In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of living a life that is attractive and different from the world in order to make an impression on others. He uses the example of Jesus washing the disciples' feet to illustrate the concept of self-sacrifice and self-denial. The speaker also shares a story of missionaries in Italy who left behind only 45 believers after years of work, but later discovered that there were actually 15,000 believers who had been impacted by their ministry. The sermon concludes with a challenge for listeners to imitate the mind of Christ and strive for self-sacrifice in their own lives.

I want to speak this morning about the mind of Christ, the mind of Christ, and of course there is only one passage that could fit that subject. We turn to Philippians chapter 2. This is a passage that we can become so familiar with that its majesty, its greatness, its implications aren't realized. This is one of the greatest Christological passages in the scriptures. Every line is packed with theology and it has a tremendous appeal to our hearts as well as we think about its implications. Let us read it thoughtfully. So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which you have in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my beloved, as you have also always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. We have all followed the seven downward steps which our Lord took and which are set out for us in this passage. We have all followed the seven upward steps as he regained his place in glory. And this morning I wish to bring before you the mind of Christ as it was revealed, both on the level of deity and on the level of humanity. When we speak about the mind of Christ, what do we mean? What is the mind of Christ? I think that the mind of Christ is the entire inner disposition of our Lord, the entire inner disposition of our Lord, his thoughts, his motives, his desires. And if we have the mind of Christ, it means that in our measure we will be thinking his thoughts, we'll be activated by his motives, we will cherish his desires. This is the way in which we will have our Lord's mind. We will have his inner disposition. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have Christ's inner disposition instead of my own? Anybody here be willing to change for it? Wouldn't it be wonderful if those things which give us so much trouble could be removed and instead of that our reactions would be those of Christ? Well, this is what Paul is saying. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, and the fact that he said it is an indication that in growing measure this is possible. I'm always glad that Paul didn't say, I have always been contented with my circumstances. He didn't say that. But he did say, I have learned in whatever state I am therewith to be content. He wasn't always so, but by a process he learned. And he arrived at the place where he can say, I am always content, no matter what my circumstances are. Similarly, we can go on, we can progress in having the mind of Christ. You don't jump into it in a moment. F. W. H. Myers, in his poem, said, Let no one think that sudden in the moment all is accomplished and the work begun and the work is done. Though with thine earliest dawn thou shouldst begin it, scarce were it ended in thy setting sun. Here is a life task. It isn't just something, one great crisis and you're there. But Paul says, let this mind be in you increasingly, progressively, that was also in Christ Jesus. That passage, that statement, let this mind be in you, has been rendered in different ways. Bishop Lightfoot put it this way. Reflect in your own mind the mind of Christ. Let your mind be a reflection of his. Isaac Newton, was it not, who said in connection with his scientific work that all he was doing was thinking God's thoughts after him. Well, that's the kind of idea here. The mind of Christ, so that it will be in me so that I will think his thoughts after him and how they'll find expression in my life and through my lips. Reflect in your own mind the mind of Christ. Bishop Cash rendered it this way. Cherish the disposition of Christ. You read the gospels and you see his disposition and the way in which he acted and reacted. Now cherish that in yourself. Here is what God wants to do in you. Here is what the Holy Spirit has come to do in you. Cherish the disposition which was in Christ. I forget what the other one was, but I wrote it down. Let the governing impulse of your life be the same as that of Jesus Christ. The governing impulse of your life. What is the thing that motivates me? Well, let it be the same as motivated him. And then you go to the scriptures. What was Christ's motivation? Paul says, let this motivation be yours also. You can see how it can have an influence, this idea can have an influence in the whole area of our lives. I think one of the reasons why we make so slight an impression on the cynical and the disillusioned world in which we live is because what they see in us is not sufficiently attractive for them to give up what they already have. If they see in us a new quality of life, something that is so different, something that seems to make us serene in the midst of trouble, if that makes us victorious in the midst of temptation, when they see that, they'll want it. But if they don't see in us something worth giving up what they already have, then they'll stay exactly where they are. Dr. Stuart Holden, in one of his addresses says, the world does not believe in him whom it has not seen because it has had reason not to believe in us whom it has seen. It's as we express the mind of Christ that is entirely different from the earthly mind. When they see Christ's values, the supreme values in our life, then they'll begin to take notice. As