The Double Portion

good to see all of you out today welcome to 2023. a new year with new expectations I believe and I'm really certain that we would all agree that we are living in very interesting times every day every week every month every year that passes there are things that change there are alterations that transpire in fact Generations ago there was a way of life in the United States of America that people that people lived by it was God family and and Country and as time has passed by we have seen that mindset of America to change anybody notice that or just me the value system of Americans have shifted people in past Generations placed a high value on spiritual things and how those things connected with Humanity with their families and friends one example would be for an example today is the United States of America was established and founded upon principles of a group of people searching for a new world to raise their family with freedoms to worship their God United States of America but now in 2023 Mama have things changed the value of a person the worth of a person is something that actually drives our society we have seen for an example in our culture today that almost overnight minimum wage went from seven something an hour to Fifteen dollars an hour in some worlds but now we have companies that are closing their doors because they can't keep enough employees to work to support their business because they can't charge enough to pay what people deserve with many working from home or remote locations the normal system of working and supporting the overall economic system of the United States of America has changed and we feel this squeeze on every corner of American streets and American society life in our day today has changed somebody say life is different for an example again I do a little research and I discovered that a person's real Worth or real value once was established on how much land they owned or how much livestock or how many servants they had or things of that possessions things that they had but what has happened over the last few years is those things have changed the mindset of our culture says it's okay for me to live for the moment it's okay for me to work a job long enough to make enough money so that I can go travel and see the part of the world that I don't really care to own land or property I'm okay to rent and to pay rent every month it's a social change in our climate in fact if I may the investment in yourself now has become more and more prevalent than investing in the future so much so that our social security system is drying up and people wonder if they'll have it when they get to that place if you'll allow me a few moments today honestly this is a New Year's Day message but I need to lay some groundwork so we understand from what point that I come from if I ask you right now what is your worth what is your worth would you even know how to count roll back to the way our grandparents thought what I just described and you would consider perhaps the land or the or the animals or the whatever you had some of you would automatically go to your Investments and you're so and your your 401k and and your retirement plan that you put together and you would decide right now I'm worth this some of you would simply say you know what all I know is I got a cup of coffee this morning and I'm all when you look at the Historical establishment of the system that our world is established on we can clearly see that God has had a plan from the very beginning somebody say the plan according to the first five books of the Bible the Torah the teachings of God of the Old Testament the mosaic laws God established his system of governing among men God gave to Moses the laws precepts the principles in which he was to teach the people of God how they were to live how they were to provide how how they were to interact with God interact with neighbors and families it wasn't just that moment but it was also established for generations to come go with me if you will Genesis chapter number 15. let's read just a brief piece of this history verse number three Abram said behold to me that has given no seed and low one born in my house is mine Heir behold the word of the Lord came unto him to Abram saying this shall not be thine Heir but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine Heir and he brought verse 5 said him forth abroad and said look now toward heaven and tell the Stars if thou be able to number them he said unto him so shall thy seed be verse 6 says this and he believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness he said unto him I am the Lord that brought thee out of herb the chaldees to give thee this land you ready to inherit it this is the establishment when we read this story how that God established a relationship with man and how he was going to interact with mankind God gave to Abram an inheritance something listen for him to begin with to start with he gave to Abram a worth of value he gave to him a quantity that he could look at to declare with amongst himself and those around him this is how much I am worth from that principle Point listen to me carefully of you we understand that the people of Israel then were given established things so that they could determine amongst themselves their worth and their value God gave them portions for an inheritance an inheritance of course by definition is simply this the acquisition of a possession condition or trait from past Generations forward God gave Abram a name and the possessions needed to support God's plan for Humanity now hang on to me a moment all of this was established we read in the Old Testament in the books