Let This Mind Be in You Which Was Also in Christ Jesus, Part 2: Change in His Presence

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus is Paul’s call in Philippians 2, and in this second message on the passage Pastor Paul shows what it looks like to change according to the Word of God instead of the pressure of the world. He teaches that the mind of Christ is humble, serving and bold, that not every thought in our heads comes from God, and that real, lasting change happens in God’s presence.

He fills the teaching with stories from the church food pantry, a prayer in a store doorway and a fresh look at Peter walking on the water. Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, every Scripture he uses (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline and practical steps for the week ahead.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was posted on August 10, 2021, and was shared with the church in person, on Facebook Live and on the radio. Pastor Paul explains that he is preaching while Dr. Hohman is on the road for about a month, and that what God gave him lines up closely with Dr. Hohman’s recent teaching on change.

This is part two of a message he shared a couple of weeks earlier on the mind of Christ. He opens with prayer that the Word would stir every listener, produce much fruit and make the church doers of the Word.

Change According to the Word, Not the World

Pastor Paul begins with a simple claim: change is important. The world, he says, keeps telling the church to catch up with the times, to adapt and to evolve into believing things that do not line up with Scripture. His answer is that the more he knows the Word of God, the more he needs to be like Jesus and the less like the world.

That does not mean hating people. Believers are to love everybody, he says, while not loving the sin. He quotes John 3:16–17: God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and He did not send His Son to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. His job is to show the love of Christ in how he talks and acts, and if he is not doing that, he needs to change.

A believer is a new creation; old things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). Yet even after accepting Jesus, not every idea that comes into our head is a good idea. We cannot live by our feelings; we have to live by faith. As he puts it, we have jail cells filled with people who thought what they did was a really good idea at the time.

His test for any thought is a question: is that a thought God would put into my mind? If it pulls you away from the Word, the church or anything godly, it did not come from Him. Scripture tells us to cast down vain imaginations (2 Corinthians 10:5). Thoughts will come through media, the internet, friends or activities, but that does not mean we entertain them.

Instead, we meditate on what is pure, noble and of good report (Philippians 4:8). The world almost makes a game of sharing bad news; believers with the mind of Christ get to share what God is doing, even if it is simply thanking Him for each breath.

Let This Mind Be in You Which Was Also in Christ Jesus

Pastor Paul then reads Philippians 2:1–8, where Paul writes to the church at Philippi. The first three verses, he says, call us to be like-minded, to be of one mind, and to be lowly of mind: humble, not thinking of ourselves first but always considering others before ourselves. That may be hard, but the more we press in to be like Christ, the easier it gets.

Jesus made Himself of no reputation. He did not need spotlights or a microphone. People wanted to be near Him because of the presence on His life and because He was there to help them and tell them God loved them. If we have Christ in us, Pastor Paul says, we should be glowing with His love. Many times people have told him there is something different about him, and he credits that to Christ in him, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).

Verse 5 is the heart of the passage. He asks the congregation to tell their neighbor, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). When Satan says you are dumb, no good or ignorant, the answer is that God’s Word says you have the mind of Christ, and you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13).

Christ took the form of a bondservant, so we should too. Church, he says, is our training ground for serving, from the nursery and children’s ministry to sound, greeters, ushers and the worship team.

Jesus also humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death on the cross. Pastor Paul loves that it says He “became” obedient, because it shows change is a process. Believers will still stumble and make mistakes, but each time it is one step back into His loving arms of grace and mercy.

Bold Prayer in Everyday Places

The mind of Christ, Pastor Paul teaches, makes us bold to pray. He runs the church food pantry and always asks people how they are doing. The answers open a door: hospital visits, struggles, a car that will not run. Before handing out food he asks if he can pray. In all his years there, only one person has said no. He has seen people healed, family members come home from the hospital, and people receive jobs and vehicles.

He shares a recent praise report from a mother worried about her son, who had been spending time with friends who were putting ideas in his head. Pastor Paul prayed with her and told her the friendships were corrupting her son’s thinking, quoting the principle that evil company corrupts good habits (1 Corinthians 15:33). About a month later she called back: her son was changing, had stepped away from those friends, and she had not had to say a word. In her words, the prayer stuff just works.