I said in this paragraph, we see how the mind of Christ was manifested on two levels, on the level of deity and on the level of humanity. Think first of its manifestation on the level of deity. In verse 6 it says, who existing in the form of God, though he was in the form of God. The reference here is to our Lord's pre-incarnate form. It doesn't refer to a superficial likeness. It's referring to his essential Godhead, existing in the form of God. That was the state in which he was. Being in the very nature of God is the NIV. Who being in the very nature of God, by a sublime act of self-abnegation, our Lord Jesus resigned all his glories. He veiled his majesty. He voluntarily accepted the limitations of our humanity. What a tremendous stoop our Lord Jesus made when he left the throne of glory. He rose from his throne. He came down to earth, littering space with the glories that he laid beside. He came to earth and was born in a manger. But he existed in the form of God. He was very God. And then it says he emptied himself. What did he empty himself of? A generation ago, the kenosis theory was the hard-work theory of the liberal theologians. You don't hear so much about it today. But they maintain that when Christ emptied himself, he emptied himself of his divine attributes. Well, there is no suggestion in this passage that he did that at all. It's expressly limited. His emptying himself is clearly defined. How did he empty himself? To what extent did he empty himself? He emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. Instead of being the controller of the universe, he laid aside the independent exercise of that power of his, and he took the form of a servant. There's no suggestion whatever in this passage that he emptied himself of his divine powers. Why, every now and again, when it was in the will of the Father, they flashed out his divine power. But he never exercised it once, except at the initiative of his Father. That was one of the great elements in his humiliation. He humbled himself. He took on himself the very nature of a servant. And was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, girded himself with a towel, poured water into a basin, began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. Knowing that the Father had given all things into his power. Here you have the Lord, in the full consciousness of his divine nature, in the full consciousness of that very moment he was upholding the universe by the word of his power, took a towel, girded himself, and washed the disciples' feet. You need to have those two things together to measure in any adequate way the depth to which he stooped. Upholding all things by the word of his power, all things given unto him. And here he does the work of a slave, which none of the other disciples was willing to do for each other. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. What a tremendous example. There's only one place where our Lord said he left an example. And it was here. After he had performed that, he said, I have given you an example that you should do that. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Why do you think the Lord washed the disciples' feet? You think he said, well, these fellows are too proud to wash each other's feet. Peter says, I'm not going to wash Judas' feet anyway. And you could hardly blame him. But that wasn't the attitude in which our Lord washed the disciples' feet. Why did he do it? Had he not said, I am among you as he that bosses, controls, rules? No. I am among you as he that serves. Well, here was a natural opportunity for a courteous gentleman to perform the courtesies that others had neglected. And naturally, he went and did it. He washed their feet because he liked washing the disciples' dirty feet. It was something that was the right thing to do. And he, being a courteous gentleman, did it. He had the nature of a servant. You know, we can perform acts of service without having the nature of a servant. We can perform a humble act and have a proud spirit, be as proud as Lucifer while we're doing it, congratulating ourselves on our humility. But with our Lord, how different it was. He did it because he had the spirit of a servant. And this is something that we must cover. So he emptied himself by taking the very nature of a servant. There were some things that our Lord did renounce when he left his throne. He renounced the outward display of his glory and his majesty. To me, it's always been an astounding thing that even his own brothers, who lived under the same roof with perfection, didn't believe in Jesus. If there ever was a commentary on the deceit of a human heart, here it is. Even his brothers didn't believe in him. He laid aside the outward display of his glory. Is this not the carpenter's son? They saw in him no beauty that they should desire him. No. He had absolutely, voluntarily laid aside his glories. He became a working man. Is not this the carpenter of Nazareth? That was how he was esteemed. And yet, at the same moment, he was upholding all things by the word of his power. He did no miracle. He gave no message that he had not first received from the Father. The very essence of the temptations in the wilderness was to get him to act independently of the Father. Satan said to him, you're hungry. There's no need for you to go hungry. Just use the powers that I know you've got. You just turn these stones into bread. What did Jesus say? Jesus said, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And this wasn't one of the words which had proceeded from the mouth of God. What he said in effect was, I will not act in independence of my Father. When it is the right time for me to have bread, he'll provide it. He said to him, you've come to get the kingdoms of the world. Well, I can