- Hello, everybody. Have I told you lately that I love you? This weekend I'm at Irvine North Campus, and we're having a great time there, but I wanna invite you to
pull out your message notes at whichever campus you're at,
as we continue in our series we started last week called,
Rethinking Your Life, part two. Now last week, I gave you
nine pillars of the series that we're gonna go through
on how to rethink your life. One of those pillars was that the goal of rethinking our lives is
to have the mind of Christ, and that's what we're
gonna look at this weekend. In fact, I want us to use
this as kind of an index to where we're going to
go the entire series. I'm gonna give you some big principles, and then in the following sessions, we're going to look at details. Now, in the Old Testament,
Isaiah asked this question, in Isaiah 40 verse 13. "Who understands the mind of the Lord?" "Who understands the mind of the Lord?" Well in the New Testament, Paul
answers that saying, we can, we can understand the mind of the Lord, because Christ knows the mind of God, and Christ now lives in us. And in First Corinthians
chapter two verse 16, there at the top of your
outline we see this verse. Paul says, "we can
understand these things" "because now we have the mind of Christ." Now what does that mean? What does it mean that you
have the mind of Christ? Well it means that you can
learn to think like Jesus. It means you can have the same thoughts, you can have the same attitudes, you can have the same reactions. This is God's goal for
your life and my life, that we learn to become like Christ. And you can't become like Christ without learning to think like Christ. That's what it means to
have the mind of Christ. Now, what does that look like? Well that's what I want us
to look at this weekend. What does having the
mind of Christ look like? I'm going to give you 10 characteristics of a person who thinks like Jesus. Now, we've got so many of these, we're gonna go through them rapidly, but in the future we're
gonna go into the details of each of these. Okay, so let's get right into it. If you're taking notes, when
I learn to think like Jesus, when I have the mind
of Christ, number one, I know exactly who I am. I know exactly who I am if
I have the mind of Christ. I'm not confused about my identity. Why? Because Jesus certainly had
no doubt about his identity, he had no fuzzy thinking
about his identity. He knew exactly who he was. In fact, 18 times in the New Testament, Jesus defines himself to other people. Let me show you just a
few of these verses there, they're on your outline. In John 6:35 Jesus says,
"I am the bread of life". In John 8:12 he says, "I
am the light of the world". In John 10:11 he says,
"I am the good shepherd". In John 11:25, "I am the
resurrection and the life". John 14:6, I am the way, I
am the truth, I am the life. John 15:1, "I am the true vine". Mark 10, 61 and 62, "I am the son of God." Now that's just a few
of the 18 definitions where Christ defines who he really is. He had no doubt about his identity. You know today there are a lot of movies that portray Jesus as
confused about his identity. That's pure fiction. He had no doubt as to who he was. Now here's what's interesting. God wants you to know your true identity. And listen, only your
creator can tell you that. Nobody else can tell
you your true identity because they didn't create
you, only God made you, and so only God can tell
you what he created you for and who he created you to be. Now why is this so important? Because if you don't know
who God made you to be, you're gonna fall into a
number of different traps, several traps, you're
gonna waste your life. First, if you don't know
who God made you to be, other people will force
you into their mold, and they will decide for you. You will be manipulated by
the expectation of others. Maybe a boss, maybe a
spouse, maybe a boyfriend, but you'll be manipulated
and shaped by others. Or, number two, you'll end
up living a phony life. You're always pretending,
you're always faking it, you're always wearing a mask, because you don't really know who you are. Number three, confused identity
creates stress in your life. Stress happens when you try to
be something that you're not. So when I learn to think like Jesus, and I have the mind of Christ,
I know exactly who I am, because Jesus knew exactly who
he was, and he created you. Now let me give you another one. Second. When I learn to think like Jesus, when I have the mind of Christ, I not only know who I am, I
know God's purpose for my life. Why? Because Jesus knew the
purpose for his life. He certainly knew exactly
what he was called to do with his life. His vision, his purpose, his
goals, they were crystal clear. In John 8 verse 14, Jesus says this. "I know where I came from,
and I know where I'm going." Do you know that? Do you know where you came from, do you know where you're going? Jesus settled his purpose
very early in life. In fact, the Bible
