The Mind Of Christ
Rev. Chris Lawrence Preached on 7/1/2026
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Summary
Rev. Chris Lawrence challenges believers to adopt the 'Mind of Christ' by prioritizing Bible study, honoring family while serving God, accepting divine detours to reach the lost, and practicing radical love for all people.
Key points
- •To have the mind of Christ, we must prioritize the study of Scripture, just as the 12-year-old Jesus was found engaging with teachers in the temple.
- •Believers must balance spiritual pursuits with family responsibilities, ensuring that secular activities never take precedence over the house of God.
- •Following Jesus requires a willingness to accept divine detours-inconveniences in our schedules intended to reach the lost or marginalized.
- •True Christ-likeness is defined by loving the difficult, the different, and even our enemies, moving beyond the easy love of those who are like us.
Scripture
Discipleship
Scripture
Love
Evangelism
Spiritual Growth
Life application
Identify one person this week who is difficult to love or socially marginalized and intentionally go out of your way to show them kindness or share a meal with them.
Reflection questions
- In what ways has my 'flesh' or self-will become an idol that prevents me from having the mind of Christ?
- Am I currently involved in a Bible study, or has secular education and career taken priority over learning the Word?
- When was the last time I allowed God to interrupt my schedule for the sake of someone else's need?
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Full transcript
0:00beautiful thing.
0:00[music]
0:00>> But my mother's here with us all the way
0:02from Florison. drove all the way from
0:05Florison tonight and the sanctuary and
0:08my sister Michelle's here and so we're
0:11thanking them for joining us and of
0:12course glad to be here with my baby girl
0:15Anna and first time guest. Where's your
0:18guest card? Where you at? Ushers,
0:20first time guests in the room tonight.
0:23Mr. Ellis Smith is in the house
0:29and technically he's not even due yet.
0:32So, it's still before his due date. So,
0:34praise God. He's early and to church on
0:36time. Praise God. And of course, my
0:39wife, glad to have her with me. And my
0:41grandkids are here. And my Amen. my
0:44cousins and my all my nieces and nephews
0:48and in-laws and outlaws are all here.
0:50And of course, uh, Uncle Dan has always
0:54been a big part of our life. And we were
0:57visiting. I was thinking about when
0:59Aaron was about this big and we would
1:03visit and they would come down to
1:05Florida. Oh, I'm sorry, Pastor Bachelor.
1:07I'm not supposed to say that. Uh, he he
1:09was he was about this big and I was
1:12about this big. I was I don't know, six
1:15or seven 10 12 years older than him,
1:19something like that. And we would uh
1:21have a lot of fun sledding
1:24and doing skits. Me and my brother Nate,
1:26we were the skit committee
1:28and uh just the memories are flooding
1:31back from his youth and our youth and
1:34but we're so thankful to be here. Pastor
1:36Bachelor and his beautiful wife and
1:37family, their kids are awesome and uh
1:42just awesome. Yes, that's appropriate.
1:44Go ahead.
1:49We bring you greetings from Beluxy. I am
1:52assistant pastor in Buxy, Mississippi,
1:53and have a church plant in Long Beach,
1:56Mississippi. Praise God. And so, we're
1:59excited.
2:01And my assistant called me yesterday and
2:03said that we had a first time guest and
2:05family and they took them out to eat and
2:07they got a Bible study scheduled for
2:08Friday. So, that's what it's all about
2:11right there. So, we're excited.
2:14I wanted to tell you that in uh 1936, my
2:19great my great greatgrandfather
2:23started a church in Bloomington, Indiana
2:26called [music] Bethany Temple on
2:29Anderson Road. My grandma Lawrence got
2:31married there in 1937. My dad started
2:35church there at age five in 1946.
2:39In 1960, our grandfather Howard Jones
2:42began to pastor from 1960 to 1967
2:46in Bloomington, Indiana. So, we have a
2:49long heritage to hold up to tonight and
2:51we're very thankful for our family and
2:53our heritage and all that are here
2:55tonight. Would you say amen?
2:57>> Praise God. So, thank you for having us.
2:58if you would turn with me in the word of
3:01God. And
3:04[snorts] I believe that the Lord has
3:06given us a word for this hour
3:09and this time. And I think they will
3:11have it on the screen in Philippians
3:14chapter 2
3:16and we'll be looking at verse 1-7.
3:21Praise God.
3:24Philippians 2 1-7
3:27says, "If there be therefore any
3:29consolation in Christ, if any comfort of
3:31love, if any fellowship of spirit, if
3:33any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my
3:37joy, that ye be like-minded, having the
3:40same love, being of one accord, of one
3:42mind. Let nothing be done through strife
3:46or vain glory, but in loneliness of
3:49mind,
3:51let each esteem others
3:54better than themselves. Somebody say,
3:55"That's hard.
3:58Look not every man on his own things,
4:01but every man also on the things of
4:02others. Let this mind be in you, which
4:05is also in Christ Jesus, who being in
4:08the form of God, thought it not robbery
4:10to be equal with God, but made himself
4:13of no reputation, and took upon him the
4:16form of a servant,
4:19and was made in the likeness of men. I'd
4:21like to draw your attention tonight to
4:22verse five. Let this mind be in you,
4:27which also was in Christ Jesus. For the
4:30next few moments, I'd like for us to get
4:32our mind operating [music] like Jesus.
4:36I wonder if we could think like he
4:38thought and act like he acted and desire
4:40what he desires and plan like he
4:42planned. Somebody said, "What do you
4:45expect from me? I'm not Jesus." And to
4:47that I say, "Well, you should be."
4:51We are called to be in the likeness of
4:52Christ. We're striving to be like Jesus.
4:55Would you say amen?
4:58Lord Jesus, for the next few moments,
4:59open our hearts and minds to receive the
5:01word of the Lord. For faith cometh by
5:03hearing and hearing by the word. And we
5:06pray that the word would embed in our
5:07hearts and change our actions, change
5:10our attitudes, and let us be more like
5:12you today than we were yesterday. If we
5:14can grow just a little bit in you
5:17tonight, that is our desire. And
5:19everybody say in Jesus name.
