September 23, 2025 • 37 mins
Romans 12:6 (NLT) says, “In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.” As artists, those gifts show up in our creativity, imagination, and the unique ways God has wired us to bring beauty into the world.
In this episode of the Thriving Christian Artist Podcast, Matt Tommey unpacks how to:
✅ Recognize the whisper of your creative soul
✅ Decode your unique artistic DNA
✅ Cultivate your God-given gifts over time
✅ Share your art to create a ripple effect of impact
Whether you’re just starting out or have been creating for years, this message will help you uncover your artistic superpower—not in a single moment, but through a faithful, ongoing journey with God.
🌿 Key Scriptures
Romans 12:6 (NLT)
Psalm 139:13–14 (NKJV)
Luke 16:10 (NKJV)
Matthew 5:14–16 (MSG)
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
👉 Ready to grow spiritually, creatively, and financially as an artist? Join the Created to Thrive Artist Mentoring Program today: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/artmentor
📖 Grab Matt’s book God’s Plan for Living: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/resources.html
Find out more about The Created to Thrive Foundations Course
Fuel Your Creative Calling with Weekly Encouragement
Join thousands of Christian artists who are growing in faith, creativity, and purpose.
Subscribe to The Thriving Christian Artist Weekly and receive powerful, faith-filled content every week—designed to encourage your heart, spark your creativity, and equip you to walk boldly in your God-given calling as an artist.
👉 Click here. It’s free. It’s faith-filled. And it’s just for you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
that creative tug inside your heart, that whisper
that's always going on inside,that's drawing you to certain
artistic things.
What if that isn't just you,but it's actually a clue to the
God-given superpower that he'sgiven you in your art?
Well, today I'm going to teachyou how to recognize that, how
to embrace it in your life andactually how to start walking in
(00:20):
it as a part of God's grace,not only in your life, but
through your life.
Today, on the ThrivingChristian Artist.
All over the world, artists areawakening Painters and potters,
writers and weavers, poets anddancers not chasing followers or
fame, but sons and daughterscalled for such a time as this,
transformed from the inside out,creating with purpose,
(00:41):
releasing the glory of God andliving in the power of the
kingdom.
Right now, this is the ThrivingChristian Artist.
Well, hey, my friend, I'm MattTommey, so glad that you are
here.
On the Thriving ChristianArtist.
Whether it's your first time,first time in a long time, or
maybe you're a regular listenerand watcher, I'm really, really
glad that you're here.
(01:01):
Really glad that you're here.
Listen, uncovering thisartistic superpower that God
gives all of us as artists isreally foundational to how we
show up in the world and how weworship God through our art and
how God uses us in the world torelease his glory.
And I can just remember when Istarted really getting in touch
with what I'm calling today thisartistic superpower this, you
(01:25):
know, we call it a lot of times,this artistic superpower.
This, you know, we call it alot of times your unique
artistic voice.
Man, when you start gettingreally excited about this and
really in touch with it, itreally frees you up to be fully
who God created you to be andrelease what he's created you to
do.
Because I don't know about you,but for a lot of artists, for
myself, for many, many years, Iconstantly struggled with this
(01:47):
idea of I'm not good enough, ornobody will like the things that
I like, or I'm kind of weird,or other people are more
talented, or what if nobodywants to buy this?
What if it doesn't reallymatter?
I mean, can I just, can we justall recognize really quick that
the job of the enemy, from thevery forming of the dawn of
creation, has been to do what?
To steal and to kill anddestroy and to distract and to
(02:10):
derail, and try to convince youthat the thing that God's put
inside of you is not worthpursuing, it's not worth
uncovering, it's not worthdeveloping.
And just like you, you knowI've struggled with that for a
lot of years until I startedrealizing that the very things
that I thought made me weird,the very things that I thought
(02:31):
you know, and the things thatthe enemy was attacking in my
life, the things that Idownplayed in my life, they were
actually gifts from God.
Now it's interesting.
I wrote a lot about this in mybook, god's Plan for Living.
It may be helpful for you for anext step, but I write in there
that God gives us three things,I think every person that comes
(02:51):
on board with who we are askingdom people.
He gives us gifts that is,supernatural gifts to be able to
release his spirit into theworld.
He gives us talents, right, andhe gives us talents to be able
to do things that maybe otherpeople can't do.
You may be talented in music,you may be talented in painting
and drawing and writing andsculpture and movement and
(03:14):
whatever it is, but you've justgot sort of a natural ability,
maybe in seed form, sure, butyou've got a talent there that
comes easy to you.
That kind of flows naturally.
And then I also talk about thisidea that I believe God gives us
graces and that what I thinkabout as a grace is this
supernatural ability to dothings and be in places and
(03:38):
operate within a realm thatother people don't necessarily
have a grace for.
I think about some of myfriends who are abstract
expressionist painters.
You know they love the powerand the imagery and the you know
energy of moving fast andpainting with big swaths of
color and that sort of thing.
I'm not really as drawn to that.
(03:59):
I love sort of the meditativenature of weaving and sculpting
and creating detail and thatsort of thing.
Well, guess what?
They got a grace for that andI've got a grace for this.
Neither one is more the Lord ornot as much the Lord, but we
have a different grace.
And so when you start realizingthat on board, god has given you
(04:22):
gifts, that is, thosesupernatural abilities to see
and hear.
With him he's giving youtalents, things to do with your
hands, with your body,artistically.
And then, number three, he'sgiving you grace to be able to
operate within the realm and inthe world, whichever it is that
you're operating in artistically.
(04:42):
That's all God's design.
And of course, you know I loveto start everything with
scripture.
So I want to go to Romans 12, 6.
And in the New Living, I lovewhat it says.
It says in his grace, talkingabout God.
Right, in his grace, god hasgiven us different gifts for
doing certain things well, giftsfor doing certain things well.
(05:08):
See, these things that areunique to us, that the enemy is
always trying to downplay anddistract us from and get us to
be deflated in our belief toward.
These are the gifts of Godinside of us.
These are the presents, if youwill, these are the secrets of
the kingdom, if you will, thatgod has has put with inside of
us.
And I love, you know, I lovethat verse that says it's the
(05:29):
glory of god to conceal thematters, the glory of kings to
search it out.
And I just really believe thereare some things that god's given
you artistically and creativelythat you're never going to
realize.
Listen now, you're never goingto realize.
And see, until you startdigging for it.
See, if you're never going torealize, listen now, you're
never going to realize until youstart digging for it.
See, if you're just waiting foreverything, just to kind of
(05:49):
flow.
I can just tell you a hundredpercent, that's not always how
it happens.
Most of the things that I'vediscovered in my life
artistically that are reallygifts to me.
They came as I leaned into theprocess, as I got out that Holy
Spirit pickaxe in my artisticprocess and I started going
(06:12):
after something, realizing thatwhat there's an itch inside of
me, there's a desire inside ofme, there's a feeling inside,
there's something that's drawingme to this subject, this
material, this world, thesecolors, these forms, these
structures.
There's something that'sdrawing me to that Right.
(06:32):
It's the glory of God toconceal a matter.
And when I start searching itout, when I start going for it,
when I start giving myself timeand space and energy to play and
to develop mastery within thosethings, guess what begins to
happen All of a sudden?
The emergence of a unique voiceand, I believe, a unique
(06:53):
emergence of this superpower,this superpower that God gives
all of us individually to beable to see and agree with
heaven, to hear his voice and torespond to him in ways and
through mediums and throughmetaphors that nobody else is
doing.
Now you may be saying, you know,for the skeptic out there, you
(07:16):
may be saying, well, you know, Imean everybody can't be unique.
I mean there's going to be someoverlap, matt.
