Philippians 4:8 - Thinking Things That Are Excellent

March 23, 1996 Philippians 4:8

- this morning, we're moving into a study of the seventh word in Phil.
4:8 -- this is somewhat momentous because this is where there's a
shift in the verse.
- INPUT - what's the shift?
(we've been in a list of whatsoever things are...
- Now Paul changes it to; "If there be any..."

- Homer Kent says of this change, "It is a rhetorical device that
forces the reader to exercise his own discernment and choose
whatever is excellent and praiseworthy."

- as we looked at these last two words and how we should structure our
lesson, we decided that these last two words (phrases) will take us in
two completely different directions ... so we're going to concentrate
on the seventh one today, and the eighth one either next week or after
Easter.

- we're talking about: "Thinking Thoughts That Are Excellent"

- let's start as we traditionally have by asking of this phrase:

I. What Is Excellent Thinking?

- I'd like to do something a little different this morning in that
I'm going to begin with:

A. An illustration that is purposely out of balance.

- Admiral Hyman Rickover's interview of Jimmy Carter
- Vandegriff - PP. 156-157

- now, that’s a good story, and it heads us toward what we're
studying in this word, but I'm afraid it takes us "beyond" what
the Scriptures would say about this matter...
- and getting this straightened out is going to be a key to
applying what Phil. 4:8 is saying.

- (on white board) - on the left, let's put words and phrases
like,
1) Always doing your best
2) 100%
3) Perfectionism
4) Charles Wesley - (cf. ISBE article)

- the point is -- when we talk about thinking thoughts that are
excellent, we're not talking about perfectionism.
- However....
- most of us are not anywhere near that ditch when it comes to the
way we monitor our thinking.

- most of us are in (or nearer) this other ditch.
- INPUT - what words or phrases might we use to describe the other
ditch?

1) Satisfied with "mental mediocrity"
2) Lackadaisical
3) Half-hearted in our attempt to monitor this area of life
4) Satisfied with far too little
5) This isn't important to God
6) There's no immediate consequences, judgement---so let it
ride.
7) This spiritual wheel isn't squeaking.

- INPUT - If those are the ditches (in our attempts to understand the
phrase "if there is any excellence...", what words or
phrases would describe the middle ground?

1) Moving toward excellence.
2) (Vandegriff) - Putting your best mind forward (as long as
we properly define "best."
3) Already, but not yet.

- cf. Martin Luther's quote about growing.

(We're seeking to do what the Scripture exhorts us to do in this passage
without becoming morbidly introspective because of unrealistic or
perfectionistic expectations.)

- with that in mind, let's talk now about:

B. What is the meaning of the word?

- the word that is translated "excellent" in this verse is:
- all encompassing
- purposely general
- can be applied to a wide range of thoughts...

- this is evident from the way the word is translated in other
parts of the Bible:

- United Bible Society Dictionary - "moral excellence, goodness,
redemptive acts, God's power."

- when you think about this and compare it to the list we made on
the right side of the white-board, you can see what ties these
different ideas together:
- God's power, redemptive acts, His goodness are all anything
but mediocre...

- So when we apply that to thinking, we're talking about avoiding
thinking that is undisciplined, questionable, or mediocre.
- As long as we keep it in balance, this phrase John Vandergriff
uses says it well, "putting your best mind forward."

- now, a few minutes ago I suggested that, using the illustration we've
been sketching out on the board, most of us would place ourselves
closer to the ditch on the right than the one on the left.

- that belief probably should be intensified when we:

II. Recognize That God's People Have Always Struggled with Mediocre
Serving / Living.

- let's think of a couple of examples:

A. Cain - Gen. 4

- work through the life of Cain

- INPUT - In what ways do we see Cain satisfied with less than
"excellent living"?

- INPUT - What corresponding
thoughts may have preceded these actions that are the
opposite of what we're studying from Phil. 4:8?

B. People in Malachi's day

- Malachi 1:6-8

- INPUT - How do you see this same tendency in the people
mentioned here?

- (on left side of white board) - Behaviors toward God today that
might exemplify these characteristics?

- (on right side) - What corresponding thoughts may have
preceded these actions that are the opposite of what we're
studying from Phil. 4:8?

- Vangegriff's astronaut illus - p. 155

- Vandegriff's piano illus - p. 158

- now, let's take this one step further:

- here's what William Hendriksen said about these verses:

"Nothing that is really worthwhile for believers to ponder and take
into consideration is omitted from this summarizing phrase.
Anything at all that is a matter of moral and spiritual
excellence, so that it is a proper object of praise, is the right
pasture for the Christian mind to graze in."

- let's work on that using Hendriksen's metaphor of "grazing."

- How do restaurants that are known for steak often advertise
their beef? (corn fed)

- Why is that so important? (because what a cow grazes on affects
the quality of the meat.)
- and because the quality of meat is of supreme importance,
they give careful attention to what goes in those
animals.

- Let's say that I was going to open a restaurant with the
intention of competing with Mountain Jack's.
- How well do you think I'd do if I advertised it as:
- Sewer fed beef?
- My cows grazed at the landfill.
- Imported from Chernobyl.

- you say, PV, that’s disgusting.
- that’s true, because we hate even the thought of eating meat
like that.

- are we that committed to excellence when it comes to the
matter of our thinking?

- There are some things that you and I could allow in our minds
that are a whole lot closer to the "landfill fed beef" of my
new restaurant than the Corn fed beef of Mountain Jack's.
- the question is, are we going to benefit from this seventh
criteria in Phil. 4:8?