The Mind of Christ

[0:00] Philippians 2 is where we're going to begin. And I'll read from verse 1. Philippians 2 from verse 1.

[0:11] If you've not got a Bible, you might want to ask for one or look on someone else's if you haven't got one. And I'm sure your neighbour would be glad to let you have a look at their Bible. Philippians 2, it says, If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, which is speaking of emotion, of compassion.

[0:33] He says, Fulfilling ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done for his strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

[0:47] Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you. That was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

[1:12] And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess, sorry, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

[1:47] Amen. The mind of Christ. Mind of Christ.

[1:58] Paul urges the Philippians to have the mind of Christ. I'd like to explore this concept, the mind of Christ. What is it? First, we can see that it is possible to have this, the mind of Christ.

[2:13] Otherwise, Paul would not say, let this mind be in you. It is a possibility. This prospect, it is achievable, this side of heaven. So what does the mind of Christ look like?

[2:25] How can I develop the mind of Christ? How does the mind of Christ look like? It starts with looking at him, doesn't it? To look unto Jesus. It starts with looking at him.

[2:37] Paul goes on to tell how Christ demonstrated the mind of Christ by the form of a servant that he became. The mind of Christ is adopting that humility of heart, of life, of thinking, of our precious Lord.

[2:51] The Bible has much to say about the thought life, about the mind. Now, we know today we're living in what they call the information age, aren't we? It's like we're almost, we've got this view of ourselves in this generation that we are somehow more advanced and of higher intellect than all the generations that have gone before.

[3:12] That we are in the information age. It's like we know everything now. You know, it's at your fingertips, isn't it? Just look it up on Google. The wisdom so-called of this world is at our hands and Google gives us access to all this so-called wisdom.

[3:27] But you know, it's been truly said that we've got smartphones these days, but dumb people. It can be the case, can't it? We can be smart in worldly wisdom, but be foolish in the sight of God.

[3:39] And Paul contrasts this huge difference between worldly wisdom and God's truth. There's much so-called wisdom today that is actually foolishness.

[3:52] Foolishness. And we hear of science falsely so-called in the Bible, don't we? And yet it is that, falsely so-called. We hear much about the foolishness of man.

[4:03] We hear much about fools in the Bible. Have a look through your Bible and see the word fool and where the fool shows him or herself. The ultimate fool is the one who denies God.

[4:17] A fool is said in his heart, there is no God. Paul tells how the mind, it's like a battlefield, isn't it? They're struggling with these conflicting values and philosophies. And Paul talks about empty, vain and deceitful philosophies.

[4:32] In Colossians 2 verse 8. Colossians 2 verse 8, he says, Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, through the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ.

[4:47] Paul's saying, Beware lest any man spoil you. It's got the sense of a spoiler is someone who's a thief, one who captivates. And there's this captivating, spellbinding influence on the world today.

[5:00] A bondage, really. People think that there's freedom in the bottle or whatever it be, but really it's a bondage, isn't it? It's a captivity in our thinking.

[5:11] And the devil wants to captivate us. He's pictured as like the snare of the fowler. The devil is one who wants to set this little trap, as you could picture it, of a little bucket with a stick on top of it.

[5:24] And then he's got some bait here and then he pulls the stick and you're captured. That's the picture of the snare of the fowler. And the enemy wants to play mind games, games with our mind, to trap us, to snare us.

[5:37] And our enemy does not want you to know the knowledge of God, to know the knowledge of the holy. But that is God's desire for you. That is, I pray, while you're here this morning, because you've got that deep down inside of you.

[5:52] Paul tells us what we are to do with such thinking, this worldly thinking, these empty and vain philosophies. He tells us that in 2 Corinthians 10, 4 through 5. He talks about a casting down of imaginations, of these kind of mental strongholds that rise up.

[6:08] In 2 Corinthians 10, verses 4 through 5, it says, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ.

[6:32] Now that's a good kind of captivity, isn't it? That you would be captivated with the holy, that you would be captivated with the Lord on high, his majesty, his glory, the person of Christ, that every thought would be captivated and taken hold of under his domain.

[6:48] There are strongholds in people's minds. And these barriers are like barriers, are strongholds to the gospel in their thinking. For example, when we were out yesterday, as our witnessing crew, the two of us were out yesterday, someone said, I don't believe, I don't believe.