of the Bible that established the law that God would require for man from that point forward if you'll study the word of God you will notice not only in the scripture but in his historical accounts the power of the inherited items passed from one generation to another when one generation would pass away there was something that was a possession a land a servant an animal or whatever it was that that would be then declared to be property possession of the Next Generation monies didn't matter what it was from that point to the next point it was God's plan to establish generation to generation even within the family boundaries there was that person that fell into the order of what he would receive or she would receive the firstborn male of the family had rights of the father's possessions money land livestock and workers and then the other male children would receive their part y'all with me still listen carefully according to the laws established the firstborn would receive what was considered to be double portion everybody say double look to your neighbor and say twice a double portion of the inheritance he would get this part his part then the other children male children would get their parts it was all part of the process in which God took what value that he had given to humanity and they then would take what was given them multiply it they would grow things they would invest things they would make sure that not only were they taken care of but the Next Generation would be taken care of on and on and on it would go the law was very plain it was very specific everybody knew their value brother Daniel everybody knew what they were worth because of who they were and what was passed to them now 2023 I realized that we we're a long way from that system now aren't we fact in our culture today there are times that children support their parents there are step children and there are distant relatives there are x and x wives and ex-grandparents and this and that and you've got this system the who takes care of what and with what type of understanding do they make sure that the next generation is taken care of we have things now in our culture in society that are skewed that you're not really sure who has the right to Something in fact if you have land or you have possessions today you've got to make sure that you have things documents and and ways that you've written it up that where everything can be Signed Sealed Delivered and sealed and signed and delivered and sealed and signed and delivered three times over to make sure that the laws would be followed you understand where we are today 2023 somebody say it's different it's very common now in our culture in 2023 for people not to own land not to own livestock in fact it's even common in our day for folk not to have bank accounts I don't understand it because I wasn't raised that way I was raised with my parents point of view and my grandparents point of view and that's what was poured in to here let me show you y'all y'all look around you ready for this all right how many of you guys have a bank account watch this this is so cool all right put your hand down how many of you know how much is in your bank account all right watch watch these hands put it down how do you know that is there a ledger you keep up with or is there a website you go to oh okay okay okay last one last one ready for it ready for it how many of you guys know how to fill out a check have you ever seen a check you see how things change in our culture some have decided you know what I want to be fluid I don't want to own stuff I want to I want to live for now and then I want to be able to enjoy life which is nothing wrong with enjoying life agree but our system in our nation in our world was not established on that principle in fact if you want to buy a house today quickly I'll go over this I've got a moment if you want to buy a house today what do you have to have credit how is that credit established by your dad come on you want to know what you're worth you're really want to know what you're worth submit your paperwork submit your paperwork to a bank and see what they say yeah we'll loan you a dollar and a half and you know and that's all huh you want you want to buy a car and you know the crazy thing is is they'll they'll let a lot of people who don't really need to buy things they'll let them because they make you think you're worth that much stay with me stay with me hold on to me we're going somewhere on this New Year's Day the very lesson that history should have taught us is that we need to understand that there are ways in which God establishes himself and then in humanity he wants one generation to instruct the Next Generation who in turn will instruct the next one I'm not saying everybody ought to know how to fill out a check or keep a ledger I'm saying that if this culture today says you need an app to fix that or to follow that or to make sure you understand that then we have a mind shift because as long as you think that you've got an app to keep up with it guess what you better trust in your app has anybody ever had an app fail you ain't that the greatest thing no no I I didn't write that 1200 check oh that was twelve dollars whoops allow me a few moments here right now Luke Chapter 15. anybody know what a parable is it's a story where Heavenly things are taught using Earthly stuff so we better understand it Luke 15 1 then Drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him and the Pharisees scribes murmured saying this man receiveth Sinners eateth with them verse 3 and he spake this Parable unto them saying what man of you having a hundred sheep if he lose one of them