Cultivating a Christian Mindset

I heard an interesting story
on the news this week. There was a vehicle that was
stolen, and the man who owned the vehicle Immediately tried
to stop the thief who was still pulling out of a parking lot.
Ultimately, he jumped on the hood of the car. And hung on
for 13 blocks up to speeds of 60 miles an hour, only to eventually
get thrown off as the thief rounded a corner. Apparently, she was
eventually caught and was, I think, both drunk and high on drugs
and And then he began to hear the
rest of the story that this man had gone in to get lunch and
left his keys in the car. They’re not sure whether the
car was running, but he left his keys in the car. And I immediately
thought again of this passage. A lot of times, that’s essentially
what we do with regards to worry and strife and trouble. We leave the keys in the car. We let troubles have their way
in our life instead of locking the lock and taking the keys
and taking control of our life. Paul is still in that mode. Paul
is still, in a relative way, concerned about anxiety in our
lives. Paul is not ready to lay down
that whole line of thinking yet. The transition here is not so
abrupt that that is not still directly in his thoughts where
he urged us to be anxious for nothing. And we saw our great
proclivity for that. We worry about everything in
our life. We worry about our families. We worry about ourselves.
We worry about the future. We worry about the past. The
Paul went on to say, but by in everything, rather by prayer
and supplication with Thanksgiving, let your request be made known
to God. And that is the first means that Paul gives us to take
the keys out of the car, to take that thought life into control,
to give those requests and those concerns over to God and to literally,
as we saw, bring them to the throne of grace and to place
them before the face of God. Well, the fruit of that is given
there in verse seven. He tells that if we’ll only do
that, then the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. There is a lock on the door.
There is, as it were, a protection over our minds. And yet it’s
not enough just to pull the keys. We have to actively put something
into our minds. We can’t just replace it with
prayer, as Paul told us was a great means for taking away anxiousness,
but we actually have to fill that void with other things and
that’s what he begins to introduce in verse 8. Spiritual strength. stability
as a Christian, that steadfastness that seems to be so elusive to
so many Christians, ultimately is a result of how we think.
It’s our minds. Proverbs 23, 7 says, As a man
thinks within himself, so he is. Now, I’m not trying to suggest
that all it is is a matter of positive thinking. I think the
world had its full dose of that kind of teaching back in the
70s and 80s. I’m not suggesting that we go
back there. But there are things that our
mind is to meditate upon. There are things that we are
to place into our minds that are to replace those anxious
thoughts. Thoughts that betray our true
belief about God. Paul is looking back over his
shoulder at really the entirety of what he has already imparted
to the Philippians, summing up some thoughts when he says, finally,
here in verse 8. But what Paul implies here with
these words is that there is and can be freedom from worry
through prayer. There should be, though, also
a reaching forward for perfection, a reaching forward for that sanctification
introduced in chapter three. We must be carefully cultivating
these elements, these Christian graces, if we are going to preserve
the peace that God has worked into our hearts. In this world, A life of godliness is exceedingly
difficult to maintain. I am always just immediately
and profoundly struck by how quiet we get when we go to confession. Every Christian heart is seized
upon that moment. Not like you don’t have access
to it at home. Not like you don’t have access
to it, even as you’re racing here on Sunday morning. Then
you’ve got to confess that, too. It is exceedingly difficult to
maintain our Christian life. It takes a constant vigilance
to overcome the constant barrage that the world throws at us,
not to mention the devil himself, not to mention our own wayward
flesh. Secular, hedonistic society is
constantly pushing against us in a veritable culture of corruption. where many are misled and even
those who are misled in turn mislead others and give hearty
approval. Misery loves company. Paul didn’t
want that for his Philippian believers. Paul didn’t want them
to be caught up in the wayward and mindless thoughts of the
day. Paul said there’s something better
to think about and you had better take the keys and lock the car.
