Henry T. Blackaby - Experiencing God Like Moses

Out of the charismatic dissociation at Promise Keepers, February, 1996, came a stream of discipleship to the Baptist, Henry. T. Blackaby, who uses Old Testament models like Moses to prove that you, too, can experience God personally.

 

A Baptist critic notes that:

"I would just love Blackaby's book, if I was a pastor or religious leader that wanted to make unquestioning zombies out of my followers, so that they would do whatever I wanted them to do without question. I would order copies for every member (out of church funds), get everyone to read and study it, and make everyone feel that their spirituality, and our hopes for revival in the church, depended on their acceptance of Blackaby's teaching."

"Blackaby has built up a consistent theological system for understanding God's will, but this system is built on a foundation of false, unscriptural premises and therefore should be rejected. It is not true that God is still speaking to us today like He did to Noah, Abraham and Moses. Nor is it true that in each of our life-decisions, there is only one possible decision we can make that is within the will of God. Without continuing revelations from God, there is no way we could obey such a rigid, unscriptural concept of God's will." From

"Rev. Henry T. Blackaby is Director of the Office of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening at the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.

"The author instructs and guides the entire denomination, via official literature in the realm of spiritual growth. This book is written for Southern Baptists--some 16 million--among whom it seems to be all the rage.

"The problem is that although it is written to Christians for growth and service, it is not a Christian book; rather, it is primarily a JEWISH book. Nine-tenths of the Scripture and scriptural examples are taken from the Old Testament and the Synoptic Gospels, and applied it to the Christian From

On page 36 he notes that:

"In the Old Testament God spoke at many times and in a variety of ways. Through Jesus,

God Himself spoke to His people during His lifetime.

Now God speaks through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things, will call to your memory the things Jesus said, will guide you into all truth, will speak what He hears from the Father, will tell you what is yet to come, and glorify Christ as He reveals Christ to you.

Does this mean "Jesus spoke what He heard from the Father, the Holy Spirit spoke what He hears from the Father, therefore you can speak what you hear from the Spirit?" We believe that this is the product of grasping any passage from any place in the Word and making it into a proof-text. What Jesus said was that He was coming back as Spirit (John 14:16-18) and the Spirit would speak what Christ as full Deity said:

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. John 16:13

He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:14

All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. John 16:15

The One God is manifest as Father, Son and Spirit. When the work of Jesus was finished, everything bound up in these three terms would belong to the Word in whom full Deity (Col. 2:9) dwelled. Jesus promised to return as the Comforter and

He told Paul that "I am Jesus of Nazareth whom thou persecutest." We are "to hear :Him" and to demote Jesus and promote an imaginary third "person" or Divine Being Who supercedes the "assignment" to Moses, Elijah and Me may be blasphemy.

Jesus got his message from the Fater and revealed it as His Spirit Word (John 6:63) or Mind of God (1 Cor 2)

The problem with trusting "sensing the will of God" is that you sense that Jesus was promising you personally that you can speak in tongues, handle rattlesnakes, drink poison, heal the sick, raise the dead and be guided into all truth. Sure, these all go together as a pachage to the Apostles all of whom had been personally selected, trained and empowered on the day of Pentecost. A God who does not select certain people for certain task makes Him still the God Who does not change. He always reserved this right to Himself.

Does God really speak to His people in our day? Will He reveal to you where He is working when He wants to use you? Yes! God has not changed. He still speaks to His people.

If you have trouble hearing God speak, you are in trouble at the very heart of your Christian experience."

This "God is the same" often leads to the restoration of a legalistic priestly cast along with musical worship leaders, tithing and offering up "animal sacrifices" of those who disagree. And those who believe that God is making a specific, directed revelation to individuals would mean that He is a respector of persons. And to claim this revelation knowledge usually leads to a downward spiral of self-directed worship of self.

While Blackaby gives some credit to the Word it is not as the Spirit guide Jesus came to reveal to us. Rather, the Word of God is his guide to tell him that he can, like Moses, get his own revelation. This need for a personal revelation when God has supplied us "all that pertainst to life and godliness" is a direct repudiation of the work, sacrifice and continuing works as Spirit of Jesus in whom dwelled "full Deity." Blackaby continues:

The Word of God is our guide.

