The NXR Podcast - October 15, 2023


SUNDAY SERMON - Persistent Prayer ｜ Luke 18_1-8


Episode Stats


Length

45 minutes

Words per minute

150.2011

Word count

6,909

Sentence count

313

Harmful content

Misogyny

8

sentences flagged

Toxicity

1

sentences flagged

Hate speech

11

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this sermon, we continue our sermon series through the book of Luke, where Luke reminds us that we should pray persistently and not lose heart in the face of adversity. (Luke 18:1-8)

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.880 If you've been with us over the last few weeks, you know that we finished our sermon series
00:00:05.300 through the book of Joshua, and we delight to preach through these books of the Bible
00:00:09.980 for this is what we believe is good.
00:00:12.980 The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to preach the Word in season and out of season, and
00:00:19.420 so we follow these marching orders given by the Apostle Paul.
00:00:22.640 We preach the Word on Sundays.
00:00:25.420 And so we just finished our series through the book of Joshua, and over the last few
00:00:29.700 weeks, we've been hearing some gospel messages. Joel preached through Jonah, as well as John 3
00:00:34.960 most recently. And this week, we will continue to do so with a specific parable from the gospel
00:00:41.960 of Luke. So if you have your Bibles or a copy of the notes in front of you, please direct your
00:00:47.640 attention now to today's text. This is specifically found in Luke chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.
00:00:56.340 Once more, this is Luke chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.
00:01:01.260 And as is our tradition here at Covenant Bible Church,
00:01:03.700 would you join me in standing in reverence for the Word of God?
00:01:10.800 I'll read the text in its entirety, and then when I conclude reading it,
00:01:14.460 I'll say, this is the Word of the Lord, and I'll respond that we,
00:01:17.380 or I will ask that we respond by saying, thanks be to God.
00:01:20.580 so this is once more this is luke chapter 18 verses 1 through 8 the bible says this
00:01:28.140 and he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart
00:01:34.620 he said in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared god nor respected man and there
00:01:41.100 was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying give me justice against my adversary
00:01:47.740 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself,
00:01:51.420 though I neither fear God nor respect man,
00:01:54.040 yet because this widow keeps bothering me,
00:01:56.480 I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. 0.98
00:02:01.780 And the Lord said, hear what the unrighteous judge says.
00:02:05.100 And will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night?
00:02:10.460 Will he delay long over them?
00:02:12.500 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.
00:02:16.300 Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
00:02:20.540 This is the word of the Lord.
00:02:22.340 Thanks be to God.
00:02:23.980 You may be seated and join me now as I pray once more.
00:02:30.400 Father, we thank you for this parable which was told by our Lord.
00:02:36.340 We thank you that he instructed us in so many ways.
00:02:39.800 And we thank you that, as I'll speak in this sermon, that the intent of the parable was clear.
00:02:45.440 from the outset, Lord, that you taught us to pray persistently and not lose heart. And so we pray
00:02:51.200 that today's message, Lord, and the scriptures that we will study today will be an encouragement
00:02:55.780 to us, O God. It seems that our Lord sought to encourage us and his disciples with this parable.
00:03:02.120 We thank you, O God, that you are good, that you are gracious, that you are praiseworthy,
00:03:07.080 and that you delight to teach us and show us the way in which we ought to go.
00:03:11.320 We pray, Lord, that as we look to Christ and have our eyes fixed on him, we pray that we would
00:03:16.640 grow in deeper love and appreciation for his mercies, for his kingly rulership over us,
00:03:23.140 which is good. And we pray that as we see the truth, as it's expressed in scripture,
00:03:29.440 we pray that we would delight to do all manner of worship of you, Lord, for you are fitting.
00:03:34.400 This is proper to worship you, Lord. And we pray that you'd be glorified in our worship today
00:03:39.060 and that the hearts of your people would be edified by this sermon.
00:03:43.000 We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:03:47.500 As I mentioned before, prayer is the subject at hand in today's text and today's sermon.
00:03:54.020 And so I believe a helpful starting point for us as we consider this text
00:03:59.260 is to look at a definition of prayer which is given by a faithful Christian father.
00:04:05.120 In his book entitled Prayer, John Bunyan gives us this definition as he writes,
00:04:11.680 Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate, pouring out of the heart or soul to God through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit for such things as God has promised or according to his word.
