Bible Reading: Philippians 2:1-5.
Aim:
To monitor our mental state, so that we have the right mind to:
Stay in fellowship with God and each other; and b) Serve God effectively.
Introduction:
Everything we do in our Christian life depends on our minds.
The mind is the battle-ground where Satan seeks to gain control of our decision-making process for evil.
Don’t let Satan hijack your mind.
One of the saddest things to see is Christians who were once on fire for God, who have let some foolish or false idea into their mind, which resulted in them being separated from other believers, and shipwrecking their faith.
Our mind is like a computer. Garbage IN = garbage OUT.
Question:
Will you let some false idea control your mind, so you break fellowship with God and others?
Question:
What kinds of wrong minds and right minds are there?
- BAD MIND to avoid:
1) Mind hardened in pride. (Daniel 5:20).
When Nebuchadnezzar’s heart was lifted up by his honoured position, his mind was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his throne and lost his glory by becoming insane for 7 years.
Q: Are you proud of something you have achieved?
(Proverbs 16:18). Beware of pride.
2) Neither be ye of doubtful mind. (Luke 12:29).
Many of us worry and doubt if God will provide our needs.
Jesus tells us:
a) Your Father knows you need these things. (v.30).
b) Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. (v.31).
c) Provide treasure in heaven that fails not. (v.33).
d) Your heart will be where your treasure is. (v.34).
3) Mind evil affected against the brethren. (Acts 14:1,2).
One of Satan’s most successful devices is gossip and slander, which makes some Christian’s minds evil affected against other Christians.
They imagine evil or magnify others faults, so that they respond with anger, and are unwilling to work with other believers.
They then quit church, God’s work suffers, and people go to hell.
4) God gave them over to a reprobate mind. (Romans 1:28).
Reprobate means disapproved, rejected, worthless, castaway. It means undiscerning, void of judgment, not seeing good from evil.
Some people are so filled with moral sins and hatred of God’s ways, that they cannot tell right from wrong, or good from evil.
Examples include sodomites.
5) To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Romans 8:6 Carnal mind = prone to sin, sinful appetites and desires.
Many Christians backslide because they feed their carnal, sinful side by TV, gossip, slander, evil thinking, and not serving God.
They do not feed their spiritual side by daily Bible study, filling of the Holy Spirit, and yielding to Christ.
Carnal Christians often criticize spiritual Christians because they convict them of their sin.
6) Who mind earthly things. (Philippians 3:19).
Verses 18,19 describe enemies of the cross of Christ as people who mind earthly things.
Why?
Because they hinder the gospel outreach by their bad example of luke warmness.
They are attached to the things of earth instead of setting their affections on things above. (Colossians 3:2).
7) Soon shaken in mind. (II Thessalonians 2:2).
The Thessalonian Christians were soon shaken in mind by false teachers telling them that they had missed the rapture.
This upset their spiritual balance and triggered their fears.
Key: We can be shaken in mind if we believe error without first checking it with Scripture.
8) Double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8; 4:8).
He is a waverer, a two-minded, unstable person.
Such a person suffers from divided loyalties.
On one hand he wants to live as a Christian, and on the other hand he wants to live by the ways of the world and selfishness.
9) Becoming wearied (2577) and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:3).
To faint is to be exhausted or despondent. Two remedies are:
a) Consider him (Christ) who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:3).
b) Promise of reaping in due season if we faint not. (Galatians 6:9).
II. GOOD MIND to aim for:
Question: How does God describe your mind?
The following Scriptures describe how the Spirit-filled believer thinks.
Which of these minds describe your thinking?
1) The people had a mind to work. (Nehemiah 4:6).
Hence the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt in spite of much opposition.
If believers have a mind to work for God, the results will be unity, great accomplishments, many people saved, churches built and opposition overcome.
Question:
Do you have a mind to study the Bible and to work for God?
2) A mind that is stayed on God. ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.’ (Isaiah 26:3).
If our mind is stayed on God and His promises through all of life’s trials, we will be kept in perfect peace.
