The sermon, 'Thinking and Doing God's Things' by Jason Dohm, explores the concept of aligning our thoughts and actions with God's ways as outlined in the Bible. It begins by reviewing the previous week's main points: the antidote to worry is thankful prayer, and obeying this command brings peace that guards the heart and mind. Dohm emphasizes that God's peace transcends circumstances, thriving amidst turmoil. He calls for repentance from worry, lowering the threshold for prayer, and seeking peace from God. The sermon highlights how our thoughts and actions are interconnected, with the mind being the frontline of spiritual warfare. Referencing Isaiah 55, Dohm explains the vast gap between God's thoughts and ours, stressing the need for retraining through God's Word. Romans 12:2 reinforces the necessity of renewing our minds to discern God's will. The sermon lists eight virtues from Philippians 4:8 that should saturate our thoughts: truth, nobility, justice, purity, loveliness, good report, virtue, and praiseworthiness. It warns against the world's mold, urging transformation through God's Word. Concluding with James 1, Dohm asserts that hearing without doing is self-deception, and true blessing comes from obeying God's Word. The message encourages believers to align their thoughts and actions with God's, closing the gap between human and divine ways.

The title of the sermon this morning is, Thinking and Doing God's Things. When I say God's things, I'm not speaking of material things. I suppose in that sense, everything is His things. But I'm thinking of what we would think of when I say the things of God. When I say the things of God, we typically think about His truth and His ways.

And so this is about thinking and doing the things of God, God's things. Last week there were two main points in the sermon by way of review. The first main point was that the antidote for worry is thankful prayer and mingle gratitude with our prayers. God invites us to unburden ourselves in that way so we don't have to worry. We just bring these things and we unburden ourselves before God.

So that was the first point. The antidote to worry is thankful prayer. The second point was when we obey that command, not to worry but to pray instead the blessing is heart and mind guarding peace. God promises something if we'll just unburden ourselves. We'll stop worrying and just come and cast our cares upon Him because He cares for us.

The blessing for that is heart and mind guarding peace. The key words there were of God. This is a peace that flows from God. It's not circumstantial peace at all. You can have circumstances that have no peace associated with them, and you can have the peace that flows from God right in the middle of that.

In fact, it thrives in the middle of outwards tumult. There were three applications last week at the very end of the sermon. Number one was repent of worry. Worrying is actually a distrust of God who has always been faithful to us, so it's something we need to repent of. Number to lower your threshold for prayer.

I'm going to go ahead and get the presentation. I'm going to go ahead and get the presentation. I'm going to go ahead and get the presentation. And you write about the things that you need to know about the things that you have to know about. Application number three must go get peace from God.

That's what we're talking about. That's where it's going to start. Get it. Now, go get it. We don't have to be.

It's like a movie. We're not in here right now. We're not in here right now. We're not in here right now. We're not in here right now.

But now, this is called, maybe still closely, the topic topic, the occupation of our thoughts. What do you think about when you think about what you think about? What do you think about? About. We should be thinking about.

When he addresses that, he talks about something that's most related to that. Things that we think and the things that we do are closely related. You cannot think that they are separate catacombs. They are tied together. So as we go to the text, we go to the text.

Our God, those who have been in Christ for a while have experienced again and again that the front line of the war we're fighting is in the mind. The front line of the war, the sharpest conflict often is what's happening in our thoughts. And so now we pray that you would, God use your word to help us use your word I'm sorry. Finding ourselves in the end. Thank you for your words.

And it doesn't mean that we are, but it's a process of confidence. And praise the fire, the spirit, to be free and to use the word. I'd like to start before we get to the first five verses. I'd like to start with an overview. Here in St.

Louis, this first verse, the first verse has a list of eight things and it's easy to dive right into the list and start not looking item by item. If we're going to do that, we should do that. But before we do that, I want to go to two texts that I think frame it for us. It gives us the big picture, which will help the minutiae to make sense. So we're going to get to the list of things.