I mean, not everybody's goingto have a unique thing.
Have you looked at theuniqueness of creation?
Have you looked at theuniqueness of snowflakes?
Have you looked at theuniqueness of animals and colors
and textures, and rocks and thesky and the stars in the heaven
(07:40):
?
My friend God is infinite in hisability to reflect his nature
in ways that are unique and he'screated us at the height of
creation.
The Bible says you know, we'rean image.
We get to be image bearers.
Right, he created us in hisimage in order to what created
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us in his image, in order towhat?
To reflect and reveal his imagein the earth, to release his
light and life in the earth, notonly through the way that we
live and that we speak, but, ofcourse, through the way that we
create.
And so when you start realizingthat, wow, the things that I'm
drawn to, even if you can'texplain why.
It's not random, it's thewhisper of God, it's the divine
(08:30):
spark of God.
That is this flicker, thiswhisper inside of you and if
you'll slow down enough tolisten for it and then to
embrace it, have you ever seenanybody?
I was a Boy Scout.
You have to forgive me.
Have you ever seen anybody?
I was a boy scout, you have toforgive me.
Have you ever seen anybodystart a fire with just a couple
(08:51):
of sticks?
It's really really cool.
And it happens through friction, right.
But what happens when you're youknow, sometimes you take a
shoelace or some kind of cord orwhatever.
You create a bow and you have alittle piece of wood down here
and you put it on there and youstart going like this and all of
a sudden, before long, there'llbe a little smoke.
That happens.
(09:11):
And then out of that smokeyou'll take it off and you'll
look down into the wood and allof a sudden there'll be just a
glimmer, just a little fleck,just a little fleck of fire, a
coal, if you will.
And what you do typically isyou take that coal and you drop
it over into some people call ita nest.
Right, we used to call it anest.
(09:32):
You just take a nest of dried,kindling-y sort of straw,
whatever you can grab that'ssuper dry.
You take that little ember,that little fleck of an ember,
and you drop it into that nestand you put your hands up and
you go and you start to blow onit and you're and you're
(09:53):
coddling it and you're socareful with your you start
blowing it.
But what?
All of a sudden, that littlefleck of a coal, that little,
that thing, that was just aspark, all of a sudden, really
in a moment, begins to.
There's some, there's somesmoke, and then all of a sudden
there's, there's a flame.
(10:14):
There's a flame, and you canuse that then to do what?
Typically you would take thatover to the campfire and put
that under some kindling andthat's how you start your fire.
My friend, listen, the creativediscovery process of the unique
voice and the unique elements,the unique desires and passions
(10:35):
that God's put inside of you,can I tell you it's just the
same.
It's just the same.
It takes you listening for thewhispers of God.
It takes you listening for thewhispers of God.
It takes you looking for thelittle embers of spark that are
there.
I can remember.
I'm getting excited.
I hope you're excited.
(10:57):
I'm a total nerd when it comesto this, but I can remember.
I remember when I would walk inthe woods as a kid, as a young
teen and as an older teen, evenin a college.
I remember working at summercamps and a mentor of mine, bob
Cagle, one of the things he usedto have us do is we would have
(11:19):
to walk in the woods as campcounselors.
We have to walk in the woodsand we have to find something in
nature that reflected ourrelationship with God.
We have to walk in the woodsand we have to find something in
nature that reflected ourrelationship with God and we
have to bring it back to thecircle and kind of talk about
this.
I mean, it was such a beautifulexercise in the development of
metaphor for an emerging artist,you know.
But I can remember walkingthrough the woods.
(11:43):
In all of these times over mylife, and even as an adult, even
when I didn't know it in mycognitive mind, I knew that when
I was in the woods, man,something spoke to me, something
was lighting me up.
I've said it before.
I was more me there than at anyother time.
(12:05):
Why?
That was a whisper.
That was God whispering to me.
He was saying, matt, I made youfor this, matt.
I made you to come alive whenyou're in nature, matt.
I made your eyes to see thecragginess of a creek and the
way rocks come together.
I made your hands to feel theway nests are made by birds.
(12:27):
I made your body to feel thebreeze and your ears to hear the
way birds singing.
And I made all of that to lightyou up on the inside.
Why so that such desire come onsomebody?
So that such desire would bebirthed inside of you that you
could not help but create out ofthat place.
(12:55):
Listen, my friend, if you're notcreating out of that place of
desire and passion and beingawakened spiritually, can I just
say you're missing the wholepoint.
You're.
You're missing the whole giftof god in in the creative
process.
This is the way that we weredesigned to create, not out of
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just following rules andtechniques and materials and
just doing the same old thing,that that we've learned in
school or in lessons or whatever.
No, all those things are greatand it's wonderful to learn the
rules right.
As the old saying goes, youhave to learn the rules to break
the rules right.
That's a wonderful thing to do.
We need to grow in maturity asartists, but I'm telling you
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none of that.
No technique or material orclass or mastery in anything
artistic is worth anythingunless it is fueled by the
passion and the movement of theHoly Spirit inside of you.
That's how we're designed tocreate, and so I would ask you,
(13:58):
even as you're listening, asyou're watching this today, I
would ask you when have yourecently felt the most alive,
creatively, even back throughyour life?
What are the things that you'redrawn to and you just can't
explain it?
What are the things that makeyou laugh?
What are the things that makeyou cry?
(14:19):
What are the things that justmake you feel so full inside
that you could just sit therefor hours and hours and hours
doing that, seeing that, hearingthat, feeling that, engaging
with it.
What is that?
I'm telling you, that is asecret, that's a whisper, that's
a spark.
It's a clue to the superpowerthat God has for you.
(14:43):
Because I'm telling you, whenyou begin to get in touch with
that, you don't have to know allthe details of how it's going
to work out.
Can I just say to all of youthat are out there wanting to
perfectionistic uh, you know,perfectionistically plan out
your whole creative process forthe next 10 years.
Listen, you don't have to planit out.
(15:05):
Art, art, creating art is aboutprocess, it's not about product,
right?
Of course we want to createbeautiful products for ourselves
, for God, for for others.
We want to create them for themarketplace, if that's what
God's called you to.
But I'm telling you, the giftis not always in the product.
The gift is in the process, andif you can get passionate about
what's lighting you up and getclear about what's lighting you
(15:29):
up artistically, then you cantrust God in the process to see
that thing developed.
So I like to call that decodingyour artistic DNA right, once
you start to understand what isthe DNA that God's put inside of
you, then you can kind of startto decode it.
What is this?
Hmm, okay, I love nature.
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I love the way things happentogether.
I love the way nests and podsand branches and colors.
I love the way things work innature.
I love the relation.
I love the textures.
I love the forms.
I love the differences intextures and different materials
.
I love how nests look againstbranches, look against rocks.
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I love how greens and brownslook against blues and whites.
Like what does that mean?
Like what?
And so I start to decode and Istart to try to figure out.
What are these things?
What are those things for you?
Like?
What are the stories and themesthat keep showing up in your
art?
What are the subjects that youkeep daydreaming about
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expressing in your work, whatare the mediums and techniques
that are just fascinating youthat you can't, you know, get
off your mind?
I would encourage you writedown those things Even right now
.
If you've got a, maybe you'rein the studio, maybe you're
creating right now.
I know a lot of people listento this, watch this in the
studio.
Grab your sketchbook, writedown four or five things.
(16:54):
What are the things that youjust keep going back to, the
things that maybe it's easy tothink about this, the threads,
if you will, that are goingthrough your work, the themes
that are going through your work?
Listen, god not only has formedthose things in you, but he
wants to form those thingsthrough your art.
(17:14):
I love that verse.