[7:05] And I challenged him, and I said, oh, so you're an atheist. And he actually confessed, no, I believe there's someone, something out there. And me and my mate, we said, well, what if that someone has sent us to you with a message from him?

[7:23] You know, what if that someone, that airy-fairy someone, that something has sent us to you? You know, he acknowledged he wasn't an atheist. There's something, someone, some fuzzy-wuzzy, airy-fairy, something out there that's bigger and brighter than him.

[7:42] And look, it's in all of us, isn't it? What if that someone has sent his message through you and me? And he has. Deep down, there's this innate knowledge that's in all of us.

[7:53] Yet some would deny it, they would seek to suppress it, suppress the truth. Now, it's been said that some people's minds are like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set.

[8:03] That's what they're like, isn't it? They just have this hardness of mind, of heart. And the devil wants that. There's these filters that people have over their minds. Actually, it's like a blindness over their minds, as we see in 2 Corinthians 4, verses 3 through 4.

[8:18] Paul writes, he says, but if our gospel is here, it is here to them that are lost, in whom the God, small g, of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

[8:36] It's like there's a blindness of minds. There's this blindfold, this blinding of minds that closes people to the light and shuts them off from the light and they're dwelling in darkness.

[8:49] It's said that the mind is the gateway to the heart, the gateway to the heart. We have to constantly keep watch on our ear and eye gates because they are entry points into our minds.

[9:01] Amen? What goes in the eye gate, what goes in the ear gate, goes in the mind and then it goes into our heart. Our mind can be captured, can be captured by what we read, by what we watch, by what we listen to, what we think on and our mind can be shaped and so are hearts and our lives too.

[9:20] So friends, it's important that our minds are in the right aspect. What we think has a powerful impact on how we live, on our lives, on us.

[9:33] And friends, it's a reality today. Many minds are tormented, they're troubled and disturbed and many lack rest and true peace and they go searching for it here, there and yet it's elusive to them because the devil has blinded the minds of them that believe not.

[9:49] They're blind and they don't even know it. They're like they're dead and they don't even know they're dead. They're like the walking dead. They're dead in their hearts and our minds and hearts yet can be renewed, revitalized, born again and our minds and hearts can be garrisoned by God, kept by Him, under His guard, by His very peace.

[10:07] We see that in Philippians 4 through 7 through 8 that God can give us a whole new way of thinking, a whole new way of thinking. As a suggestion, you might like to take a photo of these verses and look them up later in your leisure.

[10:22] Philippians 4, 7 through 8 it says, And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And Paul says, Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.

[10:51] God commands us what to think about, what to think upon, to think on these things. True, honest, just, pure, lovely, good, virtuous, praiseworthy things.

[11:02] Our thought patterns can be restructured. Amen? I look back to how I used to think and God helping me as a Christian, I think differently now.

[11:13] Our thought patterns, our thinking can be reordered. How do we know the mind of Christ? We can. The Bible says we can. Paul says, Let us, let this mind be in you.

[11:24] Let it happen. How do we know the mind of Christ? That's a big question. And we can talk theoretically about such things but yet not know the reality personally. But the Bible wants to impart this message.

[11:38] God tells us, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ. He says, elsewhere, Paul says, We have the mind of Christ. It's a reality.

[11:49] We can have that. Present sense. So how do we know the mind of Christ? You might be saying, Preacher, I'm hearing you but how do I get this? This is just a concept.

[12:02] You're saying, How do I know what the mind of Christ is? We look at him. We look at Jesus. We look at the Lord Jesus. Read the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read about Jesus and see what Jesus did.

[12:15] See how Jesus acted. See how he lived. Let him teach us as we read of his life in the Gospels. For example, Matthew 11, 28 through 30. What does he say?

[12:27] Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. He doesn't say, Come unto the church or come unto religion or come unto this philosophy or come unto this belief. He says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I, I, I, will give you rest.

[12:48] Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek, sorry, and learn of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall, shall, find rest for unto your souls.

[13:03] You shall find rest for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. It says of the wicked they're like a troubled sea that has no rest. They're just, they're topsy-turvy, they're in this choppy ocean, their life is in a turmoil and their way of living but Jesus says, Come unto me and I will give you rest.

[13:23] I will give you rest. Here's the one you're looking for without maybe even realizing it. He says, What? Learn of me. That's a command.

[13:34] Learn of him. What can we learn about Jesus? What can we learn about what he teaches us? Our Lord's life. Look at his life from go to woe, from his birth to the cross and of course we know he pre-existed.

