We are in a period of repentance, a period of sackcloth and ashes, in a sense. We are asking God to get rid of the things that are keeping us from being vessels of honor, sanctified and meet for the Master’s use, prepared for every good work. The Lord must deal with whatever it is that prevents this. We cannot be hobbled, we cannot be handcuffed, we cannot be restricted by the old flesh and the self. We have to be delivered from Egypt.
This message will deal with shame and what God is going to do with it—the shame of our failures, the shame of our bondages, the shame and humiliation of oppression. Instead of the shame of bondage, God will give us a double portion (Isaiah 61:7).
Now it came about at midnight that the Lord struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh arose in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead.
Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Rise up, get out from among my people, both you and the sons of Israel; and go, worship the Lord, as you have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also.” And the Egyptians urged the people, to send them out of the land in haste, for they said, “We shall all be dead.”
So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls bound up in the clothes on their shoulders. Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their requests. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. Exodus 12:29–36.
Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely. Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of silver and articles of gold.” And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Furthermore, the man Moses himself was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, both in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. Exodus 11:1–3.
“So I will stretch out My hand, and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I shall do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go. And I will grant this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you will not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house, articles of silver and articles of gold, and for clothing; and you will put them on your sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder the Egyptians.” Exodus 3:20–22.
These passages tell how God dealt with the people. It is the same way He deals with us, when the time finally comes that He brings us out. The blood of Jesus Christ is on our hearts to forgive us a multitude of sins, but the old bondage of the flesh still has to be broken. It is a shameful thing to be under the grips of the flesh and the devil. It is a thing of humiliation, of servitude. God says that he who commits sin is the servant of sin (John 8:34). When that slavery is to be broken, God must do something for us.
We start our walk with God with a sense of shame. We still have slaves’ rags upon us. We are like the priest, Joshua, who stood with Satan at his right hand to resist him. The command was, “Take the filthy garments off him and put a robe on him and a fair mitre on his head, because he must stand and minister” (Zechariah 3:1–5). God delivers us out of our sin, out of the corruption, defilement, and bondage we have been in.
What are we going to do now? How are we going to leave Egypt? Will we go out with the stigma of ex-slaves, saying, “See the scars where the shackles were; see the scars of the beatings”? You may never lose those marks. But you are not going to leave in the rags of slaves. “What will you wear?” I want you to know that the Israelites were not a motley crew wending their way out of Egypt; they were a people dressed in the finest clothes of Egypt and bedecked with bracelets, rings, earrings, and nose rings. Even the little children were beautifully clothed.
Who are these people that come up out of the wilderness? Fair as the morning and clear as the sun, terrible as an army with banners, leaning on the arm of her beloved, she doesn’t look like anything else but what she is: a bride adorned for her husband. God has something special for us.
Remember the story of the prodigal? When he came to himself, he said, “How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and say, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no longer worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants.’ ” While he was a great way off, his old father saw him, and he ran and embraced him. He took off the rags he was wearing and put a new robe on him and a ring on his finger (Luke 15:11–24). Have you ever been in that place? “Father, I am not worthy to be called your son anymore. I would just like to be around; I want to be like one of the hired servants.” That prayer of the prodigal was ignored. “Oh, kill the fatted calf; bring forth the beautiful robe and put it on him. This my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost, but now he is found.”
Come out of Egypt with deep repentance. Come, sweeping out the old leaven of malice and wickedness. Come out, be loosed from your sin. What, then, shall we believe for? What can we look up to receive? Grace. What kind of grace? The grace that will adorn you with the riches of God. You are not going to come out of Egypt looking like a tramp, or like someone who was suddenly reprieved out of jail, still in his prison garb. Lazarus made it out of the tomb when Jesus called, “Lazarus, come forth!” But there had to be someone there to loose him, to get the wrappings of death off him and clothe him with a beautiful garment again. He was not a corpse anymore; he was alive. Instead of your shame and humiliation, God has something else in mind for you.
We will not forget the pit from which we were digged. We will remember from whence we have fallen. We will not soon allow these things to pass from our minds. But there must be something more for the heaviness of spirit that would overwhelm you and crush you under the burden of that humiliation, or you would never be able to lift your head. How can we sing the songs of Zion, how can we worship and praise the Lord, if we are mindful of the heaviness that is upon us, if we are mindful of our failures and shortcomings? This is when He is going to beautify the meek unto salvation. Instead of our shame, He is going to give us a double portion.
Those who have gone through the wringer are not through yet. Some of you are just getting warmed up with this business of repentance. God is not going to leave you desolate. You are not going to be scattered, all broken, with nothing put together again. We have been broken before the Lord. He has torn us and He will heal us. He has smitten us, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; the third day we will live in His sight (Hosea 6:1, 2). We go through this deep searching of heart and dealing of the Lord. What will it lead to? It will lead to God’s promises in the end time for His people: a double portion of His Spirit.
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Because the Lord has anointed me—to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified Isaiah 61:1–3.
