Paul the Wise Pastor - The Call to Godly Thinking

Alright, let's take our Bible and let's turn to Philippians chapter 4. We'll be in verses 4 to 9. I think many of you can see that we are getting close to the end. We're getting close to the end of our study here in Philippians and honestly I don't know where we'll go next but we've got a little little while to study chapter 4 and a little while to make that determination. But take your Bible, turn to Philippians chapter 4, we'll be in verses 8 to 9. Now we have been in this closing chapter for two weeks.

I think many of you know that and we have seen Paul acting not just as an apostle but he is acting as a pastor and he has been functioning in several ways. I have said that he's wearing many hats. A good way to describe it is that we see him functioning as a pastor and we see him relating to the people and the circumstances in many different ways. In verse 1 which is really the introduction to this section, we saw Paul the loving pastor. He wrote to these believers expressing his great love for them and how he longed to be with them.

He wrote explaining that they were his joy and crown and this would have been seen as a crown of honor and a crown of victory. Of course that's something that culturally we might not relate to. And he wrote to call them to stand firm in the Lord. That is the main command for this entire block of scripture. That is the call and the command to stand firm in the Lord. In verses 2 to 3 we saw Paul the faithful pastor. He faithfully called these two prominent women in the church to resolve their conflict and to agree in the Lord. Here Paul was very direct, very direct in calling out their disagreement.

He was very direct in even calling out their names. Think about how direct that is. So we could say that Paul was the direct pastor. He was the direct pastor. And in all these things he called these believing women to agree in the Lord. And then in verses 4 to 7 we saw Paul the encouraging pastor. And he called them to cultivate certain Christian characteristics in their lives. I said that he called them to a way of living that would lead them to what I call the blessed Christian life. And that's a term we shouldn't be afraid of. I know that some of our charismatic friends abuse language like that.

But we should yearn for the blessed Christian life. Now we saw that he called them to be joyful in the Lord in all things and all times and in all circumstances. And I want you to see that there is a test to see if we are joyful in the Lord for all of us. That is when trial and difficulties come into our lives. I have counseled Christians before going through trial and all of a sudden their joy is shattered. Their happiness is destroyed. And they say things like this, "I just wish this was easier. I just wish I didn't have to work here.

I wish I didn't have to go through this." Now there's nothing wrong with working through those emotions obviously. But what I'm showing you is this. Trial and difficulties will test us and show us if we have Christian joy. Then he called them to be reasonable and gentle in spirit. This was a call to be forbearing in one spirit. This was a call to be considerate in one spirit. And there are tests here to see if we are reasonable and gentle in spirit when conflict arises between us and someone else. Someone may be in our family. Someone maybe we work with. When God puts fellow believers right next to us that somehow grate us.

You might say, "Pastor, that can happen?" Yes, it does happen. Or when we see a believer in the life of the church who's maybe immature or out of balance or even struggling in their life. And maybe we can lose patience and we think, "You know, they really ought to do better." Those things can test us. And you can add to that list. He called them not to be anxious about anything but the trust and the Lord. And he gave them the cure for their anxieties. That is bringing their prayers and requests to God in thanksgiving. And there is a test here to see if we are dealing with our anxiety properly.

Do we pray about those things that bring us anxiety? Do we pray about those things that bring anxieties and worry in those lives? If those anxieties persist in our life, then we are not praying about those things. Therefore, we are not dealing with them properly. And he called them not to be anxious about anything but the trust and the Lord. And he gave them the cure, which is this prayer of thankfulness. And he explained to them the consequences of doing these things right. The peace of God would transcend all their worries. And the peace of God would guard their hearts and guard their minds.

And there is a test here to see if we are dealing with our anxieties properly and our worries properly. If we have victory over our anxieties, we will look and we will see the peace of God lives where our anxieties and worry once lived. If we have victory over our anxieties, we will see the peace of God transcending those worries. And our heart and our mind and our thinking will literally be guarded from those worries and anxieties. Think about that. Where worry and anxiety once lived, peace resides there and that peace guards against those things coming back into our lives.

Now, before we move into verses 8 and 9, we must remember the main command of this teaching. This is the key to it all. That's in the second part of verse 1, which is Paul's call, his command. It's more than a call. The command to stand firm in the Lord. Simply the key to living in harmony with one another and being of the same mind and thinking is to stand firm in the Lord. I'll turn it around and I'll say if we're standing firm in the Lord, we cannot stay in conflict with one another.

