Last Sunday, we looked into how each of us are here for a Purpose and a Plan by Gods divine nature. But its more incumbent on us to know and understand even though we all were made in Gods image, we need to also acquire the same Godly principle by having the Same Mind, Same Purpose as our Heavenly Father, even amongst our fellow man.
In knowing God has a purpose and plan for each of us, now we need to look further into the realm of living what God has designed for us to do. Without a doubt, one of the very things Christ calls us to do, is to be like Him. Having the same goal, same purpose and same mind as His. I do believe with all my heart, as scripture tells us, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
In A.W. Tozers book “The Pursuit of God,” he wrote this statement: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So, one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
It’s a very amazing thing what happens when like-minded people come together to get something accomplished, especially for the moral good. I am reminded from Pauls letter to the romans, “Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty [arrogant] in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.” We just celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and just think how like minded people came together for the greater good and help change the stigma of what the world teaches. This same principle that was up for question in so many minds, has now become a new reformed precept that is in place for future generations. All because those whom had the same mind, same purpose came together. A leader cannot lead unless there are others involved.
So let us start our Journey from reading Pauls first letter to the people of Corinth in discussion about the sound truth that all of those who know Christ as their savior will learn and portrait as being His disciple. “For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” or “I am with Cephas,” or “I am with Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided?
What I would like for you to gather from this reading and from what Paul is saying, is notice the ‘quarrels’ amongst the Church; a division. Unity and oneness have been damaged or lost even. The sting of a separation amongst Gods people is at hand. I cannot help but to think how even today, we are witnessing this firsthand. Now the quarrel is not whos in charge of the Pot Luck meal, or what color curtains church should have, or who takes charge of this or that. It’s a significant charge Paul is exclaiming. In this quarrel, the Greek word used here is (er'-is) which means contention, strife, wrangling, a readiness to quarrel (having a contentious spirit), affection for dispute. Basically, no matter how minute the matter is, having a disagreement about something went above and beyond the bar. It was not Godly to do.
In Paul’s letter, you can see one part of the quarrel is that they each was identifying themselves as being Godly in the sense of saying they were taught from one of the apostles, and even Christ. Paul was not convinced. Paul saw their fruit which he made a clear statement, “Is Christ divided?” Basically if you claim to be of God by following Him; if you have Gods mind and purpose, why are you divided? Where are your minds, your maturity in Christ Jesus?
When Orel Hershiser was in his first season as a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had great talent but had not been able to translate that into success on the field. Early in the 1984 season he was struggling with his control. Finally Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda called the young pitcher into his office for a verbal confrontation that Hershiser later referred to as “The Sermon on the Mound.”
Lasorda told Hershiser that he was capable of much better work than he was doing and that he owed it to the team to reach his potential. Hershiser took the rebuke to heart and approached the game with a new attitude. He went on to win and award as baseball’s best pitcher in 1988 while leading the Dodgers to the World Series title. If Hershiser had not responded properly to his manager’s rebuke, it is doubtful that he would ever have achieved such success or helped his team so much.
Think about it friends, the Christian church, that includes you and me, should be the center of unity scattered throughout all the world until mankind is brought into the unity of the faith that is found only in Christ Jesus with the glorious liberty and abundant hope. But what do we see today; spiritual partisanship which seems to run all over the place. In our world, our nation, our streets and even our homes. Separation and division all because we all are not following the same guide, the same authority; and all the while creating our own gods of the world.
Being of the same mind and same purpose even goes back to the true story in the conversion of Emperor Constantine to the Christian faith. As the story goes, the night before going to battle at Milvian Bridge, Constantine prayed for success. Then in the afternoon sky: a bright cross with the words By this sign conquer shined before him. It is also been told that Christ himself told Constantine in a dream to take the cross into battle as his standard. But what makes this story a remarkable example of having the mind of God, 44 years after Constantine’s death, the roman empire officially became a Christian nation. His mark that he left was in having to attempt to be like Christ, in doing so, even after his death, thousands of roman citizens was transformed, and the once pagan nation converted to follow Christ. To me, it is absolutely clear, and I hope to you as well, that Nature FORMS us, Sin, DEFORMS us, Education INFORMS us, Prison REFORMS us, but only Jesus TRANSFORMS us! In the paradox of Christianity, the cross that we all should know very well, both divides and unifies. The cross sets believers apart from the unbelieving world while uniting them with all the children of God; or as Pauls letter to the people of Galatia tells us “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters.” This is having the same mind and same purpose God has imposed upon us to take hold, nurture and then scatter like seeds throughout the whole earth. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus told the parable of the farmer scattering seeds. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. Notice it says, cling to it, Gods words, Gods ways. This means to have the same mind and same purpose as God does, even amongst each other. Never let go!
Having the Godly mind with the same purpose, is our responsibility as Christians knowing what NOT to do as Paul declared to the people of Corinth. If you are divided, is Christ then divided? So, if Christ is not divided, why are you?
Being divided as Paul declares, we see very clear in todays world. Regardless of how you look at it, it is never a good thing to have a divided mind. I wanted to bring some tips to the surface that would help each of us remember, learn and grow in the same Spirit that God gave us, and the same Spirit we each should house for ourselves to be humbled and exalt Christ. Let me first jump forward and read Pauls letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, which directly relates to Unity in having the same mind and same purpose.
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Wow! What a true testimony of what it means to be like Christ; to have the same mind and same purpose of God! You may be thinking, why is it really so important to be like minded with the same purpose with God? Let us listen to what Jesus said about the subject, in the Gospel of John ch. 17. “I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
Notice again, just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us. There is NO DIVISION here! Jesus clearly tells us to be like minded, as we are to be in Christ, and Christ in US. We should all be in one accord. In attempting friends for all of us to do better in serving God and one another in having the same mind and same purpose as God’s, lets review of what God is telling us to do, right now.
When we have the same mind, we find encouragement, strength and hope. We polish this step by knowing we can go directly to God the Father, ask for what we need and He will provide. In doing so, we have the encouragement which leads us into the next step in finding comfort in Gods Love. Just like a young child would cradle in the arms of their parent, so we can be nurtured into the everlasting arms of God, protected and shielded day by day. Then we also take the next step in fellowshipping together in the same Spirit. We learn by Gods grace what true fellowship is. Not of our making, but only having the likeness of Christ as we WANT to be unified. Next we exercise our hearts in being tenderhearted. This means to be easy to Love, be compassionate and eager to do good. Our desire is to have mercy, not sacrifice. Now we are well on the road to the ultimate goal in being wholeheartedly with each other by loving and working together with one mind and purpose which is to serve God and our fellow man. This also includes for us not to be selfish, not to impress others about what we do or who we are. We are to exercise humility while thinking of others more than ourselves, even take their interests onto our shoulders.
Let me see a smile friends! Smile knowing you have a genuine purpose on this earth, and knowing also we each can rest easy knowing when we are in Christ and Christ in us, we obtained the same mind and the same purpose as almighty God; we can accomplish anything! . Where could you go wrong? What actions or steps does God already know that he hasn’t already prepared a way for each of us? As God told the prophet Isaiah “I myself will prepare your way, leveling mountains and hills.” “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” Nothing is too great for God to do, especially in the lives of His children.
SO let us strive to be in the same mind with the same purpose by being like Christ in every way, always remember, it is by His strength, we can do all these things. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Amen.