Guard Your Heart – Evansville Bible Church

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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.

Someone said, “You may not be what you think you are, but what you think, you are.” That statement tells us the importance of our mind, our heart, our inner thoughts, our affections. Joseph Stowell said, “The mind is our only place of total personal privacy.” Men can preach powerful sermons, write great books, have millions of followers, all the while living an invisible life of lust or jealousy or pride in their hearts. But Scripture assures us that while no one else knows what we’re thinking, God does. Psalm 44:21 says God “knows the secrets of the heart.” Psalm 139:2 says God “understands my thought from afar.” Jesus said in Matthew 15:19, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.” Every sin begins in the heart – it is incubated and hatched in your heart. Name any sin and you’ll see that that sin began in your heart.

Right along with praying about everything back in Philippians 4:6-7, God says in 4:8-9 that we must learn to think and act biblically, empowered by the Spirit of God with the goal of pleasing God. This is really the essence of progressive sanctification, of growing and changing as a believer. Spiritual growth begins in our hearts, our thinking, and then moves out to our practice. Before we look at verse 8 about putting on God’s kind of thinking, let’s get a handle on the importance of our hearts.

YOUR THOUGHT LIFE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT YOU

Proverbs 4:23, Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

Hebrew scholars Keil and Delitzsch comment, “Above all other things to be guarded, keep your heart. Guard it as the most precious possession committed to your trust.” Your heart is where you live. From your heart flows the actions of life, the springs of life, the outgoings of life. Charles Bridges says the heart is the citadel of man; let it be closely guarded. When Nehemiah organized to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem there were many enemies, so they prayed and set up a guard against those enemies day and night. Your heart is like that city, and there are hordes of enemies that want to break in and destroy it. The word diligence speaks of the duty of a gatekeeper or guard on alert for any approaching enemies. The lives of the people in the city depend on that watchman! The springs are the outgoings, the effects of your character. Charles Bridges says, “Guard the fountain, lest the waters be poisoned.” John Flavel in Keeping the Heart says, “To keep the heart then, is to carefully preserve it from sin which disorders it; and maintain that spiritual and gracious frame, which fits it for a life of communion with God.” But Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful above all things. So what can you do? You need a new heart to keep this command. Ephesians 4:17-19 describes our natural, unregenerate hearts.

Ephesians 4:17-19, So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.

This is precisely why all the psychobabble schemes and human concoctions to change human behavior are worthless. Man’s schemes which ignore man being made in God’s image and man’s depravity because of original sin are powerless to bring the life of God into our dead, rebellious hearts. Only Christ can change human hearts through regeneration. God’s promise in Ezekiel 36:26 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” This heart of flesh is a new heart that is sensitive to God. It has been renewed by God’s grace and is spiritually alive and responsive to the Spirit of God.

YOU NEED A REDEEMED MIND

We can no more change our hearts than we can change a rat into an eagle. Christ came to redeem our hearts. Here’s what happens when you get saved. God gives you a new heart through the message of the gospel. That’s the effectual call. You hear about your sinful condition and condemnation in the hands of an angry God. You are liable and answerable for every thought you’ve ever thought, and you know you’ve thought many, many wicked, ugly thoughts. You wouldn’t want the thoughts of just this week displayed on this screen this morning. God in his holiness is going to judge your thoughts. He will bring your every thought into account.

Hebrews 4:12-13, For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Here is where Christ comes in to redeem us. As we hear the gospel and as God works in us, there comes a time when He gives us a new heart. He removes our blind, dead heart of stone and gives us a redeemed, responsive heart. On our level we become convicted by the holiness and law of God. We repent. We turn from our rebellious self and come humbly to Christ, and we begin a new life in Christ. We are now new creations by faith alone in Christ alone with the sovereign grace and mercy of God working in our hearts.

And now God calls us to a whole new way of thinking.

Romans 12:2 – Don’t be conformed any longer to this world, this godless culture, but keep on being transformed, changing and growing, by the renewing of your mind so you learn what pleases God. You now put off worldly, ungodly, self-serving thinking, and put on renewed thinking. This happens as God works in you to empower you.

Ephesians 4:22-24 – Put off the old way of thinking and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. What does the spirit of your mind mean? God is going all the way down to the core of what feeds your thoughts. You can’t get any deeper than this – the spirit of your thinking processes. And that’s what God is renewing. Instead of thinking self-centered, self-pleasing, self-exalting thoughts, your new thought processes are being renewed and motivate you to please God, to honor God, to fear and love and glorify God – and that’s what now feeds your thoughts.

So, is this important? I don’t know of anything more important than this. One author said, “the most important indicator of the health of your soul is the state of your mind.” Getting a grip on your thought life for God’s glory! Not just eight steps to a better you, or eight steps to healthy thinking, or eight steps to a more relaxed and stress-free life. No, God is saying, “I’ve given you a new heart, now you can start thinking My way!” Now we come to this most powerful and helpful verse.

