“Think of Theses Things – part 2”
June 22, 2008
”Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9
You are right. I preached on this same Scripture only a few weeks ago – but I like it so much and I think it is so relevant to our needs today that I thought I would revisit it.
In my research for the message this morning I learned that Philippi was named after Alexander the Great’s father – Philip. It was a Roman city where Paul had planted a church. The reason for Paul writing them was to thank them for the financial gift they had sent to support him. Paul is in prison and in those days if you wanted food, it was up to you to provide it. The Roman government certainly wasn’t going to waste its money on low life’s in jail.
This letter to the Philippians is full of excellent truth and wonderful encouragement. It’s a reminder to control ourselves. It’s a reminder to think on the right things. I don’t know if the Philippians had a problem with negativity or if they were going through difficult times of persecution or if it was Paul that was struggling. He may have been battling negativity and depression and the blues. Wouldn’t you if you were in prison? If you were spending year after year after year in jail – wouldn’t you question why? Why is this happening to me? Why is God allowing this? What good am I doing God and the Kingdom work when I am in jail?
I think these things must have crossed Paul’s mind – just like it would cross ours if we were in that situation. So as Paul writes to the Philippians he is writing to himself - and to us. And because of it – God has given us some excellent helps. Because of the struggles Paul went through – we are encouraged even today.
In our key Scripture this morning, Paul tells us to 1. Think on the things that are true. Don’t we have that problem today? Instead of thinking on what’s true - we think about what isn’t true. Everything from how we look to “we’re all goin’ die because of global warming!” “We are never going to be able to survive with the price of gas going up so high!” “Nobody likes me! Everybody hates me!”
That’s not true. Those things aren’t true. Don’t let your mind and life be consumed with untruths. Think about what is true. Truths like: God loves me beyond comprehension. I have eternal life in Christ. Things are going to just keep getting better. God has taken care of me so far – and He will take care of me no matter what. No matter what good thing I do – God will reward it.
2. Thinking on what is right is also a good thing to do. Some versions of the Bible translate that word as ‘honest’. The instruction is to think on whatever is right or honest or correct. Jesus said,
”I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16
The philosophy of the world today is “Try it! You might like it!” That philosophy permeates all levels of learning – from preschool to graduate school. Every kind of perversion and deviant thought is taught – no matter how wrong or destructive it may be.
I suppose that thought process is logical if you have no basis for truth. But we have the truth. We don’t have to search for truth. God has revealed it through the bible. And He says,
“… I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.”
Romans 16:19
God doesn’t want you to fill your mind with garbage and junk. We are to be innocent about what is evil. Be wise about is good – like Scripture and the promises of God and God’s will. But be innocent – Yes, even ignorant about evil things in the world. Being Naive and gullible are not bad traits. They reveal innocence and trust. The Christian needs to be innocent about wrong things.
3. We are to think on things that are noble. I think the opposite of noble is gossip. With gossip we think (and share) those negative, embarrassing, wrong, bad, stuff in others – to others. Some people have a very low opinion of people because they focus on the ignoble and the worst in people. We are to think on the wonderful noble things people do. That causes us to love them and care about them.
I wonder how many marriages have been destroyed because one or the other began to focus on the negatives. Even Jesus, who was perfect; who never sinned in His life, was criticized. He was called a glutton, a wino, a fellow who ran with the low class; was a friend to people who sinned and were law-breakers.
If people found fault with Jesus – don’t you think that some will find fault with you? And if you want to – you can find fault with anyone and everyone. But it will hurt you the most. You will be negative and lonely and unhappy.
Our Scripture teaches us to think on what’s noble. Have you noticed what people are doing around you – I mean the good things? Those little acts of kindness and those gentle expressions of love and friendship are the things we ought to think about. If you really want to make this Scripture work for you – when you think about those noble things people are doing all the time – stop what you are doing and express it. Say thanks. Write a note. Send an email. You will find your life is so much better - sweeter, fuller, richer, filled with more love and joy than you ever thought possible – when you do this.