The pattern I see in Scripture is that God always gives us direction on the front end. He may not tell you all you want to know at the beginning but He will tell you what you need to know to make necessary adjustments and to take the first step of obedience. Your task is to wait until the Master gives you instructions. If you start 'doing' before you have a direction from God, more than likely you will be wrong.

Specific Directions

A popular teaching says God does not give you clear directions. It says He just sets your life in motion. Then you try to figure out the directions using your God-given mind. This implies that a Christian always thinks correctly and according to God's will. This does not take into account that the old nature is constantly battling with the spiritual nature (Rom 7) Our ways are not God's ways [Isaiah. 55:8]. Only God can give you the kind of specific directions to accomplish His purposes in His ways.

This old nature is reckoned to be dead at water baptism (Romans 6). Thereafter, one is directed by the Spirit to the extent they allow the Word (as Spirit John 6:63) to dwell within them. Blackaby rejects, along with most Calvinistic Baptists and the Promise Keepers, baptism as having any value. However, Paul identified it as a way to "get into Christ" or "in connection" with the sacrifice and Mind of Christ which is the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2):

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:27

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. Colossians 2:12

Those who are in Christ have the Spirit or Mind of Christ as they listen to Him speak through His Spirit in His inspired and powerful words. Thereafter, this sense of lostness Blackaby expresses and which is at the soul of many Calvinists ignores that Paul said:

THERE is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the (our) flesh, but after the (our) Spirit. Romans 8:1

After God spoke to Noah about building an ark, Noah knew the size, the type of materials, and how to put it together. When God spoke to Moses about building the tabernacle He was very specific about the details. When God became flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ, He gave specific directions to His disciples -- where to go, what to do, how to respond.

What about when God called Abraham (Abram) and said, "Go to the land I will show you" (Gen 12:1)? That was not very specific. That required faith. But God did say, "I will show you." God always will give you enough specific directions to do now what He wants you to do. When you need more directions, He gives you more in His timing. In Abraham's case, God later told him about the son to be born to him, the number of his descendants, the territory they would inhabit, that they would go into bondage and be brought out.

The Holy Spirit gives clear directives today. God is personal.

He wants to be intimately involved in your life. He will give you clear guidance for living." Experiencing God, p. 75

A clear sign of the restoration of Gnosticism is a focus on "knowing" God in an intimate way so that He puts His focus on "me" rather than me putting our focus upon God. Most of the songs inculcate this ancient, pagan dogma that God works in me to make me a "Christ" just as He 'once" worked with Jesus during His "assignment."

Again Blackaby retires Father and Son to a chair somewhere in heaven (the sky), dismisses their inspired message, and trusts to the Holy Spirit Who apparently sends signals like radio waves only to those whom God equipped with an antenna. Quite naturally as a Calvinist he depends upon a direct communication from God and as a believer in "believer's baptism" trusts his own experiences under the "law" to bring him into a direct contact with Christ or, as the Britannica notes, to actually become Christ. See Believer's Baptism as a Gnostic or pagan baptism.

Hast thou not heard of Miriam who claimed what Blackaby promises?

And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it. Numbers 12:2

And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. Numbers 12:4

And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth. Numbers 12:5

And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. Numbers 12:6

My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. Numbers 12:7

With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses? Numbers 12:8

Unless there is a lapse of Bible knowledge, the writer is not claiming to be a dreamer or visionary. Rather, he is claiming exactly what God gave to Moses for his time and "assignment" and even Jesus for His time and His assignment. Those who believe it and repeat this horrow may already be suffering from spiritual leprosy.

And on page 77 Blackaby insists and I emphasize where my Baptist aunt emphasized in her book which may be guiding me as I speak and use it as a very good "mouse pad."

"When God spoke to Moses and others in the Old Testament, those events were encounters with God.

An encounter with Jesus was an encounter with God for the disciples.

In the same way an encounter with the Holy Spirit is an encounter with God for you."

Straight from Calvin's Institutes as muddled by the Synod of Dort comes the false claim:

Now that the Holy Spirit is given, He is the one who guides you into all truth and teaches you all things. You understand spiritual truth because the Holy Spirit is working in you. You cannot understand the Word of God unless the Spirit of God teaches you. When you come to the Word of God, the Author Himself is present to instruct you. You never discover truth; truth is revealed. When the Holy Spirit reveals truth to you, He is not leading you to an encounter with God. That is an encounter with God.

