Godly Discipleship (Philippians 4:8-9)
Use this guide to help your group discussion as you meet this week.
Transcript
Well good morning my name is Chad I'm one of the pastors here grab your Bible and go to Philippians chapter 4 we are working our way through the book of Philippians if you don't own a Bible or didn't bring one with you there should be one in the seat in front of you we're on page 571 in one of these blue bibles if you don't own a Bible take this one home with you that is our gift to you we want you to have a Bible uh we're going to pick up this morning reading what we read last week.
Because these ideas are tied together what we read last week talks about the peace of God and today it's going to end with the God of Peace and so he's pulling this big idea through this understanding of what peace looks like as we relate to God and as we're in God and this is what we read last week Philippians 4 starting in verse 4 rejoice in the lord always again I will say rejoice so he gives these two commands to Rejoice to feel and show Joy let your reasonableness must be known to everyone the.
Lord is at hand do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus so last week what we looked at is that we're called to rejoice and we're told to not be anxious and we're told to be reasonable and let that be known to everyone and so I just wanted to ask how how'd it go this week how was your.
First non-anxious week in a while when you felt anxious and you just thought no Paul told me not to so I'm going to stop now how was your constant joy and your rejoicing in everything how how excited was your spouse at your new found reasonableness we looked last week that these are things that we're called to do as if we have some agency in them they're not things that we're just at the whim of circumstance but they're things that we actually participate in that we are to be non-anxious we're to be joy-filled we're to be reasonable and these are things that we do that we participate in that you have some handle on the controls.
For now it doesn't mean that we never mourn it doesn't mean that we never have anxiety inducing circumstances but even in those situations what he's calling us to is to be people who know that we have a Lord that's what we looked at last week that the Lord is at hand so that even in our anxious moments we're handing those things off we're prayerfully giving them to the Lord that's his reasoning don't be anxious because the Lord is at hand he's near that we rejoice in the.
Lord and so we can't go into what he's about to say and forget Jesus he's continuing this idea but he anchored everything in we belong to Jesus we have a Lord this is specifically for Christians this isn't just good human advice it is if you don't know Jesus what we're going to talk about this morning will help you but it's Anchored In Christ and it is ultimately true in Christ for Christians and so let's look at what we are going to study this morning as he continues this idea.
So he says the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Jes in Christ Jesus and then in verse 8 and N in some ways he's answering how and what so if he just told us to be rejoicing in the Lord and to not be anxious you might want to ask well how do we do that and he's carrying this idea forward he's telling us a little bit of how we're going to do that.
But also if you just said okay I'll do that and began to approach in faith participating in what Jesus has done for you because it's not ultimately something we do but it's something we get in Jesus we participate in it and if you didn't hear the sermon last week I would encourage you to go listen to it and study back through it because it is helpful to try to understand what we're talking about today but something that Jesus has done that we participate in.
But it's also answering what so what do I do now if I'm not anxious what do I think about it's kind of what he's going to talk about all right I usually spend my time being anxious and Surly so now what do I do and well I'm glad you asked he's going to tell you finally Brothers whatever is true whatever is Honorable whatever is just whatever is pure whatever is lovely whatever is commendable if there is any Excellence if there is anything worthy of Praise think about these things what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things and the.
God of Peace will be with you so last week the peace of God which surpasses understanding will guard our hearts and minds and this week he ends with and the God of Peace will be with you that we'll be enjoying the peace of God which ultimately you want we want to be at peace we want to be guarded by his peace we want to be with the God of Peace and y'all beautifully wonderfully he's a God of Peace not of torment and destruction he's the.
God over all things but ultimately as you know him and follow him and he works things out he works them out towards peace which is wonderful but the two commands here are think about these things and practice these things those are the two commands think about these things and practice these things think about these things he hey and practice these things those are the two commands those are the two things that are actually we're told to do here everything else is just describing those ideas it's telling what these things are.
