How To Develop Healthy Mindset

Good morning welcome to our online service… So glad that you joined us today… Last week we kicked off our first Zoom Community Group and it was great to have that interaction after service..

I want to encourage you to join us again today…you will find the link and questions in the notes section on this - church online platform.

A couple of weeks ago we began this sermon series entitled Re-frame and we are in the book of Philippians… Paul is writing to the Church at Philippi from prison with this death sentence over his head…

Philippians is one of the Gems in scripture… because it is a personal letter of encouragement to Paul’s friends who are facing challenging times..

The tone of the letter is upbeat and full of affirmation, encouragement… and Joy…during a difficult set of circumstances..

What we learn from Paul’s , imprisionment is the importance of having the right perspective and mindset when facing challenging times...

So, What is a mindset?

the frame work...—the way we sort out what is going on and what we should do.

Our mindsets help us spot opportunities, but they can also trap us in self-defeating cycles. (Psychology today)

A few years ago a study was done of Police officers, soldiers, and marines - - — those who had authority over civilians… They studied the differences between those who had the tendency to be authoritarian and those who were more compassionate..

What they discovered is that the key differences was in their predetermined mindset…

BOTH GROUPS had the same concerns of safety and maintaining law and order… but their approach was drastically different..

The authoritarian group used their power to intimidate civilians in order to get them to comply. Whereas the Compassionate group… believed that they could get more done through voluntarily cooperation..

The study concluded that the compassionate group had better results… even though ... it took more skill and time, but it built trust that had a long term pay off..

Our mindset can either inhibit or advance our progress...

In the book of Philippians, Paul teaches the importance of having a healthy or godly — theocentric mindset.... God centered in Church… and to imitate the mind of Christ.. Paul tells church to..

Philippians 2:5 CSB

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,

What makes Paul’s teaching so powerful, is that he is not just passing on more information, but he is living it out these principles.. Paul is going to use own struggles and experiences as a tool for instruction…

T/s How do you develop a Healthy mindset?

First of all we need to...

What kind of ‘laugher’ are you: The quiet-smile type? The one who guffaws? The one who snickers? Something else?

1. Deal Regularly with our need for Control

In the first Chapter of Philippians .. we have seen that God has been working during Paul’s imprisionment… His Chains have been a catalyst for the advancement of the gospel...

The gospel message has travelled throughout the entire imperial guard… all the way through Ceasars household.

Not only that, but most of the believers who were at first fearful had now become bolder in sharing their faith.

So...Good things are happening during difficult times..……

But there is another reality looming on the horizon. Paul is waiting for a verdict... a decision on his case, that may result in a death sentence ..…

So, Paul is in a holding pattern with no control over the future...

In 2007, I had the opportunity to travel to India to do some ministry.. and it had been long flight… about 16 hour or longer… when we arrived the pilot told us that there was not enough visibility on the runway to land.. and that the tower had put us in a holding pattern.. So we just circled the airport for about an hour… It was the longest hour... Every passenger on the plane.... was ready to get off… the plane…

Maybe that is were we find ourselves in holding pattern today…and … We want to get off the ride… but, we find ourselves in a holding pattern...

God often does His of deepest work in our lives during seasons of delays...

“God doesn’t work for Amazon Prime. He doesn’t guarantee two-day delivery. … (we need) to Keep waiting. Keep praying. Keep believing.” - Amy Weatherly

Paul in out text share with us ...how to handle life without controls..

He starts off with this expectation..of a hopeful.. outcome.

Philippians 1:19–20 ESV

19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

Paul frames everything under the heading of the sovereignty of God… regardless what happens God is alway in control.. God has got this..

Paul and the church are Living in a volatile and dangerous world… where life was fragile and death was common place --- if you were a Christian you had a target on your back… and were at risk for persecution and death..

Paul says, regardless of how dire the situation looks.. right now… Put on a Christlike attitude…Christlike mindset…

Expect that God is working through your trial…know that God is working all things together for the Good of those who love him...

