Biblical ABC’s: E is for – Eight Great Gifts

Ladies Bible Study by Mrs. Rick Jackson

Some time ago, there was a blurb on the back of one of our Sunday bulletins, last December, I think, that caught my eye, and I’ve been saving it, thinking on it, and tonight’s lesson it has come back to the forefront. This is what it said:

People . . . you have eight great gifts! The gift of Attention. Give it to your friends. The gift of Praise. John Ruskin said, “The greatest gifts of the human race have come from the gift of praise.” The gift of Consideration. The best way to keep from stepping on the other fellow’s toes is to put yourself in his shoes. The gift of Nature. Smile and the world smiles with you. Grumble and you grumble alone. The gift of Concession. Concede that others have a brain in their head. The gift of Confidence. If you worry about what people think of you, it’s because you have more confidence in their opinion than you have in your own. The gift of Inspiration. If you work for a man – work for him! The gift of Gratitude. If we stopped to think more – we would stop to thank more. We all own these eight great gifts. If we don’t use them – we’re like a man {or a woman} with a million dollars in the bank and no checkbook!!! ------- Copied

PRAYER

So, tonight, let’s talk about these Eight great gifts from a Biblical perspective!

I. The Gift of Attention

The gift of Attention. Give it to your friends. You know, there’s a wonderful word in the Old Testament, hearken, that comes from the Hebrew word, shama, which means “to hear with attention.” It is quite often difficult for us in our fast-paced world to take the time to “hear with attention.” To listen on purpose – that’s something that God expects from us! There is a beautiful passage in Deuteronomy chapter 30 beginning at verse 10 where God is speaking to the children of Israel and says, “(10)If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. (11)For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. (12)It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? (13)Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? (14)But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” Proverbs 7:24 says, “Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth.” Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:35 – “And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.” It is a necessity that we set time aside to attend up the Lord without distraction, that we hearken upon His Word, that we are attentive to the Lord and His will for us, else how can we be attentive to our fellow man? I am not denying that we need to give others our attention, but I’m saying GOD is first!! And in the passage in Deuteronomy, the Lord was pointing out to the children of Israel, to hearken to God’s Word is not a difficult request – His Word is not hidden; we don’t have to go to heaven to retrieve it! Especially for us today – how many copies of the Bible do you have available to you? How easy is it, truly, for you and me to hearken unto the Lord? The question becomes, do we take the time to do it?

II.The Gift of Praise

The gift of Praise. John Ruskin said, “The greatest gifts of the human race have come from the gift of praise.” As I read this, I began to think about how often during the day do I actually praise the Lord? Really? Oh, I know, when something wonderful happens, we often will say, “Well, praise the Lord!” But it’s when I read through the book of Psalms and in other passages, I have learned that this is when we should be praising God: 1 Chronicles 23:30: “And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even.” Psalm 71:8: “Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.” Psalm 104:33: “I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” Psalm 146:2: “While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.” And, again, this is how often we should be praising Him: Hebrews 13:15: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Psalm 119:164: “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.” Psalm 145:2: “Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name forever and ever.” And the reason we can and should be in constant praise to God? Psalm 115:17 says, “The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.” Isaiah 38:18, 19, “For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.”

III.The Gift of Consideration

The gift of Consideration. The best way to keep from stepping on the other fellow’s toes is to put yourself in his shoes. Ours has become a world of “me, first!” It is so difficult to place someone ahead of ourselves, and yet this is what Jesus constantly taught while He walked this earth. Philippians 2:3 says, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” – Psalm 119:128. In Romans 12:3 we read, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” It is a small person who belittles and criticizes his fellow man. How much more pleasing to God when we take the time to consider our neighbor, to help, not hinder. Let’s be that person, who “esteems other better than themselves.”

