Artists Are God’s Secret Weapon

Artists tend to notice the cracks and the glory at the same time and that can feel like a burden until you realize it might be a blueprint. I’m Matt Tommy, and I’m walking through three specific reasons artists are uniquely positioned to carry spiritual influence in the world. If you’ve ever been told you’re “too sensitive,” “too intense,” or “too much,” we reframe that as a form of God-given perception that can help you discern what others ignore and respond with wisdom instead of insecurity. 

We also talk about why art lands differently than a purely logical argument. People carry defenses, filters, and practiced resistance, but story, beauty, and honest creativity can slip past those walls and reach the heart. That’s why art can create encounters, not just content. When your work flows from the Holy Spirit through your imagination and into your craft, it can translate God’s heart into a language people can actually receive. 

If you don’t make “Christian art,” you’re not disqualified. We dig into what it means to create with redeemed eyes, redeemed hands, and a redeemed imagination whether you paint, write songs, photograph, design, sculpt, or build. Your gift can also make room and open doors into rooms, relationships, and cultural spaces traditional ministry may never reach, which is exactly why the enemy fights your identity and tries to keep you silent, busy, and afraid. 

If you’re ready to stop creating from fear and start creating from agreement with heaven, listen through to the end, then subscribe, share this with an artist friend, and leave a review so more creators can find it.

Join the Foundations Course: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/foundations