If you would, chapter 4, beginning in verse 8, where Paul says,
finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever
is of good repute. If there is any excellence in
anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell. on these things. The things you have learned and
received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and
the God of peace shall be with you.” We are to be cultivating
a Christian mindset. It doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t
come just by virtue of your repentance. Otherwise, there would be a lot
more of those super godly people that we meet just a few times
in our lives. If it came just so naturally
with repentance, we wouldn’t even need church. We wouldn’t
need quiet times. We wouldn’t need to read our
Bibles. We wouldn’t need to pray. And we certainly wouldn’t need
confession. We are called to cultivate a
Christian mindset. It doesn’t come easy. But as
Paul holds up what I would call the glistening gem of Christlikeness,
We see this multifaceted view of godliness that any one of
these things on its own would not equate to true holiness,
not in its completeness. Any one of these, even if you
were to live up to them perfectly. If absent of the others. Would
be sorely incomplete. But even this list, Paul isn’t
suggesting is complete. What he does present to us, though,
is an image, a picture, if you will, of a diamond. Certainly
people know more. People that know more about diamonds
know that there’s more than just eight facets to a diamond. But
Paul holds up eight. Eight as speaking of the whole,
as speaking of Christ’s likeness of the sanctified saint. the glistening gem of Christ’s
likeness. Let’s go to verse 8, if you would. What I’ve called these is the
core elements of a Christian’s thought preoccupation, that our
minds should be preoccupied not with worries, certainly, as Paul
has already told us, but they should be preoccupied with something
and something good. Something productive, something
worthwhile, something noble and inherently good. Paul says, finally,
brethren, let your mind dwell on these things. That’s the simple
sentence. Let your mind dwell on these
things. Some have suggested that Paul
was trying to make a conclusion to the epistle back in chapter
three, verse one, when he said, finally, it’s possible. Maybe he’s going to make another
attempt at closing out this epistle here. I certainly understand
the heart of my brother. But he does say, let your mind
dwell on these things, regardless of how soon the epistle will
end. He does say, let’s focus on this for a moment. We are
to focus our attention completely on things that are true. And
he goes on with this list. It is a call for right thinking
and in so it is a command. It is a imperative. Let your
mind dwell on these things. Right thinking. Proper thinking,
sound judgment is not an optional approach to the Christian life.
It is absolutely crucial. What this word is pointing to
is more than just letting these thoughts filter into our mind
and mulling them over occasionally. What he’s talking about here
is pondering them deeply, meditating upon them, bringing them in and
drinking them into our lives. It is to be a habit of the mind,
said one. As believers, just as In the
lives of those who do not know Christ, our lives ultimately
are a product of our thinking. Many have heard of what is now
in vogue, new counseling, a blend of two words, noose, the mind,
to place into, to place into the mind. And what it focuses
on is just a correction of the thinking of a believer. to place
into the mind, to bring reminders back to the believer so that
we can correct our thinking and that if we can correct our thinking,
behavior will follow suit or should. Unfortunately, this is
not the natural function of the mind, certainly especially not
the unsaved mind. To live rightly because of how
we think, that is not natural, not since the fall anyway. One
took great pains to go into a great description about the mind when
he said Scripture describes the unsaved mind as depraved. The unsaved mind is depraved,
utterly depraved. We don’t talk so much about depravity,
we don’t talk about it enough. It doesn’t mean that we’re as
bad as we can be. It does mean that we are thoroughly
bad. We are thoroughly evil in our
unsaved state. Romans 128, just as they did
not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over
to a depraved mind. It is a mind that is not focused
upon God, it is not focused upon good, it does not love God’s
law, it does not love himself, much less his fellow man. First Timothy 6, 5, 2nd Timothy
3, 8, both speak of a depraved mind and the results of it. It
is a sinful mind. It is a mind that is locked on
to sin as a great goal. As such, it is focused on the
flesh. Romans eight, five went on to say that those who are
according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.
