I can't talk unless I can move
my arms. It's so good to be here. It brings
back so many memories every time we come and Vicki and I were
coming up 127 North and we see that welcome to Danville sign. Just so many years came back
to me It was usually about along there. I would call Don and say
we're in town, you know and he would always tell me you let
me know when you get in town and I and we would and You'd
say if y'all need anything, let me know. I Should be telling
you I'll help you but he was just such a such a friend and
So many years you're talking about Rex how long and I was thinking
about that. I believe the first time that
I came to the conference was I Don't even remember dates,
but I remember I believe it's when we stayed with with y'all
Diane with you and Lindsay. I Just remember I was in my 20s
and I'm gonna turn 61 this year. So it's been a while What a blessing
to be with you this morning, let's look at Philippians chapter
4 and We'll begin in Philippians 4,
8, but I'll likely refer back to some of the context here. But let's read verse 8. Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, Whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue,
and if there be any praise, think on these things. Now, he's exhorting them regarding
this in a certain context, as I said, The last part of chapter
three, he speaks of them being, while yet dwelling on this earth,
they're citizens already of heaven. And I wonder how often, if ever,
we think about that. We're already citizens of heaven.
And so what should we be thinking about? What should occupy our
thoughts, our priorities, our activities, our very attitude
in life? And it's not an accident that
the first thing that Paul tells us to think on here, and of course
when you see that word finally, he's summing up every bit that
he wrote, the whole gospel. He's saying it in a different
way, in a concise way, to wrap up this letter to the Philippians.
And he's saying, think on things that are true. Think on things
that are true. Not just when you're in the worship.
It's wonderful to get together and worship publicly. But these
are thoughts that should be ours all the time. Every thought of
our head should have something to do with the truth. I've said
before, as kind of a pitiful illustration of that, that as
a man, as the head of my household, everything I do has something
to do with my family. When I go to work, that has to
do with my family. When I come home, that has to
do with my family. When I decide what, to buy and
what not to buy, that's my family's involved in my mind. That's how,
with the believer, everything has to do with the truth. And there's a lot of other, if
you don't start with that, whatsoever things are true. And the world
might ask, as Pilate did, what is truth? What is truth? And
we could say a lot about that, but you want to save some time? That's it right there. There
is no other truth in this world. There are true things. You could
say the sky is blue, but I could argue with you about that. I
could say it's just the reflection of the light. The sky itself
is clear. You know, we could argue about. There's the truth right there.
It's that simple. Think on these things. Think
on what is the truth. the truth For it's it's the truth
of christ that lights every other path A man may have some honesty.
It says think on things that are honest A man may have some
honesty about him and be sincerely in error Without the truth. What good is your honesty? If
you're sincerely wrong, without the truth of God, it says, think
on things that are just. Well, what is that to you if
you don't know the truth? It's perverted. Religious people
who don't know the Savior, it's just in their mind for the
Lord Jesus Christ to shed his precious blood for a sinner,
and that sinner still go to hell. That's just to them. You know
why? They've never, by the grace of
God, they've been ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge
of what's true. So you see how all of these other
things depend on that. The truth, you can't think on
that which is just unless God has revealed to you his truth
that his only begotten son gave himself a ransom for his sheep
and they shall never perish. That's what's just. And you know,
in the context of this whole letter, he's talking about the
things of God, what's true. And the things of God, there
should be no separation in the believer's mind between the things
of God and the things of the earth. Should there? What are
we doing down here? What are we doing in this life?
How do we spend our time? What are we thinking about? What's
occupying our thoughts? For the believer that's been
guided by the Holy Spirit of God into all truth, that's what
the Lord said he'd do. He'll guide you into all truth. The only just one is the Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ is just. Whatever he says is just. He's
the judge of all the earth. He decides every case. He decides every matter. And
that's right. He has the authority and he has
the power, the ability to execute justice in this world. And he
is the just. He said, there's no God beside
me, a just God and a savior. But we think on that which is
just according to God's truth. I love to think, and I know you
do too, on how it is that God can be just and justify a sinner
like me. We ought to think on that quite
a bit because that's what justice is as it pertains to us. How
can man be just with God? That was the question in the
book of Job, the oldest book in the Bible. How can man? who is born of a woman, be just
with God and clean. But for God, think on that. If
this religious world would think on that, every time their preacher
says, well, you know, the Lord Jesus died for you, but if you
don't live the Christian life, you're gonna go to hell. They'd
say, wait a minute, what does his death have to do with life
then? Think on that which is just. Our text exhorts us to think
on things that are pure. And that word means venerable
and sacred. Boy, you think about where our
thoughts are most of the time. And I understand that. It's always
gonna be that way in this world. We're gonna think about stupid
stuff. We just are. We're too occupied with things
that don't mean anything, that are vain, and we're just gonna
be occupied with it. A lot, and I don't know that
that's ever gonna change. But you think on that, which
is just, let's talk about just a little bit longer. That which
is just, does it seem like God's justice is gonna be satisfied
against a sinner like you by you walking down an aisle and
making a decision? You haven't thought on, you just
haven't thought on that. Think about how is God's justice
going to be satisfied and me be with him? These are the things, as he said,
finally, after the beautiful book of Philippians, and all
of the glory of Christ revealed there, and the truth of the gospel,
and the pointing to Christ in every sentence. Finally, think
on these things. Don't just let it go in one ear
and out the other. Pure, venerable, and sacred. But consider for a minute what
that is. What is sacred to people? That
which You do not touch. You do not touch that. You do
not don't even joke about it because it's sacred to me. I
got no sense of humor about it. I don't want to argue about it.
