Nathan Lewis – The Mind of Christ – Class 6: Exhortation – The Power

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Reading with you, brothers and
sisters, Philippians chapter 4

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and verses 4 to 13.
Rejoice in the Lord away, and

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again I say rejoice.
Let your moderation be known

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unto all men.
The Lord is at hand.

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Be careful for nothing but in
everything by prayer and

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supplication with Thanksgiving,
let your request be known unto

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God.
And the peace of God which

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passeth all understanding shall
keep your hearts and minds

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through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever

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things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever

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things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever

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things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good rapport, If

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there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on

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these things, those things which
you have both learned and

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received and heard and seen in
me do.

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And the God of peace shall be
with you.

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But I rejoiced in the Lord
greatly, that now at the last

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your care of me have flourished
again, wherein you were also

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careful, but you lacked
opportunity.

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Not that I speak in respect of
want, for I’ve learned in

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whatsoever state I am therewith
to be content.

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I know both how to be abased,
and I know how to be, how to

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abound everywhere and in all
things I’m instructed both to be

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full and to be hungry.
Both to abound and to suffer

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need I can do all things through
Christ, which strengtheneth me.

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Is now my pleasure to call upon
Brother Nathan Lewis to deliver

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to us the words of exhortation.
Well, good morning, my very dear

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brothers and sisters in our Lord
Jesus Christ.

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We come to the end of our week
together, to the end of our

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series Looking at this.
Vital subject The mind of our

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Lord Jesus Christ.
The carnal mind has been exposed

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as our ultimate problem.
We’ve seen our loving Heavenly

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Father’s promise of a spiritual
mind that can replace the carnal

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mind that each of us fight
against.

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Not in a moment, not in just one
day.

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But by the miraculous process of
metamorphosis, the renewing of

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our minds, we’ve seen, haven’t
we, the central principle of

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death to self that governed
everything that our Lord did and

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spoken, even thought?
And we saw the importance of

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practicing these things day by
day as we slowly mature and grow

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up into Him who is our head.
And now, this morning, we want

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to come to the power of.
The mind of Christ.

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Is this mind, this person that
we remember this morning, really

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able to completely change and
transform our minds, change our

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lives utterly.
What is it about the mind of

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this man that made it so
powerful?

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And we want to use the example
this morning of the Apostle

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Paul.
Could there be?

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A better example to demonstrate
the power of the mind of Christ

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than to see how it was able to
completely and utterly transform

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the most arrogant, most violent,
most twisted, most cunning, most

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hateful man into a man that acts
chapter 17, verse six says,

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turned the world upside down.
Because of his love for this man

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here on the table before us, we
have to look at the Apostle

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Pool, don’t we, brothers and
sisters?

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Because if the mind of our Lord
Jesus Christ, fully revealed and

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understood, could utterly change
the apostle pool, it can utterly

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change anyone you know.
We know soul of Tacis’s story

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well, so we won’t go back into
the Acts of the Apostles and

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read it together.
But let just let me recap

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briefly for you.
Soul of Tarsus bursts into the

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Acts of the Apostles as the
self-righteous bigot who was so

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overcome with hatred that he was
proud to be the first to cast a

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stone at Stephen’s head as
Stephen prayed.

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That their sin being not laid to
their charge as Stephen

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dramatically exhibited the mind
of Christ willingly putting

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himself to death.
Saul is screaming hate, You

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know, he says in Acts chapter 26
and verse 11 that he was

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exceedingly mad, and he uses
exactly the same word that’s

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used of the chief priests.
And Matthew chapter 27, When

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they cried out, the more crucify
him, he was like a raging

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animal, possessed, dragging
brothers and sisters out of

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their beds in the middle of the
night, forcing them to blaspheme

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Jesus Christ, hurling them into
dungeons, throwing away the key,

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confiscating lands and houses,
tearing faithful families apart.

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Delighting and being the
prosecuting council, and

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standing up in front of the
Sanhedrin and saying these are

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worthy only of death.
Sound familiar, brothers and

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sisters?
That’s a portrait of the carnal

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mind, Hardened and proud, Angry,
Bitter.

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Hostile, progressively getting
worse and worse.

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Not content to just hunt down
believers in his own land, he’s

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persecuting the Christians to
strange cities outside the

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Jewish jurisdiction.
He’s blinded, deceived,

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spiteful, cruel.
This is the carnal mind soul of

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Tarsus.
How could our Lord’s mind have

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enough power to transform this
monster?

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Could this soul of Tarsus ever
be converted?

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You know, I want you to come
this morning as we start our

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journey looking at the Apostle
Paul back right back to the

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words of Christ in Matthew
chapter 13.

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Because I want to ask this
morning, what is conversion?

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Because whilst we might think
that we’re converted when we get

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back ties.
You know, our Lord seems to

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indicate, doesn’t he, that
baptism into Christ and true

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conversion to the mind of Christ
are two different things.

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You remember what Christ said to
Peter.

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Peter had spent 3 1/2 years with
Jesus Christ and Christ said

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when you are converted, Peter.
Strengthen your brethren.

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But I’m converted.
Lord, I’m already converted.

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I’ll die for you.
I understand death to self.

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But as we know, despite his
protestations of maturity, Peter

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had to go through an
excruciating betrayal that would

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scar him forever before he fully
was converted and was able to

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strengthen his brethren, which
he did.

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So what is conversion?
Look in Matthew chapter 13 and

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verse 15, because I think our
Lord tells us for this people’s

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heart.
Verse 15 is waxed, gross and

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their ears are dull of hearing
and their eyes have they closed.

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Least at anytime they should see
with their eyes and hear with

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their ears and should understand
with their heart.

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Should be converted and I should
heal them.

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What does it mean to be
converted?

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It’s connecting what we already
know in our minds with our

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hearts.
See, we understand with our

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hearts and we’re converted.
That’s where the part the power

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lies.
Do you know when God is going to

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convert Israel?
It says in Hebrews 8, verse 10,

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he will give the law into their
minds and write it upon their

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hearts.
He’ll connect the two for the

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first time in the history of the
nation, and they will be

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changed.
Of course they’ll be changed.

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They’ll be converted by the
power of Christ.

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That’s conversion.
And I think I don’t know about

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you brothers and sisters, but
certainly for myself, conversion

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did not come when I was
baptized.

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Conversion can come much later
in life, but when it comes,

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brothers and sisters, it is
unmistakable.

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You can never be the same.
You are a new person.

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And just like our Lord had a
purpose with Peter, our Lord had

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an enormous work for soul of
Tarsus to do.

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You know, I’m convinced, and
many of you will be also that

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Soul of Tarsus knew the truth in
his head before his Damascus Rd.

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experience.
It was just hours after his

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sight returned to him that he’s
in the synagogues preaching

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Christ.
He’s got all the answers.

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He speaks irresistibly.
But you see, he’s been

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desperately running away from
the truth, covering up his own

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doubts and fears and
insecurities, covering the

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doubts and fears of the carnal
mind with persecuting zeal that

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just seemed so right.
Justifying his decision to

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enthrone self and to never
listen to Jesus Christ, to

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reject him.
But inside there was number,

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none of the peace that passes
understanding and soul of

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Tarsus.
His head and his mind were

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tearing him apart and on the
road to Damascus.

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Christ was going to connect his
mind and his heart, convert him.

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That he might be healed.
He’d be forgiven.

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Set free.
What a gift.

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Here’s how it happened.
I want you to imagine brothers

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and sisters coming face to face
with a light far brighter than

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the sun at noonday and hearing
the words.

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I am Jesus of Nazareth.
Why are you persecuting me so?

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In one terrifying moment of
clarity, he realized that his

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whole life was just a mistake.
Jesus of Nazareth alive,

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everything that it seemed so
right, was all horribly wrong.

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He had been wrong, and God gave
him the gift of three days.

