Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 11 29 2023 Mission to the Rich

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11 29 2023 Mission to the Rich · Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris

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  Most of us eat every day, some of us too much, because yesterday's
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  food is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do
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  some of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to
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  keep us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change
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  all of that. Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need
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  to live healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host,
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  author speaker, Elle David Harris. Good morning, Good morning, Good
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  morning. It is Wednesday, November twenty nine, twenty twenty three. Hello,
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  my name is Elle David Harris. I am your host, and this
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  is your Daily Portion where we give you God's Word every single day, and
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  today is no exception. We are continuing in our Lesson study series. God's
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  Mission, My mission, and our caption for today is Mission to the Rich,
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  Mission to the Rich. We'll get into that in just a moment,
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  but first I'd like to just say thank you for joining us and ask you
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  to click that share button. Also, go over to your Daily Portion dot
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  com, join our online community and let us know where you are in the
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  world. There is a little box in a form right there that says where
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  are you in the world? And pick up the your Daily Portion book at
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  your Daily Portion dot com. Let's go ahead and pray, and then we
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  will get underway. Father and Heaven, thank you for giving us this new
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  day and for the privilege you have entrusted to us to serve you and to
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  do your will. Please Lord, teach us our purpose here on planet Earth,
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  and teach us how to be of service to people, even those with
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  means. In Jesus's name, I pray, Amen and DayMen again. I'm
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  going to begin today by stating the obvious, but sometimes we miss it.
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  The obvious is that we are all human beings. Like, go ahead and
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  type A one in the chat. If you are a human being, just
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  humor me here. If you are a human being, go ahead and type
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  A one in the chat. Of course I am a human being. You
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  are a human being. And everyone listening, everyone listening is a human being.
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  Yes, there are heavenly agencies, so of course we're not addressing God's
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  holy angels, right, we got it. So one thing that we all
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  have in common is that we're human, and our humanity means that we're vulnerable
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  and susceptible to death. All of us have to breathe. All of us
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  need blood coursing through our veins, oxygenated in healthy blood coursing through our veins.
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  We need to eat in order to have neutrified foods going through our system
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  and giving us the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and other elements in order
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  to help us to sustain life. We're all human, no matter whether we're
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  rich or poor, whether we are from a certain nation, kindred tribe,
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  tongue, or people, or another nation, kindred tribe, tongue or people,
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  we are all human. We are all ah. We are more the
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  same or more similar than we are different. And so, as the lesson
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  writer says, the rich and the poor face the same fate the grave,
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  this means that the rich are in as desperate need of salvation as is anyone
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  else. Whenever, whatever else money can buy, it cannot buy an exemption
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  from death. That exemption comes only as a gift offered freely by Jesus to
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  whoever will claim it by faith. Jesus said it, I am the resurrection
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  and the life those who believe in me. Though he were dead, yet
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  shall he live right? And then he asked his friends. Do you believe
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  this at the time when Lazarus would have died? Okay? And so we
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  are more the same or more similar than we are different. And so I
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  want to read from Matthew chapter nineteen, verses sixteen and twenty two. We
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  have already established for those who are joining us for the first time. We've
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  established many times that wealth means resources. Assets, money are not our problem,
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  right, It is how we use them. It is what position they
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  hold in our lives, whether we prioritize them above God and the things that
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  God says or not. Okay. So that's what makes the difference, okay.
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  And so from Matthew chapter nineteen, verse sixteen. And behold, one
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  came to him and said, good Master, what good things shall I do
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  that I may have eternal life? Verse twenty two. But when the young
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  man heard what Jesus said, Jesus told him, like, yes, sell
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  everything that you have and give to the poor, and you'll have eternal life.
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  You see, love for God and love for humanity are the full fillment
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  of the law, fulfilling of the law. And in this case, this
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  man did not have the kind of love for God or humanity that would have
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  him to walk away from everything. He said, if you love even father
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  or mother more than me, then you are not worthy of me. So
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  the challenge wasn't the money. The challenge was his perspective. But the Bible
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  says, but when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful,
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  for he had great possessions. You know, we're born with a selfish
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  a selfish spirit. Try to pry something from a baby's hands at a certain
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  age, right when the baby starts to halfway learn to speak and learn the
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  term mine in English language, or like mine, and then you try to
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  just easily take it from mine. It is mine, No, no,
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  mine. Yeah. And so what he was saying is, wait, so
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  if I do this, I'm gonna be poor again. If I do this,
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  I'm gonna I'm gonna lose something. If I do this, then then
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  I'll be less. And what the Bible says, if you recall, I
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  think it's in the Book of Proverbs, chapter eleven and verse twenty five.
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  It says that the liberal soul shall prosper. So the more we give,
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  then the more prosperous will be. Now I noticed what I didn't say.
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  I didn't say in what way will be prosperous. But the more we give,
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  then the more we are like Jesus like the more we more godly we
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  are if we have surrendered all to Him. Not just because you're philanthropic,
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  does that mean you're godly. I'm saying if an individual has submitted him and
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  herself to God and then are a giving person, it is a manifestation of
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  the character of God. Remember, for God so loved the world. We
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  talked about it yesterday. For God so loved the world that he gave all
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  of heaven and one gift, only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
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  should not perish, but have everlasting life. In another place, I think
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  it was Paul. He said, if God hath given us Jesus Christ,
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  his son, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things.
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  So God is liberal. God is giving, And when we take that
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  position, we're good to go. But when we hold on, when we
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  hold on to our wealth, we hold on to our possessions, we hold
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  on to our riches. And you're like Dave, but I'm not rich,
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  I'm not wealthy. Well, whatever it is that you have, if you
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  hold on to it, instead of surrendering it. Then this is the challenge
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  that we will have. Right, So the rich Young Ruler story speaks volumes
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  to me about the challenges that holding on to wealth can pose. Money and
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  possessions, while useful, can become the primary focus over shattering the eternal values
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  and instructing our spiritual journey. Okay, what we need now if we look
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  into the Book of Luke chapter nineteen and verse eight, is something very special.
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  What is it? Well, let's read this real quick. And Zakias
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  stood and said, unto the Lord. See, Zachius had means, behold,
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  Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, And
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  if I take anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him four
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  fold. And so in Zakius's story, I wish I had the time to
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  tell it, but you can look at it in the Book of Luke,
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  chapter nineteen. In Zakius's story, we see that God was able to transform
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  someone's heart. See, the rich young Ruler wanted to hold on to his
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  possessions. That's what he knew, that's what he had espoused, that's what
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  he was willing to do, even though the one the lifegiver was right in
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  front of him, telling him what it is to be like God. But
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  see Zachias now, who was also rich. Some of the money he got
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  by let's call it unsavory means. But as he is having this encounter with
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  Jesus, he opens his hands and so Zakius's story contrasts contrasts starkly with the
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  rich young ruler. His encounter with Jesus was transformative. That's the big word
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  heart transformation. The realization that wealth isn't the be all and end all to
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  him led him to generous, generous restitution. It makes me question if my
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  encounters with Jesus also bring transformation. That's something for me to answer for me
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  and then you, for you have a wonderful day. Thanks for joining us
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  listening. Friends. Always remember we cannot live by bread alone, but by
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  every word that comes from the mouth of God. This has been your daily
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  portion with el David Harris. Make it a great day. Yeah,