Creation of Creativity

I believe and hold dear that we all, both saved and unsaved, as human beings created by God, we have within us, by that act of creation, the ability and the desire to create; we have within all of us creativity

“We are ourselves creations. We are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves. This is the God-force extending itself through us. Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using creativity is our gift back to God.” - Julia Cameron, Heart Steps

“A painter told me that nobody could draw a tree without in some sort becoming a tree; or draw a child by studying the outlines of its form merely . . . but by watching for a time his motions and plays, the painter enters into his nature and can then draw him at every attitude . . .” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

For us to fully be able to talk about creativity, it does become necessary to first discuss creation. Genesis chapter 1 says that in the beginning God created…and God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. Genesis goes on to read that God turned over his beautiful creation to his own creation, by giving us rule over the land and the animals. Also we can look at the result of His creativity and how it reflects the Creator:

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.  Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.  They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.t  Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.  It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.  The sun rises at one end of the heavens
and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.” – Psalm 19:1-6

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” – Romans 1:20

This same creative “gene” is within us. We have this attribute as a gift from the Father for a purpose, and it is our duty to cultivate the gifts of creativity within us, remembering that this is how the Father shaped us.

Immediately after god gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Moses has ascended to the top of Mount Sinai where God has just given him detailed instructions concerning the tabernacle. And now in chapter 31 God tells Moses how the building of the tabernacle is to be accomplished.

“God spoke to Moses:  ”See what I’ve done; I’ve personally chosen Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur of the tribe of Judah.  I’ve filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him skill and know-how and expertise in every kind of craft to create designs and work in gold, silver, and bronze;  to cut and set gemstones; to carve wood-he’s an all-around craftsman.  Not only that, but I’ve given him Oholiab, son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan, to work with him. And to all who have an aptitude for crafts I’ve given the skills to make all the things I’ve commanded you.” – Exodus 31:1-6

God Gives Gifts To Whom He Chooses:

Verse 1-2 reads: “God spoke to Moses:  ”See what I’ve done; I’ve personally chosen Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur of the tribe of Judah.”

The principle of God distributing gifts to us is also found in the spiritual gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12 and Hebrews 2, the motivational gifts found in Romans 12, and the five fold ministry gifts found in Ephesians 4. In all of these examples, the discretion of to whom the gift is for is always on the behalf of the giver.

None of this means that some of has no gifts, absolutely not! We all have been gifted in some way. Some with music, some with art, some with working with your hands, and some with writing words that most hearts can’t express.

The thing to remember is that God being the Father of all creation gave us the gift of creation as well.

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” – James 1:17

Discover the gifts within you, and go wild with them.

Creativity Through The Holy Spirit

“I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship.” Exodus 31:3

It is so important to know that creativity comes through the Holy Spirit.

“the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” – Genesis 1:2

“The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (the Holy Spirit), and the man became a living being.  The Holy Spirit is part of all of God’s creative acts, and so it should not surprise us that God also gives us our creative gifts through the Holy Spirit.” – Genesis 2:7

 As you study the doctrine of the trinity, it was the Father that sent the Son and then they both sent the Holy Spirit to come and send men & women…The Holy Spirit moves us and moves through us and is always drawing us closer to the Father through the Son. The Holy Spirit is the breath behind our creativity, He is that force that propels us to commune with creation and creativity because He is wanting us to connect to not just those things but with the Master Creator.

Creativity Is Not Just “Art”

“to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship” – Exodus 31:4-5

“We [all] have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” – Romans 12:6

We do not need to limit ourselves to just thinking of the creative arts, but all of us have creative gifts and abilities. Many of us have so many uniqe was of expressing our creativity. Some love to cook, to write, to play music, to paint, and knit,to build things, or design websites & graphics. What ever that little thing with you is, is creativity. We need to dig that out, uncover it, and let it grow. I believe that just this simple act would help so many emotional and spiritual issues.

The Purpose Of Our Creativity

God gives creative gifts for a purpose. Part of that purpose is simply for us to fulfill our role as created beings made in the image of the Creator.  We have also been given these gifts of creativity to fulfill a work that God has for us to do.

