James' Law of Two Springs

People were telling me that someone I know is really anointed for worship. They say that he would break out into prophetic songs in the midst of worship and those who hear it are edified. "Wouldn't it be great if the two of you can combine your gifting and work together? Wonder-Twins activated!" (Reference to a kid's TV show from a long time ago)

No.

Given the choice I will not want to minister in worship with this person. Why? Because he violates what I call James' Law of Two Springs.

James 3:9-11 (NIV) With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Simply put, James' Law tells us we should not be one of those who praise God and verbally abuse or criticise other people. And because I have spent considerable amounts of time with that supposedly anointed guy, I know him to be such a person. He is the kind of person who would sing out loud, be very demonstrative and expressive in worship, and yet within hours after the service be complaining about his spouse or verbally abusing and threatening his kids.

Of course you would not know these things about a person just from casual acquaintance. But as time goes by a person's true colours are revealed. One of his closest friends from church (not me) confronted him over how he always managed to find something wrong in every situation, instead of looking for whatever he could thank God for (1 Thes 5:18). And within weeks of that confrontation this person was talking about wanting to change church because the worship leaders and the worship musicians were not doing a good job during worship.

Yeah, right.

Am I being too strict over this? I don't think so. Jesus said that all these are symptoms of an underlying problem, a defiled heart.

Matt 15:18 (NIV) - But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'

Especially when it comes to encountering God in worship, this is crucial. Consider Isaiah's encounter with God, recorded for us in Isaiah 6.

Isaiah 6:5 (NIV) - "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

When Isaiah received a vision of the LORD seated on his throne and the angels worshipping him, the first area of his life that troubled his conscience was his lips. This strongly suggests to me that we cannot meet God face-to-face in worship without his holiness challenging us in the area of our speech.

Someone can sing out loud, break into spontaneous worship (which really impresses charismatics, I noticed) and yet not truly meet God face-to-face in worship. How will I know? I listen to such a person's words in day-to-day life. As long as I can see two springs of water, fresh and salty, where there should not be, I know this person hasn't fully met the Lord in worship yet.

Isaiah 6, by the way, explains the two opposite reactions people may have after an intense time of worship. Some people talk, it seems as if their lips are loosed and they start speaking of godly things a lot more. This is not surprising, as the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev 19:10). As they testified of Jesus in worship, the Spirit of prophecy came upon them.

Other people, I noticed, just fall silent. It's as if they do not want to defile the holy atmosphere around them with their worldly words. Suddenly they have no need to speak, and it seems as if their souls have entered the quietness and rest of God (Isa 30:15).

The practical aspect of things:

If you are leading your worship team, especially the singers and the worship leaders, I highly recommend that you do not accept anyone on your team if he or she does not consistently follow James' Law of Two Springs.

If you have gone through my teaching materials you should know me by now. I don't talk very much about the spiritual side of worship, about the heart of worship and all that kind of stuff. Why? Because I have seen people major on all the intangible stuff because they don't have anything to share or impart about the tangible aspects of worship ministry. That's not my role in the Body of Christ.

But James' Law of Two Springs is the ONE thing I will teach and emphasize on when it comes to the intangible aspects of worship ministry. In my 14-15 years in the worship ministry, I would say that this is one of the most important aspects of a worshipper's personal life, and it has a direct spiritual correlation on this person's spiritual effectiveness (or otherwise) in the worship ministry.

Now what if YOU are violating James' Two Stream Law?
You need to get out of it. There are three steps:

1. Prayer – My own personal testimony: when I was 17 years old I was at a youth camp and the pastor shared about specially seeking out the people who get put down and showing God's kindness to them. As he shared I suddenly realized that I myself was one who would go around putting others down. So after that sharing I asked that pastor to pray for me.

And he did. He prayed that I would let go of all the hurts I received before and walk in forgiveness. After that time I found that I suddenly lost the drive to get in the last word, to dig an insult further in, and to make other people pay for all the pain I went through before. That cleaned up my speech very quickly!

So you pray also. Find some spiritual leader such as your pastor to pray for you. There is power that comes from humbling yourself in prayer and seeking God for him to rein in your tongue.

2. Scripture – Replace unedifying thoughts and speech with the Word of God.

Colossians 3:15-16 (NIV) – Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

3. Worship – In this I am not referring to serving in the worship ministry, but simply singing praises to God, both as part of a congregation and by yourself. Remember Isaiah 6? When Isaiah saw the Lord and realized the sinfulness of his speech, immediately he received atonement for his sin.

The more we faithfully and consistently offer praises onto God, the more opportunity we give God to meet with us and change us, and at a more gradual and comfortable pace than Saul had when he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Many charismatics I've met seem to prefer the sudden God-turns-up-and-zaps-me kind of transformation. That sudden encounter worked for changing Saul on the road to Damascus, but it was certainly very uncomfortable! I'd rather live in submission to God and avoid such drastic measures.

Conclusion

Many people in church circles despise the power of a reined tongue. They make light of it by saying things like "He can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk?" By this they imply that it is easier to say the right things than to do them. And then they think that because they do the right churchy kind of things, they need not watch their words.

James 1:26 (NIV) - If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

I have been touched by God in this area of my life. I know that my words, even when they offend, are not spoken out of malice or resentment. So I tell you: It can be done. God really wants to be there for you, to change your heart and purify the speech that arises from your lips. And when he has done his work you'll find that life is a lot better, your heart is a lot lighter and your praises to God feel a lot more powerful.

In other words, tap into the power of the One Spring!