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 Wednesday, March nineteen,
twenty twenty five. Hello, my name is Elle 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 God's Love and Justice, and our caption for
today is called to Establish Justice. We'll get into that
in just a moment, but first I like to say
say welcome to you and ask you to go over
to your Daily Portion dot com. Please join our online community,
Please pick up the Your Daily Portion companion guide, and
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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 and Heaven, thank you for giving us this new
day and for the opportunity that you have entrusted to
us to open your word. And I'm asking you to
please fill us with your holy spirit. Please give us
the power that we need in order to live just
and holy lives. In twenty twenty five, we know that
we are nearing home. We're nearing home, and I'm asking
you to prepare us fully today in Jesus' name, I pray,
Amen and Amen again, called to establish justice. I know
that some of what we have said was jarring to you,
because now you're starting to sense the import the import
of doing God's will where justice is concerned. Think about it.
Think about it. To the degree that he even so
identifies with human beings whom he's entrusted power to the magistrate,
the judges, and all these other types of leaders, that
he would call them gods. We know that that was
not an assignment of deity, but it was a heavy responsibility.
So we know that justice really matters to God. I
don't know why believers are arguing about this as if
God has not been very clear part of me in
the scriptures where that is concerned. So we're going to
read in that vein beginning in verse twenty three of
Matthew chapter twenty three. Matthew Chapter twenty three, beginning at
verse twenty three. And of course Jesus is now having
a passionate, a passionate discussion. It's a discourse really with
those who should know the most about God, who should
be closest to God, who should be the purveyors of
justice and holiness in the earth. But somehow they lost focus.
And so we begin woe until you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites,
where ye pay tithe of mint and ennis and cumin,
and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy,
and faith. These ought ye to have done, and not
to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain
at a gnat and swallow a camel. And so God
is saying that you are fastidious. You are paying a
lot of attention to details, and somehow the things that
matter most to me, meaning God, you miss it. You
can tithe from your different herbs. Huh, you can see
then in solution, maybe it's water, and you say this
is unclean, and so you find a way to strain
that tiny little net out, and then you end up
having camel stew, which is completely unclean. How do you
miss this? Blind guides, hypocrites, roll one to you, Roll
one to you. Verse twenty five. Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,
For ye make clean the outside of the cup, of
the platter, and of the platter, but within are full
of extortion and excess. God is saying, listen, let me
come into your lives. God is saying to us, brothers
and sisters, he wants to come into our lives and
from the inside out through the power of the Holy Ghost.
He wants to teach us how to live holy lives,
holiness and our relationships, how to love and be kind
and affect at one toward another, because for God, for
Christ's sake, was kind to us. He wants us to
take care of the laying, the main, the blind, the halt,
those who are not able to speak here or any
other thing that is a challenge to the people, to
deliver the oppressed, oppressed, and to set the captives free.
And we're out here arguing about things that barely matter.
They matter, but not to the degree that these things matter.
These are true religion and undefiled before God. Okay, And
so the Bible continues, Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that
which is within the cup and platter, that the outside
of them may be clean. Also, you're worried about your reputation.
You're worried about what happens when it's almost time for
elections inside the church, at local levels and at higher levels,
or I should say, at the organizational level. Scratch what
I said about higher levels. At the organizational or structural levels,
you're concerned about that, but not about extortion or excess.
Oh my, oh my, oh, well, unto you Verse twenty seven.
Scribes and pharisees hypocrites, for ye are like unto whited sepulchers,
which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of
dead men's bones and of all uncleanness. Even so ye
also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are
full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Whoa unto you, scribes and
pharisees hypocrites, because ye build tombs to the profits and
garnish sepulchers of the righteous. Even in our day we
make tributes to and have programs for, and name entities
based on people that we have revered and may be
rightly so and honor them. And yet in our hearts
there are things that are completely contrary to God's will.
It's a show brothers and sisters, if indeed that is
the case. And the Bible continues verse thirty and say,
if we had been in the days of our fathers,
we would not have been partakers with them in the
blood of the Pharisees. So my, well, what are the
weightier matters? I read a lot of words from the scriptures?
What are the weightier matters? Jesus says judgment and justice
in this context, mercy and faithfulness, justice or judgment that is,
to uphold the true standards of righteousness, not just outward
show ah, which also includes what I just said about
setting the case aptis free et cetera. Mercy and faithfulness,
and so Jesus teaches us that that external compliance is
not enough. I have been struggling for years for the
right words where people actually believe that the people he
was speaking to were actual commandment keepers. No they weren't.
They were legalists. They were externally compliant, but spiritually non compliant. Okay,
So internal transformation is primary. True religion affects the heart.
Do not be afraid of the term religion. There is
a godly and true religion the Bible writer teaches about.
And then balance is needed. Do these things without neglecting
other things. And then priorities must be right weightier matters first,
and then the other things that also matter. Okay. And
so these align with the scriptures in First Samuel, chapter
sixteen and verse seven. For the Lord seeth not as
a man seeth, for he looketh on the outward appearance.
But the Lord looketh upon the heart. When God sees
your heart, what is he seeing, Brothers and sisters, I'm
not asking you to type it in the chat that's
between you and God. When God sees your heart, what
is he seeing? Lord? Help us? And so God has
given us a calling. It is a calling for us
to be just. It is a calling for us to
be merciful. It is a privilege and a calling for
us to be faithful. Do not get your priorities mixed up.
Don't get your priorities mixed up or called to establish justice.
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,