Hi everybody, Pastor Vince here. Thanks for joining me in this Tuesday edition of Life Lifters. Our whole purpose is to give your life a lift through a five-minute blast of encouragement in Scripture. This week and next week, we're doing something unique. We're doing a two-week theme. We're talking about your identity in Jesus Christ. Once you become a Christian, you have a brand new identity, you're a brand new person, God has given you a number of brand new attributes, blessings, and favor. I get this from Ephesians 1, which is a chapter that gives us at least 10 new identities we have. Yesterday I talked about the first thing when you become a Christian and your new identity in Christ, which is you are blessed.

Today I want to talk about the second thing that happens to give you a new identity. Once you become a Christian, your new identity in Jesus Christ and it's this: you are chosen. I get that from Ephesians 1:4 where it says this: "for he that is God through Jesus Christ, he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, he predestined us." We are chosen, and we are predestined. That means that Jesus Christ picked you for salvation.

Now, when I say that, if you're thinking thoroughly through this, you're going, "does God pick some people and not pick others?" The answer is going to start with you and the truth is, yes. It's a divine mystery because the Bible teaches this amazing tension. The Bible teaches that whoever wills and whoever desires Jesus Christ to come to him. The Bible teaches a certain limited human free will. On the other hand, the Bible teaches in this passage and others that we are chosen; predestined. The Greek word for "predestined" means to pre-arrange. So it's a mystery.

How does free will and God's choosing of us work together? I don't know. I'll never know and you'll never know. But I know both truths are taught. My goal is not to get you to figure out the truth. My goal is to get you to appreciate this: that God has chosen you. What an amazing thought that God has chosen you. Forget all the implications and complications and everything else of free will and election—God has chosen you. He chose us before the foundation of the world. Isn't that an amazing thought, that before we were ever born, he chose us. Jesus said you didn't choose me, but I chose you. It's an amazing thought!

You might say, "God chose us because He knew what was gonna happen." No, He didn't choose us because he knew what was going to happen. That's not choosing, that's acknowledging. He chose us. He preordained it and for that we should be humble. We can't go, "well, the reason why I'm a Christian is because I'm smart, I figured it out." No, you didn't. Flesh and blood didn't reveal this to you. Jesus told Peter, you're just chosen. Now what does that mean? When you're chosen? It means this, you should be humbled before the living God, because He chose you. Out of all the people in the world God chose me. He chose you if you're a Christian. You should appreciate that. Are you humbled by that? Are you floored by that? Here's the truth. You say, "how can God choose some and not others?" I don't know, but I want to throw out another answer to that, perhaps another question to that question, which is just how could God choose anybody at all? How could God choose those who have turned their back on Him, which is all of us? But, he chose us. He chooses wisely.

Thank God for that. Let's pray Father in heaven. It's a humble thought that if we're Christians were chosen by you. The text says it predestined by you. We are humbled by this. And all we can say is thank you. We didn't earn it didn't deserve it. We weren't good enough. We weren't smart enough and weren't at the right place at the right time. No, you chose us in your good pleasure. I certainly pray that you would choose everybody and our family and all of our friends to know you. But right now, we especially say thank you that you chose us and we praise you and we thank you for it. In Jesus' name, amen. Chosen And it's your second identity in Christ. We'll talk about another tomorrow. Thanks.

 

 

Hi everybody, Pastor Vince here. Thanks for joining me in this Monday edition of Life Lifters. Our whole purpose is to give your life a 'lift' through a five-minute-blast of encouragement and scripture.

Now, this week, I'm actually doing something I've not done with Life Lifters; I'm actually going to be doing the same theme for two weeks. That means we're going to talk about this very same theme this week and next week for a total of 10 days, not just five. Why? Because I found 10 things that come from an important passage. I'm going to look at Ephesians 1 and we're going to stay there for the next two weeks. I want to talk to you about this important subject—your identity in Jesus Christ.

Here's what I mean by that. When you become a Christian, you have a brand new identity. Now, your social security number doesn't change and your address may not change either, but your destination and your relationship to God does. You are a new person in Christ and when you become a Christian, God instantly does a number of things in your life that are amazing. In Ephesians 1, to my understanding, I'm not aware of any chapter that tells you more of what God has done in your life the moment you become a Christian. Isn't that exciting? All the things God has done in your life... wouldn't you like to know what God has done in your life? Then join me every day for the next two weeks.

