Trusting God with your creativity - Igor Tsoy

🎙️ Welcome back to the Everything Kingdom Podcast

Episode Title: Trusting God With Your Creative Gift
Featuring special guest: Igor Tsoy.

🤔 What does it really look like to trust God with your creativity? 

In this episode, your host Lucky sits down with Igor Tsoy, an artist, filmmaker and Educator to dive into the tension between faith and creativity—when to move, when to wait, and how to stay grounded in God while expressing the gifts He’s placed inside you. 
From overcoming doubt to embracing divine inspiration, this conversation is packed with real talk, practical wisdom, and a fresh perspective on creating with purpose.

🔥 A man's gift makes room for him, Proverbs 18:16

Whether you’re an artist, entrepreneur, or simply someone trying to walk boldly in your calling, this episode will challenge and encourage you to surrender your gifts back to the One who gave them.
✨ Your creativity isn’t random—it’s Kingdom.
✨ Gifts are a door for Ministry.
✨ Gifts are onto a purpose.
✨ whatever you do is Ministry in the Kingdom.


Tap in, be inspired, and don’t forget to share with someone who needs this message!

#onearthasitisinheaven #christianpodcast #podcast 
#EverythingKingdom #FaithAndCreativity #TrustGod #KingdomCulture #PurposeDriven

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

If your decision could be wrong, or like wasn't the right decision, but it was made out of faith, God will still take care of you and get you where you need to be, but he will just look at like your your faith moments in in this.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Um, I love to hear so much about what you do and uh your life story. But uh before we get into that, I love to do something as always we do here at the Kingdom Podcast or Everything Kingdom Podcast. We break communion, we break bread. So we'd like to share this meal at Lord's table with you. Amazing. So all right. Um thanks, God. Jesus, thank you for your precious, precious body. Thank you that you laid it all down for us. We thank you that in this is the provision of all things. We thank you that our healing, our health is wrapped up in your wounded body.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

We give you honor and we declare that by your stripes we are healed. Lord, in the same way we drink of your cup, for this is a better covenant.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

Salvation of all the nations, we declare this over our city, over nation.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

And we say to you that as for me and for us and our house, we will serve the Lord. That was just that was just beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

We love doing this, but uh talking about creativity, I realized that uh God, all the way from the book of Genesis, all the way to Revelation, he never started with the rules. What he started with is actually creating. And we realized this, and realize that if his first art or what we know of God is that he creates, what does that say about us as a people? And uh Igor, you are an educator, you work in media, you were a creative person in film, in photography, in art and craftsmanship when it comes to coffee. Uh, why don't you introduce yourself to our listeners? Sure.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

I have been working in the coffee industry for about five to six years now. I started out working just at Starbucks, and that really made me fall in love with the customer connections and just connecting with people and how that gave me a really good opportunity to serve and uh love the people in the in the city around me. There was this big overflow of uh this passion for this art that is coffee, and I kept taking steps and growing more and more, and God was so um so good in providing people in my life that were able to lift me up and pour into me uh professionally. And so now I work here in New York as educator. I lead uh a store in Soho and just to make sure that the quality and the standard is upheld and that our um hospitality is top-notch. So that's my kind of my coffee background.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

I love that. Um I love coffee myself. I grew up on a farm and um I love hearing all things coffee. I was the barista myself at Starbucks, so that I love that so much. I love it. It's fast-paced, it's kind of cool. Uh get all things done. But I love to hear about how does like how did your journey with the Lord begin? Uh that was I'm assuming that was all before the coffee, before all the creative things, like what has been your journey like working with the Lord?

SPEAKER_01 4:14

Yeah. Both my parents raised me Christian, both raised me and my brothers within the church. They were not born into a Christian household, and so they both found the Lord on their own and then met each other within the ministry together.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

And then made the decision to raise their family in a Christian household that was very Jesus and spirit-led. And so for me, I was always around that, right? And uh in a sense, it was a a little bit hard at first because it felt too normal, or not too normal, but like I was in a way numb to hearing about Jesus or like this idea of God. I was just kind of going through the motions. It was just this like repetitive uh rhythm of every morning. I don't want to wake up, but I gotta wake up early in the morning and go to church. Your mom just like has your outfit ready, and you don't want to dress up to church, and then you don't want to stay late to clean up because your parents are serving. And so like all these things made it feel like a chore. So it wasn't until later in life that I realized that my life, like outside of ministry and outside of the spirit and without that relationship with Jesus, my life is nothing. And so it was only then uh when I started making my own my own efforts into building and starting this new relationship with Jesus that everything in my life like around me just started to to grow and bear fruit. And so that um that moment didn't happen too long ago. I want to say about maybe two and a half, three years ago, that I really found this deep connection and this true, true desire and and humility to just say like I've done it my way and and nothing goes right. And um I hear about this guy named Jesus, I've talked about this guy named Jesus, and that like he changes people's lives, and I want that because as like at that moment my life wasn't going the way um one was worshiping the Lord, but also wasn't even like um good for my flesh and my body, even so uh that's when I decided to make that that change in posture in my priorities, in the way that I uh spend my time and my resources, like money and also like m the kind of people I hang out with.

