STRESS REDUCTION
Philippians 4.8-9
S: Focus on Positive
C: Peace
Th: Toward the Goal
Pr: THOUGHTFULLY EMBRACE THE GOOD GOD HAS FOR YOU.
?: What? What is there?
KW: Quality
TS: We will find in our study of Philippians 4 seven qualities that are to be embraced.
CV: “In living these values, we will give God the best we have to offer of our time, efforts and resources.” [concluding statement]
Type: Propositional
I. TRUE
II. HONORABLE
III. RIGHT
IV. PURE
V. LOVELY
VI. ADMIRABLE
VII. EXCELLENT & PRAISEWORTHY
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Deliberately use your mind and focus on the good stuff.
• Consistently practice what you profess.
• Follow the good examples you have been given.
• Experience the peace of God.
Version: ESV
RMBC 03 August 08 AM
INTRODUCTION:
How do you handle the stresses of life?
There are a lot of them, that is for sure.
Many of us are thinking a lot about the economy, as gas prices have started us down the road of inflation and recession.
Many of us are thinking about the conflicts in the Middle East and wonder if it will ever end in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many of us have been thinking about crimes in the news this week – a bus passenger stabbed to death in Canada, a child abducted from her mother by the estranged father in Boston, and a wife murdered by her preacher husband in Georgia hides her in a freezer.
And then there are just the ordinary day to day stresses of living.
So it is no wonder that many of us have been thinking – is there a way to stop the pain, the meaninglessness, and the guilt?
We do live in a complicated and hurting world and there are many out there that offer answers.
Most of them, unfortunately, offer only sham answers, falsely preaching the gospel of self-esteem, self-realization and self-effort.
Over and over again, these kinds of answers are repackaged and resold as the newest answer to the stresses of life.
One of the latest editions of this is A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.
Ordinarily, I would not issue a warning about Eckhart Tolle, except for two reasons.
One, he quotes the Bible extensively in his book and second, Oprah has endorsed him by making him a part of her reading book club, which rocketed the book to #1 on the best sellers list.
Tolle, though, is just another tired syncretistic mixture of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity.
But he has become widely popular because of Oprah’s support.
All you have to do is go to oprah.com and take the web classes “Are you ready to be awakened?”
You too can be enlightened to the true answers of life (forgive my sarcasm).
Simply, though, Tolle offers answers that are not biblically true.
And I want to encourage you, if you have been looking into Tolle (which I do not recommend), don’t take Oprah’s word for it.
Study this stuff – and you will find he is wrong about the nature of man, the person of God, and the our relationships to each other.
His solutions are man-made.
Tolle is just making another man-made attempt to find fulfillment by redefining God.
But note this…
God will simply not be ignored, denied, controlled or redefined.
It does not work.
And it will come to naught – guaranteed.
The apostle Paul, though, does offer real answers to the stresses of life.
We have been studying the letter he wrote to the church in Philippi.
And in this letter, he has been encouraging them and us.
For…
Paul urges us to move “toward the goal.”
Paul wants us to understand that the work God has begun in us, He will not leave undone.
God is going to finish it.
In the meanwhile, we are to follow the example of Jesus, who taught us that the way up is down.
Jesus truly taught us how to live a humble life.
Paul wants us actively pursuing Christlikeness.
And he gives us his own example.
For he not only wants to know the power of Jesus’ resurrection, he also wants to experience the fellowship of His sufferings.
When we follow Paul’s example, we are moving toward the goal.
As we come to today’s passage, here is the main idea that I want us to walk away with.
It is…
THOUGHTFULLY EMBRACE THE GOOD GOD HAS FOR YOU.
Paul writes…
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
I want us to note the phrase that is in the middle:
“Think about these things…”
It is the heart of this passage.
It is the action (verb).
“Think about these things,” is more than just think.
It is more than a momentary thought.
We are to think through these things.
We are to ponder them.
We are to give them weight.
We are to give them value by the time we spend on them.
We are to think how we are going to put these qualities into practice.
At the very least, what Paul is doing here is exhorting us to have fit minds.
We are to have disciplined minds.
We are to have minds that are trained and used to thinking about the kinds of things that are included in this list.
So, let’s see what qualities Paul wants us thinking about.
OUR STUDY:
The first quality is what is…
I. TRUE
You see…
Truth is our friend.
It does not always seem so.
I will admit this.
Sometimes, we are afraid of the consequences if we tell the truth.
But Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.”
And you know what?
He meant it.
So we need to recognize the truth about God.
And we need to recognize the truth about ourselves.
And we need to recognize the truth about our relationship with each other.
We are to put our minds on what is genuine.
