James Biffert

Words!

There once was a great prince that was looking for a beautiful maiden to become his bride. As he was passing through a small village he discovered a young lady who by most people's standards was considered to be quite homely in her features.  In fact in this particular town a woman's beauty was determined by the number of cows she could bring her father for the dowary. The most beautiful of women could cost the searching groom up to six cows, and than there were those like the young lady in this story.  No one was even willing to pay one cow to secure her love.  Although many of the towns people always saw her as barely a one cow woman the prince saw something very different and he swooped in and swept her off her feet.  Paying the unsuspecting father seven cows.  Well, the townspeople thought the prince really got taken on that deal.  It wasn't too long later that the Prince returned to the village where he had found his bride.  Although with came not a woman that appeared homely but a woman that now of the townsmen could take their eyes off of and all the townswoman were talking about.  It was true this once homely one cow woman had been transformed into the beautiful princess.    

Jeremiah 1:9 "Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. See today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destory and overthrow, to build and to plant."

In Genesis it says that you and I were created in the image of God.  We possess many qualities that enable us to have communion with God that every other created thing lacks.  One of those characteristics has to do with the authority and creative power of our words.  When God created the world, He sent out His word and they took shape forming everything that we see.  In fact the New Teatament says that all things are held together by His powerful word.  It was all in His words.

Now stop for a moment and consider your words.  When was the last time that you%

When my girls were small I used to sit with them and play with some of these mind numbing toys that infants seem to think are the greatest thing since oatmeal.  There were many different toys but 'The Top' was always interesting.  Maybe because it reminds me of my life at times. 

God created us with a very clear and defined purpose.  In life it is often everything but clear and defined.  We track through life trying to keep up with a globe that is spinning around us at a pace which almost drowns out any opportunity to think and meditate.  In fact, it is almost like our busyness has become a drug that in some way keeps us from feeling the hopelessness and pointlessness of our lives.

It is alot like that top that never takes a clear and defined path.  Each time it is spun it moves in the direction that the speed takes it. Than when the speed runs out it falls to the ground.  Burnt of all its energy and motivation. 

Satan plays us like a top.  He knows that you have a very clear and defined mission to make his life miserable, unless he can get to you first.  So he gets you and your life spinning so fast that you lose track of even why your doing what your doing.  He spins you so fast that your life takes a path that is curving all over the place and brings you to a destination that has been chosen by all the ativities rather than our creator.  Than when all the speed is done and we are spun out, there we lie burnt out and hopeless.

We must guard our life and our time that we do not end up being a toy of the Devil.  A top with not clear and defined purpose or outcome.  Psalms says,"Be still and Know that I am God".  It is important that we take the time and meditate on God and take account of our life.  In James it says that we need to stop and look into the mirror.  Take a good look at our life and what it is becoming, what I am becoming.  Failure to do this can very easily take us to a place that we never thought we would go, into things we never thought we would do. 

Don't let busyness be a jewel of pride that somehow makes you think your important or successful.  Know that it is a weapon of the enemy against you and your family.  Now is the time to consider how this weapon is affecting your life.

Pastor James Biffert

As a young boy I remember my dad shouting to me to jump into his arms while he was standing in the deep end of the pool.  For me that was a very scary adventure.  It wasn't that I didn't trust His intent, but what if the unforseen took place and in some way there was an accident and I sunk to the bottom of the pool.  You know he was only a man, only human, think of all the things that could happen.  I was just one accident from death.  Than there was my father trying to convince me there was nothing to worry about. 

Now flash forward 20 years and here I am, like my father, yelling to my daughter to trust me and jump in.  Again I am trying to convince my daughter that her dad will protect her, and keep her safe. Yet in her eyes you can see her processing through all the fears and doubts, along with all the what if's.  She knew I would never hurt her but 'what if' something happened out of my control.  Eventually she would muster up enough courage to leap into my waiting arms.  In that moment there was a joy, a fulfillment, a happiness that I experienced when Mckenzie, my daughter, finally took the leap of faith.  She demonstrated her love, her trust in me by setting all of her fears aside and just believing in my ability to protect her.  There is no greater feeling for a father, but he knows his children love and trust him.

From Abraham, to Jacob, to Peter, and on to Paul we can see men that took the leap of faith in memorable ways.  Abraham was told to sacrifice his child and immediately he responded, WOW.  Than there was Jacob who fought God and lost, but even in that he was stilled blessed, and left with a reminder that it is better to aviod wrestling with God. Than Paul who once set on a course only stopped when God would not let him go any farther, Amazing.  Now I must look at my life and examine my commitment to do whatever it is God wants me to do.  I challenge you to do the same. 

Throughout the Old and New Testament God is trying to show us that His arms are big enough and strong enough to protect us.  Even when the pool of confusion is deep and there only seems to be difficult circumstances God can be trusted.  However, like the little child we are often distracted with all the 'what if's' of life rather than focusing on the strength, love, power of our abba father.  Friend, God loves you and He will never fail to catch you, no matter how crazy the leap.  Let go of the side of the pool and rest in the arms of the Creator of the Universe. You will experience an intimacy and closeness to God like nothing else when you are no longer dependent on your own strength and lean solely on the bear hug of God. So Take The Plunge!

