Beneath His Wings Part 3
Scriptures: Philippians 2:5-8; Matthew Chapters 5, 6, 7
Introduction:
This is part three of my series “Beneath His Wings.” In part one I focused on how as Christians we are under the wings of Christ. Our foundational Scripture came from Psalm 91 where the writer talked about God providing a refuge for us and covering us with His wings. In part two I focused on how as children we were under the wings of our parents. In that message I focused on the things we learned from our parents that enabled us to come into the knowledge of Christ and to walk on this earth as His. This morning I will conclude this series. As I shared with you in part one, the time has come for each of us to spread our wings to help someone else. So many times we take, and take and take of the benefits of Christ but we do little to share what we have received spiritually with others. What we have received through our parents and our relationship with Christ positioned us to be able to help others in this world. So this morning I will be focusing on how we must start spreading our wings in order to accomplish the mission that Christ has lain out before us.
Our foundational Scripture this morning is found in Philippians 2:5-8. It reads: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Throughout this message I ask that you think about your mind; how you think and process: and if you have the same mindset as Jesus Christ. “Let this mind be in you…..” Let Jesus’ mindset be in you! This morning we will focus on what is actually in Christ’s mind. The first point from this Scripture that I would like to point out is that Jesus’ mindset did not cause Him to think it was wrong to be equal with God. Even though He could easily have done it, He did not set out to make Himself a reputation. He did not seek to shine the light on Himself, but to always focus everyone on God the Father. The next thing that He did was humble Himself and became obedient, obedient enough that He went to the cross for us. This was the mindset that Jesus had. So is this our mindset? Are we willing to do what Jesus did and do it the way that He did it? What Jesus did throughout His life was to spread His wings to allow others to come to Him for safety. This was the life that He lived. If we are to fully spread our wings to help others, we must begin by taking on the mindset of Christ.
This morning we will examine some select Scriptures from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. I am only taking a few verses that I think speaks directly to our spreading our wings.
I. Is This Mind In You?
Matthew 5:13-14, 16: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden….Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” This first reference speaks to our purpose. Jesus walked this earth with a focus on His purpose for being here. He understood that His walk here on the earth was temporary and that while He was here there were specific things He had to do. Everything that He did had a purpose to it and that purpose was to point people to His Father. His actions were measured and controlled when He taught on our influence on others. In Matthew 5:13-14; 16 Jesus speaks of our influence on the earth. Our mindset should be that we are here for a purpose and that purpose is to provide something that the world needs. We are the salt and the light that is needed in the world. Salt provides flavor but it is also used as a preservative. Light of course is used to shine through darkness so that we may see our way. Both of these missions are ours in the world. We are here for a purpose and our lives are not by mistake. We are here to provide what is missing from the world – Jesus Christ. When our lives are so blended in with the world that we lose our flavor (saltiness) or our light can no longer be seen; then we become useless. Jesus’ mindset was one about purpose and accomplishing a mission. He was here to do His Father’s business. His mindset was focused on the Father? To spread our wings effectively we must do so with the sole purpose of pointing others to Christ through our actions. Through the spreading of our wings they see Christ. You have a purpose on this earth and it is much greater than just going to work and owning material things. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” Is this mindset in you?
Matthew 5:41-42: “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.” In the first reference Jesus spoke to our purpose. In the second reference Jesus speaks to our actions that exemplify our purpose. When the Children of Israel were under Roman rule the Romans had a practice where they could choose someone from the crowd and place them into temporary service. The term “forces” in verse forty-one comes from a Greek verb of a Persian word which means to “press into service.” For example, if someone were standing in a crowd, a Roman soldier could pick them out of the crowd and command that they carry his shield for a mile and they would have to do it. For the Jews this was an additional form of oppression. First the Romans ruled over them and then to add insult to injury at any time the Roman soldiers could command them to carry their weapons or anything else for a mile. (This was played out in Matthew 27:32 when a Roman soldier pressed Simon into service to carry the cross of Jesus.) With this background you can understand what Jesus was telling them. He said that if they were “pressed into service” to give twice as much as was requested – go two miles if you were asked to go one. Do you understand the testimony that will come out of that? We witnessed this last Wednesday evening when Lisa’s parents came and worked side by side with us cleaning out the Church building. We did not ask them, they volunteered and they worked as hard as the rest of us. Jesus is talking about having an attitude of service which opens people up versus closing them down. In verse forty-two Jesus gives another example about helping someone when they asks you. Most of us have loaned people money before, but did you give it to them without expecting re-payment? Again, Jesus is speaking of an attitude of being willing to help someone in need. Many are those who will say that it is every man for himself, but that was not the mindset of Christ. You have a purpose – a purpose to serve others! “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” Is this mindset in you?
Matthew 5:44: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” In this Scripture Jesus continues to point out our actions which should be a living example of our purpose. So consider this for a moment: if someone hates you and do evil unto you – do you not feel justified in doing the same thing to them? Of course you do. But, if you do that, what is the difference between you and them? Not a thing. When we think about it in these terms we begin to understand that when we act like those in the world we become like those in the world and we lose our purpose. Remember, our purpose is to add flavor; to preserve; and to be a light in the darkness. We can only accomplish this if our actions in certain situations are different from the world’s acceptable action. So in verse forty-four, we find a teaching that is a struggle for many of us. We are told to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us. Prayer is a practical way in which love can be expressed. If we are not willing to pray for an enemy then we are no different from those in the world. How do you love someone who hates you? How do you not feel ill will towards someone who goes out of their way to harm you? Again, it boils down to longevity. How long is an eternity in hell worth? Do you believe that anyone based on something they do here on earth deserves to spend an eternity there? If your answer to that question is no then you understand that we can potentially be that life line that they need to deliver them and get them off the road leading to hell. This can only take place if we do not reciprocate what they do to us. Our responses should be our sincere prayers. The world’s response to an enemy is to crush them; wish bad things upon them; and when they can, participate in those bad things coming to past. This is the world’s response – but we have a purpose. We have wings to spread to bring those in the world to Christ. So our response cannot be like the world’s response – it must be like Christ’s. Therefore, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus….” If this is our mindset then we start down the road to stand in the gaps for our enemies who obviously do not understand how their hatred is putting them in danger. As you think about those who do not like you, is this your mindset?
