WHY THE GIFT OF RECEIVING IS CRUCIAL FOR THE BELIEVER

Let me start right off by saying this statement:

WE ALL NEED TO LEARN HOW TO BE QUALIFIED RECEIVERS

Now, with that said, I am going on to my point.

I was buying some coffee from the Hospitality Ministry at my church when I told the brother at the counter to keep the change.  I told him that the change was for him, not for the money box and he almost did not want to take it.  However, I insisted that he was blocking my blessing if he did not take it.  Finally he did.

Ever since we received the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we have been taught in the church, and rightly so, to give.  Give, give and give again.  And I thank God for that because of the many blessings that come from that act.  However, what about the other part that the enemy doesn’t what taught in the church?  The part called “receiving”.

Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin.  You can’t have one without the other. Paul talks to the church at Philippi about it in Philippians 4:15.

Even though we may be consistent givers, the enemy can still block us from getting our blessing from the standpoint of receiving. How? By tempting pride to come into play and say to the giver: “No thanks, I don’t need it.”  It’s not about what you need!  It’s about the law of “sowing and reaping”.

Let’s look at some scriptures.

Luke 6:38 says:

Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Emphasis Added) (NKJV)

This is a very familiar scripture and we use it to teach on the principle of giving.  However, there is a receiving part to it as well (see what I underlined).  The only way something can be put into our bosom is if we accept it. (The one thing about God is that He will never force a blessing on us!)

2 Corinthians 9:6 says:

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness (NKJV)

Here is another good example.  God supplies the sower, us, with seed, but we STILL have to accept the seed from Him. If we don’t accept it, then we will not have any seed and then this scripture won't work.

There is one particular scripture I want to point out that will tell us exactly why we don't get blessed at times.  Jesus said in Matthew 15:6:

then he need not honor his father or mother. ’Thus you have made the commandment^] of God of no effect by your tradition. (NKJV)

I personally like the Amplified Bible’s version, which says:

So for the sake of your tradition (the rules handed down by your forefathers), you have set aside the Word of God [depriving it of force and authority and making it of no effect].

So what are our traditions about receiving that are voiding God’s commandments in our lives?  Is it to not accept gifts?  Or   is it to be cute and say things like: “no thanks”, “you shouldn’t have” or “I don’t need it”?

Whenever someone gives us a gift, just receive it in the name of Jesus.  The gift we receive today just might be the seed we need to sow tomorrow for our breakthrough!

Do you have a hard time receiving from others?  Please share your thoughts in the comments below.