But for now let's consider these two tests that can give us the big picture. First turn to Isaiah chapter 55. Isaiah chapter 55 tells us about our thoughts and things that we're thinking of and identifies something that's really, really critical. So hopefully you'll pass. You're at Isaiah 55, we're almost there.

I'll be reading verses 8 through 11. Follow along as I read Isaiah 55. God says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. My thoughts than your thoughts.

For as the rain comes down from heaven, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make spring forth the flood, and it may give seed to the sower, bread to the beater. So shall my word be It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." So here we have verse 8 and 9, which tells us why we need the exhortation in Philippians. Why do we need it? Because there's an enormous gap between God's thoughts and our thoughts. As high as the Heavens are above the earth, so higher is thoughts above our thoughts.

So there's a big gap. We need the education to do the things that Paul brings us to, as we look at chapter 4, because we have this big gap between thoughts and our thoughts. Then we have verse 10 and 11 here in Isaiah 55, which actually give us a way, give the Lord's people a way to bridge the gap. What is that? The word of God.

His thoughts are above our thoughts. If we just go with our thoughts, it's below these thoughts. In the same magnitude that the heavens are above the earth. So acknowledging this gap, you've given us a way to bridge it. That is, that you shared this talk with us.

You've given us thoughts in the book. So this is why we're a people of the book, because he's given us a way to come up to his thoughts. So here in Isaiah 55, what he's spoken of includes thoughts and ways. Thoughts are God's thoughts. Ways are God's ways.

And The main point of this text is that we need to be retrained. Our thinking needs to be retrained. And our ways need to be retrained. We need to be pulled up. Our thinking needs to be pulled up.

And our ways need to be pulled up. And right at the center of that is what God has created. And here it is in black and white, in print. Now listen to Romans chapter 2, let's be really fast. I'll give it to God.

Excuse me, Romans chapter 12, verse 2. Listen to Romans chapter 12, verse 2. I'll go on All right, and do not be conformed to this world But be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. I'll read it again. Paul, this is Romans chapter 12 verse 2.

Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Here are our options, brethren. A. Forbidding. Conformity to the world.

The world is pressing on you. It's pressing. Its mold doesn't look anything like the Lord Jesus Christ. Not at all. It's the exact opposite.

The mold of the world is anti-Christ. But it's trying to force it, it's putting pressure on you to force you into a mold that looks nothing like Jesus. And so there's an option. Just be pressed on in the world into its mold. And have your life take on this form.

Or be transformed, changed by the renewing of your mind. Your thought pattern has to be different than what they would be without the transforming of the Word of God. You have to be renewed in your mind. That you may prove the will of God. In other words, again we have the thoughts and ways.

Just like in Philippians, our text in Philippians 4, just like Isaiah 55, which we just looked at, and now in Romans chapter 12, verse 2, Thoughts and ways. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You may prove in your life what the will of God is. Thoughts and ways. So we're going to come to the list and be a good student about the list.

But don't stress out about those. Think in action. As a memory device. The main point here is that God's thoughts are way above our thoughts. And he wants to pull us up to his thoughts by calling us to his things, thinking and doing what God's thinking.

Alright, to our text. Let's forget the first day, and probably the last day. Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, then it's on these things. Here in verse eight, we have, it's God's thing, so if you look at the verse eight, you'll find out that it's really been like God's thing. The verse begins, finally, with the brethren.

I think it's a really important point to notice that this is what my rest of the letter is written to Christians. You don't stand a chance If you're not under the influence of the Holy Spirit, your thoughts cannot be pulled up to God's thoughts. I bless the Spirit of God in helping you in these things. Are we exhorted to effort? Of course we are.

But, human effort without the indwelling Spirit of God to help will leave us in despair. Here we have the list of eight things that are to occupy our thoughts. These eight things are supposed to saturate our thoughts. Number one, whatever is true. Our minds are to be occupied by true things.

We are to dwell on true things. Listen to Jesus in John 17, 17. There's two reasons why you should memorize John 17, verse 17 immediately. One is it's really short and easy to memorize. The other is it is foundational truth.