IV.The Gift of Nature

The gift of Nature. Smile and the world smiles with you. Grumble and you grumble alone. Proverbs 18:24 says, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” This basically goes hand in hand with the gift of consideration, but concentrating on the nature of our attitudes! How many friends does a grumpbug have? And the person who smiles? We have to make the first move. “Oh, but,” you say, “that’s not in my nature!” Well, then, ask the Lord to make it a part of your nature. Let me tell you about my nature. When Rick was in seminary and we were just starting out, and he was working in his first church, helping as an aide to a pastor friend, doing whatever needed to be done, we were in services and the Pastor’s wife came up to me one service and asked me about our future plans – wasn’t Rick studying to be a Pastor? “Yes,” I told her. “Well,” she told me very kindly, “then you need to get busy being a Pastor’s wife. You go around the church here and start greeting these people, get to know them, smile and be friendly.” You see, I was shy, and it wasn’t my “nature” to be outgoing, but to those around me I seemed to be unfriendly or “stuck-up,” I wasn’t smiling or outgoing and so I appeared to be unkind. I wasn’t trying to be unkind, but I appeared to be that way. I needed to “show myself to be friendly,” and this Pastor’s wife nudged me ever so gently into being what I needed to be. Smile and the world smiles with you. Grumble and you grumble alone. This is a lesson I try not to forget.

V.The Gift of Concession

The gift of Concession. Concede that others have a brain in their head. We read in Romans 12:10, “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;” and in Romans 12:16, “Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.” You know what? We don’t always have to crow every time we’re right about something. It’s okay if someone else gets the glory isn’t it? Who says we have to get the praise all the time? The older I get the more I realize that it’s okay when someone else gets a pat on the back for something that should have come my way. And when someone else is right about something, let them know! 1 Timothy 5:21, “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.” 1 Peter 3:11, “Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.” And I’m sure you know by now my favorite verses on these matters, Ephesians 4: 31, 32 – “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” I guess what I’m saying is a little more kindness and a lot less bitterness go a long way!

VI.The Gift of Confidence

The gift of Confidence. If you worry about what people think of you, it’s because you have more confidence in their opinion than you have in your own. Philippians 1:6 & 14, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” We should know that our confidence is not in ourselves but in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we are truly confident in the Lord, then it stands to reason we have the boldness to share our faith with others. Paul continues to express this in this 1st chapter of Philippians, see what he says in verse 20: “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.”

VII.The Gift of Inspiration

The gift of Inspiration. If you work for a man – work for him! You know, when I hear inspiration, my thoughts immediately go to 2 Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” There is another curious verse in the book of Job, Job 32:8, “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.” So we know the Scriptures came from God, but to understand the Scriptures requires work on our behalf. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” So, what we’re doing tonight is an example of that – trying to delve deeper into the Word of God, getting a better understanding; but we also need to set aside daily study time in order to “rightly divide the Word of Truth!”

A Sunday school teacher asked a little boy if he knew what is in the Bible. He said with much assurance, “Oh, yes! There is a letter from Grandma, my mommy’s recipe for angel food cake, my baby picture, and the telephone bill.”

Many do not know any more about what the Bible contains than just that. Can you say with the psalmist, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee?” – (Psalm 119:11)

VIII.The Gift of Gratitude

The gift of Gratitude. If we stopped to think more – we would stop to thank more. Without a doubt, this is an area we discussed again and again, but have we put it into practice in our lives? Do we have the attitude of gratitude? I thought I’d read just a few passages to remind us of the gratitude attitude that the Scriptures points us to over and over again! Psalm 97:12 -- “Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” Psalm 107:1 -- “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.” Psalm 118:1 & 29 -- “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever.” Psalm 136:1, 2, 3 & 26 -- “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth forever. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth forever.” Romans 14:6 -- “He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.” Colossians 1:3 -- “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.”1 Thessalonians 5:18 -- “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Hebrews 13:15, “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” Izaak Walton said, “God has two dwellings: one in Heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart.”

We all own these eight great gifts. The gift of Attention. The gift of Praise. The gift of Consideration. The gift of Nature. The gift of Concession. The gift of Confidence. The gift of Inspiration. The gift of Gratitude. If we don’t use them – we’re like a woman with a million dollars in the bank and no checkbook!!!