Pray, Think, Act (Philippians 4:6-9)

[Music] [Music] [Music] well now the schools back in session I thought something that would be good to talk about is the PTA you know we're always wanting to grow the PTA but I'm not talking about the parent Teachers Association but what Paul talks about in Philippians four verses six through nine he talks about our Christian lives and he gives us some things to think about some principles to live our lives by and they are pray think and act so to this morning and as you go throughout your life whenever you hear PTA I don't want you just to think about a parent teachers association but I want you to think about principles by which we are to live our lives by by praying by thinking on the things of God's Word and acting in such a way that we show Christ to other people so that we can do as Paul said we can imitate me as I imitate Christ we want to live lives in such a way as we can do that so let's begin by getting an outline of what we're going to see this morning with the short notice we don't have slides for everything but the flow of what we're going to be looking at this morning is first we're going to get some background and then we're going to flow into the passage that we're looking at this morning and then when verses six and seven we're going to see about prayer and what can it do in our lives and what is why is it so important and what does God give us whenever we pray and then we're gonna see what he tells us because there's more to the Christian life than just prayer we need to be thinking on the right things thinking on the things of God and we'll see that in verse eight and then in verse nine we're going to see how we are to act we are to imitate those who are teaching us God's Word and imitate what we're taught by God's Word you know in the Great Commission it tells us to teaching them to obey all that God has commanded us as teachers as disciple makers and it's not just our responsibility to teach other people God's Word but it's our responsibility to live it out in our lives so that they can see how to live out God's Word and so we are to live a lifestyle like because whether you like it or not there are people who are watching you there are people who are imitating you in your lives so let's begin with some background and flow as I said earlier Philippians is Paul's letter of joy to the church at Philippi it is a short letter with only 4 chapters but it's packed with great information Paul talks to the Philippians and he tells them he gives them practical truths that they can live by he tells them to stand firm in the Lord he gives them encouragement he tells them to stand firm in a crooked and perverse generation in which they are living Paul's in prison whenever he's writing this letter and he writes all about joy and he has joy in his life as a matter of fact whenever Paul gets to chapter 4 he starts out again with that reminder to the Philippians to stand firm in the Lord that's what he says in verse 1 then he deals with some church conflicts some things that are going on with a couple of women in the church he deals with that and then in verse 4 he gets to the theme of the book he says rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice the way to find joy is not found in the things of this world or the circumstances of life joy is found as that verse says it's found in the Lord at the moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ you are placed in the Lord you're placed in the body of Christ and that's the way we can have joy but we don't just get joy by being in relationship with him we get joy by being in fellowship with him and in order to be in fellowship with him we have to be a praying people a people that are thinking on the things of God's Word and people who are living out the truths that are found in God's Word so whether you're going through great times whether you're going through trials you can have joy in your life James 1:2 says count it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials why because verse 4 gives us the answer because as we go through the trials it's God forming us and molding us and creating us to be more mature people to be more like Christ so that he can is us in a powerful way to change lives for him so joy is found in the Lord so let's rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice from there he goes on and he tells us to show our joy to other people in verse 5 he says let your gentle spirit be made known to men to all men the Lord is near let's let others see the joy that we have from being in the Lord by doing so people are going to say to you how can you have joy with what's going on in your life with the circumstances that you have going on in your life how can you have joy how can you have a smile on your face with all that's going on in your life and that opens the door of opportunity for you to share with those people how they too can have everlasting life and you can share that message with them and they too can know that you can have joy and you can have peace by being in a relationship with Almighty God you can have peace and joy by being in fellowship with Jesus Christ and that opens the door of opportunity to share the gospel with other people when you have this gentle spirit whenever you have this joy and it's overflowing in your lives and you're showing it to other people because that's what our hope is and it's my prayer that everyone that is here today that if you were to die today you would know where you would end up that you would end up with Almighty God because we never know when our last day is going to be we never know when he's coming back and that's what the end of that verse says the Lord is near that doesn't mean that he's always with us that means that his coming is near and so not only do we need to have this gentleness of spirit and show it to all men but we need to do it with urgency we need to take it to those who are out there in this world who are lost and fallen and take them the message of Jesus Christ so they too may believe in him and have everlasting life and if you've never done so right where you're sitting you can believe in him and he gives you as a gift everlasting life now that leads us to the passage that I want to spend this morning looking at how do we rejoice in the Lord always how do we live a life that shows our gentle spirit to all men it happens as we live our lives based on the three principles that Paul gives us in Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 through 9 it's PT a is pray think an act I also think the order is key that we want to pray and think on the things of work think on the things of God and then act so many times in our lives we act we say something we do something and then we think about what it is that we did and we say oh no so then what do we do we pray to God