And the key to living that blessed Christian life, which is living with joy and gentleness and trusting in the Lord, which is living at peace with God and having the peace of God guarding our heart and life, the key is to standing firm in the Lord. Now tonight we move into verses 8 and 9 and into more of Paul's, I call it pastoral teaching. Here Paul addresses the thought life of the believer. But before we get into the verses here, I want to ask a question and make a few statements. All of this prepares us for where we're going. Can we control our thought life? Can we? Can we control our thought life?

As believers, can we control our thinking? Look, if we cannot and do not control our thinking, we are living with an open border and we are defeated before we ever start. Now without getting into any politics, we know that we have an open border between us and Mexico. It really seems that anyone and anything can come across that border and into our country unchecked. Terrorists can come in, gangs can come in, criminals can come in, drugs and weapons can come in. And think about it, all kinds of threat and dangers to individual US citizens, US cities and even our national security can come right into our country. We have an open border.

And for the believer, if we cannot control our thought life, if we do not control our thought life, we have an open border into the mind and into the heart, all kinds of things that are a threat to our mind and our heart and our life can come in, which is not good. And that's an understatement. So here Paul is continuing to be the loving, faithful pastor to these Philippian believers that he loves so much and he calls them to godly living. Now the title of what I'm sharing tonight is this, Paul the Wise pastor. Paul the Wise pastor, the call to godly living.

Let's read our verses, verses eight and nine, verses eight and He says, "Finally brothers," this is kind of a conclusion to this section, of course he's addressing brothers and sisters. He says, "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, verse 9. What is true, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace," here's that term peace again, "and the God of peace will be with you." Now here we will examine two things.

First, Paul's command to godly thinking which will take up most of the message. Honestly there's a lot more I could say than I'm going to say. And then Paul's call to follow godly example. So number one, Paul the wise pastor, the command to godly thinking. Now it may seem too strong to say that Paul is giving a command here. Maybe we should say Paul is giving a call. After all we have been seeing Paul as a loving pastor, a faithful pastor, an encouraging pastor. Now I'm saying he is a wise pastor. Now only once we've seen him be bold and direct. But we must see that here Paul is really giving a command.

In the English Standard version we see Paul saying, "Think about these things." In the New American Standard he is saying, "Let your mind dwell on these things." The legacy standard says, "Consider these things." Which to me the legacy standard is not strong enough. That is because the word here in the original means to reckon, it means to take into account, it means to calculate, to count over. And in the original it is in the imperative form which makes a command not a suggestion. So Paul was calling them to do more than consider these things. He was calling them to do more than just ponder these things.

He was commanding them to think about certain things and to dwell on certain things. Albert Barnes says this means, and I'm quoting, "Let them be the object of your careful attention and study so as to practice them." So to me this is much more than consideration. This is a command. Paul was commanding them to carefully study certain things so as to think on them, so as to dwell on them, and so as to practice them. Now think about all the things that we think about. Think about all the things we dwell on, all the things we study so as to put those things into practice. We think about and study things that pertain to our work and our career.

We think about and we dwell on and we study things that maybe pertain to exercise in physical health, maybe what we eat, we think about and we ponder and we study our gardens and the animals that we have for food. Last night I made the mistake of taking my wife into tractor supply and all of a sudden she pivoted and looked at me and said, "I think it's time for us to grow a garden." I thought, "Why did I bring her with me?" I used to grow a garden quite a bit. I had a garden every year but I hadn't had one in quite a while.

I said, "Maybe one day." But think about the things we dwell on and the things we think about hobbies such as hunting and fishing. You know for me, many of you know that our family owned my grandfather's farm and we sold that and we reinvested my mother's money into some other property and we've been developing that as an investment for my mother and for her retirement but I have been dwelling on certain things, thinking on certain things and investing in her property.

Now we can make a longer list there but think about the different things that we can and do think about and dwell on and even study things that we put them into practice and I'm not talking about sinful things. So think there because it will do us all some good. Now that we see and understand that Paul's giving a command here. It's not a suggestion, it's not a call, it's a command. Let's see what he commanded these believers to dwell on so as to put them into practice.

