Philippians chapter 4, beginning at verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness 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 minds in Christ Jesus. 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. This is the word of the Lord. And you may be seated. Well, it's easy to see that joy and peace are principal themes in Philippians, but they are also highly sought after commodities in this world of toil and trouble. They're attributes of God himself that we, as his images, were made to enjoy. But there's a problem, because sin has marred this image of God in humanity. The world finds these attributes elusive. And even though they've never attained true joy or genuine peace in their lifetimes, they nevertheless have an inner sense that there is joy and peace to be had. We were made in God's image and so we still long for those things that would reflect his glory. Even in our sinfulness, we just search for them in all the wrong ways. And so the world lives in constant pursuit of joy and peace. But sadly, they'll never find it as long as they're looking for it in all the wrong places. You know it's true. The world longs for lasting joy and true peace. They pursue endless avenues in their desperate quest for an enduring happiness or something that'll quiet their troubled souls. But any experience of joy they might have is always fleeting. Any sensation of peace quickly fades away. They simply can't know true joy. They can't find lasting peace because they're at war with God. They're in rebellion. And whether they're aggressively defiant or passively dismissive, it's still rebellion. What I mean is this, they don't have to be cursing God with every breath. They can just simply ignore God and go their own way and act as if they are God. And either way, it's rebellion. The whole world is filled, Paul says, with ingrates who refuse to honor their creator, the one in whom they live and move and have their being, the one to whom we all owe everything. The only path to enduring joy and persevering peace then is being reconciled to the God who gives life and breath and everything else. Well, thanks be to God, that's exactly what Christ came to do, to reconcile us, to end our warfare with God. And He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. When we come to Him in repentance and faith, we receive the benefit of all that our Lord and Savior accomplished on our behalf. He fulfilled God's law perfectly. We couldn't fulfill one command perfectly. He satisfied the demands of divine justice by atoning for our sins. He was buried that our old man might be laid to rest in the tomb, and he was raised from death unto life that by his life-giving resurrection he might bring spiritual life to those who were spiritually dead. And then, Through the work of our Savior, He adopted us as God's children and made us citizens of heaven. We have a new identity, and in this new identity is the people of God. The Holy Spirit now works within us, conforming us to the image of our Savior. And He will continue that sanctifying work until we see Christ face to face and our transformation is finally complete. That's the gospel. That's the good news of salvation, that Christ has ended our warfare with God, that he has made us at peace with God, acceptable into his presence, and blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. You know, this is what Paul tells us in Romans chapter 5. I love the way that chapter begins. If we have been justified by faith in Christ, we now enjoy peace with God. We live in a state of grace and we rejoice, Paul says, in the hope of the glory of God. This is an objective peace that comes from being in right standing with God. And so simply knowing this should cause us to rejoice, not only in hope of the glory yet to come, but even rejoice in our present sufferings. This objective peace then becomes the basis for our experience of joy and peace, regardless of what we have to endure here and now. Those who are in Christ have every reason to rejoice, especially through the hard times, especially through the disappointments, especially through those moments of pain and sorrow. Why do I say especially? Because as Paul says in Romans chapter eight, there is nothing in heaven or on earth that can separate us from the love of God that is ours in Christ Jesus. Nothing, no pain we experience, no hard times we endure, no disappointments we face. None of this can separate us from the love of God in Christ. And so we can rejoice in the Lord always whenever we realize that our momentary afflictions are actually working in us a far greater weight of glory. That's the reality. But our joyful experience of this peace requires, then, thinking rightly, setting our minds on who Christ is and what Christ has done for us. We are transformed, the scripture says, by the renewing of our minds. We are changed from one degree of glory to another as we behold the glory of our Savior. We are not changed by self-help books. We are not changed by motivational speakers. We are not changed by