What causes a man to turn on any form of human logic to do something that looks crazy in the eyes of the world.  That 'thing' that caused J. Hudson Taylor, an educated man, to leave behind the security of what he knew in order to go to China, a nation with no security. That 'thing' that caused Wilberforce to abandon the plush life of high class living in order to work for the freedom of people who were enslaved too other men.  That 'thing' that compelled a common plumber, ,to do things that would be offense to many people yet when he did it there were great miracles.  That 'thing' that drew the Elliots to go to the people of South America, even though they knew that practices of cannibalism were common.  That 'thing' caused Noah to build an ark, Abraham to leave paradise for a desert, Elijah to confront Ahab and his prophets, Paul to go back to Jerusalem even though he knew he would be imprisoned, and the list continues on and on throughout the Bible. A countless number of moments in time when man abandoned what seemed to be right in the eyes of human logic to do something that looked insaned all because they felt God told them to do it.

Think about what our Bible would look like if these people throughout history had decided to play it safe.  What if they felt the risk was to great and the sacrifice to overwhelming.  Where would we be?  Where would I be? What if Noah didn't build the ark, or Moses didn't go back to Eygpt, or Abraham had turned around and went back when his father died, or Peter had not preached that message on the Day of Pentecost, or Paul ran from prison? (We would not have the prison epistles)  It is the crazy decisions, based on God's direction, that cause us to know that we are connected with the creator of the universe.  In these moments we put our pride, our credibility and our faith on the line and say God show off through my crazy obedience to You!

Take a moment to think about your own life.  Ask yourself when the last time was that you ever did something that didn't make sense to you, your family or friends, and especially to this world.  Sure it is easy to play it saf

Have you ever watched ESPN's coverage of the NFL draft?  Now some of you are ready to stop reading, but indulge me for a moment. In every NFL draft there are a list of players that are on a board, eligible for NFL teams to fulfill their great dream of playing professional football.  Of the men on this board you will find players that have left college early because they believed they were ready to make the leap to the NFL.  For some of these players they would prove to be right, but for many they would find themselves either left on the draft board or picked very late in the draft.  Although many experts would not be surprised, often these players can't believe they were not picked earlier or not even picked at all.  How can that be that they were so ignorant to what the rest of the sports world already knew? It calls to question, who have these men placed in their life that have the freedom to speak the truth about them?

2 Timothy 4:2-4 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

In life we love to surround ourselves with 'yes people' who encourages us in whatever it is 'we' want to do.  It is important to have these kinds of people in our life.  In the same way, it is as important to have people in our life who love us and are willing to speak the truth with us even when it hurts.  Do not get me wrong, it is not easy to hear about all those things that we are missing the mark on. However, we must realize that these people in our life are put there by God protection and a surgeon.  They help us to see who we really are with the intent to take us where we want to be.  In my life, no matter how Pastor Dan or my father break the truth with me, I don't like it. In fact, I will even get a little defensive, but in the end I know they are helping me to see what I was often blind to.  Let me ask you, what are you blind to? Do you have someone in your life who is helping you to see things that you do not even

Last night I was watching clips of the ministry of Oral Roberts throughout the years. (Primarily during the 50's and early 60's) Here is this very young Roberts preaching a very simple message of faith with a firm confidence in what he was sharing.  As the camera would pan the tent, hundreds of people sat listening to each lifegiving word he would speak.  You could see the anticipation on their faces of what they were expecting to see.  Then at the end of this tent meeting people began to line up as the 'Word' touched their life through healing.  Person after person would make their way to the altar, and would leave free of some handicap, sickness or pain.  For Pastor Roberts it neither surprised him that they were healed nor did he fear if it wouldn't.  He just expected it to happen right then, right there.

As I watched this playback of what seems like ancient history in the church, I remembered someone much more familiar to my life.  My grandfather, Adam Biffert.  There were no videos of his ministry, no preaching tapes, no statues recognize his small stature, just 40 years of ministry in mostly small churches in rural areas across the state of Wisconsin.  As a child I remember hearing my grandfather preach the word in that firey fervant way.  Confident of the power and anointing that rested in the message he was speaking. Not much different than Oral Roberts he kept the message simple, and let the Holy Spirit carry the 'big stick'.  More than anything I remember the way my grandfather would pray for people, for his family, and just the way he talked to God.  There always seemed to be such authority in those moments.  Often hearing him plead the blood of Jesus in so many different situations. You don't hear that much anymore!  As a result my grandfather saw the Lord do many miracles in the lives of people, but never claimed a title as miracle worker, but just a faithful servant.  Now many years later I am reflecting on the heritage that I have received, and on the heritage 'We the church' have received from the church fathers that have laid a firm foundation.

