Philippians chapter 4 verses 1-9 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. I entreat you, Odea, and I entreat Syntyche, to agree in the Lord. And yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you've learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray and ask for his blessing. Father, we thank you for this word. We pray that you fill us with your spirit now, that in the speaking and hearing of this word, your word would truly be proclaimed and it would find a place within the hearts of each one here to grow, to fill us, to strengthen us, Lord God, to create faith where there is no faith, to encourage and strengthen faith where there is faith, that in all things, Lord God, we might find our hope. fulfilled in Christ and our righteousness Lord Jesus in you and our life in you. We ask these things Lord God for the sake of your glory. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. As Paul finishes up his letter to the Philippians, and it seems like there's been two or three ends to it already, he's concerned to direct them to Jesus. to direct them to thinking about him, to praying to him, to meditating on him, and presenting him in these commands that we looked at in verses 4 and today, in verses 8 and 9, that this life of thoughtfulness in Christ, this life, this practice of prayer to Christ and meditation in Him, is a way in which the problems that He has warned them against will be resolved. You remember this conflict between the two women. There might be more going on, but certainly this much at least. There's the warning that he gives them in chapter 3 about the heresy of the Jesus plus people, the Judaizers, the people saying that you need more than faith in Christ to be justified. You need more than faith in Christ alone to be happy and at peace with God and contend with Him. He's warning them earlier in the book about the persecution that he's facing and that they will face as well. And telling them, be of one mind in all of this. Be of one mind for the sake of the gospel. Rejoice in what God has given to you. Rejoice as I rejoice in you for the constancy and the steadfastness, he says to the church, that you have held in regards to Christ. You have not departed from Him. You are faithful to him and your faithfulness to him is reflected in your faithfulness to me, says Paul. Now continue in this. Work through these difficulties that you have within your congregation and do it by, in verses 4 to 7, praising God and trusting in him and directing yourself to him in prayer. And then in verses 8 to 9, he directs himself to another way of our thought life. Prayer is a matter of thinking. Your prayer is a communication with God, words directed to Him. I know in a lot of so-called spiritual life practices and in other religions, prayer is a bit of mindlessness. You just kind of go off and say what you will. And even in Christianity, there's that sort of idea where people speaking in tongues don't know what they're saying, but are praying to God. But as you go through the scriptures, communication with God is rational. It's intentional. It's doctrinal. It's filled with the thoughts of God that He's given to us through His Word, leading us to trust in Him and express ourselves to Him in praise and express ourselves to Him in accordance with our needs to Him. in rational, knowledgeable, communicating ways. That whether we pray singly or whether we pray as a group, it's a real rational communication to God. Likewise, if our prayers are like that, so is our meditation to be. And what we look at in verses 8 and 9 is a way that we're called to meditate on God, things about Him that we're supposed to be thinking of. dwelling on them, which is, in my mind, another way of saying meditation, another way of saying contemplate these things. Don't just think about them, think on these things. Now, we jump to the end of verse 8. We've read that list here of honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. He says, whatever these things, these things that are given to you, think on these things. Now, why would he say, before we look at them, why would he single out these things? Some people would say that because Paul is in Philippi, well, not in Philippi, but because he's dealing with a church that's in Philippi, a Roman colony, prideful of its Roman heritage, that it would have its own intellectual life. And within Greek and Roman intellectual life, there were virtuous lists. teachers who would go and say this is the life of virtue and they would have lists of practices, lists of attitudes that you were to have and some have argued that Paul is adopting a list from Greek thought life and bringing it into the church and saying okay now listen as you're in Philippi you can look at what the Philippians do and think of what they do and import that into your own heart which I don't quite buy Paul is not interested here in encouraging the Philippians into a way of Christian cultural engagement with the secular world around them. He's been warning them against viewing their citizenship in Philippi as more important than their citizenship in heaven. His whole purpose in this letter is to direct them to Christ. To get them to think about Him. So, while it's true that this list is similar to what exists in the Greek culture around them, to find its fulfillment there, or its purpose there, I think is misguided. There are other lists of Christian character and behavior and virtue that you find in the New Testament. Galatians 5, 22 and 23, for