River of Life Church
Pastor Greg Temke
Sunday, October 4, 2026
www.rolfamily.com
The Book of Philippians
“THINKING – LEARNING -GROWING”
Text: Philippians 4:8-9
- You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.
Proverbs 23:7 (AMP) – “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates].”
Sow a thought – Reap and act. Sow an act -Reap a habit. Sow a habit. – Reap a character.
Sow a character – Reap a destiny!
Proverbs 4:23-27 – “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established. 27 Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.”
1. DISCIPLINED THINKING. Vs. 8
“Virtue” = [that which is excellent] as opposed to that which is cheap.
“Praise” =speaks of that which is praiseworthy.
Good/God Ways to Judge
I Thessalonians 5:21, “Test all things hold fast to what is good.”
I John 4:1, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
(1) Is what I am thinking about marked by excellence or cheap and not worth thinking about?
(2) Is what I am thinking about praiseworthy, or condemnatory?
(3) Is what I am thinking about something that is positive and beneficial to myself, others and God?
A Godly Thought Life
Genesis 6:5-“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
- The word “think” = [careful reflection, thinking in the sense to calculate] It is to think logically and carefully. It is translated account, reckon, reason and conclude.
- It is to turn our thoughts into actions, our sentiments into commitments, and our words into deeds.
2 Corinthians 10:5 – “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
Guarding our Personal Thought Life.
Isaiah 26:3- “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Romans 8:6, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
- Think on things that are “true.” = Devoid of innuendo, gossip, lying and slander.
- Think on things that are “honest” =Devoid of de caption, fraud or scheme.
- Think on things that “just” = Devoid of Bias, prejudice or corruption.
- Think of things that are “pure” = Devoid of contamination, pollution, and tainted.
- Think on things that are ““ =Devoid of indifference, apathy and passion.
- Think on a “good report” = Devoid of negativity, ridicule, and mocking.
- Think on “virtue” = Devoid of immorality, wickedness and sensuality.
2. DISCIPLINED LEARNING. Vs. 9
Acts 17:11 – “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Psalm 119:18, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”
Receiving and Appropriating Truth
- It is one thing for you to get in the Bible and another thing for the Bible to get in you.
- One can learn truth without appropriating truth.
Proverbs 18:15, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
Proverbs 9:9: “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning”
James 1:21, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Hebrews 5:12-14, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
The Requirement of Obedience
James 1:22, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.”
When a person hears truth, learns truth, receives truth, and sees truth, then one is to “DO” that truth.