Meditate on These Things First B Jackson 2018-01-28 Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record. ---- Good morning, everyone. Good to see you. Good to see you. How about this? Let's stand up together. We've got reason to praise from Psalm. This this song actually comes right out of Psalm 92. A song to be sung on the Sabbath. It is good to give thanks to the Lord to sing praises to the most high. Alright. It is good. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high. Oh, more side. Alright. Let's try that again. Verse two. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, O most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high, to proclaim your love, to proclaim your love in the morning, and your faithfulness at night. Let's sing that again. To proclaim. To proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. Oh, I sing for joy. Oh, I sing for joy, at the sound of your name and the works of your hands. Oh, woah, you make me clear And for all of my life, let my song to you rise, oh, most high. Let's sing that verse one again. It is good. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make use to your name, oh, most high. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make use to your name, oh most high, oh most high. Amen. Amen. Y'all can have a seat. We got a few announcements this morning. There's a men's retreat that's still going on in Island Park, Idaho over there. Carl went up, I went up, we came back. The best thing you could do for a cold is not snowmobile for seven hours, But it is fun. So they're having a ball up there, and it's it's still a good time, but it's a little spotty here this morning because there are lot of them there. We have Monday nights at first b going on tomorrow night. Yep. Baked potato night tomorrow and more about seeking God's kingdom first. Amen. Good. Awana happens at the same time in this room, to start off with, and they spread out over the whole church. Next week, between services, we have a traditional Latin American breakfast that's being prepared by Guadalupe and Felix, and we are looking forward to that. It's a fundraiser for Guatemala, so we are raising funds for the team to be able to go down there, but they've volunteered when we asked them. Right? And they said, yeah, they they volunteered to do it. Can't help it. And that's the way that's gonna go. That's next week. So plan on being here for breakfast in between services. Coming soon Valentine's Day on Valentine's evening, we're gonna have babysitting available here at the church for parents that wanna go out and have a Valentine's date night. So we'll give you more details the closer we get to that. That's Wednesday, February 14. And that's all in preparation for the team that's going to Guatemala around Easter time, and we're leaving at different times. It's an unusual time to go, or way to go to a mission trip, but we're all leaving at different times right around Easter. February 11, there'll be one service, so that's not this coming week, but the next week, February 11, we're doing one service and following that with a congregational meeting. It's our normal annual congregational business meeting, so that'll be about 11:15 or 11:30 after that service is over. And this is something that's kind of new. Mike asked, he said, can we just everybody's going watch the Super Bowl anyway, can we just show it here? And so we figured out licensing and all that kind of business, and we're going to do that down in the Fellowship Hall. Bring some food if you'd like to gather, February 4 p. M. February 4 at 4PM at First right down in the Fellowship Hall. Pray for your enemies, it says. Nick made that slide. Cross there's a cross country ski with First Bee that's happening today at one If any of you want to go cross country skiing, you could see Al Galbraith or Diane Galbraith. It's everybody from novice to expert cross country skiing up in Moose, I believe. There's more information in the bulletin about that. And that's everything that you need to know about what's going on the next little while. It should be in that bulletin. There are paper copies out there. If you didn't grab one on the way in, grab one on your way out. Anybody have anything else? Well, just would you stand up and greet one another? Hugs, high fives, handshakes, or whatever. Unveil why we're made. Come set our hearts ablaze and full. Like while I've been out there so old and the spirit could We seek your kingdom first. We hunger and we thirst. Refuse to waste our We pray and revive this earth. Alright. Build your king. Build your kingdom. The darkness fear. Show your mighty ill are street, and land. Set your church on fire when this nation back. Change the atmosphere. Build your kingdom mew. Pray. On the beauty changing hearts. You made us for much more than this. Awake the kingdom seat in us. Fill us with the strength and love of Christ. And we are the church, and we are the home on earth. Build your kingdom. Build your kingdom. The darkness fear. Show your mighty hand. Heal our streets and lay. Setting your church on fire when this day shun back. Change the Amen. I'd like to pray on that. God, we sing it, but I also pray it. I do pray that you would change the atmosphere of our hearts and in this building. It really comes from a change from the inside out. And I thank you, God, for the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, that you don't just make bad people good. You make dead people alive. That's that's the work that you do. That's what your spirit does in us. And I do pray, God, that the