The Power [3] of Christ-controlled thinking [Philippians 4:8]

Brian Larkin

Power • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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The Power of Christ-Controlled thinking [Part 3] {Philippians 4:8}

Stand for the reading of the word of God [Philippians 4:8]

We conclude our series on power from Philippians 4:6-8 today. We’ve discovered throughout this series that in order to have a worry-free mind, to have a powerful prayer life, to have a thankful heart comes by way of Christ controlled thinking. We are what we think about, we are not what we think we are, but we are what we think about. So, what takes up the most space in our minds, what we think on and ponder on the most is the direction our lives will go. If we are always thinking the worst, that something bad is going to happen, or always critical of others, you’re probably not going to be a pleasant person.

But when Christ controls our minds and our thoughts are focused on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, admirable, virtuous, and praiseworthy, then our lives will look different, our life will looked like a changed life, a life change by Jesus Christ. In this series we’ve seen that victory in our daily lives, we ended last week with that…a daily battle for our minds. Christ has won the victory for our souls upon the cross, but there is a daily battle for our minds that we all face. Victory in this battle for the mind hinges on who controls our thinking. As one commentator said, “the greatest area of sin in the believer’s life is not the area of actions but the area of thought.” When Christ controls our thinking victory is sure.

When our lives are guided by truth, honesty, and justice then we have a powerful witness…when our lives display purity, loveliness, and admirability we have a powerful testimony. Notice this list of godly virtues from verse 8 is the plumb line as it were or the standard of how a Christian should think and act. Notice verse 9 Paul doesn’t just say, do these things…he says these things you’ve seen in me…do likewise. This isn’t arrogance on the part of Paul, Paul attributes his boasting to Christ, “I can only boast in the Lord Jesus Christ.” i.e. it is Christ who has given me the ability to think and behave in such a manner…Paul did the whole Pharisee bit and he said all that I attained was rubbish apart from Jesus Christ.

So this idea that to be a good Christian is just to be a good person is nonsense…you can’t be a truly good person, according to God’s standard of goodness, by human effort, because you don’t know God’s goodness apart from God’s revelation of your own depravity. I know that’s heavy, but it’s true and the bible tells us it’s true you were blind, deaf, and enemies of the things of God until the Holy Spirit revealed it to you…and upon repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ one is saved…then out of response to a changed life in Christ the believer then begins to walk according to God’s will, i.e. the fruit of the spirit will be evident in the believers life…no fruit…no evidence.

This is important, especially in a day where prosperity gospel or word of faith movement or however you want to name it is so prevalent. Where more focus on elevating man and how he feels [feel goodism] rather than exalting God and the truth of scripture. We don’t do good works to feel better about ourselves and to get God’s approval, we do good works, as Christians, because it’s a response to our good God who has called us out of the pit into His marvelous light to glorify Him in all that we do. This is no small thing…it’s the essential thing. We don’t live virtuous and praise filled lives to get something from God, we live virtuous and praise filled lives out of a response to what God has done for us in Christ Jesus.

That’s a life lived in daily victory…where everything we do is out of a response to what God has done for you. How different would our lives be if this was our mindset? Look at the flip side, how many people professing to be Christians doing good things only with the intent of getting something from God…not as a response to what God has done. How can you know the difference?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were thrown into the fire in Daniel 3 because they would not bow down to the golden statue King Nebuchadnezzar had made and ordered people to bow to. Nebuchadnezzar said, if you don’t bow down you’ll be thrown into the fire. But there response was amazing in Daniel 3:17-18 they said, “The God we serve is able to deliver us from the burning furnace, He will deliver us from your hand, and even if he does not and we burn up in this fire…we will not serve your gods or bow to your image.”

It would have been easy for them to just say, “we tried serving God to get from Him, but that didn’t work so we’ll bow to save our lives” and no body would have blamed them for doing so…many others did. But you see what really sets these three men apart and what sets a believer apart is how they respond under fire. If our mindset is to serve God to get from God, when under fire we easily buckle, but when we serve God because of what he has done for us and because of who he is…the one worthy of our lives and praise…we can withstand the fiery trial. That is a changed life lived in victory and virtue.

Victory and virtue change us

Next in Philippians 4:8 Paul says, “If there is be any virtue.” These last two terms Paul list for us here virtue and praiseworthy are very broad terms but ultimately summarize everything he has listed so far. It’s was as though Paul started the list in verse 8 whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, admirable…I could go on forever, but I’ll sum it up with virtuous and praiseworthy. They encompass what is best in every area of the life of a believer. Here Paul gets to the point of it, thinking on these things joined with prayer will relieve anxieties and lead us to praise God and live a life the way God desires us to.

i.e. a Christ-controlled mind will lead to a worry-free mind, a powerful prayer life, and a thankful heart. One who knows the peace of God which guards their hearts and minds, one who is lead by the God of peace who is with us guiding us and directing us. Verse 8 is the meat to the sandwich of the peace of God verse 7 and the God of peace verse 9. Some may say, “I don’t know the peace of God, my life is filled with anxiety and stress…and I don’t know the God of peace, I don’t know what to do my life is a wreck.” The question is…what have you filled your mind with throughout the week?

