --> 00:01:04,599 but first I'd like to say welcome to you and ask you to go 15 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,799 over to your Daily Portion dot com, join our online community, and there 16 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:14,439 we can continue to build faith and fellowship, and by all means, please 17 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:19,400 pick up the your Daily Portion book at your Daily Portion dot com. Let's 18 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,280 go ahead and pray and then we will get underway. Father in heaven, 19 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,319 thank you for giving us this new morning. And it is our privilege, 20 00:01:26,359 --> 00:01:30,319 Lord to be in your presence. Please give us understanding, teach us to 21 00:01:30,359 --> 00:01:38,400 walk as children of light in Jesus name. I pray, Amen and Amen 22 00:01:38,439 --> 00:01:42,439 again. I just want to tell you, and this has always been my 23 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:47,319 reality, but I just need to say it clearer, and I want you 24 00:01:47,359 --> 00:01:51,040 to be looking out for this every time I come on this camera or the 25 00:01:51,159 --> 00:01:53,959 radio, whatever way you're listening or experiencing this. Right, it needs to 26 00:01:55,000 --> 00:02:01,840 be about transformation. It is about transformation, because gone are the days that 27 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:08,960 we preachers, speakers, teachers, coaches and everybody else mentors are satisfied with 28 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:15,919 just transferring information from our brains into through the medium that we're using into someone 29 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:23,520 else's brains. Like information is cool, but transformation is holiness. You understand. 30 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:31,319 God wants to change us from hopeless sinners into hopeful and holy saints. 31 00:02:31,599 --> 00:02:38,960 And so let's begin. Let's begin with some practical tips for walking as children 32 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:46,039 of light. Here's one. Embrace God's light. Embrace God's light. Accepting 33 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:52,719 God's truth and love into your life, allowing it, allowing him to transform 34 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,240 your thoughts, your actions, your intents, and all of that. Right, 35 00:02:55,280 --> 00:03:00,960 it's basically saying, Lord, not my will, but thine be done. 36 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:05,080 Lord, not my mind set, but let me have the mindset of 37 00:03:05,199 --> 00:03:09,960 Christ. Right embrace God's light. How about living righteously? Living righteously? 38 00:03:10,479 --> 00:03:15,520 We have to make decisions all day long. Will this decision about what I 39 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:20,039 eat, what I drink, what I do? Will this decision about about 40 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,360 how I relate to my spouse, to my children, to someone at work, 41 00:03:23,719 --> 00:03:28,280 someone on the road on the way to work or to play, Like, 42 00:03:28,439 --> 00:03:35,439 will that experience be a manifestation of righteousness or runholiness? What if somebody 43 00:03:35,479 --> 00:03:39,599 curses you? What if somebody assaults you? What if someone has been gossiping 44 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:45,319 behind your back? What if your spouse says or does something that you are 45 00:03:45,439 --> 00:03:51,400 completely over with, Like you did not expect it and you were blindsided, 46 00:03:51,479 --> 00:03:57,560 and now you're thinking some thoughts like are those thoughts based on righteousness or runholiness? 47 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,919 How about being honest and try parent. One of the things that keeps 48 00:04:02,039 --> 00:04:08,400 us connected with God is agreement with him. We use like a theological term 49 00:04:08,479 --> 00:04:13,840 called confession right, say what God has said. And so when we confess 50 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,639 our sins, what we're doing is agreeing with God what God's assessment of our 51 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:24,399 lives are is. And we say, okay, Lord, you are correct, 52 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:29,560 I have done X I have neglected to do. Why you are correct? 53 00:04:29,879 --> 00:04:32,480 Will you transform me? So being honest and transparent, we need to 54 00:04:32,519 --> 00:04:39,079 be walking in integrity, being honest with ourselves and with others. And then 55 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:45,199 of course there is love for others. Right. The first and great commandment 56 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,279 is love the Lord, our God with everything we have, everything we are. 57 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:55,360 The second, miraculously is like unto it, namely, love your neighbor 58 00:04:55,439 --> 00:05:00,639 as yourself. And of course on these two hang all the law and the 59 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,800 prophets. Forgive freely? Can I just pause right here for a moment, 60 00:05:04,879 --> 00:05:11,800 forgive freely? There are people right now, there are hearts that are harboring 61 00:05:12,319 --> 00:05:18,360 hurt feelings from the past, and you are imprisoning yourselves if you don't learn 62 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:24,079 by God's grace. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not saying it's easy. 63 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:28,079 But if you learn by God's grace, then you will be delivered, 64 00:05:28,519 --> 00:05:33,360 delivered from an unforgiving spirit, avoiding sin that is self explanatorying, being a 65 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:41,480 light to others, praying and seeking God's face, staying humble, and sharing 66 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:46,480 the great news the Gospel with as many people as possible. So these are 67 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,319 some indicators. These are some things for which we can look in our own 68 00:05:50,399 --> 00:05:56,639 lives to say, is God transforming me? Am? I a child of 69 00:05:56,800 --> 00:06:01,439 light or darkness? Right? And so what we're going to do is look 70 00:06:01,519 --> 00:06:10,000 here, Paul writes, don't let anyone deceive you with empty words. Paul 71 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:16,839 has identified those whose practice is certain sins like without shame and without repentance. 72 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:24,040 I gave you sort of a sneak peaky yesterday at the end, sexually immoral 73 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:29,959 or impure, or those who are covetous. Based on Ephesians chapter five and 74 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,319 verse five, let me let me go there. Ephesians chapter five and verse 75 00:06:33,399 --> 00:06:41,120 five, the Bible reads right here, you can be sure that no immoral, 76 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,399 impure, greedy person will inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God. 77 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:54,160 For a greedy person is an idolator worshiping the things of this world. And 78 00:06:54,199 --> 00:07:00,800 so he God, through Paul, identified those realities. And then the phrase 79 00:07:00,199 --> 00:07:04,399 of the wrath of God is a challenging one because we're not looking forward to 80 00:07:04,399 --> 00:07:08,759 that. That's not something that gets us up in the morning and excited and 81 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:13,079 saying whatever fill in the blank about the wrath of God. But the fact 82 00:07:13,199 --> 00:07:19,319 is that the believer does not have to worry about that if you are completely 83 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:25,240 focused on God's will and recognizing that if you lose focus for a moment, 84 00:07:25,639 --> 00:07:29,040 that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 85 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,240 As you continue to walk in the light as he is in the light, 86 00:07:32,279 --> 00:07:35,720 then you know that the love of Jesus Christ, the power of Jesus 87 00:07:35,839 --> 00:07:44,319 Christ, transforms you and your sin problem becomes God's problem. You don't resolve 88 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,079 the sin problem because you can't. I can't. But we can surrender and 89 00:07:48,199 --> 00:07:55,160 must surrender our will to God, and He will transform us into children of 90 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:58,480 light. Do you understand that? And so the wrath of God is for 91 00:07:58,519 --> 00:08:01,319 those who are not perfect did in love. The Bible says there is no 92 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:07,560 fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear, for fear hath torment. 93 00:08:07,959 --> 00:08:13,560 Those who are perfected in love are coming boldly into the presence of God, 94 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,199 like boldly unto the throne of grace, where there is grace to help in 95 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:22,399 time of need. Those individuals come boldly into the day of judgment. Because 96 00:08:22,439 --> 00:08:28,000 as he is Jesus being holy, so are we in this world. So 97 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,680 we know that we can stand in the judgment when we are perfected in love. 98 00:08:31,759 --> 00:08:35,399 Why because Jesus Christ becomes the one who is our covering, we are 99 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:39,120 confessing our sins. We are forsaking our sins. We are allowing God to 100 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:43,240 transform us from the inside out. We are children of light and not of 101 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:50,519 darkness. And therefore and therefore we know that in the judgment that we will 102 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:54,480 be safe. And that's not something to take for granted. But the reality 103 00:08:54,639 --> 00:08:58,039 is that as long as we are surrendered to God, we are safe, 104 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,759 and then of worse. The Bible reads here in verses seven through ten, 105 00:09:01,799 --> 00:09:07,399 as we come to a swift clothes Ephesians chapter five, B ye, not 106 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:13,200 ye, therefore partakers with them, for ye were past tense, sometimes darkness. 107 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,159 But now we're talking about now, wherever day it is, whatever time 108 00:09:16,159 --> 00:09:20,840 of the day it is. But now you are light in the Lord. 109 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:26,159 Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all 110 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:33,360 goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. So 111 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,960 be partakers of light. Not partners of darkness, and of course as we 112 00:09:39,039 --> 00:09:43,320 do so, we live walking as children of light. Of a wonderful day. 113 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:48,519 Peace. Thanks for joining us listening. Friends, Always remember we cannot 114 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:52,320 live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of 115 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:56,200 God. This has been your daily portion with L. David Harris. Make 116 00:09:56,240 --> 00:10:00,320 it a great day.