Category: The Holy Spirit

Can We Expect a Special Whisper from the Holy Ghost?

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit2 Comments

With apologies for an exceptionally long post…

I have argued that the quest for a “special whisper” from the Holy Spirit amounts to a search for further revelation. God’s Word is sufficient. The Holy Spirit works through the Word and through wisdom acquired from the Word to lead us in our decisions. And so, while God may direct us in extraordinary ways, we shouldn’t expect this. After all, extra ordinary isn’t ordinary.

Nonetheless, I have had a few questions about Bible verses suggesting that the Holy Spirit will give a tangible word of guidance in the more critical decisions. I promised to take time with these passages, so here goes.

Here are some specific questions I have been asked:

(from Missionary Matt Northcutt) What do you do with passages that seem to indicate that God does, indeed, give peace as an arbiter as we follow Him in faith (such as Is. 26:3, Phil. 4:6-7, and Col. 3:15)?

Continue reading “Can We Expect a Special Whisper from the Holy Ghost?” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths, Part 4

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit4 Comments

In three posts, I have sought to establish from the Bible that God does guide us, that we are taught to trust Him to guide us, and that we shouldn’t look for tangible signs of His leading. But does that mean God never gives us what I have called a “special whisper” or some token of His leading?

I do not say this. I say that we shouldn’t look for it, that we should trust God to lead us in the absence of any kind of sensational guidance. But I have had some experiences in my own life that could only have been the Lord. My experiences are not authoritative but are very real and meaningful to me. Let me share three of them and then get down to the brass tacks of how God communicates His will for our lives.

Photo by Matthew Montrone on Pexels.com

I was in my fourth year of ministry as an Assistant Pastor at Berean when God began to work on me about becoming a pastor. I did not realize that God was the one at work until the very end of that period of wrestling. Initially, I thought my desire to pastor was a pride issue, as if I presumed on this calling. Ultimately, God helped me see that He was calling me into this ministry. Within a few weeks of surrendering to this call, I met with my pastor to discuss it with him. Though God’s dealing in my heart was very real to me, I came to that meeting believing that God’s call would be confirmed or denied when I told my pastor. To my surprise (and horror), he said to me that he had been praying for this very thing for some time and that he was praying that God would make me the pastor at Berean. After I got past that shock, I met with him again about a week later, and he repeated this desire. A month later, on a fateful September evening, we received word that my pastor had tragically drowned. In the moment when I received word of his death, I had a very concrete thought that has never left me: “This is what I have been preparing you for.” I didn’t (and don’t) believe that experience was authoritative. I didn’t tell the church or anyone besides my wife. When the church formed a pulpit committee and began the search for a new pastor, I offered no hint of these phenomenal words of guidance. I waited for the church to ask me to be the candidate. When they asked, I said nothing about what our former pastor had said, and I said nothing about what I believed the Lord said to me. If these thoughts came from the Lord, I knew the church would vote me in as the next pastor. If they were merely voices in my head, the church would decline. When they took the vote, it was confirmed to me that this was, in fact, from the Lord.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, Part 4” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 3

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Hot Topics, Independent Baptists, The Holy Spirit1 Comment

You might wish God would communicate every step you should take each day. Anytime you had choices, God would telegraph His will for that decision. God would make His choice known if you had to decide between McDonald’s and Denny’s, pick between mowing the lawn or washing the car, or take the job at the bank or the local flour mill. Such a deal!

Now, you might be thinking that this would be wonderful. You would never make a wrong choice again. You would immediately know God’s first choice in a spouse, in a job, in a house, in a car, in a church, and so on down the line. This plan, it would seem, would be the very best way to keep all God’s children in line.

So, why doesn’t God provide us with a CPS – the celestial version of a GPS? First, we have to say that since God doesn’t equip each of us with our own personal ephod, it must be contrary to His will to give us this kind of direction for our every decision. In fact, such micro-direction wouldn’t help us grow into maturity or measure up to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13-15). Divine micro-managing would keep us in a perpetual childhood, which must be contrary to God’s will.

Photo by Sami Aksu on Pexels.com

You might object that nobody wants this kind of guidance for every little inconsequential decision. We only need God’s clear direction for the major decisions we have to make. And that is fair enough. Of course, we don’t always know when a decision qualifies as “major.” Some decisions would obviously count, like choosing a life’s partner or a life’s calling. But major decisions sometimes sneak up on us. Without recognizing the significance of the decision, we take a step and then learn, to our horror, that we can’t walk it back. The guy who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident didn’t know what a fateful decision he made when he chose to go riding that day.

