Imagine it’s Christmas day and your adult children have all come to your home to celebrate Christmas, open gifts and make memories.
Under the tree, you have beautifully wrapped gifts, each with your sons and daughters name on them. The gifts you have for them are a big part of their inheritance and will change their lives forever! You can hardly wait for them to receive those gifts.
As they file into the grand living room on this special occasion, they walk past the treasure trove of gifts completely disinterested in them. When they are told those gifts are for them, they shrug and resume scrolling on their phone or texting friends.
Imagine the disappointment.
You have such great things in store for them, but they would prefer to watch someone else open those gifts on the internet and comment on them.
Yesterday in an extended time of prayer and Word with Judy, we read, 1 Corinthians 12:4, 8-10 “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit… For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.”
As I pondered this Scripture, I saw in my mind’s eye, a large room with a big pile of unwrapped gifts, all of which were unclaimed.
When I read the list of nine gifts being offered, and realizing that for centuries, those gifts intended for believers were largely left unclaimed, I GOT BOLD.
Instead of asking for just one of those gifts, I figured no sense and letting them go to waste, so I asked for each one by name.
Why leave them unclaimed any longer?!
The thing is, the pile is so big, that if YOU want, YOU can go and ask for whatever gift of the Spirit that you want. Paul recommended you ask for the gift of prophecy, which I did, but seeing as how so many others are laying dormant, I thought I might as well scoop up one of each.
Paul says, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills“. (1 Corinthians 12:11) Paul further instructs us to “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially, that you may prophesy”. (1 Corinthians 14:1)
I realize that it is God who is distributing the gifts as He wills, so He gets to decide, but I remember the guy who was given one talent (a measure of currency) and did nothing with it… God gave that unclaimed, unused talent to someone who already had talents and were using them.
So, I’m taking Paul’s invitation seriously and am pursuing the love of God, desiring spiritual gifts, (all of them) and especially, (but not exclusively), that I may prophesy.
And here’s the really fun part… I’m taking them into the marketplace!
If that sounds like fun to you, then join me tomorrow night (Tuesday, August 12th) at 8 PM for a webinar where I’ll be sharing how the Jesus School of Business can help you reclaim your birthright as a believer in the marketplace, and exercise those gifts with kingdom authority.
Love your teaching. You the only teacher I sat under explain very simply and easy to grab to apply to every day life . Thank you sir .
You have encouraged me. I’m also going to claim the gifts now for myself
Happy to hear that Providence~! Blessings, Michael
UNCLAIMED – This post is incredible Michael. This sounds like a spam comment – I promise it is my heart, as Jesus opened it before me. On the same day that you released this post, is the same day I saw a news article about a new law in Arkansas being passed, where from a pot of $400 million dollars of UNCLAIMED PROPERTY was being sent out to 1 in 4 residents. This doesn’t affect me. BUT, I felt strongly to look up in google, more about unclaimed property. I learned that each of the 50 states have someone over those funds: either that’s state’s Auditor, State Treasurer’s office, or Dept of Revenue.
Let me explain…..my husband and I have been crying out to God for more of Him, for Him to move mightily in our lives for His Glory, and asked Jesus to please throw open the doors to our impossible situation. We have obeyed the LORD at ALL costs, joyfully and without reservation – even to the place now where we have lost EVERYTHING. But God knows our hearts, and He sees His children. This ‘random’ 30-second searched that the LORD used, caused us to discover that OUR name, OUR address, and OUR banks from our old home in TN, had funds for me, (some funds as far back as 2017), ready to be claimed! LIFE-CHANGING funds. The claim has been filed, they have accepted my documentation, and are sending the funds from the two banks we used in TN. For three days I have struggled to believe if this was real. But now I realize why the last 2 months, in painful and dire circumstances; He kept telling us to CELEBRATE! Celebrate BEFORE you see, Celebrate out of obedience, and because our GOD REMEMBERS His Children!! Oh yea……your title in the email, “Unclaimed Gifts,” – I’m also boldly asking Holy Spirit for ALL NINE too. I’m so excited to walk in His gifts!!
That’s awesome Tiria! Thank you for sharing! Wow!