Blackaby, as agent of Promise Keepers, claims that God is giving revelation today in the same way he revealed to Jesus. Now, it is through the Holy Spirit rather than a direct communication with God the Father. Yet, he claims the same encounter as with Moses and that was "mouth to mouth and fact to face visibly seeing some manifestation of God." On page 21, he notes that:

Whenever God gets ready to do something, He always reveals to a person or His people what He is going to do. (See Amos 3:7)

Amos was a prophet sent from God and, true to form, was hated by those trying to build up a religious institution which depended upon taking the people's money and heaping it upon the leaders while the "cows of Bashan" took away the key to knowledge with musical religious festivals. God said through Amos what Blackaby would deny:

Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? Amos 3:6

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. Amos 3:7

The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy? Amos 3:8

Again, the Bible is not the guide or the voice of the Holy Spirit but it is a "how to" or "pattern book" so that you can recognize when God is turning you on as a prophet. How is it that God is so powerless that He cannot say: "Blackaby, I want you to be the new prophet."

"the Bible is designed to help you understand the ways of God. Then when God starts to act in you recognize that it is God."

If God the Holy Spirit is smart enough to give you biblical signs of His direct revelation to you, why is it that He is too stupid to communicate to you through the inspired Words of Scripture. Indeed, denying God's power to speak through His word is refusing to justify or vindicate the power of God.

God not only speaks through the Bible but:

"In the present God primarily speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church." (p. 83)

Rubel Shelly's sermon on Bob Mumford's system sounds very similar. Click for our review

A similar interpretation led the early Restoration churches to restore the music of Catholicism. The Bible is authority, human reasoning is valid (from John Locke), human experience is valid and tradition is valid. This is what led those of the American Restoration to begin a musical sect as they picked up bits and pieces from all of the Biblical dispensations.

Click to see Rubel Shelly's preaching of Blackabyism.

Blackaby is truly humble. He notes that this power of revelation has some predictable results:

The people of God at this church had a need for a leader. As they prayed they sensed that God put me there purposely to meet that need. I, too, saw the need and realized God could use me there. As a servant of Jesus Christ, I did not have an option to say no. I believed that the Head--Jesus Christ--could speak through the rest of the body to guide me to know how I should function in the body. I said I would do the best I knew to do.

For four years I served as Music and Education director. (p. 106)

But with an Old Testament witness to the evil effect of Music spoken through the Spirit of Christ in the prophets (1 Peter 1:11), Christ's rejection of the clergy effort to make Him dance to their piped tunes, and Paul's direct command showing the spiritual fulfillment of the sacrificial system through offering "the fruit of the lips" and defining the "instrument" of melody to be the human heart, how is it that He forced the people to "sense" that he should be the Music Director?

In a Baptist publication, Blackaby is quoted:

"When you study the Scriptures, look to see how God works through the Scriptures. When you learn how God has worked throughout history, you can depend on His working in a similar way with you (p. 117).

"When Rev. Blackaby omits the Pauline truth exclusively given to the heavenly Body, he traffics in Israel's legal kingdom truth, and thereby draws the heavenly Church down to Israel's earthly level.

Dr. Chafer rejects this all-inclusive thinking:

"There is no scholarly reason for applying the Scriptures which bear upon the past, the present, or the future of Israel to any other people than that nation of whom Scripture speaks. The real unity of the Bible is preserved only by those who observe with care the divine program for Gentiles, for Jews, and for Christians in their individual and unchanging continuity.

Those who would intrude the Mosaic system of merit into the Church's heaven-high divine administration of superabounding grace either have no conception of the character of that merit which the law required, or are lacking in the comprehension of the glories of divine grace (Systematic Theology IV: 12,19).

When you believe that your ambitious sensing is God's direct voice you may be guided by an unholy spirit.

And, wouldn't you know it, as Blackaby is elevated to Pastor God's speaking to YOU always gells down to God is speaking to ME:

"When God wants to reveal His will to a church, He will begin by speaking to one or more individuals. Because of the nature of his call and assignment from God, this is often the pastor, although it may be another member of the body. The pastor's job is to bear witness to the church about what he senses God is saying." (p. 166)

The result of this process as the opinions are nurtured and collectivized under the pastor is:

The whole body looks to Christ--the Head of the church-- for guidance. He guides all the members of the body to understand His will."