SPEAKER_00 6:54

W was that like a friend or someone that you knew that helped you get back onto this journey that you had abandoned before? Or how did you discover back, how did you get back on tracking with the Lord?

SPEAKER_01 7:07

I have heard of a people that really loved Jesus and I just followed them everywhere they went. And it was uh like a few churches and ministries back in California. And so I just try to find a place where I truly just feel the presence just resting there, and I'm like, I just need to be there. And then from there, people or God started placing people in my life that were meant to either mentor me or to pull me up with them, or a person that I'm able to reach out to and and talk to about whatever I'm going through.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 7:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

That's just um that sounds like more kingdom than anything I know because sometimes we think on this journey with the war like with the Lord that we are going to start it on our own or be able to get there on our own, but actually it never works like that. He designed it in such a way that we need those that have gone before us, we need people around us that are actually going through this on through the same direction. Yep. And uh at that time you had no clue that you're gonna move to New York City, because you say you're in California. I was in California uh for seven years. So I'm thinking that at that time, like that wasn't on a great house. So how did you get to transition from California to New York City into what you do now? Take us into that journey for a minute.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Wow, that is a uh a beautiful testimony and like uh truly like a a work of God's hand. And I spent about two and a half years of my coffee career just hyper-focused on latte art and growing competitively within that competitive scene. And there was a competition that uh you really have to sign up for and you apply, and you have to have this like resume of like photos of your latte art and then your whole like list of prior competitions that you've done, and they like select people to be in this competition. And it was the first one that I got selected for, and it was in New York uh in end of March uh 2024. And so so we're coming up on two years since that uh competition. And when I went, it was my first time in New York. I would have never thought like I would ever get to visit New York. That was just so far and outside of my scope.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

And I'm like, I don't know how I'm here, but I'm here. Um that's also another big testimony in like how I got there in that whole journey, like into the competition, but that's for another day. Uh but that really planted a seed in my heart of like I came home from that competition feeling so inspired and so full of like this fire. And I'm like started to think about how I can improve my craft and where I can grow and who can help me to lift me up. And then I started to look in places because at that time I was felt like I was plateauing in the coffee industry, at least in the Sacramento area where I lived. And so I started to think of outside of Sacramento, like maybe I could move to San Francisco or Los Angeles or maybe up north to Portland or Seattle to where I can find someone who can mentor me and and find someone who's doing what I want to do really well and kind of follow in their footsteps. But nothing really pulled me until I was like started to think about New York. And there was this like seed that was planted when I was there that was just like a desire or this kind of like tie to the city. For some reason, I would have never thought of doing that. I started to think about New York and like maybe I could visit sometime. And it when I started to focus on it and kind of observe that that desire and the seed that was planted, God just kept watering it and kept opening doors into that and like uh started kind of giving me ideas of like I could work in this place, I can work with this person. Wow. And uh during this competitions, I met um my co-worker now who helped me get the job that I have now. And getting to New York wasn't very easy. Never no, it's never easy for anyone. Um and I first told my parents at the time, like whenever I say something, they're like, Oh yeah, sure, you can do that. But then I would never follow up, like, I want to start my own business, I want to do this, I want to do that, I want to be a photographer. But I never that never followed up because that wasn't kind of the kind of reputation I had at the time. And so when I brought that up to them, they were like, Oh yeah, sure, you can move to New York. That's fine. And it's just like that's it. But in my heart, I I knew I felt there was something different about this and that I have to have to move and have to do something about it. And so what happened was I ended up in a broader story, like uh I ended up moving end of May, beginning of June. So basically two months since I got that seed planted, and I just ran. And I started to look for jobs and I started to look for apartments, and it was so hard. I've never lived on my own before. So no renters history. My credit score was so terrible at the time. It was just like so hard to find anything, and like providing like my pay stubs, like I have a barista pay, you know, so that's not a lot. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

And they're gonna ask you to provide like 40x of what you need for an apartment. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

I was like, okay, I'm having a hard time. Uh it feels like God is not quiet, but like maybe silent, right? And maybe he's moving somewhere. And so I think I need to make a move. I need to prove to God that I'm taking this seriously. And so what I do is I just book a one flight one-way ticket to New York before I find anything. I didn't have a job, I didn't have an apartment, and I book it. And I'm like, alright, God, this is my step, right, in in in this direction of faith. Yeah. And um it was coming up to uh my flight was it was a red eye from Sunday night to Monday morning. Monday morning I'd fly into JFK. And uh that Monday prior before the Sunday I have to leave, on that Monday still no apartment, and I'm still looking, and I pray to God I was just like, okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:21

Um I have everything ready, but this apartment, like I don't know where I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