oh god please forgive me get me out of this situation that I've just gotten myself into but if we're praying people if we're in constant communication and fellowship with God and we're considering where we're thinking on the things of God's Word and that's constantly occupying our minds then our actions are more likely to line up with God's Word so let's think about the first one it's prayer and we see it in verses 6 and 7 look with me again at verse 6 it says 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 comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus before he gets to prayer he says be anxious for nothing it's hard to rejoice in the Lord it's hard to show your gentle spirit to other people whenever you're going around and you're anxious and you're doubting God's love and you're doubting God's Word and you're living a life of fear it's hard to show a gentle spirit it's hard to have joy in your life if you're anxious about everything so he simply says just get rid of it be anxious for nothing but he also gives us something to replace it with you know whenever you have a bad habit it's good to replace that with something good in its place and so he says be anxious for nothing but in everything pray so we're to be a praying people if you want to take care of your anxiousness if you want to take care of your worry your guilt the troubles the trials the circumstances that are going on in your life we have to be praying people so he says be anxious for nothing don't worry why do we not worry because we understand that God is in control he's working all things according to the counsel of his will he's working all things together for good his ways are higher than our ways his thoughts are higher than our thoughts and his ways are beyond finding out his timing is perfect although many times in our lives we don't like his timing his timing is perfect and we have to trust him and just continue to be in prayer and he says pray about everything but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God so instead of worrying about anything let's pray about everything whether they're big things small things your friends things your things anything let's be men and women of Prayer he goes on to tell us how to pray and he uses three words to do that and the first word is prayer and that word there has the idea of bowing down before God and I bow down at your feet just as that song that we saw that's what we are to be doing we're to be bowing down humbling ourselves under him because He is God he is the Creator our sustainer our Redeemer our friend our comforter our counselor he is the one who is in control of all things we're not in control of our lives he is in control and so we humble ourselves we bow down to him I love what 1st Peter 5 6 and 7 says it says humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you he cares for you and so whenever you come to him you humble yourselves you bow down before him and you humble yourselves before Almighty God letting him know that you know who he is you know that he's in control and you're reminding yourselves at the same time as you bow before him you remind yourselves that this is God who is in control and he can take care of my situations and my problems and my doubts and my fears and my worries so we humble ourselves we bow down to him the next word there is supplication it means to make a request you can make a request for yourself you can make a request for others many people say man isn't it selfish that we pray for ourselves but how does that verse end let your requests be made known to God let your requests be made known to God it's fine to pray for yourselves and the truth is as most of us that's what we pray for 98% of the time we want what's best for us rather than praying for other people so it's okay to pray for ourselves but let's be looking for opportunities to pray for others as well let's be people who make prayer a priority 1st Thessalonians 5 16 through 18 says rejoice always pray without ceasing in everything give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus notice again rejoice always followed directly by one prayer if you want to have joy in your life there must be a connection between this joy this rejoicing in prayer he says that in Philippians he says that again in first Thessalonians you want to have joy in your life you need to be a praying people so he says pray without ceasing that means constant continuous prayer for ourselves for others look for opportunities to be praying for others and with thankfulness and that's the next word also in the passage that we're looking at this morning we're to do it with thankfulness we're to be thanking God for what he has done for us an attitude of thankfulness this so often gets overlooked we pray about things then they happen and then we take for granted why it is or how they happened but we must not do that we must continue to be thankful to God because as we think about God and we see him answer our prayers and we thank him for what he's done it also brings back to our mind that God is in control and he does have the power to take care of situations and so thankfulness is not only good for us to give to God but it's good for our remembrance as well you know I love there's a joke that JB tells and I'm not gonna tell it anyway that he does because I'm not a good joke teller but one thing that I like about it is the principle that's found behind it there's this man and he's driving around in the parking lot and he's looking for a parking space he's been up and down aisle after aisle and he cannot find a parking space so rather than praying first he does as a last resort he goes to God in prayer and he says the guide will you please help me find a parking place I'll get back in church I'll be there this Sunday and I'll continue to go you know I'll give I'll do all of the things that it is that that you have for me to do God if only you'll give me a parking spot and at that immediate time a car backs out and he says to God never mind I found one myself and that's the way we do so many times in our lives oh man look by luck by chance by happenstance this took place you know but it's not that that's happening it's God working through our prayers so listening to what we say that things happen in our lives that circumstances just seem to work out it's because of what God is doing through our prayers things don't just happen God is listening God takes care of our situations he deserves the credit the praise and the things so remember when you pray do so with thankfulness so let's be men and women of Prayer if you want to be able to rejoice always to show your gentle spirit to all men it starts by being men and women of prayer in verse 7 goes on to explain what we get by being men and women of Prayer it says and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus the peace of God God which surpasses all comprehension again his thoughts are higher than our thoughts his ways are higher than our ways they're beyond finding out he can bring peace even when we're going through trials he can bring joy even when we're going through trials peace is the opposite of anxiousness anxiousness is doubting his fearing is wondering what's going to happen and you have that if you're not a prairie praying person but if we pray the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension that's beyond what we could ever ask or imagine so many times whenever we pray for things God doesn't give us exactly what we're praying for many times he gives us exceedingly above and beyond what we could ever ask or imagine and this peace of God that he gives to us is beyond all comprehension and it guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus we have a great military here in the United States that protects us but it's nothing in comparison to what God has and what Jesus Christ has protecting our hearts and our minds if were people of Prayer so let's be men and women of Prayer let's be anxious for nothing but let's pray about everything when we pray to Him he guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus so the first principle we are to live our Christian lives by his prayer let's be men of women of Prayer but there is more we need to be thinking on the right things look with me at verse 8 what Paul says there he says finally brethren whatever is true whatever is honorable whatever is right whatever is pure whatever is lovely whatever is of good repute if there is any excellence or anything worthy of praise dwell on these things so we are to dwell or to think on the things of God how are we going to do that we've got to be in God's Word we've got to be reading God's Word we've got to be studying God's Word we've got to be meditating on God's Word we've got to be memorizing God's Word that word dwell there has the idea of meditation of rolling God's Word over in our minds so many times we may start our day off with the with the Bible reading and we read the Word of God and we set it aside and then we go on about our days but that's not what we're to be doing we're to be rolling over the truths that we find in God's Word and we're to be rolling them over as we go throughout our day making application of what we see from God's Word and allowing it to change our lives so we are to dwell on the things of God it's been said that your mind is the Gateway to your heart you end up loving and valuing the things that you think about what you think about will eventually come out in your life you say that again what you think about will come out in your life that's a scary thing to think about is it not then don't think about it but it is scary to think that the things that we think in our minds are gonna come out in our lives so we have to control our thinking we have to take control of our thinking we can't just sit there and gaze and Lao our minds to go anywhere and everywhere that they want to we have to watch what's coming into our minds because what comes into our minds comes out in our lives we've got to put in God's word into our lives because if we put God's word into our lives and we allow it to occupy our minds and constantly be working in there on the things of God then that's what's going to come out in our lives there is a great emphasis on the things that we think about and we see it from the long list that Paul puts in verse 8 so let's go through them very quickly he says whatever is true true what is truth you know we live in a world that says there is no truth whatever is truth for you is truth whatever is right for you is right but there is truth there is absolute truth and it's found in God's Word John 17:17 says thy Word is truth Jesus said I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father but through me it is true that there is only one way to God the Father and that's through the person of Jesus Christ but that person is truth as well so if we want to be thinking on truth we need to be thinking on the Word of God if we want to be rolling over truth in our mind we need to see the life of Christ we need him to get into the Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John and see the life of Christ and be thinking on his life and the way that he lived it number two is what is honorable something that is respected this is something that is Noble we think about honorable things we think about the military there's honorable discharge we think about these noble men who gave up their lives in service for our country but there is no greater noble act than the act of Jesus Christ going on the cross of Calvary and dying for you and me so that we could have eternal life so that we could have our sins paid for so that we could have the forgiveness of our sins by simply putting our faith in the person of Jesus Christ so you need to dwell on Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that he made for you so many times we glossed over that we we understand it we realize that but we don't constantly think about that sacrifice that he made for us but he says you need to think on these things that are honorable and then number three is what is right this is something that is just or fair is what it means don't think about ways to take advantage of people that's what we try to do man i if I just do this I can take advantage of this guy I can take advantage of this situation I could take advantage of this system if I will just work my philosophy in this way but that's not what we're to be thinking on in our minds we're to be thinking on things that are right that are just that are fair we're to think on things that are pure number four is pure things that are holy things that are pleasing to God and you think about moral purity so many times in advertising on TV what are they put in front of our eyes because what is it that that they that sells things it's explicit things and we're not to be rolling over explicit things in our mind we're to be rolling over things that are pure that are holy that are pleasing to God would God be pleased with your thoughts the next thing is what is lovely this has the idea of beauty I mean the love God's love for us in Jesus Christ that's a lovely thing God's unconditional love for us loving us even whenever we were sinners Christ died for us loving us day after day as we make mistakes as we sin in our lives God still loves us unconditionally that's something lovely to think about in your mind to think about how great a God we have the next thing is good repute which means good report it's something good to talk about something that is praiseworthy something that builds up other people there's enough in this world that tears people down we need to give them a good report good things