Think About These Things Series

Think about these things…November 29, 2009 Philippians 4:8,9

What are you thinking about right now? Maybe you are thinking about how nice it is to be in church this morning, with people who think it’s nice to have you here. Maybe you’re having thoughts about what you had (or didn’t have) for breakfast. Maybe you’re pondering what to have for lunch (you can stay for our potluck right after the service) Maybe you’re thinking about whether or not you turned off the iron at home, or the lights, or the coffee pot, etc. Maybe you’re wondering if you locked the front door. Will someone break in? Maybe you’re thinking about an argument you had with a close friend. They were wrong after all and I was right…Maybe your thoughts dwell on a tv show you watched last night, but maybe should have not watched…Maybe you are wondering what will happen with the stock market on Monday morning. Will gold continue to skyrocket upwards, or will it come crashing down. And speaking of crashing down, what about my relationship with ____. What about my health? What about my friend’s health? What about my kids, how ill they turn out? Will they take care of me one day? What about the end of the world? What’s going to happen next? How bad can things get before they get better? What’s the use of going on…?

Anyone care to share what’s on THEIR mind today?

You know, we can get ourselves pretty depressed and worried and fearful and even sick if we let our minds dwell on so many ‘bad’ things. We can lull ourselves into thinking that everything IS bad, especially if we make a habit of watching the news and reading the paper. Oh, and speaking of papers, have you lugged in your paper lately to find that not only is it loaded with lots of sad and depressing and scary news, but it’s loaded with all sorts of ads for Christmas shopping? I mean really, how much time do advertisers think we have in order to actually read all these things?

But that’s just it, we DO read and think about these things. At this time of year it is so easy to get caught up in thinking about all the things we have to DO and SHOP for and BUY and SPEND, spend, spend…

Might I suggest we take some time to think about some other things? May I be so bold as to say that we ought to spend a lot more time thinking about good things, and not so much time worrying about bad things?

Paul give us a list of things we can and should think about in verses 8 and 9 of of the 4th chapter of his letter to the Philippians. Let’s read that right now. Turn to page ___ in the Bibles provided in the pews.

8Finally, 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. 9Whatever 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. (NIV)

True – what a perfect place to begin, truth. I don’t think anyone likes to be told a lie, or even a half-truth, especially when it comes to matters of the heart, what we believe. In a court of law, they ask witnesses to swear (on a bible no less) to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The judge wants to hear what really happened so that he can judge accordingly. To lie is not only a crime against the court system; it can also hurt others by giving false testimony about them, and getting them into trouble. One of the 10 commandments is not to give false testimony against you neighbour. In other words, tell the truth.

But to think about truth, we have to first FIND truth. What is truth? Truth is fact, reality, and accuracy…all things which we can believe in. And the thing that I believe in more than any other is Jesus Christ, my Saviour and my Lord, the Living Word of God. My friends you can seek truth in many places and in many ways, but the one thing that will always be true is Christ. In John 14 He tells us that He is the way and the truth and the life, no once comes to the Father except through Him. Jesus is Truth, not a lie. He is the truth and He tells the truth. Many times in His teaching we hear him say, ‘I tell you the truth…’ almost 100 times in the 4 gospels we can read about the truth.