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GIFTS Everything God Promises to Give You in the Bible Kevin White 2024 © by Kevin White All rights reserved. Published 2024. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or yet to be invented, without written permission from the publisher, except in cases of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. BIBLE SCRIPTURES Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. of: This book would not be possible without the support Glory Suresh and Ana Marie Banares, thank you for helping me to carefully research and collect every reference of God’s GIFTS found in the Bible. Lori Loomis, thank you for helping me edit and glue this book together. My beautiful team and family at Spirit Media, thank you to everyone who researched keywords, proofread, designed the cover, interior layout, and handled the publishing on Amazon and every where books are sold. To my Heavenly Father, from whom all blessings flow, to you be the glory for each and every GIFT. 5 6 “What do you have that God hasn’t GIVEN you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a GIFT?” –1 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT) 7 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS 11 Introduction Chapter 1: Gifts 19 Chapter 2: You 25 Chapter 3: Land 31 Chapter 4: Life 39 Chapter 5: Family 59 Chapter 6: Increase 69 Chapter 7: Empowerment 85 Chapter 8: Everything 101 Chapter 9: Ask 113 Chapter 10: Depend 123 Conclusion 129 9 10 INTRODUCTION THE FATHER’S GOING TO GIVE IT! My fifth book, Only God Works: Investing Now What Matters Then, ends with a one sentence conclusion: Conclusion The Father’s going to give it! Only God works. 134 11 I N T R O D U C T I O N As soon as I finished writing that book, I sensed God’s instructions to leave Spirit Media in His hands and go to India and Nepal to teach this revelation. Spirit Media wasn’t even one year old. We’d been struggling to secure enough funding to keep the company going. Our rapid growth had exceeded our available cash flow. We were living monthto-month, wondering if we’d be able to pay our bills and make it to the next month. We had no choice but to depend on the GIFTS of God daily for our very survival. (DEPEND is the final chapter of this book for a reason. More on that later.) We were confident every investor, staff, client, and project was a GIFT from God. In the middle of all this God tested me to see if I would depend on my human efforts or on His GIFTS. Earlier in my life I had failed this test. This time, I knew better. “I said, “Yes, Lord”, and prepared to leave this startup company for two weeks for an international mission trip. Our team at Spirit Media published Only God Works in 14 days! I set out for my fifty-fourth trip to India in twenty-five years and my first ever trip to Nepal. I had been asked to speak multiple times a day high in the hills of Northeast India and Nepal. We gave out copies of Only God Works as God had me proclaim 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NLT), “God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.” I spent one week in India and a second week in Nepal. It was a fast-paced, life-changing experience. I grew in the Lord; God worked in and through me in a mighty way for His glory, and Spirit Media experienced measurable growth even while I was gone for two weeks. The only possible explanation is: The Father promised to GIVE it and He did! 12 I N T R O D U C T I O N Everywhere I turned, I saw the GIFTS of God. I’m convinced God took me to India and Nepal to intentionally show me hundreds of millions of dollars of human need. Leaders in India and Nepal were constantly asking me to pray for God’s guidance and provision over insurmountable human needs. We asked God for miraculous physical healings, land, buildings, church facilities, retreat centers, leadership training facilities, salaries for pastors, transportation for pastors, as well as food for the poor, widows, and lepers. We asked God for education for children, homes for orphans, Bible colleges, seminaries, salaries for faculty, libraries, dorms, auditoriums, water projects, baptistries, books, Bibles, marriages, jobs, income generation projects, and more. Truly, the list was endless. Any human soul would be totally crushed and devastated if it weren’t for the revelation: The Father’s going to GIVE it! Because of this revelation we were free to pray with such boldness and confidence knowing: The Father’s going to GIVE it! This revelation is absolutely a total game changer! It doesn’t matter how big the bill or problem: The GIVER is going to GIVE it or we were not meant to have it. I’m convinced God took me over 8,000 miles away to India and Nepal to rub my nose in all He desires to GIVE. We literally prayed over hundreds of millions of dollars of human need and Kingdom good. Before going to India, I was consumed in leading Spirit Media to generate its first million in revenue. I specifically remember, while in India, God telling me: “You’re thinking too small.” This totally changed my perspective that day. It continues! Multiple times since then, God regularly confronts me with: “You’re thinking too small.” 