We come to you, Father, again, as we do each week that we gather together and open your word. We don't want to be so arrogant as to open the Bible and think that we could understand it in our own intellect. We need you, O God. We need you. So we pray, O Lord, that you would be our teacher tonight. Holy Spirit, that you would illuminate your word. And we want to pray with David. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our heart be acceptable in your sight. Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Well, if you haven't done so, turn to Philippians chapter four. And tonight we're going to talk about the importance of godly thinking and the importance of godly living in your Christian life. Philippians chapter four. We're going to look at two verses tonight and these are packed with great life changing Christian life altering truth. So. So good. Rich in biblical counseling truth for us here in Philippians chapter 4. So follow with me as I read verses 8 and 9 of Philippians 4. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, If there's any excellence and if anything worthy of praise dwell on these things, the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. How can we live a life of peace in the world in which we live? How can we have peace when we are in this world of sin all around us? How did Moses have peace when he was reproached for his faith while in Egypt? How did Daniel have boldness in going before King Nebuchadnezzar after God interpreted the dream for Daniel? How did David have peace when he was running from King Saul and running for his life and hiding in a cave? How did King Jehoshaphat have peace when a great multitude, much larger than the army of Judah, when a great multitude came against Jehoshaphat and Judah? How do you have peace in these times? How did the returned Jewish exiles, after they'd been in captivity for 70 years, how did they have peace when they were ridiculed by all of their enemies in Nehemiah chapter four? How did Stephen, how did Stephen have peace when he was being hurled with these massive stones when the Jews were killing him to death in Acts 7? How did Paul have peace when he was in a Roman prison awaiting his very own execution for the cause of Christ in second Timothy four? How do, how did Christians joyfully accept the seizure of their property and how did they suffer for it with joy? Hebrews chapter 10 talks about how did Joseph live a pure life? And how did he resist when his master's wife repeatedly wanted to commit adultery with him in Genesis 39? How did John Hooper have peace when he was summoned to be burnt at the stake during the reign of bloody There's really only one common answer that could fit for all of these different historical scenarios. And the answer is this, how do you have peace when you are living in this world of sin? The answer is right thinking and right living and right praying. Right thinking, right living, and right praying. And it all begins with right thinking, right thinking. When we talk about right thinking, here's how we could describe that. It's when we open up God's word and we read the word of God and we review the word of God, we hide God's word in our heart, as Alex read earlier from Psalm 119, and then we implement what we know to be true from what we've read and what we've hidden in our hearts. I think of Romans chapter 12 in verse two, how the apostle Paul says it like this, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The Paul says in Colossians 3 15, let the word Colossians 3 16, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. How do we live a life of peace, right? Thinking right. Living right. Praying. Or it's what we call biblical meditation, biblical meditation. More on that in a few minutes. There was a man who lived in the second century AD by the name of Polycarp. He was the Bishop of Smyrna. Now his name is not in the word of God, but the city of Smyrna is because the Lord Jesus gave a word. He gave a letter to the church of Smyrna. But a few years after that letter was written in Revelation chapter two, Polycarp was the bishop of that church in Smyrna. And he ended up dying a martyr's death at the age of 86, having served as a leader in the early Christian community. He was a preacher for 60 plus years. He was a man who was deeply committed. to the written word of God, the scripture. He was a man who God used in early church to fight heresies, to preach the truth, and he was pleading for holiness. Interestingly enough, he has a letter that he wrote. to the Philippians. Now, of course, it's not biblical, it isn't inspired, but it's a historical letter that's quite fascinating to read. It's called To the Philippians, written by Polycarp. And in that letter that he wrote many decades after Paul wrote his, the letter that Polycarp wrote emphasizes right thinking and right living. You see, Polycarp wanted to encourage right beliefs and right behaviors. Polycarp knew that wrong behaviors were the evidence of wrong beliefs and that wrong beliefs would surely produce wrong behavior. So, so polycarp then writes a letter of love to the Philippian believers and he pleads with them to do three things. Study scripture, guard your minds and walk in purity. It's a great letter to read. Study scripture, guard your mind. and walk in purity. What a life lesson for us. Study the scripture, guard your mind, walk in purity. Or really to sum it up, think on the things of God. Think, dwell, consider the things of God. Let them soak deep into you and then practice what you know to be