God and Creativity

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19)

I want us to look at the way things are normally done to see where God is (or is not), especially in things we associate Him with.

God’s creation is different from any other creation in that He does not need or use anything existing to create. He does not need a blueprint to build. He does not need substance to make substance.

That is so different from the enemy of our souls in that he will ALWAYS work with what God has created to defile it. He looks at what God has done and corrupts it. He looks at what God is saying to caricature it. He does nothing new and only looks at what heaven is doing to rebrand or repackage it to deceive us.

An irrefutable evidence of God’s hand in a thing is the freshness, the newness, the uniqueness of it. Many times it will be something that has not only never been done but also never imagined.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, (Ephesians 3:20)

If it is the normal expectation or outcome, chances are that it is not from God. My experience with God and His miracles are that He never repeats Himself. The fact that He has performed a particular miracle is many times a sure sign that He will not repeat it. That is the only constant I have seen as I have walked with God and seen His hand in all areas of my life; and of course the lives of people I have been ministering to over the years.

There was only one burning bush as there was one Calvary. Ever noticed that even Jesus never repeated any miracle He performed? And of course we see the same even in Old Testament miracles.

Why do we find it normal when we see people, even ministers copying from each other in almost all areas of ministry? Why is it normal to see ‘worship’ being copy-pasted from one place to the other? Why do we have no problem seeing miracle workers and exorcists doing the same thing everywhere and every time? Why do all prophets seem to be reading from one script however diverse the prophecy seems?

Has God stopped being the God of the Bible? Has He run out of methods and ideas to run His world? Has He become limited in His revelation? Or are we the ones who have lost His plot?

Why does God not repeat Himself? Why does He always do new things?

The first reason is us. We are creatures of habit. We also love order and worship in which we are in charge. This means we will create shrines where God speaks or does something in His nature.

Let me give an example. Imagine with me that one time you pass through a place and feel such a compelling drive to pray that you forget where you are going and kneel and have the prayer time of your life. You then proceed wherever you were going and forget that experience. Two or three months later you pass by that place and feel the same urgency and get the same result. This is a place you very rarely pass through. Now imagine a third time experiencing the same thing. What will you think? What will you do?

Chances are that you will associate that place with prayer. It is very possible that you could neglect prayer anywhere else. You could even travel far to get to that place to pray, meaning that prayer elsewhere may die since there is one place where prayer is compelled. Chances are that the place would be made into a prayer museum. Yet it could just have been coincidental. Remember Nehushtan?

The other reason is our enemy. The devil is most effective when he appears like God (2 Corinthians 11:14). And he most looks like Him when he is performing similar feats. We see him doing it when Moses was performing miracles in Egypt without caring whether the replicating was adding to the hardships of their people. It therefore means that the devil follows what God is doing and copies it to get followers because he knows that even ascribing a miracle he performs to God does not give glory to God.

A lot of the miracles we are shown are of such kind, which actually are works of magic. A lot of prophesies and revelations are also of the same kind too.

A pastor preaches a sermon that brings hordes to Christ and forgets that it is Christ who draws people to Himself, thinking it is the sermon. He will therefore preach that sermon again and again so that he can get the same response.  I know a pastor who preaches the same sermon all the years I have heard him, changing one thing or the other but leaving the sermon untouched.

I am suggesting something completely radical that may change the way we do ‘business’ in God’s name.

Have you ever considered that many of those things you think you are doing for God may not be originating from Him? Have you ever considered that many of those miracles you celebrate could be works of magic? Have you ever imagined that that fervent prayer you offer could be other than directed to God?

Ever wondered why people who speak in tongues say almost the same thing I have heard them saying all my life? Does it mean that God is saying the same thing in the same language? Does the Holy Spirit have only that language? Why does the same thing being said mean different things when interpreted? How come many speak that language with no evidence of God’s transformational presence?

Why are the same songs sung in worship gatherings all over? Does it mean that God’s revelation to an individual is enough for all? Is His inspiration or revelation so limited that it must be spread all over for people to worship? Has His promise to pour His Spirit on all flesh run its course so that we are back to Samuel’s time?

Does worship consist only of song? Must it be preceded by song? Can there be worship without song? What is the difference between a worship song and a praise song? And why must a singer rush to the studio when they compose a song?

How does a secular entertainer perform in a worship concert? How does a worship leader entertain in a secular bash? How does a godless tycoon or politician get a chance to address a church gathering and not in repentance?

Why do we go for long stretches (from three to seven weeks) of fasting yet see nobody losing any weight? Why do we ask for people’s prayer requests in their seasons of fasting? Why are people eating during those weeks of fasting? What is the purpose of our fasting in the first place? And why do people who go through those fasts boast about those feats?

Why is it that all the writers are writing about the same things? Why is there no difference between secular and spiritual books? Again why are sales the focus of our writing?

As usual I am asking these questions first to myself. I don’t want to be operating in a system where God is only assumed to be present when He probably isn’t.  And I will close with my favorite verses

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7: 21 – 23)

When was the last time you heard or saw something that was so fresh that it could only be ascribed to God?