Judge Not

Good afternoon. It's good to see all of you. Welcome to those of you visiting with us today on this rather warm July 2nd. But it is good to see all of you. When I was a kid growing up on a farm in southern Indiana, near a little town called Williams, Indiana, we had a herd of milk cows that my dad raised.

And I can remember going out in the barnyard around dusk when it was just getting dark. And I can remember seeing the cows laying around in the barnyard chewing their cuds, relaxed, all of them lying down just about dark. And I remember we had one cow that was the designated leader of the herd. Her name was Daisy Mae. She probably named her after the little Abner character.

But Daisy Mae was the leader of the herd, and she had a cow bell on her so that we could find the herd. It was a small herd. It was probably 10 cows. But that qualifies as a herd, I think. But if we needed to find them, they didn't necessarily always come up to be milked. And so we had to go out in the pasture to find them, and they had a bell on them. We could locate her. So when they were chewing the cuds there in the barnyard, you could hear this bell jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle, just ringing as she was chewing her cud.

And I always thought that was a picture of satisfaction or contentment that these cows had. They were contented, laying there, just chewing their cuds. And as a kid, I had a pet cow. Her name was Tootsie. And she was a black Angus, and she was so tame that I could sit on her back when she was laying down. I would go out and sit on this cow. And I also had a pet chicken. I don't remember the pet chicken's name, but I could take this pet chicken and I could rub it behind its comb, and this chicken would just go off to sleep.

And so I have a picture at home of—actually, I brought it in just because I knew you wouldn't believe me— of the pet chicken sitting on the back of the pet cow. So I had rubbed that chicken, put it to sleep, and I get to sit it on the cow.

So I don't remember the details, but probably that evening there was probably a whippoorwill whistling in the background. They tend to do that around dusk. To me, that was a picture of contentment, just relaxation and contentment. And the average Amos Stewart back in the 1800s formed a milk company, an American milk company, called Carnation Evaporated Milk. I don't know if you remember. I think they've since been purchased by Nestle, I think. But Carnation Milk had, as a slogan, it came from contented cows. And so, as I was preparing this sermon, I was thinking, how contented are we? Are we contented people? Are we contented Christians? The Apostle Paul stated in 1 Timothy 6, verse 6, that godliness with contentment is great gain.

So, if we can be contented, the Apostle Paul says, that's great gain. So, today, let us consider in the sermon, in the next few minutes, some keys to contentment. The title of this sermon is Keys to Contentment. In order to be contented, we must have trust in God's plan for our lives.

We have to trust that God's plan in our lives, for our lives, is working out as he had planned. The cows chewing their coods had no worries or fears. They'd just been fed some good grass in the pasture, and they were laying there chewing their coods. Notice over in 1 Timothy 6, verse 6, let's look at that scripture, that Paul was instructing Timothy, 1 Timothy 6, and verse 6.

Paul states, as I mentioned, now, Godliness with contentment is great gain. So, Godliness is being Godlike, striving to become, as we all are, striving to become more and more like him. The meaning is that real religion should be regarded as the greatest and the most valuable acquisition that we can have. Then he threw that statement in there with contentment. The word refers to a state of mind. It's a calm, satisfied feeling, a freedom from murmuring and complaining. I mentioned that I heard, it was a contented herd of cattle. But any of you who have lived on a farm, if you live on a farm now, you know that cows are not always contented.

When you're weaning the calf off of the cow and you separate them, those cows can keep you up at night bawling because they are separated from their calf. I remember just constant bawling of cows whenever we would try to wean a calf. So, they're not always contented. The Greek word for contented is interpreted to be sufficiency or self-satisfaction. Notice in verse 7, verse 6 and 7, continuing, He says, You know, you've heard the statement, you haven't seen many of you hauls on the back of a hearse.

