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Good morning, everybody. How are y'all? What's that? So we're a couple minutes early, but we could start on we could start early. That's fine.
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Glad that y'all are here this morning. As you can probably hear, my voice is shot. Turns out six or seven hours of snowmobiling is probably not the best thing to do when you've got a cold. So I woke up this morning with from here up, just completely congested. I'm gonna try to sing and try to leave but if I drop out, will y'all keep on singing, please?
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Also, we're going to sing hymn number five ninety two. Jesus Calls Us or the Tumult. So, would you stand up and sing with us and bear with me this morning. Sorry Jesus
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calls us or the tumult of our lives while restless sea day by day his sweet voice sounded saying Christian follow me Jesus calls us from the worship of the vain world's golden store from a title that would keep us saying Christian love me more in our joys and in our sorrows days of toil and hours of ease Still he calls. Pleasures Christian love me more than these. On the last, calls us by thy mercies savior may we hear thy call give our hearts to thine obedience serve and love the best of all Amen. We'll make
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it through. It is so sweet to trust in Jesus. Hymn number five eighty one.
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Jesus just to take him at his word just to rest upon his promise just to know thus saith the Lord Jesus,
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Jesus, precious Jesus, oh, for grace to trust him more. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus just to trust his cleansing blood, Just in simple faith to plunge me, me the healing cleansing blood. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him, how I've pruned him more and obey. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh, for grace to trust him more. I'm so glad I learned to trust him.
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Precious Jesus, savior friend, and I know that he are with me will be with me to the end.
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Jesus, Jesus,
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how I trust him, how I've proved him more and more. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, oh for grace, do trust him more. Thank you, Carl.
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Great shirt, Rick. Thank you, Carl. Y'all can have a seat. We have Monday nights at first b going on tomorrow night, 06:00 in the Fellowship Hall. Carl's preaching, on seeking first the kingdom of God from Luke.
4:39
So that's happening at the same time as Awana is happening in this room, 06:00 right here. Kids and volunteers gather and have fun, playing games, and getting scripture into the heads and into hopefully the hearts of the kids involved Awana because kids matter to God. Next week, we're having between services, a traditional Latin American breakfast that'll be prepared by Guadalupe and Felix, and they volunteered after we asked them to do that, and it's a fundraiser for the Guatemala team. So if you would, we'd love for you to help support this team and so we're going to do a breakfast. They're preparing that on their own bringing it in for us all between services.
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So 10:00 next week, February 4. You're seeing that there's a bit of festive decoration around. There's a photo wall right back there and we're preparing for Guatemala. And there are going be a lot of events coming up. Guatemala, we are going there.
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That actually is in Antigua, that shot right there. That's a volcano that close to that town. It's a beautiful place. We're gonna be about four and a half hours from that place, but we are are going on Easter Sunday this year down to Guatemala for a week long family mission trip and we'd love to have y'all's prayers and support before and leading up to that. Coming soon also Valentine's Day night.
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There's if if you want to take your sweetie out for a date night and you wanted to leave the kids behind with someone else, then there's babysitting going to be available here at the church on Wednesday, February 14 the February 11, that is not next Sunday but the following is going to be a one service. We're doing a combined service at 10:00 and then we'll have the annual congregational meeting at 11:15, 11:30 after the close of that combined service. So, that's coming up. That's our normal annual congregational meeting for the, you know, all those the business stuff of the church. We also this Mike asked, he said, hey, I was thinking about having the youth group just watch the Super Bowl.
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If they're to watch it, might as well watch it here And so we're having a bit of a Super Bowl party, February 4. That's next Sunday at 4PM in the afternoon. Y'all bring some food to share. And I like this. Pray for your enemies.
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That's pretty good. Super Bowl party. Watching it on the big screen in the fellowship hall. Cross country skiing with first B is supposed to be happening at 01:00 today. Allen and Diane Galbraith up at Moose are going to take a group of novice through expert cross country skiing.
