THINKING ON THE MASTER'S PLAN
Thesis
Introduction
Peace involves the heart and the mind.“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee” (Isa. 26:3). Wrong thinking leads to wrong feeling, and before long the heart and mind are pulled apart and we are strangled by worry.
We must realize that thoughts are real and powerful, even though they cannot be seen, weighed, or measured. We must bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
Interrogative
What do you spend time thinking about? With what do you fill your mind?
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7
Exposition
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7
REPLACE THE STINKING THINKING WITH RIGHT THINKING
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are shonest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Dr. Walter Cavert reported a survey on worry that indicated that only 8 percent of the things people worried about were legitimate matters of concern! The other 92 percent were either imaginary, never happened, or involved matters over which the people had no control anyway. Satan is the liar (John 8:44), and he wants to corrupt our minds with his lies (2 Cor. 11:3)
The Holy Spirit controls our minds through truth (John 17:17; 1 John 5:6), but the devil tries to control them through lies. Whenever we believe a lie, Satan takes over!
First, believers should think about what is true (alethe). The word “true” has many meanings. Truth includes facts and statements that are (1) in accordance with reality (not lies, rumors, or embellishments); (2) sincere (not deceitful or with evil motives); and (3) loyal, faithful, proper, reliable, and genuine. Truth is a characteristic of God (Romans 3:4).
There are many things that are not respectable, and Christians should not think about these things. This does not mean we hide our heads in the sand and avoid what is unpleasant and displeasing, but it does mean we do not focus our attention on dishonorable things and permit them to control our thoughts.
Thoughts and plans that are right (or “just” NRSV; the Greek word is dikaios) meet God’s standards of rightness. They are in keeping with the truth; they are righteous.
Pure (hagnos) means free from contamination or blemish; these thoughts are unmixed and unmodified; they are wholesome.
“Pure” probably refers to moral purity, since the people then, as now, were constantly attacked by temptations to sexual impurity
Paul was referring to thoughts of great moral and spiritual beauty, not of evil. The NRSV translates the word as “pleasing.” However, because the sinful human nature can perversely find evil to be “pleasing,” the word “lovely” or “beautiful” is preferable.
translated “admirable” in NIV. It refers to things that speak well of the thinker—thoughts that recommend, give confidence in, afford approval or praise, reveal positive and constructive thinking. A believer’s thoughts, if heard by others, should be commendable, not condemnatory.
Whatever possesses virtue and praise. If it has virtue, it will motivate us to do better; and if it has praise, it is worth commending to others. No Christian can afford to waste “mind power” on thoughts that tear him down or that would tear others down if these thoughts were shared.
The Christian who fills his heart and mind with God’s Word will have a “built-in radar” for detecting wrong thoughts. “Great peace have they which love Thy Law” (Ps. 119:165). Right thinking is the result of daily meditation on the Word of God.
LET RIGHT THINKING TRANSFORM YOUR LIVING
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
You cannot separate outward action and inward attitude. Sin always results in unrest (unless the conscience is seared), and purity ought to result in peace. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and peace” (Isa. 32:17). “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable” (James 3:17). Right living is a necessary condition for experiencing the peace of God.
Paul balances four activities: “learned and received” and “heard and seen.” It is one thing to learn a truth, but quite another to receive it inwardly and make it a part of our inner man (see 1 Thes. 2:13).
and the God of peace shall be with you.
Many people today seek to have the peace of God without having to deal with God, who is the author of true peace. But that can’t be done. To know peace, we must know God.
“The peace of God” is one test of whether or not we are in the will of God. “Let the peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts” (Col. 3:15, WMS). If we are walking with the Lord, then the peace of God and the God of peace exercise their influence over our hearts. Whenever we disobey, we lose that peace and we know we have done something wrong. God’s peace is the “umpire” that calls us “out”!
Right praying, right thinking, and right living: these are the conditions for having the secure mind and victory over worry. As Philippians 4 is the “peace chapter” of the New Testament, James 4 is the “war chapter.” It begins with a question: “From whence come wars and fightings among you?” James explains the causes of war: wrong praying (“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss,” James 4:3), wrong thinking (“purify your hearts, ye double-minded,” James 4:8), and wrong living (“know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?” James 4:4). There is no middle ground. Either we yield heart and mind to the Spirit of God and practice right praying, thinking, and living; or we yield to the flesh and find ourselves torn apart by worry.
There is no need to worry! And, worry is a sin! (Have you read Matt. 6:24–34 lately?) With the peace of God to guard us and the God of peace to guide us—why worry?
GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT
What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, commendable, virtuous, and praiseworthy. Do you have problems with impure thoughts and daydreams? Examine what you are putting into your mind through television, books, music, conversations, movies, and magazines. Replace harmful input with wholesome material. Above all, read God’s Word and pray. Ask God to help you focus your mind on what is good and pure. It takes practice, but it can be done.