Let This Mind Be In You Which Was Also In Christ Jesus #3
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Discover how renewing your mind through Romans 8 and Philippians 4 breaks Satan’s lies and releases God’s peace, joy, and blessing into every area of life.
Description
Mind of Christ Overview
In this third installment of his series drawn from Philippians 2:5, the preacher at NTC Ministries challenges believers to actively cultivate the mind of Christ in a world where Satan relentlessly bombards people with lies of worthlessness, inadequacy, and hopelessness. Opening with a candid acknowledgment of his own struggles with confidence, the message quickly pivots to the liberating truth of John 16:33, where Jesus promises peace in the midst of tribulation. Drawing deeply from Romans 8:3-14, the sermon contrasts the carnally minded life, which leads to death and spiritual hostility toward God, with the Spirit-led life that produces genuine peace, healing, and righteousness. Romans 12:1-2 anchors the call to transformation through the renewing of the mind rather than conformity to culture. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 introduces the concept of spiritual weapons energized by divine power to dismantle the lies behind which people hide. The message closes with Philippians 4:4-9 and a practical threefold discipline: saturate your life in prayer, live by faith rather than feelings, and fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God. Concrete illustrations, including mowing the lawn to worship music and the image of Buckingham Palace guards, make these truths immediately applicable for everyday Christian living.
Mind of Christ Outline
- 00:00 – Series Context and the Relentless Attacks of the Enemy: The preacher recaps the ongoing series on having the mind of Christ and describes how Satan bombards people 24/7 with thoughts of worthlessness, depression, and hopelessness, contrasting this with the hope found in Christ.
- 05:30 – Christ in Us the Hope of Glory: The message establishes that believers carry the answer the world desperately needs. God’s love is universal, as stated in John 3:16, and His desire is to bless every person regardless of status or background.
- 12:00 – Romans 8 and the Two Minds: A close reading of Romans 8:3-14 contrasts the carnal mind, which is hostile to God and leads to death, with the spiritually minded life that produces life and peace, concluding with the identity of believers as sons and daughters of God.
- 22:00 – Romans 12 and the Renewed Mind: Using both the New King James Version and The Passion Translation of Romans 12:1-2, the sermon calls believers to present themselves as living sacrifices and be transformed by a total reformation of thought rather than conforming to the shifting standards of culture.
- 31:00 – Sowing and Reaping in the Spirit: Drawing from Galatians 6:7-9 and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, the preacher explains that the harvest currently being reaped reveals the seeds previously planted, urging the congregation not to grow weary in planting good seeds of righteousness.
- 40:00 – Philippians 4 and the Threefold Discipline: The closing passage from Philippians 4:4-9 in The Passion Translation lays out a practical daily discipline: joyful celebration in every season, saturation in prayer with overflowing gratitude, and fastening thoughts on every glorious work of God.
- 48:30 – Practical Steps for Daily Renewal: The preacher shares personal habits including morning prayer, worshipping during everyday tasks, and keeping praise music on throughout the day, showing how the peace of God guards both heart and mind through Jesus Christ.
- 52:00 – Altar Call and Closing Declaration: The congregation is invited to stand and declare Philippians 4:13 together, receiving a fresh commitment to live by faith, sow to the Spirit, and trust God for the breakthrough already on its way.
Scripture References
Philippians 2:5, John 16:33, John 3:16, Romans 8:3-14, Matthew 6:33, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Galatians 6:7-9, Philippians 4:4-9, Hebrews 11, Philippians 4:13
Key Takeaways
- The mind of Christ is not automatic; it must be actively guarded and renewed daily through the Word, prayer, and worship.
- Satan’s primary strategy is to flood the believer’s mind with lies of inadequacy and hopelessness, but greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
- To be carnally minded is spiritual death, while to be spiritually minded produces the life and peace God has always intended for His children.
- Transformation does not come from conforming to culture but from a total reformation of how you think, as described in Romans 12:2.
- The harvest you are currently reaping reveals the seeds you have been planting, so sowing to the Spirit rather than the flesh is not optional for those who desire God’s best.
- Saturating your life in prayer, living by faith rather than feelings, and fastening your thoughts on the glorious works of God are the three practical pillars of a renewed mind.
- The peace of God that transcends human understanding is not passive; it actively guards your heart and mind through Jesus Christ when you choose to seek His kingdom first.
Mind of Christ Notes
The Central Teaching on Renewing the Mind
The sermon’s theological spine is Romans 12:1-2, which the preacher unpacks in both the New King James Version and The Passion Translation. Paul’s command to present the body as a living sacrifice is framed not as religious duty but as a reasonable, daily surrender to God. The Passion Translation’s phrase ‘a total reformation of how you think’ captures the radical nature of what renewal actually demands. It is not a one-time event but a continuous discipline that realigns thought patterns away from cultural conformity and toward discerning the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God, producing a life that is satisfying and perfect in His eyes.
How Satan Exploits an Unguarded Mind
The preacher draws a vivid picture of Satan as a relentless, 24/7 adversary who specializes in bombarding believers with thoughts of worthlessness, misplaced identity, and hopelessness. He connects this directly to rising rates of depression and the cultural confusion about gender, value, and belonging. Drawing from his own testimony of struggling with confidence throughout his upbringing in the church, he makes the enemy’s tactics personal rather than abstract. The antidote he prescribes is not positive thinking but the authority of the believer exercised through the name of Jesus Christ, taking every thought captive before it takes root.
