“Striving for the Mind of Christ”
by
Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
Introduction:
A stronghold is a mind set that is impregnated with hopelessness that causes a person to accept as unchangeable something in their lives even though they know it goes contrary to the will of God.
The devil desires to have you that he may sift you as wheat. He wants to have control of your soul, not because he cares for you, but because of his distain for Jesus Christ. He doesn’t care anything about you, but he despises God so much that he doesn’t want Him to have you. The devil is too wise to just try to come and take you, but he realizes that if he can gain control of your mind that he will have control of your body which will cause you to do any and everything contrary to the will of God and ultimately loose your soul.
The Bible says in Luke 22:31 “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” The word sift is a very important word that needs to be understood. It embraces the whole concept of exactly what the devil desires. The word sift comes from a Hebrew word called “nữwa” and means to wavier, to mix up, to confuse the mind, to control your thoughts.
The devil still desires to sift the minds of men, women, and children in-order to cause them to miss out on eternal salvation as he has and receive eternal damnation instead.
Understand that our actions are direct results of our thoughts, which begin in our mind. If the devil is in control of our mind then our actions will portray the devil; however, if God is in control of our mind then our actions will portray God. This is the meaning of the two phrases Spiritually minded and Carnally minded.
The mind has been the fascination of scientific study and much advancement in medical technology and treatment is due to such extensive study of the mind. Psychology and Psychiatry are the scientific categories that deal with the study of the mind. Sigmund Freud, a pioneer of modern day psychology, developed a form of psychology called the “Psychodynamic Perspective” in which he suggested that both normal and abnormal behavior is determined by two (2) different entities, the unconscious forces and the unconscious mind, which exerts great control over behavior and controls the actions we carry out in our lives. He suggest that theses two different entities were battling in the mind and the victor of the battle would have control over the actions that were carried out in the behavior of the individual.
Mr. Freud was not that far from the truth; however, Mr. Freud was only able to operate within the carnal realm of understanding and was not fully capable of understanding the spiritual forces that were in warfare for control of the mind. The Bible says in 1st Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” There is a greater understanding of what is going on in the minds of people; it is a warfare of a spiritual nature, a warfare that will lead to eternal salvation or eternal damnation. It started in the heavens before the creation of man; however, the battlefield today is not a celestial battlefield, it is not currently being fought in the deserts or mountains, but is being fought in the minds of people everyday.
People are compromising the word of God, trading in integrity, Holiness, and Salvation in order to be popular and liked by man. Sin is passively being looked over and people are dying going to spend eternity in hell all because of who has taken control of the mind.
The Bible says in Luke 11:34-37 “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.” This is not strictly talking about your natural eye, but what we often call the third (3rd) eye, which is the eye of the mind.
The eye is the light of the soul, understands that this eye is the mind, light is knowledge, or even more specific that knowledge and understanding of God. The Bible says when you come into the light walk there in. When you come into the knowledge of who God is and what God is walk in that understanding.
Psalm 37:23 says “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” This simply means when you come into the light, when you have been able to free your mind from the bondage of the devils control and you begin to walk in the knowledge of God your steps are ordered, established, solidified, straight, upright, and honest because God is in control of your mind and he manifest himself through your actions and behavior.
WHAT IS THE MIND
The Bible is inundated with scripture that mentions the mind. The mind is the part of a person that is capable of thinking and reasoning. The Greek word for mind is “phroneema”, which means inclinations. Although there are no Hebrew words for the mind several other words have been translated as the mind. The one Hebrew word which is called “sekvỉy”, pronounced sek-vee is heart and the word heart is often translated as mind as stated in Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”
The mind has the capacity to be either good or evil according to the Bible. One of the greatest proofs of an evil mind is found in Genesis 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Because of their evil mind-set, because all they thought was evil it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart, causing the Lord to say, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them” Genesis 6:7. The mind in an evil or corrupt since would be blinded from understanding the truth as stated in 2nd Corinthians 3:14 “But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.” as well as 2nd Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath 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.” The corrupt mind, which is according to Webster’s Dictionary, is to change from good to bad in morals, manners, or actions; to degrade with unsound principles or moral values.