instance, the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. So Paul is familiar with this. He's willing to use these things. You might think of the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, in which Paul lays out this is what love is like. It's positive and it's negative, but directs them to God in the midst of that. So Paul is happy to use lists and words to direct us in our thoughts toward God and to give us some idea of how to direct our thinking on Him. But not so that we can be like the world, not so that we can redeem the world, but so that we can focus on Christ. in these things. Think about this letter that we've looked at. Notice the focus on Christ in all of this. The gospel that Paul is in prison for is the gospel about Jesus' death and resurrection. Think of the example of Christ that he's given the Philippians to follow in the second chapter. Christ leaving heaven and the glory that was his for a time to become a servant on earth. and saying to the Philippians, this too is what you should do in your service to one another. This attitude of Christ that he exhibited is what you're to have also. Think of Paul's desire to be found in Christ and to be full of Christ's righteousness at the end of chapter 3. The encouragement to rejoice in Christ and to pray in Christ. It's about Jesus. And so I think the best way to understand these words that we're going to look at, this list that he gives us in verse 8, is to see it as directing us to think of these things in Christ. Because when you think of honor and truth and justice and loveliness and things commendable and excellence, well, where does that come from? Does it come from the human heart? Does it come from a group of academics or a group of ascetics or a group of self-meditators who say, this is the way to the truly good life. We will ponder these things. We will discuss them at length. We will meditate on them. At length. And this is how we will attain happiness. No. No. They're found in Christ. The source of all these things that Paul encourages us to dwell on is Jesus. Now who is the example of all that Paul encourages us to dwell on? Because we like heroes, we like role models. So much is said in our culture about having the right role model, about having the good role models for our children. I can't argue too much against that, but I think sometimes, maybe a lot of times, it becomes a substitute for actually looking at Jesus. Who is the example of these things fulfilled? Who is honorable in the end but Jesus? Who is just in the end but Christ? Who is true in the end but Jesus? Who is worthy in the end but Jesus? So Jesus is the source of all these things. Jesus is the example of all these things. And if we were to have them in our own lives, because we are called to be truthful people, a people of justice, a people of honor, the people worthy of praise? Who is the one that can accomplish these things? I can't do it. I wouldn't even want to do most of these things left to myself. And those of you who would want to do them left to yourself wouldn't be able to do them because they're beyond human ability. These too are gifts to us from Christ. These things come from Christ They are exhibited for us by Christ, and they are given to us by Christ. And so what I think Paul is saying in this, is contemplate Christ in all of this. He says to dwell on these things, or actually think on these things. The Greek word is legisimai, and it's not just think about as if a passing thought in one ear and out the other, but says think, dwell, consider. And I think when a Christian considers and thinks and dwells on things, what they're doing is meditating. then you think going back to the Psalms, Psalm 119, of David's approach to the law of God. I will think on these things daily. I pray seven times a day, thinking Lord God of your law. Think of the commandments that God gave the Israelites to have this word of God and to talk about it with your children, and you're rising up, and you're setting, and you're going down. As you go about your daily life, be thinking, be considering, be discussing God and His Word, God and His Law, God and His Righteousness. Have your mind set on Christ. Have your mind set on the things of God. Meditate. Contemplate these things. Memorize these things. Memorize Scripture. I think it's what Paul is saying in all of this, directing us to Christ in this way, to think of all that we do in light of the perfection of Christ. To see the good things that we have as good things, but good because they can direct us to Christ, where we recognize that they're given to us by Christ. Now, what I want to do, because as I was listening to sermons and reading commentaries on this, some went with a moralistic approach to these things, which is to say that use this list as a checkpoint against the things that you do. So that if you have a question about a movie, think of the movie in terms of what you know about it. Is it honorable? Is it just? Is it true? And that's fair enough. Apply this to your cultural activities, to the books that you read. the movies that you watch, the TV that you have, the music that you listen to. You can even consider this in terms of some of the activities that you do. Is this really commendable? Is it really worthy of praise? And that's all appropriate, but that can also become simply moralistic and can lead to a sort of pride. Well, I watched the right things. I engaged in the proper activities. I am doing what Jesus tells me to do. But what Paul is about here is