WEBVTT 00:00:00.900 --> 00:00:03.899 Good morning church, how are we doing? 00:00:04.633 --> 00:00:07.900 Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. 00:00:07.900 --> 00:00:10.699 Hope it is a great time for you. 00:00:10.699 --> 00:00:19.166 It was so great in fact, we assumed that we decided to make sure the elevators weren't working this morning. 00:00:19.166 --> 00:00:20.600 So that everybody had to take the stairs. 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:23.432 Okay, so, I'm just kidding. 00:00:23.432 --> 00:00:25.233 Totally not on purpose. 00:00:25.233 --> 00:00:32.865 So sorry for the inconvenience, but, hey, there's nothing wrong walking a couple steps here, but so glad that you chose to worship with us this morning. 00:00:32.865 --> 00:00:36.133 And to begin the service with baptism, to enter the time of worship. 00:00:36.133 --> 00:00:38.432 And now to get in God's Word. 00:00:38.432 --> 00:00:42.000 We have so many reasons to be thankful for. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:57.200 We have so many things that we can be thankful for, and I pray that this season you allow those things to sink into your mind that you would hold and and and cherish those things that you can be thankful for. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:00.399 There's so many things that we can choose to think about, right? 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:07.400 But I pray this season you chose to think of the things that that we should be giving thanks for, particularly to God. 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:09.365 But I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. 00:01:09.365 --> 00:01:17.933 We had a great Thanksgiving, but, I've had this struggle over the years with Thanksgiving, and it's somewhat of a difficulty for me. 00:01:17.933 --> 00:01:38.200 And I think it's probably one of the most difficult things about Thanksgiving is being able to approach a Thanksgiving feast and discerning what's making it on your plate, even if you have the special wide plates, you know what I'm talking about. 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:49.500 You still probably can't fit everything on to that plate, and by the time you get through a plate or 2 or 3, you know you have to really choose what you want on that plate. 00:01:49.500 --> 00:01:52.365 And I know nobody in this room overate this year. 00:01:52.365 --> 00:01:55.099 I think we can all put our hands on the Bible and swear to that, right? 00:01:55.099 --> 00:01:56.933 Nobody overate this year. 00:01:56.933 --> 00:02:04.865 But, when when it's coming to picking out what I want for Thanksgiving, I sometimes have some difficulty. 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:07.000 But I've kind of learned myself. 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:09.866 What I like to do is I like to go last. 00:02:09.866 --> 00:02:22.800 I like to step back and kind of game plan what I'm going to do and what's going on to my plate so that I don't miss out on what I really want, because it's easy to go to the front of line and just get everything at the front, and then you get to the end. 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:30.165 You're like, oh, why did I miss the the corn pudding or the mashed potatoes when I, when I filled up on this. Right? 00:02:30.165 --> 00:02:32.032 Y'all get what I'm saying. 00:02:32.032 --> 00:02:33.000 So it's difficult. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:47.566 But this is important to consider and to sift through your options and listen this morning we're going to talk about being able to, using our minds and considering and sifting and filtering through options. 00:02:47.832 --> 00:02:52.265 And so this morning we're going to be in Philippians chapter four verses eight and nine. 00:02:52.265 --> 00:02:57.265 Here's the idea that we're going to look at, this morning. Here it is. 00:02:58.733 --> 00:03:06.599 The Christian must stay active in filtering their thoughts and practices. 00:03:07.500 --> 00:03:12.165 The Christian must stay active in this way. 00:03:12.165 --> 00:03:15.599 So we looked last week at verses six and seven, our memory verses. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:17.233 Do not be anxious about anything. 00:03:17.233 --> 00:03:20.366 But in everything with prayer and supplication. 00:03:20.366 --> 00:03:21.733 With. 00:03:21.733 --> 00:03:23.432 With prayer and what not now. 00:03:23.432 --> 00:03:24.532 I'm messing up. 00:03:24.532 --> 00:03:25.800 Do not be anxious about anything. 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:30.932 But in everything, with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 00:03:30.932 --> 00:03:42.032 But then this verse in verse seven says, and the peace of God which guards your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:50.900 So the question really has to be asked in if our hearts and our minds are guarded by the peace of God. 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:52.265 What are they supposed to do now? 00:03:53.233 --> 00:04:02.800 If my heart and my mind, particularly this morning, my mind if it's guarded by the peace of God from anxious thoughts, what are they supposed to do now? 