How To Make It BIG In Christian Music
[Learning to BE for God]
by Jeff Deyo

I have had many people come to me and say, “Jeff how do I get started in
music—I want to do what you do!” Because of this, I thought I would put
some of my thoughts down for anyone who wants to read them.

Some of you really just wanted to know the business stuff, but the only
thing I can tell you is that it’s all about relationships. Some people call it
"connections" or say it’s “who you know”, but these "connections" WILL
NOT last if they are not founded in real relationships. They will turn
around and bite you down the road! Of course it really is good to live in
Nashville or LA or somewhere like that so you can build relationships, but
God can also "connect" people in other far off places . . . like South
Dakota (no offense to you Dakotans).

There is, of course, no magic formula. If there was, we'd all be rich,
talented, connected, famous stars – right? YIKES!!! Firstly we must trust
God. We must. If we don't, anything else we build will be just that,
something we built. And it will ALL come crashing down, FOR SURE! We
must let God do the building. We do the serving. That always works
best.

As you desire to use the gift of music to glorify God, I thought I'd share a
little advice from some things the Lord has been teaching me. What I
share is where we must start. It may even involve you putting your voice
or instrument “down” for a while—kind of a “FAST” for a season. Ask
God to lead YOU as you read my thoughts. In fact, I recommend that you
pray right now for His leading.

Music is a special gift. God has gifted some people on this earth to be
more sensitive spiritually than some others for the purpose of being
sensitive to His Spirit, so as to bring forth the music that will praise and
glorify Him. Most people mistake His GIFT for their TALENT. Nothing we
have is "ours." Everything we have is from God (1 Corinthians 4:7). It is
not ours. We are just being allowed to use it for a time to benefit God’s
Kingdom. Plus what has been given can easily be frustrated or taken
away. Very easily!

Many musicians become prideful, because they are easily able to “move”
people with their talents. For some strange reason, they think it is them
moving people instead of the gift God has given them. That is exactly
what happened to the Devil. He was the original "worship leader" in
heaven. I guess one day He flew over the sea of glass, got a good look at
himself and all his accomplishments and thought maybe he ought to get
God’s glory. He thought maybe he could take the place of God and the
worship of all those God had placed under him instead of giving it to the
One who created him. Certainly he was just as worthy, if not more, of
their worship than God, he thought. Pride filled his heart, and God cast
him out of heaven. That was the beginning of many who have fallen
because of pride in themselves and in their "gifting."

All my life I’ve known I would do something powerful with music. You
might be in that same position or you may be the opposite and wish you
knew as strongly what God wanted for you as far as music or life is
concerned. But, sometimes when we know what God is planning ahead of
time, we try to make it happen ourselves and tend to get ahead of God.
That happened to a lot to people in the Bible – Abraham with having his
first kid, Joseph with bragging to his brothers about his dream, Moses
with killing the Egyptian while trying to “deliver” God's people, and so on.

It seems to me that as we grow up, people are always asking us, "What
are you going to DO with your life?" Over and over again, we are led to
believe it is what we DO that makes us significant in life. This is really one
of the biggest lies from the Devil. The more I realize God's heart on this
issue, the more I realize that He is always more concerned with who we
are to BE rather than what we are to DO. We get so excited about what
we can DO for God that we forget about our relationship with Him and we
never really learn how to just "be with" Him. Isn't that how its always
been?

Every other religion is based on what we DO (works), which puts
importance on working our way to God. Somehow we, as humans, think if
we can just DO something to prove our love, than God will accept us and
we will significant. The problem with this is that we are always trying to
work our way toward acceptance from God, which is impossible. If it was
possible, we could boast in our abilities to get to God. This has never
been possible, nor can we ever DO enough to earn a place in God's heart.
(Nor can we ever BE enough.)

I'm sure you we know all of this already, but living it is always a different
thing than having the head knowledge. We usually worry about what we
are going to DO for God way before we ever think about who we are
going to BE in God. This is something that must change if we are to live
according to God’s plan for our lives. We must become focused on our
character in Christ. We must decide, before we DO a single thing, that we
are going to BE obedient to God, BE in relationship with him and BE one
with his passions and desires.