00:04:28.160 for the good of the church with submission to the will, in faith to the will of God.
00:04:35.720 Now, I like this definition of prayer because it helps to highlight two key aspects of prayer.
00:04:41.240 The first is that prayer is a Trinitarian act.
00:04:45.120 We pray to the Father through Christ by the help of the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us in our
00:04:51.500 weakness. This is one of the defining characteristics of prayer and any of the means of grace for that
00:04:57.620 matter. From the outsider perspective, prayer may seem like an innocent or a helpless practice,
00:05:04.380 but it is far from that. Even the Christian may be unaware of the unseen realities taking place 0.92
00:05:11.000 during prayer. This is truly remarkable. When we pray, our prayers are carried into God's 0.62
00:05:26.740 presence by Christ himself and are sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit. All of this takes
00:05:33.000 place when we pray. The second aspect that is highlighted in Bunyan's definition is that the
00:05:39.900 content of Christian prayer should always be in accordance with God's will and purposes for his
00:05:46.420 people. A defining example of this is found in one of our Lord's most notable teachings on prayer,
00:05:52.480 which is found in Matthew chapter 6 and in Luke chapter 11.
00:05:57.680 Many of you know this particular teaching as the Lord's Prayer.
00:06:02.180 In Matthew 6, Jesus says,
00:06:04.400 Pray then like this,
00:06:06.760 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
00:06:10.700 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
00:06:16.200 This specific teaching was given by Christ in response to the question,
00:06:20.900 Lord, teach us to pray. By this teaching, we are to understand that whatever words or petitions
00:06:28.200 fill our prayers, they are to be directed first to God's greatness and holiness and to his
00:06:34.820 purposes, both those that are revealed and those that are secret or hidden. Many of these purposes
00:06:43.640 are revealed to us, namely in the Bible, and that is why it is appropriate for us to pray
00:06:49.760 the scriptures. We learn how to pray by praying the Lord's Prayer or the Psalms, which are Holy
00:06:56.860 Spirit-inspired prayers, and fill the content of our prayers with the revealed will of God.
00:07:04.160 God's revealed will also serves as a guide when we are learning to grapple with his hidden will.
00:07:11.400 Though some of God's purposes may not be clear to us this side of eternity, the Lord grants us
00:07:17.500 faith to pray this petition, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
00:07:25.760 Such petitions align with God's secret will and help us during those times that we may wrestle
00:07:31.300 with the difficulties of tragedy and those times when God's providence may not be sweet, but bitter.
00:07:38.560 Prayer sets us aright and reminds us that all of God's promises are yes and amen in Christ.
00:07:46.160 You see, these two defining characteristics, which were given by Bunyan and I've hopefully
00:07:50.200 expressed, are crucial for us in our understanding of what Christian prayer is. And this is because
00:07:56.420 many people may insist that they are praying when they are, in fact, not. You see, in both of these
00:08:02.900 defining aspects of prayer, the common thread which is found is faith. Faith in Christ must be present
00:08:09.880 if one is to pray. Many may be driven to cry out to God for countless reasons, but they are not
00:08:16.320 praying if they are not doing so in faith. To do so is to pray with the reliance on God's grace
00:08:23.500 for his glory. So we've seen from, just from this opening from God's word, what Christian prayer is,
00:08:30.540 but what else can we learn from the Bible about prayer? At this point, many of you may be familiar
00:08:36.240 with other teachings regarding prayer found in the scriptures. In Matthew chapter 6 again,
00:08:42.160 Jesus confronted the Pharisees who used the act of prayer to exalt and commend themselves before
00:08:48.720 others for their righteousness. What they were engaging in was actually hypocrisy and not 0.86
00:08:54.880 righteousness at all. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand 0.97
00:09:01.820 and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.
00:09:08.000 Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room
00:09:13.460 and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret
00:09:19.380 will reward you. Another famous teaching on prayer is found in Philippians chapter 4 and is a favorite
00:09:26.780 among many. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
00:09:33.920 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all
00:09:41.480 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4, verses 6
00:09:48.560 and 7. In this case, in Philippians 4, prayer with thanksgiving is prescribed whenever we may
00:09:56.200 be plagued with worries or fears. Paul teaches us not to be anxious about anything, but rather
