Of One Mind

Transcript

Alright. Thank you very much. And hello again, radio friends. How in the world are you? You doing alright? [chuckle] Oh, I’m fine. I feel great. I have no complaints whatsoever. Thanks be to God, Which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. I’m trusting in the merits of His precious shed blood. I’m taking by faith the righteousness that He offers me. And I’m breathing every breath in the knowledge that God’s keeping me alive for a reason. And here I am to share with you some precious things from the Word of God. This is your good friend, Bob Cook, and I’m grateful for the privilege, believe me, that is afforded through these many radio stations, of sharing the Word of God.

Our Lord Jesus prayed in His prayer, He said, “I want them all to be one.” And you and I were talking about that oneness, weren’t we? And Paul said in Philippians 2, verse 2, “That you be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind.” We got as far as that phrase “of one accord.” ‘Sumpsuchos’ is the Greek word for it. The same soul. The same soul.

Now, has Jesus done anything to the soulish part of your life? See, it’s nobody’s business, but yours and God’s. I don’t mean to pry. You know that. But I want us to face that question- what do I enjoy? What really, as the kids used to say, sends me? [laughter] What is it that I really like? That I really enjoy, so far as… This is not talking about mental cogitation now, but things that just bless you on a soulish basis: Music, art, culture, so on, and so on.

Now, is it wrong to enjoy the great musical classics, the operas, the symphonies, the concerts, the paintings, the art museums? Is it wrong to enjoy athletics- the football, the baseball, the tennis, the basketball, the wrestling, the track, all the Olympic sports? Is it wrong really to enjoy that and to get excited about it? No. Paul used athletic illustrations all through his letters. He was interested in athletics. He talked about boxing, “So fight I, not as one who’s shadow boxing.” He talked about running the race. “Run the race. Shed the weights and run the race.” He talked about being in the arena like the gladiators. Yeah, he was interested in sports. Anything wrong with that? No.

Well, then, Bob Cook, what’s the point of all this? The point is that your enjoyment of soulish things should be always under the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are some things that please your soul that don’t please God. You know what they are. And you wanna stay away from them.

But there are other things that you can appreciate. The beauty of a fall day with nature putting on her finest color show. The still, still, sacred beauty of the dawning. The soul-satisfying beauty of a lovely sunset. The song of a solitary song sparrow someplace out in the outdoors. There are a lot of things in this old world that can just lift your soul. And at that point, if Jesus is Lord, you’re gonna thank Him for that. He and you are going to share the beauties of that, which has stimulated your psyche, your soul.

Learn to share the little enjoyments of life with Jesus. Walking with God is not just going to church on Sunday, and memorizing verses, and conforming to a certain code of conduct. Walking with Jesus means sharing all of life with Him, including all those little enjoyments and, I may say, irritations. There are a lot of things that you have to do in a day that you don’t enjoy doing. You’ve got a little baby at your house, and every now and again, that little chassis needs a removable seat cover. And I’m sure, mother, that you don’t say, when nature calls, “Oh, goodie. I have the privilege of changing that diaper.” [laughter] Sometimes you say, “Oh, no. Not again,” [chuckle] don’t you? So there are a lot of things in life, that we don’t really rejoice about, but everything in life can be shared with your Lord Jesus Christ.

And mother, while you’re changing that little seat cover, you might do well to whisper a prayer, and say, “Oh, God, let this child grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Let this child be spiritually clean.” Yeah? Do some praying while you’re performing life’s little drudgeries. Good idea? Yeah.

So all of this grew out of the question of, what happens to your soul when you get saved? Jesus wants to be Lord, not only of your spirit, not only of your mind, not only of your will, but Jesus wants to be Lord of your feelings. As a matter of fact, Paul telegraphs that thought in the first verse of Philippians 2. He says, “If there’s any consolation in Christ,” that’s soulish feelings, “If any comfort of love,” that has to do with your feelings, “If any fellowship of the Spirit,” and that has to do with your feelings, “If any compassion and mercies,” and that has to do with your feelings.

