Well, good morning. We are so glad that you're here today. Thank you for being a part of Lake Point Church. I hope you've been blessed by the worship this morning.
If you're a guest with us this morning, we're honored you came here today. As you came in, you should have received a program. Inside the program is a little connection card. It's a great way to connect with us and to let us know who you are. There are lots of things on the back, including things to sign up for and prayer requests. So whether you're a first-timer or you've been here a long time, take that card and fill it out. You can drop that in one of our offering boxes throughout the building.
If you're a guest, I hope to meet you after the service. I'll be out here in the lobby and would love to meet you today. After the service, I have a free gift that we'd like to give you for being here.
Today's a very special day, Chris. What do we have going on? Awesome!
Before we get to the next portion of our service, we have a couple of quick things. Next Sunday starts off Life Groups. If you're not in a Life Group, it's time to get connected. There are a couple of ways to sign up. You can sign up online by going to our website. You can also use your connection card; there's a little place in the back where you can say, "Hey, I want to be a part of group number five or group number seven," whatever group that is.
Look at the program inside to learn more information about all the groups that we have offering throughout the week. Some meet at night, some in the morning, some on Sunday night, and some on Wednesday and Thursday nights. So check them all out and be a part of a group.
For the spring, it lasts about six to eight weeks, but I encourage you to be a part of a group here starting next Sunday. If you have any questions after the service, you can go out in the lobby, and Pastor Dave will be in the back. He'll answer any questions you have and help you get signed up for groups.
In two weeks, we have our annual Greater Things offering. The Greater Things offering happens every year, and we use this offering to give to the greater city of Detroit, different ministries, church planting, and nonprofits. We're just looking forward to what God is going to do with that.
We've got a bucket here, and some of you will be bringing your bucket on May 5th. Some of you will be bringing your bucket with some change in there. I've got a little bucket like this on the counter in our house, and all throughout the year, we've been dropping some loose change and loose dollar bills in there. I encourage you to bring your bucket. A lot of you do that. I do, and we'll have a big, giant bucket here that we can dump at the end of the service.
It's a very special time for families. We get to lead with generosity. Some of you might say, "Well, I don't have a bucket. Can I just bring a plastic baggie?" You can bring a plastic baggie. You can get a bucket today. You can go out there and grab a bucket, and you may not have much for two weeks, but you can start collecting for next year. You can also give online. There will be a place for you to give for Greater Things online.
Like I said, 100% of it goes to ministry. We're supporting Peacemakers, which is a great ministry in downtown Detroit, helping the homeless and those in rough shape. It's just ministering through the streets of Detroit. We're helping with church planting.
Next Sunday, we're having Pastor Doug Schmidt. Pastor Doug Schmidt will be here next Sunday, and he will be speaking with us. He leads a ministry called Barnabas Ministries, and he'll be here next Sunday to talk about what that is. We're going to be supporting what God is doing through Barnabas Ministries.
All these great things—compassion, pregnancy, Crossroads—everything we collect for this offering goes to these ministries. One of our favorite ministries that we love to support is called Love for a Child. I remember when Love for a Child really started about 12 or 13 years ago. I met a guy named Joe. Joe and I had coffee. I'll let you tell that story, but we had coffee and made a friendship.
Love for a Child is doing ministry work for foster kids, not just in the Detroit area but all throughout the state of Michigan. I remember when Love for a Child was very small and just starting out, and now it's blossomed and doing incredible things. In the first service, we saw one of the kids that went through the Love for a Child ministry get adopted by one of our families and get baptized here in the first service.
It's awesome what Love for a Child is doing. We get to support what God is doing here. Today, we're going to hear for a few minutes, and then I'm going to bring the message. Before the message, I want you to meet my friend Joe Ciavalli and let him tell you a little bit about what God is doing through Love for a Child.
I want you to be praying about what that means for you in the next couple of weeks. What does that look like for the Greater Things offering? Pray about how you and your family can be a part of what God is doing in greater Detroit.
I want to invite Joe to come back up here real quick. I'm going to pray for him and for Love for a Child. I want the church to join me. What you're doing, Joe, is just incredible.
