Spontaneous Worship Brings Healing for Wheelchair Bound Woman

To build a strong worship ministry in any church, it’s important to lay a solid foundation first. We must understand what true worship is, where it flows from, and what it produces. Without knowing the basic principles that govern worship, our worship will never extend any higher or deeper than it does now. If we are pursuing worship without limits, then we must begin at the foundation—at the very place from where worship begins.In many churches, the standard service structure starts off with a count-down video, a time of greeting, or a great music set. While all of these things are good, none of them release God’s power or set the stage for His presence to flow in our midst. Not even a great music intro establishes the proper foundation for a powerful time in worship.So where should worship begin? John 1:1 says this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Powerful worship is established by the Word of God.

Reaching a Biblically Illiterate Generation

Because we live in a post-modern world that is biblically illiterate, the first step in laying the ground work for transformational worship is pointing people to the foundation of God’s Word for their own spiritual growth and development. When people have no understanding of even the basic principles of the Bible, leaders are saddled with an enormous responsibility to teach and preach the simple truths of God’s Word. True worship is limited when the congregation is missing its foundation in the Word, because the Bible says true worshippers must worship God “in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24 NIV). Truth is the Word of God.

When I lived in Russia, people came to our church from all kinds of different backgrounds and cultures. Not surprisingly, most of our congregation over the age of forty grew up under the communist regime of the Soviet Union. Because that system was anti-God and anti-Bible, people knew very little of God’s Word. As a result, our family had to firmly establish them in the truth of the Bible. It was critical to the success of our church to show the Russian people how they could trust God’s authority as revealed in His written Word. As part of their spiritual formation, they had to know how to read the Bible for themselves and how to apply it to their everyday lives.Thankfully, the Lord has graced my father with a tremendous teaching gift, which has equipped him well for his ministry assignment in Russia. By using his extensive knowledge of the Greek language, he takes apart every Scripture to illuminate its meaning so people can understand it and then repent in order to walk accurately in the resurrection power of Christ.While my dad’s ministry is specialized to Russian Christians, his teaching is also relevant to the American and worldwide Church as well. You can learn more about his ministry or purchase his books and teaching materials by visiting his website at renner.org. I highly recommend his materials for youth and youth pastors. Young people need more than just funny stories—they need strong teaching that will ground them in their faith. This kind of ministry is what will feed their spirits instead of entertaining their flesh.When I moved back to the United States, I found an interesting parallel between the young generation in the US and the older communist generation in Russia. Interestingly enough, the current spiritual crisis facing today’s young people in the United States is similar to that of the older Soviet generation. Sure, young people in the US may not have grown up under a communist system, but they have been inundated with a social, media, and political culture that is anti-God and anti-Bible. Sadly, most millennials don’t even know some of the most basic stories in the Bible!

According to a report in Christianity Today, Generation Y and Z are less likely to read or trust the Bible than previous generations. Other statistics have revealed that millennials are the most unchurched, least faith-identified, and least exposed to the Gospel of any generation in our nation’s history. More than half of them are described as “Bible-neutral” or “Bible-skeptical.” What they know about Christians and Christianity in general is formed from the negative slant they read on social media or hear in the news.The abysmal lack of God’s truth present in American millennials should compel every leader, pastor, and believer to uplift the standard of the Bible in our churches and worship services. This is why we have an urgent calling to speak the Word. Only God’s truth is the final authority that has the power to set people free from the bondage of sin. It is the only sure foundation! By building our worship on the Word of God, we have an opportunity to teach young people what the Bible says and to show them how to understand God’s truth.I have a passion to reach this generation because they are the future of the Church. Relevance has been the buzz word in recent years at various conferences, festivals, and events, but what impact has that had? We are at a tipping point in reaching Millennials, and only truth from God’s Word can pull this generation from darkness into light.One thing I can tell you about millennials is they crave authentic community and are open to experiencing God in a profound and supernatural way. I believe there is a huge vacuum of authentic, Spirit-filled ministry reaching out to this generation. More than ever, those of us who know God’s truth and His Spirit must rise up in this hour to minister to our own age group.I want to challenge you to answer this call to take God into your generation. Will you do it? Will you put your own agenda aside and reach out to young people both inside and outside of your church?Perhaps you are a member of a band that plays at events attended by a non-Christian crowd. You may be the only Jesus someone may see or hear in that situation. Be bold to share your testimony and what Jesus has done for you! If you’re willing to stand up for Jesus, God will open doors for you to boldly speak for Him. You may be surprised one day when someone comes up to you after a show and says, “Your music was cool, but I really related to what you said about forgiving others and myself. Are you a Christian? My mom has been praying for me since I left home, and what you said really spoke to me.” Opportunities to minister to your generation are all around if you’re willing to be used by the Lord.Having a Bible foundation is so important in our lives because people are waiting to hear the truth that sets them free. We don’t have a lack of technology or an absence of Christian music in our churches today, but we do have a lack of a biblical worldview. So much of what is presented in our churches has been reduced to entertainment with no scriptural accountability and a powerless, formulated message. We need the pure Word of the Bible preached in power and demonstrated by the fire of the Holy Spirit!

