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The Problem of Man’s Thinking
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As we begin this text, I would like to remind you that things are not good for Paul.
He’s not writing this from some exotic beach, while soaking in some rays.
Paul is writing this while under house arrest in Rome.
We hear house arrest and we think that he gets to live in the luxury of his own home.
House arrest isn’t like the our idea of house arrest.
No GPS ankle bracelets, or Netflix for him.
Paul is in an apartment, with a Roman guard chained to his side.
He’s responsible for the rent of his apartment, paying the Roman guard, as well as food and the basic necessities.
Since he can’t leave his home, and since he has a guard next to him, his employment opportunities are limited..
This means he’s dependent upon the kindness of others to support him.
People have to send him supplies and money so that he’s able to support himself during his time under arrest.
Additionally, Paul has some enemies within the church who are grateful for Paul’s incarceration.
They are using his time away to make a name for themselves.
They are trying to steal his influence upon the church.
Yet, through Paul’s time in jail, he doesn’t complain.
In fact, Philippians is not a negative book at all.
Overall, it’s very positive.
It’s filled with joy.
Back in the 1st chapter, Paul says he’s grateful for his stay in prison, because the imperial guard and people within Rome, have now heard the Gospel.
And when it comes to his enemies who preach from envy and rivalry, he’s even joyful about that.
Because even if their motives are wrong, Christ is being preached; the Gospel is going out.
Paul never complains about things.
Instead, at the end of he says that he has rejoiced, then he says he will continue to rejoice.
He’s rejoiced in the past, and he will rejoice in the future.
Paul desires his joy to be contagious.
Last week, we heard Richard preach, and in verse 4, Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice.”
So there is Paul, in a situation that is way worse then ours, and he is telling us to rejoice.
What’s funny is if we were to compare our lives, ours to Paul’s, our lives are completely opposite.
We don’t live a life like Paul’s.
We aren’t under the same pressures as him.
We don’t suffer like him.
None of us have had to endure the kind of hardships that Paul’s gone through.
You would think that if anyone would have reasons to experience joy, it would be us.
If anything, Paul should be receiving a letter from the Philippians telling him to rejoice and to endure this trial.
The Philippians should be telling Paul, “Cheer up Paul, things aren’t as bad as they could be.”
But no, this is a letter from someone under arrest, and suffering, and he is writing to tell those who have it better to rejoice.
We don’t have the same joy as Paul.
If anything, we are one miss-step from disaster.
A couple weeks ago, there were a series of suicides by high profile celebrities.
These are the people who appear to have it all.
These are the people that we hope our children will one day become; rich and successful.
And yet … while they appeared to have it all, they couldn’t be more disappointed, and they took their own lives.
Don’t you see how there is something wrong here?
Paul is the one suffering and he’s telling others who are not suffering to rejoice.
And then there are those who are not suffering, and they live as if they are.
Think about how quickly we can lose it.
You go to Starbucks and the barista forgets to put whipped cream on your Frappuccino, and all you see is red.
“Why does this happen to me?”
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”
“God is out to get me.”
It’s hot out, and rage clouds your vision.
There’s traffic and suddenly you go from being a nice guy, to Mr. Hyde, and you’re looking for your next victim on the road to destroy.
We have a problem.
And the problem is our thinking.
The first thing I want you to see is that there is great Importance in Your Thinking.
What is it you spend your day thinking about?
What is it you spend your time meditating on?
Where does your mind go, when it just wanders?
Sometimes we forget how vulnerable the mind is.
Sometimes we lower our thinking.
Most people are so casual about their thinking that there is no battle within their mind at all.
They’ve already given up.
They don’t try to control their thoughts, they just go where they go.
We see this played out in
But I’ve got news for you, how you think matters.
Much of the time we place very little emphasis on what we think about.
It’s okay to think certain things as long as we don’t act on them.
Get angry in your mind, just don’t say it out loud.
But Jesus doesn’t see things that way.
Jesus sees man’s problem as coming from within.
In He says, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him.
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.
All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
In the Jesus says that if someone even just lusts after another person within his heart.
He doesn’t even have to act on that thought.
If it’s just a thought, a pondering, a fantasizing, that in God’s eye, the person has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Your thinking matters.
Many times we spend all our time fighting external sins -
You try not to lie.
You try not to cuss out.
You try not to lose your temper and say something you’ll regret.
We try so hard not externally sinning, that we forget that there is an internal battle that needs to be waged as well.
We forget that there are sins that can be committed internally, that are just as damning as those that can be committed externally.
We are not just to do good, but we are also to think good.
says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, …”
How you think matters.
Which why your thinking needs to be guarded.
says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Guard your heart.
Sometimes we forget how vulnerable the mind is.
Never be content merely guarding your actions and not your mind.
Sometimes we lower our thinking.
In , Paul says, “We destroy arguments and lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,“
Most people are so casual about their thinking that there is no battle in their mind at all.
If you desire to actively not sin, then it must begin within the mind of the Christian.
They’ve already given up.
Which brings us to our second point, there is a Need for New Thinking.
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