The Word and the Spirit Agree
Bob Yandian
Smith Wigglesworth said that in the last days, the Spirit and the Word would agree more than ever. He simply meant that what we have always known, that the Word does not contradict the voice of the Holy Spirit, will be better understood and practiced just before the coming of Jesus Christ.
As a pastor, some of my worst arguments and disagreements have come from those who told me the Holy Spirit told them to do something I knew was a contradiction to the written Word of God. When questioned, some have even told me they do not care what the Bible says, they know they heard from the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit Guides Believers Two Ways
When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will show you things to come (John 16:13).
The first and primary way the Holy Spirit guides God’s children is through the word of God, “He will guide you into all truth.” The truth is the word of God (John 17:17).
One man told me he prayed for guidance and all he got was scripture. That is the main way the Holy Spirit guides us as believers. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).
The second way the Holy Spirit Gives guidance is in “things” outside the word, “things to come.” The word of God can instruct you to find a job. But you need the guidance also outside the word to know which company to go to work for.
Guidance from the word can come immediately, but “things to come” will probably take some time and patience. Guidance from the word is general guidance, what is available to all from the scriptures. But direction outside the word is specific guidance just for you. Direction from the Word of God comes one way, by scripture coming to our remembrance. But specific guidance, just for us from the Holy Spirit, comes in many ways, dreams, visions, a word of knowledge, etc. (Joel 2:28).
Mary, Joseph, and Simeon
Eight days after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple to be circumcised and dedicated to the Lord. They came by instruction from the word of God. They were met in the temple by a devout man named Simeon who arrived by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now when the days of her (Mary’s) purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they (Joseph and Mary) brought Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord [Leviticus 12:2-8], every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel (Messiah), and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple (Luke 2:22-27).
It is said three times Mary and Joseph came by direction of the Word of God. It is also said three times Simeon came by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Yet, they all arrived at the same place and at the same time.
We Have All Been in the Dark at Times
Moses had just received the first tablets of the law from Mount Sinai, but there were more tablets yet to come. Between those two trips up the mountain, Moses ran into a problem not found in the word, God’s law. It would probably be contained in the next set of tablets, but how was Moses to handle it until then?
The son of a Jewish woman, whose father was an Egyptian went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Jewish woman and a man of Israel fought with each other in the camp 11 And the Jewish woman's son blasphemed the Lord's name and cursed. And they brought him to Moses (his mother's name was Shelomith, daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan). 12 And they put him in custody (in jail) until the mind of the Lord might be known to them (Leviticus 24:10-12).
A young boy fought a Jewish man, blasphemed God and cursed in front of a large group of people. It is said he had a Jewish mother and an Egyptian father. We do not know what happened to the father, but apparently the boy lived alone with his single mother. His father might have remained in Egypt. The boy might have been born out of wedlock. The mother might have been a slave to the father who birthed a child through her. Or, the father might have come out of Egypt with the mixed multitude of believing Gentiles (Exodus 12:38).
Moses was placed in a new situation with a young boy who was in a public fight, blasphemed the Lord and cursed. But no law had been given regarding his actions. So, Moses put the boy in a jail cell until he knew from the Lord what to do. If a situation arises in your life and ministry for which the Word of God has nothing to say, you must, like Moses, wait patiently for the mind of the Lord. We all need a jail cell to put unanswered problems into until we know what to do.
Moses Was Probably Pressured to Make a Decision
The young boy must have cried out to Moses each day through the bars of his cell. “I am sorry. I should not have cursed and blasphemed. My mother needs me and why can’t you just make a decision and let me go?”
The boy’s mother probably came by each day and asked that her son be let out to help with chores at the house. “This is my fault. As a mother I should have raised him better, but I have done as well as I could since I am single. Moses, make a decision and let him out.”
The elders were probably being pressured by other parents to make a decision quickly and let the boy out. It was setting a difficult precedent for the other young boys who were his friends. And finally, the boy’s friends were probably coming by each day to speak to him in prison and asking Moses why their friend was being left in jail for such a frivolous crime. But the boy had done this in front of a large group of people and Moses wanted to solve this issue God’s way.
How Often Have You Acted Quickly and Missed God?
My greatest ministry and personal mistakes have come from acting too quickly. When you don't have an answer, you need to lock your problems away until you know what to do. Satan and people will say to act now, or you will miss God. But God gives you plenty of time to know His will and then even more time to confirm it. What is not written has to be waited on for the voice of the Holy Spirit. When the answer comes, it will bring peace with it and will not contradict the Word of God.
Waiting on the Lord for Answers Produces Character
Wait on the Lord: be encouraged, and He will strengthen your heart, wait, I say, on the Lord (Psalms 27:14). And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience (Romans 5:3). The testing of your faith produces patience (James 1:3).
We are like the children in the back seat, “are we there yet?” We are only interested in the destination, the answer to our dilemma. God is more interested in the trip.
Pray Even After a Multitude Gives Their Opinion
In Acts 6:2-7 the congregation presented seven men they had chosen to fill the position of deacons to take care of the widows in the Jerusalem church. Yet, even after the people unanimously chose these seven men, the church leaders prayed before making the final pronouncement. God does not lead through groups, but to individuals by the Holy Spirit. A unanimous decision does not guarantee the will of God. Take time to pray and confirm the voice of the Lord.