Matthew 6:3-4: “But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. I talked about this Scripture briefly two weeks ago. This is the Scripture that my father based his actions on whenever he visited the sick and slid them a few dollars as he was leaving. Here is what we need to understand from this verse. The world teaches us that when we do something good we need to publicize it so that our reputation is established. This is the reason some celebrities broadcast everything they do for charities or for humanity. Their actions are not done in secret and there is a reason that they want people to know about their “gifts to society.” The same worldly response to charitable donations have worked it way into the church. There are people who take pride in their giving so that they can brag about being the “biggest” giver in the Church. There are those who volunteer to help someone so that they can put it on their spiritual resume. We have people in this Church who have sacrificed a lot through the years in service of this ministry and yet you may know little to nothing about it. They do not stand on the rooftops and declare everything they are doing and the sacrifices they are making. They are choosing to operate differently from the world. Christ’s mindset is to perform the actions in secret where God is the only witness and He is the rewarder of the action done. If it is done before people and they begin to praise you for your works then you have your reward here on earth and there is nothing more that God will give you. Remember the mindset of Christ. When you do something to help others it is not so that you can get the credit, it is so that the person you are helping can see Christ through your actions. Christ pointed people to the Father and we point people to Christ through our actions. Again, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus….” Is this your mindset? Let’s examine a couple more Scriptures and then I will close. Turn to Matthew 6:19.
Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Have you ever had an opportunity to help someone but you chose not to because you were saving the money for something else that you wanted for yourself? Have you ever spent money collecting things only to have a child break one of your collectibles? Have you ever had something that was precious to you stolen? All of us have some treasures stored up here on earth. These treasures can be money, gold, silver, dolls, cars, houses, and many other things people tend to collect. The world’s view is that the more you have the better off you are. It does not matter that you have a mountain of bills, what matters is that you look successful and prosperous. Let’s look at this from the eyes of the Pharaohs. When the Pharaohs died, they were buried with many of their treasures. They were buried with gold, silver, jewelry and anything else that they felt they needed in the afterlife. They had their servants buried with them so that they could continue to serve them in the afterlife. Can you imagine being one of their servants and praying that they lived a long and prosperous life? The truth is that we cannot take anything from this earth with us into the afterlife. Everything except our spirits remains here. Because of this we have been given the opportunity to store treasures up in heaven based on the lifestyle we live here on earth. We cannot check the account to see what is there, but by having the mind of Christ, we know by faith it is there because we are not focusing on those things here. I do not need to collect a lot of material treasures here because I cannot take them with me. Understand, I believe in saving and planning for retirement. But I struggle with the idea that I need five cars just for me because I like seeing them lined up in my garage. I possess a lot of things but nothing that I could not live without. Does this make sense? There is one additional truth I want you to see. In verse twenty-one it says that where our treasures are, that is where our hearts will be. Our hearts follows what we treasure. If you love anything more than God then that is where your treasure is because your heart will followed what you treasure. We cannot love God and the material things of the earth. It has to be one or the other. Christ’s mindset was about God. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus….” Is this your mindset? Are you able to spread your wings and share your treasures with others for their benefit?
I have one final reference that I want to read before I close. Look at Matthew 7:1-2, 12. It reads: “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you….In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” In verses one and two Jesus speaks about our not judging others. He is not referring to a situation when you go to court and are judged by a judge. What He is talking about is when we look at someone else and ascribe to them what their motivations are based on our limited knowledge of them. He is talking about how we condemn people based on their actions. He is talking about how we “size up” someone before we even know them or give them a chance. Often times we judge a person without them even knowing it because we do it in our minds as we are talking and smiling at them to their face. This is not the mindset of Christ. If we are standing in judgment of someone it will be impossible for us to spread our wings and bring them to Christ. If you recall from Scripture, it did not matter who Jesus talked to, He treated them all the same. He did not judge them, but told them to go and sin no more. When the men caught a woman in the act of adultery and was going to stone her, Jesus did not tell them not too. However, since they had judged her as guilty, He told them to let the one without a sin cast the first stone. All of them had sinned and knew it and therefore they could not cast the stone. I have learned that you cannot use God’s Word as a sledgehammer to hit someone over the head with. Even though we may be speaking the truth, they will not be able to receive it because of the attitudes we demonstrate while delivering the message. Jesus had a mindset that never judged anyone – He kept the door open which is what a non-judgmental spirit will do. Again, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus….” Do you have this mindset?
Conclusion
I want to conclude by offering you this. As Christians we are on the receiving end of grace. That grace cancels out our sins. We were standing on the outside in all the elements when Jesus Christ spread His wings and took us inside. We now have shelter, peace and are experiencing real love. His love is so precious that we should want others to experience it. We cannot keep it to ourselves. When you think about where you are spiritually based on the Scriptures we just read, are you able to spread your wings effectively. Are you able to spread them to their fullest or are you just barely opening them? If we take on the mindset of Christ, in due time our wings will be spread broadly and we will become the salt of the earth and the light of the world. I pray that you will reflect on where you are with your impact on the world around you. May God’s riches blessing be yours.
