See Jesus For Overflow

Let a vision of Jesus shape your work.  This is the key to faith and humility – which in turn will unlock an overflow of grace in your work.

What is overflow?  It’s what happens when the living waters bubble up in our lives and overflow our capacities.  In Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well, it happened three ways:  by the prophetic gift that flowed out of Him when He was tired, by the woman’s gathering a crowd of people who also wanted ministry, and by the revival that spread from the first small group to the rest of the town.

What is overflow in the life of an artist?  It’s grace that goes beyond your talents and training, that makes your marketing effective, and that spills over with God’s life-changing power as your work creates ministry opportunities.

If we go back to John 4 and the story of the woman at the well, we see several verses addressed to Jesus’ disciples.  And a key line is in verse 35 – “Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for the fields are already white for harvest.”

Jesus calls us to lift up our eyes – or in other words, to lift our vision higher.  John 4:35 tells us to look at the fields and to see the opportunities that wait for us there.

But the opportunities aren’t always obvious to us.  Like the disciples that had accompanied Jesus to Samaria, our only vision may be to get out of the place where we find ourselves.  We can’t really see the divine appointments waiting for us there until Jesus points them out to us.

This brings us back to the principles of hearing God’s voice – to quiet our hearts, look for Jesus, listen for a flow of spontaneous words, and finally write it down so we can act on His words. For a Christian artist, this discipline begins as we quiet our hearts and focus on Jesus.

To look at Him means we must look away from our own talents and projects.

Perhaps we are sure of ourselves and proud of our work – but God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.  Getting our eyes off ourselves and focusing on Him will help us get into humility, enabling God to put His resources to work to lift us up.

Perhaps we doubt our talents and don’t see any opportunities, and we have no reason to place confidence in ourselves.  But if we look at Jesus, we will begin to have confidence in Him.

As we look to the Lord of the harvest, He will speak to us in a variety of ways to bring overflow to our lives.  He will tell us what to feature in our work – an image, a story, a sound. He will direct us to people who will cause our work to make an impact.  He will give us a mission, which in turn will give focus to our work.  He will send us to people who will supply a vital ingredient in our ministry as Christian artists.

He works with everybody differently.  Don’t expect Him to use the same pattern in your life that He used in someone else’s.  You are His work, and every one of His works is an original.

But it all begins with seeing Jesus.  Jesus said He did what He saw the Father doing; without Him, He could do nothing.  We have the same relationship with God.  We depend on Him.  As He talked to His disciples about the overflow of the Spirit they were seeing in Samaria, He commanded them to lift up their eyes.

Lift your own eyes.  Look to Jesus’ abilities, not your own – this is humility and faith, which are two sides of the same coin.  God stands behind people who have humility and faith.  And He gives revelation to those who gaze at Him.  Position yourself for God to pour an overflow of grace and revival through your art.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com

The Author Of Creativity

Go deep into God, the author of all creativity.  You need more of Him more than you need more artistic success.

God is a reservoir of creativity, ready to pour out new ideas to those who love Him.

Some approach Him like a child sitting on Santa’s lap at Christmastime.  They don’t have a real relationship with him, but they tell him what they want and say, “I’ve been a good boy/girl this year…”

Others discover that God isn’t just a gift-dispenser.  They come to love Him, whether He’s giving something to them at the moment or not. They want to be in His presence – His presence is gift enough.

The paradox of God’s giving is that He loves to give to those who love Him.  Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.  I’m going to share a few testimonies of how He has given me ideas for my art as I’ve spent time with Him.

1) Layers. I was teaching about prophetic song two or three years ago and received the inspiration that prophetic ministry comes in layers.  Usually a prophet’s message had one meaning to his own generation, a messianic meaning that spoke into the coming of Christ, and maybe a third meaning for the last days.  Whenever God speaks, there are likely to be two or three layers of meaning in every line.

Since then, He has been teaching me to use layers in the arts.  In music, I often take time to program my keyboard to blend two or more sounds with different qualities so layers of sound go with every note I play.  In graphics, I am not content with anything I produce unless I find time to mix layers of art with layers of text.

In writing, I don’t always have time to find the metaphors or stories that add layers of meaning to my words.  But when I spend time soaking in His presence, He often gives a spontaneous flow of words that are richer than what I usually write.

He is the author of creativity.  It isn’t just a matter of climbing into His lap and asking for inspiration for a specific project, though He often honors that.  Sometimes if I have put Him first, creativity simply flows when I need it.

2) Puns. I was taking a walk and praying about a year ago, and looked up at a hillside.  Was it a wild turkey I saw, or was it a configuration of plants? A surrealist might have painted the scene.  As I looked, God impressed me:  surrealism is to art what puns are to language.  Then for the next few days, I saw surrealistic things in life all around me.

Commentaries will sometimes show that the Hebrew prophets used puns when they prophesied.  The puns were verbal, and if you don’t know Hebrew you’ll miss them.  This is why we sometimes struggle to find the train of thought in their writings.

I don’t know that I have much skill in this area as a writer, but occasionally it happens in my art. I had to prepare a CD cover a few years ago for my prophetic song CD.  I looked for a scene with golden mist that would suggest God’s glory; the main theme was that He was calling His sons home.  I found a Corel stock image of a farmhouse with the mist and colors I required.

I had to resize it for the CD.  I didn’t know it at the time, but this reshaped the foliage and created two surrealistic images.  One is of a robed man, reaching out as if to embrace someone.  The other is of Jesus looking through the trees.

I didn’t know enough about art to create either image, but God did.  It wasn’t my creativity; it was His.  I didn’t ask Him to do this, though I’m delighted He did.

