Mind - Phil 4:4-9

Mind - Phil 4:4-9

James Wallace / General; Youth Group; Kids

Mind / Philippians 4:4–9

Phil 4:4-9

4 Rejoice[a] in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.[b] 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, beloved,[c] whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about[d] these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Talk:

Do you know that our minds have anything between 40,000-60,000 thoughts a day that is 2,500-3,300 thoughts an hour or between 41-55 thoughts every second!

Now, I don’t know about you but that is a lot of processing going on. It turns out that a lot of these thoughts are completely useless because they pass through our minds at such speeds that we hardly notice them. Our minds are occupied by random words and phrases that have come up in recent conversations as well as lots of senseless mind wandering or daydreaming.

I don’t know if you’re anything like but I’m really good of thinking of things a long time after an argument or debate has happened. I must spend hours thinking if only I had said this or why didn’t I say that.

When you see this glass of water is it – half full or half empty? So, what kind of a person are you? Are your thoughts more positive or negative?

In general, it is fair to say that most of us struggle with negative thoughts from time to time. Now negative thoughts aren’t bad within themselves as they help us to remain humble and remember that we are not the finished product.

The problem with negative thoughts is when they become negative emotions which then means we feel down which can mean we can feel angry or frustrated, which can then develop into feelings of anxiety or depression.

Negative thoughts can also affect us physically which can mean that we don’t look after ourselves properly by not eating properly or not washing etc.

Ultimately, negative thoughts can close down a sense of hope, it can impact others negatively and make life feel pointless.

Mental Health

Which brings me onto the subject of Mental Health the Charity Mind says that 1 in 4 people in Britain will experience some kind of a Mental Health problem in a given year. So those listening today will either have or know of someone with a diagnosed condition and probably know all too well of the impact that can have.

This morning, I am not suggesting a quick fix in terms of mental health because it is so much more complex than that. I am not suggesting that it is simply changing thinking from negative to positive. Nor I am suggesting that any Mental Health conditions such as depression are a choice or people should stop taking medication in fact I believe the opposite is true – that God can use the medication to bring healing and help people connect with him.

What I am saying is that God is us in the struggle and what may help is thinking about the good positive, Christ focus things and in this you may find peace. That peace that can only come from God as Paul says in verse 7: “Peace that surpasses all understanding.” For me that means a place of peace no matter how low or difficult life gets we can find peace even within the darkness.

Context

When we look at the passage in context NT Wright suggests: “Anxiety was a way of life for many in the ancient pagan world. With so many gods and goddesses, all of them potentially out to get you for some offence you mightn’t even know about, you never knew whether something bad was waiting for you just round the corner. With the God who had now revealed himself in Jesus, there was no guarantee (as we’ve seen) against suffering, but there was the certainty that this God was ultimately in control and that he would always hear and answer prayers on any topic whatever.”[1]

I would therefore suggest that we not that different from the church in Phili and there are plenty of things to be anxious about whether it be our health, our security, our family, wider society or even world pandemic. But how do we think about better things, how do we think more positively?

This morning I want to suggest three things to help our resolve – that we need to choose to think on good Godly things, second, to rejoice and third, to trust God.

Choice

First, I believe these verses command a choice. We must choose if we are think about: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise” we chooses whether we will think about that or not. Here it is very much individual responsibility to be gentle, to pray and to be thankful which will lead to being joyful.

Rejoice

Second, we need to rejoice or find joy whatever the circumstances. What is so interesting about Paul is that in his prayers Paul never asks God to change his circumstances. In fact, Paul was in prison at the time of writing to the Church in Philipi and was writing to a church not crisis but to show his appreciation despite his own situation, therefore, was able to rejoice. But you might say, you don’t know how tough things are right now for me? You don’t know how distant God feels right now?

There is song written by a couple called Matt and Beth Redman called Blessed be your Name - which was written out of a response to the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. It reflects on the faithful response to suffering we see all throughout Scripture, especially from Job: praise.

The song quotes Job 21:1 - Job was a godly man to whom the Lord had given a large family and many possessions. But in just one day Job suffered four devastating losses, wherein all his children were killed and his belongings either stolen or destroyed. Job’s response was astounding:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

This is why Paul is so clear about rejoicing saying: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice’ the word ‘rejoice’ is so important to rejoice that he says it twice!

When we rejoice, we will then know that the Lord is near, and we can trust him.

Trust

Finally, because we can trust it can help to focus our minds which brings about that peace that surpasses all knowledge and understanding.

When we trust, we no longer depend on our current situation or circumstance but look above it and beyond it to God.

When we trust we can know the truth that God is with us wherever we are and no matter how tough it gets.

When we trust in God, he will honour us for our faithfulness in difficult times.

When we trust in God, we trust that justice will one put all things right one day.

When we trust in God, we trust in the one who is pure and holy but yet loves us just as we are.

Finally, as we are reminded in verse 9: ‘Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.’ This is referring to Paul’s teaching and his example – so ultimately it is a call to action to resolve and fix our minds good godly things that will give us life.

So today choose to follow God to be gentle, to be prayerful to be thankful. Second rejoice whatever the circumstances and know God is with you. Third, trust in the God of all peace, of all comfort, of all grace and of all love to be with you this year. Then and only then will we find resolve and true peace of mind which can give hope to all.

Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 15:50 15 January 2021.

[1] Wright, T. (2004). Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (p. 131). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.