Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 02 25 2024 Divine Self-Sacrificing Shepherd

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02 25 2024 Divine Self-Sacrificing Shepherd · 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 food
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  is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do some
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  of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna the word of God to keep us
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  through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change all of
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  that. Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need to live
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  healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome to Your Daily Portion with your host, author
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  speaker Elle David Harris. Good morning, good morning, Good morning. It
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  is Sunday, February twenty five, twenty twenty four. Hello, my name
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  is El David Harris. I am your host, and this is your Daily
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  Portion where we give you God's word every single day, and today is no
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  exception. We are continuing in our lesson study series through the Book of Psalms,
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  and our caption for today is Divine Self Sacrificing Shepherd, Divine Self Sacrificing
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  Shepherd. We'll get into that in just a moment, but first i'd like
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  to say welcome to you and ask you to go over to your Daily Portion
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  dot com. Please join our online community, pick up the Your Daily Portion
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  book and let us know where you are in the world at your Daily portion
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  dot com. This is the way that we continue to build faith and fellowship.
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  Let's go ahead and pray, and then we will get underway, Father
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  and Heaven. Thank you for this Sunday morning and the opportunity we have to
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  come into a new week. Father, I pray that you will give us
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  a new mindset, a new determination to be holy, a new experience with
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  you and with others. I pray that you will give us the fullness of
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  your Holy Spirit so that we can see Jesus Christ as the good shepherd who
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  gave himself for us, and then live because of what he has done.
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  In Jesus name, I pray, Amen and a man again. And so
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  what I'm going to throughout this week, if the Lord Spaar's life is,
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  is to look for Jesus. Yesterday we barely scratch the surface. I gave
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  you a rambling example of some of the things that or some of the ways
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  excuse me that Jesus is identified in the Book of Psalms. And then we
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  rested just for a moment on one aspect of the blessing of who Jesus is.
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  And so today we're going to do a little better job of it,
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  but we're going to focus on a different aspect yet again, this time Jesus
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  being the shepherd. Now, shepherds have to have a flock, a flock
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  of what in this context, a flock of sheep. And so before I
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  even really get into Jesus as as the divine self sacrificing shepherd, I have
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  to answer the question to satisfy my curiosity, like why sheep? Like why
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  are we sheep in this scenario? Well, there are a few reasons,
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  a few reasons, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. Dependence
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  and trust. Sheep are known for their tendency to follow their shepherd. So
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  this is a great symbol in that regard in a sense and purity, innocence
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  and purity. How about community and flock. Thatt's people are to be in
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  a community, a flock who all mutually remain together and follow whom the great
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  shepherd. And then comes pastoral care in the pastors. The shepherd takes care
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  of the sheep, and of course we know that represents God's care for us.
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  And of course the Bible is full of references that show us or portray
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  us in this light, also the sacrificial symbolism. The sheep in many aspects
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  of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, are seen as the animal of
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  choice. This adds an additional layer of meaning, particularly in our theology as
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  Christians and Jesus himself becoming the lamb of God that takes away the sins of
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  the world, and then of course comes vulnerability, vulnerability and need for protection.
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  Like sheep are not known for their strength and their abilities to fend for
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  themselves, which can symbolize the blessing of the human need for God. Okay,
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  so those are some quick reasons why Like why a sheep in this discussion?
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  So now we have the good shepherd? What do shepherds do? Brothers
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  and sisters. You can go ahead and type in the chat, like what
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  are some of the things that shepherds do. I'll give you my list in
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  a moment. Go ahead and start loading the chat. What do shepherds do?
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  Okay, So shepherds, Like I grew up in New York City,
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  so I've never seen a shepherd and I just say that, but I've seen
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  him on the internet. Okay, Internet. I apologize for not enunciating.
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  Okay, but shepherds protect shepherd's correct nurture, lead and feed, protect correct
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  nurture, lead and feed. Okay, so this is the good shepherd,
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  Jesus Christ. Now let me go to a passage here that is interesting in
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  the Book of John chapter ten, and then we'll circle back to the Psalms
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  John chapter ten. Beginning at verse eleven, Jesus speaking, I am the
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  good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The
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  hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees
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  the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So now we see
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  the protective nature of Jesus Christ, the divine self sacrificing shepherd. Okay,
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  verse thirteen, Well, let me continue in verse twelve. He sees the
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  wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So the wolf attacks the
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  sheep and scatters them. So hirelings or hired servants, people who are self
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  serving in this context, who supposedly are religious leaders of the flock. Those
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  individuals who don't care like the good shepherd, Those individuals will scatter you.
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  Those individuals will not protect you. Those individuals will drain you for all that
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  you have and all that you are. Those individuals will not do what the
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  good shepherd does, okay verse thirteen. Because he's a hired hand and he's
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  not concerned about the sheep, he runs away Verse fourteen. I am the
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  good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as
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  the Father knows me. And I know the Father. And I laid down
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  my life for the sheep. And so this great shepherd, Jesus Christ,
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  is not just looking for someone to follow him. He's looking for you,
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  brothers and sisters. He's looking for me so that he can give his life.
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  He gave his life for us. He came in search of all human
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  beings who have separated ourselves from God, so that He can save us from
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  our sins, so that we can live eternally, so that we can say
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  no to those things that displease Him, so that we can say yes and
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  live the abundant life. According to Deuteronomy, Chapter twenty eight, Verses one
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  through fifteen. We can live that life as we are obedient to His commandments
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  and his statutes, and his judgments. And blessings of all sorts come and
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  overtake us when we are following God. And so Jesus came to give us
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  at least minimally everything that I have said. And so we see in the
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  Book of Psalms chapter twenty eight and verse nine, Save thy people, bless
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  thine inheritance. That's us feed them also and lift them up forever. I'm
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  thankful that God feeds us real and practical food every single day. He leads
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  us and feeds us with his word, those words of God that can extend
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  our lives spiritually into eternity. And then in the Book of Psalms chapter eighty
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  and verse one, the Bible reads, give ear, Give ear, oh
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  Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock, Thou that dwellest
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  between the Cherubims, shine forth. So now we see sanctuary language. Jesus
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  Christ as the great high Priest, Jesus Christ as the God who is giving
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  himself in human form, is seen as between the Cherubims in the Holy of
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  Holies, in the sanctuary, that position of power, that position of authority.
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  And yet he humbled himself. He humbled himself and gave himself a ransom
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  for many. He became. He became the good Shepherd in order to save
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  the sheep and to lead us. Then, of course, the Bible says
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  in verses fifty two and fifty three of Psalms chapter seventy eight. Yet he
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  brought out his people like a sheep and led them through the wilderness like a
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  flock. He guided them safely along, and they were not afraid. But
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  the sea covered their enemies. This is speaking of God delivering his people from
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  bondage and captivity. God is the good shepherd in Christ, Jesus, are
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  you a good sheep? Thanks for joining us listening. Friends, Always remember
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  we cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the
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  mouth of God. This has been your daily portion with el David Harris,
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  make it a great day. Yeah,