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28 May Answering Questions About Speaking in Other Tongues – Part 3

Posted at 07:07h in The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

This one thing I know to be true … when writing the Bible, God wasn’t working with a publisher that demanded a certain word count before publishing the Book. Not one single word found in the Bible is a space-filler. With certainty, we know that God did not fill His Book with needless, unnecessary statements.

With that being said, we should recognize that the teaching found in God’s Word about being filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues is not a subject to be taken lightly. Jesus’ directive for believers to “speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17) wasn’t a flippant, mindless statement. From the scriptures, we know that it is expected that every believer is to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and pray in the Spirit with other tongues (1 Corinthians 14).

Sadly, much confusion and needless division is seen in the Body of Christ today over this one subject. Let’s look at a third question often presented about speaking in other tongues.

Question #3 – Doesn’t the Bible Teach that Speaking in Tongues Will End?

This question is so easy to answer … YES! Next question please.

Oh, that’s not enough explanation? I did answer your question. Tongues will end. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it … tongues will end. We learn this in 1 Corinthians 13:8.

I guess that the better question might be, “When will speaking in other tongues end?” I trust that you noticed that I wrote “When will” and not “When did“. The word “will” refers to a future tense, a time that is yet to come. The answer to “When will speaking in other tongues end?” is simple. Speaking in other tongues will vanish at the very same instant that prophesy and knowledge cease to exist. I am quite sure that no one would be bold enough to declare that prophesy has disappeared or that knowledge has vanished (although I have seen a few people whose ignorance would challenge my belief). No, a million times no. Both prophesy and knowledge are still very much present. And, no where in the scripture is there even the slightest inference that God is working on a gradual elimination process … first tongues will cease and then prophesy and then eventually knowledge. All three are present today and will continue to be present until the day when that which is perfect is come and we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 13:10).

Next week, we will look at Question #4 – Doesn’t the Bible Minimize the Importance of Speaking in Other Tongues?

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16 May YOUR City, YOUR Church, THIS Year

Posted at 04:53h in The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

If you have ever attended one of our Ignite the Supernatural Conferences or Holy Spirit Rallies or follow my weekly blog, you won’t be a stranger to the statement “TODAY is the day of the Holy Ghost”. I love making this statement because TODAY is truly His day. The Book of Acts Holy Ghost is still alive and active, ready to demonstrate His might and power in TODAY’s believers and TODAY’s church.

Vickie and I love working together with the Holy Spirit. Our passion is to open the door for Him to supernaturally minister all across our land. We want to see believers baptized in the Holy Spirit and go beyond an experience and launch into a relationship with Him. All that we need to see that happen at your church is an invitation. A Holy Spirit Rally could consist of a Sunday morning service or Sunday morning/evening services or Sunday through Wednesday services. YOUR City | YOUR Church | THIS Year!

For more information, you can reach me at billy@billyburns.com. Please send me an email and I will call you immediately on the receipt of your email.

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14 May Answering Questions About Speaking in Other Tongues – Part 2

Posted at 04:30h in God's Promises, The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

As a student of the Word, you know that the apostle Paul wrote letters to a troubled Corinthian church to bring clarity and understanding to areas where certain teachings had brought much confusion and harm to the Body of Christ. One of those areas of confusion concerned speaking/praying in other tongues. In bringing clarity to this issue, it is important to note that Paul wrote “I would that ye all spake with tongues …” (1 Corinthians 14:5). Then, just a few sentences further down, Paul wrote “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all.” (1 Corinthians 14:18).

While almost 2,000 years have passed since Paul wrote the Corinthian believers, there is still great confusion in today’s church about speaking/praying in other tongues. Just as in Paul’s day, this lack of understanding has needlessly caused God’s gift for all believers (Acts 2:4, 16-19, 39) to be a source of uncertainty and division in the church. In pulpits across our land today, well-meaning pastors and teachers continue to misinform believers and rob them of the benefits that come with praying in the Spirit.

To bring clarity and answer questions/objections about this New Testament truth, I began a series of blog posts last week pulling from the Three Reasons Why I Pray in Other Tongues teaching that I share in our Holy Spirit Rallies. Last week, I started with the question “Isn’t Speaking in Other Tongues of the Devil?”. This week, let’s look at another common question.

Question #2 – Didn’t Speaking in Tongues End With the Apostles?

