2014 Bike & Hike

We are planning a BFWC BIKE & HIKE on Sunday, June 22nd, at 3:00 PM.  The Purpose is to get HEALTHY and have FUN with our church FAMILY & FRIENDS, while invading downtown Indianapolis with our BFWC presence!

The plan is to meet at White River State Park at 2:30 PM, and ride along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. Paid parking is available at the Visitors Center, as well as the Indiana State Museum.

Along the trail, we are going to have a picture scavenger hunt! (BIKERS will ride a designated trail in the city, while HIKERS will walk the trail along the canal.)  We'll convene back at White River State Park for Fellowship around 5 PM. (Pack a lunch and drink). We're asking everyone to wear their RED BFWC SHIRTS!  This will definitely be a FUN TEAM BUILDING activity, as well as something for the WHOLE FAMILY to enjoy. 

Whether you bike, hike or just show up to cheer on everyone, there'll be plenty of fun things to do at the canal!  (Consider packing a folding chair or a blanket to picnic with afterward!) (Bike & Hike at your own risk.)

Register Here!

http://indyculturaltrail.org/

There's No Expiration Date On Your Anointing!

When I was around eight years old, I watched my father kill a rattlesnake at my grandparent's house in Eastern Kentucky. He shot it and cut it's head off with a garden hoe.  Afterward, he took the rattler as a souvenir. I was so proud of my dad and his heroic effort, that I asked him if I could take the rattler to school for show and tell.
  

I've never liked snakes!  

The Apostle Paul had an encounter with a snake when he was shipwrecked on the Island called Melita (Acts 28:1-6).  While gathering wood for a fire, he is bitten by a venomous snake. As soon as the natives of the island see this viper hanging on Paul's hand, they go to forecasting his death. 

Isn't that just like people?  There are some people around you that know who you've been going through something, and know the devil has attacked you, and right now they're forecasting your death.  This might shock you, but there are some people around you that are happy you got bit.  They are taking pleasure in your pain.

It happened to Joseph. (Genesis 37)  After Joseph's brothers threw him in a pit and left him there to die, they sat down on the side of the pit and had lunch.  They entertained themselves, listening to Joseph's cries for help.

There are some people around you that are enjoying your pain, they are glad you got bit and they're saying things like ... "I knew they weren't going to make it; I knew that marriage wouldn't last; I knew they couldn't afford that house; I knew they would never make it in ministry; I knew they weren't qualified for that job; I knew their children were going to end up on drugs or in prison...."

They began to prophecy Paul's death and expected him to die.  But he disappointed them! I want you to know today that you're getting ready to disappoint some people!  They already had you dead, prophesied your death, wrote your epitaph and celebrated your expiration...but guess what?  You didn't die!

There's no expiration date
on your anointing!

I'm not saying you'll never be bit again, never have to fight another battle, never cry another tear or never spend another sleepless night.  I am saying that through it all YOU WILL BEAT THE DEVIL!

The devil tried to kill you with sickness, debt, family problems & marriage problems.  He's tried to kill your faith, peace, joy and dreams!  But I want you to look back over your shoulder and see what God has already brought you through!

You've been lied on, falsely accused, rejected, went through divorce, foreclosure, repossession, loss of work, stabbed in the back by "so-called" friends, got sick and thought you were going to die...but guess what?  YOU'RE STILL HERE!

Paul didn't die and neither will you!  That viper sunk his fangs into Paul's flesh and shot that poison into his body, but when the poison hit the anointing...that poison died!  In other words, Paul's anointing went to another level!

The vipers of hell have been unleashed against you, because of the anointing on your life! However, the bite still hurts!  The fangs are real and they're sharp!  But you're not going to die!

• You're going to shake it off and keep moving!
• You're going to another level in the anointing!
• Your testimony is going to another level!
• You're going to walk with a greater anointing and a greater authority than ever before!
• You're going to cast out bigger devils than before!
• Your faith is going to take you to places you could never go before!
• The scars from the bite will serve as a reminder of God's faithfulness!

The anointing does not exempt you from the bite of the viper, but it does give you power over the poison!  Not only did Paul shake the viper off and survive...he shook it off into the FIRE! 

The anointing destroyed the viper!

What the devil meant for evil, God means for good!  God is going to increase your anointing! You're not expiring...you're refiring! Go ahead and give God praise, because the bite of the viper cannot & will not kill you!

You are anointed!

