MY YEAR OF DOUBLE HONOUR

[Pastor Bayo Afolaranmi]

Dearly Beloved,

MY YEAR OF DOUBLE HONOUR

“But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, They shall call you the servants of our 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 in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs” (Isaiah 61:6-7 NKJV).

I do not usually believe in tagging a year with a particular theme, but I always use particular Bible passages to pray for people every year and even base my first message for that year on those particular passages. However, some hours into this year 2015, I was led to tag this year “My Year of Double Honour” based on the Bible passage (that is, Isaiah 61:6-7) that the Lord has laid in my mind some weeks back to use in my annual prayer for the recipients of my daily and weekly messages.

The people of Israel had sinned against God. They had broken their covenant with the LORD. The LORD on His part abandoned them and allowed them to be taken to captivity in Assyria and Babylon. They became servants of strangers in their land of captivity. They were forced to serve foreign gods. Jerusalem, their holy city, and the temple of the LORD in it became ruined. It was a great disaster for the people of Israel who were once a pride to many nations. However, the LORD would not abandon them forever. The prophecy in Isaiah 61 is about the restoration of the city of Jerusalem (in particular) and the land and people of Israel (in general) to their original state. The LORD promised to restore the people. Instead of serving other people and their gods, they will be serving the LORD. In fact, they will become His special priests. They shall enjoy the riches of the strangers that had enslaved them. The LORD promised to give them double honour in place of their shame. Their possessions in their land will be in double portions.

This promise of double honour was resounded also in Isaiah 40:2 and Zechariah 9:12: “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.... Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you” (NKJV). The promise is likened to the double portion of the inheritance that the eldest son in a family would receive from his father's estate (Deuteronomy 21:17). As the eldest son was given special honour, so also Israel, like the Lord's firstborn (see Exodus 4:22), will be honoured. People everywhere will acknowledge that the people of Israel are indeed God's special people because of these blessings and an everlasting covenant (the New Covenant referred to in Jeremiah 32:40; Ezekiel 16:60; 37:26; Hebrews 13:20) that God is giving Israel.

However, this promise of double honour is not automatic. Esau (the first son of Isaac) despised his birthright, and Jacob enjoyed the honour (see Genesis 25:32-34; Hebrews 12:16-17). Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob could not enjoy the double honour because of his sin (see Genesis 35:22; 49:4; 1 Chronicle 5:1-2).

Do you know that you also can receive double honour from God this year? Make sure that you have received Jesus Christ into your life (see John 1:11-12). Do not sell your birthright, your authority in Christ, to the devil by indulging in sins and conscious disobedience to the words of God and the will of God for your life.

2015, My Year of Double Honour!

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

Prayer Point: Lord, I want to enjoy your double honour this year. Help me Lord not to sell my birthright.