Philippians 4:7-9
Living with the God of Peace
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7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Php 4:7–9.
Transcript
Welcome to God’s Word for You, a ministry of Sharon RP Church in southeast Iowa. We want to thank you for listening today, and we pray that you would be blessed by both hearing God’s word as well as having it applied to your life and your heart.
Please turn over in your Bibles with me to Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four, and we’ll be reading verses four through nine this morning. Philippians chapter four beginning at verse four can be found on page 1044 of your Pew Bibles. Philippians chapter four beginning at verse four:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy – mediate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.” The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever.
Have you ever had crazy thoughts? Seriously! Have you ever caught yourself thinking something that you think, “Hold on. Hold on! That’s not how I’m supposed to think!” I’ve been amazed as I’ve talked to people, how people will tell me, sometimes you have fleeting thoughts about something that’s so out of line with the basic moral character of who you are or out of your personality, that you are kind of jarred by it. Things that you don’t wanna tell your spouse about and things that you think you would be ashamed to tell the person in the pew next to you. Sometimes our thinking is deeply affected by the fall. See, we often think of the fall, and we think of sins of things we do. And yet so often, the fall, our sin, our natural state, hits here and we think wrongly; when we think incorrectly. And this is a reality of what happens in our thought life.
And here in Philippi, they are struggling with something that is not uncommon to us. It’s a condition of all humanity. In Philippi, they are struggling with thinking about the right things. And here, Paul is telling them, “If there is anything pure, if there is anything true, if there is anything noble, anything praiseworthy, these are the things you are supposed to think about.” And when we have right thinking, it leads to right doing. And when we have right doing, it leads to peace of God.
And that’s your call today, Christian, is to cling to what God has done in you and the peace that He promises you. Cling to what God has done in you and the peace that He has promised you. First along that path to get there to that peace is you need to embrace your new life. You need to embrace your new life. Look with me at verse seven, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus.”
It is the Lord who has not just given you a mind, but He’s given you a new mind. It is not just the Lord who has given you a heart, but the Lord has given you a new heart. It is the Lord who took out your heart of stone, and gave you a heart that beats for Him. A heart of flesh. It is the Lord who has promised this in Jeremiah. And if we turn over just a couple pages to Ephesians, Ephesians 4:17, this is what the Lord tells us about what He’s done in your life, creating you a new person. “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness and greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you may put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
God has taken out that old mind with its greediness and its fallen-ness, and He’s given you a new mind. He’s taken out that old heart and He’s given you a new heart. And just turn over again with me to Colossians chapter 3 verses eight through ten, and the Lord says it again, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”
Do you see there is an old man and a new man? God has created this work in you. Ephesians chapter two is clear that you were dead in your sin and transgressions and the Lord has made you alive unto Christ. You’re to live and to embrace that new man. You’re to get your mind out of the slime of the sewers, and into the light of Jesus Christ. You’re to stop drinking the poison of the darkness that this world would try to feed you, and start eating the heavenly bread of Jesus Christ who is in heaven. We’re not to be those who are so mucked down by the sin and the disgust of the things and of the thoughts and of the ways of this world. But we’re to feed richly upon Jesus Christ. It is the new man who does that. And this is God’s word in you. God has created you that way.
So I ask you, does your heart desire the things of God? Does your heart desire the things of God? Do you think God’s thoughts after Him? How often in a week, be honest with yourself here, how often in a week do you think about Jesus Christ? How often during the week does the gospel shape the way you think about people and things and your actions and your attitudes? We should be embracing our new life.
And part of this new life that God has given us is that we have changed minds. We have changed minds. Look with me at verse eight, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” Meditate on these things.
See, we have a new heart, and that new heart comes with new joys. And those new joys come with new thoughts. We have new hearts and new joys and that leads us to new thoughts. We think after God’s thoughts. This is part of what Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to offer up your bodies as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The Holy Spirit is going to renew your mind. And as you are more and more conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ, your thoughts are going to be on these things.
We are to be those who think about, meditate on, the things that are true. These are the things that are in line with God. The things which are true are the things of the path that’s straight. The things that align with God’s justice and His truth. Remember Jesus’s statement when he was praying for the disciples in John chapter 17, “Father, sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.”
One of the quickest ways that you are going to have a renewing of your mind, with the Spirit, that will put your mind to mediate on the truth, is by being in the truth. We don’t read our Bibles because it’s a cultural Christian thing to do. We read our Bibles because we want God to change our minds and to elevate us to Him. Meditate on the truth.
Whatever things are noble. This idea of nobility is the idea of honorable and dignified. Have you ever met someone honorable and dignified? Normally we think of the word “noble” and we think of “nobility” and we think of kings and queens. And when a queen walks into a room, she’s not able to do anything she wants. There’s certain decorum that she has. There’s a sense of presence when the queen walks into the room.