So uh please give me an answer or direction or anything, uh, let's say by Wednesday. And I just said in my head, like, oh, Wednesday, Wednesday morning, like it'll just just give me something by Wednesday, and like if I don't have anything, maybe I'll just rebook my flight to s something later so I can uh find something in time. And what happened was I wake up on Wednesday to a phone call from a landlord from Zillow. He's like, hey, I looked over your review or like your uh application. Um I have a unit available for you. It was a thousand dollars a month. It was in East New York, one of the worst neighborhoods in New York City. Yeah, I'd consider it New York City. And that was that that was Wednesday and Sunday when I was leaving, and I tell my parents, I'm like, guys, I found an apartment. I found like I'm going. And then they look at the apartment, they look at the area. They have a friend that lives in Queens, and so they asked them like for direction, and my parents are like, You're not moving there. And I'm like, guys, you don't understand. I asked for an answer and I received an answer. I'm not gonna complain that the answer is ugly or that the answer is scary, right? Or seems impossible. Like, if my flesh was talking, I wouldn't be moving because it doesn't make sense one to like pay so much for such a small apartment in such a terrible area, so far from the city where I would have to work. Noth none of it made sense, but it was that spirit that was like, there's something there, right? There's there's I'm set I'm commissioning you to go there. There's something there in that field, and you just have to go and you just gotta trust me. Wow. And so I asked for an answer and I got it, and I never complained. It was scary, but I never complained. And so when it came time to move, Monday morning I fly in, I straight go to IKEA, I buy all my stuff, and then I go straight to um New Lots, East New York, and check the apartment, I pay everything, we sign, uh we sign the lease, everything is fine. The apartment is horrendous. This is beginning of June, like I said, so so humid during that time there was no AC and there was no screen on the window, so I had to sleep with the window open. Oh god. And so there would be like f flies and bugs flying in throughout the night. I would go outside to go get Chipotle, and there's dumpster fires to my left and right. And I'm like, where am I right now? This is actually so scary. And I go to bed Monday night, Tuesday morning, I wake up to another phone call, and it's my parents' friend that lives in Queens, and she calls me and says, Hey, like your parents told me you moved just moved. Like, congratulations. Uh, they showed me kind of the area they l that you live in, and I'm sure you've realized by now it's not a very good area. I actually have a friend from church who um is renting out her room but doesn't want to list it online. She wants it to be like a friend of a friend or someone from church. I can pick you up in 30 minutes, we can go check it out. And I'm like, what the heck? I'm here, I have nothing else to do, let's go. She picks me up, uh, we drive there, and as soon as I walk in through the door, the lady just hands me the keys, and it's such a beautiful apartment. It's the part apartment that I live in right now. It's cheaper, it's closer to work, it's bigger. It came furnished, so I returned everything that I just bought for my IKEA.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

There's no way.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

And I'm paying less than a thousand dollars a month, and it's amazing. I'm on the top floor, I have access to the rooftop that nobody goes to. Like just out my window onto like a fire escape very New Yorker. Um and yeah, that's that's kind of the that's kind of how I got there. And so you saw how immediate that was, right? Like I just took a step, like I asked for a prayer, he gave me he gave me an answer. Or I asked for an answer or some kind of move of God. He answered so fast, like from Monday to Wednesday. Then I move Sunday, I sleep Monday night, I wake up on Tuesday, and I'm already in a new apartment. So he I think in that moment, God was just like, okay, let's see if he'll follow me, even if it looks scary, or even if it doesn't make sense. Okay, he followed me, let's give him like let's actually reveal why he's here. And then so like from that moment on, like he started revealing things on like why I'm actually in the city and like what my purpose is here. Uh and I think because I wanted to grow in coffee so much, and I was so desperate for that, that was a way for him to, in a way, kind of lure me here. In a way that's like, I can give you what you're desiring, but there's more. And so when I got here, like I did start in coffee, but then he started giving me so many more visions and talents and uh gifts like the ministry and media and and this eye and this like spirit of creativity that he started giving me and planting here. And it's like none of that existed before in California. I picked up a camera, I started picking up a camera after I moved here.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

So you never saw coffee or creativity as ministry until you got here. No, yeah. In other words, you took a step of faith and in obedience to get to where you felt he was calling you, which is New York City. Then he unwrapped and unfolded more plans of what he had for you. Yep. But I think there's someone even listening right now or watching this, and you're waiting for God to give you a bigger picture of what your life's gonna look like. And to what I hear Ego saying that in his testimony is actually God sometimes doesn't give you all the details. What he'll give you is something to like hold on to as a promise and like no, but that promise you're gonna have to take some little steps of faith towards that, and in there then I can provide more information, more details of what that's gonna look like. That's just powerful.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

When you said he gives you a promise and like you have to hold on to it and make that initiative to Abraham, he gave him a promise, right? But he says, Go and I will show you uh I will show you the promised land, right? So the first there's go. First you make the step, and then he will reveal all these things to you. Wow. So it's from the beginning, from the first covenant, right? That that there is a promise and there is a covenant, but first you go, then I will reveal, right? And uh another thing I want to mention is that he calls us good and faithful. He doesn't call us, he doesn't call us good and rich and wealthy. He doesn't call us good and smart or wise, right? Yeah. So like it wasn't smart and wise to go to New York, especially at that time. I had$1,800 to my name. And it wasn't smart to like move into that apartment.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

