This is a great question, and on the surface, it seems as if the answer should be a simple, “yes.” However, since what God’s Word teaches is greater than our opinion, let’s review some issues as we develop an answer.
The assumption for the above statement is a desire to worship. There are numerous passages and examples in Scripture, like the commands to praise in the Psalms. If we look at the word for worship in both the Old and New Testaments, the basic idea is bowing down in reverence. [I would encourage all to do a word study, but that is beyond the purpose of this.] Perhaps the most well-known example is that of Isaiah [chapter 6], in which God reveals Himself as holy [literally three-times holy, which was saying “holiest,” or most holy]. God has taken the initiative in that He was already in the temple before Isaiah had the vision. Immediately, the prophet sees himself as God sees him, and he confesses his sin, [individually and corporately], and is forgiven. The coal touching his lips was not only symbolic of God’s forgiveness, but preparation for his speaking for God. Verse 8 begins with the phrase, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying...” It wasn’t until He had seen God and His character, confessed his sins, and received forgiveness that he was able to hear God’s voice. Upon hearing God, “Who will go, whom shall I send?” Isaiah responds in obedience: “Here am I, send me!” Worship has in its components God revealing Himself, a recognition of His nature and character, a recognition of sinful self, confession and forgiveness, listening to God, and responding in obedience.
Another important passage about worship comes from the lips of Jesus Himself, when talking to the woman at the well. In the conversation, she focuses on Jews worshiping in Jerusalem, but Samaritans worshiping on this mountain. Jesus’ response was clear:
“believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
Much has been written about this passage, and I would encourage study of it. I will just summarize in this way: Jesus was teaching that worshiping God is not about a place, but a person. God is Spirit, and to worship Him rightly must be done in spirit and truth, that is, His nature and character. Not only this, but God actually seeks those kinds of worshipers.
When we surrendered our lives to Christ and His redemption, Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit began to indwell our lives; we are “filled with the Spirit.” We do not get “more of the Spirit” as we grow in Christ, but the Spirit gets more control and direction of our decisions as we daily surrender to His leadership. Perhaps another aspect of worshiping in Spirit and truth is surrendering our desires and the leadership of our lives to the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” [John 16:13] Truth, here is God’s will and direction. Truth is always consistent with the nature and character of God, purity, love, kindness, and holiness. So in worship, God takes the initiative to reveal Himself through His Word and His Spirit, giving us a glimpse of His nature and character.
Let’s pull this together to apply to the original question: As worship leaders, is it our responsibility to lead people into the presence of the Holy Spirit? First, since God’s Holy Spirit is already present in each believer, this is a misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. In a similar vein, we do not “ask the Spirit to come to our worship," because He already there. Second, it is the role of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin. Believers who come to worship with unconfessed sin in their lives must open their hearts to confess their sins and thank God for the forgiveness He offers. Third, since the Holy Spirit is already in the lives of each believer, and the Holy Spirit is convicting of sin, we must not confuse the role of the worship leader with the role of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin and guides in all truth and glorifies Jesus.
The
responsibility of the worship leader is to be a clean vessel that is able to be
used by the Holy Spirit. Paul gives us direction in Colossians 3:16: “Let
the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one
another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit,
singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” All the music we use should
be putting the Word of God and its truth in our hearts and on our lips, leading
to praise and thanks to God. Manipulation is when we attempt to take on the
role of the Holy Spirit, rather than allow the Spirit to work as He desires. We
must first deal with any sin in our own lives and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to prepare to share the music in the best way we can. The measure of the
depth of our worship is not by the depth of emotional response, but obedience
to God’s will and Word.