tells us that by age 12, he was already a purpose-driven
young man at age 12. In Luke chapter two verse 49, Jesus at age 12 had
been left at the temple, and Mary and Joseph were
returning to their hometown, and all of a sudden they realize he's not in either traveling party. And they go back to the temple to get him, they find him teaching the elders, as a 12 year old, and he says this, "don't you know that I must be
about my father's business?" He knew his purpose at age 12. You know, I accepted my call
to full-time Christian ministry when I was 12 years old. Young children can understand this at a lot earlier age than we think. And so my question to those
of you who are parents is, are you preparing your
kids for God's purpose for their lives, even at an early age? Now of course, as Jesus'
ministry expanded, he became more and more specific, announcing several very
specific purposes for his life. One of them is John 10:10,
you know this verse. John 10:10 Jesus says, "my
purpose is to give life" "in all its fullness." That's knowing not only who he
was, but knowing his purpose. In fact, even right up to
Christ's death on the cross, Jesus' purpose was very clear. Look at this verse up here on the screen. In John 12:27, it says this. The night before he was
executed, Jesus said, "my soul is deeply troubled right now". This is Jesus the night
before he goes to the cross. My soul is deeply troubled. "So, what shall I say?" "Father, save me from this hour?" "No, it was for this
purpose that I have come." So we see Jesus knew who he
was, and he knew his purpose. He wants you to know who you are, he wants you to know your purpose. You get that when you
get the mind of Christ. Number three. When I have the mind of Christ, I'm always aware that God is with me. I not only know who I am,
I know what my purpose is, I'm always aware that God is with me. Again, we see this in the life of Jesus. Jesus lived in the presence of God. He stayed connected to the favor of God. No matter how busy he was, he stayed in tune with the Father. He took time to get alone and pray. Look at these verses, John 16 verse 32. Jesus says, "I'm not alone" "because the Father is always with me." Do you know that the greatest
antidote to loneliness is thinking like Jesus? That when you have the mind of Christ, you'll be able to say, like him, I'm not alone, because I know
the father is always with me. If you feel lonely, if you feel alone, it's at that moment you're
not living the mind of Christ. Jesus said I'm not alone, I know the father's always with me. He was always aware of
God's constant care. How about you? How can you do that? How can you stay always
aware of God's constant care? The answer, through prayer. (chuckles) Jesus made prayer a daily habit. And the reason why he knew
God was always with him is because he was always talking to him. Luke chapter five verse 16, "Jesus often slipped away to
be alone so he could pray". Now if you're taking notes, I want you to circle the word often. Jesus often slipped away to
be alone, so he could pray. Now notice, that often,
you known what that means? It means, this is not
like once in a lifetime. This is a habit. Jesus' prayer life was habitual. It was regular, it was continual. He often slipped away to
be alone so he could pray, that's why he was always
aware of God's presence. Now let me just ask you
a very blunt question. How often do you slip away
to pray during your day? Huh? How often do you slip away
to pray during your day? Might your day go better if
you developed that habit? To slip away and pray during your day? I mean, if Jesus felt the need to slip away and pray during his day, how much do we need it? Let me summarize what
I'm trying to say here. You miss the gifts of God
when you fail to get with God. You miss the gifts of God
when you fail to get with God. If I'm too busy for God I'm out
of God's will, I'm too busy. It is not God's will for
me to be too busy for God. On the other hand, let
me give you a little tip. You'll get more done here
and there and everywhere, if you pause between for prayer. Sandwich prayer between
here, there and everywhere, and when you sandwich
prayer between those, you'll have more success in your life. You'll get more done. Now, we all need quiet times to reflect, and to renew, and to recharge. It was Pascal the famous
French philosopher who said, most of man's problems come
from his inability to sit still. Can you sit still and be aware in prayer? Psalm 46 says, "Be still
and know that I am God." So when we look at the life of Christ, we know he knew who he was,
he knew what his purpose was, and he was always aware of God's presence because he had the mind of Christ. When you get the mind of Christ, you'll have those things, too, and you're always aware
that God is with you. Now let me give you fourth. When I have the mind of Christ, I let God help me choose my words. Would you write that down? When you have the mind of Christ, when you're thinking like Jesus, you do what Jesus did,
