DOUBLE PORTIONS – DYNAMIC PRESENCE………..[mcf – 01, cebu-02, coimbatore-03, ]
Reinhard Bonnke made a very powerful statement that we ought to be repeating until it’s eternally settled in our minds and hearts: “GOD MEANS ME TO BE MORE THAN I THOUGHT I WAS!” What a challenge! And today we’re looking at “Double Portions – Dynamic Presence!” Because, remember Eccl 4:9, not only for marriage but MINISTRY! LISTEN: “Two are better than one, because they have a great, good reward for their labor…v.10, For if they fall, one will lift up his companion…”
Remember the TWO DISCIPLES on the Emmaeus Rd.? Lk. 24:32, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” TWO BURNING COALS PRODUCE MORE HEAT THAN ONE!
Amos 3:3 asks, “Can TWO walk together, unless they are agreed?” Zech. 4:3 speaks of two olive trees & then explains in verse 14, “These are the two anointed ones (two witnesses) who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”…& Mk. 6:7 tells us Jesus called the 12 to Him, &” began to send them out two by two, & gave them power over unclean spirits.”
Look at John 8:17-18, Jesus speaking: “It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true…I am One who bears witness of Myself, & the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.
It’s the first day of the week; resurrection has occurred; Mary entered the tomb; and what did she see? John 20:12 says: “And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head & the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.”……And what a THRILLING PROMISE in Matt. 18:20, “For where TWO or THREE are gathered together in My Name, I AM THERE IN THE MIDST OF THEM.”
And aren’t you glad there are TWO COVENANTS, one giving birth to bondage & death, and the other to freedom & life!! Gal. 4:24
Listen to Noah Webster’s definition of “DOUBLE”: “Twice as much; twice the number, sum, value, quantity or length…[he adds] – a sum of money doubles by compound interest in a little more than 11 years.”
To the church at Rome [Romans 5:9-10], Paul said, “MUCH MORE then, having now been justified by His blood, WE SHALL BE BEING SAVED FROM WRATH THROUGH HIM…” Verse 10, “Much More, having been reconciled, WE SHALL BE BEING SAVED BY HIS [CHRIST’s] LIFE.” THERE IS MUCH MORE!! “GOD MEANS ME TO BE MORE THAN I THOUGHT I WAS!”
There’s a theologian by the name of George Lindberg who has a book entitled “The Nature of Doctrine.” He writes: “A scriptural world is able to absorb the universe.” MUCH MORE!
I have no desire to be nominalized, but a “new creation”, being more than I ever thought I could be! I have no desire to be rationalized, but explained only as “the fullness of Him who fills all in all”! I have no desire to be ‘religionized’, but regenerated and resplendant because of re-birth,’ inheriting the fullness of Holy Ghost anointing!
Listen to Bonnke, [“Mighty Manifestations,” p.40], “The apostles discovered a new resilience, a new strength within them, a power that operated in their weakness and sent them out into a brutal world to demolish its idol establishment & change history. That is a true mark of the Spirit-filled LIFE.” “ God means me to be more than I thought I was!” GOD WANTS TO SEND US ALL OUT INTO A “Brutal World” and see lives, homes, histories changed to the glory of God! We Need “MUCH MORE,” We need “DOUBLE-PORTIONS”!
FIRST, THERE IS THE DOUBLED PORTION OF A DOUBLED BREASTPLATE OF HEART PROTECTION! Come to Exodus 39:8-9!! “And he made the breastplate, artistically woven like the workmanship of the ephod, of gold & blue& purple & scarlet thread, & fine linen thread..They MADE THE BREASTPLATE BY DOUBLING IT: a span was its length & a span its width when doubled.” [ A span? 9 inches.] WHAT’S GOING ON?
THE BREASTPLATE COVERED THE HEART!! Do you understand what our gracious Lord is telling us? Do you know what He is most concerned about? IT’S YOUR HEART!!…Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; Who can know it?…Verse 10, “I, the Lord, SEARCH THE HEART…” In Jeremiah 17:5 He’d already spoken, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man & makes flesh his strength, WHOSE HEART DEPARTS FROM THE LORD…”
In Jeremiah 4:14 God calls out, “O Jerusalem, wash your heart from your wickedness, THAT YOU MAY BE SAVED. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?” And do you notice – God’s not talking about your HEAD, but your HEART!
In Matt. 12:34 Jesus says, “…Out Of The ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART, THE MOUTH SPEAKS.” And what God said through Jeremiah was ‘OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART, THE MIND THINKS!!”…..In Matt 6:21, again, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your HEART WILL BE ALSO.” WHAT DO YOU TREASURE?