And that's what he's saying there. We haven't bring anything in and we're not going to take anything out. And we can have that attitude and it helps us to be contented with what we have. Verse 8, it says, Just be content if we have food and clothing. And we all have that. Be content with what we have. Notice verse 9, So we should monitor what we're willing to do in order to get money, in order to earn money. Verse 10, Paul says, Verse 11, Those are things to pursue in our lives. We should love people more than money. Love God's work more than money. It's a matter of emphasis and priorities that we should work toward getting straight.

Notice dropping down to verse 18 of 1 Timothy 6. It says, So we should freely share what we have with others. So the second point is, Contentment is an attitude that must be learned. We don't come by it naturally. It's an attitude that we must learn. You know, Paul, notice over in Philippians chapter 4 and verse 11.

Philippians 4 verse 11, That's a wonderful lesson. As Paul said, he learned that. He didn't necessarily have that naturally, but he learned that to be content in whatever state he was in. Verse 12, He says, In other words, he knew how to be impoverished and also how to have wealth. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

So at the very outset, Paul indicates that even he has had problems with discontent. He had not always been at complete peace with the world around him, and he had learned contentment. He had not always been fully satisfied with all his circumstances. Notice in 2 Corinthians 11, let's look at some of the things that Paul went through. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 23.

And you can see some situations that he was in that it would be very difficult to be content in.

He says, In the day I have been in the deep, in journeys often in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and in toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

Verse 28.

So Paul went through all of these things. It would be difficult to be content in what he was going through. And he says he had learned to be content. He went from one trouble to another, as we just read there. Paul shares the first real key to contentment. We are told that contentment has to be learned, and we don't come by it naturally. What comes naturally is to be upset by all the problems that we face.

It's not a natural thing to be content in the face of adversity. You know, when we have difficulties, we're going through problems. Our natural tendency is to be upset, to think of all that we're going through and how bad it is and how we may be mistreated. And that's our natural tendency. But Paul learned to be content in his situations that he was going through. One of the great problems today is we want to fruit without the labor. We want to reward without the effort.

You know, that's what we... it takes effort to learn to be content. If you're playing a... I'd like to play a musical instrument, but it takes a lot of effort to play. Like the piano and Amy and others playing the piano and Paul playing the horn. It takes a lot of work to be good at an instrument. And I haven't... I don't play an instrument, but I would like to. I just haven't put forth the effort to learn to do it.

But it takes effort to learn contentment. It takes willingness and effort to achieve anything worthwhile and to learn anything valuable.

We cannot just wish things into existence. I can't just go over to the piano and say, I wish I could play this. It just takes effort to work at it.

The state of our heart and the attitude of our mind must be changed. We must learn to be content even in the midst of the storms and strife of life.

Contentment should be characterized by the concept given to us by Christ of peace in the midst of the storm. Let's turn back to the Gospel of John to see what Christ talked about it, of having that peace even when we're going through trials and storms. John 14, in verse 27.

Christ is speaking. He says, The basic lesson to be learned is that a change in the focus of our hearts and minds will ultimately lead and ultimately result in a change in our system of values and priorities. You know, it just takes effort and it's something that we have to learn.

Notice back a few pages to Matthew 6, in verse 20, Christ gives us some additional information and instruction.

As we live our lives, we'll pick it up in verse 19. Christ says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. So we should have our treasure on God's kingdom, and our heart will be there as well. Paul directed this, and he pointed out that that should be our attitude back in Philippians, again, chapter 2, verse 5, Philippians 2, verse 5, a scripture that we're very familiar with. Paul says, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. So the mind that we read about, that Christ was speaking there, should be in our minds. It's something that we should be developing and having in our minds to be more like him. We should study how Christ treated other people, treated others, and the things that he taught, and through God's Holy Spirit, take on his mind and attitude. Let that be our mind as well.

Notice in Colossians 3, verse 2, Paul gave some further admonition. He says, Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Set our minds on the things above, as Mr. Brocklow was pointing out in the first message. Set our minds on the things above, not on things on the earth.

