Life Lifters | Lakeshore Community Church

Dec 31 8:49 AM

Best of 2021: Joy in God Getting the Glory (Released 09-29-2021)

Dec 31 8:49 AM

Friday, January 31, 2021

When you live your life, when people see your life, do they appreciate God more? Do they see God's greatness in the way you live?

Friday, January 31, 2021

Originally Published September 29, 2021

Philippians 4:20

Through the end of the year, we’ll be rerunning some of the best Life Lifters from 2021. We hope you’ll join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning!

We have been working through the book of Philippians, focusing on the theme of joy. Today, we're going to talk about joy in God getting the glory. Look at what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:20, "To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen." The whole goal of the Apostle Paul's life was to bring glory to God, to bring attention to God's greatness, to recognize God's greatness, to help other people see God's greatness by the way he lived. His goal was to bring glory to God. In fact, Paul also says, "Whether you eat, whether you drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

What does that mean? It means this, that when you live your life, when people see your life, do they appreciate God more? Do they see God's greatness in the way you live? Does God get attention and glory from others who see your life? Is that what you want from your life? Do you want your life to glorify God? We all fall short. We're all very imperfect, but the ultimate tenor and aim of our life should be to glorify God, to call attention to his greatness, so that others see how great he is. I want to see God's greatness even more my life, but after that, I want others to see how great God is through my life. That's why Paul says, "To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Jesus said when he comes back, he's going to come back in power, and he's going to come back in great glory. When he comes back, he's going to set up His kingdom on earth for 1000 years,which is called the millennium, and he will be glorified by everybody. That's why we want to spend the rest of our days on Earth glorifying God. We glorify God by the way we live, by the way we talk, by our practices, by the way we show love, by the way we distinguish ourselves from the average person, by the way we give generously, by the way we give of our gifts in the church, by the way we help the less fortunate, by the way we serve , and by the way we treat other people (which is different from the rest of the world). There are people that have come to me, and if you've been a Christian long enough and you're striving to glorify God, I'm sure you've had the same thing happen, where people say, "Man, what is it about you? Why are you so nice?" And I get a chance to just say, "It's God in me. I give glory to God, because he's the one who does it in me." That's what life's all about.

So, I have a question for you. Is your life all about trying to bring glory for God? Paul prayed, "To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." That's what I want from my life, and I think that's probably what you want from your life. Let's glorify God in all that we do so that, in the words of Jesus, we may let our light so shine, that people may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Let's pray. Father, forgive us for those times when we haven't glorified you. Help us to bring glory to your name by the way we live. Help us to have others see it, so that they may glorify you, too. We know that one day you're going to come back in power and great glory, and you will rule and reign on the earth in glory for 1000 years. We want to help as many people as we can be a part of that. Thank you for this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Dec 20 8:55 AM

Best of 2021: Joy Through Right Thinking (Released 09-15-2021)

Dec 20 8:55 AM

Monday, December 20, 2021

The best thing you can do for your life and the direction that it goes, is to change the way you think. Have you ever heard the old saying, garbage in garbage out? It's true.

Monday, December 20, 2021

Originally Published September 15, 2021

Philippians 4:8

Through the end of the year, we’ll be rerunning some of the best Life Lifters from 2021. We hope you’ll join us each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning!

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The best thing you can do for your life and the direction that it goes, is to change the way you think. Have you ever heard the old saying, garbage in garbage out? It's true. Whatever garbage is in your head is going to come out of your life. If you have pure thoughts, you'll have a pure life. If you have impure thoughts, you'll have an impure life. If you have negative thoughts, finish it with me, you'll have a negative life. If you have worrisome thoughts, you'll have a worried life. If you have constant thoughts about wanting more money, you'll have a greedy life. So what's really important is that you have the right thought life. If you want to have the right thought life, you have to filter out the wrong thoughts, and only allow in the right thoughts.

