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 Thursday, October nine,
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 Lessons from Lessons of Faith from Joshua, and
our caption for today is Surprising Grace, Surprise Grace. Now,
I'm gonna come back in a second and talk about that,
but before we do, I'd like to 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 pick
up the Your Daily Portion life application guide. Please please
and thanks, and also let us know where you are
in the world 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 thank you for giving
us the privilege of coming together and being so far
off into the week and getting closer to the time
of preparation and Sabbath. Please please help us to be
amazed by You. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen and
Amen again. So let me just say this. And I
know sometimes I'm a little bit petty when it comes
to the use of speech and language. Right, surprising Grace.
I don't really have a problem with it, but I
did coin a new concept for me. It was new
for me that we should be amazed by God but
not surprised. And I know they some people think that
those are synonyms of each other. Amazed by God but
not surprised, So we should be in awe of God.
That's amazement as far as I'm concerned. Okay, I'll keep
it simple, but to be surprised, it's like you would
do that for me. I can't believe you did that
for me. Well, God promised that he would. He would
save sinners. Yes, he promised that he would. He would.
He would give us new hearts and clean spirits. He
promised that he would take from us the heart of
stone and put in us the heart of flesh. He
told us that he would write his laws on our
hearts and in our minds so we can be true worshipers.
And so I'm amazed, I'm in awe of God. Like, Wow, God,
you are so faithful. I cannot even imagine how you
have been so good to me. But at the same time,
I should not be surprised, like like I didn't know
that he would do exactly what he said he would do.
And so okay, that is my rant for now. That's
my rant for now. Please don't call me or text me.
And I know, I know, I know, I know. Sometimes
I'm a bit picky with the use of words. But
in any case, amazement or surprise, we see that God's
grace is far beyond our capability of appreciating. Sometimes, twas
grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my
fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear? The hour
I first believed, and so we're surprised or amazed, as
the case may be. So lesson number one in this regard.
From the Book of Psalms, chapter fifteen and verse four,
the Bible reads, he that swearth to his own hurt.
Let me say it from the New English translation, he
makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.
So people who keep covenant God God honors that, even
when it's costly. When we make a vow, we make
covenant with God and keep it. God honors this, and
so God wants us to keep our commitments. That's an
action step for me, keep my commitment before God and
before people, even when it costs you. Because integrity is
part of true worship. So the people of God couldn't
break their oath even though it was secured by deception.
So the people of God now make an oath with
the Gibbian Knights. And the Gibbian Knights used subterfuge and
deception to get them to acquiesce or whatever. But the
people of God made a covenant, and so the leaders
upheld integrity, showing God's name and covenant are sacred. Keep
your covenants. Here's my second lesson from the Book of Joshua,
chapter nine and verse twenty three. Now, therefore ye are cursed,
and there shall none of you be freed from being
bond men and hewers of wood and drawers of water
for the House of God. Now that's very interesting that
they are bound the people who deceived in order to
get a covenantal experience.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: Now they're they're bond men, but they're also servants in
the sanctuary. So God can transform a curse into a blessing.
I mean, we're talking about being bound to God, bound
to the service of God, bound to illustrating the plan
of salvation in the in the Old Testament, like bound
to ushering people into worship in their in their you know,
in their special way. Let me not overstate it, but
the fact is that instead of God's wrath through his
people destroying the Gibeon nights, they were drawn into service
at the sanctuary. What looked like humiliation became participation in worship.
When you humble yourself before God, you are a worshiper.
Do you understand? Submission to God is worship, and so
the action is to submit to God's purposes, even when
it looks like loss, he can turn low positions into
platforms of blessing. Here is our third lesson, and it
comes in from Ezekiel, chapter thirty three and verse eleven.
The Bible reads, as I Live, said the Lord God.
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but that the wicked turn from his way and live.
Are you one of those people that right now your record,
your sin record, as the case may be, is not
clear with God. There's something that you have not confessed
to him. There is a sin that you have not
yet turned from. And seven minutes into our broadcast today,
God is now knocking on your heart's door and saying, turn, turn, live, live,
yield yourself to me. And that thing that you want
to keep a secret, that boy, if you continue on
that pathway, then God's going to blow the doors off
of that thing and You'll be exposed, but not necessarily
to your detriment. It's up to you how this works out.
Is there something that you have to resolve in a
relationship that you have breached. Is there something you have
to resolve in your workplace or in some other key
area of life. God is saying that all you need
to do is surrender your will. Though their method, meaning
the Gibbian Knights, I'll say it again, was flawed. The
Gibbeian Knights showed a desire to renounce idolatry and seek
peace under Yahweh, blessed be his name his rule. God
honored even perfect, imperfect part of me faith. He honored
that Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith.
He can grow our faith. We grow in grace and
in the knowledge of God. Yes, and so this is
what He's doing. God honored even their imperfect faith. And
so the step for me is to not despise small
beginnings of faith. So I could look back at the
story and snub my nose and make it seem as if, well, look,
God should have destroyed these dudes because they did what
they did by deception. But well, I don't get into
what God should have done, because judgment belongs to God.
But I will say that I'm blessed to know that
God was willing to accept Rahab. I'm blessed to know
that God was willing to accept the Gibbean Nights because
because the small beginnings of faith in her, in her
lying and saying that the people of the men of
God were not there, and these guys in deceiving God's people,
specifically the small beginnings. But what God is doing is
transforming our lives step by step, encourage and nurture people
in those situations because God values even the first spark
of surrender. God's grace is amazing. God's grace is surprising
to some of us, but in any case, the grace
of God through his Holy ghosts will transform our lives.
Make it a great day, peace.
Speaker 1: 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,