Heart, As Well As Mind

Transcript

Alright, thank you very much and hello again, radio friends. How in the world are you? Yes, in the world but not of it. That’s the basis for that corny little greeting that starts us out day by day. You can be living in a sinful old world but not smeared by its iniquity. You and I were looking at Romans chapter 15. We were walking around in verses 5-7 the last time we got together. And I want to just to sort of nail down some of the truth that is there before we go on. Now he said, he designates God here as the God of patience. In verse 13, He’s called the God of hope.

In 2 Corinthians 1:3, He’s the God of all comfort. In Romans 15 verse 33, He’s called the God of peace. So it’s patience, hope, and peace in Romans 15. A beautiful combination, wouldn’t you say? But in this 5th verse, he says, “Now, may the God of patience and consolation” – that’s our word comfort — “the God of patience and comfort grant you to be likeminded one toward another right down along the same line as that of Christ Jesus.” What helps me get along with people with whom I may differ, huh?

What helps me get along with people with whom I may differ? It’s an experience of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, “according to Christ Jesus.” When He’s called Christ Jesus, this is always a reference to His Lordship. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is His human name; Christ is His divine Lordly Messiah name, the anointed One of God. So these chapters 14 and 15 now have dealt with the fact that people do differ and some people are weaker in their Christian faith than others and some people have compunctions and feelings about various types of procedures which they may or may not do.

And Paul says, “Receive people like that. Take them into your heart. Don’t argue with them.” And now he’s winding up this discussion and he’s saying that the God of patience and comfort will make you and me likeminded one toward another. Now, in the Greek New Testament, he says “The God of patience,” “upomonês” — stay down or don’t give up or blow up — “and comfort,” “paraklêseôs” — the called alongside to help — He’s the one that comes alongside to help — give to you the same mind toward each other — right down along the same line as the Lordship of Christ in order that with one mouth and one mind you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord, the Lord of us, Jesus Christ.

That’s a literal translation there. What does he do? People who differ with me I can find a basis for interacting with them when I specialize, I can find a basis for interacting with people who differ with me when I specialize in the Lordship of Christ. The Lordship of Christ, when He is Lord of my life and when He is Lord of your life, we’re going to have the same mind toward Him, aren’t we? And we are going to want to glorify Him – verse 6 “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God.”

And then we are going to want to open our hearts to each other and receive each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. That’s the process. Small thought here, Paul designates our Lord as the God of patience and comfort. He’s the God of patience and comfort. The verse just before that in verse 4 of Romans 15, he says the Scriptures were given for our learning that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. “Now,” he said, “may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be likeminded toward one another right down along the line of the Lordship of Christ.”

Do you see any connection there between those two verses? The deeper you get into the Word of God, the better you’re going to know the God of patience and comfort and the deeper you get into the Word of God, and thus, get to know the God of patience and comfort better, the more you’re going to recognize the Lordship of Christ and the more you recognize the Lordship of Christ, the more you’re going to want to reach out and take into your heart, so to speak, others, who also recognize him as Lord. Now if that sounds too simple when you see the points of disagreement that you have in matters of procedure, just dare to trust your blessed Lord as you trusted Him for salvation.

Colossians 2:6 says “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk ye”, -that means live every day — “in Him.” The principle is the same. The principle of living for Christ is the same as the principle of trusting Christ for salvation. In each case, it’s commitment of yourself and the situation to Him. So if it seems too simple, what I just said to you, you try it. You dare to commit yourself and the situation to your Lord Jesus Christ and see the difference it makes in interpersonal situations.

For one thing, it takes out the resentment that you and I may feel against others who differ with us. Have you ever been in a committee meeting and someone took a position opposite from yours? Didn’t you feel that little gravelly feeling toward him or her? Yes, you did. That was resentment because it’s a kind of an affront, isn’t it, when somebody dares to disagree with you? It’s a kind of a personal affront. And one of the things that you have to learn in management is not to get offended when somebody disagrees with you because it’s not that they don’t like you necessarily, although they may dislike you, but it’s not necessarily so that they don’t like you, it is that they disagree on a matter of procedure or principle.

You see, you have to learn that. But the human nature factor is that when somebody dares to disagree with us, we do feel resentful and it shows up and that then destroys the fellowship between two people, isn’t that so? Now, what happens, then, you see is that the God of patience and comfort makes us likeminded one toward another according to the Lordship of Christ when you acknowledge the Lord Jesus as Lord of all of your life including your thinking about whatever the issue may be at the moment.

And I acknowledge the Lord Jesus as Lord of my life including my thought processes and my thinking about whatever is being discussed at the moment. When Christ is Lord of the situation, Lord of the committee meeting, Lord of the business meeting, Lord of the budget, Lord of the family conclave – when Christ Jesus is Lord, we do get together and we are then likeminded, that is to say we have the same mindset. We may still disagree on what color to paint the boiler room of the church or whatever it may be, we may still disagree on procedure, but we’re not going to fight over it and there will be a way to work it out lovingly because Jesus is Lord.

This is one of the most dynamic principles that you will find in the Word of God. Now, what’s the objective? To glorify God, the objective is not to win the argument; the objective is that our blessed Lord should get the glory. And you see everything depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. If you and I are trying to win arguments, well then, we’ll take one tack. But if we’re trying to make sure that the blessed Lord Jesus is glorified, that people point to Him and say “what a wonderful Savior,” well then, you see, there’ll be an entirely different approach to it.

I was invited to speak at a dinner where they were trying to raise money for a sanctuary of a local church. And I must say my own heart was tremendously blessed as I saw the warmth and love and friendliness and obvious commitment to our Lord that was exhibited by these 800 or so people. And as the evening went on, I made my speech, gave a talk based upon the Word of God to challenge the dear folk. The pastor presented the plans for the building of a new sanctuary. The total program was going to amount to up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, close to a million dollars, I guess.

He presented the plan. They then prayed a prayer of faith. They believed God for what was going to happen and then they took up the faith offering with people making pledges and cash contributions and then there was a time of remarks and musical numbers while the faithful elders and stewards or whatever they were tallying up the offering. And when it was over, these dear people had given over $300,000 that one night. I was delighted and I thought “what a great congregation this must be to minister to.”

The pastor got up and said, “Now, let’s remember, this isn’t our church and this isn’t our offering that we gave – God did it. Let’ give Him all the glory”. And so they spent some moments just praising and thanking God. A holy sense of awe and worship filled my soul as I saw these 800 people, just all of them worshiping and praising the Lord in song and in prayer over a period of several minutes for what He had done. Oh, I think that’s what we’re talking about, beloved, “that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God.”

It’s to glorify our Lord that has to be the objective of all of our relationships with others. And it comes from the Scriptures that the Scriptures were written that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Patience, comfort, and hope. “Now,” he says, “the God of patience,” you get acquainted with God in the Scriptures, he becomes then to you the God of patience and comfort. And what happens is that your mindset — the things for which you are willing to die, so to speak — your mindset and that of another believer become one because you want to honor and glorify your Lord Jesus Christ. Beautiful truth, isn’t it?

Dear Father today, help us to be of the same mind because we have the same Lord, Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!