does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it it's a question and when he had found it he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing when he cometh home he called it together friends and neighbors saying to them Rejoice with me I have found my sheep which was lost say unto you that likewise Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over 90 and nine just persons which need no repentance verse 8 either what woman having 10 pieces of silver if she should lose one doth not light a candle sweep the house seek diligently till she find it and when she had found it she called her friends and her neighbors together saying Rejoice with me for I have found that peace which I had lost likewise I say unto you there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth Jesus in this particular group of Parables he is talking about two people hear this that owned something that they worked for sheep for an example the shepherd raises his sheep reproduces sheep he adds to his Sheepfold he has possessions that he has taken and he has multiplied on the other side there are sheep that he has received in and then he grows them he sells them he keeps adding to he understands that if his fold is going to grow and prosper he has to do what he has to do to take care of them the lady who owned 10 coins of silver we understand that was her possession she had 10 coins but somehow in whatever life threw it her she dropped one one fell off the table it doesn't matter doesn't say how it simply means that something happened to one of the coins and she did everything she could do like candles turn on the lights move the furniture sweeping the floor floors he looked for that coin which she had lost in both of those accounts when they had discovered what had been lost they called everybody together and they said come rejoice what was lost is now found the Bible says that there's an uh a parallel here Kingdom of Heaven is like that when a sinner comes to know the Lord there's rejoicing when that which was lost is found there's rejoicing it's the same thing that happens in the heavens of course Jesus uses these two Parables to teach the value of the items that they had worked for and that they had lost hear this they had placed value on the sheep value on the coins and when they found that they had lost the value they did all they could do to get it back and then they rejoiced but noticed continuation verse 11. he said a certain man had two sons the younger of them said to his father father give me the portion of goods that falleth to me he divided unto them his living not many days after the younger son gathered altogether took his journey into a far country and there waste his his substance with riotous living this Parable continues and it mentions two boys the younger one comes to the dad dad I I want you to give to me the portion that is due to me notice this this man this father was doing well for himself he had possessions in this world he had position in this world his youngest son decides that for whatever reason that he wanted to leave dad his house father's house and he wanted to take what he considered to be lawfully his now listen to this the normal disbursement of possessions would come when the father passed away the dad would die they would take what he owned and it would be divided according to the law it was the established way of doing things the normal disbursement was that at the end of the father's life they could disperse it so then why in this Parable did the younger son come to the father and say I want what is lawfully mine now listen carefully to Pastor the Lord's been beating me up over this for weeks now how could this young son have such a request the father he would have to do several things in order to make this transaction happen number one he would have to do an inventory of his Goods his possessions what he owned the land that he had the livestock he had he would have to audit what he had to recognize where he stood what his value was in that particular moment land bank accounts livestock servants workers anything that he had anything that he possessed listen this once he counted all the items then he could come up with a hard number and he could say as father this is what I'm worth this is what I value in this present world and with that hard number then he would be able to say from this number all the homework that I did on what I own what I worked for what I've made to happen what I invested what I bought and sold I know now what I am worth in this world now in order for the son to get what he was worth dad would have to establish his worth and then from there the estate would be divided in this case there were two boys so the dad would have to separate his and his possessions into three groups one would be for the younger but the older son would receive what double portion hmm on the double portion part again normally at this point Dad is gone and off the scene so in order for the dad to fulfill the request of the son the youngest one he would have to establish his value and then he would have to divide it into three parts the Elder would get his part and then he would get a double part to run the house and the business on and then the youngest son would get his portion the dad then gave to his young son what he had coming to him because of his request come today to this desk with this story in mind understanding in 2022 understanding as it ends we come to 2023. if you read the story of The Prodigal Son you will notice the sun did not work for his portion the son only received by law what was his part but then he took that and he wasted it in the culture in which he lived The