all of the principles of this world. We are changed only by the word of God as we behold the Savior whose portrait we see in the pages of scripture. Well, these saints at Philippi, they enjoyed this state of grace. They themselves enjoyed abiding peace because they had embraced the gospel. And for years, they had steadfastly kept the faith based on the reality of who Christ is and what he's done for his people. They kept this in mind. And with transcendent peace, for years, they had stood firm. They had rejoiced in the Lord despite intense opposition from the world. But as of late, as the Apostle Paul gets word from this church and he begins to write, he realizes they've been plagued with anxiety and despair. Well, for one thing, their beloved Paul was in prison and had been for going on four years. Persecution against them was intensifying. False doctrine was seemingly more prevalent day by day. Well, in the past, however, those trials and those troubles like that had not compromised them. They had remained unmoved. So why the sudden anxiousness among this body? Well, that's what Paul addresses in this letter. This congregation had allowed their minds to wander. Disagreement had arisen among them, and they had fallen prey to thinking like the world. That's what had happened. Selfish ambition and empty conceit had arisen within them and taken hold of their minds. They were determined to defend their own opinions and promote their own individual interests at the expense of others in the body of Christ. They were thinking far more highly of themselves than they are. And so Paul writes to redirect their focus, to remind them of who God is and his purpose for them. Everything exists for God's glory. That's why we exist, to glorify God and enjoy him forever. So throughout this letter, the Apostle Paul urges them to have the same mind. He's talking about their thought life. Have the same mind. Be of one mind. Think the same way. Come to agreement in the Lord. These are all phrases that the Apostle Paul uses, some of them repeatedly. And so indeed, to come to agreement in the Lord, however, they must begin thinking like Christ. That's the only thing that will unite us in our minds, is to think like Christ, to think on Christ, to think on His word. And so they must adopt Christ's attitude of humility. They must begin to see the world as Christ saw the world, as a world in need, as brothers and sisters in need of support and strength, and of course, sanctification. This is what we need to see. And as long as prideful and self-focused attitudes prevailed, well, they're going to continue to live in this perpetual state of anxiety. And it's true for us as well. As long as we're prideful, as long as we're self-focused, as long as it's all about me and what I'm not getting, or as long as it's all about me and how wrong I have been done, we're going to be in a perpetual state of anxiety. We're going to get ourselves ulcers, right? But you know, that's not the real problem. Ulcers are temporary. You may die with them, but then you're going to stand before the eternal God. That's the problem. And we want to stand before Him and hear, well done, faithful, good servant, right? We don't want to stand before the Lord and be ashamed of how we squandered the privilege that was ours in Christ. And so, whenever we are prideful, whenever we are self-focused, we'll not only be at odds with others, there will be unrest in our own hearts. Why? Because we can't control the people and situations around us. I can't control you. I can't control my circumstances. I can't control my situation. And as long as I am attempting to do that, I will give myself undue stress. I will put myself in a state of anxiety. So as long as we're insisting on having our own way, we will never know true joy. As long as we are insisting on glorifying ourselves and enjoying ourselves forever, we will not have joy and we will not have peace. We're not God. But if we will renew our minds on who Christ is and what He has done for us, if we will turn our thoughts away from the problems of this world, from the problems of our relationships, of the problems with our jobs, if the problems with all around us are government, those things will drive you to an early grave. You can't worry about those things. You have to trust them into the hands of God, and God is sovereignly in control. He is sovereignly in control, and a part of that is getting you to bow your heart before Him and to submit yourself to Him and to His will. And so, indeed, if we will renew our minds on who Christ is and what Christ has done for us, if we will turn our thoughts and focus them on the gospel of grace and truly believe it, it will change the way we see the world. It will change the way we behave. As Paul tells us in chapter 2, the beautiful hymn of Christ, we see such a portrait of our Savior. No one could ever give up as much as our Savior gave up for us. No one could ever suffer as much as He suffered to redeem us. No one could ever stoop as low as Christ stooped to save us