and what did Jesus do? He let God help him choose his words. Jesus says, I don't
speak without thinking, I don't just run off at the mouth. I ask God to help me say the right words. Do you do that? Do you ask God to help
you manage your mouth? Here's an amazing verse in
John chapter 12, verse 49. Jesus says this. "I have not spoken on my own." "Instead, the Father who sent me" "tells me what I should say,
and how I should say it." Would you circle that? Instead he said, I don't ever talk, when I speak, I don't
speak of my own volition. He said, I saw what the
Father sent me to say. And I say, he told me what I should say, and not only told me what I should say, he told me how I should say it. Question. Do you think you would
have happier relationships if you let God the Father tell you what to say and how to say it? Undoubtedly. Would you have less conflict
with other people in your life if you let God tell you what
to say and how to say it? No doubt about it. Now listen, if you find your mouth
frequently gets you into trouble, the antidote is to learn
to think like Jesus. Put on the mind of Christ. Because Jesus says, when
you have the mind of Christ, God tells you what to
say and how to say it. All right? Number five. When I learn to think like Jesus and I have the mind of Christ, I don't worry about pleasing everyone. Now this is gonna be a big one, because some of you are people-pleasers, and they dominate your life,
they control your life, you're always worried about
what will other people think? And because you're always
worried about what other people think, you can't be
what God wants you to be. But if you put on the mind of Christ, if you learn to think like Christ, which is what we're
gonna teach you how to do in this series, how to think like Christ, then you won't worry
about pleasing everybody. Instead, like Jesus, you will
only focus on pleasing God. See, Jesus was never
manipulated by crowds, or by the approval or the
disapproval of anybody else. He lived for an audience of one. And when you have the mind of
Christ, that's what you do. You live for an audience
of one, you go, well, look at this verse, John 5 verse 30. Jesus said, "I only try to
please the one who sent me." Wouldn't that simplify life? If the reason why you're stressed out is you're trying to please everybody, and about the time you
get crowd A pleased, crowd B gets ticked off at you. Jesus said, "I only try to
please the one who sent me." That simplifies life. If God likes what I'm doing,
I'm doing the right thing. Now obviously Jesus did a good job, because in Matthew chapter
three verse 17, God says, "this is my son in whom
I am well pleased". I love him, and I'm well pleased with him. So obviously Jesus was doing it right. Now let me give you a little secret, and you already know this,
but I wanna just remind you. The truth is, you can't please everybody. Even God can't please everybody. Right now somebody's
praying for it to be sunny, somebody's praying for it to rain. Somebody wants snow,
somebody doesn't want snow, somebody wants their team to
win, and on the other side of the ball field the other
team wants their side to win. They're both praying to God,
saying God, make my team win. You can't please everybody. As a pastor, I'm acutely aware of the
fact that I am always, every second of my life,
disappointing somebody. Why, because you can't please everybody. Now Jesus said it in
Luke chapter 16 verse 13 he says this, "no one
can serve two masters." You'll either hate the one, love the, so you gotta decide
who you gonna live for? You gonna live for God's approval or other peoples' approval? You gonna live for what
other people think, or what God thinks? When you have the mind of Christ, listen. You will be so secure in your
identity and in your purpose, and in God's presence in your life, you won't need to look to
other people for validation. When you're always looking for
validation from other people, it means you don't really
realize who you are, what God made you to do, and
that he's always with you. Jesus never let approval, never let fear of rejection control him. He said I'm not out to
win a popularity contest. In fact at one point in the Bible, John chapter eight I think it's verse 18, Jesus said he didn't
need or he didn't depend on other peoples' opinions
to validate himself. He goes, I don't need it to validate me. So let me ask a very personal question. Whose approval are you
depending on for your happiness? Whose approval are you depending on? Well you know, I'd be happy if. The truth is, nobody can pressure you
without your permission. And so the fifth thing, I don't
worry about pleasing others, is the result of learning
to have the mind of Christ. Now let me give you the sixth mark of learning to think like Jesus,
having the mind of Christ. This is a big one. I depend on God's power instead of my own. When I have the mind of Christ, I depend on God's power instead of my own. I don't know if you realize all