He also describes going into a store with his dad, where a woman they knew had just spent three days in the hospital after passing out. Right in the doorway, with people squeezing past, they laid hands on her and his dad rebuked the enemy in Jesus’ name. She said she could feel the Holy Spirit. His dad’s comment was that when you show off God publicly, God shows up.

Pastor Paul’s point is that you do not need to be a professional to pray. You declare what the Word says: by His stripes we are healed (1 Peter 2:24), no weapon formed against us shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17), and He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Satan is bold, so believers need to be bolder.

Going off his notes, he recalls David facing Goliath while Israel’s army shook (1 Samuel 17:45–50). The giant was intimidating, as Satan is, but David knew his God from fighting the lion and the bear. Give God the opportunity, Pastor Paul says, and He will never disappoint.

Willing and Obedient: What Are You Sowing?

Pastor Paul returns to the idea that change requires willingness. Echoing Dr. Hohman, he says we cannot change unless we are willing to change, and none of us has arrived. That is why he needs more time in the Word, more prayer and more time in church as the day approaches (Hebrews 10:25).

Isaiah 1:19–20 says that if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land, but if you refuse and rebel, the outcome is very different. He sees no third option. You are either willing and obedient or refusing and rebelling. Excuses do not hold, because there are people in your sphere of influence that the pastor will never reach. The church gathers to build faith so everyone can go out.

Next he reads Galatians 6:7–10: God is not mocked, and whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. We are all farmers, he says. You cannot plant corn and expect pumpkins. If you sow complaint and negativity, that is what grows. If you sow goodness, love, joy and peace, that is what returns.

His summary of the two paths can be laid out side by side:

He has the church practice saying “How dare you, Satan,” because the devil is the one stirring the pot. Coming to church is sowing to the Spirit. Verse 10 tells us to do good as we have opportunity, so he challenges everyone to ask God daily to open their eyes and ears to every opportunity to be a blessing.

A good place to start, he says, is your pastor. Dr. Hohman prays for the church daily and seeks God for the word each week. He points to Psalm 105:15 and 1 Chronicles 16:22, which say not to touch God’s anointed ones or do His prophets harm, and asks the church to walk away from or answer anyone who speaks ill of their pastor.

Those Who Wait on the Lord

As a key to becoming willing and obedient, Pastor Paul turns to Isaiah 40:29–31. God gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength and mount up with wings like eagles. God gave him this verse while he was mowing the lawn, and it led him to the key: waiting on the Lord means coming into His presence.

Verse 30 says even the youths shall faint. He applies it to the Olympic Games, which had just ended: some athletes gave glory to God, while others credited only their own willpower. He notes that some of the most decorated athletes struggle deeply once their careers end, because they were living in their own strength. Believers know who leads them, like a tree planted by the rivers of water (Psalm 1:3).

In His presence, he says, is where change happens and where the garbage of this world melts away. That is why people leave church feeling so good, and why the mind of Christ grows in the presence of God. He also reads Matthew 11:25–30. Jesus had done mighty works in cities that refused to repent; they came to take but would not change. Pastor Paul recalls Oral Roberts being asked how many of the people healed in his meetings kept their healing; the answer, as he tells it, was about 40, because many people refuse to change and stay comfortable in their sin.

Then come three powerful words: “Come to Me.” Jesus invites all who labor and are heavy laden to come, promising rest, and says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” Pastor Paul asks how we learn from Christ, and answers that we spend time with Him. Our energy has to go into His presence, church, Bible reading and prayer, filling our minds with God’s thoughts toward us of peace and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

Peter Walks on the Water: The Presence That Changes Us

His last story comes from Matthew 14:22–33. He now spends two hours on the lawnmower with earbuds in, worshiping God out loud, and he gets off the mower feeling like a different person, washed by God’s presence.

Before the boat, Jesus fed the multitude with five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:15–21). The disciples wanted to send the crowd away hungry, but Jesus gave thanks, broke the bread, and twelve baskets were left over. Anything is possible, Pastor Paul says, because the greater One lives in us. Jesus then sent the disciples ahead in the boat, dismissed the crowd Himself and went up the mountain alone to pray in His Father’s presence.

In the fourth watch of the night, which he places between three and six in the morning, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. They cried out that it was a ghost, and Pastor Paul imagines the frightening thoughts the enemy was throwing at them. Jesus answered, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Then Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” No one thinks that way in the natural, Pastor Paul says. Something changed in Peter’s thinking because he was in the presence of Jesus, where the natural becomes supernatural. People like to point out that Peter sank, but the text first says he walked on the water. When he cried out, Jesus immediately stretched out His hand and caught him. God takes us from faith to faith and glory to glory, but we have to take the step.