Today, we're in a series called The Fruit of the Spirit. I talked about love a couple of weeks ago. Last Sunday, we talked about joy, and today we're going to talk about peace. There are so many kids that don't have peace, and God is using you and Love for a Child and all your volunteers and team to help these kids find peace with God and with others. Some of the kids have never experienced peace in their life. You're a peacemaker. We appreciate you. Thank you for what God is doing as you are in a ministry of reconciliation, bringing the peace of God and peace with God for these kids.
Please join me in prayer.
God, we love you. We thank you for what you're doing for Joe and his family, for Love for a Child, and the impact that they're making. We got to witness that this morning, and it continues. It's not just one week of camp; it's a life change for these kids.
God, we continue to bless their ministry and bless Joe as they expand and reach more kids with the love of Christ. We thank you that Lake Point Church can partner with this amazing ministry, and we look forward to leading with you in generosity where we can bless and help this ministry continue to push back the darkness so that we can impact more kids for you.
We thank you for Joe and Love for a Child. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Well, we're talking about peace today. Peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God wants to work in us peace. I think my very earliest childhood memory of peace occurred when I was in the second or third grade. We had a substitute teacher in the room, and we were giving her the worst day of her life. We were talking out of turn, spitting spitballs at each other, goofing off, and laughing at the teacher while she was trying to be in control of the class. Everyone was doing this, except for me, of course. Not that anyone would think that I would do that.
Anyway, it was a madhouse in this classroom. All of a sudden, we heard a very familiar sound in the middle of our fun. We saw the door open to our classroom, and all of our heads turned in unison. Standing in the doorway was the school principal, Mr. Gephardt, who was six feet tall and just thick as a trunk. I mean, he was a big man. His face was red. Rumors were that he paddled kids with a two-by-four.
When he showed up in that doorway, the room got peace and quiet. That was my first experience of real peace when he showed up.
But I want to talk about real, real peace. Jesus talked about peace in the book of John, chapter 14, verse 27. He tells the disciples, "Peace I leave with you. I am leaving you, but I am leaving my peace. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." In other words, Jesus is saying that his peace is different than the world's peace.
Now, the world's peace is not, you know, the world. Jesus has not given us this Mr. Gephardt peace or this Richard Nixon peace or Woodcock peace. He's not giving us that kind of peace. He's given us, Jesus has given us profound peace.
If we could go to the other side of the world, to Israel, and ask a soldier, "What is the definition of peace?" they would look at you with their bloodshot eyes and say, "Peace means stopping the bloodshed. Peace means putting the rifles back in the rack, landing the planes, putting our ship back in port, returning to our family." That's peace—halting the hostilities.
That's what they would say to us. We just want to see the hostilities stop. I would say that there is a pretty good definition of peace for the war-torn world that we live in. It is the halting of hostilities.
However, God's definition of peace is much deeper; it's more dynamic when you compare it to the world's peace. In fact, the world peace will never get there. The world can never manufacture the peace of this world. But there is a peace that Jesus can give.
I want to give us today three quick thoughts on three different types of peace that the Lord wants to give through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Number one is what we call spiritual peace. The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 5, verse 1, said, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith," and that means that we have confessed our sins and received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. "Since we have been justified through faith, the Bible says we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Peace here can be defined as reconciliation with God. It means to be reconciled with Him. We are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Once we have made that faith decision and accepted Jesus Christ into our lives, we are reconciled to God, and we have a personal relationship with Him.
So the question here this morning is, do you have spiritual peace? Has there ever been a time in your life where you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Did you ask Him to come into your life? You see, when you have Jesus Christ, you have that spiritual peace because you know that you are secured in Him, that no man can pluck you out of his Father's hand. You are safe in the arms of Jesus.
We have peace, even on our worst days. We can have peace knowing that even in our failures, we can have peace that we have been justified in Christ because of our faith in Him. We have salvation.
So the question is, do you have spiritual peace? Do you have peace with God?