13 I N T R O D U C T I O N We must first accept the revelation that the Father’s going to GIVE it. God forbid it takes you as long as it took me to understand this. Once we do, we begin to understand: either The GIVER will GIVE it, or we will never have it. We see our Heavenly Father as The GIVER. We understand that everything we have has been GIVEN to us from Him. We can take no credit for it. As soon as we agree with Him that the Father’s going to GIVE it, He begins to show us just how much He desires to GIVE to us. For two solid weeks in India and Nepal, God kept showing me things He would love to GIVE: GIFTS that would bless His people, extend His kingdom, accomplish His mission, and bring Him glory. With each exposure to human need, I sensed God asking: would you be willing to ask me to GIVE this? To my people? For my glory? (ASK is the second to last chapter of this book for a reason. More on that later too.) During that trip, “The Father’s going to GIVE it!” went to “The Father wants to GIVE it!” This dramatically changed how we prayed. It moved our prayers from uncertainty and doubt to confidence and thanksgiving. Now please understand that doesn’t mean we began to control God with our prayers. No. We began to trust God on higher levels. Jesus taught us to pray: “Father, if you are willing, . . . I want your will to be done, not mine.” –Luke 22:42 (NLT) We prayed with bold faith, asking God to faithfully GIVE everything He brought before us. We did so with full surrender and submission to His will. As you will see in this book, sometimes the true GIFT lies in trusting God enough to ask, regardless of whether we receive. The GIFT is experiencing God. It’s knowing His Word, heart, will, and way. It’s having confident hope and trust to let Him decide when and how He GIVES His GIFTS to us. It is a GIFT to simply see: the Father’s going to GIVE it! 14 I N T R O D U C T I O N “The Father’s going to GIVE it” changes EVERYTHING! Let this sink in… GIVE. GIVE it. The Father. He. He is going to GIVE it. The Father’s going to GIVE it! As soon as I returned from my trip, God said: “Now, I want you to go write down everything in my Word that I promise to GIVE.” My team and I started making a list of every scripture in the Bible where God promises to GIVE something. It took us months! The more we wrote down, the more we found. I was truly blown away as we discovered more and more of what God has promised to GIVE us. I was also sad that I had never seen the extent of God’s GIFTS like this before. I suspect you have not either. RIGHT NOW Right now, there's a young mother or father working for money instead of staying home with their children because they're doubting that The Father’s going to GIVE it. Right now, a business owner has hit a ceiling in the growth of his company. He can't afford to finance the vision God has GIVEN him. Despite trying everything he knows to secure more capital for 15 I N T R O D U C T I O N its expansion, he's stuck because he never realized he could depend on the GIFTS of God. Right now, someone senses God's call to go on a mission trip. They diligently study it, discover the associated costs, and abruptly halt in their tracks, feeling overwhelmed by the financial burden. They believe in the saying “God's will, God's bill,” but it never occurs to them to trust God for His GIFTS. Right now, someone dreams of attending college but is discouraged by the daunting cost. Affording college tuition appears utterly impossible to them. Sadly, they've never been taught to rely on the GIFTS of God. These real-life examples are sad, and what's even more disheartening is that they involve followers of Jesus. All of these individuals know Jesus, have received forGIVEness, and are covered by His blood. However, they have never been taught to recognize and rely on the GIFTS of God. (Notice GIVE is even in the middle of forGIVEness. Look for them and you will see God’s GIFTS everywhere!) Many believers have limited knowledge of God's GIFTS, and only a few live in total dependence on them. Unfortunately, this is not commonly taught as it should be. That is, until now! This book publishes the list of everything God promises to GIVE us in the Bible. Here is your opportunity to see and hear for yourself the very Word of God. When Romans 8:32 (NLT) says: “Since he did not spare even his own Son but GAVE him up for us all, won’t he also GIVE us everything else?” –He means EVERYTHING! We have intentionally used to highlight every scripture. Be purposeful about reading through each scripture. It is the scripture that God promises won’t return void. Only the 16 I N T R O D U C T I O N scripture bears fruit. Don’t skip or rush through the scriptures. Allow God time to speak every GIFT He promises to GIVE. Come, let’s go on this discovery tour together. You will immediately begin to think differently, pray differently, live differently and GIVE differently. The world is yet to see what will happen when the people of God, together, all live with confident expectancy that The Father’s going to GIVE it! Get ready for God to blow your mind. Welcome to GIFTS. 17 18 01 GIFTS Throughout this book, I've made a deliberate choice to capitalize certain words: GIFT, GIVE, GIVES, and GIVEN. I did this to highlight just how frequently these words appear in God's Word. I've experienced firsthand that it's possible to study the Word, yet miss the profound reality and revelation of God's GIFTS. Soon, you too will see that the Bible is filled with GIFTS from God. “GIFT” translated into Hebrew is “matana,” and in Greek, it is “dórea.” “Gifts" appears approximately 80 times in the NLT Bible. “GIVE” – in Hebrew is “natan,” and in Greek, “didomi.” "GIVE" appears approximately 1,073 times in the NLT Bible. “GIVES” – in Hebrew, it’s “natan or notenn,” in Greek, “dosis/dinei.” "GIVES" appears approximately 111 times in the NLT Bible. “GIVEN”– in Hebrew is “natun/nathiyn” and in Greek, it’s “dedoménos.” "GIVEN" appears approximately 754 times in the NLT Bible. 