[13:51] He's from everlasting to everlasting but just that human life and of course he lives beyond as the risen saviour and our precious living Lord. But look at the lifespan, the life of Christ.

[14:03] Look at how his life brought glory unto God. That was his mission and he was centered in that. He says in Luke 19 verse 10, For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

[14:16] Our Lord lived as a humble servant as Paul wrote in Philippians there that he made himself of no reputation. This is the one who stooped down from heaven's glory.

[14:26] He stooped down from that glorious throne down the steps of the throne down to even a human frame to be God manifest in the flesh.

[14:40] That he would stoop down in such a fashion that he would come as a servant and humble himself unto death. Even the death of the cross.

[14:52] A horrible death. And he was centered on his mission that the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Look at the humility of his service.

[15:04] Look at how he lived his life for others with love and compassion as he reached out to people of all walks of life. People in need. People crying out.

[15:15] People in burdened and bruised and hurting. It says in Matthew 9.36 it says that he saw the multitudes and he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and they were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.

[15:32] He saw the people and he was moved. He had compassion. He was moved with compassion. The mind of Christ. Can we have that heart? Can we have that love?

[15:43] Can we have that grace? Our Lord showed a prayerful dependence on his Father. It says in Luke 5.16 that he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed.

[15:55] If our Lord prayed wouldn't we pray? The one who of anyone who probably didn't need to pray in a way you know humanly thinking why did Jesus need to pray to the Father?

[16:10] Yet he did as an example as a model as a demonstration as a witness as a testimony as a direction for us he withdrew and he prayed and how can we develop the spiritual man inside of us?

[16:27] Pray. Pray after God. Pray with a heart after him. What would we think when we think do we apply the filter that of what would Jesus think?

[16:38] You know there's a popular saying what would Jesus do? What about what would Jesus think? You know when we come about our daily lives and what we think upon what our minds dwell on what's occupying our thinking all the time is it possible to have knowledge and yet not apply it?

[16:54] You know in Philippians 2 1 through 5 it talks about as we read earlier that Paul's heart was for the people to have a like mindedness a love a being one accord of one mind he says he speaks of lowliness of mind he says don't look on the things of others look on sorry on your own things but look on the things of others think about others needs now there's people with needs and we need to have a heart that that extends grace to people with needs Paul says be like minded have lowliness of mind and we're all we're all subject to the flesh the world the flesh and the devil and we've got to crucify the flesh each one of us we're all called to walk and live biblically we've all got challenges in our lives our heart must be to please God to please him and we will fail but God extends grace to us while we're this side of heaven and at the throne of grace there's always his grace isn't there and it's his love it's his compassion and we can have knowledge and yet not apply it you know the Bible says how to live and we can disregard it we can say too hard

[18:13] I'm not going to listen to God or we can say no Lord I don't like what I'm reading but I'm going to obey your word I'm going to obey what you say to do and what does he say to do he says in 1 Peter 1 15 through 16 but as he has called you is holy so be ye holy in all manner of conversation because it is written be ye holy for I am holy now that's a challenge isn't it how can we be holy such that we are holy in how we act in how we talk in what we do in how we interact how can we be holy he says be ye holy even as I am holy that's the ultimate standard isn't it how can I be that holy thank God he makes us holy he gives us his holiness and he gives us that separation unto himself from the world and from the adversary so friends what does it boil down to the mind of Christ Christ in you Christ in you it's a wonderful truth that

[19:15] Jesus says abide in me and I will abide in you that's amazing isn't it that sitting alongside you is someone who Jesus is abiding in Jesus is dwelling in that one that sister that brother the one who knows him Jesus is inside of them it says that Christ in you is the hope of glory and what does that look like that that holy passion of Christ is in us the holy spirit of God is in us and notice holy he makes us holy by his spirit it's Christ in you Christ in your walking Christ in your living Christ in your thinking Christ in you what does Christ in you look like Christ has come to seek and to save the lost we're going to have a heart for the lost we're going to care about souls going to hell Christ in you will aim to lift people up when you see those downtrodden when you see those despairing when you see those in

