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06 Feb BBM – Leading a Holy Spirit Renewal

Posted at 21:16h in Revival by Billy Burns 0 Comments

I can’t believe it. I just looked at my blog’s history and discovered that I have consistently published a post 52 weeks a year for just over 9 1/2 years. I honestly don’t know of any blogger on the web that has published a weekly blog post for this length of time and, with rare exception, focused upon one subject, the Person and work of the Holy Spirit. At one time or another, people from over 80 countries have read at least one of the 512 blog posts, individuals from many diverse denominational backgrounds, generations varying from those considered to be “old school” to those identified as Generation Z (Post-Millennials), people with a common passion of wanting to know the Holy Spirit and work together with Him. With the enablement of the Holy Spirit, the blog has allowed me to share my heart and provide a mini-download, a micro-charging, a rekindling what was already known, a needed word for that given moment.

Slide-1Let me let you in on a secret. The blog has possibly benefited me far more than it has you. Besides the obvious benefit of putting what the Holy Spirit has shown me into print, I benefit from constantly referring to the archives and reading through several blog posts before preaching to a congregation or speaking at a conference. I have found that reading the thoughts and quotes found in these posts provides an avenue for the Holy Spirit to give a fresh download into my spirit.

Here are a couple of suggestions. First, I would encourage you to go through the archives. In writing this post, I contemplated listing some of the posts that I constantly refer to before I minister. That didn’t happen because I had trouble selecting only a handful. I believe that the Holy Spirit will direct you on which ones to read again and again and again. For those reading this blog post on www.billyburns.com/blog, you can gain access to the complete list of blogs by simply clicking on the title at the top of this blog. After you are sent to the new page, you will see the ARCHIVES at the right side of the page. Secondly, I would also suggest that you take it a step further and send particular posts to those in your family or those who minister alongside of you.

One more thing as I close. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of sharing my heart with you. I’m honored to be invited into your life week after week after week. I pray that I am a blessing to you personally and to your ministry.

 

 

 

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30 Jan I Want More!

Posted at 07:49h in Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

DictionaryWhile watching Good Morning America this morning, I learned of the new words and terms that have been officially added to the 2017 Merriam-Webster Dictionary. According to the report, more than one thousand new words have been added, including terms from recent advances in science, borrowings from foreign languages, and words from tech, medicine, pop culture, sports, and everything in between. Our language is ever-changing! (To read a list of some of the new words, click on this link.)

Here is one of my favorite new terms that is now officially a part of our language … binge-watch. If you are a person with a subscription to Netflix or Amazon Prime or Hulu, you are one of the reasons that this term is now a part of our dictionary. To binge-watch simply means that you are watching non-stop episode after episode after episode after episode, season after season after season of a television series and still want to watch more when you are forced to term off your television or smart device. I’ll readily confess that I am currently a binge-watcher on a particular Netflix series. Each night, I tell myself that there is time for just one more episode and then another episode after that and … It’s kind of like the thought behind the old Lay’s potato chip commercial “No one can eat just one” and the Jello commercial “There’s always room for Jello”.

As Vickie and I travel and conduct our Ignite & Unite Conferences and Holy Spirit Rallies, we are meeting people from all across our nation that have this same “binge” passion for the Holy Spirit. It’s being seen in both the young and old, people that are hungry and always wanting more of God’s presence. They have tasted of God’s glory and desire more and more and more. To these individuals, their hunger has caused a shift in their priorities. Time isn’t a factor. To these “bingers”, something can be pushed aside to make time to be with Him. They have caught the meaning of the words of that old song, “And the things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” These “bingers” know that one isn’t enough and there’s always room for more.

If it’s time for true confession, I will readily admit that I am one of these people that have tasted and want to continue to taste, hour after hour, day after day. If you too are one of these individuals that passionately loves to be in the presence of the Holy Spirit, please send me a note. It doesn’t have to be a long letter. I just want to learn about those who have the same passion and desire. Together, we are a part of a great outpouring that is changing this nation. Write me … billy@billyburns.com.

One more thought … if you want information about our Ignite & Unite Conferences and Holy Spirit Rallies, click on this link … INFORMATION.

 

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23 Jan Have Miracles Ceased?

Posted at 08:44h in God's Promises, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

Have you ever stopped to think about how this world has changed during the brief amount of time that you’ve been alive? So many great things exist now and are a way of everyday life that didn’t exist when I was a child. (For those of you that think that I am ancient, I will defend myself by saying that I was born AFTER Benjamin Franklin flew his kite and discovered electricity.) And, while there are so many new things, a lot of things that were a part of our daily life when we were children don’t exist any longer. For example, when was the last time that you saw a J.C. Penny’s catalog or a Yellow Pages or a set of encyclopedias or a rotary dial telephone or a cassette? Go ahead and try to explain these items to your children or grandchildren and be prepared to feel like you were born back a million, billion years ago. These things are long gone, ancient relics, and a distant memory.