Story Goes On It was by riotous living basically turbulent and chaotic lifestyle he spent every dime of inheritance on his selfishness and his want different than the other stories that was told in the same series of Parables the coin and the Sheep instead this young boy gave no credibility to anything about himself simply this I deserve it give it to me this young man looked into the Future made his plans with no steps no understanding of what he was doing he was simply taking what was rightfully lawfully his and he spent it today I want to finish the story if you'll allow me the Bible says the young boy comes to his senses comes to himself and he desired a change in his life he saw that all he wanted he spent and wasted it everything that had been given to him he now allowed it to roll through his fingers like so many today perhaps sitting here perhaps watching online no matter how long you've been sitting on a church chair no matter how many Sundays you've come to church or who you call your pastor or your church home on this first day of this New Year 2023 I need the baptism of the reality of who God is and what he has done for every one of us to sink into our hearts and into our Spirits when I talked about what we're value what we are worth I understand in this Parable that in order for the son to know what he was going to get Daddy had to establish his value I come today to tell somebody God's plan is valuable in your life his love his blood his power his grace and his Mercy what you've got to recognize is this if you will become like that prodigal son and you'll say to yourself with my own understanding I don't get it what I've done in my life it doesn't make sense but my Father in Heaven still has the benefits of being my father if I'll simply recognize my mistake and recognize where I've messed up and how I've dropped the ball and how that I've looked around at the wrong things I've come today to declare it don't matter how long you've known the Lord God how much you feel like you're close to him in the time of last year you could have come to a place where you sit on a church pew and your mind is so far away your desire has been warped and Twisted by our culture of 2022 but I come to tell you it's a new year you can rise from where you are you can wash it off of your brain you can declare my father still has value for my life my dad still considers me to be worth it therefore I'm gonna go to my father's house I'm gonna go to where Dad is I'm gonna go find Mercy and Grace for my life now listen carefully this young man he had no reason to go home he'd already cast in his chips he'd already taken possession of what was his but as he's making his journey home smelling like a sheep full with a pig's dive breath knowing when he gets there he don't look the part he don't smell the part he don't act apart but if he can just get home Dad could hire him as a servant notice the mentality of the prodigal is this if I can just get home I don't care how it is I don't care how it falls I simply don't want to be in this situation now I'm going home notice the father's waiting for him Seth runs to him falls on him grabs a hold of him hugs him stands him up this is my son now we all can get sidetracked with the brother well I've been with you this long and you never killed a fatty cow and we can get into that and today's message is not that a suffice it to say but the double portion does what the double portion is supposed to when the when the father settled the account with the younger son he had to settle the account with the older son as well and what he knew is in the double portion was enough for his older son to be taken care of by the law but that other portion would be for the working of the business for the purchasing for the business side of the possessions and the things that Dad had that's where the dad's standing dad was standing in the double portion dad was saying son everything here is yours everything right you can do what you want to but I'm standing in the portion of Grace I'm standing in the portion of mercy and I have a right as your father to ask for the fatted calf to be killed for the ring to be put on his hand and the Garment to be put on his body and his shoes to be put on one more time why I'm not bothering your portion I'm walking in the grace portion on this 2023 Sunday I've come to ask somebody are you ready to receive from the double portion of what God has for your life it's time to end that you change your mind wash your mind wash your heart I've come to thank God Almighty because you still consider me to have value the more I studied and looked at this I thought my God it's a simple parable it's a simple story but there is so much truth in this parable that if we could ever grasp the reality of the coin and the Sheep and the son today sitting here under the sound of my voice would you come brother her what we need is to seek God's portion I'll ask it to you this way what value did the father placed on his youngest son he gave it to him did he not do you realize what this father would have gone through with his community the city the village where he would have lived because this son part of his possessions or his investment or his inheritance would have been livestock or land portions of things he didn't want to carry all that with him so what'd he do he went down to the corner market to the auction I got 40 head of cattle you might want to buy them Pennies on a dollar ain't that his daddy's cattle I got 90 had a sheep out here anybody want to buy them I don't I don't want them I just want what I want I got 200 Acres of good land you may want to buy it at a good price all I want is cash