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Footsteps of Faith Messenger - Issue #246

Double Portion


Isaiah 63:1a

Isaiah 60:17-22

Isaiah 61

Isaiah 61:7


Tim Darnell


“Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? ‘It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.’” Isaiah 63: 1b

Your God’s name is “Mighty to Save”. He is robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength. He speaks in righteousness. He is your God and He is my God.

Listen to the words of Isaiah – notice his powerful promises to Jerusalem, the City of Zion and its inhabitants. You and I are the inhabitants of the heavenly City of God - Zion.

Read Isaiah 60:15-21

If the sun were to hide and darkness overtook the entire land; if you could not see with your eyes and you were wandering blindly about , you would likely be in extreme despair if you didn’t know God’s Word. If you knew God’s promise, you would have no need to be dismayed or concerned. If you lost everything, when you know God’s promises and you focus on them, you would not be nearly as concerned. His Word tells you that you possess the glory of the Lord and his everlasting light. You won’t need the light of the moon, because everlasting God is your guide and the only light you will ever need. Imagine losing everything you have right now – terrible, right? Hold on – it’s not the worst and in fact, you can still have phenomenal joy, regardless of the things that are in your life, or the lack of things that are in your life.

If your days of sorrow seem to be unceasing, the Word of God says that those days of sorrow are about to end. Almighty God says that sorrow will be no more. This promise comes from his Word, which is perfectly accurate truth. He goes on to promise that "your people" will be righteous, which means they will humbly and obediently walk with God; and it also means that they will treat their fellow man as though they are all God's wonderful creation – which they are. Also, He promises that your people will possess the land forever. Repeat – Your people will possess the land forever! And further, you are going to experience the light of joy and salvation. You will come to recognize that joy and salvation are incredible gifts – you will place more value on those things, and know that there are indeed no greater gifts.

Wait a minute, did you catch the term, “your people?” You will become aware that you have as a precious possesion a concept called, “your people;” and you will begin to realize just how precious “your people” really are. You and I are truly blessed to say, I have “my people.” You can say, “these are my people.” That would include your family, yes, but the concept, “your people” includes more than just blood relatives. In fact, as a fellow believer, I am one of “your people.” You are one of my people, and I don’t take this lightly at all, but rather rejoice in that fact and rejoice in my incredible gift - you. Hallelujah! You are not only mine -- I am one of yours.

Your people will be planted firmly. They (your people) are the work of His hand. And they are planted there for the display of God Almighty’s glory. That’s you – that’s me. That’s your people – that’s my people!

60:22 The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.

Are you consumed with a feeling of inferiority? Have you thought, I’m just not able to do hardly anything. Listen to this promise: with God, the least will become a thousand – that’s a thousand percent return on something very valuable – even if you are in last place -- even if you are the least. If you are small in self-esteem, stature, or finances, you again have reason to rejoice – because you are becoming a mighty nation. Folks, I’m not prophesying in the sense that these are my words – these are right smack dab in God’s word available and accessible by anyone who has the good sense to read them and believe them. These promises are his promises, not emanating from me. Rather, I am just one, among others, pointing out these passages of promise to you – bringing them to your attention. This is my message only because it is His message. It is a powerful promise delivered to you and a promise delivered to me. These promises are the most empowering gifts you could ever be given. These promises make gold, money or possessions look like nothing more than laughable jokes.

So, get this concept: understand that you are rich beyond measure through God’s blessings and promises – and don’t stick a “but, Tim – dah, dah, dah” and try to turn his promises back into a “woe is me”, or a “you don’t understand”, or in any way absorb the meaning of these promises with a mindset that resembles a victim mentality. A victim mentality denies the very gifts that God has given you. A victim mentality, a “woe is me” mentality denies the promises that God has for you. A victim mentality denies your very relationship with Him and it denies your belief that you may think you have in Him. These promises are real and they are yours, and belonging to all inhabitants of Zion – believers in Christ. The only way to not experience these promises is to insist on d.o.u.b.t.-ing them, being disobedient, or ignoring the Word of God.