 “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” – Ephesians 2:10

 So our creativity is not only for us, but it it is for a good work. It could be a way of expressing Jesus to others. It could be a way for you to extend healing in a hospital.  It could be a simple way of expressing love to a neighbor. Our creativity is good works.

Our Confrontation with Creativity

Many of us do not believe that we are creative, that we are not the “creative type”. Some see others skill sets and devalue their own.  And some don’t believe what they do or what they offer is creative.

I personally believe this is a trap from the same enemy of your soul that does not want you to become the person that God has called you to be.  Satan is father of all lies and he uses self-doubt to limit us on every front.  We must understand that these self-doubts and lies only limit our ability to share in our relationship with the creator, but when we discard these falsehoods, we can have a more intimate connection through creativity.

Conclusion

You have been, we have been, created by a God who formed within His creation the ability and desire to create.  We have to understand and see this through the work of Jesus, this creativity is within us for a reason.  We all have something within us, given to us by the Father, filled by the Spirit, to proclaim the Gospel of Christ through our creativity.

“Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident.” (2 Corinthians 1:20 MSG)

Back around 2003 / 2004, Pastor George prophesied over Stephanie and me concerning 2 things:

1: that we would be on the forefront of a movement within Foursquare
2: that we would be holding babies

In 2004, at the 2004 Foursquare Convention, the Lord really impressed two things on to my heart:

1: I will be be a part of “a new wind”
2: I will be planted as an oak tree where my roots will grow deep and out of maturity the roots will grow and bring forth new shoots that will grow into trees themselves, through that root system.

I never have been one to believe that the Lord’s prophesies need to be taken completely literal. At times, I have considered all of these prophesies one in the same, concerning our Simple Church. I have believed that these babies would be just Spiritual babies, because clearly after so many years, and doctors telling us that we don’t have much of a chance to conceive, clearly God was not meaning physically having a baby.

This morning I was awaken at 2 am, with a small voice in my head that reminds me of the vision of the oak tree. This voice was telling me that now I am maturing, my roots are growing deep in my faith, and they are now bringing forth fruit, the new baby.

As I am laying here typing this, trying to hold back my tears, I clearly can understand that the Father’s promises are yes and amen and His mercy is new every day. I completely believe that these promises are for our Simple Church as well, but this morning, I am understanding that the Father’s plans are many fold, and He unfolds them through our lives at the right time.

What an amazing child-like feeling to abandon my way of doing things, and trust completely in what the Father is doing on my behalf.

With faith as a child,
- Keith

By Keith King  (February 5, 2012)

I have been amazingly surprised at this book! As a Simple Church pastor who has already read Cole’s Organic Church,
I mistakenly believed that this book could not shed new light on how I do church; man was I wrong.  This has been the most highlighting, note taking, and status posting book that I have read in quite a while.

Through the first part of the book, Cole has us questioning everything up front. Is what we know and hold dear the Truth, or tradition and is relativism and post-modernism inherently a bad thing, is just a couple of the soul and spirit type of questions that are discussed.

Cole challenges us to completely examine how we are “doing church” and urges us to transform into “being the church”.  With this new Church 3.0 mindset we become less about programs and methods and more about relationships. It is not that “ministries” stop existing, but now they are birthed out of relational needs verses attraction models. Evangelism is less about events and strategy and more about influencing those around you.

I would even go as far as question our “out reaches”??? Why do we keep focusing sending out groups of people into neighborhoods where we have no vested interest? Just so that hopefully a few will COME to our church and MAYBE receive Christ.

What a better way if we can take these same church leaders, teach them what it means to be Jesus to the world, and have them to completely share life with those around them, bring Christ right to them in an intimate way?

Cole also raises a great point of discussion about the Church being the front door to heaven. This was never the church’s role, that role belongs solely to Christ. But not only have we allowed the church to be the front door, we have adapted a mind set of that this “front door” experience is it, that this moment in our faith is the precipice. There is so much more that God has for us after we become His children. God does not call us to get saved and wait for heaven to come, He calls us to Himself so we can bring His Kingdom to earth, and we have to keep both in mind that the Kingdom is to come, and the Kingdom is here.

(Church 3.0 by Neil Cole Pat 1 of 3)