Life Lifters | Lakeshore Community Church

Sep 10 8:07 AM

Joy Always

Sep 10 8:07 AM

Friday, September 10, 2021

You can't always be happy... but you can always be joyful. Joy is a choice.

Friday, September 10, 2021

Philippians 4:4

I want to look at a passage of scripture from the book of Philippians. Philippians is the letter of joy, and I want to read a blunt statement in Philippians 4:4 and unpack it because it seems like it's impossible. It says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Why does he say it again? Because I don't think we believe him. Sometimes we don't believe what God says. Even though we know it's intellectually true, sometimes it needs to soak into our total being so that we live it out. So, I think he repeats it, "I say it again: rejoice," so that we remember it. But the key word, the word that we struggle with in that verse is "always." It's not rejoice in the Lord when you're at church on Sunday morning, or when you read the Bible, or when you pray, but rejoice in the Lord always. It doesn't mean you rejoice in your problems, but you rejoice in the Lord always.

You say, "Vince, that's impossible. I can't always be happy." I would agree, you can't always be happy... but you can always be joyful. Joy is a choice. Happiness is conditioned upon your emotions. Whatever your emotions are feeling like, that's usually what will dictate your level of happiness. But when you have joy, it's unshakable and impossible to take away. But how do you have joy always? Well, joy isn't based on circumstances. Happiness is. well okay, But then, how do you find joy? Paul said, "Rejoice in the Lord." You have to be in the Lord. Not necessarily in church, though that's helpful. Not necessarily in Bible reading. That's very helpful. Not necessarily in prayer. That's also very helpful. All three of those are very helpful. But you have to be in the Lord. You could be in the Lord at work, you can be in the Lord in your car, you could be in the Lord in your golf game - although if you've seen my golf game, I'm not in the Lord in terms of performance all the time. The point is, it's focusing on the Lord and saying, "I don't like this situation., but I'm in the Lord. God, you're in control of it. I don't like what's happening in my family, but I'm in the Lord, I'm going to do my best to contribute to making it right. I can't stand what's happening at work, but I'm in the Lord and I'm going to continue to focus on God, and, and work hard as unto the Lord, not of the people."

Here's the point. You can always be joyful, but you have to do it in the Lord. If you try to find your joy in circumstances, they'll come and go. If you try to find your joy in other people, that'll be great, but they can't always deliver. You can always find your joy in the Lord, in the Lord's goodness, in the Lord's grace, in the Lord's control of all the events that you're experiencing, in the Lord's love for you, in the Lord's promises during your tough, difficult trials. You can rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice, always. You can't always be happy, but you can always be joyful. You must make the choice to rejoice. And how do you make the choice to rejoice? You must rejoice in the Lord. Find something about the Lord to give you the joy you need. If nothing else, the joy that you're forgiven, the joy that you're going to heaven.

Father, this life will rob our joy. People can rob our joy, circumstances can rob our joy if we let them. But they never have to, because if we rejoice in you always, we can have joy no matter what. We may not be happy, but we can be joyful. Inspire somebody today who needs a pick-me-up, who needs joy in their life, who needs to see life from a different perspective, from your perspective, to find this joy that Paul encourages us to pursue. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Sep 08 8:05 AM

Joy in Our Future Bodies

Sep 08 8:05 AM

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

One day, we will have bodies that don't ache, we will have bodies that don't get sick, bodies that are pain free, sin free, disease free, and problem free. In fact, they will be like Jesus Christ, and that brings me joy.

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Philippians 3:21

I've been working really, really hard. I have been trying to work out, lose a little weight, work on my conditioning, get my heart rate up for a healthy heart, and work on what I affectionately call Uncle Eddie. Uncle Eddie has gotten bigger, and I don't like how Uncle Eddie is growing. I've been doing a lot of different things, including some core work and some brisk walking. I walk about a mile and a half to two miles every morning. I'll tell you what, it's harder to lose weight as you get older. Those of you who are like me, in your 40s (and who lie), as we get older I get more sore. I mean, I do brisk walks and the next morning I get up and every joint is creaky and old. I've had some stents put in me, I've had health things, you've had health things. Your body just breaks down. Even if you're on the TB12 Tom Brady health plan, or if you don't eat meat, or some other type of diet - those things are really good, I applaud all of that, and I'm going to fight tooth and nail to stay healthy. But at the end of the day, our bodies will lose and our life will be over. We should fight it all we can, but we should also remember that that's how life goes. One day we will not have that problem. One day, we will have bodies that don't ache, we will have bodies that don't get sick, will have bodies that don't have an Uncle Eddie, bodies that are pain free, sin free, disease free, and problem free. In fact, they will be like Jesus Christ, and that brings me joy.