It's a set of verses in Psalm139.
It says for you formed me.
This is David talking.
You formed me in my inwardparts.
You covered me in my mother'swomb.
I'll praise you for I'mfearfully and wonderfully made.
Marvelous are your works andthat my soul knows very well.
Listen, just like God coveredyou with his spirit and he
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formed you in his mother's womb,just like he covered the earth
with his spirit on the day ofcreation and formed the earth.
Listen, I'm telling you, godwants to cover you with his
spirit in the studio as you formwith him the things that God
wants to create through you.
Now I'm not saying that asyou're going to be a robot and
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God's just going to do all thework.
No, this is this beautifulco-laboring right, this
beautiful trust process thathappens when we start to
actually receive the impulsesand the passions and the things
that light us up as gifts fromthe Lord and we begin to trust
that the creative intuitionsthat we're feeling in that
process, as we're inviting himinto that process of creation,
(18:26):
these are not antithetical tothe process.
This is not me over here andGod over there.
No, this is us working together.
If you listen to me at all orread any of my books, you know
that I'm passionate about thisidea of creating from a place of
assumed connection.
When you got saved, all of yougot saved.
Your imagination has beenredeemed, your mind has been
(18:49):
redeemed, your eyes have beenredeemed, your heart has been
redeemed.
And your creative impulses anddesires Guess what?
They have been redeemed.
And they not only have beenredeemed, they're being matured
as you learn To walk with theLord and step out In the, the
creative process and actuallydecode this creative voice, this
(19:12):
creative DNA that God has putinside of you.
Now can I just tell you realquick this is one of those
things in the kingdom that Goddoes with you, not to you.
I can hear some of you rightnow because I know everybody's
done it.
Oh God, just download mycreative voice.
Oh God, I just need to download.
(19:32):
I just need you to do this,lord, I'd receive it.
Well, listen, we receive it byfaith.
But part of faith is not onlyseeing it and agreeing with it,
but what?
Decreeing it out of your mouthand proceeding with it with your
feet and with your hands.
In other words, when God showsme something and I agree with it
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in my heart, I got to begin tospeak that thing out of my mouth
.
Why?
Because the power of the lifeand death is where, in the
tongue, in your mouth.
So, as you speak it out, youco-labor with the creative
process and power of God insideof you and then you begin to
proceed.
That is, you begin to act as ifand do as if the things which
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God shows you in the spirit, thethings which you've agreed with
in your heart, the things whichyou're saying you believe, you
actually start acting as ifthose things are true.
That's how faith begins tohappen.
Everything that we doartistically is done by faith,
right?
Every idea starts where In theimagination, and I would say,
(20:38):
for believing, it starts in thespirit, right, god's showing us
things and we agree with it, andthen, based on that, we begin
to act on those impulses.
That's how the creative processworks and that's how you mature
in the creative process.
So this is not something don't,don't go away from this today
and go oh, yeah, god, I wantthat creative superpower.
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Just give it to me.
Oh, I receive it.
Well, listen, receive it, butyou got to start receiving it
day by day, moment by moment,and as you receive it, use it.
As you receive it, walk in it.
That's how the thing startsflowing in your life.
All right, see, that's that'swhat we talk about in this, this
(21:21):
idea of cultivate, right.
Cultivation, that's how you getthe, the spark, if you will.
The spark, the little ember,that's how you get that into a
flame.
So what does that mean?
Well, that means that you gotto make regular time in the
studio.
You know, every day, every day,yeah, every day, aren't you an
(21:43):
artist?
Listen, I've said this amillion times I I'll say it
again.
It's worth repeating.
If God found it importantenough to place a creative gift
and passion and calling insideof you and on your life, it
ought to be important enough foryou to do something with it
every day.
Now, if you need help with thatman, we got tons of resources.
(22:03):
I mean, if you don't have yourcore four planner yet, get that.
I mean it's a day by day.
We help you connect with God,clarify what you're doing,
create with him, cultivaterelationships that matter.
Listen, that's just a part ofthe rhythm that we believe that
kingdom artists are a part ofevery day.
Make time to create, make timeto experiment and play, not just
(22:25):
creating for a show.
You know I'm all for creatingfor shows.
I've helped thousands uponthousands of artists in our
Created to Thrive ArtistMentoring Program turn their art
hobby into a thriving business.
I've been doing that for years.
We're the number one creativementoring program for artists
who love Jesus in the world havebeen for many, many years.
(22:47):
All right, tons and tons andtons, many years.
All right, tons and tons andtons of testimonials.
All right, but I tell artistsall the time you cannot create
only for production.
You've got to create out of theplace of play.
Why?
Because play and fun andexperimenting that's what lights
up our heart.
You got to create things whenyou don't feel ready, when you
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know you're going to mess up,when you're sure you don't have
the technique that you need toget in there and make a mess.
Why?
Because that's when thingshappen, that's when God, god,
wakes us up.
You also need to get.
You need to get feedback rightIn safe communities, people that
you respect.
That's one of the things welove doing in the mentoring
program.
Every communities, people thatyou respect that's one of the
(23:29):
things we love doing in thementoring program.
Every, every month, we do artcritiques.
People submit their work, my meand my coaching team we get
together and and we critique andwe give thoughtful feedback and
help people grow.
We need that, all of us.
All of us need that.
But that's how.
That's how that art ember andthose sparks become a flame.
So I'd say for you this week, isit starting a studio practice
(23:54):
of showing up in the studioevery day?
Listen, I don't even care ifit's for 30 minutes Every day.
Do something with your art, ormaybe it's for you this week.
You need to set aside thecommission, set aside the
production work for a day or fora morning, and just say you
know what?
I'm going to try something thisweek.
That's been on my heart, that'sbeen on my radar creatively for
(24:17):
a little while, but I've notdone anything with it.
I'm just going to play and seewhat happens.
Listen, I just want to tell youthat's valuable, that's a part
of you being a good steward ofwhat God has given you and as
you do that, guess what.
That's a part of you being agood steward of what God has
given you.
And as you do that, guess whatthat's going to bloom and that's
going to blossom.
Now here's the last thing I wantto say when God gives you this
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superpower and you begin todevelop it, it begins to become
your unique creative voice, notjust for you, not just as a
means of grace for your own life, because I may be, you know, as
we create, as we do the thingGod's called us to do, it, it is
a means of grace for us, right?
It is a way, a beautiful way,that we are able to walk in the
(25:01):
abundant life and experience thepresence of God.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, but itisn't just for you and it isn't
just for me.
It's made to be a means ofgrace for others, a vessel of
God's love and his beauty andtruth and goodness and grace to
others.
That people would not only seeour life but see our work and be
able to interact with andengage with the life giving
(25:22):
presence of God in their life.
That's how the kingdom happens.
Listen, it's just like you know,you ever thrown a rock in the
water and you throw that rockand all of a sudden it could
just make one hole.
But no, it doesn't make justone hole in the in the water.
It didn't just sink to thebottom, it makes ripples and
ripples and ripples and ripplesand ripples.
And listen, that's what happenswhen you create your work and
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you're brave enough to put itout on social media or at a show
or on your website, or you giveit away as a gift or as a
prophetic offering, or you sellit.
What begins to happen is thisripple effect, not just of the
product itself, listen, but ofthis unique artistic superpower
that God's given you, thisunique artistic superpower that
(26:11):
God's given you.
The effect of that, the powerof that, is a ripple effect all
across the world.
Listen, I don't know about you,but I don't want to just see my
work end up in somebody's houseand that's just it.
I want them, every time theywalk by that piece, to go wow,
something about this piece justmakes me want to pause and take
a deep breath.