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:05.800 Are they supposed to go into idle mode? 00:04:05.832 --> 00:04:12.400 Or is our mind supposed to go into, a sit back and I can just coast through life now? 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:16.699 I don't have to stay active, but I can be passive in my thoughts. 00:04:16.766 --> 00:04:23.399 What Paul's going to do is he's going to jump right into what we're supposed to do now in light of what he just said. 00:04:23.399 --> 00:04:25.399 We shouldn't be anxious. 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:31.899 The peace of God is now guarding our minds and our hearts in Christ Jesus through it, through our prayers. 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:34.600 But now, what are we supposed to do? 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:42.399 So as we consider this idea of what it means to filter or sort or sift through our thoughts and our practices, what we do. 00:04:42.399 --> 00:04:53.800 I pray that this would make an impact on your life, because I think this is something that is easily overlooked or not considered in the Christian life. 00:04:53.865 --> 00:04:57.365 But your thoughts are incredibly important. 00:04:57.365 --> 00:05:00.233 And so we're going to see here in two verses what this means. 00:05:00.233 --> 00:05:04.800 So Philippians chapter four, verse eight, the word is going to be on the screen for us this morning. 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:08.300 And this is what Paul says as he's starting to wrap up this book. 00:05:09.266 --> 00:05:13.733 He begins, finally, Paul's way of kind of wrapping up his argument. 00:05:13.733 --> 00:05:31.899 He began it in verse four, finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, look what he says. 00:05:31.899 --> 00:05:34.899 Think about these things. 00:05:34.899 --> 00:05:36.932 Think. 00:05:36.932 --> 00:05:41.865 This word think is one of Paul's favorite words that he uses in his letters. 00:05:41.865 --> 00:05:52.365 It's a Greek word that he uses 27 times in his letters, and the rest of the New Testament only uses it six, so we could say Paul really liked this word. 00:05:52.365 --> 00:05:57.833 It means to think, to reckon, to consider, or to meditate. 00:05:58.632 --> 00:06:01.632 This is not a, a fleeting thought. 00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:03.466 It's not one thought, and then it's gone. 00:06:03.466 --> 00:06:08.300 This is a a meditating thought that Paul's saying, and he says, think. 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:11.733 In fact, he's already said it in the book. 00:06:11.733 --> 00:06:13.932 You go back to chapter three, verse 15. 00:06:13.932 --> 00:06:19.300 He says, let those of us who are mature think this way. 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:24.632 Chapter two, verse five, he says, have this mind among yourselves in Christ Jesus. 00:06:24.632 --> 00:06:27.399 Have this mindset, this attitude. 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:50.800 What Paul wants us to do is what I think as a Christian, as a believer, we are supposed to think. So listen, the Christian life is meant to be thoughtful and not, if I can say it this way, mentally idle, inactive, lazy, passive. 00:06:51.100 --> 00:06:57.033 That is, the thought enters our mind and then we don't address it. 00:06:57.399 --> 00:07:02.233 A thought enters our mind and we allow it to stay in our mind. 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:05.699 But Paul says, you need to think. 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.665 I want to get to what he he means by that in just a second. 00:07:08.665 --> 00:07:14.165 But but just to help us, I think all of us know what a thought is. 00:07:14.932 --> 00:07:18.132 But they can be sometimes hard to define or measure. 00:07:18.132 --> 00:07:20.766 But there's a Christian writer named Dallas Willard. 00:07:20.766 --> 00:07:23.966 He wrote a book called renovation of the heart. 00:07:23.966 --> 00:07:28.132 He says it in this way, and I think it's helpful for me and maybe helpful for you. 00:07:28.132 --> 00:07:34.932 He says, by thoughts, we mean all of the ways in which we are conscious of things. 00:07:34.932 --> 00:07:39.766 Now, clearly, our thoughts are one of the most basic sources of our life. 00:07:39.766 --> 00:07:50.100 They determine the orientation of everything we do and evoke feelings that frame our world and motivate our actions to several things to note here. 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:51.300 Our thoughts are important. 00:07:52.266 --> 00:08:04.132 How you think will orient and frame your life, don't they not? Honestly your thoughts and your emotions are connected, but your thoughts you've got control over to a certain extent. 00:08:04.132 --> 00:08:09.899 We have the ability to think and direct, and so they're really important. 00:08:10.233 --> 00:08:19.766 Everything that we're conscious, if you may have thoughts pop into your mind, but you also can consciously set your mind towards things. 00:08:19.966 --> 00:08:20.966 So let me say it this way. 00:08:20.966 --> 00:08:27.665 Our minds should remain active to sift through our thoughts. 00:08:28.665 --> 00:08:35.600 If you're like me, I am sometimes terrible with my mail. 