So, I want to tell you about joy and our future bodies. When your body is hurting today, remember that one day you'll have a future body that will never hurt if you are a Christian. I get that from Philippians 3:21. I want to start in the previous verse and explain the context. It says, "But 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 they will be like his glorious body." So, Christ will transform our lowly bodies, our broken-down bodies, our sin-stained bodies, our disease-potential bodies, so they will be like his glorious body. That's a fascinating thought. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, he put on what theologians call a "glorified body." Jesus Christ is God in His essence, but he took on a human body that was tempted in every way, yet never sinned, as Hebrews tells us.Then, that human body was crucified on the cross, put into a tomb, and, if you know the Easter story, three days later rose again. When Jesus Christ rose again, he rose in what is called a glorified body. That means he could teleport to different places, he no longer feels disease, sickness or any of that. The Bible says we will have a body like that in heaven.

What a fascinating thought. We'll have a body that's never sick, never sin-laden, never diseased, and never dies. It will be a glorified body like Jesus Christ's body. Some of you are hurting right now. Some of you are in pain, some of you hate the aging process (I think we all do unless you're young), some of you have the Battle of the Bulge that I have with Uncle Eddie. But here's the thing, one day our bodies will be like Jesus Christ's: glorified and pain free. I hope that brings you joy and encouragement to know that the body we have now will one day be replaced with a glorified body. People ask me, "Vince, when a person dies do they get the glorified body then?" No, we don't get the glorified body until the rapture of the church, the next great event in the future. We'll talk more about that at Lakeshore in our series How It All Ends in October of 2021. I hope you'll check that out. But here's the thing, you will get that new body. Then you ask, "What happens when a Christian dies now?" Their soul and spirit, their immaterial being, goes to heaven. Their body goes to the ground, and one day that body will be resurrected and reconstituted into the glorified body that will never feel pain. I hope that encourages you.

Father, whoever is hurting physically, I pray that you would help them and heal them. Whoever is struggling with health things, I pray that you will help their bodies recover. In the meantime, give us the joy that one day we'll have a new body to replace this lowly body. Encourage us with that thought. In Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Sep 06 8:02 AM

Joy in Our True Citizenship

Sep 06 8:02 AM

Monday, September 6, 2021

If the world is in fact falling apart (it is), and if the world is going to continue to fall apart (it will), what are we supposed to do? Just be miserable?

Monday, September 6, 2021

Philippians 3:19-21

Our world is falling apart and falling apart quite fast. There is all that's going on in Afghanistan. As I'm taping this, we just found out there were two bombs that actually killed some of our Marines and some citizens. I don't know how things are going at the time that you're watching this, but it's not just Afghanistan, it's all over the world. The world is falling apart and is falling apart fast. We're seeing wars, rumors of wars, our country is in so much debt, our world is in such a moral mess. We have rejected God, and our world is only going to get worse. In fact, I am really excited that in October, the beginning of October, we'll be starting a brand new series called "How It All Ends." And we're going to be spending seven weeks on what the Bible says will happen in the last days of planet Earth. I think you'll find that interesting, and I hope you'll join us here at Lakeshore, but to the point, what are we supposed to do? If the world is in fact falling apart (it is), and if the world is going to continue to fall apart (it will), what are we supposed to do? Just be miserable? Just hate life? Not at all.

If you are a Christian, meaning you put your faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, you have an option. That's this, to remember your ultimate citizenship. See, as a Christian, your ultimate citizenship is not as an American, I'm extremely proud to be an American. There's no other country I would rather live in and I'm extremely proud of my American citizenship. If you're from another country watching this, then you should be very proud of your nation. That is, unless it's a totally corrupt nation and you're watching this underground. But I am even more proud of the fact that as a Christian, I am a citizen of heaven. My citizenship is in heaven. That's how you cope with all that's happening in our world. If our citizenship was just in the world, the world will collapse, and it will all end. But our citizenship is in somewhere eternal. It's in heaven.

