You can start today by looking at Jesus more clearly so His life flows through you naturally. Don't worry about what others think when you show love, just obey in the little things. Let the Holy Spirit within you guide your relationships instead of your own fears.
Welcome to the Real Church Podcast. Our mission is for you to know the love of Jesus and live out your God given purpose. Now join us and listen in to the latest message from pastor David John Phillips.
So we have been in the How to Deal series. How to Deal. Basically, overall, how to deal with life. Right? The first message we talked about how to deal with God.
Kinda sounds kinda funny. Right? But how to deal with God? What do you do? Well, first you turn to him.
That's repentance. Turn to him, and then you follow him. You receive him, and you follow him. And then last but not least, what's the third 1? You worship him.
Right? Now, don't worship him just to get what we want. Right? It's not about us. Jesus is the center of everything.
We worship *Jesus* because of who he is. Period. Then second, how to deal myself. How do we deal with ourselves? We had had 3 things there as well.
First, I gotta see me as God sees me. It's so normal to take in what the world says about us. You're not this. You're not that. You're not enough.
You need this to be enough. You need to have this to be enough. You need to have this to feel like you're enough. Blah blah blah blah blah. No.
I need to see me not have a worldly perspective of myself, but I need to have a heavenly perspective on myself. I need to see me as God sees me. Right? The number 2 is I have to realize that I'm dead. A lot of people go, It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
You give your life to Jesus, you you died to the old you, but you're resurrected in in his life. His life is now in you. I'm no longer who I used to be, but I am who you say I am, Jesus Christ. Thank you. Right?
Then number 3 is I have to die daily. Pick up my cross, carry my cross daily, dying to self. Amen. Daily choosing what he says about me. Daily choosing what he says in the "little things".
Now today, how to deal part 3. How do we deal with others? How do we deal with the you right in front of me? Right? That's what we're talking about.
If you wanna follow along with the notes, can go to on your phone, you can go to realchurch.us, scroll to the bottom it says message notes, you can click on that, it'll automatically pull up. Makes it super simple there. But how do we deal with others? And you know, it's it's crazy. The Bible says exactly how we need to deal with others in 1 sentence.
And it almost sounds "too simple", too simplistic, and it's so simple it that it's complex. How do we deal with others? Let's go to Philippians-2:5. It says it right there. How do we deal with others?
In your relationships with 1 another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. That's how we do with others. That's the answer. In your relationships with 1 another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. That's it.
Really? We can be done. If we understand that, if we get that, we put that into practice, it's over. That's all we need to do. In your relationships with 1 another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
But that brings up 2 huge questions immediately. Maybe it didn't in your mind, maybe it did, but 2 huge questions come to my mind when I read that verse. Number 1, how in the world am I supposed to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus? Really? He's Jesus, and I'm me.
Number 2, what is the mindset of Christ Jesus towards others? How do I have his mindset? And what is his mindset? So first, we'll deal with question number 1. Let's go to first John.
*1 John-3:2-3* says this, dear friends, now we are children of God. If you receive Jesus, then you're a child of God. Right? You've become a son of God because of Jesus. And what we will be has not yet been made known, but we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him.
Everybody say, we shall be like him. We shall be like him. For we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves just as he is pure. Do you have that hope in him?
Yes. Do you? Yeah? Well, if that's the case, say I'm pure. I'm pure.
Just as he is pure. Just is pure. Now, that's crazy to think about. Yeah? He's if he's really washed you clean, then you're clean.
That's awesome. So, how do we have the same mindset as Jesus? It says, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. That means that the more, I'm not yet like him completely yet, because I don't quite completely see him as he is. It's this crazy paradox.
*1 John-4:17 says, in this world we are like him. So, I'm 100% like Jesus* because Jesus is in me. And yet, I'm still growing to be like him because I don't quite see him as he is. But the more that I see Jesus as he is, the more that I will represent Jesus in my daily life. The more we are like our the more clearly we see him, the more clearly we see who we are in him.
Because he lives in us. So we can deal with others in the same way that Jesus would. And I just find this crazy. The same mindset as Christ Jesus. So 1, there's 2 ways, and I got I got 2 2 things to do that.
Number 1, we gotta see Jesus for who he is. Okay? Because once again, the more clearly we see him, the more clearly we see we become like him. But number 2, how do we have the mind, the same mindset as Christ Jesus? Number 2, we have to understand that we have the mind of Christ, and what that means.
Let's go to first Corinthians. *1 Corinthians-2:16. 1 Corinthians-2:16* says this, for who has known the mind of the Lord as so as to instruct him? Now so many people stop right there. I've said that from this pulpit before, from this stage before.