I don't want to discuss it with you. It's sacred with me. If
it's sacred with you too then we can fellowship and we can
rejoice. But don't you dare touch that thing which is venerable
and sacred to me. You know what that is for religion.
Their free will. It's their free will. You think
about it. You can say whatever you want about God as long as
he doesn't violate my free will. That's venerable and sacred to
them. Think about that. Before you name your church free
will church, think about that. That's what you're worth. That's
what's venerable and sacred to you. That which believers don't want
to argue about, we don't want, we don't, don't you touch it.
Don't you take away my only hope. Is Christ crucified? What he
accomplished on Calvary? Don't you touch that. I have
no sense of humor about that. Don't come at me with this thing
he died in some kind of a heavenly crapshoot to see what the outcome
would be. Don't talk to me about that.
That's venerable and sacred. Think on that which is pure.
Think about what is venerable and sacred to you. The character
of God, the sovereignty of God. Don't even joke with me about
he wants to, but he can't. Their own work, sinners own work. When I say they, I'm talking
about us by nature. And we still got a lot of that
in us, don't we? Their works are sacred to them. Their works. The sinner's works are so sacred
to him that even God is pleased with them. Even God is happy. You know, when I come to church
and I give my tithe and I, you know, witness to somebody, Look at the things that are venerable
in this world's religion. Verbal confession to a man-made
priest. That's a venerable thing. They
do it in secret. That's such an important thing.
If you confess your sin, you walk out of there in good shape
with God. Walking an aisle for all religions,
I guess, really. That's some kind of a holy thing.
Saying a scripted prayer. that don't even come from your
heart, making a decision for Jesus and so on, begin with truth,
begin with truth, and that which is sacred to you will be him
who is the truth. All of God's truth points to,
sets forth, exalts his holy son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the
venerable one he is to be had in reverence of all them that
are about him. and nothing else and nobody else.
The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. His name alone is
above every name, and His name alone will every knee bow and
every tongue confess. The one in whom dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead in a body. He's the one we revere. He's
the one that's pure, venerable, and sacred to his people. You know, that's where worship
comes from. When you've tasted that he's
gracious, when he is that holy thing, when he is God, As Thomas said, my Lord and my
God. That's where worship comes from.
You find out pretty easily what people think about. When it comes to the worship
of God, you find out what people think about the Savior. Sight by faith by God-given faith
of the Lord Jesus Christ and And he's precious that faith
comes by hearing and hearing about what the truth We have
this Gift from God in our homes in our hands in the worship and
If we're honest with ourselves It doesn't mean to us what it
ought. The truth, think on things that are true. It says look to
that, think on that, meditate on that which is lovely. You know what's lovely again,
and this is just by way of contrast. I want to be all about negative
and I don't want to preach to you what not to do, but by way
of contrast, our, our natural hearts, what's lovely to us is
us. And we see that in anti-Christ freewill religion. If Christ is not all together,
lovely to you, you know what you're going to do? You're going
to get together in a building like this and you're going to
sing about yourself. Your messages will be an appeal
to yourselves. Your very heaven will be all
about rewards for yourself. Because that which is lovely
to man is himself. But if and when God plants the
truth of his son in our heart, you know what our song is gonna
be? Probably do, don't you? He is altogether lovely. I love the Psalm 42, one, as
the heart, that's H-A-R-T, it's a little deer, as the heart panteth
after the water brooks. So panteth my soul after thee,
O God. Think on that which is lovely.
Think on him who is lovely. He says, he goes on to say, my
soul thirsteth for God. Our Lord Jesus said, blessed
are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. I'll fill
them. I'll give you what you want.
