Mind Control

Series on Philippians

IX Exhortations to Steadfastness, Unity, Prayer and Proper Thought

D Think and Do, Text: 4:8 and 9

Title: Mind Control

Introduction

Let’s start with Jesus’ words in Matthew 15: 16-20, we read, “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’” And it is important to realize that in Hebrew anthropology there is no difference between the heart and the mind. Jesus is saying that whatever is in the center of your being controls your behavior and your thinking. I have been carefully following the debate about evolution versus intelligent design in the news. I have found little science for evolution even though the claims are extraordinary. There are many scientists that are non-Christians and many more that are Christians that reject this. I cannot get into the whole debate, but I can say without fear of contradiction that the evidence is interpreted according to a person’s world-view. It has to do with the way you think. In other words, whatever assumptions or presuppositions you start out with determine your view of the evidence. I am not saying that Christians are not prejudging the evidence I am saying that everyone does. So what you think determines what you do. We actually have a Roman Catholic Bishop saying that intelligent design should not be taught in a science class. He should know better. Science and evolution make certain assumptions about reality that are religious and philosophical. They need to be debated.

I Purity

In our text in verse 8 Paul is saying that what you think about will determine how you act, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Since many of these terms are found in lists of virtues used by non-Christian moralists of the day, it is possible Paul was depicting the best of pagan thought and holding it up for Christian consideration. He wanted the Christians to be better than the pagans. The fact that Paul used these terms does not mean he endorsed the non-Christian background in which they were set. To the Greek mind these virtues were philosophical, not religious. Paul reoriented them by setting them in a Christian context. Truth, integrity, justice, holiness, love and high aspirations are what Paul commends. Rather than dissect these as if a book of virtues, I want you to think about what you see and hear everyday in the news. Although there is occasionally an uplifting story, I read the comics first before I get to the law and order and all the information about crime and trials and all the petty political diatribes. We are deluged with negative input. Read or watch something good. One of the founding elders of the Lansdale Presbyterian church found that his seven children were watching bad things on TV. This was in an even better day. He lived in Telford, PA and there was a large steep hill behind his old farmhouse. One day he picked up the portable TV trudged to the top of that hill and threw it over the precipice. He was not popular. There is a place for censorship, but we live in a bad place. The best thing you can learn from this exhortation is that Paul is telling you that the human heart is the best censor of all. As David says in Psalm 119: 33-38, Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. Actually the entire Psalm is a reminder that the heart is the best censor.

II Practice

Now in verse 9, Paul says practice what you preach, Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. This is step two; not step one. You cannot follow a pattern that you have not adopted as your own. Think of parents whose children say they want to be like Mommy or Daddy. There is a thrill in those words. Career day at school is a special occasion. Jesus constantly called his disciples children. In John 13:33 he is addressing his disciples and he says, Little children, yet a little while I am with you. These were grown adult Galilean fishermen. Paul often refers to his converts as children. In II Corinthians 6:13 he says, I speak as unto my children. And the Apostle John writes in I John 2:1 and 12, My little children I write these things unto you that you sin not, and again, I write unto you little children because your sins are forgiven for his namesake. Children are imitators. They follow and copy and that is why a parental example is so important. So when Paul says, Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. He is saying follow me. So you might be a skilled person: an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor, a minister, a soldier, a baker, an Indian chief, a plumber, and electrician, or a truck driver. However, hear me well, spiritually you are a child and you need to follow Jesus. This is precisely why Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, Except ye become converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

III Peace

Now if you aim at the purity and the practice, you may find the peace that passes all understanding. Paul says at the end of verse 9, The peace of God will be with you. Obviously this comes from following Jesus. His coming which we observe in the advent season is traditionally referred to as a time of peace on earth. That day was described as peace on earth to men who experience God’s good pleasure. But we don’t see much peace in our culture at this time of year. The reason is the way people are thinking. I need to remind you that December 25th was probably not when Jesus was born. It was a bad time for a census and shepherds would probably not been abiding in the fields. December 25th is an ancient Roman holiday glorifying Saturn at the time of the winter solstice. In the third century a Roman Emperor declared this to be the holiday of the SUN, spelled s-u-n not s-o-n. Around the fifth century Christians began to adopt this date as a date for the birth of Christ. Thus their thinking transformed the holiday from pagan to Christian. But now the National Education Association and the courts tell us we must eliminate the religious references to the holiday. No “Merry Christmas,” just “happy holidays.” I am no great fan of Christmas, but I do recognize what is going on. It is time for us to understand that Paul’s admonition means that we need to think Biblically and not culturally. He tells the Philippians this in the midst of one of the most degraded and obscene cultures that ever existed. Thus he speaks to us.