[20:17] Satan's clutches you want to lift them up you want to set them out you want to set them free you want to see them saved you want to see them released you want to see them set free because at the moment they're enslaved Jesus has come to set people free Christ in you will lift people up Christ in you will be a transformed life and thinking a transformed mind Christ in you will love people even those that are hard to love he'll help you to love the mind of Christ Christ in you that's what we need isn't it amen Christ in you in you Christ in you is the way to victory Christ in you is death to sin and to self Christ in you that you by faith can be born again that Christ can come as it says and dwell in our hearts he resides in our hearts and look he takes up permanent residence he's not just some lodger he's not some couch surfer as it were when Jesus comes inside of you he's there to stay amen when you know Jesus as your saviour he's there to stay he takes up permanent residence and your heart becomes his home that's a wonderful vital truth isn't it in your heart by faith the mind of Christ and what does Jesus do when he faces struggles and temptation when he has an attack of the devil he says it is written he goes back to the word he tells

[21:58] Satan it is written he knows the word and the word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth he is the word personified the word incarnate the word made flesh and his word can dwell in us too that's a wonderful truth and Christ in you will overcome Christ in you will overcome in your flesh in yourself you will fail miserably because you need Christ Christ in you to overcome as you face life's battles Christ in you is going to be the one that will get you through that he'll fight your battles for you and I love how the word it talks about that God's people are overcomers amen you may not feel like it but you're an overcomer God says you are he says you're an overcomer he says and how do we become an overcomer means you've got to have a battle first oh I didn't like that bit I like to be an overcomer

[23:00] I want to be an overcomer but the Bible says before you become an overcomer you've got to have something to overcome amen you've got to have some battles through life you're going to have some tests we read the blessing of God the promise of God that those who will sit with Christ in the hereafter are those who have overcome Revelation 321 it says to him that overcometh will I grant to sit in my throne with me in my throne even as I also overcame and I'm sat down with my father in his throne so notice that this position is for those who overcome the preparation for that position is now be an overcomer we're in training for that now you know I like to think some people like to train their body don't they to train their body and have a physique such as this one that's just an example of physical perfection they train their body but how much more important to train the brain isn't it to train the brain as it were that our thoughts would be patterned after Christ that we would train the brain by the washing of water by the word that we can be and I like to kind of say this as much as people might think oh you're a bit of a false cult here we need to be brainwashed in a good way don't we that there's a washing of water by the word you know when you have that refreshing shower but this is like a shower on the inside of us on the mind of us that he can wash away all those thoughts all those bondages all those distractions he can wash away everything that would take his place he can wash it away by his word and there's a wonderful cleansing impact of the word of God how will a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to thy word and so there's a preparation for the meantime there's a battle amen friends don't let the battle deter you it's one that will lead you to be an overcomer the battle will lead you to overcome but for the meantime we must be like christ the mind of christ he took upon him the form of a servant he took him even to the death to the death of the cross now to have the mind of christ in the context we see what does christ do he made himself of no reputation he was made in the form of a servant in the likeness of man he found fashion as a man he humbled himself became obedient unto death even the death of the cross it says in 2 timothy 2 12 if we suffer with him we will reign with him you as a christian you might say look it's hard going being a christian i'm the only christian in my workplace they're going to think i'm some kind of fruit cake some kind of bible basher they're going to think i've gone off track and i've gone nutty but the bible says if we suffer we shall reign with him there's a sense where we shouldn't care that people might attack us because we're a christian because this earthly span is just short isn't it and for some it's shorter than others we don't know how short it is let's get it right let's get glory as our aim as our aspiration that we want to please god not ourselves and it's the cross before the crown the cross before the crown so god is preparing us for heaven's joys by allowing us some tests we're engaged in a battle what are we to do wage a good warfare let's make a good account of ourselves the battle is against this unseen foe and it's intensifying it's all around us it's everywhere you go the battle is on it's on the warfare is on it's on it's here it's now and it's intensifying it's a battle for personal spiritual victory that's what it is and are you going to go the distance are you going to practice the mind of christ what's it going to take

[27:00] repentance that's the ultimate change of mind to repent is the ultimate change of mind that as a mind shift that goes on a change of mind a change of heart a change of disposition a change of outlook a change of who you are it's a reversing a turning around it's a 180 a u-turn repentance it's the way of the cross he humbled himself he went to the cross to the cross to the cross for us he didn't deserve that and it's going to take for us as God's people being willing to take the walk of the cross to walk up that rugged hill to carry that rugged cross on our bleeding and beaten back to be spat upon to be cursed to be hated to be abandoned by our nearest and dearest to go forward at all costs to the cross it's a new mindset isn't it it's a reversing of thinking it's a repenting it's a learning to pray it's a learning to depend to pray according to the will of God to pray through till God comes down the mind of Christ the mind of Christ to have the mind of Christ we need to let go of carnal thinking it's crucifying yourself it's saying I don't like

