Having the Same Mind, C. R. Oliver [read along books .TXT] 📗

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

Go ahead, put me in a prayer meeting with these "sameness folks," and I will show you a unity of faith and power not manifest in most circles. Go ahead, listen in on the conversations of these "sameness Ones," and you will hear a different discussion than in group counsel. Go ahead throw me into the middle of these "sameness saints" and behold the glory of God around and an atmosphere where one can smell the fragrance of the Most High. Go ahead! 

5. We experience the same suffering as all the other saints in the world.

1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

1 Thessalonians 2:13-16
For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.

Have you been around persecuted Christians and listened to their testimonies and heard their point of view? It's different! Suffering produces something inside of them that wrenches away the ego trips of television testifiers. With one look, you can see into their very souls and know the price of their commitment. Fellowship with these folks and you won't go back to "business as usual." They enter into the sufferings of others which causes fellowship of indescribable intensity. They know each other by their walk, talk and demeanor. 

6. We have the same ministry.

Hebrews 6:10-12
For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

If there is an exclusivity among the "sameness" Ones, it is their insatiable desire to minister to the saints. They take seriously Ephesians 5:19-20 and 6:18-19. Ministry to the saints is ministry to Him. Widows, orphans, sick ones and prisoners are worthy investments. 

7. We have and share the same mind.

Phil 3:13-16
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind. 

1 Peter 4:1-2
Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 

Philippians 2:1-6
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

Now the picture is clearer. Being "sameness saints" is a lot more than declarations and office. Engrained in them is a deep sense of awareness for those of like faith and order. There is a sweetness that is perceptible among them and it cannot be imitated or faked. The Divine Love which flows between them is often misunderstood, and those who are not among their ranks are repelled by their communion. Is it any wonder that thousands of saints feel ill at ease with the rank and file church? 

Being "like minded," "being of one accord," being of one mind" now carries a different connotation than when you entered this study. When Paul entreats his readers to "let nothing be done through selfish ambition," it wipes away much of that posing as religious. When he instructs to "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus," it includes "all of the above." 

The eleven understood this! The one who was not like minded departed. 

Until Next Month, 


Dr. C. R. Oliver, PhD 

Imprint

Publication Date: 10-01-2013

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Thanks to C. R. Oliver and Zadok Pubications Newsletter Div. for allowing us to use his newsletters for this study book.