a prophetic word for worship leaders & musicians

(2002)

At a low point in King Saul’s life, he called for a musician who could play well to soothe and refresh his troubled spirit. (I Sam. 16:17-23) So David was brought before the king to worship and to play. And the sweet psalmist of Israel released an anointing of God’s Spirit that day that drove those tormenting demons of hell right out the tent door.

Later in John 4:23-24, Jesus said God the Father is still seeking true worshippers today. He is seeking men and women like David, worshippers and musicians who will reach beyond performance and entertainment into the very presence of God to release His anointing upon the church. But many churches can not find anointed worship leaders and skilled musicians who love Jesus more than their music or their c.d.’s. Churches all over the world are searching for these precious gifts to the Body of Christ. But the supply is low.

Our own church is in dire need. For years we have prayed and waited for God to send or raise up a worship leader who knows the presence of God and can lead us into that place of intimacy with Jesus. Again and again we have been disappointed. Musicians have come and gone and we are still waiting in faith. But I have been deeply troubled and I have cried out to God again and again. Why Lord? Why are we still waiting and you have not provided?

Then God spoke this prophetic word through me on a Sunday Morning in December of 2002 as I was preaching. I could feel the anointing shift and the answer to my prayers began to pour through me. God said,

“ I want to hear my people praise me not the instruments. I want my people to worship me with their voices and their spirits. I am tired of musical sounds that energize the flesh and impress people but do not touch my heart. I will give you back the worship leaders when you no longer need them nor depend on them. And I will give you back the instruments when they complement your praises and not silence them.”

You see, that is exactly what had been happening in our church for a long time. Musicians played the top ten choruses and twanged their guitars and beat their drums. But the people had stopped praising. They were sitting there week after week listening to the praise singers and clapping to the beat. But worship had evaporated from the pews.

Now I understood why God has cleaned off our altar and left unattended instruments and empty music stands. He was tired of what we were offering Him. And He was insisting that we praise Him with our hearts and our voices.

Several years ago, before she died, Sister Ruth Ward Heflin visited our church with Sister Jane Lauder. When both our morning services were over, the worship band had left and the few remaining folks were moving toward the door, Sister Heflin sat on our altar and called me over to talk with her.

“Pastor,” she said, “Can I share something with you about your music in the services today?” I agreed quickly expecting some kind word of encouragement or some compliment from this precious woman of God. But that was not what she gave me. “Son,” she said, “When your musicians have played all their stuff and the top ten tunes have been exhausted, you go to the pulpit and sing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus – twenty times if it takes that long. You sing until the anointing comes for worship. You sing until the Holy Ghost cleans the atmosphere in the sanctuary. Then preach.” She went on to say, “You had a lot of noise here today, but not much substance. God was not glorified. Your band got all the accolades. The people were clapping for them, not for Jesus. “

I was crushed by her words. But she was right. She knew the presence of God and she knew we did not.

Since then – we have limped along. I was so tied up with trying to please people. I was consumed with what I wanted our worship to be. So anxious to impress the visitors that God never received the praise and worship He deserves and wants. Instead we were breeding performances instead of pure, deep worship. God kept calling us week after week to worship but He had to break the old off me first. As the pastor goes, so goes the church.

Today we have one precious sister on the guitar and her husband on the drums. The Christian DJ’s are all gone. Our beautiful grand piano sits silent and in some of our midweek services we sing acapello. Oh it was not always that way. We had a large choir and an orchestra as good as any on Long Island. We presented cantatas year after year and aired a weekly television program with lively music into 400,000 homes each week. But God was not impressed and He stripped us naked. So that He could recapture our hearts with simple praise and worship.

You see, there were no worship leaders and musicians at Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Yet the praises of God echoed through the heavens that night, and God was glorified.

There were no instruments or musical superstars in the catacombs of Rome in the early church. But the worship of God’s people was pure and the praises were high even in the face of martyrdom.

There were no worship bands years ago when I met with the dozens of believers in an underground church outside Moscow. But I preached that night and those precious Russian believers sang softly but with such an anointing that I wept in God’s rich presence.

And there were no electric keyboards in the jungle chapel in the Sarawok of Borneo, when I worshiped with 40-50 Marook Indians, former headhunters, so in love with Jesus. Angels showed up that day – I saw them – and I heard them singing along with those simple Indian saints. Then the Indians stopped and smiled with their eyes closed as the singing of the angels continued for a full 10 minutes or more. I heard pure praise and worship that day and I fell on the ground before the Lord. It wet my appetite for God’s presence and He began to teach me ever so slowly and move our entire congregation ever so persistently away from what we thought was great worship deeper and deeper into His presence.

Today we are still learning, but my frustration and anxiety, as a pastor is almost gone. I love to hear God’s people sing in the Spirit and I bask in His rich presence.

Beloved, God wants to romance His bride this year. He wants to draw us into a place of intimacy with Himself. But He will not compete with our music departments.

So, you don’t have a keyboard player or a band or a leader who can hold a note. Stop fretting. Stop striving. Just lift your voice and your hearts in praise. Sing the older, simpler choruses. “Sing them until the Spirit of praise comes, then praise until the Spirit of worship comes, then worship until God’s glory settles on your gathering and then stand or sit in the glory.” Sister Heflin taught me that. And it works. God is seeking worshippers today not Christian rock bands or DJ’s with 1000-watt amplifiers. Loud does not drive demons away. It may even attract them. But simple worship, like the worship of Asaph and Chenaniah in 1 Chronicles 15:19-22, will bring God’s glory upon you and drive the devil nuts.

~ Pure Notes

P.S. As an update to this article...God has sovereignly met out need for a worship leader and God will do the same for you