What are the right thoughts? I'm so glad you asked. Philippians 4:8 gives us eight thought filters. These are the eight things you should allow in your mind only, and everything else you should not. Paul tells us that we can find joy through right thinking. He says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." What is Paul saying? I don't know that it's exactly limited to these eight things, but these are eight filters. Paul is saying we should only think about these things, and not the opposite of them. Not ignoble things, but noble things. Not impure things, but pure things. Not things that are horrible, but things that are excellent. Not things that are praise-un-worthy, but praiseworthy. Think on these things. What's he saying? You have to filter your mind and make sure you're thinking the right thoughts.

If you want to have joy in your life, it starts right here, it's the battle of the mind. You have to filter out the things that are going to tilt your life in a negative direction. Only allow yourself to think about things that tilt it in a positive direction. I'm not talking about the name-it-claim-it stuff, because they take that crazily. What I'm talking about is the right kind of holy, godly thinking through these eight metaphors, and having that shape how you think about God, yourself, and life. Do you do that? Can you do that? For some of you, you may need to write down these eight things. You just need to get an index card and write down, "true, noble right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy." Then, you need to say, "Am I thinking these things?" It's going to take time because guess what? It took you as many years as you're alive to start and keep thinking the way you're thinking. But if you think the way God wants you to think with these eight filters, it will slowly but surely change your life. You'll have more joy in your life. Filter your thinking with these eight great filters.

Let's pray. Father, help us to think along the lines that you want us to think. Help us to think through these eight things in our life so that they become filters. Let them filter out everything that's not that and filter in only what these are. We'll find more joy there. Our world always wants to bring us down. Like crabs in a bucket, people want to bring us down with them into the bucket. We want to crawl out and we can crawl out of the bucket when we practice the right kind of thinking. Biblical thinking. Help us to find joy in that, God. Help us to not give up if it doesn't work in one day, because it takes a long time to change your stinking thinking. And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Nov 26 8:45 AM

TOP 10: Joy Through Anxious Times (Originally Published 9-13-2021)

Nov 26 8:45 AM

Friday, November 26, 2021

The Bible says you can find joy through your anxious times. Whatever times you're going through that are leading to anxiety, you can replace your anxiety with joy.

Friday, November 26, 2021

Philippians 4:6-7

TOP 10 LIFE LIFTERS: For the next few weeks, we'll be re-releasing some of the top Life Lifters we've ever published since we started this devotional series. Join us as we look back at popular topics like prayer, joy, trust, and hope!

Boy, these are anxious times. Between world events, COVID, our economy, jobs, etc., there's so much to be anxious about. If we focus on the things of this world, a lot of anxiousness. Maybe you feel anxiety because of some personal things going on in your own life, some family things, some marriage things, or some things with your kids. It's so easy to get anxious, nervous, and discontented inside. The Bible has an answer to that. The Bible says you can find joy through your anxious times. Whatever times you're going through that are leading to anxiety, you can replace your anxiety with joy. How do you do that? Let's look at Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

So, he says, "Do not be anxious about anything." It's like, "Oh, thanks. Just don't be anxious." But then Paul explains, "but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." What's Paul saying? The way you avoid being anxious about anything is to pray about everything. Whenever you feel anxiety, pray on it. Whenever you feel anxious about this, that, or the other, pray for this, that or the other. Anxiety and prayer to God cannot coexist. Prayer will always bring a defeat of anxiety. Why? Because of the rest of the verse. Paul says, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." That's the result. When you are anxious about anything. You pray about everything, and the peace of God will guard your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus. First, it'll guard your hearts. The word guard means to establish a century guard, a powerful protective guard that is virtually impenetrable. He'll guard your heart. What is your heart? It is your emotions, the seat of your emotions. In the Hebrew Old Testament, the heart was considered a seat of the human emotional system. It will guard your emotions.

