The right things to think about

What Paul continues here with is what he said in v. 7. That we are to have the peace of God that surpasses understanding. In this passage he tells us what types of thinks to think upon that can bring us peace and the disciplines we can have in our life that create peace.

What does it mean to think about something? To Think about is to meditate on, to give serious thought to, and to put at the forefront of your mind. It is to take into account in your thoughts as you consider your decisions.

Have you ever seen the movie “Yes, Man?” This movie is about a guy who decides to say yes to everything and sees everything negatively and just says no to things because he doesn’t want the commitment. But he starts to say yes to everything and it changes his outlook on life, he develops better relationships with others because he decides to put in the time to do it because he can’t say no when they ask, he does things he never would have tried before. He renews his friendships; builds a bond with his nerdy boss, Norman; attends Korean language classes; persuades a man not to commit suicide, and much more Now, I am not saying you should say yes to everything, in fact there are many things that we need to say no to. But what I want you to see is that he thought about his world differently, he decided to change how he thought about his answers and it changed his life.

See, what we think about will impact our decisions, it will impact how we view others, and the world around us. In fact, what we think about will shape how we view God and shape the type of person that we will be. And if we think about the things that God desires for us to think about then we will shape our minds to be like His.

Paul tells them to remember what they received from Paul, that is the mind of God and the peace of God that comes from that. If we have God’s presence, then we have his peace. So for us to have knowledge from the Lord and to think about these things leads to a life of responsible Christian living.

Things that we think about

So why are each of these things we are called to meditate on? Because these are characteristics that we should be looking for in other people, things that we should value about ourselves, and traits that we should desire to see grow in us.

Things that are:

True - dependable, having a level of honest.

Are you someone who when you speak someone believes what you say? Or are they skeptical?

Do people see you as honest? They aren’t trying to pull the truth from you but you give the full story from the beginning?

Noble or honorable - Worthy of receiving respect and acknowledgement of good character.

When people talk about you what do they say? Do they acknowledge that you are someone who people speak glowingly about or do they have concerns about your motives and actions?

How do you believe other people talk about you? Do you think others have good things or bad things?

Just or right - Desiring for people to be treated equally and good

Are you someone who desires to see the right thing done and for people to be treated fairly and with gentleness? Do you favor those who are close to you and overlook their faults or are you willing to approach a situation removing your pride?

Pure - Having the characteristics and quality of God. Being set apart in your character from others

Do others notice something different about you? Do others recognize your character and the type of person that you are? Or do you just blend in with everyone else?

Lovely - Having a quality of attractiveness in character. People find you to have a beautiful character and enjoyable to be around

Not only are you someone that people recognize, but when people see you or think about you they consider you as someone that is pleasant to be around? Or do they feel like they want to avoid you or that you have an off putting personality?

Does everyone find you to be a gentle and caring person or mean and harsh?

Admirable or commendable - Deserving of praise, living in a way that calls for others to speak to your actions. Not someone who offends others

When others talk about you what do they say? Do they have good things to say? Are they reminded of times when you have helped them or a personality that is worth other people knowing about? Or do other people not want to mention your name?

“Moral excellence” - It is almost saying “if someone is a professional at moral living”

Do you live with a standard of right living? Is your life marked by seeking to live godly and to abide by the laws of the land? or do you seek to twist the rules and to you as long as you don’t get caught then it isn’t of any real consequence?

Do others see you as someone who will direct them to make good decisions or bad decisions?

Praiseworthy - Something that is deserving of us giving recognition and praise toward

Are you living in a way that you deserve to be honored and praised by others?

Now you may say, “I can’t do those, I am too young” or “I don’t think this is such a serious issue” or “why does it matter all that much if I live the way that I want to”. But this is a serious issue. DO you know why? Because if these aren’t the characteristics that you live by then you will not have the peace of God. Because I can show you how in each one of these things that you should think upon that they give you peace.

If you are not speaking truth then you are always going to be afraid someone will catch the lie and always afraid you will trip up on one of your lies.

If you are not living honorably then you are always going to worry about what others think about you and what they say to others about how you live.

If you are not just then you are going to be worried that how you treat others will be how you are treated by someone else one day.

If you do not live for that which is pure and holy you are always going to feel like you are just like everyone else and nothing makes you different. That you are not better than the next person. You will be worried that godliness isn’t in you.

If you are not lovely you will deal with people not wanting to be friends with you and people being mean to you or always feeling like you need to insult others so that you can get the better of others before they get the better of you.

If you are not commendable then you will try to find the wrong ways to be commendable or cut corners to get there or try to remove someone else who is commendable so that you can be.

But Paul gives us the answer to these issues that you will see in your life.

Things that we practice

When anxiety appears, the cure is prayer.

-The reality is that all of us will deal with anxiety because we are sinners. We will all feel like we aren’t good enough, like we want to be a better type of person, or that we can never be that type of person.

-But remember what Paul said in verse 6 “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God will guard your hearts.”

-What Paul is telling them is this. “You feel like you aren’t good enough?” Well then go the God of everything who can not only give you the strength to be the type of person you want to be but also will give you the peace that it is okay you aren’t that type of person yet.”

-Because God is the only one who can make us into the type of person that Paul speaks of, and when we pray about these things we are dwelling and meditating on these qualities and the type of person we would like to become. When we pray about it we are putting the mental energy to consider this type of person.

When life is disorderly, the cure is mental and practical discipline.

Learned, received, heard, seen. Each of these helped these believers to have peace and wisdom.

What Paul tells them to do is to look at the life of others who have the qualities that we desire to have. Whether it is a parent, or a teacher, or a friend, or someone you know at church. If they have one of these qualities you can watch the way that they live. But in order to watch the way that they live you have to be around that person. If you want to be like them but you give your time to video games or to being lazy and not to being around this person than you will not find yourself having their qualities.

Have you noticed any habits that your parents have that you have picked up in your life? Maybe ones that you wished you didn’t have?

-See my dad always liked to sing in weird voices. Like it would just be a normal song on the radio and he would start singing opera style or singing really low. And I would always be like “what are you doing?”

-But I have now found myself doing this in my life. There are so many things that I do that my dad did and it is totally unconscious, it is just the habits that you learn.

So who in your life do you learn from? Who do you dwell on the way that they live their life?

-If your life is full of tiktok, and social media influences, and YouTube channels, and celebrities. Then who do you think you will be learning from?

-Because you will learn and receive from those you watch.

-You will pick up habits from someone and what you pick up will either help you find peace or it will be you stress and anxiety.

But if you learn mental and practical discipline you will have a life that begins to have peace. Because those whose lives are shaped by the Gospel will have peace in even the worst circumstances, which we will get to more next week. Peace comes from our recognition that we can’t do it on our own, recognizing that we need a Savior, that He gives us strength and knows that we aren’t perfect, and helps us to grow into who He has called us to be.