So how can we find contentment? The answer lies in our perspective, in our priorities, and our source of power.

It has to do with our priorities. As I mentioned, it's not a natural thing for us to be contented. Notice back in Philippians 4, verse 13, Paul states, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We can do all things. Can we really do everything? The power we receive in union with Christ is sufficient to do His will and to face the challenges that arise from our commitment to doing it. We all face challenges in our day-to-day lives. We all do. The Christ, what He's saying there, He will give us the ability to handle all those challenges that we face. He doesn't grant us some superhuman ability to accomplish anything we can imagine without regard to His interests. But as we contend for the faith, we will face troubles, pressures, and trials. As they come, Christ will strengthen us. We should ask Christ and God to give us that strength to handle those situations that we all face. The third point is, contentment is not necessarily dependent upon our surroundings and situations. We can be contented in some difficult situations, as Paul was. He was contented in those situations. He learned contentment. Contentment is not external, but it's internal. It involves a certain detachment from anxiety and worry about the external surroundings and situations. It becomes detached from the external situations that we face. We have internal contentment that we get from Christ. It entails a quiet acceptance of life as it happens. Content Christians find internal strength and sufficiency in Christ, no matter what is happening to and around us. We all face and will face and have faced many difficulties in our lives. Content Christians find internal strength and sufficiency in Christ, no matter what is happening to and around us. Events good or bad are seen as acceptable within the big picture of God's purpose. We have to realize that God's purpose is being worked out and take comfort and confidence in that. Things don't always work out ideally for us. Things happen that we don't always understand. We can take comfort in the Scripture. Let's turn back to Romans 8, once again, a Scripture that we're very familiar with. It's always good to review what Christ tells us. Romans 8, verse 28.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. We can take confidence in that and take comfort in that.

Paul had confidence no matter what God was in charge and would care for him. Sometimes that's difficult for us to accept and to recognize.

But that's a key, one of the keys to contentment. That contentment is not necessarily dependent on our surroundings and situations. It's an internal thing. Back in 2 Timothy 4, verse 18, Paul states, And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever.

So such contentment is obviously based upon a deep faith in the care of God for His people. We should have that deep faith. Hebrews 11, verse 1, the Scripture, in the faith chapter describes what faith is. Hebrews 11, verse 1, Now faith is a substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. So we can't truly have real contentment until we accept everything we cannot yet see clearly as being God's will for our life. And sometimes that's a difficult thing to accept that. But when we do, that gives us contentment. Such acceptance by faith does not necessarily mean that we condone or agree with or even like a particular situation or circumstance. You know, many things happen in our lives that we don't agree with. We don't necessarily condone. But if we accept the fact that that's the way it is, it is what it is. That's why a fellow I used to work with said, it is what it is. And sometimes we can't change some things that are in our lives. So when we accept it, it helps us to be contented with our lives. It does involve an internal conclusion that things are as they are and that God has allowed it to be so. And that should be enough for us. Sometimes we can't change circumstances, but we can change our attitude toward circumstances. And we can't change the circumstances in many cases. But we can change how our attitude is toward... that's in our control.

So the fourth point, contentment requires acceptance of our circumstances.

Contentment requires acceptance of our circumstances.

Notice Colossians 4 in verse 8. Look at Colossians 4, verse 8.

As I am sending you, Paul says, to you for this very purpose, that he may know your circumstances and comfort your hearts.

So he was sending, as it states in verse 7, Ticacas, beloved brother, faithful minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. He was sending him to them to know your circumstances and to comfort your heart.

Paul had given over all his rights and privileges to Christ. Notice Romans 12 in verse 21. Romans 12, verse 21. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. So when we have things happening in our lives, evil happening in our lives, overcome that by doing good in our lives, trying to do good.

