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A gift is something the giver chooses. We choose what it is and who will receive it. The more we know someone, the better the gift we can give them. How do we know them? We know them by their lifestyle and our friendship with them.
God didn’t give us the gift we wanted, He gave us the gift we needed. He didn’t ask us, what do you need? He already knew for his love of him for us.
Ephesians 4: 8, For this it says: When he ascended on high, he conducted captivity into captivity and gave gifts to men. Man must claim ownership of these gifts before he can offer them to another.
When God gives a gift, it is always a seed that must be planted and matured in the manifestation of the gift within that seed. He planted a seed in Mary that matured into the perfect gift for the man who satisfied our every need. He planted a garden in Eden that was to extend over the whole earth. He said to Abraham: In your seed all nations of the earth will be blessed. Jesus said of Himself, if a grain of wheat does not fall to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit. (John 12:24).
An offer is different from a gift. An offer is something that once the recipient has claimed the property he or she chooses to offer the gift back to the giver. Jesus as man, in favor of man offered himself again to God who gave him. Jesus said of himself: My life is mine, I have the power to lay it down and the power to take it back. He was claiming the property so that he could give his life back to him his Father on behalf of others.
The gifts that God gives us, once we have claimed ownership, should be returned to Him in the service of others after they have matured. James 5: 7, Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receives the first and the last rain.
You can see this maturing process in the life of individuals and churches. In the beginning, things blossom and grow rapidly due to the first rain of the Holy Spirit on the gifts in us. After the first rain, the long growing period begins where it seems like not much is happening. Then the Holy Spirit brings this last rain and the gifts ripen to perfection.
Suddenly, the ministry of an individual or a church explodes on all sides in growth. What happened? They received the last rain and the gifts were perfected for the harvest. This is why James (1:17) says to have patience and wait for the last rain, because every good and perfect gift comes from above and descends from the Father of lights.
If the gifts that God has given are used before they mature, it results in confusion in others because there is no fruit present. People who precede God eventually get frustrated and give up or fall into sin by not understanding the process of God’s sowing and reaping. God is patient. He waits for the gifts he has given to men to ripen to perfection before he can use them.
For a seed to grow, it must have fertile soil, water and light. God’s word is the seed. If the soil is not fertile, we need to fertilize it. God’s word is the fertilizer. If the soil is dry we have to water it. God’s word is water. If the ground needs light, then we provide the light. God’s word is light.
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