I get that from Philippians 3:19-21. For context, Paul first talks about worldliness, people all over the world living selfishly, and everything else. That's the stuff that brings us down, that's the stuff we're seeing. And then he ends with this, at the end of verse 19, "Their mind is on earthly things. But 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." See if your mind is on earthly things, and the earth is falling apart and becoming unraveled, you have no joy in that. But our joy is found in our citizenship in heaven, so even when the earth fades away and falls apart, we know it's not our final citizenship or destiny. Our final destiny is in heaven. So what does that do? It causes us to eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. One day the Lord is going to come back. First he is going to come back to take his church, every true Christian, out of the world. Then, after seven years of hell on earth, which we'll cover in the series that I mentioned a moment ago. At the end of that seven years, he'll come back with the church to set up His kingdom on earth. Then eventually, the new heaven and new earth will follow.

Our citizenship is in heaven because a savior will come from there. Lord Jesus Christ, verse 21, "who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly body, so that will be like Him in His glorious body." I'll cover that verse 21, in just a moment, but all I want to say is this: Paul says, if you focus on the world you're going to be depressed, you're going to be morally bankrupt. But if you're a Christian, you need to focus on heaven. One day, we'll be in heaven. One day, all the wrongs will be made right. One day, there'll be no more tears, no more pain. One day, all our sin will be taken away in the presence of the Sin-Taker-Awayer, Jesus Christ. That's why he's called our Savior. He saves us from sin.

I don't know what's got you down about this world doesn't take much five minutes of the news, we'll do it. But I'm telling you right now, your citizenship in heaven ought to remind you that Earth is not your home. You're just passing through, as the old Negro spiritual sang. So, I hope you'll be focused on citizenship in heaven, and I hope you'll know Jesus Christ because that will give you the confidence that you'll be there. Father, thanks for citizenship in heaven. We do pray "on earth as it is in heaven," but we know that's not going to be fully answered until you come back. So help us to remember when times are tough and our life is really really hard, we find joy in our citizenship in heaven one day. It's promised and you'll never take it away. Thank you, in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Sep 03 8:03 AM

Faith in a CAN

Sep 03 8:03 AM

Friday, September 3, 2021

Today I want to talk to you about faith in a can. That's right, faith in a can. Not a jar, not a bottle, but faith in a can.

Friday, September 3, 2021

Miscellaneous Scripture

Today I want to talk to you about faith in a can. That's right, faith in a can. Not a jar, not a bottle, but faith in a can. At Lakeshore, we believe that God's Word, the Bible, is the source of all truth. We encourage you to read it, study it, rely on it, and apply it to your life so that it guides you into a victorious Christian life. I've been reading this book called Victory Over the Darkness by Neil Anderson. In this book, Neil Anderson says, "The Christian has far greater potential for success in life through the power of believing the truth of the Bible." He's not talking about the kind of success that's like being at the top, climbing the corporate ladder, or amassing wealth. He's not talking about that kind of success. He's talking about a victorious Christian life, navigating with God the difficulties, the temptations, the worries, the fears, or whatever else life throws at us. It's the world, our flesh, and the devil that throw these things at us. So, when we successfully navigate these things, remaining obedient to God, that is a victorious life. That is the success that Neil Anderson is talking about.

Anderson goes on to say in this book that success comes in "cans' and failures come in "cannots." Believing that you can live a victorious Christian life takes no more effort than believing that you cannot. So if it takes no more effort, why not believe that you can live a victorious Christian life? Why not walk by faith, through the power of believing what the Word of God tells us and what God has already promised to us in the Bible. Today, I want to share with you a few things that our God can do for you, and through you when you believe. I hope that you are encouraged by all of these things. I just want to share them with you right from this book, Victory Over Darkness by Neil Anderson. Here are some of the cans of success, you can get the full list here:

Why should I say I can't when the Bible says I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13)?
Why should I worry about my needs when I know that God will take care of all my needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)?
Why should I fear when the Bible says God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)?
Why should I be weak when the Bible says that the Lord is the strength of my life (Psalm 27:1) and that I will display strength and take action because I know God (Daniel 11:32)?
Why should I allow Satan control over my life when he that is in me, the Holy Spirit of God, is greater than he that is in the world, Satan (1 John 4:4).
Why should I ever be in bondage knowing that there is freedom where the Spirit of the Lord is (2 Corinthians 3:17)?

