Think On These Things

 

Whatsoever Things Are True

I don’t know about you but I’ve been a bit anxious lately. With all that’s going on, it’s been difficult to not be worried about what’s going to happen next. Every week it’s something else, another calamity, another riot, another lockdown. Just when you think things might turn around, here comes something else, a locust swarm, a murder bee, a Sahara sandstorm.

How do we cope with all that’s going on?

How do we deal with circumstances beyond our control?

What is the cause of anxiety? What really causes it?

Is it the circumstances around us?

Is it the situation in which we find ourselves?

OR

Is it a condition of the mind?

Is it what we allow our minds to think about?

Is it what we focus on?

 

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” ~Charles R. Swindoll

How you think about a situation and how you respond to it determines your outlook on life.

 

Are we more than conquerors or are we just victims of circumstance?

 

As God’s people, we’ve been blessed with a most amazing gift, two gifts actually – the Word of God, his Holy Bible and his Holy Spirit to guide us so that we can make sense of it.

There’s a passage in Philippians where Paul advises us how he coped with all the trials and persecution he suffered. He developed a formula and he shares it with us.

 

Php 4:11-13 KJV

(11)  Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

(12)  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

 

Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible has this to say –

“And I know how to abound - To have an abundance. Paul had been in circumstances where he had an ample supply for all his needs, and knew what it was to have enough. It requires as much grace to keep the heart right in prosperity, as it does in adversity, and perhaps more. Adversity, of itself, does something to keep the mind in a right state; prosperity does nothing.”

 

Paul says here that he has been “instructed” how to be both full and hungry at the same time. The word used here means instructed in the sense of being “initiated into the secret” of how to be both full and hungry at the same time. This is something not readily apparent. He had to learn it over time by experience. He is revealing to us what he discovered in the process.

 

Barnes’ Notes again –

 

“Both to be full - That is, he had learned to have an ample supply of his needs, and yet to observe the laws of temperance and soberness, and to cherish gratitude for the mercies which he had enjoyed.”

“And to be hungry - That is, to be in circumstances of want, and yet not to murmur or complain. He had learned to bear all this without discontent. This was then, as it is now, no easy lesson to learn… It is a lesson which we slowly learn, not to complain at the allotments… [which God provides] not to be envious at the prosperity of others; not… [to fret, to complain] when our comforts are removed…The condition of Paul was not always the same. He passed through great reverses. At one time he had abundance; then he was reduced to want; now he was in a state which might be regarded as affluent; then he was brought down to extreme poverty. Yesterday, he was poor and hungry; today, all his necessities are supplied.

Now, it is in these sudden reverses that grace is most needed, and in these rapid changes of life that it is most difficult to learn the lessons of calm contentment. People get accustomed to an even… [manner] of life, no matter what it is, and learn to shape their [temperament] and their calculations according to it. But these lessons… vanish when they pass suddenly from one extreme to another, and find their condition in life suddenly changed.

Such changes are constantly occurring in life. God tries his people, not by a steady course of prosperity, or by long-continued and uniform adversity, but by transition from the one to the other; and it often happens that the grace which would have been sufficient for either continued prosperity or adversity, … fail[s] in the transition from the one to the other.

…new grace is imparted for this new form of trial, and new traits of Christian character are developed in these rapid transitions in life.”

 

Paul’s Secret Formula

The apostle Paul tells us how he was able to be content and at peace regardless of his circumstances and exhorts us to do the same. His simple two-step process, his secret formula developed through experience is one we can apply in our lives today to overcome anxiety and stress and to cope even during times such as these.

 

Php 4:6-7 KJV

(6)  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

(7)  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Step One – Prayer and Supplication to God

Let God know through prayer that we are worried. God doesn’t fault us for being anxious. He knows what it’s like. Christ has told Him. He’s right there explaining things on our behalf. We are to lay our cares at the feet of God’s throne thanking him for his compassion and love for us, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1Pe 5:7)

This first step is absolutely essential if we’re to accomplish step two. We must first let go of our worry and free our minds of it or we’ll never be able to go on to step two.