Something about when I when Iread that book, when I listened
(26:33):
to that song, when I see thatpiece of art, when I watched
that movie, when I uh, whateverit is creatively that you do,
when I do that, I experiencedthe life and light of God.
My friend, listen, that's thekingdom.
That's why God gave you thething that he gave you.
That's why we got to give timeevery day to this unique,
(26:55):
beautiful gift that God's givenus, because it's through us
doing that that his kingdom isreleased uniquely and powerfully
, not only for us, but throughus.
Listen, maybe this is a greatway to end today.
Matthew 5, 14 through 16,.
It says this in the message.
I love the message.
It says here's another way toput it You're here to be light,
(27:19):
bringing out the God colors inthe world.
Isn't that great?
God is not a secret to be kept.
We're going public with this aspublic as a city on a hill.
If I make you light bearers,don't you think I'm going to you
?
Don't think I'm going to hideyou under a bucket, do you?
I'm putting you as a light on astand.
(27:42):
Now that I've put you there on ahilltop, on a light stand,
shine.
This is Jesus talking.
He said listen, I gave you thisthing, shine.
I gave you this thing.
Share it with the world.
Right.
Keep open house, be generouswith your lives.
By opening up to others, you'llprompt people to be open with
God, this generous father inheaven.
(28:05):
Whoa.
This is the thing.
This is the gift that God'sgiven us to be able to wake up
people to the fact that Godloves them, that God has a plan
and a purpose for their life,that God wants to engage with
them and meet them right wherethey are.
This is the kingdom and, myfriend, you and I get to be a
(28:26):
part of it as artists.
You and I get to be a part ofit as creative people who are
seeing and agreeing with heaven,who are decreeing his truth out
of our mouth and proceedingwith it into the studio and into
the marketplace every day.
This is what you and I werecreated for.
So, my friend, listen to thoseGod whispers that make your soul
(28:47):
awake.
So, my friend, listen to thoseGod whispers that make your soul
awake.
Do the work that it takes todecode that artistic DNA inside
of you.
Watch how you can follow theleading of the Spirit to
cultivate that spark into asuperpower Through faithful
practice and trust God, believeGod, declare out of your mouth
that the superpower that God hasgiven you is going to ripple
(29:10):
and ripple and ripple and ripplethrough the lives of people in
countless generations, becauseyou and I chose to say yes.
Now, listen, I know that, asyou're listening to this and
you're watching this, you'reprobably thinking I would love
to be able to do that, but Ijust the enemy's hitting me at
every turn.
I'm feeling, maybe, like I wantto shrink back, like I'm always
(29:34):
comparing myself to others.
I've got all this doubt in myhead.
Like man, I want to, like Ibelieve, but help my unbelief.
Can I just tell you that thevery fact that you're feeling
that is proof that you're on theright path, because the enemy
doesn't attack people that arenot walking into and toward the
(29:54):
very promised land that Godcreated them for.
So can I just tell you that thedifficulties that you're
feeling right now are proof, areproof that there's a gift in
you.
They're proof that God's got aplan and a purpose for your life
.
They're proof that all thesethings that you've been down all
these years, they're proof thatthose are actually the very
(30:14):
things you need to be focused on.
That's actually the path youneed to be walking on.
And so, father, right now, Ipray in Jesus' name, by the Holy
Spirit.
God, I thank you that you don'tknow any distance.
I thank you that you don't knowany distance.
I thank you that you're outsideof time.
And so, god, wheneversomebody's watching this and
listening to this Lord, I thankyou that you're present right
there in that moment to do thework that only you can do.
(30:35):
And, father, I pray in Jesus'name that you would break the
power of the enemy right now, inJesus' name, over their minds
and over their hearts.
Holy Spirit, I pray that youwould bring up areas of
agreement in my friend's heartwhere they've agreed with the
lies of the enemy.
And, god, show them your truthright now, even in this moment,
(30:56):
that they could come out ofagreement with the lies of the
enemy and into agreement withthe truth of your word, the
truth of your promises, thetruth of your design for their
life, that they might walk inevery good thing that you have
for them.
I bless them.
I bless them, my friend, look,I bless you right now with ears
(31:18):
to hear, with eyes to see, witha heart to receive, with hands
to do the work, with feet towalk.
I bless you with those thingsthat you can experience, every
good thing that God has for you.
In Jesus' name.
In Jesus' name, listen, if you,like most artists, want to walk
(31:41):
into this new reality, but youknow that there's a whole lot of
stuff hanging on and hangingout and hanging inside of you
from all these years maybetrauma, maybe doubt, maybe fear,
maybe just some.
You know, as the old sayinggoes stinking thinking.
Maybe just some old patternsthat you've gotten into that you
know, as the old saying goesstinking thinking.
Maybe just some old patternsthat you've gotten into that you
know you need to break, butit's just hard to do it by
(32:02):
yourself.
Can I tell you?
That's exactly why I developedthe Foundations Course.
The Created to ThriveFoundations Course is a
nine-week journey where I walkyou through this process of
everything that we just talkedabout today learning to hear
God's voice, learning to receivea clear understanding of God's
unique design on your life, notonly just as an artist generally
(32:26):
, but as a child of God.
What are the things that he'scalled you to?
How to get a clear vision foryour life so that you could walk
in clarity and in boldness andin confidence toward the things
that God's called you to do, andnot only give you a vision for
that, but actually give youclear steps and habits on how to
come out of agreement with thethings that the enemy's had you
(32:47):
agreeing with all these yearsand into agreement with the
fullness of what God has for you.
Listen, you can find out allabout the Foundations course.
Out all about the Foundationscourse.
Hundreds and hundreds andhundreds of artists all over the
world and just about everycreative medium are experiencing
new life in Jesus and a renewedsense of self and a renewed
sense of joy and confidence,because they're allowing me to
(33:10):
walk them through this course inthe context of community.
You can find out all about itright here.
The link is in the show notes.
You just go tomatttommymentoringcom forward
slash foundations or you just goto our website.
Find it on the link or clickthe link that's in the show
notes.
However, you want to do it,listen, my friend, just do it.
Just do it.
I promise you we've made it asaffordable as we can for every
(33:34):
artist, no matter what yourfinancial situation is, and I
can trust you.
You can trust and I can promiseyou that you have spent a whole
lot more money on a whole lotmore things.
They brought you a whole lotless.
Listen, the Foundations courseis proving to be an incredible
(33:54):
vehicle of transformation in thelives of so many.
I'd love for you to be a partof it.
Give me the privilege ofcontinuing to walk with you
inside that community.
All right, well, hey, friend.
Oh yeah, one more thing.
Like I said, I don't want tojust pass it by.
If you don't have your corefour planner yet, your core four
focus planner, you need to getthis.
It's like, again, a no brainer.
Every day, we're giving you,step by step, not only
(34:17):
encouraging quotes andscriptures, but also a daily
rhythm for you to be able toconnect with the Lord, clarify
what you're doing every day,create with him and cultivate
the relationships that matter,all within the context of your
90 day plan.
We're going to help you setthose goals, get clarified in
what God's called you to do, thefoundations course, the core,
core 4 Planner they gobeautifully together and it's
(34:39):
just a clear and simple way,just another way that we're
helping you walk in everythingthat God's got for you.
All right, I love you, friend.
Thank you so much for being heretoday.
Be sure to share this with afriend If you're.
Whatever platform you're on,make sure that you're
subscribing and liking.
Be sure to leave me a comment.
If you're on YouTube, I'd loveto hear your thoughts and what
(35:00):
God's speaking to you and whatthis has meant to you today and,
of course, share it with afriend if it's been a blessing
to you.
All right, I love you, friend.
Until next time, remember youwere created to thrive.
