Let This Mind Be in You Which Was Also in Christ Jesus #3: Peace in His Presence

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus is Paul’s call in Philippians 2:5, and in this third message on the theme Pastor Paul shows how to guard the mind of Christ against an enemy who bombards believers with lies around the clock. His answer is simple: peace is found in Christ, in His presence, and it is kept by walking in the Spirit rather than by feelings. This message continues from Let This Mind Be in You Which Was Also in Christ Jesus, Part 2: Change in His Presence.

Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was posted on August 24, 2021, at NTC Ministries. It runs about 54 minutes and ends with a prayer of blessing and an invitation to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. Pastor Paul explains that he has been teaching on this theme over several weeks while Dr. Hohman has been away on the road, and this session pulls the earlier teaching together.

The thread through the whole message is the presence of God. In His presence is fullness of joy, so the believer’s task is to keep returning there, take authority over the thoughts that pull us away, and live by faith rather than by what we feel.

The Relentless Battle for Your Mind

Pastor Paul opens by describing the enemy as relentless. Satan bombards people all day and night with thoughts that they are worthless, that they do not belong and do not fit in, until many fall into depression and oppression and wonder why they are even here. But believers carry hope, and His name is Jesus: Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). That hope is what we are to show to people who have none.

God wants His people blessed, not only ministers. He is no respecter of persons, and John 3:16 says He so loved the world. He made the sun, moon and stars, the oceans and mountains, and then created man in His image and gave it all to him.

We are not only here to receive blessings but to be a blessing everywhere we go. That is why Christ came: He served and healed all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” he says. God wants you to have a great life, even when it does not feel that way.

That is why His presence matters so much. In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), and He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

Pastor Paul speaks from his own story. He grew up in the church, yet the enemy kept pounding his confidence with the thought that he would never amount to much. When people prophesied that he would lead worship or preach, he told himself he was not good enough. Now he stands in the pulpit. The lesson: keep taking steps of faith, because that is what pleases God, even if your step never looks like preaching on a Sunday morning.

Peace Is Found in Christ

The key verse is John 16:33: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer.” Pastor Paul has the church say “in Me.” Peace can come when finances are steady or relationships are going well, but the things that keep us up at night show how fragile that is. Lasting peace is in Christ.

Jesus could tell His disciples to be of good cheer because in Him we find peace, healing, strength and joy. For a believer, Jesus is not far away; He is on the inside. So the response is to go to Him: Jesus, I need You, I need Your presence.

The enemy works hard to keep us out of that presence. You can’t sing, you have no rhythm, you’re not good enough to worship. We believe those lies until we cry out, “God, where are You?” when He was there the whole time. Get mad at the devil instead. Pastor Paul points to the promise that God’s people will be above only and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13). If he believes that, it does not matter what thought comes; he does not entertain it.

The enemy slithers in like a snake, sometimes through unsaved friends who simply do not know better. Pastor Paul warns that meditation which empties the mind only opens it to garbage. His meditation is on the Word, because there is power in it. When sickness tries to come, the thought he chooses is that by the stripes of Jesus he has been healed (Isaiah 53:5). God wants us to have not just a good life but a God kind of life.

Walking by the Spirit, Not by Feelings

Before turning to Romans 8, Pastor Paul sets the priority: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added (Matthew 6:33). When the weight of the world comes down and a situation seems insurmountable, you take the step of faith, say “Jesus, I need help,” and watch God make a way where there seemed to be no way.

Romans 8:3–10 says God sent His own Son so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Pastor Paul has the church say “that’s me”: God did not skip anyone. To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. The just live by faith, not by feelings.

People say something must be fine because it feels right. Pastor Paul answers with a familiar moment: a computer that will not work, and the feeling that throwing it against the wall would be satisfying. What good would that do? He has learned to take a few breaths and walk away. Then he comes back into God’s presence, back to peace and joy, and gets on with the job.

