Well, earlier this week, I played a round of golf with two men that I didn't know. Halfway through the round, one of them said to the other, after his game began to trend a little south, he says, why is it that we are so often negative? He was referring to his golf game. He says, we say to ourselves, don't shank the ball, don't block it right, don't slice, don't do this, don't do that. His list was a little extensive, should I say the least. What he was getting at was that his mindset tended to correlate to the way in which he played. His comments are not actually out of accord with the biblical truths that relate our thinking to our behavior. In fact, it could be argued that secular psychology, with its cognitive behavioral therapy, has taken a leaf out of the Bible. And it asserts that the change in thinking can impact how we feel and how we behave. You see, we find in Romans chapter 12 that Christian discipleship, our conformity unto Christ, includes being transformed by the renewing of our mind, a renewal that takes place through the way in which we think. One of the challenges that faces us in our lives today is how we think. Our patterns of behavior or patterns of thinking are frequently connected to our behavior, to our moods, to our sense of identity. And in fact, much of our thinking determines how we go about living our lives. And Solomon addresses this very point in Proverbs where he says that, for as a man thinks within himself, so is he. Without getting into the details of how the will and the mind are ordered to each other with the affections being inclined unto the good, for we desire the good that our mind first apprehends, Paul, he concludes this first section in Philippians chapter four with a set of exhortations. These exhortations that we find in our text this morning. And these two verses before us have one imperative in each. In verse 8 we read, think about these things. And in verse 9, practice these things. These are not optional extras for us who are believers. But they are also not most basic to our sense of identity. In other words, our identity is not primarily determined by our thinking and our practice. Rather, our thinking and our practice is determined by our new identity in Christ. See, our identity, if you are a believer, is secure because we are in Jesus. This is what it means to be a Christian. You are not fundamentally defined by your thoughts or your practices, by right thinking or right practices, for these flow as effects from our identity in Christ, just as fruit corresponds to a tree, as an apple does to the apple tree. Now, this is the way of the gospel. God works in us. Well, God's work in us leads us to work out that which He is working in us. I'll say it again. God's work in us leads us to work out that which He is working in us. In other words, we do not work up. an identity in Christ. We do not work in our identity in Christ. That would be a form of self-salvation, something that our culture advocates today. What we must remember is that our identity is not that fluid or plastic, that you and I can simply become whatever we want to become. Perform it, oh excuse me, think it, Perform it, become it. That is the mantra of our day. It's how one is said to truly become yourself. But what we need, friends, each and every one of us need is a miracle. We need a rebirth, a change that comes from outside of us, that is beyond us. Mankind is broken in sin, a shattered visage, moored by our sin, though not fully destroyed. Every single one of us here knows that something is not right with the world. The Bible tells us that we need to be recreated because we no longer perfectly reflect our original creation. And none of us can put Humpty Dumpty together again. This is why Christ came. He came to do the impossible. He came to fix that which was shattered in sin. And so Paul says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Friends, this work of recreation will one day be completed. When Christ returns, when we will be made perfect in both body and in soul, our minds will be perfectly ordered and our lives will fully reflect our identity in Christ. There will be no more depression, no more chronic anxiety or negative patterns of thinking. No longer will we have sin within us, waging war against our desires for God, so that we end up doing what we do not want, which Paul says is doing the very thing that we hate. But sin will not win out. In the end, death will be consummately placed under the feet of Jesus. The devil will roam the earth no more, and justice will reign as God renews the earth, the earth that He first created. And so let's take a look at our first of two points this morning, the first of two imperatives that Paul writes about. And that is, think about these things, verse eight. 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. In every chapter of this letter to the Philippians, we have seen that Paul has been speaking to these believers about how they are to think as followers of Christ. At first, he addresses their thinking in relation to the issue of division and discord that seems to exist among them, something that should not be in the church and doesn't reflect the gospel. They are to be one. as God is one. And they are to stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. They are to have the same mind, chapter two, which is theirs in Christ. And then Paul shifts gears. He contrasts the thinking of believers with those who are seen to be enemies of the cross. What we see Paul distinguish is that one is either being transformed by the cross and thus is a friend of the cross, or one is said to be an enemy of the cross. And this distinction is reflected in our thinking. For our thinking reflects a more basic reality, who we are, or possibly still better, whose we are. Whose we are, you might ask? Well, one is either in Christ and under the Lordship of Christ, or one is under the mastery of the God of this world. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul says that the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel. Paul says to the Romans that those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. Or as we see in his letter to the Philippians, enemies of the cross set their minds on earthly things, chapter three. And it's this thinking this thinking that sets their minds upon earthly things that Paul terms to be futile. Futile in distinction of being wise and profitable. In Colossians 1, enemies of the cross are said to be hostile in their minds. Well, they are hostile in their minds because they are alienated from God. And thus, do evil deeds. There's a correspondence between their thinking and between their actions. Now, this might sound to be very strong language. In fact, it might seem to be quite offensive. But it was true of every single one of us. For some of you, it might still in fact be true of you today. The language is not itself untrue. Because our actions simply reflect our constitution, our orientation, our inward desires. We behave with how or in accordance with how we think and what is within our hearts. Or more properly, we live in conformity with who or what has mastered us. And this language of mastery puzzles us. Because in the West, we pride ourselves in independence, in our freedom, in our autonomy, in our individualism. No one is said to master me apart from myself. Well, not so fast, says Paul. As we've already read in 2 Corinthians, that the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the glory of the gospel. of Christ. The God of this world is a deceiver. This is the nature of the devil and his schemes. He is subtle in his trickery, and he causes many to think of themselves as being above deception, above being blinded or being mastered. And that is the wickedness and genius of his deceptive schemes. You see, if you do not know Christ, Paul says, you live in the passions of your flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind. But if you are in Christ, then you are no longer like this. You've been freed from the enslaving clutches and the power of the devil. Yes, you still wrestle with indwelling sin, but that sin doesn't own you. It no longer rules over you. Our hearts are not so hardened so that we cannot choose the good. We now live in accordance with the Holy Spirit. We died to the old man, we died to the flesh, we live now for Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. And in living for Christ, Paul says, think like this. Think like this Church of Christ. 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. These are godly virtues. These are biblical qualities and characteristics of what may be truly defined as the good, the beautiful, and the true. And all of this is found in Christ. Friends, remember, that our discipleship involves being like Christ. And to be like Christ flows most naturally from a desire for Christ. Sadly, there are many who do not truly desire to know Christ intimately and experientially in the church. They are not moved to him, but can have an intellectual understanding of him only. They want to be like him in practice, but the fire and love for him is little. Oh, may I urge you to cultivate that desire, that love, that first love for Jesus. And how, you might ask the question, how are we incrementally transformed in the likeness or into the likeness of Christ? Well, we're to renew our minds. And what is one of the ways in which we renew our minds? Well, we discipline our minds and we think upon that which is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable, that which is truly excellent and worthy of praise. We ponder those things. We meditate upon those things. We think deeply upon those things. We memorize scripture that reveals and speaks off these things, and we refuse to linger upon gossip and offenses and fear and the like. We fill our minds more with these wonderful things than to get caught up with the latest trend or the controversy on social media or being distracted by all kinds of other worldly things. It's going to take some discipline. It's going to take self-control, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And we're going to need to set our minds upon these things and to do so deliberately. That's what Paul's getting at. We're gonna need to take every thought captive to obey Christ and to think upon all that flows from the gospel. All that flows from Christ and is about Christ. And what a marvel that is. What is more beautiful? What is more life-changing? What is more grace-filling, peace-giving than to push pause and to contemplate and meditate upon the beauty and the wonder of Jesus Christ and His gospel? We're going to need to live in the light of the return of Christ We need to remember that we are citizens of heaven, that we are fueled by grace, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, that we work out this salvation, not in our own flesh, that we work out how to think rightly, not in our flesh, but in the power of the Holy Spirit, who is at work in you. Two things. Two key ways for us to think about and how we think about these things. Number one is the word, number two is prayer. For us who are in reformed circles, we tend to read a lot of theological books. I too read a lot of theological books. Can you imagine if we read our scriptures more than all the theological books that we read? all the time that we spend reading books, which are good. I'm not saying don't read good theological books, but can you imagine if we spent time soaking in reading, meditating in devouring, pausing in not moving on quickly and now 15 minute devotional just to linger. in the Word of God. It's a means of grace, friends. We did the same with prayer. If we prayed the Bible, if we prayed the Bible with faith, then these are channels of grace that flood our lives. They affect us amidst the realities of our day. These are means that God has given us to deal with life. And when it's really, really hard, and you don't want to, and you're in a funk, possibly even depressed, or you're mired in sinful thoughts, you're gonna need to cry out to God for help. And even like the father with his child, it is said to Jesus, I believe, help my unbelief. As Paul says, we're gonna need to put off your old self which belongs to the former manner of life and is corrupted through deceitful desires and for us to be renewed in the spirit in your minds. All of us, every one of us in this room, no one is exempt. We are frail, we are weak, and we cannot do this in ourself. That's a given. We are all in desperate need of Christ to fulfill this command, this imperative, this exhortation. But remember what we saw last week in verse seven. When we remember that God is near, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Oh, praise the Lord for that. This leads us quickly to our second point. The second of Paul's two imperatives, practice these things, verse nine. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. What we find in verse eight and verse nine is that we move from think about these things, verse eight, to practice these things, verse nine. And here in verse nine, these things refers to all that the Philippians had learned from Paul. Everything that they had received from him, everything they had heard from him, and also saw in him. And talk about a profound testimony of the grace of God in someone's life. Be imitators of me, he says, as I am of Christ. You see, what Paul is doing is he's giving this church a physical copy right before their eyes to imitate a reflection of the heavenly original who is Christ himself. And Paul is being so comprehensive in his scope. He says, be like me as I want to be like Jesus. And I want to be with Jesus. I want to know him, he yearns. I want to know him with my all. And there is nothing sweeter in all the earth than this. I'd rather be with him in glory Where he is now than to remain in this fallen world, which itself so yearns and longs to be liberated from the curse. See, Paul is not like those Pharisees, those Pharisees who taught one thing, but practiced another. He walked the talk. Paul's also not arrogant. He's not being narcissistic. Or self-promoting and saying, practice what I practice. What he's doing is he's pointing to Jesus at every turn. You just can't get away from Jesus when you read this epistle. He's transformed. all himself by the revelations that he's received, the revelations of Christ that he's now shared with others. He himself has been transformed by them. See, Christianity wasn't a thing that he did. It wasn't a tradition that he upheld. Christianity was Christ and him crucified. He wanted all of Christ. He wanted his sufferings and he wanted his glory. He wanted his cross and he wanted his exaltation. because there is truly nothing, nothing at all that is sweeter than Jesus, every single aspect of him. We see just but a glimpse of this in our hymn of response this morning, Love Divine or Love's Excelling. And you know, dear friends, in a small way, you and I should be like this. Examples to others of how to follow Jesus. Imperfect examples, yes, but still an aroma of Christ to those around us. At the workplace, at the gym, at the grocery store, at the school, at the gas station, when we were with our neighbors, when we were with strangers, when with our friends and when with others who might even term us their enemies. We need to be a roamer of Christ. We see this with the church in Thessalonica. Paul says that they became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. This example is a result of them being discipled into the likeness of Jesus. That's what discipleship is about. It's about following Jesus. Sometimes wonder of us in our conformity to Christ, do we honestly want Christ to conform to us? Or are we willing to, in fact, be conformed to Him? Are we trying to make Jesus come into our life and our world and be like us? and affirm our agendas and our passions? Or is it truly real that we will take up our cross and follow Him and be like Him? Sometimes that question is more challenging than we might realize. Friends, you cannot follow Jesus if you don't obey His teaching. This is written right into the heart and center of the Great Commission. James, the brother of Jesus, says the following. He says, if anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart. This person's religion is worthless. But just four verses earlier, James says, but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourself. In other words, if we merely listen to God's word, hear it without ears, but don't do it with our hearts and wills and actions, we deceive ourselves. And I think it's here that we find one of the keys to understand what's going on in the church in America in some places. The recent poll that came out that three of the largest denominations in our country are losing members. And no, they're not all liberal. Some of them are conservative. And that's not a good sign for our country. It's not a good sign for the church. It's not a good sign for us. It's nothing to rejoice in or to point this is why, et cetera. This is my read. One of the primary ways in which believers of being deceived is not by all kinds of conspiracy theories, all kinds of opposition, all kinds of political agendas. Simply hearing the word of God, but not doing it. Week in and week out. Week in and week out. That's why Christians don't have the power to overcome sin. It's not that God's power is unavailable. It's that we don't put God's Word into practice. And when we don't put God's Word into practice, something happens, friends. It's not neutral. We're not static. That's what James is saying here. This is earnest, real, urgent, serious stuff. What happens very slowly, incrementally, is the following, is that our minds become darkened, our hearts slowly become hardened, and the cultural trends of the surrounding world begin to seep into the church little by little. All because we come and go each Lord's day hearing God's word, without receiving it for what it is. The very good word of God breathed out from his mouth. And so what happens in the church is that we lack wisdom. We lack power. We lack his grace for the trials and the tribulations that we face. When God's grace, his peace, his wisdom is right there in front of us. You know, dear friends, in conclusion, as we've seen so many times through this letter, we cannot read Philippians and not be moved closer to Jesus. We cannot miss the heart of God to put into practice that which Paul says. Scripture teaches us about the double minded man who is unstable in all his ways. Paul's desire is quite simple in these verses. Very simple. It's simply this. That you and I would stand firm in the faith. That we would be secure. We would be stable, we would be unmoved, we would be able to stand in the midst of persecution, or opposition, or temptation, or when difficulties come our way. And Paul is not naive. He wants us to grow in our conformity to Jesus, just little by little, from babes to mature. It's not overnight. He's talking to these Philippians as a dear father does with his prized children, gently urging them on, giving them wisdom and guidance, all because they are in Christ. That's their real identity. And as has been true from the beginning to the end of this letter, Let us, like the Philippians, do this too, as one body, gently encouraging one another to think upon 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. And what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. This is the comfort for our souls. the perspective that we need. See, friends, when we remember that God is near, back in verse 5, it literally changes everything. Where you are right now, God is near. And the God who is near is also the God of peace that will be with you as you think and practice all that accords with your new found identity in Christ and praise God for his grace and peace to us who are in Christ. Let's pray.