A Daily Walk

Guest (Male): Coming up today on a daily walk, consider what you're thinking about.

John Randall: What are you thinking? Is the title. I also thought, penny for your thoughts. I mean, this is this was another title, but what where's your mentality? What are you meditating on? What are you thinking about? What's running through the mind? Are you battling it? Are you are you fighting it? Are you just just filling it with all kinds of things that are so discouraging? You wonder, why am I so discouraged? Probably because all that you're observing isn't noble, just, true, lovely, pure, good report, virtuous, or praiseworthy. And so probably that's why you're in the state that you're in because those are the things that you're not choosing to think about.

And so it's time to empty that and fill with this. I mean, this this will change everything.

Guest (Male): Hey, glad you could join us today for a daily walk and our through the Bible study with Pastor John Randall. As we head back to Philippians chapter 4, we encounter a list of virtues we're to think about or meditate upon. Things like that which is true, noble, and just. Pastor John believes if we'd meditate upon this, our mental health would be so much better.

John Randall: Truth corresponds with reality. Truth is the opposite of lies. And there are so many lies circulating today. In fact, you can't even calculate all of them. But some of the lies of the devil that are they go on and on, they're endless. Lies like this, God doesn't exist. Or God doesn't love you. Or God hasn't forgiven you. Or God has forsaken you. Listen, those are all lies of the devil. But those lies go even further. Lies like a man can be a woman and a woman can be a man. Uh, lie. Not just biologically speaking, which is a lie, but scripturally speaking, it's it's it's a lie that the world has embraced.

Lies like preborn babies are nothing more than a clump of cells. They're not a real person. Lies. Marriage is between anyone. Also a lie because the truth said it's between a man and a woman. Biological man, biological woman. Let's be clear in California. This is important to understand. I mean, it's just a fact. So the best way to combat the devil's lies is with the truth. Of course, we ought to speak the truth in love, but nonetheless, there has to be truth. When Satan comes and suggests, God doesn't love you. You know how you respond?

That's a lie because the Bible says God so loved the world that whoever would believe in him should not perish but have everlasting life. When the devil suggests God's not going to save you, oh, no, no. The Bible says whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. You combat lies with truth. If you don't know the truth, you're going to follow the lies which lead you astray to a place where there's no peace, there's no hope, there's no light. And therefore Paul says, listen, if you're going to think about something, think about, meditate on that which is true.

Jesus said, John chapter 8 verse 32, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John chapter 17 verse 7, Jesus prayed for his disciples, and he prayed for us, and he said, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. Think about the truth. Contend for the faith with the sword of the Spirit, which is the truth of the word of God. In addition to thinking about and meditating on that which is true, he says, whatever things are noble, noble, meaning that which inspires reverence and awe. What is worthy? Uh, better who is worthy of worship?

Think about that. It's setting our minds on things that are less trivial and more essential, less temporal, more eternal, less carnal, more biblical. Think about that. Meditate on that. What a difference that makes. That which is noble. He adds, whatever things are just, just, meaning that which conforms to the perfect standard of God's righteousness. Believers are to think on matters that are consistent with God's word. What is right? What is just? The psalmist said it this way in Psalm 19 verse 8, he said, the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. Again, the word right means righteous or true, just.

And when you read them, oh, my heart rejoices when I see the truth, when I see justice, when I see righteousness, and I think about it. He adds to this, whatever things are pure. Think about the things that are pure, not impure. And the word that he uses here for pure is the word hagnos in the Greek, and it's a word that refers to free from defilement. Stainless, that which is not contaminated, that which is morally and inwardly pure. That which we see, that which we hear, is it pure? That which we talk about. This might limit some of the things that we observe on a regular basis.

Is it pure? Just ask the question. That's not pure. Is that morally pure? That's probably not not it's not pure. But somehow we justify it. Listen, Paul wrote to Titus in chapter 1 verse 15, this is what he said, to the pure, all things are pure. But to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing's pure. But even their mind and their conscience are defiled. A pure mind. Blessed are the pure in heart, Jesus said, Matthew chapter 5 verse 8, for they shall see God. A purity of mind. In 1 John chapter 3 verse 3, John wrote, everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.

Paul is not only referring to thinking about the things that are pure, but also that would tie into living a pure life because as I think, so I live. What I think, what I believe affects how I live, how I see things. Abstaining from sexual immorality, sexual sins, they they were everywhere in this culture in Paul's day. And nothing has changed. In fact, it's probably worse. It is. It is worse. So therefore we we want to live a pure life, but if I am constantly observing and taking in all that is impure, how do I expect to have a pure mind when all I'm the only space, the vacancy is all filled with impurity?

Like purity would love to, hey, hey, you got any room in there? Nope, sorry, closed. We got no more rooms. Why? Impurity lives here. No wonder. So the things that are coming out of your mouth are impure. The innuendos that you say that this that it's all just defiled because we're not meditating on that which is pure. Is it pure? It's a good question to ask. He adds, whatever things are lovely. I love that word, lovely. It means conduct that is pleasing in motive and in action toward others. Lovely has the idea of that which is admirable, agreeable.