from our sins. And so with astonishing mercy and love, our wondrous deliverer promises us not only new life, a new identity to be at peace with God, he also promises us a glorious inheritance of eternal life in the Father's house. And in the Father's house, in the presence of the Father are pleasures forevermore. Listen. Anything a savior like this might ask us to do, as Paul says in Romans chapter 12, is just our reasonable service. Oh, it's no great feat to obey Christ. It's simply our reasonable service. It's the worship we owe to him. And what we owe to him, according to Paul in Romans chapter 12, is our life on the altar, living sacrifices who think like Christ thought and lived like Christ lived. And so as Paul addresses our thought life, he explains what it ought to look like. He lists attributes in this passage that ought to characterize the things with which we fill our minds. You know, we are so undisciplined often about what we allow ourselves to dwell upon. No, the Word of God gives us direction here. We are to look for these particular traits in whomever displays them. We're to turn our gaze wherever they're seen. We're to occupy our minds with wherever we find them. That should be the direction of our thoughts. And as the scripture says then, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, wherever we see excellence, and if there's anything worthy of praise, these are the things that ought to occupy our minds. These are the kinds of people and actions and events that ought to dominate our thought lives. These are the things we ought to ponder and meditate upon because our thought life finds expression in the way we live. And as I said last week, the Apostle Paul then is painting a perfect portrait of Christ with these attributes. There is no one more true, no one more honorable, no one more just, no one more pure, no one more lovely, no one more commendable, no one more excellent of character, and no one more praiseworthy than Christ. He is the epitome of everything Paul mentions in this passage. And we could also say this about the gospel. There is no message, no proclamation, no news. That's what gospel means, good news. There is no news that is more true, more honorable, more just, more pure, more lovely, more commendable, more excellent, or more praiseworthy than the gospel. Listen, we need the gospel far more than we need the evening news. The evening news is depressing. The evening news will just cause you anxiety. The gospel is what sets you free. And so it's praiseworthy because as the scripture says, the gospel is God's power unto salvation. The evening news will save no one. The good news is what saves. And the same goes for the whole of Scripture. We could say this about the whole of Scripture. Whatever the subject, there is no word more true, more honorable, more just, more pure, more lovely, more commendable, more excellent, or more worthy of praise than the Holy Scriptures. I mean, you see, what Paul is doing is he is focusing our attention on these things that will turn our minds toward God. Paul is telling us to make God's character and his attributes, the attributes of his gospel, the attributes of his word, that this should be the standard for our thoughts. We take many things in. But we don't have to dwell on them. And as Luther said, there are some odd thoughts, some random thoughts that just pop into our heads. And we can't do anything about that either. But we certainly can make the decision not to dwell on them. I think I've mentioned this before, but that was Luther's analogy. He said, you can't stop birds from flying over your head, but you do not have to let them build a nest in your hair. And that's what we're doing whenever we let these thoughts in and we begin to dwell on them. Whenever we watch the evening news and then we can't think of anything else the rest of the evening, right? We're dwelling on those things. We need to be dwelling on something good. We need to be dwelling on God. And so let us set our minds on things above. I think that's what Paul is getting at here. And then we will experience the joy of the Lord. Then we will experience the peace that passes all understanding. We're to fill our minds, he says, with what is true. It's Christ who is true. It's the gospel that is true. It's God's word that is true. There is no one so perfectly true as Christ, and there is nothing so wondrously true as the gospel, and there is nothing more completely true than God's Word. You know, we live in a world that's given up on the idea of absolute truth. They're disillusioned, but they're looking for truth in all the wrong places, you see. Science can't discover absolute truth. In fact, if they ever purported to have discovered absolute truth, you know that that's not science. Because science is this ever quest of observation, and then theory, and then testing. It's never ending. Science isn't the last word on anything. And as you know, what really irritates me is to hear them completely, you know, without any understanding at all, use this