Isn't it strange that Jesus fired all of these dominant pastors and put the church under a plurality of volunteer heads of families and told them to teach the Word as it had been taught and "once for all delivered to the saints" and resist those who rebel and try to impose legalistic efforts such as ritualistic music:

He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. Titus 1:9

For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. Titus 1:10

One Baptist writer compares this to the Shepherding Groups which are directly connected to Promise Keepers new move on free churches. The International Church of Christ Shepherding or discipling movement is an outgrouth of the Crossroads group in Florida and the Boston Movement. Many of our latter-day shepherding-prone, dominant pastors were severely bitten by the Crossroads Shepherding bug which is re-inflamed by the PK 96 dissociation at Atlanta and the Blackaby follow-up among those almost 40,000 idle clergy:

"In other words, the pastor is to decide when God is really speaking and when He is not. This teaching may appeal to some who favor the principle of "preacher rule" or dictatorial leadership by the pastor (particularly in independent Baptist circles). It may also appeal to some charismatic and Campbellite (International Churches of Christ) groups which teach extreme forms of "discipling," "shepherding," or "accountability," in which the pastors or cell group leaders must approve all life decisions of their followers, whether major or minor. Blackaby does not [openly] teach either of these systems of leadership, but his teaching definitely lends itself to use (and abuse) by those who favor authoritative and manipulative methods of control over their followers.

[Perhaps this is the reason for the popularity of "Experiencing God weekends" in Jesuit / Roman Catholic circles?] After all, if God is still speaking today as in Old Testament times, and it is the task of the leadership to tell the people just what God is saying, this makes it a lot easier to persuade the sheep to go along with church budgets, building programs, or whatever else the leadership wishes to propose [or impose].

On page 65, Blackaby shows why shepherding is so dangerous in Promise Keeper Groups and those who believed that the Pastor is in direct contact with God. Churches which denounce "sectarianism" and promote an ecumenical movement will squash you like a bug if you dare make the wrong suggestions when the dominate leaders have sensed that the congregation senses what he had already determined to do:

"In our physical bodies we do not take votes based on majority rule, ignore conflicting senses, or choose to listen only to one sense and ignore the others. To live that way would be very dangerous. Because a church is the body of Christ, it functions best when spiritual leaders and members share what they sense God wants the church to be and do. A church needs to hear the whole counsel of God through its spiritual leaders and members. Then it can proceed in confidence and in unity to do God's will."

In the new Latter Rain or other groups claiming to have a prophetic message from God, if you question the leadership "you will see and hear strange new things going on in this church but you must not question it or you will find yourself up against God." This really happens!

"If you know that God loves you, you should never question a directive from Him. It will always be right and best. When He gives you a directive, you are not just to observe it, discuss it, or debate it. You are to obey it." (p. 148)

"People often ask, "did you always wait until you got a 100 percent vote? No. I knew that we might have one or more that were so out of fellowship with the Lord that they could not hear His voice...(p. 169)

Another Baptist notes that:

On pg 187 the authors state that, "The Bible is my guide for faith and practice". This is the standard phraseology of those who take the Bible to be inerrant in the areas of faith and practice (spiritual matters), but not inerrant in matters of history, chronology, origins, etc. (e.g., Fuller Seminary, American Scientific Affiliation).

However, we have noted that the Bible is the guide which reveals how you can get your own personal revelation which, when matured under the pastor's guidance, is exactly the voice of God as speaking to Moses or Jesus. And no one must "oppose God's annointed leadership."

The failure to miss the point that God is competent to reveal His Will in human words understandable to the human mind He created, is to cut yourself loose from all objective truth.

The failure to grasp the distinction between the Old and New Covenant will lead to a legalistic church however loudly it cries about freedom from rules. This invariably leads to the reconstruction of a legalistic system along with clergy musicians who were the 'tyrants' of temple worship.

Christ Jesus fired the dominant clergy who promote themselves, and then sent evangelists out to preach the gospel which is not the gospel until it terminates in baptism as His means to free us from the practice and guilt of sin.

Every believer must study the Word because this is the only way Jesus can be our personal Teacher and Mediator.

