The Principle Of Creating Before You Form by Pastor Poju Oyemade: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Creating Before You Form

I want to look at a principle of creating things before you actually form them. In the formation of what you have created, the availability of physical material is not the essential thing. What matters is understanding the flow of grace, where the Bible says we should come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

In Genesis 1:26-27, God said, "Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness," and gave him dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, the cattle, and every creeping thing. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." By that declaration alone, man came into existence, even though there was no physical man yet on the earth.

It is the same way we say today that a person has been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, or that a person is a new creature in Christ Jesus. Looking at the outside reality, those things may appear nonexistent, but they are only nonexistent in the physical dimension of that person's life. When God declared man into being, man was now in existence in the realm of the spirit.

Two Movements: Creation and Formation

Genesis 2:5-6 tells us that every plant of the field was created before it was in the earth, and every herb before it grew, because it had not yet rained and there was no man to till the ground. Then a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground, and only then did the Lord God form man. God created it; the Lord God formed it — a different name of God for a different phase of the work.

• The name revealed in the forming of man was not the same name used in the creating of man. That was an aspect of God's wisdom.
• To bring what was created into existence, God came down and "soiled his hand" — did something lower than his status in order to form it.

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Some believers, understanding that they are seated together with Christ in heavenly places, refuse the point of entry into the labor of forming what has been created, thinking the work of their hands is beneath them. That is a misunderstanding of what scripture is saying. God himself came down and did the work of breathing into man the breath of life, and man became a living soul. He has shown us the pattern: first the creation of a thing within, then the forming of what was created, in the outer world.

Creation Requires the Presence of the Spirit

Creation is a combination of two things, and the first is the presence of the Spirit of God. In Genesis 1:1-3, the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep — but before God created anything, "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Only then did God say, "Let there be light."

Psalm 104:30 says, "Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth." If you want to create something, the Holy Spirit on the inside of you is the one who helps you in that creative process.

In John 14:17, Jesus said, "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

It is possible for God to give a person something and for that person still not to receive it. The operation of the Spirit of God is dependent both on God's disposition to give, and on the person's position to receive. Jesus came unto his own, and his own received him not. We often think the issue is with God's giving, when the problem is on the side of receiving.

The Bible says any man that is double-minded, let him not think he shall receive anything of the Lord.

How to Move a Problem Toward Resolution

In Christian life, problems are not solved by becoming conscious of the problem, carrying it, letting it define your mood, and expecting everyone around you to relate to you only in the context of that problem. That will only draw people into the web of the problem without solving anything.

1. Minister to the Lord first, not yourself.

   Look at Psalm 132:1-4. "Remember, David, and all his afflictions: how he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed... until I find out a place for the Lord." David's first thought in his affliction was not what people could do for him — it was to create a resting place for God. Before you ask God for anything, offer him the sacrifice of praise and turn your focus off yourself and onto him.

2. Think of others, not only your own need.

   In 2 Corinthians 8:1-3, the churches of Macedonia, in a great trial of affliction, still had abundance of joy, and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their generosity — because they were thinking of others in the middle of their own trial, not just of themselves.

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   Ask God to open your eyes.

   When Ishmael and Hagar were sent away with only a bottle of water and a loaf of bread, and it finished, Ishmael prayed, and God opened his eyes — and there was a well of water already there. There are wells of water all around you; you do not see them because you believe you are stuck. Psalm 13:1-3 says, "How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord?... Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death." The same God who commanded light to shine out of darkness will open your eyes to see the exceeding great and precious promises already surrounding you. Begin to embrace those things and create them within you by the help of the Holy Spirit, so that they become real and tangible on the inside, even before they show up on the outside.

Get the Purpose, Then Get the Way

Suppose you have a piece of land and want to build. First you go to God for the clearance thought — not because someone else is doing it, but for the real reason. Jesus had an effective ministry without a building; if the impulse to build is only about pressure or comparison, go deeper. Solomon built a temple, but you are now the temple — you must find the eternal purpose beneath the natural desire. Once the purpose is settled, that purpose becomes what a visioner brings to the architect, and it shapes the design.

You may have received the thought from God, but the way you carry it out matters just as much. David was correct that the ark needed to be brought back, but the way it was done cost a man his life. Moses was correct that the children of Israel needed deliverance, but the way he first attempted it created a problem. Having the right thought does not mean you may pursue it any way you please — God gives the thought, and he also gives the ways; both must be followed.

Speaking It Into Existence

God gives you the thought. The imagination of the thought — the imaging of it — is a creative process. As you image a thought in your consciousness, you are, in a sense, creating it, the way a photograph slowly develops after it is taken: the real work happens in that inner "machine" before the image ever appears outwardly.

The currency of the kingdom is not money. Jesus produced what he needed without buying it — he used what is called the riches of glory. Paul told the Philippians that Philippians 4:19 "God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory" — a wealth that is not money, and that is better than silver and gold. Small offerings, laid in God's hands, become enough for whatever the vision requires.

Guard the Small Fires So You Can Build the Big Thing

It takes time to insert into your consciousness something that will shape your destiny, but people rarely go through that process because they are busy putting out small fires in their lives instead. If everything you do is fire-fighting, you will never build anything of substance. If you are believing God for something big, be willing to lay down lesser comforts and distractions along the way so that your attention and resources go toward the real vision.

Rain Follows a Season of Sacrifice

Back in Genesis 2:6, a mist went up and watered the earth before the Lord God formed man. To form what is created, rain must fall; for rain to fall, mist must first leave the earth. The mist leaving the earth is the spiritual sacrifice you offer to God — praise, thanksgiving, obedience — even while what has been created inside you has no visible outlet yet. As the sacrifice of praise goes up, in time the rain falls: God begins to show you thoughts, people begin to come into your life, and things start happening that you would not have expected.

Luke 12:33 says, "Provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not." Real evaporation happens where there is heat — a dry season precedes the rains. Be faithful in the season of dryness, offering up sacrifice, rather than demanding rain the moment the sun comes out. When the dams eventually break, you will be glad for every correction you accepted and every season of preparation you did not waste.

Protect What You Are Building

As what God is doing in your life grows, guard it with wisdom. Know the laws that govern what you are building, and do not assume you can operate outside them out of ignorance — ignorance of the law is not a defense. Surround yourself with sound, trustworthy counsel, including legal counsel, before you need it rather than in the middle of a crisis, because the cost of a mistake at a higher level is far greater than the cost of getting good counsel early. What is not properly protected can be lost quickly, no matter how much has been built — so build carefully, and build within the boundaries of wisdom and the law.