It's not logical.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Yeah, and it's that like he's just noticing w how you're making your decisions, is it out of faith or is it out of logic, right? Or is it rational, right? Like he's just gonna look at if it's faithful or not, and then he will follow that up with his spirit and with his will. But if it's not made out of faith, like even if it's even if your decision could be wrong or like wasn't just like the right decision, but it was made out of faith, God will still take care of you and get you where you need to be. Yeah. But he will just look at like your your faithfulness in in that situation. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

Uh I I love that you touched on that. I think this is the Everything Kingdom podcast. And on the Everything Kingdom podcast, we're talking about the culture of heaven, uh how it can actually influence and how we can live it out here on earth so that we it gets to influence the culture that we are living today. And cut that coming from a creative person like you. And I'm wondering, I just want to follow up on this. How does faithfulness look like? Because faithfulness is a nature of the kingdom. Yeah. How does faithfulness look like in a creative kind of world in your sense? I I wanted to touch on that um because of how God has showed you who he is, and as you've witnessed him provide and then come through, and then you being a steward, faithful to what he's given you as gifts, talents, or whatever, how does that look like to a creative person to be faithful? Because sometimes in a creative culture like New York or anywhere, it's competition.

SPEAKER_02 21:58

Yeah, it is

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Comparison, it's performance, but to you, what you're suggesting and what you're saying to our viewers and our listener is that actually he calls you good and faithful servant or son. And like could you interrupt that more a little bit? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Um I think faith, faithfulness in like scary seasons can look a little bit different for everyone. But literally, I can I can show you an example from earlier today. In like this week, um I thought I had the recording that I had this morning yesterday. And I forgot that it was today. Um and I was so scared like yesterday and the day before, like how are all the things all these things going to fit together? And right now I'm transitioning into a new role at work right now. And so there was something that was supposed to happen in the morning also. So I was triple triple booked this morning. And then yesterday, when I was worrying about it, there was like that stillness and that like faithfulness of like it's gonna be okay, like we'll get through it no matter what. And then as I was like thinking about it and and uh just observing that that this little situation, uh what happened was they canceled my like part of the training that I was supposed to have this morning all the way in Bushwick. So I'm it opened up my schedule to this. And then when you gave me the time slots for the podcast, right? Like 12 was the start. And then when um I was filming the video, they tell me, okay, I have we have have to leave by 12. And I'm like, that is great. That's all I need right now. Wow. And so like everything just like perfectly lines up. And right after this, like when uh when they rescheduled what I was supposed to have this morning, they're like, oh, just come in at two, and that's like right when we're gonna be done here. And so like there's so many things that didn't make sense. I'm like, how did I do this? Like, how did I triple book myself in one morning? Like, how does that happen?

SPEAKER_02 24:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

But God moves like people in the background while you're being faithful. There's another like saying that like God will steer, but you sh you you have to row, right? Like you still have to keep going and keep pedaling, but God will steer. So like it might look like a wall, but like God will steer around it, but you have to keep rowing. And so, like, with with today, I just had to keep going. Yeah. And then slowly, as I'm going through it, God is just like opening doors and just like, oh, you have to go here, or you gotta take this train, or you gotta do this. And so just going with a mind of faithfulness that like I'm just I'm gonna keep going, knowing that my God and my father will keep steering me in the right direction. That's just and just that having that confidence in you that like you have this um friendship with the Lord that He will take care of you.

SPEAKER_00 25:10

I'm so glad that you tied it to relationship.

SPEAKER_01 25:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

That actually stems from that above everything else. And uh I think what else stems from relationship with the Father is our creative design. I want to check in with you and ask you to the time you found out that creativity it was more than a hobby, but your design from the Lord that you actually created for that. I used to call those th times like defining moments. For me, I call them defining moments. Uh when was that for you and how did that look like?

SPEAKER_01 25:46

In the creative space, I think for me, I always loved the idea of being a photographer. I always wanted to be a photographer and like work with cameras. To me, it was so cool and fascinating. But whenever I tried to, I've tried in like high school and then a little bit in college, and it just like none of it worked. Like it didn't it didn't um flourish, right? But I think it was because I was applying it in the wrong uh soil. So when I came to New York, I had like a little bit a little tiny Sony camera on me when I was at a Bethel service and I happened to snap a picture. I posted it on my story, I tagged Bethel in New York, and then I think it was Beth that ended up replying to that tag, and she was like, We'd love for you to come take photos for us. Like we've been praying for someone to come and um be that kind of person here in this ministry. And I'm like, in my head, I'm like, who am I to go to Bethel and like take photos of such like encounters, such special moments? But then I just said, Great, I'll be there, like I'll just meet you with the little gear that I have, right? Yeah, and I just started doing it, and then from there it started flourishing. So that what that taught me was that God had given me many talents, but only some are made or were meant to serve and worship, and then some are meant to kind of lift me up uh in other resources like finance, like with coffee, right? I have this, yeah, which is also creative and is also um providing me financial stability. Yeah. But then there's there's gotta be an outfit outpouring or like an overflow from that to where now I use the other gift of creativity and and photography and film to just serve and to just and to just love on the Lord in that way. So I have these two gifts that are made for two different things. Yeah. And um after I started taking photos for Bethel, I was like, wow, this is amazing. Like, I'm gonna buy a new camera, I'm gonna start looking for gigs, I'm gonna start doing weddings, I'm gonna do this, this, this, this, this. And then God like stopped me and he was like, that's not what this is for. Like, I gave you a gift and now you're abusing this gift.