church can truly be a light, a light to the nations, a light to the people around us, that they can see your goodness, not because of us, but because of what you do through us. God, our hope truly is in you. Amen. Alright. I meet with you. I meet with you, and my soul sings out. Yes. Your word throws down far away. I sing to you in my heart cries only. I've been doing a father in your heart. My hope is in you. My hope is in you, Lord, all the day long. And I won't be shaken by drowned over a storm. A peace that passes passes understanding is my song I sing. My whole peace in you low. I wait for you in my soul, I'll find rest in my silverishness. You show me grace. I worship you in my heart cries glory. I'll then do you, father, you were here. My hope is in you. My hope is in you, Lord, all the day long. I won't be shaken by drowned or sown. A peace that passes understanding is my song I sing. My hope is in you alone and I'll wait on you. I'll wait on you. You're my refuge. Just sing that again. I will wait. I'm waiting on you. You're my refuge. My hope is in you, Lord, all the day long. And I won't be shaken by drowned over a storm. A peace that passes on stand. It's my song now sing. My hope is Amen. I'd like to pray again. God, that that's so true. You you give a peace that that passes understanding, that beyond that's beyond our comprehension that you give peace even, in the middle of a storm. You didn't promise a promise us a a problem free life, but we can have peace in our problems. And so, God, I thank you for that very real, very abiding peace, that you give to us. And it really is through faith as we press into you, as we wait on you. And waiting is hard. It is hard work to wait for anything. But, as we do, you give peace. And I pray just for more of that, that your peace would rest, on this church. In Jesus' name. Before the throne of God, I have a strong and perfect fleet, a great high priest whose name is love whoever lives and pleads for My name is graven on his hand. My name is written on his heart. I know that while in heaven he stands. No tongue can bid me thence deep heart. No tongue can bid me thence deep heart. When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within of word I look, I can't see him there, who made an end of all by sin. Because the Hallelujah. Praise the one risen son of God. Behold him there. Behold him there, the risen lamb. My perfect Spartan's One in himself, if I cannot die, my soul is purged just by his blood. My life is set with Christ on eye, With Christ my savior and my God. With Christ my savior and my God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise the one risen son of God. Let's sing that again. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. This is from Colossians three one through four. It says, since you've been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things, For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. That's so cool. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. His life then becomes ours. And it's not like we lose our personality or anything, but we gain it fully because we see who we were created to be in Christ. Does that make sense? For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ and God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. I'd like to pray on that. God, thank you for that right there. That that sweet sweet promise that when you appear, when you come, that we'll appear with you in in glory. And, God, I I I do pray that we would set our our our hearts on on things above. Thank you God for every material thing that you give us. But I pray that with those things that we we could live life with an open hand. And I thank you God for how this church does that so well. You have, given so much joy, to the the people of this church. You've given, people so much generosity. And I pray that that would continue to just be our our our mantra here, at first be, that we would just be a generous people, that living life with an with an open hand to you. And, God, would you use the gifts that that you give us to, to to build up your kingdom? We sing it, but we really do mean it. We want to see your kingdom advance, not just here in Jackson, but to the ends of the earth. So, God, would you continue to make us a a generous, open handed, loving, gracious church, modeling ourselves after you. In Jesus' name. Amen. This is gonna be fun. Oh, boy. Good morning, everybody. I'm glad you all are here. I have before it's just two verses a day, and really we're gonna spend most of the time. Yeah. I feel like I need to walk around saying unclean, unclean. I have not done even so much as a fist bump this morning. I'm holding back. So it's time for children's church and they know it, so they're heading all out. They're not they're not running from me. I hope. I'm scaring the children. Meditate on these things. This I'm I'm gonna go through this. There's two verses. Really, we're gonna concentrate most of the time on one verse, and I'm gonna slow down. I talk pretty fast for someone with a draw like this, and I get I tend to get through a lot of scripture at a time. I try to go paragraph by paragraph, and I don't want it ever feel like we're going super highway and just running over stuff, but I want this one to be a little bit more like a path in the woods and take our time and sit through it. So my cadence may change a bit, but meditate on these things. Really take the time to think and ponder these things is where we're going. Now last week we ended up with this little passage, and a lot of y'all contacted me and said that was very helpful for what I'm going through right now. We are all going through something right now, you know, and this is a great place to go. The Lord is at hand. If you believe in Christ, he has promised you he'll never leave you nor forsake you. You have him to speak to, and this is what this verse gets into. The Lord is at hand. 