Philippians 4:8, 9 says,...
Today's verses are Philippians 4:8, 9 which read,
v.8 - Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
If you remember, this is Paul's second "finally." He said "finally" at the start of chapter three and so like any good preacher he gives you a second "finally" before the end of the sermon or letter. There was some discord in the Philippian church between a couple of ladies. Paul calls on them to forgive and the church to help them forgive so that they can rejoice in the Lord, have a gentle spirit known to all men, be praying to God rather than worrying, and receiving the peace of God which guards themselves to be in Christ.
What are we to dwell on? Here is another list from Paul.
true - in relationship to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit declared through the Bible
honorable - that which is worthy of respect
right - what is in harmony with what God says is right and wrong
pure - our morals are to be clean
lovely - whatever is kind, the things that make you go "ahhh" wasn't that nice
of good repute - highly regarded and thought well of
These are the things that are to occupy our minds. They can as we bring our thoughts before Christ and submit them to His ways.
v.9 - The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Paul gives another list. He is listing out all the ways that we gather information to use it. We learn things by personal experience or study. We receive things like this letter to the Philippians from Paul. We hear things that need to be coupled with seeing things in the ones that we are hearing the things from. It allows us to see that they are not just saying it but actually living it. Paul has given the Philippian Christians all of these things.
They have learned personally from him. They have received this letter and also personal messengers from him. They have been able to hear him and watch him to make the correlation between the two that it is authentic and genuine. Now the ball is in their court to practice what they have learned, received, heard, and seen. A good teacher knows that the first four are great but if it doesn't result in action, practice, then it was just for the head and has not penetrated the heart.
Again, the peace of God or the God of peace will be with us when we set our minds on His things and we practice in life how He has given us to live. There is a strong connection between what I know and what I do and the work of the peace of God in my life when the two are in agreement.
How is your mind today? What are you dwelling on? It is very hard and I would say impossible to dwell on this list that Paul gives us if we have an unforgiving attitude and allowing sin to linger that needs to be confessed. We have the knowledge given by the Word of God and also the teachers and mentors who are living out such a life before us sent by God to intersect with our lives. They are saying, "Don't just know what we know but join us in living what we know." Therefore, I dwell on these things so that I can live them out. Let's pray.
"Lord, how our thoughts drive our actions. In the practice of godly actions, they help protect our thoughts. This is Your doing to guard us from following Satan's ways to pollute our minds and the results of ungodly actions. Thank you for those You have put in my path to learn from, to receive from, to hear from, and to see in action so I can do the same. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.8 - Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
If you remember, this is Paul's second "finally." He said "finally" at the start of chapter three and so like any good preacher he gives you a second "finally" before the end of the sermon or letter. There was some discord in the Philippian church between a couple of ladies. Paul calls on them to forgive and the church to help them forgive so that they can rejoice in the Lord, have a gentle spirit known to all men, be praying to God rather than worrying, and receiving the peace of God which guards themselves to be in Christ.
What are we to dwell on? Here is another list from Paul.
true - in relationship to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit declared through the Bible
honorable - that which is worthy of respect
right - what is in harmony with what God says is right and wrong
pure - our morals are to be clean
lovely - whatever is kind, the things that make you go "ahhh" wasn't that nice
of good repute - highly regarded and thought well of
These are the things that are to occupy our minds. They can as we bring our thoughts before Christ and submit them to His ways.
v.9 - The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Paul gives another list. He is listing out all the ways that we gather information to use it. We learn things by personal experience or study. We receive things like this letter to the Philippians from Paul. We hear things that need to be coupled with seeing things in the ones that we are hearing the things from. It allows us to see that they are not just saying it but actually living it. Paul has given the Philippian Christians all of these things.
They have learned personally from him. They have received this letter and also personal messengers from him. They have been able to hear him and watch him to make the correlation between the two that it is authentic and genuine. Now the ball is in their court to practice what they have learned, received, heard, and seen. A good teacher knows that the first four are great but if it doesn't result in action, practice, then it was just for the head and has not penetrated the heart.
Again, the peace of God or the God of peace will be with us when we set our minds on His things and we practice in life how He has given us to live. There is a strong connection between what I know and what I do and the work of the peace of God in my life when the two are in agreement.
How is your mind today? What are you dwelling on? It is very hard and I would say impossible to dwell on this list that Paul gives us if we have an unforgiving attitude and allowing sin to linger that needs to be confessed. We have the knowledge given by the Word of God and also the teachers and mentors who are living out such a life before us sent by God to intersect with our lives. They are saying, "Don't just know what we know but join us in living what we know." Therefore, I dwell on these things so that I can live them out. Let's pray.
"Lord, how our thoughts drive our actions. In the practice of godly actions, they help protect our thoughts. This is Your doing to guard us from following Satan's ways to pollute our minds and the results of ungodly actions. Thank you for those You have put in my path to learn from, to receive from, to hear from, and to see in action so I can do the same. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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