His Rain Falls When We Prepare Our Hearts

 I want to talk about those times when we lead or participate in a praise and worship service in which we feel that God's presence just didn't move. We compare one service to another or one season to another and find ourselves playing the blame game: Yup it was that out of tune guitar, those loud drums, the tired vocalists, and definitely those new songs. It's easy sometimes for us to concoct some crazy-wild explanation for something so simple. I've even found myself saying, "Lord, why? These people needed You to show up...I was dying for You to show up." I don't know if any of you can relate but this is a horrible feeling. You come home and think that you just wasted your time and even worse that you just wasted God's time and probably made Him tear up a bit from how awful that whole service turned out. I've been there and it's because I've been there that I've sought out my Lord's council. I love how he speaks into my heart so clearly. There are specific moments when I've just felt God laugh and I'm pretty sure when I've talked to Him about these things He's been just balling out, shaking His head, ready to just cradle me because the answer is so simple.

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(Song of Solomon 1:6) 

Do not stare at me because I am dark,

    because I am darkened by the sun.

My mother’s sons were angry with me

    and made me take care of the vineyards;

    my own vineyard I had to neglect.

(Song of Solomon 2:10)

My beloved spoke and said to me,
    “Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, come with me.

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What The Lord revealed to me was that we, His children, are the ones who carry His presence and He confirmed this with His Word that says that we are the Temple of The Holy Spirit, His church. We're suppose to be putting the "C', "H", "U", "R", "C", "H" in "church". The only way to do this is through our relationship with God. He is always able to move but we also have the calling to release what He has freely given us. His Spirit is waiting to be releases but if we don't feed our spirit's how can we accomplish this? It's about talking to our Father because His Holy Spirit is with us and longs to be upon all of us, it's about getting into His Word for a fresh and new revelation, and it's about intimate prayer and worship behind closed doors when no one is looking. God is tired of His unfaithful bride who is ravished by many lovers. In Jeremiah 3 The Lord tells His people that "the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen" because of their unfaithfulness. God uses the words prostitution and unfaithfulness to describe our desire to seek another's council and even our own;He refers to anything that occupies the first place in our hearts. 

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(Jeremiah 2:13)

“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
    the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

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Do we not do this today? We lean on our own past understanding and at some point stop overflowing because we've traded fountains. We think we can survive with what we know but those moments are when we need The Lord the most. Only He can see a heart naked as it is. When He says He wants a worshiper in spirit and in truth, this is what He's referring to. He longs for His worshiper to lay beside Him and hear His heartbeat and the only way for us to do this is to cultivate that relationship. Sometimes we reach moments where we hide our faces from The Lord and sink back. He's calling out. Talk to Him. He just wants to talk to us. He just wants to love us. Our wells can't hold water but His can. He doesn't want us to struggle or get frustrated anymore. When you prepare your heart's garden He will walk in and spend time with you. Because you know Him He will listen and because He knows You His Spirit will be upon you ready to be released.

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(Psalm 132:7-8)

“Let us go to his dwelling place,
    let us worship at his footstool, saying,
 ‘Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.

//We are that resting place that 

The Holy Spirit longs to dwell in.//

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 "Learn to steward God's presence in stillness, not just in corporate worship." 

                                                                                           

                                                                                            —Steffany Gretzinger

When we do this through intimate time with The Lord our services and corporate gatherings will be in continuous overflow. His signs and wonders will be there. The fullness of His Spirit is the key and that key can only be given to us through spirit taught knowledge that comes from the secret place. My secret place sometimes looks like a locked room with soft Bethel or Ihop music playing in the background, or a locked bathroom with me kneeling at the foot of the tub, a car ride, or gardening time outside. The one thing that all these locations have in common is that I am alone with God in order to seek Him. You don't need anything fancy just a place where you can cultivate that relationship with God behind closed doors so that when you do life in the open you will be walking in the fullness of His Spirit and that rain will fall no matter where you find yourself.

