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, January
twenty five, twenty twenty six. 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 Uniting Heaven and Earth, christ in
Philippians and Colossians, and our caption for today is is
I love this one. We work out what God works in.
Let me say it again. I was too excited. I'm
not joking, Like, we work out what God works in.
This is good. This is really good. This is really good.
Before we get into that, I 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 if
you've not already done so, let us know where you
are in the world, and please click that contribute button.
That button is very important because we're trying to get
a new ministry assistant. So go ahead and click that
red button. And this is one of the ways that
we continue to build faith and fellowship. Let's go ahead
and pray. Father, We thank you, Thank you for this day,
and thank you for working in our life lives. You're intentional,
as the songwriter said, never changing. Please help us to
cooperate with you. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen and
Amen again. We are working out what God is working in.
I remember there was a quote from Blackaby. I forgot
what his first name is, but the Blackaby who wrote
Experiencing God. He said that we are to work where
God is already working. It's early, but I need your
mind to be active. We are to work where God
is already active. And the lesson writer, we work out
what God works in. Where is God working? Join him?
That's the goal for today join him. Let's go ahead
and begin with a quote. A quote from the Signs
of the Times. It's an article from eighteen ninety one E. J. Wagoner.
Faith works because God works in the believer. Sometimes our
focus is on our faith rather than on the God
of our faith. Our faith lays hold upon the power
of God. Faith works because God works in the believer.
So if I have faith, if I say I have
faith and I'm sitting on my hands, if I say
I have faith and the things that I do are
contrary to God's work or his will, then that means
that the faith quote that I have is not genuine faith.
The obedience that follows is the fruit, never the root
of salvation. So we are looking at the manifestation of
our faith, our faith in God. When we live according
to God's principles. We're living according to God's principles because
of God, and our faith lays hold of the power
of God. You see the priority there, God is priority.
We need God. So He's given us a vehicle, a
conduit through which His power can and must flow. What
is that vehicle. It's called faith. When the faith on
one end is connected to God, the power source and
then faith, on the other hand, is connected to us.
We now see how faith actually works and from the
Booksteps to Christ, page eighteen. Man cannot transform himself by
the exercise of his will. That is not where the
transformation happens. He must submit to the working of God.
A divine power will unite with human effort. So sometimes
people through willpower. I mean, that's a whole paradigm. Back
when I was young, in the seventies and eighties, early eighties,
that was a thing, like everything was about willpower. But
the Bible says that we are to work out our
own salvation. You know what, Let me not get ahead
of my skis, let me get let me get to
that first lesson. Lesson number one. As we work out
our salvation, because God is already working in or within us,
Our obedience is a response to God, not the cause. Philippians,
Chapter two, verses twelve and thirteen. The Bible reads, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling. A lot
of people get stuck there. A lot of people begin
there right. For it is God which worketh in you,
both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Did you get that? For it is God which worketh
in you both to will and to do of His
good pleasure. The only way that you can work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling is because God
is already working in you. He's working it out as
the gospel song writer. He's working it out for me,
and I would add in me. And so this work,
the kind of work that we're talking about, means to energize, energize,
to activate, to produce power inwardly. So God is the
one that works in us so we can do his
good pleasure, his good pleasure. Our action step is to
acknowledge one area. Want you just find that one area
where God is prompting you to obey and take a
single concrete step in that direction. I think I said
this to you recently. Eric Thomas e. T, the hip
hop preacher. He says that when people are like floundering
and trying to figure it out and they're all confused,
like I don't know what to do next, he said,
go back to what God told you to do that
you didn't do. That's the next step. Whatever He told
you to do ten minutes ago that you did not do,
that you did not execute on whatever he told told
you yesterday that you did not execute on it is
now now is the time that you do it. It's
very simple. We don't have to be confused. We don't
have to spin around, spin around three times, touch our
neighbor and tell them sixteen different ways. God is working
it out for me. No, you need to do what
God has already told you, with the power that He's
already working in you to do his good pleasure. Let's
move on before I get a little bit too passionate
lesson number two. Salvation is entirely God's work. Yes, I'm
beating on my desk. Salvation is entirely God's work. Grace
originates in him, flows through him, and finishes through him.
Are you getting that pathway? God's work is salvation, that's him,
all him. Grace originates in him. That's the power to
do God's will. Huh. And unmerited favor that comes from him.
It flows through him. So if you think you're going
to get around him, be like, Okay, I got this,
I'll take it from here and keep it pushing. Nope,
that's not how this works and finishes through him. He's
the author. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith,
He who began a good work in you, will also
complete it until the end. And so in Ephesians chapter
two and verse eight we read four by grace, are
ye saved through faith? I'll pause right there. Verse nine,
not of works, lest any man should boast. Grace means
our curists unearned favor, divine power freely given. I said
that quickly, but I didn't tell you that that's the
actual theological term. Our action step is reject one subtle
form of self trust today and rest your confidence entirely
in Christ's righteousness. Reject one subtle form of self trust today.
It could be that you've done all that you need
to do. You paid your car insurance, you lock the doors,
you locked your windows, and you expect that that's going
to protect you. Well, no, I mean you do those
things because they're sensible, but really it's God that will
take care of you. You see where that's going. And
then we can move that into our spiritual lives. The
concept into our spiritual lives. Our lesson number three and
final for today is while works cannot save us, the
saved are recreated unto good works that God himself prepares.
While works cannot save us. The saved are recreated for
good works that God himself prepares.
Speaker 1: Make it a great day. 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,