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Speaker 1: Most of us eat every day, some of us too much,

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because yesterday's food is not enough to supply energy for

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today's needs. Why then, do some of us expect yesterday's

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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

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to change all of that. Let's experience God's words today

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and receive the power we need to live healthy, vibrant lives.

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Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host, author speaker,

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Elle David Harris.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning, good morning. It is Sabbath, December

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twenty seven, twenty twenty five. Hello, my name is El

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

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Daily Portion where we give you God's word every single day,

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and today is no exception. We are beginning with lesson

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number one in our new Lesson study series christ in

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Philippians and Collacians. Really, it's the title, is You Nighting

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Heaven and Earth? So I need to figure out how

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I'm gonna say that quickly in the mornings. But whatever

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the case, I am so glad you're here. And let

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me just say again a great, big, happy Sabbath to

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everyone joining us, especially those joining us for the very

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first time. Our caption for this morning is persecuted but

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not forsaken. Some of you feel like that right now,

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you feel like, oh, oh God, where where Wait a minute,

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I'm being persecuted, but you're still with me. I am

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not forsaken. Before we get into that, I'd like to

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just say welcome to everybody joining us, especially those joining

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us for the very first time. Did you enjoy our

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worship experience last night? If you did, go ahead and

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type of one in the chat, type of one in

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the chat. And for those of you who are on

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radio or on Facebook, I need you to go over

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on Friday evenings for our Really, we're teaching the Bible

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through music for just about an hour's time based on

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the week lesson. So again, we enjoy it together and

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hopefully you'll continue to share. Let's pray, Father, we thank you.

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We thank you for this day. Thank you for giving

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us another Sabbath morning to worship and to experience you.

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Please please help us to know that you are with

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us always. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen and Amen again.

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Persecute it but not forsaken. Now. This dude, Paul was

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very interesting to me because he is locked up, he's

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in prison, he's incarcerated. And the Bible says that this

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is what he said to the people, to the people

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at Philippi in Philippians, chapter four and verse four, rejoice

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in the Lord always and again. I say rejoice. Now,

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it's easy for people to say those words, but this

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dude was. I don't know if the prison was a

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hole in the ground. I don't know if it was

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a stone prison. I promise you he did not have

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a lot of the comforts of home in this prison situation.

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He's locked up, and he's telling the people of God

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to rejoice in the Lord always and if, in fact,

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or in case, excuse me. They did not get the point.

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They didn't get the message he was saying. Okay, let

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me say it again to you again, I say rejoice.

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And so let's go ahead and begin with our lesson

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number one, which is joy remains possible because the presence

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of Christ remains constant. You see his rejoicing. Paul's rejoicing

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had to do with knowing that he had been delivered

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from sin, knowing that Christ is now with him, knowing

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that in his mind he was a servant, a bond

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servant to Christ and that Christ would never lead him astray.

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And he's saying, if for the rest of my life

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I am in this situation, I have learned, whether I

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am in struggles, whether I have had to abase or abound, Like,

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no matter what situation I am in, I have learned

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to be content in God. And I need you all

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to be content to and beyond that, I need you

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to have a rejoiceful spirit. Is that a word? Somebody

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look it up? Let me know if rejoiceful is an

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actual word. I may have made it up. But I

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need you to have that kind of spirit because sometimes

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happiness comes, sometimes sadness and grief come. But we rejoice

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because Jesus is with us. And when I say that,

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I don't mean we're jumping up and down and clapping

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our hands at all times and get so many. Jesus

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wasn't jumping up and down and clapping his hands and

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making it seem as if nothing was about to happen. No,

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he said, let this cup if there's another way to

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affect salvation for these people that we have created, like,

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let this cup pass from me. But nevertheless, not as

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I will, but as thou wilt Your will be done.

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Paul was living the your will be done lifestyle, and

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so joy remains possible because the presence of Christ remains constant. Now,

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the word, the word for rejoice means to be glad,

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to be glad, to rejoice. It's a verb. It describes

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a deliberate spiritual posture, not an emotional reaction. So Paul

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wrote these words again while imprisoned. I'm going back to

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my notes. His condition did not block his fellowship with Christ.

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His union with Christ allowed him to practice deliberate joy.

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This shows that joy is a response to who Christ

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is and not to what life feels like. I wish

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I had the time to go into all of these references,

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but I won't. Let's go into lesson number two. Lesson

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number two is trials give believers a platform. It's a

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vantage point, a platform to reveal Christ's power and not

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our own. Now, Paul, he said it in Two Corinthians,

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Chapter four, Versus seven through nine, seven through nine. But

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we have this treasure in earth and vessels, that the

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excellency of the power may be of God and none

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of us. We are troubled on every side. Are you

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troubled on every side? And you're like, well, why are

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you clapping if you're asking me if I'm troubled on

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every side? Because God said he would be with you

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in trouble, the Lord, the Angel of the Lord, and

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campus round about those who love him. Even when you

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are in trouble yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but

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not in despair. There are times you don't understand what's

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going on. Even Paul himself, God, will you let this

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thorn in my flesh pass from me? Three times? He asks,

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and God said, nope, My grace is sufficient for thee.

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My power is made perfect in your weakness. And then

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Paul transitioned and said, therefore I rejoice now. And all

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of these things that seem to be broken, these things

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that are seemingly going against me, those things that seem

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to be keeping me down. But when I am weak,

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then I am strong. Let me continue the passage, because

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I interrupted the rhythm. We are troubled on every side,

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yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair,

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persecuted but not forsake, and cast down but not destroyed,

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not destroyed. And so that word, that word means, the

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word not abandoned means, means, means to leave helpless like God.

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God is not leaving him helpless. Paul said, believers are

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not left helpless, not abandoned. God stays present even when

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the circumstances are rough. Is that a theological way of

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describing the reality. Well, I don't know, but that's the reality.

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The early Church saw suffering as a place where Christ's

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power became visible. Did I not cite Really, I didn't

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cite it, but I recited the passage where he said,

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your powers made perfect in my weakness. Paul understood that

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prison did not change his purpose. Prison did not change

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Paul's purpose. Lesson number three and final, God uses difficult

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places to advance the mission and transform lives. In the

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Book of Colossians, Chapter four and verse three, the Bible

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reads with all praying also for us, or at the

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same time pray for us too, write that God would

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open unto us a door of utterance to speak the

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mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.

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He knew that he was bound to Christ because he

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decided to surrender his will to him. But he also

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knew he got locked up because he was doing what

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God had said. For the time being, he's locked up,

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so John Paul saw incarceration as an opening for the gospel.

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He didn't view it as hardship or interruption. It was

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an assignment that God had given him. He was persecuted,

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but not forsaken. Is that your mindset? Make it a

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great Sabbath, peace. Thanks for joining us listening. Friends.

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Speaker 1: Always remember we cannot live by bread alone, but by

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every word that comes from the mouth of God. This

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has been your daily portion with El David Harris. Make

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it a great day. Yeah.