But those who are according to the spirit set their minds on
the things of the spirit. It’s not just a switch that we
flip when we become a Christian, this is a work of God. He goes
on to point out. That the natural mind, the mind
who does not know yet Christ is hostile to God, is foolish,
hardened to spiritual truth, blinded by Satan, futile, ignorant
and defiled. That’s the natural mind. And
that’s where we were and that’s where we would be if not for
the grace of God. There are several images in Scripture
that remind me of this transformation, how drastic, how dramatic it
is. It’s not just being convinced of a few facts and saying, OK,
I’ll sign at the back of this track. It is having your mind
totally reworked and rewired by the one that built it to begin
with. The image that comes to my mind
is Nebuchadnezzar. Remember Nebuchadnezzar, the
king and Daniels? You know, he didn’t like the
report that he was given. He claimed these grandiose things
that were of his doing. And God humbled him on the spot.
Right. Turned him into essentially a
human lawnmower. And he went out and started,
remember, he’s battling all the other bovine for the alfalfa. Here’s how it reads. Nebuchadnezzar’s out there and
his hair is long and overgrown. God wanted to bring him to knees
of humility. He wanted to change his heart.
Listen to this. At the end of that period, I,
Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned
to me. A sinner is an unreasonable person. He is out of his mind, literally. His mind is not right. Listen
to what happened in Nebuchadnezzar, I blessed the most high, praised
and honored him who lives forever for his dominion is an everlasting
dominion and his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
I mean, this he didn’t come up with this on his own. All the
inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing that he
does according to his will in the host of heaven and none among
his inhabitants of the earth. And no one can ward off his hand
or say to him, what have you done? Nebuchadnezzar is basically
telling about the greatest message of God’s sovereignty that’s ever
been announced. This is a sovereign God, his
mind was corrected. And then from a New Testament
standpoint, you want to hear an interesting one. What about
the garrison demoniac? Remember? Remember the garrison
demoniac, he had so many demons in him, he was called Legion
for their many. Right. And then Jesus cast them
out into a herd of swine. And then it is said of the garrison
demoniac, the people went out to see what had happened. And
they came to Jesus and they found the man from whom the demons
had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus clothed and
in his right mind. And they became frightened. And it isn’t just the garrison,
the maniac. Anyone in their natural condition who does not know Christ
is not in their right mind. But how much more for a Christian?
For those of us who have come to know Christ and have had God
begin that process in our lives of rewiring our faulty mechanism
called the brain, rewiring and reworking our thinking, reeducating
us. Faith, said Martin Lloyd-Jones,
according to our Lord’s teaching, is primarily thinking. Did you
hear that? Faith is primarily thinking. And the whole trouble with a
man of little faith is that he does not think. What a great
statement. He allows circumstances to bludgeon
him. That is the real difficulty in
life. Life comes to us with a club
in its hand and strikes us upon the head and we become incapable
of thought, helpless and defeated. The way to avoid that, according
to the Lord, is to think. See, this is what the Apostle
Paul has been saying all the way along. Be anxious for nothing. Quit your thinking. You need
to think new thoughts. You need to look to God. You
need to lay these worries before him and you need to think about
new things. The way to avoid all that is,
according to the Lord, is to think we must spend more time
studying because Christian faith is essentially thinking. That
is the essence. Pardon me, the trouble with most
people, however, is that they will not think that is the essence
of worry. Faith can be defined like this,
it is a man insisting upon thinking when everything else seems determined
to bludgeon him and to knock him down. And so we are we are given a
corrective here. Paul’s not done talking about
anxiety. Paul’s not done talking about that sinful tendency that
we have to take everything onto our shoulders and to think it
through as if we can fix anything. Paul says we need to think, all
right, but we need to think new thoughts, we need to have our
thinking corrected. What we need is careful thinking. Which is a distinct feature of
the Christian faith. If there is any other religion
that even comes close, I’d be so surprised because the Christian
faith is what puts such a priority and such an emphasis on preaching
and teaching and discipleship and training the mind and thinking
through new things. This isn’t just a ritual that
we go through on Sunday morning to come here, we come here to
have our own thinking adjusted. Me as well. Everybody’s always,
you know, oh, you stepped on my toes this week. Well, I had
my toes stepped on all week long by this passage. The Bible often addresses the
Christians thinking, doesn’t it? First Corinthians 2, 12,
who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of
a man which is in him? Even so, the thoughts of God,
no one knows except the spirit of God. Now, we have received
not the spirit of the world, But the Spirit who is from God,
that we might know the things fully given to us freely by God. God’s concerned about our thinking.