the verses I'm sharing today are direct quotes of Jesus Christ. These are powerful words
coming from our savior himself. Not about Christ, but they're actually the
quotes of Jesus himself. And in John chapter five
verse 19, Jesus says this. "I assure you that the son
can do nothing by himself." Jesus said, I can't do anything on my own. He said he can only do what
he sees his father doing. Now if Jesus Christ was that dependent on God the Father's
power, aren't you and I? He said, I don't do anything of myself, I don't do anything on my own power, of my own volition, of my own will, of my own initiative, I do
what God wants me to do, and I just wait for the Father to tell me. So how do you know? How do you know if you're
trying to do everything on your own human power alone? Well, it's real simple. You're tired all the time. And the reason you're tired all the time is because you're trying to do
everything on your own power instead of doing it on God's power. Human energy runs out,
human power runs out. We'll look at this again. Every one of these, I'm just
giving you a quick overview because we're gonna do an
in-depth, detailed study of each of these aspects
of the mind of Christ. Let me give you the seventh. The seventh mark of having
the mind of Christ is this. I forgive my enemies,
and those who hurt me. If you're gonna learn to think like Jesus, you're going to have to
learn to forgive your enemies and the people who've hurt
you, those who've hurt you. This is a hallmark of Jesus Christ. It makes him different
from every other leader, religious leader or otherwise, in history. I mean, you know this, even
on the cross, Jesus prayed, in Luke chapter 23 verse 34, he says, "Father, forgive them" they don't know what they're doing. He's hanging on the cross,
he's in agony and pain. Blood is draining the life out of him. And while he's standing there, the very people who nailed
him to the cross, he says, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. That's the mind of Christ. That's what it means to think like Jesus. To be willing to forgive
the people who've hurt you. Who has hurt you the most in life? Who are you holding a grudge against? Who are you keeping back
and you won't let them go? You're holding on to the pain? When you hold on to hurt,
who are you hurting? You're only hurting yourself. You need to forgive that person, not 'cause they deserve
it, 'cause they don't, and neither do you, but
you've been forgiven by God. You forgive that person
because you don't wanna hold on to the pain, you don't
wanna hold on to the hurt, you don't wanna hold on to the resentment. Being unforgiving is like
taking poison in your own life and drinking it, hoping
that it kills them. Jesus said, Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing. But here's the thing, he never
stops with just forgiveness. He goes even further. He pushes it to the limit. He gives a radical statement and he says, not only do you have to forgive
the people who've hurt you, if you're gonna learn to think like me. He said, you gotta learn
to return good for evil. Look at this next verse. Matthew chapter five verse 44. "Love your enemies," "bless those who curse you," "do good to those who hate you," "and pray for those which despitefully" "use you and persecute you." Now I want you to circle
the verbs in that. Okay, look at that. Circle love, I have to love my enemies. He says bless, circle
bless, I gotta bless those who don't bless me but they curse me. I've gotta do good to those who hate me, and I've gotta pray for those who despitefully use me or persecute me. That's what it means to
have the mind of Christ. You say, well why would I do that? Because the mind of Christ,
thinking like Jesus, is the most healthy way to live, it's the most healing way to live, it's the most happy way to live, it's the most whole and
holistic way to live. To have the mind of Christ. If you don't have the mind of Christ, you're gonna have the mind of the devil. You're gonna have the mind of the world. What's that gonna do for you? Leave you in pain. All right, let's move to
the next one, number eight. How do I, what does it look
like to have the mind of Christ? Well, when I have the mind of Christ, when I learn to think
like Jesus, number eight, I'm willing to sacrifice for others. I'm willing to sacrifice for others. Lot of people sacrifice for themselves, but if you're gonna be like Christ, you must be willing to sacrifice
for the benefit of others. In John 10 verses 14
and 15, Jesus says this. "I am the good shepherd..." "and I lay down my life for the sheep." I'm the good shepherd and I
lay down my life for the sheep, that phrase lay down my life
means, I give up my life. I sacrifice myself for the
benefit of other people, that's what it means to think like Jesus. In fact he says many
other times in scripture, that he came to serve,
