I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      Paul’s epistle to the Philippians is an exhortation to humility, sacrifice, unity, joy, and peace.

B.      On the subject of peace, Paul showed that true peace is not dependent on external conditions, but rather it is the result of a life that is devoted to God in Christ.

                                                             1.      Nothing could illustrate this better than the fact that Paul himself was at perfect peace even though he wrote this epistle from a Roman prison.

                                                             2.      See Philippians 1:12-13, 18, 21; 2:17; 3:7-8; 4:11-13.

C.      Therefore, it is necessary for Christians to have their minds set on godly things, which is the subject of our lesson from Philippians 4:8.

II.      “LET YOUR MIND DWELL…”

A.      The mind of a person determines the meaning of his life.

                                                             1.      The mind and the heart are synonymous with one another in the Scriptures.  They represent the center of man’s thought, reason, emotion, and motivation.

                                                             2.      The Lord taught that the things that a person does come from within the treasure of the heart, whether those things are good or evil.

a.       Christ said, “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.  The good man out of his good treasure brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth what is evil” (Matt. 12:34b-35).

b.       He also said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.  These are the things which defile the man…” (Matt. 15:19-20a).

c.        These sayings echo the proverb, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Prov. 23:7).

B.      Therefore, if we seek to devote our lives to God, we must first choose to fill our minds with godly things.

                                                             1.      The thoughts of our minds are completely within our control.

a.       Colossians 3:2 gives the instruction, “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”  Spiritual thoughts should be our priority.

b.       Let us do this rather than choosing to focus our thoughts on worldly things.

i.         Some worldly things are sinful and have no place in the mind of a Christian.

ii.        Other worldly things are not inherently evil (work, school, etc.), but they may become evil if they take priority over spiritual things.

c.        We choose the thoughts of our minds mainly by choosing the things that we feed into our minds.  If we want spiritual thoughts, then we need to feed our minds on the spiritual food of God’s word (Matt. 4:4; 1Pet. 2:1-3).

                                                             2.      The things that we choose to dwell upon will bear fruit in the lives that we live.

a.       To demonstrate, consider the Pharisees again.  The Lord asked them, “You brood of vipers, how can you being evil, speak what is good?” (Matt. 12:34a).  The Pharisees had chosen to fill their minds with evil, so they were incapable of bringing forth anything good.

b.       On the other hand, consider Ezra, who “set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10).

C.      This choice means that Christians are to have true spiritual substance and not just the outward appearance of spirituality.

                                                             1.      We cannot treasure the things of the world in our hearts and be spiritual at the same time.

                                                             2.      Just as Christ could see into the hearts of the Pharisees, so also God sees our hearts.  He told Samuel, “For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outer appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1Sam. 16:7).

III.   “…ON THESE THINGS”

A.      Perhaps we do not always give the instruction of Philippians 4:8 the proper attention, so let us consider each of the categories of thought given in this verse.

B.      “Whatever is true…”

                                                             1.      Truth is that which is unconcealed, manifest, and proven.

a.       The spiritual truth that Christians believe is revealed through faith, for it is unseen (Heb. 11:1).  This is where our minds must dwell.

b.       The basis for our faith is God’s word, which is truth (John 17:17).

                                                             2.      Not all truth is pleasant, but we must consider the truth about evil along with the truth about good.  David said, “From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore, I hate every false way” (Ps. 119:104).

C.      “Whatever is honorable…”

                                                             1.      In the original language, this word was related to reverence.  It describes something that is worthy of esteem.

                                                             2.      This stands in contrast to many things and people who are dishonest and fraudulent.  In the world, these things often excel, but they have no honor in the sight of God and they are unworthy of our thoughts.

D.      “Whatever is right…”

                                                             1.      Translated as “just” in the KJV, this indicates that which is objectively righteous.  This word is frequently used in the Scriptures to describe God, Christ, and righteous men.

                                                             2.      As with the truth, “whatever is right” does not always please men.  Righteousness is determined by God’s word, and man’s opinion has no bearing on God’s standard of right and wrong no matter how popular the opinion may be.

E.       “Whatever is pure…”

                                                             1.      To be pure is to be free from defilement and contamination.  This word is translated in other verses of Scripture as “holy.”

                                                             2.      So many things in the world are defiled by sin, corruption, and falsehood.  The few, precious, pure things are worthy of our minds’ thoughts.

                                                             3.      James said, “The wisdom from above is first pure…” (Jas. 3:17).  God’s undefiled word should be in the thought of our minds.

F.       “Whatever is lovely…”

                                                             1.      “Lovely” describes that which is worthy of love or tender affection.

                                                             2.      We use this word to describe something or someone that provokes us to have affection because of appearances, but the spiritually minded person will recognize that there are many unseen things that will provoke our affection when considered properly.  They deserve our thoughts.

G.      “Whatever is of good repute…”

                                                             1.      To be of good repute is to be reported as good by others.  Let us understand “good” to mean that which is objectively good in the sight of God.

                                                             2.      One glance at any popular news outlet will demonstrate that this world loves to hear bad news.  In contrast to this, Christians are to dwell on the good news (especially the good news of Christ).

H.      “If there is any excellence…”

                                                             1.      “Excellence” is translated as “virtue” in the KJV, and it describes moral goodness.

                                                             2.      This quality belongs to God (2Pet. 1:3), and it should also belong to every Christian (2Pet. 1:5).  Anything or anyone that demonstrates excellence, virtue, or moral goodness is worthy of our thoughts.

I.        “Anything worthy of praise…”

                                                             1.      Praise is given as a message of approval and admiration and as a means of bestowing glory.

                                                             2.      Not everything or everyone that is worthy of praise receives it from men, and men praise many things and many people who are unworthy.  However, if God offers His praise, then it is worthy of our thoughts.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      The result of dwelling on these things is that a Christian may become true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and praiseworthy himself.  As we noticed before, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Prov. 23:7).

B.      Therefore, “let you mind dwell on these things.”  Make it a point to be spiritual in your thoughts, and your life will become truly spiritual as well.