Continue reading “He Shall Direct Thy Paths, part 3” →

He Shall Direct Thy Paths

On By Dave MallinakIn Cessationism, Continuationism, Independent Baptists, Preaching and Teaching, The Holy Spirit8 Comments

My article series on things I wish would change among Independent Baptists provoked a fair amount of discussion and raised more than a few questions. In particular, the article on “Holy Spirit Kookery” gave a little heartburn to a few readers. As one commenter asked,

How would a man know if he is called to preach if God does not lead him through the Spirit?

How could I have perfect peace that my wife was God’s choice for me if He did not impress this upon me by His Spirit?

As I have committed to answering these and similar questions, I invite you to hop aboard, buckle up, and keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. The question, as I see it, is not whether the Holy Spirit directs us, but how, and how do we know He is the one leading us and not just our baser impulses or (worse yet) an evil spirit back of those voices in my head.  

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More of What I Wish Would Change Among Independent Baptists

On By Dave MallinakIn Independent Baptists, Issues Facing the Church, Pastors, Preaching and Teaching, The Holy Spirit5 Comments

Full disclosure: I struggle with much of what I see in Independent Baptist churches. I try not to be cranky or curmudgeonly, but some things in our tradition drive me crazy. I’m not leaving, and I’m not ungrateful for my heritage. I’ve been an Independent Baptist for over 40 years, since around 1980. I’m not leaving, recovering, reforming, or trashing the trailer park. But much of what I see in our movement is unbiblical. 

For the most part, I can control where I fellowship, one of the more appreciated parts of being an Independent Baptist. I am in Utah, so I get left alone (or ignored), and I’m good with that too. When I am on vacation, let’s say I am very selective about the kind of church I will take my family to visit. And even with my careful research into churches, we have rarely visited an Independent Baptist Church on vacation that we enjoyed. That might be too candid for some, but it is the honest truth. Independent Baptists smirk at expository preaching – it’s too “intellectual” for them. They don’t place a high value on the words of God – despite their nearly rabid commitment to the King James. I find it ironic, in fact, that so many make a big deal about the form of the words and place so little emphasis on the words themselves. 

I’m now in my fifties – not an old man, but no longer young. I’ve been committed to our movement and have publicly defended it. I’ve let myself be tagged as “one of them.”  So, I’m not here trying to make a name for myself by trashing the IFB, and I’m not trying to run a ghetto parade, looting all the stores on Mainstreet, IFB. At this stage in my ministry, candor is appropriate and necessary. I’m not asking anyone to like what I am saying. My ministry hasn’t been built on good-ole-boys style glad-handing. If I have a reputation for anything, it is bluntness, an appropriate gift for the present moment.

My first post covered two things I wish would change among Independent Baptist Churches. Here are two more of the ten on my list. 

Holy Ghost kook-ery

I’m no fan of the “Bapti-costal” tag. Mainly because I don’t see charismatic theology in the Bible anywhere. And I do mean “anywhere.”  Looking for Pentecostalism in the Bible is like looking for fire at the bottom of the ocean – if you find it there, you should swim away fast – like in shark-is-chasing-you fast. 

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Unscriptural Expectations Keep Us from Enjoying God

On By Dave MallinakIn Enjoying God, Joy, The Holy Spirit

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (Psalm 37:4)

The gross and pervasive abuse of this text has opened up the floodgates of the prosperity gospel – the health, wealth, and happiness gospel. I blame our inability to enjoy God on the unhealthy and unscriptural expectations that have grown out of its misuse.

Because many Christians neglect sound doctrine, we have become susceptible to abuses like this.  When the Bible is misused, when it is used to promote a “name it and claim it” kind of theology, weak Christians with a covetous heart are immediately sucked in.  And frankly, it can be tough to refute the logic of the prosperity preachers.  Because on the surface, the Bible does seem to teach the “name-it-and-claim-it” philosophy.

Continue reading “Unscriptural Expectations Keep Us from Enjoying God” →

Sin Keeps Us from Enjoying God

On By Dave MallinakIn Enjoying God, Gospel Conversations, Joy, The Holy Spirit2 Comments

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Genesis 3:7-10)

Far too often, Christians do not enjoy God.  They believe in the Lord.  They are active in church.  In many cases, their life revolves around church.  But they do not enjoy God.  For too many Christians, the life of faith is cloudy and dismal, the duties are heavy and the rewards are light, and the Christian walk is more burden than blessing. We are afraid of God, afraid of messing up, afraid that we are a disappointment to God. We go through the motions of the Christian life. We approach our calling in Christ as if it were a job chart with no reward other than the fire escape at the end. Too many Christians have lost their joy in believing.

In order to understand this dynamic in the Christian life, I want to invite you back to the time in the history of the world when mankind first lost their joy in their walk with God. 

Continue reading “Sin Keeps Us from Enjoying God” →