Isaiah 10:27 "In that day: (This day) The burden shall depart from off thy shoulder and the yoke from off thy neck, because the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing!"

Memorial Day Weekend

Good Morning Friends & Family! 

Many of you will celebrate this Memorial Day, with your families and close friends, making memories and catching up on old times.  As you're finishing off that delicious cheeseburger, potato salad and sweet tea, I hope you'll take a moment to reflect on the qualities of the people you are in relationship with.  Just spending time together can help keep your hearts warm toward each other.

Oftentimes, the busyness of life can cause us to drift apart in our relationships where we don't feel as connected as we once did.  As you're connecting with people/family today, why not use this as an opportunity to express to each other the positive qualities you admire, respect and appreciate in each other?

Here's something you can try...play "I Have a Memory" game in which each of you think of a fun time from your past and you have 20 questions with which to guess the memory.  The point is to relive the moment, at least in your memories, of a special time you experienced together.

Today, we wave the flag of freedom and remember those who have given their life for our great nation.  Pause and reflect on their contribution and say a prayer for our country and leaders.

I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day and a lifetime of making wonderful and fun memories!

Pastor Hylton

Who Stole Your Dream?

God loves DREAMERS!  He's the giver of new ones and the mender of broken ones!

Every DREAM moves you closer to God's perspective.  When you begin seeing things the way He does, it raises you above your LIMITATIONS; from where you are to where He wants you to be.  When that happens, you're now seeing your dreams as COMPLETED rather than DELETED!

We can all DREAM...
but not everyone has 

the courage to act on their DREAMS!  

James tells us that faith without works is dead. (James 2:17)  What's true about faith is also true about DREAMS.  Every DREAM that lacks DILIGENCE is DEAD!  Your DREAM is going to require DETERMINATION and DEDICATION!

The children of Israel DREAMED of The Promised Land, but the only way to get there was through the wilderness.

It's in the wilderness that you learn FIVE THINGS:

1. How to TRUST God for what you NEED!
2. DISCOVER God's POWER in "Red Sea situations!"
3. How to be LED, READ, BLED and FED!
4. How to keep your EYES on your DESTINY in forward PURSUIT!
5. REFUSE to be like those who MURMUR, COMPLAIN and never MAKE IT!

If it's your DREAM, no one can steal it!

• You can't BLAME someone for TAKING it...cause it's not theirs to take.
• You won't ABANDON it!
• You won't FORGET about it!

The thing about your DREAM is...it BELONGS to you!  It BURNS so hot within you that you find yourself pursuing it with relentless passion that is fueled even more by the RESISTANCE and DISCOURAGEMENT of others.

When it's your DREAM, you'll learn to throw every negative word, reaction and doubting look into the furnace that DRIVES your train down the tracks in the DIRECTION of what CONSUMES you!  You'll WORK on it every day, regardless of the NOISE and the barking DOGS around you.  In time there will be nothing left of the NAYSAYERS who are creeping around you like a pack of hyenas.

DREAMERS who POUT go WITHOUT!

• Can you imagine Abraham Lincoln curled up in a fetal position on the couch, with his momma stroking his head, crying "they stole my dream?"  NO.
• Can you imagine missionary David Livingstone running around trying to convince his peers that someone tried to steal his dream? NO.

Your DREAMS are yours and yours alone!  No one can take them from you, if you don't let them. If you don't fulfill them, no one ever will!

Is there a DREAM in your heart?  You're never too old or too young to pursue it, no matter how far fetched it may seem!  Remember...Noah started building the ark at five hundred!

Your DREAMS are like your children; they're you're offspring.  They're the joy of your future. Protect them!  Feed them!  Encourage them to grow, for as long as you have a DREAM - you'll never be old!

God has a DREAM for you, and if you seek Him, He'll reveal it to you!

Do You Have a Dream?

God has placed DESIRES deep within us.  When we walk according to His will and have a heart that follows after Him, He puts DESIRES, THOUGHTS and DREAMS in our heart.

I believe we all have something that we want to see accomplished in our life.  However, sometimes those dreams get blurred by the circumstances of life.  They get PUSHED down, STEPPED on and SIDESTEPPED to the point that we think we'll never be able to accomplish it.

However, don't forget, it was God that put those dreams and desires in your heart! If He put them there, then He wants to see them come to pass!  That's why He has given us PURPOSE!  

If we personally have no purpose, we will be a miserable person who is simply existing and unmotivated.  

