“For you created my inmost being” Psalm 139:13.

There is this thing that makes you who you are. That thing that was created by God. From the moment you are born, to the moment you step into eternity, there is a thread that is you. The assault of the fallen Genesis 3 world has that part of who you are in its sights.

A clue that you’re on the verge of discovering your gift is the cringe you feel when you hear the description or you laugh when you read about specific behaviors.

The enemy has weaponized toxic shame. It’s the tactic of the enemy to bury your talent under the shame of messages you’ve received through out your life about your lack of worth. These fiery darts of the enemy land on top of your gift, burying it until you no longer recognize just how miraculous your Gift is.

The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 encapsulates this idea. The one who buried his talent did so because he was afraid. What was He afraid of? He was afraid that he wasn’t capable enough and that his talent wasn’t valuable enough.

Fear makes you isolate, hold back, and bury the Gift that God has put inside you. There’s tremendous freedom in setting your Gift free.

Romans 12:1-3 “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” NIV

The seven Gifts immediately follow this verse about being transformed. Stepping into this gift is part of what being transformed looks like.

If God could heal that part of your soul, and set you free to be who He created you to be, wouldn’t that be a gift?

In the book The Power of the Seven, I devote much time to identifying the wound and sin that has entangled you (Hebrews 12:1-3). You’ll learn about the freedom God offers you to run the race He has set before you.

It’s time for freedom.

The spoils of war

“…when He ascended on high He took many captives and gave gifts to His people” Ephesians 4:8

Paul is quoting the language of Psalm 68:18, the language of a king returning from battle.

After freeing his captive people, the king would return with his army and the spoils of war. Paul changes one idea from Psalm 68:18. The king received the spoils of war in Psalms. But in Ephesians, the king is gives the spoils to the people.

When Jesus descended to Hell after being crucified, He set the captives free. Then, returning to His Kingdom, He gave gifts to His people. And what are the gifts? “So Christ Himself gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers”

Ephesians 4:9 Those gifts aren’t a what, those gifts are a who. The Gifts are inside of me, they’re inside of you. You are the spoils of war, brought back to be a gift to the people in Christ’s Kingdom.

The World Is Waiting

“…to equip his people for works of service so that the Body of Christ might be built up” Ephesians 4:9

These five ministry gifts are specifically designed to equip you and me to do the work of the ministry. These gifts of Ephesians 4 are appointed to lead the church. A big part of their job is to equip people “for works of service.” As the Pastor of a local church, I wrote The Power of The Seven specifically as a tool to prepare my church family for this very thing. Inherent in that is developing the Life Gift from Romans 12.

I hope that this book is the first step on the path for you to not only discover the Gift inside of you, but to develop it into maturity.