Sermon
Something To Think About
April 14, 2002
Pastor Leighton Sheley

I'll invite you to take your Bibles and open to Philippians chapter 4. If you're using a pew Bible it's found around page 790. Well, we're looking now to the book of Philippians, and the book of Philippians has been likened by the great theologian Warren Wiersbe as to a Christian book on Psychology based on Biblical doctrine. The reason people go to psychologists is because they are unhappy with themselves, others, their work, responsibilities, personal development, acquisitions, or any combination of these things and so much more. The bottom line is, they are unhappy. Warren Wiersbe writes his commentary and titles the book of Philippians, be joyful -- it's a call to joy.

Now you would think that Christians should be immune to joylessness. Joyfulness, of course, is being full of joy -- joyfulness. Joylessness, is having a lack of joy. The fact of the matter is that many churches are filled with joylessness because many families of those churches are filled with joylessness. And the reason so many families of those churches are filled with joylessness is because so many members of the families of those churches are filled with joylessness. In other words, joylessness can be communicable.

Now if you were to ask someone, even a Christian, why they are unhappy. You would likely hear something along the lines of: I have an unloving and unsupportive spouse, or; I have rebellious children, or; I have a difficult boss, or; work is very challenging, or; my economic situation is delicate or tight, or; they're concerned with developments in the Middle East or increasing acts of violence and loss of freedoms here in the United States.

It is not uncommon, even among Christians, for joyfulness to be robbed by circumstances, people, things, or the lack thereof, or worry. Now when Paul wrote the book of Philippians, his circumstances could hardly be considered those which would promote joy. He was imprisoned under twenty-four hour guard and awaiting a trial that could have resulted in his execution. Not only were his circumstances dire, but there were those who were trying to stir up trouble for Paul.

In fact, Paul writes in Philippians chapter 1: It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.

Not only were the circumstances and people hardly contributing to an environment conducive to joy, but Paul's financial support was irregular at best. It would appear that, at least early on, Paul's missionary journeys were supported only by the church at Philippi. For he writes: Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only.

And so, despite what might to many seem an overwhelming cause for depression, Paul writes in summary of this letter, in Philippians 4:11, I have learned to be content or happy whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

You see, Paul's joy was not going to be robbed by circumstances, people, things, or worry because these were not sources of joy to Paul. Paul said, I have learned to be happy or content. Happiness or contentedness is something that can be learned. And this book of Philippians is full of sage, Biblical advice for living a healthy, happy life.

Now it has been observed that the book of Philippians can be outlined into four themes corresponding with the chapter divisions. Chapter one's theme is "a single mind;" Chapter two's theme is "a submissive mind;" Chapter three's theme is "a spiritual mind;" and Chapter four's theme is "a secure mind." A single mind -- a submissive mind -- a spiritual mind -- and a secure mind.

And today it is to chapter 4 verses four and following that we turned our attention. It reads: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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.

Paul calls us to be full of joy and gentleness. Rejoice, he says, in the Lord. And I'm going to say it again, rejoice! And let your gentleness be evident to all. Then he reminds us that the Lord is ever near and there is no reason to be anxious or to worry.

Now some have wondered if that's a reference to the second coming of Christ, the Lord's nearness of His second coming. But I think that the understanding is better rendered when we refer to Jesus' words, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. The Lord is ever near. There is no reason, there is no cause, for being worried or anxious.

When we come to God through Christ, we experience the peace of God or peace with God. Colossians chapter 1, verses 19 and following reads:
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [that is, Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you -- reconciled means to restore relationship, to bring peace back to a relationship. Now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.

Romans chapter 5 begins: Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We often sing here the song "Righteousness, Peace, and Joy." Now one can experience peace and joy simultaneously. No one can experience peace and worry simultaneously. They are mutually exclusive. Worry is one of the joy robbers.

Now what is worry? Well the word anxious in verse 6 means "to be pulled in different directions." I remember as a child seeing a picture of one of the strongman exhibitions at the turn-of-the-century. This man's arms were outstretched wrapped in chains attached to two horses, one each side, each trying to pull the man's arms out of his sockets.

Now to be anxious or to worry is to have the horse called "hope" pulling one way, and the horse called "fear" pulling another. Our hope pulls us one direction, and fear pulls us in the other. And we are literally pulled apart, to be pulled in different directions.

Now the consequences of worry are not limited to the mind; there are definite physical consequences as well: headaches, neck and back pains, ulcers, and indigestion to name a few. Worry can even cause hair to fall out or quickly gray. Even though worry resides only in the mind, it has very real consequences.