We are to place our thoughts on what is real and authentic and not on what is fake.
For…
Whenever we believe a lie, Satan takes over.
You see, the testimony of Scripture is that he is a liar.
And what he wants to do is corrupt our minds with lies.
Just like he did with Eve, he wants us to doubt God’s goodness.
This is why we must stick with the truth.
It is the good that God wants us to embrace.
The second quality is what is…
II. HONORABLE
This means that we are to…
Live with dignity.
We are to give thought on what it means to be people of dignity and integrity.
In fact, the word here in the original Greek gives the meaning of reverence.
This idea of reverence connects because when we are around someone that is honorable that we want to be around them.
We want it to rub off on us.
ILL Integrity (S)
In 1994 golfer Davis Love III called a one-stroke penalty on himself dur¬ing the second round of the Western Open. He had moved his marker on a green to get it out of another player’s putting line. One or two holes later, he couldn’t remember if he had moved his ball back to its original spot. Unsure, Love gave himself an extra stroke.
As it turned out, that one stroke caused him to miss the cut and get knocked out of the tournament. If he had made the cut and then finished dead last, he would have earned $2000 for the week. When the year was over, Love was $590 short of automatically quali¬fying for the following year’s Masters. Love began 1995 needing to win a tournament to get into the event.
When someone asked how much it would bother him if he missed the Mas¬ters for calling a penalty on himself, Love’s answer was simple: "How would I feel if I won the Masters and wondered for the rest of my life if I cheated to get in?"
The story has a happy ending. The week before the 1995 Masters, Love qualified by winning a tournament in New Orleans. Then in the Masters he finished second, earning $237,600.
That’s a good example of what it means to be honorable.
It is the good that God wants us to embrace.
The third quality is what is…
III. RIGHT
We are to…
Be in harmony with God’s standards.
We are to think about what is the right thing.
We are to think about how to do the right thing.
We are to think about when we are to do the right thing.
We are to think about why we do the right thing.
God has given us a lot of instruction in this book.
We know the right thing to do.
We know the wrong things.
That’s what it means to be connected with what is right.
It is the good that God wants us to embrace.
The fourth quality is what is…
IV. PURE
Here our instruction is to…
Set apart one’s self from sin.
Paul was very concerned for these early churches when it came to the area of sexuality.
They existed in cultures where sexual promiscuity had its way.
So, he was very candid what was sin and what was not.
In the same way, we live in a sex-charged culture today.
This is why we need to have a biblical understanding of sexual purity.
This means we had better understand God’s design for marriage.
And we had better understand what it includes and what it does not.
Folks, please get this down, for we are being bombarded with impure standards as couples live together, hookups are common, and the homosexual community asks for equalization in marriage.
But God wants us to follow His design for life, which is for our good.
God wants us to specifically follow His design of the relationship of marriage.
Anything outside His design is defilement.
That’s what it means to be pure.
It is the good that God wants us to embrace.
The fifth quality is what is…
V. LOVELY
This means that we are to…
Take hold of things that endear us to others.
What the Greek word describes is that which is beautiful and attractive.
It is the idea of that which is winsome and pleasing.
This applies to either things or people.
So, if we are around people that don’t build up…
If we are around things that seem to drag us down…
That’s not where we are supposed to spend our time.
Instead, come close to the people and things that draw you for positive and godly reason.
That’s what the quality of lovely means.
It is the good that God wants us to embrace.
The sixth quality is what is…
VI. ADMIRABLE
The idea here is to…
Connect with what is well thought of.
We are to spend our time embracing that which is of good report.
Literally, it means “worth talking about,” that which is fit to hear.
You know how conversations can deteriorate.
They can go downhill fast when we are not careful.
We can talk about nonsense – about what really does not matter – and even what ends up to be coarse joking.
Paul tells us to not go there.
Instead, we are to think on the things that are kind and likely to win people.
In turn, we are to avoid what is likely to give offense.
That’s what the quality of being admirable means.
It is the good that God wants us to embrace.
Finally, the seventh quality is what is…
VII. EXCELLENT & PRAISEWORTHY
We are to…
Strive for high standards.
Paul wants us spending time on things that are excellent.
That which is outstanding and exceptional is to draw our attention.
That which is commendable and exemplary, this too is to draw our attention.
Paul says we do well, when we embrace this good that God has for us.
CHALLENGE:
At the end of our core value statement is this phrase:
“In living these values, we will give God the best we have to offer of our time, efforts and resources.”
This includes our mind, for this is one of the resources God has given us.
So, we are to use our mind – exercise it.
We are to set it in the right direction.
We are to strive to achieve the excellent use of the mind.
This takes, of course, deliberation.