So, how strong are you? Let’s say that you are the very least of everyone hearing this message or the least of everybody who has been reading in God’s word on their own. Let’s say for a moment, that over centuries of the Word being available and read by people – in that long list, you, unfortunately, happen to be the very least. That probably wouldn’t be correct or even close to being accurate, but let’s say that you’ve drifted into that kind of thinking – I am the least and I am the smallest. Fantastic, even with that low ranking, it’s time to rejoice because the promise of God – the Word of God says that you will become a thousand and you will become a mighty nation. You, yes, you.

You know how that happens? It becomes real as you become aware of the promises of God; when you pay attention to the promises of God, and and when you begin believing in the promises of God for your life. It happens with your obedience and it happens, when? …in “its” time. The great things that are about to happen have a timeline that has already been put in place by “the One robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength.” Your becoming a mighty nation is ordained by “It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” Isaiah 63:1a

Look at chapter 61:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” vss 1-3

Verse 6: “And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. 7Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion (WHOA!), and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion (WHOA AGAIN!) in their land and everlasting joy will be theirs.”

Now, what’s the application? Your circumstances may be grim right now, but they are going to get much better. Your joy is about to become complete and it will last, how long? Your joy will be everlasting – forever – eternal, beginning the moment you hear the promise of God and you listen to it and you accept your rightful portion. And oh, by the way, you are to receive a DOUBLE PORTION!

If you’ve had a week like I have, then "joy" may not have been the first word you might have used if someone asked how things are going and you had not read these passages. That’s exactly why we must read these passages. What’s the stock market doing again today? Well, according to the report I just got, it was down at that point another 280 points. Honestly, those numbers could go much, much lower. Are you hinging your emotional state on a number like that? What a silly idea on which we too often hinge our level of happiness.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been in exile? Have you had troops rush in on you in full fury and attack, wiping out those you love - with gruesome carnage taking place all around you? The people who were hearing this message in Isaiah’s time faced much greater issues and problems than either you or I face. I think often of the passages in Lamentations that talks about times so bad that they had to resort to cannibalism – and yet they still clung to their faithfulness of God. When you get to that point in your faith, being able to trust in God completely amidst the carnage, your belief in god will take you to new, rewarding heights! During very difficult times, your unwavering trust in God ushers you to the entrance of the door to heaven and God’s throne – the most perfect and desirable place we can ever hope to be.

That’s part of the application. The other part is that you can now become stronger and more courageous than you’ve ever experienced in the past. Courage and faith are strengthened in times of trouble and times of peril. We get soft in times of comfort. We take our eyes off of God when the checks are coming in regularly and plentifully. Do we like those thing? Of course we do and we work like crazy to put ourselves in good financial situations – but we can also forget who we are and whose we are when we get too soft and things go too well. It’s a paradox – it’s a mystery, but the hard times will bring us closer to the Lord and will enable us to see him more clearly and come closer to experiencing his glory. It’s a tough choice, but we must be thankful during hard times and open our hands to the everlasting joy that God promises us.

Look at 61:3 We’re trading a crown of beauty for ashes. We’re trading the oil of gladness for our mourning. We put on a garment of praise instead of that spirit of despair that was our choice – realistic, but not the better choice. We’re compared to oaks of righteousness. We’re a planting of the Lord – for the display of his splendor!

Do you accept these promises? Do you prefer joy? Do you accept your double portion? Can you see the light of Jesus Christ even if the sun was to never shine again? Do you receive the courage that comes out of this powerful understanding?

When we come to grips with this incredible truth, we become tough – tough enough to endure, persist, and prevail. You don’t get that way by being pampered or chasing worldly pleasures. You only get it by going through the trials and the storms, and clinging to the powerful promises of God.

“Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land and everlasting joy will be theirs.” 61:7



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Tags: advantage, conferences, darnell, faith, footsteps, god's, messenger, of, promises, tim

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