I’m assuming we know how to take our cares to God in prayer. The focus of the split-sermon is on Step Two of Paul’s Secret Formula.

The title of this split-sermon today is – Think On These Things

Subtitle – Whatsoever Things Are True

 

Step Two – Think On These Things

 

Php 4:8 KJV  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, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Eight Things We Are to Think About

Think on these things, not our worries and cares. These eight things.

 

I’ve asked myself many times, how do I think on these things?

Do I just recite them – true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, and praise?

Wouldn’t that be just vain repetition, like reciting the Lord’s Prayer over and over? What would that accomplish? Would that bring a sense of calm?

“true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, praise”

“true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, praise”

“Boy, now I feel better!”

Surely not.

So, what things do we know to be true?

There’s every day terminology we use in life that comes to mind when we think about things that are true. There are expressions that have become common in our language just by their use.

True North – the true center of the top of the Earth, the North Pole, where if you ran a rod through the Earth from the North Pole to the South Pole it would be the exact center where the Earth rotates around it.

However, a compass doesn’t point to true North. So maybe it's not true at all.

A compass actually points towards northern Canada at Ellesmere Island. This is a difference of about 500 kilometers between the Geographic True North and Magnetic North!

There are other expressions in life that are true

• True Friend – one you can count on through thick and thin
• True Love – one who loves you with a pure heart
• True Calling – one that leads to conversion not just confession
• True Happiness – not an insincere smile we wear to cover the pain
• True Value – We’ve even named a hardware store after it
• True Colors – one’s genuine self
• True Believer – one who keeps the faith regardless of circumstance

Each of these carries with it the meaning that they are genuine, the real deal, nothing false or deceitful about it. They are genuine, true to what they represent, legitimate.

Then I wondered, how do I know what things are true, what things are honest, or just or pure, or any of the rest of them.

Where can I find such things to think on in this world?

So, I turned to the only true source that I know for sure, that any of us know, the Bible. Thy word is truth. (Joh 17:17)

To start, I further examined the words of Philippians 4 verse 8 in 37 different translations of the Bible and copied them into a spreadsheet. Then I filtered out the duplicate words so that I ended up with only the words that were unique to each translation, the essence of all of them, the short list. My study since has been to examine each of these words.

 

True	Honest	Just	Pure	Lovely	Good Report	Virtue	Praise
	Decorous	Fair	Holy	Acceptable	Admirable	Deeds of Approbation	Deeds of Praise
	Grave	Right	Clean	Amiable	Commendable	Excellence	Deemed Worthy of Praise
	Have Honor	Righteous		Beautiful	Good Fame	Excellence of Character	Deserves Praise
	Honorable	Upright		Friendly	Good Repute	Excellent	High Praise
	Modest			Lovable	Honest Report	Good	Praise of Discipline
	Noble			Pertain to Love	Honorable	Moral Excellence	Praiseworthy
	Serious			Pleasing	Kind & Winsome & Gracious	Right	Worthy of Praise
	Venerable			Worthy of Love	Of Value	Truly Worthwhile
	Wins Respect				Proper	Uprightness
	Worthy of Respect				Respected	Virtue & Excellence
	Worthy of Reverence Honorable & Seemly					Worthiness

 

I was amazed to learn that each one was more comprehensive than I could ever imagine. It was like I had never noticed it before. I’ll only have time today to cover just one.

Whatsoever Things Are True

This one is the only one of the eight where in every single translation the word used is the word, “true”. Every last one. The others offered variations on the theme like a thesaurus.

The Bible  speaks of things that are true. And we know these to be true things we can count on!

 

True God

If our prayers and supplications are to be effective, they must be to the true God and not a false idol.

Jer 10:10 KJV  But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

Isa 45:5-6 KJV

(5)  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

(6)  That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.

He is the one and only true God and there is no other. Those were Old Testament. What does the New Testament say?