GOD’S BOUNDARIES FOR YOUR MIND

Here is God’s invisible fence for our thought lives. If you are like every other human, you know your thoughts can be like wild, untrained puppies yapping, running all over the neighbor’s yard, rooting through their garbage, digging into flower beds, running out on the road. But God commands us here to get a leash on these puppies. That last phrase is “dwell on these things.” ESV says, “think about these things.” The Greek word is logidzomai, an imperative meaning to actively consider, reason, calculate, ponder. Put a leash on your thoughts to keep them in bounds. The human mind is an amazing invention by God Almighty. We all have one or we wouldn’t be here. And it is always active. You are thinking about something right now. Charles Spurgeon said he counted eight thoughts going through his brain at one time. Most of us are doing well with one at a time. But all of our minds are constantly active and we are responsible for what we think! So, let’s take a look at these eight characteristics of redeemed, godly thinking in verse 8.

Think true thoughts. Paul heads the list with truth. Truth is most important in your Christian life. Besides God being the God of truth, the true and living God, Jesus being the way the truth and the life, the Spirit being the Spirit of truth, you have the Scriptures as the absolute standard of truth revealed from God. Psalm 119:160 says “The sum of your word is truth.” Colossians 1:5 describes the gospel as “the word of truth.” The very first piece of armor in Ephesians 6:14 is the belt of truth. Wrap the belt of truth around your mind. Your thoughts must be formed by truth. Truth heads the list because all the rest must conform to truth.

Truth is the lifeline between sinful man and his God. Yet, sadly, truth is the very thing our culture has rejected. Isaiah 59:14 says, “truth has stumbled in the street.” They don’t like absolute truth. Everybody wants their own truth. God tells us what rebellious sinful, depraved man does with truth.

Romans 1:18 says they “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” They don’t want to hear it.

Romans 1:25 says they “exchange the truth for a lie.” That’s why they end up thinking ridiculous, bizarre thoughts like men can be changed into women and people in high places can’t define a woman.

All the while Satan sponsors lies and deception. Satan began his nefarious career with a lie in the garden of Eden, “You surely won’t die,” and he has been spreading lies ever since. Jesus said of Satan in John 8:44, “He is a liar and the father of lies.” When we believe a lie we have swallowed some of Satan’s poison. We’re swimming in Satan’s poisonous lies, from evolution to transgenderism to the nightly news. Politicians spew out lies just to paint their enemies as evil.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to believe. Is this true or a scam? In some cases we have to assume it’s a lie unless proven to be true. Whatever is true. Measure every truth claim with Scripture. This is why we have to be steeped in the truth of God’s Word, reading it every day, meditating on it, memorizing it. You must feed everything you hear through the grid of Scripture. Only God’s Word in your mind will enable you to be able to discern truth from lies.

Paul told Timothy days will come when people in churches will turn away from the truth and turn to myths, to lies (2 Timothy 4:3-4). All human philosophies are based on lies. Cultural Marxism, so popular today, is a lie. Evolution, same-sex marriage, and all the gender confusion is based on lies. Every cult and false religion is a lie. So, we must monitor our thoughts. Is this thing I’ve just heard true? Everybody seems to be on this bandwagon, but is it true? Does it reflect reality? Jesus said if you continue in His word you will know the truth and the truth will set you free! Keep the leash of truth on your thoughts. Truth is the most valuable commodity we have in this world. Feed your mind with God’s truth every day. Proverbs 23:23 says, “Buy the truth and sell it not.”

Think honorable thoughts. Honorable has the idea of what is dignified and serious, in contrast to what is silly, where everything’s a joke. In 2005 Neil Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death, an indication of our culture today. Here we are living on the edge of eternity; this life is uncertain, and there’s the reality of heaven or hell in the future. This is no joking matter. Honorable thoughts are quick to honor that which is honorable, sober, godly. Honorable thoughts speak encouraging words to those who have done well or are doing well in their pursuits. This is the opposite of thoughts that are focused on worthless, frivolous, silly things. You have to wonder about the hours and hours playing video games today. There is nothing wrong with some humor, thoughts of leisure, unwinding. But what’s a guy thinking all that time he’s playing video games? The same is true with TV and movies. Actually, it may be profitable to print these eight characteristics of godly thinking and place it on your TV or computer. Would what’s on the screen reflect the fear of the Lord, encourage holiness, reflect anything of God’s character? Filling our minds with honorable thoughts is one reason to be reading good books, books that stir up honorable, devout thoughts about God and this world.