But we're to think and we to practice and y'all that's how life works you think and you do stuff and the way you think affects the way you do stuff is that new is that helpful to know uh like I coach flag football and sometimes I'm coaching excited little like six and seven year olds and sometimes I'm coaching a group of head cases that have just like spiraled in on collapsing in on themselves like a dying star like they just things start going poorly and there are times where things aren't going.
Well but they're thinking about other things or they're having fun or there times when things aren't going well and they had even noticed yet or there are times where things aren't going well but they're determined and you can see it in their body language because they're six and seven but there are other times where like the plays over and we're telling them to get off the field CU something bad happens and they're coming back like this we have one kid who really he will like crawl in on himself and he just standing there and I have to be like come on we need you it's early you can't be crying yet.
But the way he's thinking is affecting how he's going to practice what he's going to do how he's going to be on the field and that's true for you too and so this morning we're going to spend a good bit of time thinking about how we think and then we're going to talk about how that applies to how we practice but most of our time we'll be on thinking about how we think and ultimately if we could think better things would be better that's profound write that down all right.
So let's look at how we think finally Brothers Paul's going to tell us what to think about whatever is true whatever is Honorable whatever is just whatever is pure whatever is lovely whatever is commendable if there is any Excellence if there is anything worthy of Praise think about these things y he said whatever ever six times you know that's not impressive my teenager can do that too but he could have just said whatever is true honorable just pure he could have said it one time.
But he goes out of his way to shove whatever in front of each one of these things he says it six times and what he means is whatever whatever you can find that fits these categories anything he means for you to search he means for you to be uh paying attention looking for it whatever would fit in this category he means for it to be Broad and intentional find it and think about that look for it search for it also if you're like.
Well does this count does it fit one of the categories because he said whatever fits the category so meaning all truth is God's everything that is lovely is God God's everything that is pure is God's we're not to limit it to some sort of like our understanding of some sort of like he just means like Bible things now he means all of all things that fit these categories belong to him and those are the things to consider and to think about and to enjoy and to appreciate to hold in our mind.
Because the way we think affects us so let's look at this what he says he says whatever is true meaning that you should think about things that are real and right and honest that we should care about truth we should care about what's valid in situations we should search for truth we should uphold truth we should defend truth we should speak truth he says whatever is Honorable that's probably not one we think that much about we don't live in an honored culture maybe some of you are from more of a shame and honor culture and maybe you consider it more or you consider it a lot.
When your parents or grandparents are visiting but whatever is Honorable whatever upholds something good whatever lifts up whatever brings respect whatever is respectable I think sometimes we just think well you know just don't hurt anybody and as long as it doesn't hurt anybody it's okay but no some things are just dishonoring they're crude or vulgar they're not honorable and we're to think on what is honorable whatever is just whatever's right whatever's fair whatever's good whatever points to God and his righteousness whatever is pure clean holy unsullied whatever is has integrity and goodness about it and isn't marked and marred I love that lovely is in this text whatever is lovely this word is only used.
Once in the Greek uh New Testament in Philippians right here that's it it's used once in the uh Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament in Esther to describe the clothes she wears to go see the king it says she put on her this word love leas and it means whatever's fitting whatever has Beauty to It Whatever has wholeness and goodness to it whatever is delightful think about those things commendable those are the things that should be repeated and should be celebrated whatever is commendable whatever you should clap.
For whatever you should want to repeat and see more more of now what if that's all you thought about be pretty nice if you only thought about what was commendable only thought about what was lovely set your mind on what was pure and honest true just if that's all that would fit in your head if that's all that you would run through your mind and consider what if on the way to work you just thought about true commendable lovely things you're sitting in traffic people are honking and you're like that sounds like a Ford American engineering that's a good horn right there way to go Detroit or whatever like I mean you're just you're thinking.
About what's true and good and right like you you just this is what fits in your head wouldn't that be nice is that how we think no no no no no unfortunately it is not when it comes to what it's true so often we just repeat what we hear or repost what we've read Christians should care about whether or not what they're saying is true but so often we've participated in slander we we don't care at all to re research things that would take time we're supposed to be people who care about truth.