Begin Worship with the Word

Therefore, as a music leader, potential worship leader, or someone seeking your place in God’s will, one of the most critical things you can do to set the tone for a time of transformational worship is to begin by quoting the Word of God. As discussed in the previous chapter, it is your personal relationship with God’s Word that makes worship powerful. In the same manner, public worship also flows from a relationship with God’s Word. By honoring God’s Word at the very beginning of a worship service, you create an environment based on truth, established on God’s promises, and releases faith into the atmosphere.So, before you begin leading people into worship, remember to start off with Scripture. I like to call this the First Rule of Leading Worship: Start with Scripture. This can be a Scripture you’ve been meditating on during the week, a Scripture the pastor has been ministering on in recent messages, or a Scripture that relates to the songs you’ve chosen for the worship set. It may even be a Scripture the Holy Spirit drops in your heart right before service! And because you’ve been diligent to saturate yourself with the Word all week, you’ll always have a verse to share as you lead the congregation, small group, or Bible study into worship. When you do this, it creates unity among the people—and where unity exists, miracles happen and God touches hearts.When you come to service prepared with a Scripture to give at the onset of worship, you are establishing a higher perspective. People have been through all kinds of stuff during the week; but the moment you begin to speak forth the Word of God, they get their minds off their problems and focus on God. This is a moment for creating connection and unity. No matter what you, the band, or the congregation have experienced prior to this point, this is the time you all lay those distractions aside and come into faith and unity.

Of course, you can greet the people and ask them to shake hands with those around them. But people can meet and greet anytime and anywhere. What the congregation needs from you at this moment in the service is encouragement. They need to be reminded of who God is and what His Word says. If you can make this adjustment in your leadership and open up worship with the Word, people will follow you into worship much easier because their focus has been properly redirected to the Word.This practice of building worship on the foundation of the Word can be carried through the entire worship set from start to finish. For example, take advantage of a transition time from one song to another to speak a word to the people. Don’t let it be just a musical piece—let it be a time of encouragement and edification for the Body of Christ. A piano solo is beautiful, but an accompanying word or Scripture with the piano solo is much more powerful!

The Word in Spontaneous Song

Another way to prioritize the Word in worship is to make room for the Holy Spirit to bring a specific Scripture in spontaneous song. The Bible instructs us about spontaneous singing in Ephesians 5:19 (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition): “Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16 (Amplified Bible) clarifies this point even more:

Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.Often spontaneous singing may break out when the Spirit of God is moving in a specific way or is endeavoring to bring revelation along a certain truth. Whenever this happens, I suggest putting your own agenda aside, stepping out in faith, and obeying the Holy Spirit. You may never know what blessings are on the other side of your obedience!Not too long ago, I had an experience with spontaneous singing that happened in a service in my home church in Tulsa. A guest speaker was preaching about God’s resurrection power, and the Holy Spirit began to move among the people. The minister then began praying for a woman in a wheelchair. At first, she seemed to gain some healing, but she did not have the strength to walk by herself. In anticipation for her complete healing, the speaker told her to sit in a chair on the front row and to wait for a time in the service when she would spontaneously walk and be completely healed.

As the minister continued preaching, this passage from Matthew 18:18 began rolling around in my heart: “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” That Scripture became so strong in my spirit that I began to quietly sing it, increasing my volume as I sang it over and over. I thought to myself, This is disrupting the service! Finally, I got loud enough that my pastor heard it. He quickly gave me an extra mic, and I began to sing out a spontaneous song from Matthew 18:18 (KJV).The singing then turned into a cry and a declaration. As I continued with the spontaneous song, I watched the woman who was in the wheelchair on the front row get up and start running across the auditorium. It was a complete miracle!When we began singing the Word, the impossible became possible. That broken lady received her healing that day because the Word of God was sung over her. As a result of our obedience to step out in faith and sing a spontaneous song from the Word, we witnessed God bring healing, encouragement, and restoration.

Key to God’s Power

In developing your leadership as a worship minister, or even a more liberated worshipper, remember that the foundation for true worship is not music, lights, media, or presentation. Those things are great enhancements, but they are not the structural foundation for transformational worship. The only solid foundation to grow and build on is God’s Word. As you prioritize the Word in your worship—from the opening, through the musical transitions, and all the way to the end—you’ll create an unshakeable atmosphere in which the Holy Spirit can move in a dynamic way.Using Scripture in between songs and speaking out the Word as you lead is actually helping the pastor reach people. You are preparing the harvest so that the pastor can come and gather it. In using the Word, you are working as team with your pastor, which is something all pastors will very much appreciate. As a worshipper, it is your calling to praise and give God all the glory He deserves. Likewise, as a worship leader, it is your calling to help your pastor build the church through worship.Remember, the Word unifies the congregation, edifies the people, builds up faith, and releases power. It is the only foundation for worship without limits!

Prayer

Father God, I commit to change my thinking and my mindset about worship. I will not build my life or my worship on natural things, but on Your Word alone. Your Word is the only strong, unshakeable foundation for worship.  From now on, I will come to service prepared in the Word. I thank You for giving me Scriptures to share with the people during every worship service. As I saturate myself in Your Word and yield to Your Spirit, Your words will flow out of my heart, through my mouth, and edify everyone present.Lord, help me to be a great worshipper or worship leader who brings people into Your presence. As I put God’s Word first during worship, I know the focus won’t be on me or on the stage, but on You, because You are the One we worship. Jesus, I honor and love You and Your Word!I also lift up my generation to You, Lord. Help me to share the truth of God’s Word to people my own age so they can know You like I do. Raise up leaders to minister to students and young adults in a way that they can receive and understand. I thank You for a mighty harvest among my peers. We will rise up in God’s glory and power in this hour, because we’ve been called into the Kingdom for such a time as this.

In Jesus’ name, amen.