I feel like I should be doing the teaching right now, but we're not doing that today. We're gonna take a look at Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. It's a verse that we all are very familiar with and should, if you haven't, perhaps commit to memory. It's also a wonderful verse to use if you do any meditation to sit and think about those things. Please stand and I'm gonna read verses 4 through 11 of chapter 4 Rejoice in the Lord all way and again I say rejoice let your moderation be known unto all men the Lord is at hand be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication.

With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both done and learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again wherein ye were also careful but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. Amen. You may be seated. Let's pray.

Father God, gracious Lord, we thank you for this time that we can gather and look at your Word, what a gift it is and a precious thing that we can read and study and memorize and and think about. Lord we thank you for this gift of your word. Lord it reveals who you are. Lord it reveals what rich in states we are in. But it gives Lord hope, a hope for a Savior.

We learn about your Savior in this in this book Lord Jesus Christ. Lord be with us as we go through one of Paul's letters and some teaching on on how we use our thoughts. Lord I pray that your spirit would guide my thoughts in my words today and Lord bless us as we dig into your Word in Jesus name we pray. Amen. In this passage in chapter 4 that we just read we find a number of exhortations and suggestions from Paul to the Philippians.

He begins with a call to rejoice in the Lord always in verse four and ends this passage with some sage advice, for I've learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. In verse 11, Paul is telling the Philippians and us ultimately how to live, to rejoice, and to be content. Now sandwiched between these is our verse for today, verse 11. I'll read it again. And you need, depending on the version of the Bible that you have, one of the words honest in here.

King James uses honest. I think pretty much every other translation uses noble or honorable, which is what I'll use when I go through this. And finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are noble or honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. Our lives and our character are revealed to the world from our words, actions, and attitudes.

What is not always so evident is our thoughts. This is what Paul is addressing in this verse, what we are thinking about. In Matthew 5, Jesus has a series of discussions centered around, but I say unto you phrases to illustrate teaching on righteousness. Two of these examples are related to the Ten Commandments and emphasize our accountability for our thoughts. First, the Sixth Commandment.

Does anybody remember the Sixth Commandment? Thou shall not murder. Exodus 20 13. However, Jesus expands this commandment to include our thoughts not just deeds. In Matthew 5 verses 21 through 22, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of judgment.

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother raka, which is a word expressing great contempt, shall be in danger of the council but whoever says you fool which is an expression meaning a wicked ungodly wretch shall be in danger of hellfire. In this sense you don't have to physically murder someone to violate this commandment. All that is needed is an angry outburst, the holding of a grudge, a vengeful heart, an unwillingness to seek peace or reconciliation, and the like. We find also in the seventh commandment, if you all remember that, Thou shall not commit adultery in Exodus 20, 14.

And in Matthew 5, 27, and 28, Jesus expands the meaning of this commandment from just an act. You have heard that it was said of those of old, you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Jesus here sets the standard to a much higher bar, not just our actions but also our thoughts. A lingering gaze, a jealous heart, a so-called harmless flirting, daydreaming of a different spouse or others cause us to violate this commandment and bring us judgment and condemnation. Have you ever had an angry thought towards someone? Probably we all have.

If you're not sure what about the last time you drove to Austin to find anybody that irritated you? Really easy. Have you ever held a grudge against somebody? Have you ever held a gaze a little too long when someone walks by? Again, probably we've all done at least one of these.

The difference of this type of sin is that no one else knows about it. In fact, you can deceive yourself and pretend it never happened and not deal with it. But of course, God sees it and hears it. God doesn't miss a thing. Nonetheless, we will be held accountable even for our thoughts.

Every word, every deed, every thought will be judged. In some ways this can seem disheartening. The idea that we'll never measure up will never be good enough, but we shouldn't despair. There is good news. God sent his son.

He lived a perfect and sinless life. Not only in all his actions did he keep all of God's commands, but even in his thoughts, He was sinless. And despite this, he suffered and died on the cross and rose again on the third day. This was God's plan from even before the beginning of time, a plan of redemption. Christ bore the punishment for our sins on the cross.

For those who believe in Christ, we put on Christ's righteousness and are declared just. And that is good news. Well, as we struggle to live a holy life, we try to push out the evil thoughts that arise. We try to push out the anger, the slander, the malice, even the filthy language. But unless we fill our minds with something else, and hopefully that something is good, They will return and perhaps even stronger.

Paul in his letter to the Philippians offers some guidance to us in verse 8. He tells us to think on these things, these things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. So let's take a little closer look at these things that Paul wants us to be thinking about. He tells us to think about whatsoever things are true. What does that mean?

True in the Greek here is aulathus and is translated as true in conduct, upright, honest, just, or conforming to reality. Jesus tells us that he is the way, the truth, and the life. He promised us when the spirit of truth comes he will guide you to all truth. John 16 13 and the psalmist also tells us the sum of your word is truth and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever from Psalm 119, 160. Lead me in your truth and teach me for you are the God of my salvation.

