A word of encouragement from Tony Crombie
In Exodus 25, we find the description of the lampstand that is to go in the tabernacle. It was a solid piece of gold that was hand-hammered into a gigantic lampstand. The only source of light in the holy place was that lampstand—which was only 1 of 3 pieces of furniture in the holy place. The lampstand represented the light of God, the presence, the fire. The flame was continually burning. The lampstand had to be attended to twice a day—the lamp had to be filled with new oil, and the burnt wick had to be trimmed or it would create smoke and wouldn’t burn as brightly. It was the high priest who attended to the lamp, and it was a privilege to do so. Jesus is our high priest. God wants us every day to be filled with fresh oil. As worship leaders, we can confuse fresh oil with fresh songs. We aren’t just searching for fresh songs, but—most importantly—we want fresh oil, and that can only come from our high priest, Jesus Christ. As worship leaders, we need to think pastorally. There are people in our congregation who are poured out, empty. We need to make a way for the heavenly high priest (Jesus) to pour out fresh oil and to cut back the things that are burnt/dead. We need Jesus to come in and cut off the stuff that is fleshly, the stuff that is no good to what He wants to do in us. If you don’t trim off the stuff that is useless in the presence of God, you are just making smoke. As worship leaders, we don’t want to get up before the congregation and make smoke; but rather, we want to burn brightly. When we come to God, we should come filled and trimmed. It’s Christ’s great privilege to fill us up, to prune us, to make us more effective. And it’s our privilege, as worship leaders, to create an atmosphere where His spirit can move.