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09 Dec Hold On To Your Socks!

Posted at 18:00h in The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

I don’t know whether or not this happens to you, but at times, I can read a book and within hours, most of what I’ve read has escaped my memory. So, some time ago, I took steps to keep this from robbing me of what I’ve read. First of all, I began to highlight the thoughts and add annotations in the side margins. And then I went one step further. I created an Excel spreadsheet file on my computer and began to enter those quotations for future reference. For those of you who follow my Billy Burns Ministries page on Facebook, you see these quotations each Monday. (www.facebook.com/billyburnsministries)

Some four or five months ago, I read a small pamphlet written by Jimmy Swaggart titled The Baptism in the Holy Ghost. Though the booklet was only 29 pages in length, it contained so many powerful nuggets that I couldn’t afford to forget, thoughts that I had to enter into my quotations file. This week, I want to share a few of these quotations with you. To use my southern vernacular, I believe that these truths will bless the socks off of you!

“Sending a Christian into the world without the Holy Spirit is tantamount to sending a soldier into battle without a weapon. Admittedly, at the moment a person is saved, he becomes a Christian just as a person becomes a soldier the moment he is sworn into the Army. But the inductee is not ready for battle until he has basic training and has been issued his weapons. And the Christian is in the same condition at the time of salvation. If he isn’t encouraged to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, preparing him for the ever continuing battle against Satan, he is being sent out onto a battlefield woefully unprepared.”

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“Salvation is God’s greatest gift to the world. The Holy Ghost is God’s greatest gift to His children, the Church.”

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“For the person planning to die within the next few days, there probably aren’t any great advantages to receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. But for those who don’t plan to leave this vale of problems soon, there are tremendous advantages.”

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“Salvation equips us to enter into the presence of God after mortal life is over. The Baptism in the Holy Ghost equips us to live fruitfully (and happily) during those years before we go to be with God.”

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“At salvation, life is imparted to someone who is heretofore dead. In the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, power is imparted to the Christian who was previously weak and ineffectual. He is henceforth fitted for service to God.”

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“We need power if we are to work effectively against the perverting, destructive conspiracy promoted by the enemy. Anyone hindering the Christian in any way as he enters this battle is tacitly working for Satan, even though he might be appalled at the thought of doing so.”

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02 Dec The Demystified Holy Spirit

Posted at 04:08h in The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

I’m going to try something totally new in this blog post. For the first time in the 12+ year history of writing this blog, I am simply going to give the title, a brief explanation of the subject, the scripture reference, a set of four questions drawn from the scripture reference, and then leave it to the Holy Spirit to use these questions to make Himself known in your life in a fresh, new way.

TITLE: The Demystified Holy Spirit
BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE SUBJECT: The 19:2 Déjà vu Epidemic has invaded much of today’s Church. The 19:2 refers to a situation found in Acts 19:2 that showed a group of Ephesian believers that were clueless about the Holy Spirit. Some 2,000 years later, it has happened again. Once again, believers all around the world are mystified about the Holy Spirit. Consequently, this lack of understanding is keeping Him from having a relationship with many of today’s believers.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: John 14 – 16
FOUR QUESTIONS:
1. The Holy Spirit showing up on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) wasn’t His idea. From your reading of John 14-16, what/who brought about the Holy Spirit being sent to the Church?

2. In our scripture reference, we read over and over again that Jesus showed that the Holy Spirit is not a mystical, unknowable force or entity. You will notice that Jesus constantly referred to the Holy Spirit using personal pronouns. Count how many times that He used these pronouns. Why would knowing that the Holy Spirit is a Person be important to your relationship with Him?

3. In reading through the passage, I am confident that you noticed that Jesus told us that having a relationship with the Holy Spirit would be to our advantage. The “He  shall …” and “He will …” shows that He will be constantly working in our behalf. From John 14-16, list these assignments. How are these assignments significant to you personally?

4. One final question. Can you think of a better time than right now to put an end to your personal 19:2 Déjà vu Epidemic? As of ______________ (put in today’s date), the Holy Spirit has been officially demystified. You now know Him to be the relational, knowable Sent One who has been assigned to be your personal 24/7/365 Helper. Now turn off the computer and begin a new-found relationship with Him right now.

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25 Nov “Hankinsisms” – Wisdom from Pastor B.B. Hankins

Posted at 04:19h in Leadership, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

Whoa … stop … alright already. I am quite sure that there are some readers that have pulled out the dictionary to look up the word “Hankinsisms” and are ready to correct my word choice. For all of you grammarians, I know that “Hankinsisms” isn’t an actual word … or, is it? Is there a single word that could better describe the unique, profound wisdom shared each week in Pastor B.B.’s sermons and teachings?

If you  have followed this blog for any length of time, the name Pastor Billy Bob (B.B.) Hankins is no stranger to you. He was the pastor of the Gulf Coast Christian Center in West Columbia, Texas for some 50 years. So that I won’t be too wordy in this post, I will forgo sharing his bio other than to say that he was my pastor … and I am a very blessed man because of it. 