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And three nights of death,
darkness so that he could

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experience in himself the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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So there he is.
He’s in total darkness.

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He’s blind.
He’s hungry.

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He’s silent.
He’s alone.

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He’s terrified.
And he sat in a small chamber,

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and he awaited Jesus Christ’s
sentence.

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For his crimes, he knew, Didn’t
he?

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Brothers and sisters, he
deserved it all.

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What would Christ’s vengeance
be?

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Public humiliation?
Execution.

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A public beheading in the town
square?

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Stoning like he had done to
Stephen?

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He knew he deserved all of it
and more.

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And after three days of
interminable waiting, the door

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creaked open.
And the judge’s verdict came.

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The words were not harsh, but
gentle brother saw.

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I have chosen you.
I love you.

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This brothers and sisters.
His grace, the stirrings of the

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mind of Christ.
It’s a free gift.

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And all of us have been offered
this undeserved, unearned.

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And in that room that day in
Damascus, our Lord did for soul

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of Tarsus what he could never do
for himself.

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He began to create in him a new
creature.

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He started the process of
removing the carnal mind.

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And replacing it with his own
glorious mind.

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You remember these words that we
looked at in second of Timothy

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one And verse 7.
Just think of soul sitting

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blinded and afraid and hearing
these unexpected words of

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kindness.
For God has not given us the

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spirit of fear, but of power and
of love, and of a sound mind.

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And that day the old soul of
Tarsus learnt the power of

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putting himself voluntarily to
death, because the risen Christ

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had just shown him.
Christ had not exacted revenge.

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Christ had not returned evil for
evil.

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Christ had not kept record of
all of soul’s wrongs.

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He had forgiven everything
freely.

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It was so unbelievable it had to
be true.

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And Paul was conquered by a
power, the power of a love, the

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power of a way of thinking that
he could not understand or

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resist, a power that prevailed
mightily against the power of

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hate.
And he walked out of that same

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room and knew man no longer the
bitter and twisted Pharisee but

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Christ.
To the Gentiles, do you know an

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X9 verse 18?
It says there fell from his eyes

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as it had been scales.
He was one of the generation of

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Vipers that Christ had referred
to the scaly reptilian brain.

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The thinking of the serpent was
superseded that day by something

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far, far more powerful, the
thinking of the mind of Christ.

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Love, which he couldn’t
understand, and his first vision

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as he looked up after three days
of the darkness of death, was

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Ananias, the grace of Ya.
This was a moment in which Paul

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was converted and in which his
whole life changed in just a

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moment of time.
I’d like you to come to 2nd of

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Corinthians in chapter 4,
because we’ve been here before

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this week, but let’s just.
Reemphasized this point, Second

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of Corinthians 4 verses four to
seven.

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The mind of Christ, brothers and
sisters, is not about us.

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Verse four, in whom the God of
this world has blinded the minds

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of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel

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of Christ was the image of God.
Should shine unto them, For we

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preach not ourselves, but Christ
their selves, your servants.

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00:16:37,960 –> 00:16:42,840
For Jesus’s sake.
For God, who commanded the light

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00:16:42,840 –> 00:16:48,200
to shine out of darkness, had
shined in our hearts to give the

222
00:16:48,200 –> 00:16:51,960
light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of

223
00:16:52,000 –> 00:16:55,160
Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in

224
00:16:55,240 –> 00:16:59,870
earthen vessels.
That the Excellency of the power

225
00:17:00,190 –> 00:17:06,550
of the mind of Christ may be of
God and not of ourselves.

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00:17:06,589 –> 00:17:09,030
This is the Damascus, Damascus
road.

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00:17:09,349 –> 00:17:14,270
And Paul is acknowledging, isn’t
he in verse six, that his old

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00:17:14,589 –> 00:17:19,670
natural way of thinking was as
blindingly dark and as grossly

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00:17:19,670 –> 00:17:22,550
ignorant of the truth as the pre
creation.

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00:17:22,869 –> 00:17:25,550
Darkness itself.
But now, brothers and sisters,

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00:17:25,550 –> 00:17:30,990
he had light and it’s been
shined where Into his heart for

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00:17:30,990 –> 00:17:34,710
the very first time.
His heart is connected with

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00:17:34,790 –> 00:17:38,550
everything he knew.
He was converted, transformed,

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00:17:38,910 –> 00:17:42,910
but before he could turn the
world upside down, Christ had to

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00:17:42,910 –> 00:17:46,870
turn his world upside down.
Everything was different, and

236
00:17:46,870 –> 00:17:50,430
the mind of Christ was utterly
different to everything he’d

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00:17:50,510 –> 00:17:53,980
ever known.
Instead of revenge, he’d

238
00:17:53,980 –> 00:17:57,460
received grace.
He deserved only hate, but he

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00:17:57,460 –> 00:18:00,940
was showered with love and
compassion.

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00:18:01,940 –> 00:18:09,180
Before he had imprisoned people,
but now he was imprisoned

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00:18:09,180 –> 00:18:14,500
himself, but not with chains.
Look at chapter 5 and verse 14.

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00:18:14,820 –> 00:18:19,820
For the love of Christ
constraineth us.

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00:18:21,470 –> 00:18:27,390
Love of Christ constrains us.
The word means to seize or

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00:18:27,390 –> 00:18:31,230
arrest as a prisoner.
Paul was held captive by the

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00:18:31,230 –> 00:18:33,910
love of Christ.
Do you know that the word

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00:18:33,910 –> 00:18:40,870
constraineth is exactly the same
word in Acts Chapter 7 and verse

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00:18:40,870 –> 00:18:45,150
57 when it says that soul of
Tarsus and the rest of the

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00:18:45,150 –> 00:18:50,670
sanhedron stopped the ears and
they ran upon Stephen?

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00:18:51,420 –> 00:18:56,380
In this word is the whole
conversion of soul of Tarsus.

250
00:18:56,620 –> 00:19:00,660
Before he barricaded, he
imprisoned his ears on the

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00:19:00,660 –> 00:19:04,900
outside so that he could hear no
more of Stephen’s wisdom.

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00:19:04,900 –> 00:19:11,540
But now he’s imprisoned himself
by a new way of thinking, and

253
00:19:11,540 –> 00:19:18,740
it’s inside constrained by love.
What is this revolutionary way

254
00:19:18,740 –> 00:19:20,660
of thinking?
Verse 14.

255
00:19:20,660 –> 00:19:25,460
For the love of Christ
constrains us, because we thus

256
00:19:25,460 –> 00:19:31,460
judge that if one died for all,
then we’re all dead, and that he

257
00:19:31,460 –> 00:19:36,980
died for all That they which
live should not henceforth live

258
00:19:36,980 –> 00:19:41,060
unto themselves, but unto him
which died for them, and rose

259
00:19:41,060 –> 00:19:45,260
again, where For henceforth no,
we know man after the flesh.

260
00:19:45,840 –> 00:19:48,280
Though we have known Christ
after the flesh, yet now

261
00:19:48,280 –> 00:19:53,000
henceforth know we him no more.
Therefore, if any man be in

262
00:19:53,000 –> 00:19:58,280
Christ, he is a new creature.
Old things have passed away.

263
00:19:58,520 –> 00:20:02,320
Behold, all things are become
new.

264
00:20:02,520 –> 00:20:05,400
It’s a completely different
motivation to the carnal mind

265
00:20:05,800 –> 00:20:10,560
which is all all out for itself,
hardwired to benefit self first.

266
00:20:10,760 –> 00:20:14,660
In fact, this way of thinking.
Is as different to that as a

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00:20:14,660 –> 00:20:20,220
Caterpillar is from a butterfly.
It’s not living for ourselves.

268
00:20:20,540 –> 00:20:23,740
Verse 15.
It’s death to self.

269
00:20:24,100 –> 00:20:27,380
And when we do this, we are a
new creature.

