Sermon Manuscript

Philippians 4:; Practice These Things ~ 20240915 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

09/15 Philippians 4:9; Practice These Things; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20240915_philippians-4_9.mp3

How To Think

In Philippians, Paul has been teaching us how to think. He has told us how he thinks about us (Phil.1:7); he exhorted us

Philippians 2:2 complete my joy by being of the same mind [think the same], having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind [think the one]. ...5 Have this mind [think this] among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

And he goes on in chapter 2 to unpack the humility and lay down your rights self-sacrificial costly service for the good of others mind of Jesus. In chapter 3, he tells us that true believers “worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh-” (3:3). He says:

Philippians 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. …

And then he tells us that this is how mature believers in Jesus think, and if anyone thinks differently, God will reveal this to you (3:15). In 3:19 he warns of the outcome of the enemies of the cross, who do not think this way;

Philippians 3:18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

In contrast:

Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

At the beginning of chapter 4, he calls out two ladies in the church and pleads with them to ‘stand firm in the Lord’ and to ‘agree in the Lord’ or ‘think the same in the Lord’ and he urges us to ‘rejoice in the Lord’. Toward the end of chapter 4, he expresses his joy that this church has revived its concern for him, (4:10; lit. their thinking on his behalf).

What we do is rooted in how we think; if we can change the way we think, it will change how we live. What captivates your attention? What is the goal you fix your eyes on? What do we incline our minds toward? The answer to these questions will largely determine the trajectory of your life.

Here in chapter 4, Paul points us to prayer as the cure for anxiety. Find your joy in the Lord. Do not be anxious about anything; instead take everything to God in prayer, and God’s own peace will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

Paul gives us six adjectives and two nouns; Whatever is true, noble, righteous, pure, beautiful, well-sounding, if there is any excellence, if anything worthy of praise, these are the things we are to fix our attention on, to count or reckon as worthy of our reflection.

Jesus is the one who is true, noble, righteous, pure, beautiful, well-sounding, excellent and worthy of our praise. The good news that Jesus died to rescue sinners like me, that gospel good news is true and beautiful, noble, righteous, commendable, pure, excellent and praiseworthy. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Reflect on the gospel good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

This is what you are to anchor your thought life on. Eject those things that are not worth your attention, not of the highest moral caliber. Reject those things that are false, that are base or dishonorable, unjust, impure, ugly or offensive. It matters what you think about, what you give your attention to. The battle against worry starts with what you think about.

Practice These Things [ταῦτα πράσσετε]

But it doesn’t end there. Our thought life must impact the way we actually live life, or there is a fatal disconnect between head, heart and hands. In verse 9 Paul gives us four things that we are to practice.

Practice, as opposed to a one-time action, practice indicates something you do repeatedly, habitually. This points to a pattern of behavior, not just an isolated incident. What characterizes your life? Here are four things we are instructed to adopt as a lifestyle.

Learned [ἃ καὶ ἐμάθετε]

Philippians 4:9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

He starts with what you have learned. Jesus invites us in Matthew 11

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Learn is a verb. The noun form of the word is a learner, or a disciple. Those who became followers of Jesus were called his disciples, or learners. We, as followers of Jesus are called to make disciples.

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

But making disciples is more than teaching. It includes teaching, but it is more. It is learning to follow, developing new patterns of life.

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Disciples learn from Jesus, and learn to follow Jesus. Disciples are lifelong learners, sitting at the feet of the Master, walking with the Teacher.

Paul, in Ephesians 4 tells us that following Jesus is more than just head knowledge; it translates into a specific kind of life.

Ephesians 4:17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.

And he lists the patterns of behavior of those who do not follow Jesus; darkened, alienated, ignorant, hard-hearted, callous, given to sensuality, impurity; this is the kind of walk that flows out of their thinking; the futility of their minds.

Ephesians 4:20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,

Learning Christ or becoming a disciple of Christ is more than knowing certain facts about Jesus. It is not less than that. There is content to what we believe about Jesus, and we will talk about that it a bit. It is not less than that, but it is more than that. Following Jesus means believing in him and learning from him how to walk this life.

