Think These Things, Practice These Things
We are still looking at Philippians 4:4-9 and because the last sermon was a few weeks ago it would be good to review what we have learned so far in this passage. Rejoice in the Lord always. We saw that joy and continuous rejoicing are the distinguishing marks of Christians. We can rejoice always and in all circumstances because we find our joy in the Lord. He is the source, the basis, and the reason for our joy. Our joy is not dependent on our circumstances, experiences, or feelings.
How do we rejoice in the Lord always? In verses 4-7 we learned that we rejoice by making our gentleness known to all people. We do not worry but pray to God with thanksgiving. Today we will learn that we rejoice by having the mind of Christ, by thinking about, focusing on what is excellent and praiseworthy. We rejoice by following godly models and living a lifestyle that embodies the gospel and the kingdom. And the outcome when we rejoice in the Lord always? The peace of God keeps us safe, and the God of peace Himself is with us and blessing us.
1. Have the Mind of Christ
Our minds, the human brain, is one of the greatest wonders, miracles, and mysteries created by God. The complexity and capacity of our brains are the subjects of ever-widening scientific wonder. When Paul tells us to set our minds on certain things, to have the mind of Christ, and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, he is speaking about this amazing and powerful gift from God, our brains. It is the center and seat of our thoughts. It impacts, shapes our lives, words, and actions. Our emotions and feelings are controlled by the brain. That punch-in-the-gut feeling, that heartache, are all brain actions that have physical responses in other parts of our bodies.
The most amazing of all is that this mystery between our ears has the capacity to do what no computer or device will ever be able to do. It can communicate with God, think God’s thoughts, know God’s heart, and do his works. “How precious to me are your thoughts, God” (Ps 139:17). Our human minds have the potential to possess the mind of Christ. Yes, God created our brains for this, to have the mind of Christ. Phil. 2:5, “Have the same mind as Christ Jesus.”
“What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:12-16).
This blows the mind — our human minds have the possibility of possessing the mind of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. Of course, as believers, we know that our minds fall far short of the mind of Christ. Many times our thinking is not Christian, not biblical. Therefore, it is important that we invite Christ to take over our minds, that we daily surrender control of our minds to Christ. And so through the Holy Spirit, our minds are constantly renewed to become more and more like His. This is why, when Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5 in his summary of the Great Commandment of love, He added the mind — “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk 12:30).
This brings us to another amazing and fearful thing. Are we aware and living in this awareness that God knows our thoughts, every single one of them? “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb 4:13). “Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely” (Ps 139:4). There is nothing we can hide from God. Psalm 139 ends with these words: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Real change in our lives must begin with our thoughts, our minds. Jesus said, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Lk 6:45). That’s why Isaiah says, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts” (55:7). And Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” What we think is how we will be. If we think holy thoughts, we will be holy. If we think garbage, we will be garbage. So, what are we feeding our minds? What are we watching, looking at, reading, listening to? When our minds are preoccupied with worldly things, with selfish and self-centered thoughts then we cannot set our minds on Christ and we cannot have the mind of Christ.
2. Think These Things
Therefore, think these things, the things Paul lists here in verse 8. Not fleeting thoughts but we must think deeply about them, meditate on them, ponder them, remember them, aspire to them. And we must do so continually; think about them without ceasing.
Whatever is true — Truth begins with Jesus Christ. As God the Son He is the embodiment of truth. He is all truth and his gospel is truth — “the word of the truth, the gospel” (Col 1:5). God’s Word is truth — “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (Jn 17:17). Everything that is true is from God because all truth is God’s truth. Therefore, when we think about what is true, we not only see Christ, God’s Word, and the gospel but all the truths that are part of God’s creation. With our minds, we engage his creation and the truths in it. We seek whatever is true in every avenue of life, from faith to science to social relationships to public life to politics to business. We reject irrational, ideological thinking. We reject untruths, lies. As a people of truth, we seek, think, and speak the truth
Whatever is honorable — Think about what is honorable and noble. Those are the qualities and actions that are dignified, worthy of respect. Paul uses the same word in Titus and Timothy where it is translated as worthy of respect, holiness, and seriousness. “Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect” (Tit 2:2). Deacons and women are to be worthy of respect (1 Tim 3:8,11). We must focus our thinking on whatever is dignified, noble, and honorable; things that bring about a noble character, a life of spiritual seriousness and holiness that evokes honor and respect.
