Preparing to lead

Hi all. I recently had the priviledge to be part of the worship team leading at an event where speaker Jason Westerfield was ministering. The worship was electric and passionate with a heavy presence of God in the room. Jason shared some principles on the final night of the meetings concerning worship and how to effectively prepare ourselves for worshipping God. This information was shared with the whole congregation, around 400 people. We then entered into worship and it was an amazing time in the Lord, beyond the intensity of the previous two nights, which was already pretty high. I've shared these keys with my team here in my church and now make them available to the world :)

As with most things in the Christian life, we tend to overcomplicate things. The points outlined below are refreshingly simple. Maybe Jesus was onto something when he said we need to be child-like in our engagement with the Kingdom of God.

So, read on for some great tips in enriching your personal and corporate worship experience.

1. Envision yourself seated in heavenly places, at the right hand of God. That’s the location from where scripture teaches us we worship from. It is a place of divine favor, heavenly authority and power toward the earth. Our focus is to see heaven, where we actually are, come into the earth realm. Messes with your head? Yep, but that’s what the Word says. Set your mind on things above. Eagles don't hang out with chickens. Chickens are timid, skitish and scratch around the dirt for food. Eagles soar, are graceful, and have a broad perspective and focus on what's going on around them. They have focussed vision and pinpoint accuracy on where to expend their energy. When we function from a top-down rather than bottom-up orientation, we will be much more effective in our ability to engage with God in the spirit and see change take place in our personal lives, churches and regions.

2. Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Are there any issues that need to be resolved? If so, confess them, ask for forgiveness, receive forgiveness and get into right alignment with God. Worship is all about relationship - an individual relationship between you and God, as well as a corporate expression of relationship between a group of believers and God. Keep short accounts with people and with God. Jesus promised to be with us when we engage with people in this way. Confession removes any blockages and barriers that may exist between you, eachother and God and lightens the atmosphere by removing tensions that may exist around us.

3. Thank God. Two of the most powerful words in Christianese. Worship is an attitude of gratitude. We are to speak out of the overflow of our hearts. How full of thanks is your heart toward God? We are told to remember the Lord and forget not his benefits. Remembering his benefits and declaring them in thankfulness provides fuel for worship and praise. In praise we thank God not only for who he is, but what he has done, is doing, and is about to do. Think of ten things to thank God for right now.

4. Got any anxiety? Got any pressures or concerns that are weighing you down right now? Cast those cares upon Him. Hand them over to Jesus and ask for His burden. His yoke is easy and His burden light. He actually invites us to hand our stuff over to him. Jesus is more than willing and able to bear our burdens on our behalf. He bore the weight of the world's sin and rejection of God on his shoulders. Your bank account, your job situation, your family struggles are not big enough for him not to be able to deal with them. Hand those things over and release them into his care and oversight. A practical example I was once given is to blow those things into a balloon, tie it up and let it go. Release yourself from the weight of these issues and allow God to be your comfort, supply and provision. Seek first the Kingdom of God (see pt 1) and the cares of this world will turn strangely dim in the light of his glory, mercy and grace.

5. See pt 3.

6. Enter into some High Praise WOO HOO !!