5:22>> Amen. You may be seated.
5:25For those of you that were around
5:28in the 80s, you may remember
5:32the WWJD
5:34movement. Does anybody remember that
5:36movement?
5:37>> In fact, uh, they came out with a bunch
5:40of merchandise.
5:42There was a famous cloth wristband that
5:46had WWJD on it. And if you were
5:51spiritual, you had to have a bracelet.
5:54so that you could look at that bracelet
5:56and say, "I wonder what Jesus would do
5:58in this situation."
6:00The cloth wristbands emerged in 1989.
6:04There was a youth pastor, Brother
6:06Braxton, named uh Janie Tinkleberg at
6:09Calvary Reform Church in Holland,
6:11Michigan, created the bracelets to give
6:13teenagers a tangible way to apply their
6:16Christian faith to daily decisions. Now,
6:19of course, WWJD wasn't a new slogan.
6:22Charles Spurgeon had actually used the
6:24exact same sermon in 1891,
6:30but WWJD boomed and it turned into
6:33bracelets and then it turned into uh
6:35keychains and then it turned into uh
6:38other merchandise so that you could buy
6:40the WWJD and almost any type of of
6:43merchandise. So you could always look at
6:45your shirt or your keychain or your
6:47wrist and say, "Well, I need to remember
6:49what Jesus would do right now." So, I
6:51don't know how well it worked, but the
6:53marketing work, they sold a lot of them.
6:54I know that much. But man was created in
6:58the image of God.
7:00And we know that Lucifer stole the
7:03innocence of man in the garden and made
7:06man the first idol.
7:10Could it be that man himself is an idol?
7:12Why? Because once the innocence was
7:15stolen, we're no longer in the image of
7:17God, but now the scripture says we're
7:19born in sin and shapen in iniquity. So
7:22what was once the image of God is now
7:25the image of fallen man or Lucifer.
7:29We're born as an idol. And until Jesus
7:33allowed us to be born again,
7:37then we're no longer an idol, but we
7:39return to the image of God through the
7:41blood of Jesus Christ. when you're born
7:43again of the water and the spirit. Jesus
7:46told them, "Marvel not that you must be
7:48born again. We've left idolatry and
7:50returned to the image of God through
7:53being born again of the water and the
7:54spirit." However, the battle remains to
7:57be free of idolatry. It's a lifelong
7:59pursuit. And some of you are thinking as
8:03I thought when I was a kid, I've never
8:05fashioned a golden thing and worshiped
8:07it. And I don't have any statues on my
8:10fireplace that I bow down to. But when
8:13you think of flesh as an idol, when you
8:16think of man's desire, when you think of
8:19carnality as idolatry, it would seem
8:22that all of us have participated in
8:24idolatry in the room. Basically, we
8:27could say we were all born into idolatry
8:31because we're born in sin. And only can
8:35we escape idolatry by escaping the deeds
8:38of the flesh. And Paul talked about it
8:39extensively. Paul said that there's this
8:42battle within himself. And he wants to
8:45do good, but evil is continually
8:47present. He said, "That which I would, I
8:49do not. And that which I would not, I
8:50do. And I'm constantly battling with
8:53myself to come against the spirit of
8:57idolatry and the spirit of the flesh.
8:58For we wrestle not against flesh and
9:01blood, but against principalities and
9:04spirits of darkness and wickedness in
9:06high places. And we are called in Romans
9:09to present our bodies
9:12>> as a living sacrifice.
9:15>> If your body is not sacrificed, your
9:17body becomes your idol.
9:20>> When you worship yourself, you can't
9:22worship God. No man can serve two
9:24masters.
9:26Either he will cling to the one or he
9:28will love the other. But if you're
9:30serving man, no man can serve God and
9:33mammon.
9:35>> You can only serve one or the other. So
9:37here we are with this this struggle. And
9:40we're instructed in 1 Peter 1:13 to gird
9:44up the loins of our mind to protect
9:47every thought to bring every thought
9:49into captivity. We're told in 2
9:53Corinthians 10:5 that you have to
9:55control what goes through your mind and
9:58you have to control what lingers in your
10:02mind. And somebody said the eyes are the
10:05gateway to the soul and the things that
10:08you see will embed themselves upon your
10:11consciousness. So that it will take a
10:13lot of prayer and a lot of fasting to
10:16rid yourself from the stains of the
10:18images of sin that will implant
10:21themselves in your corneas.
10:24>> Now, I didn't come to pastor tonight.
10:25This is just my intro. It'll get better.
10:28Don't worry.
10:29But the fact of the matter is that we
10:31all wrestle with sin. If you can't say
10:33amen to that, then we need to have
10:35prayer for lion spirits in the room. But
10:37we all wrestle with sin. Could you say
10:39amen?
10:40>> Amen. and we've battled to try to
10:43overcome the flesh. And Philippians 4:8,
10:47it tells us what we're supposed to be
10:48thinking about.
10:50It says, "Whatsoever things are true,
10:54and whatsoever things are honest, and
10:57whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
11:00things are pure, whatsoever things are
11:03lovely, whatsoever things are of good
11:05report, if there be any virtue, if there
11:08be any praise, think on these things."
11:12If you've been around Pentecost for any
11:14length of time, you are no doubt
11:16familiar with spiritual warfare. Uh, we
11:20preach about it. We've been taught
11:22lessons about it. We try to practice it.
11:25We try to war in the spirit. Some of you
11:27may even be intercessor prayer warriors
11:30that engage in spiritual warfare on the
11:33regular. And all of that is appropriate.
11:36But I would argue tonight that mental
11:39warfare
11:40may very possibly precede spiritual
11:43warfare. Before you can battle anything
11:47out here, you got to battle something in
11:49here.
