Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 09 16 2026 Sufferings for the Sake of the Gospel

Transcript

09 16 2026 Sufferings for the Sake of the Gospel · Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris

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  Speaker 1: Most of us eat every day, some of us too much,
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  Speaker 1: because yesterday's food is not enough to supply energy for
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  Speaker 1: today's needs. Why then do some of us expect yesterday's
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  Speaker 1: portion of heavenly manna, the word of God, to keep
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  Speaker 1: us through today's challenges? On this program, we are going
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  Speaker 1: to change all of that. Let's experience God's words today
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  Speaker 1: and receive the power we need to live healthy, vibrant lives.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Your Daily Portion. with your host, author, speaker, L.
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  Speaker 1: David Harris.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning, good morning. It is Wednesday, September 16, 2025. No,
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  Speaker 2: it isn't, 26. Hello, my name is L. David Harris.
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  Speaker 2: I am your host, and this is your Daily Portion,
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  Speaker 2: where we give you God's Word every single day, and
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  Speaker 2: today is no exception. We are continuing in our lesson
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  Speaker 2: study series through the books of 1st and 2nd Corinthians,
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  Speaker 2: and our caption for today is, Sufferings for the Sake
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  Speaker 2: of the Gospel. Sufferings for the Sake of the Gospel.
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  Speaker 2: Before we get into that, I'd like to just identify
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  Speaker 2: the fact that I'm a real-life human being. I am
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  Speaker 2: not an AI robot. If I were, I wouldn't even
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  Speaker 2: have made that mistake. And that's why I don't bother with,
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  Speaker 2: you know, worrying about when, God forbid, I do make mistakes.
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  Speaker 2: And some of you are quick to type in the
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  Speaker 2: Your Daily Portion Ministries because we are a listener. and
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  Speaker 2: viewer-supported ministry. Let's jump in here and pray and get underway. God,
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  Speaker 2: we thank you for giving us the privilege of coming
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  Speaker 2: together again today. And I'm asking you to give us
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  Speaker 2: the right perspective concerning sufferings for the gospel's sake, please,
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  Speaker 2: and help us to live godly in Christ Jesus. In
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  Speaker 2: Jesus' name I pray.
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  Speaker 1: Amen.
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  Speaker 2: And amen again. Sufferings for the sake of the gospel.
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  Speaker 2: I can just say very quickly that the Bible writers
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  Speaker 2: said that if we suffer because of some evil that
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  Speaker 2: we have done, that's not acceptable to God. But if
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  Speaker 2: we suffer because we are doing what God has called
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  Speaker 2: us to do, we're suffering for the sake of the gospel, that,
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  Speaker 2: the Bible writers said, is acceptable to God. And so
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  Speaker 2: our first and most important thing today is that Paul's
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  Speaker 2: sufferings were not the cost of failed ministry. There are
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  Speaker 2: times that people say, oh, look, see, see, see, she's
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  Speaker 2: going through this thing. So that must mean God is
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  Speaker 2: not with her. He's going through this thing. That means
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  Speaker 2: God's not with him. Do you remember? Even while Jesus
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  Speaker 2: was on the cross, they were like, oh, yeah, yeah.
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  Speaker 2: The detractors were like, yeah, so I thought he was him.
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  Speaker 2: He could save others himself. He cannot say, come down
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  Speaker 2: now and we'll worship you. And so they would conflate
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  Speaker 2: things that they loved or hated and mix it all
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  Speaker 2: up and then try to assign some kind of spiritual
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  Speaker 2: value to it. And God is showing us that even
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  Speaker 2: in the life and work and ministry of Paul where
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  Speaker 2: he would suffer, that had nothing to do with his
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  Speaker 2: ministry being successful or not successful. They were proof, in fact,
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  Speaker 2: of his faithfulness in ministry. The servant who suffers for
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  Speaker 2: the gospel's sake is walking the same road as Jesus
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  Speaker 2: Christ who went to the cross. He gave his life
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  Speaker 2: for us. In fact, the Bible says that those who
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  Speaker 2: live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If you
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  Speaker 2: write a personal promise book, you publish one, I need
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  Speaker 2: you to put that promise in there because a lot
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  Speaker 2: of times people miss it. Yeah, if you're godly in
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  Speaker 2: Christ Jesus, you're going to suffer persecution. That's a promise
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  Speaker 2: from God. But he also promises that great is your
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  Speaker 2: reward in heaven. For so persecuted they, the prophets, which
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  Speaker 2: were before you. And so our first actual lesson is
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  Speaker 2: coming in from 2 Corinthians 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11,
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  Speaker 2: and I'm going to read verse 23, where the Bible reads,
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  Speaker 2: Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool.
