with me in your scriptures to Philippians chapter 4. We are in that portion towards the end where the Apostle has been giving imperatives to his loved ones, the Philippians, as closing exhortations. And before us this week, verses 8 and 9, continue those loving exhortations. Stand with me and I'll read in your hearing verses 8 and 9. This is the very Word of Almighty God, holy, infallible, and inerrant in all its parts. Let us hear and heed Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things, the things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me. These do, and the God of peace will be with you. Let us ask God's blessing on this, his holy word. Great God and merciful Father, we pray that you'd open our eyes, that we may behold wonderful things in your word. Give us ears to hear and hearts to receive the words sown. Blessed by the spirit we pray in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. Paul, in giving closing exhortations, in taking loving care for the spiritual nurture of the Philippians, is ministering by the Spirit, not only to them, but he's ministering this loving care by the Spirit through them to us as well. The apostle repeated an imperative of joy in Christ. earlier in those closing exhortations, and we looked at Paul's own example of how we are to obey the command to be full of joy and rejoicing, meditating upon God in Christ. We are filled with an ever-deepening love for Him that sustains and brings up and forth from the soul that love for Christ, the fullness of Christ in his salvation and sovereignty, in his redemption and his reign, secures us. It provides assurance of communion in Christ's love and confidence in his calling upon our life. Even when that calling brings us through trials and tribulations, In that assurance and confidence we have a calm repose. We're able to deal with affliction with a gentle spirit. The Apostle calls us to make that gracious forbearance known to all around us. And we are comforted in this joy of the Lord, this nurture that brings forth not only a joy, but a comfort that sustains us with a gracious forbearance, the Lord is present with us in those trials. And not just in a sovereign appointment, but in an intimacy. He is at hand. He is near. It'll be apparent that we are not vindictive and demanding, but resting in Christ as he is with us through every trial and triumph. Christ will be near in an immediate way. Paul says, the Lord is at hand. And so he is giving us this rich instruction, joy that comforts and sustains in the nearness of Christ, comforting as that joy of the Lord is exhibited in a forbearing and gracious spirit. Paul says that in the midst of these afflictions, that we're not to succumb to anxiety, to anxious worry. And the Philippians had every reason, as you examine their situation, to be worried. They were in a hostile situation. And Paul said that the kind of affliction he was experiencing, both within and without, as he was now under house arrest, imprisoned, chained to a guard, there experiencing the same kinds of afflictions within and without, and experiencing the hostilities of the people of the city of Philippi. And so in that train of piety, from joy through graciousness and the comfort of the Lord's presence, The apostle then says, now, don't worry, don't have an anxious, worried spirit, but rather, forbidding that, bring every worry to the Lord in prayer. He sets out a pattern of life, of prayer, and indeed, ever-intensifying prayer, framed with thanksgiving. This prayer with thanksgiving shows submission to God and confidence in his purposes. It requires that we invest ourselves in a meditative life of prayer. As we looked at the apostle's call in that command not to be full of anxious worry, the opposite that remedies that anxiety and worry is this meditative prayer life of ever-intensifying prayer, and in the context of Paul's own example, we see that this meditative life begins with those graces he had previously described. It begins with our delight in Christ, communion and confidence with Christ, and it naturally extends to our prayer life, where we are moved to prayers of thanksgiving, seasoning our supplications, and our urgent requests as we consider how Christ is using those trials to grow us in grace, to further the gospel. It is only as we have been cast upon the beauties of the provisions of Christ and are then abundant in joy and assured of communion with Him, confident in His sovereign purposes, that we're enabled to pause and pray in the face of those worrying afflictions, so that we're not crippled by worry, but rather moved to thanksgiving. The promised peace, then, is given, the peace of God that surpasses human comprehension. It's wrought by the Holy Spirit supernaturally within, and it guards and protects the heart, securing and promoting all those graces previously described and preserving the peace that those graces lead. And so he sets out a beautiful description of the piety we are to pursue and the treasures that it bestows. And having secured us from anxious worry in our Christian calling with joy, prayer, thanksgiving, and peace, all centered in Christ Jesus, the apostle now prepares us to turn from that meditative life that sustains us in the peace of God, to face the world. Because as much as that mountaintop experience is to be a part of the investment of our spiritual walk, we don't stay there. We indeed must