Philippians 4:7-8 (NKJV) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
The Bible says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7a). Therefore we are a product of our thought life. Our words and behaviour are expressions of our thought life. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak (Matthew 12:34), so we will speak about hopelessness when we are worried, stressed, or pressed down by a circumstance, and if we don’t refocus from the predominant thought on hopelessness, where we don’t see any possibility of a breakthrough in the situation, we will slip into depression.
Issues in life can be overwhelming, and dealing with multiple challenges simultaneously can put us under extreme stress, leading to panic attacks. Being overwhelmed with fear, anxiety, and hopelessness might even immobilise us.
We can only think of one thing at a time. Therefore, we can either think of things that lift us up or things that press us down into depression. Many things that go through our minds can steal our peace. For instance, much stress can be avoided if we stop trying to live up to everyone’s expectations, including our expectations of ourselves, especially if they are unrealistic.
The opening passagelists the eight items (true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtue, and praiseworthy) that we are to meditate on to replace the negative predominant thoughts that steal our joy and peace. God asks us to meditate on the truth and keep our eyes on Him so we can keep the peace.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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.
Besides meditating on the truth, we also need to demolish the strongholds in our minds, cast down every argument and high thing that exalts itself, and take every thought captive. If we read the above Scripture bottom up, it tells us that a stronghold always starts with a thought, which develops into an argument or imagination that goes against what God says, and finally a stronghold.
The Greek word for “guard’ in the opening passage is a military term that means to surround and protect a garrison or a city. Therefore, we need to aggressively guard our thought life against anything that causes us to spiral into depression. God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus when we are thinking of His Word, especially His promises.
Sermon Series: Up! Cell Group Campaign (Part 2)
积极守护你的思想生活
腓立比书 4:7-8 神所赐、出人意外的平安必在基督耶稣里保守你们的心怀意念。弟兄们，我还有未尽的话：凡是真实的、可敬的、公义的、清洁的、可爱的、有美名的，若有什么德行，若有什么称赞，这些事你们都要思念。
圣经说一个人的心怎样思量，他为人就是怎样(箴言23:7a)。因此，我们是思想生活的产物。我们的言语和行为是我们思想生活的表现。心里所充满的，口里就说出来(马太福音12:34)，所以当我们担心、有压力或被环境压垮时，我们就会说出绝望的话，如果我们不把注意力从绝望的主导思想移开重新对焦，我们将看不到任何突破的可能性，继而陷入抑郁。
生活中的问题可能是压倒性的，同时处理多个挑战会让我们处于极端的压力之下，导致恐慌发作。被恐惧、焦虑和绝望所压倒，甚至可能使我们动弹不得。
我们一次只能想一件事。因此，我们要么思想让我们振奋的事情，要么思想令我们沮丧的事情。我们脑海中浮现的许多事情会偷走我们的平静。例如，如果我们不再试图满足他人的期望，包括我们对自己的期望，尤其当这些期望是不现实的，就能避免很多压力。
开篇经文列出了八项(真实、可敬、公义、清洁、可爱、有美名、德行和值得称赞)，我们要思念这些，以取代那些偷走我们的喜乐和平安的消极主导思想。神要我们默想真理，仰望他，这样我们就能保持平静。
哥林多后书 10:3-5 因为我们虽然在血气中行事，却不凭着血气争战。 我们争战的兵器本不是属血气的，乃是在 神面前有能力，可以攻破坚固的营垒， 将各样的计谋，各样拦阻人认识神的那些自高之事，一概攻破了，又将人所有的心意夺回，使他都顺服基督。
我们不但要默想真理，也要拆毁自己思想中的营垒，抛下一切争论和妄自尊，将所有的心意夺回。如果我们自下而上地读这段经文，它告诉我们，营垒总是始于一个意念，这个意念继而发展成为一场反对上帝所言的争论或想象，至终成为一个营垒。
开篇段落中的希腊语“守卫”是一个军事术语，意思是包围和保护驻军或城市。因此，我们需要积极地守护我们的思想生活，防止任何导致我们陷入抑郁的事情。当我们思想祂的话语，特别是祂的应许时，神的平安会在基督耶稣里保守我们的心思意念。
讲章系列：天天向上! 细胞小组运动（第二部分）
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