Here's the bottom line, the point I want you to take home. Jesus Christ wants you to live a faith-filled victorious life, overcoming the challenges and temptations that the world, the flesh and the devil throw at us. We are told how to do this in the Bible. And so the question is this, do you have the faith to believe it? The object of our Christian faith is Jesus Christ, our goal is to get to know him more and more every day, increasing that measure of faith. When we look at what His Word says, what he can do through us, and for us, I take great encouragement in that. I hope you will do the same. And I hope that you will apply these truths to your life.

Let's pray. Father, thank you because your word is our promise. Lord, I pray right now that as every person reading this goes back and studies these truths, that they would apply them to their lives, and that they would be more and more obedient to you, victorious over the things that the world, the flesh, and the devil throw at us. Help us to let our lives be an offering to you, Father, in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Sep 01 8:01 AM

Knowing the Object of Your Faith

Sep 01 8:01 AM

Wednesday, Septemeber 1, 2021

Imagine if I was to ask you, "What is your relationship with God like? What do you know about God? How is God working in your life?" If I asked you those questions, your responses will tell me a lot about how much faith you have.

Wednesday, Septemeber 1, 2021

Romans 10:17

This week, we've been talking about faith. Yesterday, we asked a question, "What is the object of your faith?" Today, I want to ask you, "Do you know the object of your faith?" And so I want to talk to you about the struggles that people have with faith. What I have found in in my almost 20 years of being a pastor is that when people struggle with their faith in God, it is more times than not tied to a lack of knowledge of who God is and his ways. Read that again: struggles in faith more times than not are tied to a lack of knowledge of who God is and his ways.

Lakeshore exists to help people discover and develop a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. If you were to just discover a relationship with Jesus, I assure you, you are missing out on so much that the Christian life has to offer. Therefore, it's more than just discovering that relationship, you've got to develop that relationship with Jesus Christ. Get to know God more and more every day so that you can have more and more faith and trust in Him. Imagine if I was to ask you, "What is your relationship with God like? What do you know about God? How is God working in your life?" If I asked you those questions, your responses will tell me a lot about how much faith you have. If your relationship with God is sporadic and surface level only, if your knowledge of God is minimal, then I am pretty darn sure that you do not have a lot of faith in God. On the other hand, if your relationship with God is consistent, if it's growing, if you're spending time with him, learning more about God by reading your Bible on a daily basis, then I am pretty darn sure that you have a lot of faith. Or, you at least have a growing amount of faith, more and more faith every day in him.

Romans 10:17 tells us this, "Faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." The key to increasing your faith in God is to be in his word every day. By hearing the message, by reading it in our Bibles. The more you read the Bible, the more you will get to know God and his ways. If you are struggling to have more faith in God, then I want to encourage you to spend more time with him reading your Bible. But you may say, "Well, Frank, I already read the Bible." I want to encourage you, don't just read it, study it. Maybe you already study the Bible. Make sure that you're praying, speaking to God. You know, prayer doesn't have to be in some high and lofty English. It is just common, everyday language. It's having a conversation with God. Praying is also listening to God, spending time in quiet, just listening and letting God speak to you. Is it an audible voice? I've never heard it as an audible voice, but deep down inside in your heart, you sense the leading of God in your life. If you want to go even deeper in your faith, try fasting. Fasting is a great way to grow deeper in your faith and your connection and closeness to God. These are all spiritual disciplines to draw us closer to God to help us know Him and to know his ways better. The result will be an increase in our faith. When we know God more, we will trust him more, and we will trust his word in our lives in an increasing measure.

Let's pray. Father, thank you that you have given us the opportunity to know you through your word, the Bible. May we study it, may we apply it to our lives. As King David said, may we hide it in our hearts to know you more and more. Thank you that we can reach out to you in prayer. Thank you that we can sit in quiet and let you speak to us. Thank you that you've given us fasting to draw us closer and make us more and more dependent upon you, increasing our faith. Thank you, Father. For this we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Aug 30 8:06 AM

What is the Object of Your Faith?