Once we have come to Christ, we have our mind transformed.
Our minds are infused. With new abilities to reason
and to think. Luke 10. 27 Jesus urged to the
lawyer who came to him. Asking what he might do. Jesus
told him you must love the Lord your God with all your heart
and all your soul and all your mind. A natural man doesn’t have
the capacity to do that, but a child of God infused with the
grace of God does. We’ve been restored and rewired.
The trouble with people of little faith is that instead of controlling
his own thought, his thought is basically being controlled
by something else. The car has been hijacked. It
is stolen. It goes wherever it will. If we worry, it’s because we’re
not thinking. If we worry, it’s because we did not lock the door,
we did not take the keys and we’re being bludgeoned by our
circumstances. Romans 12 urges, doesn’t it? I urge you, therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy
sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service
of worship. And how do you do that? Do not be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
God’s concerned about our thinking. In fact, even as I’ve shared,
as we preach through the book of Philippians. We’ve looked
at this a number of times. There is what I titled a long
time ago the Froneo factor in Philippians. I even alliterated
that. The Froneo factor just talks
about this word Froneo, the mind, that is used so frequently in
Philippians and so rarely elsewhere. I think it’s used eight times
in Paul’s little epistle here and yet in the rest of his epistles,
very rarely, very sparsely. So there was something about
the Philippians that Paul needed to get a hold of. Paul looked
at them and they saw a little church in a big city that was
totally overrun by culture and soon would quell and quash anything
that was happening there for good. It would be overcome. If their thinking wasn’t changed.
So in verse seven of chapter one, Paul said, it’s only right
for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in
my heart since both in my imprisonment and then defense and confirmation
of the gospel, you are all partakers of grace with me. And there the
word is introduced. Philippians 2 to make my joy
complete by being of the same mind. Think the same thing. Get your doctrine all on one
page. Work together on it. Make sure
that it is sound and good and right and that you are all of
the same mind. Correct your thinking. Philippians
2.5 Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Think right. Think correctly. Think like Christ. And the word, obviously, even
from those first three references, you can tell that it has a wide
range of meaning. Sometimes pointing to the affections
of the heart, sometimes speaking of our judgment. But ultimately, it is our thinking
that is in view. Philippians 3.15, let us therefore,
as many as are perfect, have this attitude. Correct your thinking,
Paul says. 319 Speaking of those whose end is
destruction, whose God is their appetite, whose glory is their
shame, who set their minds on earthly things and pulses don’t
think like them. Philippians 410, which verse
will come to shortly, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now
at last you have revived your concern for me. You’re thinking
you’re thinking about me. We are supposed to be as Christians
totally focused on making a maximum effort to pursue the prize of
Christ likeness. As one said, let this be our
mindset not to sit down satisfied with past progress, but to be
focused upon it and feeling if nothing were done until all is
done. Let your mind dwell on these
things. We are to consider them and think
upon them, esteem all that is right and good and true. Philippians
3, 13, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet.