So many people stop. Who has known the mind of the Lord? It's always too instructive, and they just stop right there as as an excuse. Well, I just can't know God's will for my life. I just can't go know God's will in this situation.
I don't know what he's thinking right now. He's so out there and so other. Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But the next sentence says, but everybody say, but. My son would laugh right now.
I have an 8 year old. Anyway, but we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. Now, what does that mean? Let's go back to verse 9.
Let's read it in context. I wanna I wanna show you what that means or remind you what that means. Verse 9, however, as it is written, this is 1 Corinthians-2:9, as it is written, what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love him. These are the things God has revealed to us by his spirit. Anytime you see a capital s, it's the Holy Spirit.
Okay? It's not some other spirit, it's the Holy Spirit. But these are the things that God has revealed to us by his spirit. That means God has revealed what no eye has seen to us by his spirit. God has revealed what no ear has heard to us by his spirit.
That means God has revealed and is showing us what no human mind has conceived. He is showing us the things that God has prepared for us because we love him by his spirit. Then it goes on to say, the spirit searches all things even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way, no 1 knows the thoughts of God except the spirit of God.
Just real practical like in your own life, nobody knows your thoughts except you. Nobody you nobody knows your thoughts unless you tell them what you're thinking. No 1 knows your thoughts except your spirit. That's what it's saying. Right?
You follow me? When the same way, no 1 knows the thoughts of God except the very spirit of God. But guess what? The very next verse is amazing. It says, what we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
That's saying the Holy Spirit that knows the very thoughts of God is now in us. We have received him. And keep going. The person without the spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God, but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the spirit. Some people, the Holy Spirit has spoken to you guys.
Right? And you can't understand it because you're you haven't received Jesus yet. You're not a son of God. You don't have his spirit. And because of that, it's foolishness.
This this whole Christianity thing. I mean, like the the morals. I like all of those stuff. But, man, this this thing about knowing God in a personal relationship with him, really? Come on.
You can
"bunch of loony toes". The
person without the spirit cannot accept things from the spirit of God. He thinks that, nah, that's just for them. I'm a go on about my life, maybe go to church once or twice a month or something to please my wife, but I'm a go on about what I'm doing. That Christianity is just it's just a bunch of "religious dogma". It's just "junk".
No. It's a relationship where God fills us with his spirit, and when he communicates to us his thoughts by his spirit in us. It's amazing. Changes everything. Person with the spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments.
Verse 16, for who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ. So that's what it means to have the mind of Christ guys, it just it just explained it. The spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, which knows the very thoughts of the Lord is now inside of us. If you've received Jesus, and he's communicating to you the very thoughts of God. Now, have a choice whether or not to get out of your mind and into his, or to stay thinking your own ways, thinking way of thinking.
Amen? Right? Okay. We'll come back to that. So, we know how to have the same, you know, how we can have the same mindset of Christ.
Number 1, we see Jesus for who he is, but number 2, we have his spirit, and his spirit communicates his mindset to us. Right? Now, we know how, so the next question is, what is the mindset of Jesus? What is what what kind of things is the Holy Spirit gonna communicate to you about others? How is he gonna communicate to you?
Or or what is he gonna communicate to you? Let's go back to Philippians-2. Verse 5, in your *relationships* with 1 another have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. That's the theme of the whole message. Verse 6, we'll read 6, 7, and 8.
Who being in the very nature of God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant, by being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Now, in your *relationships* with 1 another have the same mindset of Christ Jesus. Let's break that apart. Verse 6, who being in the very nature of God.
Some of you might say, that's Jesus. He was in the very nature of God. What about me? I'm not that. Remember, *John-1*.
Let's go to John-1 verse 12. Says, yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God. If you've received Jesus, then you have been born again, born of the very nature of God. You have your heavenly father's nature inside of you.
Who being in the very nature of God, you're born again. You follow me? Okay. So we follow Jesus in this then. Who being in the very nature of God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.
We don't consider being a son of God, adopted as son of God something to be used to our own advantage. We're not just sons of God, we're not our our daughters of God, just in order to get what we want in the day, in order to have a better day. That's not the reason that we're there. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant, and being made in human likeness. We follow him in this.
And being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. He had his eye on his father and surrendered completely to everything to his father. So that's our mindset. That's how we live. *Jesus* being even obedient unto death.
What would it look like to live a life of complete surrender in everything that we do? What would that look like? To make up our mind right now that there's nothing that God will tell me that I won't do. If I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my heavenly father is saying to do it, my answer is yes, regardless. I'm just saying, yes, Lord.