00:10:03.400 to make prayers to God with thanksgiving, with gratefulness. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1,
00:10:11.160 or in chapter 5 actually, we read, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all
00:10:17.920 circumstances, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus for you. In these teachings alone,
00:10:26.140 we learn that we are to pray with humility, with gratefulness, and at all times and circumstances.
00:10:33.940 These are particular teachings we find in the scriptures that mark the spirit of Christian
00:10:38.980 prayer and how it is to be employed. With these in mind, let us consider one more foundational
00:10:46.220 characteristic, which is to mark our prayers and is found in this parable, which we look at today.
00:10:53.420 Christian prayer is marked by, among all things, the believer's persistence in it. Look back at
00:11:00.460 verse 1 of our text, which reads, and he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to
00:11:07.060 pray and not lose heart. Herein lies the subject of the text. This parable emphasizes this specific
00:11:15.780 aspect of prayer, that believers ought to be diligent and disciplined to pray often and with
00:11:22.780 perseverance. When believers pray in accordance with God's will and promises as revealed in
00:11:29.340 Scripture, they have assurance that God will act on these promises on behalf of his chosen children.
00:11:36.760 And this helps us to pray fervently and often, and we don't see a prayer answered right away
00:11:42.580 because we are reminded that God has given us
00:11:45.640 not only his promises, but prayer as the means
00:11:49.140 by which he bestows his gracious gifts to us.
00:11:54.080 In addition to this, our Lord instructs us
00:11:56.760 through this parable not only to pray persistently,
00:11:59.760 but to do so with encouragement, to not lose heart,
00:12:03.920 to pray with optimism, if you will.
00:12:06.820 We will see this as we discuss the parable more in depth,
00:12:10.400 but at the outset, we can be reminded
00:12:11.820 that the believer has all the hope he or she needs to pray in faith because his or her prayers
00:12:17.920 are always heard by God and answered in accordance with God's fatherly love for his people. And so
00:12:25.900 brothers and sisters, as we consider this text, I hope to give you fuel from the word of God
00:12:31.760 to be people of prayer and to be those that pray persistently. If we're being quite honest,
00:12:38.560 prayer is not something that comes easy to us. It's often a difficult discipline, and this is
00:12:45.480 something for myself included. At points in my life, it's been far easier for me, at least in
00:12:51.740 my mind, to read scripture or to discuss theology than it has been for me to humble myself before
00:12:57.600 God in prayer. And so therefore, I'm sure many of you may measure your level of productivity,
00:13:03.800 significance, and assurance before God based on your self-assessment of how much you've been
00:13:09.060 reading or listening to podcasts or how well you can articulate a theological position.
00:13:15.140 These are wonderful helps to us and are great gifts from God to us. But sometimes,
00:13:22.280 especially in the Reformed camp, prayer may often take a backseat to these particular means
00:13:27.980 of grace. We might make a strategic plan to finish the institutes or to learn a new trade,
00:13:34.760 but how often do we carve out time in our busy days to pray? And with today's parable in mind,
00:13:41.540 do we find ourselves praying for the same things with a consistent hope over weeks, months, years
00:13:47.960 perhaps? Surely this is, again, not to cast shade upon the means of Bible reading and careful study
00:13:54.200 of solid material. Oftentimes, faithful Bible study or podcasts about sourdough making perhaps
00:14:01.620 by Christians drive us to prayer and therein to greater delight and worship of God. But this 0.97
00:14:08.720 parable seeks to confront us with two primary questions. One, are you praying? And two,
00:14:15.580 are you faithfully praying over time? In expositional preaching, I have found that a
00:14:22.100 helpful way to study the scriptures is to do so with the lens of three basic categories. And at
00:14:28.400 a surface level, we could say that these are the character and nature of God, God's revealed will
00:14:35.140 and actions, and the response of obedience that he requires of his people. As we consider our
00:14:42.560 Lord's teaching on prayer from Luke 18, I think it will be helpful for us to examine the parable
00:14:47.880 in light of these guidelines. From our text, we see first that God is the just judge. And what
00:14:55.500 has he done? He has sovereignly elected and saved a people for his own possession. It is to these
00:15:03.200 that God grants justice speedily. What then is required of his elect is persistent, faithful
00:15:10.940 prayer in all gratitude and assurance. Prayer comes from a true, genuine heart. It is aware
00:15:18.820 of the truth of things, things such as the state of sin, the need for grace or God's holiness,
00:15:25.100 perhaps. Prayer is an opening of the heart to God. And what do we pray for? For God's will to