[28:21] Andrew Craig anymore I'm going to nail him nail him going to drive that nail in into his hands his feet sorry I know I've been told off for shouting but this has got something to shout about amen because he's he says we should be crucified with Christ die to self hate yourself love the world today says love yourself esteem yourself self esteem what is some worldly song that comes to mind the greatest love of all is to love myself no it's to love him it's to love Jesus this is the greatest love no greater love any man lay down his life for his friends there's no greater love than his love and for the meantime there's a battle, brothers and sisters.

[29:13] We've got to let go of carnal thinking. Let go of thinking your own way. Let go of I did it my way. No, don't go your way, go God's way. Be willing to humble yourself and suffer if need be.

[29:27] Be willing to suffer loss for Christ and for the truth. There's no greater cause really. Now this sounds a bit radical but really it's what it is, isn't it?

[29:40] It's what Jesus did. He went to the cross. He went to the extremity to humble himself, to suffer. Sometimes Paul says you've not strived unto blood yet.

[29:53] You're not there yet. You're going to strive unto blood. There's a sense of this extremity, this extreme kind of Christianity. I'm not meaning to sound a bit left field here but there's the sense where nothing else matters.

[30:10] Nothing else. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. You've got to kill it. You've got to kill that flesh. It's doing you harm.

[30:23] They that are in the flesh, we're talking Romans 8 here. Romans 8 verse 8. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. If you are in the flesh, you cannot please God.

[30:34] You've got to get rid of the flesh. And how does that happen? Paul says I die daily. It was a daily struggle for him, this great man of God.

[30:44] And it is for us too. Amen. Be willing to be misunderstood and rejected by your nearest and dearest, by your friends. To be carnally minded is death.

[30:56] But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Life and peace doesn't come by drugs. It's being spiritually minded. To be spiritually minded is life and peace.

[31:09] To put your mind on him. To let go of the carnal, the self. To be crucified with Christ. That's something, isn't it?

[31:19] Wow, how do you get there? That we would be crucified with him. How can we develop the mind of Christ? This is the question. How do we have our thinking reprogrammed?

[31:32] Now I'll tell you how not to have the mind of Christ. The world's entertainment is geared at feeding the flesh. Isn't it? The world's entertainment is geared at feeding the carnal mind.

[31:44] What do you have to do? Switch it off. The world's programming, you need to turn it off. Certainly filter it, please.

[31:58] And rather program your mind by the word. That's what we need. To submit to God, to resist the devil and he will flee from us. So friends today, I hope these scattered thoughts are helping you put your thoughts on things above.

[32:14] That there's something, some kernel of truth that you'll take home in your bag to carry home with you after this message. That there's something, I want to do that.

[32:24] I want to be that. I want to be wakeful in these days of deception. I want to have a holy boldness in a time where everyone's cowering and whimpering and giving ground.

[32:34] I want to have that renewing of the mind when everybody else is just going with the lemmings over the cliff. I want to surrender to God and let him have his way with me even though that's not the popular thing to do.

[32:47] Even though the crowd will mock me and scorn me, I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. I want to have that surrendered will such that he will be my master and I will be his servant.

[32:59] It's the will of God that matters. You may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now really the mind of Christ is the will of God. The mind of Christ is the will of God for us.

[33:13] And friends, we urge through the scriptures, search out and find his will. 1 John 2.17. You can see I'm nearly at the close here. 1 John 2.17 you'll be saying, phew, I'm glad that's going to be over.

[33:23] 1 John 2.17 it says, and the world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. This is something forever.

[33:35] This is not just some intellectual, philosophical, theological lecture or some kind of principles that are of theory.

[33:45] This is the word of God, that he who does the will of God abideth forever. Don't you want that? I want to be forever, don't you? Not in some kind of cryogenic chamber where they might try to resuscitate some half a life part of me to give me some half of a life that somehow this body can somehow extend because we know it cannot.

[34:11] But that we can live forever, that we can have a forever outlook. And how is that? By doing the will of God, by surrendering our will to his will. And it's a yieldedness, a surrender of self to God, to be unreservedly placed at his disposal.

[34:29] The mind of Christ is that longing to do the master's will, to please God. This master passion of our life, the master's will. And we're coming to the final stages here.

