Gracepointe Church (Dover, OH)
Gracepointe Church (Dover, OH)
Persistent Prayer | Shawn Miller
Later, another one of the children says Dad, can we please, please, please, please, please, stop and buy ice cream today? And what does Dad do? He stops and buys ice cream. Or maybe the children would say, if Mom would be here we'd stop and buy ice cream. Probably flip-flop there, maybe Probably flip-flop there, maybe Persistence in asking again and again, and again, and finally Dad gives in. Or finally we break down and say, all right, if that's what makes you happy today, yes, we can buy ice cream. Or maybe even the children start, before we even say yes, they start saying Dad, if we stop and buy ice cream, then the promises start coming when we come home. I'll do this or I'll do that. I'll never ask again. I won't ask next Saturday.
Speaker 1:Persistent prayer. How does God look at us at times? Or do we get desperate enough at times that we are okay with asking again and again and again? Turn your Bibles to Luke, chapter 18. Today I'd like to get into the parable of the persistent widow. And what does that mean for us today? And what is Jesus trying to say in the context of this parable of the persistent widow? Turn your Bibles to Luke, chapter 18. And the text today is verses 1 through 8. But before I read the text of the sermon today, I would like for you to flip the page back to chapter 17. And to get the context of this parable, I would like to begin reading in verse 20 of Luke, chapter 17. Verse 20 of Luke, chapter 17. Verse 20 of Luke, chapter 17. As we read this passage and as you're following along in your mind, try to take out the chapter break between 17 and chapter 18. Try to, in your mind, just delete that big number 18 as we get to chapter 18 and continue reading Luke, chapter 17, verse 20.
Speaker 1:Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them. This is Jesus answered them. The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. Nor will they say look, here it is, or there, for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. And he said to the disciples the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man and you will not see it. Take a little pause here.
Speaker 1:The discussion that we had in Sunday school about do the disciples, or did the disciples, understand what Jesus was trying to tell them really leads up to the sermon that God laid on my heart for today. Let's continue again and I'll restart in verse 22. And he said to the disciples the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you look there or look here, do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in his day, but first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Speaker 1:Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot, they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. So will it be on the day when the Son of man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away. And likewise, let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.
Speaker 1:I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left. And they said to him when Lord? He said to them when the corpse is there, the vultures will gather. Said to them where the corpse is there, the vultures will gather. And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying give me justice against my adversary. For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. And the Lord said Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? It seems that Luke is connecting this parable back to Jesus' answer concerning the Pharisees' question about the coming of the kingdom. If I put myself in the shoes of the disciples and I have just heard Jesus trying to explain for the umpteenth time what is going to happen to him and what will happen when the Son of man is revealed If I put myself in the disciples' shoes and hear all these scary-sounding things that I have no idea what are and that I can't perceive for whatever reason, I think I would have been at the point of also needing encouragement for my future. What will happen with me as Christ's disciple if all these things actually happen? What will happen with me when, if what Jesus is saying and if I can put any kind of sense to this, what will happen with me when he's gone? Will he actually rise again? What's he talking about when he's talking about the end times? What's he talking about when he's talking about two will be together, one will be gone. The other one will be left. What's he talking about when he's telling us all these things? And, by the way, this was as they were going again, they were going down to Jerusalem. I think they did a lot of conversing and talking when they were walking together from town to town, and this was in one of those places. Jesus knew that things would get very difficult for himself and for the disciples. I think with this parable, he was trying to encourage them to not give up, no matter what comes, but to stay connected to him and the Father.
Speaker 1:So let's look at the parable. Before we jump into the meat of the parable, I'd first like to look at the characters that are represented in this parable. So first, we have a powerful judge who does not even think about God and who does not care about people. Sounds like a ruthless character. And second, the second character we have is simply an unnamed widow. So we have the most powerful in that day coming against the most vulnerable in that day. The fate of this vulnerable widow literally lies in the hands of this powerful judge that does not fear God and he does not care about people. It says he respects no man.