Now here in the verse we see six whatever statements, six whatever statements all of which show us what Paul was calling them to live on, to think on, excuse me, and to live out and then he forces them to make a choice there at the end. I will explain that and that's really the climax of the teaching. So let's examine these six whatever statements. First, whatever is true. He commands them to think on and to live out whatever is true. Now the best way to see what this true and truth is, is to see it in two ways. First whatever is true or truth, it's the opposite of what is false. You might say, pastor that's obvious.

Second, what is true or truth is seen as found in God and we find truth in God's Word. John 17, 17, that verse comes out of the great high priestly prayer. There Jesus said to his father as he prayed, your word is truth. And in verse 17 he prayed that his people would be sanctified in the truth. And it is important for us to see that any and all true truth has its origins in God's Word and anything that does not originate from God's truth is not truth, it is false. So the truth is the opposite of what is false. It is what is right. It is what is good and reliable. It is what is honest, not dishonest. It is what is trustworthy and faithful.

It is truth. But what we must see here is this. Paul was commanding them to dwell on whatever is true. And the source of that truth was and is God's Word. And anything that is contrary to God's truth must be seen as false. Therefore, that should not be thought on or dwelled on. The purpose of dwelling on what is true and truth was to put it into practice. And we saw this in our study of Ephesians, specifically chapter 6, verse 14. There we saw that the truth was a part of the Christian armor. We are to fasten on the belt of truth. And there are more passages we could get into here. But there is a lesson here that we really, really need today.

The very beginning of a godly thought life starts with dwelling on the truth of God's Word for the purpose of putting those things into practice. We all know and have known those "Christians" or people in the life of the Church who know the Bible, but they never somehow seem to put it into practice. Years ago I went to church with an individual. He was a leader in the church. And he had a Bible that was marked up from corner to corner, page to page. And he could quote any verse of the Bible. He could stand up and speak and pray. And the Bible just came out.

But if you looked at his life for very long and you looked at his family for very long, there was a tremendous disconnect because it wasn't put into practice. But notice again how Paul starts to address their thought life. He says, "Finally brothers, whatever is true, think about these things." Now why? That is because Paul knew that dwelling on God's Word was the first step in having a godly thought life, therefore living a godly life. So, how are we doing here? How are we doing here? And look at how we in the life of this church give you quite a bit of food for thought. We know that term.

Think about what you are studying in Hebrews, what we are studying together. Think about what we are studying together in Genesis. Think about what we are studying here in Philippians. What I am showing you is this. We give you in the life of this church lots of Christian food for thought, lots of Bible, lots of Bible teaching. If you study your Genesis small group material, if you study Hebrews like you should, if you read ahead and read behind, it has been a while since I used that language. If you study in Philippians how much spiritual food do you have to think on and meditate on and practice? Quite a bit. Quite a bit.

And then second, whatever is honorable. He commands them to think on whatever is honorable. Here the English standard and the New American use the word honorable. The legacy standard Bible uses the word dignified. And that's because both really are correct. To think and dwell on that which is honorable, it means to think on things that are dignified or things that are worthy of respect. The word translated honorable from the original, it simply means that which is revered or venerated. It means that which is revered or even worshiped. And one thing we need to see here is this.

When this word is used in other places in the New Testament, it is used to describe the dignified lifestyle that is a requirement for deacons in 1 Timothy 3.8, for their wives in 1 Timothy 3.11 and older men in the church in Titus 2.2. And notice how this command to dwell on that which is honorable is connected to the command to dwell on that which is true. All that is found in God's Word is honorable. Anything and anyone that is contradictory to God's Word is not honorable. See how it's tied together? And a question or two, are the things that we dwell on and think on, are they honorable? Are they worthy of respect?

Now, I can't get into your mind. I can't get into the meditations of your heart, but the Spirit of God can. So, are the things that we dwell on and think on, are they honorable? Are they worthy of respect? I like what Warren Wierspy says here, and I'm quoting him. He says, "There are many things that are not respectable, and Christians should not think about these things." But I love the balance he offers here. He continues by saying, "This does not mean we hide our heads in the sand and avoid what is unpleasant and displeasing.

But it does mean we do not focus our attention on dishonorable things and permit them to control our thoughts." So, my question for us is this, are we dwelling on things that are not honorable and worthy of respect? Think about what we dwell on when we're looking at Facebook. Think about what we dwell on when we're on Twitter. Now, it's not Twitter anymore, it's X. Think about what we dwell on when we're watching Netflix, in our music, in our television, on our YouTube subscriptions. What are we dwelling on, and are those things honorable and worthy of respect? But remember the word I used a while ago, "balance"?