Aug 30 8:06 AM

Monday, August 30, 2021

Whether we consider ourselves religious or not, the truth is, we all live by faith to some degree. Even atheists, yes, even atheists live by faith.

Monday, August 30, 2021

Hebrews 13:8

I want to ask you a question. What is the object of your faith? Whether we consider ourselves religious or not, the truth is, we all live by faith to some degree. Even atheists, yes, even atheists live by faith. You don't believe me? Think about a chair. How many times do people sit in a chair, trusting that it's going to support their weight without even considering to check the structural soundness of the chair before they sit down on it? The simple task of sitting in a chair occurs millions and millions of times a day without people giving a second thought to the soundness of that chair. That takes faith. But what if the object of your faith proves to be unreliable? It probably wouldn't take very long for you to find a new chair if you sat in it and it broke, being unreliable. You would look for another chair right away to sit down and that would be able to support your weight.

In fact, when we lose faith in something, I want you to consider that the problem is not your ability to believe, but the object of your faith. One of the most widely trusted and reliable objects of faith by the world's population is our solar system. We set our watches to it, we plan our calendars around it. Each month, and each year is based on our solar system. If the Earth's orbit was to shift by just a few small degrees, the world would be in utter chaos and anarchy. We trust and rely on the solar system. In fact, it's incredible how much we trust and rely on the rotation of our planet around the sun. But as Christians, our ultimate faith object is not the S-U-N, it is the S-O-N, Jesus Christ. He is the one who created our solar system and the entire universe and the author of our faith.

Hebrews 13:8 tells us this, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever." He never changes. He is immutable, and that's what makes him so trustworthy. Numbers 23:19 says this, "God is not human, that he should lie, he's not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfilled?" The point that Moses is trying to make is that people will let us down, they will be inconsistent, they will lie, they will not be true to their word, they will not follow through and produce what they said they would, but God will always be faithful. Even God's word is completely trustworthy and reliable. Isaiah 40:8 says this, "The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." The point is that things come and go, they sprout up, they die off quickly. But the one thing that is steady, the one thing that is trustworthy, reliable, and lasts the test of time is the word of God, our Bibles.

So what is the object of your faith? Is it Jesus Christ and His Word? Is it Jesus, the most reliable, trustworthy, and never-changing object of faith? Or are you putting your faith and trust in something less? Let's pray. Father, thank you that your Word tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the most reliable and trustworthy object of faith. And I and I use that term object loosely, Father. Jesus is way more than an object. He is worthy of all our praise and there is none like him. Father, we thank you for that, and we ask that we can learn to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ more and more every day. We ask this in his name, amen.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Aug 27 8:18 AM

Joy In Following Good Models

Aug 27 8:18 AM

Friday, August 27, 2021

I don't know about you, but whenever it comes to getting better at something, I'll read the Bible, and I'll seek the Bible, but the Bible even says there is something else that is helpful.

Friday, August 27, 2021

Philippians 3:17

I don't know about you, but whenever it comes to getting better at something, I'll read the Bible, and I'll seek the Bible, but the Bible even says there is something else that is helpful. While the Bible is essential to grow, God also says that in addition you want to see people who model the Bible. If I want to get better at something I need models. So, I can have somebody say, "Well, if you want to get better at golf, do this," and I can try to do that, but I have to watch them do it. I have this guy named Lenny. He's a really nice friend. I just met him earlier this year, and he has taken a liking to me and he's giving me golf lessons. We played golf earlier this week, and I played as good as I ever have. I mean, I'm hitting the ball with this new lag technique to get more clubhead speed. My short game is getting better, and Lenny has just modeled it for me. He's giving me lessons, we've played together, I've watched him swing and do his thing, and it's a model for me. When it comes to parenting, I've looked to others to help me. With marriage, models have helped me. When it comes to the Christian life, some discipline of the Christian life, models have helped me. When I'm around people that are living a successful Christian life, I'm trying to learn something so they can be a model.