But we just repeat a thing so often we ourselves lie or skirt around the truth or avoid the truth or don't deal with the truth we can do this in a ton of ways you can do it in ways where you say things if you're a Christian like well I'm no good or I'm a failure all this is going to fall apart everything's going to go poorly if you belong to Jesus that's not true but you're repeating it so we we lie honorable and pure we'll consider those together how much of our joking TV watching upholds Purity and what is Honorable how much of the things that we participate in are crass or vulgar or.
Just repeated because they're impure and disgusting how much of what we think about is pure versus impure I mean this would exclude honorable and pure is going to take out pretty much all sexual references whatsoever because it's either dishonoring or it's impure or it's both if we wouldn't happily say it in front of the most honorable respectable people we shouldn't rehearse it in our heads you we have whole devotions to dishonorable things we have things like peopleofwalmart.com is just pictures of people at Walmart that we want to make fun of.
So much of what we've done throughout our lives is just dishonoring people and even if you're not saying it he's saying don't think about it don't rehearse that in your mind so much of our gossip if you got past slander you escaped that one because what you're repeating is true well welcome to dishonoring someone but it's real yeah but you know one of the beautiful things that the Proverbs say over and over again shut your mouth it's one of the most wise things you can do it's just keep something to yourself what's what's your point in repeating it are you talking to them about it to draw them towards.
Jesus to lead them into repentance to give Grace to help them to love them or are you just saying a thing y'all don't you know how much we love that someone goes hey have you heard you immediately lead in your heart starts beating faster I haven't heard it but I'm so excited and it's never like I heard their oldest son made the Honor rooll apparently he is a bright and talented lad you would be like why are you telling telling me that has I don't care.
But if they had told you something negative you wouldn't ask why have you told me that because that's you wanted to participate in the joyful Delight of dishonoring somebody whatever is just so often we focus on what is wrong what is evil what is broken so many of the shows that we watch so many of the podcasts that we listen to are just a deep dive into Brokenness a a vois approach to wickedness we run that around in our head lovely I'm willing to bet that the last time you use that word it was sarcastic lovely.
So often we focus on what is hateful what is rude what is ugly those are the stories that we circulate and those are the things that we focus on commendable think about the last time you left a restaurant had you spent your time focusing on what was commendable the last time you went through some sort of service or participated in anything was your job there thinking what can we what can we praise what's commendable here doesn't that just sound stupid when I said it you're like oh only idiots would do that yeah happy idiots.
But are we focusing on what there is to celebrate I love this he puts this whole list he says to stretch for it to reach for it to think about it and then he he kind of sums it up if there is any Excellence if there is anything Worthy of Praise y' aren't we so good at the opposite of that all this stuff can happen and you'll focus on the one thing that wasn't worthy of Praise or the one thing that was non- excellent and Paul says flip it you could go through the worst day was there anything excellent was there anything worthy of Praise think about it what are you rehearsing in your mind.
I will tell you most of the list and the things that we repeat to ourselves about our situations our jobs our spouses our children our houses are not the list of all the Excellence that we find all the things that are worthy of Praise if I asked you to I could give you a little notepad I could send you home I could send you home over this week and I could say I want you to write down everything that annoys you I want a list.
For your house I want a list for your children and their friends I want a list and their friends parents I want a list of the school I want a list of your spouse your roommates your boss your professors I want a list I want a list for your car I want a list for the type of shoes you wear like I want a list y'all all many of us would be doing is just writing down what we were already thinking about and we'd be.
So good at making these lists you can tell me real quick what you don't like about your house or your car or your body or the way you dress or the way you talk or the way your spouse Acts or the way your kids are because we're really good at focusing on whatever is not excellent and is not worthy of Praise but if I sent you home and said I want you to make me a list of everything you like about your house everything you like about your spouse everything you like about your roommate everything you like about your professor your school your kids you could make that list too this is what you got.