Joh 7:28-29 KJV

(28)  Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.

(29)  But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me.

Who is he that sent him?

Joh 17:3 KJV  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

1Jn 5:20 KJV  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

 

The God we worship is the one true God. There’s comfort in that.

For in him we live, and move, and have our being (Act 17:28)

 

True Light

 

Joh 1:6-9 KJV

(6)  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

(7)  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

(8)  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

(9)  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

John the Baptist was not that true Light but came to bear witness of the true Light, Jesus Christ.

This true light now shines.

 

1Jn 2:8-10 KJV

(8)  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

(9)  He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.

(10)  He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

We cannot hate our brother and abide in the Light of Jesus Christ.

 

1Jn 2:15-17 KJV

(15)  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

(16)  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

(17)  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

We cannot set our eyes on the things of the world and abide in the Light of Jesus Christ. We cannot serve two masters. We must focus our minds on the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and his Christ, the True Light.

Think how blessed we truly are to walk in his marvelous light. (1Pet 2:9)

 

On what do we feed our minds? What do we put into our minds through our senses? What media, news, music, movies, entertainment do we allow into our minds? Can we expect to have healthy thoughts if we continually put unhealthy food for thought into our minds.

Just like we must eat good wholesome food for our bodies to be healthy, we must feed on the true bread of life if our minds are to be healthy.

 

True Bread

Joh 6:31-40 KJV

(31)  Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

(32)  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

(33)  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

(34)  Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

(35)  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

 

Man does not live by physical bread alone but by every word of God. (Luk 4:4) We must feed on Christ, the Word, the true bread of life.

 

Joh 6:48-51 KJV

(48)  I am that bread of life.

(49)  Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

(50)  This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

(51)  I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

 

Joh 6:60, 63 KJV

(60)  Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

(63)  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The flesh profits nothing. It is the spirit that gives life. We must feed our minds on the true Bread of life, the words that he spoke, the Word of God and think deeply on their meaning if we are to be vitalized and not beaten down by this world.

 

And we must stay connected, tapped into the source of our nutrients. We can’t expect to eat once and never hunger again. We must eat from time to time if we’re to stay healthy. Nor can we eat one healthy meal and then eat junk food from then on. It’s not one and done. It’s a process. We can’t read the Bible once and feed our minds on television and social media the rest of the time and expect to have healthy, anxiety-free thoughts. We must continually feed on healthy food from a healthy source if we’re to grow in a healthy manner.

True Vine

Joh 15:1-2 KJV

(1)  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

(2)  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

God will allow us to meet with trials from time to time in order to improve our character.

 

Joh 15:4-7 KJV

(4)  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

(5)  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

(6)  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

(7)  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

It says, “abide in me, abide in the vine”. That means to live there. It is our lifeline! If we are to bear healthy fruit, healthy anxiety-free thoughts, we must stay connected to the True Vine, tapped into the source of peace and calm, the Prince of Peace.

 

True Worshippers

Joh 4:23-24 KJV

(23)  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

(24)  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

We must be true in our worship of God the Father, totally open and transparent. We can’t hide anything from him. If we are true worshippers, we must keep his Law, not just in the letter, but in the spirit. We mustn’t be like the Pharisees who appeared to keep the Law outwardly but were hollow and hypocritical on the inside. We must be true and with a clear conscience before God and lay bare our minds and spirits in true worship.

 

True Yokefellow

We have taken on the yoke of Jesus Christ. A yoke is a device applied to a beast of burden in order to do work. We are here to do the work, to preach the gospel, to live our lives as an example to others, a living sacrifice. But this yoke does not chafe, it is not heavy.

Mat 11:28-30 KJV

(28)  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

(29)  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

(30)  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Once we take on this yoke, we’re different. We’re not like those who don’t believe as we do. We must be careful that we don’t run with the same crowd we once did.

It has been said that we’re most like the five people we hang out with most. We are influenced by them, their mannerisms, their speech, their attitudes.