HAVE YOU DOUBLE-BREASTED YOUR HEART? There’s a reason!! Matt.5:8 says, “Blessed are the PURE IN HEART, FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD.”….PARENTS, have your children MEMORIZE Proverbs 4:23!! “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life.”…I MENTION 4 THINGS:
- DOUBLED BREASTPLATED HEART PROTECTION BEGINS WITH A NEW HEART! Ezekial 36:24-26, God speaking: “I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land…Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, [the Water of the Word!], & you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness & from all your idols…I will give you A NEW HEART & PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh & give you a heart of flesh.” A HEART TENDER TO THE TRUTHS OF GOD!!
- DOUBLED BREASTPLATED HEART PROTECTION CONTINUES WITH A GUARDING COMMITMENT!! I Timothy
6:20 says, “O Timothy, Guard what was committed to your trust…” What does that mean? YOU STATION THE HONOR OF GOD AT THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART! YOU STATION THE HONOR OF YOUR SAVIOR & HIS GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AT THE DOOR OF YOUR HEART!
Spurgeon put it like this: “Beware of no man more than yourself; we carry our worst enemies within us.” You older folks will remember Oscar Wilde, poet, actor, author, well-known for his humanist lifestyle, who wrote at the end of his disgraced life these words:….”The gods have given me almost everything, but I let myself be lured into long spells of senseless & sensual ease. Tired of being on the heights, I deliberately went to the depths in search of a new sensation…I forgot that every little action of the common day makes or unmakes character…I allowed pleasure to dominate me, & I ended in horrible disgrace.”
- DOUBLED BREASTED HEART PROTECTION FLOURISHES WHEN I KNOW GOD SEES ALL THAT I THOUGHT I’D HIDDEN IN MY HEART! Psalm 44:21…”…GOD KNOWS THE SECRETS OF THE HEART…”..Enough said!
- DOUBLED BREASTPLATED HEART PROTECTION IS MAXIMIZED WHEN I LEARN SPIRIT-CONTROLLED LIVING NOT FLESHLY MANIPULATIONS! Gal. 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit, & you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Do you know SPIRIT-CONTROLLED LIVING?
SECOND, I WANT YOU TO SEE THE DOUBLE PORTION OF DOUBLED-DEVOTION OF HEART MINISTRY! Deu 15:12-18 says, “If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed; you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord has blessed you with, you shall give to him. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. And if it happens that he says to you., ‘I will not go away from you’, because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a Double-Hired Servant in serving you six years. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.” Are you a “doubled-hired servant” to the glory of God? Has your love for Christ Jesus become so rich that you’ve been “marked” or “branded”? Are you God’s servant forever?
I was reading Derek Prince this week in his book “Experiencing God’s Power.” [pps 126-127]: “For 25 years I searched for something permanent & satisfying in poetry, philosophy, and the world, with all its pleasures & intellectual challenges. The more I looked, the less satisfied I became. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. However, when the Lord revealed Himself to me & baptized me in the Holy Spirit, I knew instantly that this is what I’d been seeking all the time…God poured into my heart an overwhelming love that finally, completely satisfied me.” What is this “DOUBLED-DEVOTION OF HEART MINISTRY”?
1)IT’S THE DOUBLED-DEVOTION OF THE HEART MINISTRY OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVED! “As He is..So Am I!” Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners CHRIST DIED FOR US.”
2)IT’S THE DOUBLED-DEVOTION OF THE HEART MINISTRY OF UNCHANGING LOVE! “As He is..So Am I!” I Cor. 13:4, “Love suffers long, & is kind…”
3) DOUBLED-DEVOTION OF THE HEART MINISTRY OF UNENDING LOVE! “As He is..So Am I!” John 13:1 says, “..having loved His own who were in the world, HE LOVED THEM TO THE END!” In Jesus’ HIGH PRIESTLY PRAYER, John 17:26, Jesus said, “And I have declared to them Your name, & will declare it, THAT THE LOVE WITH WHICH YOU LOVED ME MAY BE IN THEM, & I IN THEM.”……It was just after Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet. In John 13:34-35, He said: “A new commandment I give to you that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another…BY THIS (Not an awl in the ear, but the awl in the heart!!) ALL WILL KNOW THAT YOU ARE MY DISCIPLES, if you have love for one another.”
DOUBLE-PORTION LOVE is so much more than TOLERATION – TRIUMPHANT SPIRIT OF THE CROSS! DOUBLE-PORTION LOVE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN A CHARACTERISTIC – IT’S THE VERY CHARACTER OF CHRIST IN YOU! DOUBLE-PORTION LOVE is so much more than a temporary ray of light – it’s the ETERNAL SON OF THE SOUL & HEART! DOUBLE-PORTION LOVE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN A RESEMBLANCE OR A REFLECTION OF GOD – IT’s THE REALITY OF HOLY PRESENCE RULING IN YOUR HEART! DOUBLE-PORTION LOVE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN A LINK IN THE CHAIN OF GOD-RELATEDNESS – IT’S THE GOLDEN CHAIN THAT CONNECTED US TO THE VERY HEART OF GOD! DOUBLE-PORTION LOVE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN CHEAP IMITATIONS – IT’S THE CROWN JEWELS OF THE INDWELLING, OVERFLOWING, ABIDING LIFE IN & OF CHRIST ALONE!
