Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
What are you letting your mind dwell upon?
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Demonstrative pronoun tauta – tau’ta + pres-mid-imp – logizesthe – logivzesqe.
Logizonai = thinking in the sense of calculation, evaluation, estimation; in this passage, to concentrate.
Customary present tense = denotes what habitually occurs, or the custom of the mature believer who has great capacity for life and who fulfills these principles of thinking the way verse 8 describes.
Middle voice = permissive middle; it represents the agent, the mature believer who is serious about his relationship with God, as voluntarily yielding himself to the results of the action, or seeking to secure the results of the action in his own interest.
Whatever is true [doctrinal],
whatever is honorable [noble or worthy of respect],
whatever is just [fair or right],
whatever is pure [of proper motivation],
whatever personal loves exist,
whatever is commendable,
Imperative mood – imperative of permission which expresses a desire of the one who is the recipient of the command, he desires to think this way as much as God desires it.
MAT 6:21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
“On these things” – accusative neuter plural – demonstrative pronoun – tauta – tauta = emphasizes the categories in the context = “these things” or “these categories,” vs. 8.
PHI 4:8 From now on, members of the Royal Family of God, whatever is true [doctrinal], whatever is honorable[noble or worthy of respect], whatever is just [fair or right], whatever is pure [of proper motivation] whatever personal loves exist, whatever is commendable, if there is any virtue [there is for the mature believer – first class condition] and if anything worthy of praise [there is for the mature believer – first class condition], be concentrating on these things.
The mature believer is not left without objects of expression to concentrate upon.
Even though this is the Devil’s world, 2CO 4:4, Jesus Christ still controls human history, HEB 1:3.
You are what you think. What do you concentrate on – whatever is true or doctrinal or that which is erroneous and false?
Whatever is honorable [noble or worthy of respect], or that which is dishonorable and not worthy of respect?
Whatever is just [fair or right], or the things that are unjust, prejudiced, or wrong?
Whatever is pure [of proper motivation] or whatever is deceitful?
Whatever areas where personal loves exist or whatever areas where personal lusts exist?
Whatever is commendable or whatever is undeserving of concentrating upon?
You would do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Your mental attitude is what you think at any given time.
PSA 23:3 “He restores my soul;”
PSA 19:7 The doctrine of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The life of every believer is determined experientially by two principles: what he thinks and what he decides.
Divine viewpoint mental attitude is part of the greatest delegation of divine power in human history.
Whether it is the lusts of the have-not’s or the dissatisfaction of those who have, there is a general unrest today which reflects one very important fact – believers in TLJC have failed in the dynamics of the divine viewpoint of life.
MIC 4:12 “But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord, And they do not understand His purpose;”
ROM 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
Satan has so many distractions today to deaden thinking so that born again believers become mindless imbeciles, struggling through life looking for some emotional experience to pull them through.
God has delegated to every Church-age believer all of the power to handle any problems or difficulties in this life.
The born again believer should be an alert thinking individual, not a mindless, emotional, irrational, yapping, rolling, screaming imbecile.
You should be on the alert to those distractions designed by Satan and the kingdom of darkness to lure you away from the PPOG, from your personal sense of destiny and from receiving what you have been elected to receive.
LUK 12:37 “Blessed are those slaves whom the master shall find on the alert when he comes;”
ACT 20:31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”
1CO 16:13 Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
COL 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;
1TH 5:6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.
1PE 5:8 Be of sound mind, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
People can hide their thoughts and become masterful at the practice of hypocrisy.
PRO 23:7 “For as a person thinks within himself [nephesh – soul], so he is.”
Concentration is a matter of your priorities in life.
Concentration is a matter of your priorities in life.
PHI 4:8 whatever is true [doctrinal], whatever is honorable [noble or worthy of respect], whatever is just [fair or right], whatever is pure [of proper motivation] whatever personal loves exist, whatever is commendable, be concentrating on these things.
1CO 2:16 “For who has known the thinking of the Lord that he should instruct Him, but we have the mind of Christ [the mystery doctrine of the Church-age].”
The delegation of divine power to every Church-age believer is Bible doctrine metabolized and deployed and ready to use in your soul.