Philippians 4:8 - Turning It Around - Recognizing, Regulating, and Repenting

Dr. Steve Viars January 27, 1996 Philippians 4:8

- this morning we're going to go back to this matter of being Good
Stewards of our Thinking.
- we're studying Phil. 4:8, and we're in sort of a holding pattern as we
try to very carefully study what God's Word says about what we're to
be doing with our minds.

- let me try to set the stage for where we are in our study, and where we
want to go today, by asking you a series of questions:

1) In the NT, what is the primary principle for change and growth?
(hint - its found in Ephesians 4:22-24 and several other places)
(putting off and putting on -- DEVELOP - the principle of
replacement)

2) Philippians 4:8 is focused especially on what half of the Put Off/Put
On principle? (the put on -- here's the kind of thinking you ought
to do)

3) In our lessons the last five-six weeks, we've been especially focusing
on which half of the Put Off/Put On principle?
(the Put Off -- the kind of thinking that is wrong)

- now, we've needed to do that since this is such an important
subject, but we also need to be sure that we're emphasizing that
this is a package.
- as important as it is to talk about wrong kinds of thinking, we
always have to follow that up by studying what to put on in its
place.

- this morning, we're making that transition from the Put Off to the
Put On "side of the equation."

- we're calling this:

"Turning It Around - Recognizing, Regulating, and Repenting"

- you know that we don't go around trying to illiterate things just to be
cute, but these three words do express what the Scripture would tell
us about moving from what needs to be put off to what needs to be put
on---so our lesson today should serve as a nice BRIDGE into a more
formal study of the actual words in Phil. 4:8 that we hope to begin
next week.

- let's begin with this:

I. You Must Recognize When Thoughts Are Untrue

- here's what we're after under this point:

- in Phil. 4:8 - a key thrust is the matter of truth.
- thinking things that are true as opposed to thinking things that
are lies.

- I'd like us to take a few minutes and work back through the six
topics we've been studying---and look at them through this lens of
Phil. 4:8, and see how often those categories of wrong thinking
often involve lies.

- I imagine that if we had asked Rick and Cindy Wasson, in addition
to handing out the attendance cards this morning, to also each
class member the question:
"Are you a liar?" when you came in the door....
- the response probably would have been rather indignant.

- but the truth is -- when it comes to the way we think...the way we use
our minds...
- often times we do dwell on things that are lies (they're untrue)

- and the point here is -- moving from the put off to the put on
side of the equation requires that we learn to recognize that.

- let's go through these categories of wrong thinking we've studied, and
put them to the test of Phil. 4:8
- and ask -- How does this category of wrong thinking often involve
lying? (thinking things that are untrue)

A. Retaliatory thoughts

- in order to really be vindictive, you've got to tell yourself
some lies.
- INPUT - Possible examples? (how this category of wrong
thinking might involve lying?)

B. "Woe is me" thoughts