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:45.000 When I go to the mailbox, get my big stack of mail between the the advertisements and the sales and the bills and occasionally the nice thank you notes. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:48.633 Those are nice, but mostly it's everything that I don't want. 00:08:48.633 --> 00:08:56.799 I know if I don't deal with that stack of mail right then and there, it's going to end up on my counter in my kitchen. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:02.232 And before you know it, I've got two, three, four stacks of mail and then it's taken over a whole side. 00:09:02.232 --> 00:09:06.865 So I've learned about myself that as soon as I get that mail, I've got to sift through it. 00:09:06.865 --> 00:09:09.232 I got to go through and think, all right, this is unimportant. 00:09:09.232 --> 00:09:10.200 This is not needed. 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:12.000 I don't want this. This is important. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:14.265 Now I'm going to deal with this. 00:09:14.265 --> 00:09:16.533 And this is the same way with our thoughts. 00:09:17.832 --> 00:09:28.299 If we approach our thoughts with this thing of, oh, well, I'll get to that later, I'll allow that thought to stay and I'll deal with it later on. 00:09:28.299 --> 00:09:30.399 I don't want to deal with it. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:32.832 That can cause problems. 00:09:32.832 --> 00:09:39.332 So I think what Paul is beginning to show us is that we need to be active in thinking and sifting through our thoughts. 00:09:39.332 --> 00:09:48.966 Be so -- Listen, it is risky to allow an unexamined or an unresolved thought to take root in your mind. 00:09:48.966 --> 00:09:52.732 That is a thought that we haven't really thought through. 00:09:53.232 --> 00:09:56.666 A thought comes into our mind and we don't consider what it means. 00:09:56.666 --> 00:09:57.432 We don't. 00:09:57.432 --> 00:10:01.865 We don't entertain if it's good or for it's bad if it's true or for it's a lie. 00:10:01.865 --> 00:10:05.033 And we just allow that thought to burrow into our mind. 00:10:05.033 --> 00:10:06.633 And before you know it, it's there. 00:10:07.633 --> 00:10:09.799 And you can't discern it. 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:12.865 Because once it gets in there and it's planted in your mind, it's hard to get out. 00:10:12.865 --> 00:10:15.133 Is it not? 00:10:15.133 --> 00:10:19.966 So listen, the thoughts that are planted in your mind, in my mind. 00:10:19.966 --> 00:10:20.399 Listen. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:23.399 They will shape your life. 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:27.299 23 says something similar. 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:31.399 It says about our heart, but it's true of our mind as well. 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:33.799 It says, guard your heart. 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:35.232 Why? 00:10:35.232 --> 00:10:38.533 For from it come the springs of life. 00:10:40.265 --> 00:10:40.865 You're. 00:10:40.865 --> 00:10:45.832 The orientation of your life is directed by your thoughts and by your heart. 00:10:45.832 --> 00:10:51.200 And so Paul is saying, listen, we need to think. 00:10:51.832 --> 00:10:55.932 And I want to be honest with you, this morning I looked up, just to be sure. 00:10:55.932 --> 00:10:58.432 Studies kind of vary on this. 00:10:58.432 --> 00:11:03.600 Some studies, older studies said that we have up to 70,000 thoughts in a day. 00:11:04.832 --> 00:11:13.066 Those have largely been disproven, but it's more in the range of 6 to 6500 thoughts in a day. 00:11:13.332 --> 00:11:15.299 That's a lot of thoughts. 00:11:15.299 --> 00:11:27.666 How do I sift through all of those and listen, I understand that we're not going to be able to sift and filter and go through every single thought, because some thoughts will come into our mind and they're gone in a moment. 00:11:27.666 --> 00:11:30.666 I ask my wife, okay. 00:11:30.765 --> 00:11:34.365 Sorry, sweetie, but that's the way thoughts work. 00:11:34.365 --> 00:11:40.332 Sometimes thoughts come in and go out, but there are a lot of thoughts that come into our mind. 00:11:40.332 --> 00:11:42.000 But we don't think about them. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:44.732 We just let them sit with the unbearable and get into our mind. 00:11:44.732 --> 00:11:54.332 So listen, you cannot control every thought that comes to your mind, but you can capture and evaluate them. 00:11:54.732 --> 00:11:56.832 You can. 00:11:56.832 --> 00:12:05.200 You can take hold of them, evaluate them, whether to keep them to think more about them or to get rid of them. 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:08.033 It takes a lot of discipline in this way. 00:12:08.033 --> 00:12:11.466 I can't begin to go into the ins and outs in the psychological part of that. 00:12:11.466 --> 00:12:12.966 I'm gonna have to get Debbie Edds up here for that. 00:12:12.966 --> 00:12:23.232 But but for for our sake, there is a way that we can capture those thoughts, deal with them and evaluate them if they are good, true, right, holy, pure as we're going to see. 00:12:23.232 --> 00:12:24.765 Does that make sense? 