PURSUING HOLY THOUGHTS (Part One of Two)
*INTRO> In the Antarctic summer of 1908, Sir Ernest Shackleton and three companions, plus two ponies, attempted to travel to the South Pole. However, weeks after they set off, with their rations all but exhausted, they turned back toward their base, their goal not accomplished. All tototal, their trek lasted 127 days. Shackleton kept a journal and recorded their time together on the return trip, which was mostly spent talking about food: elaborate feasts, gourmet delights, sumptuous menus. As they staggered along, suffering from dyssentery, not knowing whether they would survive or not, every waking hour was occupied with thoughts of eating.
We can perhaps understand Shackleton’s obsession with food...but Jesus, who also knew the ravages of food deprivation, said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." He taught us that our passion, our hunger, our drive, our pursuit of righteousness and holiness is to be OUR minute-to-minute "obsession," our central focus of every day...as intense as that of a someone starving for food.
As we sang earlier, He is to be the air we breathe, our daily bread. We’re to desire an intimate relationship with the Lord so intensely that it borders of desperation...we’re to be desperate for Him...lost without Him...as we pursue God’s pleasure in all things.
I invite you to open a Bible and turn to Philippians, chapter four.
In order to pursue holy thoughts we must first understand what "holiness" means.
<>Holiness DOESN’T mean...never cutting your hair, wearing high-necked shirts even in summer, priding yourself on being more "godly" than others.
-->Rather than comparing ourselves to others, the proper standard of holiness is how do we compare to God’s righteousness, and how "set apart" and "sanctified" are we, how committed are we to seeking to please God in everything, willing to comply with His standards, rather than conforming to the world’s standards or lack of them.
--Quote> J. Bridges, in his book, "Pursuit of Holiness," quotes the 19th century Scottish theologian, John Brown, in saying, "Holiness does not consist in mystic speculations, enthusiastic fervors, or uncommanded austerities; it consists in thinking as God thinks, and willing as God wills."
-->Holiness involves understanding that we’re called with a holy calling, called to a holy purpose, to be a holy people for God’s pleasure, we’re a holy priesthood, and part of God’s holy church.
-->Holiness requires an intentional decision, a commitment to living a godly, holy, pure life.
-->Holiness requires saying "no" to "unholy" activities, and saying "yes" to that which pleases God.
-->Holiness requires responding to His leading every day, and every moment of every day.
-->Holiness results in bringing glory to God, bringing a smile to His face, pleasing Him in all things.
<>But holiness begins with our thoughts, with how we think...because our actions are a response to our thoughts.
--Prov.23:7 -- "For as he thinks within himself, so he is."
SO, TODAY OUR FOCUS IS ON "PURSUING HOLY THOUGHTS," BEING HOLY IN OUR THOUGHT-LIFE.
<>Key passage #1: Romans 12:2 -- "...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so...you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable (pleasing to God), perfect."
>Some key words:
-->"transformed" -- From Greek root by which we get English word "metamorphosis," the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
----The idea: upon conversion, God begins our transformation, begins our spiritual growth in becoming Christ-like.
------>First He changes forever our DESTINATION. We’re brought from death to life...given the gift of eternal life.
------>But He also changes our SITUATION down here. Our Spiritual condition from here on is forever changed.
------>He gives us a new mind. He transforms our WAY of thinking...transforms our values, our goals.
--------Quote: Anon.> "Right thinking means letting the mind of the Master be the master of your mind."
<>Pursuing Holiness is just that...it’s a PURSUIT...an on-going adventure, with a definite beginning.
-->The transformation from being out of fellowship with God, at enmity with Him, to becoming in Christ is a dramatic change. We become new creatures, like a caterpillar forever leaving his caterpillar-ness and becoming, instead, a butterfly.
-->Note: Once a caterpillar is changed, he never returns to being a caterpillar...he’s been forever changed. However, in our case, we’re still stuck in an old, sinful, fleshly body, and we’re continually "at war" with that flesh.
--->So, the pursuit of being "other," of being holy instead of fleshly, is a CONTINUAL PURSUIT.
-----In fact, the literal translation of Rom.12:2 would say that we are to "CONTINUALLY be transformed by the CONTINUAL renewing of our minds."
<>Key passage #2: 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 -- "for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
>Key words to notice:
-->"speculations" -- simply man’s "guess" at the truth, not really truth as God presents it.
-->"every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God" -- those ideas contrary to God’s Word.
-->"taking every thought captive" -- before it has a chance to take root in our minds, we’re stopping it, capturing it for evaluation before believing it automatically or without comparing it to Scripture.
-->"to the obedience of Christ" -- comparing what the thought is to what Jesus taught us. If it jives, great. If it doesn’t, though, we cast it away, casting down "imaginations," as King James version says it.