270
00:20:28,100 –> 00:20:32,060
It’s the intersection of our
willingness to put ourselves to

271
00:20:32,060 –> 00:20:37,180
death and God’s willingness to
allow Christ to be formed in us,

272
00:20:37,540 –> 00:20:41,380
that a new creature is made,
created, and that day in

273
00:20:41,380 –> 00:20:44,980
Damascus.
Paul was willing and God was

274
00:20:44,980 –> 00:20:49,220
willing, And Paul’s life was
turned upside down by a new

275
00:20:49,220 –> 00:20:54,180
power, a new power that could
imprison without bars and chains

276
00:20:55,100 –> 00:21:00,060
that compelled by love.
Here’s the paradigm, brothers

277
00:21:00,060 –> 00:21:04,300
and sisters, of not living for
ourselves.

278
00:21:05,860 –> 00:21:10,700
It’s the extent that we put
ourselves to death.

279
00:21:12,020 –> 00:21:16,980
That there is room made in us
for Christ to dwell.

280
00:21:18,260 –> 00:21:22,580
Our job is to create room for
Christ.

281
00:21:22,580 –> 00:21:27,060
We put ourselves to death.
Our part is to do the emptying.

282
00:21:27,980 –> 00:21:31,820
God will do the filling.
Ephesians too says that we

283
00:21:31,820 –> 00:21:35,460
become dead to sins.
But it is He that will quicken

284
00:21:35,460 –> 00:21:40,640
us, He that will make us alive.
Roman 6 says that we are buried

285
00:21:40,640 –> 00:21:44,640
with him in baptism, but we’re
raised to newness of life, not

286
00:21:44,640 –> 00:21:48,360
by ourselves, but by the glory
of the Father.

287
00:21:48,360 –> 00:21:52,760
It’s his work.
We cannot be resurrected if we

288
00:21:52,760 –> 00:22:01,120
don’t first put ourselves in the
term, but when we do, when we

289
00:22:01,160 –> 00:22:06,360
give space in our minds for
Christ to dwell, when we bury

290
00:22:06,360 –> 00:22:11,280
ourselves with Christ.
God works the miracle of

291
00:22:11,280 –> 00:22:13,920
resurrection in us, of living to
the Spirit.

292
00:22:14,560 –> 00:22:18,720
And the more we put ourselves to
death, the more and more space

293
00:22:18,960 –> 00:22:23,120
He has in us to dwell and to
work and to transform.

294
00:22:23,680 –> 00:22:27,360
We can’t just put ourselves to
death and leave an empty space.

295
00:22:28,720 –> 00:22:30,840
We all know what happens when we
do that.

296
00:22:31,640 –> 00:22:37,120
Luke, Chapter 11 and verse 26.
Says that seven other spirits,

297
00:22:37,200 –> 00:22:41,920
more sick and unclean and wicked
than ourselves, will enter in

298
00:22:42,160 –> 00:22:46,320
the space that we create, has to
be filled with Christ.

299
00:22:47,440 –> 00:22:49,960
This is Galatians 2, isn’t it?
Verse 20.

300
00:22:50,240 –> 00:22:56,560
I am Co crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless I live, yet not I,

301
00:22:57,080 –> 00:23:01,560
but Christ liveth in me.
There’s a power, a love, that

302
00:23:01,560 –> 00:23:05,020
constrains us.
Constrains us to put ourselves

303
00:23:05,020 –> 00:23:11,180
to death so that Christ in us
can grow and grow and grow.

304
00:23:11,180 –> 00:23:15,860
Do you know Paul puts this
marvelously in Philippians in

305
00:23:15,860 –> 00:23:17,820
chapter one.
Come and have a look in the

306
00:23:17,820 –> 00:23:23,980
first chapter of Philippians,
this paradigm of creating space

307
00:23:24,380 –> 00:23:29,700
for Christ to dwell.
Philippians chapter one and

308
00:23:29,700 –> 00:23:35,750
verse 20.
According to my earnest

309
00:23:35,790 –> 00:23:42,110
expectation and my hope, that in
nothing I shall be ashamed, but

310
00:23:42,110 –> 00:23:50,590
that with all boldness as
always, so now also Christ shall

311
00:23:50,590 –> 00:23:57,190
be magnified in my body, whether
it be by life or by death.

312
00:23:57,390 –> 00:24:01,350
For to me to live is Christ, and
to die is gain.

313
00:24:02,750 –> 00:24:07,230
As Paul put himself more and
more to death, Christ grew,

314
00:24:07,470 –> 00:24:13,310
grew, and grew in him.
Christ was magnified in him.

315
00:24:14,070 –> 00:24:16,590
This is the mind of Christ in
its power.

316
00:24:16,830 –> 00:24:21,230
It’s not living for ourselves.
The more space in their minds we

317
00:24:21,230 –> 00:24:24,630
make for him, the more he feels
it with himself.

318
00:24:25,230 –> 00:24:29,110
It means that the the life of
Christ was being repeated by

319
00:24:29,110 –> 00:24:32,280
Paul.
Progressively he was being

320
00:24:32,280 –> 00:24:36,560
faithful with Christ’s faith.
He was hoping with Christ’s

321
00:24:36,560 –> 00:24:38,520
hope.
He was serving with Christ’s

322
00:24:38,520 –> 00:24:41,560
compassion.
He was loving with Christ’s

323
00:24:41,720 –> 00:24:45,080
love.
Colossians, one puts it this way

324
00:24:45,200 –> 00:24:48,600
in verse 27.
Christ in you, the hope of

325
00:24:48,600 –> 00:24:51,080
glory.
This is the power of a Christ

326
00:24:51,080 –> 00:24:54,120
like mind.
It’s not just death to self, it

327
00:24:54,120 –> 00:24:59,520
is magnification of Christ,
Magnification of Christ.

328
00:25:00,480 –> 00:25:06,920
Enthronement of Christ and
abdication of ourselves.

329
00:25:08,160 –> 00:25:11,560
And look how this new power
changed the apostle, how it

330
00:25:11,560 –> 00:25:15,760
revolutionized his life.
Philippians chapter 4 over the

331
00:25:15,760 –> 00:25:23,680
page verse 12.
When we have the mind of verse 8

332
00:25:24,080 –> 00:25:27,080
the peace of God which passes
all understanding.

333
00:25:27,450 –> 00:25:31,050
When we abandon our seven
fleshly credentials like Paul

334
00:25:31,050 –> 00:25:34,730
does in chapter 3, and we have
in us the eight spiritual

335
00:25:34,730 –> 00:25:38,850
characteristics of the new man,
true circumcision in verse

336
00:25:38,850 –> 00:25:40,610
eight.
When we have this in us, the

337
00:25:40,610 –> 00:25:46,330
mind of Christ, verse 12 says, I
know both how to be based and I

338
00:25:46,330 –> 00:25:50,130
know how to abound everywhere
and in all things.

339
00:25:50,290 –> 00:25:53,410
I’m instructed both to be full
and to be hungry.

340
00:25:53,920 –> 00:25:58,960
Both to abound and to suffer
need I can do all things through

341
00:25:58,960 –> 00:26:05,000
Christ which strengtheneth me,
and the word for strengtheneth

342
00:26:05,040 –> 00:26:10,000
in the Greek is endunimo
empowers me.

343
00:26:10,000 –> 00:26:13,080
This is the power of the mind of
Christ.

344
00:26:14,200 –> 00:26:20,200
Way, mouth says I have strength
for anything through him who

345
00:26:20,200 –> 00:26:24,090
gives me power.
Was something utterly

346
00:26:24,090 –> 00:26:29,010
transforming about Christ in the
life and mind of the Apostle

347
00:26:29,010 –> 00:26:32,130
Paul?
And do you know what happened in

348
00:26:32,490 –> 00:26:36,290
the mind of soul of Tarsus
straight away?