Here are just a few “Hankinsisms” …
* God has no grandsons.
* The poorest person in the world is someone who doesn’t have anyone praying for them.
* Jesus never commissioned anyone to preach a gospel that didn’t include healing the sick.
* You can get anywhere in the world from here.
* It’s not necessary unless it is necessary.
* God pays for what He orders.
* Whatever you need, sow that kind of seed.
* A move of God happens when people start to move closer to God.
* Worry is meditating on what the devil says.
* The anointing of the Holy Spirit will cause you to see your divine purpose.

Did you enjoy these bits of wisdom? Want to read more? In 2016, Pastor B.B.’s youngest son, Bob Hankins, gathered, transcribed, and published a book containing several of the teachings that were shared at his annual Spiritual Sons meetings. This book titled Success in Ministry: Lessons from a Spiritual Father is available through Amazon. 

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18 Nov The Unconstrained Holy Spirit – Part 4

Posted at 04:07h in God's Supernatural Power, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

EVERY THING found in the book of Acts is a today action of the Holy Spirit. That is, it is a today action if we say “GO Holy Spirit. No more WHOA Holy Spirit”. As I have shared in the previous blog posts, for far too long, many have said “WHOA” by …
* Buying into the Not Me Constraint
* Putting on the spiritual brakes with the Not Here Constraint

I want to share a third all-too-common constraint imposed by many Whoa-ers upon the Holy Spirit.

Constraint #3 – The Not Now Constraint.

You know the following stories and so I won’t go into great detail. In Acts 5:15, we read that Holy Spirit ministered powerfully through Peter as he walked down the street. In Acts 8:17, we read of Peter and John laying their hands upon the Samaritan believers so that they might be filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 8:26-40, Luke writes of God sending Philip the Evangelist along a desert road to lead an Ethiopian man to Christ. What is a common denominator in these stories? Luke doesn’t give a specific day of the week or time of day when God supernaturally ministered.

Why is this significant? Because, in the minds of many people, if the Holy Spirit is to move, He has a designated window of time once a week to do His work. Come on, you know exactly what I am talking about. If the Holy Spirit is allowed to minister at all, it HAS to be during the time allocated at church on Sunday.  (Am I getting too close for comfort?)

Those who have attended our Holy Spirit Rallies have heard me declare “TODAY is the day of the Holy Ghost”. TODAY actually, really means today. Right now. Whenever a need arises. As in the stories that I shared from the Book of Acts, that need might arise when we are walking down the street or are with a group of people or connecting one-on-one with an individual. That very moment becomes your TODAY that the unconstrained Holy Spirit can move through you to meet a need.

I would apologize for the simpleness of these Constraint blog posts. But, I won’t. I can’t. The three constraints that I have listed are far too common. Many people live spiritually unproductive lives because of these constraints!

Begin right now to declare that the days of the “Not Me Constraint” and “Not Here Constraint” and “Not Now Constraint” are history. Beginning right now, your “WHOA Holy Spirit” is officially replaced with “GO Holy Spirit”. Know that these are Book of Acts days through you, right here, right now! To quote T.D. Jakes, “Get ready, get ready, get ready” because I know this to be a fact … the TODAY Holy Spirit is waiting to show Himself in and through you TODAY.

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11 Nov The Unconstrained Holy Spirit – Part 3

Posted at 04:38h in God's Supernatural Power, Walk of the Spirit by Billy Burns 0 Comments

Man was I on the way-too-wordy side of life in the last blog post. I will make up for my being loquacious by getting right to the second constraint that we impose upon the Holy Spirit.

Constraint #2 – The Not Here Constraint.

We constrain the working of the Holy Spirit by limiting WHERE He can minister. Where? Yes. And, you already know where the where is. (Did that make any sense?). I’ll explain by reminding you of this story …

In Acts 3, we read of Peter and John traveling to the temple. You know the story, right? On their way, they encountered a lame man sitting outside of the temple begging. At this juncture, Peter and John had three options to consider …
Option #1 – Totally ignore the lame beggar.
Option #2 – Pick up the man and carry him into the temple.
Option #3 – Impart some of the “such as I have give I thee” and command the man to be made whole.

We all know that Option #3 was the action chosen. But, would this be the option that you would choose? I’m feeling generous. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you wouldn’t take Option #1. But, I’m leaning towards thinking that there are those reading this blog that would choose Option #2. It would be simple to get another person to help carry the lame beggar into the temple so that the beggar could hear a sermon and be prayed for by the “trained” leader. Am I right?

Thank God for your church service. I recognize that in this gathering of believers, the impossible can become possible. But, the working of the Holy Spirit can’t be restricted to a church service.

Consider this. Of the known miracles performed by Jesus, only three were conducted in the temple. I say known because the four gospels only record a small portion of His ministry. (John 20:30; 21:25) The Holy Spirit ministered through Jesus in people’s homes, along roadsides, in marketplaces, etc. In other words, where the need appeared, the need was met!

Let me be bold. Without exception, the Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus (Luke 4:18-19; Acts 10:38) is CONSTANTLY with (John 14:16), in (John 14:17), on (Luke 24:49), filling (Ephesians 5:18), and guiding (John 16:13) you. WHERE EVER YOU ARE, He is PRESENT and READY to meet any and every need THROUGH you.

With that in mind, consider the “Not Here Constraint” to be a thing of the past. From this day forward, walk in confidence and declare, “Yes, here!” because the “such as I have give I thee” is available where ever you are!

Go do the works of Him who has sent you! (John 9:4; 14:12)

 

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