Biblically, worry is the result of godless thinking about circumstances, people, and things. If we were to see things as God sees them, then we would never have cause for worry.

Jesus said, recorded in Matthew 6: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all of his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jesus told us to not worry. In Philippians chapter 4, verse 6, Paul writes, Do not be anxious, do not worry about anything. He didn't just inform us that we shouldn't be anxious; he told us to actively choose not to be anxious. And he provided for us three guidelines for experiencing the peace of God which excludes worry.

And if you're taking notes today, they are: Number 1 -- right praying, which is found in Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 and 7. Number 2 -- right thinking, which is found in the next verse, verse 8. And finally, right living, which is found in the next verse, verse 9.

The first guideline is prayer. The cure for worry is not inaction or apathy. The first cure for worry is prayer. Now to give us greater clarity, Paul uses different words to give us guidance as how to pray: prayer, petition, thanksgiving, and requests.

Prayer is a general word for making requests known to God. It is associated with adoration, devotion, and worship. So often, we rush into prayer spilling out our requests to God without taking the time to reflect on His majesty and awesomeness. Our real attention is on us and our needs, not on God and His unlimited resources to meet them. Is there anything that God cannot do? Jesus said God can do anything. And so we begin by worshiping our heavenly Father.

And then we share our petitions. The word translated "requests" indicates a clear and specific communication. Now there is a place for the generic prayer, and you've all heard them, "God, please bless everyone who needs a blessing." That's generic, but most of our prayer should be specific.

And lastly, we should express thanksgiving. When my children have asked something from me, they say "thank you, daddy." It's not that I will necessarily give them their request as requested; it may conflict with their safety or other plans that I have for them. They say "thank you" because they know daddy has listened to their petition and is doing what he can to provide for their benefit. How much infinitely greater is our Heavenly Father's desire and ability to give us good things!

Jesus said, Luke 11:9, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

You know, God does not play mischief with His children's requests. He will never give us something that could harm us. He is always looking out for our good.

Now it's important for us to observe that Paul put this formula near the end of his letter because what he has written in the proceeding chapters lays the foundation for a "secure mind" described in chapter 4.

You see, It is only when we have the "single mind", that Paul describes in chapter 1, we can truly give adoration and worship putting God first, because that really is worship. It is putting God first.

Paul said it doesn't matter if I am dead or alive, in chains or free. It doesn't matter. I live only to glorify God! I don't even have a personal agenda. My whole existence is to fulfill the agenda God has for me. A single mind.

It's only when we have the "submissive mind" that Paul describes in chapter 2 that our petitions are framed as Jesus framed His; "Nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done."

And it is only when we have the "spiritual mind" that Paul describes in chapter three that we can be filled with thanksgiving and see our circumstances from a heavenly perspective, for "our citizenship is in heaven" - verse 20.

Now Paul says, Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything! Some people have often wondered if they should "bother" God about the small stuff. Paul says that we should pray about everything.

That's right praying, and right praying affects right thinking. Right praying positively affects our thinking. When we say the "Amen," our minds should not quickly revert back to a godless paradigm. Isaiah 26:3 says, God will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. A mind that is steadfast, not to one mind while you're in prayer and another mind when you're not, but a steadfast mind.

Some people think that the primary purpose of prayer is to change God's mind. Actually, the primary purpose of prayer is to change our mind. The human mind is a wonder of creation. It's capabilities are beyond the wildest imaginations of the scientists trying to probe it. At full maturity, most people hardly use a fraction of it's potential. Yet it is always storing and assimilating information, creating connections developing paradigms, imagining whole new worlds and opportunities.

Even though they cannot be weighed or measured, thoughts are real and powerful. A single thought can change the course of human history and impact the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Consider this thought and its impact: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of the happiness."

Our nation's Declaration of Independence communicated an entirely new thought. Instead of people existing to serve a government, government exists to serve it's people. Over two centuries, hundreds of millions of people have benefited from that one thought. Thoughts are powerful

My Grandfather shared this thought with me: "Sow a thought, reap an action. "Sow an action, reap a habit. "Sow a habit, reap a character. "Sow a character, reap a destiny." A destiny can be determined by a thought. And that's why we must protect our mind against godless thought.

II Corinthians 10:5 reads, "we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Now we cannot take captive our thoughts, but we must take captive our thought process. When we drive down a freeway and we're bombarded with godless thoughts on the billboards, we can't shut them out unless we want to become a very dangerous driver. Thoughts come, and we can't control those; but we can control what we think about.