Whatever is just — whatever is right. “For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face” (Ps 11:7). The Lord desires of us to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). Thoughts of anger, envy, hatred, greed, lust, and pride lead to murder, sexual immorality, exploitation, oppression, and rejection of other people. We must think about the things that lead to just living and doing what is right.
Whatever is pure — This is not only sexual purity but extends to all areas of moral purity in our thoughts, speech, and actions. We are to think on things that are pure, not impure tainted by evil and sin, so that we may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault (Phil 2:14).
Whatever is lovely — Lovely are those things that are attractive and agreeable. They are pleasing, inspire love, and give pleasure to all. Lovely includes not only what is morally lovely but also what is aesthetically lovely — all that is beautiful in creation and in human lives — from a magnificent sunset to inspiring music to a beautiful painting to caring for the poor and powerless. We are to think about all things beautiful.
Whatever is commendable — This refers to the things that are worthy of praise and approval. It is the kind of conduct that is spoken highly of by other people, words, and action that have a good reputation, are kind, loving, and will attract people.
Now, Paul sums up and reinforces these things. If anything is excellent, if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. Is anything of moral excellence and good? Think about it. Is there anything that would earn the praise of God or man? Think about it. Think about these things without ceasing.
But we face a serious problem. The minds of many Christians have become focused on the things of the world because of what they are watching, viewing, reading, and listening to. The media are flooding our thoughts with the opposite of these things. Today more than ever before we need to heed the advice of Psalm 101:2-3: “I will ponder the way that is blameless … I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.” We must take drastic action and practice the discipline of refusal as taught by Jesus: “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell” (Mt 5:29). And then we must practice the God-given remedy of spending much time reading and meditating on Scripture. The only way we can think God’s thoughts after him is to hide his word in our hearts (cf. Psalm 119:11).
3. Practice These Things
However, it is not enough just to know and think these things. We must practice these things. We must walk the talk. We have not learned these things until we have lived them out. “Noble thoughts are of little value unless they be translated into deeds. Living surpasses learning; practice outshines priority; living supersedes learning” (Strauss). We are called to live and practice a lifestyle that embodies the gospel and the kingdom.
Therefore, we must put into practice what we have learned and received from Jesus our Lord. He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” And, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Mt 7:21,24). We must practice what we learn and receive from God’s Word. We must practice what we learn and receive from other godly teachers. We must also put into practice what we have heard and seen in the life and ministry of Jesus. We must follow his example, live like Him so that others can see Him in us.
But it does not stop there. We, in turn, must teach and hand over to others what we have learned and received. Jesus commanded us to make disciples by teaching them to obey, to put into practice, everything He commanded and taught us (Mt 28:20). We in turn must be godly examples to others showing them in word and in deed how to think and practice these things.
This matter of our minds is a matter of life and death. As Travis said last week, this is serious business. Think these things, practice these things, have the mind of Christ. Then we are able to stand firm and rejoice in the Lord always and in all circumstances. When we do this God’s peace guards our hearts and minds, and the God of peace himself is with us. His presence saves us and blesses us.
On the one hand, there must be a conscious rejection of all that is not according to the mind of Christ. And on the other hand, there must be a conscious, intentional taking on of things that are excellent and praiseworthy, thinking these things. But we must not only think of them. We must practice them day after day so that the mind of Christ will shine in us and through us into this dark world. And then God’s peace will reign in our lives and in our church, and radiate the light of Christ, the Prince of Peace, into the world.