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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.

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Speaker 2: Vibrant lives.

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Speaker 1: 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 Thursday, the

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twenty sixth day of June and twenty twenty five. Hello.

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My name is El David Harris. I am your host,

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and this is your Daily Portion where we give you

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God's Word every single day, and today is no exception.

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We are continuing with just a couple of days left

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in our lesson study series how to study Bible Prophecy,

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and today we are covering Cyrus the Anointed, Oh, Cyrus

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the Anointed. We'll get into that in just a moment,

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but first I like to say welcome to everyone joining us,

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especially those joining us for the very first time. Please

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go over to your Daily Portion dot com. Please join

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our online community. Please pick up the Your Daily Portion

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Life Application Guide. You'll want to pick up the one

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for this quarter, even though it's done. The quarter is done,

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but it's something you can use when you're studying the

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same concepts over the next few years, if you choose.

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And also the new one that's coming out in a

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couple of days is right there, right there at your

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Daily Portion dot com. This is one of the ways

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that we continue to build faith and fellowship. Let's go

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ahead and pray and then we will get underway. Father,

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We thank you for giving us the privilege of being

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a called and that you've decided that we should be saved.

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Please help us to cooperate with you. Please help us

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to be a foreshadowing of Christ in our spheres of influence.

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In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen and Amen again. Now

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somebody might be wondering, why would you say be a

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foreshadow of Christ? You know, or you could use reflection

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if that makes you more, you know, if you feel

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better about that. But the fact is, when people see me,

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when people see you, I think the Bible text says,

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let your light so shine before humans that when they

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see your good works, they glorify your Father, which is

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in heaven. And so God's intent for our lives is

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that we so model the life of Jesus Christ that

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when people see us, they see God. When they see us,

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they see how the character of God is manifest in

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the world through our lives. And there are times that

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people God uses people in ways that we don't even

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really know that He's using us. So what better way

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to be connected to God than to allow him actively

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and intentionally to use us. And so the lesson writer says,

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when Cyrus sacked the city of Babylon, the years of

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captivity for God's people were over, and the Persians permitted

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them to return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple.

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Under Cyrus, the Persian Empire became the largest in history,

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with what historian Tom Holland calls the largest agglomeration of

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territories that the world had ever seen. And that comes

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from Dominion Basic Books, and that comes from the Kindle Edition,

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page twenty five. And so, continuing as was the custom

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among the Persians, Cyrus was even called the Great King

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in air quotes, or the King of kings. Isn't it

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interesting that the one who was called God's anointed really

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did a lot of the work that Jesus was to

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come and do in the future. In Isaiah chapter forty

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five and verse one, God refers to Cyrus as his anointed. Now,

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before we get too far afield, I want to see

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if we can make application, and then I'll come back

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with some lessons for us. Okay, we're going to use

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our Relationships application from the Life Application Guide on Let's

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see what page is this two hundred and thirty four.

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What is important now? We are using the acronym win win.

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What is in important? Important? Now? God placed Cyrus in

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history not only for God's people. I need you to listen.

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If you're one of God's people, understand it wasn't only

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for the people of God in that time, but for

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the world to know who really is in control. You

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see Babylon under under Nebuchadnezzar and then subsequently under Belshazzar. Yeah,

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they thought that they would always be in control. I

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am that head of gold. Well, God said of Nebuchadnezzer,

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you are that head of gold. God humbled Nebuchadnezzar. Eventually Belshazzar,

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he just thought that he would be in power forever until,

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of course God gave the blueprint. Really, God gave the

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blueprint to the enemies of Babylon and how to lay

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siege and to take over Babylon. And so God is

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the one that's in control. Whatever country you're in, whatever

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kingdom you are now in, understand that God literally is

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the one under control. Even when things seem to be

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really completely creepy and crazy. There were some of you

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that could raise your hands right now and say that

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the way your countries are being led you're confused about

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and you're wondering, God, how could you be in control

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of this? Well, just know, based on this experience that

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God really is the one that is in control. I

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wish I had the time to deal with the details.

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But your influence could be someone else's turning point. Your

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influence could become someone else's turning point. Cyrus's influence was

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the turning point of history as we know it. It

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was the turning point of God's people. It was the

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turning point of history as we know it. And then

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for the eye, internalize the insight. You don't have to

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be perfect, and I need you to hold on. Do

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not shut this broadcast off here because you'll get the

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wrong idea if you do. You do not have to

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be perfect to be used by God. Now, don't turn

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it off. Neither did Cyrus. Availability is more important than ability.

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I said availability is more important than ability. Now, the

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Bible does very clearly say that we should be perfect

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for the Lord. Our God is perfect. But God didn't

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say that we needed to tidy our own lives up

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so that we could come into His presence as tidy

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people that need no more work from God. And then

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he would use us. No, we come to God as

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we are. He uses us and sanctifies and purifies us.

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But along the process, God is really about availability more

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than he is about ability. He will equipped equip the called.

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And then, and what is the next best move? Encourage

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someone with doubts about whether they're worthy or not, whether

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they're worthy to be used by God or not. I

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need you to encourage them. That might be you. You

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may need to encourage yourself. Remind them of Cyrus and

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how God always writes better stories than we can expect.

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And so there were some more lessons that we we

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needed to glean from this story. And the first one

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would be God can use anyone willing or not to

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fulfill his will. I didn't say that we needed to

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be unwilling or stubborn and then God would just use anything.

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That's not what I just said. But God has a

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way of using people. Cyrus didn't know what God was doing.

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He didn't know personally that God was going to use

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him as a symbol of Christ as in Isaiah chapter

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forty four. He didn't know all the way to forty five.

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He didn't know his decree. Through though political fulfilled this

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divine prophecy, he had no idea how God was using him.

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And so right now we need to choose not to

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underestimate who God might use in my story in your story,

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do not underestimate whom God might use in our story.

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Pray for discernment to recognize the unlikely life the instruments

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of God's deliverance. Let's see if we can get a

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couple more lessons in here. Liberation always begins with a

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word from the Lord. You see the decree in Second Chronicles,

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chapter thirty six and verse twenty two is that the

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Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus. The word opened

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the path for God's people to go home and to

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rebuild and So liberation always begins with the word from

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the Lord. So meditate on one promise from the scriptures

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this week, as if it were your personal liberation decree.

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Now write it out and post it where you can

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see it daily. Make it a great day. Peace.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us listening.

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Speaker 2: 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.