Received [καὶ παρελάβετε]

Practice what you have learned and received. ‘Received’ can carry a more specific meaning pointing to the transmission of truth from one person to the next. Paul uses this in 1 Corinthians 11 of the practice of communion;

1 Corinthians 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

He uses it again in 1 Corinthians 15 of the gospel message:

1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared ...

If you are ever unclear or in doubt of what the gospel message is, this passage makes it crystal clear; the good news that Paul proclaimed is the substitutionary death of Jesus for our sins in fulfillment of all the Scriptures, and his resurrection. This is a message he didn’t make up; he received it from the Lord, and he received it in order to pass it on to others. He delivered this most important of all messages that he had been given. And his hearers received the message. They held it close. This word is more emphatic than the simple verb ‘to receive’; it has a prefix that makes it emphatic; to receive near or to receive close. 1 Corinthians 15 spells this out; they received this gospel message near, they are standing in, they are holding fast to it, they are believing it and being saved by it. This is a message that, when received in, transforms the one who receives it. Paul warns in Galatians against receiving a false gospel that is contrary to the one they had received (Gal.1:9,12).

Heard [καὶ ἠκούσατε] and Seen in Me [καὶ εἴδετε ἐν ἐμοί]

Philippians 4:9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, …

Paul points them to what they have heard and seen in him. He used these two words together already in Philippians. These are two means of knowing, one visual and one auditory. Paul says in Philippians 1

Philippians 1:27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

He uses hearing in the sense of second-hand information in contrast to the eye-witness observation of seeing. Through whatever process, he wants to know that they are living consistent with the gospel, in unity contending together for the gospel.

He continues;

Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

The Philippians once saw Paul’s suffering first hand; when he first came to Philippi, he and Silas were arrested, beaten, thrown in prison. They saw his suffering, and likely the scars were still visible. They were now hearing news that Paul was in prison, and they sent one of their own to serve Paul in prison, and to bring back word to them about him. Paul writes them to inform them;

Philippians 1:12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

They saw it first hand, and now they are hearing news about it. But Jesus used these two senses together to point to first hand information. When John’s disciples were sent to find out if he was the promised Messiah,

Luke 7:20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

All your senses are communicating truth. You are seeing and hearing.

In Me

Philippians 4:9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, …

Paul is holding himself up again as an example to follow. They were discipled by him. They received truth handed down from him. They heard his teaching. But they also saw him live it out before them. They heard how he responded in different situations. Maybe some of them heard he and Silas praying and singing hymns to God in prison. He said in 3:17

Philippians 3:17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.

Paul was following Jesus, treasuring more than anything else the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. He was not ashamed to invite them to imitate him as he imitated his Lord. In chapter 2, he held up Epaphroditus and Timothy as examples to imitate, and the ultimate example of the Lord Jesus himself. He wants them not only to be discipled and receive truth, but also to hear and see it lived out, and to practice living it out themselves.

Promised Peace; Promised Presence

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Think about these things; practice these things. And the God of peace will be with you. Paul has just told them to ‘rejoice in the Lord always’ and to be anxious about nothing, but to bring all worries as request to God. In verse 7 he promised ‘the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The very peace of God, God’s own peace, is promised to the one who casts his anxieties on the Lord in through prayer.

Here he bookends the peace of God with the God of peace. There he promised peace; here he promises something even better; presence. Immanuel, God with us. The God of peace will be with you. Run to God with your troubles, fix your mind on Jesus and all that he is, relfect on the good news, and walk in step with the gospel in the way you have seen other believers walk. The peace of God will guard you, and the God of peace will be with you.

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2024.09.08 Sermon Notes

Philippians 4:9; Practice These Things

Think this way

Philippians 1:7; 2:2, 5; 3:3, 7-8, 15, 18-20; 4:2, 10

Practice these things; develop patterns of behavior

What you have learned; as a disciple of Jesus

Matthew 11:28-30; 28:19-20; 16:24; Ephesians 4:17-21

and received; that which is handed down

1 Corinthians 11:23-24; 15:1-5; Galatians 1:9, 12

and heard and seen; eye-witnesses

Philippians 1:27, 29-30; 1:12-14; Luke 7:20-22

in me; an example to imitate

Acts 16:25; Philippians 3:17; 2:5-8, 19-23; 29-30

Promised peace, promised presence

Philippians 4:7, 9

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org