4. We are to think on the things that are pure. What’s the opposite of that? Impurity. There is a whole lot of impurity out there today. One big problem is pornography. With the internet – even small children are getting hooked. Men are so susceptible because God designed us to be stimulated by sight. But that isn’t the only thing that is impure. You may have a problem in a whole different area. Thinking on impurity, filling you mind with impure signs and sounds and thoughts will destroy you at worst and the least it will do is steal your life and joy.
The remedy is one I shared early. Removal of the impurity by itself is an impossibility. The need is to fill that space with Jesus. The need is to think on pure things. I only know one pure thing – Jesus. He is the greatest of all. When you fill your life totally with Jesus in that area – He will help you break your addiction.
5. We are to think on things that are lovely. I looked that word up in the dictionary. It said:
1. charmingly or exquisitely beautiful: a lovely flower.
2. having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye, as a person or a face.
3. delightful; highly pleasing: to have a lovely time.
4. of a great moral or spiritual beauty: a lovely character.
We are to think about things like that. Lovely sunsets, beautiful flowers, grand views. We are to think on those delightful and pleasing times we have. Remembering those good times can be so wonderful. Our tendency is to think on the problems and the offenses and the unfulfilled expectation. Stop doing that. Think on the lovely things.
Last week Julie and Ben and I were planning our vacation in July and we got to remember the wonderful vacations we had when the kids were young. We had the privilege to go to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and Yosemite. We saw where Custer had his last stand and Mount Rushmore. As we thought on these things, we were filled with love and joy and gratitude. It brought us together. Think about such things.
The last thing Paul suggest we thing about is 6. Things that are admiral. The Amplified Bible uses the word “virtue”. The King James Version uses the words “good report”. The New American Bible says, “anything worthy of praise”. I think you get the idea. We need to stop and THINK about those things of good report. We are usually guilty of quickly passing those things by and go on to the next problem or situation. I think when our kids bring a good report (or report card) back from school – we ought to think about it. We ought to celebrate it. When we get a good report from work or when our mate or someone we care about gets a good report of does something virtuous – we ought to contemplate that thing. We ought to meditate on it. We ought to share how we feel about it, too. If there is anything admirable about someone or some thing – we ought to think about it.
If you didn’t quite get what Paul was trying to say – he sums it up by saying. “If ANYTHING is excellent or praiseworthy – think on these things. Folks, it will change your life. Life will be so much happier. There will be more smiles. More joy. More love. If we just think about these things.
True, Right, Noble, Pure, Lovely, Admirable. These are the things we need to be thinking about. In one of his meetings, D.L. Moody was explaining to his audience the truth that we cannot bring about spiritual changes in our lives by our own strength. He demonstrated the principal like this: “Tell me,” he said to his audience, “how can I get the air out of the tumbler I have in my hand?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump.” But Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter it.” Finally after many suggestions, he picked up a pitcher and quietly filled the glass with water. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then explained that victory for the child of God does not come solely by working hard to eliminate sinful habits, but rather by allowing Christ to take full possession.”
A lot of people work hard to remove bad habits from their lives. Just look at all the self-help books out there. One of the most popular books today is “The Secret”. Millions of people are reading it to change their lives. But sin is like cutting down one of those old cottonwood trees that we use to have in the front yard. All the trees were cut down – but for years the roots would send out suckers and little trees would pop up in the most unusual and inconvenient places. It wasn’t until all the roots were removed that they stopped coming up.
If we try to remove the results without doing anything about the cause – we only frustrate ourselves. The need is to remove the root and replace it with the Holy Spirit.
A diagram that helps me is this: Bad roots produce Bad fruit. If you remove the bad fruit – but leave the roots – they will produce more bad fruit. The root must be removed and replaced with the Holy Spirit. He will then produce fruits of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Which diagram represent your life? If you haven’t asked Jesus to come into your life and be your Savior – you need to do that. But if you have done that but you see the work of sin in your life – you need to ask God to destroy that sinful root and fill you with the Holy Spirit. Then you will begin to see the fruits of the Spirit being produced in your life. (PRAYER)