00:12:24.765 --> 00:12:31.200 We might have an intrusive thought, might have thoughts that come from our subconscious that we aren't in control of. 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:37.666 They come into our mind, but we have the ability to take hold of them and then evaluate. 00:12:37.666 --> 00:12:39.432 Choose. My first point this morning. 00:12:39.432 --> 00:12:43.066 We need to take every thought captive. 00:12:44.566 --> 00:12:46.600 Paul says it this way. 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:49.832 He says it this way in a verse, and that's why I'm using it in this language. 00:12:49.832 --> 00:12:52.332 I love this language is a great mental picture. 00:12:52.332 --> 00:12:55.033 Thought comes, I'm taking it. 00:12:55.033 --> 00:12:56.332 What does this mean? 00:12:56.332 --> 00:12:57.832 Is this good? Is is bad for me? 00:12:57.832 --> 00:12:59.566 Is it not good for me? 00:12:59.566 --> 00:13:00.966 If it's good, I'm holding on to it. 00:13:00.966 --> 00:13:01.799 I'm soaking it. It's. 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:02.600 This is a good thought. 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:09.166 If it's not throwing it away, look at Second Corinthians ten, verse five. 00:13:09.166 --> 00:13:21.732 Paul is addressing the church in Corinth for the second time, and he says, we destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 00:13:24.865 --> 00:13:47.732 I think what Paul would say to us is we should not allow thoughts to linger in our mind that are going to harm us, thoughts in our mind that are going to drive us into a direction of our life, that we don't want to go in because our thoughts will orient us towards a particular way, does it not? Just as it's a warning, it's an encouragement. 00:13:47.732 --> 00:13:49.633 So let's get back to this verse. 00:13:49.633 --> 00:14:03.966 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 00:14:04.932 --> 00:14:05.799 Now. 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:07.732 Paul's helpful here. 00:14:07.732 --> 00:14:14.765 He gives us six categories, if we can put it this way, six categories of thought that we should have. 00:14:14.765 --> 00:14:15.600 He helps define them. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:18.000 And these are really broad categories. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:21.799 We likely don't think of our thoughts in this way. And that's okay. 00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:28.365 But coming from the Bible, I think this can be helpful in a perspective of how we should and ought to think. 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:33.799 And then at the very end, he gives us even two even broader categories to help us think of it. 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:43.700 But I want to take us each category at a time very briefly and kind of lay out, I think what Paul's saying here, okay, so he says whatever six times, whatever. 00:14:43.732 --> 00:14:46.533 He's given us these big broad categories to include all these thoughts. 00:14:46.533 --> 00:14:57.066 So he says, first, whatever is true, that is we need to think about things that are true, think about things that are honest. 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:01.200 So we know what that means, that we shouldn't think about. Right. 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:03.732 We don't think about things that are untrue. 00:15:03.732 --> 00:15:10.033 We don't allow untrue thoughts about you, about the world, about our life to stay in our heads. 00:15:10.033 --> 00:15:12.000 We get them out. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:24.899 Secondly, he says, whatever is honorable things that are honorable, that bring honor to us, to other people, to society, we think on those things and those that bring dishonor or shame. 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:26.799 We get rid of them. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:27.399 Make sense? 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:32.932 See what he's doing, and he says, whatever is just, whatever is right, lawful. 00:15:33.966 --> 00:15:39.466 We need to think on those things and things that are unjust or or things that aren't correct aren't right. 00:15:39.466 --> 00:15:40.566 We need to get rid of them. 00:15:41.932 --> 00:15:48.966 What is lovely, what is beautiful, what is pleasing we need to think on. 00:15:48.966 --> 00:15:55.633 But things that are ugly, disgusting, remove them. 00:15:55.633 --> 00:16:06.799 Last, whatever is commendable, whatever is, is, is reputable, whatever is seen and by other people as good and as right. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:08.232 Those are the things we should think about. 00:16:08.232 --> 00:16:12.133 But the things that are not commendable we should get rid of. 00:16:12.133 --> 00:16:13.832 And and again, two broad categories. 00:16:13.832 --> 00:16:20.899 If there's any excellence that is moral goodness, if there's anything that's good, think about them. 00:16:20.899 --> 00:16:23.899 But if it's bad, if it's evil, get it out. 00:16:23.899 --> 00:16:26.932 Last but not least, if there's anything worthy of praise. 