not just a sense of completion, a sense of accomplishment in obeying Christ, but actually being with Christ. So don't view these things simply as a checklist to use to make sure that what you're thinking or what you're doing is acceptable then. There's an element of that which is correct and true, but it's more than that. And don't use this list either, as I said earlier, as a way of understanding what we can take from the culture around us. This is meant to be spoken of and direct us to Christ, I think. And so as we go through these things, I will try to direct you and show you in some ways how these things were fulfilled and made known in Christ. Sometimes there are scriptures that are very appropriate, and I have listed other times. Not so much scriptures, but just the idea itself. We are to think on the things that are true, says Paul, whatever is true. Well, what is truth? Remember Pilate asking that question? True is that which conforms to reality as God has decreed it. That's R.C. Sproul's definition. Truth is that which conforms to reality as God has created it and decreed it to be. That is the thing that we're to think on. What does God say? What does God reveal? How do we know what God reveals and what God has said? We know these things because His Son has made them known to us. His Son has proclaimed them to us. Jesus is the truth. Jesus is the way that we understand what reality is and the communication of God's purposes to us. John 1.14, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen His glory. Glory is of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jesus is the perfect expression of God's nature, of God's holiness, of God's mind to us. Jesus is the truth and of course he'll say this himself in John 14 6. I am the way the truth and the life No one comes to the father, but through me So what is the one true thing in your life? Jesus He's the one trustworthy thing in your life He is the one that will always stand and that all the things are to be measured against He is the one that will never fail He's the one who will never be false to you. Now, you have to understand him and we have difficulties with that. Jesus says things that are hard for us to understand and Jesus calls us to do things that are hard for us to do. So there will be sometimes failures that we find ourselves caught up in. Questions and confusions that we have. But those things are not found because of Christ. They're not found in Him. They're found because we're finite people trying to understand infinite truth and infinite love in Christ. But Christ promises us that we have this Holy Spirit who will lead us and teach us and guide us into these things. When we think of whatever is true, ultimately we think of Christ, and we gauge the truth of all things against what Jesus has said, against what Jesus has commanded, against the person and the nature of who Jesus is. It's called likewise to think of whatever is honorable, and the idea of honor is that which evokes respect or dignity or reverence. People that you walk next to and you just have to bow before them. or take a lower place than sitting next to them. You respect them. You have a reverence toward them. You would not say things to them that you would say to other people because you would think what you're saying is not worthy of their hearing. The word is used to describe the behavior and character of older men, of deacons, and of women. Here the idea is to think on things that are lofty and majestic as opposed to things that are ignoble or vulgar. Who is more lofty and more majestic than Christ himself? Who is more honorable than him? Who is more worthy of respect and worthy of reverence than Jesus is? And so in our dealings and our thinkings about him, we need to consider that aspect. and ask how do we respect him? How do we honor him? How do we dignify him? You know, people will talk about praying to the man upstairs. I always cringe when I hear people say that. Because, what, there's an old guy living in your attic and you're praying to him? No, you don't mean that. Oh, you mean God? Well, yeah. Well, God is not the man upstairs. He's so much more than that. Jesus is not the man upstairs. He is so much more than that. Think of it in terms of the way that we speak and the way that we use the name of Jesus. Do we show our honor and respect to Jesus in the way that we speak his word? In the way that we refer and use the name of God. The second commandment comes into play here. Shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Well, that's partly a matter of how you speak, but it's also a matter of how you think. How do we think of Jesus? Do we consider him in his love and in his compassion as we ought to? Do we trust him as he wants us to? Because to trust him as he wants us to is a way of honoring him, is a way of reverencing him, is a way of revering him. We're also to think of whatsoever is just. And this idea of justice is to be used in the broadest possible sense. What measures up to the standard of God's righteousness? What is it that is right in the eyes of God? That is what we are to think of. Remember that God is the origin and the source of justice, the standard of that. It's God's word as he reveals to us that we know what is right and good and true. That clarifies the issues of right and wrong for us. We have this idea already within our hearts. We're made in the image of God and that law that was built into us was corrupted by the sin of Adam, but it's still there. We just don't see it that