God has given us the ability to choose.
So, we can choose what kind of Christian we want to be.
This being so, then…
Deliberately use your mind and focus on the good stuff.
It is unfortunate, in a way, that we even have to mention it.
But there is a problem.
There are a lot of grumpy old Christians.
They only see the negative in any situation.
They only see the bad in life.
They only see the imperfections of people.
They only know how to tear down people.
I hope you are not one of those.
But, it is easier to become than you might think!
You see, you can still be a faithful attender of church, come to all the events, look like a model member – and still be grumpy.
It happens when we feed our minds with the opposite qualities – when we are focused on lies, impurity, and what I want.
Those opposite qualities will make our lives stink.
Again, be deliberate with your mind.
Examine what you are putting into your mind through television, books, conversations, movies, and magazines.
Replace harmful input with wholesome material.
Above all, read God’s Word and pray.
Ask God to help you focus your mind on what is good and pure.
Because when you do that, you will be able to follow Paul’s admonition from verse 9.
You will be able to…
Consistently practice what you profess.
We cannot separate outward action and inward attitude.
What we believe, our creed, will lead to our conduct.
Do you know why the church is accused of hypocrisy so much?
Because it is true.
And the world spots phonies in a second.
They take a look at the televangelists, and see no credibility.
Then they watch the likes of someone like Ted Haggard, leading a megachurch and president of the NAE, lie about his sin.
It is no wonder people struggle with accepting the Christian faith.
Its integrity continues to be called into question.
But listen to this.
You and I can make a difference.
We can prove the credibility of the Christian faith.
How?
We prove it when our daily life shows the world that Christ lives within us.
We prove it when our normal routine is noticed by our neighbors, our coworkers, our fellow students noticed.
Have you ever heard of Ron & Nancy Johns?
How about Wayne & Jean Muckel?
Al & Rusty Peabody?
Or Donal Nilsson?
Or George Renner?
The great majority of you have not.
And I know why.
These are not significant people according to the world’s standards, but to me, they are huge.
They are the good examples that God put in my life that I have been instructed to follow.
This is Paul’s instructions…
Follow the good examples you have been given.
Paul tells the church in Philippi that they can follow him.
He has been their teacher and example.
And he has been living these qualities.
His mind has been on these things.
And he has been living them out.
God has given you examples as well.
Follow them as they follow the example of Christ.
Because it is then you will be able to…
Experience the peace of God.
At the very beginning of this message, we talked about the stresses of life.
How do we get through these?
Well, it is primarily a matter of the mind.
For we are to…
THOUGHTFULLY EMBRACE THE GOOD GOD HAS FOR US.
What I really like about this passage is that it is not so much a picture of restraint, but a picture of what we are to embrace.
These are the matters we are to be passionate about.
For when we possess passion for what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy, then the stresses of life will take a back seat to what is really important.
And we will have peace.
The true peace of God will be ours.
Our heart and mind will experience calm even in the midst of the most difficult circumstances.
We will have wholeness.
So…
THOUGHTFULLY…
EMBRACE THE GOOD…
GOD HAS FOR YOU.
For Further Study: Genesis 3.1-13; Psalm 19.7-9; Proverbs 23.7; Isaiah 1.18; Matthew 6.24-34; Mark 7.20-23; John 8.44; Romans 5.1, 12.2; II Corinthians 10.5, 11.3; Colossians 3.15
COMMUNION:
A few weeks ago, we studied these words…
Read Philippians 3.8-10
When we suffer, no matter what degree it might be, we share in the sufferings of Christ.
It is, of course, not to the degree of Jesus’ suffering, but it is a sharing nonetheless.
Whenever you do suffer – for it will happen, and you probably would rather go without the experience – remember this – you do not suffer alone.
And it is a privilege.
For you share in His suffering.
I hope you know Jesus today, for there is nothing greater.
If you know Jesus today, you are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of our church, but we do ask that you know Jesus and have a relationship with Him.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
PRAYER
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
PRAYER
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Deacon Offering
BENEDICTION:
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral
Chau, Dana Discerning Our World
McCartney, Michael Grumpy Old Christians
Sullivan, Bill Thinking and Doing
Vasicek, Ed The Intentional Life
Other
Barclay, William. The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. The Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1959.
Lowery, Brian. Exploring "a New Earth": A Probing Look at Eckhart Tolle’s Wildly Popular Book. PreachingToday.com, 2008. Accessed 29 Jul 2008.
MacArthur, John, Jr. Philippians. The Macarthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 2001.
Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs: ChariotVictor Publishing, 1989.
Wuest, Kenneth S. Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. 3 vols, vol. 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1978.