turn and then enter into the world where we're then overwhelmed. with all those very afflictions that we're creating, cause for anxious worry, that would indeed cloud the mind, hinder us from the pursuit of that meditative peace that we have in prayer, centered upon the joy of the Lord, considering the beauties of His provision. The world, as we have to wade into it, makes it very difficult to preserve us in the joy. How can we persevere in this joy and walk in this way of peace while we're waiting out into the world? Well, the apostle addresses that next. In chapter three, we learned that we are to be heavenly minded. We're to have our behavior demonstrate our citizenship. Remember when he said that in contrast to those who live with license, libertines, who invest themselves in the god of the belly and feed all their appetites. He says, what a shame to the Lord, who is our Lord and Savior. As he rules and reigns in heaven, our citizenship is there. And just like the Philippians of the city of Philippi took great pride in their citizenship and considered it an obligation to walk in a way that honored their citizenship in Rome, Paul says, you have a higher citizenship. You have a true Lord and Savior, not Caesar, but Jesus Christ. And he is seated, reigning and ruling, bringing all into his submission, and you. should live in a way that honors your citizenship in heaven. We're to be heavenly-minded. We're to behave in a way that demonstrates that heavenly citizenship. We're to live in a way that honors our Lord and Savior, who is enthroned over all in heaven. And this way of living has everything to do with that heavenly mindset. but as I turn then and face the world, as I go out and live in the world, won't the world bombard me in such a way as to overwhelm my heavenly mindset? Yes, it's a beautiful thing to acknowledge, to recognize that I'm in union with my great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to have that meditation overwhelm me with joy, but then as I must depart, as it were, into my daily calling, I find that The ways of the world come and beat against me, as it were, and I run the risk of having that heavenly mindset overwhelmed. So now Paul helps us with a practical guide in how to preserve this heavenly mindset in the midst of the world. That is, Paul guides us in how to think constructively and fruitfully in the world and about the world. This is connected to preserving that peace, which is guarding our hearts and minds. How do we sustain our walking? in that piece. The apostle is going to guide us now in that, as we look where he goes next in verse eight. He says, finally, brethren, and remember, yes, Paul is beginning to wrap things up, but this finally is like the one that was at the beginning of chapter three. He's not really saying, okay, now I'm done. He has more to say. What he's saying is, now then, to the next thing that follows. We need to go on to the next thing. Finally, brethren, He's adding what they need next, how to persevere in this peace. And so he moves now to what remains to address that. And this is a much needed remainder. He's helped us to bask in the glory of Christ and to be transformed inwardly by that glory, abounding in love and joy for Christ with all the fruits that come from it. Now we need help wading out into the world in a way that preserves that inward transformation and peace. How may I think in a transformed way, a heavenly way, a Christ-glorifying way about the things I encounter when I wade out into the world? The apostle takes that up and gives us a way to do that very thing. And so first, he talks to us about thinking virtuously. He will also then talk about acting virtuously. We'll probably preserve that portion for next week. This week, looking at thinking virtuously. Notice what Paul doesn't say as he begins listing out these virtues. He's listing them, saying whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, and so on. He is giving us a way to form our thought life. But it's also important to see, as this addresses our going into the world, what Paul isn't saying here. He's not saying that the way we deal with having to go from that inward life to live in the world according to our calling, that heavenly calling. He doesn't say the solution is to ignore the world, to escape it like a monk in a monastery. Consider how Paul talks about the world. He's not saying that we escape it. He is saying that we live where we see those things. Remember in 1 Corinthians 5, where he was talking about church discipline, they may have misunderstood when he said you mustn't spend time with those who were guilty of scandalous sins. He clarifies to them, now I didn't mean you can never be with anybody who commits scandalous sins because the people of the world commit those sins. If you can't be around them, you'd have to leave the world. In 1 Corinthians 5, at verse 9, he says, and following, he says, I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person. He clarifies that we don't countenance scandalous sin in the church, and there are means of discipline that involves the person being put out and no longer being a part of the fellowship. But he clarifies. there are going to be those who aren't a part of the church. And you're going to be rubbing shoulders with those people. So he's not in helping us to think virtuously, saying the way that you'll think virtuously is you'll escape