Think right thoughts. Thank God He has imputed to us the righteousness of Christ and declared righteous so that we have peace with God. As a believer, though, ask yourself if this thought is right or wrong? Is it just or unjust? Am I thinking with integrity here or am I trying to get away with something? Is this a right thought or a cheating thought? Am I thinking “Finders keepers, Losers Weepers” about that mistake in my favor? Several years ago Billy Watts found a bag full of thousand-dollar bills hanging in the restroom of a Cracker Barrel in Tennessee. The bills added up to $97,000. She says she was tempted to keep her find, but she gave the whole amount back. She had right thoughts. She said she has 12 grandchildren and she tries to lead by her example.

Think pure thoughts. There are booklets from Grace to You in our lobby entitled Keeping a Pure Mind. It is excellent and challenging. I quote, “Many people who will not do evil deeds are nevertheless boldly evil in their minds. The mind can sin anytime, anywhere, under any circumstances.” The Pharisees believed only the act was sinful but Jesus said to hate someone is equal to murder and to lust in your heart is equal to adultery. In Matthew 23:27 He scorched the scribes and Pharisees with these words, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside you are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”

Most of us are quite concerned about our physical cleanliness and getting the right deodorant and cologne to keep us from being offensive around others, which is good. But what about our thoughts? Are they offensive? Ephesians 5:3-5 says redeemed thinking that honors Christ seeks to not even have a hint of impurity or anything sexually unclean. What about pornography on your mental hard drive that is supposed to be devoted to God in holiness? Does it stink with filthy thoughts?

We are responsible for our thoughts. No one else can guard our thoughts. We must do that as we submit to Christ. When we slip into wrong thinking, we must confess and reign them in. And praise God there is forgiveness. Someone who says I just can’t stop these thoughts has offended the first mental leash – what is true. You can stop. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Easy? No. But we must fight with all the weapons God provides us, including prayer, being mindful of specific Scripture, and loving God with all our hearts.

Some of you may remember when they borked Judge Robert Bork back in 1987. President Reagan nominated him to the Supreme Court but the Senate rejected him. He was too conservative. They smeared him with lies. In the process, a reporter went to the video store to check the ratings of the videos he checked out. They were hoping for some smelly stuff that he was dragging his mind through but found none. The reporter said, “Judge Bork seems to be a PG-to-G sort of fellow!” But interestingly this search scared the daylights out of Congress and they quickly passed the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act, for obvious reasons. This is the way of a corrupt world.

Think lovely thoughts. What are lovely thoughts? This word lovely, prosphile in Greek, is used only here. It means focused on loveliness, pleasing. The opposite includes the words ugly, demanding, selfish, bitter, angry, and hateful. What comes to mind when you hear someone say someone is a lovely person? Most likely she’s a person who is gracious, forgiving, encouraging, and compassionate, like Christ. She refuses to harbor resentful, bitter, ugly, demanding, selfish, angry, hateful, critical, fault-finding thoughts. Her thoughts are positive and centered on needs of others: “How can I be a blessing to someone? How can I encourage others today?” Her thoughts are on whatever is lovely.

Think good thoughts. The ESV translates the Greek word euphema as “commendable.” It is literally “speaking well.” Those ten spies came back from checking out the promised land with a bad report. Their bad thoughts were full of unbelief. They didn’t see God in the situation. All they saw were giants. That’s how some people are. All they see are problems. But commendable, good thoughts see God’s grace, mercy, and power. That’s how Joshua and Caleb were thinking. “Come on, people! Don’t fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. God’s going to made bread out of them.” These good thoughts seek the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Good thoughts come from knowing God is sovereign and merciful to sinners. Think commendable thoughts.

Think excellent thoughts. Excellence begins with a certain thinking habit. It means striving to fulfill God’s purpose for you. We all have different gifts and skill levels. Stuart Scott said, “If you’re a 60-watt bulb don’t try to be a 100-watt bulb. Just stay in your socket and burn.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” That starts in your thinking. Rather than trying to get away with the least, excellence means doing your best. It means putting in the time to go back and correct mistakes. And when you’ve done the best you can with the time you’ve got, you give it to God.

Think praiseworthy thoughts. If others could read your mind, would your thoughts stir up praise to God? David wrote these words about praiseworthy thinking.

Psalms 19:14, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SO WHAT?

There’s nothing more important about you than your thoughts. How we live comes out of our hearts, what we love and respect. And we fall short and offend in many ways. Our thoughts are often crusted with the blight of sin, sometimes pride, sometimes lust, greed, anger, bitterness, discontent, and sometimes just flat-out self-centeredness. We need to remember Christ suffered for these heart sins. We need to confess these sins of the mind immediately. We need to pray and ask God to clean up our thoughts, and then we must guard our hearts diligently, for everything we do flows from it.