give them to you without the cross. You just bow down to me and I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world. The Lord could have taken them. It would have saved him the cross. But he would not act in independence of his Father. He knew that in the Father's plan, the cross was involved. You see, he refused to act in independence of the Father. And the degree of his self-emptying is staggering. Listen to this. I can of my own self do nothing. Can you say that? I can't do anything apart from the will of my Father. I have so subordinated myself, I have so limited myself, that I do nothing. The words that I speak are not mine. They're the words the Father gives me. The works that I do are not mine. The Father doeth the works. Here was the completeness of his submission to his Father. He gave up the independent exercise of his powers. Now there is the way in which the mind of Christ was exemplified on the level of deity. Now let us think how it was manifested on the level of humanity. Read on. It says, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself. This is the way in which the mind of Christ manifested itself in our humanity. He was made in all things like unto his brethren. And as you read the life of Christ, you see that all the weaknesses inherent in being a human being, all the sinless infirmities that are inherent in human nature were present in the life of Christ. He had them all. He used to get tired, he used to get hungry, he used to get thirsty, he used to feel lonely. All these things were there. And even the ultimate, he died, just as every other human being dies. All these things were present in his incarnate existence. And how did he express his mind? He humbled himself. Now, we are all, without exception, proud creatures. Pride is natural to us. We may not always be very conscious of it, but pride is inherent in every one of our natures. We are very subtle about it. Did you hear of the man who said to his friend, you know, I've got many faults, but there's one thing I'm glad about, and that is that I'm not proud. And his friend said to him, well, of course, yes, I can imagine you being glad about that, but of course, that's very easy for you. He said, what do you mean? And he said, well, you've got so little to be proud about. Oh, he said, haven't I? I've got just as much to be proud about as you have. Quite self-revealing. But yet, we laugh at the other fellow, but is there not a good element of that in ourselves? How naturally pride rises in my heart, and in yours. The only one who had no reason to humble himself humbled himself. I've got every reason to humble myself, more than you know. But not he. He, the only one who need not humble himself, humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. He didn't demand a standard of life in keeping with the dignity of his position as the son of God. He could have done. He could have done that without it affecting the validity of his atoning work. You see, he didn't need to be born in a manger. He could have been born in a palace and still redeemed us. And when you think of it, instead of a palace, he chose a manger. Instead of a throne, he chose a carpenter's bench. Instead of a university, he chose to go to a village school. Instead of coming as a conquering hero, he came as one who was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He stooped so low that there was no lower step for him to take. Even death on a cross, the most shameful form of death. He died on a cross as the arch criminal of the universe. Can you tell me any lower step he could have taken? From the supreme heights of glory to the depths of shame, our Lord Jesus descended. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who humbled himself and became obedient. You see, his death was as an act of obedience. I had broken God's law. I had disobeyed God. It took the obedience of Christ in going to death on the cross to make possible my forgiveness. And yet such was his love and such was his grace. Another thing that's interesting to note is that every downward step our Lord took, there could have been some legitimate amelioration of it without affecting the validity of his atoning work. He needn't have taken all those low steps, but one after another he descended until he had come to the very bottom. Then of course, although it doesn't come in what I'm saying this morning, the corollary is that for every step he took down there was the step up until at last he regained the throne of the universe. Not by his inherent deity, but by his obedience unto death, even death on the cross. Therefore, God highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. And then something further. This display of the mind of Christ in his humanity was progressive. It began with thinking. And then it led to self-abasement. And then it culminated in self-oblation or self-offering. I'd like to illustrate the process by drawing your attention to Moses' reactions in the Old Testament and Paul's reactions in the New. Often we can perceive a spiritual truth better by seeing it acted out in a human being than by merely by it being stated in an abstract way. And both Moses and Paul, to a striking degree, illustrated this truth that I'm speaking of this morning. Thinking, self-abasement, self-oblation. Now what did Christ think with his mind? It says there, he did not think, he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped and retained at all costs. He knew he was equal with God. He never lost that consciousness. But he did not consider that something which should be eagerly grasped and retained. Instead of that, he relinquished the outward manifestation of his equality with God and became a slave. That was his thinking. Now what was the thinking of Moses? Hebrews 11, 26. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt. What of Paul in Philippians 3 and 8? He says, I count everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of the knowledge of Christ. Even the things on which he prided himself, of which he'd been speaking in the previous words. I count it all loss. That's the way I think of it. So here you have Christ expressing his mind in this way. He didn't think equality with God something to be eagerly grasped and retained. Moses counted disgrace with the people of God, with the slaves of Israel, to be greater than the treasures of Egypt. Paul counted everything but loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. And everything that followed in the lives of these two men sprang out of this thinking. It was when Moses began to think in that way that he was thrust out into service. When Paul made this his outlook, then God was able to use him in an entirely new way. Sacrificial love led our Lord Jesus to sacrifice all the rights that he had. If you examine our Lord's life, you will find that it was from beginning to end one long sacrificing of his rights. It began with his giving up his right to the throne. And then when he came to earth, he gave up his right to a palace. He gave up his rights here and there until at last, at the very end, he gave up the final right and he gave up the right to life itself. And you could condense the whole of our Lord's life into a series of acts in which he renounced his rights. Let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. I think probably one of the dominant things in our society today is the emphasis on rights. My rights. And we as Christians can find ourselves getting into the same bind. The emphasis on our rights. The emphasis in the mind of Christ is in the renunciation of that. He renounced his right to be a master and he became a slave. He renounced his right to wealth and he became poor. And so on, you can take it any way you like in the life of Christ. He didn't cling to his prerogatives as God's equal, but for our sakes, he gave them up. What about Moses? Moses gladly gave up his equality with the princes of Egypt. He was equal to any of them. He was ahead of them. He was a soldier. He was a statesman. He was a scholar. He was learned with all the learning of the Egyptians. And yet, he voluntarily laid that aside. What of Paul? Paul didn't cling to his equality with the Greek philosophers. He couldn't meet any of them on their own ground. And yet, he didn't eagerly regard this as something to be grasped and retained at all costs. But he gave it up and became the offscouring of all things, he said. Why? Well, the greater riches. The riches of Christ. They gladly renounced these things in the interest of others, even as their master did. And so, this was their thinking. Is this our mode of thinking? Have we the mind of Christ in this respect? And then, self-abasing. Their thinking in that way led them to abase themselves. Self-emptying. Self-humbling. You see it in Christ. He humbled himself and took the form of a slave. That was the way in which he expressed his mind. What of Moses? Moses chose affliction with the people of God, a race of slaves, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of Egypt. You see, he had the same mind. And what of Paul? Paul said, I am the bond slave of Jesus Christ. This was the title he loved to use. And what is the qualification for a slave? The qualification for a slave is that you have no rights of your own whatsoever. A slave has no rights over himself, over his property, and in those days, over his wife and family. He was a person without rights. And Paul said, I am the bond slave of Jesus Christ. My only right is to do his will. And if you want to study on that, you read 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Unfortunately, in the King James, it's got power where it should read right. And many people have never seen the real significance because of that. Have I not this power? You notice in that passage, which is one of the wonderful passages of the Bible on soul winning. You'll find that what Paul is speaking about here is that by all means, I might win some. He is saying the price he's willing to pay, if only he can be used of God in winning more people. To the weak, I became weak, and so on. To the Jew, I became a Jew. He would do anything if only he could win souls. But there were four areas in which he says that he did not exercise his rights. He had them, but he didn't use them. In verse 4, he said he had the right to gratify normal appetite. Have we not the right to eat and to drink? Have I not got a right to a good standard of living? Well, he said, yes, I've got that right. But he said, I haven't always used it. In verse 5, he speaks about his right to live a normal marital life. Haven't I got the right to lead about a wife, a sister, like Peter and the other apostles? Have I not the right to live a normal married life? Have I got to make sacrifices for the sake of the gospel? Have husbands to be separated from wives, and sometimes even from children, in the interest of the gospel? Paul says, I've got that right, but I haven't used it. And he chose to be single. He may have been married, probably was, but obviously at this time either his wife had died or she had left him. And here he was content to go on as a single man, in order that he might fulfill the purpose of God. He said, I've got the right, I could have a wife and go around with her too, like Peter does. But I haven't used this right, I haven't exercised it, I've renounced it. In verse 6, he speaks about the right to normal rest and recreation. Haven't I got the right to forbear working? Do I have to work with my hands to keep the purse full? Haven't I got the right to knock off working