Extra Bit: Because Blackaby is intimately connected with the PK 96 charismatic worship experience, it is interesting to note just one of the dogmas of the Promise Keeper's Creed:

The Promise Keepers Faith in Predestinated Faith Only

4. We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, that He performs the miracle of new birth in an unbeliever and indwells believers, enabling them to live a godly life

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5NIV

However, some other versions read:

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Titus 3:5KJV

he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit Titus 3:5RSV

then he saved us-not because we were good enough to be saved but because of his kindness and pity-by washing away our sins and giving us the new joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit Titus 3:5LIV

The thing which needs renewing is not the Holy Spirit as God. Rather, what needs nenewing is the human spirit and this is the promise of the Old Testament and the Great Commission

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 2Co.4:16

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Col.3:10

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; Ep.4:23

It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63

While it has been removed from Blackaby and Promise Keepers' theology, Bible Jesus still says:

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:16

And Peter did it:

The washing away of sins occurs after one believes, repents and is baptized. Christ cleanses us when we ask for it at baptism:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38

And the Eunuch enjoyed it:

And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. Ac.8:39

It simply is not possible to be a Blackabyite or a PKite without accepting Calvinism which requires a direct operation of the Spirit (person). Salvation occurs because one has been predestinated for salvation rather than for hell. The mark of this "beast" is ignoring the presence of baptism in the operation of God's grace.

Jubilee 98

It was at Jubilee 98 that we saw the musical team around the four columns or "Asherah poles" leading the people into the mystical magic of raising holy hands and laying on of hands. I don't know what was expected but it is typical of the charismatic move throughout churches which have joined the ecumenical, denominal world. For instance, repeating the Promise Keeper's 96 and Blackaby's Old Testament marriage with paganism to get a direct revelation from somewhere:

At 1998 Nashville Jubilee that Rick Atchley said, "Let's close with prayer. Bow your head, please ...Ask God to put on your heart right now something for your church ... The Spirit will bring something to mind if you are sincere in your asking. Let God right now put something on your heart and it may be weeks and it may be months and it may be years in coming but if it is from God don't stop asking."

Of course, all of this flows from a charismatic or neo-Pentecostal movement which ignores the almost universal understanding of the Holy Spirit exactly as Paul clearly defined "Him." That is the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of Christ" (1 Peter 1:11; Rev 19:10) and is The Mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2). Expecting a separated, polytheistic Spirit "Person" to infuse supernatural knowledge into your head is based on pure ignorance and failure to understand the difference between "flesh" and "spirit."

Rick Atchley's assignment at Jubilee 98 was "Left-Brain (male) Preacher Learns From Right-Brain (female) Worship? Not much but the subjective proof to charge full steam ahead creating an effeminate (not rational female) worship team to, in Rubel Shelly's words "help lead the worshipers into the presence of God."

The result of the "right-brained" or female worship schemes will certainly pull in the "converts" but it is artificial stimulation using mass psychology rather than the Holy Spirit

From hearing sounds and pipings the mental fantasies gather a great strength; nay, they become forms in the imagination. Jalalu'ddin Rumi (1269)

"The true, highest melody, however, is that which is sung without any voice. It resounds in the interior of man, is vibrating in his heart and in all his limbs. Isaac Loeb Peretz (1912). A certain number of musicians were gathered at a feast given by a great sovereign who took care to place them according to their degree of mastery of their respective arts, when a man of wretched appearance, clad in rags, entered.

The master of ceremonies raised him up above all the participants, whose faces expressed their evident disapproval. Wishing to display the man's merit and calm his guest's anger, the master asked him to let them hear a sample of his art.

"He took out some pieces of wood which he had with him, set them out before him and stretched strings over them. Then he set these strings vibrating and performed an air that made all those present burst into laughter because of the pleasure, the joy and the well-being that took possession of their souls.

Then he changed his tuning and played another air which made everyone weep for the tenderness of the melody and the sadness which settled in their hearts.

Then he changed the tuning, and played another air which plunged everyone into slumber; so doing he rose, went out and was never heard spoken of again. The Brethren of Purity of Basra

See how Hermes is the protytype of the Gnostic "new" god movement along with Apollo (Abbydon).

You can mark it down as the voice of Lord Jesus Christ that anyone who is a popular, charismatic preacher or who pushes books which promise to take you beyond Jesus you are not dealing with a true evangelist who will, by definition, suffer persecution and rejection by the mass meetings having a hugging, after-game and afterglow breakdown. [ Source: http://www.piney.com/index.html ]

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