John 17 is Jesus' high priest in prayer. Jesus is praying for His current and all future disciples in John 17. This is John 17, verse 17. Jesus prays, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.

The word of God defines truth. This is the truth of God revealed to mankind. Here it is. Again, it is in the book. Just like I was saying about Isaiah, chapter 65, it had a bridge gap between man's thoughts and God's thoughts.

You have to come to the Word of God. And Jesus is praying for his current disciples and us, his future disciples, in John Chapter 17. And as he prays to his Father, he says, Sanctify the people at Sovereign Redeemer Community Church by your truth. So, O Father God, please set apart the people of sovereign redeemer by your truth. Make them a holy people by your truth.

And then so that there's no lack of clarity, your word is true. Scripture is true. What you've revealed in your book is true. It's how we become a holy people. It's how we become exposed to the thoughts of God.

Our minds are to soak in truth. This is where truth is. And you know what? A lot of things that our minds think are true aren't true. A lot of our inclinations and natural thinking about things are not true at all.

And the word of God comes and corrects and confronts that. Your brain needs it every day. And our thoughts need it Every day. What is the opposite of having your mind and your thoughts occupied by true things? Having your mind and your thoughts occupied by false things.

Lies! It's not the truth, it's a lie. And if we learn anything from the Bible, it's that we have an enemy that is always lying to us. He's trying to get us to believe his lies about God and about us and about everything. He's lying to us all day every day.

The truth of God comes to counteract his attempts by our enemies to get us to dwell on false things, lies. Whatever is true are the things that our minds should be occupied with. Number two, whatever is noble, our minds are to be occupied by noble things. The NASD and the ESD render it honorable. Both are fine.

Both are actually direct Greek word for us. Both noble and honorable are in the lift. We serve our respect. They should be honored. It's right to honor noble things.

Here's an example of a noble thing that our minds should be dwelling on. The Samples are on. I haven't received a missionary book from the Samples recently. These are books about missionaries who have laid down their lives in the world. It's an honorable thing when somebody lays down their life to advance the gospel.

Our respect. It's a good thing to go off and read about the gospel. What's the right now over the last maybe 15 or risen which just has to do with the fascination of talking about. But I have an idea of what I'm talking about. It's an orchestration.

Fight people who are in conflict, who hate each other to have conflict in front of you, so that you can slow down and watch the wreck. Exists. You can like it. Have you ever found yourself this way? I know it shouldn't like that, but there's something fascinating that happens here that just, I know I shouldn't be drawn to this, but I'm sure this is why Paul is exhorting us to we're fascinated by dishonorable things.

We really are. We're drawn to it. Number three, whatever is just, These are things that are right. These are things that are according to God. Isaiah chapter 5 verse 20 speaks of the just, but also the right.

God says, woe to those who call evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. This is a warning from God for all mankind to not turn the world upside down. When we talk about that big gap, the chasm between God's thoughts and human thoughts, this is a reason that Human beings will take what God, as almighty maker of heaven and earth, calls good, and they'll say, That's evil. They will. And they'll take what God, Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth has said evil and they'll say, no, that's good.

This is the essence, essence of justice and injustice. Justice is agreeing with God about what is good. Injustice is disagreeing with God about what is good and evil. It's trading the bitter for the sweet and saying the one is the other. It's trading light for darkness and saying the one is the other.

Our minds can be occupied with the same thing. God calls right. And not calling evil good, but calling good good. Agreeing with God about what's good. Agreeing with God about what is evil.

Number four, whatever is poor, our minds can be occupied by poor things. This is what Paul writes in Ephesians 5, verse three. Fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you as is fitting for saints, neither filthiness nor foolish talk nor force-gesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. In the NID, instead of let it not even be named among you, the NID says not even a hint, and not even a hint of all these impure things among you. No mixture of the pure and the impure.

They Don't even let it be named. So far from being among you, it shouldn't even be said that it's among you. There's not even a hint of it. There's nothing to latch onto and to suggest that there's an among you. Yes to agree that what God says is good is really good.