A few weeks back, my family and I were out of town together. One evening we were tired and decided just to stay in the hotel, and sit on the bed, and watch a movie. We all needed a good laugh and decided we'd watch a comedy. The selections were kind of limited. We didn't choose one that was rated "R"otten or "X"tra rotten, but we weren't too far into the movie when we realized it hadn't been correctly rated.

We chose not to have our minds think about evil behavior that evening and found another movie. As I mentioned already, for selections were limited, we watched "Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius." The point is that we took captive our thoughts. We chose what we were going to think about that evening.

Now we can't empty our thoughts nor can we stop our minds from thinking. How then can we control the mind? And Paul provides us an answer: by choosing what to focus our attentions, our thinking processes on.

Philippians 4:8, 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.

When the other thoughts come - and they will - then direct your thinking processes to think about good things. Paul uses many words to describe what kinds of things we should direct our thinking to. The first word is true. we should evaluate the thoughts we are entertaining against truth, what we know to be true. Is "Hollywood's" glamorous picture the truth or are they leaving something out? Some people don't want to know the truth. They would rather live in a lie. They are like their father, the Father of Lies. So we evaluate what we are thinking on against what we know to be true.

Also, Paul uses the word noble, which indicates a worthiness. Have you ever overheard conversations that weren't worth the words? The scene is often caricatured as in a beauty saloon or a bar: "Worried, wicked, wit-weakened word-workers in want of wisdom wearisomely waste words over worthless wheedle without wavering." We should get in the habit of asking, Is it worth thinking about? Is it noble?

He uses the word 'right', which is sometimes translated just, dikaios, equitable, innocent, holy, just, righteous. He uses the word 'pure', hagnos, which means modest, chaste, pure. He uses the word 'lovely', prosphiles, which means friendly towards, acceptable to, acceptable to the Lord, acceptable to our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

And he uses the word 'admirable', euphemos. It means to be of good report. Have you ever had to hang around people who constantly dwell on the bad stuff? All they can ever talk about, which is of course what they think about, is other people's failures and what has gone wrong. Being around them is like being subjected to Chinese water torture. Each drip or sentence is hardly noticeable, but it adds up to a damaging experience.

The last two descriptions are strung together. 'Excellent', arete, which means valor, excellence, and virtue; and 'praiseworthy', epainos, a commendable thing, praise. And what it means is that we should direct our attention, our thought processes, towards praising or commending, to ourselves and to others, the valor and virtue and excellence found in others. These are the things that we should direct our mind to think on.

And thirdly, right living, in verse 9. Previously, in chapter 3 verse 17, Paul wrote, Join with others in following my example. Now again in chapter 4, verse 9, Paul invites his readers to imitate him. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. All says, let me be your model.

You know sin always results in unrest unless, of course, the conscience has been seared. A Christian can never truly be at peace when they are continuing knowingly in sin. The "peace of God" is one of the tests that gives us feedback as to whether or not we are walking in the will of God.

Colossians 3:15, as translated by Phillips, reads, Let the peace of Christ guide all your decisions. If there is not a Godly peace about a certain decision that you've made our are making, then pray for discernment for God's will and guidance.

Warren Wiersbe said, "God's peace is the 'umpire' that calls us out!" When we're out of God's will we get out of God's peace. So then, how do we experience peace and joy?

Paul gives us the answer in this passage: By overcoming worry, because peace and worry are mutually exclusive. And how do we overcome worry? Paul says by right praying, right thinking, and right living; then we can experience righteousness, peace, and joy. And the God of peace will be with you. The peace of God is always found with the God of peace.

Let's pray. Lord we are so thankful for Your Holy Word and Your Holy Spirit who is our teacher. We thank you Lord for opening our spiritual eyes that we can see the treasure of truth that You have hidden in Your Holy Word. Lord, You haven't given us these insights this day just simply as a mental exercise. You've given them to us that our hearts can be changed, that our lives might be changed, that we might be transformed somehow more into the image of Your son, Jesus Christ, which is Your desire for us.

Lord, often times we resist Your work in our lives, in our minds, and hearts. And Lord we are so thankful for Your patience, Your goodness, Your graciousness, Your mercy, and Your faithfulness to us who are so undeserving. We truly desire, Lord, that our lives bring glory and honor to You, because we know that is the reason for which we have been created. And that is the only way that we are ultimately going to find the fulfillment that we seek. It's found in You alone. In Jesus' precious name, amen.