The Bible says in 2nd Timothy 3:8 “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith.” The reprobate mind: Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” This type of mind comes from total rejection of God and means to condemn strongly as unworthy, unacceptable, or evil: to foreordain to damnation: to refuse to accept. It is the state of total rejection by God and total control by Satan. It is within this state that the conscious of man is seared, becoming incapable of reasoning what is right from what is wrong.
Conscience: Conscience is the faculty that decides the lawfulness of our action as to what is right and what is wrong based absolutely upon judgment and not knowledge that has been taught. Titus 1:15 says “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and believing is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” The conscience and mind are different, many people try to say they are the same, but the Bible clearly distinguishes the difference. The conscience is of the spirit, it is purely based on right and wrong and is not influenced by outside forces, the mind, which is the will of man, exists within the soul of man and is influenced by the worldly nature of the body.
The Mind, which is often translated as the Will of man is greatly influenced by the out side mortal desires of the world. The freedom and power to make conscious decisions is our will (mind). Adam was made to have a free will (mind) he was given the ability to choose good or evil. When God told Adam that in the day you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that you shall surely die, Genesis 2:17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”, this was a choice that Adam was allowed to make of his own free will, he was able to make up his own mind. Adam knew what was right and what was wrong, yet God allowed him to make the decision based on his own free will. Our will is predicated on the desires of the flesh. If the flesh desires for something our will our mind is to satisfy the desire of the flesh. Many times you have no doubt heard of will power, if a person wanted to lose weight or quite smoking they would often say I have the will power to do so or all I have to do is set my mind to it. The Bible says the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Our mind then is determined by what has control, the spirit or the flesh. Adams choice was to eat of the tree because his flesh had taken control and in his mind he decided to choose evil over good. Understand the body is entirely worldly and because of this the desires of the body are for the things of the world. When we yield to the desires of the body our mind becomes worldly and thus we satisfy the body, because it is now our will (mind) to do so. This is the reason the Bible says to crucify flesh daily, because if we fail to do so, we will give into the desires of the body, which is worldly, changing our mind from doing the things that would be pleasing unto God and satisfy the flesh.
On the positive side the mind can be renewed, made like new, restored to freshness, vigor, or perfection, to be made new spiritually as stated in Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The mind can be pure as we see in 2 Peter 3:1 “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.” The mind, which has been renewed, is full of love as we see in Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Our mind should be planted with the laws of God such as mentioned in Hebrews 8:10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” Our mind should be the mind of Christ, 1st Corinthians 2:16 says “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” As well as Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
We must realize that what we believe in our minds, what we allow to determine our intellectual make up will personify itself through the actions that our bodies carry out rather that is good or evil. That is why the devil desires to have control of the mind, because he knows that to gain control of the mind he can cause you to defile the body, which is the temple of the Holy Ghost and he knows that God will not dwell in an unclean temple. This ultimately causes one to be further and further away from God until they are ultimately lost for all eternity.
THE TWO TYPES OF MIND
The Bible says in Romans 8:6-8 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” We see from this scripture the two different types of mind that are in play here. As you recall I said Sigmund Freud called these the unconscious mind and unconscious forces, he was pretty close. The two types of mind are the carnal mind and the spiritual mind.
The Carnal Mind: - The carnal mind is worldly, temporal, relating to the satisfaction of the flesh, it is enmity against God, Romans 8:7 says “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” The carnal mind, which is controlled by the devil seeks that which is pleasurable to the flesh and sets out to satisfy that desire regardless of the limitations we try to set, because it is under the influence of the devil, it is not subject to the law of God, because it’s desire is to please flesh and not God. The carnal mind is temporal meaning full of anger; this is the antithesis of God because God is Love.
The carnal mind will create a problem with no solution because the flesh desires to be satisfied. When the carnal mind is in control, you are under the mind control of the devil, it wants to satisfy flesh. Here is a good example, the flesh desires to have a new car, so you go and purchase a new car because your flesh lusted after it, only to find out two months down the road that you at this time really couldn’t afford a new car. The flesh wanted it and you satisfied it now you have the problem of how am I going to pay for this thing. The carnal mind created a problem without a solution simply because the carnal mind wanted to satisfy the desire of the flesh.