God's peace will also guard your mind, because where does anxiety start? In the mind. We have thoughts that we just rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. We replay them, rehearse them, replay them, rehearse them, replay them, rehearse them. We ask ourselve, "What am I going to do? How am I going to get out? How am I going to do it?" And it's all about anxiety. If you pray when you're anxious, your heart or your emotions, and your mind and your thoughts will be kept at peace in Christ Jesus. Try it. Pray. If we did as much praying as we did worrying, we would have an awful lot less to worry about. Pray every time you're anxious. Catch it early. It's like a disease, the earlier you catch it, the likelier It is to be resolved quickly. The minute you're feeling self anxious, say, "God help me not be anxious about that. You've got it." If your job is stressful, say, "God help me not be anxious about my job, you control everything." Your family is mess? Don't be anxious about it, say, "God help me to do the best thing I can do for my family. Help me to control my controllables and realize that I'm only one person. Everybody else has to do whatever else they're going to do." I'm telling you right now, if you want joy, you can have joy through times of anxiety if you'll pray and experience God's peace in your heart and in your mind. Are you willing to do that? Every time you're anxious, pray.

Let's pray. Father, I pray right now that whatever is bothering me and whatever is bothering anybody watching this life lifter, I pray that they would lift it up to you, God. I pray right now to just give it to God. Say, "God, I'm anxious about such and such. I'm anxious about this. I'm anxious about that." Tell him tell him in your own words. Pour out your heart to him. He's a God of refuge. God, as they pour out their prayers to you now and throughout the day, week, month, year, and throughout the rest of their life, give us the answer to this promise that you'll give us a peace that guards our heart and our minds in your son Jesus Christ. I claim this for them. I claim this for me, in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Nov 24 8:57 AM

TOP 10: Joy Killer #1: Complaining (Originally Published 7-26-2021)

Nov 24 8:57 AM

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

How many have ever had joy, maybe you found joy in Christ and what he's doing in your life, and somebody or something came along, and killed your joy. It was a joy killer.

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Philippians 2:14-15

So many times we talk about what it takes to find joy. Last week, I talked about places to find joy from Philippians chapter one. During this week's Life Lifters we will look at the most common joy killers and how to overcome them. How many have ever had joy, maybe you found joy in Christ and what he's doing in your life, and somebody or something came along, and killed your joy. It was a joy killer. I want to talk to you about three of the biggest joy killers. Here's the first: complaining. Nothing kills joy faster than complaining. I know sometimes you have to vent stuff, and I'm the kind of guy that has a short account with stuff. So I just get it out. I complain, and it's better to complain a little than a lot, but better not to complain at all. So complaining is tough. And I find the longer I complain, the more I start to sap away my joy.

I get this because Paul gives us that admonition in Philippians 2:14-15. Philippians is Paul's letter of joy. He wrote it from prison, the last place you'd expect somebody to have joy, but joy is not happiness. You can be unhappy in prison and still filled with joy like Paul was. So while he's in prison, still filled with joy, he says this to the Philippians, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault and a crooked and depraved generation,' in which you shine like stars in the universe."

First, he says "Do everything without complaining or arguing." What's arguing? It can be a form of complaining sometimes. "I want this, I want that. I want this. I want that." James says it's competing battle of wills. Paul goes on and says if you do everything without complaining and arguing, then what happens is you shine like stars, you're filled with joy. If you don't, then you are like the crooked and depraved generation around us. How many know the crooked and depraved generation around us, which describes our generation, they're always complaining. They say, "I'm offended. I'm offended that you said that. I'm offended that you did that. I'm offended." Sometimes I just want to say "I'm offended that you're offended." Or people say, "My rights have been trampled." And unfortunately there's a lot of truth to that, but but sometimes their rights are actually their selfish needs. People are always complaining about something. And I'm telling you, I have never seen somebody that complains a lot filled with joy. Have you?