00:15:33.140 be accomplished, for his promises to be wrought into our hearts. We pray in accordance with his
00:15:39.380 word for the good of his people and all submissiveness through the gift of faith by which
00:15:45.180 he saves us. And with these things in mind, let us consider our text. So we begin in the
00:15:52.360 place that all true and right biblical studies begin with the character and nature of God
00:15:58.300 as revealed to us by his word. In our Lord's parable, we begin with the example of the
00:16:09.380 He said,
00:16:11.840 In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
00:16:17.020 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying,
00:16:20.680 Give me justice against my adversary.
00:16:23.960 These are the two characters which are presented in this parable,
00:16:27.640 the judge and the widow.
00:16:30.200 And from the outset, we are introduced to both.
00:16:33.300 The judge is somewhat of a rogue judge, you see,
00:16:36.260 neither respecting God, the true judge, or men, those whom the judge was to represent
00:16:42.140 and advocate for. In view here were subjects, either the judges or a king in whose court the
00:16:49.860 judge was serving. Regardless, the judge was tasked with representing and administering right
00:16:56.300 and correct judgments in their favor. One of these particular subjects is the widow, 1.00
00:17:02.400 the other character who is found in this parable. And she resided within the city and was represented
00:17:08.000 by the judge, likely we know from her appeal to him. From a surface level, we don't have much
00:17:13.860 information as to what wrong was committed against the widow, but we can tell that she does seek a
00:17:19.940 righteous ruling on her behalf. We see this from her plea. She says, give me justice against my
00:17:28.420 adversary. And this would seem to clue us in that some wrong had been done to her by her adversary
00:17:33.960 and enemy. The fact that she petitions for justice would be evidence to this position.
00:17:41.420 And the judge being the upholder of justice was the one to whom such a petition ought to come.
00:17:48.600 And yet being neither a respecter of God nor a respecter of man, we see that the judge had failed
00:17:54.760 to uphold the duties which were given to him by God himself. Consider for a moment what the second
00:18:01.240 London Baptist confession of faith has to say about the duties of civil magistrates. In chapter 24 it
00:18:08.220 reads, God the supreme lord and king of all the world hath ordained civil magistrates to be under
00:18:16.060 him over the people for his own glory and the public good and to this end hath armed them with
00:18:23.520 the power of the sword, for defense and encouragement of them that do good, and for the punishment
00:18:29.980 of evildoers. By both human standards as well as God's, we can easily assert the judge in this
00:18:38.580 parable is unjust. He had been ordained by God and had assumed his role on the bench to do a
00:18:45.680 particular duty. This judge, by duty of his office and appointment by God, was to rule for the public
00:18:53.500 good, rendering righteous judgments for the defense and encouragement of them that do good and for the
00:19:00.880 punishment of evildoers. Yet we read the judge neither feared God nor respected man. He was a
00:19:08.560 judge who was motivated by his own self-interest, his own advancement, his own glory. The judge in
00:19:16.000 our Lord's parable is, simply put, a wicked tyrant. Moreover, the fact that it is a widow seeking
00:19:22.580 justice in the judge's court seems to make the situation even more hopeless by human standards.
00:19:29.240 The widow had no husband, male relative, or lawyer to advocate her case. There was no mention of any
00:19:36.000 adult children who were able to assist her in her defense. Being a poor widow, she had no means to 0.99
00:19:42.640 bribe the judge even. She insists only on obtaining justice. She staked her claim in the matter on 0.99
00:19:50.180 what was fair and right. She advocated for due process and a fair penalty for her adversary in
00:19:57.280 the situation. And knowing the character of the unjust judge as revealed in the parable,
00:20:03.100 we can only assume that the widow's chances of obtaining this justice were slim to none due to
00:20:09.320 the judge's impartiality. But listen to our Lord's words as we read them in verse 6. And the Lord
00:20:17.720 says, hear what the unrighteous judge says, and what does he say? According to verses four and
00:20:25.140 five, for a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, though I neither fear God nor
00:20:33.060 respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that
00:20:40.160 she will not beat me down by her continual coming. You see, the unrighteous judge is ultimately moved 0.99
00:20:46.960 to do his job out of mere annoyance. We learn that the widow asked repeatedly, continually coming to
00:20:55.040 the judge's court to plead for the justice due her. The widow is patient and persistent and ultimately
00:21:03.100 beats the judge at the long game. She wears him down before he can shut her down. Interestingly 1.00
