Change the Focus
In recent worship services at our church we have been experiencing an awesome move of God. The congregation has been so open to worshipping. Our worship team prays for this to happen in our rehearsal times and each time before we minister during our weekly services. However, I began to really see something different. I opened my eyes and really LOOKED at the congregation, and what I saw was so incredible.
I was looking at the hearts of people who are truly hungry for the Lord. Not the usual, "I'm here at church because it's the thing to do on Sunday", but a deep calling for God. I saw from the front to the back that the people wanted the presence of God to be in the place. It was something I had never really focused on before. As a worship leader, we usually focus on the flow of the service, and whether people are singing the songs and being touched, but never had I focused on what was happening inside. I found there is indeed a difference. Maybe it was always there, but this particular Sunday I saw it with such clarity.
Usually, I will see people in different positions of worship, but this was a cry for a move of God like never before. Maybe the events that have been taking place over the past year have shaken us. Maybe the understanding of the call placed on us has finally hit and become true rhema. Maybe it is the fact that we have truly fallen in love with God, again, for the first time. Whatever the reason may be it has caused me to change my prayer for our church.
My new desire is that the fire that burns within the souls of men and women continue to remain hot. Like the burning bush that God used in Exodus 3 to catapult Moses into ministry, may that be our signal to go and fulfill the call of God upon our lives. I noticed as I reread the passage that God told Moses to go to free the Israelites and also said,
"Then God told him, I will be with you. And this will serve as proof that I have sent you: When you have brought the Israelites out of Egypt, you will return here to worship God at this very mountain." (Exodus 3:12)
God brings us back to our point of origin to remind us of His promise. There is nothing like a promise from God. His desire is to work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. When we really surrender everything to God, we open ourselves to God in a way that surpasses our understanding.
Look at your congregation, what you see may surprise you.
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This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.