"God Gives Gifts To Men (Mankind)"...

During this holiday season many people are contemplating what kind of gift to give their loved ones. Maybe some have already set these gifts aside. Everyone likes to receive gifts! Some people may not believe in gift-giving during this time of year.  Whatever your belief, I'm positive that you enjoy giving and receiving a gift at some time in your life.

Just as a parent loves to give gifts to his/her children, how much more so does our heavenly Father love to give gifts to us, his children?

God Gives Gifts to Mankind! 


Psa 68:18  Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.

Yahshua, gave up His life willingly, descended into hell, defeated captivity, ascended up to the throne of Yahweh His Father and received the gifts for all of mankind, even the disobedient, and evil ones. They have gifts too, but they use those gifts for evil against mankind. 

Rom_11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. 

The gifts that Yahweh has given are not earned by righteousness or repentance, they are freely given to all even those outside of he household of faith. You can see that manifested all over the world, in sports, music, actors, fashion designers, architects, doctors, etc. These have nothing to do with whether you are holy or unholy.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

Yes, many religious people think the gifts are talking about spiritual gifts like, faith, healing, working of miracles, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues and interpretation of those tongues, as in, I Corinthians 12:-10. We as believers also know that salvation, grace, love and the greatest of all gifts is Eternal Life! This is true, but that's not all.

1Co 12:1  Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 

The spiritual gifts are given to believers (in Yahshua/Jesus) through the Holy Spirit that one receives once you give your life to Yahshua. Even though it's through the same Holy Spirit, no two people will use these gifts in exactly the same way! They are to be used for the benefit and edification of everyone in the Body of Yahshua. There's no room for jealousy here.

God does give spiritual gifts to His children through the Holy Spirit. Some mimic these spiritual gifts as children. How many have said, "My son is going to be a pastor, or a preacher because they are already imitating what they hear in church and can do it at home on your "soap box"!
                                                                                           
Some parents are able to nurture this.  Parents may know ahead of time, what spiritual gift the child will walk in later through a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit.    But until the child receives the Holy Spirit they are just in preparation stage or just imitating. Some exceptional children receive the Holy Spirit as early as four years old!  If after they receive Yahshua (Jesus) and Jesus gives them the spiritual gift of preaching or prophesying., that young person grows in it and literally launches into his or her calling as a youth, then continues into adulthood! This is truly an obvious spiritual gift, and a real blessing! 

Many, though, find out theirs later on in life after receiving the Holy Spirit.  Some believers have had to ask Yahweh for the manifestation of a spiritual gift like I did. I wanted, desperately, to speak in tongues. I was baptized at 18 years old  and received the Holy Spirit. I knew I had it because I was a different person, the understanding of God's word exploded in me, I was an over comer! I just didn't know about speaking in tongues. Our church didn't teach it.

As I became aware of the power of tongues I began to desire it. I read some where that a person had asked for it and received it. I asked God for it and after tarrying one whole year, I suddenly, began to speak in tongues during my worship time. Yahweh gave it to me. It just burst forth from me. No one was around to prompt me nor did I have to repeat after anyone. What a joy! This gift has helped me through some turbulent times! Tongues build you up on the inside and aligns you with your destiny! It's a holy language that only Yahweh understands. You can also ask for interpretation, which the Holy Spirit gives freely.

(Act 2:3-4  And they saw tongues, like flames of fire, coming to rest on every one of them. 4-  And they were all full of the Holy Spirit, and were talking in different languages, as the Spirit gave them power.) (Act 19:6  And when Paul had put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they had the power of talking in tongues, and acting like prophets.)

But, there are other kinds of gifts, called talents which are gifts that are built inside of each person genetically from their parents or family line. 

Yahweh has given each person special gifts or talents to develop and use for the service of mankind. Some people are excellent cooks (that's not my gift!), writers, actors, painters, artists, singers, inventors, scientists, athletes, etc. The list is enormous, why? Because Our Heavenly Father is so vast that all of mankind that ever existed still could not possibly

encompass all that He is! Yet He has given each one of us something that is unique to us. Even though we may have millions of artists? in the world, there are no two who express themselves in the same way.

 "God gives gifts to men".   

So, what is your spiritual gift (manifesting through the Holy Spirit) and or talent (passed down from your family)? What are you doing with it? Are you just sitting on it, or, did you bury it?   

What is the difference between a talent and a gift? Here's my explanation:

A gift is a spiritual supernatural manifestation that the Holy Spirit gives you when you give your life to Yahshua/Jesus. It is not something you've earned or worked for. It stays with you and is never taken away, even when you make mistakes, as longans you choose to walk with Yahweh. It is freely given to you for the edification of the Body of Messiah to do the work of the Kingdom and to give glory to Yahweh.

Talents or natural gifts are found in families, passed down genetically from generation to generation. It is nurtured easily or developed through hard work, but it's joyful work and something that you love to do and are fitted for. You don't mind the time it takes to learn the skill or craft.  

The more you learn the better you become. Soon others begin to notice how well you do. If you stop developing your talent you can lose some of it and would have to start all over again. But it's born into you and can be developed again. You can usually tell your natural gift by what you love to do most, whether it be a hobby or your favorite past-time, it's probably your gift! At least that's how I've come to understand it through my own experience.

Yahshua (Jesus) taught in parables. The parable of the talent is quite interesting. He's talking about the Kingdom of heaven: read it on your own-Matthew 25:14-29.

But I will mention this one scripture because it's so appropriate for those who are not doing anything with their talents...

Mat 25:29  For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have more: but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

So many believers are only utilizing their spiritual gifts, forgetting that they have natural talents to develop as well. Don't bury them or leave them on the shelf. Sometimes they are hidden, but you can discover what are. They are usually those things you are keenly interested in and could enjoy doing all day long if given the opportunity.  You will have more variety of opportunities to do the work of the Kingdom in the market place and in the church! Let Yahweh expand your territory through all of your gifts!