term, settled science. Science has never been settled and never will. You need to do a little history and look. And even through this pandemic, first, don't wear a mask. Then wear a mask, right? And then we have to social distance. We have to spray everything. We have to make sure that there is no surface that any virus can live on. And then we come out and find out, well, you know what? The virus doesn't really last very long on surfaces. I mean, it has been nothing but confusion from the get-go. There's no such thing as subtle science. And so what do we take away from that? We have to trust God. He's the one we can trust. He's the one we can trust. And so this is the thing that we need to understand, is that while the world puts their faith in science, science cannot discover absolute truth. Don't trust in philosophy either. Philosophy can't ascertain absolute truth. The academics can't discern absolute truth. And the media doesn't report absolute truth. Government certainly doesn't proclaim absolute truth. In fact, it's becoming increasingly difficult, I think, to find any truth in what comes out of Washington or from the talking heads of the media that we see on TV. But of course, this makes sense. Human reason is finite for one thing. But secondly, and more importantly, it has been corrupted by sin. And so it should be obvious to us that if we rely on the world and what it calls truth, what the world says is true, we will experience no joy, we will experience no peace. Because filling our minds with the news of the day, with the world's perspectives, will only bring despair and anxiety. However, thanks be to God, there is absolute truth. The problem is most people don't want it because it only comes from God. And he has revealed himself in his word. They don't want his word. Isn't there an easier way for me to know the truth? That exposes our heart, doesn't it? You know, we can spend a lot of effort on the things that really appeal to us. So it says something whenever what God has told us doesn't appeal to us, doesn't it? And so you see, this is the point. There is absolute truth, but it comes only from knowing God. He has revealed himself in his word, he has revealed himself in the saving purpose of the gospel, and his ultimate revelation of himself is in the person and work of Christ. And so therefore, all of these characteristics are embodied in Christ, in the gospel, in the word that God has given us. And so the standard for whatever is true is none other than God himself and his word. He is trustworthy. He's reliable. He's genuine. He's transparent. On the other hand, the world's narratives are largely comprised of fantasy. Marxism, it's never worked, it never will. Evolution. Doesn't make any sense. Animism, Eastern mysticism, the cults go on and on and on. These are all the musings of corrupt minds. This is the stuff of fables and fairy tales. It's God's account of what was, what is, and what will be. That's reality. And then Paul says, not just fill your minds with that which is true, but Paul says, fill your minds with whatever is honorable. You know, the word honorable refers to that which is of good character. It's that which is respectable, not shameful, appropriate, not improper, dignified, not scandalous, serious, not frivolous. And again, there's no one who embodies that virtue more than Christ, no message that embodies it more than the gospel, no more complete honorable character can be found other than that in the word of God. Christ's character is spotless, sinless, absolutely righteous. Everything he did was respectable and appropriate, not because men saw it as so, but because God saw it as so. Jesus never behaved unseemly, and the only shame he ever had to bear was yours and mine. He was always calm. He was always even-tempered, always in control of his emotions. Even whenever he's cleansing the temple, he is in control. Had he lost control, we're talking about God in the flesh, there wouldn't have been anybody left. No. Always in complete control. And so earlier in this portion, when we read that Paul says, let our reasonableness be known to everyone, in effect, he's saying, follow Christ's example, live honorably, live with humble dignity in this hostile world. Don't repay evil with evil, repay evil with good. Don't seek revenge, seek reconciliation, and be serious about following God's will. Jesus was. and obeying God is never a trivial matter. It's a matter of honor, and we should focus our minds on that which is honorable. And then, Paul says, we should fill our minds with what is just. The word just refers to that which is righteous. It's conformity to God's commands. It refers to actions that align with God's will, God's purpose, God's design, Being just is doing what duty demands. It's being what one ought to be. You know, we live in a world where many things are not as they ought to be. We live in an age that not only ignores reality, and I'm talking about the most basic reality of your own biology, but they grossly pervert the world in which we live. There can