Creativity and Spiritual Warfare

In my last blog post, I talked about prophetic music and singing, and I mentioned that music is meant to not only stir the emotions, but also to impact the spiritual realm.

That's where today's article comes in. Today I'm going to share with you a biblical story, some modern-day evidence, and a warning to help you in your Christian walk.

Let's start by seeing what the Bible has to say:

1 Samuel 16:14-16 and 23--Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better." ...Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. (NIV - *see footnote at end of article)

David's musical skills became a weapon of spiritual warfare! He wasn't even singing words that commanded the spirit to leave. David simply played the harp, and the demon would go!

I've heard it said that there's no such thing as "Christian music" only "Christian lyrics." The person saying this was trying to make the point that good music is just good music. According to this argument, instrumental arrangements (like classical music, relaxation music, and the like), which have no lyrics, are spiritually neutral.

But if that's true, what do we do with David's harp playing? Okay--I know David was a Jew and there wasn't yet any such thing as a Christian, so it wasn't "Christian" music; but that doesn't change the fact that David's instrumental harp music caused an evil spirit to leave!

And for that matter, there are tribes in Africa that use dancing and drum playing to summon evil spirits to do their bidding. Many missionaries have attested to the reality of these dark spiritual forces and how they really do come at the beckoning of the drums. Would you call that music spiritually neutral even though there aren't any lyrics?

The spiritual value of music has a lot to do with the purpose behind it. Songs with lyrics are easier to figure out. For instance, Christian lyrics tend to either glorify God, prophesy, encourage, uplift, share the Gospel, wage spiritual warfare, or be a prayer. Clearly, we would call all these things "good!" On the other side is what we would call "secular" music, which often has a purpose of mere entertainment.

But entertainment is just the surface-level purpose. We have to read deeper into what the enemy might be accomplishing through that music. Remember, mere instrumentals can be used to either calm evil spirits or conjure them up. So the songs meant to entertain may actually be opening doors for depression, bitterness, envy, greed, sensuality, drunkennes, lust, rage, promiscuity, jealousy, and more. Even secular songs with supposedly "good" lyrics can stir up sinful desires.

There's no such thing as spiritually neutral music any more than there is such a thing as a spiritually neutral person. Music is born out of the soul and spirit of human beings who are constantly being influenced by one spiritual kingdom or another. We have to be discerning! Even classical music impacts you spiritually in one way or another.

Armed with this knowledge, I want you to examine the music you feed yourself on. What's your favorite CD? Radio station? Recording artist? What do you play on your stereo or computer when you're having a party at your house? What's on your iPod? If your write music, what's it about? If it's instrumental, what are your trying to express? Really think about this.

What is the spiritual value of that music? Take a prayerful audit of all the music you listen to on a regular basis. Does it serve the purposes of God? Or does it serve the purposes of the flesh, the world, and/or the devil? Does it encourage you in your faith? Or does it encourage you toward the things of this world? Does it draw you closer to God? Or does it distract you from a prayerful mindset?

There's no such thing as spiritually neutral music, and you have the free will to choose what you listen to. Why waste your time on music that accomplishes the opposite of your mission as a Christian?

Ephesians 5:15-20--Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV)

God bless!
--Art--

*(Some questions are naturally raised from the opening passage about demons, but the answer requires more attention than this blog post has room for. To keep from distracting from the topic at hand, I've published an article titled, "Evil Spirits from God?" on www.SupernaturalBlogger.com that should help those of you who want to understand this topic on a deeper level.)

Labels: music, singing, spiritual warfare, the enemy, understanding the battle

# posted by Art Thomas @ 10:59 AM 0 Comments

I was raised in a Pentecostal church. The scene was all too familiar: At a certain point in the worship and singing, the music would break, and someone would shout out, "My people, My people...." What followed was generally a declaration of love, encouragement, or admonition spoken in the first-person as though God Himself were speaking. Based on 1 Corinthians 12-14, we respected these exclamations as prophecies. Still today, I love to hear a prophetic shout of encouragement from God! But this method of presenting prophecy has overtaken an ancient form that, in many ways, is often more stirring.

There's no doubt that music stirs our emotions. There's nothing wrong with that! In Psalm 108:1, David declares, "My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul" (your "soul" is your mind, will, and emotions). When Mary was declared "blessed" by Elizabeth for bearing the Messiah in her womb, she sang out, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior!"

Music is meant to stir the emotions and also to have an effect on the spiritual realm (I'll write about this more in my next blog post). God wants to touch our emotions! Nevertheless, we've separated prophecy from music. Why? Perhaps because it's practical--in a large church gathering, it's not easy for an individual to be heard above our loud stage shows.