The problem is sometimes we look in the mirror and we find somebody who's doing a lot of complaining. Stop complaining. Accept it. Voice your concern, say something's wrong, challenge it, wish it were better, but don't camp out in complaining land. It'll rob your joy. Do less complaining and more contemplating. What does God want to do in your situation? Then, you will not be like the crooked and depraved generation around us, but you'll be, as Paul says, like shining stars. I think of that song by Earth Wind and Fire, "Got to be a shining star." Paul says, be a shining star. What does that mean? When you're a shining star you're filled with joy. So you get the choice: complain or joy? It's like two rabbits. You can't chase two rabbits at once. Get rid of complaining and chase down joy. Father, forgive us for being complainers. I am one who at times struggles with complaining. Help me to choose joy over complaining. Help people listening to choose joy over complaining, and we'll find more joy as a result. We ask you this in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Oct 22 8:04 AM

Don't Settle For Happiness

Oct 22 8:04 AM

Friday, October 22, 2021

Today, I want to tell you, don't settle for happiness. A lot of people confuse happiness and joy. They are completely different.

Friday, October 22, 2021

Galatians 5:22b

I have been talking about how to live with an attitude. Now, if I just say, "Boy, that person has an attitude," nine times out of ten it has a negative connotation. But I'm talking about living with a biblical, godly attitude. That's what we're unpacking. In the fruit of the Spirit there are nine godly attitudes. We see just before the passage that lists the nine fruit of the Spirit, it says we have a choice. We can live in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, or we can live the way we used to live before we became Christians, if in fact we are. That's always a choice. The proof, the fruit, the evidence that you're living in the Holy Spirit and not living your old way is that you're living out these fruit of the Spirit. So, last time I talked about the very first fruit of the Spirit, which is love. Today, I want to talk to you about the second fruit of the Spirit, which is found in Galatians 5:22b, where it says, "The fruit of the Spirit is... joy." Today, I want to tell you, don't settle for happiness. A lot of people confuse happiness and joy. They are completely different. The Bible never commands us to be happy all the time. Not one time. The Bible doesn't say be miserable, either, though Christians are really good at that, unfortunately. But the Bible never commands us to be happy all the time.

The Bible does command us to be joyful all time. Paul said in Philippians, "Be joyful in the Lord always. And again I say it: Rejoice!" So the Bible calls us and commands us to be joyful, but it never commands us to be happy. Why? Because it's impossible to always be happy. It is impossible because happiness is tied to your emotions. Joy is tied to your volitional decisions. Happiness is how I feel. If you go to Disney, you feel great! You bring your young kids to Disney, we did that a couple times, it's great. Oh my goodness, you pay the admission, buy food all the time, take pictures with Mickey, buy hats and t-shirts, jackets, posters, everything! It is so awesome. You're at Disney, you're happy. Then, about three weeks later, you get the credit card bill. You're not happy anymore. It's different.

But joy says no matter what my circumstances I can have joy. By the way, the word happiness comes from happenstance, which comes from circumstance. Despite your circumstance, joy is an inner condition, an inner state. It's a gift from God. We can always be joyful. So, I'm asking you this based on what I said. Can you be joyful and not happy? Yes you can, because happiness comes and goes, up and down. Joy is available through Jesus Christ. So, I want to challenge you to live with joy. The apostle Paul not only said "rejoice in Lord always," he said it with a life that was filled with turmoil, complexities, challenges, and death threats. He had been tortured, beaten, imprisoned, etc. So much had been done to the Apostle Paul, yet he said, "Rejoice in the Lord always." Why? Because to rejoice is a choice. Happiness, is kind of a choice, but it's really how you feel. It's based on circumstances, and circumstances don't always go our way. But God always allows them to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. Joy isn't dependant on circumstances. Are you choosing joy? What are you going through right now? Tough time? Unhappy about it? That's okay. It's okay to be unhappy about it. Are you finding God's joy in it anyway? Things at work may be tough. One of my family members texted me about a job situation that's tough. I don't expect that family member to be happy, but I hope, if they're seeking God, that they're joyful. Maybe you have some health issue, or some other bad news that's coming your way. God doesn't ask you to be happy about it, to celebrate, or throw a party because you're sick. No, instead you can be joyful no matter what. You can make the choice to rejoice.