349
00:26:36,290 –> 00:26:40,410
Do you know when the scales fell
from soul’s eyes?

350
00:26:40,410 –> 00:26:45,890
And X Chapter 9, the first thing
he did in Christ was to go out

351
00:26:45,930 –> 00:26:50,330
and preach in the synagogues and
it says he increased.

352
00:26:51,300 –> 00:26:56,020
The more in strength, and it
uses that this exact word in

353
00:26:56,020 –> 00:26:59,860
Dunamo.
Twice he empowered, the more in

354
00:26:59,860 –> 00:27:02,820
power.
Straight away this man was

355
00:27:02,820 –> 00:27:05,900
changed the power of the mind of
Christ.

356
00:27:06,100 –> 00:27:11,260
The irresistible power of Christ
in him was able to do amazing

357
00:27:11,260 –> 00:27:13,620
things.
We can do anything, brothers and

358
00:27:13,620 –> 00:27:18,620
sisters, when we get rid of
ourselves and we let Christ.

359
00:27:19,290 –> 00:27:22,890
Take control of our lives.
Do you know?

360
00:27:22,890 –> 00:27:28,490
Brother John Marshall, in his
book Portrait of a St. describes

361
00:27:28,490 –> 00:27:37,090
this inner power as a forceful,
driving, throbbing spiritual

362
00:27:37,090 –> 00:27:41,650
energy.
Is that how we feel, brothers

363
00:27:41,650 –> 00:27:49,510
and sisters, Driven throbbing?
With the forceful, irresistible

364
00:27:49,510 –> 00:27:54,750
power of the love of Christ that
constrains us to be here, to

365
00:27:54,750 –> 00:27:58,990
remember Him.
This is what it was like in the

366
00:27:58,990 –> 00:28:01,510
life of Paul.
This is the power that drove him

367
00:28:01,510 –> 00:28:03,390
on.
He could do all things.

368
00:28:03,390 –> 00:28:07,830
He could believe all things, He
could endure all things because

369
00:28:07,830 –> 00:28:12,150
Christ was in him.
Do you know in Acts chapter 20

370
00:28:12,150 –> 00:28:16,310
and verse 14, when he was going
up to Jerusalem to face death,

371
00:28:16,310 –> 00:28:18,710
just like his master.
Do you know what he says?

372
00:28:19,190 –> 00:28:24,230
He counted not his life dear
unto himself.

373
00:28:25,550 –> 00:28:29,070
He counted not his life dear
unto himself.

374
00:28:29,510 –> 00:28:33,190
Paul didn’t matter anymore.
It was all about Christ.

375
00:28:33,750 –> 00:28:38,670
He could be in plenty or in
want, in hunger or in fullness,

376
00:28:38,670 –> 00:28:42,710
in riches or in poverty, because
Christ in him was immortal.

377
00:28:42,830 –> 00:28:46,110
Christ is not affected by hunger
or cold.

378
00:28:46,550 –> 00:28:49,110
Or outward circumstances like
poverty.

379
00:28:50,350 –> 00:28:55,070
He owns the world.
And so Paul was free because

380
00:28:55,070 –> 00:28:58,830
Christ was in him.
He might have been riding

381
00:28:58,830 –> 00:29:01,070
Philippians from a damp prison
cell.

382
00:29:01,790 –> 00:29:04,070
He might have been changed to
Roman soldiers.

383
00:29:04,270 –> 00:29:07,950
But the things that trapped
Paul’s body could never trap his

384
00:29:07,950 –> 00:29:10,710
mind.
Christ was in him.

385
00:29:10,710 –> 00:29:15,350
In fact, the weaker and the more
feeble pool was, the stronger.

386
00:29:15,790 –> 00:29:20,430
Christ was in him, You remember?
He says, Christ’s strength is

387
00:29:20,430 –> 00:29:25,430
made perfect in my weakness.
Then he adds most gladly,

388
00:29:25,430 –> 00:29:30,750
therefore will I rather glory in
my infirmities, that the power

389
00:29:31,470 –> 00:29:36,870
of Christ may rest upon me.
The weaker he became, the

390
00:29:36,870 –> 00:29:41,110
stronger the more powerful
Christ became in him.

391
00:29:42,650 –> 00:29:44,850
You know, sometimes brothers and
sisters, when and often this

392
00:29:44,850 –> 00:29:48,490
happens, we’re asked, aren’t we,
How are you doing?

393
00:29:49,650 –> 00:29:57,290
And instinctively we think to
ourselves, good, family’s good,

394
00:29:57,570 –> 00:30:01,090
job’s good, Ecclesia’s good, my
children, wife’s good.

395
00:30:01,730 –> 00:30:04,570
Readings are good.
Prep I’m good.

396
00:30:04,610 –> 00:30:07,010
I’m doing good.
We are not doing good.

397
00:30:07,010 –> 00:30:10,170
Brothers and sisters never do.
We do good.

398
00:30:10,650 –> 00:30:11,450
Never.
Ever.

399
00:30:11,930 –> 00:30:16,250
We are the problem.
It is Christ in us that does

400
00:30:16,250 –> 00:30:18,130
good.
If things are good, it is not

401
00:30:18,170 –> 00:30:21,410
us.
It is because Christ in us is

402
00:30:21,410 –> 00:30:23,530
good.
It is all about him.

403
00:30:23,730 –> 00:30:28,530
And Christ in us is a power that
can conquer the world, turn the

404
00:30:28,530 –> 00:30:32,530
world upside down.
First of Corinthians one and

405
00:30:32,530 –> 00:30:37,330
verse 18 says, for the preaching
of the cross is to them that

406
00:30:37,330 –> 00:30:41,160
perish foolishness.
But unto us that is saved.

407
00:30:41,200 –> 00:30:46,240
It is the power of God.
So what is it, brothers and

408
00:30:46,240 –> 00:30:51,240
sisters, that makes this mind so
powerful, so transformative?

409
00:30:52,200 –> 00:30:56,600
Because, you see, there is one
last piece of the puzzle.

410
00:30:58,440 –> 00:31:03,840
Because it wasn’t just that
Christ put himself to death.

411
00:31:05,960 –> 00:31:12,460
It’s all about why.
He put himself to death, and

412
00:31:12,460 –> 00:31:20,100
Galatians 2 verse 20 said he
loved me and he gave himself for

413
00:31:20,740 –> 00:31:24,460
me.
And the apostle Paul brothers

414
00:31:24,460 –> 00:31:32,380
and sisters, knew that in his
heart he was converted by this

415
00:31:32,380 –> 00:31:36,140
power.
Christ didn’t just put himself

416
00:31:36,140 –> 00:31:40,430
to death.
He did it to save Paul from

417
00:31:40,430 –> 00:31:44,550
himself, and he did it to save
you and to save me.

418
00:31:44,550 –> 00:31:46,670
And that’s what touches our
hearts.

419
00:31:46,670 –> 00:31:51,590
That’s the power that converts
when we feel that it connects

420
00:31:51,590 –> 00:31:54,830
our minds with our hearts, and
we can never be the same.

421
00:31:55,230 –> 00:31:58,030
We can’t sit in a corner,
brothers and sisters, all by

422
00:31:58,030 –> 00:32:02,310
ourselves and feverishly
practice death to self.

423
00:32:04,150 –> 00:32:09,550
That’s the definition.
The epitome of selfishness, we

424
00:32:09,550 –> 00:32:13,550
have to practice it on other
people.

425
00:32:14,550 –> 00:32:18,030
The mind of Christ cannot exist
in a vacuum.

426
00:32:18,030 –> 00:32:20,950
We cannot practice it by
ourselves.