Psalm 25, 5. Paul is telling us to think about things that are true. He's telling us to think about the truth we find in God's Word. What kind of truth is that? It is the truth that God loves us and that He loves us so much that He gave His one and only begotten Son to die for us.

It is the truth that we must love our neighbor as ourself. It is the truth that we must love one another as Christ first loved us. It also teaches us that we must love our enemies. In a world today, we are bombarded by lies. Our politicians lie to us to gain power.

Our media lie to us to shape opinions and push or squash narratives. Our military leaders have lied. Doctors have lied. Even the weathermen all the time seem to lie about this climate change stuff. Sometimes it's very difficult though to tell what the truth is and what is a lie.

You can't always control what others do, but you can make sure about how you act. You shouldn't lie and you shouldn't go along with a lie. We should hold fast to the truth. We should hold fast to God's Word. It's our only standard.

It's our only plumb line. And Paul tells us if we do this, if we practice these things, the God of peace will be with us. Philippians 4.9. What a blessing that is. Next, Paul tells us to think on whatsoever things are noble.

Again, the Greek word used here is semnos and can be translated as grave, venerable, reverend, august, and serious. For me, I looked in the dictionary just to get a little broader understanding of those particular words. To be grave is to be solemn, sober, or serious. To be venerable is to be deserving of honor and respect. To be reverend is to be worthy of reverence or entitled to respect, mingled with fear and affection.

And to be august is to be grand, magnificent, majestic, or impressing awe. From Strong's one, Strong's concordance, one who is simnos is well ordered in his earthly life and has a grace and dignity derived from his heavenly citizenship. The word points to seriousness of purpose and his self-respect and conduct. There is something majestic and inspiring about one who is simnos. He does not repel but invites and attracts.

So what are noble things? Who is worthy of our reverence? Who is entitled to our respect mingled with fear and affection. Christ is who is grand, magnificent, and awesome. Christ is and who is deserving of honor and respect.

Again, Christ is. Paul wants us to think on Christ, to think on his word from John 1 verse 14, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. If we are striving to be like Christ, we are striving to be noble and honorable, and we are striving to be one who is worthy of respect and one who is sober and serious. Think on him and strive each day to be more like Christ. Paul tells us next to think on whatsoever things are just or right.

The Greek word used here is decaeus. It's translated as equitable, innocent, holy, just, meet or right. Paul wants us to think about what is just and what is right. These are root words for the terms of justice and righteousness. God reveals His perfect justice by demanding the punishment for every single sin.

And that punishment is death. As sinners, we deserve to spend eternity in hell. In God's mercy, He sent His Son to redeem us, to forgive us our sins, to free us from the bondage of sin. But just because those sins have been forgiven doesn't mean that the punishment for those sins will not occur. That would be unjust.

Jesus suffered that punishment due our sins because God is just. He suffered and died because He loves us. We need to think on these things. We need to think on what Jesus has done for us, to think on what Jesus has done for me, and for you specifically. Our gratitude, our love, our whole life should be towards Jesus for what He has done for us.

Jesus tells us to seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you, Matthew 6.33. How can we do this if we're not even thinking about these things? How do we think about them if we don't even know them? The psalmist tells us, His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law He meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper." Psalm 1, 2, and 3.

Do we take delight in the law of the Lord? Do we meditate on His Word day and night. Paul encourages us to think on these things. Next, he tells us to think on whatsoever things are pure. Again, the Greek word here is hagnos, which translates as properly clean, innocent, modest, perfect, chaste, clean, pure, or blameless.

Jesus tells us, blessed are the pure in heart in Matthew 5-8. But how can we keep our heart pure? And the psalmist answers this question in Psalm 119 by guarding it according to your word. To keep our way pure, we must protect it. We must be constantly in God's word meditating again on his word day and night.

We must be careful of what we think about. To think on what is pure consists of filling our thoughts and minds with innocence, virtue, and holiness. At the same time, we must reject thoughts of evil, wickedness, and defilement. This includes what we watch, what we read, and what we do. How are you doing with your smartphone, with your computer?

Would you be worried if someone went through your browser history? Are you using Covenant Eyes or some other accountability software to help you? If not, I would encourage it. Is there cursing on the podcasts you listen to? What about your choice of music?

What about the movies you watch? During the week, what are you really filling your mind with in your heart? If we find that we are drifting away from God, David shows us how to respond. After Nathan confronts him about Bathsheba, David cries out to the Lord, cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit." Psalm 51 7 and 10 through 12. Our whole life, our whole life should be a never-ending pursuit of purity and holiness. It should be a never-ending pursuit to be more like Christ.

By thinking about whatsoever is pure will lead us away from the ravages of sin and guilt and shame and will bring us closer to God. Next, Paul tells us to think on whatsoever things are lovely. The Greek word here is prosphalase. Lovely, pleasing, attractive, giving pleasure, or deserving affection. This is the only place in scripture where this word is found.

So what does Paul mean by his use of it? Let's turn to Jesus, our greatest inspiration for thinking on what is lovely and what is rooted in love. John writes to us in his first letter, we know what is real love because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion.