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  Speaker 2: I am more, and labors more abundant, in stripes, that is,
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  Speaker 2: the punishments, the difficulties, above measure, in prisons, more frequent,
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  Speaker 2: in deaths often. Let me read it another way. Are
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  Speaker 2: they servants of Christ? I am talking like I am
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  Speaker 2: out of my mind. I am even more so. In
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  Speaker 2: labors more extensive, in imprisonments more frequent, in beatings so numerous,
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  Speaker 2: I have lost count in dangers from death. So many times,
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  Speaker 2: and so exceedingly and beyond measure, Paul went through his
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  Speaker 2: trials as a servant of the living God, blessed be
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  Speaker 2: his name, beyond measure, surpassingly. Paul uses this word, the
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  Speaker 2: word that I didn't pronounce, too many syllables, one, two, three, four, five, six,
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  Speaker 2: seven syllables, yeah, I can't pronounce that word, to describe
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  Speaker 2: the severity of his beatings. They exceeded normal measure. His
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  Speaker 2: point is not to generate sympathy. He wasn't saying, poor me,
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  Speaker 2: or that you all should congratulate me for being the
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  Speaker 2: number one dude who's going through stuff at this moment.
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  Speaker 2: That's not what it was. His point was that he
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  Speaker 2: was showing his loyalty to God. Let me just put
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  Speaker 2: it like that. His loyalty to Christ. Yeah, yeah, that
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  Speaker 2: no false teacher who was avoiding suffering could claim greater
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  Speaker 2: loyalty to Christ than the one who has absorbed all
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  Speaker 2: of this for the gospel's sake. So many false teachers,
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  Speaker 2: false everything, and he's saying, no, no, this is my
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  Speaker 2: certificate of authenticity. I'm still with Christ, for I am
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  Speaker 2: crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but
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  Speaker 2: Christ which liveth within me. And so the life that
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  Speaker 2: I now live in this flesh, I'm living unto the
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  Speaker 2: Son of God, which loved me and gave himself for me.
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  Speaker 2: And so suffering for the gospel's sake is not an
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  Speaker 2: exception in authentic ministry. This is how it looks. It's
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  Speaker 2: a pattern. You see it. It's a common reality for
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  Speaker 2: all who are God's children. The absence of any cost
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  Speaker 2: in ministry is not where we say, Opsy, yeah, well,
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  Speaker 2: the Lord is blessing me right now. The Lord is
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  Speaker 2: blessing me right now. Nope, that's not it. Nope, nope, nope, nope.
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  Speaker 2: It may be evidence that nothing threatening to the enemy
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  Speaker 2: is being accomplished. Just saying, if life is just always
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  Speaker 2: smooth for you, Yeah, get on your knees and say, God, please,
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  Speaker 2: just be close to me and help me to be
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  Speaker 2: close to you and be faithful. So ask God today
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  Speaker 2: to make you willing to pay whatever price authentic ministry
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  Speaker 2: in your sphere requires. And ask him to give you
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  Speaker 2: the courage that held Paul steady, just like it held
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  Speaker 2: Jesus steady. through what no one should have had to endure,
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  Speaker 2: at least from a human perspective. But that was his reality.
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  Speaker 2: Let me read you a quote. I'm going to read
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  Speaker 2: you a quote from the book Testimonies for the Church,
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  Speaker 2: Volume 3, page 115, where it reads, the very trials
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  Speaker 2: that tax your faith most severely and make it hardest
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  Speaker 2: to trust God... are for our eternal good. God does
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  Speaker 2: not take pleasure in your sufferings, but he loves his children.
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  Speaker 2: And in order that they may receive the crown of life,
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  Speaker 2: he permits them to encounter opposition and trial. Can I
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  Speaker 2: say that one more time? In order that they may
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  Speaker 2: receive the crown of life, he permits them to encounter
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  Speaker 2: opposition and trial. You see, it's the trial of our faith,
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  Speaker 2: the trying of our faith that worketh patience. God is
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  Speaker 2: showing his people that the more we surrender our will
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  Speaker 2: to him, then the more our faith will be tested.
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  Speaker 2: the more trials and temptations will come because God is
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  Speaker 2: pruning us. He's refining us in the refiner's fire.
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  Speaker 1: He is giving us.
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  Speaker 2: The opportunity to enter into the crucible so that we
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  Speaker 2: can come through on the other side as pure gold.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm grateful. I'm grateful.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Y'all make it a great day.
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  Speaker 1: Peace.
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  Speaker 2: Make it a great day.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for joining us, listening friends. Always remember, we cannot
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  Speaker 1: live by bread alone, but by every word that comes
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  Speaker 1: from the mouth of God. This has been your daily
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  Speaker 1: portion with L. David Harris. Make it a great day.