To understand you could make that list too and at the end of the week after you've rehearsed that over and over again guess who would like their house their school their car their children more did your house change oh just the way you think did so Paul says if you want to be at peace if you want to be Joy filled nonanxious people can I take tell you what to think about think about what's really really good think about anything you can find that's worthy of Praise anything you can find that is excellent repeat that rehearse that can I show you how we think about this I'm to we're going to put thinking up here.
So this is thinking we're going to take a moment to think about our thinking often the way we think about it is we don't consider our thoughts much at all actually we don't consider much at all how we're approaching in our thoughts things what we think about ours we have circumstances the things that happened to us or have been done to us or the kind of life we live and then those things affect our thoughts and then really it affects our quality of life.
But mostly we just kind of think circumstances thoughts quality of life it look like this yeah that's it quality of circumstances quality of life thinking that your circumstances affect what your life is like and that affects how you think that's really mostly what we think about and I said that backwards a second ago but I'm going to fix it in a second so I said it the fixed way but anyway if I said let's talk about how you think and you rehearsed.
For me all the negative things going on you wouldn't think that your thinking was the problem you would think that the problems were the problem and you would tell me that if you said I'm stressed out in traffic I'm stressed out at work I'm stressed out at home I'm stressed out at whatever and I said well you need to think better you'd be like no I need not traffic not work not home like you would want to work on the things that we making you no my thinking is is secondary to the circumstances.
But we know that's not actually true because you've ped it at a birthday party before your own birthday party you've cried at prom now you might say no no no no the circumstances were the problem but you know what I'm talking about you can be miserable in a mansion so it can't just be circumstances and quality of life and we know that we think in our situation that it's really just circumstances quality of life affects my thinking but we know that's not actually true.
Because Paul can sing in prison we know that too so we know you can be miserable in a mansion we know you that Paul can sing in prison and we would understand that there's a category for that but when it comes to us we think it's just circumstances quality of life affects our thinking but that's not what Paul says Paul says the Lord affects your thinking which affects your quality of life because Paul anchors everything in the Lord the reason we can think this way is.
Because the Lord is imminent he's near he's good the peace of God is prot protecting us through Jesus so it's the Lord than our thinking in the quality of life another way to put that would be the Lord changes reality which changes our thinking which changes quality of life now I'm going to explain this a little more I'm G press in on this but here's one of our biggest hurdles when it comes to think happy thoughts it sounds so stupid it's one of our biggest hurdles like.
If you're watching a TV show the character that is perennially Happy is the stupid character like one of my favorite movies is Oh Brother Where Art Thou and they find out that they're going to be arrested for a lot longer they're going to have to have a much longer prison sentence and one of them grabs the other guy and he says I'm going to be 84 years old and his buddy next to him goes well I'll only be 82 there's a there's this TV show The Middle my wife and I like watching and there's a the the middle daughter named Sue is just happy the whole time and everything terrible happens to her non-stop she's.
The most resilient character in the in the show and she's just non-stop happy but you're watching at her and going what a how could she be happy she should be miserable like us look at how awful her life is but she's just happy things are just good and so one of the things that we reject this is I'm just being real you want me to just sit around and think happy thoughts well I don't have happy thoughts to think because of the stuff going on in my life I'm just being real and I will I'll I'll give you that I'll give you that.
If you don't know Jesus if you don't know Jesus and you want to tell me your circumstances are so bad that you have to think this way I'll allow it I'll still tell you if you would think this way it would be better but I'll allow it but if you want to tell me that you're a Christian and you're just being real that's why you have to think this way I would say you don't understand reality or you don't know Jesus.
Because he has stepped in and changed reality for you that this type of thinking is worshipful thinking it's to the glory of God when you're like well I'm just being real I'm just facing up to all the stuff going on I just got to I got to set my mind to deal with all this struggle and this difficulty I just got to think about the fact that everything's bad and I just got to you know I got to get my brain wrapped around it and it's like no you actually don't you get to just think about the stuff that's good to the glory of Christ do you know why.
Because he takes the stuff that is bad that's what he does that's who he is that's why in this last passage we read it said the Lord is at hand do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication let your request be made known to God that he gets the bad stuff we get the good stuff to the glory of Christ because he's the one who redeems and works how wonderful is that how beautiful is it that.