God gave us PURPOSE so that we could reach for higher heights!  No wonder Paul told Timothy to "stir up the gift of God that was in him." (2 Timothy 1:6)

Instead of waiting on God...God is waiting on us!

God is waiting on us to STIR UP our God-given desires!  God desires to fulfill the desires He gave us.  We are told to "Delight ourselves in the Lord and He shall give us the desires of our heart." (Psalm 37:4)  Literally, God is wanting to grant us the secret petitions of our heart.

Many times...TIME has a way of LESSENING and WEAKENING our dream.  Our dream starts to look like it's too far away and will never come to pass.  But we must get those thoughts out of our mind and STIR UP THE GIFT (cultivate the dream) that is already in us!

Today, I hope your heart is being stirred to remember the dreams that are already in you!  If so, I encourage you to FEED the dream and WATER the dream...believing that it will come to pass!

Psalm 145:19 "He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him; he also will hear their cry, and will save them."

Start by...

1. Looking Ahead

• Write your vision down. (Habakkuk 2:2)
• Keep the vision in front of you.
• Set some goals.
• Stretch for it!

2. Looking Within

• See yourself as God sees you.
• Every dream starts with a picture. (Proverbs 23:7)
• Words create pictures. Get God's Word inside of you and it will paint the picture of how God sees you!
• See yourself doing what God has called you to do even if it seems unnatural. (i.e. Gideon, Moses)

Do not let the fear of FAILURE stop you from chasing your dreams!

• Abraham Lincoln was defeated 10 times in a row.
• In 27 years, he never won a political race.
• He had a nervous breakdown between one of his campaigns.
• BUT HE NEVER GAVE UP REACHING FOR HIS DREAM!
• The first race he won was in 1860 - the Presidency of the United States!

Matthew 19:26 "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

By all scientific data, the bumblebee can't fly.  It's not supposed to fly.  It's body is too big for it's wings.  However, the bumblebee can't understand scientific data.  When God told the bumblebee to fly...it just flew!  It defied the laws of nature!

That's what we have to realize when we're searching for our dreams, holding to our dreams and believing they'll come to reality!  Even if it doesn't seem natural...remember...if we trust God, He can do the SUPERNATURAL and He can cause our dreams to come to pass!

It Is Well!

In 2 Kings 4, there was a Shunammite woman, who was called in the Bible a "GREAT WOMAN!"

• She recognized Elisha as a man of God and wanted to bless him.
• She spoke to her husband and convinced him to build a room on their house for Elisha to use whenever he passed by. (2 Kings 4:8-10)
• Elisha, of course, appreciated this gesture and asked his servant, Gehazi, what he could do to bless the woman.
• Gehazi noticed that she didn't have a son and told Elisha so.
• This gave Elisha the opportunity to bless the woman and he told her that she would have a son. (2 Kings 4:14-16)
• Of course, she had the son as the prophet said but later on that same son died. (2 Kings 4:18-20)

The Shunammite woman could have cried, wailed and complained...but she didn't! She knew the importance of her words and maintained a positive confession of faith even after her son died.  She told her husband, "It shall be well." She rode to see the prophet Elisha at Mount Carmel.  When Elisha saw her, he sent his servant Gehazi to meet her and ask her three questions:

1. Is it well with thee?
2. Is it well with your husband?
3. Is is it well with your son?

The Shunammite woman answered...IT IS WELL!

Even though the reality of the situation was not well, her son had died, she told both her husband and Elisha's servant that all was well!

• She didn't even share with her husband that there was a problem!
• It was his son as well, but she didn't tell her husband...it wasn't until she spoke to Elisha that she gave any indication that there was something wrong.
• Even then, she didn't wail and lament, she didn't even say that her son was dead.
• All she said was, "Did I desire a son of my Lord? Did I not say, do not deceive me? (2 Kings 4:28)

This was enough for the prophet to understand that there was a problem with the woman's son.

• He didn't need the details, he just needed to know that there was a problem.
• Friends, all too often we concentrate on the details of the problem, instead of the solution.
• It doesn't matter what the problem is, the important part is the solution!
• Jesus is the solution...we need to concentrate on Him!

Had the Shunammite woman concentrated on the problem, she wouldn't have spoken in FAITH, she wouldn't have gone to see the prophet and she wouldn't have received her son back to life!

• Instead of focusing on the problem...she maintained a good confession of FAITH and went to seek the answer to her FAITH!