Speaker 1:Now, according to the Old Testament law, judges were actually supposed to give special attention to widows, primarily because of their dependence upon man, or upon men In this case. When the husband died, a widow was left at the mercy of relatives and the eldest son to provide for her. We don't have any history as far as what the family of this widow was like. We have no idea. Did she still have family? We have no idea. Did she have a responsible elder son that should have been taking care of her? We are not given those details, but we know that we have a poor widow coming up to a powerful judge that does not fear God and does not care about people. At this time, it was actually uncommon for a widow to be able to be an advocate for herself. She must have been a very brave lady or she must have been desperate to have her case heard as a widow, being one of the most marginalized in her society. Widows were often targets of oppression and actually fraud, just people looked at for being taken advantage of. Despite all this, despite her marginalized status, this did not stop her from her pursuit of justice, and we have no detail of what that was or why that was. Time after time her case was dismissed, but she keeps coming back.
Speaker 1:How many of you have ever had the? I don't know if I want to call it an opportunity or not how many of you have ever stood before a judge? All right, there's a few of us that messed up at one time or another. Back when I was 16 years old, and I think I alluded to this in one of my uh, previous sermons. Back when I was 16 years old, I got my license, my driver's license, in the month of may and in september I had the opportunity of standing in front of a judge with not one speeding ticket, but two speeding tickets. I got my second speeding ticket before I had my first court visit, so he took care of two on the same court at the same hearing. I can still picture the courtroom and I can still almost verbatim tell you what he told me that day. He was in total control. I had nothing that I could do to prove my case because I was guilty. He did tell me if I see you again in here before you're 18, I will automatically take your license for a year and if I choose to, I can suspend them up until you're 21. Unfortunately, before I was 18, I had another accident. My driving record wasn't good the first few years, in case you're not catching on. I had another accident, accident and I fell asleep and I totaled mom and dad's car. And back to Holmes County Courthouse I go, and, fortunate for me, the judge was out that day and I had the court referee and I only got my license suspended for two months. Again, I was not empowered. The judge made the decision. I was at his mercy.
Speaker 1:And what we read in this parable, with the widow coming back repeatedly and the judge dismissing her case repeatedly, it seems that finally, the judge was annoyed that this widow kept coming back. In verse 4, it seems like he's talking to himself, because he literally says though I neither fear God nor respect men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. It's kind of like us parents that finally give in to buying ice cream because we are so tired of hearing the question can we buy ice cream? The judge became annoyed and finally heard her case and served justice to whatever that was. We don't know that that was. We don't know that Her persistence finally gets her what she's asking for.
Speaker 1:So the big question for us this morning is what does this story mean for us? What does this story mean for you? What does this story mean for me? Does it mean that if I keep asking God over and over for something, he will eventually buckle and give me what I want? Is this about a child getting ice cream when he finally breaks down his parents? We know that God wants us to keep praying, to keep hoping and not to give up, but what is the object of this prayer? How does he want us to come to him? In verse 8, jesus closes this parable by asking a question, and this is what he says Jesus' exact words. I tell you he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? Will there be persistent widows when Jesus returns? That is his question. So, in light of that question, what is Jesus trying to tell us through this parable?
Speaker 1:The question that I like to ask as we go into this next part of the sermon is this how can I stay steadfast in my faith and my hope when things around me seem hopeless or helpless? In going back in chapter 17, as Jesus was trying to explain to the disciples what will happen in the coming days and as the end of the world nears. If I look at that and I look at our world situation today, I can't help but think the world situation that we're living in today is it similar to the days of Noah? Is it similar to the days of Sodom and Gomorrah? What are we, as Christians, called to do in today's day and age? How big of a difference can we actually make? And if I stop and think about that for too long, it almost seems like hopelessness could envelop myself to where it almost paralyzes me to move. But Luke, at the beginning of this parable, says this parable is written for us to know, to keep asking and to not lose hope. So what does that look like for us today?
Speaker 1:I have two points this morning that I'd like to talk about from now to the end of the sermon. The first one is keep asking, keep asking. Some of you may already be thinking that all sounds really good, but I've been asking about this certain thing for 5, 7, 10 years and nothing happens. What about when our asking doesn't result in receiving, or our seeking leaves us with more questions than we have answers, or our knocking. Despite our knocking, the store still is not open. I realize that some of us might be here this morning asking those questions rather than being excited about what God might be doing. But we might be asking those questions why do I keep asking and I'm not receiving? How can I keep seeking if I'm not finding? Or what's the worth of knocking if the doors don't open?