Because of Jesus coming he takes all of our sin all of our Brokenness all of our doubt he dies on the cross and then he rises Victorious and we just get Victory not sin despair Brokenness and everything else and your Ultimate Reality if you belong to Jesus is that not your current circumstances your current circumstances do not Define reality for you Jesus does and so the idea that everything's going to be terrible and everything's going to fall apart and all of this is bad and everything's broken and everything's busted is not true.
If you belong to Jesus and at some point it becomes an assault on his character so thinking like this is worshipful Christian thinking and it makes things better so not only are we worshiping in our focusing on what is good and beautiful in the world because that's what we get and focusing on what is true and what is just and what is pure and what is lovely and honorable because that's what we're called into as people who belong to Jesus not only is it worshipful.
But it also makes life nicer in some ways Jesus has sent you out because of the work on the cross to pan for gold that's your job if if you and I went to pay for gold and we came this rocky area this little stream running through it we're going to get dirt and stuff we're going to pile it up and we're going to sift it in the Stream and you said these heels are full of gold because that's how you talk and I said looks mostly like it's dirt you might not say.
But you would think well of course and also shut up but it's going to be mostly dirt but we're looking for gold because that's what we're here for and then as we went if I kept coming over to you and going look at all these rocks I found you would be like throw them away do you think they have gold I'm like no they definitely don't have gold look at these they're rocks you would stop it leave me alone if I said mostly what I pick up is dirt you would say stop saying this to me you're the worst gold panning partner I've ever had.
If I piled all the Rocks up and if I said hey it's actually way easier to find rocks and it is gold have we thought about just being rock collectors if I said I found one piece of gold but it's not even that good of a piece and it's not nearly as big as all the Rocks I Found Jesus has set us out to search for anything excellent if there's anything worthy of praise that's what we're looking for everything else goes to him everything else that's anxiety inducing everything else that's broken everything else that's terrible everything else is sad everything else that's despair inducing everything else that's going to overwhelm us isn't ours it's his.
You get what's lovely you get what's true you get what's honorable y'all when Jesus says on Earth as it is in heaven that's what we're at work for because you know what's true and what's honorable and what's pure and what's lovely all that stuff gets to be ours for eternity because all of that stuff makes it into eternity and none of the other stuff does there are scars in eternity but they're not on us they're on Christ he gets everything broken he gets everything bad and we we get everything Joy filled and hopeful to the glory of Christ it's not silly it's worship it's not stupidity it's God-honoring and it's joyful and non- anxious which.
I'm gonna be honest with you right now you could use more of so think about these things today go pay pay for gold and every time you find anything say thank you Jesus that's what I get that's what my life gets to be about that's the goodness that I'll get to have for eternity I got just a glimpse of it now but you know we're painting for gold now the streets are paved in it that's that's how this works and it's to the glory of Christ and it's.
Because of the work of Christ and because of the hope of Christ and we get to set our minds on Christ and so the rest of our circumstances and stuff don't dictate the level of our joy and they don't dictate our anxiety because we have a king who rules and Reigns and saves and so we get to run around free y'all if my two boys were stressed out worn out if they could recite to you our financial and budget troubles if they could tell you all the.
If they if I had to if I was like all right boys come in here sit down me and your mom got to argue through something y'all need to listen and you know help us out join a team we would be taking the weight of what we're supposed to and shifting it over to them and it's not theirs to hold they actually get to be free it's to my glory and credit if my sons be bounce around happy and joyful we understand that on an Earthly level and y'all it's to God's glory and credit.
If we're joyful in the midst of circumstances in the midst of difficulty if we are able to set our eyes on him and know that he's this good because of the work that he does and because he's the one who carries everything that's difficult I think sometimes we think well I've got to be real serious and I got to take this seriously and I got to focus and I got to do all these things and he's expecting so much from me he's expecting worship from you you're free he's good and in the midst of your circumstances he's good and that's why he says this next.