427
00:32:22,270 –> 00:32:25,670
Mind.
This is a mind that’s ultimately

428
00:32:25,710 –> 00:32:34,870
all about other people, not me.
That’s why it says we’re two or

429
00:32:34,870 –> 00:32:38,640
three.
Are gathered together in my

430
00:32:38,640 –> 00:32:41,960
name.
And you notice it never says

431
00:32:42,080 –> 00:32:45,360
where one is gathered together
in my name.

432
00:32:46,520 –> 00:32:51,720
Because when we’re by ourselves,
it’s impossible for us to show

433
00:32:52,280 –> 00:32:56,480
the mind of Christ.
That’s why Christ chose 12

434
00:32:56,480 –> 00:33:00,640
disciples, brothers and sisters.
He chose us so He chose them

435
00:33:00,720 –> 00:33:03,480
because He could then wash their
feet.

436
00:33:04,780 –> 00:33:07,780
He could serve them.
He could let them go through the

437
00:33:07,780 –> 00:33:10,100
door first.
He could serve their meals

438
00:33:10,100 –> 00:33:12,780
first.
The power of the mind of Christ

439
00:33:12,780 –> 00:33:16,580
is when we realize that the
objective of putting self to

440
00:33:16,580 –> 00:33:23,220
death is to save others.
That’s the transforming power of

441
00:33:23,220 –> 00:33:26,060
this mind.
It’s what Second or Corinthians

442
00:33:26,060 –> 00:33:30,620
4 says.
So then death worketh in us and

443
00:33:30,620 –> 00:33:36,500
life in you, verse 12.
This is the power that can

444
00:33:36,500 –> 00:33:38,980
change us forever.
Take your mind, brothers and

445
00:33:38,980 –> 00:33:42,580
sisters, back to the Gospels.
Where do you think we will most

446
00:33:42,580 –> 00:33:47,020
dramatically see the power of
the mind of Christ displayed by

447
00:33:47,020 –> 00:33:51,740
Christ himself?
Will it not be when his mind is

448
00:33:51,740 –> 00:33:56,380
under the greatest pressure,
under the greatest strain?

449
00:33:58,140 –> 00:34:02,380
Think of Christ on the cross.
He was hanging up there,

450
00:34:02,380 –> 00:34:05,400
brothers and sisters.
Not just to declare God’s

451
00:34:05,400 –> 00:34:11,360
righteousness, but to save us.
And down on the ground, the

452
00:34:11,360 –> 00:34:17,679
deluded, blind, ungrateful,
proud, carnal mind is jeering,

453
00:34:17,800 –> 00:34:21,960
mocking, taunting him.
Come down from the cross.

454
00:34:22,800 –> 00:34:24,760
Come down.
If you’re so amazing, save

455
00:34:24,760 –> 00:34:27,600
yourself.
If only they knew, brothers and

456
00:34:27,600 –> 00:34:30,639
sisters, that the only reason he
couldn’t come down from the

457
00:34:30,639 –> 00:34:33,800
cross was because he was trying
to save them.

458
00:34:34,429 –> 00:34:38,270
He wasn’t trying to save
himself, he was crucifying

459
00:34:38,270 –> 00:34:42,710
himself in order to save them.
This is the ultimate expression

460
00:34:43,110 –> 00:34:45,389
of the power of the mind of
Christ.

461
00:34:46,710 –> 00:34:50,230
Turn over a couple of pages to
1st of Timothy in chapter one,

462
00:34:51,270 –> 00:34:58,270
because this power, this
Endunimo that Paul had is here

463
00:34:58,270 –> 00:35:03,230
in first of Timothy and chapter
one, verse 12.

464
00:35:04,860 –> 00:35:13,700
And I thank Christ Jesus our
Lord, who hath enabled me for

465
00:35:13,700 –> 00:35:17,500
that He counted me faithful,
putting me into the ministry,

466
00:35:17,620 –> 00:35:21,900
who was before a blasphemer and
a persecutor, and injurious,

467
00:35:22,540 –> 00:35:27,340
that I obtained mercy because I
did it ignorantly in unbelief.

468
00:35:28,470 –> 00:35:31,910
You know that word enabled is
exactly the same word as

469
00:35:31,910 –> 00:35:36,670
Philippians 4 verse 13 in Dunomo
empowered.

470
00:35:37,150 –> 00:35:41,790
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord
who has empowered me.

471
00:35:41,910 –> 00:35:44,550
And what was the power that
empowered Paul?

472
00:35:44,830 –> 00:35:49,750
Verse 14 The grace of our Lord
was exceeding abundant with

473
00:35:49,750 –> 00:35:52,070
faith and love, which is in
Christ Jesus.

474
00:35:52,470 –> 00:35:57,190
This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation.

475
00:35:57,710 –> 00:36:04,990
That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners of whom I

476
00:36:04,990 –> 00:36:08,470
am chief.
Howbeit for this Causeway I

477
00:36:08,470 –> 00:36:13,350
obtained mercy, that in me first
Jesus Christ might show forth

478
00:36:13,510 –> 00:36:17,870
all long-suffering for a pattern
to them which should hereafter

479
00:36:17,870 –> 00:36:21,030
believe on him to life
everlasting.

480
00:36:21,150 –> 00:36:24,830
Paul realized that the whole
objective of Christ coming into

481
00:36:24,830 –> 00:36:27,350
the world was not to kill or
persecute.

482
00:36:28,140 –> 00:36:32,460
Was not to harangue or imprison.
The mind of Christ was the exact

483
00:36:32,580 –> 00:36:35,060
opposite of what soul of Tarsus
used to be.

484
00:36:35,660 –> 00:36:39,780
We soul of Tarsus could think of
nothing else but exterminating

485
00:36:39,780 –> 00:36:45,340
the followers of Christ.
Christ’s only thought is to save

486
00:36:45,420 –> 00:36:51,020
others.
And he had reached out, and he

487
00:36:51,020 –> 00:36:55,060
had offered this mind, this
salvation.

488
00:36:55,770 –> 00:37:01,330
To soul of Tarsus.
You see, saving others is the

489
00:37:01,410 –> 00:37:06,970
exact opposite of serving self.
It’s the transforming power of

490
00:37:06,970 –> 00:37:08,570
Christ’s mind.
It’s the essence of the

491
00:37:08,570 –> 00:37:11,330
atonement, isn’t it?
Think of Romans 5.

492
00:37:11,610 –> 00:37:15,530
For while we were yet sin as
Christ died for us.

493
00:37:15,530 –> 00:37:19,090
This is his mind.
That’s why he died, why he put

494
00:37:19,090 –> 00:37:23,450
himself to death.
He enabled empowered millions to

495
00:37:23,450 –> 00:37:24,930
live.
It was all for them.

496
00:37:25,430 –> 00:37:31,790
He came to save them.
Come to 1st of Corinthians in

497
00:37:32,310 –> 00:37:37,150
Chapter 9, because it couldn’t
really be clearer than these

498
00:37:37,150 –> 00:37:43,710
words.
This was Paul’s spirit, forever

499
00:37:43,710 –> 00:37:46,310
changed by the power of the love
of Christ.

500
00:37:47,230 –> 00:37:52,790
Verse 19.
He was now free from himself.

501
00:37:53,150 –> 00:37:56,720
What a glorious blessing.
For though I’d be free from all

502
00:37:56,720 –> 00:38:02,480
men, yet have I made myself
servant unto all that I might

503
00:38:02,720 –> 00:38:06,120
gain the more.
And unto the Jews I became as a

504
00:38:06,120 –> 00:38:10,000
Jew, that I might gain the Jews
to them that are under the law,

505
00:38:10,040 –> 00:38:12,560
as under the law, that I might
gain them that are under the law

506
00:38:13,080 –> 00:38:16,720
to them That I without the law,
as without law being not without

507
00:38:16,720 –> 00:38:20,440
law to God, but under the law to
Christ, that I might gain them,

508
00:38:20,440 –> 00:38:23,760
that I without law to the weak
became I as weak.