Here's the second aspect of peace this morning I want to look at: personal peace. We see in Romans 15, verse 13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Now, there's a big difference between spiritual peace, which we call peace with God, and personal peace. You see, personal peace is the peace of God. Here's the difference if you're taking notes: Peace with God—that's that spiritual peace. That's the peace that Jesus saves. That's what peace with God means. You have made peace with Him concerning your salvation and your relationship with Him.
But the peace of God means that Jesus is the peace that comforts. Jesus is the peace to comfort. That's the peace of God. There's a big difference.
You see, you cannot have the peace of God, the peace that comforts, until you first have the peace with God. That make sense? In other words, a lot of us have peace with God. You're saved; you have Jesus in your life. But there are many of us who do not have the personal peace of God.
There's turmoil going on in your life. Your life is haywire. Things are out of control, and there is no peace. You have the Savior in your life; you have peace with Him, but there's no personal peace at the moment.
The Bible says in John chapter 14, Jesus said, "Listen, I want to bring you comfort." And go back to that verse, verse 27: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." Then He said, "Do not let your heart be troubled. Don't be afraid."
Jesus wants to give you His peace. He wants us to have the comfort that He is with us, to not be troubled. To have His peace, you first have to have a relationship with God. That's the spiritual peace—that's salvation.
Then to have the peace of God is necessary to be in a continual relationship with Him. Every day, the peace of God in my life, the peace of God in your life, there's a battle. There's a spiritual battle for us to be removed from the peace of God.
You know what the number one cause of that battle is? It's a little word called worry. The Bible says we worry all the time. In Philippians chapter four, verse six, the Apostle Paul writes this in prison. If anybody could be in the dumps, in a bad mood, if anyone could be worried about something, it would be Paul writing this letter.
Paul says in Philippians four, "Do not be anxious about anything." Quit worrying! He said, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
And he said in verse seven, "And the peace of God," remember the phrase "the peace of God," "which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
So worry is the opposite of peace. Because of our constant state of worrying, we don't have the daily peace of God that He wants you to have.
But think about the things you worry about. We worry about the economy, right? We worry about our finances. We worry about politics. We worry about our health. We worry about our kids. We worry to death about what people think about us. We worry, don't we? We're in a constant state of worrying.
Paul said, "Instead of worrying, pray." Pray, and when we pray, there's a peace that we cannot explain, the Bible says. That peace begins to comfort our lives, knowing that God is in control and that He's working all things together for good.
That's what that peace is. We might look at a tough situation and say, "God, I don't like the situation I'm in. This is a rough road, but God, I'm going to trust you, knowing that all things work together for good." And it begins to give you His peace.
Why? Because I'm transferring my worry into a trust in Him. So we need to stop worrying. We need to pray.
Then, Philippians chapter four, verse eight, Paul said, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, lovely, admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice."
He said, "You gotta think about the good things, and you gotta live it out. Just practice these things."
Then he says, "And the peace of God will be with you." The peace of God.
So it starts with spiritual peace—that's salvation. That's the peace that I'm secure in, that I know that I'm going to heaven when I die. I have that peace.
But then I have that daily peace of God, and I live according to His word, trusting in Him, knowing that all things are working together for His good. That is the purpose of the peace of God.
It's the third peace: relational peace.
I gotta admit, some of us here, you know, we're doing good. You're just flying through this sermon and saying, "God, I got point one. I got it. Whoo!" It's a personal peace. I got it. God, I understand it all.
Now we're going to hit where the rubber meets the road, right? This is where sometimes our harmony with others is a little shaky. It's a little rough. Maybe there's some situation in your family where there's no peace.
The Bible says in Romans chapter 12, verse 18, "If it is possible," underline that word "if" if you like, "if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
God knows that's not always possible. You know, for example, have you ever tried to seek reconciliation with a person that doesn't want to hear or deal with it? You try to do your part. You do everything you can, and yet they don't want to have anything to do with it.
It's out of your control. You can only do what you can do. You can't make a person reconcile with you. I know this has happened in my life. There have been times in my life where there are relationships that you can do as much as you can.
If it's all possible, I'm going to do as much as I can, as long as it depends on me. I'm going to strive to live at peace with that person. Unfortunately, there have been times where it doesn't get received well. No doubt you've had experiences like that as well.