Paul not even for a moment avoids or deny’s … what he is facing … In fact he is looking forward...-- picture here is of a person straining their neck to see what is ahead…

As Paul looks ahead he sees two realities.. two sign posts .... one marked Life and the other death…

Those are the two realties…

Philippians 1:21–26 ESV

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

What is Paul’s main concern in all this?

Why is this so important to Paul?

Paul gives an honest review of his circumstances..

On one hand he is feeling the weight of his situation..Up until this point things have been difficult for Paul...He has experienced Floggings, beatings, shipwrecks, imprisionment…

Life has been caused him pain, suffering and anxiety... He is honest and says that he is “hard pressed” — He has this conflict in his heart and mind…

From the Suffering prison perspective death .. was a more attractive option..

He would no longer have to be in pain or suffer imprisonment, nor would he have to deal with problems in the church… and he would be with the Lord...

On the other hand live meant that would remain, and their partnership in the gospel would continue and there would be more fruitful labor for Christ.

When I was a teenager our youth pastor gave us this exercise… He told us to write down the Epithet that we wanted written on our tombstone… How did we want to be remembered…

Sounds little depressing…but..Contemplating the end of life can bring clarity in the present...it can help us determine the difference between what important and unimportant..and what we are actually living for..

As Paul contemplates life and death.... he is able to define his greater purpose… and he concludes

… God isn’t done with him… yet..

Paul knows that he has no controls… That everything is subject to the Sovereignty of God..

Later on in Chapter two…Paul tells the church he hopes to send Timothy with this letter to the church… Nothing is written in stone… but as God wills he will continue his ministry.

Charles Swindoll ...Anything under God’s control is never out of control.

Paul pondered both outcomes of whether he lives or dies.....and concludes that if it is God’s sovereign will… he sees the benefit of continuing the work...

There are a couple of takeaways...

Firstly, We need define what we are living for?

Paul starts with himself ...

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Eugene Peterson paraphrase this verses.. “Alive, I'm Christ's messager; dead, I'm his bounty.’

for is used as Marker … (reason) --- He is talking about the meaning of life…

… For Him the reason --to live is..... comes down to a single word.....Christ..

Paul lived with Passion…and what fueled Paul’s life was his sense of divine mission…the mission of proclaiming Christ and advancing the Gospel…

The second takeaway…

We need ask what we are honoring..

As Paul looks to the future of …regardless of the Outcome… Paul is confident that God will be honored…

the word honor is the greek word Megas… the same root word Mega.. Which mean to enlarge or to magnify..

… Paul says that Christ will be magnified...

A magnifying glass does several things: it makes the object look bigger thus making it easier to examine and see.

It also brings the object into greater focus, enabling us to see detail we would not be able to see without the magnification the glass is performing.

The Idea is that our bodies, our actions in these bodies, act like magnifying glasses.

Because Paul was ready to die, he was ready to live. He belonged to Christ and was confident of his eternal destination, so he could donate his life on earth to living for Christ

T/s How do you develop a Healthy mindset?

1. Deal Regularly with our need for Control!

2. Don't Devaluate your Worth!

When we speak about Worth we talking about the Value that we ascribe to something… Worth speaks of personal value…

There are some possession that Pam I have that have no monetary value… but they are have personal value … For example…Pam has several years of scrapbooks that photo albums are valuable to us.... When our children were younger they did all kinds of art work.. wrote beautiful things....and I have this dad box… that isn’t worth much… but it is priceless because of the personal value...

We need to be careful what we value and what we undervalue.. because...

Whatever wins our affections will control our lives. - Ed Welch

Paul encourages the church to value the being in Christ..

Philippians 1:27–30 ESV

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul uses this imperative or command that the Church was to live their lives in a manner worthy of the Gospel.

He uses political language here… he reminds them of their citizenship.... Paul reminds them of there civic duties and rights as citizens… of the Kingdom of God..