clearly. Now that the law has been proclaimed to us in the Ten Commandments, and explained for us throughout the pages of Scripture, and fulfilled for us in Christ, we have an idea now, a clearer picture, a clearer apprehension of what God's justice and what God's laws are, of what he requires of us. And we see that we are to conform ourselves to that as well. That we're going to be people who do righteousness. That we're going to be people who do the right thing. Now, when I say that, the image flashed to my mind of just self-righteousness. No, this isn't about self-righteousness. This isn't about being prissy and prudent. We're prudish in the old sense, in the insulting sense of people like, you know, being around people who look like they just sucked a lemon and are just so tightly wrapped up that there's no joy and no love in them. The law of God, Psalm 19 that we sang about, delights the heart. The justice of God causes us to rejoice in Him, because we know He is good and true. And it's Jesus who exercises this justice of God, perfectly and completely. John 5.30, Jesus says, I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. To think of Christ and to think of justice is to think of Christ as the one who is perfectly right in all that he does, who is perfectly equitable in all that he does. Giving to people what they need, giving to his people what is good for them to have. I almost said giving us what is fair, but I don't like that word fair given the current context of our climate, of our culture right now. And he doesn't give us what we deserve, and we thank him for that. In a real sense, Jesus is born on his own back, the justice that was due to us. And so not only do we receive justice from Jesus, we receive mercy from him. And so when we think of the things that are just, we have to think of Christ. And Christ is just. And Christ is born, God's justice in his own body, for our sake. And so it ought to make us think of mercy as well. Justice and mercy wedded together in Christ. Think of the things he says that are pure or holy in another translation. This is used of wisdom in James and 1 Timothy. It's the idea of purity of thought and purpose and also expresses words and actions. It's not just, there's a sexual connotation to this, so that we're called to be sexually pure and sexually chaste, but it goes beyond that. It goes in the idea of a purity of thought and intention. When you're talking with somebody, Are you talking with them for what you can get out of them or because you really care about them? And you want to find a way to serve them because you love them. You know, there are the books that tell you how to engage in salesmanship, how to couch an argument, how to couch a phrase or turn a sentence so that you get from that person what you want. Maybe that's appropriate in terms of salesmanship, but in terms of everyday personal relationship, not so much. Because your motive is to get something from them. And that conflicts in some ways with the primary motive of the Christian, to be a blessing and a servant to others. Paul says, think on these things and have your motives pure and holy in all that you do, in your business dealings, in your relationships with one another, in the things that you look at and the things that you enjoy and take pleasure in. and of course who is pure and holy but Jesus himself. See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself, as he is pure." So Jesus becomes then the one that we look at. What kind of person do I want to be in dealing with other people? I want to be like Christ. I want to be selfless. I want to be faithful. I want to be good to that person in the way that Jesus has been good to me. And you do this, and you can carry this through in your business practices, in your debates with people, and you're trying to work through a problem about family finances with somebody else. This has application in all that you do, but the primary thing here is I need to be like Christ. I need to have intentions toward others like he's had toward me. They're good and not simply what I can get out of them or what I want. The idea of lovely comes in as well. Now lovely is not a word that shows up, I think, but only here in the scriptures. But it's certainly the idea of attractiveness. of something that draws attention to itself, not for its own sake, but because it's beautiful. It's attractive. There's something about it that impels you to go near that thing. And that thing is not bad for you, it's good for you. Well, look at the life of Christ again. And as we read through the Gospels, what about him is repellent or repulsive? What is it about Jesus that would actually turn people away? Well, if they're in the hardness of their hearts, they might rebel against Him. But for sinners who are repentant, for those of us who acknowledge our need and our weakness and our frailty, you can't read about Jesus without coming close to Him. Because He's good. He's lovely. He's true. He draws us to Himself. And so as we think about the things that are lovely, we let ourselves be drawn to Him. And let that character of loveliness be formed in us. That others might be drawn to us because Christ is being formed in us. Whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. And the idea of commendable is the idea of essential worthiness. It's like the idea of praise, in a sense. You look at something and you say, that is valuable. And that is, if I can use the word and the definition, that is worth my time. Again, think of Christ in this way. Is Christ commendable? Is he somebody who is essentially worthy in and of himself to be spoken of to others? To speak and say, this is the one that we have found. That's what the disciples do. Is it Andrew who goes and finds Peter and says, we found this guy. Come and meet him. He's the Messiah. Andrew commends Jesus to Peter. Think on the worthiness of Christ. Think on also the idea of excellence. He says if there is anything worthy, if there is any excellence. What's excellence? Well the idea is of moral excellence, of perfection here. Of things that are just good. Good almost beyond description. Without flaw. Pure and holy. This is Jesus who in the end is excellent. There is no one like him. There is no one who stands next to him. And this is what Peter says regarding the church. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who calls you out of darkness into his marvelous light. The excellencies of Christ. The truthfulness of Christ. The unfailing love of Christ. The compassion of Christ. the mercy of Christ, the selflessness of Christ. Think, he says, on these things. And likewise, become like him in these ways as well. To Peter 1.3, his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and to godliness. Through the knowledge of him who has called us to his own glory and excellence. And at least part of that idea, is that all these characteristics that I find fulfilled in Christ are to become in part a description of ourselves. We are to become a people who are true, who are honorable, who are just, who are pure, who are lovely, who are commendable, who are excellent ourselves because it is Christ who is living within us. And dwelling on these things is one way in which God works those characteristics into us and transforms us into the image of Christ and is forming Christ within us. Finally, he says, think of the things that are worthy of praise. Think of the things that are worthy of being spoken of and giving God thanks for. Ben and I had our Eeyore discussion earlier before church began, just browsing back and forth with one another about this thing and that thing. And as we're doing this, I'm thinking of this passage that said to Ben, and Ben I said it to you, but I could have said it to myself as well, I think this might be a solution to this idea. We were laying out some of the problems that we see, and it's easy to be discouraged by them, but one way of dealing with those things is to think on the things that are worthy of praise. Who is it that deals with these things that we're negative about? It is God. Who is it that intends these things that can become a focus of negativity for us? Who is it that intends them for our good and for God's glory? It is God Himself. Now you can focus on the thing itself and be negative or praise it, But in the end, it's used by God, meant by God, intended by God, that we might praise Him for it all. You know, as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, and we understand that to mean that within the congregation we just, you know, personal clashes with people, or we might think differently, and we have to work through that, and we become better people because of it. And so you realize you have to praise God for that difficult person next to you. or somewhere in the church with you at the same time. Because God is using that to form Christ in you. That person becomes somebody that you praise God for. But you also praise God because God has sent him to you. Because God has chosen to act in that way. You think on the things that are worthy of praise. And of course, who is more worthy of praise than Jesus? Who is more worthy to think about and to give thanks for? and to boast on than Jesus the Son of God. In this regard, these things lead us to think on Christ and give us categories in which to think about Christ, but think about in the sense of meditation, dwelling on Him, contemplating. And as we think on Christ in these ways, Christ is pleased to use that meditation, that contemplation, to make us more like Him in these ways ourself. Which, if you go back to Iodi and Syntyche, is one way of resolving conflicts within the church. If you think in terms of beating back the temptations of daily sin, it becomes one way of beating back those temptations. If you think in terms of the allure of the cults and the things they promise, thinking on these things as being fulfilled in Christ is one way of answering the heresies and the bad theology of all the struggles around us. Paul says, think on the things of Christ. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are below. Because that's where you'll find your strength in all of this. Now Paul says in verse 9, just by way of encouragement to them, these things that you've learned and seen and heard and seen in me, think on them. Practice them. And the God of peace will be with you. So what Paul is saying, I've taught you these things. I've been in your house, really, he says this to the Philippians, because it was in Lydia's house that they stayed while Paul was with them. I was in your house, I taught you these things, and as he will say later on in the book of Acts, therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Paul has told the Philippians everything he knows, everything that God has revealed to him. It's all been there for them. And he's done it personally. He's gone from house to house. They've had the public meetings and worship in the church. Nothing has been hidden from them about the purposes and the love and the