TODAY WE HONOR FATHERS

TO WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING…

1. Leader and lover

2. Provider (spiritually & physically)

3. Protector

4. Intercessor

THE MIND OF CHRIST

What has to happen if a person is to truly understand me?

• He or she has to learn to think like I think and see as I see.

• Is that not also true of you?

• Is it not when these things occur that you know you are understood?

• This happens in good marriages. Two people come to think and see alike.

I AM CONFIDENT THAT GOD IS MORE MISUNDERSTOOD THAN ANY OF US HAVE EVER BEEN.

IF WE ARE TO UNDERSTAND GOD BETTER, WHAT MUST HAPPEN?

Answer: The same thing that must happen to understand us better—we must think like He thinks and see like He sees.

How is that possible? By dedicating ourselves to having the mind of Christ.

WE MUST START BY REALIZING GOD DOES NOT THINK OR REASON AS WE DO.

ISAIAH 55:

[8] "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the LORD.

[9] "As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

ISAIAH 40:

[13] Who has understood the mind of

the Lord or instructed him as his

counselor?

[14] Whom did the LORD consult to and

enlighten him, who taught him the

right way? Who was it that taught

him knowledge or showed him the

path of understanding?

ROMANS 11:

[33] Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom

and knowledge of God! How unsearch-

able his judgments, and his paths beyond

tracing out!

[34] "Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?"*

[35] "Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay him?"*

[36] For from him and through him and to him

are all things. To him be the glory forever!

Amen.

I CORINTHIANS 2:

[16] "For who has known the mind of the

Lord that he may instruct him?“ But

we have the mind of Christ.

GOD IN HIS THINKING AND REASONING IS DIFFERENT IN:

1. His concerns

2. His values

3. His purposes and objectives

4. His priorities

5. His perspectives and insights

IF I AM GOING TO FOLLOW GOD INSTEAD OF MY OWN THINKING, I MUST DEDICATE MYSELF TO UNDERSTANDING ALL I CAN UNDERSTAND ABOUT GOD.

• Blind, methodical obedience will not pursue that objective.

• God has reasons for what he does.

• God has purposes He seeks to accomplish.

• Without an understanding of God’s reasons and purposes, there are things God wants us to do that we will not do.

UNDERSTANDING IS CRITICAL

TO DAILY LIFE!

Which child functions best within the family: one who knows nothing of his family’s thinking, values, and purposes, or the one who knows his family’s thinking, values, and purposes?

GOD HAS A WILL, A PURPOSE THAT REACHES TO ETERNITY.

• God’s purposes will be accomplished.

• He wants to use us in His achievements.

• If He is to use us, we need an under-standing of what He is seeking to do.

EPH. 3:11

IF, AS A SERIOUS CHRISTIAN, I AM DEDICATED TO BUILDING A LIFE WITH CHRIST AS IT’S FOUNDATION, I MUST UNDERSTAND HOW GOD THINKS AND REASONS.

HOW DOES A CHRISTIAN DO THAT?

The most common answer Christians give is,

“Study the Bible!”

I AGREE!

THE BEST WAY TO LEARN HOW GOD THINKS, REASONS AND FEELS IS TO LEARN HOW JESUS THINKS, REASONS, AND FEELS.

JOHN 5:

[19] Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth,

the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only

what he sees his Father doing, because whatever

the Father does the Son also does.

[30] By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

JOHN 6:

[38] For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

THE BETTER I

UNDERSTAND JESUS, THE

BETTER I UNDERSTAND

GOD.

JESUS EMPHASIZED THIS TRUTH.

• On his betrayal night, he said he was going away, and Thomas responded they did not know the way to wherever he was going.

• Jesus replied that he was the truth and the life (John 14:6.)

• Phillip asked Jesus just to show them the Father and it would be enough.

• Jesus replied in John 14:9

“Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Phillip?

He who has seen ME has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’

In the same conversation Jesus said,

JOHN 14:

[23] Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

[24] He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

JOHN 16:

[28] I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."

• Jesus in human terms, in a physical life, showed us God’s will, purposes, and attitudes.

• The more fully I understand Jesus, the more fully I understand God.

I can understand the mind of Christ because Jesus was a man—that fact provides us insights we could not have without his teachings and example as a human.

THE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTION IS FOR CHRISTIANS TO DEVELOP THE MIND OF CHRIST.

• Paul to the Corinthian congregation:

I Cor. 2:16

• Paul to Christians at Philippi:

Phil. 2:5

• Peter to Christians:

I Pet. 4:1,2

THE MIND OF CHRIST:

• Considers all of physical life.

• It stresses humility as we look at ourselves (Phil. 2:1-5.)

• It stresses reverence as we look at God (Matt. 6:1-18.)

• It stresses our attitude toward physical existence (Matt.6:19-34

• It stresses our attitude toward other people (Matt. 5:43-48; 7:12; Rom. 15:1-3.)

• It stresses compassion (Eph. 4:32.)

• It stresses our resistance to the teachings and influence of God’s enemies (Matt. 23.)

• If you wish to understand God’s values and priorities, listen to Jesus.

WE DO NOT FOLLOW JESUS

TO LEARN A RELIGION; WE

FOLLOW CHRIST TO

DISCOVER A LIFE!

• In Christ, we want to learn how to live, and that involves much more than going to church.

• In Christ, we want to learn how to value what God values, and to devote our lives to those values.

• In Christ, we seek a transformation of our lives as we seek to belong to God in mind and body.

. Being a Christian grows into much more than believing Jesus died and was raised to be our Christ.

• It is bigger than blind obedience.

• The Christian desires to think like God thinks, to feel as God feels, to understand from God’s perspective, and to see as God sees.

• This is not about some form of mysticism, finding spiritual secrets, or being mentally deceived.

• It’s a matter of learning how to live and die by learning how to think as God thinks through developing the mind of Christ.

ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?

HAVE YOU ACCEPTED A RELIGION OR HAVE YOU FOUND A LIFE?