and have some recreation and leisure? He says, I have, but I haven't used it. I'm not speaking about recreation and leisure as though it were something wrong. I think it's something that ought to be included in the Christian program. But Paul was making a special point here. I think that when Christian workers fail to take adequate recreation and have some relief from the pressure of things, the quality of their spiritual work will decline. I'm not speaking in that way. But Paul said, in the interest of the work, I am prepared to give up my leisure, I am prepared to give up my right to normal rest and recreation, if that's necessary in the interest of the work. I've not used that right. And then, at the end of the chapter, he speaks about his right to normal remuneration, to appropriate remuneration for his work. And he says, yes, I've got the right to that. It's right that the preacher is worthy of his hire and so on. But he said, I haven't used that. I've chosen to support myself so that I can exercise my ministry uninfluenced by financial considerations. You see, if he was supported by a certain church, they had some kind of a hold over him. And if he was free and supported himself, then he could be absolutely fearless and impartial in his dealings with difficult situations. Well, there is Paul's statement of his attitude to these things. He chose to be the bond slave of Jesus Christ and to give up legitimate rights, which it wouldn't have been wrong for him to indulge. But there was a higher call, and so he gave them up. And then the third thing. This led on to self-oblation or self-offering. Our Lord, what did he do? Death on a cross. In order that a lost world might be redeemed, he gave himself. He loved me and gave himself for me. If you want a good sermon or a good study, just take that verse and take the word himself and me. And you just contrast who he was and who you are. And then he gave himself for me, that wonderful person or this insignificant person. What love that is. Well, that was the way in which Christ expressed his mind. How about Moses? Yesterday we were thinking about Moses when God was going to, in anger, consume the people. Remember what Moses' mind was? He said, Oh Lord, if you will forgive, but if not, blot me out that this people might be spared. Here you had a man who was so deeply concerned for the welfare of his people that he was willing to forfeit his own place of privilege with God. And what about Paul? In Romans 9 and verse 1, in a desperation of love, Paul cried out, I could wish myself cursed and cut off from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen after the flesh. Now, there's the reflection of the mind of Christ, is it not? Self-offering, self-sacrifice, self-oblation. This is a practical demonstration of the mind of Christ. A loving concern that is prepared to go to all limits in order that the gospel may be made known. It was one of my students many years ago who, toward the end of his course, heard the call of God to go to Ethiopia. But very much at the same time, he also fell in love with a young lady. Well, the young lady was also thinking of going to the mission field. And they became friendly, and they made application to the Sudan Interior Mission. But when the lady went through the medical examination, it turned out that she was medically unfit, and they turned her down. And that meant that both of them were, their applications were declined. And this was a tremendous blow to them both. He completed his course, and he went away, and he took an interim pastorate in a New Zealand town. And sometime afterwards, I was motoring through that city, and I called on him just to see how he was getting on. And he shared the situation. He had to make a decision, which has priority, the call of God to the mission field, which came before he fell in love with the girl, or should it be his love for his fiancée. And he'd been going through the mill fighting this out, and we knelt down to pray together. And as we prayed, this was very much the burden of his heart, and he was weeping. He was a strong fellow. He wasn't deeply emotional. At least he didn't show it much, but he had his hands over his face, and I could see the tears trickling through his fingers as he was praying. And I never forget one sentence that he said. It struck me at the time, because it seemed to be rather out of place. He said, Oh God, I pray that you will be magnified in my life, whether it be by life or by death. Now, there didn't seem to be anything in the situation to warrant that being said, but that's what he said, and it struck me. Well, he went to Ethiopia. He didn't know it, but two years later, the girl recovered and she was able to go, but he went not knowing that they would meet again. And they did work there for several years. And then the Italian invasion took place. And the Italian army swept in, and they just overran the Ethiopians. And this young man and a Canadian missionary who were working together, they fled before the enemy. And while they were going, the very people to whom they had been ministering speared him to death. I pray that you will be glorified in my body, whether it be by life or by death. That's what he prayed, and God answered by death. But was that the end of the story? Indeed, it wasn't. After some years, the Italians were driven out. And another fellow who had also been one of my students and knew the language of that area was sent by the British army into that country to see what the condition was and to report back. He'd worked there. He was very anxious to see what had happened to the 45 believers they'd left, for after all their years of work, there were only 45 who had come to Christ. And when he got there, what did he find? Did he find 45 believers? Alas, no. He found 15,000 believers. They had very little written. They'd had not many of them. Most of them were new Christians. They'd had very little instruction. And yet the Spirit of God had been there. And they'd witnessed to one another, and dotted all over the place were small churches, not knowing very much, but yet knowing the Lord. And so in a very wonderful way, although he was only one of those involved, God was magnified in his body by death. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Now, let us think, what was the governing disposition of the mind of Christ? One of those renderings says, let the governing disposition that was in Christ be in you also. What was the governing disposition in Christ with regard to the things that are most cherished by the earthly mind? What are the things that men set most value on? And what was Christ's attitude to them? Well, I think the first thing is position and power. This is what men want. They want prestige and they want power. And they'll do anything to get it. Intrigue in politics, violence in war, place-seeking in religion, it's all there. Position and power seem to have a tremendous allurement to men. But a desire for these things is entirely alien to the mind of Christ. What was his attitude to position and to power? He stripped himself of all privilege and of all position and of independent power. He laid it all aside. Is not this the carpenter's son? No position there, just the carpenter's son, the village carpenter. How eagerly we grasp position and power. How readily Jesus renounced position and power. Let this mind be in you. Is that my attitude to position and power if God's given me a leadership position? How do I regard it in the same way as Christ regarded his? The second thing, wealth and possessions. Is it not true that to the great bulk of mankind these are the summum bonum of life? If only they could get money. If only they could have possessions. And our whole culture is geared to stimulate this desire. I believe one of the outstanding sins of our generation is the sin of covetousness. And every advertisement in the newspaper, on TV, on radio, is designed to play upon that thing. A desire to get wealth, something for nothing, to have possessions better than the next person. Here it is. Now, what was the attitude of mind of Christ toward that? You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who, though he was rich. And how rich, we'll never know. Though he was rich, yet for your sake, your sake, my sake, he became poor? Literally. So literally that when Christ died, his total estate was one garment which the soldiers had left him. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who, though he was rich, yet for your sakes, he became poor. What men won't do to get rich. They don't care who gets trampled in the process. They'll resort to dishonesty. They'll be ruthless. It doesn't matter if only they can get some more money. And in the Christian realm, you find that even among Christians, the lucrative professions are crowded. And yet, when it comes to a need on the foreign mission field, that will involve sacrifice, how few are prepared to go. I remember speaking with a very well-known man in this country. If I told you his name, you would know him. But he had a very fine pastor, very flourishing church. And then one day in reading, he read about a tremendous need that there was in the Sudan, in the Sudan United Mission. And God spoke to him about it, and he felt that he should offer. And so he gave up his pastorate to go to fill this need. He said there were dozens, literally dozens, who applied for the pastor of that church. But he said there was not one other who applied to go to the mission field to fulfill a position of need. You know, that's characteristic of our society, our Christian society today. All are willing for position, prestige, ease, comfort, but they're not prepared to go where the going is hard, where it involves genuine sacrifice. And yet the mind of Christ inevitably leads to the cross. What is my attitude to wealth and possessions? Christ stripped himself of them. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Another thing that the earthly mind craves is being served by other people. Is that not true? Why do people want money? One of the reasons is because if you have money, you can get somebody else to do all the difficult jobs and the menial work, and you can just sit by. Money procures service, and it procures power. And that's one reason why money is such a tremendously important thing. It's very interesting that in our Lord's, the record of our Lord in the Gospels, one verse in six in the Gospels deals with money. That's just by the way. Our Lord was a realist. He knew the part that money played in life. Being served by others. I am among you as he that serveth. In Acts 10.38, it speaks about our Lord being anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. Now, how did that manifest itself? What did that anointing lead to? Who went about preaching marvelous sermons, working great miracles? Is that what it says? No. It says he was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, and went about doing good, serving other people. That was what the anointing of the Spirit was with the Lord, and dealing and helping those who were oppressed by the devil. There's one aspect of the anointing of the Spirit that we don't always think of. But the Lord Jesus had to experience the anointing of the Spirit in order to go about doing good in a way that would be spiritually reproductive. And this is something which we can learn from him. I am among you as one who serves. You know, there are many Christian workers who are willing to do their own work, but they're not willing to serve other workers. There are many