Think About Such Things Series

A. Philippians 4:8 (READ)

1. Throughout this study, Paul has been showing us how to deal with the ANXIETY that creeps into our

lives and begin to STRANGLE us and WEIGH us DOWN.

a. Jesus warns us in Luke 21:34 to “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with . . . the

anxieties of life.”

b. Has your heart been weighed down with worry and anxiety?

- Are you laughing less than you once did?

- Do you see problems more than you see opportunities?

- Would those who know you describe you as increasingly negative and critical?

- Do you assume that something bad is going to happen?

- Most days would you rather stay in bed than get up?

- Do you magnify the negative and dismiss the positive?

2. If we answered “YES” to most of these questions, then the apostle Paul urges us to REFOCUS our

THINKING on the GOOD and not the BAD—the POSITIVE and not the NEGATIVE.

a. It almost sounds like Paul is promoting “The Power of Positive Thinking,” but it’s much more

than that.

b. POSITIVE THINKING can attempt to DENY the NEGATIVE—Paul is not asking us to DENY

the NEGATIVE, but to REFOCUS on the POSITIVE.

COMMENT:

It doesn’t mean that we don’t see the NEGATIVE stuff in life, but we decide that the NEGATIVE will NOT DOMINATE our LIVES! People who constantly DWELL on the NEGATIVE tend to be very UNSATISFIED with themselves and others, and even with God.

B. One thing that we know for sure is that life is full of UPS and DOWNS, the GOOD and the BAD, the

POSITIVE and the NEGATIVE. The question is: “ON WHAT DO WE FOCUS THE MOST?”

1. Do you ever find yourself MULLING over a NEGATIVE EVENT that HAPPENED to you?

ILLUSTRATION:

Your BOSS chews you out in front of your CO-WORKERS. Your SPOUSE gets ANGRY with you for some LITTLE THING that you SAID. Your BEST FRIEND blocks you on Facebook over a petty DISAGREEMENT.

All day long you run the NEGATIVE SCENARIO through your MIND, getting ANGRIER and more ANXIOUS each time you THINK about it. You THINK about the PERFECT COMEBACK—what you should have SAID or DONE to set them STRAIGHT. You might even THINK about getting REVENGE—how you can HURT them like they’ve HURT you.

2. Paul was certainly no STRANGER to GOOD TIMES and BAD TIMES.

a. He writes, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty [GOOD and the

BAD]. I have learned to be content in any and every situation…”- Philippians 4:12a.

b. Paul realized that if he DWELT only on the BAD THINGS that he HAD DONE and was DONE to him, there would no CONTENTMENT and JOY—only MISERY and HEARTACHE.

C. If we want to overcome WORRY and ANXIETY, we have to SHIFT our THINKING from all the BAD

things that bring us DOWN and CONCENTRATE on the GOOD things in LIFE.

1. Obviously, if we had a CHOICE, we would prefer the GOOD and avoid the BAD. But we don’t!

2. However, we do have a CHOICE on what pervades our MINDS and on WHAT or WHO we focus

our THINKING.

a. Proverbs 4:23- “Above all else, guard your heart [mind], for it is the wellspring of life.”

b. Romans 12:2- “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed the

renewing of your mind.”

c. 2 Corinthians 10:5- “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

MESSAGE:

I. NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE THINKING

A. NEGATIVE THINKING (THERE ARE SEVERAL ASPECTS)

1. Self-Pity

a. We all fall into this TRAP sooner or later.

b. Life is HARD for all of us. There is no one here this morning that hasn’t been IMPACTED in

some way by HARDSHIP and HEARTACHE.

COMMENT:

SELF-PITY surfaces when we THINK that we’re all ALONE. We THINK that we’ve been dealt an UNFAIR HAND while our neighbors, our co-workers, our fellow-Christians, enjoy a TROUBLE-FREE life. Then we throw ourselves a MENTAL PITY PARTY: “You people just don’t know what I go through. Try living my LIFE 24 hours a day and SEE how HAPPY you are.”

2. Blaming

a. BLAMING is an attempt to shift RESPONSIBILITY for your PROBLEMS on someone else.

COMMENT:

You’re just not HAPPY with the way your LIFE is going, so you FIND another person who seems to be the source of your PROBLEMS. It might be your HUSBAND or your WIFE, it could be your CHILDREN or your PARENTS. It often is a FRIEND, a NEIGHBOR, or your BOSS or someone at CHURCH. In your MIND you just cannot accept the POSSIBILITY that you are at FAULT.