11:51>> I would argue that mental warfare
11:53supersedes even spiritual warfare. If
11:57you can't win the battle here, you got
11:59no chance out in the spirit world. And
12:01that's what the seven sons of SA found
12:03out when they tried to do some works,
12:05but they didn't have the goods and the
12:08enemy jumped on them and they left
12:11wounded and naked. So, what is
12:15[snorts] and what does Jesus think?
12:18How can I think like Jesus? The Bible's
12:22very clear. There's many scriptures. I
12:24only read a few, but there's many
12:26scriptures that we are to have the mind
12:27of Christ and we are to think like
12:30Christ. So, how do we do what Jesus did,
12:34what Jesus would do? We study the
12:37biatitudes and the sermon on the mount
12:38and all that's appropriate. We study the
12:41fruit of the spirit, the gifts of the
12:43spirit, and all that's appropriate. We
12:45study Psalms and the Proverbs to learn
12:47about the virtues that the Bible
12:50teaches, and that's all appropriate. But
12:52I want to take just a few moments
12:53tonight to look at a few simple things
12:57on a Wednesday night that Jesus thought
12:59that you can think
13:02John 2:46
13:06and then verse 49. When Jesus is just a
13:08child, you know the story. he's missing
13:10from the caravan.
13:12Our first introduction to Jesus after
13:14his nativity is when he is at age 12 and
13:18they go to Jerusalem for the feast and
13:21the caravan leaves and they realize
13:24after 3 days that Jesus is not in the
13:26caravan. And so in John 2:46 it says,
13:29"And it came to pass after three days,
13:32they found him in the temple sitting in
13:34the midst of the doctors, both hearing
13:37them and asking them questions." And he
13:41said unto them, "How is it that ye
13:43sought me? [snorts] Wish ye not that I
13:46must be about my father's business?" Let
13:49me paraphrase. Why are you looking for
13:51me? You should have known where I was
13:54at.
13:56So I want to give you point number one.
14:00If you want to have the mind of Jesus,
14:03you must do Bible studies.
14:08If you want to have the mind of Jesus,
14:10you must be in a Bible study. Now, who
14:12do you think knows more about the Bible
14:14in this room than 12year-old Jesus?
14:18I imagine he had been reading and
14:21studying and learning since he was born.
14:24uh what he didn't already innately know
14:27because of the anointing. He's still
14:29studying. Now, why does Jesus have to go
14:32and ask questions? Wouldn't you think he
14:34would know the answers? And yet, our
14:37example, you hearing me, youth group,
14:39age 12, Jesus is in a Bible study. At
14:43age 12, the one who knew everything is
14:47studying and asking questions and having
14:49conversations with the Bible teachers.
14:52And so we find now, God bless our Bible
14:55quizzers, let me see your hand. Where's
14:56my Bible quizzers?
14:58Where's my Bible quiz parents and
15:00coaches? Let me see your hands. Parents
15:02and coaches. All right, we give you all
15:05an out. You don't have to be in a Bible
15:06study. You're studying the Bible 24/7.
15:10Everybody else in the room should be in
15:11a Bible study.
15:14Woo! I didn't get a lot of amens.
15:15They're not running the aisles on that
15:16one.
15:18You either should be teaching one,
15:20attending one, hosting, participating.
15:23You can even attend online. But how can
15:26you live for God and have the mind of
15:28Christ when you don't know what's in the
15:29Bible?
15:31>> You have to study. Study to show thyself
15:34approved unto God, a workman that
15:36needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
15:37dividing the word of truth. Come on,
15:39Bible quizzers. Let me hear from you.
15:41You got to study the word if you want to
15:44live for God.
15:47The word of God is more important than
15:49secular school.
15:51>> The word of God is more important than a
15:53college degree.
15:55>> The word of God is more important than a
15:57career. The word of God is more
16:00important than anything else in your
16:01life. You got to know the word.
16:06>> Thy word have I hid in my heart that I
16:08might not sin against thee. Thy word is
16:11a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my
16:13path. Thy word became flesh and dwelt
16:16among us. And we beheld the glory as of
16:19the only begotten of the father, full of
16:20grace and truth. You got to have the
16:22word if you want to live for God. How
16:25many love the word of God in the room
16:27tonight? You know, the word will help
16:28you when you're hurting. The word will
16:31give you strength when you're weak. The
16:33word will give you courage when you're
16:34fearful. The word of God will give you
16:36faith when you have no faith. You can
16:39call upon the word.
16:43And in case you didn't know, the word is
16:45how you pray.
16:47>> When Jesus is tempted in the garden, he
16:49says what it is written.
16:51>> And he begins to quote the word of God
16:53when he's tempted. The word will always
16:56give you strength. If you want to be
16:58like Jesus, you got to study the word of
17:00God. Ask someone to attend a Bible
17:03study. Open your home for a Bible study.
17:06Everybody say, "He's talking to me."
17:09>> Except the quizzers. Praise God.
17:12Kids, you're not excluded.
17:14Jesus was 12 and he's doing Bible study.
17:18>> When's the last time you had a Bible
17:20study in your home?
17:23>> Oh, I'm not radical like that. Well,
17:25that's why you need the mind of Christ.
17:29>> Ask Jesus to lead you
17:31>> and he'll help you get a Bible study.
17:33You don't have to teach it. You can
17:34invite the youth pastor. We'll load up
17:36Brother Braxie. He can teach them all.
17:38Just get them together in your house and
17:40we'll send him there to teach them.
17:42There's nothing more important than
17:44teaching the word of God.
17:47>> No committee meeting, no staff meeting,
17:50no staff retreat, no staff lunchon, no
17:54corporate event. Nothing's more
17:55important than the word of God.
17:58>> If you want to be like Jesus, you got to
18:00love the word of God.
18:06>> Point one. If you want to have the mind
18:08of Jesus, you must do Bible study. John
18:112 3 and 4. They wanted wine. And Jesus's
18:16mother
18:17said to Jesus, "They have no wine." And
18:20Jesus said unto her famously, "Woman,
18:22what have I to do with thee? My hour is
18:25not yet come." But then Mary ignores
18:30that chastisement and says, "Whatever he
18:32says, do do it."
