Chapter 16 - ...To Cherish God's Presence...

"Conversations about God's presence can be confusing.  One web site I visited advertised a book that will teach you to 'sing down the presence and power of God.'  Can we actually do that?  What's the real connection between music and God's presence?" (p.137)

Kauflin points out in this chapter a lie that many Christians have bought into (and I confess that I have times where I foolishly believe it as well).  The lie resides in the title of the book that Kauflin mentioned in the above quote.  The lie is thinking that we have any kind of control over God.  I like how John Chisum put it in his book "The 5 Keys to Engaging Worship".  "We must be careful not to turn spiritual preparation into a legal transaction between us and God ('I'll prepare and You will bless').  God is never obligated to us in any way, but we are always obligated to Him."  Christians (and worship leaders in particular) often make the mistake of thinking we are the Holy Spirit and must bring God down into people's lives through our music.  But this is entirely the wrong mindset.

We learn in the Bible that God is already present everywhere (Psalms 139:7-8).  Also we know that it is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we even have the possibility of being in the presence of our Holy God.  So, us singing His presence down doesn't really make any sense.  If God is already present everywhere, then why do we feel His presence more some times than others and what is our role as a worship team?  Well, part of the answer to that is that God is God and He can choose to make His presence more known or "localized" as Kauflin calls it when and where He wants to, such as with Moses and the burning bush.  However, another part to that answer is that we often do or don't feel His presence more strongly because of our own quality of vision.  We can choose to close our eyes to God's presence and miss Him entirely even when He is wanting to work in our lives and in the lives of those around us.  But if we are prepared to worship, if we have taken time to read and study His Word, if we have asked Him to open our eyes to what He is doing, asked Him to show us what we need to learn and hear from Him, and we take the time to look and listen for what He is doing, then we will see the work that He is doing.  And that is where we step in as worship leaders for our congregation.  Our job is to do everything we can to help them open their eyes to what God is doing.  This can happen through the lyrics or music of the songs we play and sing, through the Scripture that we read, through our expressions as we show our love to God through the music we are playing and singing, through prayer (lots of it!), as well as many other things. 

However, we have to remember a couple of things as we lead the congregation.  First, as I said earlier, we are not the Holy Spirit.  Only He can move in people and bring about conviction or an awareness of His presence and each person then has to choose whether or not they will respond to that conviction or awareness.  So, even if we are doing everything the way God wants us to and we are prepared to worship and we have planned everything in a way that should lead people to open their eyes to the presence of God, it's possible that no one will respond.  That is between the Holy Spirit and each person.  We cannot choose for others and we are only responsible for our own choice to respond to the Holy Spirit.  On the flip side of the coin, even if we are not prepared, and have not planned well, the Spirit can still move and people can still respond to Him.  However, that doesn't make our role irrelevant.  We as the worship team, if we are following God's leading, can be a great help in bring people to a place where they are ready to listen to the Holy Spirit or if we are not following God we can be a great hindrance to or distraction from the Holy Spirit.  But the point is that we are each responsible for our own choices and our own response to the Spirit, we cannot force our choices upon anyone else and we cannot force God to do anything, so we should not base our view of God's movement upon the response (or lack of response) of others.

A second thing we must remember is that we cannot lead people to a place that we have not been.  If we have not prepared ourselves for worship, if we aren't praying expectantly, looking and listening for what God is doing, then how can we expect to lead others to do the same?  God has allowed each of us to have a very important role in His church and in leading His people.  Let's not treat that role flippantly or apathetically, instead let us embrace it with fervor and excitement.  Let's be filled with His Word by reading and studying the Bible.  Let's spend time praying daily, talking with God.  Let's come to our practices and services with a heart of prayer and expectancy as we look and listen for what God is doing among us, His church, that we might respond to His voice and choose to worship Him.  If we do this, I think we'll be amazed by what we see!


"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7)