What do you think about? If you were asked to think about your typical day and consider your thoughts, what do you think about? What do you like to think about? What do you wish you had more time to think about? When you have down time in your day, what do you spend your time filling your mind with? We are talking about how to be anxious for nothing as the scriptures command in Philippians 4:6. In our last lesson we noticed that the apostle Paul tells us that we are to rejoice in the Lord always, overflow in reasonableness and gentleness so that all can see it, and to not be anxious about anything. The direction Paul gives that will lead to these outcomes is prayer with thanksgiving. Prayer with thanksgiving will lead us to rejoice in the Lord always. Prayer with thanksgiving will lead our lives to overflow with graciousness and gentleness for the world to see. Prayer with thanksgiving will lead our lives to be free from the strain of anxiety and worry. As Philippians 4:7 proclaims, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” But there is one more component that is necessary for the transformed life. Paul challenges us in Philippians 4:8 to evaluate what you think about. What does your mind dwell upon in the day?
The Battle For The Mind
We can sometimes miss that the scriptures teach us that there is a battle for our minds. There is a battle for the thoughts we dwell on. Go all the way to the beginning and think about how the serpent tempted Eve. The serpent put into her mind that the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was desirable to eat and that she would not surely die for breaking God’s law. In James 1:13-14 we read that it is not God who tempts us, but temptations come from being enticed by the evil desires within us. Listen to how Jesus teaches about how the mind and the heart are the battleground.
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-23 ESV)
This is why there are many scriptures that tell us that we must renew our minds and change our way of thinking. Perhaps one of the greater deficiencies in the Christian walk is thinking that we can keep thinking the same way. When we come to Christ, we begin the process of changing the way we think about God, the world, and ourselves.
For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 CSB)
Even though we live in the flesh, we do not do battle in a fleshly or worldly way. The weapons we possess have the divine power to tear down stronghold, arguments, and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. I want us to think about this imagery. We take every thought captive. We take every argument, every philosophy, every stronghold, every opinion, and every lofty idea and we make it obey Christ. A little bit later Paul expressed his concern for these Christians:
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV)
God does not want our thoughts to be led astray. God wants us to capture our thoughts and make them obey Christ. God wants us to renew our minds and change the way we think (cf. Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23). Not only do we need to take our own thoughts captive and make them obey Christ, but we need to consider the inputs in our lives that place thoughts in our minds. When we wake up, we allow inputs into our thoughts from our televisions and from our smart devices as we hear about the news and media. When we get in the car, we allow inputs from radios, podcasts, and music apps. When we are at work, we allow inputs from the people we are working with and the conversations that we have. When we come home, we are back listening to the inputs from radios, podcasts, and music apps. When we sit down to relax, we allow the inputs from tv shows, movies, news, and media. It is in this world that we are instructed to take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. So what does this look like? Please come back to Philippians 4:8.
Eight Filters For Your Mind (Philippians 4:8)
Notice the end of Philippians 4:8 before we begin. Paul tells us that what we need to do is focus, contemplate, and set our mind on these things. There are eight filters that Paul gives to us to determine if we should keep our minds on these thoughts or not. Notice the first filter as we look at verse 8.
Is it true?
We are to meditate on the things that are true. We will not dwell on things that are false. Now I think it is important to note here that what is true and false is not defined by people. We do not decide what is fake or real. God does. God defines what is true or false. God defines what is fake or real. Our first filter is if what we are watching or listening to defies the truth that God has revealed. We are not going to think about lies. We are not going dwell on things that are false. We want to put our minds on things that are true.
Is it honorable?
Our next filter is if it is honorable. We are not going to set our minds on things that are dishonorable. Is what I am watching or listening to or thinking about dishonoring to God? Is this something that is respectable or is it outlandish and dishonorable? Not only must we consider if something is honorable in the sight of God, but is it honoring others? There are a lot of things people say and do that are completely dishonoring to others. We must not approve of such dishonoring things. We will think on things that are worthy of bestowing our honor.
Is it just?
The next filter for our thinking is if it is just and right. We want to set our minds on things that are in harmony with God’s standards. We will set our minds on things that reveal the righteousness of God, not unrighteousness. We do not want to set our minds on things that are contrary to the laws, ways, and character of God.
Is it pure?
The next filter challenges much of what we see and hear today. Are we setting our minds on things that are pure? There is so much on social media and so much on tv and in movies that are simply impure and Christians have no business watching these things. So many shows that are popular today are filthy and impure. So much programming today is nothing more than approved pornography. Are the books we are reading impure? Are the shows we are watching corrupt? Is what we are listening to ungodly? Our minds must be placed on things that are free from sin and immorality.
Is it lovely?
Here is another challenging thought filter. Is what we are thinking about taking us to things that are good, positive, and encouraging? Is the news you are watching lovely and good? Are the things you are scrolling through on your device positive and good?
Is it commendable?
Are we putting our thoughts on things that can be shared with others? Is what we are watching something we would commend to others? Are the things we are listening to and scrolling through things that we would recommend to others? We must set our minds on things that can be highly regarded by God and his followers. Do we think about things that glorify God?
Is it excellent?
The next filter for our thoughts is to consider its moral goodness. Is what we are watching or listening to elevating our thinking in godliness? Are we thinking on things that are of a moral high level that they elevate our walk with God?
Is it worthy of praise?
The final filter is if God is praised by what we are thinking about? Is God praised by what we are listening to and watching?
Train Your Thoughts
Here is our key teaching for this lesson. Our spiritual stability and our spiritual growth will be the result of what we are setting our minds on. Now I want to draw our attention to the context again. What we set our minds on will allow us to rejoice in the Lord always. If we are not setting our minds on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise, then we will be unable to rejoice in the Lord always. Our hearts will be in the wrong place. This is true for Philippians 4:5. People are not going to see us as gracious, gentle, and reasonable if we are not setting our minds on things godly characteristics. Friends, this is also true for Philippians 4:6. We will be anxious and collapse under the strain of worry when we are not setting our minds on these things. The peace of God will be unable to guard our hearts and minds when we have our hearts and minds in the wrong place. What we think about does direct our lives. There is power in godly thinking to tear down false thoughts and strengthen ourselves with God’s truth.
Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. (Proverbs 4:23 CSB)