Paul was saying, “Live your citizen-life. If you living as a good citizen… you don’t have to be policed… you don’t have to be told what to do…Paul says regardless of whether he is present or absent… do the right things

....stand united firm in one spirit...striving side by side for the faith...

Striving side by side” is the teamwork vocabulary of athletes or soldiers. It is at the heart of winning teams.

Stephen Ambrose in his book Comrades, which includes the story of Lewis and Clark, describes this as the secret of their epic accomplishments:

“What Lewis and Clark had done, first of all, was to demonstrate that there is nothing that men cannot do if they get themselves together and act as a team.”

Paul knew that the success of the church in Philippi depended on such teamwork, but, of course, the stakes were far higher than the exploration of the American West

Paul tells us that… Our unity is sign to the unbelieving world...

... It exposes destructive patterns... and declares that our rescue and Salvation only Comes from God...

One of the reason is that our life speaks.... is because the way we handle suffering.... when we embrace suffering as a grace… it magnifies Christ… Christ is Honored…

vrs 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have

Paul changes our perspective on suffering... Paul sees suffering as a gift… that God has granted it ... that suffering they were enduring was actually participating in what Paul was up against…

Basically, Paul is saying we all are going through this together… But when there is this merger between our lives that are in Christ and suffering… what emerges is a life that has been shaped… something that is beautiful… something that is powerful and communicates to others..

Philippians 1:29 Why is suffering a benefit granted by God? How does this relate to Paul’s joy in difficult circumstances?

T/s How do you develop a Healthy mindset?

1. Deal with your Controls!

2. Don't Devaluate your Worth!

3. Double Down on your Compassion.

Have you noticed if you have gone through s struggle … you tend to have more compassion on those who are experiencing the same thing… Right now there are 30 million people unemployed in the US… Some of these people are going to get assistance from the government for the first time… If you have been there you can sympathize… Someone suffers from anxiety… someone… who has lost a child…

In the beginning of Chapter 2 Paul is making is concluding argument…for the reason why the church should walk worth of the Gospel...

He tell us that there is beauty that comes with a community that goes through an experience and comes out the other side together… He speaks about the encouragement that comes through Christ..

Philippians 2:1–5 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

How would things change if these verses marked your family life/church life/work life?

Paul starts this closing statements with the a rhetorical IF...… If there is encouragement in Christ…any consolation from the love of Christ…if there is any participation in the spirit... any affection compassion and affection in Christ..

The is is the condition upon which what follows .... instead of saying...

if there is good weather, adequate rain, and sunshine, and if the frost doesn’t come too early, the trees will bear an abundance of fruit.

He turns that around, first naming the harvest and then the conditions that will produce the harvest.

The word translated “encouragement” is the same word when he spoke of the Holy Spirit as the Counselor or Comforter (John 14:16). Every believer has received encouragement, exhortation, and comfort from Christ. That common experience ought to unite the Philippians

It is this picture of being comforted by love of God… It having the awareness that God spirit is alive and moving and working…it is the sense of being full loved...

The conditions of the harvest..

Being of the same mind

Doing nothing out of selfish ambition

Being humble.. - considering other…and being about the interests of others

Conclusion:

At the 2013 commencement speech at MIT, Drew Houston, who is the founder of Dropbox said:

◦ When I think about it, the happiest and most successful people I know.. they don't just love what they do, they're obsessed with solving an important problem, something that matters to them.

◦ They remind me of a dog chasing a tennis ball: Their eyes go a little crazy, the leash snaps and they go bounding off, plowing through whatever gets in the way …

◦ So it's not about pushing yourself; it's about finding your tennis ball, the thing that pulls you.

Houston then asked the question...what is your tennis ball?

◦ Isn't that a great question?? What is that thing in life that gets you motivated and excited ..what is your tennis ball?

What are you living for....Paul summed up his whole life in one word Christ…

To live is Christ… there was a reason...

Romans 8:18 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

What is something you eagerly expected that has not happened?

How has your hope in Christ helped you?

Paul encourages us to have the same mindset that is in Christ Jesus.

lets pray...