The carnal mind is prideful causing an individual to think more highly of himself or herself then they should. The Carnal mind believes it is self-reliant and can function properly without God; it is a spirit that desires total independence from God. The carnal mind is established in pride, which is all about the I syndrome.
The SPIRITUAL MIND: - The spiritual mind is sacred, Holy, non-physical, not self-centered or self absorbed, it is as Romans 8:6 says “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” When we have the spiritual mind we have a peace that passeth all understanding, we have joy unspeakable and full of glory. The spiritual mind desires to do the will of God. The spiritual mind is an Agape mind. It loves even your enemies. The spiritual mind is a forgiving mind. When you have a spiritual mind then you truly are capable of having life and life more abundantly. The spiritual mind is the mind of Christ Philippians 2:5 says “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” The mind of Christ was to do the will of the father. The reason he wanted to do the will of the father even though he was in the flesh is because what had control of His mind, the spirit.
STRIVING FOR THE MIND OF CHRIST
“A mind is a terrible thing to waste”
The word striving comes from a Greek word called “Mache”, which means to battle. The Bible says in Romans 8:6-8: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” There is a conflict, a battle over control of your mind, this is all part of what we call Spiritual Warfare, but as Paul said in Philippians 3:14: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” This prize, while we are yet here in this body is to have the mind of Christ. To achieve the mind of Christ we must do as Paul said and press, which is synonymous with striving. There are five letters in the word press, P-R-E-S-S to achieve the mind of Christ we must P- pray more, R- read His word more, E- exalt His name more, S- sing His praises more, S- shout hallelujah more.
The reason that achieving the mind of Christ is a battle is because of what is called a Principality.
PRINCIPALITY — a powerful ruler, or the rule of someone in authority. The word (often found in the plural) may refer to human rulers (Titus 3:1, KJV), demonic spirits (Rom. 8:38; Eph. 6:12; Col. 2:15), angels and demons in general (Eph. 3:10; Col. 1:16), or (especially when used in the singular) any type of rule other than God Himself (Eph. 1:21; Col. 2:10). The territory or jurisdiction of a prince: the country that gives title to a prince. The devil is the prince of the air (Eph.2: 2). The word title means = ownership, claim, right, it comprises all the elements constituting legal ownership a legally just cause of exclusive possession. When the devil develops a principality in our minds, he produces what is called a stronghold.
WHAT IS THE MIND OF CHRIST
Let’s look at Philippians 2:1-11 “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which 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: 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, 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.”
The mind of Christ was a mind that was willing to do the Will of God. He didn’t strive for vainglory, but was meek and lowly, compassionate, and understanding. His mind was to please God.
The mind of Christ is a Submissive mind. Understand that submission is not slavery, but is the free-will of one to bring into compliance their will with those over them in order to accomplish that which needs to be accomplished. Jesus was God in the flesh, for the Bible says in John 1:1-2 & 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” When Jesus came into the world he disrobed Himself of His glory and came in the likeness of man, the flesh, to suffer and be tempted in every way we are yet without sin. He wasn’t self-centered or stubborn, but submissive to the will of God. Christ understood that His purpose was to be slain from the foundation of the world and was obedient to God; therefore was as a lamb lead before the shearer dumb never mumbling a word. A submissive mind is an obedient mind, for obedience is better than sacrifice. An obedient or submissive mind says Lord whatever you ask of me it shall be done, faithful and true I’ll do what you want me to do till my day is done WHY cause Lord I’m yours.” Our eternity was predicated on the submissive and obedient mind of Christ, if Christ would not have been submissive to the cross, death, burial, and resurrection we would be lost. Thank you Jesus for saying “Not my will (mind) but Your will (mind) be done.” The measure of your submissiveness is equal to the amount of the mind of Christ that we posses. If you are not willing to be submissive than you don’t have the mind of Christ.