 

2Co 6:14-18 KJV

(14)  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

(15)  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

(16)  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

(17)  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

(18)  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

We don’t necessarily need to shun non-believers but we must be careful who we spend our time with and especially who we allow to influence our thoughts and behavior.

We are to help one another in this work, in this life we live together, especially those of the household of faith. (Gal 6:10)

 

Php 4:2-3 KJV

(2)  I beseech Euodias, [yoo-od-ee'-ah] and beseech Syntyche,[soon-too'-khay] that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

 

[These are two women that worked with Paul and gave him assistance.]

 

(3)  And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

We should help each other in any way we can. When it comes down to it in this life, we’re all we have. Who else can we count on? Who else can we go to when the chips are down? We would typically rely on family, our blood relatives, and we still should while we still can. But the time will come when even they will be afraid to be associated with us. They’ll even deliver us up to the authorities to save their own skin. Nope, we’re all we got.

 

We want to keep company with those of a true heart.

 

True Heart

Eph 4:17-19 KJV

(17)  This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

(18)  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

 

[Remember: Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Luk 6:45]

 

(19)  Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Contrast this with a true heart. What is a true heart?

Heb 10:22-25 KJV

(22)  Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

(23)  Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

(24)  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

(25)  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

A true heart is one with full assurance of faith in God, trusting him for all things. God is faithful and we hold fast to our faith without wavering. A true heart is one sprinkled from an evil conscience, a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of sincere faith. (1Tim 1:5)

We must stay in touch with one another and get together regularly as commanded to encourage each another, to bolster one another and even more so as things get worse.

 

True Holiness

We must seek God’s righteousness and focus on being transformed to be holy even as our Father in heaven is perfect and holy.

Eph 4:20-25 KJV

(20)  But ye have not so learned Christ;

(21)  If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

(22)  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

(23)  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

(24)  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

(25)  Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. (1Th 4:7)

We continually renew the spirit of our minds with the true bread of life and put off our former selves ‘til we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: (Eph 4:13 KJV)

 

True Grace

Joh 1:14-17 KJV

(14)  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

(15)  John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

(16)  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. [grace upon grace]

(17)  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

We have all received of God’s grace, his divine favor. Time after time God extends his grace to us if we’re faithful. During these trials we’re in right now, the sudden reverses, the rapid changes, we can put up with them if we think of God’s true grace. We live in a state of God’s true grace.

1Pe 5:12 KJV  By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

 

Silvanus was a faithful brother who had followed Peter to Babylon. Peter is saying his faithfulness testifies of the true grace of God wherein we stand. Regardless of what happens to us, we remain faithful by God’s grace. If we received the punishment we deserve, we wouldn’t be able to stand. But

we are able to stand and witness for Christ in this cruel world only by the grace of God.

 

And God’s grace is sufficient. (2Cor 12:9)

 

Conclusion

In anxious times such as these, rather than continuing to feed the anxiety, it’s important to unplug for a while and think on these things that are true –

The One True God, who he is and what he’s done and continues to do for us and our families.

The True Light, the True Bread, that True Vine, Jesus Christ – no man can serve two masters, keep your eyes focused on things in the light and turn from darkness. Feed your mind on the true bread of life, the Word of God, and stay connected to the true vine. Abide in Christ.

Be True Worshippers worshiping God in spirit and in truth. Be true and totally open with a clear conscience before God and lay bare your mind and spirit in true worship trusting God with all things, seeking true holiness with a true heart.

Think about what it means to be true yokefellows, careful who you hang out with and who you allow to influence you. And think of how you can help your brothers and sisters in Christ. Nothing calms the spirit like taking your mind off yourself.

And remember God’s true amazing grace, boundless, and never-ending. Think of all the times he’s extended his grace to you when you didn’t deserve it, time after time, grace upon grace.

Follow Paul’s simple two-step secret formula and the peace that passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

1.     Through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

2.    Think on these things, whatsoever things are true.

 

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