1. Those with this question often point out that in Acts 8 the apostles Peter and John were sent to Samaria so that the believers could be baptized in the Holy Spirit and in Acts 19 the apostle Paul laid hands upon the Ephesian believers so that they might be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Then, they point out the obvious, those apostles are dead. This is followed with the comment stating that since the apostles are long gone, there is no one today to bestow this gift. To address this question, let’s look a little further into the scriptures. On the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), who laid hands upon the believers? Nobody. In Acts 9, who laid hands upon Saul so that he might receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit? It wasn’t an apostle. It was a follower of Jesus (in other words, a “common”, everyday Christian, someone like you and me) named Ananias. In Acts 10, who laid hands upon the believers at Cornelius’ house? No one. The Holy Spirit fell while Peter was still preaching. In other words, Jesus poured out His Spirit before Peter could get Mother Anne on the organ, the ushers ready to catch anyone falling “under the power”, and Peter could deliver a  rehearsed altar call. So, was it essential/mandatory for an apostle to lay hands upon the believer? No.
2. Concerning the necessity of having an apostle impart this gift to believers, I would have to ask why would God limit the benefits that come with speaking/praying in other tongues including the building of faith (Jude 20), edifying the believer (1 Corinthians 14:4), providing a greater expression of worship (Acts 10:46; 1 Corinthians 14:15), launching prayer to a new level of effectiveness (1 Corinthians 14:2,14) to just the people where Paul was preaching at 1st Church of the Believer in Jerusalem and Peter was teaching at the Hey We’re Pentecostal Fellowship in Damascus and … well, you get the idea. The WHOLE CHURCH then and now needs to be Holy Spirit pray-ers.

Could I write more about this? Yep. But, space doesn’t permit. Next week, we will look at Question #3 – Doesn’t the Bible Teach that Speaking in Tongues Will End?

 

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07 May Answering Questions About Speaking in Other Tongues – Part 1

Posted at 04:22h in The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

As Vickie and I conduct our Holy Spirit Rallies in churches, I especially enjoy our Sunday night teaching services. While I love the Sunday morning services where we often have the altars filled from wall to wall with individuals who have come forward to receive the promise of the Father, to me the Sunday night teaching on Three Reasons Why I Pray in Other Tongues is equally if not more important than the Sunday morning service. Why? Because the Sunday morning service opens the door for believers to begin a new-found relationship with the Holy Spirit and the Sunday night service provides the biblical foundation and explanation about what to do once they have walked through that door. This teaching brings clarity to a mystery that has robbed many individuals of the benefits that come along with the greatest gift that the Father has for the believer.

One of the things that I teach in the Sunday night meeting addresses questions/objections raised by well-meaning pastors and denominations about the biblical validity of praying in other tongues. Sadly, these objections have misguided believers. Before going any further, let me say that I don’t believe that these leaders have purposefully deviated from the Scriptures. I don’t know of a single pastor or denomination that would preach an error if they knew the truth. In most cases, these ministers have allowed tradition to cloud their understanding of the Word. In other words, these preachers and teachers have been taught this doctrine this way and this is the way that it has to be.

With that in mind, for the next few blog posts, I want to pull from my Sunday night teaching and examine a few of these questions and give a brief biblical answer. Please know my heart. I am not sharing these insights in an “I know more than you” attitude towards these pastors and denominations. I just know that as I’ve shared these truths, people always come to thank me for the simple biblical truth that erased their confusion.

Question #1 – Isn’t Speaking in Other Tongues of the Devil?

Have you had someone raise this question? I know that you have. I hear it quite often. Here is my brief response.
1. Jesus said that this sign would follow believers. (Mark 16:17). Did you catch that? JESUS said that this is for BELIEVERS. Why would Jesus tell us to do something that was from the Devil?
2. In Acts 10:44-46, the believers spoke with tongues AND magnified God. In Acts 19:6, they spoke with tongues AND prophesied. Here’s my question. Why would Satan do ANYTHING that would draw believers closer to Jesus AND equip them to magnify God and speak for Him?
3. If speaking in other tongues was truly from Satan, wouldn’t it seem logical to think that every drunk person at every honky-tonk (remember that I live in Texas) would be sitting at the bar speaking in other tongues? But, we know that’s not the case. Instead, Satan’s kids are speaking THEIR father’s language.

I told you that this would be brief. The truth doesn’t have to be long and drawn out. Next week, we will look at Question #2 – Didn’t This End with the Apostles?

 

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04 May God’s Outpouring TODAY!

Posted at 16:44h in Revival by Billy Burns 0 Comments

When God spoke through the prophet Joel that He would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, this included the ALL in YOUR church. And, His all really meant all! That’s His heartbeat. My question is, do you have the same heartbeat? Do you desire that the children in your children’s church and mid-week Bible clubs be filled with God’s Spirit and prophesy to their generation? Do you want God’s Spirit to move mightily in your youth services? Do you long for the “suddenlies” mentioned in the book of Acts to happen in your adult services?

Here’s one last question. Would you like to see God’s heartbeat demonstrated THIS YEAR? Vickie and I would love to be a part in launching this move of God in your church through a Holy Spirit Rally in 2018. Whether it be through a Sunday morning service or Sunday morning and evening services or a Sunday through Wednesday Rally, we want to join with you to see Joel’s prophecy come to pass THIS year in YOUR church. No church is too big or too small. We are just an email away … billy@billyburns.com. Please send me an email and I will call you immediately on the receipt of your email.

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