Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Pursuing God's "Whatever" | Chelsea Haynes | Philippians 4:8

Episode Date: October 21, 2021

What do you think about throughout the day? https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204%3A8&version=NIV (Philippians 4:8) provides a list of "whatevers" that help our thoughts stay focused on God. In today's episode, https://twitter.com/intent/follow?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Ffox2now.com&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Ebuttonembed%7Ctwterm%5Efollow%7Ctwgr%5Echelseeeaolivia&screen_name=chelseeeaolivia (Chelsea Haynes), TV Host at FOX 2 in St. Louis, walks through each item on that list and explains how https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204%3A8&version=NIV (Philippians 4:8) helps her stay connected with God. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (website) and follow us on https://www.facebook.com/TenMinuteBibleTalks (Facebook), https://www.instagram.com/thecrossingcomo/ (Instagram), and https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast (Twitter) @TheCrossingCOMO and @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TenMinuteBibleTalks (https://www.facebook.com/TenMinuteBibleTalks) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecrossingcomo/ (https://www.instagram.com/thecrossingcomo/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast (https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast) Passages https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204%3A8&version=NIV (Philippians 4:8) Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. And I'm Patrick Miller. Today you get to hear from a friend of mine named Chelsea Haynes. Chelsea hosts a lifestyle television show on Fox 2 in St. Louis. She's fun. She's smart.

Here's Chelsea. When Pastor Keith asked me to do a podcast, I was ecstatic. I raced through some of my favorite verses. and while this next one isn't my absolute favorite, it is one of my favorites that I've been able to put into practice over the last couple of years. And when I was a little girl, I had this sign in my room. And I always thought it was because my parents thought I had an attitude.

I was a sassy little girl back in the day. It was a bright lime green sign with a neon colored, sparkly pom-poms all around the perimeter, and in thick black cursive letters, it said, it's whatever. I would see it every single morning growing up, brushing my teeth, washing my face, cleaning the bathroom. And then one day I looked up and I saw it in really small letters, Philippians chapter 4, verse 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 of such things. And I've made this the model of my life, really. While culture encourages us to have a whatever attitude about life, so does God. He wants whatever is true and right and noble and pure and lovely and admirable and praiseworthy. But what does all this mean? Well, the truth really begins. answer to Jesus. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the light. Jesus' life is truth. It's the basis of our salvation and the building blocks upon the gospel that we believe today. It's through the truth of Jesus

and his sacrificial death that we unlock the opportunity to pursue 100% freedom in him. It's also what's right. righteousness in its simplicity is being in according with the divine law. It's the gift that we receive from God because we can't be right without the Trinity who created and embodies this standard. It's about living to seek God in his righteousness, receiving the gift from him as part of believing in his truth, which is the first part of this scripture? Truth and righteousness go hand in hand. It's whatever is true, whatever is right, and then comes whatever is noble. Noble means great, elevated, dignified, exalted. This part of scripture can be a hard pill to swallow, but it's a gentle reminder that

we as Christians are called out. We're called out to be different. We're called out to be anointed. We're called out to be peculiar people. The journey on the road as a Christian isn't easy. but God never promised that it would be. But he does expect you to walk with a different kind of swag, knowing that you are magnificent and distinguished from the GP.

That's the general public in case you didn't know. Note that I didn't say be haughty or braggadocious, but walk like you know that you're a part of God's kingdom, that you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, because you are. That's what God called you to be and he wants you to act as nobility as part of his kingdom.

This verse also challenges us to be pure, meaning that we're made up of just one substance and not mixed with anything else. It's how God doesn't want us to be 74% God all the time and then the other 26% lost in the world. God wants us to have eyes for only him. Because when we have eyes for him, it infects everything else that we touch. Our workplace, our jobs, our finances. Purity in the Bible signifies being holy or perfect

or free of any blemish. And while we're all sinners, the only purely perfect person is Jesus. This doesn't mean that we can't set our eyes on the things that aren't holy or live out a life or sin influences our choices. God wants us to seek purity even despite of our sinful nature. This is the purity that Paul speaks of in Philippians chapter 4, verse 8. The verse then goes on to call us to pursue whatever is lovely. Lovely in the few instances it's used in the Bible commands that it's desirable and lovable and pleasant. This one can kind of stand on its own. We all know those people that can be difficult to love. And 99% of the time, it's because they aren't spending time in the word, allowing God's word to penetrate their heart.

We'll defer to 1st Corinthians chapter 13 on this one. But we know the difference between honey and the difference between licorice. Act like honey, not like licorice. Be that sweet spot in someone's life. not the bitter thing that they encounter. And if you like Black Lickrish, I'm very sorry that I just offended you. The verse continues to encourage the people at the Church of Philippi to pursue whatever is admirable. Admirability is something that deserves the highest esteem.

We worship the God of the Most High. So why would we not offer him and display to others? anything less than our very best because we achieve our best when we work with the best to pursue the best in ourselves and in the world. I can't be my high self without the most high. Hence, anything admirable that I have or that other see comes from him because without him there is no admirability. It's just me bragging in my accomplishments, the accomplishments that he has given me. seek the most high and remember that our admirable qualities come from him. And last, but certainly not least, this scripture calls us to pursue whatever is praiseworthy.

It's worthy of praise and glory. And the only things worthy of praise and glory are the attributes of God and the things that we do as humans that embody those attributes. It's the love and the joy and the peace, the patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, the fruits of the spirit that God sees in our lives that he says, yes, that deserves praise because my children are trying to be in my image. It's the truth and the purity, the admirability, the loveliness, the righteousness that we are pursuing in our day-to-day lives that God gives the thumbs up on. on. He wants us to renew our mind with his whatever. He wants us to get in his word and see whatever is all up in it and apply it to our lives every single day, every hour, every minute. It's in pursuing God's whatever for your life that you fall in line with his purpose for your life, which ultimately is to bring him glory in everything that we do. While we can never reach perfection,

we can't present our hearts to God and hand it over to him with the godly things that fit the bill. So I have a few questions for you. Do you treat your coworkers with truth or the grocery store clerk with righteousness? Do you yourself walk in nobility like the daughter of the son of the most high that you are? Is your mind clean with pure and holy thoughts? Do you treat your children like they're lovely or your children, spouse in a manner that's admirable? Is everything that you do praiseworthy? Does it make God smile and say, yeah, she pursued my whatever in her life for today? Or he pursued my whatever in his life for today.

And no, we're not perfect, but we do serve a perfect God. And even when we miss the mark, God sees that our heart was in a genuine place while pursuing his whatever. And when it's not, that's when the Holy Spirit comes in with conviction. And to button up this entire verse, Paul tells his audience, 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. Paul hints at the fact that when you pursue God and his whatever, even when you miss the mark, his peace will be with you.

So I leave you all with one question. Is there a lack of peace in your life? If yes, is it because you failed to pursue God's whatever? Remember when I told you that this wasn't my all-time favorite verse, but it's been a favorite because I've had to meditate and put my heart on it? This is why. It's about dying to my flesh in areas that I know I need to work on and pursue God's whatever in. I'm not perfect by any means, but I know an attitude of God's whatever. and when I chase these things that make him look down on me and smile,

that's what this thing called life is about. That little green sign in my bathroom from when I was a little girl is something that's imprinted on my heart forever. It's whatever. It's God's whatever for my life. And I'm excited to have the honor and privilege of pursuing his whatever for my life. each and every single day. Thanks for listening.

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