18:35And so he told him to fill all the
18:37vessels with water. And what we find in
18:40the scripture is that Jesus's first
18:42miracle is accelerated because of his
18:45mother. His timeline changes because of
18:49his family.
18:51Point two, if you want to have the mind
18:53of Jesus, you must respect your family
18:57while being sensitive to God's timing.
19:03You can't ignore your family. And this
19:06is kind of why Paul said it'd be better
19:07if you didn't get married, but most
19:09people were. So, you got to honor your
19:12wife and you got to honor your husband.
19:15You can't be at the church seven days a
19:17week and never spend any time with your
19:20family.
19:24>> If you're married, if you have kids, you
19:28owe them to be close to God. and close
19:32to them.
19:33>> You cannot only spend time at the
19:36church. I've seen people with families
19:39who spent every spare minute at the
19:40church and they ended up divorced.
19:43You can't give all your time when you
19:45have a family. Quality time with your
19:47family while maintaining your spiritual
19:49pursuits is imperative.
19:52>> I had a mission statement. Now, I don't
19:53I know it's not famous now and it's not
19:55big now, but back in the day, we wrote
19:56mission statements and uh seven habits
19:59of highly effective people. by the way,
20:02uh was one of my mantras growing up. And
20:05then they wrote highly effective teens
20:06and highly effective churches and highly
20:08effective youth groups. So there's a
20:09hundred of them now. But one of the
20:11things about the seven habits of highly
20:13effective people is writing a mission
20:14statement. So in my mission statements,
20:17one of my goals was to find fitness with
20:20family appeal.
20:22So, I didn't want to just go golfing
20:24with the golf buddies, but I wanted to
20:26do something that my kids could do and
20:27that my grandkids could do and my family
20:30could do. So, we started doing the local
20:32races. There was usually there's 5K
20:35races and then there's the mile or half
20:36mile or quarter mile for the kids. So, I
20:39got the kids out running. So, I had all
20:42my kids, Landon, my son, and Anna, my
20:44daughter, was running. And if you go to
20:47the website of the Mississippi GF Coast
20:49Running Club, you can search the history
20:51and see their times all the way back to
20:531990 and and before. So all the times
20:57are still there. We can go look at the
20:58races and we've got a permanent record
21:00of of the things we did together and
21:02they would get trophies and and they I
21:04would run with them and and have them
21:05out there with me. So then I got my
21:07grandkids involved. So a few years ago,
21:10actually now six years ago, Ellington
21:12was three and he ran a 1047 mile at age
21:15three. So I was holding his hands and
21:18you know his little legs
21:21and every once in a while he he'd do a
21:23hop. He says, "Woo, we're having fun."
21:28And so I'd run with him. But it was
21:30because I wanted to spend time with my
21:31family while also spending time with
21:34some of my fitness goals. So, I put the
21:36two together and then uh my other
21:39granddaughter, my son's daughter,
21:41Lockxley, she's on the Mississippi state
21:43record for girls. When she was five, she
21:46ran a 837 mile at age five. And if you
21:50go to Mississippi State one mile record,
21:52you'll see Lockxley Lawrence for a
21:555-year-old female, 837 mile state
21:57record.
21:59And so, why why you tell me this?
22:01because it's important to spend time
22:03with your family while you're doing what
22:05you want to do. You can't just go and
22:08leave them and go do what you want to
22:10do. And so I took my grandson golfing
22:13and and I I was on a course I wasn't
22:15familiar with and I said, "Where's the
22:17flag on this hole?" And they said, "Oh,
22:18it's over there." So I rared back and
22:20hit it. Well, it wasn't over there. It
22:22was over there. And I hit it right into
22:24the water. And my four-year-old grandson
22:26says, "Well, I wouldn't have done that,
22:28Chris." He know he don't call me Chris.
22:31I'm like, where did that come from? I
22:33wouldn't have done that, Chris.
22:39He said, I'm not hitting my ball in the
22:41water. Four years old. So, you know,
22:44there's there's some challenges when you
22:45bring your family with you to your
22:47sporting events.
22:49You got to you got to control yourself,
22:51but you've got to spend time. So, I've
22:54attended awards banquetss, which I know
22:56you have. I attended one here, in fact,
22:58with your school last year. I've
23:00attended school concerts, graduations,
23:02soccer games, football games,
23:03basketball, pickle ball tournaments,
23:05which I lost one intentionally so my my
23:08grandchild could win, but we're not
23:09going to mention that cuz she's in the
23:10room. Praise God. I've been to youth
23:12camps. We don't miss church though for
23:14any of those events.
23:17>> Now, you could plug your pastor. You
23:18could correct this later, but travel
23:21ball is doesn't take precedence to
23:23church.
23:28Sports and secular events are not more
23:30important than the house of God.
23:34[applause]
23:36>> You got to find activities that work
23:38around the house of God, not activities
23:40that take place during church time.
23:42Church is first. Seek ye first the
23:47kingdom of God and his righteousness,
23:49and all these things will be added unto
23:51you. Mom and dad, you're not helping
23:53your kid when you prioritize secular
23:56things over the house of God. You're not
23:58helping your kids. You're not teaching
24:00them what's most important. Your soul is
24:03more important than any other thing.
24:05>> Praise God. So, your pastor can correct
24:06all that later, but that's the way that
24:09I see it in the word of God. John 3 uh
24:11John 4:3 and 4. Point two was if you
24:15want to have the mind of Jesus, you must
24:17respect your family while being
24:18sensitive to God's timing. John 4:3
24:21and4.
24:23As Jesus left Judea and departed into
24:26Galilee, he must need
24:29go through Samaria. Samaria.
24:34Jesus had a mandatory detour. How many
24:38of you like detours?
24:42You, the way you normally go is blocked.
