Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Philippians

Philippians 4:8-9 09/07/03

Introduction:
Tom Friends of The New York Times once asked coach Jimmy Johnson what he told his players before leading the Dallas Cowboys onto the field for the 1993 Super Bowl. "I told them that if I laid a two-by-four across the floor, everybody there would walk across it and not fall, because our focus would be on walking the length of that board. But if I put that same board 10 stories high between two buildings, only a few would make it, because the focus would be on falling."  Johnson told his players not to focus on the crowd, the media, or the possibility of falling, but to focus on each play of the game as if it were a good practice session. The Cowboys won the game 52-7.  (Steve Chandler in 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself. Baker)

Explanation: What coach Jimmy Johnson was saying is that football is both thinking AND doing.

This morning, with the start up of our regular ministries here at CBC, before you begin to do whatever it is you will be doing in service to our Lord this year, I want to encourage you to think, to intentionally and purposefully meditate on what it is you will be doing:

-Your call to that ministry;
     -Those you will be serving alongside
    -Those you will be serving
    -Think about what God want to accomplish through you as you serve Him in this ministry.
    -Think about what God needs to change in you so that you will be a clearer reflection of JC in your ministry.

-If your ministry is teaching,
     -Think about the impact the Word of God will have on those who will be listening to your every word,
     -Think about your preparation time and what you need to learn before you can teach others.
     -Think about the awesome privilege and responsibility it is to teach others about our great and glorious God.

Then DO ministry, whatever it is God has called you to do in service to Him here at CBC. Paul knew that the mind will always set itself on something. And whatever makes it into our mind will eventually be played out in our actions.

Transition: So, Paul gives us good advice to follow:  Think Right, Do Right and you will experience the God of peace.

Philippians 4:8                                                                           THINK

Paul is finishing up and he is pleading with us to hear him out, one more time. Paul tells Christians to think. And to think rightly. Because what we choose to let into our minds, really does matter.

Illustration: Horace (65B.C.) ‘Rule your mind or it will rule you.’
 
How do we do that? By following Paul’s advice. Place everything, I mean everything, through the 8 filters he lists here in
vs 8.The idea here is that we test our thoughts, what we allow into our minds.

Are they
    True: is it according to God’s Word
    Nobel: is it dignified, respectable
    Right: is it just
    Pure: is it wholesome
    Lovely: does it promote peace
    Admirable: is it positive and constructive
    Excellent: is it in line w/ God’s nature and will
    Praiseworthy: does it give God glory

If our thoughts pass this test, then think, meditate on them. Let them be what gets priority in your mind. In the big scheme of things we are to be  proactive, intentional, purposeful about what we hear, watch and let into our minds.

And if what you are thinking about doesn’t make it through these filters, then it shouldn’t be in your mind, because it WILL affect what you do or don’t do. Because

Illustration: Martin Luther said ‘You can’t prevent a bird from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from making a nest in your head.’

What do you think he meant by that?     -We can say no. Not now, not this time.

There are so many birds wanting to nest in our heads these days. Many seem so harmless: like Movies, TV and Music. So we need to think, to intentionally ask ourselves can the movies I watch, the TV programs I see, and the music I listen to pass the test of Phil. 4:8? If it doesn’t, Paul says don’t welcome it into your mind, don’t let it build a nest, turn the channel, take out the tape or DVD, or leave the movie theater.

If you don’t think those things really affect you, think again.

Illustration: A recent study by Stanford Univ. revealed that what we watch does affect our minds, our learning patterns and our behaviors. Repeated exposure to movies, tv and music comes in harmlessly unnoticed on a daily basis, but we don’t react until much later, when we aren’t able to realize the basis for our reactions. In other words, our value system is being formed without any conscious awareness on our part of  what is happening by what we watch or listen to.  (Seeds of Greatness, Denis Waitley, p 47-48)

Think about this. If a 60 sec commercial, by repeated viewing can sell us a product, then isn’t it possible for a 60 min soap opera or a 45 min gangster CD, by repeated exposure to sell us that lifestyle? I am not saying we shouldn’t watch tv or movies, or listen to secular music. But you need to understand that what you allow into your mind, what you think about really does matter.

Transition: We need to change what goes into our minds or what goes into our minds will change us. That I promise.
We need to change what goes into our minds or it will effect what we do in service for God.

Philippians 4:9a                                                                        DO

Paul not only tells us to think the right things, he tells us to do the right things. Paul says, look, use me as an example of what to do as a Christian.

     -Practice what you have learned from me. Paul had been their teacher. They were to do what he taught.

     -Practice what you have received from me. Paul had given them biblically based rituals (communion, giving, service, prayer)
      They were to do what he gave them to do.

     -Practice what they heard him say. That meant Paul assumed they listened to him. They were to do what he said.

     -Practice what you have seen in me. Paul had been there in their presence and lived and served among them. They were to
     do what they saw in him.

Practice, practice, practice, in the Greek it’s keep on practicing, do it till it is a habit, a way of life. Of course, when you are thinking the right things, doing the right things will be much easier.

Transition: In the second part of vs 9, Paul encourages us that there are benefits of right thinking and right doing.

Philippians 4:9b                                                          Experience

Paul is saying: Think Right, Do Right and not only will you experience the peace of God in the hard times of life, like we learned last week, you will experience something even greater, you will experience the God of Peace, personally and intimately.

The benefit for obedience in these two areas, thought and action is an intimate relationship with God himself. He will never seem far away or distant. You will never be without the assurance of his calming, guiding, loving and protecting presence.

Conclusion
Do you want to know peace in your live?
Do you want to know the God of Peace?
             Follow Pauls advice.

 You need a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

 You need to capture every thought and claim it for God.

 You need to put into practice what you have learned from God’s Word…even when it is hard to do so.

 You need to intionally think about what you watch on TV, & Movies, and what Music you listen to. They all need to be examined to see if they meet Paul’s 8 filters for faithful Christian living.

 You need to think about your Ministry, and service here at CBC. So that you can be the example of Jesus Christ that others will see when you serve them.

Right thinking and Right doing..you need both.

Last week Paul told us the things we needed to get rid of in our lives (anxiety, worry and fear) if we wanted to know the peace of God. This week Paul tells us the things we need to add to our lives (right thinking, right doing) if we want to know the God of Peace.