The apostle Paul says that you should do the same thing. Look at Philippians 3:17, where the Apostle Paul says this, "Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you." Paul said, "I should be a model for you." He wasn't saying that braggadociously. He is saying that confidently because of Christ's work in him, and Paul was a godly man. Then he tells the Philippians to live according to the pattern he gave them. What is that? It's the Bible. Take note of people who are living out the Bible. It's not that the Bible isn't enough, the Bible is enough. But you want people living out the Bible - models - and you want to look to them. It's not that you need more than the truth of the Bible, but we are learning to express it and live it out. The practical aspect of living that out, that is seen in models. In fact, Paul even says, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ." And the word imitate is the word mimetes in Greek. Guess what English word we get from that. Mimic. You have to find people to mimic. They don't have to be one person in every area of life. You might say, "I'm going to follow your model for what a patient person you are." To someone else, "I'm going to follow your model because you're really good in how you live out the 80/10/10 plan. Give 10% to God and His Church, 10% to a retirement plan, 80% is what I live on." To someone else, "I'm going to follow your model because you're a really good husband, or parent, or because you're very faithful and you you whatever you say you do."

You must find models in your life, and you must read the Bible to know what models to find. Then, find them in your life and have some models. It's one of the great reasons why we have church, you get to see hundreds of people every week. You get to connect with some of them in small groups, or at Midweek Bible Study where we have, X number of people here. It's a lot smaller than Sunday, and you get to meet people, and then you get to say, "Man, how can you be a mentor or model to me in this area, that area, or another area?" Some of you you have the truth, but you're just learning how to live it out. A model will help you. Do you have a model? Like the Apostle Paul, do you have a model? Like Timothy, do you have a model in your life? It'll help you live out the Christian life. We'll help you to have models here. You have to come here regularly. Get to know people because I can't tell you who should be your model in every area of life. But I can tell you some great people in my life We have a ton of great people at Lakeshore Community Church that will love you. You never know who could be your model. But here's the point, Paul says to look for models in your life, who live out the Christian life, the biblical truth of Christianity effectively in a way that inspires you. It will help you have a lot of joy in your life.

Father, I pray that all of us will have our models and maybe 2, 3, 4, or even 10 people that inspire us to find joy in living out the biblical truth of Christianity. Help us all to find models. It may take days, it may take weeks, it may take months. But if we're determined, we'll find them and they'll bring us joy as we live out our lives more effectively for your pleasure and your purposes. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Aug 25 8:12 AM

Joy In Pressing On!

Aug 25 8:12 AM

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

When life gets hard you have to press on. Sometimes you have to put one foot ahead of the next, can't worry about one mile down the road, three blocks down the road, all you can worry about is your next step.

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Philippians 3:12-14

Sometimes life gets hard, and sometimes you just have to remind yourself to press on. When life gets hard you have to press on. Sometimes you have to put one foot ahead of the next, can't worry about one mile down the road, three blocks down the road, all you can worry about is your next step. You ask, "What's God going to do? This is so hard. How am I ever going to get out of this?" And sometimes you just have to say, "You know what, I'm just going to take the next step." I get that from a very powerful passage that the Apostle Paul shares in Philippians 3:12-14. Paul says, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Let me break that down. The "all this" that Paul has not yet obtained is knowing Jesus Christ perfectly. He also says he has not yet been made perfect, which is pretty obvious for all of us, and if it's true of the Apostle Paul, it'll always be true of us, too. He continues, "but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." In other words, he says, "Things get up, things get down, things get high, things get low, but I'm pressing on to take hold of the prize that Christ took a hold of me for." What he's saying is when you became a Christian Christ took a hold of you. He took a hold of you so that you will want to take a hold of the prize, which is knowing Jesus Christ perfectly. That is only going to happen in heaven, but we want to get as close as possible to that here during our days on earth.

Paul goes on to say, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize, for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." See that? That's the goal. God took a hold of you so you'll take hold of the prize of getting to heaven and acting like it. How do you do it? He says you have to forget what is behind. You have to stop thinking about the negative things of your past. Learn from it, grow from it, forget it. Then, you have to have a vision for the future. Press on toward the goal. Then, you have to do it by taking one step at a time. See how he covers the past, (forget about it), the future (have a vision for heaven), and the present (perservere, press on)? Sometimes, when the past is so painful you have to focus on the future, which is so glorious, to help you in the present, which is taking one step at a time. Have you had a bad day, had a bad month, had a bad year, had a bad 18 months with COVID and everything else going on in our world? Sometimes, you have to focus on the vision of heaven. And you just have to put one step ahead of the other. Sometimes, when I don't like what has happened in the past days, I have to think about what's going to happen in future days. That will help me in present days to press on.

