Worship Unfolding!

1 Corinthians 3:19 English Standard Version (ESV)

19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

John 4:24 English Standard Version (ESV)

24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Psalm 96:6 English Standard Version (ESV)

6 Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

Since I began leading worship more than 20 years ago, it's been quite the journey. It was a blessing to experience God in new ways every time I had to lead. I was led into worship as I listened to a number of songs and read through His Word before I was to lead the congregation. In this regard, I must emphasize that I am not the one who leads the congregation, this is all done by the Holy Spirit. God is the one who leads, and I am only an instrument in His mighty hands.

The time of worship is a preparation for what God has for us through the message and a place of warfare. Whenever we sing the name of Jesus, all knees bow, we are healed, and we proclaim God's power and victory. Rather than accepting the devil's lies, we declare and affirm that the Word is God. It is therefore necessary for worship leaders to surrender fully to God's Spirit and let Him lead fully. We don't know how God is working in other people's lives, we don't know their struggles, their hardships, or their battles... Therefore, we must decrease and let God increase in us, so God can use us for His glory and so the Holy Spirit can minister to us.

Over the years, as we think about worship and look at the different styles, we can see how much it has evolved. As we listen to the lyrics, we can relate to them and be equipped to deal with whatever we are facing right then. These words are so profound that we can pray for them as a prayer to remind ourselves of God's presence in our lives. There are times when it feels almost like a conversation with God.

There is a sense of creativity in some of the songs when we listen closely. It contains a lot of poetic sentences, imagination, and imagery, but if we take the lyrics literally, we miss the whole point. The story behind a song is something I like to do whenever I feel there is more to it than just the lyrics and the melody. In some cases, when we listen to a song, we question it, or we just don't understand it, and in such situations, learning the why behind the lyrics is helpful.

Unfortunately, some of us still view the lyrics with a critical eye, and rather than surrender to God and try to understand, we interpret the lyrics with our logic and determine that they are unsuitable for church use. Instead of building the kingdom of God, we will diminish the work of the Holy Spirit by getting into arguments over a song or even the song leader. Though there are songs that are not spirit-led, we need to be able to distinguish between those that have been written by human flesh and those that have been written by the Holy Spirit.

It is important to remember that the wisdom of this world has nothing to do with the wisdom of God. It was common for Jesus to tell parables that caused his listeners to be puzzled or confounded. Yet, through parables, Jesus taught moral lessons and how to live as faithful Christians. The point here is that when we read the Word, or listen to a sermon on Sunday, we must do so with the Holy Spirit's help and be open to receiving what God has to offer.

Dear friends, let us be careful to distinguish between songs written by the Spirit and others written by the flesh. Whenever a song seems to be different, let us not jump to conclusions without first going to the Father.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SORWtAb5zJE