Whatever is Noble.

We Live in a World that is Crazy

People are in it.

People Worry about anything.

Normal

Money

Health

things.

Weird Fears

Arachibutyrophobia: Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth

Phobophobia: Fear of having a phobia

Dextrophobia: Fear of having objects to your right

Geliophobia: Fear of laughter

Omphalophobia: Fear of belly buttons

The Real Problem

There are and incredible real things to worry about.

There is a tremendous amount of things to worry about. LOTS. We are born into a world where trouble is as sure as sparks fly upward.

Most of the things we have to worry about have no real answer.

The

A person has to job offers .. which one do you choose.

Pray until you hear this audible voice from heaven.

You’re trying to determine which car to buy

I’m not saying don’t pray, I’m just saying at some point you should just realize that God is going to bless you no matter what path you take.

When you get to the fork in the road - take it.

There are some things we can do..

pray

use your God given mind.

pray

seek wisdom from other believers

Hold it us to the thinking test.

Before we jump in.

Let me tell you my dream

I have watched people get into a cycle of negative thinking that really leads to great anguish and hurt. Not only in their life, but in the life of others as well.

it blocks faith

It robs us of our blessings and our joy, and hope.

My dream is that I, with the help of the Holy Spirit and the truth that can be found in the Word will help you to shake off “stinking thinking” and trade it for thoughts that will glorify God and give you joy unspeakable and a hope that breaks through the darkness that threatens to overwhelm us.

Today we talk about the second thing listed in

Philippians 4:7–8 NIV

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

This verse is the path to the goal.

Philippians 4:4–6 NIV

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Phi 4:4-6

Rejoicing is constant

Harshness is gone and gentleness reigns.

Anxiety is destroyed

Prayer and Petition becomes powerful.

The Challenge

We are people

We don’t do this very well.

It needs to be learned.

Philippians 4:12 NIV

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

LEARNED

The Tool.

Philippians 4:7–8 NIV

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

A couple things we will find.

Whatever the thing is that we are to think about … it can only be found in Christ.

Hebrews 12:2 NIV

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Whatever our opinions are - they really don’t matter unless they line up with His opinions.

Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3:5–6 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Let’s talk about the topic.

Noble - (semnos) - greek- means worthy of respect, honorable.

The world gets this all messed up.

Your supposed to respect everyone.

The first person you should respect is yourself.

The issue with this is the “worthy”

Aretha Franklin sings the song

Reading through the Lyrics the only reason she deserves it is that she isn’t going to do wrong to whoever she is singing to

So the absence of wrong doing deserves respect.

There is no one righteous - not even one.

I want a college that sees me the way I do.

accept me the way I am irregardless of how I am.

Again --- I AM NOT SAYING TREAT PEOPLE RUDELY

The question is when our thoughts are spiraling out of control to the abyss of negativity towards our self and others.... what are who is noble.

There is only one.

Revelation 4:11 NIV

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

rev 5:9

Revelation 5:9 NIV

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

Psalm 18:3 NIV

I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.

ps 18:3

I looked hard in the Bible to find a verse the told me that I was worthy and the only thing that even cam close were those verses of those that linked us to Him.

What does all that mean?

Let’s go to my great hope

Life has alot of things we can be hurting about or worrying about.

The tendency of people is to get into a cycle of negative thinking that is hard to escape from. When you find yourself thinking negative - change them. -

Yes you can.

Conclusion

Wait, is this true?

Does this bring honor to God?

Would the Lord Jesus affirm this as truth and receive honor from me focusing on it?

We live in hard times where hard things happen. Bad things happen to good people and good thing happen to bad people. People are rude or they just want their way. From time to time life can just be .. stuff. And that stuff is looking to wreck you and it’s best tool is to start twisting your mind toward false realities and grow seeds of fear, anxiety, worry, distrust, lust, hatred, and frustration.

But none of that is real in His eyes. we say its STUFF. HE SAYS its just stuff. The plan is much bigger......

Let’s pray.