true and godly. And that's where we are in Philippians chapter four. That's what we're going to look at in our text before us tonight. It's hard to overstate the importance of right thinking. It's hard to overstate how important it is for us to think rightly. You can think of it this way. We need a battle plan for the mind. We need a battle plan for the mind. We need God's shield of a thoroughly robust, of a biblical worldview to guard us through life. Remember, something that's good for us to be mindful of is that the real measure of our lives is how we think. It's not our accomplishments. It isn't our achievements. It is our behavior. It's not how well we act or all the things that we own or the things that we've done in our life. That's not the real measure of our life. The measure of our life really ultimately is what we think and how we think. If we think holy thoughts, we're going to be holy. If we think garbage, and if we think ungodly thoughts, then we're going to live a life of filth, and a life of sin, and a life of ungodliness. Now, to be in Christ, that is to say, to be a Christian, to be united to Jesus Christ, it enables us and it exhorts us to the highest moral standards possible. You see, way back in Philippians chapter one and verse one. Paul writes to all the saints, that is to all the holy ones. That's your identity as a believer. You are a saint. You are a holy one. You are set apart by God. You're set apart for God. You have a new destiny. You are a saint in Christ Jesus. You are united to Christ. Now that's what Paul means in verse eight of chapter four. Finally, brethren, You're a Christian. You're a brother. You're in Christ. You are a saint. You have a new identity. You're a believer in Christ. Now, for those in Christ, we have high moral standards to live up to. very high moral standards to live up to when we live in this surrounding culture. In fact, just turn back to chapter 1, verse 27. Notice how Paul is bringing this out to the Christian community. It's not just, hey, I believe in Jesus. I can live any way I want. Wrong. Paul says in Philippians 1.27, only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. So if you claim that the gospel is yours, if you believe the gospel, if you've been saved by the gospel, Paul says, then live by it. Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come to you and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Or maybe in your Bible, just turn back one page to Ephesians chapter four. Notice what Paul says to the believers in Ephesus. Ephesians 4.1, therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, I implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you've been called. So if God has chosen you, then live like it. If you have a position in Christ and you're a new creature, then live like it. That's what Paul is saying in Ephesians and in Philippians. And that's what we're going to look at here tonight as well. If we are saved, we are to be sanctified. If we are regenerated, we are to be continually transformed. Well, Philippians chapter four and verse eight is going to help with this. And these are, these are mighty high standards for us. And if we think that in our own strength, we could do this, we are going to fail miserably. That's why it's so important for us to remember, for those who are in Christ, that's the prerequisite. We must be saved believers in Christ, clinging to Christ alone for eternal life. And then verses eight and nine are for us. Finally, brethren. It's like Paul comes now to the, to the therefore section. I don't think it's finally now in conclusion. I think Paul's saying, therefore, in light of what I've been saying all along, therefore, I want you to think this way, and I want you to live this way. So how can we stand firm and live godly in a twisted society? Your outline there has a couple of ways that we can do this. Number one, we need to have godly praying. Number two, godly thinking. Number three, godly living. In these verses, in Philippians 4, There are two verbs that are driving all of the words in this paragraph. And the main verb is found at the end of verse 8, and it's the word dwell on these things, or think on these things, or consider these things, or ponder these things. The New American Standard has dwell. Toward the end of verse nine, you have practice these things. Those are the two main verbs that carries along these couple of verses. Okay, so how do we stand firm? How do we live godly, upright lives in this society in which we live? Three ways that God calls us to. Number one, with godly praying. Now, this is a review from last week. Because remember verse six, remember how we learned about godly praying last week, not to be anxious for anything, but to be thankful in prayer. And last week we spent a good bit of time dealing with this one statement. The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything. The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything. And that's what verse six says. Be anxious for nothing. It's a command. Don't worry. Don't be fearful. Don't be anxious. But here's what you do in its place. In everything. by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. So we're not to be anxious, but we are to be prayerful and specifically we are to be thankful. So how do we live this godly life? Right here, Paul brings out godly praying, godly praying. Now we looked at that last week. Number two in your outline, we live the Christian life with godly thinking. Godly thinking. The key word is at the end of verse