19 G I F T S We organized all these scriptures into six categories: 1. Land 2. Life 3. Family 4. Increase 5. Empowerment 6. Everything During my study, I noticed three things: 1. There are more verses about God GIVING us land than anything else. 2. The word YOU is included all throughout God’s GIFTS. 3. The word ASK is also included in God’s GIFTS. You’ll see this laid out in the chapters of this book: Chapter 1: Gifts Chapter 2: You Chapter 3: Land Chapter 4: Life Chapter 5: Family Chapter 6: Increase Chapter 7: Empowerment Chapter 8: Everything 20 G I F T S Chapter 9: Ask Chapter 10: Depend In addition to these, thousands of verses declare God’s GIFTS even without using the word GIVES. For example: "And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely GIVEN us." –1 Corinthians 2:12 (NLT) "Thank God for this GIFT too wonderful for words!" –2 Corinthians 9:15 (NLT) "Whatever is good and perfect is a GIFT coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." –James 1:17 (NLT) – These facts highlight the vital importance of life-changing discipleship. Can you see how every follower of Christ should understand and put them into practice in their lives? This book doesn't revolve around the notions of entitlement or attempting to control God. It also doesn't solely emphasize materialistic GIFTS. A genuine GIFT is undeserved, without any strings attached, and without any manipulation of return. A true GIFT remains just that – a GIFT. James 1:17 (NLT) says, “Whatever is good and perfect is a GIFT coming down to us from God our Father.” God's GIFTS are good and perfect. They are freely GIVEN, devoid of any hidden agendas or attempts to secure something in return. These GIFTS from God are genuinely unconditional. 21 G I F T S It honors Him when we understand, expect, and receive His GIFTS. Our reliance on His GIFTS rather than our own abilities is a profound way to honor God. In the next chapter, you will see God’s GIFTS are for YOU. One of the potential tragedies of this book would be to agree that God desires to give to everyone else but YOU. It takes faith to believe God wants to give to others. It takes greater faith to believe God wants to give GIFTS to you. Unfortunately, some believers even argue that God’s promises to His people in the Bible are not for the church today. This is not biblical. If God had intended to draw the line all the verses about GIFTS would include, “GIFTS I gave them”, but as you'll see He clearly says, “GIFTS I give you.” The word “you” is overwhelmingly prevalent. As we truly study all the verses in the Bible where God promises to give something, one of the words you'll commonly find is the word: YOU. This isn't an accident. God is intentional. It is no coincidence that verses about GIFTS do not often use the word: them. Here's the truth. All throughout the Bible, you will see God using the word YOU along with the word GIFTS. God says: I will GIVE to YOU. This land I GIVE YOU. I will GIVE YOU everything. YOU means you. Don't accept some words but reject others. God didn't make any mistake, nor is He a God of confusion. God doesn’t say “you” but mean “them” or “others.” 22 G I F T S If you read this book seeing God’s GIFTS but turn a blind eye to the word you, then you'll only be accepting half truth. The whole truth is God promises to GIVE to you. It is my prayer that by the end of this book, you too will SEE all God promises to GIVE to you. I pray you will fall on your face and worship God as The GIVER He has always been. Unfortunately, the church has not always honored God as The GIVER, but YOU will after reading this book. In my first book, Audacious Generosity: How to Experience, Receive, and GIVE More Than You Ever Thought Possible, God had me establish that God’s “more” is always more of Him and more for Him. Nothing has protected me from entitlement, corruption, and greed more than this. I encourage you to affirm the same. God’s more is more of Himself and more for Himself. This frees you to receive the GIFTS of God. 23 24 02 YOU One of the potential tragedies of this book would be to agree that God desires to give to everyone else but YOU. It takes faith to believe God wants to give to others. It takes greater faith to believe God wants to give GIFTS to you. Unfortunately, some believers even argue that God’s promises to His people in the Bible are not for the church today. This is not biblical. If God had intended to draw the line all the verses about GIFTS would include, “GIFTS I gave them”, but as you’ll see He clearly says, “GIFTS I give you.” The word “you” is overwhelmingly prevalent. As we truly study all the verses in the Bible where God promises to give something, one of the words you’ll commonly find is the word: YOU. This isn’t an accident. God is intentional. It is no coincidence that verses about GIFTS do not often use the word: them. Here’s the truth. All throughout the Bible, you will see God using the word YOU along with the word GIFTS. God says: I will GIVE to YOU. This land I GIVE YOU. I will GIVE YOU everything. 