Philippians 4:8-9

What are we thinking?

After a very long and boring sermon the church members filed out of the church saying nothing to the preacher. Towards the end of the line was a thoughtful person who always commented on the sermons. “Preacher, today your sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God" The pastor was thrilled. "No-one has ever said anything like that about my preaching before. Tell me why." "Well - it reminded me of the Peace of God because it passed all understanding and the Love of God because it endured forever" (SC) Warren Wiersbe said,

“When we give our hearts to Christ in salvation, we experience “peace with God” (Romans 5:1); but the “peace of God” takes us a step farther into God’s blessings. This does not mean the absence of trials on the outside, but it does mean a quiet confidence within, regardless of circumstances, people or things.”

– Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary

The last time we were here, we talked about the peace of God that transcends all understanding. This afternoon, I’d like to talk about th the thoughts that we think.

Just a few days ago, I received a call from somebody that was struggling with anxiety. Worry or anxiety has the ability to cause us to feel sick. We might feel an upset stomach or even fuzzy, in a bit of a brain fog. It can be so hard when we just don’t know what choice we should make. We often worry about what might happen. Our imaginations can run wild and if we aren’t careful we can often think the worst, and most times it doesn’t turn out like we thought.

Let’s read our Scripture for today,

Philippians 4:8–9 NLT

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

We make choices every day about the thoughts that we are going to think. In fact, each of us have made choices today on what we are going to think about.

We live in a world where there is so much negativity and it can cause us to stress about things that we have no power to control. I’m so thankful that God has promised never to leave us nor abandon us. I’m also thankful that we are told to cast all our cares, our worries, and our anxieties on Him because He cares for us.

When we live in an uncertain world, we need to hold on to the One that is certain.

Let’s think thoughts that are true, thoughts that are honourable, thoughts that are right, thoughts that are pure, thoughts that are lovely, and thoughts that are admirable. When we think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise, when we give praise and thanksgiving to God, it gets our minds off of those things that cause us to worry.

In Matthew 6, Jesus encouraged us not to worry. This is what he said,

Matthew 6:25–34 NIV

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Each of us has a choice to make, are we going to stew over our past and wish that we could have different lives, are we going to worry about what might happen tomorrow?

With God’s help, we can choose to have our mind focused on what is good and we can learn to take our thoughts captive that have held us captive.

I want to close with a story that Joel Osteen once told,

“John was ninety-two years old and blind, but he was just as sharp as could be when his wife, Eleanor, went to the Lord. He didn't feel he should live alone, so John decided to move into a nice seniors’ home. On the morning of the move, he was up and fully dressed by 8:00 a.m. As always, the elderly gentleman looked impeccable, with his hair perfectly combed and his face neatly shaven.

A cab picked him up and took him to the seniors’ home. John arrived early, as was his habit, and waited more than an hour before a young aide, Miranda, came to show him to his new room. As John maneuvered his walker through the hallways, Miranda described his room in great detail. She said sunlight came in through a big window, and there was a comfortable couch, and a nice desk area.

Right in the middle of her description, John interrupted her and said, “I love it. I love it. I love it.”

Miranda laughed and said, “Sir, we're not there yet. You haven't seen it. Hold on just a minute, and I'll show it to you.”

John said, “No, you don't have to show it to me. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged. It depends on how my mind is arranged. Happiness is something you decide ahead of time.”

A positive attitude is important, but there is something that is far more important that thinking positive, it’s a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

As we commit and submit our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes in to our lives.

If you pay attention to what you are thinking, ask God to help you think thought that bring glory and honour to HIm.

Let’s pray!