Philippians 4:8 (2)
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Introduction
Introduction
Think!
Introduction
I want to return to this week.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on [think on] these things. ()
We are said to be living in the “Information Age.” In the past couple of hundred years the overall focus of humanity has shifted from agriculture to industry and now to information and technology.
We are said to be living in the “Information Age.” In the past couple of hundred years the overall focus of humanity has shifted from agriculture to industry and now to information and technology.
In 2015 there were an estimated 2 million online articles posted every single day, an average of 10 BILLION words.
Those numbers have only increased in the past three years.
If the Lord delays, and archeologists look back 5,000 years from now, you might think that they would describe this age as a time when everyone sought as much information as they possibly could, when learning and knowledge and truth was hungrily pursued.
They would be wrong.
For all the words and articles published, for all the information available at the drop of a hat, it is not truth, but emotions, that rule the day.
Our culture is dominated by feeling.
Facts take a distance second place to fancy.
Men and women both are no longer judged by facts, but by how others feel.
The reality is that most people would rather hear a lie than the truth, if the lie makes them feel better.
The church has not been immune from this embrace of emotion.
Many in the Charismatic Movement urge people to STOP thinking, and just “listen to the Lord,” which really means to follow emotional impulses.
The liberal church makes a pretense of thinking – it certainly dominates scholarship – but really follows the path of the least emotional resistance; we see this in the amazingly quick acceptance of homosexuality and gender confusion amongst liberal denominations and churches.
The Importance of the Mind
The Importance of the Mind
From the moment of man’s creation, God has called us to use our minds.
This is the first command given to Adam:
The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
God doesn’t point around the garden and say, “Eat THAT” and “Don’t eat THAT.”
The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” ()
God doesn’t point around the garden and say, “Eat THAT” and “Don’t eat THAT.”
Instead, He uses words:
Words that Adam is expected to remember, accurately obey, and pass on to others.
The mind is so important that an entire book of the Bible is devoted to it – the book of Proverbs.
The mind is so important that an entire book of the Bible is devoted to it – the book of Proverbs.
One of the most basic statements in Proverbs is found in
“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; And with all your acquiring, get understanding.
Jesus emphasized the importance of our minds.
Jesus emphasized the importance of our minds.
Jesus said that the greatest commandment is this:
And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ ()
And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
If someone says “The greatest commandment is to love God,” they are wrong.
If someone says “The greatest commandment is to love God,” they are wrong.
Jesus makes that love specific: it must involve our heart (that is, our will), our soul, and our mind.
When Jesus rebuked Peter in , He said that Peter sinned because he had set his mind on the things of man, not the things of God.
Jesus cast demons out a man, and the man was then said to be in his right mind ().
The night of His resurrection, when Jesus showed Himself to His disciples, says, “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
Not surprisingly, the same emphasis continues in the epistles.
The mind is fully dependent upon the spirit.
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. ()
The minds of the wicked are under judgment.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
describes the judgment of God:
The minds of believers must be directed toward God:
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper ()
On the other hand, believers are to focus their minds on the things of God:
Depraved actions come from a depraved mind.
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
On the other hand, believers are to focus their minds on the things of God:
Our minds determine how we will stand in faith until the Lord comes:
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Sanctification is impossible apart from our minds:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
We Must THINK!
We Must THINK!
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. ()
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ()
And thus Paul writes in ,
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. ()
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Clearly, we must THINK!
And thus Paul writes in ,
The Scripture gives us eight categories to think about, to dwell on.
Paul is not telling us WHAT to think, but HOW to think.
Instead, the Scripture gives us eght categories to think about, to dwell on.
We are to keep thinking about whatever is true.
We know what is true by the Word of God.
We are to keep thinking about whatever is honorable, or worthy of respect.
We know what is honorable by the Word of God.
We are to keep thinking about whatever is right, or just.
We know what is right by the Word of God.
We are to keep thinking about whatever is pure.
We don’t determine purity, God does, and He reveals it in His Bible.
We are to keep thinking about whatever is lovely, or pleasing, or amiable.
We know what delights God because He tells us; the more we are like Him, the more what delights Him will delight us as well.
We are to keep thinking about whatever is of good repute, or well thought of.
We don’t have to guess what God thinks highly of, because He has revealed it in His Word.
We are to keep thinking about whatever is excellent, or morally virtuous.
