Manuscript - Philippians 4:8 - October 25, 2026
Take your Bibles with me and turn to Philippians 4. We'll be looking at two verses tonight: Philippians 4:8‑9.
I almost always preach in a series, and on Sunday nights I’ve been preaching through the book of Isaiah. We would have been in chapter nine tonight, but every now and then I feel like we need to take a break from that and speak about a specific subject or a specific passage of Scripture that the Lord has laid on my heart.
What I’m going to be doing over the next several months is occasionally taking a break from Isaiah. It’s a long book, and there are verses that are good passages to have in your heart—good passages to meditate on, passages that will help you be a better Christian and get through the storms of this life.
One of the passages that the Lord laid on my heart first is this one.
Let's read it:
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4:8-9
When I was a teenager, I had a great youth pastor named Mark Carpenter. He’s actually come and visited our church before, and he had us sing Scripture songs in youth group. One of the songs we sang was Philippians 4:8‑9.
I still remember it. I might sing it for you. It goes like this:
🎶Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true and honest, whatsoever things are just and pure, whatsoever things are lovely and of a good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things, think upon these things—those things that you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me. Do it, and the God of peace shall be with you.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true and honest, whatsoever things are just and pure, whatsoever things are lovely and of a good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things, think upon these things. 🎶
Has anybody ever heard that version of that Scripture song before? Show of hands.
Man, I remember I used to think this song was dumb. I didn't even understand what it was saying, but now I have these verses memorized. I mean, those are in there.
They're never leaving, and as we're going to find out tonight, this is a very, very helpful passage to think about.
The larger context here is that there was a problem—disunity between two women in this church at Philippi. One was named Euodias, and the other was Syntyche. You can see that in verse 2:
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. Philippians 4:2
Paul starts by telling these ladies that they need to get along, and then he just starts talking about having a mind that is a godly mind, having the mind of the Lord.
You could go through this chapter and Paul talks about having a unified mind (2), having a helpful, others-focused mind (3), having a rejoicing mind (4), having a mind that is known for gentleness and patience (5) and having a mind that isn't overrun with worry (6).
And Paul notes that when you have your mind right - that is the key to having the peace of God. Look at verse number seven, and then look at verse number nine.
Notice Paul says "and the peace of God will keep you" then "and the God of peace will be with you."
Now with that in mind, as we think through these two verses—verses 8 and 9—notice the phrase “think on these things.” Verse 8 is all about what we should be thinking about, what we should be putting in our brain and letting roll around in there.
This is of utmost importance. This cannot be overstated. The most important thing about you is what you do between your ears.
Let me give you four points tonight, and they're all applications.
Okay, we'll explain the verses as we go through these, but these are all applications of this truth: four thoughts on our thoughts.
The first thought is...
1. God cares what you think about.
Do you know that God can see your thoughts? God knows what you're thinking about. God knows about what happens in the inner recesses of your heart.
I don't know what you're thinking about. You know, sometimes I might look out across the congregation and think, “That person is really into the message today.”
In reality, you might be thinking about your favorite pizza or your next vacation. Or you might be thinking about how badly I am messing up the sermon.
I can't read your mind, but God can.
Hebrews 4:13 says:
13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4:13
David prayed in Psalm 139:
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24
There are several times in the Gospels when Jesus was doing something, and He knew what people were thinking about Him and He called out their thoughts before they ever put them into words.
God knows what you're thinking. What a scary thought. If we let ourselves dwell in lustful thoughts, God knows that. If we let ourselves think discontented thoughts, God knows that.
He can see right through the façade—right through what everyone else sees to what is really going on inside our heart and mind. And that is what is important to God.
So that's the first point—simple. God cares what you think about. It matters what you think about.
That's why Paul said in these verses, think about good things. Think about things that are true—100 % true - not rumors. Not speculation. Think about things that are honorable. Think about things that are right. Think about things that are morally pure.
Don't fill your mind with junk. Think about good things.
A second point of application here is...
2. Most of the battle of the Christian life happens in our thoughts.
I think the Bible is pretty clear about this. This has both a negative and a positive aspect.
Let's start with the negative....
Before you ever sin with your body, you sin with your mind.
Before you ever reach out in anger and strike somebody, you allow yourself to think hurtful thoughts toward that person.
Before you ever reach out in lust and commit adultery or fornication, you've lost that battle in your brain, in your mind.
Before you ever steal, you've lost the battle with discontentment and covetousness.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, do not even think about it. The thoughts you entertain are counted as adultery to God.”
He also said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ But I say to you, do not even utter angry words. Those are counted as murder with God.”
In Matthew 15, Jesus was kind of chastised by the Pharisees because he and his disciples were eating with unwashed hands. They didn’t wash their hands, and the Pharisees believed that what comes outside of us defiles us. Jesus corrected them. Listen to what He said.
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man. Matthew 15:17-20
Our sin starts in our mind. It starts in our heart.
The best way to get victory over sin isn't to fight big battles with our flesh, but to not lose the heart battles that lead to sins of the flesh.
Another way to say that is if you win the heart battle, if you win the thoughts battle, then you’ll win the practice battle.
If you just reform your actions and you don't reform your thoughts, then God's not going to count that.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7
So that's the negative aspect here...but there is also a positive aspect.
