YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK

Philippians 4:8

Dr. Ronald D. Harbin, Sr., Pastor

The Bible clearly tells us that we are what we think!  Eventually our words and our behavior will reflect what we are thinking on the inside.

 Proverbs 23:7 - "For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he:..."

 Matthew 15:18-19 - But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

 Luke 6:45 ­ A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

If we are going to think the way God wants us to think, and as a result act the way God wants to act, we are going to have to learn how to think properly, because "You are what you think."

Changing your thinking begins with salvation.  If you have truly recognized yourself to be a sinner, and have truly turned to Jesus Christ, as the One who died for you, and have trusted Him for forgiveness of sin and eternal life, there will be a change in your life! 2 Corinthians 5:7

 As a result of the new life in Christ, we are told to make some changes. One change is who our boss will be in life. Another change is how we think through life's situations. Romans 12:1-2

 If our mind is renewed, it means that our thinking will be different than the way it was before we knew Christ as Savior. It means that we must learn how to think differently. This all brings us to our text, Philippians 4:8:

 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.

 This verse gives us a pattern for our thinking.

 We'll talk about how to implement that pattern at the end of the message.  But first, let's look at the types of things about which we should be thinking.  We can break down the types of things to think about into three categories.

PROFOUND THOUGHTS

I call these thoughts profound because they are certainly of the highest and deepest quality. They include the things that are true, honest, and just.

I. THE TRUE

The things which we think about should be true.

They should be valid thoughts. They should be responsible thoughts. They should be honest thoughts.

Have you ever stopped to realize how much we think about is just not true?

We worry about what this one is thinking. We worry that this has happened or that has happened.

We worry about what will happen. We assume people are saying and doing things that they are not saying and doing.

Why is this?  Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has been getting man to believe lies which he tells.  If he gets you to believe what isn't true, he can paralyze your testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. John 8:44

Thinking about lies will upset you, make you worry, make you angry, make you ineffective for the Lord Jesus Christ.

PROFOUND THOUGHTS

WHAT WE THINK ABOUT IS TO BE TRUE

II. WHAT WE THINK ABOUT IS TO BE HONORABLE.

That's what the word "honest" means here.

What we think about is not to be simplistic.

What we think about is not be trash.

What we think about is not to be sheer imagination.

So much of what we think about is useless!

Thinking on the honorable takes us to a higher plane.

What we think about as Christians is to be better than what our unsaved friends are thinking about.

Our thinking is to be honorable, or reputable, or noble.

 PROFOUND THOUGHTS

III. WHAT WE THINK ABOUT IS TO BE RIGHT: The word just would mean right.

Back in the Old Testament days of the Judges it is said that every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  It's not hard for me to view my own thoughts as right according to my standards.  I can easily justify the way I think.

But to have my thoughts conformable to God's standards is something else.

 Micah 6:8 -  He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

To do justly, I must think justly. To love mercy, I must think mercifully.

To walk humbly with my God I must think about Him enough to meditate in His Word and talk to Him.

PRECIOUS THOUGHTS

 We get the mistaken idea that when we think the way God wants us to think, that things will be dull. I think quite the opposite is true. The next two types of thoughts are precious to God and precious to others, because of the way we will treat them when our thoughts are precious. And these thoughts will be precious to ourselves, because we will be so much happier when we think this way.

PRECIOUS THOUGHTS - There are two types here.

IV. WHAT I THINK ABOUT IS TO BE PURE.

First and foremost my thoughts must be morally pure before God.

I am not to be dwelling on that which displeases God!

I am not to be dwelling on the filth of this world.

I am not to be dwelling on that which would make me blush if others knew what I was thinking.

PRECIOUS THOUGHTS

1. WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE LOVELY

When we think about lovely things they are pleasing, agreeable, amiable.

Lovely thoughts are beneficial towards God, others.

When you've done something nice, it is because it began with a lovely thought.

 POSITIVE THOUGHTS

Do you know why we are often critical?, unkind? Do you know why we are often guilty of slander, and a judgmental attitude? It is because we do not think positive thoughts.

2. WHATSOEVER THINGS ARE OF GOOD REPORT

Instead of dwelling on bad news dwell on good news.

Instead of trying to make yourself look good, try to make God and others look good.

This occurs when we think about the good we find in others instead of the bad we find in others.

There are some verses that Paul shared with the Philippians that should be our attitude towards other believers. Philippians 1:3-6

POSITIVE THOUGHTS:

3. IF THERE BE ANY VIRTUE: The word virtue means "excellence".

We are to be so choosy about what we think that thinking just good thoughts isn’t enough. We must strive to think excellent thoughts.

 POSITIVE THOUGHTS:

4. IF THERE BE ANY PRAISE

We should think on things worthy of our praise. We should think on things worthy of God's praise. We are to think thoughts worth sharing to others, that they would think them too.

 We have quite a list here:

PROFOUND THOUGHTS THAT ARE TRUE, HONORABLE AND RIGHT

PRECIOUS THOUGHTS WHICH ARE PURE AND LOVELY

POSITIVE THOUGHTS WHICH ARE OF GOOD REPORT, EXCELLENT, AND WORTHY OF PRAISE.