Christ like Mindset

Week 3: Christ-like mindset

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:1-5 NIV)

Week one we learned what a prayer closet is, and its purpose, which is to connect us with God with out any distractions from the physical world. On week two it was all about giving God His well deserved thank you, for all He has done, and also to cut ties to all the things and people we have replaced Him with. This week is a special week because its a week that we will focus on ourselves.
During this week, as we enter into our prayer closet, we will still strive to improve on our sense of eliminating distractions, making our time more personal, as well as thanking God continuously. We are also going to focus on having a more Chirst-like mentality. In doing so, how could we ever be more like Christ if we do not understand his ministry.
Many people look at Jesus ministry, and focus on the deeds He did, like feeding 5000, walking on water, casting out demons, and even raising people from the dead. We tend to focus on the miraculous wonders He accomplished in the name of the Lord. In doing so we miss the key importance of who He truly was, a willing servant.
  Yes, that's right, Jesus ministry uniqueness came from His will to be a servant to his brothers and sisters but more importantly to God the Father.  One lesson that will never cease to humble my heart is when Jesus was talking with his disciples. They were arguing amongst themselves about who was the greatest amongst themselves. Im sure they all had valuable points as to why they would be considered to be the greatest, but Jesus told them “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35 NIV)
We can not take this point lightly. We as believers are called to spread the love of God, and what better way is there to show God's love than to be a willing servant. We live in a time where we focus on how we can advance, how we can make moves to put ourselves in a better predicament. Most of us are willing to cheat, kill, and lie just to get that promotion. We care too much about ourselves than our struggling brothers and sisters.
So in our prayer closet all this week, we shall look at ourselves. We will speak out against our own selfishness. We will change and diligently seek ways to be more of a servant. Ways that we  could serve on the job, we could serve in the community, but most importantly ways to serve God. There is so much that we could do if we were just willing to uplift others rather than ourselves.
If we do not fix our mindset to focus on more than ourselves, how could we ever hear and receive the voice of God when He tries to speak to us. God could tell us something that we may not want to hear, but we would ignore Him because He is not abiding to/by our wants, when in reality He is looking at something that is bigger than we could ever be. It is imperative to be "one in spirit and one in mind" with God. While sharing the exact same love Christ did. I encourage you now to go into your prayer closet with the most humble spirt. First eliminate your distractions, then thank God for who He is to you and all He has done. Then finally on this day put your selfish ambitions down and focus on becoming one with God.

Week 2: Gratitude

But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. (1 Samuel 12:24 NIV)

     Every month there is a reason to show honor to those around us by saying "Thank You" for who you are and what you do. Every year in the month of May we celebrate all the mothers in the world, and do the same for all the fathers in June. We have labor day for those who work, memorial day for the fallen soldiers, and Veterans day for those who has given service in our military. We give our respects to those who are to be remembered on 9/11. We have Teacher Appreciation Day, Grandparents Day, and even Cafeteria Worker Appreciation Week.
We come up with every reason to celebrate our Pastors, Doctors and Nurses, Husbands and Wives, friends and family, and children; but how often do we seek to honor and show our appreciation towards God. We don't at least not very often in a genuine sense, we carelessly say "Thank you Father" as we pray.
This week is going to be different. As we enter our prayer closets this week we will focus on the wonderful things that God has done. This week it is necessary to show our gratitude by simply saying "thank you" to God for all He has done. All this week we shall seek God simply to give Him his overdue expression of appreciation. What we fail to realize is that God is everlasting, and only what He does will stand up to the test of time. So why do we show gratitude to everybody else, and not Him is beyond me, because only the very things He controls will truly shine in the darkest of times.
It does not matter how small the act of love is, or how great the magnitude of mercy, it is the fact that God Himself cared enough about YOU to wake YOU up and give YOU another chance to get it right. God has given many of us a financial breakthrough, we have thanked the person He has used, but never thanked the Lord for sending them. God has blessed us with mentors and advisors, but we have never thanked Him for the encouraging words that God gave them to speak to us.
We as a community have thanked many people, uplifting the man and honoring his deeds, but never have truly honored God who gave the messenger the message and visionary the vision. We have allowed the physical world to distract us yet again from our spiritual world, which is where God lives. After today we will strive to focus more on the spiritual world, we shall listen to the words that Samuel have spoken in this chapter, in verse 20 and 21, he tells his people that they have done wrong, but has been awarded grace yet again, and to get it right and never go back to worshipping and idolizing  the unworthy beings of this physical world.
If you do not know where to start just think about all that God have granted you grace for. Things like sexual immortally, watching explicit content, being disobedient to your elders, better yet to God's word. If that does not work what have you put before God, have you worshipped or idolized something. It could be money, sex, relationships, famous people, or even your parents. Do some soul searching and look to the Lord and give Him the thanks and the praise for His grace and mercy.

