Let Us Go To The House Of The Lord!
“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.” – Psalms 122:1 NKJV
This has become one of my favorite verses, and we often recite it as a call and response to open up our corporate times of worship.
Jesus is Lord and God wherever you are, and wherever you are you can worship Him in that place. Yet, there is something particularly special and sweet that only happens when a local fellowship of believers gathers in worship.
When a believing people are lead in worship by the Holy Spirit, miracles happen. Healing of physical ailments, as well as ailments of the soul. I have witnessed it in my local fellowship both personally and in others there. Encouragement is poured out and the joy of Lord strengthens us. The secrets of the hearts of men are laid bare, as the Scripture says, and if anyone came in wondering if God knows them, they leave knowing Jesus Christ is Lord and that He sees them! The name of Jesus is lifted up and glorified in that place.
The Scripture says, He inhabits the praises of His people (Ps. 22:3). And, Jesus says, wherever two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them (Mat. 18:20).
It is during worship that you say things like, “Lord, I give you my heart and my life.” You are speaking spirit to spirit and there is a heavenly exchange taking place. It is a pure exchange.
People have the opportunity to exchange their fears and worries for the yoke of the Lord. Burdens are lifted. God speaks, and men and women leave different than when they came in. My Pastor has said that he believes that during worship is when God really does the heavy lifting. I have come to believe that as well.
My question is, are we pointing this reality out to the congregation? Are we inviting God’s people to the altar to participate in this heavenly exchange between their spirits and God’s Spirit? After all, the congregation IS the worship team.
As worship leaders it is our responsibility at times to point out when Jesus has just “walked into the room.” We are to point to Him, get out of the way, and then go with the people of God to lift up worship and praise to our Savior!
In The Way And Out Of The Way…
“He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” – John 3:29-30
Worship is about one thing and one thing only – Jesus Christ. We live in a world full of attention getters, loud noises, drama, distractions, busyness, and if you are like me, a myriad of your own thoughts that need to be continually brought before and surrendered to the Lord. Corporate worship is the act of coming to God together as a local fellowship and presenting ourselves to Him. When we worship God’s people need to have straight way to the feet of Jesus. It is the responsibility of the worship leader and the worship team to keep anything from getting in the way of Jesus. Starting with the worship leader.
Leading worship by nature requires us to be in the way, pointing the way, and ourselves leading the way to the feet of Jesus. At the same time, we are to be out of the way so as not to distract from people hearing from and focusing on Jesus.
Even before entering the sanctuary I check my attitude at the door. I have gotten in the habit of telling myself…”Aaron, it’s not about you.” No matter what is going on in my life, I know the Lord desires me to bring a joyful spirit and a sacrifice of praise.
When we come to church on Sunday we come to serve. Like John did for the Lord, so too are we to make straight the way of the Lord. “He must increase, and I must decrease.”
Spirit-Led Worship
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:23-24 NKJV
If we are worshiping in Spirit and in Truth and giving God the kind of worship that He is after then Jesus is the Worship Leader. After that the Holy Spirit. Then the senior Pastor, then you as the worship leader.
We serve at the Lord’s pleasure, and at the pleasure of our senior Pastor (the lead-servant).
The worship we render is not about us, but it is about the Lord and what He wishes to do in our lives and in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Holy Spirit led worship always results in God’s glory and points to Him.
A few points of practical instruction:
1. Successful worship is not dependent upon how well you do in any given service, but rather God’s measure is based on your faithfulness. Faithful to follow Him and serve Him. Faithful to continue showing up and giving Him the worship that He has asked for (in Spirit and in Truth).
2. Be ready to change direction. Even if you have put together the best arrangements, the grooviest musical interlude, you need to be ready to scrap it if the senior Pastor steps in, or if you hear the Lord leading in another direction. Yes, play skillfully (Ps. 33:3) and do your preparation (Prov. 16:9), but recognize and ask God for an eye and ear for what He is doing amongst the congregation.
3. Make a point to be in line with the prophetic spoken Word over the House that God has given your Pastor. If God is leading your time and service then the worship will compliment and go along with the Word.
4. Never forget that your whole job as a worship leader is to lead people to the feet of Jesus. You can have the best music and be skillful with your words and exhortations, but all that means nothing if the people of God don’t find themselves at the feet of the Savior. The way this works is that we ourselves are paying fierce attention to the Lord and cultivating our personal relationship with Him by being in His Word, in prayer, and spending time with our brothers and sisters throughout the week.
We can’t lead people where we ourselves have not gone. Let’s be found at the feet of Jesus, and those who follow us will end up there too!
When We Worship 