SPEAKER_02 28:15

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 28:16

And so like it has its meaning and its purpose, and it will only flourish in this meaning and purpose. Oh, wow. So that's when I'm I was like, it clicked, and then after that, like trying to charge for creative work, I cannot do it anymore.

SPEAKER_02 28:32

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

Like to to look at it as a business model, I cannot do it anymore. Um like a lot of people around us ask me all the time, like, if this is something I want to do full time, like if I want this as a job. And to be honest, like I don't think I do. Like, I love doing it. Um and it's even it's more than a hobby now. And so that was my turning point, and like that was my how do you call it again?

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Uh defining moment.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Defining moment. That was my defining moment of like stop me in my tracks, and I'm like, God, I I just hear him so clearly like pulling on my heart, just saying, this is a gift that you just give back to me. Wow. Like I gave you a gift that will provide you financially. I gave you a gift that like is challenging you and pushing you and stretching you professionally, and he's still blessing me in in that space. So I know he's still moving there, and there's still people I need to love in the coffee industry, but then there's a little side fruit of creativity and photography and like all these things that is just meant to just give back to him.

SPEAKER_00 29:45

You're saying that the gifts that God gives to us they function best in the jurisdiction or if we have to steward them correctly, isn't to the purpose of what God intended them to be used for. Exactly. That's most scripture, that is actually very kingdom. Because when you talk about the gifts of the Spirit, uh talking about Romans 12, talking about uh in uh 1 Corinthians uh 13, 14 or 12, all that is talking about that your gifts being used for the service of others, towards the service of others. And that's what I sound like you actually I give you this gift, at least for now, it could be in the future. There's no like this a complete stop. Maybe in the future it could be used for something else. But I feel like you have been using your gift to the best of what you feel like the Lord has asked you to use that gift for. Is that right? Yes. Just a minute. When we walk with the Lord, yes, and uh he shows us faithfulness and then he shows us the gift, the way he speaks to us, in there he's revealing his nature, but to every single person he manifests differently. I was wondering to catch from a creative perspective, how does the way he operates and the relationship you have with him, even talking about creatives that are gonna be watching and listening to this, have you seen the nature of God being manifest through how he works around with the creatives, with us just the provision, with us just like small acts of obedience? How what has been the biggest form of character that you've come to discover about him through your walk with the Lord?

SPEAKER_02 31:18

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 31:18

Two things pop up when I when I hear that first is God moves quietly, and so there that is why it's so important to have that intimacy with him with no distractions. And so what I find is like if I'm having a hard time hearing his voice or seeing direction, he like there's something in my life that can be distracting that or like suppressing or pulling me away from him. Um and also that he one, yes, he's always listening to us and our desires and our prayers, but also he answers them really fast if we pay attention and if we like lean in and actually listen. Like with my move, he answered so fast. Yeah. I I asked for an answer by Wednesday, he answered Wednesday. I move on Monday and I pray, I thank the Lord for the apartment, and he answers the next day on Tuesday and gives me a better apartment. I love this so much. I I had a job interview that I I didn't have the job first when I moved. I had a job interview and he answered and he gave me the job that I desired. At first it didn't look right because they hired me only on on call. Their their team was really full, so I was just there helping cover like uh six shifts, or if someone like wants to take a vacation, I like pick up their hours. So I didn't have an actual position there. And they promised me a full-time position when they were gonna open a new location. And so I'm like, that's okay. Like I just need to I need to be here. I just want to be part of the team. And then a couple weeks later they call me and they're like, hey, actually, someone is leaving. We have space for you in the location that like you first requested. But if you want to wait for the Bushwick location, you can wait there. And so God gave me the desires of my heart and so much more uh so fast, right? And so, like you can pray for like your desires, and God will answer them really fast. It will be um it will be a strategy, it'll be an idea, or it will be like a like a very, very clear answer.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

This is what I found in scriptures in Exodus 31. We see that the first person the whole Bible is talking about that was filled with the Spirit of God was towards creativity. Yeah. Was a craftsmanship with wisdom, yeah, basically fill them with the spirit of wisdom in understanding and in knowledge of craftsmanship. So for me, creativity is a high value, it's a high thing in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is of creativity. Create creating because the very nature of God is that. And I wanted you to just jump onto that, if you would, to this like you as a creative person, what are some of the ways that you've seen God anoint creativity? And you like realize that that wasn't my idea, that was God breathing onto something that I didn't have in me.