[34:42] Isaiah 55, the Lord says, My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways. My ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

[34:56] We can't really grasp it, can we? The thoughts of God, the mind of God, the ways of God, the holiness of God, the awesome, blessed perfectness of God.

[35:08] That in some small measure we can have Christ in us, the hope of glory. That we can know his will and do it. That we can fulfill his word. That we can tune into some higher wavelength.

[35:21] Now we've got 4G, there's 5G coming. This is higher than 5G, amen? This is ultimate, isn't it? The ways of God, the thinking of God. That we can tune into the very wavelength of God.

[35:32] I'm not meaning to sound flippant here, but there's that sense where his ways are higher. Higher, higher. Higher than we can ever imagine. The thinking of God, the mind of Christ. That we can develop the mind of Christ such that we have the heart of Christ.

[35:46] And it's not something passive and inactive. The mind of Christ stirs us to action. Because we see the lost, the careless, marching really to hell. And many unconcerned.

[35:57] Our heart goes out because we want to tell. We must tell them. We must stir ourselves. I know one of our number has got a t-shirt printing ministry with Christian slogans and Bible texts.

[36:10] And it's pretty out there. And I was thinking to myself, this might be a good idea for our sister to have, you know, for us to have some search and rescue team t-shirts.

[36:21] We are the ultimate search and rescue team, aren't we? And when there's an emergency, we hear about the coronavirus at the moment. And everyone's kitted out with their special garb.

[36:31] Or you see, and I'm not meant to be flippant about it, but the bushfires where everyone kits out in their search and rescue uniforms. We are the search and rescue team for planet Earth, aren't we?

[36:44] We are. We are about the work of soul rescue. Snatching them from the fire. And friends, it's put, as someone described it here. I'm going to quote a little quote here.

[36:55] Imagine down at Elizabeth Fire Station.

[37:07] They might have some comfy chairs there and some of them might start to snooze off a bit. And the quote goes on, That's a pretty graphic picture, isn't it?

[37:39] There's people going to hell. There's people lost and damned. And we have the message of life, of hope, of rest, of eternity with God. And we have the mind of Christ to seek and to save the lost.

[37:53] He urges us to that, to that mission. His mission is our mission. And the mind of Christ, it stirs us to oppose the worldly spirit of our age. To reject backsliding and conformity to the world.

[38:06] The world's amusements, the world's occupations, the world's entertainments. It's dross, isn't it? In comparison with his loveliness.

[38:19] So easy to take on the programming. That's what it is of the world. But rather let's get reprogrammed. Let's get the washing of the water by the word.

[38:31] And as a believer, you have a new nature, a new master, a new life. The spirit is still warring against the flesh within you, though.

[38:42] You might say, Preacher, I know you're telling me that, but you don't know how I'm struggling. There's some sin. I'm in the same club. There's no one righteous, no, not one.

[38:54] We're all subject to this struggle, this war, this battle, this fighting that's within us, this conflict. But God helping us will adopt the mind of Christ.

[39:05] That will ask him to help us to get through, to depend upon him, to seek his will. How can I develop the mind of Christ? Let's come down personally now.

[39:17] Now, what is it going to take? Will we wrestle with God? Has Jacob wrestled with God? There's a sense where we need to wrestle with him.

[39:28] In that sense, we want to take hold of him and not let go of him until he bless us. And will we recognize the neglect of prayer? You know, the word asks, Where is now the Lord God of Elijah?

[39:43] And as someone put it, he is waiting for Elijah to call on him. The Lord God of Elijah, he's not far, far away, not ready to act. He's waiting for the Elijahs, as it were, to call upon him.

[39:58] To call upon him and his power. And you have not because you ask not. You say, I don't have the mind of Christ. Ask him for it. Ask him for it. To develop that in you.

[40:10] Don't rest on the arm of flesh. It will fail you. Ask God to change your mind. To refresh your thinking with godly thoughts and thinking. To yield to him.

[40:20] And friends, it boils down to that he must be in authority. It's been said that authority is not power. It's the imparted right to bring the power of another into operation.

[40:32] For example, we see, perhaps the traffic lights down yonder are out. And you see the policeman or woman steps out of their car. And they put their hand up.

[40:44] And you think, here's this man, this woman, this police officer, garbed with this clothing of authority. These high-powered vehicles are rushing by. And, you know, really those vehicles are much more powerful than this solitary person standing with their arm outstretched.