eight, dwell, ponder, think on such things. You know, in the old Testament there, there is truth, even for the busy Kings and the busy leaders of old, nothing, nothing was more important than for these leaders. And for these Kings to spend much time, frequent time, meditative time. daily time, thoughtful times in God's word. I think of Deuteronomy chapter 17, Moses gives instructions for the king and in Deuteronomy 17 in verse 18, it shall come about when the king sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of the law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life. The kings are busy. They've got a lot of things going on. But God says the first thing of utmost importance is that the king shall write for himself the word of God. He shall read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to fear the Lord of his God and observe all of his commands. Same thing after Moses died that Joshua comes on the scene and verse seven of chapter one, God tells him to do this. The book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night. Joshua chapter one verses eight and nine spells that out. So, so what's the point? It's that God has a plan for his people, however busy we may be. to be thoughtful and regular and frequent in dwelling on scripture. Verse eight of Philippians chapter four, let's just start with the verb, dwell on these things. I think of it, if I could use this illustration, this metaphor of a computer. It's like you download these things to your heart. You want to download God's word. You want to save it to the hard drive of your heart, but you don't just save the program. You want to click on it and you want to open it every single day. And then you want to, you want to peruse that program. You want to go to the tabs and the links and all the pages. And you want to know that program well, that you have downloaded into the hard drive of your heart. That's like biblical meditation. It's like taking God's word and hiding it deep in our heart and going to it again and again and again and again. D.A. Carson, I think just nails it when he says, there is no enduring sanctification apart from the truth of the gospel that takes hold of our minds. We can't be sanctified truly and really apart from the Word of God and the Gospel that takes a hold of our minds. He's right. He's exactly right. And this is about biblical meditation. This describes biblical meditation. It's like the golden shield to beat back sin. A biblical meditation opens the storehouse of weapons to wage war with and to triumph over sin. Biblical meditation and right thinking is like frontline soldiers in the battle. It's like frontline soldiers in the battle that protects you from the invading enemies of sin and temptation and doubt and worldliness and laziness and evil. And Paul's going to tell us how to think. He's going to tell us how to think. And let it be said, the way that you think will govern how you talk. The way that you think will govern how you live. The way that we think will govern how we respond, how we react, how we communicate. So look at verse eight and let's just look at how God teaches us how to have godly thinking. And you notice the repeated word, whatever is, whatever is, whatever is, whatever is for emphasis. Eight key phrases. And I want to fly through this, but here's how we are to think rightly. First, he says, finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is true, We are to be thinking about what is upright, honest, whatever is truthful in thought, truthful in speech, truthful in act. It's upright and honest. Second of all, he says, whatever is honorable, whatever is honorable, these are qualities that call forth respect. These are qualities that call forth reverence, awe, honor, whatever is true, whatever is honorable. Third, he says in verse eight, whatever is right, that is to say, whatever is fair, whatever is whatever is upholding the service of good behavior. But here's the key phrase with this word, right? It's governed by God and His character. It's not right according to Hollywood. It's not right according to culture. It's not right according to whoever's in the authoritative office. It's right as it is governed by God and governed by God's character. So to be thinking about what is right is to be thinking God-like thoughts. Fourth, we are to be thinking whatever is pure, whatever is pure. This means to be morally unblemished, morally unblemished. It means to be holy. It means to be undefiled in conduct, kind of like full integrity, full integrity. Now the word is not limited to, but it undoubtedly includes sexual purity. Paul uses the word in 1st Timothy 5 to keep yourself pure. In Titus 2.5, young women must be self-controlled and pure. We are to be thinking about things that are pure. We are to be filling ourselves with things that are morally pure. Number five, Paul says, whatever is lovely. What a neat word. It's a word that means winsome. Whatever is winsome, whatever brings about admiration, whatever is, is, is admirable, whatever is pleasing, lovely, agreeable, which goes similarly to the next one, whatever is of good repute. What's commendable. What is commendable? What, what is honorable? What is admirable? Then think on these things. Maybe even two more. Then he says, if there is any excellence. If there's anything, here's the word, virtuous, if there's anything virtuous, it's like, it's like supreme moral excellence, supreme excellence, what is honored, what is to be spoken of publicly and recognized. That's the idea of something that is virtuous and