Bye, hey, my friend.
Before you go, make sure thatyou're signed up for the
Thriving Christian Artist Weekly.
It's my free newsletter, fullof spiritual encouragement,
(35:21):
creative inspiration andpractical tips to help you
thrive in everything that God'scalled you to do as an artist in
his kingdom.
Every issue is absolutely freeand it includes the latest
podcast episode, featured artistspotlights, a worship song of
the week and, again, tons oftips and encouragement and
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everything that God's got foryou as an artist in the kingdom.
(35:43):
You can click the link righthere in the show notes to join
us, and it's a great way to stayconnected.
All right, love you.
Bye.
that creative tug inside your heart, that whisper
that's always going on inside,that's drawing you to certain
artistic things.
What if that isn't just you,but it's actually a clue to the
God-given superpower that he'sgiven you in your art?
Well, today I'm going to teachyou how to recognize that, how
to embrace it in your life andactually how to start walking in
(00:20):
it as a part of God's grace,not only in your life, but
through your life.
Today, on the ThrivingChristian Artist.
All over the world, artists areawakening Painters and potters,
writers and weavers, poets anddancers not chasing followers or
fame, but sons and daughterscalled for such a time as this,
transformed from the inside out,creating with purpose,
(00:41):
releasing the glory of God andliving in the power of the
kingdom.
Right now, this is the ThrivingChristian Artist.
Well, hey, my friend, I'm MattTommey, so glad that you are
here.
On the Thriving ChristianArtist.
Whether it's your first time,first time in a long time, or
maybe you're a regular listenerand watcher, I'm really, really
glad that you're here.
(01:01):
Really glad that you're here.
Listen, uncovering thisartistic superpower that God
gives all of us as artists isreally foundational to how we
show up in the world and how weworship God through our art and
how God uses us in the world torelease his glory.
And I can just remember when Istarted really getting in touch
with what I'm calling today thisartistic superpower this, you
(01:25):
know, we call it a lot of times,this artistic superpower.
This, you know, we call it alot of times your unique
artistic voice.
Man, when you start gettingreally excited about this and
really in touch with it, itreally frees you up to be fully
who God created you to be andrelease what he's created you to
do.
Because I don't know about you,but for a lot of artists, for
myself, for many, many years, Iconstantly struggled with this
(01:47):
idea of I'm not good enough, ornobody will like the things that
I like, or I'm kind of weird,or other people are more
talented, or what if nobodywants to buy this?
What if it doesn't reallymatter?
I mean, can I just, can we justall recognize really quick that
the job of the enemy, from thevery forming of the dawn of
creation, has been to do what?
To steal and to kill anddestroy and to distract and to
(02:10):
derail, and try to convince youthat the thing that God's put
inside of you is not worthpursuing, it's not worth
uncovering, it's not worthdeveloping.
And just like you, you knowI've struggled with that for a
lot of years until I startedrealizing that the very things
that I thought made me weird,the very things that I thought
(02:31):
you know, and the things thatthe enemy was attacking in my
life, the things that Idownplayed in my life, they were
actually gifts from God.
Now it's interesting.
I wrote a lot about this in mybook, god's Plan for Living.
It may be helpful for you for anext step, but I write in there
that God gives us three things,I think every person that comes
(02:51):
on board with who we are askingdom people.
He gives us gifts that is,supernatural gifts to be able to
release his spirit into theworld.
He gives us talents, right, andhe gives us talents to be able
to do things that maybe otherpeople can't do.
You may be talented in music,you may be talented in painting
and drawing and writing andsculpture and movement and
(03:14):
whatever it is, but you've justgot sort of a natural ability,
maybe in seed form, sure, butyou've got a talent there that
comes easy to you.
That kind of flows naturally.
And then I also talk about thisidea that I believe God gives us
graces and that what I thinkabout as a grace is this
supernatural ability to dothings and be in places and
(03:38):
operate within a realm thatother people don't necessarily
have a grace for.
I think about some of myfriends who are abstract
expressionist painters.
You know they love the powerand the imagery and the you know
energy of moving fast andpainting with big swaths of
color and that sort of thing.
I'm not really as drawn to that.
(03:59):
I love sort of the meditativenature of weaving and sculpting
and creating detail and thatsort of thing.
Well, guess what?
They got a grace for that andI've got a grace for this.
Neither one is more the Lord ornot as much the Lord, but we
have a different grace.
And so when you start realizingthat on board, god has given you
(04:22):
gifts, that is, thosesupernatural abilities to see
and hear.
With him he's giving youtalents, things to do with your
hands, with your body,artistically.
And then, number three, he'sgiving you grace to be able to
operate within the realm and inthe world, whichever it is that
you're operating in artistically.
(04:42):
That's all God's design.
And of course, you know I loveto start everything with
scripture.
So I want to go to Romans 12, 6.
And in the New Living, I lovewhat it says.
It says in his grace, talkingabout God.
Right, in his grace, god hasgiven us different gifts for
doing certain things well, giftsfor doing certain things well.
(05:08):
See, these things that areunique to us, that the enemy is
always trying to downplay anddistract us from and get us to
be deflated in our belief toward.
These are the gifts of Godinside of us.
These are the presents, if youwill, these are the secrets of
the kingdom, if you will, thatgod has has put with inside of
us.
And I love, you know, I lovethat verse that says it's the
(05:29):
glory of god to conceal thematters, the glory of kings to
search it out.
And I just really believe thereare some things that god's given
you artistically and creativelythat you're never going to
realize.
Listen now, you're never goingto realize.
And see, until you startdigging for it.
See, if you're never going torealize, listen now, you're
never going to realize until youstart digging for it.
See, if you're just waiting foreverything, just to kind of
(05:49):
flow.
I can just tell you a hundredpercent, that's not always how
it happens.
Most of the things that I'vediscovered in my life
artistically that are reallygifts to me.
They came as I leaned into theprocess, as I got out that Holy
Spirit pickaxe in my artisticprocess and I started going
(06:12):
after something, realizing thatwhat there's an itch inside of
me, there's a desire inside ofme, there's a feeling inside,
there's something that's drawingme to this subject, this
material, this world, thesecolors, these forms, these
structures.
There's something that'sdrawing me to that Right.
(06:32):
It's the glory of God toconceal a matter.
And when I start searching itout, when I start going for it,
when I start giving myself timeand space and energy to play and
to develop mastery within thosethings, guess what begins to
happen All of a sudden?
The emergence of a unique voiceand, I believe, a unique
(06:53):
emergence of this superpower,this superpower that God gives
all of us individually to beable to see and agree with
heaven, to hear his voice and torespond to him in ways and
through mediums and throughmetaphors that nobody else is
doing.
Now you may be saying, you know,for the skeptic out there, you
(07:16):
may be saying, well, you know, Imean everybody can't be unique.
I mean there's going to be someoverlap, matt.
I mean, not everybody's goingto have a unique thing.
Have you looked at theuniqueness of creation?
Have you looked at theuniqueness of snowflakes?
Have you looked at theuniqueness of animals and colors
and textures, and rocks and thesky and the stars in the heaven
(07:40):
?
My friend God is infinite in hisability to reflect his nature
in ways that are unique and he'screated us at the height of
creation.
The Bible says you know, we'rean image.
We get to be image bearers.
Right, he created us in hisimage in order to what created
(08:07):
us in his image, in order towhat?
To reflect and reveal his imagein the earth, to release his
light and life in the earth, notonly through the way that we
live and that we speak, but, ofcourse, through the way that we
create.
And so when you start realizingthat, wow, the things that I'm
drawn to, even if you can'texplain why.
It's not random, it's thewhisper of God, it's the divine
(08:30):
spark of God.