We will never be content until we submit our circumstances and situations to Christ. We will never be content until we submit our circumstances and situations to Christ. When things go wrong, we can wear on our emotions. And we make statements like, I didn't choose this. This isn't the time. This isn't fair. It's not coming out the way I wanted or planned. The true commitment or contentment would prompt us to accept God's timing, His purpose, and His outcome for our life. His outcome for our life.

Such submission, as I mentioned, doesn't come naturally. It's counter to our very being.

There are many paradoxes in our Christian life, and this is one of them. In this learning process, we need to remember to take the issues to God and discuss them with Him. As we all have these situations, we always need to remember to take it to God, to discuss it with Him, to pray about it, and to realize He's certainly aware of the situation that we're all in at all times. Our cows, who were chewing their coods in the barnyard, were not in charge, but they were content with their blood and life.

They were content. They were content with their pasture that they grazed on in the day. They were content with the barn that they had that protected them from the adverse weather. They were content with the little pond that they had to drink water out of. They were content.

And how about us? Are we content with our lives?

It's just something that we, as I mentioned, Paul said, we have to learn it. It's not something that's natural for us. Point number five, contentment does not depend upon worldly success or financial security.

Contentment does not depend on worldly success or financial security. Paul was very familiar with worldly matters. He knew what it meant to have plenty that the world associates with success. He also knew what it meant to have the need that the world associates with failure. He had experienced both circumstances. It would be considered failure. It would be considered success. And he knew what it meant to have the need that the world associates with failure. He knew what it meant to feast sumptuously. He also was intimately acquainted with what it meant to be on the verge of starvation.

We've already mentioned that he knew what it meant to be stoned, whipped, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and hunted.

Those terrible conditions that he went through, and he mentioned sleeplessness. Now, if you can't get sleep, that can wear on you emotionally.

But he learned that contentment.

It's clear that in every crisis, contentment was his for the taking by his attitude toward it. Notice his attitude over in Hebrews 13 and verse 5. Hebrews 13.

And verse 5, it says, It says, And we can take comfort in that. It helps in our contentment to realize that God never leaves or forsakes us. So verse 6 says, So that was his attitude. Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man can do to me. So this should be an example for us today, in a world that seems to say that real happiness and contentment can only come through success as the world defines it. That's not what God says, not what the Bible says. John D. Rockefeller has said to have said, when asked the question, How much is enough? How much is enough? And he said, Just a little more. And that's a lot of truth in that. Just a little more. That's what most people think. They never have enough. You know, even the NBA basketball players, the NFL players, making millions of dollars a year, want more. And they want just a little more. They want to be the highest paid NFL player, or the highest paid NBA player. They don't get their strike settled. None of them are going to get anything, NFL or the NBA, it seems. The lockouts continue. But John D. Rockefeller said, How much is enough? He said, Just a little more. That's what most people think. I'd like to give you a few truths, then, about contentment. The first is, we must always focus upon Jesus Christ. Notice Galatians 2. In order to have contentment in our lives, we should focus, keep our focus on our Savior Jesus Christ. Galatians 2, verse 20. Pick it up in verse 19.

So Christ lives in us. So we should let Him rule in our lives. When we're unfairly and falsely accused, do we have to defend ourselves? When we're misunderstood and maligned, do we have to make ourselves miserable by feeling frustration and failure? That's our tendency. Whenever we're maligned or mistreated, we dwell on that and it can just eat at us. We just have to put that into God's hands, and that's a key to being contented. Romans 8, verse 37. Back a few pages to Romans 8, verse 37. We'll read verses 37 through 39. Paul is stating again, he says, It's very comforting Scripture to realize that nothing is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So a second key or second point on being contented is letting go of the past. Letting go of the past. Notice in Philippians 3, verse 13.

Sometimes the past is very difficult for us to get over. But it's one of the secrets of contentment. Philippians chapter 3, verse 13. Paul is once again speaking here, and he says, Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended.

