Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 08 30 2026 Fruits of an Authentic Ministry

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08 30 2026 Fruits of an Authentic Ministry · 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 Sunday, the
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  Speaker 2: 30th day of August in 2026. Hello, my name is L.
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  Speaker 2: David Harris. I am your host, and this is your
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  Speaker 2: Daily Portion, where we give you God's Word every single day.
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  Speaker 2: And today is no exception. We are continuing in our
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  Speaker 2: lesson study series through the books of 1 and 2 Corinthians.
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  Speaker 2: And our caption for today is... fruits of an authentic ministry.
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  Speaker 2: Fruits of an authentic ministry. We'll get into that in
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  Speaker 2: just a moment, but first I'd like to say welcome
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  Speaker 2: to you and ask you to please go over to yourdailyportion.com.
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  Speaker 2: I want you to click, look on your screen, I
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  Speaker 2: want you to click right here under the stop guessing
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  Speaker 2: what to do with your life. Discover God's design for
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  Speaker 2: your life. Click that begin button. I I actually put
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  Speaker 2: a little yellow arrow so you can see that. As
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  Speaker 2: every person hath received the gift, even so minister the
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  Speaker 2: same to one another. So God has called you from
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  Speaker 2: your mother's womb, and he knows what he wants for
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  Speaker 2: you to do in this year, 2026 and beyond. So
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  Speaker 2: please go there and discover more about yourself and God's
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  Speaker 2: will for your life. Also, please, please contribute to your
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  Speaker 2: Daily Portion Ministries because Your Daily Portion Ministries is a
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  Speaker 2: listener and viewer supported ministry. Let's go ahead and pray
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  Speaker 2: and then get underway. God, we thank you for those
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  Speaker 2: who are with us every single day. Or if, you know,
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  Speaker 2: somebody came in for the very first time, I'm grateful. God,
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  Speaker 2: thank you for the supporters who click the contribute button
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  Speaker 2: and those who are also learning about themselves today. And
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  Speaker 2: they are going into ministry around the world in whatever
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  Speaker 2: way you've called them. All of us are ministers, God.
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  Speaker 2: I pray this morning that you will give us your wisdom.
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  Speaker 2: Help us to live your principles. In Jesus' name, I pray.
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  Speaker 1: Amen.
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  Speaker 2: Amen and amen again. Fruits of authentic ministry. And I
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  Speaker 2: did talk to you yesterday about, you know, not studying
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  Speaker 2: the counterfeit. And so we don't do that. But the
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  Speaker 2: most important thing in my mind right now concerning today's
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  Speaker 2: lesson is the proof of authentic ministry is not a
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  Speaker 2: letter of recommendation. I know what I just said. I
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  Speaker 2: know what I just said. It is a changed life
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  Speaker 2: written by the Holy Ghost. Yeah, there are times that
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  Speaker 2: when we are entering into ministry because we've had people
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  Speaker 2: with whom we have worked and for whom we have worked,
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  Speaker 2: even in ministry environments, right? You move your membership from
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  Speaker 2: one church or faith fellowship to another, and then there
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  Speaker 2: is a recommendation that comes from maybe the church board
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  Speaker 2: or the pastor of that church. Or maybe if it's
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  Speaker 2: within sort of the structure, the church's governmental structure. I
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  Speaker 2: don't know how else to say it. But if it's
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  Speaker 2: a part of that higher organization, then people want to
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  Speaker 2: know from wherever you have come, what kind of service
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  Speaker 2: this human has provided. And those are good. But what
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  Speaker 2: we're talking about is great. Because those are not indicators
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  Speaker 2: of authenticity anymore. They are good. I've got a stack
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  Speaker 2: of recommendation letters because I've worked all over this church.
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  Speaker 2: You feel me? So I'm not trying to be disrespectful
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  Speaker 2: to that because that's good. Paul said that he is
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  Speaker 2: to be an epistle known and read of all men because, well,
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  Speaker 2: he wanted people to follow him as he followed Christ.
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  Speaker 2: So only follow in as much as he is following Christ.
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  Speaker 2: And so again, again, If you want proof of authentic ministry,
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  Speaker 2: it's not on those beautiful letterheads by those really well-respected humans,
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  Speaker 2: but it is a changed life written by the Holy
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  Speaker 2: Ghost on the human heart. I left that out earlier.
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  Speaker 2: Now you know. All right? And so now our first
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  Speaker 2: lesson comes in. You're like, what are you talking about?
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  Speaker 2: It comes in from 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Hopefully you
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  Speaker 2: have your Bibles. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, and I will
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  Speaker 2: read verses 2 and 3. 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verses
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  Speaker 2: 2 and 3. And so, the Bible reads, you yourselves
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  Speaker 2: are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read
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  Speaker 2: by everyone. I just quoted some of this. written not
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  Speaker 2: with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God.