Before we get on a tear and delete all our social media, throw out our television, and just delete all of the things like YouTube subscriptions, we must remember that we cannot hide our heads in the sand and avoid what is unpleasant and displeasing. But we also shouldn't run to it either. But it does not mean that we focus our attention on dishonorable things and permit them to control our thoughts. Balance, folks, balance. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Christians just go on a tear. We should delete Facebook, delete Facebook, and quote verses like this, and you look up and three months later they're back on it. Balance, balance.

Maybe you do need to delete it, but maybe you do not. Then third, whatever is just. He commands them to dwell on that which is just. Here we see that the English Standard and the King James use the word just, while the New American and Legacy Standard Bible use the word right. But in the original this word is more of what is right or righteous. And this describes that which is right and righteous as compared to God's Word, God's laws, and God's standards. MacArthur says this describes whatever is in perfect harmony with God's eternal and unchanging standards. Of course those eternal unchanging standards are revealed to us and found in where?

God's Word. So this means that Paul was calling these believers to dwell and to think on that which is right and righteous are things that are in harmony with God's Word, not things that are contrary to God's Word. Now an application for us, I love how the Believer's Bible Commentary makes application. William McDonald, he says this relates to things which are right between God and man, and between man and man. Let me repeat that. McDonald says this relates to things which are right between God and man, and man and man. He says that a Christian should be just, and I add right and righteous.

A Christian should be just, right and righteous as the Christian relates to other men and man and God. And my question is this, are we just, are we right and righteous in our dealings with others? If not then that tells us we are not right and just in our dealings with God. How about how we relate to our boss? Those of us who are over us in our employment? Are we right and righteous in how we relate to them? How about how we relate to our employees or those who are under us in our jobs? Are we right and righteous in how we relate to them? How about how we relate to those that we do business with when we buy and sell and trade?

Are we right and righteous in how we relate to people and do those things? But notice how this command to think on that which is right and just is connected to the command to dwell on that which is true. All that is found in God's Word is right and just. And anything and anyone that is contrary to God's Word is not right and not just. So I think we are seeing a pattern here, the importance of God's Word. See the pattern? It's all related. Then fourth, whatever is pure, Paul commands them to think on that which is pure. Here all the translations that we look to, I reference say the same thing. They use this word pure.

And this word pure simply means that which is undefiled, that which is morally clean, pure. Now the language scholar A.T. Robertson says, "This is an old word which speaks of all sorts of purity, clean things, clean thoughts, clean words, clean deeds." And William Hendrickson points out that these Philippian Christians were tempted here in many ways on many levels. And I like this. I think it's good for us. He points out that because of their background they were tempted greatly to be impure. He points that out that because of their culture they were tempted to be greatly impure. A couple of questions and application.

Does it seem like this can be the temptation for many in the church today, even some in our church? Many in the church. Even people in our church have come from impure backgrounds and out of lives of gross impurity. So, they can be tempted greatly to go back to that impurity. And then there is the impurity, the unholyness, the moral defilement, the wickedness of the culture that we live in. Those temptations are all around us. They are really inescapable. And those temptations can be very great for some. So, a few questions. How pure is the music that we listen to? How pure are the movies that we watch? How pure are our entertainments?

I have known people that go to things like college football games and enjoy those things. But I've known people that say, "You know pastor, I really can't go there." Some of the things that go on there really just grieve me. See that's a matter of the conscience in our Christian liberty. And where do we draw the line? Where do we draw the line maybe with television and movies and things like a football game? Our associations with the lost. How we maneuver in the world and we come up against impurities and impure people. How do we deal with these things? Look folks, this is where Christian maturity is needed. This takes Christian maturity.

This takes Christian accountability. This is where we need each other. And notice how this command to think and to dwell on that which is pure is connected to the command to think on that which is true. That is because the truth of God's Word is what tells us what is pure and impure. You see anything that God's Word says is impure should not be thought on. And anything that God's Word says is pure should definitely be thought on. Think about this. Our culture says things like pornography is good and acceptable. We don't have little boys and girls in here so I can make some of these comments.

