Living in Front of the Wave (Follower – Part 2, Chapter 6)

A church leadership team that had experienced an extremely difficult situation in their church, and had lost a lot of people as a result, asked Bill Johnson what they should do about it. His response was liberating. He said, “all you need is one – find the one whom the Holy Spirit is touching and invest in that person, and God will build the fire and grow the community…” there was such encouragement released in that statement to all of us present.

The same applies to our worship and also to every facet of church life. In the case of worship, the songs we sing need to be by people who are themselves in front of the wave (by both leaders and led) – in other words, those who have been set free and are walking in the new covenant life; who are familiar with the Holy Spirit; and who have been revived by Jesus to become great followers!

Those who have been genuinely touched by the Lord are different. They are the best evangelists because they are fearless; full of encouragement; and full of joy – they radiate His love. The old covenant of judgment has been broken from them. Jesus is their propitiation. Their burdens have been cast off, and they have taken on Jesus’ burden, which is easy and light…

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness, but He came out 40 days later full of the power of the Spirit! This same Jesus is now in us, and we are in Him. We carry that same anointing that raised him from the dead. From in Him we move in a power that is stronger than what Elijah moved in, since there is no name greater than Jesus.’ He will raise the dead as we walk; He will bring sight to the blind; and hearing to the deaf.

Such a company of released Holy fire believers will not need to push others forward, to force anything, or anyone, or to rush at anything. They are at rest. Their worship will reflect that rest. The King of Kings fights their battles!

Living in front of the wave can be described as a wave rider riding a wave as it rises under his board. Many natural board riders live to experience the thrill, the power, and the ease with which they are propelled forward by the motion of a wave. Keeping in step with the Holy Spirit is like that. It is the most exhilarating thing that a believer can do. It is a place of anticipation and of great expectation. It is a place where God’s miraculous deeds are witnessed often, and God’s stunning love is seen at work everyday and in every way.

As this story about the making of great followers draws to a close, the example of worship might explain how born again believers prepare to live out the full benefit of a transformed life in revival. Revival worship is a Godly fire that is first fed in a person’s personal walk with God. What is built in the personal then spills out into the public place, through telephone calls and emails, through conversations and encounters, through reaching out, and through the journey of enjoying to walk together with what the Lord is doing! To those that Love God, every word can be a ‘song’ of sorts, and music to God’s ears! Paul writes, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,” Worship is the language of love between God and us that facilitates prayer, preaching, preparation, partnership, participation, prophecy, praise, and God’s power! True revival thus begins in us first, and not in a public meeting!

That said, in a meeting context:

1. The worship leadership team does not overpower the people.
2. The worship leadership team is not afraid of repetition, as long as the anointing is flowing, and people are being drawn into the Lord’s presence.
3. The choice of songs makes it easy to be released into God’s arms, to be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and to tune into God, such as, slower songs; songs with easy words; and songs that honor Jesus.
4. The language of revival songs is not full of concepts of old covenant thinking. They do not promote conditional grace, or benefits that come from God as a result of our effort to be pure, or righteous etc.
5. The words in their songs use the language of revival. Here are some examples:
a. “Take the world, and give me You”
b. “Saturate us Lord”
c. “Baptize us with the Holy Spirit”
d. “Baptize us with fire” – Jesus Himself said, “I have come to bring fire on earth, how I wish it was already kindled” Luke 12:49
e. “I give myself to you”
f. “Light a fire in us, Lord”
g. “Burn in us”
h. “Teach us to live in your presence”
i. “We don’t want to settle for yesterday’s glory”
j. “Unveil for us what the secret place is”
k. “I want to gaze at you Lord, I want to feast my eyes on you”