when the younger son came home all value that had been determined by him because of his stand with his father had already been established and he wasted it all turbulent chaotic lifestyle Mr neighbor when he comes home this time dad's standing there huh it's my boy look he took off after him he grabs him up son said I'm not worthy now my worth is not here any longer dad but if you'll make me just a servant I'll work for you anybody and dad says buddy I need you to change your mind because I still put value on you I still think Calvary was worth it for your soul some of you over the last 12 months in 2022 your life has been just like this some of you have messed up some of you have considered yourself to be done I come today to tell you the father standing there still ain't that my son not my son go get the fatted calf hit the robe out of my closet that's my portion grab the ring that's in the Box bring it grab those shoes I've I bought I bought those a long time ago because I knew one day he'd come back when that son the youngest son should have considered himself to be useless his father reestablished him as his son now listen carefully hear me today in this place some of us won't come back to God because we're afraid we've blown it all I'll never get that anointing back I'll never get that Joy back I've already wasted what I've already done I've already done there's no reason for me I come to tell you that younger son did not go back into the blessings of the father with all of the inheritance to him he wasted it but what Dad did the Elder received a double he's got his he's got what he needs to run the farm I live in this in that now because Dad was still alive part of that was still dad's and dad said younger I'm gonna give you my part you've already wasted yours forget it here's mine I give to you the blessing of the ring and the robe and the shoes I want everybody to know who's now in charge of this portion that's you some of you today you need to hear the father's voice say you're still matter to me still matter to me I can pick you up I can change your life listen to me carefully but it had to come from the boy it did not come from the father the father didn't send text messages the father didn't send out parties to go look for he didn't send out groups or horseback to go say I go find my boy no it was when the boy got up hungry tired broke busted ruined messed up that he said if I can just get home I will serve my father but you're staying with me on this Sunday 2000 23 today I want to know do you understand your portion your portion is what God has for you it's the blessing and the mercy and the grace of the Lord God to you there's so many in our lives today because our culture is different in 2023 that we don't understand so we would ride off or we would discard and we would say there's other ways and the fact of the matter is simply this God's plan his parables are still right the Lost coin the lost sheep we get that we preach and talk and sing about it it's a cool thing but the parable of the prodigal says my boy was gone I knew my worth when I divided it up but I want him to know that he can have my portion now here's the question that you've got to establish is there anything too hard for your God does his mercy and Grace stop at you are you just too far gone that God can't do a work in your life you've got to establish that if you feel like that you're you've already run the course and you've already messed up and it ain't no way for no help at all for God then you might as well put you in your pocket and stand there and scratch your nose and say well the music was good but if you really feel like that God's not done with you could you at this point come to yourself to say I am going home home where's home I'm going to show you where home is every single one of you standing here under the sound of my voice watching online home is the altar that's where your relationship started with God at an altar that's where your connection and commitment started with God at an altar come on whether it was at home whether it was at church camp whether it was that wherever it was an altar was established and that's where you came to I want to ask is there anybody today that will say I'm not going to be destroyed but I am going to trust the power of mercy and Grace to work in my life would you come to an altar come on maybe you don't even know what the Lord's plan is for your life but you're here today because the Lord God's drawing you to come and find him come on this carpet's the altar up here I invite you to come would you come on I want you to establish within yourself Lord portion you've got a portion for me you got a place for me you've got a spot for me God yes Lord you can change me I thank you Lord come on repentance still works Church repentance still works Lord I am sorry please forgive me of my sin please forgive me Lord Jesus of my sin I submit one more time to you you've got more than enough from me Heavenly Father you've got a place for me Heavenly Father oh come on somebody wrap your arms around the reality of who he is he loves you even in the midst of your sin even in the midst of the mess you're in God Almighty can come in and change you right now he can re-establish your footsteps right now yes he can oh come on Mom and Dad pray right now that's right pray come on pray God I I need you right now I I need you Lord cleanse Me O God renewing me a right spirit this is a new year God let your portion come to me today I will trust you it's a new year Lord I can re-establish who I am I can still be called a child of God I can still be full of the Holy Ghost in power I could still walk in New Life With