I've known people who went to quote, unquote counseling and some of the marriage counseling they got said something like this, you know pornography can be good for your marriage. But what does God's Word say? Yeah. I mean in our culture they say that homosexuality and homosexual marriage is a good thing. You know they love one another. So that's you know paraded around is pure. But what does God's Word say? And then fifth, whatever is lovely. Paul commands them to dwell on whatever is lovely. Here all the translations use the word lovely.

Now I don't know about you but that can kind of seem odd to me and this is odd because this is the only place this is found in the New Testament. But in the original this word that is found here simply means that which is acceptable or pleasing. It can be seen as that which is generous, gracious, or even sweet. Hendrickson says, "That which is lovely breathes love and evokes love." What a question. How does this apply to what Paul is saying here? This is not a love song or romance novel kind of lovely. So how does this apply to what Paul is saying?

Simply Paul is saying that Christians should dwell on and think on what the truth of God's Word says is acceptable, pleasing, gracious, and lovely. Again notice how this command to dwell on that which is lovely is connected to the command to dwell on truth. Application. Are we thinking on that which is lovely in the sight of God in God's Word? Think about it. Are we thinking on that which is lovely in the sight of God in God's Word? Are we dwelling on that which is acceptable and pleasing to God? We know what is acceptable and pleasing to God by knowing what God's Word says about these things.

Now before I move on I want to do a little exercise. Think about what the world in our society says is lovely. Think about what the world in our society says breeds out love. Again homosexual marriage. Our world says they love one another. The world says it is all about love. And the world tries to tell us that when a man and a man are married or a woman and a woman are married they are not married they are just stealing that. That it is good and it is pure and they love one another. They try to communicate that it is lovely. How many TV commercials do we see that on now? But God's Word doesn't say it is lovely.

God's Word says it is a gross sin and we are learning in our study of Genesis that God hates it. And he poured out his wrath on Sodom and Gomorrah because of it. And then sixth, whatever is commendable. Whatever is commendable. Paul says to think on what is commendable. Here we see the English standard and the legacy standard Bible use the word commendable. The King James says whatsoever things are of good report. The new American says whatever is of good repute. And this is odd too because this is the only place this word is found in the Bible but the meaning is simple. This simply means that whatever is highly respected or well spoken of.

Think or dwell on those things that are highly respected, highly esteemed and well spoken of. As one commentator described what this means he says it denotes what is praiseworthy, attractive and what rings true to the highest standards. And this describes the things that the truth of God's Word describes as highly as respected or well spoken of. And this describes the things that God's people who dwell on and dwell in God's Word put into practice. This describes the things that they see, we see as highly respected, highly esteemed.

That which God's Word says is praiseworthy, attractive and what rings true to the highest standards of God's Word. He says think and dwell on those things. And so my question for you again depending on the spirit to apply it the things that we are dwelling on and thinking on are they commendable? But notice that there is a transition at the end of the verse. Paul changes the senate structure and he starts to use conditional clauses. He says if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise think about these things. And what we need to see here is this.

Language scholars tell us that Paul was using a rhetorical device that was intended to force the reader or the hearer to exercise their own discernment and make a choice. And in doing this Paul was forcing them to see that they must choose to think on that which is excellent or praiseworthy or not. You see? And what we have here is the key to Godly living. Paul knows that Godly thinking was and is the key to Godly living. Listen to Proverbs 4.23 Solomon says, "Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flows the springs of life." Sounds like Solomon has been reading Paul or Paul has been reading Solomon.

And for us we must see that the key to our Godly living is found in our thought life. We either have open borders or our borders are closed. We either, we are either cultivating Godly thinking which turns into Godly living or we have open borders. You do realize all you have to do is nothing here. All you have to do is nothing here. It's been a long time since I've used this illustration. But growing up going to my granddad's farm he had a camp there for the family to use and he kind of had a way of doing things the hard way. Sometimes there was some rhyme or reason to it but he owned 450 acres and he built the house in the middle of it.

No matter what you had to drive a long way on some very bad roads to get to the house. Seemed rather crazy. But the reason he did that was in the mid-60's when he built it there, there was a spring. Water had a well. But you know growing up all my life we had well water coming into the camp but it had a line of iron in it. That meant everything turned red. If you were going to take a shower I mean it was red water. I'd pay $100 to go back and smell that water again in that old shower he made. And I have used this term for years especially dealing with teenagers. What's in the well comes up in the bathroom.

