Introduction: Happy Mother's Day. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that "People are what their mothers make them." Abraham Lincoln said, "All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother." And Lord Shaftesbury said, "Give me a generation of Christian mothers, and I will undertake to change the whole face of society in twelve months."
Moms hold a lot of influence over society. How many people do you know with "DAD" tattooed on their arm? For many of us they are the greatest example of Christ like qualities we know. It is no mistake that today in our ongoing study of Philippians we come to this passage.
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. 9 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.
- Philippians 4:8,9.
Paul said that we should fix our thoughts on things that are. true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy . For many these words conjure up images of their mom.
But of course, Paul wasn't writing specifically about moms. He was beginning to bring a close to the book of Philippians. Here, for the second time Paul writes, "Finally." The book is about becoming like Jesus. Paul said that God is at work in us helping is to become like Jesus. He uses our circumstances, both good and bad. He uses the example of others. He even uses the example of Jesus.
Paul warns against legalism and he warns against license. He says you can't become righteous by obeying the law, but neither is the grace of God a license to sin. He encourages unity in the church, and tells us that if we will do what God says, we can live beyond the realm of human limitations.
Two weeks ago we learned that God has given us the secret to living lives of inner peace, no matter what our circumstances. To experience God's peace we should rejoice no matter what, be gentle (don't have to have your way) and replace worry with prayer.
Here in Philippians 4:8 and 9 Paul tells us a fourth way to experience God's peace.
Focus your thoughts on what is good and do what you know to do, and not only will God's peace be with you,
God Himself will be with you.
Peace is in short supply today, not only on the international level, with nation warring against nation, and people group warring against people group. Peace is in short supply in the human heart. People have more than they have ever had, and worry more than they have ever worried.
Jesus' birth was heralded with the words, "Peace on Earth." He promised peace to his followers. He said, "In me you have peace." And "I give you peace." He promised peace unlike anything the world had to offer. So how do we experience it?
Again, we can have peace by learning to rejoice in every circumstance. Rejoicing is a choice. It doesn't mean you necessarily feel like it.
We can experience peace when we decide we don't have to have our way. It relaxes you to just quit trying to always make everything work out the way you want.
And you can have peace by praying when bad circumstances do arise. Worry never fixed anything. But prayer has made more changes than anyone will ever know.
Here in verses eight and nine Paul gives us the final ingredient to experiencing peace that surpasses al understanding. It is out thoughts. If we will train ourselves to think about positive things instead of negative things we will have peace.
When Jack Frost was with us he sighted a study that proclaimed that eighty percent of our thoughts are negative. He said that he doubted the results of the study, so he conducted his own study - writing down his thoughts all day long. He found that ninety five percent of his thoughts were negative! No wonder we don't feel very peaceful.
A story is told about a ship that was wrecked in a furious storm and the only survivor was a little boy who was swept by the waves onto a rock. He sat there all night long until, the next morning, he was spotted and rescued. "Did you tremble while you were on the rock during the night?" someone later asked him. "Yes," said the boy. "I trembled all night-but the rock didn't."
"The most important things in life are the thoughts you choose to think. Our life is what our thoughts make it." -Marcus Aurelius
"It doubtless is true that people become what they think about."
-Gary R. Collins
"If I knew what you think, I would know what you are. Our thoughts make us what we are." -Dale Carnegie
"A man is what he thinks about all day long." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Our defeat or victory begins with what we think, and if we guard our thoughts we shall not have much trouble anywhere else along the line." -Vance Havner
"Every kidnapping was once a thought. Every extramarital affair was first a fantasy." -Leslie Flynn
In his Autobiography Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. told of growing up in Atlanta , Georgia :
I remember another experience I used to have in Atlanta . I went to high school on the other side of town-to the Booker T. Washington High School. I had to get the bus in what was known as the Fourth Ward and ride over to the West Side . In those days, rigid patterns of segregation existed on the buses, so that Negroes had to sit in the backs of buses. Whites were seated in the front, and often if whites didn't get on the buses, those seats were still reserved for whites only, so Negroes had to stand over empty seats. I would end up having to go to the back of that bus with my body, but every time I got on that bus I left my mind up on the front seat. And I said to myself, "One of these days, I'm going to put my body up there where my mind is."
And he did. Our bodies always end up where our minds are.
There is no time today to discuss in detail each of the adjectives Paul urges us here to direct our thoughts. He tells us to think about things that are true - sincere or authentic , noble - honorable , right - just toward others , pure - clean , lovely - pleasing , admirable - the way we think of others , excellent - virtuous , praiseworthy - deserving praise .
The point is that Paul tells us that we are the way we think . If we think negative we will feel negative and we will negative. Paul tells s to shift our thoughts toward the positive. Certainly this means to think about Jesus, because He is the embodiment of all of these virtues. But even more Paul wants these virtues to become part of us. The do so by our thinking on them. 
One final directive Paul gives us toward experiencing a life of peace - do what you know to do. My pastor in college used to say that "most of us are educated way beyond our willingness to obey." Paul tells us to practice doing the things he has taught us.
We need to study the Bible. We need to expose ourselves to good teaching. We need to grow in understanding and in knowledge. But more will be accomplished by doing what we know than by learning more and doing nothing about it. What do you know? Do it. Make a point to practice what you already know. In fact, I believe that this is the key to learning more - doing what we know.
It would be great if we could plead ignorance when we stand before God. But we can't. We are accountable for what we know. And what we know could change our life - if we would just do it.
Conclusion: God offers us a life that is unexplainable. He offers us a life that is not destined to remain within the confines of the circumstances in which it exists. We can live beyond our circumstances. If we will learn to rejoice, to not have to have our way, to pray when worry creeps up, to think about good things, and to practice what we already know - we will live beyond our circumstances. In fact living like this will often initiate change in our circumstances.
Speaking of change. It's great to hear about God's recipe for a life of peace. But these are not tips and techniques. They are descriptions of a life lived in relationship with Jesus Christ. These keys will never work by simply adding them to your life if you have not first surrendered your life to the "Prince of Peace".
If there is anyone here who has never made the decision to surrender their life to Christ I would like to encourage you to do so right now. The Bible says that everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's standard of perfection. The good news is that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin. If you will admit your sin and ask Jesus to forgive you ad take charge of your life you can begin a journey of peace by getting to know Jesus - the Prince of Peace.
lease bow your heads and close your eyes. Is there anyone here today who has never surrendered their life to Jesus, that would like to? Please look up at me. I am going to lead you in a prayer right now. |