Worship Leading: Knowing God's Presence

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When you've spent time in your day-to-day pressing into God's presence you know how to step in anytime and in any place. Lately God has been showing me that just how the Israelites in the Old Testament begged an pleaded for a King to lead and guide them, people today beg and plead for a Worship Leader to lead them into the presence of God and guide them through. This and so many other topics have been weighing in on my heart, but the time and the words just haven't been quick enough to follow and execute. Yes, this is so true. Look around your church, talk to people there, and you'll realize that in most cases if someone isn't instructing a congregation on what to do or say next, then chunks of the room look like deer caught in headlights. When we don't spend time on our own with God during the week, Sunday roles along and we find ourselves on empty, or confused, tired, bored, or maybe even a little frustrated. It's frustrating not being able to press through. While the King of Israel and his servant were tired of waiting for God to act Elisha pressed through and acted in obedience to God, with eyes wide open, as the floodgates of heaven were opened (2 Kings 6:33-7:20). There are moments in congregational worship when the music is playing but the voices just stop. Many associate this as a dry spell of disorder or just plain laziness from the Worship Team but I call those moments something else. It's that instance of pure comfort and awe when we realize that our eyes have been opened and the veil has been torn. We can now see with our spirit what God is doing and how He's moving so we obey and step aside and bask in His presence. These are my two perfect examples. Eye openers.

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(Genesis 16:13) Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”

(2 Kings 6:16-17) “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

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The Worship Team is exactly like Hagar and Elisha's Servant in this: though everything around them is in motion they cease for a moment in time and are awakened by the Spirit of God to see what is truly moving around them. The things unseen are what we should fix our eyes on because the Word tells us that those things are more real than what our physical eyes see. Though Hagar was running away from harassment and Elisha's Servant was quaking with fear at the sight of the Aramean army both of them had that shifting moment that changed their whole perspective because of the eye-opening pause. Embrace these moments because God wants to open our eyes to truly see. There was an actual situation a few weeks back when a very nice woman came up to me after the Worship service and told me that I needed to "lead" more. So although every fiber within me wanted to spill out the first thing that I mentioned above, (about how this attitude resembled the Israelite's unnecessary obstinacy and fascination with having a King lead them) I chose to say something else. The Israelites wanted a human to be their King when they already had God, the King of Kings, dwelling there with them and audibly guiding them. Really? Am I the only one incredibly passionate about this. God is enough. He-is-enough. The Holy Spirit is here in our midst. He is my Worship Leader when I'm up on the altar or off stage near my family. He tells me what to do, say, and sing because He's boss like that. So, anyway...back to the original topic: I simply answered my Sister in Christ that The Holy Spirit is the one Leading this deliverance service and I'm just simply doing what He says because sometimes He'll want me to talk but other times He's just doing what He feels like doing and I don't want to get in the way of that. The words that were really aching to pop out though were these: If you perceive the presence of God then step in...don't wait for someone to lead you there...simply approach the spiritual thrown boldly and without fear because that moment is yours. That moment has been given to you through Jesus. He paid for the re-establishment of your relationship with God so that you wouldn't need a human mediator to connect you with your father. Jesus is our mediator and He did what He came to do. If you see that cloud with your spirit then step in regardless of how you may look or come off because that is your chance to gaze on the beauty of your God and to get a glimpse into your eternity. Just like the Israelites didn't need a King, you don't need a Worship Leader to lead you into the presence of God. The King was not needed but He was given to God's people because they constantly begged for a King. Some were good, and some were bad, but none were perfect. I myself know and can say that Worship Leaders are not needed but God has placed us here for those who begged for someone to lead them into the presence of God. If you know what His presence feels and tastes like then step in and don't hesitate or wait around for words to tell you what to do. For those of us who are Worship Leaders or for those who want to be Worship leaders I say these words with an honest heart that our main goal should be to teach others how to step into God's presence on a daily basis. Our goal should be for people to not have to depend on a person to open the floodgates of heaven for them. Just like there were good and bad Kings there are good and bad Worship leaders. Since God has placed us in a leadership position let's do all that we can to leave a large footprint so that God may be glorified. Know God's presence through spending time with God. He is your King and the only true and perfect Worship Leader you'll ever need. Let God's law be your foundation, Jesus be your example, and the Holy Spirit your revealing guide.