00:21:10.320 enough, her continual coming does not produce a radical heart change in the judge. He does not
00:21:16.960 begin to fear God or become a respecter of man due to her continual coming, but is moved to fulfill
00:21:23.920 his obligation as a civil magistrate by her continual and constant bothering, he says. 1.00
00:21:31.640 The mere inconvenience of the poor widow's appearance was all it took for the unrighteous 0.67
00:21:37.500 judge to grant justice. And the Lord uses this parable to commend her persistence.
00:21:44.260 As is so often done in the scriptures, Jesus makes the argument from the lesser
00:21:48.760 to the greater. If even an unjust judge will do justice to a poor widow, how much more will God?
00:21:58.160 And if even an unjust judge will grant justice due to that poor widow's persistence, how much
00:22:04.320 more will God. This is reason for great hope in us, for the Lord's judgments are just. What grounds
00:22:12.660 do we have to approach God for deliverance? Because we are his elect. Although we have not
00:22:19.620 earned God's goodwill or favor through anything we have done, he grants it to us graciously
00:22:26.400 through his son, Jesus Christ. Is he bothered by our continual coming? He is not. In fact,
00:22:33.580 the text later says clearly that he will give justice to them speedily. And so at this point,
00:22:40.640 I want to present you with a few more scriptures which remind us of the gracious character
00:22:45.180 of God, especially as it regards the practice of prayer. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
00:22:53.720 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,
00:23:00.440 with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1, 16 and 17.
00:23:08.860 Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you.
00:23:16.040 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks,
00:23:24.620 it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
00:23:30.440 or if he asks for fish, will give him a serpent. If you then who are evil know how to give good
00:23:38.400 gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those
00:23:44.840 who ask him? Matthew 7, 7 through 11. You see, these words ground us and root us in the truth
00:23:53.480 that God not only hears our prayers, but delights to answer them. When we pray, we are not praying
00:24:01.160 to an unrighteous tyrant, but the Father of lights, who bestows every good and every perfect
00:24:07.600 gift. And if even earthly fathers provide good gifts to their children when asked, how much more
00:24:14.320 shall we expect from the King of Kings, the Lord of the cosmos, who wields all means and possesses
00:24:20.960 all power at his disposal. These scriptures, in conjunction with today's parable, are meant to
00:24:27.800 encourage us to pray with boldness and humility and to pray often. What boldness the widow possessed
00:24:36.120 to approach a tyrant for justice and to do so repeatedly. So forget not that we pray not to 0.96
00:24:48.180 a tyrant, but to the Lord, the one whom Jesus taught to address us as our Father. He is perfectly
00:24:57.040 righteous, unmatched in his holiness and greatness, and yet has promised to act on behalf of his people,
00:25:05.360 his children. His grace alone is what motivates us to continually pray. There are times when we may
00:25:12.140 not receive immediate deliverance or be granted a good thing we desire and have been praying for,
00:25:19.200 and this is not due to a deficiency in our prayers or in God's character. But nevertheless,
00:25:25.160 may we be driven back to prayer and be reminded of God's perfect patience and grace as we pray
00:25:32.880 with persistent hope. In his book, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels,
00:25:42.140 By dent of sheer importunity, which is a fancy word for saying persistence.
00:25:55.860 If importunity obtains so much from a wicked man, how much more will it obtain for the
00:26:01.980 children of God from the righteous judge, their father in heaven?
00:26:06.720 so having this considered the character of God as the righteous judge let us now consider the
00:26:13.240 truth of what God has accomplished for us in Christ the most obvious answer for the Christian
00:26:19.780 is salvation he has saved us through his sovereign unconditional election let us look back at our
00:26:28.520 text and see it there hear what our Lord says in verses 7 and 8 and will not God give
00:26:36.560 justice to his elect who cry to him day and night. Will he delay long over them? I tell you,
00:26:43.840 he will give justice to them speedily. As we have said before, God grants justice to those who cry
00:26:50.840 to him day and night. And according to the text, who are those who cry to him day and night? They
00:26:58.820 are the elect. Therefore, the ultimate subject and recipient of God's justice, Christ says,
00:27:05.460 is those who were predestined graciously before the foundations of the world to believe in him.
00:27:13.700 Consider for a moment the truths of the gospel. God is holy and just. He is the creator of the