Lord, you want you say, pick up my family and go to North Korea and preach the gospel no matter what, even at the cost of, hey, it's a high probability I might be shot in the street. Yes, Lord. You know why? Cause I'm in complete surrender no matter what. I've made up my mind.
I'm just saying yes. Even obedient unto death. When it's that level of surrender, then when Jesus says the little thing, hey, why don't you go do the dishes for your wife? It's easy to surrender in the little thing too. When Jesus says the little thing, hey, why don't you get up from your chair at the coffee shop, that person over there looks like they're hurting, why don't you go buy them a coffee and say a prayer for them?
Hey, when you have the prompting in the little thing, why why don't you join a small group and get around community? I know you don't like to, but it's important. It's it's it's called the body of Christ. We're together, we're in this thing. It's surrender.
Whatever you say, Jesus, I'm surrendering to you in the little and the big things, following you in everything. So what is the mindset of Jesus toward people? I'll show you. *John-13*. And this is what we follow him in.
The evening meal, verse 2, the evening meal was in progress and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon and Scareth to betray Jesus. You know, it's interesting that that is put in this verse because of what's about to happen. The Bible wants God wanted you to know that Jesus did what he was about to do even even to the 1 who was about to betray him. Jesus knew that the father had put all things under his power, and that he'd come from God and was returning to God. He was secure in who he is.
So, got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet, drying them with a towel that was wrapped around him. He took on the form of a servant. Like washing people's feet was like the lowest of the low job when you went into a house. *Jesus* being king of kings and lord of lords, what does it look like?
John or the guy who leads our band in production said this very same thing, I was astonished that this is the Holy Spirit speaks to people in in in sync. It's amazing. But anyway, what was it like for the king of kings and the Lord of Lords to bend down, take off his outer clothes, put on the the least of these servant rags, and wash his disciples' feet. I'll tell you what it was like. It was normal.
It was his life. It's what he did. It's what he is. It's what he what he does. And then the same thing, because we follow him, it's our normal life as well to take on the role of a servant.
To take off our pride, our junk, whatever, and wash the feet of the people that are close to us, and the people that we know are gonna betray us. What would it be like to wash the feet, to serve those, even those that you know are against you, but to love them anyway. That's Jesus' mindset towards others right there, serving them. No matter what they can do for you, no matter what they can't do for you. He knew they were all gonna run at the at the in the time of need, just you know, what was it?
The next night? Or maybe it was that night? They were all gonna run from him, desert him. He washed their feet anyway. That's amazing.
That's our posture towards people. John chapter I mean, sorry. *Philippians-2:5, in your relationships with 1 another have the same mindset as that of Christ Jesus*. In other words, what would Jesus do? You saw those bracelets.
You know, this is from the late nineties. I used to have this in junior high. We never took them off because they're really hard to put on. I remember showering with these things. But as I was thinking about this message, what you know, what what mindset do we have towards others?
It's what would Jesus do? Right? But we don't we don't think of it in that way. We don't like, hey, man, what would Jesus do? And we and then we we just we we go and and and you know, come up with our own stuff.
No. We're praying and we're following him, we're listening to the Holy Spirit because we have the mindset of Christ *Jesus* in our daily life, serving people. So I just wanna share a couple of testimonies real quick, just from my daily life. You know, I'm not perfect. Shoot.
I screw up all the time. I get it wrong all the time. Just ask my wife. And if you ask her, she's gonna build me up because that's what she does. But but really, but really, sometimes I come to her complaining about the stupidest stuff.
Just the absolute stupidest stuff. And she looks at me and she says, that's not Jesus. Now, if she would have said that in the first 5 years of our marriage, it wouldn't have been good. But now, I realized to keep my dang mouth shut because she's right. Me complaining or me, it's not Jesus.
I need to stop. Wait. Think for a second. Because she's being Jesus to me right then, loving me well, and telling me what I need to hear instead of what I want to hear. Right?
Yeah. It's a big deal. Thank you God for my godly wife. But anyway, this past this past week, God opened some really cool doors. So sometimes I miss it.
Thank God for his grace, giving me what I don't deserve, You know? So I can continue to move forward in him, and then love people. That's that's what his grace is. Gives us what we don't deserve, that we can love people in ways that they don't deserve. But they don't deserve it.
I shouldn't serve them. Look what they did to me. Look what they've been doing to me. You don't know how bad they hurt me. No, I don't know, and I don't necessarily need to know either because his word says to serve them anyway.
His word says to love them anyway. His word says to wash their feet. His word says not to tell everybody else what they did to you, but love them and give them what they don't deserve because God gave you what you didn't deserve.