Callings & Roles In The Worship Ministry

Ministry- The act of serving others; This word derives from the Latin word "Ministerium" which means service. 

Worship Leader- In a congregational setting, one who guides the congregation through praise and worship. Worship Leaders are in charge of organizing songs, they sing and/or play an instrument, and take the lead. The relationship between the Worship Leader and the congregation most resembles how a shepherd leads his/her flock toward the stream and green pastures and then lets them enjoy their feeding while keeping a close eye on them. Worship Leaders lead others through songs, offering praises (which God inhabits) to the Lord , creating the spiritual atmosphere for an encounter.

Worship Minister/Pastor- One who ministers on the specialized topic of "Worship" by serving others. Worship Ministers serve by leading, teaching, and providing spiritual guidance. The relationship between a Worship Minister and the congregation most resembles how a pastor leads, guides, and cares for his/her flock or any other group of people.

Psalmist- One who writes and/or composes poems out of one's own thoughts and feelings. These poems can be turned into songs and the best example of this is The Psalmist David who wrote psalms (poems), sung, and played them.

Christian Music Artist- One who writes, performs, or composes christian music. Some examples would be Francesca Battistelli, Kari Jobe (also an example of a Worship Leader), Natalie Grant, Jeremy Camp, TobyMac, and David Crowder Band.  

* (This is a new one for me) Worship Evangelist- one who spreads "The Good News" and brings revival of personal commitments to Christ through worship music. An example of this is:
(Psalm 108:1-5) My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul.Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.

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So let us remember that "Worship" is the act of responding to God's love with love by offering one's very life as a living and breathing sacrifice. Anyone who has been called to the Worship Ministry is leading, serving, and guiding others in a way that shows them how to respond to God's love with their very lives. They help others know the meaning of Worship. A great majority of Christian music artists are not in the Worship Ministry but they are impacting the world with what God has given them in a way that glorifies God. Being in the Worship Ministry means that one is serving, and like my Psalmist School directer says, "Ministry is really the record of your service. Many want the title but they don't have the proof of the work to back it up." You see no matter what ministry we're called to it doesn't become a ministry or our ministry until we have a record of our service, until we have invested of our time serving others.

(2 Corinthians 6:3-10) We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

² 

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Specifically I wrote this post because we all have questions. What's the difference between this and that? What does this really mean? I personally ask God all the time, "how can I define this?" And then...comes wisdom. The definitions that I decided to share above are some words that I myself have asked God to clarify because I'm a lover of knowledge I guess (I thank God for such an inheritance). These are cut to the chase sort of definitions to just supply a purposeful answer but of course with all things involving God we can go on and on, and deeper and deeper. I just wanted to clarify some of the visible callings that fall within the category of "Worship ministry". First off, the question I want to answer is, what sorts of things can we do that are considered to be part of this particular ministry? Just like I talked about how there are expressions of worship these same expressions, no matter what they may be, can be turned into a Worship Ministry the moment that a person begins to serve others through their artistic expression of worship. Some do spoken word, others write music or psalms, some dance, and some play an instrument or lead worship services, or maybe even act—these are all expressions of our worship to God and become a Worship Ministry only when we begin to serve others through these expressions in a way that pertains to the subject of "worship". So whatever you have been called to do, this calling turns into a ministry when you begin to serve. Maybe you've been called to be a songwriter, a worship minister, or an actor but this becomes a Worship Ministry when you, for example, teach others about worship through your songwriting, ministering, or acting. It has nothing to do with being in a church because some ministries are specifically for the congregation but others are born outside of the church for different reasons. The disciples had their own individual ministries but they all worked and served with the same purpose in mind, and that was to spread the word of God and the message of salvation. So whether some ministries are meant for the church, for a local group of people, or for the nations a Worship Ministry has to do with presenting "worship" and it's detailed branches to others through service.