A Mind That Matters

A Mind that Matters

Philippians 2:5-11

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Introduction: Philippians is what we refer to as a prison epistle due to the fact that the Apostle Paul was in prison with his partner in ministry, Silas. It was a time of increasing persecution for Paul and for Christians in general. There was a storm brewing and believers were facing the antagonism of the Jewish religious leaders and the might of Imperial Rome was falling on them. Paul writes this letter to prepare them for this approaching storm. Remember, Paul was in prison for being a Christ follower, a person who was willing to share his faith and who was seeking to glorify God by living a godly separated Christian life. His point is that they would experience many of the same things and that they should be prepared. We will start our examination of this text at verse 5:

I. His Admonition

a. Christ mindedness should be the goal of every believer.

b. Christ mindedness is also the point of conflict for every believer.

ILLUSTRATION… Discipleship Journal, 11-12/92

A recent survey of Discipleship Journal readers ranked areas of greatest spiritual challenge to them:

1. Materialism

2. Pride

3. Self-centeredness

4. Laziness

5. (Tie) Anger/Bitterness

5. (Tie) Sexual lust

6. Envy

7. Gluttony

8. Lying

Survey respondents noted temptations were more potent when…they had neglected their time with God (81 percent) and when they were physically tired (57 percent).

Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).

c. Christ mindedness is critical for all believers who are serious about their faith and want to experience victory.

II. His Analysis

He uses the Lord’s example to teach us how to have Christ mindedness. The Lord “emptied” Himself…

a. Humble mindedness

ULTIMATE LOVE, COMPLETE HUMILITY

Only one act of pure love, unsullied by any taint of ulterior motive, has ever been performed in the history of the world, namely the self-giving of God in Christ on the cross for undeserving sinners. That is why, if we are looking for a definition of love, we should look not in a dictionary, but at Calvary.

SOURCE: John Stott, The Cross of Christ. Intervarsity Press: December, 1986.

b. A servant mindedness (bond slave)

F. B. Meyer once said, “I used to think that God’s gifts were on shelves one above the other; and that the taller we grew in Christian character, the easier we could reach them. I now find that God’s gifts are on shelves one beneath the other. It is not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower; that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts.”

c. A commitment to obedience to the

death.

The self life is giving up everything for one thing but the Christ minded give up the one thing to have everything.

III. His Acknowledgement

a. Christ’s sacrifice of Himself brought victory

b. Christ’s service to others brought Him unspeakable joy and full of glory.

c. Christ’s obedience to the Father’s will brought salvation to the entire world.

The selfless love to which God calls you and me produces a deep joy in our hearts. This joy or happiness of the Spirit has three dimensions.

Joy is the assurance of faith that we are acceptable to God and that God’s good providences are working on our behalf. This joy is an inner calm produced by confidence in God. It is untouched by outward circumstances and is not diminished by pain and sorrow.

Sometimes this joy gives us a sense of satisfaction and comfort.

The highest level of joy is a kind of ecstasy or overflowing happiness. There is no way of describing this – no more than we can say what it is like to be in love. It is simply a graced moment, and may only last a short time. We are cautioned by spiritual leaders not to seek this experience. God gives it when it pleases Him – it is always a by-product of faith.