But I’ve never met a king or a queen, I don’t know about you, but I do remember meeting an Admiral in the Navy one time. We were in Croatia and we were giving away the last Medal of Honor for one of the dead sailors of Pearl Harbor. And so we had all these dignitaries who were on the ship. And I remember the highest ranking Admiral in that fleet came. And when he walked into the room, everyone stood up. When he walked into the room, it wasn’t so much, we didn’t even know his personality, but when he walked into the room, there was a sense of dignity to this man. That he couldn’t get to this place unless he carried that type of respect to him.
But it’s not just that. Have you met someone who is dignified and noble in your life? There was a lady at our church in Beaver Falls that we all thought she was the most dignified woman we’d ever met. Madge Adams, or as we called her, Mrs. Adams, no matter how old you were, everyone called her Mrs. Adams. When she walked into the room, she was never too far away from a smile. And when she talked, you knew that you needed to listen. Because she walked with a sense of dignity because she knew the Lord was with her. We didn’t hear her grumble, we didn’t hear her complain, but her dignity came from her value as a child of God and she carried that with her.
Do you think upon noble things? Do you meditate on things that are admirable? This is exactly what Paul tells Titus that the women are supposed to be in Titus chapter two verse three. And this is the quality that deacons are supposed to have in First Timothy chapter three. The deacons are those who are supposed to be noble or dignified. We’re to be thinking upon things that are noble.
We’re to be thinking about things that are just. Whatever is equitable. Whatever is right with the rule of how things are supposed to be. This is thinking, “What’s the straight way?” What’s the right way that this is supposed to be done? What is the way that things, when they are done in order, and in fairness, that’s the way things are supposed to be. And this isn’t some subjective thing, but our society would like us to think that justice or equity, or however people want to classify “righteous”, what is “right”, [is subjective]. We know what’s right, because the Word tells us that it is God alone who is righteous. And it’s His paths, it’s His ways, it’s how He does things, that is what is right, that is what is just, that is what is true. We should meditate on the ways of God.
But again, this isn’t something that alone is meant to be just for the Lord, but this is supposed to be a mark of elders. When you are choosing the elders in the congregation, they’re to be those who are just. This is what Titus 1:8 says, that the elder is a man who is supposed to be “just”, or “righteous.” That means that the man that’s supposed to be helping to lead and shepherd the church is one who actually seeks after God’s ways and tries to walk according to his walk.
Why? How can someone in the church be noble? And how can someone in the church be just? It’s because they are thinking God’s thoughts after Him. And as we meditate upon the Lord and His ways, God brings us into conformity with His ways by His Spirit.
We are to be thinking upon whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is just, but also whatever is pure. Christian, think upon whatever is pure. Have your eyes filled with awe at the things which are pure, both in heaven and on earth. First John chapter three verse three says that Jesus Christ is the one who is pure. Without spot, without blemish, without anything wrong, Jesus Christ is the one who is completely pure. Think upon Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done.
But again, this isn’t something that is relegated to heaven alone, but this purity is meant to trickle down by the Spirit to us powerfully. In First Peter, God says that the women with unbelieving husbands are to have so much purity that it draws their husbands to God. In Titus chapter two, the young women are meant to be sensible and pure. In First Timothy five, Timothy is told not to hastily lay hands on men, because he himself is supposed to remain pure. Timothy is meant to disciple men, to raise them up, and to see their lives transformed by the power of the Spirit that they would be pure and that he would be pure. This purity is something that the Scriptures are clear is supposed to be in all Christians. When Paul is lamenting in Second Corinthians eleven over the church and its state, he’s lamenting because he wanted them, the church, to be presented to God Himself completely pure as Christ’s bride.
We the church are meant to be pure. And as we think, as we meditate, as we wrestle with the purity of God, the Spirit brings us more and more in line with God’s purity.
Meditate on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, but also whatever is lovely. Meditate upon the things that are agreeable, the things which make our hearts long for God. There are things in this world that are lovely. Romans chapter one is clear that God created the world to display His glory. To display His glory that we would worship Him. That we would see His power and we would see His sovereignty. And when you walk out in the world, don’t let the flowers’ beauty escape you. I’ve said this before, you all have amazing sunsets in Iowa. When the Lord paints the sky with dark blues that transcend in the purples and oranges and into the deepest reds, you should be awestruck and think, “The Lord of glory made this!” When you see a wedding and you see the beautiful picture of a bride and a groom who love each other, your heart should be lifted up that God has loved you even more so.
Whatever things are lovely, Christian, meditate on those. Whatever things are of good report, meditate on these. Think about and be careful with words that are spoken, not to bring offense, but to build others up. We need to be careful as we think upon our own words. How are we building other people up? How are we bringing good reports to people? How are we talking and how are we longing to bring others respect? Those are the things we are supposed to think upon and meditate upon.
