Gifted doesn’t mean much in itself because as long as you are saved, you’re gifted. You need the Lordship. Why? Because the gifts need to produce ministry. The Spirit comes from the Lord. How do you make the gift to be a ministry? For instance, look at Bill Freeman, John Ingles, Benson, and–Lord cover me–you even look at me, as this poor brother. In each case, you should realize, these brothers have something. I’m not Brother Lee; I’m not a great giant, but I have something. I have a ministry. I don’t have THE ministry, but I have A ministry. I can’t be as bold as Brother Lee: “this ministry, this ministry.” I have to say “My ministry; my little ministry.” I do have a ministry! How can your ministry be produced? You have to shift from merely a gift to being under the Lord’s lordship.
I will give you an illustration. I was born in China, so I didn’t have many chances to play soccer. I had thought about soccer, I’d heard about soccer, and I’d even thought, if I could play soccer, that would be wonderful! But I never had the chance. Then, one day I met a brother in Brazil. When he was 14 years old a professional soccer team was already trying to recruit him. At just 14 years old! One day, he played with the soccer ball in front of me. He got it up, he got it down, and the whole time the ball never left his foot! Up and down, behind and front–I looked at it, and said, “Wow, surely, how long have you been under this ‘soccer-ship’?” Do you know what I’m talking about? You see, you don’t just say: “Oh look, I can play soccer, see?!” Then go there *bong!* the ball’s already away–No! you have to be under the “soccer-ship” for years! You have to be under the discipline of soccer-ship. You have to play with it, you have to carry it, you have to take it to school, you have to take it home. When it’s your break time, you have to go to the field and play. Then, soccer controls you. When you are under the soccer-ship for a number of years, if you are gifted–if you are not gift then it doesn’t work–but if you are gifted at soccer, then that soccer-ship will become a profession. It will make you a professional soccer player.
Is there any baseball player, any football player, who isn’t like this? Can you testify to me, isn’t that your case? Anything you really know well is this way. Any pianist must be under the piano-ship for years. In the morning they play the piano; they are not tired. Even those around them get tired of hearing the piano all the time. You ask, “What is this?” They will tell you, “Piano-ship.” They have the piano-ship with the idea that someday, they can really play piano. Then you can be under a football-ship, or under a baseball-ship, or under a soccer-ship. I tell you, some sisters are under beauty-ship, so they always pay attention to what kind of perfume they have and to what kind of lipstick they wear. Everyone has to live under a certain “-ship.” Some Christians are under a career-ship; their whole being is given just to their career: “I could work 60 hours! I want a promotion!”
Here the Bible tells us: now that you have the Spirit, you are gifted (1 Corinthians 12:4). But gifts in themselves will never build up the church. Don’t ever trust your gift. Even though you are able to preach, even though you have a loud voice, even though you have a strong spirit, they will never build up the church. What builds up the church? Ministries. Ministries build up the church. The gift is natural; the ministry comes out of the discipline and the feeding of the Lordship. Are you saved? Amen. So are you gifted? Yes. Are you useful? I’m not quite sure. Why are you not quite sure? It all depends on how much you are under the Lordship.
Excerpted from A Ministry and Not A Work, message three of the 1978 Labor Day Weekend Conference in Seattle, WA.