You Jesus oh come on that's right come on press into it God I come trusting you right now Lord I come believing you for great things come on pray church pray get a hold of God right now I need you Jesus I know Lord that there have been problems there's been issue there's been stuff going on but God I believe you've still got something for me there's enough in that double portion that Heavenly Father you can provide you can allow grace and mercy to work oh come on that's right pray church pray yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah am I want you to get a hold of somebody close to you pray with them God of Glory let your anointing touch right now let the glory of the Lord move in their life come on man run into his presence come on run into his presence I come to love you Jesus I come to love you Jesus I came to bless your name oh God I Came To Worship You Lord I come to lift you up Jesus you can do a work in my life you can't change my life yes you can you can Jesus oh come on the Holy Ghost is here today Jesus thank you Hallelujah Lord Hallelujah Jesus oh come on would you love the Lord come on run into his presence now I love you Jesus I need you Lord I need you Lord I need you Lord I need you Lord I love you Jesus foreign great God you're doing a great work right now come on you're doing a great work God in my life I'm going to trust you that you will complete the work you will finish the work oh God I know Lord that you can make away God you can Lord put me back you can Lord still work in my life oh that's right come on there is healing in this house today there is healing in this house today Jesus Jesus Jesus Jesus you made a way foreign lift their hand to Heaven Come on every hand in this place needs to be to heaven right now Lord I know that you are the restorer I know Jesus that you put things back together in Brokenness oh God you can heal Lord you can deliver and make way God you can heal Lord and put back together I pray today that Grace that Mercy would flow in this house that we would understand Jesus that you've got a plan for us Lord there's portion enough dear God to receive us home to receive us back into the fold to get us back to the father's house come on pray for them right now Lord give them strength give them courage to say yes give him courage Lord to walk forward in you and anointing o God that will rest upon him come on pray one for another Jesus we are believing you we are believing you Jesus we are trusting you Jesus hey yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I bless your name oh God I bless your name sweet Jesus oh come on would you pray come on church pray come on would you pray come on would you pray call on the name of the Lord call on the name of the Lord come on reach for the name of Jesus you are the Waymaker God yes you are when you are the restorer yes you are you are the restorer God yes you are you can help Jesus you can Jesus yes Lord yes Lord I'm believing you for it I'm believing you for it Jesus great things in the name of Jesus great things in the name of Jesus oh come on pray prayer warriors pray yeah yeah yeah yeah he is more than enough he is more than enough hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah oh that's right come on there is healing in the name of Jesus there is power power in the name of Jesus we need you Jesus Heavenly Father we call on you every hand lifted to heaven right now put a praise in your mouth and give it to God come on Lord I praise you right now come on I bless your name right now there is breakthrough in the name of Jesus there is breakthrough in the name of Jesus yes Lord I'm trusting you for great things come on put a praise in your mouth offer it to the Lord God I bless your name I call on your name I need your name Jesus I love your name Jesus great is your faithfulness holy God hallelujah hallelujah somebody say his portion his portion it's enough now here's the beauty of the end of the story The Prodigal comes home the dad throws the celebration the ring the robe and the shoes Now everywhere that young boy goes in that town people have a story I thought he sold everything I thought he quit I thought he gave up and then he get didn't he say Daddy I don't want you no more didn't he say I didn't he say that and everybody in that town is going to wait for the testimony of that boy to say I once was lost but now I'm found I once was blind but I I can see now I was broken but dad put me back together you mean you came home yeah and Dad received me now what's dad's testimony you got some kind of Dad you got some kind of dad that would bring you back hey did you hear about young Johnny down there yeah he came home and the dad put everything back dad's got a lot of grace and mercy don't he hey all I know is that he went out and did all this living in another country he comes back they threw up oh man all I know is the grace of dad brought him home pray with me Lord today this first Sunday of 2023 we have no idea none whatsoever of what this year is going to hold for us as individuals as families as a church as men women as children as husbands wives or only only we know that you're still God therefore on this first day we establish Who You Are and Who We Are we are your children we love you whatever unfolds over the next 12 months God we we trust you every day for it and the good the bad what we understand and what we don't God we're going to believe you for great things we're going to believe you for great things answers to prayer prodigal's coming home healings and deliverances hmm the name of Jesus God you're the provider the Waymaker Lord you've got it all in your plan somebody say in Jesus name