24:46and they say, 'We going to send you down
24:47here where there's 53 stop signs and 53
24:50potholes.
24:52The interstate's closed, but we got this
24:54nice detour for you. It only take you a
24:56couple hours. How many of you love that?
24:59This is what happened to Jesus. See,
25:01they didn't go through Samaria. The Jews
25:04avoided Samaria because they were
25:05considered unclean. And when the
25:09righteous Jews were traveling between
25:10Galilee and Judea, they would avoid
25:12going through Samaria by crossing to the
25:15eastern side of the Jordan River. And
25:17they would add about 3 days to their
25:19journey. But Jesus probably through
25:22prayer and fasting had a divine
25:25assignment with a woman in need.
25:27And Jesus said, "I've must go through
25:32Samaria
25:33to reach a woman that was living in sin.
25:37To reach a woman that was a six-time
25:39loser in the marriage game, to reach a
25:42woman of illreute, to reach a woman that
25:45was considered unclean to the Jews, an
25:48outcast, the lowest of lows, one that
25:51came to get water at a time that nobody
25:53else would." And that's why she was
25:55there when Jesus was there. and he said,
25:57"I cannot travel the way I normally
26:00travel. I have to take a detour because
26:03there is someone that is in need." And
26:07you say, "Well, Brother Lawrence, I've
26:09never uh had God to send me on a
26:12detour." Well, that's because we don't
26:14have the mind of Christ.
26:18If we think like Jesus, he'll send us on
26:20detours
26:22for the lost.
26:24It's not easy.
26:26I run as I mentioned and I live on the
26:30Gulf of America.
26:37It's official name. And so
26:40I run on the boardwalk by the beach and
26:43there's a facility there uh next to a
26:46souvenir shop. And one day sometimes
26:49I'll ride my bike, chain my bike up and
26:52run my couple of miles and then I'll
26:55ride my bike back home. So I kind of get
26:56a what they call a brick workout. So I
26:58get a little biking and a little running
27:01jogging. It's not really running. You
27:03know, I'm pretty slow, but I'm I'm still
27:05doing it. So I rode my bike down and I
27:08chained my bike up and I ran and I
27:10noticed a guy was sitting there. Um
27:13unlike your fair city of St. Louis, we
27:15have several homeless people in in Buxy
27:20and uh I could tell the man was homeless
27:22cuz he had his gear with him
27:25and I decided to talk to him. I don't
27:27talk to every homeless person, I must
27:29admit. But this particular day, I felt
27:32compelled and we struck up a
27:34conversation, started talking about this
27:36and that small talk. And he said he was
27:38waiting on his girlfriend. So after
27:40about a half hour, his girlfriend came
27:42and I said to him, "Are you guys
27:44hungry?" And they said, "Yes, we're
27:45hungry." And I said, "Would it be okay
27:47if I took you and bought your dinner at
27:49Waffle House?"
27:52Amen. I should have got an amen on
27:53Waffle House. Praise God. Uh [laughter]
27:58so, praise God. That's that's good
28:00eating for Pentecost. Praise God. And so
28:04I said, "Would you like to go to
28:06dinner?" And they said, "Yes." So I
28:07said, "Well, I don't have my debit card
28:09with me." Because I was just on my bike.
28:11I said, "Let me go home and I'll get my
28:13truck and I'll come back." So I went
28:15home, rode my bike, got my debit card,
28:17came back, picked them up, took them to
28:18Waffle House, paid for their meal, and
28:21then of course the conversation
28:22inevitably turns to Jesus.
28:25>> And I begin inviting them to church and
28:27telling them about how they needed to
28:29get right with God and how in spite of
28:31all their circumstances, the Lord was
28:33still there for them. And you know how
28:35that goes. and we began to witness and
28:37and after several minutes, finally they
28:40agreed and and I was to meet him that
28:42Sunday and pick him up for church. And
28:44then the next Sunday, I called them
28:45again and we were meeting for church and
28:47and of course they they drifted. But
28:50several weeks later, one of our members
28:53of our church was driving across the
28:55bridge in the city and he saw a man on
28:57the side of the road and he stopped and
28:59he asked him, "Would he like a ride?"
29:01And the man said, "Yes, I'd like a
29:03ride." and he got in the vehicle and the
29:05member of our church began to talk to
29:07him about Jesus inevitably
29:09and they began to talk about where they
29:12went to church and uh when he told him
29:15where he went to church, he said, "Oh,
29:16you mean Pastor Chris Lawrence? That's
29:18Pastor Chris where he goes."
29:21And he said, "Yeah, that's right. You
29:23know him?" He said, "Yeah, I know him."
29:26And what God did was he stopped a man
29:28from our church to reach out to the
29:32saint man that I reached out to just a
29:34few weeks earlier because God was taking
29:38us on a short detour
29:41that we could
29:43reach a soul
29:47>> and they embarrassed me at Waffle House.
29:50The lady complained about the food. Who
29:53complains about the food at Waffle House
29:56and she sent her food back and then she
29:59ordered extra food. I'm thinking, lady,
30:01this is free. What are you doing?
30:04Quit act I'm paying. You're acting like
30:07I don't act like that when people aren't
30:08paying for my food. But especially if
30:10it's free, you're going to send it back
30:12at Waffle House. I'm like, so now I got
30:14to leave a big tip on top of it all. My
30:16God, help us. But you have to take
30:19detours. You have to be inconvenienced.
30:23You've got to do something beyond your
30:25convenient schedule if you want to reach
30:27the lost.
30:31If you want to have the mind of Jesus,
30:33you must be willing to take detours to
30:38reach the lost. My last point, 1 John
30:404:7 and 8 and verse 11. But loveth, let
30:43us love one another.
30:46For love is of God, and everyone that
30:48loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
30:51He that loveth not knoweth not God, for
30:54God is love.
30:56Beloved, if God so loved us, we also
30:58ought to love one another. Final point,
31:01point four. If you want to have the mind
31:03of Jesus, you must love people.