Because in that bathroom at the camp the tub, the shower, the sink, everything was stained without iron water. Now what is my point here? How we live is determined by what we think. And if we're in the well of God's word it will affect how we think and it will affect how we live. You see? Now let's move on to number two and this will be rather quick. Paul the wise pastor, the call to follow, godly example. Let's read verse 9. We could take longer here but we don't have the time. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, Paul's kind of stacking up words here. Practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.

Now here I will be much shorter. I've already said this but I will focus on three things that Paul was and he is saying in the verses. First he calls their attention to what they had learned and received and heard and seen in him. Paul's rather wordy. And notice he uses four verbs, learned, received, heard, seen. Of course I'm using the English Standard Version. All of which speaks of the believers gaining a lot from Paul. This word learned speaks of gaining things which come from teaching or instruction. That's obvious. This word receiving speaks of receiving that which was taught or given. That's obvious.

This word heard obviously speaks of that which is heard. This word seen speaks of that which is observed. You might say, "Pastor I think we kind of had that." But what Paul was saying here and is saying here is simple but it's big. He was saying, "What you learn from me, what you receive from me in person and from other people and from this letter." And he was saying that, "What you heard from me, what you saw from me in person and from other people and from this letter." You see? So he calls their attention to what they had learned, received, heard, and seen in him. Second he calls them to put those things into practice. This is simple.

This word practice simply means to exercise, to practice. It means to be busy with or carry on. So notice how this all is tied together. Paul was commanding them to take what they had learned from him, what they had received from him, what they had heard from him, what they saw in him. And to put those things into practice he says, "You be busy with those things in your own life." Now, in application we must see that we desperately need other believers in our lives to be this kind of mentor. You might say, "Pastor, you kind of go back to mentors and examples throughout Philippians." It's there. They had Paul the pastor as a mentor and others.

And we need other brothers and sisters in our lives who were older. We see it in 2 Timothy 2 too. We need older brothers, older sisters who can be this kind of a mentor, who can literally say, "As I have lived, you live." And you might say, "Pastor, that's kind of prideful. That's rather audacious." It can be. And we need to grow to the place where we can be mentors. Our goal should be that we can grow up in the Lord where we are 20 years old in the Lord and we are mature enough to be able to look at one of these college students, look at some of these young Christians that God is bringing in our church, and we can mentor them.

We have some young families with children and they need mentors. My question is rhetorical, is have you ever adopted someone and they adopted you and you mentored them and you spent time with them and you prayed for them and you bought them resources and you poured into them and you taught them the Word and you did that for days, weeks, months, and even years. And then seeing the result, it is called replicating yourself folks. That should be going on in the life of our small groups. And then third Paul gives them the consequences of these things. He says the peace of God would be with them.

Look back at verse 9, "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the peace of God will be with you." Now, I want to take us back to last week and show us how what we see here in verse 9 goes along with verse 7. If they, these believers worked hard to attain and maintain those Christian characteristics that we see in verses 4-7, they would possess the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding and that peace of God would guard their hearts and their minds and their thinking.

And if they worked hard to dwell on and to think on and to practice all that is seen in verse 8 and follow the example of Paul before them, the peace of God would be with them. Simply the peace of God who is the character of God would be with them. And my question for you is this, is the peace of God in your life? You might need to be going to some other brothers and sisters and saying, "You know we've been studying this, do you see the peace of God in my life?" Some of you don't have the peace of God guarding your heart and mind. You are enthralled by worry and anxiety. You don't have the peace of God residing where anxiety used to reside.

The peace of God is not guarding your heart. And therefore, you can't dwell on these things, therefore live with the peace of God. So, Paul called them to follow all that he had taught them, all that they had seen and heard in them. Again, mentors, those being mentored, that should be going on in our church and in our life. Now, I want to close by revisiting the title of the message. I call verses 8 and 9, Paul the wise pastor that called to godly thinking. Now, why do I choose the word wise? Why do I call Paul the wise pastor? Why not just continue with Paul the encouraging pastor? Paul the encouraging pastor?

Look church, Paul was wise enough to understand that the key to Christian living is Christian thinking. He knew that the believer can and should take responsibility to control their thought life. You see that? Paul was wise enough to understand that the key to Christian living is Christian thinking. And he knew that the believer can and should take the responsibility to control their thought life. And we should be wise by obeying what is put before us.