Fight! Keep out. But think. How much poison? How much poison are you willing to allow into the recipe?

It's the wrong question to say, well, how much will kill me? How much will kill me? I want a little less than what will kill me. I want a little less than what will really harm me bad. If it just makes me feel queasy for a little bit, I'll accept that amount.

I think most of us actually have that approach. We think about our minds dwelling on purity. We ask, well, how much will kill me? How much will really harm me? And we really are willing to have a level of poison in the recipe.

I am. I am willing. And I'm talking about what my life says. My mind revolts against the thought. But I look at what my thoughts dwell on, and I have to admit that I'm willing to have a level of poison.

But Paul is calling us up. Paul is calling us up to God's thoughts where there's no mixture. You know there's no mixture. God is light. In Him is no darkness at all.

Our minds are to be occupied by lovely things. With this word that is translated, lovely, acceptable, pleasing thoughts that are calibrated to God's thoughts, things that are acceptable and lovely in him, acceptable in the eyes of our hearts. Aren't these things lovely? Yes. These things about a cold, sterile family worship, and you're just trying to get to the end of that right here, The spirit of being worshiped is like a heart and a home.

You see it's lovely, it's acceptable, it's pleasing to see a mother with her newborn baby. It's like they're enjoying each other. You're watching the enjoyment of a mother. It's acceptable and pleasing to God. When you see a young man or a young lady And they have never really seen the depth of their sin, but God has shown it to them and He's saving them.

And they're really repenting from their sins. And you get a front row seat. You saw them before and you could tell they didn't feel the weight of their sin, but God is working on their hearts, and now you can tell they do feel the weight of their sin, and it's crushing them, and they're repenting, and they're experiencing freedom from that weight. Isn't it lovely? You may accept it.

What's the opposite? The things that displease the sanctified mind. Displease God. He finds it displeasing. He finds it unlovely.

Those things that displease God's mind are the forms of displeasing. We're to find those things. Displeasing. Whatever it is by reputable things, by things that enjoy, rightly enjoy, a good reputation among people. Those are to be the things that are true that we often quickly move from good reports.

You get a good report. Something that really deserves to be thought well of. How quickly our minds just move on from that. But the scandalous things we turn over and over and over and over again in our minds. This is my brain.

I don't think I'm alone. The scandalous things, they're scintillating. Your mind just keeps veering back that direction to the scandal. Meanwhile, the good report got ten seconds and it's gone. God is rebuking us for that.

God is saying, give the time, give the soaking, give the dwelling to the good report. Give the ten seconds to the scandal. God wants to retrain us. You need to be retrained. Number seven and eight are very broad.

One through six have been very specific. Number seven and eight are sort of catch-alls. They collect up all of the other things that are good. Number seven is this, anything of virtue. So number seven and eight are really on the list and they have their own lists.

Anything of virtue, There's a list of virtues. I remind you to be occupied by virtuous things. What is a virtuous thing? It's something that describes godliness, that describes godwardness. It's a virtue like love or patience or modesty or prayerfulness.

What we find in Scripture is that there are actually many lists of virtues. I'll give you two, but it's just by way of example. Love, joy, peace, patience, and awe. It unfolds, it unpacks love, And it gives love. There's another list.

What's the opposite? The things that describe ungodliness and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.22. If you back up one verse to Galatians 5.21 you get a list of un-virtues or whatever you would call it. Things that describe all kinds of ungodliness. We're not to let our minds soak in those things.

Number eight. Anything that is praise worthy. Our minds are to be occupied by things which are worthy of praise. Some things deserve to be praised. Our minds should be occupied with those things.

God does exploits in the lives of His people. This is one of the beautiful things about God, is He transforms people and then He does exploits. Things that they never would have done before Christ. BC in their lives, before Christ. The time before Christ in their lives.

They would have hated these things and now he's doing these in and through these people. He's doing exploits. He's doing unbelievable things. Worthy to be noticed and praised. Meaning that the praise really redounds to God.