Romans 12:1-2 says:
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2
What does God want to do? God wants to renew your mind. He wants to reform what's happening up here.
Ephesians 4:23 commands us, “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
If you're going to be a successful Christian, 99 % of that happens in your mind.
What happens in your mind will eventually turn into good works.
But if you're not winning the mind battle, if you're not being renewed in the spirit of your mind, if you're not being transformed in your mind so that it echoes the will of God, then you're not going to be growing as a Christian.
So God cares what you think about and most of the battle of the Christian life happens in our thoughts.
Let me give you a third application point...
3. We should have very high standards for what we think about.
That is what Paul is doing here in this verse. Philippians 4:8 is laying out standards for what we let ourselves think about.
We should think about things that are truthful—true.
Those are things that are just true. There are no lies in it. No half‑truths. No innuendos. No guesses. It’s just true.
Then it says, “whatever things are honest.” That word “honest” is the Greek word semnos, which means “worthy of respect.” It is a respectable thing.
The things you’re thinking of are one‑hundred percent true, and they are respectable.
Would you want your thoughts to be broadcast before the whole church? Would you be ashamed of that?
Then it says, “whatsoever things are just" - That's just talking about things that are right.
The thoughts you allow yourself to think—are they righteous thoughts? Are they thoughts that God would approve of? Are they righteous toward other people?
Then it says things that are pure. This is talking about things that are morally clean, and there's just so much filth in our world. All of us are guilty of this.
We live in a world where there's constant input, and so much of that input is dirty, filthy. You can't get on social media without being shown pictures of things you probably shouldn't see. You can't turn on the news without hearing things you probably shouldn't hear—everywhere, all the time. We cannot allow ourselves to think about, or have our minds captured by, filthy things.
Let me give you an honest confession here. This might make some of you mad or disappointed in me. You couldn't be more disappointed than I am. But I really like to read spy novels—novels about people who work at the CIA or army men, just typical dad stuff. Yeah, the kind of books that they sell at Walmart. They're not Christian books.
I was reading one of those books the other day. Noah came and sat down next to me, kinda snuggled up, and he asked, “Are you reading your Bible?”
He started looking over my shoulder, and his eyes got big. I was convicted, because that's probably not pure.
The movies you watch? Are they pure? The music you listen to? Is it pure? The magazines you read? Are they pure?
Then it says, “whatsoever things are lovely.” That word lovely means pleasing; it means beautiful. God has filled this world with wonderful, beautiful things for us to think about, and we should think about those things and allow them to move us to praise the Lord more.
Then he says, “Things that are of good report are commendable—things spoken highly of by people of good report.”
These are the standards we should have for what we let ourselves think about.
Can I tell you, I am a little bit saddened by the amount of junk that I’m seeing young people attach themselves to and give their minds over to.
On social media, I just see all kinds of anti‑Semitism and racism and conspiracy theories—just ugliness that is more and more getting accepted by young men and by Christian men.
Guys are getting black‑pilled and they're going to a dark place.
I also see all kinds of horrible things that young women are thinking about. There was a podcast episode— a wicked podcast called Call Her Daddy— just raunchy stuff. But I saw a clip that was posted by a Hollywood star, and she was basically telling young women that if you think you can do better than your husband, you’re right.
And you need to get out of there and live your life. In 2006, a book came out called Eat Pray Love, and the idea behind the book was that you can live your life better if you get out of the bonds of your marriage and just go find yourself.
In her later memoir, she describes a destructive relationship marked by her partner’s drug addiction, her own codependency, and her thoughts of killing her partner.
But women ate that stuff up. That book was a bestseller, and then it became a movie starring Julia Roberts.
There's all kinds of true‑crime podcasts that, for some reason, women are just addicted to. It's not good for you. It's not good to go to those dark places and think about those things. Those kinds of things engender discontent, worry, and fear—the things we're commanded not to do.
Church, we should have very high standards for what we think about. Our thoughts are where the battle of the Christian life happens, and God cares about what we think.
What would happen if I went to Brother Ernie’s grease trap at Burger King and filled up a jerry can full of that nasty sludge of used French fry oil, with all the particles and junk in it? And then I put that in the gas tank of your new car.
What do you think would happen? Do you think that would be good for your car or bad for your car?
We understand this principle when it comes to cars, but what about our minds? We should have high standards for what we think about.
One more point, and I'm done.
4. We should emulate people who control their mind and thoughts.
Paul makes this point in verse number nine.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4:9
Paul is living a life that is pure enough, thinking thoughts that are pure enough, that he can turn to the people and say, “Emulate what I’m doing.” If it's coming from me, then it's safe.
Church, it matters who our heroes are. It matters who we emulate, who we follow. Find people who are godly and who are winning the battles of the mind, and do what they do.
Talk to them about it. The God of peace will be with you.
Don't you want to have peace? I want to have peace—the peace of God that passes all understanding.
Let me close tonight with one more verse. This one's from Isaiah, where we would have been tonight. Isaiah 26:3 says this.
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3
It's not just Paul. It's not just the New Testament. The key to being kept in perfect peace is having your mind in the right place.
Church, it matters what you think about. God cares what you think about, and most of the battles in the Christian life are mind battles. So we should be careful and have high standards for what we think about.
And we should seek to be influenced by and emulate people who demonstrate control over their heart, mind, and thoughts. That's the message tonight.