Speaker 1:In his book Praying Like Monks, living Like Fools, tyler Statton points out that these three words ask, seek and knock as written in the Greek verb tense, and knock as written in the Greek verb tense, it implies ongoing action rather than a singular action. It's very interesting that a lot of our English translations in scripture they actually quote Matthew 7-7 as this keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. In the tense, in the verb tense, that these words are written in the Greek, according to Tyler Statton, this implies an ongoing action. This does not imply a singular ask and then waiting to receive, but it implies persistent, ongoing asking, seeking, knocking.
Speaker 1:Jesus had a motive in telling this story. I wonder if any of you caught, I had not caught it before I started studying this parable, but there's something different about this parable, at the beginning of this parable, that we don't see a lot in other parables. Somebody want to take a stab at what that might be. It's something to do with the meaning of the parable. Yes, yes, yes. There's very few parables where the meaning comes first rather than after the parable. Most of the parables, the meaning comes after and the meaning of the parable is actually a little bit mysterious.
Speaker 1:And then Jesus further expounds on the parable. In this parable, for some reason, luke found it necessary to give us the meaning of the parable first, which I find fascinating. Could it be that Luke knew that what Jesus was about to say, the disciples could truly identify with that? Could it be that Luke knew that what Jesus was about to say was going to be hard for the disciples to hear? What about us?
Speaker 1:What goes through your mind when you hear that this parable was simply said to encourage us to keep asking and not to give up, in whatever situation you might be? It is difficult when it feels that we're drowning in silence and unanswered prayers, which often leads to disappointment. So here is the point that I believe Jesus is making in this parable and then we're going to unpack this. Keep asking and don't give up. If a judge this bad will give justice to the persistent, how much more will God see that those persistent in prayer get justice? If a judge this bad will give justice to the persistent, how much more will God see that those persistent in prayer get justice? So what is persistent prayer?
Speaker 1:Prayer is not just begging God for something he doesn't know about. He knows all about us. He still wants us to ask. I've wondered in the past if God knows my needs, if he's all-knowing, why do I us to ask? I've wondered in the past if God knows my needs, if he's all-knowing, why do I have to ask?
Speaker 1:It comes down to us asking and believing that God can give us something. How many of you parents enjoy when children ask you for something we all do? No, with my illustration at the beginning, it can get to a point where we're finally like just stop asking. I don't think God ever gets to that point for us. I don't think that's in God's character. But we enjoy fulfilling the wishes of our children. God also enjoys fulfilling the wishes of his children.
Speaker 1:However, where the conflict often comes in is his timing versus our timing. Eugene Peterson quoted this in prayer, we persistently, faithfully, trustingly, come before God, submitting ourselves to his sovereignty, confident that he is acting right now on our behalf. In prayer, we persistently, faithfully, trustingly, come before God, submitting ourselves to his sovereignty, confident that he is acting right now on our behalf, is acting right now on our behalf. If we take that quote seriously, that is the difference between the persistent child asking for ice cream over and over and over again versus us coming to God and us acknowledging that, god, you are sovereign, even if I'm not getting right now what I think I should be getting, I commit my life to your sovereignty and I believe with all my heart that you are acting on my behalf, even if I can't see it right now. That is what prayer is. How can we confidently pray that? In verse 7, jesus says and will not God give justice to his elect Folks? This morning, if we believe, if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you call him Lord, you are his chosen people. He calls you his elect. He has a plan for his chosen people.
Speaker 1:Now I'd like to get into something that really blessed my heart as I was studying for this sermon. My second point is God remembers our prayers. The first point was keep asking, even if it seems futile, keep asking. My second point is God remembers our prayers. Scripture tells us that God collects our prayers. I'd like to read something in Revelation 5, verses 6 through 8. If you want to turn to this, you can. You don't have to if you don't want to. But please listen carefully. Do our prayers matter, even if we don't get the answer exactly when we think we should do our prayers matter is a question I'm throwing out there before I read this portion in Revelation 5, verses 6 through 8.