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So if you want to be a part of that, that's happening. There's more information in the bulletin as there are a lot more announcements in the bulletin too about things that are coming up. There's a yard sale is as a part of raising funds for Guatemala. There's a yard sale coming up. So if you have any items that you feel like you need to get rid of, don't take them to browse and buy.
7:31
Alright? Bring em in here on the February 21 and we'll tell you more about it but it's in the bulletin. Is there anything I'm forgetting? Alright. Also, if it's feeling a little light in the crowd today, there are still about 35 guys up at Island Park, Old Faithful Christian Ranch.
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They are coming home today, but there's been a men's retreat Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Carl and I rode up for Friday evening and and snowmobile all day Saturday and then came back last night. So, would you then stand up and greet one another and we'll bring you back together with another song. Maybe. Maybe.
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Surely the presence of the Lord
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is in this place I can feel his mighty power and his grace I can hear the rush of angels wings
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surely the presence of the Lord is in this place I
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can feel his mighty power and his grace I can hear the brush of angels wings I see glory on each face the presence of the Lord is in this place.
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Amen. We have come into this house 224 and gathered in his name to worship him.
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We have come into his house and
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gathered in his name to worship him we have come into his house and gathered in his name to worship him we have come into his house and gathered in his name to worship Christ the Lord worship him Christ the Lord let's forget about ourselves and magnify his name and worship him let's forget about ourselves and magnify his name and worship him let's forget about ourselves and magnify his name and worship Christ the Lord worship him Amen.
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Get the frontline team to come forward You wanna pray, Carl? Would you mind?
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Lord, we do, we we have come here to worship. I thank you, God, that you have you are here. You are present with us. We don't even need to ask. You are.
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What I do pray, God, is that there'd be more of an awareness of your presence and more of an awareness of your Holy Spirit and just how you work and how you move. I pray that the message would, sink deep to the the point of of conviction and and really living living this out by by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, God, for every gift that you give. Every good and perfect thing, it comes from you. And so we acknowledge, God, that everything comes from you, and, here we are to give just a a portion back, to give with an open hand and an open heart and with a joyful, spirit as well.
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In Jesus' name. Amen.
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Thank you, Sam and Carl and Florine. So I mentioned a little bit about this weekend, kinda my head filling up here. Talking about our heads filling up with stuff. This sermon is gonna be different than most of them that I do. I like to cover a lot of ground, and I try to do a paragraph because I think a paragraph is a complete section of thought.
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You know? So that's what I usually do. If I don't do a whole paragraph, I tell you that. This was not a whole paragraph. I think that the the last portion of, Philippians kinda runs together really, really well, but I'm trying to savor it because it's almost over.
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I've got two more messages after today in Philippians and then we'll close off on the eleventh but Philippians four eight and nine, Paul says to meditate on some things. It's logitsamai which means to think about em deeply, to get down to the bottom of it, to take it on, meditate on these things. It's not transcendental meditation, you know, seated in a certain position and it's think about it. Think about these things. Set your mind on them.
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Meditate on these things. Now, we closed off last week's paragraph like this. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing but in everything, no matter what your circumstances, in everything, by prayer and supplication, so communicating with God and the deepest longings of your heart is supplication. With thanksgiving, recognizing the gifts he's already given, as Carl prayed a minute ago, let your request be made known to God.
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And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. I heard from a lot of you after the service last week and throughout the week, I heard people say that really hit me right where I'm living right now. Well, scripture has a way of doing that. But this one in particular, since it says in everything, whether you're rejoicing or mourning, the Lord is at hand and he is reducing our anxiety as we will humble ourselves, let our requests be made known, and that peace of God is what passes understanding. It'll guard our hearts and mind through Christ Jesus.
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And then finally, brothers and sisters, if it's not limited by context, it's finally, brothers and sisters. And when a preacher says finally, what's that mean? Could mean a lot of things, right? This is the last this is the last paragraph. He's starting the last little paragraph to them and he's saying, in conclusion or he's summing up, he's wrapping up.