6. Revival worshippers do not worship for what they can get out of it, but because they are hungry for God. They do not just come into the presence, but come out of it carrying the glory…
7. Revival worshippers have a mindset of adjustment – they align themselves to wherever the Holy Spirit positions himself…
8. Revival worshippers are large of Spirit, gentle of hand, and generous of heart…
9. What revival worshippers have soaked up, God squeezes out over the nations… Yahoo! God says “they stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land…” (Ezekiel 22:30)
10. The songs rarely address God or Jesus in the third person. In other words, they shepherd a present moment-by-moment relationship with Jesus. They celebrate that relationship with every word. They cannot tolerate procedures and processes, even the process of writing a good song from outside the arm of Jesus. It is clear that life, for them, has no meaning without Jesus, and they cannot countenance even good or ‘holy’ or ‘righteous’ behavior outside of that relationship. They care for nothing outside of that relationship; they have no desire to function, even in a talent or gift, outside of that relationship.
11. Revival worship breaks the fear of man. It has no fear. It does not bow its knee to the person who wrote the song. It is not fearful to change the rhythms of any song, nor its pace. When worshipers connect with God, they are not afraid to pause. “NO FEAR” is written all over them – their Jesus is not meek and mild. The Lord has broken a Spirit of timidity in them. The key to the power of God in them is adoration!
12. When the people are not where the worship leadership team is, the latter start with where the fire is. They do not pander to where the people are at – they do not fear man, or worship to please man.
13. Revival worship leaders instinctively know to stay away from songs that are behind the wave, and also when to bring in old songs that will help the people to run in front of the wave.
14. Revival worship leaders listen to the Holy Spirit first, then their team, then look to see what He is doing among the people. They look to see what the Holy Spirit is doing all the time, and serve him first – they are devoted to Him. If he says be silent in the middle of a song, they are. If He says stop the instruments and continue to sing, they do. If he says just hum, they do. I witnessed a miraculous transformation of people in a meeting once when Heather Clarke simply started humming under the anointing. The fire of God broke out in such a way that healings were released, and lives were changed. Likewise, the people do not look to the worship leaders, or to their talents, but to God!
15. Revival worship leaders have learnt to let go of their vocal chords, and of their instruments in a private place with the Lord, so that it is easier to do the same under the lights.
16. Revival worship is sometimes more easily facilitated by worship leaders using electronic equipment such as the electric piano and electric guitars (this may not be a popular suggestion – it is only my personal opinion, and does not preclude the incredible power that can be released by the anointed through any instrument whatsoever). It is however, in my opinion, easier to administer to what the Holy Spirit wants done when the atmosphere of heavenly sound is released outward by the right instruments. This is perhaps why Elisha specifically asked for “a harpist” (2 Kings 3) – it facilitates continuous heavenly sounds… or why also continuous shouts and songs of God’s people together is so effective in warfare (Acts 4, Ezra 3, 2 Chronicles 20)
17. Revival worship is not afraid to improvise. It always follows the Holy Spirit, and not programs and procedures.
18. Revival worshippers receive their songs from inside Jesus’ arms. The songs they sing are to Him. They cannot contain themselves. Their love for Him is palpable. It spills out. It is contagious. It sets people free from fear; from sin, from the past, and from religion (See for example the songs written by: Kim Walker, Roy Shields, Heather Clarke, Courtney Clarke, Brian Johnson, Melissa Wise, and Chris Quilala).
19. Revival worshippers know that a good heart, and an anointing from God, is more important criteria than a right song.
20. Revival Worship leaders do not expend their energy trying to get the people to where God wants them, they are already where God wants them, and their attractiveness in the Holy Spirit will draw others into the same fire. They minister first to the Lord.
21. When revival worship leaders pick up their instruments, they are already listening to the wind of the Holy Spirit. Songs or programs do not rule such people. They do not sing songs for the sake of singing them. There is a clear sense that the Holy Spirit is leading. A practical help to worshipers in this process is not to be afraid, to lift their face during worship and to listen singularly to where the wind of the Holy Spirit is… all those being touched by the Holy Spirit will “rustle” like leaves in the wind…
22. Revival worship leaders are in no rush… they are not afraid to linger… they do not lead the people, the Holy Spirit does… the sense is not that they are now singing a song, but that they are yielding to the lord’s leading – they pull the anointing down
23. Revival worshippers can be both wild and surrendered
24. Revival worship leaders are not always swimming in someone else’s worship field – they can enjoy those juicy grapes, but they need to be producing their own as well. Songs that grow from our own tilled fields encourage the most, since they result from our own responses to God – they are the testimonies of God’s grace to each one!

We are privileged to be walking in Him together. There is a fountain and a reservoir that has been mined by his love in each of us, that is ready to sprout and to nourish and refresh the nations, the broken, the lost, our communities, and our friendships. His breath brings instant resurrection life. I was alone on the slopes of Castle Cragg in California recently, and suddenly shouted, “Spirit of death I’m coming after you from inside Jesus’ arms.” A few moments later I found a dead “Admiral” butterfly cupped in a water lily. I took it in my hands and began walking. That is when I heard God say to me, “There is a butterfly in every person waiting to be released Loys.” So I prayed, “Lord, raise up the butterflies to fly.” The power of God hit me, and I fell into the undergrowth, and began to sob and to sob. When I eventually got up, the atmosphere in the forest had completely changed, even the sounds and colors were different.

What will hold back those whose souls he has blasted with his love? We can no longer look at anyone in the same way, the lost, and even our enemies. The fear of man has been broken over those who have tasted of heavenly treasure. They cannot be kept silent. There is nothing in this world that will hold them back.

These runners are coming out in this day. Even the day of trouble will fail to rob them of their peace, for they have tasted of the Divine. They are a company who believe in His promises. The ground they stand on is sure, and unshakable, because it is the foundation laid in Jesus Christ! Their stunning beauty invokes a good envy for the pursuit! These are sons and daughters that, when the breakthrough comes, have learnt to carry their instruments, or their talents and voices through the breakthrough in wild surrender… there’s none of them in it! There’s no stopping them! They pull the lost from hellish lives with their songs, their dances, their words… they have all they need – they have Jesus! Lost in their past is the illusion of control, which has been long swallowed up by intimacy. It is the father’s good pleasure to give them the kingdom. Why would they not be delighted to stay in front of the wave?

Bless you all. Loys