missionaries who are prepared to do their own work on the mission field, but they're not prepared to take a position in which they will be serving other missionaries. And I think this is something that might challenge us. Am I just as willing to serve my fellow workers, perhaps in a menial job, as I am to take the front line and have a job that's seen and acknowledged? The Lord Jesus humbled himself. He was hidden. He was willing to serve anyone. He was willing to wash even Judas' feet. Well, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who said, I am among you as one who serves. Then another thing that the earthly mind shrinks from and shirks is suffering and shame. What was the mind of Christ with regard to suffering and shame? I think most of us, by nature, will do anything to avoid suffering or loss of face. But when you read the life of Christ, and Paul too, you'll see there that he even welcomed suffering and death. He didn't invite it, nor did Paul. Paul was willing to be let down by the wall if that was in the will of God. But neither Paul nor Christ shirked suffering. If that was part of God's plan for them, then they'll go through with it. It didn't matter what it cost them. And Jesus welcomed even death on a cross as a criminal. That was his attitude to suffering. There couldn't have been any greater shame than to be nailed to a cross. And yet, when he was speaking of it, he said, the cup which my father has given me, shall I not drink it? He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. They tried to deflect him. Peter tried to deflect him. His friends tried to deflect him. But he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, even although he knew it involved suffering and shame. He didn't avoid death. He deliberately courted it. Why? Because he knew that salvation couldn't come to a world in any other way. And so, the earthly mind is inveterately opposed to the mind of Christ. And a complete transformation is necessary if I'm going to have the mind of Christ. My mind runs on earthly lines. That's part of the results of the fall. I need to have the renewing of your mind, Paul speaks. About the renewing of your mind. If I'm going to have the mind of Christ, then he's got to do something about it. Because I can't change my mind. But thank God, he can. The mind of Christ led him to a cross. If I have the mind of Christ, it will lead me to the same destination. It will mean that I would be prepared to die to self-interest, to self-pleasing, to self-love, to self-indulgence. I'll die as Jesus died. Most of our Christianity today is fairly cost-less. People are invited, especially in youth meetings, to enjoy the fun of the popularity of Christianity. Paul said, that I may know not the fun of his popularity, but the fellowship of his sufferings. Here is the road to fruitfulness. And Jesus made it clear in John 10 when he said, Accept a grain of wheat, fall into the ground, and die. It abides alone. But if it died. If we are willing to consent to fall into the ground and die to the self-life in all its manifestations. What will happen? There will be a harvest. One grain dropped into the ground at Calvary. On the day of Pentecost, 3,000 grains. He died, but he lives again and right through the ages. And you and I are part of the fruit of that falling into the ground and dying. And Jesus says here, here is the secret of fruitfulness. So long as I am self-absorbed and self-centered, my ministry will be sterile. That is when I am prepared to fall into the ground and die. The key word of the Greek culture was self-culture, self-indulgence, self-enjoyment. What did Jesus say? His philosophy is self-sacrifice, self-denial. Well, what are we going to do about it? Can you imitate the mind of Christ? Isn't it so far above us as we think of some of the things we've been thinking of this morning? Can I attain that? Can I imitate it? What can I do about it? I wonder if there's a secret hint given in the words, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. Let this mind be in you. It isn't something that we have to do by ourselves. Let this mind be in you. That means it's the work of another. It's something which he must do in me. He's the only one who can make the change. The supreme ministry of the Holy Spirit is to work in me the mind of Christ. Isn't that what he's after? What is the fruit of the Spirit? If you take those nine manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit, you've got the mind of Christ. There it is, just in one nice bunch. And the Holy Spirit produces that. The fruit of the Spirit is the mind of Christ, you could say. He's the one who will do it. It isn't a matter of my trying to drum up something from within myself. I haven't got it. I know that the Lord diagnosed me, he said, for within from out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts and so on. I can produce that kind of thing. But I can't produce the other. But the Holy Spirit can. And that's the very reason why he's been given. It doesn't say generate in your mind the mind of Christ. It doesn't say imitate the mind of Christ. But let it be in you. So yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. Offering him no obstruction. Not grieving him by disobedience or by sin. So yielding yourself to his operations that he is unhindered, able to reproduce in us the very mind of Christ. Consent to a daily crucifixion of the earthly mind and its outlook. And also welcome the Holy Spirit as he works in us in detail the mind of Christ. We're going to sing a hymn that summarizes this teaching in a moment or two. It's the hymn, May the mind of Christ my Savior dwell in me from day to day. But before we sing it, would you just bow quietly in prayer and let us tell the Lord what's in our inmost hearts.