Paul summarizes this in verse eight, “If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.” Christian, meditate on what’s admirable. Meditate on the things that are good and that are pure. Get your mind out of the gutter and lift it up to heaven. We’re not meant to dwell in the muck, in the mire, in the poison, in the tar that sticks us to this earth and seeks to drag us down. We’re to think about God.
He’s created this new mind in you and He is transforming your mind to come into accordance with Him and these are the things that God makes His face shine upon, because they are a reflection of His goodness and glory and holiness. Think on these things. Meditate on them.
This idea of meditating, these shouldn’t be fleeting thoughts. This takes hard work. Our default mode, and elevating our minds, is the fight against that. Our default is to be concerned with this world. Our default mode is to be sucked into those conversations that we know we shouldn’t be having. Our default is to like to gossip and like to slander and like to be those who hear about the juicy bad news that happened in town or across the country. Why do you think tabloids sell so well?
We’ve got to fight against that. By the power of the Holy Spirit you should be elevating your mind to think upon the things of God and this is purposeful. This is chewing it over. This isn’t just, “well, I thought about that for a couple of seconds,” but this is when you think upon these things, dwell there. When you have a thought, sit down. Don’t let it flee from you. Enjoy that time with the Lord. Stop and smell the roses. Enjoy the beautiful things that God has given you. And reflect on all the good things that come from the Lord and all the goodness that He is.
But it shouldn’t stop with our thinking. We can’t just be those who are thinking, but we must be those who are doing. We need to live our new lives. Live your new life. Look with me at verse nine, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these.”
See, when we live our lives, our new lives that have been conformed to Jesus Christ, we’re not those who are hearers only of the Word, but we are doers. What do you call someone who talks the talk, but not walks the walk? What do you call the person who has all these big ideas or talks about all their grandiose morals, but then lives in the sewer? They’re hypocrites.
That’s not who we are supposed to be. The Lord specifically tells us here “the things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do.” Paul is repeating the idea he had in chapter three verse seventeen where he said, “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” We spent a whole week on that verse of how you walk your life in the pattern of godliness. We learned it. We learned it from the Word.
And we’re to walk the walk of Christ. You received the gospel of Jesus Christ in your heart. Now walk that walk; do it. God has told you to be holy as He is holy. So by the power of the Spirit, do it. God has shown you His Word, you have heard the gospel go out from this pulpit, from your family, from the Scripture again and again and again you have heard the good news of Jesus Christ, so live it. Do it. You have seen the power of the gospel transform lives for eternity. You have seen it in your own heart, so do it. Do it by the power of the Holy Spirit.
But you need to be careful. We need to pull back a second. You can’t do this by yourself. God is not telling you here, “Alright, let’s go, Christian. Pick yourself up by the bootstraps. Time to get to work.” It is time to get to work, but He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is the Lord who began this work in you. And as you learn to crawl as a Christian, now get up on your feet and walk like a Christian. Walk as Christ made you to walk. Not just be a hearer of the Word, but be a doer of the Word. You gotta fight for this holiness. You gotta strive for this holiness. You gotta push on with all your might to obtain the prize which is Jesus Christ, with every fiber of your being. Because the Spirit is with you, you can do this.
But as you’re fighting, as you’re running, as you’re walking, and as you’re even stumbling, right now, Christian, right now there is a promise the Lord has for you. And that is the God of peace is with you. Christian, you should relish God’s peace. Relish God’s peace or relish God’s presence. Look with me again at verse nine, “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
God is with you now, Christian. The God who was once your enemy, the God who once sought to destroy the wickedness that reigned in your heart is now your Savior, is your Lord, is your Master, and He is at peace with you. The God of peace is with you. The God who controls the universe, the Lord of Hosts, the Almighty is with you. God is near to you, Christian. And at your dying breath, when you pass from this life and go into glory, you’ll see God face to face. And that God of peace will not look at you and say, “Away from me evil doer. I have never known you.” But the God of peace, that surpasses all understanding, is going to receive you. And His word to you, Christian, is, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” God has created this good work in you and He’s promised to bring it to completion. Cling to that hope, Christian. Run to Jesus Christ. Walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Meditate on what is noble, what is true, what is pure, what is good, what is praiseworthy, and what is of virtue. Stay there. Meditate there and follow after His path. And the God of peace will be with you.
Let’s pray. “Lord, we thank you that you have drawn near to us. Lord, we thank you that you keep us in perfect peace, Lord, because we believe in you. Father we pray that you would indeed assure our hearts of this peace. Lord, that you would draw near to us and that you would be with us. Lord, that we would dwell in your presence and that we would love you. Father, please apply these truths to our hearts by the power of your Spirit. We pray these things in Jesus’s name, amen.
Thank you for listening to God’s Word for You, a ministry of Sharon RP Church in Morning Sun, Iowa. We pray that you would be blessed as you grow in your love for God, your love for His Word, as well your love for His people. Until next week, God bless you.