00:16:26.932 --> 00:16:28.133 This is kind of like commendable. 00:16:28.133 --> 00:16:37.332 What he's saying here is anything that we do or say or think that would be worthy and reputable, we should also do and hold those thoughts. 00:16:38.533 --> 00:16:40.633 So do you see what he's doing here? 00:16:40.633 --> 00:16:47.533 He's giving us categories so that we can filter them through whether we should have these thoughts or not. 00:16:47.533 --> 00:16:52.899 But there's a pastor kind of helped me understand this a little bit, because I was chewing on this a lot. 00:16:52.899 --> 00:16:57.299 And Pastor John Piper, speaker, writer, author, amazing man. 00:16:57.299 --> 00:17:00.732 He kind of helped me understand this, but he brought this to light. 00:17:00.732 --> 00:17:04.099 And these aren't his words, but they're really close to what he would say. 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:06.700 He said, here's the point. 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:17.099 I'll just tell them our thoughts should be able to satisfy all of these categories, and not just some of them is this way. 00:17:17.099 --> 00:17:22.032 What if you have a true thought, but it's impure? 00:17:22.032 --> 00:17:22.633 Could you hold it? 00:17:24.732 --> 00:17:28.732 What have you ever thought that is just. 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:31.333 That doesn't hurt anybody, right? 00:17:31.333 --> 00:17:31.766 That's okay. 00:17:31.766 --> 00:17:34.766 I can have that thought, but it's impure. 00:17:35.365 --> 00:17:36.833 You ever thought that's true? 00:17:36.833 --> 00:17:39.833 But it's actually dishonorable. 00:17:40.165 --> 00:17:42.732 So our thought should fit into all of these categories. 00:17:42.732 --> 00:17:44.532 Do you kind of see what he's doing? 00:17:44.532 --> 00:17:47.532 This is how our thoughts should be. 00:17:48.766 --> 00:17:49.799 So bring it to a point. 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:51.232 I know that was a lot. 00:17:51.232 --> 00:17:59.766 We should meditate on these things and remove what is immoral and disgraceful. 00:17:59.766 --> 00:18:08.900 Now again, as a Christian, I think in the Christian faith, since I've been in the Christian faith, I haven't heard a lot of people talk like this from the from the pulpit. 00:18:08.900 --> 00:18:10.066 I'm sure there have. 00:18:10.066 --> 00:18:14.932 But for me, my experience as a Christian, this seems to be something that is kind of like pushed off to the side. 00:18:14.932 --> 00:18:21.066 It's read your Bible, pursue Christ, pray and all of these things you can hear but never thought. 00:18:21.066 --> 00:18:22.700 Have you ever dealt with your thoughts? 00:18:24.465 --> 00:18:27.000 But how important is it? 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:29.333 And in these two verses Paul makes it very important. 00:18:29.333 --> 00:18:31.599 Does he not? 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:38.599 But here's the question if I can have you all go on a journey with me just for a second, how do we know what is true? 00:18:39.932 --> 00:18:42.799 How do we know what's honorable? 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:45.633 How do we know it's pure? 00:18:45.633 --> 00:18:48.633 How do we know what's commendable? 00:18:49.766 --> 00:18:51.333 Here it is. 00:18:51.333 --> 00:18:54.500 Here's what Paul would say, and here's what he has said in his scriptures. 00:18:54.500 --> 00:19:00.665 Our thoughts should be grounded in God's Word. 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:14.266 You want to know something that will change your 2026 coming full, coming up, coming ahead as if your mind was so saturated with God's Word that your thoughts mimicked the Bible. 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:16.833 Now, none of us can say that we can get to that point in this life. 00:19:16.833 --> 00:19:21.465 But what if our thoughts started looking more like the Bible and less like the world? 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:25.833 97, I love this verse. 00:19:25.833 --> 00:19:33.000 The psalmist is saying, oh how I love your law all the day I meditate on it. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:35.766 Now meditate on the word. 00:19:35.766 --> 00:19:37.665 And here's the beautiful part church. 00:19:37.665 --> 00:19:45.032 The more you know God's Word, the better you will be able to filter your thoughts. 00:19:45.266 --> 00:20:06.066 The more Bible you got up here, the more you'll know what's a bad thought, what's untrue, what's not honorable, what's impure, what's not just you'll be able to filter through those thoughts and then soak up those thoughts that are good and direct your mind to what God would have us. 00:20:06.165 --> 00:20:12.833 So my second point this morning, filter your thoughts through God's Word. 00:20:12.833 --> 00:20:16.633 That's how we should approach our thought life. 00:20:16.633 --> 00:20:22.932 The Bible helps us frame and ground our thoughts into something that's objectively true. 00:20:25.133 --> 00:20:32.599 If our thoughts are left to their own, yikes! Amen. 