"God Gives Gifts To Men". 

To whom much is given, much is required! Some people have multiple natural talents. As Yahshua/ Jesus mentioned in the parable of the talents some were given ten talents some five talents and some one talent. There's time for everything under the sun, even a time to develop the talents which God has given you.  Ask Him to give you opportunity to develop and use all of them to His honor and glory!

When you develop your natural talents and use your spiritual gifts to glorify your heavenly Father, whether it be in business or work, a student or a mom at home, you will have a more rewarding life on earth and multiply your rewards in heaven!

.

 written by:
Rachel Baht BinahYah,
Feed My Sheep Ministry &
Messianic House Of Prayer,
http://www.finding-happiness.org

The Power Of A Good Attitude--"A Rejoice And Be Glad Story"

 Let me share with you a story of how I learned to have a good attitude through good and bad times alike. It all begins in a city in West Africa called Cape Coast,in Ghana West Africa. It was Sunday morning and I was at  church service during prayer time and the pastor was leading us all in prayer. He started directing us in each phase of our collective prayer as to what we were to pray about. Now if you are not familiar with how prayer is done in most charismatic or spiritual churches in West Africa, let me briefly describe how it is done. Whoever is leading prayer will make sure that everyone is engaged in every aspect of prayer. There is no passive listening to whoever is praying and just saying "Amen" at the end. The prayer leader will describe each phase for example: "Let's give thanks to the Lord". Then every one in the place will open their mouth and start giving thanks out loud in their own words what they want to give thanks for, until directed to stop. Then the next subject may be Let's ask for forgiveness etc.

So as we started praying I was disturbed in my spirit about my own particular situation. I was thinking about all the promises that Yahweh (God The Father) had given me regarding my station in life, my finances, my mission etc. I was starting to feel annoyed because I did not see the evidence yet, of all the promises He had given me regarding my personal life being fulfilled. It seemed that every time I would get a breakthrough in my finances or business it would not last. I seemed to be in a cycle of moving forward then sliding backwards. I was annoyed and frustrated so I decided to break away from the communal prayer and pray about my own issue. I wanted an answer--Yahweh (God) you promised this but yet I'm receiving something else.  Why, Why, Why, I was complaining. I must admit I did not have a good attitude, I continued on with my own wailing and whining until prayer was over.

After church I, my wife and children went home. As soon as we got in, my wife Theresa grabbed the remote control and "BLAM"-- on went the TV and true to Sunday tradition, there was a Preacher of a Mega Church from Nigeria preaching to his congregation. I was not too thrilled about hearing some more preaching. I kinda wanted to scold her about this preacher thing but held my peace.

The first thing I heard the preacher say was: "rejoice and be glad" He would read from the bible a verse about rejoicing give a personal testimony then return to the phrase (which was his theme) "rejoice and be glad".

Psalm 188:24-"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it".

I started to pay attention a little bit. The first story he started with was the testimony of his meager beginnings in the ministry. He shared with us how God called him into the ministry and he began with eight people in his house. The hard wood benches with no backs that he would bring from the back room (their bedroom) that people had to sit on--unbeknownst to them, doubled as their beds. No matter what the hardship he would still--"rejoice and be glad". Then the eight people turned to ten then fifteen and each time he and his wife would--you guessed it "rejoice and be glad". He would read another scripture tell another story then back to

Psalm 188:24-"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it".

He continually admonished his audience the importance of rejoicing no matter what your circumstance.

Another experience he shared was how they would have to travel by train to various places for the ministry with their raggedy and tattered luggage. Their luggage would be so raggedy and tattered they would have to tie it up with belts and ropes to keep it together. They would place the luggage at the other end of the car that they were in so that they could keep an eye on it out of the corner of their eyes, without people suspecting it was theirs. Again--you guessed it: "rejoice and be glad".

The testimony started to penetrate my spirit and I became interested in what he was saying. I could really relate. My bad attitude started to change to a good attitude.

Then he talked about how the blessing angels when they are sent from heaven with blessings look for and are drawn to those who are rejoicing--they don't go to the ones sulking in the corner with a bad attitude. He used the analogy of a Father who comes home from work tired and glad to be home. When his children see him and start running to him with all their might happy to see him screaming and jumping with delight it is a normal reaction for him to reach into his pocket to want to give them something. A good attitude invokes such a positive response. The one sulking in the corner with a bad attitude, not coming to greet him, does not illicit that type of response.

I could surely relate to that. So true, when my children run to me with glee and excitement It touches me in that same way. WOW! I was beginning to get the message. You guessed it. No matter what the circumstance it is in my best interest to "rejoice and be glad" and have a good attitude.

Finally the story that put the nail in the coffin so to speak and completely changed my outlook and attitude from the coffin of despondency, bad attitude and discouragement  was this:

The example of the high jump athlete. After clearing the first height the bar will be raised and after the second height it  is raised again. As the bar gets higher and higher the athlete has to go back further and further so that he can gain enough momentum to clear the next height.

That was the complete answer to my conversation and prayer I had that very morning with Yahweh (God the Father). Thank you Father I said I learned my lesson. I now know how important it is to maintain a good attitude no matter what. I will no longer complain and moan and wail when I go through adversity and trials  and troubles on my road to the fullness of my destiny. I will rejoice and be glad. I hope this rejoice and be glad story will be of help and encouragement to you as much as it was for me and help you keep a good attitude through every experience on your way to the fullness of your ordained destiny in life.

Psalm 188:24-"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it".

Contributing Author: Ahveekhy Ben BinahYah
http://www.finding-happiness.org