Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 12 27 2025 Persecuted but Not Forsaken

Transcript

12 27 2025 Persecuted but Not Forsaken · Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Most of us eat every day, some of us too much,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: because yesterday's food is not enough to supply energy for
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: today's needs. Why then, do some of us expect yesterday's
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: portion of heavenly manna, the word of God to keep
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: us through today's challenges. On this program, we are going
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: to change all of that. Let's experience God's words today
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: and receive the power we need to live healthy, vibrant lives.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host, author speaker,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Elle David Harris.
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning, good morning. It is Sabbath, December
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: twenty seven, twenty twenty five. Hello, my name is El
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: David Harris. I am your host, and this is your
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Daily Portion where we give you God's word every single day,
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: and today is no exception. We are beginning with lesson
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: number one in our new Lesson study series christ in
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Philippians and Collacians. Really, it's the title, is You Nighting
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Heaven and Earth? So I need to figure out how
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna say that quickly in the mornings. But whatever
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: the case, I am so glad you're here. And let
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: me just say again a great, big, happy Sabbath to
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: everyone joining us, especially those joining us for the very
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: first time. Our caption for this morning is persecuted but
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: not forsaken. Some of you feel like that right now,
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: you feel like, oh, oh God, where where Wait a minute,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: I'm being persecuted, but you're still with me. I am
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: not forsaken. Before we get into that, I'd like to
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: just say welcome to everybody joining us, especially those joining
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: us for the very first time. Did you enjoy our
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: worship experience last night? If you did, go ahead and
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: type of one in the chat, type of one in
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: the chat. And for those of you who are on
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: radio or on Facebook, I need you to go over
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: on Friday evenings for our Really, we're teaching the Bible
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: through music for just about an hour's time based on
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: the week lesson. So again, we enjoy it together and
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: hopefully you'll continue to share. Let's pray, Father, we thank you.
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: We thank you for this day. Thank you for giving
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: us another Sabbath morning to worship and to experience you.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: Please please help us to know that you are with
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: us always. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen and Amen again.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: Persecute it but not forsaken. Now. This dude, Paul was
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: very interesting to me because he is locked up, he's
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: in prison, he's incarcerated. And the Bible says that this
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: is what he said to the people, to the people
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: at Philippi in Philippians, chapter four and verse four, rejoice
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: in the Lord always and again. I say rejoice. Now,
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: it's easy for people to say those words, but this
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: dude was. I don't know if the prison was a
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: hole in the ground. I don't know if it was
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: a stone prison. I promise you he did not have
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: a lot of the comforts of home in this prison situation.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: He's locked up, and he's telling the people of God
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: to rejoice in the Lord always and if, in fact,
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: or in case, excuse me. They did not get the point.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: They didn't get the message he was saying. Okay, let
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: me say it again to you again, I say rejoice.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: And so let's go ahead and begin with our lesson
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: number one, which is joy remains possible because the presence
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: of Christ remains constant. You see his rejoicing. Paul's rejoicing
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: had to do with knowing that he had been delivered
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: from sin, knowing that Christ is now with him, knowing
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: that in his mind he was a servant, a bond
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: servant to Christ and that Christ would never lead him astray.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: And he's saying, if for the rest of my life
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: I am in this situation, I have learned, whether I
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: am in struggles, whether I have had to abase or abound, Like,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: no matter what situation I am in, I have learned
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: to be content in God. And I need you all
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: to be content to and beyond that, I need you
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: to have a rejoiceful spirit. Is that a word? Somebody
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: look it up? Let me know if rejoiceful is an
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: actual word. I may have made it up. But I
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: need you to have that kind of spirit because sometimes
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: happiness comes, sometimes sadness and grief come. But we rejoice
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: because Jesus is with us. And when I say that,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: I don't mean we're jumping up and down and clapping
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: our hands at all times and get so many. Jesus
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: wasn't jumping up and down and clapping his hands and
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: making it seem as if nothing was about to happen. No,
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: he said, let this cup if there's another way to
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: affect salvation for these people that we have created, like,
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: let this cup pass from me. But nevertheless, not as
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: I will, but as thou wilt Your will be done.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Paul was living the your will be done lifestyle, and
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: so joy remains possible because the presence of Christ remains constant. Now,
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: the word, the word for rejoice means to be glad,
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: to be glad, to rejoice. It's a verb. It describes
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: a deliberate spiritual posture, not an emotional reaction. So Paul
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: wrote these words again while imprisoned. I'm going back to
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: my notes. His condition did not block his fellowship with Christ.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: His union with Christ allowed him to practice deliberate joy.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: This shows that joy is a response to who Christ
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: is and not to what life feels like. I wish
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: I had the time to go into all of these references,
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: but I won't. Let's go into lesson number two. Lesson
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: number two is trials give believers a platform. It's a
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: vantage point, a platform to reveal Christ's power and not
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: our own. Now, Paul, he said it in Two Corinthians,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Chapter four, Versus seven through nine, seven through nine. But
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: we have this treasure in earth and vessels, that the
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: excellency of the power may be of God and none
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: of us. We are troubled on every side. Are you
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: troubled on every side? And you're like, well, why are
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: you clapping if you're asking me if I'm troubled on
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: every side? Because God said he would be with you
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: in trouble, the Lord, the Angel of the Lord, and
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: campus round about those who love him. Even when you
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: are in trouble yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: not in despair. There are times you don't understand what's
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: going on. Even Paul himself, God, will you let this
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: thorn in my flesh pass from me? Three times? He asks,
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: and God said, nope, My grace is sufficient for thee.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: My power is made perfect in your weakness. And then
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: Paul transitioned and said, therefore I rejoice now. And all
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: of these things that seem to be broken, these things
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: that are seemingly going against me, those things that seem
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: to be keeping me down. But when I am weak,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: then I am strong. Let me continue the passage, because
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: I interrupted the rhythm. We are troubled on every side,
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: persecuted but not forsake, and cast down but not destroyed,
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: not destroyed. And so that word, that word means, the
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: word not abandoned means, means, means to leave helpless like God.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: God is not leaving him helpless. Paul said, believers are
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: not left helpless, not abandoned. God stays present even when
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: the circumstances are rough. Is that a theological way of
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: describing the reality. Well, I don't know, but that's the reality.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: The early Church saw suffering as a place where Christ's
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: power became visible. Did I not cite Really, I didn't
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: cite it, but I recited the passage where he said,
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: your powers made perfect in my weakness. Paul understood that
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: prison did not change his purpose. Prison did not change
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: Paul's purpose. Lesson number three and final, God uses difficult
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: places to advance the mission and transform lives. In the
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: Book of Colossians, Chapter four and verse three, the Bible
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: reads with all praying also for us, or at the
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: same time pray for us too, write that God would
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: open unto us a door of utterance to speak the
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: He knew that he was bound to Christ because he
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: decided to surrender his will to him. But he also
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: knew he got locked up because he was doing what
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: God had said. For the time being, he's locked up,
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: so John Paul saw incarceration as an opening for the gospel.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: He didn't view it as hardship or interruption. It was
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: an assignment that God had given him. He was persecuted,
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: but not forsaken. Is that your mindset? Make it a
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: great Sabbath, peace. Thanks for joining us listening. Friends.
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Always remember we cannot live by bread alone, but by
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: every word that comes from the mouth of God. This
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: has been your daily portion with El David Harris. Make
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: it a great day. Yeah.