I want to begin today with the first thing that God does for you according to Ephesians 1, your new identity in Christ, which is this: you are blessed. You are blessed. I get that from Ephesians 1:3, where the passage starts "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." Once you are in Christ, you become a Christian. He has blessed you. Now we use this word blessing very cavalier. We hear a lot of people say, like athletes "Oh, you know what? I perform well today and this is the blessing", or, "I have a great team, it's a blessing". But what does a blessing mean? It means you're given divine favor by God. It's interesting that the word blessing (and if you look at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, you know, the eight blessings... blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the meek, etc)... that idea, the word 'blessed', that means divine joy, perfect peace and inner satisfaction that is independent of outward reality. You might be going through stuff on the outside, but you can still be blessed because you have divine joy, perfect peace and inner satisfaction. In short, you have divine favor from God. What an amazing thought. Think about that! Your identity in Christ is that you have divine favor with God; you are blessed. Blessed. God's hand is on your life. You've got favor. He's doing something and you are blessed. What an amazing thought.

People say, you know, "tell me a little bit about you". Well, I grew up in Rochester, I grew up in Gates, I went the Gates Chili... Here's one, tell them this. "Well, a few years ago, I'd done been blessed." Blessed, you are blessed. You're given divine favor from God when you know Jesus Christ! The first thing is you are blessed. It doesn't matter what's going on around you because on the inside, God has given you the opportunity to pursue divine joy, inner satisfaction and perfect peace. And because you're blessed, you are blessed. Do you realize you're blessed? You are. Stop operating in negativity and start operating in the fact that you are blessed by God. It's a great, great thought and you're blessed to be a blessing since God has declared you blessed when you become a Christian. Be a blessing, because you are blessed to be a blessing.

Let's pray. Father, thank you so much that our first identity in Christ, according to Ephesians 1, that we are blessed. Thank you for blessing us. We didn't deserve it, but you've given it to us. Help us appreciate that we're blessed, and in turn, be a blessing to you. A blessing to everyone we possibly can. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Hey, you're blessed!

 

Well, this whole week we've been talking about the fruit of the Spirit and staying grounded in our faith during difficult times. Today, I think one of the most comforting parts of that fruit of the Spirit is when we have the peace of God in our lives. There's nothing else like having God's peace. It's indescribable and there's a section of scripture in Philippians 4, starting with verse four, where the apostle Paul wrote this: "Rejoice in the Lord, always. I will say it again, rejoice." He repeats it for emphasis, the importance of rejoicing in the Lord. He said, "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything".

Anxious is another word for fear and for stress. Don't be stressed out, don't be fearful, right? We know that fear is not from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So if God didn't give us a spirit of fear, who did? Well, our enemy Satan did. So Paul is telling us here, do not be anxious about anything. Don't be fearful about anything. But in everything, by prayer, and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Paul is telling us when we're feeling anxious, we should pray. I heard a great phrase a few weeks back, it said anxiety is your body's way of telling you it's time to pray. That's exactly what Paul is telling us here. We need to bring our requests before God. He uses the word petition. I think of petition like a list of items. God wants to hear your prayers. He wants to hear what's on your mind. He wants to hear the things that are concerning to you and that are causing you to be anxious. Bring them before God with thanksgiving in your heart. That's what God wants us to do.

Paul then he goes on to say, "and the peace of God." So when you do all this, when you're anxious, and you come to God in prayer, and you come to him with a heart filled with thanksgiving, this is what the result is going to be... "and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." I don't care how smart you are, the peace of God goes beyond our finite minds. It is indescribable. That peace will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Let that sink in—the peace of God will guard your heart. It'll guard your mind. It'll guard your passions and the things that you love. It will guide you in life. It will allow you to think clearly because it covers your mind. When you're anxious and stressed out and you can't think straight, the peace of God will allow you to think clearly. The Bible says we can have the mind of Christ and I believe that's what happens when we let the peace of God guard our hearts and our minds. S

So maybe you're feeling anxious with what's going on in our world today, or maybe you've lost hope. Maybe you're just tired or you feel like you're in a drought. It's been a season of just bad news and more bad news piled on top of that. And it's been a drought where there's no good news. I want you to come before God. I want you to present your anxious feelings to him and let his peace operate in your life. There is no better feeling than to be in the peace of God. Thanks for joining us today Life Lifters. We hope these videos were helpful for you this week. Be sure to join us again next week and don't forget to like and share these videos. Have a great day go and make a great day.

 

Welcome back to Life Lifters! We've been talking about some of the chaos and difficulties in our world and I just want to give us a little perspective today. So, I live in the town of Greece, so I am a citizen of the town of Greece. Greece is in the county of Monroe, so you could say that I am a citizen of Monroe County. We could take that further and say Monroe County is one of many counties in New York State and, therefore, I am a citizen of New York State. Even further, New York is one of 50 states in the United States so, therefore, I am a citizen of the United States. But if I stopped there by saying I'm a citizen of the United States, I would really be selling myself short because there is an even grander vision than that; I could say that I am a citizen of Heaven. If you are a follower of Jesus, you can say the same thing! So, the encouragement I want to give you today is that we are not merely of this world, but we are in this world. The bigger picture is that our ultimate citizenship is in Heaven. The things that we do here on Earth should be the things that prepare us to be in our final home, which is in Heaven.