that build people up that encourage people when you go talk to others let's don't talk about gossip and things that that bring people down that's what we want to go to people with that's the kind of reports that we want to take to people that's the flesh within us as Adam talked about we want to have good things to talk about to other people as a matter of fact we have the best message ever when you're talking to unbelievers we have what is called the good news message the good news of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection and how by simply placing your faith in him and in him alone you can have everlasting life let's dwell on those things so that whenever we come up to people we're ready to give them that information he kind of stops there and goes into a couple of summary statements because this list could go on on and on because there are so many good things that we find in the Word of God that we need to be thinking on that we need to be dwelling on so he gives a couple of summary statements he says if there is any excellence and that's a first-class if in the Greek which means if and it's true there is excellence God is excellent he's highly exalted his character his virtue is something that is excellent though we think of the world as having excellent things you know there's this excellent quarterback that's going to win the Heisman Trophy there's this excellent receiver who who catches all of these passes man he is excellent he is not excellent only God is excellent and we need to be dwelling on him in our minds and then the last thing is things that are worthy of praise if anything worthy of praise again a first-class if if and it's true there are things that are worthy of praise it's God himself he is worthy of praise Jesus Christ is worthy of praise because one day every knee will bow and every tongue will give praise to God they will understand one day who he is and he is worthy of all praise we need to be dwelling on these things whatever is true whatever is honorable whatever is right pure lovely of good repute if any excellence and any and praiseworthy dwell on these things or think on these things literally keep putting these things in your mind let these occupy our minds and our thoughts if we if we put our mind to work at thinking on these things then it's a lot harder for the other things the things of this world to leak into our minds so let's watch what we put in so we can watch what's coming out we need to be men and women who pray first to think second and third we act out the truths that we know from God's Word look at acts or look at verse 9 it says the things you have learned and received heard and seen in me practice these things and the God of peace will be with you Paul was a great teacher he was looking for the PTA he was looking for people who would pray who would think and who would act out the truths and principles in God's work he was a man who was part of the PTA he prayed he thought he acted out the truths from God's Word he knew that there was going to be people who were going to be watching his life if you're gonna get up there and stand up there and tell me how to live my life then buddy you better be doing it as well that's what many people think and so Paul tried to live that life he told the Corinthians imitate me as I imitate Christ is that something that we are willing to say to others are we living a life that we can tell others to practice the things that we are teaching and that we are living out in our lives only if we live lives of prayer and thinking on the things of God will we ever be able to act in a way that we can tell others to imitate us christ-like lives are what we are longing and living for we're to be growing and maturing day to day to be more like in whether or not you want to believe it there are people who are watching your lives they know you come to church on Sunday morning and they're watching your life they are your friends they are your neighbors they are your co-workers they are your family members and if you have children I can guarantee you because I witness it every day that they're watching every move you make and they're imitating the things that you do so how we live our lives does make a difference how we live our lives does make a difference right here on this earth but it also makes a difference for all eternity so let's be men and women who pray who think who act out the truths that we are living by in God's Word we're to be making application through what we've been taught in God's Word we're to be men and women of Prayer we're to be men women who think on the right things allowing God in his word to transform our minds and our actions rather than allowing this world to conform us to its ways that is my hope in my prayer for you so in summary there is one thing that I want all of us to leave this place with and it's those three letters because I know the greatest thing for all of us to do would be to go home and memorize all of these verses and live by them but I know many of us won't so let's at least take the three letters home with us PT a whenever you hear PT a think that's what Brian was talking about pray think and act am i living my life based off of those three principles that we find from the Word of God that we find that Paul wrote to the in his letter to the Philippians we want to pray first we want to make it a constant part of our lives as we saw from thirst first Thessalonians we're to think on the things of God and allow them to occupy our minds when we do we'll act more like Christ in a way that whenever we see others around us imitating us it'll bring a smile to our face it'll be pleasing to God and it'll give him all the honor in glory so our applications are simply those three things let's be men and women of Prayer constantly praying looking for opportunities to pray let's be people who think on the things of God let's think on the things of God's Word let's get in his word so that those things are right there and constantly a part of our lives and then let's let our actions follow our prayers and our thoughts pray about everything think on the things of God and act out what we see from God's Word and through his example Jesus Christ because that's who we're living to be like we're to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ as we practice these things others will practice them as well and we'll have a growing PTA we'll have a growing group of believers who are praying who are thinking and who are acting PTA remember that we should go through this way [Music]

Channel: Stillwater Bible Church

Views: 4,234

Rating: 4.9200001 out of 5

Keywords: Bible Study, JB Bond, Stillwater Bible Church, stwbible, Stillwater Bible, Jesus Christ, gospel

Id: nsFeeqpCRBs

Length: 31min 35sec (1895 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 30 2017