Contact & Booking
 

March 2014

31 Mar The 3 Big Questions of Revival

Posted at 21:21h in Revival, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

I am convinced that the blockages of a powerful move of God's Spirit don't originate in heaven or even hell, but rather here on earth.  What are the blockages? If I were to ask 100 people to provide this answer and explain why today's church is in its present condition, I would possibly get 100 different answers. Excuses and reasons abound.   What is stopping an outpouring of God's power? To be honest, it has nothing to do with the condition of our nation or even your church, its history, or its people. It has everything to do with the person reading this blog post right now (that's you!). For too long, you have relegated a move of God to begin with another person at another place at another time. All the while, God has been looking at you to initiate this great move.   Pardon me for perhaps being too simplistic. I believe that the removal of these blockages is simple. A genuine move of God is guaranteed to the individual who correctly answers these three simple questions:   * If not you, then who? * If not here, then where? * If not now, then when?   A great, unprecedented move of God's Spirit is waiting on you to initiate it. Once you recognize that God in all of His wisdom has determined that _____________ (fill in your name ) has been strategically placed at _____________  (fill in the name of your church) and is resolved that as of _____________  (fill in today's date) to totally yield to the leading and promptings of the Holy Spirit, there will be a massive outpouring of salvations and healings and deliverances  and restorations and ...

Read More

24 Mar Got Room for the Holy Spirit?

Posted at 21:08h in Children's Ministry, Leadership, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 1 Comment

Several years ago, we were blessed to have the author of The God Chasers book, Reverend Tommy Tenney, as the keynote speaker of our national Ignite the Supernatural Conference. In an attempt to help reduce the expenses for the travel and accommodations, I asked a friend about the possibility of connecting Tommy with a large Pentecostal church in the area for a service on the following weekend. With the two meetings splitting the costs, these necessary expenses would be greatly reduced for both of us. Without much thought, my friend told me that Tommy would never fit into the mode of this church. I learned that their services were structured and orchestrated to the very minute and didn't have room for a Spirit-following, highly unpredictable Tommy Tenney. They knew that at 10 AM sharp the choir would open the service with an anthem. At 10:05 the Pastor would come and do an opening prayer followed by three songs ending at 10:21, followed by ...

Read More

17 Mar Powerless?

Posted at 21:31h in Children's Ministry, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

Have you ever stopped to recognize that the New Testament Church was birthed with power (Acts 1:8), experienced exponential growth by demonstrations of power (Acts 2:41), and kept on course through demonstrations of power (Acts 5:1-11)? It was only through the Holy Spirit's power that the Church was the Church. (I'm using an upper case "c" to refer to the body of Christ and not a building.) Is this a reflection of today's Church? Let me answer this question by sharing a quote from one of my heroes, the great missionary to China, Hudson Taylor. "Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit's power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power." If this supernatural power birthed on the Day of Pentecost is only obtainable through waiting on the Holy Spirit, why have we replaced the Holy Spirit with method, machinery, and resources? The answer is quite obvious. These substitutions take little time to obtain  and require absolutely no sacrifice on the part of the seeker. Those waiting in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost pushed aside schedules to await the outpouring of God's Spirit. It was a sacrificial act of obedience. But, waiting for His presence brought the Holy Spirit and His power and gained about 3,000 people for the Kingdom. This is so simple. If there's no resemblance of what you read in the Book of Acts Church to be found in your personally and in your church, check your connection with the Holy Spirit. Push aside the substitutes. Forget about the present day ministry click-and-download mentality. Learn the joy of waiting in His presence. In doing so, you will see the Book of Acts replicated over and over again.  God's power will show up. People will be saved. Lives will be transformed, healed, and delivered. The Church will grow. Now, close this blog post, turn off your computer, and let the waiting begin....

Read More

10 Mar Man Your Battle Stations

Posted at 00:10h in Children's Ministry, Leadership by Billy Burns 0 Comments

This past weekend, we took our Junior Bible Quiz teams up to central Florida for the season-ending district finals. We actually left a day early so that we could reward the teams by taking them to an indoor theme park in Orlando. At the end of the time at the park, we were to meet in the store at the exit of the park. While we were waiting on the final few boys and girls to arrive, several of the boys began to play with some of the swords and toy guns. For several minutes, it was fun watching toy swords swishing through the air and toy guns blasting away at the pirates, that is until it dawned upon me that I would be personally responsible for any broken store fixtures and toys. I quickly put an end to the playtime. Have you stopped to think that the majority of the children in our children's ministries know far more about pretend warfare than about the spiritual war in which we are engaged? Few children's ministry leaders have ever taught ...

Read More

03 Mar Consider This …

Posted at 06:30h in Children's Ministry, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

Do you ever wonder why we have church auditoriums filled with youth and adults who have no relationship with the Holy Spirit? Before you throw stones at the Pastor or Youth Pastor, you might want to consider these facts. 1. In a calendar year, few if any children are baptized in the Holy Spirit in any of the children's ministries provided by the local church. It is extremely rare to find reports of children being filled with the Holy Spirit in a Sunday school class, children's church service, or mid-week Bible club in the local church. Am I right? 2. In a calendar year, those children who are filled with the Holy Spirit are Spirit-baptized at a summer Kid's Camp or retreat. I'm thankful for these events. They provide a powerful time of ministry. Unfortunately only a very small percentage of our children are able to go to these events due to calendar problems, finances, etc. With both #1 and #2 being true, this means that only a small percentage of our children are provided an opportunity to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Am I right? 3. In a calendar year, most children are rarely, if ever, in an adult service and never have the opportunity to see the workings of the Holy Spirit. The largest percentage of our children have never witnessed the Gifts of the Spirit in operation. They have never seen the Book of Acts come alive. Am I right? What is the end result of #1, #2, and #3? Children pass through our ministries and then go into the youth ministry and then eventually into the adult ministry without having the opportunity to experience God's power. They don't know the benefits of walking through life Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and Spirit-equipped. They will go through life without the assistance provided by heaven to fulfill their life assignments. They will struggle through challenges they aren't equipped or designed to handle alone. Children's Pastor/Sunday school teacher/mid-week Bible club leader, the Spirit-baptized adults of tomorrow are the children in your ministry today. We need to need to allow the Holy Spirit to show up each and every time that we meet! We need to allow Him to speak and demonstrate His power. We must allow the children to begin a relationship with the Holy Spirit. We can't relegate this to just camps and retreats. The Joel 2 generation is waiting for you to open the door for the Holy Spirit. Will you begin this today?...

Read More