509
00:38:24,190 –> 00:38:30,430
And I might gain the week.
I am made all things to all men,

510
00:38:30,790 –> 00:38:35,990
that I might by all means save
some.

511
00:38:37,830 –> 00:38:40,110
This is the essence of the mind
of Christ.

512
00:38:40,790 –> 00:38:46,470
Putting oneself to death to do
anything to save others,

513
00:38:46,630 –> 00:38:50,670
anything.
Do you know our dear Uncle John

514
00:38:50,670 –> 00:38:56,530
that’s with us this morning?
I was just a kid when he came to

515
00:38:56,530 –> 00:39:00,850
New Zealand many, many years ago
and spoke on the Apostle Paul.

516
00:39:02,530 –> 00:39:07,210
I would have just been probably
not even 10, but I remember

517
00:39:07,210 –> 00:39:10,530
something that he said that has
stuck in my mind since that day.

518
00:39:10,530 –> 00:39:17,010
And it’s this.
The Apostle Paul was not the

519
00:39:17,130 –> 00:39:23,450
inflexible advocate of what was
intellectually correct.

520
00:39:25,770 –> 00:39:32,650
But the passionate champion of
what was best to get men and

521
00:39:32,650 –> 00:39:35,770
women into the Kingdom of God,
and I’ve got that written at the

522
00:39:35,770 –> 00:39:39,450
top of my Bible.
This is the mind of Christ.

523
00:39:39,770 –> 00:39:44,130
And the Apostle Paul got it.
He had the mind of Christ.

524
00:39:44,330 –> 00:39:48,490
He realized the whole object of
this mind was to be so dead to

525
00:39:48,490 –> 00:39:52,990
self that we think.
Only of serving and saving

526
00:39:52,990 –> 00:39:56,430
others.
Do you remember in our first

527
00:39:56,430 –> 00:40:07,230
class we briefly discussed
addiction and we said we are all

528
00:40:07,590 –> 00:40:13,110
actually, by virtue of our
carnal minds addicted to

529
00:40:13,110 –> 00:40:18,830
ourselves, but brothers and
sisters if self.

530
00:40:19,630 –> 00:40:24,470
Is dead.
Then there is only one addiction

531
00:40:25,070 –> 00:40:30,910
that remains in the whole world.
There’s only one addiction left

532
00:40:31,430 –> 00:40:36,190
if we are dead to ourselves, and
it’s what Paul calls in First of

533
00:40:36,190 –> 00:40:43,310
Corinthians 16 and verse 15
being addicted to the Ministry

534
00:40:43,310 –> 00:40:46,350
of the Saints.
See how clear this is?

535
00:40:46,860 –> 00:40:52,140
When self is dead, truly dead,
we can be free to be addicted to

536
00:40:52,140 –> 00:40:57,700
saving others.
This is the power of his mind in

537
00:40:57,700 –> 00:41:00,940
us.
Do you know this mindset?

538
00:41:01,940 –> 00:41:06,820
This way of thinking is actually
described in the New Testament.

539
00:41:07,340 –> 00:41:12,700
It’s described as the spirit of
Jesus Christ.

540
00:41:13,060 –> 00:41:14,860
His spirit was not to serve
self.

541
00:41:15,310 –> 00:41:19,710
But to save others, I’d like you
to come just to the Gospels and

542
00:41:19,710 –> 00:41:22,470
touchdown with me, as we have
tried to do in all of our

543
00:41:22,470 –> 00:41:27,230
sessions into the presence of
Christ himself in Luke Chapter

544
00:41:27,230 –> 00:41:51,240
9,
because there was an enormous

545
00:41:51,240 –> 00:41:55,040
disharmony between the Spirit of
Christ.

546
00:41:56,120 –> 00:42:01,480
And his disciples at this time
they hadn’t learnt the power of

547
00:42:01,480 –> 00:42:04,960
Christ’s mind.
Look Chapter 9 in verse 51.

548
00:42:04,960 –> 00:42:08,840
And it came to pass.
When the time was come that He

549
00:42:08,840 –> 00:42:13,560
should be received up, he
steadfastly set his face to go

550
00:42:13,560 –> 00:42:16,920
to Jerusalem, and he sent
messengers before his face.

551
00:42:16,920 –> 00:42:20,280
And they went and entered into a
village of the Samaritans to

552
00:42:20,280 –> 00:42:25,120
make ready for Him.
They did not.

553
00:42:26,160 –> 00:42:30,320
Receive him because his face was
as though he would go to

554
00:42:30,320 –> 00:42:32,760
Jerusalem.
And when his disciples James and

555
00:42:32,760 –> 00:42:36,160
John saw this, they said, Lord,
we’ll thou that we should

556
00:42:36,280 –> 00:42:41,120
command fire to come down from
heaven and consume them, even as

557
00:42:41,120 –> 00:42:47,200
Elias did.
But he turned and rebuked them,

558
00:42:47,200 –> 00:42:54,760
and said, You know not what
manner of spirit ye are of.

559
00:42:55,490 –> 00:42:59,690
For the Son of Man has not come
to destroy men’s lives, but to

560
00:42:59,690 –> 00:43:03,970
save them, And they went on to
another village.

561
00:43:03,970 –> 00:43:07,130
There was a tension, A
discrepancy, between the Spirit

562
00:43:07,130 –> 00:43:11,090
of Christ and the spirit of his
disciples.

563
00:43:12,250 –> 00:43:14,970
They had to learn that the mind
of Christ, his spiritual

564
00:43:15,170 –> 00:43:19,850
disposition, was never to
destroy, but to relentlessly

565
00:43:19,850 –> 00:43:23,250
seek ways to save.
It was never to break the

566
00:43:23,250 –> 00:43:27,830
bruised Reed.
Quench the smoking flax it was

567
00:43:27,830 –> 00:43:30,470
to convert.
Try to breakthrough so that

568
00:43:30,470 –> 00:43:33,350
people might receive him.
Verse 53.

569
00:43:33,510 –> 00:43:37,670
How grateful we are, brothers
and sisters for his spirit in

570
00:43:37,710 –> 00:43:40,830
our lives.
Some of us wouldn’t be here.

571
00:43:41,630 –> 00:43:45,430
Many of us wouldn’t be here if
it wasn’t for his relentless

572
00:43:45,430 –> 00:43:49,190
spirit of reaching out to us in
love.

573
00:43:52,440 –> 00:43:54,920
He wants to abide in all of our
hearts.

574
00:43:55,200 –> 00:43:58,040
He seeks that we might make
ready for him.

575
00:43:58,640 –> 00:44:00,880
But sometimes, brothers and
sisters, we don’t let him in, do

576
00:44:00,880 –> 00:44:03,480
we?
We keep the doors locked.

577
00:44:04,160 –> 00:44:08,760
We refuse to surrender the key.
He will not destroy.

578
00:44:10,000 –> 00:44:14,800
There are no thoughts of revenge
because self is dead.

579
00:44:15,480 –> 00:44:20,920
He would gently try again.
Another time, another way.

580
00:44:22,290 –> 00:44:25,410
Another village he will always
seek to save.

581
00:44:25,410 –> 00:44:31,970
Do you know Romans chapter 8 and
verse 9 says, now, if any man

582
00:44:32,250 –> 00:44:37,610
have not the spirit of Christ,
he is none of his.

583
00:44:37,610 –> 00:44:44,570
So we’re not just talking about
the mind of Christ, the Spirit

584
00:44:45,610 –> 00:44:49,970
of Christ, and if we don’t have
it, brothers and sisters.

585
00:44:50,390 –> 00:44:53,750
We are none of his.
This is not an optional idea.

586
00:44:54,310 –> 00:44:57,590
This is not an intellectually
interesting topic.

587
00:44:58,070 –> 00:45:01,550
This is what life and the truth
is all about.