those people. You'll avoid them. No, he said, then you would have to leave the world in 1 Corinthians 5. And you can't leave the world. Here, Paul recognizes and acknowledges the presence of immorality in the world. And we will have to face that immorality because we remain in the world. Such scandal of sin is dealt with through discipline in the church, but it will still be present in the world. And so we don't escape it by escaping from the world. But neither does Paul suggest that we should simply embrace and become a close to, everything we encounter in the world, as though we should have no discrimination. You'll hear those who suggest that the way we live in the world is that we cozy up to those sins, that we make sure that those who are engaged in those sins feel very comfortable with us, and so we identify with them as much as possible. Well, the Apostle's not saying that either. Indeed, The apostle repeatedly condemns the wickedness of the world and insists that we must remain unstained from such immorality. Consider the strong words of the apostle in the very next chapter of 1 Corinthians, when he goes on to say, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, set apart from such things, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. That's from 1 Corinthians 6, verse nine and following. So he's not saying that we escape the world, but he's also saying that you don't go and identify with the wickedness of the world either. You don't cozy up to it. You must remain unstained from it, separated from it. Here, Paul urges us to look, rather, upon the world in a way that's informed with the heavenly vision. Paul urges us to look, as he lists virtues, he urges us to look for Christ's fingerprints on his world. Paul takes up a list of virtues that were some of the highest character virtues and aspirations that were held out in the Greco-Roman world, but he bends them to Christian use. It's very important to see what he's doing here. Even in the fallen world, the good, the true, and the beautiful can be found because it's God's world, because he made it. And it's inescapable, even amongst those who are at war with the true, the good and the beautiful, there will still be a display of that desire. The fingerprints of the creator will still be found. And the highest aspirations of even those pagans touched on those things that can only be recognized when seen from the hand of the creator and redeemer, Jesus Christ. They have high aspirations that they can never fulfill, but we see what they wish for in Christ. And when we look on His world, even His fallen world, we can look and see the fingerprints of the Creator and Redeemer. Paul says, that even in the fallen world, these things can be seen. And we are to be always looking for those things. The verb tense that he uses is such that keep on looking for these things. Keep an eye upon those fingerprints of the creator and redeemer that you'll see in his world. Paul says, filter through what you encounter in the world with an eye towards heavenly virtues. This is a discipline of the mind that we cultivate in the preservation of peace and the practice of piety. It arises from those previous graces Remember, as Paul walked us through those practices of piety, starting with that meditation upon Christ that gives rise to a persistent and supernatural joy, he walks us all the way through the banishing of worry as we are settled upon Christ. And in the nurture of those graces, the mind is being disciplined to have an eye towards heavenly graces, heavenly virtues, wherever we may find them. This is a discipline of the mind centered on the loving meditation of Christ, divine joy, sincere prayer and thanksgiving, and the experience of heart-preserving peace. This discipline of mind takes those graces and turns to face the world on heaven's terms. Christ is the creator and redeemer of his world. Christ is subduing all things to himself. And so when we face the world, when we wait out into it, we have a filter we may use that will fix us upon our redeemer with a heavenly-minded approach. Paul lists six virtues. First he says, whatever things are true. And of course, you would start with the truth, right? Jesus is the truth. And so if we are to go out into the world and be sustained in that heavenly-mindedness that's fixed upon Christ, it would be fixed upon the truth. Jesus, in John 14, verse six, says, I am the way, The truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Paul says in the beginning of the book of Titus that God is truth. He cannot lie. That which is true here bears the marks of the creator's hand. It accords or corresponds properly with reality. We should be able to see right away in our day how the truth sustains us in a heavenly mindedness. When we wade out into the world, are we not bombarded with lies? In our day especially, we're given a demand from the world that we embrace as truth that which is clearly a lie because it does not correspond to God's truth. The clearest and most obnoxious example is the transgender lie, situated as it is in other perversions of God's truth in relation to sexuality and identity of human beings. Abundant lies are pushed forward, and the demand is made that we call that truth. In the face of that, I may see in our day, a pushback. Do we delight in that? Paul is saying, don't be overwhelmed by the lies. Fix your mind on the truth, and then