Latest / Your Daily Portion with L. David Harris / 07 15 2024 Calling Levi and the Question of Fasting

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07 15 2024 Calling Levi and the Question of Fasting · 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 Monday, July fifteen, twenty twenty four. Hello,
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  my name is El David Harris. I am your host, and this is
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  your Daily Portion where we give you God's word every single day, and today
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  is no exception. We are continuing in our Lesson study series through the Book
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  of Mark. Our caption for today is calling Levi and the fasting question,
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  or the question of fasting. Calling Levi and the question of fasting. That's
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  complicated. I know we'll get into that in just a moment, but first
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  I'd like to say welcome to you and ask you to please go over to
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  your Daily Portion dot com. Please join our online community where we uncomplicate things.
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  If you have a question concerning the lesson, well that's the place that
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  you ask your question. Right. If you have some discussions surrounding the lesson,
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  that is the place where you can have your discussion. I know you're
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  in the chat, you're in the comment sections and so forth. But there
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  are people on the radio two hundred radio stations, people on devices where you
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  can't communicate. So come into the community at your daily portion dot com.
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  And this is a way that we will continue to build faith and fellowship.
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  Let's go ahead and pray, and then we will get underway. Father and
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  Heaven. Thank you for giving us this new day. Thank you for loving
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  us. Please help us when we hear your call to accept your call.
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  In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen and Amen again, Levi. And
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  the question of fasting controversies, controversies. If this is your first day with
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  us, then you'll need to scroll back for just a few days and you'll
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  see that that is kind of what we are. There are people who,
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  when they're in God's presence, they choose controversy instead of conversion. There are
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  people who, when they are in the presence of God, they choose to
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  be cantankerous rather than to be converted by God. And so what we're dealing
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  with here is, you know, several instances where God pressed through the dark
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  cloud of people trying to figure out how they're supposed to like respond to him
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  over and against their con controversial nature, like it's weird. And so we
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  go into the Bible Book of Mark, chapter two for this part of the
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  story, beginning at verse thirteen, and the Bible reads and he went forth
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  again by the seaside, and all the multitude resorted to him. I think
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  we said something like that before, like yesterday, there may be an echo
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  in here. When Jesus was present, people knew where he was because he
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  was a prominent figure. Why was he a prominent figure Because he was transforming
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  people's lives, healing the sick, raising the dead, giving people food when
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  they didn't have any food, like delivering people from sin bondage. And so
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  there are a lot of people there, and he taught them. That's what
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  he did. That's what made what he did so special Verse fourteen. And
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  as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of al Faeos,
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  sitting at the receipt of custom. And he said to him, follow me.
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  Now, Levi Matthew, by the way, was a tax collector.
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  And the tax collectors might as well have been like one of the worst types
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  of people in that culture in that day, like they would they would put
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  tax collectors and pick negative sin fill in the blank right here, like put
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  all of that into into one. Buts like Levi Matthew was from a set
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  of people in the community that the people just said, just call him a
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  sinner, like he's a tax collector center same thing. Okay, So this
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  is what we're dealing with. And so Jesus is calling Levi Matthew. And
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  part of it is because they these guys were scammers, like some of them
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  were genal, like they would overreach, and so that's what we're dealing with
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  here. And it says he said, follow me, and he arose and
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  did what followed him Verse fifteen. And it came to pass that as Jesus
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  sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners and more of them,
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  you had more tax collectors and sinners set also together with Jesus and his
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  disciples, and there were many that followed him, and the scribes and the
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  Pharisees saw him eat with oh, my goodness, publicans, Like you're eating
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  with tax collectors and sinners. That's what they That's what they're saying, like
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  he's eating with publicans and sinners, and of course and their mindset. It
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  was like, if you're eating with them, then you're just like them,
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  and so you're condoning their lifestyles and behavior. So you should not be unclean
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  like that, like you should not be attached or associated with these people,
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  because how how could you be how could you be from God and be willing
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  to eat in the presence of publicans and sinners. Boy, they had it
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  all wrong. They had it all wrong. And they said, unto his
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  disciples, how is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
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  And when Jesus heard it, he said, unto them, Uh, they
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  that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick.
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  What is Jesus saying here? Is he saying that the people who are
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  asking these controversial questions from a dark heart, that they're sick and they need
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  a physician, and that they should be getting healed. But rather they are
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  being controversial. They are standing in the way of other people. Getting healed,
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  as he also potentially saying that, well, why would you are you
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  gonna You're just gonna have a club, a club full of an exclusive club
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  full of people that are special and don't need any assistance, and bring them
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  all together. Jesus is saying that in my presence, all of the laying,
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  the main, the blind, the sick, the halt, the people
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  who can't speak, the people who are sick, the people who are sinners
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  in the quote worst ways, those individuals get the deliverance that they need.
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  So what's the controversy here? Continuing verse seven, Oh, no, I
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  said that already verse seventeen, Verse eighteen. At seventeen it says, I
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  came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And the disciples
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  of John and of the Pharisees used to fast. And they came and say,
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  unto him, why do the disciples of John and the Pharisees fast,
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  but your disciples they don't? Verse nineteen, and Jesus said, unto them,
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  can the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them?
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  As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast Jesus
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  is saying, why are you worrying about fasting? The fullness of the presence
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  of God in human form is here. The power of God is present to
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  heal. And you want to have a discussion about fasting. Why I'm right
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  here the epitome of all that you could get or the benefit that you could
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  derive by fasting and praying, and your sackcloth and ashes, throwing dust and
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  covering yourself in burlap bags. All of the benefit that you could receive by
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  humbling yourself in that way is present right here. So why in the world
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  would you do all of that when I'm right here? Ask what you need?
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  Experience all that God is gonna do this in this space and time,
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  and you're worrying about fasting. Come on, man verse twenty. But in
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  the days it will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them,
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  and then they shall fast in those days. No man also soe a piece
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  of new cloth on an old garment, else the new piece that filled it
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  up would take away from the old, and the rent is made worst.
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  And no man putteth new wine in old bottles, else the new wine doth
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  burst the bottles and the wine spilleth, and the bottles will be marred,
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  and the new wine must be put into new bottles. I said to you
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  yesterday on that last point, that there are people who are so stubborn spiritually
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  speaking, people spiritually spiritual know it alls, people who would rather be in
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  air quotes, technical right in their own eyes and arguments than to actually experience
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  the presence of God, to experience the power of God unto salvation in their
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  hearts, to deliver people who are bound financially, spiritually, emotionally, and
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  ear in some other way from a health perspective, they would rather have an
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  argument and have discussion, intellectual discussion to make themselves feel intelligent, than to
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  accept the word of God. And so what God is saying to us is,
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  first of all, be present for people who need to be connected to
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  God, and also be present when you need to be connected to God,
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  like don't make yourself so rigid that you cannot change. Make it a great
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  day. Thanks for joining us listening. Friends. Always remember we cannot live
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  by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
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  This has been your daily portion with El David Harris. Make it a
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  great day. Yeah,