be no joy or peace in such corruption. And so to be just is to be upright. It is to be right and to do right. You know, there's a lot of talk today about social justice, but humanity corrupted by sin is never a good judge of what is just. True justice, social or otherwise, refers to that which conforms to God's purpose, God's design. And the truly just person is one whose way of thinking, whose way of feeling and acting is wholly aligned with the will of God. Someone who is just is someone who needs no correction in heart or in life. Now by that definition, obviously only Jesus can be called just in the absolute sense of the word. He is the standard for what is right. In scripture, Jesus is the only man referred to as the righteous one. The only one whose name then is synonymous with righteousness. The only one without sin. And then we're to fill our minds with what is pure. Pure refers to that which is holy. In fact, it comes from the same root word as saint, holiness, holy. It's that without blemish, that without moral defect. And it's a broad term encompassing moral purity and purity of motive and that which is without admixture. No ulterior motives here. It's that which is free from any polluting influence. Again, there's no one who can measure up to that profound purity but Christ, right? But as adopted children of God, we're still called to be holy as he is holy. Now, the problem is sin still dwells in our members, right? Momentarily, it won't forever, but it does for now. But here's the important point, and this is something that really is crucial for us to understand because the folks here in our assembly, we have a good sense of our own depravity. We know that we are sinners, and we have no illusions about ourselves, right? But here's the point I want you to see. What Paul is telling us here is that we ought not set our minds on our sin. In other words, we shouldn't be obsessing over our failures. What did Paul tell us earlier? Forget those things that are behind, press on toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus, right? We are to confess our sins and then cling to the cross of Christ. So we should set our minds not on what we are struggling with, but on what we are called to be. Do you see? We're in the process of being purified. That's the work of sanctification. We have a long way to go. It's true. However, as John says, the gospel hope is that one day we will see Christ face to face and be fully transformed into his pure image. But then John doesn't stop there. He goes on to say that everyone who has this hope, this hope expresses itself. in a continual effort to purify ourselves, meaning we are to pursue the sanctification that God is working in us. Now, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. We can never make ourselves any purer than what we already are in Christ. That's perfect purity, because he is perfect. But until that day, Right now, we are covered by the righteousness of our Savior. That's why we stand pure before God, not because experientially or in our daily walk that we are pure. We're not. But we stand in the presence of God as pure because God sees us in Christ. Nonetheless, we are to grow toward that goal. We are to pursue sanctification as we look forward to that day. We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, with the confidence that it's God who's making us willing and able to do so. I like the way Stephen Smalley put it. Yes, I'll put it down here. I want to read this to you. He says, while we shall never be completely like Jesus until we see him as he really is, that very certainty supplies a challenge for the believer to become more like Christ now. So you see, that certain hope that we have that our salvation will one day be complete, that's what compels us to pursue purity of conduct here and now. And that happens as we present ourselves before God and fix our minds on Jesus. My point is, is we will never gain victory over sin by concentrating on our sin. By becoming obsessed with our sin, we must concentrate on the holiness and righteousness of God and fix our gaze upon Him that our minds might be renewed and that we stop thinking about the sin and we start thinking about the glorious Savior. And then we're to fill our minds with what is lovely. Lovely refers to that which is friendly, that which is amiable, that which is gracious to others. One definition of that Greek word says truly attractive, truly attractive. While creation is beautiful, the world is an ugly place because of sin. The world itself is beautiful, nature is beautiful, even though it's been somewhat marred by sin as well. It's in frustration, Paul says in Romans chapter 8, but nonetheless, Creation as God made it, nature is beautiful, but the world itself is an ugly place, violence and wickedness and oppression and pain. And so if our minds are captivated by the things of this vile world, it will rob us of our experience of joy and peace. But here's the thing to set your mind on, because there is nothing more beautiful than the holiness of our