31:07[snorts]
31:08>> Now, my uncle, Pastor Dan, they always
31:11sang the scripture songs at their
31:12church.
31:14And I learned the song of Miriam from
31:18Uncle Dam. He that dwelleth in the
31:20secret place of the most high shall
31:23abide under the shadow of the almighty.
31:26And this is another one. Beloved, let us
31:28love one another. For the love is of
31:30God. Everyone that loveth is born of God
31:33and knoweth God. He that loveth not
31:35knoweth not God, for God is love. Not
31:37real melodic, but I still remember the
31:40words.
31:42And so I I pray a lot of these
31:45scriptures because I memorized them
31:46through songs. But my final point is
31:49this. If you want to have the mind of
31:51Jesus, you must love people. Yeah. Well,
31:52I love my family. I I love people. Well,
31:56Jesus talked about that in Matthew 5:43.
31:58He said, "If you have heard it been
32:00said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and
32:02hate thy enemy. But I say unto you, love
32:03your enemies and bless them that curse
32:06you. Do good to them that hate you. Pray
32:08for them which despitefully use you and
32:10persecute you, that ye may be the
32:13children of your father which is in
32:14heaven. For he maketh the sun to rise on
32:18the evil and on the good, and sendeth
32:21rain on the just and unjust. For if you
32:23love them which love you, what reward
32:27have ye? Do not even the publicans and
32:30the sinners do the same? If you salute
32:32your brethren only, what good are you
32:35more than any other? Do not even the
32:37publicans do it. Be ye therefore
32:39perfect, even as your father which is in
32:42heaven is perfect. It's easy to love
32:44people like you.
32:46>> It's hard to love people that are
32:49completely opposite of you.
32:55We have a church member
32:59that doesn't
33:07There are
33:14it's very hard
33:16to be close.
33:22But where does the Bible say we only
33:24pray for the pleasant?
33:28>> We only worship
33:31with the clean.
33:35Some homeless people have no shower,
33:41but their soul is still crying out for
33:43God.
33:45And we look down our noses. You could at
33:48least take a bath. Maybe they can't,
33:54but it's hard to love someone when
33:55they're not like you.
33:58You voted for who?
34:01>> Are you crazy?
34:03Why would you vote for I don't care who
34:06you voted for. I care if you're going to
34:09heaven.
34:14>> You're singing that kind of music. Hey,
34:16as long as you're worshiping God, I
34:18don't care what your genre is.
34:22You got to love.
34:26For whosoever loveth God knoweth God. He
34:29that loveth not,
34:32I don't know you. Because God is love.
34:37They said, "What's the greatest
34:38commandment?" You know what he said?
34:40What's the greatest commandment, Lord?
34:43Thou shalt
34:46>> love
34:47the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
34:49mind, soul, and strength. And the second
34:51is like unto the first. Love your
34:54neighbor as yourself. And you know what
34:56parable comes right after that?
35:00the good Samaritan
35:06who loved the one that helped him.
35:10And people are crying out all around us
35:12for help. But I'm too busy. I don't have
35:16time for a detour. I've got to be
35:18somewhere. I don't have time to slow
35:20down. I don't have time to talk to them.
35:26I got people that Pastor Bacher, you'll
35:30appreciate this. [snorts]
35:32I've got one friend that texts me by
35:35voice text
35:37[snorts] and each one's five minutes or
35:40more.
35:46And that's painful.
35:49I'm just going to be honest. Amen.
35:52>> I'm I'm like, you know, text five word
35:54senda d go to the next one.
35:59>> I'm in I'm in group text messages and
36:01they drive me absolutely crazy. I'm
36:03being vulnerable right here. [snorts]
36:05I get one text message and I get 85
36:07responses to that one text message.
36:10And my phone's blowing up like July 4th
36:13fireworks with these notifications. And
36:16I'm [music] in like 10 different text
36:18groups.
36:20And my wife says, "Why don't you just
36:21mute some of those?" I said, "Well, then
36:22I might miss something important. I
36:24can't mute them." [snorts]
36:27And yet I get hundreds of texts. I got
36:30another friend that calls me and I can't
36:32get him off the phone. And I feel rude
36:35every time. But at some point I say,
36:37"Man, I got to go. I got I got other
36:40things to do than talk to you all
36:42night."
36:46But you still answer the phone.
36:48You still return the text. You still
36:51love people. They're not like me. They
36:54don't communicate like me. But I try to
36:57do what they do so that I can reach
37:00them. And I wonder tonight, who is God
37:04positioned you to reach?
37:08Who are you loving? Not your brother,
37:11not your sister, not your mom and dad.
37:12Which neighbor? Which kid at school?
37:15Which which person at work,
37:19which person at your doctor's office
37:23do you know that God is trying to reach?
37:27But he's waiting on somebody to think
37:30just a little bit like he thinks so that
37:33he can speak into your spirit
37:36and reach somebody that's hurting.
37:41I want to be like Jesus. Okay? [snorts]
37:44If you want to be like Jesus,
37:48do Bible studies.
37:50If you want to be like Jesus, respect
37:53your family, but be sensitive to God's
37:55timing. If you want to have the mind of
37:57Jesus, you must be willing to take
37:58detours to reach the lost. And if you
38:01want to be like Jesus, you must love
38:04people.
38:06I have people that are living in sin and
38:10perversion
38:11that I'm called to love.
38:14I detest their lifestyle, but I have to
38:17smile and love them.
38:22I hate their deeds, but I love their
38:24soul. I know people that are hurt and
38:28people that have hurt me and talked
38:31about me, and I have to love them.
38:34People have done me wrong, but I have to
38:37pray for them that despitefully have
38:39used me. But I don't like the way I act.
38:42Pray for love. People make me sick. Pray
38:45for love. They they they stink. I can't
38:48take it. Love them anyway. They're so
38:50annoying.
38:53That's who God's called you to love.
38:58>> In closing, I'm going to give you an
39:00altar opportunity that you've never had
39:03before.