He gave you the wont to. and he'll give you what you need,
what you want. My soul thirsteth for God, for
the living God. When shall I come and appear
before God? You know, we think about that.
We long, like Paul, he said, I have a desire to depart and
to be with Christ, which is far better. And that's the question
here. When shall I come and appear?
When shall I be in the presence of my God? He's longing for it. But that ought to be true every
week, shouldn't it? He said, where two or three are
in my name gathered, there I am. When shall I come and appear
before God? He's the rose of Sharon and the
lily of the valleys and the bright and morning star to those. who
know him and by his grace are able to think on him. It's about what priorities we
have, isn't it? It's about first, seek ye first. The definition of lovely in our
text includes the words acceptable and pleasing. And those are gospel words, aren't
they? Those are gospel words. What
but God's truth can cause a sinner to find Christ alone acceptable
and pleasing? To be repulsed by our own works,
as Paul was when he said, I don't want anything to do with them,
I cast them behind my back, they are done to me, and I'm running
away from them to the Savior. Far from being acceptable and
pleasing to us, our own works are repulsive to us. And only
Christ is acceptable to both God and me. Not that I have any, not that
it makes any difference as far as justice is concerned. On my
part, if God says he's acceptable, he's acceptable. But what a grace,
what grace that that the only one that's pleasing and acceptable
to me is that same savior. What but God's truth can cause
a sinner to be repulsed by his own works and to lay his heart on the one
who is the most despised thing in this world? You think about
that. There is nothing and nobody in
this world more hated than God's son. Even those that use his
name in vain are hated. Religions. You think using his
name in vain is cussing. That's not it. No. To say you're speaking for God,
to use his name and what you're speaking is vanity and lies. Even they are hated by most of
the world because there's just the stigma of his name on them. Much less those who know him. Much more those who know him. And yet now to us, To whom he has revealed himself.
He's the pearl of great price. To be repulsed. To be an enemy
like Saul. And then like Paul to say. To
speak of the depth of the riches of Christ Jesus, our Lord. By
the simple, pure, free grace of God. But think about that. We're to think on things of good
report. And this is a good time maybe
to consider a nuance of the word think even. It means what we
think it means. It means to consider and to,
but it means to reckon or calculate. You sit down and you make a calculation
about it. Now that's not how we're saved.
We don't sit there and think, well, you know, I think I'll
try Jesus. A lot of people speak highly,
you know, that's not how we're saved. God saves us. And then
he causes us to sit down and think about I think about those ones at the
cross where it says that they sat down as the Lord was crucified
and bleeding there on Calvary. It says they sat down and they
watched him there. They watched him there. Didn't he say, take my yoke upon
you and learn of me? Think on me, consider me. Reckon
or calculate and this is this again is a gospel word take time
to distinguish and To as our Savior said learn of him learn
of him. That's what we do here. That's
part of what happens here Also, this is a matter of honor to
the Lord to be in his presence and worship him but we learn
of him here, but only here and We're to think on things of good
report. What do we spend our time thinking
about? That's what I want us to think,
to be honest about this morning. What is it that time is marching
by? Do we see that? Time is, we've got a little while
here. There's something very unique
and special. You know, the Lord prayed, don't
take them out of the world. I can't enter into the Lord's
thoughts, except about what he's revealed. But I know there's
something unique and precious about being here in these, the
bodies of this death, and yet by his grace, to be able to sing
his praises and tell of his glory. There's something unique, and
it won't be forever, that we're able, even in this prison, to
sing, like Paul and Silas did, of the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Just a little bit longer, y'all. Time is marching by. Think on these things. It talks about good rapport. Think about what thoughts and
pursuits would redeem the time as the scripture teaches us to
do. Redeem the time. Make it count. Make it count
whatever you've got left. It's a radical thing, isn't it?
Because we've gotten really used to vanities, haven't we? We've cozied up to things that
are shadows without substance. We're comfortable in a life of
trivialities. Reckon on that which is good.
And it says good report. There's a report here that is
an estimation of what is done or said and a judgment as to
whether it's good or not. Here's what believers reckon
to be good when it comes to what we do or say. This is the very
word here. Second Corinthians 5.14, for
the love of Christ constraineth us. Because we thus judge. This is the way we reckon things. This is what is of good report
to us, that if one died for us, for all of us, then we were all
dead. That's why he died, to rise and
to bring us with him out of death, hell, and the grave, that they
which live, that they which live now because he died, should not
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them
and rose again. That's simple, isn't it? Think
about that. That's how we're to reckon things,
that we ought not to live for ourselves. And this, this verse talks about,
if you go down to verse nine in the text there, notice the
word do. Those things which you've heard
and learned of me and both seen in me, do them. This thinking
is not just a meditational exercise. We're thinking on these things
so we can act accordingly for the glory of God. And good works are not what people
think they are. They're not what people think
they are. Listen to Matthew 5, 14. You are the light of the
world. And you know why he says that?