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:43.633 Excuse me, but if our thoughts are grounded in God's Word, we have an objective truth that we can hold on to. 00:20:46.465 --> 00:20:48.266 So our allergies were hitting me hard this week. 00:20:48.266 --> 00:20:51.266 Anybody else? 00:20:52.932 --> 00:20:54.799 Excuse me. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.333 So let's go on to that. 00:20:56.333 --> 00:20:58.066 Let's go back to verse nine here. 00:20:58.066 --> 00:21:01.633 So skip this next verse, last verse here. 00:21:01.633 --> 00:21:07.833 Verse nine Paul moves from thinking now to doing. 00:21:08.133 --> 00:21:15.465 Here's what he says, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:25.066 Practice these things first, he says what I think, now he says, practice. 00:21:25.232 --> 00:21:30.299 Anybody else kind of hear, have in your head the old Allen Iverson quip. 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:33.900 We talking about practice, we talking about practice. 00:21:33.900 --> 00:21:35.232 Y'all know what I'm talking about. 00:21:35.232 --> 00:21:37.200 Oh my gosh, am I going overhead okay. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:41.599 Sorry, but that was in my head. 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:48.500 And what Paul's trying to get us to see is we don't just want to think mentally, but now we to-- we need to live our life practically. 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.099 We need to practice these things. 00:21:50.099 --> 00:21:54.965 And Paul was not the type of person to just talk a big game. 00:21:54.965 --> 00:22:02.400 Paul lived his life in such a way that you could watch and observe Paul and be like, I want to be like him. 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:06.500 I want to be like Paul because he’s bold in his faith. 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:10.299 He didn't just talk a big game, he lived it. 00:22:10.299 --> 00:22:18.766 And so how important is it that we have people that we can observe and look and follow in our life that show us how to live the Christian life? 00:22:20.299 --> 00:22:23.633 Not they're getting these these three men baptized. 00:22:23.633 --> 00:22:37.165 We, you know, typically we try to push people into life groups because we though we have this understanding of Valley View, this mission that we want to get you into the life group. 00:22:37.165 --> 00:22:42.232 Because doing this Christian life on your own is very, very hard. 00:22:42.232 --> 00:22:47.532 And it's not the way it was meant to be, we’re meant to do it together. 00:22:47.532 --> 00:22:49.333 It's like a look across this room and see me. 00:22:49.333 --> 00:22:54.766 And then I'm looking to right now that I want to be like. 00:22:54.766 --> 00:22:57.599 But how important is it that we have someone to aim toward? 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:04.799 So listen, we will form habits by what we observe from others. 00:23:05.633 --> 00:23:10.566 Your life and your ceiling of how you're going to live as a Christian. 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:15.266 How a lot of that is determined by who's around you. 00:23:16.032 --> 00:23:19.665 If people around you that are pulling you down, you're not going to grow. 00:23:19.665 --> 00:23:23.400 But if you have people around you that are maturing their faith, they're passionate about God's Word. 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:24.333 They love Christ. 00:23:24.333 --> 00:23:25.299 They love missions. 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:28.200 They love to see their lost neighbor come to know Christ. Guess what? 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:31.566 That's what you're going to be passionate about. 00:23:32.432 --> 00:23:37.165 But we have to have people in our life that we observe and follow. 00:23:37.165 --> 00:23:43.299 So just just really quickly, I want you to think, who are you following right now? 00:23:44.032 --> 00:23:46.633 Who are you following? 00:23:46.633 --> 00:23:48.700 So be careful. 00:23:48.700 --> 00:23:53.200 I'm not talking about a mega pastor that you follow on Instagram or Facebook. 00:23:54.333 --> 00:23:57.766 I'm not talking about somebody that's all the way across the country that you simply observe. 00:23:57.766 --> 00:24:00.400 Although through social media there are some means to that. 00:24:00.400 --> 00:24:02.066 But I'm talking about right here in front of you. 00:24:02.066 --> 00:24:04.032 Who are you following? 00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:07.032 Because here's the truth. 00:24:07.032 --> 00:24:08.865 I hope you hear this. 00:24:08.865 --> 00:24:11.865 You are following someone. 00:24:11.865 --> 00:24:17.200 And here's the scary part -- someone's likely following you. 00:24:17.465 --> 00:24:23.133 They might be your kids, might be a coworker. 00:24:23.365 --> 00:24:25.266 Might be someone at work. 00:24:25.266 --> 00:24:27.932 Might be a family member. 00:24:27.932 --> 00:24:32.000 Might be someone in this room that you have no idea. 00:24:32.232 --> 00:24:33.532 That we did this with our students. 00:24:33.532 --> 00:24:40.066 We did a whole series about following how we follow Jesus, and we need to follow people who are following Jesus. 