In the Bible, however, music and prophecy were often interwoven. While it may not be practical for the average Christian to prophesy this way in a big church service, it shouldn't stop musicians and singers from practicing it at all!

Throughout the Psalms we find songs that convey prophetic words from God. Consider, for instance, Psalm 50. Here a man named Asaph sings a prophetic word from God--first to His people and then to the wicked. God's proclamation gets declared in song! The music didn't stop and wait for a prophecy! Instead, God joined in the music by singing through a willing and yielded human being!

Apparently Asaph's gift for prophetic song was handed down to the next generation. King David placed Asaph's sons and the sons of two other Psalm writers in charge of prophetic music in his kingdom.

1 Chronicles 25:1a--David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals... (NIV).

Asaph was a song writer. Heman was a musician. And Jeduthun was himself a prophetic singer.

1 Chronicles 25:3--As for Jeduthun...who prophesied, using the harp in thanking and praising the LORD (NIV).

It's interesting to note that all these men carried out their ministries within the context of being under authority according to God's order:

1 Chronicles 25:6-7--All these men were under the supervision of their fathers for the music of the temple of the LORD, with cymbals, lyres and harps, for the ministry at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were under the supervision of the king. Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the LORD --they numbered 288 (NIV).

So King David oversaw the three fathers, and the fathers oversaw their sons. What's interesting to me is how relevant this is even today. It's one thing to interrupt a moment of silence by shouting a prophecy (or supposed prophecy). Anyone can do that! But to get in front of people with a musical instrument and sing a prophecy is more likely to happen if you've been granted the venue by someone in authority!

So my advice to musicians who want to exercise their prophetic gifts in song is this: Submit to authority! God wants to use you to sing His heart to His people and stir their souls. Gain an audience through humility.

This is a completely different world for most musicians. Our culture has taught us that if you want to go places with your musical talent, then you have to put on a show. You've got to be the star and perform with blind confidence. In other words, you've got to raise yourself up. That's called pride, by the way; and God opposes the proud.

Prophetic singers and musicians, however, can only rise to prominence through humility and submission to authority. That's how they receive their platform. That's how they're granted an audience with kings!

Luke 14:11--For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (NIV).

Spend time with the Lord. Get to know His heart. As you sing to Him, listen for Him to sing back to you!

I can't tell you how many times I've been impacted through prophetic song. Prophetic singing fuels spiritual warfare. It soothes life's hurts. It accelerates inner healing. It can be a tool for the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and awaken our conscience. It encourages, admonishes, and uplifts. It comforts. It spurs us onward. It rallies the Church to take action!

If King David recognized the need to officially appoint prophetic singers and musicians in his earthly kingdom, how much more important are they today in Christ's heavenly Kingdom? Let the prophetic singers and musicians rise up! Let prophetic songs burst forth from the Church! Let the emotions of mankind be gripped with the word of the Lord!

It has been said, "Sing unto the Lord a new song!" But today I say to you, "Let the Lord sing a new song through you!"

Labels: God's voice, music, prophecy, prophetic revelation, prophetic songs, singing, spiritual gifts, spiritual warfare

# posted by Art Thomas @ 11:07 PM 0 Comments

If you're a creative person, the army of darkness wants to destroy you. Yup, you read me right! I don't say this to scare you, but rather to alert you to the battle taking place in the spiritual realm right now!

The enemy knows that creativity is a powerful spiritual weapon in the hands of a Christian! So if the army of darkness can eliminate the creative, they'll have a strong advantage.

That's why we see such an assault against creative people. Musicians get tempted by money, sex, and drugs. Artists get tempted by the institutions that train them as nudity seems to be a favored topic. And consider all the creativty that's possible through computers--graphic design, animation, digital recording, and so forth. Is it any wonder why the internet is littered with pornography and sin? The devil wants to do all he can to destroy God's creative army.

It's nothing new; this idea goes back thousands of years. King Saul once faced an ocean of Philistine warriors with his little army. And even though the Israelites were outnumbered, guess what the Philistines did?

1 Samuel 17:13 and 19-22--Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments....Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, "Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!" So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. The price was two thirds of a shekel for sharpening plowshares and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads. So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them. (NIV)

I'm not sure if this means that the blacksmiths were killed or taken captive, but the fact remains that the Philistines removed these creative people from Israel's army. As a result, the Israelites had no weapons! And they ended up having to pay the Philitines to sharpen their gardening tools in hopes that they could fight with those!

Since creativity can be used so mightily in spiritual warfare, the enemy wants to destroy the creative people in God's army. If there are no blacksmiths, who will make the weapons? If there are no creative people, who will create spiritually dynamic media that has the power to transform the world?