The Purpose of a Prayer Closet

All throughout life we go through talking to many people. Classmates, family, friends and often times many strangers as well. Some we may seek advice or guidance from elders such as parents, pastors or even professors. While will enjoy a casual conversation with someone with hopes of finding romance. Nonetheless we grow and mature to the point where we can dictate the differences in pitches and tone to be able to tell who is calling you from a distance or who you are speaking with on the phone. But when it comes to the living being that matters the most, which is the most high God, we all tend to struggle to recognize His voice and direction. We must set ourselves up, to be available when He sees our efforts. So for the next 6 weeks we are going to fix our hearts on Him.

Week1
       A Prayer Closet
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:6 KJV)

When we go out on our hot dates, or spend the evening with our loved ones we want every second of our time dedicated specifically to and with them. We could go to the movie theatre and completely ignore everybody inside and focus on them. How many times have we seen young couples in public having an intimate moment with each other, kissing and making out, with complete disregard of their surrounding and people walking by? Many people shun their "public display of affection", making rude comments like, "get a room" or "have some respect or class". It's not the gross image of two teens slobbering each other down we need to focus on, but it is the intensity of their focus on one another, that we should take from it. If we as believers could focus on God with out the distractions around us, just like the young couples do, we would be able to set ourselves up to have that special encounter with God.
We as believers need to be better at focusing on the spiritual world and not the physical world. In 2 Corinthians 5:7 its tell us that we walk by faith and not by sight. Keeping that scripture in mind, and going on to verse 8, reveals the magnitude of living in the spiritual sense; and that reason is that, we are not home. We all are striving to that great and marvelous day that we will wake up and be with our one true Father.
However we all simply lack the discipline to avoid the physical world around us, to focus on the spiritual world within us. Jesus understands that our flesh is stronger than our spirit, simply because we naturally feed our flesh more. While understanding this concept Jesus gives his followers and disciples specific direction on what to do while praying.
In Mathew Chapter 6, starting in verse 5 Jesus start teaching on the subject of praying and fasting. He starts off this lesson using the leaders as an example.  He tells us how they pray in front of large crowds, but in doing so they seek to please the crowd using big words, with unnecessary vocal projection. It is one thing to be passionate in prayer, and another just to be entertaining. Many times we put ourselves and our images before the very reason we are sent to pray, which is to be in communion with God to respect and honor God, ask for forgiveness and the ability to forgive, as well as asking for guidance for both our brothers and sisters in Christ and ourselves.
Nonetheless Jesus tells us that they are praying to be seen as "Holy" to go along with their title. They are trying to uplift and live up to their expectations that come with their title, instead of uplifting and living up to God's standards.  Jesus put a notice on this behavior, and gives us a suggestion to correct it.
He instructs us in verse six to go into our closet and shut the door. He is telling us that we need to be totally in-tune, and focused onGod to be able to hear God speak. We need to eliminate the distractions. We must lock ourselves in a room so that only the invited shall enter, which is only God. As we learn to leave the cell phones, computers, children, friends and family out of our communication with God we will only then be able to focus solely on God giving Him our complete undivided attention.  Whether we accept it or not, our God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) He despise the fact that we put others (people or things) before Him. He adores when He is first and He has your complete focus. When we submit and give what He is longing for, we then are inviting Him into our closet, and our hearts.
Only you can determine where your closet will be. It could be an actual closet in your bedroom or house. For some it could be while you are in the bathroom room, taking a shower or handling business. Some people may want to sit peacefully in a garden, on a beach, or even in their car. I have personally done all these at one point or another. The only important part about our closet is that it is a private place that only God can distract you.
After we have gain accustomed to not allowing anybody or anything interfere with our time with God we can then mature to the point to where we can focus on Him wholeheartedly in the midst of the physical world. It wont bother us who is listening to our prayer, it wont matter who is watching, or who you are praying for. You will grasp the idea that is just you and God having a young couples intimate PDA (Public Display of Affection) moment.
I encourage you this week to take time to sit and mediate on God and only God, Daily. Do not ask Him for anything, do not speak. Just sit and dwell on your Lord. Allow your mind to wonder and ponder on who He is to you. Turn your phone off for that time. Lock your door so your siblings, wife, husband, friends or family can not reach you until you want to be reach, but only after your time with God is complete.