Because he said, I am the light of the world. We're the moon
that reflects the source of the light, which is Christ himself.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men
light a candle and put it under a bushel but on a candlestick,
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Isn't
that beautiful? Somebody might just get some
light. The light of Christ shined in
their hearts, and God might just use one of us to do that. Let your light so shine. This is the way it's got to shine.
It can't be a contest. It can't be everybody jumping
up and saying, I'll pledge this much and I'll pledge that much
and getting glory to themselves. Let your light so shine that
when people see what you do, they glorify him and not you. That eliminates 99% of what this
religious world calls good works right there. If people didn't see what you
do, and hear what you say and brag on you, there's not a thing
in the world good about that. God has a universe to get glory
to himself. We don't want to be counter to
that. There is nothing good about that. Consider that which is
of good report. If there's anything virtuous,
the last part of the verse says, If there's anything praiseworthy
think about what that might be so you could do it So you could do it what in this
cesspool of a world is worth doing or saying Think about it We're thinking on these things
To do them now, these things, these things, in verse eight,
are to inform everything we say and everything we do. All of
our thoughts and our actions and our speech, do the truth,
be ye doers of the word and not hearers only. Do that which is
honest. Do that which is just. Or act
accordingly to that which is just. You know the word godly
in the scriptures? People, all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution, and in so many places in the
New Testament, the word godly is used. And everybody thinks
that that means that we're supposed to act like God. No, godly, look
up the word, it means pious, it means worshipful. To be godly
is not to act like God, it's to act like he's God. That's what this is. Think about
him who is altogether lovely so that it affects everything
about you and everybody around you. Where a man's treasure is, that's
where his heart is. What is pure, what is lovely,
what is true to you? Consider what the Lord Jesus
himself praised in closing. Religion talks about lighting
the world on fire for Jesus. Let's build all this religious
empire and all this kind of stuff. You know what the Lord called
a good work? There's not that many things that he said was
a good work in the scriptures. When that sinner woman broke
that alabaster box of ointment, If the Lord hadn't recorded that
in his word, nobody would have ever known about it. The disciples
would have forgotten about it. They were against it. And think about this now. Let's
put it to the test of what we read a while ago. Let your light
so shine. Let it shine this way so that
Christ is glorified. When there's a woman at the feet
of God's son, at his feet, I mean literally on the ground at his
feet, and she breaks that alabaster box of ointment and she anoints
him with it. Who's being glorified in that
scene? Who got the glory in that, the
one who was anointed or the one at his feet? You know, the scripture says
that Tabitha in the book of Acts made coats for those who were
in the church. That's the only thing we know
that she did. And the Bible says she was full
of good works. You don't have to set the world
on fire. Think about what's pure and what's honest and what's
lovely. The Lord said, if you've done
it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you've done it to
me. Mary sat at the feet of the Savior
because she had chosen that good part according to the Lord himself. And by God's grace, she knew
that Christ is the one thing needful. And I'm pretty sure
that no good thing has ever been done except right there at the
feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's got to be an act of worship
unto him, faith in him to glorify him. People call and check on me when
I'm sick, and I think about that. The Lord said I was sick and
you visited me. You checked on me. Just little
things done out of love for the Savior. Think on these things and do
them now. Do them. You think, well, I can't preach. I can't, you know, if the pastor
preacher asked me to teach, I couldn't do that. I couldn't do that.
I can't write, so I can't sing or lick. Do you see any of that? In these good works? The truth of the matter is we
can't do anything for him. Well, I just wanna do something
for God. What are you gonna do for God? He said, if I needed
anything, I wouldn't ask you. But he's given us the privilege.
When he said, if you just do the least thing to the least
one. What an honor, what a privilege. Nothing earth shattering, just
little things done out of love for him who loved us first. So when we think on that which
is true and pure and lovely, it's not the things that we do.
It's not so that we can do something pure or lovely or on it. We're
not any of those things. And if relatively we are by God's
grace, that's not worth honoring. That's not worth, it's to do
that which is according to his truth, his honesty, his loveliness. We don't do it to be lovely.
We do it because he is lovely. Think on these things. The pure
and lovely one is the one we do them for. When you're setting
your priorities, when you have time that's not spent focused
on whatever our earthly responsibilities and duties are, when your children are looking
to you, which is all the time if you have them, for what's important and what's
not, As time ticks by, think of these
things for His glory. Amen.