FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
IMITATING CHRIST’S MINDSET
Great message from Pastor Pete today on Philippians chapter 2: 1-11.
The key message I heard…
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Truth be told, attitude is more important to me than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes. It is more important than what people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or scale. It will make or break a company…. a church…. a home …a marriage.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude/mindset we embrace for that day. We can’t change our past. We can’t change the fact that people act in a certain way. We can’t change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have and that is our mindset. I am convinced that life is 10 percent of what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it.
So, what should we do if we have a bad attitude…bad mindset?
Well, the entire first eleven verses of Philippians 2 are focused on just that – our mindset, our attitude. Here’s what Paul says:
So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, and participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
It’s interesting that before Paul ever addresses the mindset of the Philippians, he addresses the reason that they’re empowered to have a different type of attitude, an attitude that is not shaped by just their temporal circumstances, but rather by their eternal reality. Here’s what I think Paul is saying to us…
Because we’re encouraged in Christ, because we have comfort from his love, we should recognize that the love of God covers us like a tidal wave. That the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord’s heart has been poured out to you and me. The truth of the matter is we are people who have been encouraged by God, who have been loved by God, and who have the affection of a good Father over our lives. For Paul that was an earth-shattering, crazy, mind-blowing type of reality, as it should be to us as well!
Pastor Pete shared with us that so many people we meet are trying to live in the way of God without experiencing the heart of God. We run up against a brick wall and we wonder why, and default to “I’ve gotta have a better attitude – the Bible tells me I should have a better attitude.” True, but don’t forget that the Bible also tells us how to have a better attitude. Remind yourself that you are loved. Find encouragement in the heart of God for you and towards you. The Spirit of God lives in us. He has affection for you. This is the key building block Paul wants to lay down. Listen to the way Paul goes on and expands from there…
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbles himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Is that not powerful? None of us get to cop out and say well, I just can’t do that. Paul responds with, no! You’re in Christ, you can! By His Spirit, you can, as you recognize his love, you can. What happens in us will always (every single time) determine what happens through us. What happens in our heart, what happens in our mind determines what happens with our hands. It always does.
Paul, in the book of Romans, after eleven chapters of theology and laying out the fact that we are sinful people in need of the grace of God and that He has, by his grace, provided that, says: Therefore, in view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. He reminds us that what happens IN US is always going to determine what happens THROUGH US – Every. Single. Time.
So where does the power lie? Whose power, is it? How do we live with an attitude that reflects the heart of our Father? How do we live with an attitude that’s reflected, as Paul says, as the same as that of Christ Jesus? Jump back in to verses 3 and 4 and look at this first shift in attitude that Paul’s talking about…
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
This idea of “Do nothing out of selfish ambition,” could also be viewed as “Do nothing with prideful motives.” Trying to lift yourself up. The great reformers, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, both said that at the heart of every sin is pride. A self-exultation. We all know people who have, at their core, selfish ambition. They’re dangerous people to be around, are they not? We’ve seen selfish ambition ruin families. We’ve seen selfish ambition ruin companies. We’ve seen selfish ambition play a part in our political atmosphere. There isn’t anything we see in our world that has not been touched by this idea of “I’ve gotta get mine.” Here’s the reason that selfish ambition is so dangerous in you and in me – we will run over whoever is in our path to get what we want, if this is our M.O.
So, in contrast, Paul says no, that’s not the attitude that you’re called to have. The attitude that we are called to have, is one of humility – not of haughtiness, of pride, of arrogance. And here’s the most shocking part of it all – it’s not that we are called to be humble or lowly of mind, it’s that God himself is reflective of this characteristic. That’s who He is at His very core. Our God is a humble God. That’s crazy, isn’t it. Jesus says this when He’s speaking to the crowds, inviting them to come and follow him: Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly (or humble) in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Here’s our invitation…
Have an attitude of humility that reflects itself in an action of being considerate of others. Hear other people. Hear their story. Hear their pain. One of the least appreciated commodities in our day and our time is undivided attention.
Then Paul continues in verse 6: Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…
And to be clear, as Pastor Pete emphasized, Paul is NOT saying that Jesus was a human and became God. Paul is saying that Jesus has always been God and that He clothed himself in humanity; those are two very different things. Paul is unequivocally and crystal-clearly declaring, in this passage, that Jesus always has been God, always will be God and his name will be praised throughout all the ages.
As well, in emptying himself, Jesus did not lose what it means to be God; He simply revealed what God is like! Likewise, Paul is encouraging us to have such a mindset – to pour ourselves out, not filling or lifting ourselves up. That’s not what being a follower of Christ is about. Can we all agree that if we don’t know that we’re loved, if we haven’t participated in the Spirit, if we aren’t aware of the affection of our Father towards us, if the experience isn’t there, this is impossible.
Here’s the big question guys: Do you leverage what you must to help the people you have influence over? THAT’S the way of Jesus. Not using it to power over them and to domineer but using it to build them up and to serve them. One of the things I absolutely LOVE about FORGE is we GET this!
Here’s how Paul ends this section: And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
I think one phrase could epitomize and embody the way that Jesus lived every single day on this earth: Not my will, but yours be done! He knows that He’s the son of God and deeply loved. His attitude is: I don’t need to control everything that happens around me; I simply need to be obedient to the God who has called Me. I’ll admit to you guys, I am not great at that. I love to control things. I love to be in charge.
The invitation from the Scriptures is not to control, but to be obedient. Obedience is a mindset before it’s ever an action. It’s saying, God, you have my life; I lay it down and you can use it for whatever you want for the glory of your name. God, I’m willing to share my faith with the people that you bring me in contact with. God, I’m willing to stand up for the things that are right in a workplace where I know I could get lambasted for it. God, I want to follow you with my whole heart and everything that I am. No footnote. No qualifiers. You’ve got me. Obedience is an attitude before it ever an action.
This passage ends with this great hymn or song that they would gather around in the first century to remind themselves of who Jesus was. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There will come a day when every knee bows and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. There is not one square inch around this globe where Jesus Christ does not cry out “Mine!” It’s all His! Because of the sacrifice that He made, the love that He displayed and the Spirit that he’s put inside of us, you and I don’t have to wait for eternity to start worshiping and lifting high the name that stands above every single name.
Our day is TODAY, so step into it. You are loved by the King; therefore, you can have the mind of Christ and when you have the mind of Christ, you can live in the way of Jesus. The world needs more followers of Jesus who aren’t trying hard to get it right, but who are reminding themselves that they are deeply loved and then living out of that.
Blessings to you all.
Joe Bouch