[41:05] The traffic officer has very little power. But he has authority. He has authority. And the Bible says that we have his authority.

[41:16] He says, all power, all authority is given unto me. So send I you. He's invested you with his authority. And authority is delegated power.

[41:27] Now, the Bible is our authority. This is the mind of Christ, the word of God. And this is the authority. The Bible says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

[41:37] If the word has got authority, which it has, if it's got that delegated power, if God says you can die to self, if God says you can crucify the flesh, if God says, let this mind be in you, the mind of Christ, then it is possible, because God's authority is behind it.

[41:56] And we have God's authority on this. So, Isaiah 26, 3-4, it says, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. His mind is stayed on thee, because he trusted in thee.

[42:09] If you're searching for peace, perfect peace, it's placing your mind, it's staying your mind, resting your mind upon him, Christ in you.

[42:23] It's the authority of the scriptures that we can know this can be realised by you. It's reckoning ourselves dead to sin, alive to God. It's presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice. It's bearing his cross.

[42:36] Friends, our earthly lives can have an eternal dimension, a kingdom impact. And there's a bearing of fruit that is eternal. A key for this is having the mind of Christ. And so, just to recap real quick where we've covered today, and I trust some of these little seed thoughts might be thoughts that are godly thoughts in your thinking.

[42:57] For example, there's a contrast today between empty worldly philosophies and the truth of God. There's an opposition, mind games going on.

[43:09] There's this one who's like a trap. He's a trapper. He's a, as the snare of the fowler. He wants to capture you. And he's playing these mind games and these strongholds.

[43:21] He's putting up all these barriers. Like, oh, I don't believe that. Oh, but I believe there's something, someone. It's a stronghold.

[43:33] Break it down. Jesus has come that you might have life. Have it more abundantly. Our hearts and minds can be kept through Christ Jesus. Our thinking can be lifted to a new level that whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report, and so on.

[43:52] It can be an uplifting, a whole new mind shift of our thinking patterns. You know, there's a pattern maker in our midst here this morning, and there's women who make dresses out of patterns, and we are fashioned after the pattern.

[44:08] The pattern we need is Christ. He is the pattern. He is the model. He is the one that we should shape our lives outlined as he lived, and we can learn of him, his mission, his humility, his love, his holy passion, and we can know the reality of Christ in you.

[44:28] You've got the authority of this book that says Christ in you is the hope of glory. You can know Christ in you, Christ dwelling in you, in your hearts by faith, residing in you as a permanent resident, as it were.

[44:44] He's got the PR. He is the permanent resident in your heart. If you know Christ, he is permanently residing, and you can know his overcoming power, his personal victory, it tells you that to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

[44:59] If you're looking for life, if you're looking for peace, look to him to be spiritually minded. Put your mind upon him. Let your thoughts and thinking be patterned after him. And we can know and do the will of God.

[45:12] That is the mind of Christ. It's the will of God. It's the word of God. We can have a whole heart change, a whole mind change, a life change. May God, meantime, give us a holy discontent to not settle for less than the mind of Christ.

[45:27] To not settle for less. To wrestle with God. To pray through. To depend upon him. That our mind be stayed upon him. And that our thought patterns can be restructured, as it were.

[45:41] As we've talked about, there's a washing of water by the word. Get this book in your heart and soul, in your memory, in your mind, in your life, in your walking, in your shoes.

[45:52] That Christ is in you. The hope of glory. And friends, I've been urging, really this morning, largely to those who would profess to know the Lord.

[46:03] You might say, preacher, I don't know that I'm a Christian. Please, put your trust in him. Trust him. Trust him. Trust him now. Believe. Believe. Believe from the depths of your heart.

[46:15] Believe. Believe that he died and rose again from the dead. He died as that living sacrifice, your substitute. Paid your death penalty for your sin. And he wants to be your living saviour.

[46:26] Trust him. Call upon him. Reach out to him today. And he will reach out to you. Draw nigh to God. And he will draw nigh to you. And you can know the mind of Christ.

[46:38] Let's pray. Lord, we thank you that your word tells us it's got authority. That's the authority of a police officer. Lord, your word has authority from heaven. And your word tells us let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

[46:53] Lord, help us to have that that searching, that seeking, that urging of heart that we would seek after that and settle for nothing less. In Jesus' name we pray.

[47:05] Amen.