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, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. So we ended up with that last week. I think it's a great that's something that's great to meditate on, in itself, just that we have a mighty and awesome and ever present God that listens and cares, and he can give peace, and he can fulfill requests too. But peace is what that verse is mainly about, the ridding ourselves of anxiety or him ridding us from anxiety, better put. Then he turns a corner at four eight and says, finally, which is like a pastor saying, in conclusion, there's still more to come, but he is starting to wrap this letter up here. Finally, brethren, after having considered that thought, he says, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble this is a New King James version of the Bible, by the way. If you have your Bible with you and you have a different translation, I may ask you in a minute to to yell out some of your translations. Okay? 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, and if there is anything praiseworthy. And those ifs right there are just like the ifs that we shared earlier in chapter two when he says, is there any consolation? If there's any consolation in love, if there's any comfort in Christ, if there be any fellowship in the spirit, those are saying that there are. They're affirmative. Okay? There are virtuous things and there are praiseworthy things. Whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, or praiseworthy. And this is why I say I'm gonna stop. Slow down, whatever things, I'm gonna say them over and over again. I'd like for you to be thinking of examples, what comes into your mind. It's not a it's not a psychology test, but word association. When you think of whatsoever things are true, where do you go from there? To me, I immediately go to scripture. I was brought up in church, and I know that God's God's word will stand. Though every mountain crumble, God's word will stand till the end. So the things that are true, the Greek word there, unconcealed, that which is true, true in fact, worthy of credit, truthful, that which cannot be hidden. Does that make sense? The truth will come out. It stresses the undeniable reality when something is fully tested. It is true like pure gold. It will ultimately be shown to be fact or authentic. And Jesus, praying in the garden actually, last, this past week, I don't remember which day that was, but there was a service at the Catholic church, and it was between the Catholic church, Roman Catholic church, and the Lutherans, Shepherd of the Mountain Lutheran Church. And they had a bishop come in from, Cheyenne, the diocese of Wyoming as a whole diocese, I guess. And they basically apologized for 500 of ugliness and asked for forgiveness and wanted to go forward unified from a place of contempt and conflict to a place of communion. It was, for me, it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever been a part of. The liturgical tradition is not my thing typically, but I really, really enjoyed it. If Jesus, when he's in the garden the night before he's crucified is praying for our unity, this is how he says we'll get there. He says, father, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. And so if we get together around what it says and we put our opinions beside behind us and we humble ourselves, which is what this whole book, Philippians, the Bible too probably, but Philippians has been about. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth is what Jesus said. And so those things that are true, concentrate on those things. I'll keep going. What comes to your mind when you think of something that's noble? Is it nobility? Is it really royalty? I think we've seen enough about royalty that we don't tend to think of them, at least in this country, with a whole lot of nobility still left intact. For me, well, let's I don't want to just say for me. Noble seminar. Venerable, honorable, that which has weight, grave, gravity, serious, dignified, weighty, deeply respected because viewed as majestic or having gravity gravitas. That is all good and true, that's what the word means. When I think of nobility myself, I woke up one time in a hospital in Mexico, and I didn't know how I got there, I just woke up and I'm in a hospital, and there was a lady mopping the floor. And I was there for three days. And each day at the same time she came in and she just kept going forward. And I thought, she doesn't care who's in this bed. She's serving me. Does not matter who's here. She just keeps on going forward, I was overcome with the nobility of just doing a job well to help other people. So that's totally me. But that's one of the things when I'm meditating on this, whatever things are true, I think of scripture. Whatever things are noble, I always think of that as noble. I don't know exactly why, but that to me is what a a king or a government should be doing is serving the people well and just keep on moving forward in humility. So that's me. That one is opinion. But when you're meditating, it's very personal, right? Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever is just. Just, the word there means righteous, actually right righteous. Just, especially just in the eyes of God, and that one comes up a lot, and that word is translated as either just or righteous most of the time. Whatsoever things are pure. Pure. Hagna. It's a cognate with hagios probably, which means wholly set apart completely, properly. It's pure all the way to the core. Virgin, chaste, unadulterated, pure, inside and out. It's uncontaminated, undefiled, unmixed without spoilation, even all the way down to the center of one's being, not mixed with guilt or anything condemnable, pure. Meditate on that for a minute. Can you think of something that is pure? It's just pure. After spending so much time yesterday on a snowmobile riding through and seeing the whiteness of snow to the point of it just being blindingly white. You know, snow coming off of the trees as you're riding past and just complete white. It's pure, completely unmixed with anything else. And though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Pure. God has sent Jesus to suffer our penalty so that we might be pure. Meditate on that. It'll be convicting. How pure are we in practice? But whatever things are pure, meditate on these things. Keep moving forward, think, too. Lovely. Whatever is lovely. Lovely. It's an adjective, an extending toward enphileo. It's made from two words. Affectionate caring. It is extending toward someone affectionate caring. That's lovely. Properly, it's worthy of personal affection, dearly prized, worth the effort to have and embrace. It's only used in this one particular spot in the New Testament, but it's a leaning towards, and I think of grace. Grace is a leaning towards someone with favor. Loveliness goes alongside that. Can you think of something that's lovely? I'm asking you all to meditate this morning. It's a weird sermon. I know. Whatever is of good report, of good report, Ephesimah, well reported of, spoken in a kindly spirit, laudable or reputable. This is my mother's and probably your mother's too. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I think that was just to get some peace and quiet, honestly. Can you talk about good things? Have you you have a friend that you think every time that I see them, all that I hear come out of their mouth is bad stuff? Have you ever tried to play the game of I'm gonna just say good things until they say something good? That can go on for a pretty good while. Whatever is of good report, though, if there is something, a human interest story. You know, you read the newspaper and you see all of this stuff and it's like, oh my goodness. We are inventors of new ways to do evil. There is all kinds of bad stuff all over the place, and then there's a story that's so great, and it's of good report. It's not gonna be on the front page. Might be in the picture on the front page, but euphema, well reported of. Think on things that are of good report. If you have a praise, give it. That's what it is good to praise you, oh God. What we sang, first lines we sang this morning. Whatever is virtuous, virtuous is arete, that's moral goodness. If you think back to Aristotle and Plato and the guys and Greek philosophers, they were seeking after truth, goodness, and beauty, and this is that same word for goodness. Goodness. It is that which is morally good, a gracious act, a virtue, or uprightness. It's akin to just. It's akin to all these really, but it's about moral goodness. Doing the right thing even in the face of a lot of wrong temptations, bad things. So arete. And then praiseworthy. Praiseworthy is just that enthusiastic acknowledgment for what deserves praise. So on this one, I'm drawn to think of stars like rock stars or singer songwriter stars or stars who receive a lot of praise and a lot of adulation. Are they worthy of it? Enthusiastic acknowledgment for what deserves praise. They might be. They certainly get us thinking, whatever is praiseworthy. To lay down your life for your friends, that's praiseworthy. It doesn't just have to be biblical. It can be an act that somebody has done, enthusiastic acknowledgment for that which deserves praise. Let another man praise you and not you yourself, you know, not your own lips. Whatever is praiseworthy. And then it says meditate on these things. Do you have things, as I've been going along, have you been thinking of specific things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report? If there's a word in your Bible that you have in front of you that's not listed up there for any of these, would you just holler it out? Honorable? Excellent? Good repute, honest, excellent. Do we think on these things? Do we meditate on these things? Okay. This is the convicting part of the sermon. Yeah. For the kids, this is a television. This is what people used to watch before they did it on the phone. So before this, there was this, UHF, VHF, yes. So as far as what we consume in the media, I'm not one to blast all the time on this. But these neutral devices that we have in our hands, we meditate on them. We think about them. If it's down to 2%, you're thinking about where I'm going to charge these things up, right? Go to a snowmobile retreat and a bunch of manly men, men doing manly things, you know, and all of them have their phone plugged in somewhere. They were ignoring them for the weekend, but they were plugged in. You know? Mine was too. They're neutral, and they can be used for good, honorable, praiseworthy, excellent things. They can be. An encouraging text, oh my goodness, does so much, you know? Television. Is this what you watch when you watch television? Things that are true and