DON’T TELL ME YOU LOVE SOMEBODY WHEN OUT OF YOUR MOUTH FLOWS BITTERNESS, RESENTMENT, & UNFORGIVENESS! Do you remember what Paul said to the church at Colossae? [Col. 3:14] “But above all these things, PUT ON LOVE WHICH IS THE BOND OF PERFECTION.” Do you want to be perfected? Are you being perfected? Will you allow yourself to be perfected?
THIRD: THE DOUBLE-PORTION OF HEAVEN”S ANOINTING!! 2 Kings 2:7-15, DON’T MISS THIS!! “And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went & stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them [Elijah & Elisha] stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way & that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?’ Elisha said, ‘Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’ So he said, ‘You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.’ Then it happened, as they continued & talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, ‘My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!’ So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back & stood by the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, ‘Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ And when he also struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over. Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.’ And they came to meet him & bowed to the ground before him.”
The Double Portion of Heavens Anointing? 1) It was because of a SENSE OF NEED IN HIMSELF – and Elisha HUMBLED HIMSELF! “If God is going to accomplish through me what He did through you, because of my own emptiness, ineptness, impotence, weakness, nothingness, IT WILL TAKE TWICE AS MUCH OF GOD’S ANOINTING! 2)Because of a SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY, SEEING THE WORLD AROUND ME – The world isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse. Men are not more enlightened – there’s a greater deception! The opposition doesn’t grow weaker – it gets stronger! Oh…Oh…!! And I do want to be a WORLD-CHANGER! I don’t want to see things altered – I WANT THEM REDEEMED & TRANSFORMED! I NEED A DOUBLE PORTION! 3) AND BECAUSE OF A SENSE OF RECOGNITION THAT GOD IS NOT LIMITED BY WHAT HE DOES THROUGH ONE MAN, like Elijah, I offer Him my life to be an extension of His Life, an expression of His love, and the proof of His power…THROUGH ME! HERE I AM, Lord!……….4)Because of a SENSE OF REFLECTION! Elisha didn’t want to be a man honored among the fellow prophets – his passion was he wanted to be recognized as “A HOLY MAN OF GOD!” 2 Peter 1:21 explains Elisha’s understanding: “prophecy never came by the will of man, BUT HOLY MEN OF GOD SPOKE AS THEY WERE MOVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.”…..No one understood John 6:63 more than Elisha: There Jesus said: “It is the Spirit who gives LIFE: THE FLESH PROFITS NOTHING…”
“Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you!” And Elisha said, “Please, let a DOUBLE PORTION of YOUR SPIRIT be upon me.” And what did 2 Kings 2:15 say? “The spirit of Elijah rests on ELISHA!!”……”Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! HOLD O’ER MY BEING ABSOLUTE SWAY! [Does that sound like DOUBLE-PORTION ANOINTING? Absolute Sway! Full Surrender! Mighty Rivers Flowing! Mighty Winds Blowing! Mighty Fires Burning!] ..”Fill with Your Spirit till ALL shall see CHRIST ONLY, ALWAYS, LIVING IN ME!”
FOURTH, THE DOUBLE PORTION OF HEAVEN’S BLESSINGS!! **Isaiah 61:1-7!! “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness [or depression]; That they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.’ And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand & feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, they shall call you the servants of God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame you shall have Double Honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs.”……HAVE YOU CLAIMED EPHESIANS 1:3 as your own possession? “Blessed be the God & Father of our LJX, who has BLESSED US with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”………WEBSTER: “Blessed?” ENJOYING SPIRITUAL HAPPINESS & THE FAVOR OF GOD; enjoying HEAVENLY FELICITY [happiness or rather great happiness;] Blessedness; Blissfulness, appropriately the joys of Heaven.” WOW!…….Sir Thomas Browne [Religio Medici] prayed: “Bless me in this life with but peace of my conscience, command of my affections, the love of Yourself & my dearest friends, & I shall be happy enough to pity Caesar.”………..In Hamlet, Shakespeare penned these words: “A double blessing is a double grace.”…..”AMAZING GRACE!!!” [Deu. 28:2-12!]
FIFTH, THE DOUBLE PORTION OF HEAVEN’S RESTORATIONS!! Zech. 9:9-12, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly & riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” I will cut off the chariot of Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth….As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. RETURN TO THE STRONGHOLD, you prisoners of hope, even today I declare that I will restore double to you.”
