How is your thinking this evening? How often do we CHECK ourselves in the silent world of our thoughts. Do you think like a child of God?

If Jesus Christ is your Lord this evening, He is to be Lord over every aspect of your life…. including your mind and your thoughts.

Psalm 119:59, 139:1-2, 23-24, Proverbs 12:6, 15:26, 24:9, Isaiah 55:6-7

Have you ever considered that your THOUGHTS and HOW YOU THINK form the basis for all your attitudes, words, opinions, actions, and reactions to people and circumstances in your life? At the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, his desire for them as children of God was that THEY WOULD THINK like children of God, and in-turn that they would behave and conduct themselves like children of God!

Philippians 4:4-9,

When Paul wrote this epistle from Rome, he knew that he would probably never leave Rome; history has it that he was martyred there for the sake of the gospel. Paul was ready to give his life for Christ and the gospel!

Philippians 2:14-17. Paul rejoiced in God’s will for his life and continued to live that way. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

BUT wait a minute Paul, you’re the Apostle to the Gentiles, you need to be out visiting the churches, teaching them doctrine. This is not good!

There is no doubt that MANY were THINKING, this is not good, to which Paul wrote: You MUST understand that THIS is where God has me! Philippians 1:12-18

Many wrongly THOUGHT that Paul’s ministry would be halted, but God used his imprisonment to FURTHER the gospel! Philippians 4:22-24

Paul continued to be used of God because Paul was THINKING the way a child of God THINKS! God will use me wherever God has me!

We are all too prone to let DIFFICULT earthly circumstances stifle and stop us from serving Christ….and it’s because our THINKING IS WRONG!

Paul told the Philippians: God is using my present circumstances to further the gospel; I rejoice in that! Paul could speak like this because he was THINKING RIGHT…he had the mind of Christ….and if we have the mind of Christ, (and we should), we should think like Paul did, even and especially when everything goes sideways in our lives?

Philippians 2:1-5: As children of Christ, we should be likeminded, one-minded, lowly, and humble minded, with THIS MIND, the mind of Christ!

IF that would be true of us as children of God, if we would THINK like Christ, we must consistently be cultivating and learning Christ, renovating, and renewing our minds in the Word and by the Holy Spirit, washing the filth and philosophies and WORLDLY THINKING OUT of our minds! Ephesians 4:17-24, Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:12, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6

A steady INTAKE of the Word is essential to sanctifying your mind and your thoughts. Hebrews 4:12

Paul was coming to the end of his earthly ministry and his life; he was teaching the saints at Philippi what he had LEARNED from Christ.

You and I are coming to the end of 2022…. Even though we are STILL LEARNING, and we must continue to LEARN CHRIST…. What have “YOU LEARNED” from Christ this past year? How has YOUR THINKING CHANGED so that NOW, outwardly, your words, opinions, your actions and reactions, and your overall behavior as become more Christlike?

WHO’S YOKE ARE YOU UNDER? Who’s training you? Christ? Or the world and Hollywood? Matthew 11:29

Philippians 4:9: DO THOSE THINGS that you’ve learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me!

What do others receive, hear, see, and LEARN from you? Every one of us are books being read by others, those who know us are reading our lives….as children of God, we should be epistles of Christ, known and read by all who know us!

Ecclesiastes 12:11: “The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from One Shepherd”.