Here’s a thought that probably isn’t a new thought for you. Did you know that many today look at the miracles recorded throughout the New Testament as a spiritual relic? It would appear that in today’s mindset, God’s miracle-working power ended when the ink dried when the last word of the Bible was written. For some reason, in some circles, today’s church looks at the miracle-working power of God in the same way that your children or grandchildren would look at a VCR. They may have heard about it, told that it was a forerunner of something far different today, and have no clue as to how it would work. Some denominations or movements would have to blow the dust off of their church archives to read about when God’s power was demonstrated in their distant past. Have miracles ceased?

JeffreysTo those with this way of thinking, allow me to share this thought taken from The Phenomena of Pentecost written back in 1931.

“To reject the truth that a saint’s body can be healed miraculously, and yet to teach that
he can expect his body to be changed and taken up altogether at any moment is a strange
contradiction of logic! To teach that God is not working miraculously today and at the
same time to expect the greatest of all miracles to happen any day, is certainly not
compatible with well-balanced reasoning. I believe in the Second Advent of Christ
and continually look for His coming, because I know the day of miracles is not past.” 
~ George Jeffreys

Don’t you love what Jeffreys’ wrote? God’s miracle-working power hasn’t ceased to exist. So, preach it, turn on your “expecter”, demonstrate it, preach it some more, turn up your “expecter” some more, and demonstrate it some more. Allow God’s TODAY miracle-working power to become a TODAY way of life in your Sunday school classroom, children’s church service, mid-week Bible club meeting, youth service, and family services. Why? Because “I know that the days of miracles is not past.”

 

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16 Jan The Priority of Being Baptized in the Holy Spirit

Posted at 18:37h in Leadership, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

While speaking at a conference recently, I made a statement that was an eye-opener to many in the auditorium. Here is the statement …  with little effort, I can tell the importance placed in your church upon believers being baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. How? By looking at the sermon video archive on your churches’ website to see how many messages were preached on this subject ON A SUNDAY MORNING within the last 12 months. Why Sunday morning? Because that is when the largest number of people attend your church. Reality tells us that if your church has a Sunday night service, only about one half of the Sunday morning attendees are back that night. And, if your church has a Wednesday night service, only about half of those that attended Sunday night are there on Wednesday night. So, my conclusion would be, if it is a high priority that the greatest number of the members be baptized in the Holy Spirit, a pastor will provide the opportunity when the greatest numbers are at a service and do so often. Is that a fair assumption?

How important is it that we provide believers the opportunity to be Spirit-baptized? Well, let’s draw our answer from a biblical example found in Acts 8. You’ll recall that Philip went to Samaria and saw tremendous results from his ministry. Multitudes were born again and water baptized. Many received powerful healings. Demons were cast out. Great joy filled the church. And yet, in the midst of all of these incredible works of God, the apostles in Jerusalem sent Peter and John down to Samaria for the sole purpose of insuring that the believers were Spirit-baptized. They weren’t sent to take care of church problems or to launch a building campaign. They didn’t travel to Samaria to give Philip a needed break. According to Acts 8:14-17, the leadership of the church sent Peter and John because none of the believers had been baptized in the Holy Spirit. The apostles recognized that it wasn’t enough for just Pastor Philip to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The whole body of believers needed to be filled to overflowing!

Altar MinistryWhile I recognize that there are many great things happening in today’s church, we can see from the example given in Acts 8, in the midst of all of these great happenings it must be a priority that every believer be given the opportunity to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. If this truly a priority and we want our entire church to be endued with power from on high, the message must be preached when the greatest numbers are present and it must be shared throughout the year. This can’t be just a once-a-year Pentecost Sunday message. It can’t be an annual mark it off the yearly to-do list event. And, it can’t be hidden on a Wednesday night crowd or a back room or small cell/home group. Our goal must to replicate what we read in Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled …”

Pastors, preach Pentecost. Children’s/youth pastors, preach Pentecost. And, preach it again and again and again so that we can send out people that are Spirit-baptized, Spirit-equipped, Spirit-empowered, and Spirit-led into a lost and dying world!

 

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09 Jan Qualified to Minister

Posted at 08:11h in Children's Ministry, Leadership by Billy Burns 0 Comments

Here’s just a quick question to ponder … if being filled with the Holy Spirit was one of the major prerequisites for qualifying individuals to minister in the New Testament church, how can we expect any less from those who minister and assist in the ministry in today’s church? While being filled with the Holy Spirit was certainly required for those preaching and teaching, Acts 6 shows us that this qualification carried over to what appears to be every area of ministry.

“So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. ‘We apostles should spend
our time preaching and teaching the word of God, not administering a food
program,’ they said. ‘Now look around among yourselves, brothers, and
select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Holy Spirit
and wisdom. We will put them in charge of this business.'”
Acts 6:2-3 (New Living Translation)

PraisersIn order to serve tables and distribute food, the believers had to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (From witnessing how some “Christians” behave at church picnics, I can easily understand how the believers that distributed the food would have to be filled with the Holy Spirit!). We’re not talking Bible-waving, pulpit-pounding preachers. Luke wrote that this was expected in what we would call today the ministry of helps.

Today, we can’t settle for a fill-a-position mentality. Not just anyone will suffice. Today’s New Testament church must have individuals full of the Holy Spirit serving in every area of ministry, be it teaching our children and youth, serving as ushers, parking lot staff, greeters, etc.  Question answered!!!

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