he came to sacrifice, he came to give. In Mark 10:45, the next
verse, he says this. "I came here not to be served," not to be served, "but to serve others," "and to give my life
as a ransom for many." Now that verse right there, friends, summarizes the heart of Christianity. I want you to circle two verbs. To serve, and to give. Following Jesus is all about
learning to serve others, and to give our lives away for
the benefit of other people. Jesus once said, it is only
in giving your life away that you'll ever really know
what it means to fully live. You say, well I know Jesus sacrificed because he's the son of God,
he's the savior of the world. I'm not the savior of the world, I shouldn't have to lay down
my life for other people. You know, it doesn't matter. Because if you're gonna
learn to think like Jesus, you're gonna have to
learn to sacrifice, too. And if you're gonna be like Jesus, he's gonna take you through
everything he went through. You probably know the most
famous verse in the Bible. It's John 3:16. John 3:16, everybody
could probably quote it. "For God so loved the world" "that he gave his only begotten son" "that whoever believes in
him should not perish," "but have everlasting
life", very famous verse. God so loved the world that he gave. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. God says loving and giving go together. Now. You know John 3:16. Do you know First John 3:16? That's another little book toward the end of the New Testament written by the same guy, John the Apostle, who was the author of
John, the Book of John. He also wrote three little letters, First, Second and Third John. Now you know John 3:16,
God so loved the world, but do you know First John 3:16? It talks about our responsibility. And he says there, "this is how we know
what love is", real love. This is how we know. That "Jesus Christ laid
down his life for us", remember, I'm the good
shepherd, I lay down my life. "Jesus laid down his life for us," "and we ought to lay down
our lives for each other." Whoa. That's a whole new understanding of what it means to follow Christ. That's a whole new understanding of what it means to be a believer. A whole new understanding of what it means to be part of a church family. It says we ought to lay down
our lives for each other. That's what it means to
have the mind of Christ. That's what it means to think like Jesus. That just as God so loved
the world that he gave, we ought to lay down our
lives for each other. All right? Let me give you a couple more. The ninth characteristic of
learning to think like Jesus is this. I wanna do God's will, not mine. When I think like Christ, when
I have the mind of Christ, then I wanna be like Christ,
and what was Christ like? He wanted to do God's will, not his own. And all through scripture, Jesus says this over and over again. Let me show you a couple verses. In John 6 verse 38 he says this. "I came to do what God wants me to do," "not to do what I wanna do." Whoa, whoa, whoa. Do you realize what a radical, counterculture statement that is? I mean, almost no one says this today. I'm alive to do what God wants me to do, not what I wanna do. No no, we all wanna say, I
wanna do what I wanna do. I wanna do it when I wanna do it, and I wanna do it where I wanna do it, and I wanna do it with
whomever I wanna do it with, and it's a very self-centered. Today, it's all about me,
I wanna do what I wanna do. Not many people are saying,
I came to give my life away. I came to do for others, I
came to serve and to give. Instead we're saying, I
gotta do what's best for me. Look at this verse. John chapter 14 verse 31, Jesus says, "I want the world to know
that I love the Father". Now let me just stop right there. Do you want the world to
know that you love God? I mean really, do you
want the world to know that you love God? Jesus says, I want the world
to know that I love the Father. That is why, here's the reason. "That is why I do everything" "exactly as the Father tells me to do." He says, I obey God
precisely, I obey God exactly. What the Father asks me to do, I do exactly what he says
to do, because I love him. Jesus said if you love me,
you keep my commandments. Obedience is an evidence of love. I do everything exactly as
the Father tells me to do, why, because I love the Father. Now, it's easy to do
what God tells you to do when it's easy, and it's easy
to do what God tells you to do when it's fun, when it's pleasurable. But what about those times when
God asks you to do something that might be painful? Might be painful. Well, that's included, too. The Bible says that God did not
spare his own son from pain, he let Jesus go to the cross. And if God didn't spare
his own son from pain, why should he spare me, or you? Why should I even assume that
God would spare us from pain? It's part of the plan. Now, to think like Jesus means
that I wanna do God's will, even when it's painful. Even when it's difficult. Even when it seems impossible, that's what it means to