As it stands right now, we have a tendency to take gardening tools to the enemy's camp for sharpening. We copy the world. We take a style of music in the world and mimic it--often at lower quality, and usually a few years behind-the-times. We use secular stock photography and video because the world seems to be better at what we want to do than we are. We try to make things trendy and stylish--hoping to make people comfortable...but not convicted.

I believe God wants to empower Christians to be on the cutting-edge of creativity--on the cutting-edge of music--on the cutting-edge of graphic design, videography, web development, writing, and so-forth. I believe the Holy Spirit wants to inspire Christians to take their media to a level far beyond where the world has gone in their own strength. This, I believe, is the difference between being a blacksmith and simply taking your tools to be sharpened by the enemy. One is powerfully creative while the other is merely an attempt to keep up with the enemy.

But make no mistake. If you're going to be a "blacksmith" in God's army, then you're going to be a target! The army of darkness will pull out all the stops in an effort to undermine your faith. An assault of temptations will come your way. You must maintain an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ!

So cling to Jesus Christ and get out there on the cutting edge! Don't wait for the world to lead the way! Blaze a trail! Create spiritual weapons in the form of music, graphic arts, pottery, video, web sites, books, articles, blogs, paintings, and more! Ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration, and take action!

Any thoughts?

Labels: blacksmithing, creativity, graphic design, music, spiritual warfare, the enemy, understanding the battle, web design

# posted by Art Thomas @ 11:02 AM 0 Comments

One day, God told the prophet Jeremiah to take a little trip down to the house of a local potter, saying, "I'll give you a message there." Upon his arrival, Jeremiah watched as the potter's clay started to fall apart on the wheel. So the potter took that same clay and formed a new pot. That's when God spoke to Jeremiah about what He was about to do for the nation of Israel (Jeremiah 18).

It struck me how God used the process of creativity to speak prophetically. It wasn't the finished product that had prophetic significance; it was the process. As you engage in the creative process--no matter your medium--listen for the Lord to speak to you!

Then there was the prophet Ezekiel. Take a look at what God had him do:

Ezekiel 4:1-3—"Now, son of man, take a clay tablet, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel" (NIV).

In Ezekiel's case, God gave him specific instructions about what to draw; and then he was instructed to build a model around the tablet to demonstrate what would happen to Israel.

So now we've got two different cases. With Jeremiah, he was observing the process of creativity, not knowing what it was that the Lord wanted to speak. And in Ezekiel's case, he heard the word of the Lord first, and carried out obedient creativity as a prophetic act. In each case, God used design and media to bring a prophetic word to His people.

Why should we think that God is any different today? Especially in an era where creativity is so valued, why wouldn't we expect God to speak prophetically through creativity? I am convinced that God wants to use His people in creative ways to advance His kingdom; and prophetic revelation is just one of those ways.

Looking back on my life, I remembered a case when God used me in a similar way. I don't share this to boast in my own works, but to bring glory to God and give an example of what is possible today.

About seven years ago, the Holy Spirit led me to pray for an older woman in my church and specified that her husband was an alcoholic. During my time of prayer, the Holy Spirit showed me a specific shape, sort of like an "L." As I drew the shape on a piece of paper, He started to prompt me of several places to put "X's," which I did. Then I felt like the Lord was saying to draw circles surrounding the shape to represent the angels He was sending to change the situation (not knowing how many to draw, I actually started with a ring of circles and then thought, Why not fill up the rest of the paper!). I did everything as instructed, and continued to pray for this woman and her husband.

The next Sunday at church, the woman came up to me while I was playing piano after the sermon. We didn't even really know each other at the time, but she said, "I felt like the Holy Spirit was leading me to have you pray for my family."

"Alcoholism," I said calmly.

Stunned, she asked, "How did you know?"

I shared with her how the Lord had already been leading me to pray for her. I flipped over some sheet music and drew the shape just like before. "Does this shape mean anything to you?"

The woman looked quizzically at it, and didn't recognize it at all. I was about to dismiss it as having been my imagination, but then she called her daughter over to the piano and asked her if the shape meant anything to her.

"Yeah," said the daughter, "That's Dad's room in the basement."

Then I started drawing the X's. "What's here?" I asked with each X. First was his bed, then his television, then the refrigerator where he kept his liquor. Then I put three X's in a small cluster, just as I had in the first drawing, and asked, "What's here?"

"That," she answered, "is the chair where Dad drinks all the time."

To make a long story short, a team of us went over to this family's house to pray while the husband wasn't home. Within a matter of a couple weeks, the woman's husband decided to give up his years of drunkenness and leave the basement to sleep once again in the room with his wife. The last I heard, his family is still praying for his salvation; but they're all in a lot better shape because of God's intervention so far!