When they got into the boat, the wind ceased and the disciples worshiped Him, saying He truly is the Son of God. Their whole thought process changed. Pastor Paul’s application: get off the internet and social media and into His presence, because the presence of Jesus is where the mind of Christ takes hold. The more time he spends there, the more his thinking, countenance, attitude and health change for good and for God’s glory.

Living With the Mind of Christ This Week

Pastor Paul closes by challenging the church to get into God’s presence every day and to be ready to change, declaring that nothing is impossible through Jesus Christ. These steps come straight from the message:

• Test every thought. Ask whether it is a thought God would put into your mind, and cast down the ones that pull you from Him.
• Ask to pray. When someone tells you what they are facing, offer to pray right there, declaring what the Word says.
• Serve where you are. Treat church ministries as your training ground, and start by thanking and praying for your pastor.
• Watch your seed. Sow love, joy and peace in your home and workplace rather than complaints.
• Pray for opportunities. Ask God each morning to open your eyes and ears to every chance to do good.
• Turn chores into worship. Like Pastor Paul on the lawnmower, use ordinary time to come into God’s presence and let the mind of Christ shape your thoughts.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Picking up from Dr. Hohman’s teaching on change
• 1:28 Opening prayer
• 2:24 Love everybody, not the sin: John 3:16–17
• 3:58 A new creation who lives by faith, not feelings
• 4:49 Is that a thought God would put in my mind?
• 7:35 Reading Philippians 2:1–8
• 9:32 Praying at the food pantry
• 11:12 A mother’s praise report
• 13:50 Prayer in a store doorway
• 17:22 David and Goliath
• 19:19 We have the mind of Christ
• 20:23 Taking the form of a bondservant
• 23:21 Willing and obedient: Isaiah 1:19–20
• 26:38 Whatever a man sows: Galatians 6:7–10
• 34:31 Serving and honoring your pastor
• 38:48 Those who wait on the Lord: Isaiah 40
• 43:41 Come to Me: Matthew 11:25–30
• 49:35 Worship on the lawnmower
• 50:23 Five loaves and two fish
• 53:52 Jesus walks on the sea
• 56:11 Peter steps out of the boat
• 59:43 Closing challenge and prayer

Let This Mind Be in You Series

This message is part of a short teaching series at NTC Ministries on the mind of Christ. Continue with the next message:

• You are here: Let This Mind Be in You Which Was Also in Christ Jesus, Part 2: Change in His Presence
• Next: Let This Mind Be in You Which Was Also in Christ Jesus #3: Peace in His Presence

Frequently Asked Questions

Does putting others first mean neglecting yourself?

No. Pastor Paul reads Philippians 2:4, which tells us to look out not only for our own interests but also for the interests of others. He stresses the word “also.” Taking care of yourself is not wrong, he says, and he warns against going into debt trying to help other people. Christ was very wise, and having His mind means being smart while still looking for chances to show the power of God to others.

What does it mean to wait on the Lord?

Pastor Paul admits the phrase puzzled him, because God never seems to keep us waiting. He shares Dr. Hohman’s explanation: those who wait on the Lord are those who come together in His presence, as the church does when it gathers. Dr. Hohman described how eagles lock their wings and rise above the storm, and Pastor Paul says we can lock our wings to the Word, knowing who we are in Christ.

Is it wrong to take a break from church or rest?

Pastor Paul’s concern is drift. He describes how taking a break, sleeping in or needing a vacation can slowly become not going to church, not reading the Bible and not praying, and how people then find themselves weaker and more weighed down. He would rather go to bed earlier so he can pray before sleep, and get up earlier to read, so that his energy goes into the things that keep him in God’s presence.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Philippians 2:1–8 — let this mind be in you
• 2 Corinthians 10:5 — casting down imaginations
• Philippians 4:8 — meditate on these things
• Isaiah 1:19–20 — willing and obedient
• Galatians 6:7–10 — sowing and reaping
• Isaiah 40:29–31 — those who wait on the Lord
• Matthew 11:25–30 — come to Me
• Matthew 14:22–33 — Peter walks on the water

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

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