Speaker 1:Listen to this. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him, who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down before the lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense. Did you realize that God is collecting every prayer that his saints pray, every prayer that we have breathed as his children. He has record of. And he does not have record of those prayers for him in order to forget those prayers. He has record of those prayers because he has plans to make use of those prayers at some point. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, it might not be during your lifetime.
Speaker 1:Now I'd like to read on in Revelation. Flip forward three chapters forward to Revelation 8, verses 1 through 5. When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints rose from before God, from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar, including the prayers of the saints, and threw it on the earth and there was peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. And that is how God is going to bring justice through the prayers of the saints Folks this morning, when we ask God for something, it is bigger than ourselves.
Speaker 1:Yes, we all have physical needs, we have spiritual needs, we have emotional needs. We all have needs that we need God's help right now and into the future. But as you come before God on a regular basis and you bring your asks, you seek him and you keep knocking. If these prayers don't get answered right away, take heart, god has them on record. I believe Scripture, and Scripture tells me that God is collecting our prayers and if not before the end of time, at that time all of our prayers will come and be used for the justice that God is bringing to earth. At the proper time, god will use every prayer he's collected and bring redemption to the earth once and for all. At the end, every prayer will be used, according to Revelation. Some of those prayers might be answered today. Some of those prayers might be answered next week. Some of those prayers might not be answered until the end of time. The promise that our prayers are heard and remembered by a kind, loving God encourages us to keep praying and to not lose hope.
Speaker 1:I believe what Jesus was telling the disciples with this parable is what he is telling us today. I think it can have a double meaning. First, for physical needs that we need right now, keep coming to Jesus, keep asking. But I think even the greater meaning of this parable is no matter what comes in your lifetime, no matter what comes between now and when I come back to redeem my people, keep praying, keep asking and don't lose hope. Someday your redemption is coming. That's what he was telling the disciples and I believe that's the greater meaning for us today.
Speaker 1:I don't know what you're going through this morning. I have no idea how you look at the condition that our world is in today. You might have a meeting coming up this week. You might have something financial coming up that you have no idea how you're going to take care of. You might have been praying for somebody in your family that has been lost and has turned away from God. You might have been praying for your own children or a need in your family. I have no idea what all the prayers that are being offered from this church are this morning, but let me tell you God does, god does, and he's collecting and remembering those prayers, even if it seems to us at times that things are dormant and nothing's happening.
Speaker 1:The widow went back repeatedly and she got justice. We might not get answers for everything we're praying for in this life, but at the end, when Jesus returns to bring redemption to his people, for his people, justice will be served. When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? Back to the question again. When the time of that full redemption comes, will he find faith on earth? Back to the question again. When the time of that full redemption comes, will I find men and women of faith is what Jesus is asking. I think he was asking the disciples when I am crucified, when you fully understand what I have been trying to tell you, will I find faith? How is it with me this morning, when my life ends? Or if Christ returns before my life ends, how will Jesus find me? Will he find me drowned in my disappointments and haven't given up a long time ago, or will I be awake and hopeful and waiting for his return? I'd like to again quote Eugene Peterson, the same quote that I read before.
Speaker 1:In prayer, we persistently, faithfully, trustingly come before God, submitting ourselves to his sovereignty, confident that he is acting right now and on our behalf. Folks this morning, let's take example of the persistent widow. Even though she was probably in her mind, giving up hope that the judge this judge that didn't fear God and didn't care about people, that he will do anything at any time, she kept going back and she kept asking and finally, because of annoyance, he heard her case. Folks, this morning, our judge, our God, does not answer because of annoyance. Our God answers because he is supreme and he knows what's in store for us and what's best for us as his chosen people. Let's abide in that and, as we come to prayer, submit ourselves to his sovereignty, his supremacy, in order for us not to get disappointed of what we think the answer should be, but committed to be okay with his timing and what his answers are for us.
Speaker 1:This morning, let's bow for prayer. Our Father God, as we come to you, I pray that we could take this parable and that we could, in a humble way, submit ourselves to you for whatever you have for us. Lord, help us to stay true and to keep asking and to keep coming to you with our needs, with our praises, with anything we have, and to not lose hope For someday you will come back and you will be looking for men and women that have been faithful until the end. So, lord, I pray that you might grant the increase of what was shared this morning. I pray this all in your name, amen. I will turn the time back over to Randy.