The question I must ask myself is what heritage is my life leaving for my family, and the church of the future.  Will they see me as a person that preached profound messages, yet when it came time for the demonstration of power there was no 'fizzle'.  God has not changed, and neither has His desire for us in this generation.  We must believe that God wants to do even greater works in this day.  It is True!

I guess the question for all of us is, 'Who is carrying the big stick?' Will people come to listen to my great understanding or will they be captured by the expectation of God's manifested power.  All too often the church in this generation is caught trying to compensate the lack of this Holy Spirit power, with a good show and encouraging word.  Although these are 'good' things, I often wonder if they are 'God' things. 

We must stand up unified as a church and call on the 'Blood of Jesus' to unleash His authority and power to demonstrate the power of God in our lives today.  Friend draw from the well of the Holy Spirit and he will give you all the power you need to see great miracles. We must pass the heritage on that was passed to us.  The same spirit that dwelled in Oral Roberts and my grandfather is the same spirit that dwells in me and in you.  Draw from that spirit and it will produce a heritage in you that will be imparted to the next generation.

 Restraints Provide Freedom

     It is true that most Americans cringe at the sound of the word 'restraints'. It is one of those words that make us feel like we are being robbed of our basic right to freedom. This last summer I had an experience that truly brought new meaning to this word 'restraint'.  My wife and I took a camping trip with our three daughters to the infamous amusement park of Indiana Beach.  There we would discover a roller coaster that my daughters would ride over 40 times, called the 'Steel Hawg'. It is a roller coaster full of corkscrews, upside down loops, inverted falls and many other violent turns that would cause your organs to shift to one side of your body, all jammed into thirty seconds. After only two times my girls fell in love with this ride, se we rode it until the park closed.  While waiting in line I noticed that they stopped a cart on the track because one of the riders in the cart had changed her mind and wanted to get out. As she passed us she kept repeating, "I can't do it, I just can't do it." What could she not do that would cause her to miss this exciting experience? She could not get herself to trust the safety restraints that would keep her in the cart through all the twist and turns of the ride.  Even though these restraints had demonstrated their ability to keep people safe through its history of that ride, she could not take the risk of these restraints working for her.  So she missed a great experience.

Psalms 119:93 "I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life."

    More than any other people on earth Christians should know what it means to have abundant life. Life is full of all kinds of experiences that at times seem like we are hanging upside down or being put through a corkscrew turn.  Yet we can live without fear when we allow God's restraints, precepts, to protect us from falling out of the cart. We have been given and live by principles that have been established since the beginning of time.  They are true and have been proven to never fail.  There are many people who believe that God, although He has shown protection to some people, in their case He will abandon them and not show them the same favor.  Please understand it is our submission to do what God says, not so much who we are, that gives us protection. When we allow ourselves to submit to the principles, precepts, and commands of God we are allowing these restraints to give us an unimaginable freedom to experience true life.

     Imagine for a moment an amusement park with roller coasters that did not believe in using safety restraints. It would be no surprise to see and hear about people being thrown from the cart falling to their demise. Yet we try to live life without using the eternal safety restraints put in place by God. Trust the commands (restraints) of God to protect you especially in the times that we live in. All that this world is putting their trust in is falling apart. They don't know who or what to trust, and that is breeding an atmosphere of hopelessness. Can I tell you that as we go through these times we can always have hope and peace because God does not change and He is still in control. Though you walk through all kinds of troubles do not fear because God will be with you and His precepts will guard and protect you.

Who am I?  Who are you?  Identity!  It is the question that causes so many people to struggle with their place in this world and in the Kingdom of God.  People are wandering here and there around us really looking for something that will define their lives.  Often they dream of a life that they see played out on television because they are lost, lacking direction and searching for meaning.  ARE YOU LOST?  Are you at that place in life where you realize you have been trying for so long to be someone you are not, that you no longer even remember who you really are?  You have worked so hard to be what your parents, your friends, your work or just this culture has shaped you to be that  you feel like you’re wearing your shoes on the wrong feet.  They just don’t fit right.  The Apostle Paul tells us, “to live is Christ and to die is gain”.  What a statement of identity.  Paul who was everything of honor and success to the world of that time, threw it all in the trash and made this simple statement, “it is rubbish in light of my new identity in Christ.”  Being a Christian is more than an allegiance to a religion.  It is a statement of identity in Christ.  No longer are we striving to fulfill the dreams that others would have for us but to fulfill the dreams Christ created us for.  Who would understand our identity better than the one who gave us life.  Friend, along the journey of fulfilling God’s dream for you, an interesting thing will happen, you will find yourself!  You  will  begin  to  learn  to  love  who  you  are, fearfully and wonderfully made.  You will also discover that you will be enough, a perfect fit for God’s dream.  If you’re lost, join us and we will lead you to Christ.  You will find that He is a relevant answer for your life, and the things you are walking through. 

Pastor James