The Power of Proper Thinking (Part 1 of 2)

The it's not uncommon to hear people describing their relationship with God in terms of their feelings, our emotions are certainly unimportant part of our humanity and of our Christian life.

But today on Truth for Life Alastair bed cautions us not to make emotional experiences.

The foundation of our faith is titled today's message the power of proper thinking and I get to turn with me in your Bibles if you would to the Philippians and the fourth chapter and I'm going to read from the first verse. Therefore, my brothers, you my love and long for my joy and crown. That is how you should stand firm in the Lord dear friends, I plead with you Odie and I plead with syndicate to agree with each other in the Lord yes and I ask you loyal your fellow help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again rejoice, let your gentleness be evident to all.

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me put it into practice and the God of peace will be with you on Anna May God grant to his understanding of his word.

As we come to study it together father as we turn now to your word into these precious moments when you in some mysterious way choose to take up your Bible and your servant, and when he is lost in all that you desire to communicate. So we are confronted by you and not by him.

This is what we long for to hear your voice to see your face to encounter your truth to live as your children.

So then, come by the Holy Spirit. We pray for Jesus sake, we ask amen you are what you think about now let me ask you what you think about that our minds are the root of all of our human actions. It is via our minds that our affections are stirred, it is the mind that direct the will, it is our minds that conceive and direct every action of our life's unless of course there is some cerebral impairments on mental deficiency. All of us can claim no excuse for anything that we've determined to do because we have conceived that first of all, in our minds is therefore absolutely imperative that we think about the right things and indeed that we learn to think in the right way, is there then a Christian way to think how do you think Christianly assembly would say that to have a Christian mind is to have a mind that is trained only to think about Christian topics so that this mind closes itself to every other notion that does not fit within the framework of that which would be described as being Christian and such individuals would say that this is a Christian mind, but we would have to say that while there is great benefit from thinking expressly and supremely and in some ways, in a primary way about these matters that would not fit the description of a Christian mind. Rather, the Christian mind is a mind that is learned to think about everything from a Christian perspective so that the Christian thinks about music all music from a Christian perspective, they don't just think about quote Christian music no more than anything about Christian engineering or Christian medicine or Christian are but then the whole gamut of the expedience of human existence. We bring our minds to bear upon the variety of life in a way that is constrained by the revealed truths of God's word and it really is too bad that too often those who profess Christianity seek to influence others in their views by some blustering attempted persuasion which gives Indian every indication of being actually mindless that is strong on emotion, which is of course not, absent that is strong feeling which is of course relevant, but when pressed at the round of rationality when pressed in the realm of the mind has very little to say and is left simply reiterating well-worn clichés and consequently those who are our friends and neighbors confronting deep and significant questions are rather pulled off rather than attracted by those who think that a Christian mind is simply a mind that has been constrained by four or five texts a proper use of our minds not only glorifies God but also strengthens us in our ability to provide an answer for those who ask a reason for the hope that we have the ability of the apostles to persuade men and women and you find that verb coming again and again in the acts of the apostles as well as in the epistles, durability of persuasion was not by dint of their personality.

It was not even on account of the significance of the power of God, although clearly both were involved, but it also involved from a human perspective.

For example, Paul's ability in the city of Athens to say, I can see that you are a very religious group of people because as I have been wandering around.

I've encountered all these many idols and finally and I notice that you have one to an unknown God. Now, having engaged them at the level of their thinking. He says now what you regard as unknown. I would like to proclaim to you, and in the healing of that the intelligentsia said this guy up to our meeting. We need to hear what he's on about. He seems to be a bit of a babbler. He seems to be propounding. A couple of deities and so let's have them up at our meeting and let's dialogue with this character and see what he's on about most of us would never get invited to the meeting because we have never buy anything that we've said engage the mind of our secular neighbors in such a way that causes him to say you know we're going to have to talk about that.