So he presses them to think this way and then verse n what you have learned and received and heard heard and seen in me practice these things some of those you could find in the book of Acts a lot of them you'll find in the in Philippians he's saying do the things we talked about do the things you saw do the things I've told you what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things and the.
God of Peace will be with you Paul writes this from prison for proclaiming the Gospel he is not saying that all of your circumstances will be delightful and therefore you will be delighted he does not say hey it's all cupcakes and rainbows no he says Jesus is good Jesus is Lord we get to look for what is beautiful and lovely and true and good and then we get to go forward in this mission to proclaim the Gospel this big picture narrative of who.
Jesus is free and and full and hope filled because of Jesus so there will be suffering but not misery there will be difficulty but not Despair and some of us don't even have that much suffering but we've added and brought in a whole lot of Misery we don't even have that much difficulty but we have a whole lot of Despair and we're supposed to be flipped on that we're supposed to Face suffering and difficulty without misery and despair without anxiety and Brokenness without depression and downheartedness we're supposed to endure and long.
For what is good and hold fast to what is true and hold fast to what is right that's why the the the apostles in Acts chap 5 says this then they left the presence of the council rejoicing which we were commanded to do last week that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name they had just been beaten and they walked out going we get to bleed for Jesus I'm going to limp home for Jesus with genuine Joy because it's not about their circumstances there's a bigger story there's a bigger hope that in the midst of that they got to say you know what's wonderful you know what's worthy of Praise You Know.
What's excellent one day when we stand before the king we'll have held fast to Jesus in the midst of persecution isn't that wonderful isn't that beautiful and so some of you are facing very tough circumstances with your kids with your marriage with your home with your money some of you are facing VAR tough circumstances with your health some of us are needing to press further into the mission of God to see our neighbors and co-workers come to know Christ we're needing to step out in faith into some difficult territory and we get to do all of that saying everything that's good is a gift from the.
Lord that I'm going to receive and everything that's difficult and painful I'm going to look for what's good and I'm going to hand the rest to the Lord and I'm going to keep moving forward because Jesus redeems and Jesus is King and ultimately my story is one of Victory so if you can change how you think things will get better and for Christians it's how we ought to think as we worship our King and then we ought to go forward in all the things we're called to do.
But as people who who minds are set on what Jesus has done and the natural occurrences that happen in life that come down from them the gifts that come from all the work that he's done let's pray you are a God of Peace So for all those who come to you are welcomed into peace and so Lord where we're anxious where we're down where we're low where we're difficult to get along with frustrated and angry and fighting for our own way oh.
God may we see the Gospel may we see the hope that is in Christ and may we begin to change our thinking to be worshipful and focused on what is right and good to work towards Justice not just focus on Injustice to work towards what is true not just focus on what is not true that we might work towards honoring others in our thoughts and our words that we might work towards what is pure and good and wholesome Lord may we focus on what is lovely and commendable and by your grace may we.
See what is excellent and worthy of Praise in Jesus name Amen in all of this the hope is that the God of Peace will be with us that we will ultimately get to Delight in and enjoy him this isn't just about making our lives function a little bit better although it will but our hope is that we will Delight in and enjoy the Lord because he is good we get to celebrate baptism this morning which is a proclamation of what we've been talking about this hope that we have in Christ that he did the work that he has covered our sins baptism is not hey I'm about to get to work I'm about to clean.
Myself up I'm about to accomplish things you don't baptize yourself you don't get in here and wash yourself in front of everybody and we all go good you finally got your stuff together that's not how this works other people get in here who are Christians who are representing Christ representing the Church representing his people and you are baptized by them because baptism is a a picture of what Jesus has done that he has washed you that you have been buried and you were dead in your sins.
But that he was buried in your sins and that he rose so you get to rise and when you come up you're clean and you're made new and whole that's what we're celebrating that Jesus Christ is King that he still forgives Sinners that he still gives hope and that's our Eternal reality and so may we be joyfill people who celebrate well the goodness of Christ I'd like to ask Katie to come up now as we go into celebrating baptism.