<>Key passage #3: Philippians 4:8 -- "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
<>SO...WE COME TO OUR PRIMARY FOCUS:
HOW DO WE PURSUE HOLY THOUGHTS?...
It’s a 5-fold process, of which today we’re going to look at the first two, and next week we’ll focus our attention on the final three.
The first two steps:
1) CONCENTRATE on that which is pure, that which is holy, that which is edifying, that which pleases God.
-->It’s a 2-part activity. In order for us to concentrate on that which is holy, we must:
----a) FORBID / ELIMINATE from entering our minds that which is impure, not edifying, not conducive to helping us pursue holiness, not what God would be pleased with us dwelling or focusing on.
------->ILL>Most new t.v.’s are equipped with a child "filter," enabling parents to block channels and programs that are clearly not suitable viewing for children.
------->QUESTION: Why not consider blocking it for your adult mind also?!
------->It’s a sermon for another time, but suffice to say, what goes into our minds ends up coming out in our actions.
---------*Proverbs 23:7 -- "For as he thinks within himself, so he is."
------->It should come as no surprise that law enforcement officials tell us that over 95% of convicted rapists were heavily involved in pornography. (By the way, as I used to remind teenagers I worked with for the first twenty-one years of ministry, the largest sexual organ in our body is our brain, and our bodies respond to what our brains are focused on.)
------->If what goes in is bad, dirty, naughty, then our actions are apt to be also. If, on the other hand, what we feed our minds with is good, what is right, we’re much more apt to doing what is right.
---Bringing it home: This week I challenge you to keep a log, a listing of the t.v. shows you watch, books and magazines you read, movies you attend, song lyrics you listen to, etc., and see what is actually going into your thought stream. Then, evaluate whether it’s good or bad, whether God would be pleased or not.
----b) FOCUS our thoughts in the right place.
----->Philippians 4 tells us what the "good things" we should be thinking about and allowing into our brains are, those things that are:
-------1) True.
---------->Literally, that which is not hidden, and that which speaks truthfully and open. It’s the same word translated "acceptable to God" in Romans 14:18 and "excellent and praise worthy" in 1 Peter 2:12.
---------->The idea here is we’re not to focus our attention on that which has a darkness to it, should stay unrevealed, kept secret, kept in the closet.
---------->It means "inquiring minds" shouldn’t spend their time inquiring about the dirty details of Paris Hilton’s life, or Brittney Spears’ latest escapades, but on those things which are delightful to God, excellent in their character, and glorifying to God in our expenditure of our time thinking about it.
-------2) Honorable.
---------->Literally, that which is venerable, august, reverend, to be venerated for its character. It’s from the root word that means to worship, carrying the idea that what we are to think about should have attributes of divinity, purity.
---------->The idea here is that we should focus our attention on that which reflects God’s character, is in accordance with His nature, His righteousness, His purity.
-------3) Right.
---------->Literally, that which is upright, virtuous, observing divine laws, righteous.
---------->The idea here is I should focus my attention on that which agrees with Scripture, agrees with God’s standard of purity and virtue.
-------4) Pure.
---------->Literally, that which excites reverence, that which is sacred, chaste, modest, pure from carnality, clean, unstained.
---------->The idea here is that I should focus my attention on that which would never cause someone to blush, things I wouldn’t mind my grandmother knowing I was thinking about...or looking at...or listening to. I should be focusing on that which is not "dirty" or improper in any way.
-------5) Lovely.
---------->Literally, that which expresses love, exhibits a loving character. From the root word "phileo" which means to love as a brother.
---------->The idea here is that my attention should be on that which exhibits a loving action, or demonstrates a loving attitude. So, I don’t need to be spending my time listening to Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell trash each other, I don’t need to be listening to gossip or hate talk or racial jokes...or anything that demeans another person.
-------6) Of good repute.
---------->Literally, that which gives a favorable report, utters words of good omen, speaks well of. Interestingly, this is the root from which we get the English word, "famous."
---------->The idea here is that my thoughts should be on those things which edify rather than tear down, that which is positive rather than negative, that which lifts up rather than demeans, that fosters a good report or good reputation concerning someone.
-------7) Excellent.
---------->Literally, that which is virtuous, morally excellent, modest, pure.
---------->The idea here is that my thoughts should be on those things that are untainted, that are modest rather than extreme, and of the highest standard.
-------8) Worthy of Praise.
---------->Literally, that which is commendable, praise-worthy. From the root that means "to extol, recommend, praise."
---------->The idea here is that my thoughts should be on higher things than just what’s "acceptable," more than just the minimum standard. Instead, I should think higher thoughts, thoughts of the highest quality and caliber.