When it comes to Wednesday and you think, Pastor was talking about the peace of God but I don’t that, I have no peace of God and the God of peace seems to be far away…the question I ask is what have you putting into your mind? Friend you and I will never know the peace of God or the God of peace if throughout the week you continually fill your mind with things that are alien and foreign to God. NO, the mark of the Christian’s life filled with the peace of God and the God of peace is a life that is filled with the things approved of by God.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the phrase, “cheap grace” he said it’s cheap because it’s a cheap covering of sin with no true contrition or repentance, and no real desire to be delivered from sin. We like the idea of your sins are forgiven and it’s free because of God’s grace, but there is no real remorse for one’s sin and no repentance of sin in one’s life. That kind of life is marked by one who comes to church on Sunday to feel better about oneself, but the rest of the week is marked by a filling of things that is not approved of by God. H.A. Ironside said, “it’s important that we should never permit our minds to feed like vultures on the wicked, filthy, and unholy things of the flesh.”

What are you filling your mind with throughout the week? Maybe it’s not things foreign to God, maybe you’re trying to fill your mind with things of God, but is it based in God’s truth or feel goodism? Here’s where we must be like the Beraen in Acts 17, weighing everything to God’s word. There is a lot of content, studies, preachers, etc. out there for the Christian community…some of it’s wonderful but some of it is absolute garbage and should be avoided all together. I would love to talk to you about who to avoid and not listen to, if you have questions about some one please talk to me and I’ll do my best to answer or find some answers. But some sure things to weigh the content you’re taking in...ask yourself, is what is being taught elevating God or man higher? Is there a call for true repentance? Is sin even being addressed at all? and most important Is Christ the center of the message or is man the center?

Let’s fix our eyes on what God is doing, not what man is doing! You’ll never know the peace of God or the God of peace when you’re focused on the unrest going on around you…fix your eyes upon Jesus. As I watched the news last night I thought to myself, I would not have peace if this was all I could see…but I know God is on his throne, and He is sovereign over all. And even though I don’t understand why things are the way they are I trust Him…and that fills me with praise.

Power and praise change us

Finally Paul list “if there is anything praiseworthy” Notice I said finally, but it’s not really a final thought? That’s biblical by the way, Paul said at the beginning of verse 8 “finally” and then kind of goes back into it again for a while before he ends the letter. It’s like the preacher who says, “and finally” and then goes on for 15-20 more minutes…not that I’ve ever done that, but I’ve seen it done…well anyway it’s biblical…just wanted to point that out.

If there is anything praise worthy meditate on. Do you have anything to praise God about? What are some reasons for praise? Let me give you a few reasons for praise. I’m going to give you several scriptures you might want to write down the scriptures.

1. praise is commanded of God’s people, Psalm 30:5, Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. Psalm 150:6, “let everything that has breathe praise the Lord. Revelation 19:5, the 24 elders and 4 living creatures before the throne of God said, “praise God all you servants, you who fear him small and great.”

2. Praise is pleasing to God. Psalm 69:30, “I praise the name of God with a song, I will magnify him with thanksgiving. this will please God. Psalm 147:1, Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting

3. Praise is a response to God’s nature. Praise God’s nature of greatness, Dt. 32:3, For I will proclaim the name of the Lord ascribe greatness to our God.” Praise God for his righteous nature, Daniel 4:37, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Praise God for his faithfulness, 1 Kings 8:56, “Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. Praise God for his strength Psalm 28:7, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him

4. Praise God for answered prayers, for sending His son, Jesus Christ to atone for the sins of the world…I’d say we have much to praise God about. God is in control and deserves our constant praise. When we look past our current problem and focus on Jesus our attitude shifts to one of praise. Paul had a problem when he wrote this letter, yes he was in prison, but also there was a problem in the church at Philippi. Look at verse 2 and 3 of chapter 4, “I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 And I urge you also, true companions, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.”

There was some sort of strife between these two women. Notice Paul notes their usefulness in that how they labored with him in the work of the gospel, that their names were written in the book of life, yet they had some sort of strife or disagreement. So Paul is urging them to reconcile. Here’s something very important for us today. You’re not always going to agree with everyone in the church. Decisions are going to be made, things are going to be said that you don’t agree with. There is going to be disagreements, there is going to be misunderstanding, and that’s OK, that doesn’t mean we have to go our separate ways… mature Christians can have strife and work it out because it’s not about your personal preference it’s about the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

While these two women had difficulty getting along which caused strife in the church Paul urged them to look for virtue in each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord, when we do we’ll find ourselves praising God for each other rather than complaining about each other. Just think what that would do for our church, if we focused more on finding virtue in each other and praising God for each other instead of being critical and pointing out faults. A church built on a fault line is going to break in an earthquake. When our minds are focused on the problem at hand it takes our attention off of Jesus and thus off of praising Him. Let’s focus on praising Jesus. Because...

Christ is the One worthy of praise