Chew On This Series

Chew on This

Phil. 4:8-9

(Davon Huss, SC.com) Rules of chocolate (appropriate for post-Valentine’s Day):

•If you’ve got melted chocolate all over your hands, you’re eating it too slowly.

•Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

•The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in the parking lot.

•A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Isn’t that handy?

•If you can’t eat all your chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can’t eat all of your chocolate, what’s wrong with you?

•What do we call equal amounts of dark and white chocolate: a balanced diet.

•Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

•Put “eat chocolate” at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you’ll get one thing done.

Well today, we’re going to look at chewing on things, but not on chocolate.

Instead, we’re going to chew on the Word of God. Please turn with me to Phil. 4:8-9.

Paul is slowly wrapping up his love letter to the Philippians.

Today, he urges us to chew on and then live out godly principles/character.

•Actually the two go very much hand in hand.

(Mark Hiehle, SC.com) Imagine with me that you have a lemon in your hand. Feel how cold it is since you just took it out of the refrigerator. Feel the two knobs on the ends? Ok, now take a knife and cut the lemon in half. See the juice run down over the sides. Now, take and hold one half of the lemon so you can see the inside of it. Lean down and smell the fresh scent of a fresh cut lemon. Ok, now squeeze the lemon. See the juice ooze up? Now - lick the lemon. Ok, who has more saliva than you did a minute a go? How can that be? It’s because your body reacts to what your mind thinks about.

•That’s Paul’s underlying point in this passage.

Prayer

Paul uses specific grammar here to deliberately emphasize each point.

In every point, he urges us to think and behave as God’s chosen people.

•We could also title this message, “Behave yourself.”

There are 2 key points that Paul makes here.

I. HOW TO THINK

8FINALLY, (in addition to what I’ve already written, as for the rest of things) BROTHERS,

1. Chew on truth. WHATEVER IS TRUE,

The word here gives the idea of loving and speaking the truth.

Eph. 4:15 INSTEAD, SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE, WE WILL IN ALL THINGS GROW UP INTO HIM WHO IS THE HEAD, THAT IS, CHRIST.

Practically speaking, the best example of this is meditating on the truths of God’s Word.

•This also means practicing integrity, not giving in to lies, being honest.

2. Chew on honor. WHATEVER IS NOBLE (honorable, dignified, worthy of reverence)

1 Tim. 3:8 DEACONS, LIKEWISE, ARE TO BE MEN WORTHY OF RESPECT, (not just deacons)

Practically speaking, we need to be respectable in all our dealings.

•People should look up to us. We should chew on things worthy of honor/dignity.

3. Chew on righteousness. WHATEVER IS RIGHT (innocent, righteous),

Psalms and Proverbs are full of admonitions and blessings for the righteous.

Ps. 37:30-31 THE MOUTH OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN UTTERS WISDOM, AND HIS TONGUE SPEAKS WHAT IS JUST. 31THE LAW OF HIS GOD IS IN HIS HEART; HIS FEET DO NOT SLIP.

Pr. 10:28 THE PROSPECT OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS JOY, BUT THE HOPES OF THE WICKED COME TO NOTHING.

Practically speaking, we need to think and do the right thing, not just “my” thing.

•We need to think on and practice innocence – avoiding anything evil or impure.

4. Chew on purity. WHATEVER IS PURE (free from defilement, holy, sacred),

Ps. 51:10 CREATE IN ME A PURE HEART, O GOD, AND RENEW A STEADFAST SPIRIT WITHIN ME.

Ps. 119:9 HOW CAN A YOUNG MAN KEEP HIS WAY PURE? BY LIVING ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.

Mt. 5:8 BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART, FOR THEY WILL SEE GOD.

Practically speaking, we need to flee from immoral, impure thoughts.

•It means we avoid them like we do the doggie piles we see on the sidewalk, because they’re basically the same thing.

5. Chew on love. WHATEVER IS LOVELY (pleasing, agreeable),

Lk. 10:27 “‘LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND’; AND, ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’”

1 Jn. 4:7-8 DEAR FRIENDS, LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER, FOR LOVE COMES FROM GOD. EVERYONE WHO LOVES HAS BEEN BORN OF GOD AND KNOWS GOD. 8WHOEVER DOES NOT LOVE DOES NOT KNOW GOD, BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE.