Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
I am convinced that this pair of sentences in Philippians 4 is one of the most helpful couplets for getting control of our minds. No matter where we live in the world today, we have many difficult things upon which we can focus. Our thoughts get dragged down, away from God. We find ourselves pondering evil and its effects in each of our cultures.
Just recall with me (but don’t dwell on these things!) how often we hear of murder, of starvation, of cheating, of corruption. We get a heavy dose of bad news as we simply go about our daily routines. Day after day, death, disease, danger, and distress all gnaw away at our hearts and our hopes. Until finally, these are the only things that occupy our thoughts.
In these few words which we find in one of his letters, Paul gives us a mind-full of things that can occupy us each day. God knows that evil stalks us. God knows we are caught up in the powerful sway of that which wants to destroy our peace. So God inspired the Apostle Paul to give us better things to ponder, to occupy our thoughts. He gives us instructions here because this is not what we find ourselves pursuing on our own.
Think on These Things – Changing Your Thought Patterns to Change Your Life
Think on these things: whatever is true. Do not give any credence to the lies we hear every day. Be done with shading the truth ourselves. Give the true things in life a chance to pervade our thought processes. This takes some effort. This takes a commitment to following God’s call to our minds. But the truth, says, Jesus will set you free!
Think on these things: whatever is noble. The word noble is one which refers to things which are worthy of our honor. In our world, no matter where we live, we discover that to be honorable and noble is to be considered strange. It is out of step with how life is. We are encouraged to go along to get along. Soon we find ourselves walking in places we should not go, speaking things we do not want to say, and doing things of which we are ashamed. God calls us to be thinking about honorable things. Then we will not be enamored of the sickly things that are all too common in our lives.
Think on these things: whatever is right. The pain of loss, the burden of work which dehumanizes us, the corruption of those who are supposed to work for our good, and the suffering that comes from fighting against that which is wrong all turn us into cynical people. Our thoughts become filled with the knowledge of evil and not of good. So, God calls us to get focused on the things that are right. In each of our lives, we can find something that is right. God says, ponder that. Ponder the good. Block out the wrong but fill your mind with the right.
Think on these things: whatever is pure. In our world today there seems to be nothing sacred anymore. Recently on American television a man many like to listen to went on a rant in which he declared that God was actually an evil being. And he cursed the idea of God. The Word of God calls us to not give the man a second thought. Instead let us focus on what is sacred and pure. We will never overcome evil by countering it with hatred and spite. But we can overcome evil with good. The only way for our minds to be prepared for such a battle is for us to ponder the pure and sacred things of God.
Think on these things: whatever is lovely. Our eyes are drawn to the ugly side of life. We see the wasted lives, the sadness in a grieving parent’s eyes, the hopelessness of those with no work, the hollow look of those addicted to a drug or to some other substance. God calls us to find something lovely to focus our eyes on. Find a tree and ponder it. A bush with a blossom bringing splash of color to your waiting eyes. A baby with fresh young skin that has not yet lost its tender luster in life. Look at and ponder these things says God. Let these lovely visions remind you of the creation God made before humanity corrupted it. Let your mind gain fresh hope from seeing a glimpse of God’s creative handiwork which draws you toward him every day.
Think on these things: whatever is admirable. The world is filled with the glory of God if we just stop to ponder the power of the creator who made the sun which blazes in the sky and gives energy to the earth. The earth is filled with the glory of God who has made us all with such a delicate balance in our very cellular structure that we can actually live! The sky is filled with the glory of God who made the moon and placed it in orbit around the earth. The earth is filled with the glory of God who gave us feelings to express, the words to do so, the love to bind us together, and the joy which radiates from one person to the next.
If anything is anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things. Why? Because when we do, the peace of God will fill us. The peace of God will calm our worried souls. The peace of God that no one can understand will guard us when the times are terrible, when the pressures of life are unbearable, when the hope feels like it has drained away, then God will fill us with his hope, his love, his faith.
Acts 16:6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
The call of the Lord that came in a dream to Paul one night was memorialized in this large stirring mosaic in Varia. The people of what was ancient Berea have built this in memory of the one who obeyed the call of God to bring the gospel to their ancestors. This mosaic pictures a man in Greek clothing calling Paul to come over here to help us.
As we read the opening verses of Acts 16, we find Paul and his companion Silas, together with others who joined them in the ministry, seeking the Lord’s guidance as to where they were to go. Who was on God’s heart? Who was the Lord longing to see come into his Kingdom? Where did they live? I can imagine Paul and his companions asking that question again and again as they encounter various problems which they see as the hand of God holding them back from certain areas of the Roman world. So they finally come to a town called Troas.
Here it seems Paul may have gotten sick since the doctor named Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, joins up with the traveling group. But one night, Paul sees a vision. A man of Macedonia is begging him to come over to his land to help. Immediately they set sail for the region we call Greece today.
So often in our lives we just know what God wants and we don’t wait upon his direction. We pursue our ways and our thoughts. But God is the one who is in charge of the world. He’s even in charge of our lives. Our plans must always be laid before the Lord to seek his will. In fact, it’s best to seek his will before we make our plans. Has your life been open to God’s plans or do you run ahead of him on your own?
Calling is the Only Currency Required to Receive Training
At Christian Leaders Institute we are providing the sort of training that makes possible the response to God’s clear call that we so often ignore. I heard people say to me many times that God was in need of people like me to serve his Kingdom. Over the years I have come to realize that was not accurate at all. First of all, God does not need people to accomplish his great work of salvation. But, on the other hand, God has chosen to call people to be his servants in the work of the gospel. The second fallacy is that God does not need people like me. Rather, the truth is that God needs me. As long as I believe that God needs people LIKE me, I can tell myself that God is calling someone else. “Here I am Lord, send George, he’s a lot like me!” No, God needs you and he needs me to accomplish his work in our world today.
Paul knew that God had called him to be his servant in the spreading of the Good News of Jesus. He did not try to escape the call, he simply obeyed the call. That is what we at CLI are affirming. In many lives all over the face of the earth today, people are hearing God’s call to them, not to people like them. We provide the training they need to be the best person they can be as a servant of the Most High God.
You may have seen roadblocks to being used of God just as Paul and his companions did. But then God gave them an open door for ministry. Here at Christian Leaders Institute we see thousands of people who are called by God to ministry but who do not have the funds needed for a traditional Bible School training. Our President, Henry Reyenga, is fond of saying, “The currency we accept here at CLI is your calling.” When God calls you, we come alongside and provide you with the tools needed to be equipped to bear witness for Jesus in your community. Do you hear the lost in your community calling for you to help them? Like Paul, you can know that by means of those lost people, God is calling you to serve. That is a privilege you can give your life for!
Elisha Masiku is a man called by God, but without the free training offered by CLI he would have been unable to pursue his calling further than his local church. Here is his testimony.
I became the beloved of Christ empowered to God’s sonship when I was 13 years of age. Indeed I should indicate that I do not have much to testify about how I got saved at that age. I only remember that the one who adopted me loved God very much. In fact he is the pastor of Peace ministries Church of God, who could not resist preaching the word of God to me. I accepted right away the anointed word of Christ. I want to follow the example of this pastor in a sense of becoming a pastor too with several college papered work experience as of Christian Institute.
Wonderfully at present as the one of the leaders at my Church do feels good to be a well trained member of Christ’s family with your CLI mentorship so that my fellow leaders and I can successfully lead people with conflict free leadership compared as it has been before. And as the pastor’s backup in my Church i am so grateful seeing that what I have obtained from the getting started course has already started bearing fruits to the work of God. Generally the Church has been so supportive of my ministry considering how they (people) and God have trusted me for this period of more than thirteen years of experience. I am also thankful to my family from grandparents through all family members for their support for me. I am thankful that I can have the great opportunity of studying with CLI. I truly thank God for this: especially for my mother who is alive by now and not forgetting those that died.
The scholarship is so important for me because it will help me understand how I can reach people who have been called by God.
I pray you that you should pray for me to have enough financial support so that God’s work can reach the remotest area of Malawi, which I am from, as well as other places hardly reached; which I pray shall be reached by those that I have reached with this God’s truth. Amen.