delight in the truth when you see it. Of course, we see it in the love of the church for the truth of God in man and woman, husband and wife, family that is a procreative union, and that glorifies God in every way, yes, but even in the world, The truth is so embedded in God's creation that we've finally seen a bridge too far as those lies are being propagated and pushed into the public school setting. Even the mediocre, mushy middle in our land has said, I don't think we want to play along. And there appears to be a revolt against the propagation of those lies. Well, praise God. And that's an example of a way that we recognize the truth and delight in it as God's truth because it is unmistakable in His world and it will persevere even when the enemies of the truth are at war with it. If our mind is fixed on the one who is the truth, we'll have an eye to see that truth and we'll delight in Christ who is the truth when that truth wins the victory. We then pray to that end. We rejoice in that. Our mind is fixed on a virtue that transforms whatever things are true. He goes on, whatever things are noble, even in our land where the ignoble, the dishonorable is promoted, it's inescapable. And we need to have an eye to see the fingerprints of God, when that which is truly honorable is promoted. Honor, nobility, in God's good order, is designed to be promoted. And indeed, wisdom filling up the noble will lead them to lead well. The writer of Proverbs speaks of this, Solomon, in chapter 8, verse 15 and 16. He says, by me, speaking for wisdom, kings reign and rulers decree justice. By me, princes rule and nobles, all the judges of the earth. There is a natural order in God's design. It carries his fingerprints that nobility, honor, though it may be hated by the world in its rebellion, it still rises. And when it's seen, it receives. Recognition. We think of rulers who are sacrificial and noble in their endeavors. Even in a world where true honor and true nobility are hated, those things are recognized and seen for what they are. They bear the fingerprints of the creator. We're to have an eye that recognizes truth, and nobility, honor, as a virtue God built into his world. These things, in a heavenly-minded way, should fill our vision as we look out upon the world. We should have an eye to see them, and we should be encouraged by them, giving praise to God for his rule and reign, where those are exhibited, and praying that he will promote such things. The apostle goes on, whatever things are just, that is, what is right and equitable, what is morally upright, in accord with a right standard, objectively fair. Again, God has built into the fabric of his created order his moral law. And despite fallen mankind's war with God's moral standard, everybody wants that morality applied on other people for himself. We're able to see the delight when equity, when a true justice is met, even amongst those who are otherwise at war with it. With a heavenly mindset, we're to be looking for those virtues and loving them, praying for them, and living them. He goes on, whatever things are pure, the word there means unstained, undefiled, not polluted. Again, it carries moral implications. It's a word used for sexual purity, or faithfulness and fidelity, integrity. And you see in the mixture of these virtues things that, even in our fallen world, are delightful in the eyes of mankind when they're exhibited. Think of an exhibit of that kind of nobility and integrity. What happened back in 2009 when that pilot in that US Airways jet, Sully Sullenberg, you remember? There was a bird strike that knocked out the engines of that jet. This man did something noble with great integrity. He kept his head. He did what was his call as the captain. He brought that jet down in the Hudson River, saving all 150 plus lives on that jet. People cheered that. Why? Because it had the fingerprints of the creator's morality. The virtues of Messiah were still there. And people saw it for what it was, noble. Great integrity. As we go into the world, we're to have eyes filled with those virtues, looking for them, delighting in them as what they are, the fingerprints of Christ's creative and redemptive work in his world. That purity speaks of unmixed motives, a singleness of heart, When we see it, it moves us, we delight in it. And the apostle says, those are things that breathe with the breath of heaven in us, and when we see them, may they delight us in Christ. And he goes on, the fifth virtue, whatever things are lovely. And here, he begins to move into the realm of beauty. He's started with truth. He's described goodness, and here he's describing something recognizably beautiful and thus desirable, either in behavior or in presentation. It's a very broad term. It speaks of those things that are beautiful in action, things like selfless charity. Again, even though she very well may not have known the true and saving gospel, Mother Teresa was recognized the world over for something beautiful in self-sacrificial charity. Why was that seen that way? It's because the creator and redeemer has his fingerprints all over his world. And when something is exposed like that, it is immediately recognized for what it is, something beautiful. And this is true when we recognize beautiful works of art or beautiful works of music When you hear Beethoven, so recognizable in any of his symphonies, the beauty and power of it