God forgave you, so you forgive them and let it go.
Amen? Amen. So this past week, let's see. It was Wednesday. I went to a little mini conference.
I have a couple of overseers, so pastors that have been doing this a little bit longer than me, and and they they, you know, mentor me, and it's it's just a good thing to to to have accountability and have people speaking to your life. It's it's it's important. And so I went to a little mini conference we do once every quarter. I was driving home from there and and my wife and I are talking about getting, you know, a new car to us, a used used car for our family, my my van, the steering the power steering's out, you know, whatever, and it's kinda hard. But it works, and we're praise the Lord, he's he's blessed us that we can do that.
Right? So I stopped at this little Honda's place, and I'm looking at likes I was looking at a Civic. I just kinda felt, hey, you know what? I have some extra time, I'm gonna stop this Honda place. So I'm I'm looking at the cars, and I just kinda wanted to see what it feels like, what it looks like, that kind of thing.
I'm looking at the cars, and this the salesman comes over to talk with me. You know, I'm I'm kinda like, I knew I wasn't gonna buy 1 today, so I didn't necessarily. But I talked to him anyway. But it was it was a good thing. Right?
This guy's a human being created by God and loved by God. So I should see him as as Jesus sees him, despite how I feel in the moment. Well, I get to know him, he's a pretty cool guy, know. Well, he asked me, hey, do you wanna go for a test drive? Actually, yeah.
I need to feel what these things feel like. You know? So I sit down in the car, begin driving with him, and he's beside me, and we strike up a conversation. And I asked him he he asked something, and I forget exactly what he asked. Like, maybe he asked like, what I do or what brought me to the area.
And I said, well, I'm a pastor. Or I said, do you know I'm a I'm a pastor. He says, actually, I know that because I had a name tag on me from the little mini conference that said pastor. You weren't supposed to know that. But anyway, I go on to say, you know, just kinda knew if I strike up a conversation with someone, I'm gonna bring it back to Jesus because that's what we do.
That's who we are. Jesus in us coming out. So I go back and say, as we're driving them, I say, you know, usually, when I talk with people and I ask them this question, they don't already know a patent that I'm a pastor. So they give me like a a really honest answer, but if they know know I'm a pastor, it's usually a little bit different. I said, usually I ask people, hey, what do you what do you think about God and religion and all that stuff?
He says, I'll give you an honest answer anyway. Said, okay, great. He says, I believe in God, I don't believe you have to go to church to to follow him. I said, wow. So I just begin to ask questions and listen.
Right? A lot of times listening is the most effective form of evangelism. Why? Because in our culture, when you when someone really feels hurt, then they'll ask you what you think and listen to you. Right?
Anyway, so I'm asking him what what is what does he believe about God and religion, all that stuff, and he begins to he tells me, you know, what what I said. But then he also says, you know, he grew up Catholic and and, you know, just kinda drugged to church, that kind of thing, and his priest actually died, given communion, and that was the last time that he went to a Sunday morning service. He's like, whatever. Yeah. It's crazy.
And so so here I am talking with him, and and I I don't know. I just I said, you know what? And let's just it's it's not his name, but let's call him Jimmy. So, you know what, Jimmy? Do you mind if I I share with you what I what I believe?
He says, no, go ahead. I said, well, 1, I said, it's it's 1 thing to believe in god. There's a lot of people that that say that they believe god, Believe in God, but they just believe he exist. They don't know him. There's a difference in believing in him and actually knowing him personally.
You know, and God loves you. He cares about you, and he wants to know you in a real way. Like John-17, Jesus praying, he prayed that you would know his love, his love would be in you, and that Jesus would actually be in you so that you could receive his goodness and know his goodness, his joy, and his peace, and and him walk with you in the day in and day out of of your life. He's like, man, you know, nobody's ever really put it like that before. You guys do that, you know?
So I say, well look, I just had a question. If you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was right here in front of you, and knocking on the door of your heart like wanting to come into your life, would you open your heart? He's not gonna barge in, that's not what God does. He's God is love, he's a gentleman, you have to receive him. It's your choice.
I said, would you if you knew beyond the shadow of doubt, Jesus was right here, knock on your heart, would you open would you let him into your life? Yeah. Yeah, I would. So, well, great. I said, well, do you believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again for you?
Yeah. Yeah. I do. Well, great. The Bible says if you confess Jesus as your Lord, which means if you you say I'm been living for myself, ain't been working.
You know what? Jesus, I'm gonna start living for you. I don't really know what that means, but would you help me in that? I'm I'm giving you my life. Are ready to do that?
