Watch as Ray David opens Philippians 4:8-9.
The Passage
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:8-9
Take Your Thoughts Captive
There is a way of thinking, that leads to disciplined living, and that will result in knowing peace. The Apostle Paul says that we can actually choose what we think about. Your thoughts are subject to you – you are not subject to your thoughts. Whenever you have thoughts that are overtaking you, you can actually redirect and point your thoughts elsewhere. You can displace thoughts with other thoughts. The biblical way of getting rid of the sin in our lives is by taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ.
Effort
The Christian life requires discipline, but so does every part of life. Life takes effort. Dallas Willard says that, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.” Effort is actually essential in growing in the Lord. This is why Eugene Peterson refers to the Christian life as – “a long obedience in one direction.” You have to be intentional, not only about what you think, but also what you practice. If you want to grow in your relationship with the Lord, it requires effort and discipline.
Falling Forward
Even when you put out your best effort, you will find that you fail. You will start to fall back into earning. But when you fall, you will fall forward. When you pick yourself up again, by God’s grace, He will empower you to try again and move forward.
The False Narrative of Earning
The effort that you need in your life, is the effort to constantly fight the narrative of earning God’s grace – the effort to remind yourself of the Gospel. When the narrative of earning slips into your life, it will alter the way you view others and yourself. When you don’t put up the effort of fighting earning, your orientation towards yourself will be that of guilt and shame. Your default will be to put up a mask to pretend as though you’re better than you are. You will become small-hearted, stingy and judgmental with others. But when you put up the effort to fight against the narrative of earning, you will find that you will become generous and winsome – forgiving others because you know that you have already been forgiven in Christ.
Watch and Learn
If you try to live a solitary Christian life you’re not going to get very far. Gospel-life is far more caught than taught. Teaching is important, but the best way to learn the disciplines of the Christian life is to watch and learn. See how other mature Christians deal with each other. See how they deal with their family. Watch how they live a Gospel-shaped life. If you want to grow in the disciplines of the Gospel you need to be mentored and you need to mentor others.
The Gospel Ticks all of the Boxes
Peace is the byproduct of a Gospel-shaped life. There is only one thing that ticks all of the boxes of Philippians 4:8 and that’s the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the only thing that is fully true, honourable, pure, just, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. The way to find the God of Peace, as a reality in your life – is by thinking on the Gospel – letting it saturate your mind and heart. Learn to understand it more and to appropriate it to every area of your life. The Gospel is what we are to think on.
God Thinks About You
True peace will come into your life when you realize that the most important thing is not you thinking about God, but rather the greatest peace comes through the fact that God thinks about you. The great theologian, Karl Barth, said that the greatest question was not “Do you know God? But rather, “Do you have assurance that He knows you?” It is good to have the discipline of coming again and again to the Gospel, but it even more liberating to know that God has thoughts towards you. He loves you. He pursues you. He sent His Son to rescue you.
You Are the Joy
We know God’s thoughts toward us by looking to the cross. What does God think about you? You were the joy set before Jesus that made enduring the cross worthwhile. Think on these things – that God’s thoughts towards you are pure joy. When you think on and live life out of these things, the God of Peace will surely be with you.