We're going to have to think about how the apostle Paul here in Philippians has been offering all kinds of advice and all kinds of directors, and indeed it is in light of the surrounding context that we should understand the verses to which in the course of our studies we have now come mainly verses eight and nine, but the temptation in verses eight and nine because of the way they fall is to dislodge them from their context. Paul introduces Versed by saying. Finally, brothers, and then you look at that as verse eight and he goes into verse 23. So you say to yourself, well, if that was finally I was quite a long finally. That was the average preachers finally there's preachers that give you the feeling that they are just about to end that they are now down about 20 feet above the runway and then all of a sudden they decide to do a go around and they fire the baby up again and they go twice around before the end.

Not that I ever do that. Of course, but I have observed it in others is finally here I think should be understood as here is a last piece of advice. Invite sorority event from nicely from JB Phillips paraphrase. That's the way he paraphrases this. Finally, he says here the last piece of advice because he is already sent to them in verse one of chapter 3. Watch out for the dogs.

Verse 17 take notes of my example verse six of chapter 4. Don't worry and he is giving all of this instruction in light of the fact that they are confronted. Verse 18 of chapter 3 I the enemies of the cross of Christ. These dear believers in Philippi, whom he loves who belongs 40 seems to have a special place in his heart of the church in Philippi because in his joy he calls in his crown now because that absolutely perfect, but he just loves them and he is so concerned for them. He wants them to know God's peace. I'm compiling their hearts and umpiring their minds and he wants them to understand.

It seems to me that any expedience of the peace of God does not come about in a vacuum notice. I think the key to understanding verses eight and nine is in this phrase the peace of God verse seven and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And then notice how verse nine ends and the God of peace will be with you. He is concerned for these troubled believers buffeted from the outside struggling from within. They would know God's peace. I want you to know the peace of God rule in your hearts and ruling your minds he introduces the mind and that point he's going to conclude this final directive by saying if you do these things that I'm telling you, then you will know the God of peace to be with you in terms of personal companionship, not simply the peace of God as is a characteristic if you like or as a dimension of life. But the God of peace as a companion through life. Now it's in the middle of this that we have the content of the sandwich if you like these be the peace of God and the God of peace. Of the two slices of bread and then in the middle you have the other stuff that makes a percentage because it is very clear that God's design is such that it is as we give attention to the things of which he approves. In other words, as we allow our minds to be shaped and molded by the things of which he approves that we then enjoy the benefits that are the fruit if you like, growing on the tree of salvation, because you will recall that Paul is not writing your to secular men and women he is writing to those who been embraced by Christ who have embraced him in personal faith verses eight and nine are not a kind of suggested list of external principles to be applied by the man in the street in order to make his life a little better. He may choose to do that and it will to some degree make his life a little better. That is not what Paul is saying he is addressing that which is the fruit that emerges on the tree of salvation the trunk of which is grace and the branches of which are personal faith. In other words, he is calling here for his readers to understand the power of proper thinking the power of proper thinking. I want you to understand this love once you will not and I will not know the peace of God or the God of peace, simply as a result of if you like laying hold of the notion, and then scurrying out into the remainder of the week to fill my mind with all kinds of false sure did on helpful material because the peace of God does not come to the people of God in a vacuum, but it is conveyed within the context of the people of God fastening their minds on those very things of which the God of peace himself approves is why people to come out to get to about 11 o'clock on a Wednesday and they say well you know the thing was about the peace of God on Sunday and Frederick I don't know any peace of God, I don't know the peace of God, I don't know the God of peace. My life is a total shambles what radio station did you listen to first thing in the morning. What is been your constant intake in terms of material that is fed you in the early hours of the day and in the dying moments of the evening. What is been the literature that you have read and what is the material that you have conveyed to your mind with consistency since you heard about the peace of God and the God of peace.

And if the answer is totally alien bogus material than the late charge of God's door because he gave you the Bible in which he said this is what you should think about thing about what's true, think about what's noble and so on. It was interesting that Paul has no contemporary concern about being too direct you know he will go to counselors in the asked what should I do about this and the counselor says what do you think you should do about this. That always intrigues me.

I understand the methodology but it is like schoolteachers, why do they want to know where Chile is there, the teachers tell me where Chile is why you asking me if you tell me you're the teacher on the pupil tell me where Chile is balmy stand in front of map with a stick. Going back if I were Chile is I don't know somewhere up your missionary would have me to go to the counselor which I do about as well, or you think you should do. I'm paying you $60.