You say, "Vince, how do I do it?" Remember, the fruit of the Spirit are simply you getting in touch with the Holy Spirit, and him supplying You with supernatural joy that you can't manufacture. You can't manufacture joy. You can manufacture happiness, but you can't manufacture joy. So, you live in the Holy Spirit, remember what Jesus did for you, get filled with joy from the Holy Spirit, and be joyful, even if you're unhappy. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this reminder that we should not settle for happiness, but instead for joy. Happiness is unachievable all the time. Joy is achievable all the time when we live in your spirit and remember what you've done for us. Help us to be joyful people in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Oct 18 8:04 AM

Living With An Attitude

Oct 18 8:04 AM

Monday, October 18, 2021

I want to talk to you about living with an attitude.... But I want to talk to you about living with a biblical attitude.

Monday, October 18, 2021

Galatians, 5:16-17, 22-23

I want to talk to you about living with an attitude. Whenever I say, "Boy, that person has an attitude," it almost always has a negative connotation. "Boy, he's got a bad attitude. He's got a down attitude. He's got a sour attitude. He's got an uncharitable, unloving attitude." But I want to talk to you about living with a biblical attitude. So, maybe we should call it living with a biblical attitude. I'm going to give you kind of an overview, and over the next nine Life Lifters, I'm doing my flavors, I'm going to talk about nine attitudes to live with.

I want to start by reading Galatians 5:16-17 to kind of paint the picture about the importance of living with an attitude, or a biblical attitude. Paul says, "What I say is this, let the Holy Spirit direct your lives and do not satisfy the desires of the human nature. For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants. And what the Spirit wants is opposed to what the human nature wants. The two are enemies." So see, Paul is setting up a contrast: live in the desires of the Holy Spirit, don't live in desires of your sinful nature. If you are a Christian, the sinful nature is the person you were before you came a Christian. Every day of life, your attitude is your choice. And every day of life, whether you're aware of it or not, whether you think of it in this context or not, here's the truth: You have a choice. You can live by the attitude of the Holy Spirit, or live by the attitude of your old nature. Some days we do a lot more of one than the other. Hopefully our goal is to live 100% with an attitude of the Spirit, and 0% with the attitude of our old nature. Attitude is important because attitude will help us choose - are we going to live for the Holy Spirit or for our old nature?

How do we live for the Holy Spirit? Watch this, you live for the Holy Spirit by living the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 talk about the fruit of the Spirit. It says, "When the Holy Spirit controls our lives," in other words, when we choose the Holy Spirit's attitude over our human nature attitude, "he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control." Then, he later says, "against such there is no law." Let me just briefly help you understand how to live in the Spirit, how to live by the fruit of the Spirit, because the fruit of the Spirit are not the same as the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts of the Spirit are the spiritual gifts we get when we believe. The fruit of the Spirit are not the gifts of the Spirit. Second, the fruit of the Spirit are not the gift of the Spirit. The gift of the Spirit is that the moment you believe you are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help you choose the attitude to live for Him, not for our old self. These attitudes come from dependence on God. How do you live these nine fruit of the Spirit that we're going to be talking about? It's real simple. You have to depend on God, depend on the Holy Spirit. The secret to living the fruit of the Spirit, the secret to living the Christian life, the secret to living a life that chooses the Holy Spirit over your old nature and your old, pre-Christian, sinful lifestyle is this. Stop trying and start yielding. Stop trying to be better, and start yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit. He is the person of the Trinity who is most talked about in the New Testament as helping us change and live the Christian life.

Do you want to live with an attitude? You want to stop living for the old you and start living for the Holy Spirit, the new you? You want to live with an attitude that surrenders to God and lets him work through these nine fruit of the spirit? Let me just pray with you, Father, help all of us listening live by your spirit and not by our old ways. Let us embrace what you have to say to us in the fruit of the Spirit and embrace all nine fruit. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Oct 01 8:05 AM

Joy in God's Grace

Oct 01 8:05 AM

Friday, October 1, 2021

Today, I want to talk to you about the joy of God's grace. What is the grace of God?