But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let as many as are mature have this mind, and if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. But verse 14, he says, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Forgetting those things that are behind. If you're in a marathon race, if you ever notice, sometimes a person in a race, if they are looking back just to see where the second person is, is enough for that person, that second, to pass them up. They're not concentrating on moving forward, but just looking back. Lasting contentment cannot come to those who consistently engage in the blame game. Those who will not forgive others or themselves are doomed to a life of unhappiness and discontent. We have to forgive other people, and we have to forgive ourselves. John Greenleaf-Quittier said, for all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these.

It might have been. We can all look back on things and say, well, if things have just been a little bit different, if this or that, but he says, Whittier says, for all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these.

It might have been. So we should let go of the past. And then the third key to contentment is God will supply all our needs. Notice Philippians 4, verse 19. It states the very thing. Philippians 4, verse 19, And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. God will supply our needs. He doesn't say necessarily that he'll supply our wants. There can be a difference there of what our needs are compared to what our wants are. But God will supply our needs. We sometimes forget God like any loving and caring father or parent can give more than one response when we pray in our discontent.

You know, God may answer yes, he may answer no, and he may answer, wait a while. Notice back in Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 31. Isaiah 40. When we have to wait. It states, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. So, contentment can come when we allow the truth of the words of Jesus Christ to become a key to our daily living.

To be patient and be willing to wait, if that's what is necessary. In Matthew 6, verse 34, you see Christ is giving us some additional teaching. Matthew 6. Verse 34, Scripture that's sometimes difficult for us to apply. We'll pick it up in verse 33, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

So we can do nothing about the concerns and cares of tomorrow until tomorrow. We can't deal with what's going to happen tomorrow today. You're saying deal with that when the time comes. Nor can we change the sadness and sorrows of yesterday. You know, we've all had sadness and sorrows of the past, but we have to put those things behind us, as Paul said, and reach forward to the future. When Jesus, in effect, says not to worry about tomorrow, He places His finger squarely upon the crux of the issue of discontent.

He gets to the core of much of our frustrations and fears about the future. Among the fears, the fear of the unknown holds the prime position. We all have that fear of the unknown. We need to put that into God's hands, and we can't deal with it until the time comes. So in the meantime, we should be contented with life as it is today. The obvious, terrible uncertainties of our day seem to have inflicted the masses with a sort of universal psychological trauma that's very real and very debilitating.

You know, you watch the news and you see people are suffering by all of the trauma that's going on in the world. But of all people of the world, we Christians should be those with the obvious solution. Our very faith should give us peace and contentment, even in the days of insecurity that threaten to overwhelm the world.

Through Christ who strengthened us, our focus can be on the present. The only thing that we can deal with is the now, the present. And Christ gives us that strength to deal with that. We can live moment by moment, one day at a time, fully trusting in Him to supply the needs of the day. You know, He'll supply our needs. We should be content with that information and that understanding. We can face each moment of each day with the absolute assurance that the day is in His hands. And we can act with complete confidence because we know He holds the future as well as the past and the present. No one in the Scripture that, back in Psalms, verse 118, verse 24, is one that I've always appreciated. Psalm 118, verse 24, it's one that we all should take and apply in our lives. It states, this is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. To rejoice and be glad in it. It's a comforting Scripture.

After all, He has already overcome all things. Notice John 16, verse 33, another comforting Scripture. John 16.

In verse 33, Christ is speaking here, and He says, These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace.

So we can have peace in Christ. He says, In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world. It's a very encouraging Scripture that Christ gives us here. Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

So, brethren, in spite of all the difficulties that we face in our day-to-day lives, we can be assured that God is in charge and He is looking out for our welfare. He is certainly aware of all of our circumstances and our situations. And He is looking out for our welfare. Just as my dad was looking out for the welfare of our herd of cattle, who were placidly chewing their coods in the barnyard, we can also be confident that our Father is looking out for our welfare. He is looking out for us, just as much as my dad was looking out for that herd of cattle. So, in view of that, we can be content as we face the issues of life, as we face in each of our daily lives.