But one thing I do forgetting what lies behind, reaching forward
to what lies ahead. That is our great cause. This
word, let your mind dwell, is used in a negative sense in 1
Corinthians 13. Love does not take into account
It doesn’t maul on it and meditate on it. There are things that
we’re just not supposed to take into our minds and maul over
the record of wrongs. And there are things that we
are supposed to take into our mind and constantly play over,
constantly maul and meditate, chew upon, as it were, We’re to have a thoughtful estimate,
said one of the great value of these virtues. But mind you,
this is not a checklist that Paul is introducing. Don’t go
at him that way. Don’t say, you know, for 2010,
I’m going to focus on what’s true. And then in 2011, I’m going
to focus on what’s honorable. Don’t do a monthly, you know,
the virtue of the week. Don’t do that. Don’t think that
you can take these apart and section them. Paul is saying
that, look, Christ likeness identified by these particular virtues is
something that must be constantly in view and constantly pursued. As one urged, we are to be thoroughly
courageous and genuine and sincere, avoid loose and unsubstantial
convictions regarding spiritual and eternal things. Remember,
however little the word is revealed to you, it is God’s greatest
and best thought that it is the divine record concerning yourself
and his dear son and ought to make of infinite importance to
you. The Philippians were already
distracted. They were already in dangerous
territory. And Paul urges upon them Bible
study and quiet time and meditation and what Whitney called deep
thinking on spiritual truths. We cannot get by without it.
Whenever I come across things like this, I say, where do I
practice this? Where could I practice this? Where should I be more adept
at practicing? Where don’t I? Where have I fallen
short? And Paul introduces these eight
features, core elements, as I said, of a Christian’s preoccupation
in thought. He says, first of all, whatever
is true teaching and doctrine, as opposed to what’s false and
speculation, that certainly is in view. Truthfulness in word
and act, a sincerity of character that must also be in view. What
is true? If it isn’t, if we aren’t living
true. We need to go back to square
one, essentially. This truth is over against falsehood, and
this truth that he speaks of is rooted and oriented in our
relationship with God because God is truth. And as such, it
goes hand in hand. It’s partners with goodness and
righteousness and holiness and all of those things. As one said,
God is the standard of truth. Whatever is true in thought or
word or deed corresponds to the nature of God as revealed in
the moral ideals of the gospel of his son. God is truth. And it would certainly include
reading and meditating upon God’s word, since God’s word is true,
that it includes truth as opposed to error. What is true as opposed
to speculation? And here Paul takes worry off
our plate again. We worry about so many things
that might happen or could happen. We worry about the future, which
is entirely speculative. The fear of the unknown, as we’ve
talked about in weeks past. We worry about true as opposed
to speculation. We worry about what is true as
opposed to what is merely possible. Is it happening now? Is it true? In the Philippian culture. Fraught with false doctrine and
all kinds of speculation of what might become of them because
of the Roman army. Do you think that this was lost
on them? When Paul said, look, I want
you to pause and I want you to think about what’s true first. Let’s focus on what’s true. And
what a great question to ask ourselves. The bills do, I’m
surely going to get thrown out of my house, is that true? My boss hates me, I’m certainly
going to lose my job, is that true? I have the sniffles. I surely will die. Is that true? There are many things that we
focus on in our lives that are just not true. I’ve said it before
regarding doctrine. It’s almost like vanity fair
with everything that’s out there and all this nonsense that’s
constantly spewing about from the churches and from so-called
pastors, ideas and winds of doctrine that are just not true. Paul says, you know what? Take
a pause. Take a pause in your life and
focus on what’s true. Secondly, what’s honorable? Whatever
is honorable. It’s an interesting word, it’s
it’s honorable, obviously, as opposed to dishonorable NIV.
Here you go. Write this down. I’m quoting
the NIV. It is noble or dignified. It’s
a good word, good translation. In the older terms, and I was
somewhat worried about this at first, but In the older versions,
when they speak of something that is venerable, when they
speak of someone that is venerable, you know, in our modern year,
we recoil from that. Only God is venerable. They didn’t
mean it like that. They didn’t mean that it was
somebody who was to be revered and worshiped and you fall down
on your knees and here goes a man of gray hair and isn’t he wonderful? That’s not at all how they had
it. It was a respectable man. He was venerable. We use it today
and some of us even recoil today. This word just talks about what
is not base or frivolous, what is not unbecoming or unworthy.