588
00:45:01,550 –> 00:45:05,270
If we want to be Christ, we have
to have this spiritual

589
00:45:05,270 –> 00:45:08,350
disposition.
We put ourselves to death so

590
00:45:08,350 –> 00:45:11,470
that we can serve and save
others.

591
00:45:11,470 –> 00:45:15,910
This has to be our spirit.
Now.

592
00:45:15,910 –> 00:45:18,550
I think there’s an incredibly
powerful.

593
00:45:18,920 –> 00:45:22,920
And comforting lesson in this
idea for each one of us.

594
00:45:24,600 –> 00:45:33,080
And it’s this.
The true measure of who we are

595
00:45:34,400 –> 00:45:39,720
is our spirit, our character,
our mind.

596
00:45:39,720 –> 00:45:43,560
This incisive test of whether we
are Christ is by our Spirit.

597
00:45:43,560 –> 00:45:47,240
It’s an internal condition, His
mind in us.

598
00:45:47,960 –> 00:45:52,920
Brothers and sisters, we all do
and have done things from time

599
00:45:52,920 –> 00:45:59,600
to time that we are heartily
ashamed of, that if we had any

600
00:45:59,600 –> 00:46:04,480
chance to undo the past, we
would gladly grasp hold of that

601
00:46:05,160 –> 00:46:09,880
we sin sometimes the same sins
every week, but brothers and

602
00:46:09,880 –> 00:46:14,160
sisters, the external things
that we do occasionally.

603
00:46:15,590 –> 00:46:22,590
Are not the true measure of who
we are of our spirit, anymore

604
00:46:22,790 –> 00:46:25,950
than the occasional good things
that we might have done.

605
00:46:26,790 –> 00:46:31,830
Selfish men are occasionally
kind, good men are sometimes

606
00:46:31,830 –> 00:46:34,350
bad.
But our Heavenly Father does not

607
00:46:34,350 –> 00:46:37,270
measure us by the occasional
things.

608
00:46:38,510 –> 00:46:44,510
He measures us by our Spirit do
we have in us.

609
00:46:45,120 –> 00:46:49,280
Spirit of Christ.
Just think of these faithful men

610
00:46:50,440 –> 00:46:53,520
and see if you cannot
immediately think of a time when

611
00:46:53,520 –> 00:46:56,320
they did things that betrayed
their spirit.

612
00:46:58,280 –> 00:47:03,680
What about faithful Abraham,
father of the faithful?

613
00:47:04,360 –> 00:47:09,440
He’s down in Egypt pretending
that his wife’s not his wife.

614
00:47:11,240 –> 00:47:14,080
What about Noah, preacher of
righteousness?

615
00:47:14,650 –> 00:47:19,810
Naked and drunk in a tent.
Moses, the meekest man in all

616
00:47:19,810 –> 00:47:24,890
the earth, striking the rock.
Elijah full of power and zeal,

617
00:47:25,050 –> 00:47:27,970
lying under a juniper tree,
wishing he could die.

618
00:47:28,890 –> 00:47:31,690
David, a man after God’s own
heart.

619
00:47:32,330 –> 00:47:36,770
We know his sin.
Peter, so strong and courageous,

620
00:47:36,970 –> 00:47:40,890
fleeing into the night.
They all exhibit weakness.

621
00:47:41,250 –> 00:47:44,610
And the very thing for which
they are notably strong.

622
00:47:44,930 –> 00:47:48,210
But our Lord, brothers and
sisters, is more interested in

623
00:47:48,290 –> 00:47:55,810
our spirit, our minds.
If we don’t have His spirit, we

624
00:47:55,810 –> 00:47:58,770
are none of His.
The question this morning is,

625
00:47:58,770 –> 00:48:05,050
have we grabbed hold of this
power to die to ourselves that

626
00:48:05,050 –> 00:48:08,270
we might save others?
This is the power of the mind of

627
00:48:08,270 –> 00:48:11,630
Christ, and without it we are
none of His.

628
00:48:11,950 –> 00:48:16,670
He won’t recognize us, despite
all of the good things we might

629
00:48:16,670 –> 00:48:18,950
have done, if we can’t grasp
these things.

630
00:48:19,150 –> 00:48:22,270
But if we have it, if we see it,
and we grasp it, if we can

631
00:48:22,270 –> 00:48:27,430
receive it, we are His.
Have you ever wondered, brothers

632
00:48:27,430 –> 00:48:30,950
and sisters, whether you will be
in the Kingdom of God or not?

633
00:48:32,830 –> 00:48:40,260
Have you ever thought?
I’m not good enough ever being

634
00:48:40,260 –> 00:48:43,660
racked with fears and doubts
that you won’t.

635
00:48:43,980 –> 00:48:46,940
You you’re not going to make it.
Do you know, brothers and

636
00:48:46,940 –> 00:48:52,300
sisters, doubts and fears are
the carnal mind.

637
00:48:52,300 –> 00:48:55,900
Do you know when Jesus Christ
was resurrected to life?

638
00:48:55,900 –> 00:49:00,540
Peter stood up in X chapter 2
and he said it’s not possible.

639
00:49:01,490 –> 00:49:05,450
That the grave could hold that
man It was a moral impossibility

640
00:49:05,610 –> 00:49:08,330
for God to leave him there.
And so it is with us.

641
00:49:08,610 –> 00:49:13,530
If we have this spirit, the
power of the mind of Christ, in

642
00:49:13,530 –> 00:49:17,890
us.
If Christ is magnified in us, if

643
00:49:17,890 –> 00:49:21,690
we die daily and we make room
for him to dwell in our hearts

644
00:49:22,010 –> 00:49:27,770
richly by faith, it’s impossible
for us not to be in the Kingdom,

645
00:49:27,970 –> 00:49:31,090
brothers and sisters.
It’s a moral impossibility.

646
00:49:31,840 –> 00:49:36,960
Not by our greatness.
We’re all dust and ashes, not by

647
00:49:36,960 –> 00:49:40,720
our accomplishments.
We can never earn it, otherwise

648
00:49:40,720 –> 00:49:43,720
it wouldn’t be called a gift.
That’s so obvious to us.

649
00:49:44,480 –> 00:49:47,280
We won’t be there, brothers and
sisters, because of self.

650
00:49:47,520 –> 00:49:51,560
If we have already put self to
death, we’ll be there, brothers

651
00:49:51,560 –> 00:49:55,560
and sisters, because we’ve tried
to save other people, because

652
00:49:55,560 –> 00:49:58,640
we’ve realized the power of this
mind.

653
00:49:59,560 –> 00:50:01,120
We will be there, brothers and
sisters.

654
00:50:01,480 –> 00:50:08,680
Because in us there is something
immortal, something that cannot

655
00:50:08,680 –> 00:50:12,400
die.
It’s not an immortal soul, like

656
00:50:12,400 –> 00:50:15,960
the Church’s teach.
It’s what Peter describes in

657
00:50:15,960 –> 00:50:21,080
first of Peter One and verse 23,
the Word of God that lives and

658
00:50:21,080 –> 00:50:25,400
abides forever.
And if that word, this word, has

659
00:50:25,400 –> 00:50:29,000
been planted in our minds and
it’s grown.

660
00:50:29,630 –> 00:50:31,510
And it’s brought forth fruit in
us.

661
00:50:31,550 –> 00:50:36,350
In our minds, it’s actually
Christ living in us, the Word

662
00:50:36,350 –> 00:50:39,950
made flesh.
And if Christ is in us, then

663
00:50:39,950 –> 00:50:44,790
Peter says it’s not possible for
the grave to hold him.

664
00:50:45,550 –> 00:50:48,430
He can’t stay dead forever,
brothers and sisters.