presence of Christ with them. It's all been there, he says. I've told you about these things. And he says, and these are the things likewise that you've seen in me, that you've heard and seen. Paul's personal example testifies that these things are real and true. They look at how he has dealt with persecution. They look at how he has dealt with imprisonment. They look at the counsel he has given them. They remember how he was when he was with them. A sinner, yes, but a sinner saved by grace. A sinner devoted to the things of Christ and a sinner devoted to the things of God and transformed by the grace of Christ. A man himself who is becoming full of these very things that he's asking him to think about. So he's not saying, do as I say, not as I do. He's saying, do as I said and do as I do because you've seen these things in me. Now, let them be also in you. And he says, now, as you've heard me say them, as you've seen me example them to you, do them yourselves. Practice them. Which is to say that these things are attainable. This kind of meditation is doable. Thinking on Christ, dwelling on lovely, pure, good, holy, just things is attainable even in the midst of ordinary life. I guess at times lamenting just how busy we all seem to be lately. So many things going on for us and people feeling frazzled and just worn out and it's not even noon time of the day. And I've been thinking, can I really ask people to carry out these things? And I think I can. Because the scriptures tell us to. To think on God throughout the midst of the day. To have your mind set on these things, to have this course, this determination set in your mind as you go out through the day. I'm going to learn to see Christ in the midst of all of my activities. I'm going to learn to give attention to Christ and praise to Him in the midst of all my activities. It's so much more than the power of positive thinking or a positive attitude. It's learning to see what Christ is doing in your life and in the lives of those around you, making that determination to do it. And doing this by remembering His Word, by taking a passage like this to heart, and learning to apply it to the people that you are with every day, to the work that you are engaged in every day. It's a kind of contemplation, a kind of thoughtfulness that shows itself in your thoughtfulness. You find your thinking will change about matters. It will show itself in the way that you speak to people and about people. It will show itself in the way that you treat people. Thinking on these things, dwelling on these things will let you become a more truthful person, a more just person, a more honorable person. It will lead you to treat people with righteousness and mercy. with justice and with honor and with praise. Because you are thinking about Christ himself in these things and as you think about Christ in this way, Christ is being formed in you. Now Paul says At the end, as you practice these things, the God of peace will be with you. It's the same kind of language, but switched a little bit from what you saw in verse 7. As you pray to God and let your supplications and prayers be known to God, the peace of God, surpassing all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds. As you lift these matters up to God in prayer, God blesses you with the comfort that He is sovereign over all things. And as you dedicate yourself to think on the things of God, To dwell on them, you have the promise that the God of peace himself will be with you. That God dwells with you in the midst of these things. That you're walking next to God himself in the midst of your life. And not just God, but the God who gives peace. The God who gives reconciliation. the God who comforts, the God who comes and speaks, and the God who stays. Jesus, I would argue, is that God of peace. As you think about Christ, Christ is with you. As you dwell on Him, morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and night, Christ will be with you in all of these things to guide, to comfort, to encourage, to lift up, to change, to transform, to forgive, to bless you his people. Let's pray. Father we thank you for your word. We pray, Lord, that we would approach these things rightly, not as a list of things to be done, but as one way among several of wanting God to be like you and to be like your son, to have that same kind of character, that same sort of love and compassion, that same sort of vibrant and beautiful holiness that we are all called to, Lord God, that you alone have. but are willing to share with us and call us in to. Lord, help us to see these things as not just abstract virtues to be attained to, but to see these things as expressions of Christ himself, as a description, Lord Jesus, of your person, of your holiness, of your work. And help us then Lord God to love these things because you have loved us and have given us that love in return for Christ Jesus. Lord draw us to yourself as the one who is true, as the one who is just, as the one who is honorable, as the one who is pure, as the one who himself is lovely, as the one who is commendable, as the one who is excellent and the one who is worthy of praise. And Lord help us to remember these things and to take delight in them. and that we might be continually transformed by your grace, sanctified by your Spirit, and so testify more effectively to the work of Christ that has been done in us, to the forgiveness of sins that you call all to by faith in your Son Jesus. Bless us Lord God we pray, in the name of Jesus, Amen.