My suggestion is that we begin to focus heavily on who we are BECOMING
in Christ – our CHARACTER, spending time with Him – becoming like Him.
See, when we focus on who we are to BE and not so much on what we
are to DO for God, the DOING comes MUCH easier! In fact, I believe the
DOING flows directly out of the BEING! If we can learn to BE with Him,
than God will teach us how to DO for Him without it getting in the way of
our relationship with Him – this is very simple yet VERY important.

Practically, if I wanted to know how to get started in music as a
profession, I would begin to pray (and even FAST) intensely concerning
God's leading in my life. Remember, the act of praying is NOT the
answer—it is how we get the answer—it is how we get God's strategy to
win the battle. You can read in 2 Chronicles 5-7 and see how several
times when faced with a battle Solomon sought the Lord for the strategy
to win. "Should we fight, Lord?" "Should we attack from the front or the
back?" These are questions you should begin to ask the Lord. But, even
if there are no answers right away then no matter what happens, begin to
ask the Lord to TEACH you how to "be with" Him – to be satisfied in Him,
just Him. Out of that will flow your purpose in life.

One of my long time prayers is that God would make me satisfied in Him
alone—that I would not need the latest material thing or a high paying
gig, or a #1 radio single, or even just one more bowl of ice cream to
satisfy me. The only thing I want to satisfy me (and the only thing that
truly can) is Jesus and a real relationship with Him. Ask Him to teach you
how to have a REAL relationship with Him—a close and intimate one!
Read Song of Songs to learn about the kind of relationship God wants to
have with His bride, the church – YOU. It may surprise you how much He
loves you.

One thing a wise friend said to me was that God doesn't care about my
ministry nearly as much as He cares about me. God doesn’t even need us
and our talents, but He does desire to use us. Our number one purpose in
life is to have a relationship with your Him. If anything gets in the way of
that, including your "ministry," the Lord will become “jealous” and move it
out of the way, and you will have been guilty of idolatry! I know that
sounds strong, but anything that comes before God or that has more of
you than God does, is an idol!

So, spend time with Jesus. Learn how to be satisfied in Him and Him
alone! Be honest with Him in your prayers. Tell Him you don't know
where to start, and He WILL help you. He always hears honest prayers.

Here are a few books you might want to read: The Great Commandment
Principle (David Ferguson), The God Chasers (Tommy Tenney), and Glory
(Ruth Ward Heflin). Read anything and everything by John Bevere
(especially The Fear of the Lord, Under Cover and Driven By Eternity).
Get anything you can on the whole thing surrounding the Columbine
shootings. God allowed this for a specific purpose of drawing this
generation in huge numbers to Himself. Read or listen to anything put
out by Darrell Scott, Rachel's father—she was killed in the shootings. She
spent her whole life preparing for that moment. She didn't know she was
going to die, but she wrote in her diary, that she would be willing to give
up her life for her friends (her generation). Many people are turning to
God because of Columbine! God can and will use you in that way if you
are willing to give up everything for Him. If you are not, you might as well
go ahead and plan to live a mediocre life—unless you are willing to ask
Him to give you that kind of passion. He will give it, if you ask. It WILL
take some time, but He will. What an exciting time to be alive!

Also, ask God to give you a renewed desire to read His Word to the point
where you lose yourself for hours reading and devouring it. Make a list of
all these things and get serious. Read John, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Acts, and
Romans for starters. Read a passage from Psalms or Proverbs EVERY
DAY! Tell the devil he has no place in your life. You are the child or the
Most High and are washed in the blood of Jesus! Determine to be one
who is recognized as having BEEN WITH JESUS (See Acts 4:13).

If you have not already, please read the other articles I've written on our
website on worship, especially "Being A Lead Worshiper." I hope this
helps some as you seek the Lord with all your heart. Seeking God is not
for quitters. It IS for the weak, however, for God loves to humble the
proud and to exalt the humble and in our weakness He is strong. Forget
the past, and press on toward the goal of BEING who Jesus wants you to
BE. Seek His Kingdom AND His righteousness. Let Him build your
character. Then He will be able to trust you enough to give you GREAT
things to DO for Him—like making a BIG impact for His Kingdom through
your gifts and talents.