God can use your creativity as a means of conveying a prophetic message! I wouldn't try to rank myself alongside Jeremiah and Ezekiel; but if I'm any indication, it's not out of the question for God to speak to and through people with media today! In Jeremiah's case, the prophetic word came as he observed the process of creativity that was carried out by someone else (someone who, I might add, probably didn't have a clue that God was speaking through them!). In Ezekiel's case, God gave him specific instructions about what to do and what it would mean prophetically. And in my case, I just had a hunch that the shape I kept seeing in my imagination might mean something, so I drew it and God revealed more with time.

As you pray and seek the Lord in the coming days, don't shrug off images that might pop into your mind. Instead, ask the Lord if they might mean anything. If you feel a confirmation in your heart that the image does mean something, ask Him what you're supposed to do in response. Maybe He's just guiding your prayer. Maybe He'll want you to write it down for later. Maybe He'll give you a specific interpretation right away. And maybe He'll have you exercise your creativity. You might build a model like Ezekiel, draw a picture like me, write a song, carve a sculpture, play an instrument, write a letter, or even develop a web site. After all, that's how this web site came into being!

Let's expect God to speak prophetically to you and through you as you carry out the creativity that He has placed within you!

Labels: creativity, drawing, God's voice, graphic design, obedience, pottery, prophecy, prophetic revelation, spiritual warfare, visions and dreams, web design

# posted by Art Thomas @ 5:01 PM 2 Comments

All throughout the Bible—particularly the Old Testament—we see creativity and craftsmanship going hand-in-hand with warfare. The same is true for us today when it comes to spiritual warfare!

God used the creativity and craftsmanship of men and women to win many battles for His people; and He can still win mighty victories through you! But before I show you where you fit in, let's take a look at the biblical examples.

First we have conventional warfare. In these battles, Israel fought using weapons and armor. But think about it: where would all those swords, spears, shields, and armor pieces come from if it weren't for the blacksmiths and leatherworkers who creatively and skillfully made those items? Today, we don't really think about this stuff in terms of creativity; but back then, it was an art form!

Then we have unconventional warfare. These are the cases where God used unexpected methods to win victories for His people. Sometimes it involved worshippers leading the way. Sometimes it involved shouting. Sometimes it involved smashing clay pots.

Consider, for instance, the battle of Jericho. The Israelites marched around that walled city for seven days in silence, following the ark of the covenant (a gold and wood box that represented the presence of God and became a meeting place for Moses and God to meet face to face). On the seventh day, when they had finished marching around the wall, a loud trumpet blast was sounded on "shofars" (made from ram's horns). Then the Israelites let out a loud shout! The wall crumbled, and they took the city!

Or how about Gideon?  He and only 300 men took the entire camp of the Midianites when they blew their trumpets, smashed clay pots on the ground, raised their torches, and shouted!  God brought such confusion on the enemy that they turned their swords on each other!

Have you ever thought about how much of these stories couldn't have happened apart from the creativity and craftsmanship of ordinary people like you and me? First we have the ark of the covenant (which was part of the Tabernacle explained on the Home Page of this site). And what about the shofars? Those all had to be cleaned out and have mouth pieces shaped. Then there are the torches, which each had to be crafted by hand. Or how about the pots? Did you ever think about the fact that someone had to physically sit down at a pottery wheel and shape every one of those pots? They also had to be baked correctly or else they wouldn't make any sound as they made contact with the sandy ground.

But there's one common thread through every story, and this is the key to powerful creativity! Whether in conventional or unconventional warfare, the success of the Israelites was based on their obedience to the voice of God! The same is especially true when it comes to spiritual warfare. God can use your creativity to bring confusion to the enemy's camp and advance His Kingdom! The only necessary component is your obedience to His voice. Creativity coupled with disobedience is devious and leads to discipline; but creativity coupled with obedience brings supernatural victory!

It's God alone who brings the victory—not our craftsmanship! Rather, our craftsmanship becomes the tool or vehicle through which God brings His victory!

What is your craft? Graphic design? Music? Web development? Videography? Painting? Photography? Cooking? Public speaking? Illustration? What is it? Where is your talent? You may feel like it has nothing to do with spiritual warfare; but when coupled with obedience to the voice of the Lord, it will be powerful! If you want your creativity and craftsmanship to be used by God in effective spiritual warfare to bring victories according to His will, then seek His voice so that you can respond in obedience. He's ready to win the victory through your Christ-centered creativity!

Labels: blacksmithing, craftsmanship, creativity, God's voice, leatherwork, obedience, pottery, spiritual warfare

# posted by Art Thomas @ 12:07 AM 0 Comments