noble and just and pure and lovely and good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. Is that what you watch? The ratings say no. Actually, Hollywood has seen a turn where good things are making money, and they are starting to have some of these come out. Now when you're on any of these things, which I know very little about, honestly, I can't keep up with them all. Is this what you're Facebooking about? True things, noble things, just things, pure things. I have people from time to time come in and say, I'm just angry all the time. And I say, do you watch the news? Well, not really. Are you on Facebook? Because lobbing grenades back and forth is all that seems to be happening right now, and that's not the truth. The truth is somewhere between those two extremes. Or not at all. It's not noble to just blast all the time. It's not. It's not right. It's not just. It's definitely not pure. Not lovely. They might have a human interest story there every once in a while of something of good report. Something goes viral that's really good. I love to see that. Virtuous and praiseworthy. Are those the things that you watch? When you're watching Netflix, does it say because you watch such and such, we recommend this for you? You go, oh my goodness. You really recommend that for me? Is somebody paying you to recommend that for me, or is this from my history watching this thing? Now next verse is this, the things which you learned and you received and you heard and you saw in me, this is Paul speaking to Philippians, Paul and Timothy actually, but since it's singular, I'll go with Paul. The things which you learned and received and you heard and you saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. Now this is following up right after 03:17. He says, brothers and sisters, join in following my example and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern and our beginning slide of the day, the Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. Let your request be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. It will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. That peace of God, Paul says, is available when you put into practice the things that you learned and you saw and you heard, the things that are good and true and noble and pure and lovely and of good report. For hearing about all of Paul's troubles and being flogged and being beaten and being snake bit and being shipwrecked and all of that sort of stuff, and then seeing that he concentrates, He's given a window into his world. How does Paul keep going? Because he's concentrating on the things that are true. He knows what he knows about Jesus, and he knows that he, though be though he had been and can still consider himself to be the chief of sinners, is saved by God's grace through his faith. He knows what's true. He knows what's noble. Caring for those who don't care for you is noble. He knows the things that are just and right. He knows the things that are pure, lovely, of good report. He knows the things that are virtuous and praiseworthy, and he does. He has actually praised a couple of guys for doing things, for putting their faith into action earlier in this. He's living this out. Is that the end, Blake? Okay. I told him I thought it was gonna be a short sermon today, but I never admit that up front because who knows where it could go. Would you all stand up, and we're gonna sing a chorus that we've been this is an abbreviated version of reign in us. And this week, it's Philippians four eight. This week, would you write that down somewhere near a mirror or somewhere, maybe on your computer, and stick it on a sticky note up there. Write it down in your own hand, and write it up there and just think about those things this week and see if that doesn't have an incredible effect. It brought about great peace, for me to start concentrating on those things. Can I share something real quick? So last weekend, Ray and I were invited to a first birthday for a little one year old named Mia Maestas. And Mia was born with some there was some birth. She was born at twenty eight weeks. Yeah, '28. Which is twelve weeks early. Yeah, very. And so it was honestly the best first birthday that I've ever been to. Best birthday I've ever been to period because here we are in this room, and, Danny and Colleen are are just kind of looking around the room and and thanking everybody for, you know, how how they helped and and how much they meant to them. And and then they looked at one another to to share how much, you know, they loved one another. And I just thought, man, those are those are the things Yep. That that life is is really should be be about, you know, the things that are are worthy. And, anyway, I just thought I'd share that because it just meant so much to me. But Thank you. Reign in us. You knew our names before we came to be. You saw my very day when far away from you. Down this belief we need to be redeemed. Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus. Come lead us. Word is spread for your touch. Great and mighty one. Let's sing. Oh, great and mighty one, with wonders how we come. That you would reign, that you would reign in us. We're offering up our lives of living sacrifice that you would reign, that you would bring in us. Alright. Let's sing. Of We're the name of the midst So this is, from Micah six eight, kind of the blessing benediction as you leave out today. He 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. In Jesus' name, Lord, would you spread your good gospel through holy lives of your people. Amen.