Friday, October 1, 2021

Philippians 4:23

Today, I want to talk to you about the joy of God's grace, how we find joy in God's grace. Look at Philippians 4:23. It says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit. Amen." Amen means "so be it" or "it is so." Paul says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." He didn't just say be in your life, but be with your spirit. What is the grace of God? When you become a Christian, you become a Christian by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you experience His grace. If Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace," meaning God's grace, "you have been saved, through faith. It's the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one can boast."

Grace is, first of all, getting something we don't deserve. So, he says our spirit gets something from God that we don't deserve. What is that? We don't deserve forgiveness. We don't deserve love. We don't deserve a place in heaven. But we get all that through faith in Christ. Another person said this, think of grace as acrostic. G R A C E: God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace is God's riches, given to us at Christ's expense when he died on the cross. But there's another meaning of grace that is less popular. Grace also has the idea of not only undeserved favor and our spirit, but divine power and our spirit. When you become a Christian, God gives you his power in your spirit to live out the Christian life, to do good works, to serve other people, to live holy, to change bad habits, to pursue good habits, to desire him more, etc. And Paul prays that we would have more of this grace, more of this divine power to live for Him. I love grace. Where would we be without grace? Where would a funeral service be without Amazing Grace? Of all the funerals I've done, for at least half of them we've sung Amazing Grace at some point. We love grace, we need grace.

Paul says, "May the grace of God in Jesus Christ be with your spirit." Maybe you need little grace today. Maybe you need a little forgiveness from God. Maybe you need a little power from God. Maybe you need a little help from God. Maybe you need something from God. And all I want to say is this: you can only find it through Jesus Christ. If you've never made a faith commitment to Jesus Christ, you have no idea what grace is. You can ask Jesus Christ in your life if you do what Ephesians 2:8-9 says. For those of you who are already convinced, are you still living by grace? Are you still operating by grace? Are you still experiencing God's grace? Are you still extending grace to other people who maybe don't do things right? I hope you're living in grace. But for those of you who have never committed your life to Jesus Christ, let's look at Ephesians 2:8-9 one more time. Take this in, "For it is by grace you have been saved from your sin, through faith in Jesus Christ - and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not the result of our good work so that no one can brag or boast." Have you ever put your faith in Jesus Christ? You may say, "I believe in Jesus Christ," but I didn't say "Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" I asked, have you put your faith in Jesus Christ? And there's a big difference. I can believe all I want that there's a tree over there, but until I touch it and feel it and know it and climb it, it doesn't make a difference. I could believe this thing in front of me is a table, but until I put my arms on it and trust it, it does me no good. Believing in Jesus Christ doesn't do us good. You have to trust him and put your faith in him. The devil believes in Jesus Christ, but he doesn't put his faith in Him.

Have you? You can do it right now. Say, "Jesus Christ, I believe that I sin stem to stern, and I know that you're holy. I know there's a problem. The problem is I'm not good enough. I can't be good enough. Your holiness demands perfection and I'll never have that. But I do what Ephesians 2:8-9 says. By your grace, I put my faith in you, Jesus. I trust you. And I put my faith in you that when you died on the cross you took my place on the cross. You bore my sin, you forgave my sin, and you offer me a clean slate, a fresh start, a new life, and total forgiveness, so that I can be seen as righteous by you, and go to heaven." If you say that prayer and mean it with a heart of faith, congratulations, you've experienced the grace of God in Jesus Christ. We celebrate that. Let us know about it and we'll help you grow, even from a distance. And this Sunday, as always, we're talking about some aspect of grace. I hope you'll join us at Lakeshore online, or in person if you're local. Our sevices are at 9 and 11 AM, and we would love to have you.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Sep 29 8:43 AM

Joy in God Getting Glory

Sep 29 8:43 AM

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

When you live your life, when people see your life, do they appreciate God more? Do they see God's greatness in the way you live?