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Transcript

Why Artists Feel Different

SPEAKER_00 0:00

You know, there's a reason why as an artist you see things that other people often miss. You may feel things more deeply than other people do. You may even feel kind of out of place sometimes in the world. But listen, all that stuff is just random. It's actually a part of how God designed you as an artist. And so today I'm going to show you three reasons why, as artists, we're actually God's secret weapon in the world. I'm also going to show you why the enemy hates that and also how you can start cooperating with God as an artist to see him use your creativity and your life for his glory. Well, hey, friend, I'm Matt Tommy. And as somebody who's been an artist now for decades and also a mentor to thousands of artists all over the world, I see this pattern in artists over and over. The thing that you thought was your weakness, your hangup, the thing that made you weird is actually the place where God wants to move through your life the most. And no more so than this first reason that I want to share with you today, because God designed artists to see things that other people miss. You know, you've probably noticed this about yourself, or maybe other people have brought it to your attention over the years. You know, you you notice detail or beauty or tension or emotion more than other people do. Maybe you feel things more deeply, like compassion or injustice or desire, or maybe you, you know, see the things that are overlooked or unseen by other people. Listen, all that doesn't mean that you're too sensitive or you're overthinking. Listen, that is a spiritual perception that God's given you. Sure, it it may need to mature in the Lord like everything in our life, but that is absolutely a gift. And this is how he's gifted you to discern what other people often ignore, to see what God wants to address, to, you know, recognize what needs healing and also to discover who he's called you to serve. But that very gift is a lot of times where a lot of artists get tripped up. I know I did for many years because what God designed as your greatest strength, the enemy has probably spent years trying to convince you is your biggest weakness, that that sensitivity that maybe you or others have tried to shut down in your life, or that awareness that you just thought, oh, I'm just too much. I need to, I need to pull it back. Listen, those are the places where God is actually wanting to speak to you. The problem is you just might be hearing that through the ears of inadequacy rather than through the ears of God's love and his design as his son and as his daughter. But listen, when you learn to flip that on the inside of you, I promise you, everything changes. And that's one of the big reasons that I created my foundations course. Because listen, most artists, no matter how much we love Jesus, no matter how long you've been in church, you've probably never been taught how you actually are designed as an artist in his kingdom, much less understand God's plan for your life and for your art. You've just probably been doing the best you can, like I did for a lot of years, trying to fix yourself, trying to go through the motions. Listen, if that sounds like you, I really want to encourage you to check out the foundations course. I'll drop a link below this video and it'll definitely help you start seeing yourself and your creativity from God's perspective. And listen, I promise when you do that, it really does change everything. Okay, the second reason why artists are God's secret weapon in this world is because artists are designed to speak things in a way that other people can receive. Listen, you know, you're probably like this, I'm like this. People have internal walls, right? Filters, defenses. People are struggling a lot of times with all these mental gymnastics that they think only apply to them. And so many times when people try to preach this really, you know, linear, logical message to them about Jesus, they just come up with ways to resist it offhand. And I really think that's one of the reasons that Jesus used story so much when he taught, because it, you know, it bypasses all that, right? Story sticks, beauty transforms, art, you know, bypasses the mind. It speaks to the emotion, it connects right to our spirit. And so art doesn't have to argue, it just connects with us on a deep, deep level. And listen, when you're putting your art out there, you're not just expressing yourself, you're translating God's heart, the kingdom of heaven, into a language that people can understand. Listen, have you ever experienced that in your life? Let me know in the chat. Maybe you've experienced it, you know, that in your art uh when somebody's come up and said, Wow, I'm having a moment of revelation or God's speaking to me. I love it when that happens because again, that's not random. That's how God designed your creativity to work from God's spirit into your imagination through your hands and into the hearts of others. You and I, we get to create encounters, not just content for people to enjoy. And listen, that is why the enemy fights so hard against your creative voice. Because if you actually release what God's put inside of you, people won't just hear it, they'll feel it, and God will use it to transform their life internally. And listen, friend, that is incredible. That's why God's called us as artists. And I don't know about you, but I want to be a part of that. Now, hey, real quick, if you're sitting there and saying, well, Matt, I don't create Christian art, whatever that is, right? I just want to say, don't worry about that. Art is transformative because you're a Christian. Art is transformative when it comes through your hands because you've been redeemed. Listen, you've been redeemed and your imagination has been redeemed, and your hands have been redeemed, and your heart has been redeemed. You see through redeemed eyes, you hear through redeemed ears. The Holy Spirit is living and moving and active inside of you. And so listen, whether you're creating landscapes or portraits or pop art, whether you're a songwriter or a photographer or a potter or a jeweler, listen, God is living in you through the power of the Holy Spirit, and he wants to move through you in all of his mystery and wonder, regardless of what you do. Remember, I always say this God cares much more that you create than what you create. In other words, as long as you're doing the thing that God created you to do, you're showing up faithful, you're connecting with him. I promise you, not only will he transform you in the process, but he will use your life and your art to transform everybody around you. Okay, now the third reason God uses artists as his secret weapon is because our gift takes us to places that others can't really go. See, your creativity creates access into homes and galleries and culture and conversations. Remember, I love that scripture in Proverbs that talks about a man's gift makes room for him and will bring him before kings. Again, that is incredible. And that's that's the imitation, right? See, what looks like just ordinary, you know, decoration to somebody is actually influence. What looks like, you know, just something frivolous, something just beautiful. It's actually giving us access into people's lives. Listen, your creative calling will take you into places that other people would never be able to go. And that's on purpose. That's how God designed it. Listen, if you've ever seen your art open doors and take you into places or into relationships with people that you never thought you'd go, let me know in the comments. I love reading all these stories of how God is using you in his kingdom. Listen, when you start expecting this and you start looking for this in your walk with the Lord as an artist, I promise you, you will be amazed at the doors that he starts to open for you and how he starts using you in ways that you never expected. Listen, that is the very reason why the enemy hates you so much, me so much, and why he's on a mission to discourage and derail and defeat artists. He knows that the power that we carry as artists is not just from us, it's from God. It's transformative. And that's why he attacks your identity and he magnifies your insecurity and he floods you with feelings of fear and convinces you to stay small. Why? Because if he can keep you silent and paralyzed and busy with everything else except what God actually created you to do, you know what? He knows that you'll stay ineffective and never walk in the good plans that God has for you. Again, that's one of the main reasons that I created the foundations course is to help artists kick that stuff to the curb once and for all. Because listen, when your identity is rooted in Christ, your unique, God-given design becomes clear, your confidence starts rising, your assignment in the kingdom gets revealed, crystal clear, and you stop creating from fear and actually start creating from agreement with heaven. And listen, when that happens, again, you enter into this incredible kingdom flow that is so much more beyond what you could ever do by yourself. God transforms you and he uses your art to transform others. Listen, I really do believe that's why God is raising up an army of artists all over the world right now, not just to make art, but to reveal his beauty, his glory in the earth, to see people transformed and bring heaven to earth in ways, honestly, that traditional ministries will never reach. And so that you and I can get to live the abundant life that Jesus promised, to be used by him and to be used to touch a lost and dying world for his glory, regardless of what you create, regardless of where you create. Listen, my friend, take a moment today, thank God for creating you as an artist for this gift. Ask him to start opening your eyes and your ears and your imagination to all that he wants to show you. Ask him to feel your hands and your heart and your mouth with his power and ask him to order your steps and to take you into places and take your art into places that you never ever thought possible. Not for your glory, but for his. And listen, when you do, you and I get to enjoy the ride with him as well. And listen, if you're watching this right now and you're like, yeah, I believe that, I would love that. I but how do I actually do it? How do I actually start creating with the Holy Spirit? I want to invite you to watch this next video right here because I'm going to show you how starting to create with the Holy Spirit in a real practical way is not only easier than you thought, but it's a lot more transformative than you thought. And I know it's going to encourage you. So watch this next video and I'll see you there. Bye.