It also refers to that which is ethically and beautifully attractive. When you think about that which is ethically beautiful and attractive, it reminds me of the character and the nature of God. In Psalm 27, do you remember? The psalmist said, one thing I have desired of the Lord, and that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord. Do you remember? What for what purpose? Why do you want to dwell all the days of your life? Here it is, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. To inquire in his temple.

This is what I want to see. The beauty, the attractiveness of God. Again, Psalm 29 David calls upon us to worship the Lord. You remember in the beauty of his holiness. Think about that. The beauty, the loveliness, the purity, the glory of the Lord. The Greek scholar William Barclay, he said concerning the word lovely, he thought that winsome was the best translation. Beautiful and morally attractive. The opposite of lovely is actually responding to people in vengeance, wrath, bringing forth bitterness, resentment toward them. When here he says, hey, listen, think about that which is lovely. And if it's not lovely, dismiss it.

I no. I don't want to meditate on that. I don't want to give that space up here. There's only so much room for what goes on up here. In the Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 16, the bride was speaking of her bridegroom, which also serves as a beautiful picture of the church in Song of Solomon, being the church being the bride and the the bridegroom being like our Lord. And she said his mouth is most sweet. Yes, he is all together lovely. This is my beloved. And when I think about the Lord, I think he he he is all together lovely and beloved.

Paul said, think about that. And he adds, whatever things are of good report. Sometimes that's really hard to find. A good report. I could find countless bad reports. I could turn on the news for 10 seconds and see 50 bad things. I mean, the tapes running underneath and you're like, that's bad. That is also bad. That is also bad. That is also bad. And what you're talking about right now is bad. There's really not anything good. When's the last time you saw a good report? Tell me something good. Uh, God is good. The word of God is good.

Jesus is good. I mean, there's not a lot out there that's of good report. And so I want to encourage you. If you're one of those people that goes to bed watching the news, I just want to say, you're probably not going to sleep well. And you're probably going to wake up super cynical and edgy. Just going to face the world that you know, because because it that there's no good report and you're just and you don't even know if the report is true. That's the part that really bugs me. Okay, you question everything now.

Journalism is dead pretty much. I mean, who do I you know, is this really I mean, there's a few people out there. But you know, you're just like, is this even true? I don't know. As soon as you think it's true, somebody else comes back and says, actually that's not true. They really didn't say. But they made it sound like it was true. They looked so believable. Is there a good report? Is it highly regarded? Is it well thought of? He adds, is there any virtue? If there's any virtue in it, if there's anything praiseworthy, he adds.

The the word praiseworthy describes an act of expressing admiration or approval, recognition. In in the present context, it describes that which is praiseworthy or something that deserves to be praised. Who who deserves to be praised? The Lord? Like think about I mean, really Jesus fits this list perfectly. Think about him. Think about his word. Think about his promises. Reflect on it. Paul says, here's what I want you to do. I want you to and please underscore this word, meditate on these things. Now you know, when you think about meditation, that has been a word that was stolen from us by uh, you know, yogis and other people out there that just you know, steal meditation from us.

I just meditate. And what does that mean? It means I look at my stomach and I chant strange things, you know, and uh, get in positions that I can't and then try to get out of and I pull something. And you know, no, no, no. And the louder you chant, the more you meditate. No, no, no. This this word meditate is so much we need to take this back because the Bible talks about meditating on the word of the Lord, thinking about it, musing over it. And I'm certain, folks, listen, if we would meditate on this list right here that Paul just gave us, I think uh, our health would our mental health would be much better in this country, in this world, in the church.

If we would do this right here, think on these things. So Paul said, meditate. It's a practice of turning each truth we learn about God into a matter of reflection before God. Scholar J. I. Packer, I think his definition on meditation is really insightful. Listen to what it says. Meditation, in the biblical sense of course, is the activity of calling to mind, thinking over, dwelling on, and applying oneself to the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God as a means of communion with God.

I mean, I can't say it better than than Packer said it. I mean, just that's what it is. That's how we approach the word. These are the this is the way that we think. We can meditate on God's word by bringing to memory his truth. But I will say this, the only way to bring to memory God's truth is to get into God's truth so you have something to remember, something to read for the Holy Spirit to recall that which you have deposited into your heart. He can bring it back. In fact, the psalmist wrote in Psalm 63 verse 6, he said, on my bed I will remember you.

I think of you through the watches of the night. I'm just laying there and I'm just my last thought being, Lord, I love you. Lord, I praise you. God, you are good. Thank you for getting me through this day. I mean, just what a great way to end. And then wake up in the morning. Good morning, Lord. Thank you for uh, keeping me breathing through the night. Sorry, babe, I snored. You know, whatever you just but God is good. The psalmist declared in Psalm 1 that the person who is blessed and fruitful and righteous is the person that delights in the word of God and they meditate, they think about that law both day and night.

It is a part of their thinking process. You remember when Joshua succeeded Moses, took over for him? Joshua was given instructions as to how he would be successful in this role of leadership. And in Joshua chapter 1 verse 8, this is what he was told. Keep the law, the book of law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Do you see that? The correlation there. Keep it on your lips. Meditate on it. That is think about it.