SPEAKER_01 34:19

Yeah, I think the answer is really simple, at least in my life. Uh and in my experience with this is um maybe you've seen this, but like when I am responsible for capturing the service in the ministries on Sundays, um I'm either on my knees face down or I'm like running around and taking photos. There's no in between. And so sometimes there's just like this pull of like, I gotta go to this side of the room. Yeah. Why? I don't know. And then I get there and I'm like, wow, I see this vision. I see how God is just loving this person.

SPEAKER_02 34:58

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 34:59

And like I just happen to be at the right place at the right time. And then through that, I'm like, I feel this like um this tenderness on my heart. And I just thank God in that moment. And then I'm back on my knees praying to God, and then I feel like, okay, God is moving, I gotta keep going. And then I get up and then I go to the other side of the room, and like I see another amazing moment where God is just breaking down walls and and and restoring and healing, and it's just like and then in that moment, he would strike my heart in in such a way that there's there's such a uh a love on fire for this person that I'm just capturing right now. And like this this love wouldn't be there like without the spirit. Like the the way that my heart breaks for people wouldn't be there on throughout my undoing, right? It's just it's only the Lord. And it's only the Father. And so like I wouldn't be able to love these people if it wasn't for him.

SPEAKER_00 35:59

Something blew my mind when I watched this guy who was supposed to film the event of what was going on. I was in a church setting. He put down his camera and he laid hands on the person who was in front of him. Yeah. We were in worship and he prayed for this person for maybe two minutes and then who get back and pick up his gear and then film again. I'm like, that's something I've never seen anywhere. And I'm like, even a creative person is dependent on the voice of God, on the advance of father. So in your view, or has there been a moment where the Lord has stopped you in your tracks to recognize a moment that is and you have to lay down what you know that you're doing to just go after something like that? Is there any moment like that?

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Yeah, happens all the time. Happens at conferences. And when I'm working with like a a leader who's leading like the photo department or the video department, what I've noticed in in in uh ministry in Seattle, uh, what she would do is she would before we start the conference, before anything, when we're setting up, she's like, guys, this night is the Lord's night, and we're just here to experience it and to capture it. If God is moving, drop everything and just be in that moment. And so like that really like postured my heart in such a way that like this is just a tool. And that like if God is encountering me, that's what matters. And if God is pulling me to go pray for someone, or has told me, like, hey, this person is aching, or this person is dealing with like um has some like relationship issues with their mother, like and like gives me these things, and then I go and take it to them and and and kind of intercede for them in that way. And so, yes, that happens a lot, but only when you give that authority to the Lord to move like in that space, because some people treat it just like work.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

Yeah. I I love that because I think in that simplicity of obedience is actually where God works to give you the next thing you should do. You talked about this already. But given this title is God inspires creativity. I love to hear, or maybe I just want to jump into this even when it comes to coffee. I feel like I wanted to talk of coffee for a minute. Um, but how has that looked like for you to actually like create with God in a coffee setting? A coffee shop. I feel like a coffee shop is like a marketplace. And I you know, and um, I wanted to check in with you on that and see your thoughts towards that. Like, how has that been like creating with God in a coffee environment? There are so many questions in one about like the idea inspired idea of God, but also in creativity when it comes to like God in coffee areas, like feel free to jump to wherever it seems like you want to go here.

SPEAKER_01 38:55

I think uh the first thing I think about when you ask that is hospitality and like how I'm treating our guests. And then through that, like I I treat these people because they are children of God and because they are loved, and because I know the plans, like I know that our God has a great plan for them, and so I treat them with that kind of respect and that kind of humility. And then my coworkers and my colleagues would see that and they're like, this is no longer a job for him. Like, this is just how he lives. And then through that, God starts to plant seeds, and like through that kind of posture that they see displayed when I'm loving on someone, we'll plant a seed in their heart and say, like, there's something different about this guy. Like, he the way he loves is so different. The way he serves people is really different. And so, like, in in this sphere, that's how I see God moving. Uh creatively, I guess in a way, right? Like a creative way of loving someone and serving someone, like, um, but also maybe uh, I don't know, creatively like leading the team and and whoever's working on the bar and the floor, and just like ha having this idea or this urge to tell this person, like, hey, just have a conversation with that uh with with this customer, and like you never know what will happen, and then they become really good friends or something like that. I've seen that happen really like a lot where they're just a customer at first, but the second you break that barrier, like that they're just a friend and and and you're one just providing hospitality to this person, like they like open up and they just start pouring out and they like start talking to you about work and their relationships and all these things. And then like this gives you like a a a door to just pour out into that world with with the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_00 40:54

Can you can you sit on that for a minute? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:57

Has there been a moment where creativity has opened up a door for ministry?