How can God's love be in that person? Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other. Let us show the truth by our actions. 1 John 3, 16 and 18 through 18. What is your response but from the fact that God loves you?

Are you spending time in prayer? Are you learning more about Him by reading your Bibles? Are you putting His Word in your heart? Are you loving your neighbor as yourself? Are you helping those around you in need?

Do you even notice? Think on these things. Next Paul tells us to think on whatsoever things are of good report. Some translations use the word admirable or commendable, and the Greek word here is euphemous and can be translated as well spoken of, reputable of good report, or mentioned with respect. This is once again the only place in scripture we find this phrase.

How we behave or act as Christians reflects on God. If we are to be well spoken of or well thought of, not only our actions but also our words and thoughts must be bent towards edifying those around us, showing patience and perseverance, giving encouragement, giving time to others to listen to them and to share their interest. It is a focus on the character traits that make Christians so different. Love your enemy, turn the other cheek, charity, and the such. Who modeled these?

Who is our example? Once again, it's Jesus. Jesus is our example. Paul wants us to think on Jesus. Think on how he lived, how he interacted with people.

Think on how he responded or reacted to what was done to him. Perhaps you have other examples of admirable persons in your life on whose behavior or character you can reflect on and emulate. Again, Paul encourages us to think on these things. Paul concludes with these final thoughts to think on, if there be any virtue or if there be any praise, think on these things. The word here used in the Greek for virtue is arete, which can be translated as manliness, valor, excellence of goodness of action or virtuous deeds.

The word used here for praise in the Greek is epahanos, which can be translated as laudation, a commendable thing, or praise. These last two phrases we find a little bit different in structure to the phrases we've gone through already. Instead of whatsoever things, it's if there be any. I really wasn't able to find a discussion anywhere about the change here, but I believe it has something to do with perhaps a different focus of where we should be looking or thinking. The previous structure leads us over and over to thinking on Jesus, on God's Word.

The latter seemed to have us focus on others or ourselves. This is a pattern set forth or that we find in the Ten Commandments. We find the first four commandments address our relationship to God. The remaining six address our relationship to others. Paul here though is calling us to think of virtuous deeds, to think of someone of virtue, to think of something or someone praiseworthy.

Well, who is living a virtuous life? Who is receiving a great amount of praise lately? If you look around, we're missing quite a few people. And many of them have gone to Phoenix to Charlie Kirk's funeral. They've gone to show their respects to the memory of a servant of Christ whose life was cut short by an assassin's bullet.

Despite the innumerable and constant death threats, Charlie Kirk was just beginning a 14 college tour doing what he enjoyed, talking with people, especially college students. He spoke just about on any topic including Christianity. He was not shy about sharing his faith and pointing people to Christ. He sat under a banner that stated, prove me wrong. He wanted discussions.

His faith permeated all that he thought and did. He was bold, yet he was polite. He worked hard to listen to others carefully and show respect to others. He lived his life to honor Christ. He was a good example to not only the youth and the young here, but even to us older folks.

It would profit us to think on how he lived and how he interacted with others. His life was praiseworthy and one of virtue. You may know others in your own lives whose lives are commendable to us as praiseworthy and virtuous. Look for those who are worthy of respect and emulate them. In summary, Paul wants to guide us in our thinking.

Why does he do this? Why does he focus on our thoughts? It's because he knows our thoughts matter. They influence what we say and do, and they influence those around us. We see examples of this every day in the media, pushing hate and lies, and it influences people.

In general, what we think directly affects our relationships, including that with God. It determines our choices and guides us through life either in a good way or bad. Paul tells us to think on a number of things that can help us. Things that are true, that are noble, that are just, pure, that are lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. We live in a world that's constantly bombarded, bombarding us with messages, with images, and with worldviews that are incompatible with a biblical worldview.

It's a mess and it seems to only get worse. Well, we do live in a world of sinners, a world filled with evil and filth, and a world of tragedy. We're surrounded by unhealthy influences. So what do we do? As Christians, how do we live faithful and godly lives?

What we start with is where are your thoughts? Where are your thoughts? What do you think about throughout your day? What are you putting into your mind on a daily basis? Do you listen to the radio all day?

Is your face down in your smartphone all day long? Phone is a great tool but it's easily abused and we we must be careful. Are you spending time with your spouse and your kids? Are you discipling them? Speaking to the men more.

Are you spending time by yourself in secret prayer? Are you reading your Bible every day? Paul tells us to set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3 2. And to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10, 5.

He gives us a list of things to think on, but he also expects that we would do them. He writes, those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do. Do. Our thoughts need to turn to actions. And the God of peace will be with you.

Well, who wouldn't want the God of peace to be with us? May we all receive the peace that passes all understandings and the peace that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Let us pray. Father God, Lord we thank you for your word.

Lord we have a lifetime of learning, a lifetime of growing. Lord We thank you for your spirit that strengthens us, that guides and directs us. Lord, we thank you for your words today and from Paul to the church in Philippi. Lord, I pray that you would bless these words, that you would use them to your glory and for the good of your people. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.