About phrase work, after 10. And I'm going to try to explain all of these things. Turning your Bibles to second Corinthians, after 10. I'm going to wrap up verse 8, consideration of second Corinthians, after 10. And getting back to the big picture, the high level of what our thoughts are and what we're going to be developing.

Second Corinthians, Chapter 10, I'll be reading verses 4 and 5. And we'll be reading verses 5 and 5. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments in every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 is talking about warfare, fighting war. He says there are strongholds that have to be pulled down.

And they're not physical strongholds. It's thinking. It's in the lives of our thoughts, our thought lives. And there are things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God that have to be cast down. And so you are given spiritual weapons to cast them down.

So that you take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Christ should be the master of all of our thoughts and every one of our thoughts so that they obey Christ. They belong to Christ. You've been bought. All of you, including your mind and your thoughts, they belong to Christ.

They belong to Jesus. But in this case, I like being a prisoner of Jesus. You like that? That works for me. So it is with our thoughts.

When our thoughts will be happier, the more arguments are always developing themselves against the thoughts, against the knowledge of God. They're the lies. And take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Disobedience mind, Disobedience most often resides in the mind where on the other side are your neighbors, but there is disobedience in your mind. It happens often.

Not taking them captive. They belong to Christ. They should be Christ. Just to meditate on the things of God, to ponder, give over our thoughts, give time, thinking time, give thinking time, God's things. Here's how I would translate this.

You like what you think about, you like. And We need to demonstrate it. It's just a demonstration of it. We need to devote our thinking time to the things that he loves. We value the things that are good by thinking about them.

Palastians, exactly what Paul is saying in our text. Set your mind. Set it. Through his word, bring your thoughts up and close the gap between human thoughts. Verse 9.

In human thought. Verse 9, verse 9, we have doing God's things. In verse 8, we had thinking God's things. Now we have doing God's things. So if you're taking notes on the handout and filling in the blanks, it's doing God's things.

Not only are his thoughts higher than our thoughts, his ways are higher than our ways. So not only is he calling us up to think his thoughts, to close the gap, he's calling us up to walk in His ways, to close the gap between our ways and His ways. He has already exhorted us to follow Him in Philippians 3 verse 17. Just look back at Philippians 3 verse 17. Brethren join in following a pattern.

But Paul is not introducing anything new here in chapter 4 verse 17. He laid down a pattern. People who live like him help accelerate our progress. They give us a pattern to follow. They did more than learn.

They received. This reminds me, you'll remember this instantly when I read 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 13. For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you receive the word of God which you heard from us, you welcome it, not the word of man, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which also effectively works in you. It's one thing to be taught, that's good. Another thing, to learn what you're taught, that's better.

But it's another thing to receive it, to recognize that it's the Word of God. It actually begins to work in you effectively when you receive it as not just some guy's lecture, but the Word of God speaking to you. God Almighty who made you is speaking to you through this word. You will not change. But when you know that this is God speakably, and all this teaching and learning and receiving life, The way he talked, the way he lived was completely consistent.

God has placed in your life people together. This is true of almost every single way. But aside from the very, very few exceptions, And until the day of my death, I trust God will have people in my life so that I make progress faster. God has put people in your life. Don't bring our prayers and supplications with thanksgiving.

It's a gift of people to say truth and to live truth that helps us make progress in the faith. So hearing is good, learning is better, receiving is best, but it must result in doing. Turn to James Chapter 1. This is our last stop. James chapter 1.

Children, children, please listen to this. James chapter 1 is such familiar territory to those of us who have been in Christ for a while. It will be very familiar territory to you soon enough, but listen to this and let this be emblazoned on your mind in a way that you cannot get away from it. I want the children especially listening to this. I'll be reading James chapter 1 verses 22 through 25.

James writes, James 1, verses 22-25. James writes, But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of a man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, meaning does it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, This one will be blessed in what he does.

Children, what James is teaching here is that if you hear only, and the hearing and learning and receiving of it doesn't result in any doing that you're deceiving yourself. As if there was any value to it at all when there's not. There's no value, but it made no change in your life. That's not true. You're deceiving yourself.