That is this flicker, thiswhisper inside of you and if
you'll slow down enough tolisten for it and then to
embrace it, have you ever seenanybody?
I was a Boy Scout.
You have to forgive me.
Have you ever seen anybody?
I was a boy scout, you have toforgive me.
Have you ever seen anybodystart a fire with just a couple
(08:51):
of sticks?
It's really really cool.
And it happens through friction, right.
But what happens when you're youknow, sometimes you take a
shoelace or some kind of cord orwhatever.
You create a bow and you have alittle piece of wood down here
and you put it on there and youstart going like this and all of
a sudden, before long, there'llbe a little smoke.
That happens.
(09:11):
And then out of that smokeyou'll take it off and you'll
look down into the wood and allof a sudden there'll be just a
glimmer, just a little fleck,just a little fleck of fire, a
coal, if you will.
And what you do typically isyou take that coal and you drop
it over into some people call ita nest.
Right, we used to call it anest.
(09:32):
You just take a nest of dried,kindling-y sort of straw,
whatever you can grab that'ssuper dry.
You take that little ember,that little fleck of an ember,
and you drop it into that nestand you put your hands up and
you go and you start to blow onit and you're and you're
(09:53):
coddling it and you're socareful with your you start
blowing it.
But what?
All of a sudden, that littlefleck of a coal, that little,
that thing, that was just aspark, all of a sudden, really
in a moment, begins to.
There's some, there's somesmoke, and then all of a sudden
there's, there's a flame.
(10:14):
There's a flame, and you canuse that then to do what?
Typically you would take thatover to the campfire and put
that under some kindling andthat's how you start your fire.
My friend, listen, the creativediscovery process of the unique
voice and the unique elements,the unique desires and passions
(10:35):
that God's put inside of you,can I tell you it's just the
same.
It's just the same.
It takes you listening for thewhispers of God.
It takes you listening for thewhispers of God.
It takes you looking for thelittle embers of spark that are
there.
I can remember.
I'm getting excited.
I hope you're excited.
(10:57):
I'm a total nerd when it comesto this, but I can remember.
I remember when I would walk inthe woods as a kid, as a young
teen and as an older teen, evenin a college.
I remember working at summercamps and a mentor of mine, bob
Cagle, one of the things he usedto have us do is we would have
(11:19):
to walk in the woods as campcounselors.
We have to walk in the woodsand we have to find something in
nature that reflected ourrelationship with God.
We have to walk in the woodsand we have to find something in
nature that reflected ourrelationship with God and we
have to bring it back to thecircle and kind of talk about
this.
I mean, it was such a beautifulexercise in the development of
metaphor for an emerging artist,you know.
But I can remember walkingthrough the woods.
(11:43):
In all of these times over mylife, and even as an adult, even
when I didn't know it in mycognitive mind, I knew that when
I was in the woods, man,something spoke to me, something
was lighting me up.
I've said it before.
I was more me there than at anyother time.
(12:05):
Why?
That was a whisper.
That was God whispering to me.
He was saying, matt, I made youfor this, matt.
I made you to come alive whenyou're in nature, matt.
I made your eyes to see thecragginess of a creek and the
way rocks come together.
I made your hands to feel theway nests are made by birds.
(12:27):
I made your body to feel thebreeze and your ears to hear the
way birds singing.
And I made all of that to lightyou up on the inside.
Why so that such desire come onsomebody?
So that such desire would bebirthed inside of you that you
could not help but create out ofthat place.
(12:55):
Listen, my friend, if you're notcreating out of that place of
desire and passion and beingawakened spiritually, can I just
say you're missing the wholepoint.
You're.
You're missing the whole giftof god in in the creative
process.
This is the way that we weredesigned to create, not out of
(13:16):
just following rules andtechniques and materials and
just doing the same old thing,that that we've learned in
school or in lessons or whatever.
No, all those things are greatand it's wonderful to learn the
rules right.
As the old saying goes, youhave to learn the rules to break
the rules right.
That's a wonderful thing to do.
We need to grow in maturity asartists, but I'm telling you
(13:38):
none of that.
No technique or material orclass or mastery in anything
artistic is worth anythingunless it is fueled by the
passion and the movement of theHoly Spirit inside of you.
That's how we're designed tocreate, and so I would ask you,
(13:58):
even as you're listening, asyou're watching this today, I
would ask you when have yourecently felt the most alive,
creatively, even back throughyour life?
What are the things that you'redrawn to and you just can't
explain it?
What are the things that makeyou laugh?
What are the things that makeyou cry?
(14:19):
What are the things that justmake you feel so full inside
that you could just sit therefor hours and hours and hours
doing that, seeing that, hearingthat, feeling that, engaging
with it.
What is that?
I'm telling you, that is asecret, that's a whisper, that's
a spark.
It's a clue to the superpowerthat God has for you.
(14:43):
Because I'm telling you, whenyou begin to get in touch with
that, you don't have to know allthe details of how it's going
to work out.
Can I just say to all of youthat are out there wanting to
perfectionistic uh, you know,perfectionistically plan out
your whole creative process forthe next 10 years.
Listen, you don't have to planit out.
(15:05):
Art, art, creating art is aboutprocess, it's not about product,
right?
Of course we want to createbeautiful products for ourselves
, for God, for for others.
We want to create them for themarketplace, if that's what
God's called you to.
But I'm telling you, the giftis not always in the product.
The gift is in the process, andif you can get passionate about
what's lighting you up and getclear about what's lighting you
(15:29):
up artistically, then you cantrust God in the process to see
that thing developed.
So I like to call that decodingyour artistic DNA right, once
you start to understand what isthe DNA that God's put inside of
you, then you can kind of startto decode it.
What is this?
Hmm, okay, I love nature.
(15:49):
I love the way things happentogether.
I love the way nests and podsand branches and colors.
I love the way things work innature.
I love the relation.
I love the textures.
I love the forms.
I love the differences intextures and different materials
.
I love how nests look againstbranches, look against rocks.
(16:10):
I love how greens and brownslook against blues and whites.
Like what does that mean?
Like what?
And so I start to decode and Istart to try to figure out.
What are these things?
What are those things for you?
Like?
What are the stories and themesthat keep showing up in your
art?
What are the subjects that youkeep daydreaming about
(16:33):
expressing in your work, whatare the mediums and techniques
that are just fascinating youthat you can't, you know, get
off your mind?
I would encourage you writedown those things Even right now
.
If you've got a, maybe you'rein the studio, maybe you're
creating right now.
I know a lot of people listento this, watch this in the
studio.
Grab your sketchbook, writedown four or five things.
(16:54):
What are the things that youjust keep going back to, the
things that maybe it's easy tothink about this, the threads,
if you will, that are goingthrough your work, the themes
that are going through your work?
Listen, god not only has formedthose things in you, but he
wants to form those thingsthrough your art.
(17:14):
I love that verse.
It's a set of verses in Psalm139.
It says for you formed me.
This is David talking.
You formed me in my inwardparts.
You covered me in my mother'swomb.
I'll praise you for I'mfearfully and wonderfully made.
Marvelous are your works andthat my soul knows very well.
Listen, just like God coveredyou with his spirit and he
(17:40):
formed you in his mother's womb,just like he covered the earth
with his spirit on the day ofcreation and formed the earth.
Listen, I'm telling you, godwants to cover you with his
spirit in the studio as you formwith him the things that God
wants to create through you.
Now I'm not saying that asyou're going to be a robot and
(18:03):
God's just going to do all thework.