have the mind of Christ. Now the supreme example of this, doing what God asks me to
do, even when it's painful, is Jesus, the night before
he is going to the cross. He is in the garden of Gethsemane, which is his favorite place to play. I've been to the garden of Gethsemane, it's a grove of very very old olive trees. Some of them right now, they
are over a thousand years old, and they're still there,
a thousand years old. And he would go to Gethsemane and pray, that was his regular place. And the night before he
was going to the cross, he's in agony knowing the pain, emotionally, physically, spiritually, he's gonna face the next day. With all of the six trials, three Roman, three Jewish trials, all the torture, all of the, the crown of thorns, the being spit on, the being hit, beaten, scourged 40 times with a whip,
and then nailed to the cross. He knows not just the physical pain, but the emotional pain
and the pain of carrying all the sins of the world,
the guilt and shame of that. And in Gethsemane, Jesus says
that he wants to do God' will, not his own, even if it's painful. In Mark chapter 14 verse 36, Jesus says these very famous words. By the way, this is called
the Gethsemane Prayer, and it's the prayer you should
pray anytime you're in pain. There are three parts to it. Jesus says, "Abba, Father",
now let me stop there. Remember, I've told you this before, Abba is the Aramaic word for father. But it's more than father,
it's the most intimate word, it literally means daddy. And it even sounds like
it, it's the first word a little child in the
Middle East learns, Abba, 'cause it's easy to say. Abba, Papa, Dada. Abba means daddy. And Jesus is crying out in agony, before he's going to the cross, and he says Papa, Daddy,
the most intimate term. "Abba, Father," "everything is possible for you." "Please take this cup",
it's a cup of suffering. "Please take this cup of
suffering away from me." Yet. Yet, notice. "I want your will to be done, not mine." Now friends, there will
be many times in life, it won't just happen once, you're gonna have a Gethsemane experience. Where you're in pain, and you're hurting. And you're praying, and you'd like relief. And when you are in
pain and you're hurting and you don't know what God's will is, God's will was for Jesus
to go to the cross. Not to relieve his pain, but
to let him go through that pain in order for the good of other people. And sometimes you suffer
for the benefit of others, that's called redemptive suffering. And any time you're in major pain, it is appropriate to pray the
garden of Gethsemane prayer. And there are three parts to it. The first part is faith. And Jesus says father, daddy, I know you have the power
to change this situation. And you can pray that, too. I don't know what kinda situation you're going through right now. It may be a financial problem,
or a relational problem, or a mental problem or
an emotional problem, or whatever kind of problem. You start off by saying, in faith, God, I know you've got
the power to change this. If he didn't have the
power to change this, you wouldn't be talking to him in prayer. So faith, you start out by saying God, I know you have the ability,
I know you have the power. Father, I know everything
is possible with you. That's what Jesus said. And then he said, I'm
asking for your help. I would like to be delivered from this. And it's appropriate for you to say, God, I'm asking for your help. I'm in a lot of pain right
now, and I'm asking for relief, and I'm asking for you to do a miracle. That's okay. I know you have the power to do it, and I'm asking you to do
it, to change the situation. Faith and asking, but the third part of the Gethsemane prayer is surrender. And he says really, Lord,
even though I'm asking for you to take away the pain,
to take away the hurt, to take away the tough time
I'm going through right now, I surrender to you, and
more than anything else, more than relief, I want
your will, not mine. Nevertheless, thy will be done, not mine. That's what Jesus said in
his hour of greatest crisis. Not my will but yours be done. And that, friends, is the mind of Christ. That takes an enormous amount of maturity, spiritual maturity, are
you willing to say this? God, I wanna do your will, not mine. I wanna do your will, not mine. That's the mind of Christ. Now notice in this next verse, Philippians chapter two,
verse eight and nine, these are the results of
having the mind of Christ. It says this, in Philippians
2, eight and nine. "Jesus humbled himself",
it was his choice, "and was fully obedient to God," "even when that caused
his death on a cross." He humbled himself, he's obedient to God, even when it caused death on a cross. So, here's the result,
because he humbled himself, "God exalted him." And God "raised him up
to the highest place," "and made his name greater
than every other name." The name of Jesus is the greatest