What is it in your past that's holding you back that you need to forget? What is it in your future that you forgot is in your future, if you're a Christian? Like going to heaven, like having no more problems, like being in the presence of Jesus Christ nonstop, forever in his house, his glorious mansion, heaven. Press on with those thoughts. Forget about this, focus on that. And right now, today, take the next step. What do I mean by that, take the next step? Do what you're supposed to do, step by step. Do what God wants. Read the Bible, serve other people, come to church, get involved in a ministry, get in a small group, be a witness to your friends, invite people to church, do the kinds of things to help you press on. Press on today. You can do it through Christ who gives you the strength.

Let's pray. Father, I don't know who I'm speaking to and I don't know where they're at. But I know all of us need this exhortation, some maybe more than others, to press on. Help us to press on, God. Help us forget what's behind. Let us remember our glorious future, if we have a relationship with you by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, and to persevere because of that. Help anybody who's discouraged to be encouraged to press on in you. Give them that courage. I know you will if they seek it with a whole heart, and a honest, true, seeking, open heart. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Aug 23 7:58 AM

Joy in the Spiritual Journey

Aug 23 7:58 AM

Monday, August 23, 2021

If you're always going to wait to get to the destination to experience joy, you're going to have a lot of dry seasons of joy.

Monday, August 23, 2021

Philippians 3:10-11

There's an old saying, and I believe it's true, that there's just as much joy in the journey as in the destination. This is true if you will pay attention to the journey, you know, smelling the roses along the way. It's not just the kill, but it's the chase that brings excitement, right? The getting there is just as much fun as arriving. There's a lot of truth to that. So many times we're waiting to get to a destination to find joy and not experiencing joy in the journey. I want to tell you that if you're always going to wait to get to the destination to experience joy, you're going to have a lot of dry seasons of joy. You have to learn to enjoy the journey, enjoy the process, enjoy the getting to wherever you want to go. If it's building a house, the joy of making the selections; if it's rising in your career, the joy of working where you're at right now; if it's making a friendship or a dating relationship, the joy of working toward where that relationship is going. And if it's a closer walk with Jesus Christ, which we'll never get to the destination of until we're in heaven, you have to find joy in striving to get closer to Jesus Christ.

I get that from Philippians 3:10-11, Paul's letter of joy. Look at what he says, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." What does he mean by "the power of his resurrection"? The Bible says that the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead dwells in every Christian. Like Paul, I want to know those great, powerful moments where God works, and I want to know the fellowship of his suffering. When Jesus Christ suffered, which he suffered so much in his life, not only on the cross which was the ultimate sacrifice, but during all 33 to 35 years, whatever it was, of Christ's life putting up with us. He suffered. And the Apostle Paul said he wants to know the resurrection-power moments of Christ, and he wants to know Christ through the suffering.

What's he saying? He's saying, "I want to know Christ through the ups and the downs." What is life? It's a series of ups and downs. Life is the journey of the ups and downs. And guess what? God wants you to get closer to him through the ups just as much as he wants you to get closer to him through the downs. Look again at what he says in verse 11, "becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead." The Apostle Paul was not questioning whether he's going to make it to the end. Once you're a Christian, you're always a Christian. What he was saying is, "I will make it and the question is, what will that journey be, or what will the ups and the downs be?" So, he's not questioning if he'll rise from the dead because every true Christian will. He's questioning the journey. No matter what the ups and downs are, somehow through this journey of ups and downs, he'll rise from the dead. Here's what I want to say: Jesus Christ and the journey with Jesus Christ must be enjoyed every day. Not, "Well I had a good day so I can enjoy Jesus," or, "I had a bad day, he didn't do what I want and I'm not going to enjoy him today." Good luck with that life. That's called a yo-yo life, and you're never going to make it. You're going to be up and down. You're going to be bipolar, a spiritually bipolar person. Don't do that. Enjoy the journey. One person said, "Wherever God leads me, I will follow. Whatever God feeds me, I will swallow." All I want to say is that God has you on a journey, a custom made journey for you, and the whole purpose is to draw you closer to him on this spiritual journey. Will you find joy no matter what? Will you find joy in the ups when it's easy? And in the downs when it's hard?