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Finally, last thought, brothers and sisters, 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, if there's anything praiseworthy, and I would say that the last two, the virtue and praiseworthy, the if is not to say that there might not be. It's saying there is. It's the same if structure that's used in the first part of chapter two where he says, if there is any consolation in love, if there is any comfort in Christ, if there is any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and tender mercy, there is. He's saying it does exist And so he has listed for us these eight things, and he says, we should meditate on these things or logitsomai on these things. So I'm actually slowing down.
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Like I said, I usually try to cover a paragraph, and sometimes if it's narrative, it might be four or five paragraphs or infamously, I remember four chapters of Acts that we did in two days, I think. Four whole chapters because it was narrative and it was a running along, almost super highway like running along. But this is more like taking a snowmobile through the trees. We're going to just meander a little bit. We're committed to it.
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That's what I found out. I I haven't found the scripture, but it's going to come up where you have to go all in. Snowmobiles do not run well slow. You've gotta nail it. You know what I mean?
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You gotta go for it. If you have been on one, know what I'm talking about. You get stuck if you if you don't really commit to things. So we're gonna commit to going through and looking at these things one at a time. Whatever things are true.
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And this is going be a little audience participation today too. Does anybody else have anything in your Bible in front of you instead of true right there? Whatever things are true. No. Trustworthy, true, honest, true.
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So true right there is this word in Greek, alethe. It's unconcealed, true, true in fact, worthy of credit, truthful. Literally, it is that which cannot be hidden. Ah, in front of it. It is that which cannot be hidden because the truth comes out, right?
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The truth is going to be known. It stresses the undeniable reality when something is fully tested all the way down to the bottom, it will ultimately be shown to be fact or authentic. Now, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth is what I thought of when I read this because I'm supposed to meditate on these things, whatever things are true. So the whole of scripture, according to Jesus, prayer in the garden is truth.
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Your word, God, is truth and that's how he sanctifies us is by his truth. Sanctify them by your truth. In the same prayer, Jesus' high priestly prayer in the garden, John 17, he also prayed for our unity and since this whole book is about unity, you know, last week was Euodia and Syntyche, you need to get along, do that by being like minded and the unity and humility when Jesus humbly is praying in the garden and he's praying sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth. I went to something this week. It was a service at the Catholic church and it was the Lutheran church and the Catholic church, which does that sound like it goes together to y'all?
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So Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church and Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church had a combined service together. It was in the paper. They were inviting, everyone to attend. And I got the invite and went and I was blessed so much by that because they stood up and admitted the aggravation that they have caused one another for the last five hundred years. For the Catholic church to put on a five hundred year celebration of the reformation seemed odd to me.
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But what they were doing was going back to the word of God and saying that there is one body. There is one all believers. And they actually rested it on scripture, and that was a very sanctifying experience for me. And I think for the bishop of the whole diocese of Wyoming and for the lady pastor of the Lutheran Church, it was wonderful. Really, really good.
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We may disagree theologically. Yes, I'll say that. But recognizing that the limitation is on us and not on God was a really, really important thing. Whatever things are true and scripture is true. Do you have something that you are thinking about right now that is true?
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Yes, would you like to share it? Okay, we'll keep going. I was serious about the audience participation. Did somebody have something? Okay.
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Whatever is noble. Now, when you think of the word noble, what is the first thing that you think of? Do you think of nobility like royalty? I don't. I don't think of noble like nobility.
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But that's probably because I'm an American and a Protestant, and I don't put nobility up there. When I asked the staff earlier this week what nobility was, they said, doing the right thing all the time and just continuing to move forward. I thought, that actually fits my definition of nobility too. Noble is that which is venerable, honorable, grave like gravity, serious, dignified, weighty, revered, deeply respected because viewed as being majestic, having weight, having gravity. Do you have something that you are thinking of right now that is noble?