The Bible says, "As you can." We pray that in most situations, the person will turn and reconcile and that you can live with peace. I believe that in most cases you can. I know there are those impossible situations where it's never going to happen.
What you do the best that you can is what the Bible says. I'm going to show you five ways to establish relational peace with others. Five ways to have relational peace. This might be very practical. Maybe some of you need to hear some of these things. I hope this will help you out.
Number one: God takes the initiative.
Take the initiative. Matthew chapter 5, verses 23 and 24 says, "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go and be reconciled to them. Then come and offer your gift."
The question is, is the Holy Spirit bringing certain people to mind that you need to have peace with? You're like, "What's that? They were wrong." Huh? Okay, I hear you.
I don't know if it's all possible. As much as it depends on you, maybe it's a friend. Maybe for a student in here, it's a classmate. Maybe it's a neighbor. Maybe it's a co-worker.
If you are the offender or the offended, the Bible says take the initiative. Go and make peace.
I want you to think about the mind of God here, the character of God, the nature of God. We were totally in the wrong. We were the offender. We have sinned against the Holy One. Yet God took the initiative and sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for you. While we were still sinners, Christ died for you.
Aren't you glad? Aren't you thankful that God took the initiative? God could have just lifted His hand up and said, "Well, too bad. Walk away." He could have easily done that. But He loves you too much that He took the initiative and sent His only Son, Jesus, for you and for me.
If we have the mind of Christ, when we have Christ in our life, don't you think we should live out taking the initiative?
Here's the second thought when it comes to relational peace: Put yourself in their shoes.
Don't sympathize; empathize. Sympathy means feeling sorry for someone. Empathy means feeling what the other person is feeling. Put yourself in their shoes.
Sometimes you're talking to someone, and it's a barb at you, an angry tone. Hurt people hurt people. Wounded people wound people. They're already hurting. There's something going on in their life.
Sometimes I say I just need to hear them out, give them grace. That person at the cashier, that person on the road, that waiter or waitress is having a bad day and in a bad mood. There's something behind that pain. I need to empathize.
I need to be slow to anger, the Bible says in James chapter 1. Be slow to anger, slow to speak. Empathize.
Here's the third thought when it comes to relational peace: Focus on the issue, not the person.
Ephesians chapter 4, verse 29 says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
It's the phrases to avoid, right? Don't start comparing others. Don't start comparing them with others. Don't ever say, "I wish you were more like her," or "I wish you were more like him." Never say, "You're just like your mama."
Don't ever say that to your wife, guys. Bad move. That would be the death of you, I'm telling you.
So never compare. Don't threaten. You know, "I'm going to leave you." Don't ever use the "D" word—divorce. "I'm going to leave you. I'm going to divorce you."
"Hey, you keep doing that again, I'm going to..." Don't threaten. Don't play psychologist. "Hey, the reason why you're like this is because so and so." You're not a psychologist. And even if you are, it may not be a good idea in your family relationships.
You know, I have to be careful in my family not to be a pastor. I could pull out the Bible and start whomping them on the head. No. That's not the way to go. I don't need to play pastor to them. I need to be their husband; I need to be their father.
Okay? Y'all with me? Don't interrupt. Don't change the subject. Focus on the issue, not the individual. Address the issue, not the person.
Number four: You got to be flexible. Give or take. Learn the fine art of compromise.
Now, let the Word of God speak. James 3, verse 17 says, "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."
So, be flexible.
Number five: Make reconciliation the aim, not resolution. There is a difference. Resolution is settling the issue. Reconciliation is reconciling the relationship.
2 Corinthians 5, verse 18 says, "All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation."
Be a reconciler. Be a reconciler. The Bible says in Colossians chapter 3, verse 15, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."
I love that word "rule." In fact, it's the only time in the scripture that the word "rule" is used in the Greek language. The word "rule" here, the only time. And the word "rule," if you take it out, literally means to act as an umpire.
As we strive for peace, understand that we can't do it on our own. But we rely on the scripture and the Holy Spirit of God to umpire our lives. Let Him speak.