name all around the world, and it will be forever and ever in heaven. Why, because when he
humbled himself, God says, God resists the proud but he
gives grace to the humble, he lifts you up. I don't know what you're
going through right now and you may be going through something that's pretty humiliating. But if you will humble
yourself before God, he will lift you up in due time, there's promise after promise
about that in the Bible. All right, finally,
the 10th characteristic of learning to think like Jesus, and having the mind of Christ, is this. "I think with an eternal perspective." When you get the mind of Christ, when you begin to think the way Jesus does about your past, your
present, your future, about God, about life, about death, about sin and salvation,
about your friends, about the rewards in
heaven, about your future, about your confidence, all these, when you begin to get the mind of Christ and think the way Jesus does, you start thinking with
an eternal perspective. All of a sudden you realize
there's more to life than just here and now. You see, this was how Jesus
was able to handle pain. And listen, this is how you
will be able to handle pain. What is unbearable is
pain without purpose. But human beings can stand
enormous amount of pain if they can A, see a purpose in the pain, and B, see a reward past the pain. That's exactly what Jesus did
when he went to the cross, he looked past the pain. He was in excruciating pain,
but he looked past the pain to the reward in heaven, he
had an eternal perspective. He wasn't just looking
at the here and now. If you're just looking
at the here and now, you're gonna get discouraged and give up, you're gonna get depressed. But Jesus looked past the
pain to the reward in heaven. And he valued that eternal
reward far more important than the temporary
pleasure on earth, do you? The only way you're gonna make it through the toughest times in
life that you go through is to look past the pain
to the reward in heaven. Hebrews chapter 12 verse two says this. "Jesus was willing to die a
shameful death of the cross". Why? "Because of the joy he knew
would be his afterwards." Circle that, star that, underline it. He was able to endure the
shameful pain on the cross because he knew of the joy
that would be his afterwards. We're talking about an eternity
in heaven forever and ever. And now, where is he, he's in heaven, "he is seated in the
place of highest honor" "beside God's throne in heaven." Learning to think like Jesus, we're just gone through a
real quick list of 10 things, and I did this because this
is what we're gonna look at in depth as part of learning
to rethink your life. It's time to rethink your life. Last week I mentioned that
there's a word I wanna recover. It's the word repentance. That today the word repentance
has become a negative term, it's actually a violent term. We think of it as people
beating people over the head with it, repent, turn or
burn, you're going to hell! It's a negative term. But I wanna reclaim the word, because it's the most positive word. Repentance remember is the word metanoia. Meta means to change
in Greek, and reverse. Noia comes from the word noose or mind. Repentance just means change your mind. You change your mind
from darkness to light, you change your mind from hell to heaven, you change your mind from
guilt to forgiveness, you change your mind to
being in prison to freedom. You change your mind from
no purpose to purpose, from meaninglessness to meaning. You change your mind from stress
to serenity, and on and on, it's the most positive
change in the world, repentance, to change your mind. And what does it mean to
have the mind of Christ? I repent, and I say, I'm
not gonna think about life the way I've thought about it for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years, I'm gonna begin to think
about it the way Jesus did, that's called repentance. I'm gonna put on the mind of Christ. It's the healthiest, happiest,
wholest way to think. You say well, how do I do that, Rick? How do I learn to think like Jesus? Well we're gonna look at that
in detail in future sessions, and so I don't want you to
miss any of these sessions. But let me just quickly as
I'm wrapping it up here, mention two ways that you can,
and we'll come back to these. If you wanna learn to think like Jesus, first, you gotta study his
life and words in the Bible. Study his life and words in this book. This word, the Bible says
the truth will set you free. Hebrews 12 verse two, I love
it in The Message paraphrase, says this. "Keep your eyes on Jesus," "who both began and
finished the race we're in," life is called a race, we're
all in a marathon race. And then he says, "study how he did it." Study how Jesus did it, study
how he ran the race of life. The more you study this book, the more you're gonna
get the mind of Christ, the more you're gonna
learn to think like Jesus. You gotta study his life and words if you wanna have the mind of Christ. The happy, healthy, holy way to live. The second thing, we'll come back to these