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Quality. And I think that fits the first one and the second one, and it'll fit the third one too. That's pretty good. It's a quality that is pure and true and good. It is what it says that it is, and it continues going forward.
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I told the first service that I was in a hospital in Mexico for a while. And when I woke up one morning, there was a lady that was mopping the floor. And that was her job. She continued to do that job each morning when I woke up and I was there for several days, that lady was there and she was mopping the floor. And I thought, she doesn't know me.
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It doesn't matter if I'm the one in this bed or someone else is the one in this bed. She comes in every day. She does her job. She does it well. Didn't say anything to me, but to me, probably because of the state I was in at the time, it just hit me how noble that was to continue to serve people in what can be a thankless role.
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We have people that serve here in the same way. The the chair is getting set up every single week. That's a noble task. Just. Whatever is just.
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Now, I must have sloughed off on the first service about what was just. So I got I got two texts about what was just. I'll just give you the dictionary definition. That which is guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness, we hope to be just in our understanding of such difficult situations. Done or made according to principle, that which is equitable and proper based on what is right, rightful, a just claim.
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If you remember a couple weeks ago, handed out letters from a Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King, and he said at towards the end of that, he said, breaking an unjust law. He said, there are types of laws. Some of them are just and some of them are unjust and I think now, looking back, we can see, yeah, those were unjust laws. That which is just is the same word that we use for righteousness. It is just, just like I read a second ago, especially just in the eyes of God.
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Because what God says is right and true is right and true. It's based on who he is, that which is righteous, truly righteous, not just being on the right side of an argument, that which is truly righteous. Now, when I look at just, I immediately think of justice and what I want for my life is mercy, not justice. But there is a justness that we should be dwelling on and meditating on that God is just. He is merciful.
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He makes a merciful offer to save us, but everyone will either be mercifully saved or justly condemned. Concentrating on the just and righteous God. Meditate on that. Whatsoever things are pure. Pure, the word is chagna.
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Chagna is probably a cognate of hagios, which means holy. That which is holy, set apart, consecrated, properly, it's pure all the way to the core, virginal, chaste, unadultered, pure inside and out, wholly because it's uncontaminated, undefiled from sin without spoilation even within, even down to the center of ones being, not mixed with guilt or anything condemnable. When y'all wake up in the morning here and there has been a snowfall overnight of four or five inches, when you look out, do you just go, man, that is so pure, pure as the driven snow. You know, it's amazing when we were riding yesterday, and we're riding along on a narrow road with banks on both sides about this high, and the trees are so weighted down with snow that every once in a while, they would just drop, drop the snow off in front of you. And it's completely snow blind, completely whited out.
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And I just think that's what God says, though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, completely pure. This word also signifies unmixed, not mixed with anything else. Can you think of anything that is pure? I think when we start concentrating on ourselves, we see our own impurities, but it's really good to meditate on that which is really pure. Jesus giving his life as a ransom for many.
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A purity of motive, a purity of thought. Lovely. We don't use this word a whole lot. I've thought of a couple of songs where we, you know, use the word lovely, but lovely is this. It's from two different words.
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It's an extending toward pros is an extending towards an affectionate caring. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that nurses are some of the most trustworthy people. And it's because of this kind of a loveliness they are extending towards someone they might not even know, an affectionate caring. Properly, they're worthy of personal affection, hence they're dearly prized. Worth the effort to have and to embrace, and it's only used this one time in all of scripture, but lovely.
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Can you think of something that's lovely? According to that definition, do you have something? Anybody? The sermon. It's just beautiful.
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Yep. It is lovely. I agree. It's something that you want to remember too. Of good report, that which is of good report.
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Now we tend to hear lots of bad news, right? If you read through any paper, not just our paper, if you read through any newspaper, what you read is like, oh my goodness, oh my goodness, what in the world? That's crazy. How did that happen? We are really inventors of new ways to do evil.