Believers have authority over their thoughts and emotions through the name of Jesus. In Jesus’ name, thoughts, get out of my mind; I need the thoughts that come from God. That authority brings peace into homes, relationships and workplaces. Verse 10 adds that the Spirit is life because of righteousness. “I’m not righteous because I do good,” Pastor Paul says. “I’m righteous because he lives in me.” Even when we fall short, in Christ we are the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Romans 8:12–14 continues: if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Waking up today was a gift; you did not sign up for your next breath. And Jesus came as servant of all, so being led by the Spirit means looking for ways to bless others.

Let This Mind Be in You Which Was Also in Christ Jesus: A Renewed Mind

When you are led by the Spirit, Pastor Paul says, the things that used to stress you out lose their grip. The thoughts may still come, but in His presence they melt away, as the hills melt like wax at the presence of the Lord (Psalm 97:5). When we live contrary to the Word, the stress and pressure we were running from find us again. That is why Jesus invites us to cast our cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7).

He reads Romans 12:1–2: present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. It is not what I want but what He wants: Lord, what do You want today? Scripture warns of a time when people call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20), so the mind needs renewing every day, many times a day.

Jesus modeled this. Again and again the Gospels find Him off praying, and the pressure was so real that He sweat drops like blood (Luke 22:44). He had the same body we do, and He went to the Father. Now we go to the Father through Him, because no one comes to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6).

Reading the same passage in the Passion Translation, Pastor Paul notes its call to stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you. Many think a little sin is fine, but sin is sin. As a man thinks, so he is (Proverbs 23:7): ponder the wrong thoughts and you begin to talk and act that way. If you feel you could never be holy or acceptable, remember that righteousness is Christ in you, received by surrender, not by willpower.

He also challenges the prayer “Lord, if it be Your will.” If you have read the Bible, he says, you know God’s will is good. He wants you blessed abundantly. So he takes his healing and his joy as God’s will, and there he finds peace. God’s way is the best way. Receiving Jesus brings change, and we must adapt to His life rather than keep living the old way.

Sowing to the Spirit and Spiritual Weapons

Be not deceived, God is not mocked; whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7–9). We are all farmers, Pastor Paul says, sowing either to the flesh because it felt good, or to what lines up with the Word. If you have no time for God, His blessings will not show up the way you expect.

Reading the Passion Translation of the same verse, he stresses that the harvest you reap reveals the seed you planted. He recalls a saying of Dr. Hohman: you can tell yourself you are planting watermelon all day, but if you plant corn you will get corn. You can feel you are on the right path, but if it is contrary to the Word, you are sowing to the flesh. Children who submit to their parents are training themselves to submit to God later (Ephesians 6:1–3).

Verse 9 says not to grow weary while doing good. The harvest is coming even when you cannot see or feel it, and your breakthrough is around the corner. Jesus, he says, is worthy to be praised every day.

He turns to 2 Corinthians 10:3–5. We do not war according to the flesh; our weapons are mighty in God. In the flesh it was always “I can do this in my own strength.” Now he surrenders and lets God’s divine power work. People can be healed in this place, he says, not because he did anything special, but because of what Jesus has done.

The Passion Translation speaks of dismantling the defenses behind which people hide. Pastor Paul lists the excuses: the family I was born into, the side of the tracks I grew up on, never having enough money, never fitting in. Why believe the lies of the enemy? God has a God kind of life for you, and all you have to do is surrender to it.

Three Disciplines That Guard Your Mind

The last passage is Philippians 4:4–9, read from the Passion Translation. Paul tells believers to be cheerful in every season and let their joy overflow, even in a dry time when God feels far away. Pastor Paul draws out three disciplines from verses 6 to 8:

When we live this way, God’s peace that transcends understanding guards our heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Pastor Paul pictures the guards at Buckingham Palace who do not move no matter what. Many of the thoughts that once bombarded him no longer even enter his mind, because his life is full of what God has for him. Verse 8 says to fasten your thoughts on what is pure, kind and admirable, as carefully as a parent buckles a firstborn into a car seat for the first ride home.