Tell me what I should know me that's stunned.

I'm answer my own question. We see late 20th century dwellers don't want anybody to tell them what to do.

That's a refrain. Don't tell me what to do and the other refrain is don't tell me what to think or don't tell me how to think. Paul violates it all totally politically incorrect spends all of his letters going to tell you what to do and then he says let me tell you what to think. I want to tell you how to think about what to think. In other words, is total indoctrination in the right sense and in being indoctrinated to the revealed truth of God, we learn to become the greatest, freest thinkers is an illusion to believe that believing whatever you want, and having your mind open to every notion is actually the way to freethinking.

It is actually a ways will see in a moment to close your mind to the possibilities of the greatest discoveries of truth. Paul understands that. So he gives them a list of six qualities, but he is a kind of catchall in the end of verse eight.

If you will notice if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. It seems to me that once he has begun his list. He could keep it going ad infinitum, whatever is right, whatever is true, whatever is noble or is Evers Adm. Musser said himself. If I keep going here I have a list of 4050 60 things so if he was telling the receptors is why we just use a kind of in our collective little basket here when we see if there is anything praiseworthy. If there's anything excellent about that service as a great idea. So is exactly what he did.

Now interestingly Phillips when he paraphrases this takes the close of verse eight and he makes in the beginning of verse eight.

That's incidentally wise a paraphrase and he says if there is anything excellent if there is anything praiseworthy paraphrases that if you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God as one of the distinguishing marks. Incidentally, of being a Christian is he being a Christian is not something being able to stand up and say you know I'm a Christian because on such and such a day. I made a certain decision.

No, the Christian is somebody who believes in goodness and who values the approval of God.

So the Christian shouldn't have to be constantly saying you see on certain Saturday.

I did such and such a thing. The Christian should be distinguishable in the community because it becomes apparent.

This guy believes in goodness and this guy values the approval of God. This girl is different because she seems concerned about a different standard. I haven't heard exactly what it is she's into. I don't know whether she's a Muslim or a Christian or a Jew in the moment, but I do know this. She values the approval of God because I've seen her bow ahead and close her eyes before she different I listened to her speech. I've seen the way she frames her life.

I've I've observed all of this.

These are the distinguishing characteristics all weekend getaway with a funny little bumper sticker as if somehow we did our business for God in the kingdom by something stuck on our stuff in our bumper that would violate and add 55 and 75 and 95 miles an hour on a daily basis that's easy.

No, it you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God. In other words, here's the meter. Here is the gauge here is the plumb line against which we can judge our thought patterns on a regular basis stop at any point of the day and ask this question all of your thoughts is what I am thinking about right now in lying with God's approval and is it likely to be praiseworthy before men, gentlemen.

At any point of the day, you could stop and say to yourself is what is going on between my ears. Right now the kind of thing that I would be happy to have shown up on either of these screens and for my teenage daughters to observe is a praiseworthy is a mark by a concern for goodness is of the kind of thing that God looks upon a decision I approve of that. I like that thought that kind of thinking is the kind of thing I'm describing went through my servant Paul in my letter to the Philippians and encourage them and you to to ensure that if there is any interest in goodness any concern for the approval of God that you will learn to think in a particular way. Interestingly, the word that is used here for excellence which Philip paraphrases goodness is the word Arity is the most comprehensive word in the Greek language for moral excellence. He says if if there is anything that is marked by moral excellence. What a challenge that is how apropos our day is it not, we live in a world that is full of things that are sordid and shabby.

We almost needed to ask our surgical friends for rubber gloves to read yesterday morning's newspaper because it was soiled and it was smutty.

Paul says, in a world like that the Christian's preoccupation is to be with that which is virtuous, which calls down the approval of God and which deserves the praise of men the power of positive thinking is an idea often embraced in our culture today were learning about the power of proper thinking your listing to Truth for Life. The Bible teaching ministry of Alistair Begg. Our mission a truthful life is straightforward, were committed to teaching God's word with clarity and relevance. That's it.

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