Does it seem as if all your hopes and visions and dreams have burned up and you are only viewing an urn of ashes? Everything that lived for you—did it die? Was it cremated? Is it gone? He has a garland instead of ashes—a garland made of fresh, beautiful, fragrant flowers of grace—and the oil of gladness instead of mourning. Oil does not evaporate. This is a gladness that will not disappear; it is not a momentary mood. Have you experienced that spirit of heaviness and spirit of fainting? Has it been on your heart? What will you have instead of that spirit of fainting? A mantle of praise. You will be called the oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
But you will be called the priests of the Lord; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their riches you will boast. Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion. Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land, everlasting joy will be theirs. Isaiah 61:6, 7.
Repentance is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end. You may have failed God miserably, but it was in your heart before, and the anointing that you had was limited. You did not think you would yield to the harassment of the flesh, but you did. You will not fail God if you repent deeply enough. That which caused the failure in the first place will be removed from your heart. Now God says to you, “That thing in your spirit is going to be corrected and changed. Instead of the limitations, I will give you a double portion of My Spirit.” What is a double portion? Twice as much as you have ever had. Oil in the vessel and oil in the lamp. I have asked the Lord to do this for you. I believe that the humiliation, the shame, the repentance that we have gone through, this awareness of our need, the tremendous depth that God has spoken to our hearts will give way to the greatest joy and glory we have ever known.
In the past I would weep over my transgressions, Have you? In repentance, the fear of the Lord would come upon me and search my heart, and I would see my transgression through God’s eyes. We need to feel that deep burden and heaviness over our transgressions. We were just ready to become cocksure, to get aggressive and send the gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the world. Ah, but we forgot, “Sanctify yourselves today, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” If He is going to reach the world with the gospel of the Kingdom, it is going to come through the brokenhearted, through those He has dealt with, the lame, the halt, and the blind, the ones who have come into the feastings of the Lord.
God has been searching us. No one is going to play with this walk in the Spirit. I feel the depth of God’s dealing upon us. We must go on now to pursue after this. If your repentance is incomplete, get down and search your heart until it reaches the depth it is supposed to. Then go on until a double portion of the Spirit is poured out. Do you not need that double portion? I have walked in the anointing the Lord gave me in this walk, but I must confess that I need a double portion. I am not sufficient for what is happening. I am not ready for it, and even if I were ready for it, I am inadequate. I need a double portion. I pray, “God search my heart, every little area of pressure.” I do not want anything conflicting with what God tells me to do. I do not want to have even the slightest trace of a murmuring heart. I do not want any bitterness, any rebellion, any unbelief. I want to believe the promise of God implicitly. I do not want my heart to reject one word that God has spoken. God is saying to you, “Come on—for your shame I will give you a double portion; instead of humiliation, you will walk in a double measure.”
I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. Isaiah 61:10, 11.
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness. This is called the reign of righteousness; that is why repentance must precede it. Repentance precedes righteousness. We must hunger and thirst after true righteousness in the sight of God.
And her salvation like a torch that is burning. And the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. Would you like to be a crown of beauty and a royal diadem in the hand of your God, one of those precious jewels in the day that He makes up His crown? I want to be that. I want to please Him. Our unworthiness will have to give way to a double portion; it must be the Lord who will do this for us.
It will no longer be said to you. “Forsaken,” nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land will be married. Isaiah 62:1–4.
This is the moment of truth. The Living Word has come to our hearts once again. This is a very simple word, not a sermon. It is a word from God that says, “God will comfort all that mourn in Zion.” All you brokenhearted—God is ready to heal you. He is ready to give you a garland instead of ashes. He is ready to remove the bitterness from you. You repenters, who have humbled yourselves before the Lord as best you know how, will be cleansed and beautified. He will beautify the meek with salvation. He is going to adorn you. As long as you are smug and self-reliant and feel as if you have everything, you will make one mistake after another. When you are wholly, utterly dependent upon the Lord, repenting and seeking His face, He will make whatever you do to prosper.
Have you gone through this work of repentance? Then you are ready for the double portion from God. If you feel as if you have nothing but ashes, God will meet your heart again and again. There is a principle involved: “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.”
God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (He is talking to Christians!) Be miserable and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:6–10.
We eat our bitter herbs and sweep out the leaven, keeping the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness. Christ is our Passover sacrifice. We are coming into a double portion and many will have a meeting with God. Do not be satisfied with your initial meeting with the Lord. It may have been only preliminary. There may be a meeting with God that will bring a double portion, an anointing of the Lord and His glory coming upon you. This is the way the remnant will come forth. It is not a super-spiritual thing; it is a visitation upon the humble in heart, those who have prepared their hearts for the Lord.
We have to put this into action. We are going to walk in it. This will be a prophecy to us. God will take away the ashes and give you a garland. He will remove your shame and humiliation and give you a double portion of His Spirit.
The habits, the sins, the attitudes, the rebellion, the lack of dedication, the selfishness, the lust, the wickedness that loves the world and responds to it—all of it has to go. It can happen in a moment. Lord, You said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Say to us, “Let there be righteousness,” and it will be done by the blood of Jesus Christ. Let there be absolute surrender in our hearts to the Lord. Let there be perfect obedience and faith.