Phil 3:13-14 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. KJV
Many times, we listen, we hear, and even wonder about the gifts and calling of God We know God uses people, but question God’s ability to use us.
Maybe it’s the shame of past failures that restrain us!
Maybe it’s fear that restrains us!
Maybe it’s lack of opportunity that restrains us!
Maybe it’s lack of understanding!
In the end, all of it is a form of neglect!
Many sit in church with a restless, nagging feeling, a "divine discontent" with the weight of a "high calling."
If it is not addressed in your personal life, you will tend to blame it on others!
High Calling: God’s invitation to align your life with a greater divine purpose
It’s inviting our unique talents and perspective to be used for a specific purpose, even in our brokenness
1 Tim 4:14-16 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. 15 Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. NLT
Many are afraid to do anything until they have it all together
Neglect: lack of attention, to be careless, to show no concern Gift: a (divine) gratuity; (specifically) a (spiritual) endowment, i.e. (personally) religious qualification, or (specifically) miraculous faculty:
1 Peter 4:10-11 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. NLT
Image: Perspective Stick Person
Speaking gifts: to use words in order to declare one's mind and disclose one's thoughts
Many young people with this gift were not guided in the right direction and used this gift in the wrong way!
Serving gift: to do anyone a service, care for someone's needs, and is an inferred service rendered, bringing advantage to others, to help.
There are no gift-less persons ever born!
Rom 12:3-8 4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. 6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. NLT
Image: Every Member coming into divine alignment
The Motivational Gifts are how we personally respond to and view the world around us! The gifts of the Spirit flow through us to others around us! The Ministry gifts are given to the church to equip believers to walk in their gifts and calling!
People suffer when we neglect our gift!
Gift: a (divine) gratuity; (specifically) a (spiritual) endowment, i.e., (subjectively) religious qualification, or (objectively) miraculous faculty:
Image: Using your spiritual gift (How it works)
Samson - An Example of Neglect
Judg 16:17-19 17 Finally, Samson shared his secret with her. "My hair has never been cut," he confessed, "for I was dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as anyone else."18 Delilah realized he had finally told her the truth, so she sent for the Philistine rulers. "Come back one more time," she said, "for he has finally told me his secret." So the Philistine rulers returned with the money in their hands. 19 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him. NLT
Samson neglected his divine gifts through a lack of self-control, personal arrogance, and repeated compromises of his sacred vows.
Though he was blessed with the gift of supernatural physical strength to deliver Israel from the Philistines, the neglect of his God-given gift led to moral and spiritual weaknesses!
1. Breaking His Nazirite Vows
Samson was set apart from birth under a strict Nazirite vow, which served as the spiritual framework protecting his gift. He repeatedly ignored its conditions:
He compromised his Gift by touching dead things, flirting with alcohol, and ultimately letting his hair be cut. Your character protects your gift.
Selfish Motivation: He used supernatural strength to settle petty, personal grievances (killing 30 men for clothes; burning fields out of spite) rather than delivering his nation.
Spiritual Arrogance: He developed a sense of personal invincibility. He walked straight into a Gazan brothel, assuming his raw talent would bail him out of his bad character. Flirting with Temptation: With Delilah, he turned his sacred calling into a dangerous flirting game until he was worn down.
The ultimate tragedy of his neglect is captured in Judges 16:20: when he woke up to fight, he did not even realize that the Lord had departed from him.
Judges 16:20 20 Then she cried out, "Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!" When he woke up, he thought, "I will do as before and shake myself free." But he didn't realize the Lord had left him. NLT
He had treated the Giver of the gift with such carelessness that he lost both his vision and his freedom
It is our responsibility not to neglect, but even more, to fan the flames
2 Tim 1:6-7 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. NLT
Fan: to revive a fire. To revive, stir up as a fire
The point of stirring the flame is for it to come forth
Gift: a (divine) gratuity; (specifically) a (spiritual) endowment, i.e. (subjectively) religious qualification, or (objectively) miraculous faculty:
Each gift is given with purpose and intention, meant to fulfill God's plan and bring glory to His name.
When individuals fail to recognize the value of these gifts, they not only miss out on personal blessings but also hinder the work of God in their lives and communities.
Like Samson, you will lose your internal freedom and be blinded to the things of God!
Your spiritual gift is a divine trust, not a personal possession—and when you neglect it, the people around you suffer. Do not allow past failures or present fears to trap you in a state of restless discontent; instead, look at the tragedy of Samson as a warning, protect your God-given boundaries, and intentionally fan your gift into flames with power, love, and self-discipline.
Spiritual Awakening: Historical commentators note that Nazirites typically multiplied during times of religious reform or political crisis, serving as distinct tokens of God's favor to guide the people back to the covenant.