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  Speaker 2: Are we singing together, Spirit of the living God? Fall
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  Speaker 2: afresh on me. This is what we're after. Not on
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  Speaker 2: stone tablets, but on tablets of human hearts. And so
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  Speaker 2: this letter, the style of letter that he is referencing
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  Speaker 2: here is a written communication. Paul says, Corinthians themselves are
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  Speaker 2: the letter that commends his ministry. Are you starting to
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  Speaker 2: get the point? And so, if someone is under your influence,
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  Speaker 2: what kind of letter are they? Do you hear where
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  Speaker 2: I'm going with this? Like, what kind of letter are they?
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  Speaker 2: Do you see the transformation that only the Holy Ghost
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  Speaker 2: can affect in the person's life based on what you
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  Speaker 2: are doing with or for them? And so it's not
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  Speaker 2: a document we're talking about written with ink. He said
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  Speaker 2: it very clearly, but a community written by the Holy
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  Speaker 2: Ghost on human hearts. So what is our lesson? The
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  Speaker 2: most powerful credential. I've got credentials. I've got all kinds
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  Speaker 2: of credentials. I even have a missionary credential. After 10
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  Speaker 2: years of service in my faith fellowship, I got a
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  Speaker 2: missionary credential. That's cool. But the most powerful credential any
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  Speaker 2: servant of God carries is the transformed life of someone
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  Speaker 2: they have served. Degrees, those are wonderful. Some of you
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  Speaker 2: have more degrees under your name than a thermometer. Can
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  Speaker 2: I just say that? And reputation, that can be manufactured.
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  Speaker 2: But a life genuinely changed by the Holy Ghost is
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  Speaker 2: a letter that every person can read and no one
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  Speaker 2: can fake. I used to, for 15 years, I worked
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  Speaker 2: in higher education, and we used to talk about the
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  Speaker 2: diploma mills because I evaluated transcripts, among other things, every line,
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  Speaker 2: every space, whether the university or school existed or not,
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  Speaker 2: and whether they still have accreditation or not, or whether
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  Speaker 2: those credits will transfer or convey, all of that kind
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  Speaker 2: of stuff. And there were times that we would get transcripts.
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  Speaker 2: and diplomas from diploma mills. That's basically a place where
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  Speaker 2: they make up stuff that isn't true, sell it to people,
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  Speaker 2: and then hopefully trick the authentic universities or other institutions
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  Speaker 2: of higher learning into thinking that these people are qualified
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  Speaker 2: to continue in their academic pursuits. Well, God is not
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  Speaker 2: Running a diploma mill. He's not faking letters of authenticity.
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  Speaker 2: He's not paying people under the table and saying, just
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  Speaker 2: at least say that this woman, this man is really
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  Speaker 2: good at what they're doing. He's saying, no, no, no.
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  Speaker 2: Just look at the effects of the life of the
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  Speaker 2: people on the life of the people that are under
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  Speaker 2: their influence. That's very easy.
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  Speaker 1: Mm hmm.
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  Speaker 2: All right, and so the practice in this case is
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  Speaker 2: ask God today. This is your opportunity. We're beginning the week,
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  Speaker 2: brothers and sisters, so let's do this together. To make
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  Speaker 2: your life a readable, legible letter. Let transformation, he has
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  Speaker 2: worked in you, be visible enough that others can see
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  Speaker 2: Christ written there. Let me read you a quote very
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  Speaker 2: quickly before we go. It's from the book Testimonies for
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  Speaker 2: the Church, Volume 8. And I am reading from page 317.
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  Speaker 2: And it reads, The gospel of Christ is to be
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  Speaker 2: presented to the world not as something that will make
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  Speaker 2: men feel at ease in sin, but as that which
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  Speaker 2: will enable them to overcome sin. It is the power
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  Speaker 2: of God unto salvation to those who receive it. Are
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  Speaker 2: you receiving the gospel of Christ today, brothers and sisters?
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  Speaker 2: I know some of you have been in the way,
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  Speaker 2: as the old timers used to say. You've been in
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  Speaker 2: this faith for years and decades. Some of you, five decades.
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  Speaker 2: Some of you, six decades. But beyond that, have you
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  Speaker 2: received today this power of God unto salvation, a divine transformer?
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  Speaker 2: That's what God makes us, changing the whole life. Praise God.
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  Speaker 2: Make it a great day.
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  Speaker 1: Peace. Thanks for joining us, listening friends. Always remember, we
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  Speaker 1: cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that
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  Speaker 1: comes from the mouth of God. This has been your
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  Speaker 1: daily portion with L. David Harris. Make it a great day.