excellent. And then he ends with, if there's anything worthy of praise, If there's anything that is praiseworthy, whatever praises God, whatever praises God. Now, real quick, this is a high calling. We are to think on these things. We are to be, we are to be different from culture, different from the ungodly, different from the world. Not because we're trying to be different just to make a statement, but because we want to honor Christ and we want to worship him because he's called us away from those things. Now it needs to be said, this is not legalism. This is not legalism. This is obedience. In fact, it's not legalism. It's protecting your mind. And many who, who want to indulge in the world, or if we, if we could be so blunt as to say they might not want to honor a particular or obey a particular command of God, they might call obedience to God's laws, legalism in a particular place. But this is not legalism. This is obedience to God. This is protecting our mind. This is doing what God calls us to do. And we are to, verse eight, we are to dwell on these things. It's a word that means think about these things. Now, I want to define this because the word is one of the greatest, greatest areas of neglect. in modern day Christianity. Biblical meditation is something that the modern day church doesn't know much about. And yet the word of God is filled with thinking, pondering, filling, meditating on the things of God. To dwell on or to think on these things means to hold a view to something, to give careful thought to something. It means to fix your thoughts upon something. It's, it's, it's put at the very end of the sentence laughs for rhetorical emphasis. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, lovely, good repute, excellent. If anything worthy of praise, think about these things. I think of it like a B. I think of it like a bee that flies around and then it sits upon and then it sucks all of the sweetness out of a flower. Think about biblical meditation like that, where we're, where we're in the word and around the word and we're going deep in the word and we are trying to bring out all of the sweetness that is found in the word of God, like a bee would to a flower. That's what the Puritans were so good at. They wrote book after book after book after book on biblical meditation. That's why the last two or three pages of your handout tonight is on biblical meditation, because it's so helpful for us to learn about this. In your outline, there are a couple of helpful quotes, I think, that can guide us. Biblical meditation, William Bates says, is fixing our thoughts on spiritual things in order to practice them. So it means that we think about the things of God, which will then lead to obeying the word of God. Or Thomas Manton put it like this, that meditation is the mind that is applied to the serious and solemn contemplation of spiritual things for practical uses and purposes in life. All that means is this. We are to just fill ourselves with God's truth. We are to be thinking about God's truth. We are to be thinking people. And we're to be thinking, people, that we take every thought captive to Christ, so that we would think upon the things of the Word, think upon the things of Christ, think upon the things of the Gospel, so that how we talk and how we live and how we respond and how we consider life is governed by the things of Scripture. Oh, biblical meditation, think about these things, dwell on these things, consider them. May the Lord help us not just to have godly praying and godly thinking or godly meditation, but that now leads to verse nine. And I guess if we could put it this way, true meditation, true biblical meditation, which is filling ourselves with scripture will lead to godly living or godly practice. And that's the third heading in your outline, godly living. Now, you know, as well as I know that much in the Christian life can be taught, but a lot is also caught as well. Much is caught. Yes, there is doctrine that is to be preached, but it's also to be practiced as well. Or it is in the minister's message, no doubt, but yet it is also in the modeling of holiness that we learn Christian living. We ought to be expositors, but we also should be examples. I'm trying to bring out both ends. There is the teaching, and yet there's also the example that we are to follow. Look at verse 9 of Philippians 4. Notice how Paul brings it out. He says, Philippians, the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, what does he say? Practice these things. It's one thing just to fill ourselves with truth, but that must lead to the practice of these things. Paul, really in verse nine, puts himself forward as an example to follow. He says, he says, Philippians, what was on my mind when I was with you? What did I talk about? What did I read? What did I memorize? How did I communicate with the lost? How did I respond to the persecutors and the, and the, and the oppressors? What did I value? What did I do to instruct others? And how did I protect my mind? How did I fight sin? Philippians. How did I talk with other believers? Philippians, whatever you saw in me, you do these things. Philippians is all about, I mean, he just brings out in every chapter, the importance of following a good example. Remember in Philippians chapter one, Paul told the Philippians about his own suffering and his own endurance and his own joy, and they should follow his example. Remember chapter two, he gives the example of Christ, right? Who humbled himself and taken the form of a servant. And then he