Before worship leaders touch a mic or sing a note, they must ready themselves for the time of ministry. If not, it could be detrimental to the people they are assigned to. This post is sort of a continuation of the first on #Worship where I really want to stress that the hearts of worship leaders must be pleasing to God.
While I was preparing myself to lead worship this past Sunday, the Lord gave me a visual of a clear glass tube that had dirt on the inside of it. I saw water begin to flow through the tube. As the water kept flowing, the inside of the tube became clean. I interpreted this as: We must allow God to flow through us and clean us before we minister. Water symbolizes purity and cleanliness. We must be pure and clean before we minister.
One of my favorite Psalms to read is Psalms 51. Verse 10 of this Psalm says, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (KJV). As worship leaders this should be part of our prayer; that He would create a clean heart in us so the condition of our heart won't hinder the people from seeing God. Psalms 24: 3-4 KJV says, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up His soul in vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." If you want to take your worship service to another level authentically( not just by saying church cliches that you know people will shout of off) you must make sure your hands are clean and your heart is pure. True self-examination is required. Do you have unforgiveness in your heart? Do you have hate in your heart? Have you hurt someone with your words or actions? You must get those things right before the Lord and with others before ministering.
Psalms 139:23-24 says "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." This is another one of my favorite scriptures. When I know (and even when I don't realize) I’ve done wrong, my heart becomes convicted. I believe that’s God pointing out what's offending Him or what is not like Him. Leading us in the "way everlasting" looks like Him showing us a better way to handle or respond to things. It looks like Him guiding our interactions with people. It looks like Him teaching us what is pleasing to Him.
Before grabbing the mic again, please check your heart. Let God search your heart and clean you up! Realize that there are people assigned to you and they need you to be right. Their lives may literally depend on you having clean hands, a pure heart, and a right spirit.
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