Life Lifters | Lakeshore Community Church

Jul 19 7:48 AM

Joy Because God Is At Work In You

Jul 19 7:48 AM

Monday, July 19, 2021

When I know God is at work in me, even if some of the edges that are rough need some extra work and smoothing, I can have joy.

Monday, July 19, 2021

Philippians 1:3-6

We all need a little pick me up when it comes to joy. Joy is something that is always available from God, but isn't always something that we engage in our life. So I'm going to spend the next few life lifters writing about joy. This week I want to talk to you about some reasons for joy. I will use the book of Philippians, kind of march through it a little bit, and give you some reasons to have joy. The first reason you can have joy in your life - that uncontainable, amazing feeling of inner satisfaction, peace, contentment, and robust energy that comes from God - the first reason you can have that joy no matter what is because God is at work in you.

When I know God is at work in me, even if some of the edges that are rough need some extra work and smoothing, I can have joy. Even if I have to go to the bandsaw and get some extra stuff cut off, or get stained and varnish, whatever it is, I know God is at work within me. It may not be pleasant, may not be easy, like how varnish stinks and sanding hurts, but it makes us better, and that's what our life is like. I find joy in that, and so did the Apostle Paul. In the book of Philippians, the book of joy, we're going to draw all these principles out for the next few life lifters. Today we will read Philippians 1:3-6. Writing to the Christians at Philippi, Paul said, "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

So, Paul says he's always praying with joy. Why? Because of the partnership that he has seen in the Philippians, because of the progress he's seen in their faith. This fills him with joy. Then, not only has there been progress in their faith, there's guaranteed to be future progress. Once God gets a hold of a person's life, once you become a Christian, God is doing a work that is unstoppable. He will not stop until he is finished. This is the great promise from verse six. Paul says, "I'm confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." He who began a good work in you - what's that? It's God's work in you the moment you became a Christian, if in fact you have. It's the work he began when he forgave you of your sins, when you put your faith in Jesus Christ alone. Paul says God "will carry it on to completion." It's not just a work he does when you become a Christian, it's work he does all the way until the day of Christ Jesus. What is the day of Christ Jesus? It's one of two things. It's basically when your life on Earth ends, and that happens one of two ways. Either you die, which is how it's been for 2000 years, or the Lord comes back for you at the Rapture and takes you to heaven. Whatever the day of Christ Jesus is for you, God says he'll keep doing the work.

When I know that all the things that are happening to me are not random - they're organized by God, and God is using them to do a work in me to help me be the best me - when I really take that to heart and to soul and to mind and to spirit, that fills me with outrageous joy. It ought to fill you with outrageous joy. Nothing that's happening in your life is devoid of the purpose of God, doing a work in you to make you the best person you can be in his eyes. So when you go through tough times, remember the joy you can have because God is at work in you. Do you believe God is at work in you? Do you believe God is using everything that's happening in your life to do a work in you, to bring you to the next place you need to be? When you get ahold of that truth it fills you with joy, outrageous joy. God is at work in you, accept it. See everything working in your life to make you the best you, and you won't complain about it, you'll see joy in it. Father, help all of us know with confidence that that you began a good work in us when we become a Christian. You will continue it until the end of our days on Earth. Thank you. Fill us with joy, with this confidence that you're at work in our lives, and I pray that if there's anybody listening to this who never began a personal relationship with you, that they would begin one by putting their faith in your son Jesus so they could experience this joy as well. Thank you for it, in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Apr 16 8:09 AM

Celebrate Someone Else

Apr 16 8:09 AM

Friday, April 16, 2021

We live in a very self-aggrandizing world. But today, I want to talk to you about something countercultural, and that's this: celebrate someone else.

Friday, April 16, 2021

1 Thessalonians 2:17-20

We live in a very self-aggrandizing world. People are all "Look at me, look at me, look at me." There's even been a new trend in the last five years where an athlete will score a touchdown and they'll point to their back. Do you know what that is? They're pointing to their nameplate, basically saying, "Hey, my name is Smith, or Jones, Sanders, Edwards, Johnson, etc. Look at me, I scored, look at me." There's a lot of self-aggrandizing. Now, there's an appropriate place to thank God for your accomplishments and have what I would call a humble appreciation for what God has done in you. Sometimes the apostle Paul even said, boasting is not profitable. but sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes you just have to stick up for yourself, and you have to list the things you've done. But today, I want to talk to you about something countercultural, and that's this: celebrate someone else.

I get that from 1 Thessalonians 2:17-20. Look at what Paul says to the Thessalonians. He says, "But brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time, in person, not in thought, out of our intense longing, we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you - certainly I, Paul, did, again and again - but Satan stopped us. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of Lord Jesus Christ when He comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and our joy." So, the evil one put some spiritual obstacles between Paul and his visiting of the Thessalonians. But Paul insists that he wants to visit them, and then he celebrates them. He says, "For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of Lord Jesus Christ when He comes?" Paul doesn't say, "It is me! It is what I did!" No, I like what he says, "Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and our joy." That is countercultural! People say, "I'm my glory, I glorify myself, I'm the joy!" and God says, "Celebrate somebody else."

Can you celebrate somebody else? If somebody gets a new house, do you say, "That is great!" but inside you're saying, "I wish I had a house like that"? If someone's child took first place in a spelling bee of school, do you start comparing your son? In other words, we're always kind of trying to gain, but can we celebrate somebody else's success? Paul did. Can you genuinely say, "I'm happy for you?" You know, we've had staff leave. Recently, we had a wonderful, amazing friend, Dan Cymbal, leave. He didn't leave because he didn't like the church. He loved the church. He was approached by another church, aggressively. He said no at first, but then he accepted the job and went to Florida in February. What a courageous move. So when he did that, I had a decision to make. Am I going to sulk because I lose a great friend and a great staff member? Or am I going to celebrate? And as much as I didn't want to lose Dan Cymbal, I made the choice to celebrate. I said I was happier for him than I am sad for us. I'm not always perfect at this, but I want to learn to celebrate others. If you tell me a good story, I want to celebrate with you, not go, "I wish my God would do that for me, etc, etc." Can you celebrate someone else's success? Paul did. You know what I find? When you celebrate someone else's success, you end up being a more satisfied person. When you're celebrating only your success, we have a word for that. It's called narcissism. And narcissists are rarely happy. They're just looking for the next narcotic. Ha ha!

Let's pray. Father in Heaven, help us to get off ourselves and to get on somebody else's team. Help us to celebrate the success of other people, to be joyful for others. I know this, if we do that. people will do the same back to us. Maybe not everybody, but many. And also, it's just fun. It's fun to see other people happy. We live in a sad, depressing world, so give us the courage to celebrate joy in somebody else's life, like Paul did for the wonderful new Christians in Thessalonica. We thank you for this in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

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