We know what God says is morally virtuous, because His Word tells us.
We are to keep thinking about whatever is praiseworthy, which means – anyone? – worthy of praise.
It’s not man’s praise that matters, but God’s praise, and He tells us openly what He sees as praiseworthy, and you know where He tells us – in the Scriptures.
The Challenge
The Challenge
You know, there were really very few distractions in the first century.
You know, there were really very few distractions in the first century.
No printed books.
No cell phones or tablets.
No internet.
No Facebook or Twitter.
No television or radio.
And yet the writer of Hebrews says to his original audience,
Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
“Dull of hearing” means that their minds were numbed by all the distractions around them; they had lost much of their ability to think and reason.
Concerning [Melchizedek] we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. ()
“Dull of hearing” means that their minds were numbed by all the distractions around them; they had lost much of their ability to think and reason.
If that was true of them in their time, how much more is it true of us in ours?
Our culture has made us mentally lazy, and most of the time we don’t even realize it.
So it’s clear that we must be deliberate about thinking biblically.
So let me exhort us all this morning.
First, the natural mind – the sinner’s mind – cannot think rightly.
– the sinner’s mind is depraved.
– the sinner’s mind is blinded by Satan.
– the sinner’s thinking is futile; it can’t produce any good result.
– the sinner’s mind is ignorant, because it is void of divine truth.
First Corinthian 2:14 – the sinner’s mind is powerless to understand divine truth.
Second, God wants us to think, and will teach us to think.
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. ()
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. ()
J. Gresham Machen, the Presbyterian scholar who originally taught at Princeton before that school fell away from the truth, and then helped form Westminster Theological Seminary, said, “What the Holy Spirit does in the new birth is not to make a man a Christian regardless of the evidence, but on the contrary, to clear away the mist from his eyes and enable him to attend to the evidence.”
Third, Jesus taught His own disciples to think, and will teach us to think as well.
Third, Jesus taught His own disciples to think, and will teach us to think as well.
In He addresses their fear over what they will eat, drink, and wear, by urging them to think carefully and well.
“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Jesus commands them to think and asks questions about their reasoning.
Look at the birds. Are you not worth much more?
Who can add to his life by worry?
Observe the lilies. Will God not much more clothe you?
They were thinking about their need; Jesus said, “Good, I’m glad that you’re thinking, but instead of thinking about your need, think about God’s faithfulness to the birds of the air and flowers of the field, and trust Him.”
They were thinking about their need; Jesus said, “Good, I’m glad that you’re thinking, but instead of thinking about your need, think about God’s faithfulness to the birds of the air and flowers of the field, and trust Him.”
Jesus asks them questions that require them to think:
Are you not worth much more than birds?
Can worry make you live longer?
Will God not clothe you?
They were thinking about their need; Jesus said, “Good, I’m glad that you’re thinking, but instead of thinking about your need, think about God’s faithfulness to the birds of the air and flowers of the field, and trust Him.”
How does the Lord teach us to think?
He gives us a curriculum on truth – His Word – and calls upon us to fill our minds with it.
If He wanted His disciples to look at the birds of the air and observe the lilies of the field, how much more should we look at and carefully consider and observe His holy Scripture?
The Goal: Transformation
The Goal: Transformation
The goal of all this is transformation.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. ()
That’s why the Scripture tells us to give serious, consistent thought to these eight categories:
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
The world is happy if you will simply conform to its standard.
The world is happy if you will simply conform to its standard.
It doesn’t care if you change; in fact, it doesn’t expect you to change.
It just demands that you toe the line and be like everyone else.
Human religion is exactly the same; just do this and that, and look the right way on the outside, and you’ll be fine.
But God is all about transforming sinners into saints, and transforming them from the inside out.
Transformation does not begin with behavior modification, but with renewing our minds, our thinking.
The New Covenant is the promise of a new mind and heart.
We saw in that He began that good work in us, and will complete it.
So, let us stop being conformed to the world, but rather be transformed as we renew our minds with the pure, holy, living, active Word of God.
We saw in that He is at work in us so that we both want to be transformed and are able to live transformed lives.
tells us that transformation does not begin with behavior modification, but with renewing our minds, our thinking.
So, let us stop being conformed to the world, but rather be transformed as we renew our minds with the pure, holy, living, active Word of God.