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And then you might get one little story that's a human interest story. It's of good report that somebody did the right thing while nobody was watching, but somebody happened to be watching and they wrote about it. Or a video, you know, of somebody doing something good. Whatever things are of good report. That is euphema, well reported of, spoken in a kindly spirit, that which is laudable or reputable.
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Now, my mother, when I was growing up and probably your mother too had a saying that she used fairly regularly. I think she used it when she wanted peace and and quiet in the house. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. Concentrate on the things that are of good report. A friend of mine had, how am I going to say this?
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My mother-in-law is not a friend of mine. My mother-in-law, just be straight up truthful about it. My mother-in-law used to say of her mother-in-law that she never said anything nice. Never said anything nice, ever. So she would play a game with her.
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And the game that she played with her is every time that she said a negative comment, my mother-in-law would back it up with a very positive comment, and she would play like tennis back and forth, back and forth. And she would see how long it was before she'd say something positive. She said it could go weeks. That which is of good report. We should be concentrating effort on telling the good news instead of just dwelling in the bad news.
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When people come into my office for counseling or for whatever, for prayer, a lot of them have come in and said, I don't know why I'm angry all the time. I'm just angry all the time. I said, do you watch the news? Yes. Stop watching the news for two weeks and come back and we'll pray and see if it's gotten any better Because we need to need to spend time concentrating on the things that are true and noble and just and pure and lovely and good report, and they don't necessarily sell new newspapers.
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Does that make sense? I think they would. Hollywood's catching on. There are a few good offerings lately. PG and G movies are making a comeback.
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That's good. Virtuous. If there be any virtue. Now, virtue or goodness, it's moral goodness. And if you go back to Aristotle and Plato, they were talking about truth, goodness, and beauty was the philosopher's quest.
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Unfortunately, if you read through philosophy from Socrates all the way to Sartre, you will find that it gets worse and worse and worse and worse and worse like Ecclesiastes. If you're looking at under the sun thinking, you can be shooting for truth, goodness, and beauty, but you find all to be vanity unless you have God in the mix. This goodness, arete, is moral goodness, gracious action, virtue, uprightness. If that exists, and it does exist, I believe that it has to have God in the mix in order for it to exist, but that which is virtuous. Like I've mentioned before, laying down the life, laying down your life for your friends, laying down your life for your enemies in Jesus' case.
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Praiseworthy. Simply put, it is enthusiastic acknowledgment for what deserves praise. It does not have to be some biblical huge thing. It's that which needs recognition, a good thing that needs recognition, something that's virtuous and praiseworthy. Can you think of anything?
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I know it's quiet in here today, and I know I haven't been talking very long. This is what we're supposed to be meditating on. These are the things that we're supposed to meditate on. Now if you take that and look at this, I don't have to explain to this service what that thing is. That is a television with a UHF dial and a VHF dial.
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That is what preceded this. Now that is was was a neutral medium, still is. This is a neutral medium. It can be used for good or it can be used for evil. These are with us all the time.
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If we are meditating on anything, we're meditating on this thing. It's neutral. So you can be meditating on whatever's on that screen looking back at you. It can be good, it can be bad. Every time I talk to Paul, he says, I want to take you out somewhere where that thing won't reach, where there's no cell service.
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We will go fishing where that thing is not going to be with you. It's nice to be able to be in touch, to be able to encourage by text, to receive encouragement from a text or an email or whatever. The medium is neutral. But think about this, when you're watching television, is this what you're watching? Things that are true and noble and just and pure because whatever you're watching is what you're thinking on, right?
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Lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. Is that what you're thinking about? How about these? We've got all kinds of social media. And there's something about social media that has a it's you, but it's picture of you.
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It's not really you, you know, and what you put out there. There are folks that on Facebook I know these people and on Facebook I go, wow, that's harsh. Wow, that's extreme. I actually don't do Facebook, but I will check-in occasionally with somebody else's. And I just go, man, that's crazy.