39:05Do you have those options printed out? I
39:07don't think I told her. I'm sorry. I
39:09didn't tell her. So, you're going to
39:10have to remember them.
39:12Three options for altar call. Option
39:14number one.
39:16If there's someone in the room that the
39:19Lord's been dealing you with to
39:22encourage and love, I want you to go to
39:24that person [music] and talk faith,
39:26hope, prayer, the goodness of God. Yay.
39:28Even prophesy to someone in the room.
39:33If there's no one in the room that that
39:35you know you need to love and help
39:37tonight, then option number two is to
39:39take out your phone right now.
39:42Take out your phone and call someone or
39:45text them and tell them that you love
39:48them and pray for them over the phone
39:50right now in the sanctuary.
39:52Even if you're texting, type of prayer.
39:56Option number three, if you have nobody
39:58in the room that you can love, if you
39:59have nobody that you can call or text
40:01and love, then you need to get to the
40:03altar and pray until God puts someone on
40:05your heart that you can love
40:10and then see option one or two.
40:16So, you have three options tonight.
40:20It's not about you tonight.
40:23It's about somebody else.
40:26Let's stand.
40:30Let me give it to you one more time
40:31since they I forgot to tell them to put
40:33this on the screen. Option one,
40:36I want you to go to someone in the room,
40:38love them, encourage them, talk faith,
40:40talk hope, yay, even prophesy
40:44of the goodness of God.
40:46Option number two, take out your phone
40:48right now. Take it out. Go ahead. It's
40:50all right. I'm not allowed to have my
40:51phone in church. Well, you are this
40:52time. Take out your phone. Call
40:54somebody. Text somebody. Tell them that
40:56you love them, that you're praying for
40:58them. Yay. Even call them and have a
41:00conversation. Call them up right now and
41:04tell them that God put them on your
41:05heart on this night while you're sitting
41:07in church and you want to talk to them
41:10right now and pray for them. You're
41:12going to blow their mind if they answer
41:13that phone when you tell them that
41:15you're going to pray for them [music]
41:16right now. And option number three, the
41:19altar is open. If you want a burden, if
41:21you want somebody to love, if you want
41:23to take a detour, if you want to be like
41:26Christ, if anybody wants to be like
41:28Jesus, I invite you to come right now
41:31and ask God to lay someone on your
41:32heart. Thank you for coming. Thank you.
41:36Ask God to make you like him.
41:39Make me like you, Jesus. Make me like
41:42you.
41:44Make me like you, Lord.
41:46Put a soul in my path.
41:49I don't want to be too busy that I can't
41:52take a detour.
41:58Give me the mind of Christ. I want to
42:00think like you. I want to act like you.
42:02I want to live like you. I want to love.
42:06[snorts]
42:09Come on. I feel the Holy Ghost. He's
42:12reaching to people in this room. Come
42:13on.
42:16Somebody needs to go to somebody else
42:18right now. Go ahead. Go to somebody. Put
42:20your arm around them.
42:39>> And I will make room for you.
42:46>> [singing]
42:49>> Yes, Lord. Yes, Lord.
42:52>> Yes, Lord. Work in the room. Work
42:54through text messages. Work through
42:57phone calls. Work through intercession
42:59tonight. Let us love the people that
43:02you've called us to love. Let us reach
43:05the lost, Lord, for your kingdom
43:07tonight. Let us be used in the kingdom
43:10right now.
43:17Whatever [singing] you want
43:20to do
43:25[singing and music]
43:28>> in the name of Jesus. Work. Work Lord.
43:32Work Lord.
43:34>> Work Lord right now. to do whatever
43:36[singing and music] you want.
43:40>> I will make
43:43you.
43:45>> Yes, Lord.
43:55>> I will make room [music] for you.
44:02Do whatever [singing] you want to do.
44:06Do whatever you want to.
44:10I will make [singing and music] room for
44:13you
44:17to do whatever [singing] you want
44:21to do. [music]
44:26I will make room.
44:28>> Hallelujah.
44:30>> We're going to do one more thing before
44:32we leave. [singing]
44:36For those of you that have went to
44:37someone, for those of you that have
44:38texted someone, here's the beautiful
44:40thing about living for God.
44:43Jesus said, "Come unto me all ye that
44:46labor and are heavy laden, and I will
44:48give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and
44:50learn [music] of me. For my yoke is easy
44:54and my burdens are light." When you are
44:57focused
44:59on what Jesus wants you to focus upon,
45:04Then he will give you strength and
45:06answer to prayers for the things that
45:09are troubling you.
45:12When you only pray for you,
45:17you're not in the mind of Christ.
45:20But when you pray for others, then
45:23you're like Christ, then he will answer
45:25your prayers.
45:27And so tonight,
45:30there's healing in the room.
45:33Not that he can't heal any service, but
45:36when you have your priorities right,
45:38when you think like Christ, then he will
45:41do for you what you can't do for
45:43yourself.
45:45You keep worrying about it, you keep
45:46fixating on your problem, it's not going
45:49to happen.
45:51But when you think about what he wants
45:53you to do, then he says, "Man, I got to
45:55heal. I've got to I've got to bless.
45:57I've got to fix because this person is
45:59going to win souls.
46:01I need to help this person.
46:06So, if you have a need, come quickly.
46:09Healing is in the room tonight.
46:12And God, if you'll focus on what he
46:14wants you to think about, God will take
46:16care of what you've been thinking about.
46:19Come on.
46:22I feel healing in the room right now.
46:25I feel miracles in the room because we
46:28want to reach people. Not because we're
46:31selfish and stingy, but because we want
46:33to reach. Come on. Come on. Come on.
46:35Miracles are in the room right now.
46:37Healing is in the room right now. In the
46:39name of Jesus. Yes, Lord. In obedience
46:43to your word. We proclaim deliverance.
46:47>> We proclaim healing. We proclaim
46:50strength right now in every body, in
46:52every wounded heart, in every wounded
46:55situation. You're the healer right now.