The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20, "our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies, so that they will be like his glorious body." You see, we are citizens of Heaven because we are Christians. As followers of Jesus, we've been adopted into the family of God, therefore, we are heirs and our citizenship is not merely here in Greece, or Monroe County, or New York or the United States; our citizenship is in Heaven.

Jesus encouraged us with His words in John 14: "Do not let your heart be troubled." Let's stop there. All the stuff that's going on in our world, "do not let your heart be troubled." This is not our final place. Yes, we must live here. Yes, we're here today. Let's make the most and the best of today, but Jesus is telling us "do not let your heart be troubled", and here's why. He goes on to say, "trust in God, trust also in me. In my father's house are many rooms. If it were not so I would have told you, I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me. That you also may be where I am." Think about that. Jesus left Earth, He died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead 3 days later, was on earth for a little while, and then he went back to the Father in Heaven to prepare a place for you!

I take great comfort in that. Jesus has been with the Father for about 2000 years. Can you imagine what kind of place He is preparing for you? The Bible gives us a glimpse into Heaven, but it is going to be so much more than words can describe. So when we think about what's going on in our world, I want you to remember you are not just merely a citizen here of this world. You are a citizen of Heaven.

There comes a time when God is going to come for you and bring you to Heaven where there's no more tears, no more crying, no more pain or sorrows or death. But it's a place that has been described as paradise, a place where we will be with the Lord forever, for eternity. I hope you find great comfort in that today. See you tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining me for this Thursday edition of Life Lifters. This week, we're talking about what I think is a very interesting subject: spiritual gifts. It's amazing that in 1 Corinthians 12:1 Paul talks to the Corinthians, saying, "I do not want you to be ignorant." Truthfully, today a lot of people are ignorant about spiritual gifts. So, we're answering five of the most foundational, important questions about spiritual gifts. So far, we've answered three of them. First, what are they? They are supernatural abilities to do unique tasks. Second, who gives them to us? The answer is the Holy Spirit gives them to us. Third, when do we get them? We receive them the moment we become Christians.

Today, I want to answer the fourth question, which is, Where do we use our spiritual gifts? There is a certain sense in which you could say we use them everywhere, and you would be right. But the Bible seems to focus our use of spiritual gifts in two primary areas. We use them primarily in the church and around the world. The Bible talks more frequently about using your spiritual gifts in the church than anywhere else. In 1 Corinthians 12:7 (TLB) Paul says, "The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church." God has given you spiritual gifts to help the church. We live in a day in which things have changed, largely due to the 2020 pandemic, and a lot more people are watching church online. I have mixed feelings about that. In one sense, if watching church online is something you're going to do over nothing at all, then it beats that. Also, watching online is great if you're sick, or if you're out of town or something, but I think there's something better. One of the reasons why God wants you in church in person is because you can't encourage and be encouraged unless you're with people. There's a reason why solitary confinement is one of the worst things you could do to a human being. We need each other. But the other reason it's better to be in church in person is because you can't use your gifts in your pajamas. Or, you can't use your gifts just watching online. You have to be with people to help people. There's no impact without contact. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts to use in the church.

 

You know, in this church, we have about 25 ministries. When we're at full strength, we have over half of our average attendance involved in serving somewhere. It's a beautiful thing to see. And you love it when you find the right place to serve. I wish 100% of our attenders served, but it isn't always 100%. Here's the thing, you can't be fulfilled unless you're using your gifts in the church. Now, the Bible does not exclusively say that spiritual gifts are used in the church. Although they are used in the church more often than not, the second place you use them is in the world. I get that from Matthew 28:19. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations." In other words, go out into the world. Go to different parts of our city, different parts of our state, different parts of our country, different parts of our world, and find people to serve with your gifts. You do this mainly to bring glory to God and bring attention to the good news of Jesus Christ. That's the second place. But even then, you use your gifts in the world, usually through the church. As a church, we've sent people to Ukraine, to Mozambique, to Nicaragua, other parts of our country, New York City, and to other places in our own city. You go to different places to serve and minister, and that's where use your gifts. But the church is often the vehicle in which you accomplish that. So here's my point: God has given you gifts to use in the church and in the world. Are you using them in the church? If not, you're being disobedient to what the Scriptures say. Are you using them in the world? I encourage you to do that as well. But gifts are given to you, not to be admired, but to be administered in the world. And we need them here at Lakeshore Community Church. If you don't attend this church, your church needs them too. Will you use them?

Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for giving us gifts. Help us to use them in the church, and to help the church. Help us know where we should use the gifts, the unique gifts you've given us. And help us to use them in the world to make disciples. Help us not forsake them, take them for granted, or underappreciate them, for we only appreciate them when we apply them. I thank you for this in Jesus' name. Amen.