As one said, it is exhibiting a dignity which grows out of
moral elevation, which in turn invites reverence. This is a
godly person. This is a godly man. This is
godly character. And as such, it is said to be
dignified, venerable. And as such, we are called to
this in our speech. Whether we are speaking, whether
we’re thinking our behavior, everything is tied to this. As
one said it, and I did not alliterate this one motives, manners and
morals, everything is wrapped up in that motives, manners and
morals. I’m going to write that down. In First Timothy and Titus, it’s
an interesting use there because it’s given there for the qualifications
of both an elder and a deacon. It’s absolutely a prerequisite
that an elder be honorable, dignified, venerable. First Timothy 3.8,
deacons must be men of dignity. And what he points to there is
it refers that it’s in contrast there with being double tongued,
addicted to wine, fond of sordid gain, a thief. Basically, these
are men that carry themselves well. They carry themselves uprightly
in the community. They live the way you’re supposed
to live as a Christian. I love, you know this, I love
words and I love Puritan words. They say it so well. He said
it this way. Frivolity. That’s the opposite of dignity,
isn’t it? One who’s just a goofball. That’s what it is. That’s what
he meant. Frivolity, the aversion of men
by nature to serious thought and feeling is one of the greatest
obstacles to the progress of the gospel. Did you hear that
frivolity just goofing around, just lightheartedness, just caring
for nothing is one of the greatest hindrances to the to the pardon
me, to the progress of the gospel. How so? The Christian, on the
other hand, has been enabled by God’s grace to overcome this
hindrance. He has learned to take the unseen
world to his calculations and to see how serious a thing it
is to spend the life which is the seed time for the harvest
of eternity. Did you hear that? That is a
great illustration. And I love, you know, above the
doors and people say, here’s the mission field or you’re going
out to conquer the world or whatever. What a great thing to put above
your door, above your car, on your visor. Be careful when you
read it. This is the seed time for the
harvest of eternity, and an unbeliever doesn’t know that an unbeliever
is totally ignorant to that truth. But the Christians eyes have
been opened. The Christian knows that this
is all I’ve got. This is all I’ve got to sow and
to plant eternity. And he goes on to say he feels,
too, the loftiness of his position in Christ as a child of God,
as a citizen of heaven, buffoonery. And that was his word buffoonery
and silly lightness of demeanor are obviously altogether unsuitable
to one who holds such views. frivolity as an obstacle to the
gospel. He goes on to say that he should
be felt to bring into his company. Pardon me. He should be felt
to bring into his company a bright atmosphere. In other words, this
guy isn’t this, you know, heavy, lifeless, you know, gray, ashen
faced individual that won’t ever crack a smile. That’s not what
he’s talking about. He’s talking about somebody that’s
just constantly a goofball. He should bring into life an
element of cheerfulness. That’s my role at home. Whenever
somebody flies over the handlebars, you know, in time when the tears
begin to dry, then it’s my role to step in and to say, you know,
can you imagine yourself the position you were in as you flew
over those handlebars? Wit and humor, he goes on to
say in a spirit, a spirit rather of purity and kindness are not
inconsistent with Christian character and by them many a heavy heart
has been lightened. God’s not against that, but what
he says is that every everything should be with grace. Spiritually
healthy. But we’re not goofballs. First,
Timothy, it’s used of women Some call them deaconesses. Paul says
they should be dignified. Titus 2.2. Older men are to be
temperate, dignified, sensible. What this word points to is just
a life of seriousness. You take the serious things seriously.
You lighten up when you need to lighten up. We can’t be caught up in what
is mundane and trivial and temporal. What we need to ask ourselves
in this regard is what will cultivate the respect of others, not just
in my playing to the crowd, but how I live. Will it cultivate
the respect of others? Am I a gentleman? Am I living
a dignified life? Those are the men that I admire.