If anyone could have had reason not to be submissive Jesus did because He had to give up His heavenly home for an earthly manger (which has great spiritual significance it represented that He is the spiritual food that life sustaining substance). He had to give up His heavenly glory for suffering and shame. He had to give up His sonship and His majesty for a curse. He didn’t to it with an attitude, He didn’t grumble or complain, but freely He gave Himself under submission. The question is: - To have the mind of Christ what are you willing to give up? Are you submissive to the Will of God? Are you obedient?
The mind of Christ is a Self-abased mind. The Bible says in verse #7: but made himself of no reputation. The mind of Christ is a mind that does not seek self-exaltation. His character is a selfless attitude. Jesus didn’t come to make Himself a name, often-times when He healed someone He would tell them not to tell anyone who did it, and His desire was to point people to the Father, not to achieve popularity or prosperity. The word “reputation” comes from a Greek word called “dokeo”, which means to think, regard, or seem good. In its simplest form it is to be concerned with what others think of you. Understand that this doesn’t mean you develop the I don’t care attitude; I don’t care if people dislike me, but rather means you don’t strive for the fanfare, glitter, fortune, and fame. The Bible says in Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul”?
Jesus didn’t come into the world to achieve earthly splendor and prestige; however, He came to save those that were lost. Isaiah 53:2 says: “When we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” In other words what the world categorizes as beauty, splendor, and magnificence there is none. If we look at the birth of Jesus Christ and His earthly life we have a glorious example of what we need to strive to be. His entrance into this world was a humble self-denying one, we are not to strive to look good in the sight of man, but do good in the sight of man that they may see God in us and glorify him. His death was one of shame and a curse, but His works were awesome, redemptive, miraculous and glorifying.
The Bible says in Matthew 16:24 says: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” A self-denial or self-abased attitude does not mean that you don’t take care of yourself and do for yourself, but to deny yourself the pleasure of popularity and fortune, like Paul said, count it all as dung for the Excellency of Jesus Christ. The cross is a symbol of shame and disgrace; it showed that the one carrying was a disgrace in the sight of society. To take up the cross is to be considered in the sight of man a disgrace. Jesus said you will be hated by all for my name sake. Therefore a self-abased or self-denying mind is that you are not looking to be popular in the eyes of society, but in the sight of God and He shall exalt you.
Do you have the mind of Christ? Are you striving for popularity and prosperity or are you pointing people to God the Father.
The mind of Christ is a Servile mind. The word “Servile” is befitting a slave or servant: Submissive. Jesus Christ’s mind and purpose was to serve mankind. He didn’t come into the world for His own purpose, but to do the Will of the Father.
The word “Serve” means to work, to render obedience and worship to God, to comply with the commands or demands of, to perform an act, to put into, to be of use, to benefit, to prove adequate or satisfactory, to make ready, to furnish or supply with, to wait upon, to contribute. Jesus’ mind was to serve people, during the last supper there arose a confusion about who among them was the greater one. History says that at the divan, which was the table which the last supper was served upon, that Judas sat at the left of Jesus while John sat at the right, and these were the seats of honor. Confusion started among the disciple and Jesus had to show them that it’s not about position, but about service; therefore, He began to wash their feet to benefit them and supply them with something, the knowledge of servitude.
Jesus’ servitude was done willing, he never had to be prodded or pumped up to do the will of the Father. He understood His purpose and did what He knew had to be done without reservation. The mind of Christ should never have to be prodded or begged into service. Therefore if you have the mind of Christ you should never have to be asked to testify, to praise God, to get into service, but should enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with Praise rendering obedience and Worship to God. This is part of our reasonable service.
Do you have the mind of Christ or do the Praise leaders have to beg you to serve God?
The mind of Christ is a Sacrificial mind. The word “sacrifice” means a total commitment. Understand that a sacrifice must be freely given, it must be completely given, and it must be given at a cost. Christ knew that His purpose was to be sacrificed, even so He freely gave Himself, completely gave Himself, and at the ultimate cost gave Himself. The Bible says in Revelation 13:8 that He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. Isaiah 53:7-10 says: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearer is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”
Numbers in the Bible have a very significant role. The number 3 means fullness and it represents the 3 manifestations of the God-head which is the fullness of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The number 7 is called God’s number and it represents completeness and perfection, thus we have the creation took 7 days, the are 7 churches mention in Revelation, 7 Vials, 7 trumpets, the 7 spirits of God. The number 9 represents Divine Completeness; there are 9 fruit of the spirit. We see here there are 9 things which happened to Jesus just for us. He was the ultimate sacrifice and He ultimately sacrificed.