00:24:40.066 --> 00:24:45.665 But then I challenge them, hey, don't be shocked if someone's following you too. 00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:51.932 And so I went around the room and I said, hey, can anyone raise their hand and say, who are you following in this room? 00:24:51.932 --> 00:25:03.900 And so one of our our middle school girls at that time raise their hand and said, I'm following this person and you should have seen the look on her face of who she was following like, she's following me? 00:25:03.900 --> 00:25:05.099 That kind of scared, you know? 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:08.599 But it's true. 00:25:08.599 --> 00:25:10.932 And I think we all need to have that reality. 00:25:10.932 --> 00:25:12.833 Wherever you're hiding your spiritual walk, guess what? 00:25:12.833 --> 00:25:15.633 Someone's likely following you. 00:25:15.633 --> 00:25:17.700 You are giving an example of someone to follow. 00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:20.099 But two things can be true here at once. 00:25:20.099 --> 00:25:28.099 You need to be following somebody more mature than you, and you have to be willing to lead someone who's less mature than you. 00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:29.165 Because it won't take long. 00:25:29.165 --> 00:25:33.665 Because for the most, for your nearly your entire life, this is going to be true. 00:25:33.665 --> 00:25:39.932 You will not be the least mature in the room, and you won't be the most mature in the room for most of your life. 00:25:39.932 --> 00:25:41.599 So we need to be diligent. 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:44.599 Who are you following? 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:46.333 But also who are you leading? 00:25:47.865 --> 00:25:49.066 So here's my third point. 00:25:49.066 --> 00:25:54.932 Filter your practices through the life of mature Christians. 00:25:55.165 --> 00:25:57.232 How you live. 00:25:57.232 --> 00:26:03.333 You can filter those things through other mature believers and say, well, this mature Christian doesn't do this. 00:26:03.333 --> 00:26:04.032 This is harmful. 00:26:04.032 --> 00:26:06.732 I got to take this out of my life. 00:26:06.732 --> 00:26:09.299 This mature, mature Christian is doing this. 00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:12.299 I'm going to add it to my life. 00:26:13.032 --> 00:26:17.932 This is being an active participant in your Christian walk. 00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:22.633 None of this implies passivity or idleness. 00:26:22.633 --> 00:26:25.633 This is activity in the Christian life. 00:26:27.365 --> 00:26:28.732 But I want to end this on a good note. 00:26:28.732 --> 00:26:36.865 Two on a less challenging note, because although we need to think and practice and stay active in those thoughts, look what happens as the result. 00:26:36.865 --> 00:26:38.732 Church look in verse nine. 00:26:38.732 --> 00:26:56.833 Last phrase in it, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-- practice these things and look what it says and the God of peace will be with you. 00:26:57.833 --> 00:27:01.232 Wow, we just looked last week. 00:27:01.232 --> 00:27:03.432 Verse seven. 00:27:03.432 --> 00:27:08.532 And the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 00:27:08.532 --> 00:27:10.766 Certainly God's presence is in that. 00:27:10.766 --> 00:27:13.099 But Paul does something here really interesting. 00:27:13.099 --> 00:27:15.099 I think this is what he's doing. 00:27:15.099 --> 00:27:24.299 But listen, you do not merely receive a dose of peace, but the author of peace himself. 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:28.700 Although if you ever watch these videos. 00:27:28.700 --> 00:27:32.333 But I love these videos and I and I get emotional. 00:27:32.333 --> 00:27:33.900 I was talking with a student over here. 00:27:33.900 --> 00:27:55.532 I said, I don't remember the last time I had a really good cry, but it was probably at this video because there's these videos and you've probably seen them, but it's like a compilation of different things, and there's a kid or a child in there on a on a stage or they're going to a game and they run on out and you see all the kids like looking around for mom and dad. 00:27:55.633 --> 00:27:59.732 They're looking around, they're trying to find them, and you see a little bit of a concern, like, where's dad? 00:27:59.732 --> 00:28:01.032 Where are they? 00:28:01.032 --> 00:28:03.165 And then the parents filming them, right. 00:28:03.165 --> 00:28:08.365 Because they're really excited during the game or during the, the choir or whatever it is. 00:28:08.365 --> 00:28:26.833 And there's such a beautiful moment when the kid spots their mom or dad and the excitement and the joy and the delight and listen, the peace that overwhelms them in that moment because they know their parents showed up. 00:28:29.665 --> 00:28:34.633 If I can give you some encouragement this morning. 00:28:35.066 --> 00:28:39.532 If you've trusted in Christ, God is always showing up for you. 00:28:41.232 --> 00:28:46.232 God isn't the type of God that he just kind of gives you a little dose of peace. Here you go. 00:28:46.232 --> 00:28:48.833 I'm doing. 