There has to be RESTORATION because of a DESTRUCTIVE INVASION by the powers of darkness, RESTORATION because of a STEALING, a THEFT OF WHAT GOD INTENDED FOR YOUR LIFE, FOR THIS CHURCH….RESTORATION because of a violation against DIVINE INTENT….RESTORATION because of the MARRING, SCARRING, & THE STRIPPING!
God moved on the prophet Joel [1:11-12], “Be ashamed, you farmers, Wail, you vinedressers, for the wheat & the barley; BECAUSE THE HARVEST OF THE FIELD HAS PERISHED (or rotted)…the vine has dried up, the fig tree has withered; the pomegranate tree, the palm also, & the apple tree – all the trees of the field are withered; Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men.” ..END OF MESSAGE! RIGHT? HOPELESS! RIGHT? NO POSSIBILITY OF RECOVERY! RIGHT?….WRONG!!
Joel 2:25-27, “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, & the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you…You shall eat in plenty & be satisfied, & praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; & My people shall never be put to shame…”
There’s an interesting part of a verse in Psalm 17:3. It says, “YOU HAVE VISITED ME IN THE NIGHT…” It’s talking about God visiting us in those dark nights of the soul
IT’S A DARK NIGHT when we’ve BEEN SPIRITUALLY ROBBED! A DARK NIGHT when one rebels! A DARK NIGHT when you RUN & HIDE FROM GOD! When you renounce God’s calling upon your life – “I CALLED & YOU REFUSED!”…When you HAVE NO REST FOR THE SOUL!…WHEN YOU MAKE A POOR EXCHANGE & LOSE YOUR SOUL! When you SETTLE FOR THE TEMPORAL & NOT THE ETERNAL! When you’ve GIVEN SIN THE RIGHT TO RAVAGE YOUR SOUL, FAMILY, or FUTURE! HOW TRAGIC! HOW DEVASTATING!
BUT, what does God’s Word say? “IN THE NIGHT…GOD HAS VISITED ME, US!” “He came to seek & to save that which is lost!” “He came to the midst of our mired-ness, bringing us out of a horrible pit, setting our feet on the Rock of Christ, establishing our steps, & giving us a new song to sing…”….”He came to our darkness & led us to His Light!”…”He came to our bondage & gave us His new liberty!” “He came to the night-ness of our nothingness & graciously granted to us His ALL IN ALL!” [Romans 8:31-39]
SIXTH, THE DOUBLE PORTION OF HEAVEN’S HONOR!! I’m going to read I Timothy 5:17 as it is & then paraphrase it. LISTEN: “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of DOUBLE HONOR; especially those who labor in the word & doctrine.”….Paraphrased:…”Let the [MATURE IN CHRIST] who [REIGN IN LIFE THROUGH CHRIST] be counted worthy of DOUBLE HONOR…”
Without hesitation, this ought to be every disciple’s passion; it ought to be the DRIVING AMBITION that shapes everything that we do or say!!…In 2 Cor. 5:9 Paul said: “Therefore WE MAKE IT OUR AIM, whether present or absent, TO BE WELL PLEASING TO OUR LORD.”…Is that the CRY OF YOUR HEART?
To Timothy [2 Timothy 2:15], Paul said, “BE DILIGENT to present yourself APPROVED TO GOD, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”….Diligence for a DOUBLE PORTION of Heaven’s Honor!…..I Corinthians 9:23-27 says, “Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body & bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached, testified, to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
I don’t have to tell you of the 5, 2, or 1 talent parable that Jesus told us about. But I do need to remind you, or ask you, or challenge you: “What’s your SPIRITUAL AMBITION?”…SIMPLE ACCEPTANCE OR CHRIST-HONORING EXALTATION? SIMPLE ENTRANCE OR CHRIST-HONORING ELEVATION?…TAKE THE TALENT FROM HIM OR “WELL DONE, GOOD & FAITHFUL SERVANT”?
It was Frank Gaines who said: “Only he who can see the invisible can do the impossible.”..I ASK YOU: ARE YOUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS or are you walking around with double vision? Double vision gets you nothing but singular vision, focused on Christ, gives you the DOUBLE PORTION OF HEAVEN’S HONOR……So the writer of Hebrews challenges us: Hebrews 12:2-3, “looking unto Jesus, the author & finisher of your faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, LEST YOU BECOME WEARY & DISCOURAGED IN YOUR SOULS.”
Steve Farrar in “Finishing Strong,” [p.199], said: “In order to finish strong, we must have vision. Vision for what is really important, vision for what our kids really need, & the vision to STEEL OURSELVES against the strategies of the enemy to destroy everything near & dear to our hearts.” [2 Samuel 23:8-12]
IT WILL NOT HAPPEN – WE REST IN CHRIST ALONE; WE LAY HOLD OF GOD ON HIS THRONE; WE YIELD TO THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD!!!