No, this is this beautifulco-laboring right, this
beautiful trust process thathappens when we start to
actually receive the impulsesand the passions and the things
that light us up as gifts fromthe Lord and we begin to trust
that the creative intuitionsthat we're feeling in that
process, as we're inviting himinto that process of creation,
(18:26):
these are not antithetical tothe process.
This is not me over here andGod over there.
No, this is us working together.
If you listen to me at all orread any of my books, you know
that I'm passionate about thisidea of creating from a place of
assumed connection.
When you got saved, all of yougot saved.
Your imagination has beenredeemed, your mind has been
(18:49):
redeemed, your eyes have beenredeemed, your heart has been
redeemed.
And your creative impulses anddesires Guess what?
They have been redeemed.
And they not only have beenredeemed, they're being matured
as you learn To walk with theLord and step out In the, the
creative process and actuallydecode this creative voice, this
(19:12):
creative DNA that God has putinside of you.
Now can I just tell you realquick this is one of those
things in the kingdom that Goddoes with you, not to you.
I can hear some of you rightnow because I know everybody's
done it.
Oh God, just download mycreative voice.
Oh God, I just need to download.
(19:32):
I just need you to do this,lord, I'd receive it.
Well, listen, we receive it byfaith.
But part of faith is not onlyseeing it and agreeing with it,
but what?
Decreeing it out of your mouthand proceeding with it with your
feet and with your hands.
In other words, when God showsme something and I agree with it
(19:53):
in my heart, I got to begin tospeak that thing out of my mouth
.
Why?
Because the power of the lifeand death is where, in the
tongue, in your mouth.
So, as you speak it out, youco-labor with the creative
process and power of God insideof you and then you begin to
proceed.
That is, you begin to act as ifand do as if the things which
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God shows you in the spirit, thethings which you've agreed with
in your heart, the things whichyou're saying you believe, you
actually start acting as ifthose things are true.
That's how faith begins tohappen.
Everything that we doartistically is done by faith,
right?
Every idea starts where In theimagination, and I would say,
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for believing, it starts in thespirit, right, god's showing us
things and we agree with it, andthen, based on that, we begin
to act on those impulses.
That's how the creative processworks and that's how you mature
in the creative process.
So this is not something don't,don't go away from this today
and go oh, yeah, god, I wantthat creative superpower.
(21:00):
Just give it to me.
Oh, I receive it.
Well, listen, receive it, butyou got to start receiving it
day by day, moment by moment,and as you receive it, use it.
As you receive it, walk in it.
That's how the thing startsflowing in your life.
All right, see, that's that'swhat we talk about in this, this
(21:21):
idea of cultivate, right.
Cultivation, that's how you getthe, the spark, if you will.
The spark, the little ember,that's how you get that into a
flame.
So what does that mean?
Well, that means that you gotto make regular time in the
studio.
You know, every day, every day,yeah, every day, aren't you an
(21:43):
artist?
Listen, I've said this amillion times I I'll say it
again.
It's worth repeating.
If God found it importantenough to place a creative gift
and passion and calling insideof you and on your life, it
ought to be important enough foryou to do something with it
every day.
Now, if you need help with thatman, we got tons of resources.
(22:03):
I mean, if you don't have yourcore four planner yet, get that.
I mean it's a day by day.
We help you connect with God,clarify what you're doing,
create with him, cultivaterelationships that matter.
Listen, that's just a part ofthe rhythm that we believe that
kingdom artists are a part ofevery day.
Make time to create, make timeto experiment and play, not just
(22:25):
creating for a show.
You know I'm all for creatingfor shows.
I've helped thousands uponthousands of artists in our
Created to Thrive ArtistMentoring Program turn their art
hobby into a thriving business.
I've been doing that for years.
We're the number one creativementoring program for artists
who love Jesus in the world havebeen for many, many years.
(22:47):
All right, tons and tons andtons, many years.
All right, tons and tons andtons of testimonials.
All right, but I tell artistsall the time you cannot create
only for production.
You've got to create out of theplace of play.
Why?
Because play and fun andexperimenting that's what lights
up our heart.
You got to create things whenyou don't feel ready, when you
(23:08):
know you're going to mess up,when you're sure you don't have
the technique that you need toget in there and make a mess.
Why?
Because that's when thingshappen, that's when God, god,
wakes us up.
You also need to get.
You need to get feedback rightIn safe communities, people that
you respect.
That's one of the things welove doing in the mentoring
program.
Every communities, people thatyou respect that's one of the
(23:29):
things we love doing in thementoring program.
Every, every month, we do artcritiques.
People submit their work, my meand my coaching team we get
together and and we critique andwe give thoughtful feedback and
help people grow.
We need that, all of us.
All of us need that.
But that's how.
That's how that art ember andthose sparks become a flame.
So I'd say for you this week, isit starting a studio practice
(23:54):
of showing up in the studioevery day?
Listen, I don't even care ifit's for 30 minutes Every day.
Do something with your art, ormaybe it's for you this week.
You need to set aside thecommission, set aside the
production work for a day or fora morning, and just say you
know what?
I'm going to try something thisweek.
That's been on my heart, that'sbeen on my radar creatively for
(24:17):
a little while, but I've notdone anything with it.
I'm just going to play and seewhat happens.
Listen, I just want to tell youthat's valuable, that's a part
of you being a good steward ofwhat God has given you and as
you do that, guess what.
That's a part of you being agood steward of what God has
given you.
And as you do that, guess whatthat's going to bloom and that's
going to blossom.
Now here's the last thing I wantto say when God gives you this
(24:38):
superpower and you begin todevelop it, it begins to become
your unique creative voice, notjust for you, not just as a
means of grace for your own life, because I may be, you know, as
we create, as we do the thingGod's called us to do, it, it is
a means of grace for us, right?
It is a way, a beautiful way,that we are able to walk in the
(25:01):
abundant life and experience thepresence of God.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, but itisn't just for you and it isn't
just for me.
It's made to be a means ofgrace for others, a vessel of
God's love and his beauty andtruth and goodness and grace to
others.
That people would not only seeour life but see our work and be
able to interact with andengage with the life giving
(25:22):
presence of God in their life.
That's how the kingdom happens.
Listen, it's just like you know,you ever thrown a rock in the
water and you throw that rockand all of a sudden it could
just make one hole.
But no, it doesn't make justone hole in the in the water.
It didn't just sink to thebottom, it makes ripples and
ripples and ripples and ripplesand ripples.
And listen, that's what happenswhen you create your work and
(25:46):
you're brave enough to put itout on social media or at a show
or on your website, or you giveit away as a gift or as a
prophetic offering, or you sellit.
What begins to happen is thisripple effect, not just of the
product itself, listen, but ofthis unique artistic superpower
that God's given you, thisunique artistic superpower that
(26:11):
God's given you.
The effect of that, the powerof that, is a ripple effect all
across the world.
Listen, I don't know about you,but I don't want to just see my
work end up in somebody's houseand that's just it.
I want them, every time theywalk by that piece, to go wow,
something about this piece justmakes me want to pause and take
a deep breath.
Something about when I when Iread that book, when I listened
(26:33):
to that song, when I see thatpiece of art, when I watched
that movie, when I uh, whateverit is creatively that you do,
when I do that, I experiencedthe life and light of God.
My friend, listen, that's thekingdom.
That's why God gave you thething that he gave you.
That's why we got to give timeevery day to this unique,
(26:55):
beautiful gift that God's givenus, because it's through us
doing that that his kingdom isreleased uniquely and powerfully
, not only for us, but throughus.
Listen, maybe this is a greatway to end today.
Matthew 5, 14 through 16,.
It says this in the message.
I love the message.
It says here's another way toput it You're here to be light,
(27:19):
bringing out the God colors inthe world.
Isn't that great?