talked about Timothy and Epaphroditus. Remember in Philippians chapter three, the apostle Paul again talked about his own story and how he earned so much self-righteousness, but that was garbage. It couldn't do anything to bring himself to a righteous standing before God. Well, now in chapter four, here he is again saying Philippians, follow my example. He's not being arrogant. He's saying as your pastor, as a shepherd, as a leader, as an apostle, follow my example. Now look at the four verbs that he uses. He says the things that you have learned probably from my preaching. from my instruction, from my teaching, the things that you've learned. And then he says the things that you have received. Now, this is interesting because the word receive is not just the idea of hearing truth like a sponge. That's not the idea here. It's a technical Greek word that means you receive truth You receive a tradition for the purpose of passing it on to others. It's kind of like Moses receiving God's word and passing it on to Joshua. Joshua receives God's word and passes it on to others and so on. That's what Paul did to Timothy. That's what Timothy did to others. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men. who will be able to teach others. So it's the idea of you receive truth and then you pass it on to others. Paul says there's an obligation not just to hear God's word, but to pass it on. And verse 9, the things that you've learned and received and heard, how did you hear me communicate? How did you hear me share the gospel? How did you hear me respond to my oppressors? How did you hear me respond to the persecutors when I was beaten in Philippi and put in jail? And the things that you've seen in me, what does it say? Practice these things. May that be true of us, right? that we would not only fill ourselves with godly thinking and meditation and God's word, but that we would be practicing God's truth as well. There's a wonderful promise, wonderful promise at the very end of verse nine. Notice it's for the beloved, it's for believers. And notice it's for those who dwell on these things with godly thinking and those who practice these things with godly living. And to verse nine, the God of peace will be with you. Now, this is tremendous comfort, right? Tremendous comfort. But there was something going on in Philippi that makes this all the more interesting for them. In Rome, at this time, the emperors were often called the guardians of peace. They ended warfare and they would bring order out of disorder. That was just a title for the Roman emperors. They were the guardians of peace. Well, well, Julius Caesar also had the title peacemaker. Well, here's Paul saying they're not the peacemakers. The true God of peace will be with you as you think on his truth and as you live out holiness. I think it's an intentional wordplay that Paul uses knowing that the Philippians were familiar with these titles that the emperors would take. But he says, no, no, no. The God who produces peace, the God who is peace, the God who is the source of peace. He is the one who will be with you. How many times are there in the Bible? When God says to his people that he will be with us, the God of peace is with us. The God of peace is with us to preserve us, to protect us, to love us, to comfort us. The God of peace is with us even to use us for his glory. The God of peace is with us to prepare us for heaven. And that's the great heartbeat of these verses. The God of peace is with you. You can have peace in this world when God is with you. Well, how do we do that and maximize our obedience to God and live in this sinful society? How do we do that? Godly praying, godly thinking, and godly living. Well, let's end with Polycarp. We began with him, let's end with him, Polycarp. He wrote this letter, the Epistle to the Philippians, after Paul did in the second century. Now, you have in your outline a quote from the letter. Here's what he said. Polycarp said, when Paul was among you in the presence of the men of that time, he accurately and reliably taught the word concerning the truth. And when he was absent, he wrote you letters. That's the New Testament letters, that is. If you study them carefully, you will be able to build yourselves up in the faith that has been given to you. Do you see what he's saying? Study the word of God and build yourselves up in the most holy faith. Study the word of God and build yourselves up in the most holy faith. Interestingly, a few years later, he would be called to die as a martyr. How could this 86 year old man, how could he die with courage and joy and peace at the hands of the brutal Roman God haters? He could die in peace because his heart was immersed in scripture. He could die in peace because he loved the Word. He studied the Word. He thought about the Word. He memorized the Word. He preached the Word. He studied and internalized the Word. May that be true of us, that we would be those that would be so committed to godly living and godly thinking. that we would be transformed by God's glory, that we'd be used of him for his glory in the day in which we live, right? Amen. Father, thank you for the word that you've given to us from Philippians. Lord, may it be that every single one of us in this room tonight may have, have this characteristic about us. that we are those who live in the society in which we live, that we would be marked by godly praying and godly thinking and godly living. Help us, O God. May the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer in Christ's name. Amen.