46:59>> Break down the walls of all my [singing]
47:02tradition. Break down the walls of all
47:05my religion. Your way
47:07[music and singing] is better.
47:10Your ways better.
47:14Shake up the ground of all my tradition.
47:18Break down the walls of all my religion.
47:22[music and singing] Your way is better.
47:26Your way [singing] is better.
47:29Shake up the ground of all my tradition.
47:33[music and singing] Break down the walls
47:35of all my religion. Your way is better.
47:40[music]
47:41Your way is better. [singing]
47:45Shake up [music] the ground of all my
47:47condition. Break down the walls of all
47:51my [singing] positioning. Your way is
47:53[music] better.
47:56Your way is better.
48:00[music] Shake up the ground. Leave all
48:02my tradition. Break down the walls
48:05[music]
48:05of all my religion. Your way is better.
48:10[music]
48:11Your way is better.
48:14I will make room
48:17for you.
48:21Do whatever you [music and singing] want
48:23to.
48:25Whatever you want to.
48:29I will make room [music] for you.
48:36Do whatever [music]
48:37you want.
48:41Whatever you want to, [music]
48:45I [singing] will make you
48:50[music]
48:52do whatever [singing] you want.
48:56Do whatever you want to.
49:00I will make [music] room for you.
49:07Do whatever you want to.
49:11Do whatever [music and singing] you want
49:13to.
49:16Shake off the ground [music and singing]
49:18of all my tradition. Break down the
49:21walls of all my religion. [music] Your
49:24way is better.
49:27Your way [singing] is better.
49:31Shake up the ground of [music] all my
49:34tradition. Break down the walls of all
49:37my religion. [music] Your way is better.
49:43Your way is better.
49:46Shake up [music] the ground of all my
49:49tradition. Break down the walls of all
49:53my [music] religion. Your way is
49:55[singing] better.
49:58Your way is better.
50:01>> [music]
50:02>> Shake up the ground of all my tradition.
50:05[singing]
50:06Break down the walls of all my [music]
50:08religion. Your way is better.
50:13Your way is [singing] better.
50:16And I will [music] make
50:19you
50:23whatever you [music and singing] want.
50:27Whatever you want to,
50:31I will make room [music] for you.
50:39Whatever you want to,
50:43[singing]
50:46I will make [music] room
50:49for you.
50:52[music]
50:54Do whatever [singing] you want.
50:58Do [music] whatever you want to.
51:02I will make room for you.
51:06[music]
51:09Whatever [singing] you want to.
51:13>> [music]
51:13>> Whatever you want to
51:18[music]
51:25[music]
51:32[music]
51:41[music]
51:42Heat up
51:46>> [music]
51:51[music]
51:58[music]
52:04>> here.
52:10>> [music]
52:23[music]
52:34>> Praise God. Could we all stand right
52:36now? Let's take a moment with
52:38thanksgiving [music] to the Lord for
52:39what we've heard tonight. Let's just
52:41lift our voice and our hands together
52:43one more time in this presence. Lord, we
52:46love you so much. Thank you for what
52:47you've said to us tonight through your
52:49messenger. Thank you, Lord, for your
52:51word. God, we thank you for the
52:53conviction, the healing, the touch upon
52:56our lives. Lord, we're committed to not
52:59just being hearers of the word, but
53:01doers of the word. Thank you for putting
53:04your love in our heart. Thank you for
53:06putting your spirit within our soul.
53:09Thank you Jesus for the response of your
53:11people tonight. I pray blessing upon
53:14them everywhere they go. Let them be a
53:16witness for you. Help us to have the
53:18mind of Christ every day. Lord, [music]
53:21we thank you so much for what you've
53:23spoken to us tonight. I give you great
53:25praise for your presence in this place
53:28tonight. [music] In Jesus name we pray.
53:31In Jesus name. And everybody said amen.
53:33Let's clap our hands unto the Lord.
53:35Let's praise him tonight.
53:38[music and applause]
53:47>> Praise God. I told [music] Pastor
53:50Lawrence,
53:52I we're so thankful for the word that
53:53you brought tonight. I don't think I've
53:55ever heard him teach or preach better
53:57with the word directly to what we need
53:59to hear right into the vein of what God
54:01is speaking to us at New Life. Thank you
54:03for coming. Thank you for preaching the
54:05word. Would you thank him one more time
54:06for being with us tonight? We love you.
54:08We bless you,
54:10your whole family.
54:12Amen. Praise God. Thank you for being
54:15here tonight. The Lord's done a work
54:17here. I want you to take this with you.
54:18Share it with somebody. The best way for
54:21the word to activate into your life is
54:24when you share it with somebody. So,
54:26let's have the mind of Christ this week.
54:28Amen. Praise God. This Saturday is a
54:31parade that uh New Life Academy is
54:33helping us with. New Life is going to be
54:35promoted in it. If you want to come to
54:36Bridton and watch them walk in the
54:38parade and celebrate New Life, come do
54:40that. But especially come this Sunday
54:43morning. bring somebody with you.
54:44[music] If you have somebody that's a
54:46first responder uh that works perhaps in
54:49the city or uh uh works as a um a
54:52paramedic or a police officer, fireman,
54:55we're going to honor them this Sunday.
54:56There's going to be a free lunchon in
54:58the gymnasium. They just need you maybe
55:00could register for them. You just need
55:02to register. You can come with them.
55:03It's an absolute free delicious meal.
55:05But we want to honor them. Show our city
55:08that we love them. I'm going to be
55:09preaching the word this weekend. So, be
55:12in prayer for that. Amen. And bring
55:13somebody with you. I love you. God bless
55:15you tonight. Be blessed on your way out
55:17of here. Love somebody before you leave
55:19this place. Shake their hand. Smile at
55:21them. Hug their neck. Tell them you're
55:22so glad to see them in the house of the
55:24Lord. You're dismissed in the wonderful
55:26[music] name of Jesus.