His own mornings start with prayer: “Good morning, Heavenly Father, good morning, Holy Spirit, good morning, King Jesus.” Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), and the church’s worldwide reach exists, he says, because Dr. Hohman chose to live by faith. Praise is why the church started a radio station that plays worship around the clock. After a couple of hours mowing the lawn with worship in his earbuds, he says, he feels like a brand new person.

Verse 9 adds a word about friendships. Evil company corrupts good habits (1 Corinthians 15:33). Having unsaved friends is not bad, but if we are not influencing them, they are influencing us, and sometimes we need to leave. The best influence is a cheerful, joyful life in every season. He closes the teaching with a declaration from Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Living It Out This Week

Pastor Paul admits he has a hard time getting up early to read his Bible, and calls it a discipline worth keeping. Here are practical steps drawn from the message:

• Read the Word daily. Start with one chapter in a Gospel such as Matthew and learn what Jesus did and promised.
• Start the day with thanks. Greet the Father, the Holy Spirit and Jesus before anything else, and keep thanking Him through the day.
• Take authority over thoughts. When a lie says you are not good enough, answer it in Jesus’ name with what the Word says.
• Walk away before you react. Take a few breaths, step back into God’s presence, and return in peace.
• Sow to the Spirit. Check whether today’s choices line up with the Word or only with what feels good.
• Fill the quiet with worship. Use a commute or a chore to praise God and let His presence reset your thinking.

He ends with a prayer of surrender over the church and an invitation for anyone who has never received Jesus as Lord and Savior to pray with him.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Satan is relentless 24/7
• 0:52 Christ in you, the hope of glory
• 2:58 Created to be a blessing
• 4:51 Never good enough? A personal story
• 6:33 John 16:33: in Me you may have peace
• 7:28 Lies that keep us from worship
• 9:18 Healed by His stripes
• 10:15 Seek first the kingdom of God
• 12:08 Romans 8:3–10: walk according to the Spirit
• 14:22 Just walk away
• 16:28 Righteous because He lives in me
• 18:35 Led by the Spirit: sons of God
• 20:48 Hills melt like wax at His presence
• 22:43 Romans 12:1–2: renew your mind
• 27:02 Stop imitating the culture
• 28:10 God’s will is good
• 30:14 We are all sowing seeds
• 31:21 2 Corinthians 10: spiritual weapons
• 34:32 The harvest reveals the seed
• 37:49 Philippians 4:4–9
• 41:00 Guards over your heart and mind
• 43:51 Saturated in prayer
• 45:52 Go to God in faith, and praise
• 49:49 Prayer of blessing and salvation

Let This Mind Be in You Series

This message completes a short teaching series at NTC Ministries. Go back to the previous message to follow the full teaching:

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Does having the mind of Christ mean negative thoughts stop coming?

Not at first. Pastor Paul says the thoughts may still come, but in God’s presence they melt away, and believers have authority to cast them down in Jesus’ name. Over time, as he lives by the Word and stays in worship, he finds that many of the thoughts that used to bombard him no longer even enter his mind, because God’s peace is guarding his heart and mind.

What does Pastor Paul mean by prayer?

He says prayer is not only coming to God begging for things. It is declaring who God is and thanking Him. If the need is peace in your home, you can simply say, God, I thank You that You are my peace, and I choose today to receive it. He prays this way when he wakes up, under his breath during work and while driving.

How should a believer respond to the call to receive Jesus?

At the end of the service Pastor Paul invites anyone who has never received Jesus as Lord and Savior to raise a hand, including those listening by radio or online. He leads a prayer of surrender: asking the Father for forgiveness, accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, and choosing in front of family and friends to live for Him. He explains that we confess Jesus before people, and He confesses us before the Father (Matthew 10:32).

Scripture References

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

• John 16:33 — in Me you may have peace
• Psalm 16:11 — fullness of joy in His presence
• Romans 8:3–10 — walking according to the Spirit
• Romans 8:12–17 — led by the Spirit as sons of God
• Romans 12:1–2 — the renewing of your mind
• Galatians 6:7–9 — sowing and reaping
• 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 — weapons mighty in God
• Philippians 4:4–9 — peace that guards your heart and mind
• Colossians 1:27 — Christ in you, the hope of glory

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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