3) The mind filled with hope. (Lamentations 3:21-23).
If we recall these things to mind we will have hope:
a) The Lord’s mercies are new every morning (v.23), great is thy faithfulness (v.23) therefore we are not consumed;
b) His compassions fail not (v.22).
c) Great is thy faithfulness (v.23).
d) The Lord is my portion (inheritance). (v.24).
e) It is good to hope, quietly wait for deliverance, and bear the yoke in our youth (v.25-27).
f) To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not (v.36).
4) Pure minds, stirred up minds. ‘I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance.’ (II Peter 3:1)
Question:
How do we keep our mind pure?
Answer:
a) By taking heed to God’s Word;
b) By keeping rubbish out of our minds, lest it be defiled with sin. Avoid bad movies, bad literature, bad friends and bad places.
Question:
How do we stir up our minds to do God’s work?
Answer:
Be active in a strong preaching, sin rebuking, soul-winning church.
Do door knocking.
5) Be all of one mind. (I Peter 3:8; II Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 1:27; 2:2).
It is good for everyone in a church to believe true Bible doctrine and be loyally committed to helping each other spread the Gospel.
If believers constantly disagree with each other, they should repent, or leave the church, so the church can carry on God’s work in peace and unity.
a) ‘That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God.’ (Romans 15:6).
b) ‘Now I beseech you, brethren, . . . that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the
same judgment.’ (I Corinthians 1:10).
c) ‘Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel.’ Phil. 1:27
d) ‘Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.’ (Philippians 2:2).
e) ‘Be of the same mind one toward another.’ (Romans 12:16).
6) Lowly, humble mind.
a) Paul’s ministry was ‘serving the Lord with all humility of mind.’ (Acts 20:19).
b) Paul commands us to ‘in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.’ (Philippians 2:3).
7) The mind of Christ described in Philippians 2:5-8 should be in us.
a) ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who: – made himself of no reputation,
– took upon himself the form of a servant,
– humbled himself,
– became obedient unto death.’ (Philippians 2:5-8).
b) ‘We have the mind of Christ.’ (I Corinthians 2:16).
8) A sound mind. (II Timothy 1:7).
‘God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.’
‘Sound mind’ means orthodox, well founded, self disciplined, clear judgment of issues.
9) A ready mind.
a) ‘Feed the flock of God….willingly,….but of a ready mind.’ (I Peter 5:2).
‘Ready’ means prompt, with preparations completed, quick, willing, able to fulfil duties.
b) ‘declaration of your ready mind.’ (II Corinthians 8:19).
Ready means eager, cheerful, readiness of mind.
10) A renewed mind. (Romans 12:2).
‘Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.’
We discover God’s will for our life as we resist being conformed to this world but let God’s Word transform our thinking.
11) A fervent mind.
a) Titus told Paul that the Corinthians had a fervent mind toward Paul.
‘Your fervent mind toward me.’ (II Corinthians 7:7).
b) Apollos was fervent in the spirit as shown by his preaching ‘being fervent in the spirit’ Acts 18:25 ‘Fervent’ means ‘zealous, hot, intense, glowing, on fire for God, boiling hot.’
12) A subject mind (Titus 3:1) ‘Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, to speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing meekness unto all men.’ (Titus 3:1,2).
‘Subject’ means ‘to place in submission, under authority, in an orderly fashion.’
Question:
Do you submit to government, employers, spouse, your preacher and parents?
Conclusion:
If we fulfil these 12 conditions, as well as those in Philippians 4:5-7 of:
(1) gentleness to all men; (2) careful for nothing; (3) praying; (4) thanking God; and (5) requesting God for all our needs; then the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (‘keep’ in ‘keep as with a military guard.’)
How is your mind?
The heart is the seat and center of desires, feelings, affections, passions, and impulses.
The heart is the sphere of God’s influence in our life.
In our heart, faith springs up, dwells and works. Christ and the Holy Spirit live in our hearts.
‘Mind’ means our thoughts, understanding, devices and concepts.
Answers – Keith Piper