Those are the men that I seek to model my life after. As I
looked at my short list of who are those men in my life that
I really have sought to emulate, they are dignified men. There
are men that don’t enter into every argument that don’t. Maybe
they got tired of getting punched in the nose. Whatever it is,
they stopped. Not only true and honorable, but right. Well, that’s
simple. She’s talking about what’s right
as opposed to what’s wrong. And God’s word. Runs counter
to our society because our society says, you know, it’s all situational.
It all depends on the circumstances, not Scripture. Scripture is black
and white. Scripture lays out for what’s what’s right and what’s
wrong. And it’s always what’s right in God’s estimation. And
it’s eternal and unchanging, and we are to meditate on God’s
righteous acts, God’s Righteousness in history. We are to think about
how we are to live out righteousness toward others in our words and
in our deeds. It’s right treatment of others.
That’s the basics here. It’s right treatment of others
and behavior toward God and people. And doing the right thing, you
know, even the orange box when they trained us, you know, that
was the one mantra that they gave us. Do the right thing.
OK, well, that’s easy enough. Culture and society and people
in general know what’s right. They know what’s right. God’s
word says it. They know in their heart. When people sin, they
don’t have you don’t even have to necessarily tell them they
know in their heart that they violated God’s law. They know
what’s right. They just lack the grace to live
accordingly. We are to focus on what’s right.
We’re to meditate upon what’s right. We’re to seek to do what’s
right and pure. Which is just identified as being
morally pure and chaste holiness in both word and deed. As one
said, not merely modesty, but we take the broader sense in
which it is found, whatever things are pure, which things are neither
tainted nor corrupt, free from all debasing elements, clear,
transparent in purpose, leaving no blot on the conscience and
no stain on the character. It is pure, we’re to focus on
what’s pure, and you talk about a society and a culture that
runs counter in this regard. Everything that flies at us is
impure. Everything that comes at us,
you know, whether TV or the radio or the billboards, the thoughts
in people’s minds, the double entendre and innuendos that come
our way, everything is impure. And if we don’t take time out
to focus on what is pure. We’re just being steeped, steeped
like a cheap teabag, right? It’s all areas of our life. As one said, purity implies a
superior. Pardon me. Purity implies a superiority
of soul, which will show itself continually in word or deed to
everything low and sensual, to everything selfish and mean,
a freedom from petty views and sinister ends. And on the contrary,
a relish and love of everything that is really great and good.
That’s purity. It is a desire for what is good
and right and pure. The Philippians were part of
the ungodly culture, and so are we, where motives and cultural
influences and billboards, you know, I knew a guy who had to
pass by a billboard that was so vile and impure that he found
a way that took him an extra 10 or 15 miles out of the way.
And that’s the way he went to work to avoid one billboard. And that’s our that’s our constant
challenge. Is to take whatever steps in your life you need to
to maintain purity of life and thought and speech, if it means
turning off the cable, turn off the cable. If you have to quit
the job, quit the job. If you’ve got to get married
to be pure, get married. If you need to get rid of some
friends that constantly are pressing in on the purity of your heart
and mind, get rid of them. Let your mind dwell on these
things, whatever is true and honorable and right and pure
and lovely. And we’ll have to take up lovely
next week. This is not a deal that men,
that’s not what I wake up typically and aspire. I don’t typically
wake up and aspire to be lovely. You have one week, men. One week to get yourself into
a frame of mind to aspire to be lovely. I planned on finishing. We’ll
take it up next Lord’s Day. Let’s pray. Well, God, you are
so merciful to us to not just give us a command. But to give
us the means to pray and to come to you and to layer worries and
concerns before you. And then to provide thought prompters
and not merely thought prompters, but great and noble statements
of Christian virtue, things on which a life of focus and effort. would not be complete. Lord,
we thank you that your grace one day will make it complete.
You will make these things perfections in our life as they are in Christ’s. Lord, we thank you for this calling.
We thank you for this corrective. We ask your blessing in our day
as we meditate upon you. In Jesus name, Amen.