God. He is absolute perfection. And God's beauty is reflected in the grandeur of creation. And though God himself dwells in majestic splendor, it isn't mere outward attractiveness that's being spoken of here. Far more important is the loveliness of God's character. Whenever Moses wanted to see the glory of God, God says, I'll put you in the cleft of the rock, Richard, because you can't endure it, the manifestation, the full manifestation of my glory. But I'll put you in the cleft of the rock and I'll make my glory pass before you. And what happens? He hears the proclamation of God's holy character. That's the glory of God. That's the beauty of God. The beauty of God is seen in the richness of His mercy, of the vastness of His compassion, the wonder of His grace, and the inexhaustible measure of His love for His people. That's the beauty of God on whom we should focus our attention. Again, no one is as lovely as Christ. No hope is as lovely as the gospel. No word is as lovely as that which comes from the mouth of our God. And then, we're to fill our minds with what is commendable. This refers to good reputation. It speaks of character and actions worthy of approval. Actions and character worthy of commendation. Again, as with the other attributes, Paul is referring to that which is commendable in God's sight, not men, but in the sight of God. Something that's commendable must be true, and as we have seen, God is the one who declares what is true. And Jesus, once again, is the supreme measure of one who is commendable in every respect. The Father affirms so with a voice from heaven on multiple occasions. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. This is my Son. I'm pleased in Him. Listen to Him. Jesus pleased the Father in all He said and did. And that is commendable. And that's what we should meditate upon. that of which God approves. Finally, Paul summarizes then a godly mindset in this way. He's given us those six virtues, and now he's going to give us two that encompass, actually you could say they gather up all of those others. He says, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise, that's what ought to occupy our minds. This word excellence is rare in the New Testament. It refers to moral excellence, to outstanding virtue, to that of which there is no better. Excellence refers to whatever is best, whatever excels both in virtue and in action. Our God is good and all that he does is good. And so Peter uses this very word of God. He says, those God has called out of darkness and into His marvelous light are to proclaim God's excellencies. Who is like our God? To whom will we compare our Savior? And Peter goes on then to tell us that God has called us by His own glory and excellence. But then, those who are called by Our excellent God, Peter says, are to pursue His excellence in our own lives as well. We were made to image God. We're to trust in Christ and to grow in grace as we seek to be conformed to the image of God in all of His excellencies. And then, coupled with excellence is that which is praiseworthy. If there is anything deserving of admiration, anything truly worthwhile, anything worthy of honor, this is what should occupy our minds. Again, no better portrait of Christ. Everything he is and everything he does is both excellent and praiseworthy. God sets the standard for perfection. And so as we close this morning, If we would be free of anxiety and despair, these are the qualities and attributes that must occupy our minds. We must meditate upon them. Paul is calling us to set our minds on things above, to ascribe to God the glory due his name, to meditate on the God and who he is, the God who has loved us and saved us, even as we look for his gracious providence in every circumstance and situation of life. How often we complain about what we're facing and fail to see that God is at work. If nothing else, God is at work bringing us a greater sense of what it means to trust, developing in us patience, developing in us trust in the holy God. Many times, there is much more going on than that, but if that was all, what a gracious God, for that is a blessing beyond measure. And so if we begin to set our minds on these things, we will see the world differently. And so the Apostle Paul is encouraging us to preach this wondrous gospel to us every day. We need it. He's urging us to renew our minds on God's word. He's urging us to set our eyes on Christ, fix them on our Savior, as the scripture says. And that's when we'll be able to rejoice in the Lord always. And that's when our hearts and minds will know the peace of God that passes all understanding. It's the privilege that belongs to us, but it's one we rarely take advantage of. God has granted it by his grace, and if we will look to him, He will give us the experience of joy and the experience of peace, garrisoning our minds and our hearts, protecting them from all of the slings and arrows of this world. And He will keep us in perfect peace if we keep our minds stayed on Him. And to Him be glory forever and ever.