Be careful then to do what it is you're thinking about, what it's telling you to do. And then you will be prosperous. You will be successful in your walk with the Lord. And everything to do with what he was taking in, what he was thinking about, and then what was in practice. Now Paul adds here as we conclude this morning, he says this, the things which you verse 9 learned, received, heard, saw in me, these do. And the God of peace will be with you. Paul was a man obviously that practiced what he preached. What you saw me do when I was there, when we planted the church, what you observed in the way that we ministered, what you know I'm doing right now from prison, what you know about me, what you've observed, what you've seen, that's what I want you to put into practice.

Paul wasn't asking him to do something that he himself wasn't doing. This was his secret to peace. Th- this was his assistance in having the joy of the Lord because of what he chose to think about. And if the believers, Paul said, would set their mind on these things that he listed, these virtues, if they would meditate on them, they are assured that they would experience I love this, the God of peace would be with them. You remember earlier, it was in verse 7 Paul talked about the peace of God which surpasses understanding would be given to them.

Here he says, the God of peace would be with them. These do. In other words, keep on practicing these things and the result will be God is with you. And he is a God that brings peace. One final passage on this. Isaiah 26 verse 3. It has been a verse that has ministered to me through the years and it continues to be as powerful and helpful today. Or in Isaiah 26 3 it says, you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Where's your mind? What are you thinking?

Is the title. I also thought, penny for your thoughts. I mean, this is this was another title, but what are where's your mentality? What are you meditating on? What are you thinking about? What's running through the mind? Are you battling it? Are you are you fighting it? Are you just just feeling it with all kinds of things that are so discouraging? You wonder, why am I so discouraged? Probably because all that you're observing isn't noble, just, true, lovely, pure, good report, virtuous, or praiseworthy. And so probably that is why you're in the state that you're in because those are the things that you're not choosing to think about.

And so it's time to empty that and fill with this. I mean, this this will change everything. Wow. May God help us. May God protect our thoughts. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, the things I think about be pleasing in your sight, oh, Lord, said the psalmist. Well, before we take communion, there's one other thought and this is something I want to present to you. And the Lord reminded me of this morning. And that is this. And don't miss this. We've been talking about what we're supposed to be thinking about, right?

What we're supposed to be meditating on. But I want you to for a moment consider what God is thinking about, what God is thinking about. The Bible says, who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has become his counselor? We try sometimes, but uh, that's not our job. But who's known the mind of the Lord? The deep things of God. What is God thinking about? Well, the Bible tells us. In fact, in Psalm 8 verses 3 and 4, notice what the psalmist said. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you consider him?

David, you can imagine out underneath the stars like last night it was very clear evening. And even early this morning if you if you got a chance to just look up, it was it was clearer than than it's been until it got cloudy. But before that and you could see the stars and they were so iridescent, they were shining and you think, Lord, th- that's the work of your fingers. That's what he does with his fingers. Just the stars. That's the work of his fingers. But then he said, what amazes me is that in light of all that you've created that you are thinking about me, that you are mindful of me.

You are aware of my condition. You're concerned about me. Folks, what I'm saying to you is God is thinking about you. He's thinking about you. Oh, what's he thinking about me? Well, I'm glad you asked. For Psalm 139 verse 17 and 18 tells us, how precious are your thoughts to me, oh, God? How great is the sum of them? If I should count them, well, they would be more in number than the sand. And when I awake, I am still with you. So he's thinking about me. You said that he's mindful of me in light of everything that's going on.

What's he thinking? Hey, precious good thoughts. Maybe you came in here today thinking, I think God's thinking bad thoughts about me today. Probably hates me. Uh, lie. Meditate on the truth. That is not true because the Bible says his thoughts toward you are good. In fact, there's so many that are good you couldn't even count them. If you were to take all the sand on every beach throughout the world and you were to try to tabulate what that what's the number? You couldn't even calculate it. Here the psalmist said, that's your thoughts toward me. That are good.

He's thinking good thoughts toward you today. That's what he's thinking about. He's mindful of you. The Bible says he knows our frame, that we are dust. He knows. He thinks. He's aware. And finally none can forget. Jeremiah 29 11. The Lord says, I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord. The thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. What am I to be thinking about? I'm to be thinking about these things right here. But what's God thinking about? He's thinking about me and you. And there's good thoughts.

And even thinking about that affects my thinking. Maybe you need the Lord to change your mind today. Change your mind. That is change the mentality. But it's time to start putting in and meditating on the things that are true and noble and just and pure and lovely and good and virtuous and praiseworthy. And if that is the case, then the God of peace you you will sense his presence because this reveals who he is, how he feels about you, what he thinks, what his plan is, what his will is for your life. And in that there is such tremendous peace.

Guest (Male): That is Pastor John Randall. And this is a daily walk. To hear this message again, you can do so by podcast at adailywalk.org or wherever you like to listen to your favorite podcasts. We're also on oneplace.com. And the Calvary South OC app is another great way to access teachings from John. Since Father's Day falls within the month of June, we've picked out a book for you guys. It's called Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes. Men, prepare to work up a spiritual sweat as you read this bestseller and accept the challenges of Godly living.

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