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Philippians 4:20

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Sep 27 8:20 AM

Joy in God's Ability to Meet My Needs

Sep 27 8:20 AM

Monday, September 27, 2021

Today, I want to talk to you about perhaps the second most famous verse in Philippians, that is Philippians 4:19.

Monday, September 27, 2021

Philippians 4:19

In one of our previous life lifters, I wrote about the most famous verse in the book of Philippians. Today, I want to talk to you about perhaps the second most famous verse in Philippians, that is Philippians 4:19. And I want to talk to you about joy in God's ability to meet your needs. Philippians 4:19 says this, "And my god will meet all your needs, according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." This verse has been used by a lot of people in a lot of ways that don't really match with Scripture. First of all, who was the Apostle Paul talking to in this verse? He was talking to people who gave to his ministry, people who are trying to live for God, trying to live for Jesus. He said, God will meet all of the needs of those kinds of people. So, sometimes people say, "I don't know why Jesus doesn't meet all of my needs." The question I have to ask back is, "Are you living for Jesus? Is he really the center of your life?" Now, he's gracious, and he does a lot more than we deserve, that's for sure. But I know this, the context of that verse that says God will meet all of my needs comes in response to people who are faithfully doing God's will, giving generously to Paul, and living the Christian life.

The second misinterpretation is that God will meet all of my needs, and then we turn needs into greeds. "God, I need a new car like that one. God, I need that house. God, I need that pool. God, I need that man or woman. God I need..." And here's the thing, some of the stuff you think you need, it's not a need. It's a greed. The Bible does not say in this verse, and does not teach elsewhere that God will meet all of your needs, as we determine what our real needs are. Sometimes what we think are needs are greeds. Paul says, "My God well meet all of your needs." What do you really need? God will meet it. Now, here's what I do know about God: God meets way more than my needs. I'm sure he meets way more than your needs, but that's not what this verse says. So that's the second thing. First, again, is that it's written to Christians who are already giving generously, already living the Christian life. Second, it's written to meet our needs, not meet our greeds.

The third thing is this. The verse says, "My God will meet all your needs, according to his glorious riches in Christ." Now, how glorious and rich is Jesus Christ? Well, he's God. He has been resurrected from the dead. He has a glorified body.He has returned back to the Trinity in heaven, back to his original glorious abode. And he will come back one day. How glorious and rich is Jesus Christ? If you have a number in mind, it's more. If you have another number, it's more than that. Here's the number: it's infinite. There is no number. It's infinite. That's how rich Jesus Christ is. So, here's what I want to say - let's start with the first two points. Paul said this verse to people who are living for Christ. So, if you have sin in your life, things going on in your life, there's a possibility, you can squelch that. Second, some of the things we think are needs are not really needs, they're greeds. If it really is a need, when it matches those two things, guess what God does? He's rich, so that's when he gives us way more than we need or deserve. He's glorious in his riches in Christ Jesus. That's why we live in America. We are blessed beyond belief. God has blessed us beyond belief. You know, in America, we're the richest nation in the world. We're blessed beyond belief. No other nation has the prosperity we have. And God blesses us to be a blessing, but that's for another message. Here's all I want to say - isn't it an amazing promise that God will meet all of our needs, according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus?

Do you have your needs met? Thank God every day, count your blessings, nam them one by one, as the old hymn goes. Every day, you ought to get up and at least spend 10, 15, 20 moments and just say, "Thank you for this house. Thank you for this bed. Thank you for this food. Thank you for my kitchen. Thank you for my office. Thank you for my car. Thank you for my workplace. Thank you for my paycheck. Thank you for my children. Thank you for my spouse. Thank you for my boyfriend or girlfriend. Thank you for my college degree. Thanks for the teachers I had at my college. Thank you for my neighbors. Thanks that I live in a clean neighborhood. Thanks that I live next to people who are kind. Thanks that I work with good people. Thanks that I'm outside in September." There are a lot of things you can thank God for. God wants us to spend our time thanking him because he's meets all of our needs. I hope that helps you have a heart of appreciation because he meets all of our needs. Father, thank you so much that you meet all of our needs, not our greeds, according to your riches and glory, and according to, in some degree, how we're living for you and how faithful we are to you. Thank you for doing this in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Sep 24 8:17 AM

Joy in Seeing Others Grow

Sep 24 8:17 AM

Friday, September 24, 2021

It's easy to just appreciate what people do for you and think about it from your perspective, but the Apostle Paul has something to add to it.

