The Day of New Beginnings
The Second Touch
Mark 8:
22 ¶ And they *came to Bethsaida. And they *brought a blind man to Jesus and *implored Him to touch him.
23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, "Do you see anything?"
24 And he looked up and said, "I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around."
25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.
That first anointing enabled the man to see men like trees walking around. That is the realm we have known and walked in. But the second touch from the Lord is indicative of the double portion. Then the man looked intently and was restored. He saw everything clearly.
We cannot function in the realm of the first anointing and have all God’s purposes accomplished through us. The first touch is the token realm, the realm of seeing in part, knowing in part. When we move into the realm of the double portion then we begin to look intently. We see everything clearly.
To those whom God has dealt with, to those whom He has prepared, the double portion comes. It is granted. It is linked to the parable of the five wise and five foolish virgins. The wise virgins are those who have submitted to the Lord's dealings, who have been prepared to stand in His presence beyond what they have known. How often have we have heard these passages of Scripture? "Many are called but few are chosen" and "Many will seek to enter, but not be able." All the teachings on sonship and the double portion, etc. are granted to those who have been prepared for it.
Ex. 34:
12 "Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst.
13 "But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim
14 —for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—
15 otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice,
16 and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods.
17 "You shall make for yourself no molten gods.
One might ask, “What do the above passages have to do with the double portion and having spiritual eyes to see clearly? Everything God brings us into is anchored in that one-on-one relationship with Himself. Verse 14 says that not only is the Lord a jealous God, but His name is Jealous. The first commandment of loving the Lord with all our minds, hearts, soul and strength will always be the plumb line for true sons.
The Lord causes us to go through many things. They are designed to create in us this love relationship. The Lord puts blinders on us, He restricts our vision, and He limits our understanding while we fight many battles. We could say at times, “Why is God doing this to me?” It’s all designed to create in us broken spirits that stand and love Him. James 4:5 says He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us. There is no oneness with the Lord and there is no being possessed by the Lord without the cross. A respected man of God once put it this way: “It is God’s intention to conceal His dealings with us so that we only have eyes to see in the backs of our heads.” That means when God brings us through the pressures and battles we can look back with perfect vision and wisdom and understand what He was creating in us. But until we stand before the throne as broken worshippers, our vision is restricted. That’s why we have this picture in Rev. 8:
“And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘"HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."’
These four living creatures, who we could say are a type of the seers, the kings and priests of the Lord, are full of eyes around and within. They have the clear sight of the man who was touched that second time by the Lord. God’s sons must enter and walk in the double portion, that second touch. It’s quite ironic that the sons who will see clearly and discern all things first come to the throne blind.
The second touch enables us to stand before the Lord as true sons. It is a result of a broken spirit that fulfills the First Commandment.
Isa.30:
20 Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher.
21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.
22 And you will defile your graven images overlaid with silver, and your molten images plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing, and say to them, "Be gone!"