2) CAPTURE & COMPARE
Where deliberately filling our minds with that which is honorable, lovely, excellent, positive, etc., is our first step, unfortunately we’re still going to be exposed to outside stimuli that "presents" itself as truth...from t.v., radio, music, media, teachers/professors, neighbors, false teachers, etc.
So, whereas being on the offense is good, we must also know how to respond to that which we have no control over reaching our ears.
So, step #2 leads us to another key Scripture passage: 2 Corinthians 9:5 -- "...we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
>QUESTION: Which national defense system would you prefer our government employ when an unidentified aircraft approaches us?
---Option 1: Just let every missile on through, then give us a report after the damage is done as to the composition of the missile and where it came from?
---Option 2: Interrupt, capture the aircraft or missile, force it to identify itself before allowing it to proceed, destroy it if it’s unfriendly, and only allow those crafts to enter our air space that are friendly, harmless to our national well-being?
Well, of course, the answer is pretty much a no-brainer. No one would stand for a defense system that lets us be harmed and then just "analyzes the damge" afterwards. Instead, we want a defense system that interrupts and challenges, stops or destroys those harmful missiles trying to cause damage to us.
That is also the kind of defense system the Bible tells us to employ when it comes to our thoughts.
Simply put, we need to be skeptical of anything presented as "friendly" or "truth" until we’ve carefully examined it and compared it to what we KNOW is truth, the Word of God. And NEVER are we to allow anything to take root in our thoughts unless it is pleasing to God.
2 Corinthians 9:5 calls it "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ," or comparing it to what Jesus teaches in Scripture.
Likewise, 1 John 4:1 tells us "...do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
<>In countering Satan’s ploys, we need to remember his three favorite tactics and act accordingly:
--a) Just because a so-called "authority" says it’s so doesn’t mean it really IS so unless the Bible agrees.
----->ILL>"Experts" said Orville and Wilbur Wright were crazy to think it was possible for a machine to fly. "Experts" said the atom didn’t exist. "Experts" said if trains went faster than 20 miles per hour, our blood could stop flowing in our bodies or perhaps even flow backward. Bill Gates, in the early days of computers, declared, "no one will ever need more than a 20 meg hard drive."
----->When CNN interviews someone they deem an "expert" theologian, don’t you believe it for a minute. There is no such thing, by the way, as an "expert theologian." No one has "arrived" in his or her spiritual growth. I’ve heard CNN "expert theologians" deny the deity of Jesus, deny the veracity of miracles and the Divine inspiration of the Bible, advocate there are actually "many paths" to God, and preach moral relativism and tolerance instead of Bible doctrine. Tell me...Why should I give credence to this "expert’s" view of theology as opposed to Scripture’s view, which has been and will always be true?
------>In fact, Scripture itself warns us that Satan himself will pose as an "angel of Light," a preacher of truth, when he’s actually the father of lies.
--b) Truth is not a matter of the majority’s opinion.
---->Millions of Nazis were wrong.
---->Thousands in the "Flat Earth Society" are still wrong.
---->The majority of gamblers who bet on Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglass were wrong.
---->In fact, even the crowds, and "majority votes" taken in Scripture were usually wrong!
---->Truth stands on its own. It’s not determined by anyone’s opinion other than God’s.
--c) Just because a lie has been told numerous times, it’s still a lie.
---->It’s not true that where there’s smoke there must be a fire. Sometimes the "smoke" is nothing but a "smoke screen." Sometimes the smoke has been contrived and then simply presented over and over as being smoke.
---->It’s imperative that we study God’s Word so we’ll know how to discern between that which is truly true as opposed to that which merely presents itself as true, but isn’t.
BRINGING IT HOME...
As we close this first part of pursuing truth, let me challenge you to do these things, not just this week but every week and regularly:
--a) Enter into and participate in a Bible-reading plan.
--b) Be part of a L.I.F.E. Group or small group Bible study.
--c) Check out the "daily devotional" on our website each day. The reason it’s there is to help focus our attention on that which is edifying and which will help us stay focused on God’s will and God’s goodness to us.
--d) Check out the "good reading list" on the website. These are books I’ve personally found helpful in my own walk in filling my mind with that which can help me grow spiritually, grow in knowledge, and grow in maturity.
--e) Tune in each Friday to the "Can Do" radio broadcast, 1:30-2:00pm on KXEG Radio locally in Phoenix, or on-line at www.familyvaluesradio.net on-line. Or, you can click in on the archive of previous broadcasts available from our website.
--f) Plan to be present next week as we focus on the final 3 steps of pursuing truth.
All of these tools are available as part of our ministry in helping each believer continue to grow in the Lord by pursuing truth.