A Personal Illustration That Resonates
One of the sermon’s most memorable moments comes when the preacher describes mowing the lawn with earbuds in, listening to worship music through NTC Ministries’ radio station. What began as a task filled with the stress and pressures of the week transformed into an encounter with the presence of God. By the time the mowing was done, he describes feeling like a brand new person. This illustration is deliberately ordinary, showing that entering God’s presence is not reserved for the sanctuary on Sunday morning but is available in the most routine corners of daily life. It makes the call to continuous worship genuinely accessible.
Sowing and Reaping as a Diagnostic Tool
Using Galatians 6:7-9 alongside a memorable teaching illustration borrowed from Dr. Homan about planting corn while believing you are planting watermelon, the sermon turns the principle of sowing and reaping into a spiritual diagnostic. If the current harvest in someone’s relationships, finances, or emotional life looks like corruption, the honest question is what seeds have been planted. This reframes personal hardship not as divine punishment but as a natural consequence of choices, which simultaneously removes fatalism and restores personal responsibility. The good news embedded in this passage is that the season of harvest for righteously planted seeds is always coming, even when it cannot yet be seen or felt.
The Buckingham Palace Image of God’s Peace
In expounding Philippians 4:7, the preacher reaches for the image of the expressionless guards at Buckingham Palace, immovable regardless of what is said or done around them. He applies this as a picture of what God’s peace does when it guards the heart and mind through Jesus Christ. When a believer is consistently in the Word, in prayer, and in worship, certain destructive thoughts simply stop gaining entry. They are not entertained because the guards are already posted. This image reinforces that the protection described in Philippians 4:7 is not merely emotional comfort but a spiritual fortification that changes the very landscape of what the mind allows in.
A Practical Threefold Daily Discipline
The closing section of the sermon distills the entire series into three actionable practices drawn from Philippians 4:4-9. First, be saturated in prayer, not as a begging list but as a running conversation of thanksgiving and declaration throughout the entire day. Second, fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising Him always, which is compared to the careful and firm fastening of a newborn in a car seat. Third, live by faith rather than by feelings, because feelings are unreliable while God’s Word is unchanging. Together these three disciplines, when practiced consistently, create the conditions in which God’s wonderful peace stands guard and His blessings find a life ready to receive them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to have the mind of Christ according to Philippians 2:5?
Having the mind of Christ means intentionally adopting the same attitude, priorities, and perspective that Jesus demonstrated during His earthly ministry, particularly His posture of humility and servant-hearted obedience. It is not a passive spiritual state but an active daily choice to renew the mind through God’s Word, prayer, and worship rather than allowing cultural or emotional influences to set the agenda for how we think and live.
How does Romans 8 explain the difference between a carnal mind and a spiritual mind?
Romans 8:6-7 states plainly that to be carnally minded is death, while to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God and cannot submit to His law. The spiritual mind, by contrast, is set on the things of the Spirit and aligns the believer with the righteousness already accomplished in Christ, making peace, healing, and fruitful living natural outcomes rather than distant hopes.
What does Romans 12:2 mean by being transformed by the renewing of your mind?
Romans 12:2 calls believers to stop conforming to the shifting standards of the surrounding culture and instead undergo a deep, inward transformation driven by the Holy Spirit through the consistent application of God’s Word. The Passion Translation describes this as a total reformation of how you think, which progressively empowers the believer to discern God’s will and live a life that is beautiful, satisfying, and perfect in His eyes.
How do the principles of sowing and reaping in Galatians 6:7-9 apply to everyday Christian life?
Galatians 6:7-9 teaches that God cannot be deceived and that every seed planted, whether to the flesh or to the Spirit, will eventually produce a corresponding harvest. This means that choices made about what thoughts to entertain, what habits to maintain, and what priorities to pursue are not neutral; they are seeds with consequences. The encouragement in verse 9 is that those who do not grow weary in planting righteous seeds will reap a wonderful harvest at the proper season.
What is the significance of Philippians 4:7 saying the peace of God will guard your heart and mind?
The word guard in Philippians 4:7 carries a military connotation, picturing an active sentinel standing watch over the believer’s inner life. When a Christian disciplines their life through prayer, gratitude, and right thinking as outlined in Philippians 4:4-8, the supernatural peace of God stands as a barrier against destructive thoughts and anxieties. This is not merely emotional calm but a divine protection that exceeds anything human reasoning or willpower could produce independently.
Why does the Bible say we should not live by feelings but by faith?
Romans 1:17 states that the just shall live by faith, and throughout Scripture feelings are shown to be unreliable guides because they can be shaped by circumstances, enemy deception, and the limitations of human perception. Faith, however, is anchored in the unchanging Word of God, which declares healing, provision, peace, and righteousness as settled realities in Christ. Living by faith does not deny difficulty but chooses to stand on what God has said rather than what the current emotional or physical situation appears to confirm.
How can believers practically take authority over negative thoughts?
Second Corinthians 10:3-5 describes spiritual weapons energized with divine power that are capable of dismantling the arguments and defenses behind which the enemy hides. Practically, this means speaking the Word of God out loud against specific lies, refusing to give anxious or worthless thoughts mental real estate, praying and praising throughout the day, and immediately redirecting the mind to the truths of Scripture when unwanted thoughts arise. The authority to do this is not earned by personal holiness but is given to every believer through the name of Jesus Christ.
What role does worship play in renewing the mind and maintaining peace?
Worship shifts the focus of the mind from present pressures to the eternal character and faithfulness of God, which is why Philippians 4:8 instructs believers to fasten their thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising Him always. When the mind is consistently engaged in worship, whether through corporate singing, personal prayer, or listening to praise music throughout daily tasks, the presence of God becomes the atmosphere of life rather than a weekly event. Psalm 16:11 confirms that in His presence there is fullness of joy, which is the direct antidote to the stress and oppression the enemy attempts to impose.
