THINK ON THESE THINGS
Pastor Eric J. Hanson
INTRODUCTION
Many of the battles of life are faced by all of us. We all have to learn the lessons of childhood. We have to get up at a certain time and go to school, regardless of how we feel about it. We have to gradually do more work, just to keep up in school and at home. Many of us embrace the savior during these tender years, but we don’t understand yet, that following Him will entail hardship.
Later, as teens, we go through the pain of disillusionment as we discover the faults of those we love. We experience much stress as we chafe against authority and gradually assume more responsibility for our choices. We make promises to ourselves, and then don’t fully live up to them. We become disillusioned about self too. We are appalled by mortality as inevitably someone our own age is killed in a car crash, or otherwise dies tragically at age 16 or 18.
Moving into young adulthood, we struggle with the wide variety of wrong choices that we are now very free to make. If we are believers, we become painfully aware of the Lord’s words: “Straight is the way and narrow is the road that leads to life”. We feel the difference between that narrowness and the broad way of the World that leads to death. Some young adults go into a dark period of wandering from the faith. Many struggle.
In adulthood, we find out that the pain of betrayal, of false accusation, and of the death of loved ones is just as acute as it was when we were teens. Many are stuck in jobs they hate or have no security in. Some adult Christians feel that they are in the prison of life for no reason, and they identify with Joseph as he languished in Pharaoh’s prison, having been sold out, and then falsely charged with wrongdoing. Many find that they are painfully shy about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others, for fear of rejection, ridicule, and ostracision.
All of these painful thoughts conspire together when energized against us as “flaming missiles” hurled our way by the Devil. These missiles explode in our thoughts! “God has forgotten me!” “God doesn’t care!” The Bible gives us fair warning about this. God’s word says “taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one.” (Ephesians 6:16)
Yes, it’s true. No matter how people may have done you wrong, remember this: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness, in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Today, I am not here to say “Snap out of it!” or “Get a grip!” I am here to share some good stuff with you that can help all of us with real struggle and real pain. I owe a debt of gratitude, to my wife Nancy, who has been trained in the scriptures since childhood, for pointing me toward this principle. We were counseling someone in an appointment, and she brought forth some of what you are about to hear. It was as if the Lord himself was speaking. Thank you, Nancy, for letting God speak through you in counseling situations.
MAIN BODY OF MESSAGE
The book of Philippians gives us some powerful guidelines to achieve victory on the inside, whatever our circumstances may look like on the outside. For those who are sincerely following the Lord, for those who love to see His Kingdom advancing, here are keys to peace. Let’s read a chunk of scripture together now. Please turn to Philippians 4, verses 4-9. I’m reading from the New American Standard Bible today.
I see several keys to victory here for people whose hearts and affections are bruised and battered.
1. Rejoice, as an act of your will. Rejoice because you have a home in Heaven. Rejoice because Jesus Christ suffered so that you don’t have to bear the penalty for your own sins, which are many. Rejoice because you are in the family of God, and because that family will be made perfect some day.
2. Pray about everything. Don’t worry and fret. Pray over every care you carry. Get trustworthy people to also stand with you in focused and targeted prayer. Sometimes you can’t pray with fervent expectation because you are so badly hurt, but do what you can in prayer. Take it as far as you can… You will gradually gain strength through this. Later you will have more faith
3. Finally: Think on these things:
a. Whatever is true as opposed to the terrible things you imagine such as “They all hate me.”, or “The cancer will spread”. Replace such thinking with truth such as “I am created in the image of God, and He will give me friends who will relate to me in a Christ like way.”, and “The Lord Jesus himself bore my sicknesses and carried my diseases”.
b. Whatever is honorable Instead of thinking about how much this or that person you work with or live with doesn’t measure up to your expectations, dwell purposely on their good points. Honor that which is honorable in them.
c. Whatever is right Rather than picking at faults, magnify what is good about those you are in contact with. See them as a gift to you and a ministry opportunity, because they are, in fact, both.
d. Whatever is pure We are not to engage in evil imaginings. Be very careful not to allow the devil to tell you wicked things about people. He is masterful at planting suggestions which range all the way from “She will always only care about herself” to “I’ll bet that he is a child molester”. Any time we speculate in our minds about the sins of others, it is the opposite of thinking on whatever is pure. Of course, there is also another dimension to thinking on Whatever is Pure. Don’t feed your mind with sexual trash, hate filled trash, or any kind of trash. It will cause your thoughts and desires become ever more impure, just like a bag of garbage out in the hot Summer sun. Guard your heart. Starve your lusts and they will grow weaker.
e. Whatever is Lovely You might need to get away from the news and most entertainment in order for this to happen. You might also need to withdraw from listening to certain “negative nannies” who often talk negatively. You might wish to turn to the end of the Bible and read about the New Heavens and New Earth. You might want to listen quietly to some great music, drink in great artwork, and observe the beauty of the Earth. Such things are indeed lovely.
Lovelier still is to think about great acts of selfless love, to think about God’s love made visible in godly people who gave themselves away for others, such as William Wilberforce who spent his whole life defeating slavery in Great Britain, and many others, known and unknown, who also loved God supremely and benefited others immensely. Eventually, this creates a tendency in people to think about positive things more, and negative things less.
f. Whatever is of Good Repute Read biographies of those who have earned great reputations, or who are greatly hated by evil people, because of their resolutely standing for God’s truth. Think of people you know today who the same is true of. Meditate on how Jesus Christ interacted with people, causing him to be loved by many and hated by many, though he always did what was right and loving. Think about the lives of Joseph, Daniel, and other Bible heroes. Get to know the great revivals of history. Study out places where the Spirit of God is on the move today in great power and freedom; hot spots of grace, such as Ivory Coast, Africa, where the love of God is reaching multiplied thousands. Consider Resistencia, Argentina, where the Church in the city has become one great united force, and the formerly huge drug trade has dried up. Thinking on things of Good Repute, gives hope for greater things, and plants longings to be used by God.
g. If there is any excellence, and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these.
Taken together, these all have a powerful effect called displacement. If you fill a sink with water, you don’t have to pump the air out of it in order to make room for the water. The water simply displaces the air that is there. Paul concludes “Practice these things and the God of peace shall be with you”.
Displacement is a little by little process. These thought principles are not an instant cure all for broken hearts. They are not going to produce overnight perfection of motives. They are not going to make you suddenly fearless about sharing the Gospel.
They will however, like consistent exercise, build you up over time so that you become more and more healed in your soul, and able to think the Lord’s thoughts. You will find yourself sharing Jesus with others out of an overflow of His goodness in your life and it will feel normal. You will always love those you have lost, but you will experience joy again, rather than a crippling level of pain. As the scriptures and excellent things fill you over time, negative things will shrink away, and you will experience more of the Lord in your life.
Let’s pray.