It's up to you. Do you want to live a joyful life all the time? Or do you want to live a joyful life only when everything lines up? Joy has nothing to do with your circumstances. Joy has everything to do with your spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ. If you're close to Jesus Christ, you will feel joy no matter what. But you have to enjoy the journey as much as the destination, the chase as much as the kill. Let's pray. Father, help us to enjoy the journey you have us on. Every one of us are on a different journey. right at this moment, every one of us is at a different place. And I pray, Almighty God, that we will see joy in our circumstances, whether it's the ups, the downs, the Midlands, whatever it is. Help us to see joy because we are on a journey you've created for our life. And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Aug 20 8:11 AM

Joy in Growing Closer to Christ

Aug 20 8:11 AM

Friday, August 20, 2021

The whole goal of becoming a Christian is not to say, "I'm done. I've got a relationship with Christ, I'm going to heaven!" No...

Friday, August 20, 2021

Philippians 3:7-8

I want to talk to you about one of the most basic things of the Christian life. And that's this: once you become a Christian, if you want to live a satisfying, joyful life, you have to get closer to Jesus Christ every day. When I graduated from RIT with my electrical engineering degree, Richard Rose was the president of RIT. And every graduating class would have a little reception at the president's house with some of their other classmates and with our department head. So Dr. Swaminathan Madhu was not only our department head of the electrical engineering department, he was my friend, because I worked for him as a technical lab assistant for the college. And I remember Dr. Madhu said, "Vince, now that you're graduating, you're ready to learn." And I said, "It's interesting, Dr. Madhu, because I've done a lot of learning." He said, "No, all we did was we taught you how to learn on the job." When I got my black belt in November of 1999, my karate instructor said, "Now you're ready to learn." I go, "Wow, I did all this testing. I passed all my katas, my basics, my sparring my upper and lower body basics, all these things and, and now you're telling me I'm going to learn more?" Yeah. I'm ready to learn. In other words, I had the basics. I knew how to do a basic block. But I had to learn shogi, or polish, on my technique, and chudan uchi, where I sprung back on a block and not just stuck it out there, and cover, and different things.

Here's what I want to say to you. When you become a Christian, it's the same thing as what Dr. Madhu and as my karate instructor, Kurt Sawyer, told me: when you become a Christian you're ready to learn. The whole goal of becoming a Christian is not to say, "I'm done. I've got a relationship with Christ, I'm going to heaven!" No, you want to love him more. That's what the Apostle Paul said - learn to love him more than anything. Look at what he says in Philippians 3:7-8, "Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

In other words, all the things Paul had before he was a Christian, the prestige of being a Pharisee and all of that. Nothing compared to the greatness of knowing Christ. Knowing, present participle, not "having known" Christ. Knowing. It's a process. He said he would lose everything if that's what it took to know Jesus Christ. And guess what? Jesus Christ demanded the loss of so many things for the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul experienced as much loss, or more, than any other human being ever has for the sake of Christ. And Paul said he would gladly suffer loss if it meant knowing Christ more deeply. He even says everything else is like rubbish, and honestly, the word for rubbish in Greek, which I've shared on Sundays here a few times, is the Greek word scubula. Excuse my crassness, but it is basically the word for for feces, dung, crap, whatever you want to say. And Paul says, all of that stuff that I had doesn't matter as much as knowing Christ. Do you want to know Jesus Christ at that same level? Do you want to know Christ more? You'd like to become a Christian? Great, now you're ready to learn, like my black belt and karate instructor, Kurt, said. Like the dean of electrical engineering, Dr. Madhu, said. Like Paul, now you're ready to learn more about Jesus Christ. You'll learn more about how to get closer to him. I want to know Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is infinite. That means that you'll never know everything about him. So I want to know more and more every day. Do you? How do you do that? Read the Bible every day. Pray every day, not only for yourself, but for others. Use your gifts to impact the world and share the good news in the church and in the world. Do these things and you'll get closer to Christ and you'll know him more.

Father, help us to know you more every day. Just like we know our spouses if we're married, just like we know our kids if we have kids. Every day we know them more, and we want to know you more, and nothing else. Whatever it costs, it's not worth anything compared to knowing you. Thank you for this. Help us to know you more in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

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