Friday, September 24, 2021

Philippians 4:17-18

In my last life lifter, I wrote about the joy of getting help from others. It's pretty obvious that if somebody helps you, you should be joyful. And we want to not only be joyful for having friends or people to help us, but we also want to be joyful for God who provided those friends or others to help us. But it's easy to just appreciate what people do for you and think about it from your perspective, but the Apostle Paul has something to add to it. A little bit of background from last time, Paul was appreciating the gift that the Philippians gave him, and said, "No other church supported me, but you did. You supported my ministry when I really needed it the most." He said he was really thankful and finds joy in the help they gave. But now he qualifies it by adding even more commentary to say something beyond the joy he found in being helped.He also find found joy in the growth of those who helped him. So he didn't just find joy in what he received. He found joy in the heart of the people who gave.

Look at what he says in Philippians 4:17-18, "Not that I'm looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." Paul is referring to the Philippines giving him a gift to fund his ministry when he was running low on funds, or had no money, and no other church helped him. He says he was not looking for a gift, even though he needed it, but was looking for something to be credited to the Philippians' account. That's a deep statement. In other words, at the end of the day you get money for ministry to help people grow. When you help people grow by having them give to your ministry, it's the same thing. Money is a means to an end, and that's to help people find Christ and grow in faith in Christ. He's saying, "That's what I'm seeing in you. The money is great, but the joy I find is not the money you gave, but the reason that you gave it because you have the right heart." He's talking about them and their heart in giving and how proud he was to see people growing like that.

Then he goes on to say, "I have received full payment and even more. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." Those are the kinds of descriptions that speak more than just about the amount. They speak to the giver. And here's the point: when people help you, you should find joy in getting help from people. That's what we talked about last time. But if you love God, and you love people, you should also find joy from the way people are growing and maturing and being more Christ-like as they give to you. So you should be thankful for the gift and thankful for the giver themselves, and how they're growing and how they're being Christ-like when they help. One of the great things in life is to watch people grow.

At Lakeshore, we sometimes get a knock or a myth that all we want to do is help people who aren't sure about Jesus Christ put faith in Christ. People say that's all we care about. Anybody who has come here knows that's simply not true. The biggest thing is after you come to faith in Jesus Christ, we want to help you grow. It's why we offer things like First Steps, Second Steps, Discover Lakeshore, Discover Your Purpose, Small Groups, Midweek Bible Study, and the like. We do all these things for one reason. We not only want to help people become Christians, we want to help people grow as Christians. That's what brings us joy. It's one thing to see somebody become a Christian, but if somebody becomes a Christian and doesn't really grow, that's not as satisfying as if they did grow. We love that. So the Apostle Paul, he loved that the Philippians gave him a gift, but he loved even more that they were the kind of people that would give gifts. Do you love people for what they do? Or do you love people for who they are, which leads them to being generous and helping you in doing what they do? I suggest that you love people for who they are. Love them, appreciate them. Not only their gift, but appreciate them, because if you love people, you want to see people grow.

We live in a dark world where a lot of people aren't growing, aren't spiritually interested, and we need to celebrate those that are. I find joy in that. I find joy in seeing many of you who come to Lakeshore grow in your faith. It's exciting. I hope you'll do the same. So let's pray. Father, thank you so much for this message on the joy we find in seeing others grow. The apostle Paul found joy in the Phillipians growing, so help us to find joy in seeing others grow as well. We thank you for it in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

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