Yeah. So we just prayed right there in the car. We've been sitting in the parking lot for 10 minutes, he actually sat there an extra 10 minutes, we got to pray together. He received Jesus, I got to have him download the bible app on his phone, it was awesome. He downloaded the bible app on his phone, and and took it to like message version, or NIV, or something like that.
And I showed him first John, and I told him, just pray. Hey hey, God, you know, would you show me who you are? Because I don't really I I wanna know you more, and then read, and God's gonna show you, and it's gonna be amazing. You know? And then actually, I had him pray as well, and he closed his eyes, and and I said, just ask your heavenly father because you have a relationship with him now.
I said, just close your eyes and ask your heavenly father, "how do you see me"? Just be quiet. And he closed his eyes. He asked God, how how do you see me? I just waited for a second till it got a little awkward.
And I said, what what came to your mind? He said, "just love". I said, it's amazing. I said, I I asked him this, am I forgiven? He said, yes.
I mean, isn't that awesome? You actually have a relationship with the God of the universe. I say that to you, it's it's just daily life. We're ministers of the gospel in our daily life. You're a minister of the gospel in your daily life.
You have the mindset of Christ Jesus, and in that mindset of Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit is gonna prompt you, prompt you to love people as he would love them if he were there right then. And guess what? He is because he's in
you. So in your daily life, just follow his leading. The world around you is waiting for you to realize that Jesus is in you. He
really loves you bro. Another example. I was in tropical smoothie. I like tropical smoothie, man. I was in tropical smoothie, or I was coming up to tropical smoothie, and there was a lady in front of me, and I I held the door open for her, and she walks in, and then gets to the front, and I come up, and she said, hey, you know what, you you go ahead.
I said, alright, well thank you, man. So I order what I want and I had the thought. And would you would you just whatever she wants as well, just put it on there. Right? So she, what?
Oh my gosh. And so she she orders a smoothie, know, type of deal. And she says, man, I I really needed that. You have no idea. I just my my husband is in the hospital, just found out I forget if maybe he had cancer or something like that.
And I I just you don't understand what that means to me. Now, I had no idea. All I'm doing is following Jesus in the little things. Right? So then, instantly connect.
Right? So I pay for my stuff, she gets she goes and sits down, I walk over and say, hey, ma'am. You know what? I just believe God loves you a whole lot. I'm "crazy enough" to believe the Bible at what it says.
It says to pray for people and they'll be healed. Do mind if I pray for your husband? You know? So I just grab her hands right there in in tropical smoothie. Oh, God, that's weird.
No, it's not. That's what Jesus would do. You have Jesus in you. Right? Who cares what everybody else thinks?
Who cares what everybody is it they probably need to see that kind of love because they haven't seen it in a long time, and you are loved because you have his mindset. You have him inside of you, so we're becoming love as we see him who as he is. Yeah? You know, you're out of your mind. Absolutely, I am.
Because I'm into his. So the craziest thing, I pray for her, and she's like, wow, thank you, that's amazing and wonderful. I go and sit down, the the head guy brings his stuff, I'm I'm I get done eating, and then he brings me a free smoothie card. Says, man, thank you. That was awesome.
You never know in your obedience to Jesus in the little things, how you're gonna impact the people who are around you. You it's not about people seeing you. It's not about all of that. Jesus is gonna take care of all of that. You just be obedient.
And you know what? The world's gonna ridicule you. Bible said it. There's gonna be some people, the religious usually, it's the religious because that's who ridiculed Jesus. Man, you ain't gotta do all that.
They just feel convicted that they're not. They're not living love. Right? You ain't gotta do all that. Or or man, you you are crazy.
Or they laugh. The Bible says, blessed are those blessed are you when you're persecuted and ridiculed. Right? Let's feed Jesus to people. Let's get out of our mindset, and get into his.
Right? In your relationships with 1 another, have the same mindset as that of Christ Jesus. Oh, but I'm too young. Nah. You have the same Holy Spirit in you that I have in me.
Oh, but I'm too old. Nah. You have the same Holy Spirit in you that I have in me. Right? Amen?
Amen. My another time. Let's pray. Father, I just thank you for these amazing people. Lord, I thank you that you love them.
I thank you that you care. Father, I thank you that you're here. And lord, I pray, father, that you would just show them how much you love them. Lord, that they would see your love for them. They would see who you are more clearly than ever before.
Lord god, and become that *love* in their daily lives. Lord, let them walk out of here excited because they know how you see them in Jesus name. Father, I thank you for what you're doing. Lord, thank you for what you're gonna do. Lord, I thank you for encouragement.
Oh God, you're wonderful. Amen and amen.
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