The Word of God tells me the truth. Here's what Jason looks like. Here's what I look like. And on this page, great! I thought I was great looking and then I came to this mirror and it exposed me.

And You were thinking so well of yourselves but then you come before the mirror of God's holiness and it shows you what kind of a man you really are, what kind of a woman you really are, what kind of a little girl you really are, what kind of a little girl you really are, what kind of a little boy you really are, and it's a blessing. It shouldn't make us run away from the Word of God, it should make us run toward the Word of God, because the best thing, if you think you're fine but you're not, is to be confronted with that, so that you can really become fine. Through repenting and changing, this is the value of the Word of God. This has an application for many of us and I really want to apply it now to fathers and mothers by quoting Matthew Henry and then John Calvin. So listen, fathers and mothers especially, listen to what Matthew Henry says about this and then what John Calvin says about this.

Matthew Henry says, it gives great force to what we say to others when we can appeal. If you look at chapter 4 verse 9, it's saying, the things you've seen and do that. Now think about that with what Matthew Henry says. Matthew Henry says, it gives great force. This letter came with the great force of the consistency of the Apostle Paul's life.

And it gives great force to his teaching. Mothers and fathers, do you think this is seriously? Maybe Matthew Henry is wrong. It's true. And even though they have the obligation to honor you, you've taken the responsibility.

Now, the main thing in the public's life and for your authority for the gospel by righteousness, honor you, you've taken the authority for your teaching through Godly living. The consistency of walking in God's ways adds force and authority back in your teaching. By the authority for your teaching through walking buys up authority for it. Finally James says we will be blessed. The doer is blessed.

The God of peace will be with us. So they're really teaching the same thing in different ways. The work of Jesus Christ makes there was war. You were trying to wave the war against the Almighty God. It's a war against any God.

But Jesus' death doesn't wipe away. The work of the cross does wipe away. It also breaks the power of sin, meaning you don't have to serve it in your life and you've been washed by Jesus' blood. You had no chance to obey Him from the heart before you were born again. But when you were born again, the penalty of sin has been broken, yes, but the power of sin has also been broken and you don't have to serve it anymore.

And Jesus didn't die so that a believer could remain comfortably in disobedience. Are you with me? We're late in the sermon here. I've only got three minutes left, so I might have missed you on that one. You might have zoned out.

Tune back in. Jesus didn't die to buy you the freedom to live comfortably in disobedience. No way did Jesus die for that. Maybe you've been wondering, why is my heart in such turmoil? Why is there no peace?

Why does God feel so distant? Paul has given us, in last week's text and this week's text, ways to troubleshoot lack of peace. Maybe from last week's text, instead of worrying about heart and mind, we need to go and have a problem. But here's another problem in this text. Maybe it will deprive you of peace so that you will turn around.

God will not obey God. We are talking about believers, the life of the believer. God will not obey God. Something is not right. You will not obey God.

You will not obey God so that you will turn around. It's His mercy. It's His mercy. So obedience, when would you turn around? Applications 3.

By verse 8. What you consume has a lot to do with what your thought. Good things, noble things, pure things. Monday morning, Gary said he had a friend who posted verse 8 over his television set. Very much.

Does it make you uncomfortable? Test your consumption. Number two, that the front line in the war is your mind. It doesn't matter. It doesn't mean your hands and feet don't matter.

They matter a lot. The front line in the war, if you're going to make progress in the war, if you're going to win and not push forward the enemy there in the mind. War is my mind, it is the strength of my heart, occupying my thoughts, and I've got to walk according to the light God has given you. That's much less troubling to God than the fact that when God gives us light, He expects us to walk by it. Don't ask for more light if you're not walking by what He's already given you.

I pray to God we would give ourselves over to your thoughts and your ways. And your ways. In our saner moments, we do see this chasm between our thoughts and ways and your thoughts and ways. And we do desire that you would pull us out of the doctrine. Thank you for giving us your word.

Help us to be more faithful than we ever have been in having our minds occupied with all the best things and doing as we're taught, as we've seen in the Bible.