Let’s take a look at each one.
1.) Oppressed – comes from the Greek word “Ratsats” and means to crack in pieces, smash.
2.) Afflicted – comes from the Greek word “Kakopatheo” which means to undergo hardship.
3.) Slaughter – comes from the Greek word “Shachat” which means to butcher, kill.
4.) Prison – this is a place of confinement, but there is a Hebrew word called “phulake” which means haunt. The word haunt, according to Webster’s Dictionary is to visit often, to recur constantly and spontaneously, to visit or inhabit as a ghost or spirit. While in prison, the state of confinement, the devil tried to haunt his mind. No doubt saying you don’t have to do this, they don’t care anything about, why don’t you just save yourself, give up. He tried to get him mentally mixed up. He wanted to “Nuwa” Jesus, remember the word sift comes from a Hebrew word called “nữwa” and means to wavier, to mix up, to confuse the mind, to control your thoughts. The devil wanted to Nuwa Jesus in prison.
5.) Judgment – means to sentence punishment upon. He paid a price He did not owe. He was judged guilty for your and my sins.
6.) Cut off from the land of the living – simply means His life, the fleshly existence ended.
7.) Stricken – comes from the Hebrew word “Daqar” means to stab, pierce, to stave and the Greek word “Taqa” it means to slap.
8.) Bruise – comes from the Hebrew word “Daka” means to pulverize, to fracture, to emasculate.
9.) Grief – means to be weak, to have calamity, to torment, to suffer adversity, and vexation.
Jesus sacrificed everything, totally and completely. Do you have the mind of Christ? WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR HIM? LET THIS MIND THAT IS IN CHRIST BE ALSO IN YOU. DO YOU HAVE A SACRIFICIAL MIND?
Verse 9 – 11 says: “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, 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.”
Because of the mind that Jesus had He received a Seven-fold exaltation. The numbers 7 means completeness and perfection; therefore, it is a perfect and complete exaltation.
WATCH THIS: The #9 means Divine Completeness, the #10 means Divine Order, the #11 is said to mean confusion.
Verse #9 – Divine Completeness = 1.) God highly exalted Him. Because He humbled himself God exalted Him. Matthew 23:12. 2.) God gave him a name above every name.
Verse #10 – Divine Order = 3.) At His name every knee shall bow. 4.) Every thing in Heaven. 5.) Every thing in earth. 6.) Every thing under the earth.
Verse #11 – Confusion – Today the devil has people confused, people are saying the is no God, wrong is being called right, right is being called wrong, sin is being allowed to be heard triumphantly, while the church is being made silent. But God is the ultimate peace maker; He is not the author of confusion and because of His perfection and completeness 7.) EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.
The mind of Christ was to do the Will of the Father. If we strive for the mind of Christ, then we are striving to do the Will of God. We must not try to contend for popularity and prosperity for our selves, but to please God. The Bible says in Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” If we strive first for the mind of Christ then everything we desire He will give unto us.
Jesus was submissive to God; if we strive for the mind of Christ we will be submissive to those that have rule over us. For example if your church has Sunday school then to have the mind of Christ means you submit to committing yourself to attending even if the flesh doesn’t want to go. Jesus was self-abased, He didn’t try to make himself a name or jockey for a certain position. To have the mind of Christ is not trying to out-shine someone and jockey for the spotlight or a promotion, but humble yourself and God will exalt you, for promotion cometh from the Lord. Jesus was servile; He was willing to serve and did so freely and without reservation. Don’t wait for the praise leaders to pump you up, but enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His court with praise. Most of all He had a sacrificial mind, He was WILLING to give up everything for YOU & ME. WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR THE MIND OF CHRIST
We must break the stronghold of the devil and get the mind of Christ. A stronghold is a mind set that is impregnated with hopelessness that causes a person to accept as unchangeable something in their lives even though they know it goes contrary to the will of God.
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Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
Boanerge Ministries.