God is not a secret to be kept.
We're going public with this aspublic as a city on a hill.
If I make you light bearers,don't you think I'm going to you
?
Don't think I'm going to hideyou under a bucket, do you?
I'm putting you as a light on astand.
(27:42):
Now that I've put you there on ahilltop, on a light stand,
shine.
This is Jesus talking.
He said listen, I gave you thisthing, shine.
I gave you this thing.
Share it with the world.
Right.
Keep open house, be generouswith your lives.
By opening up to others, you'llprompt people to be open with
God, this generous father inheaven.
(28:05):
Whoa.
This is the thing.
This is the gift that God'sgiven us to be able to wake up
people to the fact that Godloves them, that God has a plan
and a purpose for their life,that God wants to engage with
them and meet them right wherethey are.
This is the kingdom and, myfriend, you and I get to be a
(28:26):
part of it as artists.
You and I get to be a part ofit as creative people who are
seeing and agreeing with heaven,who are decreeing his truth out
of our mouth and proceedingwith it into the studio and into
the marketplace every day.
This is what you and I werecreated for.
So, my friend, listen to thoseGod whispers that make your soul
(28:47):
awake.
So, my friend, listen to thoseGod whispers that make your soul
awake.
Do the work that it takes todecode that artistic DNA inside
of you.
Watch how you can follow theleading of the Spirit to
cultivate that spark into asuperpower Through faithful
practice and trust God, believeGod, declare out of your mouth
that the superpower that God hasgiven you is going to ripple
(29:10):
and ripple and ripple and ripplethrough the lives of people in
countless generations, becauseyou and I chose to say yes.
Now, listen, I know that, asyou're listening to this and
you're watching this, you'reprobably thinking I would love
to be able to do that, but Ijust the enemy's hitting me at
every turn.
I'm feeling, maybe, like I wantto shrink back, like I'm always
(29:34):
comparing myself to others.
I've got all this doubt in myhead.
Like man, I want to, like Ibelieve, but help my unbelief.
Can I just tell you that thevery fact that you're feeling
that is proof that you're on theright path, because the enemy
doesn't attack people that arenot walking into and toward the
(29:54):
very promised land that Godcreated them for.
So can I just tell you that thedifficulties that you're
feeling right now are proof, areproof that there's a gift in
you.
They're proof that God's got aplan and a purpose for your life
.
They're proof that all thesethings that you've been down all
these years, they're proof thatthose are actually the very
(30:14):
things you need to be focused on.
That's actually the path youneed to be walking on.
And so, father, right now, Ipray in Jesus' name, by the Holy
Spirit.
God, I thank you that you don'tknow any distance.
I thank you that you don't knowany distance.
I thank you that you're outsideof time.
And so, god, wheneversomebody's watching this and
listening to this Lord, I thankyou that you're present right
there in that moment to do thework that only you can do.
(30:35):
And, father, I pray in Jesus'name that you would break the
power of the enemy right now, inJesus' name, over their minds
and over their hearts.
Holy Spirit, I pray that youwould bring up areas of
agreement in my friend's heartwhere they've agreed with the
lies of the enemy.
And, god, show them your truthright now, even in this moment,
(30:56):
that they could come out ofagreement with the lies of the
enemy and into agreement withthe truth of your word, the
truth of your promises, thetruth of your design for their
life, that they might walk inevery good thing that you have
for them.
I bless them.
I bless them, my friend, look,I bless you right now with ears
(31:18):
to hear, with eyes to see, witha heart to receive, with hands
to do the work, with feet towalk.
I bless you with those thingsthat you can experience, every
good thing that God has for you.
In Jesus' name.
In Jesus' name, listen, if you,like most artists, want to walk
(31:41):
into this new reality, but youknow that there's a whole lot of
stuff hanging on and hangingout and hanging inside of you
from all these years maybetrauma, maybe doubt, maybe fear,
maybe just some.
You know, as the old sayinggoes stinking thinking.
Maybe just some old patternsthat you've gotten into that you
know, as the old saying goesstinking thinking.
Maybe just some old patternsthat you've gotten into that you
know you need to break, butit's just hard to do it by
(32:02):
yourself.
Can I tell you?
That's exactly why I developedthe Foundations Course.
The Created to ThriveFoundations Course is a
nine-week journey where I walkyou through this process of
everything that we just talkedabout today learning to hear
God's voice, learning to receivea clear understanding of God's
unique design on your life, notonly just as an artist generally
(32:26):
, but as a child of God.
What are the things that he'scalled you to?
How to get a clear vision foryour life so that you could walk
in clarity and in boldness andin confidence toward the things
that God's called you to do, andnot only give you a vision for
that, but actually give youclear steps and habits on how to
come out of agreement with thethings that the enemy's had you
(32:47):
agreeing with all these yearsand into agreement with the
fullness of what God has for you.
Listen, you can find out allabout the Foundations course.
Out all about the Foundationscourse.
Hundreds and hundreds andhundreds of artists all over the
world and just about everycreative medium are experiencing
new life in Jesus and a renewedsense of self and a renewed
sense of joy and confidence,because they're allowing me to
(33:10):
walk them through this course inthe context of community.
You can find out all about itright here.
The link is in the show notes.
You just go tomatttommymentoringcom forward
slash foundations or you just goto our website.
Find it on the link or clickthe link that's in the show
notes.
However, you want to do it,listen, my friend, just do it.
Just do it.
I promise you we've made it asaffordable as we can for every
(33:34):
artist, no matter what yourfinancial situation is, and I
can trust you.
You can trust and I can promiseyou that you have spent a whole
lot more money on a whole lotmore things.
They brought you a whole lotless.
Listen, the Foundations courseis proving to be an incredible
(33:54):
vehicle of transformation in thelives of so many.
I'd love for you to be a partof it.
Give me the privilege ofcontinuing to walk with you
inside that community.
All right, well, hey, friend.
Oh yeah, one more thing.
Like I said, I don't want tojust pass it by.
If you don't have your corefour planner yet, your core four
focus planner, you need to getthis.
It's like, again, a no brainer.
Every day, we're giving you,step by step, not only
(34:17):
encouraging quotes andscriptures, but also a daily
rhythm for you to be able toconnect with the Lord, clarify
what you're doing every day,create with him and cultivate
the relationships that matter,all within the context of your
90 day plan.
We're going to help you setthose goals, get clarified in
what God's called you to do, thefoundations course, the core,
core 4 Planner they gobeautifully together and it's
(34:39):
just a clear and simple way,just another way that we're
helping you walk in everythingthat God's got for you.
All right, I love you, friend.
Thank you so much for being heretoday.
Be sure to share this with afriend If you're.
Whatever platform you're on,make sure that you're
subscribing and liking.
Be sure to leave me a comment.
If you're on YouTube, I'd loveto hear your thoughts and what
(35:00):
God's speaking to you and whatthis has meant to you today and,
of course, share it with afriend if it's been a blessing
to you.
All right, I love you, friend.
Until next time, remember youwere created to thrive.
Bye, hey, my friend.
Before you go, make sure thatyou're signed up for the
Thriving Christian Artist Weekly.
It's my free newsletter, fullof spiritual encouragement,
(35:21):
creative inspiration andpractical tips to help you
thrive in everything that God'scalled you to do as an artist in
his kingdom.
Every issue is absolutely freeand it includes the latest
podcast episode, featured artistspotlights, a worship song of
the week and, again, tons oftips and encouragement and
inspiration for you, to keep youinspired and encouraged in
everything that God's got foryou as an artist in the kingdom.
(35:43):
You can click the link righthere in the show notes to join
us, and it's a great way to stayconnected.
All right, love you.
Bye.
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