665
00:50:48,710 –> 00:50:53,950
It’s a moral impossibility if
Christ is truly in us, his mind,

666
00:50:54,270 –> 00:51:01,410
his thinking, his spirit.
We will absolutely be in the

667
00:51:01,410 –> 00:51:05,850
Kingdom.
God cannot allow his Son to mold

668
00:51:05,850 –> 00:51:09,210
it into dust.
It will be his good pleasure to

669
00:51:09,210 –> 00:51:17,530
give his Son in us the Kingdom.
Isn’t that why we get baptized?

670
00:51:17,730 –> 00:51:20,570
Because there’s only going to be
one man in the Kingdom and we

671
00:51:20,570 –> 00:51:24,010
want to be in him?
And isn’t that why we

672
00:51:24,250 –> 00:51:26,570
desperately want to have the
mind of Christ?

673
00:51:27,820 –> 00:51:31,940
Because unless he’s in us, we
are none of his.

674
00:51:34,060 –> 00:51:36,100
We’ll be there, brothers and
sisters, not because of

675
00:51:36,100 –> 00:51:39,220
ourselves, but despite
ourselves.

676
00:51:39,220 –> 00:51:40,420
That’s grace.
What?

677
00:51:40,500 –> 00:51:44,420
What a hope.
Let’s assure ourselves in this

678
00:51:44,420 –> 00:51:47,900
hope.
Let’s be what Paul calls more

679
00:51:47,900 –> 00:51:50,900
than conquerors.
Let’s have absolute confidence,

680
00:51:51,180 –> 00:51:53,980
brothers and sisters, not in
ourselves.

681
00:51:54,620 –> 00:52:00,210
It’s got nothing to do with us.
But that God can work in us

682
00:52:00,210 –> 00:52:03,290
great things.
What God has begun, He will

683
00:52:03,290 –> 00:52:05,130
complete.
It’s happening, brothers and

684
00:52:05,130 –> 00:52:07,810
sisters.
It’s happening in your minds and

685
00:52:07,810 –> 00:52:12,890
mine.
Invisibly, imperceptibly, almost

686
00:52:12,890 –> 00:52:17,850
impossibly.
We are being changed into new

687
00:52:17,850 –> 00:52:21,610
creatures.
Christ is in us.

688
00:52:23,690 –> 00:52:25,410
I want to close using the words
of.

689
00:52:25,790 –> 00:52:28,950
The Apostle Paul in Ephesians
chapter 3,

690
00:52:43,920 –> 00:52:52,840
Paul was converted from a raging
monster, the carnal mind rampant

691
00:52:54,240 –> 00:52:59,640
into Christ’s salvation to the
ends of the earth, transformed

692
00:52:59,640 –> 00:53:02,240
by the power of a Christ like
spirit.

693
00:53:03,560 –> 00:53:07,800
Passionate champion of whatever
it might take to save some, any,

694
00:53:08,480 –> 00:53:12,720
any whatever it takes.
A man who died daily that his

695
00:53:12,720 –> 00:53:16,240
Lord could live in him.
There was anyone, brothers and

696
00:53:16,240 –> 00:53:20,640
sisters, who understood the
power of the mind of Christ.

697
00:53:20,640 –> 00:53:24,200
It was this man and the last few
verses of Ephesians.

698
00:53:24,200 –> 00:53:32,560
Chapter 3 is the Apostle Paul’s
prayer for each one of us.

699
00:53:34,070 –> 00:53:42,910
Right here and right now, today
in 2017, as we finish our week

700
00:53:42,910 –> 00:53:53,670
together, Ephesians 3, verse 14.
For this cause I bow my knees

701
00:53:53,670 –> 00:53:59,310
unto the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, of whom the whole

702
00:53:59,310 –> 00:54:03,190
family.
And heaven and earth is named,

703
00:54:03,630 –> 00:54:09,110
that He would grant you, give
you, according to the riches of

704
00:54:09,110 –> 00:54:17,510
his glory, to be strengthened
with might by his spirit in the

705
00:54:17,710 –> 00:54:25,430
inner man, that Christ may dwell
in your heart by faith, that ye

706
00:54:25,430 –> 00:54:28,750
being rooted and grounded in
love.

707
00:54:29,280 –> 00:54:33,720
May be able to comprehend with
All Saints what is the breadth

708
00:54:34,160 –> 00:54:41,520
and length and depth and height,
and to know the love of Christ,

709
00:54:42,360 –> 00:54:46,560
which passeth knowledge that ye
might be filled with all the

710
00:54:46,560 –> 00:54:51,240
fullness of God, the question we
all want to ask ourselves,

711
00:54:51,400 –> 00:54:56,520
brothers and sisters, as we now
come to the emblems.

712
00:54:57,110 –> 00:55:01,830
Symbols of this man that we
love, who is our life, is this

713
00:55:01,830 –> 00:55:11,870
question.
How big is the space that we

714
00:55:11,870 –> 00:55:16,870
have created in our hearts for
him to dwell in?

715
00:55:18,710 –> 00:55:23,750
How much space are we keeping
back for ourselves?

716
00:55:23,950 –> 00:55:26,750
The breadth, The length?
The depth?

717
00:55:27,240 –> 00:55:33,520
The height is the intangible
volume of space in our minds

718
00:55:33,640 –> 00:55:39,360
where we can enthrone Christ,
magnify Him in our minds and

719
00:55:39,360 –> 00:55:43,800
lies, and as much room as we can
make for Him in any dimension,

720
00:55:43,800 –> 00:55:50,040
he will fill it with His love.
A love that cannot be understood

721
00:55:50,040 –> 00:55:53,960
or explained.
It passes knowledge, but a love

722
00:55:53,960 –> 00:55:58,350
that imprisons.
Love that constrains us.

723
00:55:59,310 –> 00:56:02,390
A love that connects and minds
with our hearts.

724
00:56:03,630 –> 00:56:06,870
A love that Paul felt that day
in Damascus.

725
00:56:08,270 –> 00:56:10,910
A love that creates in us a new
creature.

726
00:56:12,430 –> 00:56:15,710
A love that empowers us to do
all things for him.

727
00:56:16,070 –> 00:56:19,190
A love that drives us to
sacrifice ourselves, that we

728
00:56:19,190 –> 00:56:22,030
might be free to serve and save
others.

729
00:56:23,060 –> 00:56:26,700
This is a love that can fill us
with all fullness.

730
00:56:26,900 –> 00:56:29,300
It can fill every hole in our
hearts.

731
00:56:29,460 –> 00:56:32,980
It can satisfy every need if
only we let it.

732
00:56:34,740 –> 00:56:39,060
This is our hope, brothers and
sisters, and our high uphill

733
00:56:39,060 –> 00:56:43,380
calling.
If the Apostle Paul can be

734
00:56:43,380 –> 00:56:48,060
completely transformed by the
power of the mind of Christ, who

735
00:56:48,060 –> 00:56:51,020
are we, brothers and sisters?
Who are we?

736
00:56:51,020 –> 00:56:56,450
Who do we think we are?
That we doubt what God is doing

737
00:56:56,450 –> 00:56:59,010
in us.
We are going to be in the

738
00:56:59,010 –> 00:57:02,290
Kingdom, brothers and sisters,
not because of ourselves,

739
00:57:02,770 –> 00:57:06,810
because he lives forever and he
is in us.

740
00:57:08,810 –> 00:57:14,450
Let’s not let our feeble minds,
brothers and sisters, limit the

741
00:57:14,450 –> 00:57:21,530
power of the mind of Christ in
us now unto him.

742
00:57:22,650 –> 00:57:29,850
That is able to do exceedingly
abundantly above all that we

743
00:57:29,890 –> 00:57:37,650
ask, or think according to the
power that worketh in us, Unto

744
00:57:37,650 –> 00:57:45,770
him be glory in the Ecclesia by
Christ Jesus, throughout all

745
00:57:45,810 –> 00:57:54,720
ages, world without end, I mean.
It’s not just me.