SPEAKER_00 41:06

Maybe in a coffee setting or anywhere. Has there do you have any stories of where like the Lord has opened the door like that and just end up like ministering to this person or talking to them or getting to know them, but just out of what you were creating in the setting like that?

SPEAKER_01 41:21

I have a colleague uh at La Cabra who is really creative and I've been looking up to him for a long time. When I was first getting into cameras, like any questions I had, I'll just give it to him and he was able to to answer and help me and guide me. And so I I offered him that, hey, Monday morning where I need someone to operate a camera, and like it'll just be really simple, like worship set that we'll record. And if you'd like to, please come out and like and he's like, Oh, I actually have something that morning. I'm like, Oh, it's okay, no problem. And then the day before, he's like, it fell through, I'm gonna be there. And I'm like, great. So he's there operating the camera, and then I really uh we're in the middle of that where I feel like there was a a really big seed planted in in in his life that showed him how we love on God and how pure it is, and him just being in that presence. I think this is just the beginning for him, and so this is just the beginning of this ministry. And so I don't have like an already like full circle example, but this is just like the first start of this big circle.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

Well, I think that's huge. Because this colleague of yours doesn't know the Lord. No. And you just work with him, but out of your connection with him in creativity has opened the door for someone to step even in a church, you wouldn't have been able to do that in any other way just because of that. I think that it can get any powerful than that. Yeah. But that's just brilliant and just beautiful. And I think the way I hear you is you cultivate these relationships that are outside of the church setting because creativity is so huge and you're all like in so massive that it's the spirit and heart of New York City. People create every day, everywhere. And I think I wanted you to speak to the creatives as they think and uh how they move. I think to a person who think that or believe that creativity is something that they just do as a hobby. What would you say to them uh to like the purpose of creativity? What do you think would say that what is God's view and heart for creatives? And what would you say to a person who thinks that they are creative it's just like them expressing themselves? Like is creativity more than an expression?

SPEAKER_01 43:41

Yeah. I think creativity really stems from a desire first. And that's one thing also that came up as like our God is a good God and he's a good father, and we're just his children. And so as a good father, he would love to hear. Our desires. And so, like, when we give him our desires, we we we pray that he either align our desire with his will, or we don't want it. That's how I pray for any kind of desire I have, if it's new gear or if it's a new job, or anything like that. Like, I have this desire or a relationship. Like, I I have this desire. Take it and like align it with your will or burn it because I don't want it if it's not if it's not like aligned with your will, if it's not parallel with you. And so uh once you have that desire, like I had a desire for photography, but it looks a lot different than what I expected. Right. I had thoughts of like I should I I I like the idea of video and like everything that goes on in the background.

SPEAKER_02 44:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 44:50

And then he answers and then like creatively places such a passion to like f for for for filming and to like capture like live footage like that. That he just gave me doors and opportunities to to practice that desire, and then he took the desire and aligned it with as well.

SPEAKER_00 45:11

Creativity is just not limited to Christians. Yeah. Creativity is a broad almost every single person I know for sure, every single one of us, creativity is in us, every single person that I know.

SPEAKER_02 45:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:24

But would you say, or let me put it this way, that in this area of creativity, had you have you ever felt a need, or have you felt the pressure to compromise your values because of the environment that you're in or the culture that you're in? Um because I feel like when I talk about film, I've been to places like Hollywood and uh what's required there and what's like it's been asked of people. I don't want to do that set, I don't want to do that script kind of thing, but you have to do it, or people are being asked to do something, they feel like it's very compromising on who they are. Has that kind of pressure ever been felt by you in any way?

SPEAKER_01 46:07

Uh a couple times. Okay. A couple times. People have asked like requested if I could shoot their wedding or their uh like proposals and things like that. And this is after like I've made the decision that I am protecting this gift and this fruit and like I'm reserving this to give back to the Lord. And so uh when when things like that have been asked, I kindly direct them to my creative brothers and sisters who do specialize in things like that, who di this is their, you know, this is their gift that, you know, provides financially, or it could be, you know, just a hobby for them. So someone who's like focused with this gift but uses it in a different scenario that works for them in their life.

SPEAKER_00 47:00

No, honestly, I love the fact that it it would take guts or some conviction for someone to like turn away money, yeah, turn away opportunities like that, because that's how the mindset is, that's how you grow, that's how you need work, that's how you expand. But for you, on the other hand, you're having such a different kind of thinking that stewardship looks like faithfulness. Yeah. It looks like actually he's giving me this and this is the direction of the Lord, I'm gonna follow it to the best of my know-how. Yeah. That's just powerful. I love to think that you have such an amazing gift, and the way you steward it is just amazing. It's just a way that you even inspire other people to do that. And I would like you to speak to a creative person who doesn't think they are creative people or they're not creative enough. There are moments in your beginning journey in California where you never thought you have what it takes. Why would you say what would you say to a person who's listening to this set and you're thinking I'm not creative enough, or I don't have what it takes?

