Ask the Pastor: Does the Holy Spirit Talk to My Wife?

Q: Does the Holy Spirit talk to my wife? She claims that the Holy Spirit tells her things like to turn left instead of right and so forth.

A: This "ask the Pastor" began to be answered in person, with reference to how God speaks clearly when He speaks (Deut 29:29), and that the "speaking" ministry of the Holy Spirit was a completion of the speaking ministry of Jesus Christ to the apostles (John 16:12-15). I also recommended that he listen to the "Strange Fire" conference talks, put on by Grace to You a few years ago...



The following was the completion/follow-up to that conversation:

Hi D----,

Here's a link to the "Strange Fire" conference talks. https://www.gty.org/Resources/strangefire/messages.

The conference got its name from the offering of Nadab and Abihu, which seemed spiritual but yet was not actually from the Lord.

It is a biblical, historical, and practical examination of the contemporary charismatic movement that comes from a pastoral love for the protection, peace, and prosperity of God's people in Christ.

Maybe you can give it a listen. The "A Deeper Healing" talk, from Joni Eareckson Tada, is particularly moving.

The passages to which I referred earlier are Deut 29:29 and John 16:12-15.

To these I would add Deut 30:11-14 (and, really, from 29:29 through the end of ch30). Yahweh, God of Israel, is showing how great His love is to His people by making it uncomplicated for them to walk with Him. They do not have to, like the pagans do, constantly 'divine' what will please their fickle deity at one moment or another.

Like a good husband, our Perfect Husband has been a good communicator. He has spelled out clearly, in black and white, exactly what He wants and exactly what He says. We do not have to perform great feats (go up to heaven or down into the abyss). We simply have to "trust and obey."

Undoubtedly, since we would never move our own hearts to something that is righteous, every good and godly impulse of the believer can be attributed to "the Holy Spirit moved me." Of course He still moves His people. Hallelujah!

But this is very different than "the Holy Spirit said to me" which is not only dangerous, but also truly dishonoring to God, who has completely given us all of His verbal revelation.

So, when we think that the Holy Spirit is moving us, we can test that thought by referring to Scripture truth, and practicing godly wisdom. Godly wisdom will include: (a) following Scripture principles in connection with what is being decided, (b) following the Scripture principle of submitting to legitimate authority, (c) following the Scripture principle of seeking and heeding good and godly counsel.

Of course, the issue of how to respond to your wife in a way that is truly loving and helpful is beyond the scope of this note!

Love you and enjoy chatting with you,

Pastor

===

Do you have a question that you would like answered for yourself or someone else? Others probably have the same question. "Ask the pastor" at jhakim_at_gmail_dot_com. I'll do my best to answer here on the blog.