Jesus wants to be Lord of your feelings. Let Him be. Now, of course, I’m talking to somebody right now, who has the blues. You are so down, that you just have to reach up to touch bottom, don’t you? And you’re saying to yourself, “Cook doesn’t understand. Oh, if anything I hate, there’s somebody that’s so cheerful and he doesn’t know how bad I feel.” I know. I know. You’re down and you feel bad. Maybe you’re angry, because someone has hurt you deeply. Or maybe you’re confused, because someone has disappointed you. I don’t know how you feel today, beloved. I only know this. Jesus wants to be Lord of your feelings. Turn them over to Him. Turn how you feel this minute over to Jesus.

You know why I’m asking you to do that? The Bible says, “We have a high Priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He was in all points tested like as we are, yet without sin.” He knows how you feel, beloved. Turn your feelings over to Him and let Him give you that blessed lift of Divine reassurance, and comfort, and joy, that comes when Jesus speaks peace to your heart. Well, somebody needed that. Whoever it was, bless your heart.

Alright, we’re talking about the same soul, being of one accord, ‘sumpsuchos,’ same psyche, joint soul, your soul, one with Jesus. And then He says, “Of one mind.” Now, He started with a concept having to do with the mind, “Fulfill my joy, that you be of the same mind.” But then He ends up with that same concept, just a little different set up, of one accord, of one mind. If you feel the same way about things, you are going to act the same way, right?

Let me give you a very simple illustration. You are in a building and someone says, “The building is on fire!” And you hear the fire alarm go off. Now, you are an individual human being. There are other individual human beings around you, but you all feel the same way about a building on fire. What is it? “I wanna get outta here.” And so you all go toward the exit, as quickly as you can. It doesn’t matter about your political configuration, doesn’t matter about what the color of your hair is, or the style of your dress, or the background of your education. You have the same feeling about something important and you act on it. You follow me? Now, this, I think, is what God is asking of you and of me.

Eternal matters are dreadfully important. Eternal matters, eternal truths, eternal issues, sin, and salvation, holiness, and righteousness, and evangelism, and compassion, and love. These are eternal values and eternal issues. They are forever important. So, if we are of one mind, that means we consider the same things to be important, and we, therefore, act in the same direction on that basis. Does that make sense to you? No, you don’t have to agree with everyone about everything. Of course not. But we do, as Christians. Jesus said, “I want them to be one.” What did He mean? “I want them to agree on eternal matters.” That’s where it’s at. I’m so sorry that we keep shooting ourselves in the foot, as we attack the wrong enemies, and we criticize each other, and we try vainly to save face in protecting our own turf. It’s a pity, isn’t it?

Let’s you and I, at least, specialize in eternal matters. Let the other person have his way in non-essentials. But let’s specialize in eternal matters, the infallible Word of God, the virgin birth of Christ, His sinless life, and His atoning death, and His bodily resurrection, and His ascension to Heaven, and the gift of the precious Holy Spirit, to implement the life of Christ in us in these days, and the second coming of Christ at the close of this age of grace, and the mandate for world evangelism on the part of the church, and the command to live a holy life, so as to demonstrate what Jesus can do. These are eternal values. Let’s agree on them. Amen? “Of one mind.”

Then He says, “You better have the same motives.” And I’m just going down into verse three of Philippians 2. This is a commentary on John 17, “Let nothing be done through strife,”- that means I gotta have my own way- “Or vainglory,” that means I have to look good, “But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves.” Oneness in Christ means oneness of motive. “That, in all things, He, Jesus, might have the preeminence.”

I preach every now and again, as you know, about once or twice a week on the average, and sometimes more. And whenever I go into that pulpit, or speak at a banquet, or whatever the occasion may be, I’m always praying, “Oh, God, let people say, ‘Jesus is wonderful.’ I want folk to go away bragging on Jesus.” And when I meet people, I pray everyday that when I meet people, they’ll remember Jesus, not Bob Cook. That’s where it’s at, beloved. “Motives under His control. One in motive.” What’s the motive? “That, in all things, He might have the preeminence.” Now, we could add some more of this the next time we get together.

Dear Father, today, may we be one in Jesus. I ask in His name, Amen.

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