25 Y O U YOU means you. Don’t accept some words but reject others. God didn’t make any mistake, nor is He a God of confusion. God doesn’t say “you” but mean “them” or “others.” If you read this book seeing God’s GIFTS but turn a blind eye to the word you, then you’ll only be accepting half truth. The whole truth is God promises to GIVE to you. It is my prayer that by the end of this book, you too will SEE all God promises to GIVE to you. I pray you will fall on your face and worship God as The GIVER He has always been. Unfortunately, the church has not always honored God as The GIVER, but YOU will after reading this book. In my first book, Audacious Generosity: How to Experience, Receive, and GIVE More Than You Ever Thought Possible, God had me establish that God’s “more” is always more of Him and more for Him. Nothing has protected me from entitlement, corruption, and greed more than this. I encourage you to affirm the same. God’s more is more of Himself and more for Himself. This frees you to receive the GIFTS of God. If we add the number of times “YOU” is included, such as “into the land I will GIVE you”. . . • You occurs 14,399 times in the English Standard Version. • You occurs 14,480 times in the New King James Version. • You occurs 2,616 times in the King James Version–11,917 if you count you, thou, or thee 26 Y O U Rest assured, as the world’s best Father, God sees you today. You are highly valuable to Him. One of my favorite verses is Matthew 7:11 (NLT): “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” What kind of Father would God be if He talked all throughout the Bible about GIFTS but never attached the word YOU? One of the greatest ways you can honor God is by allowing Him to speak to YOU. His whole pursuit is an intimate love relationship with you. He commits to YOU . . . “ . . . when you pray, I will listen.” –Jeremiah 29:12 (NLT) What an incredible GIFT! Likewise, God seeks your wholehearted affection as you prioritize your pursuit of His kingdom and righteousness. When you make seeking God your primary responsibility, incredible things unfold in your life. “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” –Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT) – “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will GIVE you everything you need.” –Matthew 6:33 (NLT) Jesus refers to God's GIFT, saying, “‘If you only knew the GIFT God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would GIVE you living water.’” –John 4:10 (NLT) 27 Y O U God’s presence is His most valuable gift. Accepting this opens the door to incredible rewards! “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” –Hebrews 11:6 (NLT) While it’s true God loves to give us His GIFTS, it honors him for us to seek Him, not just His GIFTS. As we seek Him, He promises to GIVE us everything we need. God’s GIFTS to you are endless. He asks us: “What do you have that God hasn’t GIVEN you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a GIFT?” –1 Corinthians 4:7 (NLT) When it comes to GIFTS, God’s Word is very direct: “No one can receive anything unless God GIVES it from heaven.” –John 3:27 (NLT) God asks us: “Since he did not spare even his own Son but GAVE him up for us all, won’t he also GIVE us everything else?” –Romans 8:32 (NLT) God promises GIFTS: “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will GIVE life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” –Romans 8:11 (NLT) God wants you to read these verses for yourself, not only for others. God’s GIFTS are for YOU. 28 Y O U Take Courage! The enemy of God doesn’t want you to see these scriptures of everything God promises to GIVE you. Satan knows that as long as you depend on yourself instead of the GIFTS of God, then you will live limited instead of limitless lives. Nothing slows the fulfillment of God’s redemptive mission on earth more than this! Perhaps you already fear, “Will this lead me to entitlement, corruption, or greed?” God has called us to be led by faith, not by fear. Trust God to protect you from entitlement, corruption, and greed. Don’t avoid God’s Word because of fear. Instead, receive God’s Word with faith. Be a believer. This includes allowing God to say the word “you.” Allow me to point out something. All throughout the Bible, God calls us to focus on others. God’s Word is for all 195 nations! God’s promises to GIVE extend to every nation, tribe, people, and language. This is good news for all people. God doesn't teach us to focus on me, me, me, but them, them, them. The enemy will use this to trick us into believing God’s GIFTS are for others and not for us. Here's the test of our faith: You focus on the nations, others, all people, and trust God to focus on you. Just because God trains us to focus on Him and others doesn't mean He doesn't promise to GIVE to you. He does! Allowing him to say “you” will increase your faith in God giving to others through you. Try this: Does God want you to give? Yes or no? Does God want to give to you? Yes or no? All believers expect God wants them to give. Few believers expect God to give to them. What kind of Father expects his children 29 Y O U to give without giving to them? In my book, Audacious Generosity, God had me declare: God is the Giver and giving depends on what God puts into your hands. This order is very important! First, God gives to YOU. Because of that he calls you to give to others. If you refuse to accept that God desires to give to YOU it will limit you allowing Him to give to others through YOU. Jesus says, “It is more blessed to GIVE than to receive” (Acts 20:35 NLT). As we focus on GIVING to others, God GIVES to us. His gifts are for YOU too. Let God say “you.” “You” means YOU. Receive it and worship in humble thanksGIVing. Told you! Once you accept God as The GIVER, you start seeing His GIFTS everywhere! Even thanksGIVing results from God’s GIFTS! As we’re about to see, God has a lot to say about GIVING you land. 30