are acknowledged by all. Why? What's going on there? Well, there are virtues from the creator, from the power of Christ. And we're to have eyes tuned to those things because we know the source of them. This preserves us as we go out into the world. looking for the fingerprints of Christ and he continues another virtue that is similar, whatever things are of good report. Again, this is the idea of something admirable. It's related to the previous term, the lovely, the beautiful. It's highly esteemed by all. It's readily or widely recognized as something truly good, something desirable for its beauty, for its goodness. Now, perhaps precisely because he has expanded in the list into these very broad categories of beauty and desirability, he gives a couple of qualifiers at the end. He's gone through those six virtues, and now he gives a couple of things that qualify them all. He says, in all those things, as you're wading out into the world, if there is anything that is of virtue, and anything that is praiseworthy. Virtue speaks of that moral excellence, exhibiting true and, in the apostles' view, a godly virtue, according in some way with divine standards, in keeping with the restraining power of the moral law, something that exhibits that virtue. something praiseworthy, recognizably in keeping with God's moral standard and able to be approved when considered ethically or morally. He says, that's what I'm really talking about. When you see those things that have a genuine moral value, they are true, they are good, and they're beautiful. These are things that you should set your mind to see. They should be the things you're looking for when you have to go out into the world. He gives that in terms of an imperative. Meditate on these things. To meditate here is the word for reckoning. It's to account for it in a particular way, to assess it in terms of what it really is. Take account of these things and consider them in the full context of Christ's sovereign and saving lordship. That's what he's saying. as you wade out into the world, look for those fingerprints and make a reckoning of all the things you see. We can do that not only by seeing those positive things as we just described, but realize that as we are meditating upon those virtues, the true, the good, and the beautiful, we can also glorify Christ in contrast when we see where they're lacking. Our mindset being heavenly, We acknowledge the need that is on display, where those very virtues that are absorbing our mindset as we go out into the world, where we see they're lacking, they move us, again, to keep a mind fixed upon the Lord as we wait out into the world. Now, this is how we should approach the things we encounter in the world. This is a discipline of the mind that provides a discriminating means of engaging with the world around us. The apostle's not calling for a lazy immersion in the world. Instead, he's saying we need to have a discerning engagement. This call to look for virtues that have a heavenly mindset is not an end around. on Romans 12, verse nine, where we are to abhor what is evil and cling to what is good. Rather, this is a means by which we continue to abhor what is evil and cling to what is good. How do we do that in a world that's so crippled with sin? The apostle says, there are virtues of the true, the good, and the beautiful that bear the fingerprints of the Savior, because he's the creator of this world and he's subduing it to himself. have such a heavenly mindset, so full of Christ, that as you wade out into the world, you're seeing those things, you're praising Him for those things, and you're praying for those things. You engage with the world on His terms, in terms of those virtues, as the apostle lists them out there. And so, let us reckon with the world on those terms, the true, the noble, the just, the pure, the lovely, that which is of good report. Saturate your mind with heavenly things, and as you go out into the world, have those virtues of the true, the good, and the beautiful. So in mind that it moves you to continue to think of Christ, to be praying for his conquering hand, even as you see the tokens, the fingerprints of his work in his world. So may our peace be maintained in the onslaught of wading out into the world. Let us pray. Most Holy Father, this is in fact a challenge to us. We lose sight of virtue when we enter the world so easily. We are inclined to become lazy, to seek to escape by ignoring, or to become complacent and accepting. Rather, we pray that we may have such a heavenly mindset, that we're absorbed with seeing the virtues of Christ, and the true, the good, and the beautiful, finding his fingerprints everywhere, praying for them to the glory, of the one who is subduing all things to himself. Oh Father, the glory of that is manifest in the gospel and in the gospel work in our hearts and in your church and we pray that that should spread in every way in abundance throughout the world. We pray that we may have eyes to see the beauty of our Lord and be sustained in meditating, reckoning, those things around us on His terms, in terms of His virtues, as we find those fingerprints on the world and we find those virtues alive and thriving within our hearts. So fix our minds on Christ, in meditation upon Him and in our duties in the world. We look to You to sustain us then in our daily calling with these virtues. In Christ's name we pray. Man.