00:28:48.833 --> 00:28:52.700 No, God's in the midst of every thought that you have. 00:28:52.700 --> 00:28:58.165 Psalm 139 tells us that God knows your thoughts before you do so. 00:28:58.165 --> 00:29:05.432 The thoughts and the practices that you're filtering, that you're weighing in, God's already there, and he knows what you're going to do and what you're going to think. 00:29:05.432 --> 00:29:17.365 And this is the beautiful part when you take your thoughts and take your practices and you filter them through what God has for us, listen, you not only get peace, you get the author of peace himself. 00:29:20.432 --> 00:29:22.200 So here I can wrap it up this way. 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:31.732 Godly thoughts and habits will make you more aware of God's presence. 00:29:31.732 --> 00:29:39.566 It's not that God's presence ever departs from us, it's that we forget he's with us as a Christian, as a believer. 00:29:39.566 --> 00:29:42.232 If we trusted in Christ, the presence of God never leaves. 00:29:42.232 --> 00:29:53.766 God says all over the Bible, I will never leave you or forsake you, but we forget it. 00:29:53.833 --> 00:29:56.165 But the beautiful part is, is that God never leaves. 00:29:56.165 --> 00:30:00.133 We just become less aware that he's there. 00:30:00.133 --> 00:30:06.133 So you know what happens when we have godly thoughts and godly habits in our life? 00:30:06.365 --> 00:30:07.766 It helps us make. 00:30:07.766 --> 00:30:12.133 It makes us more aware that he's right by our side. 00:30:12.133 --> 00:30:20.432 So if I get to my last point this morning, dwell in the peaceful presence of God. 00:30:21.266 --> 00:30:23.700 Dwell in it. 00:30:23.700 --> 00:30:32.032 Live a life that is thoughtful, that is active in practice, and it's all filtered through God's Word. 00:30:32.032 --> 00:30:41.900 I am a true believer, and you will have a great awareness of God's peace and his presence in your life. 00:30:44.766 --> 00:30:49.599 And for those of you who are really struggling with your thoughts this morning. 00:30:50.633 --> 00:31:00.700 I pray that you would be reminded that the God of Peace is here right now. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:09.566 Whatever anxious thought you have, whatever anxiety that you have, God knows. 00:31:09.566 --> 00:31:12.566 He knows what you're going through. 00:31:13.566 --> 00:31:19.465 So I would encourage you among believers and among people who love you, would you just bring those thoughts to God? 00:31:19.465 --> 00:31:22.465 And in this community? 00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:24.500 Here's your challenge this morning, friends. 00:31:26.532 --> 00:31:31.633 Are you staying active in filtering your thoughts and practices? 00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:36.932 So just think to yourself, how's my thought life going? 00:31:38.232 --> 00:31:47.465 Are you thinking things that whatever is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable and excellent and worthy of praise. 00:31:47.465 --> 00:31:51.633 Those your thoughts lately, or the the opposite? 00:31:51.633 --> 00:31:53.833 Filter them through God's Word. 00:31:53.833 --> 00:31:55.732 Look at your life. 00:31:55.732 --> 00:31:58.932 Are you growing closer to Christ in His in His character? 00:31:58.932 --> 00:32:00.732 Are you growing closer to the world? 00:32:00.732 --> 00:32:04.732 Filter your life through mature believers in this room. 00:32:04.833 --> 00:32:05.833 Get in a life group. 00:32:05.833 --> 00:32:07.932 Join a men's group. Join a women's group. 00:32:07.932 --> 00:32:11.932 We want you to be closer to Christ in the next year. 00:32:11.932 --> 00:32:16.665 So as you walk by faith that you would be taking steps towards Christ. 00:32:17.833 --> 00:32:20.032 Let's pray. 00:32:20.032 --> 00:32:23.032 Father, thank you for your word. 00:32:23.766 --> 00:32:32.465 Thank you that it helps us frame up our thoughts, our ideas, those that are good and bad. 00:32:33.133 --> 00:32:40.333 God, I pray that we would not be lazy or idle in our thoughts. 00:32:41.532 --> 00:32:54.432 That father, we would be active in sifting and filtering and sorting and making sure, father, that whatever gets into our mind, in our thoughts, in our soul, are of you, that they are true. 00:32:54.432 --> 00:32:59.599 They are good, they're honorable and pure and commendable. 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:03.900 God, that we would set our minds on those things. 00:33:05.633 --> 00:33:12.833 So, God, I pray for the thought life of every person in this room that you would fill their minds God with good thoughts. 00:33:12.833 --> 00:33:15.833 Biblical thoughts. 00:33:16.032 --> 00:33:23.465 And I pray, father, that all of us in this room can point to someone, someone God, that we can say, I'm following that Christian. 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:35.799 And that we would be aware, God, that someone's likely following us so that we would have a greater conviction to live our life according to your Word and God. 00:33:35.799 --> 00:33:47.833 We thank you this morning, last but not least, for the peace that comes from your presence, the peace that grants us and guards us and protects us. 00:33:47.932 --> 00:33:57.266 And I pray, father, that every person in this room would know that peace in the mighty name of Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace. 00:33:57.333 --> 00:33:57.665 Amen.