It starts with that spiritual peace. It starts with that. Then it continues on with that personal peace—the peace of God. To live according to His word and to stop worrying.
In that relational peace, that's where the rubber meets the road, right? That's where it gets tough sometimes. If it's all possible, as much as it depends on you, let the word of God umpire you.
Speak into your mind, "Uh-uh, don't say it, don't say it, don't go there." Listen, listen, listen.
Hey, do this, do that. Go, go take the initiative. Do this. Make it right. Focus on the issue. Be flexible. Come on, be flexible. Don't be so stubborn.
Let the Holy Spirit of God umpire our lives so that we can produce a fruit of peace that the world is dying to have.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the fruit of the Spirit. We thank you for the fruit of peace in our lives. God, we ask you to help us live out this fruit.
Maybe there's someone here today that needs spiritual peace. They don't have a relationship with you. Perhaps, God, there's someone here that is a Christian, but they've not been living according to His words, and they have no peace.
God, I pray that they fall back into the Word and stop worrying and trust you. Perhaps, God, there's a relationship that we need to restore. Perhaps there's a phone call that needs to be made. Take the initiative.
If all possible, as much as it depends on us, God, help us to live with peace with others.
God, we just thank you for this day as we celebrate those who are taking their next step in baptism. We're excited about those that made their decision for you.
God, we thank you for the peace of God that rules in our hearts. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
As we get ready for baptism, it's an exciting day. Baptism is a picture of a decision that they've already made. If I made a decision of salvation, the water doesn't save it. The water of baptism is like when you get married and they put on a wedding ring. The wedding ring doesn't make you married; it's just a picture of your marriage.
So when someone comes into the water, what they're basically saying is, "I believed." While they're sitting up in the water, "I believe that Jesus died for me."
When we put them under the water, they're making a statement that says, "I believe that Jesus died for me and was buried for me."
When we pull them out of the water, there's a statement that says, "I believe that Jesus rose again."
And so that's what we're doing here today. It's a statement of the decision that they made.
We've got eight baptisms in the first service, and we have six people getting baptized this morning here in the second service. I'm really excited, and I'm going to bring up the first one.
Corey, why don't you come up here, buddy?
Daniel, come up here, buddy.
All right, Daniel. Good job, buddy. How old are you, man? You're eight?
Eight years old. Daniel, you asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. Yeah, you got your mom and dad up here. You got your dad up here.
Because of your faith in Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, buried in Christ, ready to walk in the goodness of life.
Come up here, Claudia.
All right, Claudia, your little cousin Daniel just got baptized. Isn't that awesome?
And how old are you, Claudia?
Seven years old. You know, I was your age when I got baptized. I was seven.
You asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. Just your mom and dad over here. They're so proud of you. You got all your family that's here.
Claudia, because of your faith in Jesus, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Hold your nose. Buried in likeness, ready to walk in the units of life.
Next, we have Lacey.
All right, Lacey, come up here.
Have a seat right here. Got the whole family here. Got family out here.
All right, you baptized your mom and dad, I think, about two summers ago out in the lake.
Out in the lake. And Lacey, how old are you, honey?
You're eight years old. You asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior. That's so awesome.
Lacey, because of your faith in Jesus, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Buried in likeness, ready to walk.
All right, we have Tyler here.
Tyler, you're 15, right?
15 years old. That's awesome. Got mom and dad up here. Mom could be baptized in a few minutes, too. We're excited about that.
Tyler, did you ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior?
You're going to get baptized because of your faith in Jesus. I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Buried in likeness, ready to walk in the units of life.
That's a whole family. Last Sunday, you came to a membership class and had a conversation. You've been saved, but you've never taken your step in baptism.
So you decided, you know, you're going to pray about it and wait. And then this week, you said, "You know what? It's time. Let's go. Let's go." And you're doing it.
So, Jennifer, I'm so proud of you. Yes, Jesus Christ will be your Lord and Savior.
Because of your faith in Jesus, I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Buried in His likeness, ready to walk in the units of life.
Man, isn't God awesome?
Man, good to see what God is doing here at Lake Point.
Pastor Tim, can you come up here and close this out?
on Apr 22, 2024