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When you're on Facebook or YouTube or whatever, are you looking for things that are true and noble and just and pure and lovely, of good report, virtuous, praiseworthy? Are you? Are you concentrating on those things? That's the question from today. Now Paul at the beginning had said, the Lord is at hand.
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We left from Mexico, went to Costa Rica for a year. There was a guy that stayed and used our house. He used our car, used our computer, and he had, when we got home, the Lord is at hand as the screensaver on his computer, on my computer actually. The Lord is at hand. It was a reminder to him that the Lord is at hand, you know?
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Remember that and be looking up things that are true and noble and just and pure and lovely and of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. Then the next verse, he says, the things which you learn and you receive and you heard and you saw in me, these things do and the God of peace will be with you. We can think about what it was that Paul was constantly doing. He started in the synagogue. He went beyond that when he had to and he was constantly sharing the word of God.
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He was constantly sharing the love of God. He was doing all he could to help people. Earned his living. The things which you learned and you received and you heard and you saw in me, these things do and the God of peace will be with you. He just said this about the God of peace in chapter three.
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Brethren, join in following my example and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern. Right here he's saying, these things that you saw in this pattern, be doing these things and the God of peace will be with you. Can you see that he knows that that's true? I mean, that one time where he says, I'm talking like a madman here, but I'm gonna go with you for a minute. I'll talk about my sufferings because God is the strongest in my weakness.
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So, yeah, I've been shipwrecked and beaten and snake bit and everything else, but he's able to maintain joy and able to maintain peace because he's concentrating on what is true and what is noble and what is just and what is pure and what is lovely and what's of good report. Anything virtuous, caring for others, anything praiseworthy. And consider this, he just gave some praise to Timothy. Now, obviously in Christ Jesus but Timothy had done things and hung with him through hard times and Epaphroditus had nearly died in the service of Jesus. The things which you learn and you receive and you heard and you saw in me these things do.
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The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication. If you cannot concentrate on the good things, give that to God. That can be one of those things that, Lord, I don't want to concentrate on all the bad and be angry all the time. I want for your peace to permeate my life and flow through me to other people instead of just making other people as angry as I am by what I say and do.
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That's a supplication. The deepest longing in my heart is to be at peace with God and other men. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. That peace will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. I feel like we have a tendency nowadays to be offended at every turn, and I don't think that's holy.
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I don't think that's good. There is an Old Testament verse that says, great peace have they that love thy law. My mother always quoted as those that love the Lord but great peace have those that love thy law such that nothing shall be able to offend them. That leads to a lot of peace to hold on to. God's good, noble, true.
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Some of your versions would say excellent things. I think that's the last slide. And, yeah, it's twenty minutes before you usually get out, but y'all didn't talk back. I'll leave that on you all today. And I will ask miss Rosemary, would you come forward?
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And we're gonna sing through Have Thine Own Way. What does God want for you to think about? Does he want for you to dwell on the harsh stuff that we spend a lot of time just enraged about? Or does he want for you to be filled with peace? I believe he wants for you to be filled with peace.
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He says his commandments are not burdensome, that it's a joy to serve. Would you all stand with me and we'll sing.
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Have thine own way lord have thine own way thou art the potter I am the clay mold me and make me after thy will while I am waiting yielded and still have thine own way have thine own way search me and try me master today whiter than snow wash me just now as in thy presence humbly I bow have thine own way lord have thine own way wounded and weary help me I pray power all power surely is thine touch me and heal me savior divine have thine own way lord have thine own way hold over my absolute sway fill with thy spirit till all shall see Christ only always living in me
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Amen. And for the benediction this morning, I'm going pull a section from Micah six eight, Old Testament prophet. Wow. Who said, he has shown you, talking about God. God has shown you, oh mortal, what is good And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?
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God, may we, this week, spread your gospel by word and indeed, would you, lord, make our lives true and noble and just and pure, virtuous, and praiseworthy so that others may know you, the God who embodies all of those things. Amen.
