IF YOU HAVE POWER WITHOUT WISDOM, YOUR CHURCH WILL GROW BUT YOU WILL SCATTER IT WITH YOUR STUPIDITY.
ANYWHERE THERE IS A PROBLEM, IT IS A GOOD PLACE TO MAKE IT. NIGERIA HAS SO MANY PROBLEMS, SO EVEN CHURCHES SHOULD BE BIG SO PEOPLE CAN COME FOR THEIR PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED.
NOBODY SHOULD SAY THERE IS NO MONEY ANYWHERE. EVERYTHING AROUND YOU IS USEFUL, IF YOU STARE UP THE CREATIVE ABILITY IN YOU THERE IS MONEY.
- Pastor David Ibiyeomie at the Church Growth Conference, No Land is Difficult| The Master’s Place International Church| Morning Session| Day 2
Our theme is NO LAND IS DIFFICULT: The sub-topic is,
“THE POWER OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION”
Let me say this to you: You can succeed anywhere. Difficulty abounds when creativity and innovation lie dormant. For instance, where we are in Africa, has more natural resources than any continent in the world but Africa is where we are today because of creativity and innovation deficiency. People from the West come down to Africa with nothing and go back with so many billions, yet Africans, especially Nigerians are saying, this land is difficult, including men of God.
Two young people went to a country called India as students and when they got to India, they got to one of the biggest cities in India and everybody was on barefoot trekking. One saw the people and said, this place is very poor. The other one said this place is the place to make money. Since they don’t have shoes, if I bring shoes here, I will be very rich. So, he went back to America and told them to make plastic shoes for 25 cents and sent them to India and that is how he became a multi-billionaire. Church Gist. One saw a problem, one saw a solution. What are you seeing where you are? And anywhere there is a problem, it is a good place to make it. Nigeria has so many problems, so even churches should be big because they went to Jesus to solve their problems. So anywhere there are problems, churches should be big, and people should come for their problems to be solved.
It is how you and I interpret what you see that determines how you succeed.
- I pray that someone here hearing me will not fail anymore.
What is creativity?
Creativity is the ability to create. It is the ability to generate ideas, make something new, define possibilities that will be useful in solving problems. Creativity distinguishes you from the norm. It makes you rise above limitations. Creativity spurs you up into inventing things that barely exist and every event in life is intended. Invention is inspiration plus action. It is doing something that has never existed. Invention makes you not to see yourself as a finished product. Our God is a master creator. Psalm 104:24. His creative secret is His wisdom. Creativity is the product of mental activity, it is simply productive mental activity. John 1:1. Many of us go for power, we don’t go for wisdom. If all you go for is power, your church will grow but you will scatter it with your stupidity. Those with wisdom are the ones able to keep every church growing stable. Today RCCG is the largest Pentecostal church in the world by a man of wisdom. If it’s power, there are men of God who do some strange things yet have nothing to show for it. Check every man who has explosive, steady growth, he is a man of wisdom. Adeboye – Wisdom, Oyedepo, Adeboye himself laid hands on him for wisdom, myself – wisdom. Church Gist. Without wisdom, you won’t even know how to talk to people. After blind eyes open, you say look at you people, you all are poor people. The people will say he is calling us poor people, let’s go. You will talk stupidly. He said wisdom is the principal thing, not power. Power is important but power is one leg, and wisdom is the other leg. If you stand on one leg for too long, you will tired so you need other things. 1 Corinthians 1:24, John 17:18, Hebrews 11:3. Jesus is an embodiment of creativity without him nothing was created. If Jesus carried creative ability, it therefore means we also have abilities in us because we have the mind of Christ.
Many will say what has Church Growth got to do with creativity? When I land you will know. So new birth connects us to the creative juice in Christ. God creates what does not exist. The earth was without form and void and God created something out of it. Everything was shapeless and formless and began to create. May that ability come alive in you. Creativity is not modifying what already is. Creativity is bringing out what has never existed. Creativity comes from within. There are more businessmen in the hall than even pastors. That’s why I took the first charge for Church Growth and then come for the one that will bless everybody. Creativity separates the best from the good, excellent from the common and the extraordinary from the ordinary. The best way to learn creativity is to learn from the greatest creator God Himself. Look at everything around you, millions of beautiful things, everything with its uniqueness. Church Gist. I am going to show you some beautiful things that will baffle you. For instance, the 2008 Olympics Stadium in Beijing China is inspired by birds nests. Often creativity and innovation are used interchangeably. Everything around you speaks something. If you need creativity and innovation, there are fundamental differences. Many people use them without knowing which one is which.
