Speaker 1: 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.
Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning, Good morning. It is Sunday, May fourth,
twenty twenty five. 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 how to study Bible Prophecy, and our caption
for today is futile Sacrifices Tile Sacrifices. We'll get into
that in just a moment, but before we do, I'd
like to just say welcome to everyone joining us, especially
those joining us for the very first time. I'm asking
you to go over to your Daily Portion dot com.
Please join our online community. Also, please please go and
get that your Daily Portion companion guide on how to
study the Bible prophecies. Of course, because we're applying the
things that we're learning here in the quarterly in four
key areas. You're doing very well. You're doing very well.
I told you that it was based on your participation
whether I would continue this, and you said, let's go.
So we're going. Okay, So do all of that please
at your Daily Portion dot com. This is one of
the ways that we continue to build faith and fellowship.
Let's go ahead and pray and then we will get underway. Father,
we do thank you this morning for a new week.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to open your
word and to sacrifice, sacrifice ourselves for you. In Jesus's name,
I pray, Amen and Amen again. Futile sacrifices, Okay, what
really makes a sacrifice acceptable to God? And I'm talking
about it from an Old Testament perspective. We don't do
sacrificing like in the traditional sense anymore because Jesus Christ
has always been the fulfillment of what the Old Testament
system of sacrifices and the ministry of the priests and
the high priests, etc.
Speaker 1: Were.
Speaker 2: But now this is you know, past tense, like Jesus
is the fulfillment of all of that. But what made
sacrifices acceptable, Well, let me just start with we needed
to yield ourselves to God and become sacrifices. We had
to give our entire sels love for God in the
fullest sense of the word. For everything that we have,
everything that we are, is God's. And when we surrender
our will to God, then that was the beginning stage
of what acceptable sacrifices even looked like before we got
to the sacrificing. Now, I'm going to read a quote
straight from the Lesson Patriarchs and Prophets, page seventy two,
and then we'll make some application here the Bible read,
I mean part of me. The Lesson in this quote
reads able grasped the great principle of redemption. He saw
himself a sinner. Do you see yourself as a sinner
who needs salvation? And he saw sin and its penalty
death standing between his soul and communion with God. He
brought the slain victim, talking about the animal sacrifice sacrificist life,
thus acknowledging the claims of the law that had been transgressed.
So Abel knew that he turned himself away from God's law.
He saw that he didn't do what God said, and
in some cases when God told him to told him
not to do a thing, he did those things. So
he knew that he was a sinner who needed a savior.
And so this is why he did exactly what God
said to deal with the sin problem. Let me continue
the quote. Through the shed blood, he looked to the
future sacrifice Christ dying on the cross of Calvary. We're
going to talk about that a lot tomorrow, and trusting
in the atonement that was there to be made. He
had the witness that he was righteous, and his offering
part of me was accepted. Why was it accepted because
he knew he was a sinner. He he needed to
be saved by grace through faith. He also right back here,
he also knew that he was to give this sacrifice
that pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice because of his
own sin. Yeah, all right, let's make it a little
bit more practical, Okay, So we're gonna go here and
get some lessons now from the Bible. So in Isaiah
chapter one, Isaiah chapter one and verse eleven, the Bible reads.
To what purpose is this multitude of your sacrifices? Unto me,
said the Lord, I am full of burnt offerings of
rams and the fat of fed beasts, And I delight
not in the blood of bullocks or lambs or he'd goats.
So the people of God, many of them, were giving
sacrifices trying to be a recommendation of themselves to God.
They felt like if they would jump through these hoops,
if they would tick the boxes, if they would do
these things outwardly, then somehow it would recommend them to
God and that God would owe them something. But God
really desires sincerity and genuine devotion, not just religious ritual
Are you doing religious rituals in your life that have
no meaning? Like I'm talking about things that we espouse,
like prayer, Like are you praying on a regular basis?
And really it's just talking out loud to the ceiling,
talking out loud to the roof, talking out loud to
the sky. And then once you've ticked that box, go
on to the same sinful life that you had before
the prayer. Have you fasted for days or even weeks,
and after the fast or even during the fast, thinking
that you recommended yourself to God and then somehow continue
to oppress people. And if you are somebody who has
a health, or you have somebody who keeps your land
or cleans up for you somehow, or does anything for you,
but you underpay them, disrespect them. I'm not saying you.
I'm just saying the collective you is that your reality.
Jesus said, to keep those sacrifices. That is not the
kind of sacrifice, sacrifice or fast that I have taught you.
It's to set the captives free, to relieve the oppressed, etc. Right,
And so God wants our entire hearts, not just our rituals.
And then from Isaiah fifty six and verse seven, the
Bible reads, even to them, will I bring to my
holy mountain and make them a joy, make them joyful
in my house of prayer. They're burnt offerings, and their
sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine alter. For mine house
shall be called a house of prayer for all people.
Let me go back to the who. Okay, so the
people who would have been considered a dry tree, people
who would have been considered separated from God, people who
would have been ceremonially unclean according to the way that
the people of God thought in those days. Those people,
God said, if you keep covenant with me huh, if
you turn away from your sin and keep also the Sabbath,
then you will be given a name that is greater,
that is better than of sons and of daughters. It
is a name that will remain forever, and by the way,
I will accept you and your sacrifices. So righteousness is
not confined to the people that were originally the people
of God, but to everyone who ultimately learns to keep
covenant with God. I wish I had the time. I
wish I had the time. Let's go, Let's go to
my final lesson, because there are just too many here.
In Isaiah, chapter forty nine and verse fifteen, the Bible reads,
can a woman forget her sucking child and that she
should not have compassion on the sun of her won yea,
they may forget, yet I will not forget thee. So
God is compassionate. If God is compassionate toward me, then
I should be compassionate toward others. May I say that
one more time? Since God is compassionate toward me, I
have the privilege of being compassionate toward others. You want
to be acceptable to God, then mirror his lifestyle, mirror
his behavior, Submit your will to God, and live like
Jesus did in all of your sacrifice.
Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us listening to 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.