SPEAKER_01 48:05

I would say that you have one identity, and that is son or daughter of our God.

SPEAKER_02 48:12

And your creative talents don't define your identity.

SPEAKER_01 48:20

Like I'm a great barista, I could be a great photographer, I'm a great filmmaker, I'm a great singer, or um like I don't know, I play the keys really well, something like that. Where but that doesn't define me. That's not who I am. I am just the son of God or just a someone who loves Jesus. And from there will stem creativity. So once you're firm in your identity and you know who you are and you know where you get your uh your meaning from and who you receive that love from, all those things will just start to grow. And again, like I said, like just putting your desires onto the Lord and saying, like, I have this thing, I don't really know what this is gonna look like. It's a little bit scary. I'm unsure. I'm a little bit confused. Um but here's this. Like, I know you make you can make something beautiful, and I know you can do it a lot better than I can. So I lay it down and you take it and either grow it or burn it.

SPEAKER_02 49:18

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 49:19

And then if he burns it, you can ask for like will you will you birth a desire in my heart and like show me like who to love or how to love? Like teach me how to love the way you love, or teach me how to serve the way you would serve. And then like so it will all stem from your identity and then into like loving people.

SPEAKER_00 49:42

That is the core message for anyone listening, whether you are a pro, with a CEO of a company, whatever that you're doing, a stay-home mom. This all creativity through ideas, through solutions that you provide, you bring to the loved ones, those that are around you. And to Ego's point, creativity flows best and stems from your identity in the Lord and your relationship with the Lord. And once you have that settled out of that, the overflow of that is creativity. You cannot help yourself but create because of the nature of the Father and the nature of who you are. Uh Igor, would you be able to pray for our listeners?

SPEAKER_02 50:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 50:25

Uh for grace for them to create, but also for them to know who they are in God. That their creativity doesn't define them. Their relationship, uh, sonship and daughtership defines who they are.

SPEAKER_02 50:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:41

Dear Lord, we thank you for this opportunity. And I I thank you, Lord, for whoever is watching and listening to this right now. Lord, God, I pray that right now in this moment that you you plant something in their heart and that you you you tug on their heart, Jesus, and that they they feel it, God, that you are such a good father, Lord. I pray that you start highlighting, God, highlighting people and uh start highlighting opportunities and doors, God. Lord, I pray that you just speak so clearly in this moment uh that it will just spark creativity and this deep, deep love and towards you and and um desire to just want to know you, Lord. Uh Lord, I pray that in this moment that you instill a spirit and a posture of of a prodigal son and daughter, Lord, that that you remind us, Lord, that you are Father and we are your children, Lord, and that through that you welcome us, Lord, with open arms. You put a ring on our finger and put a robe on our backs, Jesus. You remind us, God, that that no matter how far we've strayed away, that you will still be here and waiting and being joyful, Lord. So knowing that, God, I pray for a sense of boldness, God, that we're able to approach your throne, God, with our desires and our wants and needs, or even, God, any any kind of fears, God, that that we can approach you boldly, knowing that we can lay this all down and you will take it and create something beautiful with it, Lord. Lord, I pray that right now you touch whoever's watching, God, I pray that you touch their eyes, Lord, and touch their mouth and their ears, Jesus, so they're able to hear your voice, God, hear, um, hear where you're leading them, Lord. And I pray in this moment that you also speak through their mouths, Jesus, that they only speak truth, love, and your promises, Lord, and your good, good news, Lord. And I pray for their eyes, God, that you fill them with fire, God, a fire that is able to behold you, Lord. Behold your good, good, good posture. Jesus, your your amazing way of of loving. Jesus, so right now I pray and bless everyone that is watching and listening in this moment. I pray, God, that you protect us, God, and you observe us, Jesus, and Lord, just speak to us. God, our ears are open, our hearts are open to you, Lord. In your name I pray. Amen. Amen. Eggwell, my friend.

SPEAKER_00 53:11

Thanks for coming on the show.

SPEAKER_02 53:13

Of course. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 53:15

I have one last question. Yes. If Jesus would walk into your coffee shop, what would he order?

SPEAKER_02 53:24

That's a good question. Yeah. Um I think our God doesn't like to complicate things.

SPEAKER_01 53:33

He's very simple. Simple man. So I think just to drive coffee would do it.

SPEAKER_00 53:39

Oh. I was hoping you're gonna say child. That is my coffee. Uh that's my favorite thing. I ordered my go. But uh, thank you so much, family, for uh joining us. Uh, thank you for uh listening. We are so glad you're with us. Uh, thank you so much, Igwa, for coming on the show. We are so thankful for you. We pray that the Lord gets to bless you as you watch this. In case this has blessed you, would you be able to share it? Would you be able to send to someone who needs to hear it? Would you be able to subscribe to the channel and uh make sure that you don't miss any episodes? We are gonna have Igwa once again, I'm sure, uh, in the future. But we are so thankful for you. And uh, this is the Everything Kingdom podcast on earth as it is in heaven. See you then.