in future sessions, is to ask God to show me
the meaning of a text, and how it applies to my life today. I read the verse and then I
say God, what does this mean, and how does it apply to my life today? A good verse on this is Psalm
119 verse 18 that says God, "open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your word". Open my, as I read the
Bible, I pray this verse, Psalm 199:18, many many
times in quiet time, say God, as I'm sitting down to the Bible, open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your word. The Bible calls this illumination. It is the job of God's
holy spirit to illuminate. So as I read the Bible, I need
not only to read the Bible, I need God's word and
I need the Holy Spirit in my life to illuminate it. John 16 verse 15, Jesus said this. "The spirit will take
from what I have to say" "and make it known to you." Do you realize that this is the only book where you can talk to the
author while you're reading it? The spirit will take what I have to say, what Jesus has said in the Bible, and will make it known to you. If you will trust GOd's word, and you'll depend on God's holy spirit, your mind will begin to change. You'll begin to work on these 10 different character qualities or characteristics of a mind shaped by Jesus Christ. And what will that do,
it'll bring revival. Revival to your soul, to
your heart, to your work, to your home, to your friendships,
to your relationships, to your marriage, to your parenting, to everything that's
possible in your life. And that's what we're
praying, that as we repent, as we change our minds,
as we rethink our lives, it's time to rethink your life. You've been living on one pattern, on one script for too long. It's time to rethink your life. And if you missed the first
message, go watch that one on the nine pillars of
how God changes our mind, and then take this as a guide
for where we're gonna go in the weeks ahead, of what
it means to think like Jesus. I'd like to pray for you as we close, would you bow your heads with me? Father I wanna thank you
for our church family. And I pray that you will raise up an entire new generation of
people who think like Jesus. Today, the minds of
people have been darkened by sin and sickness
and sadness and sorrow, and secularization, and
so many different things, and our world is in a mess right now Lord. And we need men and women
who are thinking like you. Lord, only changed people
can change the world. So start with us. Start with us, change us, as you transform our minds as
we change the way we think. And I pray that in the days
ahead as we look in detail at how to have the mind of Christ, in humble obedience,
and in courageous faith, and in all these different qualities that we looked at here
just today as an overview. I'm praying that you'll
transform all of us into Godly leaders that
can make a difference in our world for the glory of God. And I pray that this week, that everybody in the sound of my voice will have a clearer understanding of their identity, who
you made them to be. Of their purpose, what you
put them on earth to do. Of your presence, that
you're always with us. Of your values, that we spend our time on things that are gonna last forever, not on things that aren't
gonna last forever. Most important, Lord, we wanna know you. With our heads still bowed, if there's somebody here, you've
never invited Jesus Christ into your life, there's no
way you can think like Jesus if you don't have Jesus in your life. Let me say that again, there's
no way you'll ever be able to think like Jesus unless
you've got him in your life. So pray this simple
prayer, dear Jesus Christ, come into my life and change me. Make me what you want me to be. Make me the person, teach me
to learn to think like you. I wanna love you and learn to trust you. Father, I pray for every person, may they hear your voice in their mind. May they see the incredible
potential of their lives as they are given to you, as they surrender them, to
learn the mind of Christ. And I pray this blessing, and this whole series will bless us. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. - Thanks for checking out
this message on YouTube. My name is Jay, and I'm
Saddleback's online pastor. I wanna invite you to take your next step by checking out our online community, or help get you connected to
a local Saddleback campus. Three things we have
to offer you right now. First, learn more about
belonging to a church family by taking Class 101. Second, don't live life alone, and get into community with others by joining an online small group, or a local home group in your area. Third, join our Facebook
group to be more engaged with our online community
throughout the week. Take your next step and
learn where a local campus is near you by visiting
Saddleback.com/online, or email online@saddleback.com. Hope to hear from you soon.