Creativity is the state of being creative, innovation is the act of introducing something new. Creativity is an essential building block for innovation. After you create then innovation takes place. If you learn from the greatest creator which is God Himself because He is the greatest creator of all. Most inventions are inspired by nature. The airplanes, the boats, the submarines, name them. Let’s look at the sun, the planets, the rivers, oceans, trees, flowers, mountains, rocks, colours in the sky, men, the list is endless. Church Gist. There is no set pattern for creativity. God is both a scientist and an artist. Genesis 1:26-28. It shows that you should not limit yourself because your scope is endless. You are not supposed to be static at any point. At any point, you are supposed to move to the next level.
I want to show you some creative designs and life pictures, beginning first with the Olympics Stadium in Beijing inspired by birds nests. These light designs are inspired by flowers. They designed them according to the shape of flowers. This is a Teapot Hotel in China. They designed it from a teapot. Next is the Solar Ark in Japan. It is a building you are seeing. It was built with the same solar in your house. The Dubai Palm Island. They created it from the Palm tree inside water. Those areas are buildings. The Upside Down House in North Poland. They built a house upside down. The 1969 Chevrolet car was inspired by sharks. Everything God created about you is telling you something. There is a BMW Six series coming out in 2025 also inspired by sharks. Church Gist. This is the shape of a shark. There is a Crooked House Design in Poland. The Piano House in China. The Ohio Basket Building. The Public Library in Kansas, Missouri. They used books as the building. The restaurant under the sea. Used tires creation of chairs. These are chairs but they use tires that have been used to create the chairs. They do it even in Nigeria here.
What is God trying to say to you and me? Everything around you is useful. If your eyes can see it. No businessman should say there is no business. Nobody should say there is no money anywhere. Everything around you is useful, if you stare up the creative ability in you there is money. God will never keep something around you for a waste. Everything created by God is for a purpose. Your ability to know how to tap into the creative grace in you determines how you succeed. Everything, there is nothing around you. Even a spoiled chair is a product of wealth. God does not want anything to waste. He showed us an example when he said they should pack the fragments.
Qualities of Creative People.
- Curiosity and Observation
Deuteronomy 28:1. Many people don’t observe. They read everywhere but that small world to observe is not there. Jesus said as I see my father do, I do. There was no way Elijah taught Elisha how to path water, he just observed him and repeated the same. Bishop Oyedepo, my mentor, has never sat me down to teach me Church Administration. If I tell you something it will shock you, throughout my life with him I have only asked him question one. That was three years ago. 99 per cent of the things I learned from him are by observation. I just watch him and see how he does it and go and do it. Many walk the streets of life with their eyes closed. Joshua 1:8. Do you want to prosper? Do you want to succeed? Read this scripture, it will shock you. If you will succeed it is up to you and not God. Church Gist. God is not mentioned here, Satan is not mentioned here. What determines your success is you, if you are failing now don’t blame God, don’t blame the devil. Just accept the responsibility that you are missing it somewhere.
Many don’t observe. It is not everything somebody will teach you, observe. Have I ever been to Benny Hinn’s lecture hall where he taught how to heal? Never. All of us attend the same conferences with Oyedepo in Canaanland. What is my secret? Church Gist. I don’t only copy notes, I observe. My greatest secret is observation. Curiosity is important if you want to be creative.
Exodus 3:1-3. How can you be seeing something unique and you are passing? You are seeing a Church growing and you are not wondering what is making them grow. Observe what is this man doing that I am not doing. You will be stupid today not to listen to Bishop Oyedepo on Church Growth or not to listen to Adeboye on how to take the world by storm. Curiosity requires an active exploration of your environment. Possess a sense of wonder. Church Gist. You are not just excited, you are curiously finding out without even asking the person questions. Strong curiosity is the main strength of creative people. I told you the story that it was an illiterate woman who made me explode in the city where we are. I am curious, why would a woman who can’t speak English command a crowd? I didn’t say she can’t speak English and started condemning her. That is why you don’t grow. She could not speak English but I saw a crowd at 3am. I was curious. Why will people go for a morning meeting and at 3am they are struggling to get a seat for a meeting at 8am and we were having service at 8am and people are saying I should shift it to 10am. My curiosity led me to the supernatural. I and the woman have never met till today. If she meets me now she will count it a privilege to shake my hands. She will not know that she spurned me to something greater. You can be greater than who you learn from.
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