But it was a fulfillment of the words of Psalm 37:4.  I delighted in Him; He gave me a creative image better than what I could have desired.  He’ll do the same for you.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com

God’s Calendar

Wait for God to inspire you and promote you.  Make the most of your waiting times, and of every season He walks you through.

Sooner or later, we all have to wait.

It’s the writer who’s waiting to hear from an editor, to learn whether an article has been accepted.  It’s the musician who has dropped off a demo CD and now is waiting to see if it will lead to a contract.  It’s an actress waiting to hear if she made the cut in an audition.

Every artist, secular or Christian, has to wait in these circumstances.  But part of discipleship is our waiting on God for a change of season.  Seasonal change is the student who gets a first job, the sports reporter who gets a first book in print, the artist who moves from craft shows to galleries.

Whatever our level of artistic accomplishment, we can always see a higher level of success ahead of it.  It may seem impossibly out of reach or it may be so close we can taste it.  But if we have put our lives on the altar, He is the one who will decide when we move to a new level of artistic success.

How should we wait?  A prophecy about Joseph in Genesis 49:22 tells us –

Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall.

It is as if Joseph, who lived many centuries before Jesus, got a chance to read Jesus’ words in John 15:  “I am the vine; you are the branches … abide in Me … you will bear fruit.”

He kept his relationship with God alive.  God was the one who had given him dreams; and though the dreams had caused nothing but trouble so far, Joseph continued to trust that God would cause the dreams to prevail in his own personal history.

But he also did something else:  he let his fruitfulness fill the confining space he was in.  He had dreamed that he would become a ruler, so during his years in prison, he looked for opportunities to rule.  Scripture tells us he became the manager of the work teams in the prison, and the prison-keeper began to notice that wherever Joseph was, God poured out blessing.

You can do this.  If God has already given you your dreams, don’t just wait for your sphere of influence to grow before you begin to act on them.  Act on them as much as you can wherever you are right now.

If you don’t have your dreams yet, keep watching and listening.  Spend time soaking in God’s presence and let Him speak to you. If you do have your dreams, keep soaking.  By deliberately coming into His presence again and again, you are choosing to abide in Him and your fruitfulness is inevitable.

Joseph used an overflow strategy.  While he waited for a larger season of fulfillment for his God-given dreams, he made a point of abiding in Christ and bearing fruit in spite of his limiting circumstances.  According to Jacob’s prophecy, he had already become so fruitful that his confining place couldn’t hold it all.  His bough had run over the wall.

How does our bough run over the wall? It’s in the ministry opportunities that come while we’re waiting for our big break.  It’s our relentless pursuit of artistic excellence as we wait, so our final performance is better than what we showed at the audition.

It’s the student who gets an article in print before getting out of college. It’s the singer who manages to line up a Christian radio interview before the CD is released.  It’s the scriptwriter who produces a faith-building documentary to use in the church while waiting for a grant for a larger project to go through.

Wait on the Lord, but don’t wait passively.  Make your waiting times as fruitful as you can.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com

A Soaking Party

Have a soaking party.  Gather artists and wait on God.  Ask specific questions of God, and testify of His answers.

More than a year ago I conducted a workshop for artists.  I taught them that when we soak, God will give wisdom:  ideas for art, for marketing, and for ministry opportunities.  Then, in two different parts of the workshop, we spent about twenty minutes soaking.

I asked if God had shown them anything they wanted to share; nobody spoke up.  I asked if the time had been worthwhile; they all nodded vigorously.  And when the workshop was over and I asked for them to tell me what they had liked best about the workshop, several people mentioned the soaking.

It doesn’t take a whole workshop.  All it takes is a pile of worship CDs, a few comfortable places to sit, and a bit of time to get the word out.  Then you can have friends over for a soaking party.  Here are a few things to mention to your guests:

The purpose of soaking. It’s a time to quiet our hearts, focus on Jesus, and look for a spontaneous flow of words and ideas.  Tell people to expect new ideas – they should bring notebooks so they can jot down the inspiration that comes.

The etiquette of soaking. It’s a time to watch and listen in the presence of God.  Therefore, it isn’t a time for chitchat or ministry to others. It’s one-on-one time with God.

Some people have a background that expects demonstrative worship.  Some may be tempted to sing along with the CD. This would be appropriate in a worship service where everyone is participating, but in a soaking meeting it’s out of place because it would disturb others.

It doesn’t call for a lot of rules.  As the guests taste the fruit of quieting their hearts so they can hear from God, they will understand the protocol to conduct themselves in a way that will help everyone quiet themselves.

The presence of God. Choose CDs that will sow into quiet hearts.  CDs with worship lyrics will help everyone focus their attention on Jesus.

One clear manifestation of God’s presence is peace. Nearly everyone is too busy these days; if people receive nothing more than a dose of God’s peace it will rejuvenate them and reignite their creative spark.

Some people will see visions; some will hear God speak personal things into their lives.

Testimonies after the soaking. Encourage people to share what God has given them when they soak.  There will usually be a wide spectrum of experiences.

If nobody shares anything, don’t just assume they have nothing to share as I did at the workshop.  Have a few questions ready for them:

• Did anyone feel the peace of God?
• Did anyone get a new idea for your work?
• Did anyone hear something that doesn’t have anything to do with art?
• Did any images flash into your mind?  (God sometimes speaks with pictures.)
• Did God show anyone a new technique to explore?

You’ll come up with more questions to get people talking.  Usually, once the first person speaks up, others will follow.  Typically, they will have a variety of experiences as God speaks to each one individually.

Finally, start small: just a few friends, soaking for perhaps half an hour and then sharing what you experienced. Later you’ll want to increase it to an hour or more.

Whenever I need fresh ideas from God in my writing, graphics, or music, I soak.  He is faithful.  He always gives me new ideas.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com