00:27:21.360 heavens and the earth and perfect and righteous in all that he is and does. All men are sinners
00:27:29.060 by nature and by choice and stand righteously condemned under the weight of God's just 0.75
00:27:35.280 wrath. God's perfect holiness stands in opposition to all sin and unrighteousness. And because sin
00:27:43.240 is not just something that we do, but the fallen condition of all men's hearts before God, we stand
00:27:49.300 condemned against God. But consider God's gracious gift. He sent Jesus Christ, the perfect, eternal,
00:27:58.620 divine Son who took on flesh and lived the life that you and I were required to live.
00:28:05.280 and died the death that we deserved to die. He died as our substitute in the place of wicked
00:28:12.740 sinners and was then raised to life and is now seated at God's right hand. He triumphed over
00:28:20.280 death and sin and now grants grace in the gift of faith to his children. And so the mark of a true
00:28:28.560 child of God is repentance of sin, as we have done, and faith towards God. The Gospel of John says,
00:28:35.280 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
00:28:41.600 of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
00:28:49.620 but of God. John 1, verses 12 and 13. And in Colossians 1, he has delivered of
00:29:05.280 So what has the Lord done?
00:29:12.740 The Lord has saved those who have faith in his Son.
00:29:17.260 He chose us in him before the foundations of the world
00:29:21.000 that we should be holy and blameless before him.
00:29:25.740 The Lord perfectly exercises his sovereign election
00:29:29.040 to justify Christians by the righteousness of God 0.71
00:29:32.480 and seal them with the promised Holy Spirit.
00:29:36.860 As our sanctifier and head, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
00:29:43.020 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word,
00:29:48.400 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor,
00:29:51.860 without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
00:29:58.120 salvation belongs to the lord in our text his elect refers to those who are justified by his
00:30:06.780 grace and are kept in his special care so if you are a christian god takes ownership of you
00:30:14.600 you are his elect the text says and one of the greatest benefits of your election is god's
00:30:21.720 merciful promise to grant justice to you speedily. Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will
00:30:29.900 give justice to them speedily, verses 7 and 8 say. This is one great gift that God gives to us as his
00:30:39.420 children among many. God's promise is here that he will not delay long over us and will grant
00:30:46.300 justice to us speedily is something to rejoice in, to delight in. If even earthly fathers will
00:30:54.000 not give their children stones when they ask for bread or serpents when they ask for fish,
00:30:59.380 how much more will God give good gifts to us, his beloved and chosen children?
00:31:07.120 So the point of this is that, first of all, pray. You have no fear in approaching God
00:31:13.480 in prayer, for he will never give you an evil gift. God, as our benevolent father, has already
00:31:20.360 given us all that is needful for us in this life and every opportunity that we possess.
00:31:26.980 Think for a moment about everything good in your life, your wife, your husband, your kids,
00:31:33.600 your job, the very breath in your lungs. Has not all of this been given to you by God himself?
00:31:39.920 Like a loving father, God delights to give us good gifts in life, and especially so when we
00:31:47.740 come to him asking for these things in prayer. Secondly, when our prayers are not answered in
00:31:54.820 the time frame or in the manner in which we had expected, this parable and the underlying promise
00:32:00.780 is helpful to ward off the inherent temptation that we may face to doubt the Lord or to become
00:32:06.860 slack in our prayers. God has promised that he will grant justice to his elect speedily, that he
00:32:14.440 will not... and optimism in our prayers. J.C. Rowe, writing again in his book, Thoughts for Men,
00:32:28.880 Thoughts for Young Men this time, he writes, prayer is the life breath of a man's soul.
00:32:34.420 Without it, we may have a name to live and be counted Christians, but we are dead in the sight
00:32:40.160 of God. The feeling that we must cry to God for mercy and peace is a mark of grace, and the habit
00:32:48.660 of spreading before him our soul's wants is an evidence that we have the spirit of adoption.
00:32:56.400 The Christian, God's elect, is marked by this fervent desire to pray, to converse with God.
00:33:04.660 And as you make progress in the Christian life, may this refresh you, that even the most feeble
00:33:10.600 prayers are reminders of your election, of your adoption. And as this bolsters you in faith and
00:33:18.480 in hope, may we be a people who are marked by humble, hopeful prayers. And so in light of God's
00:33:26.400 sovereign grace, let us consider what this parable requires of us in Christian obedience. As we
00:33:33.200 remind ourselves each and every Sunday, God's people are marked by a grateful desire to walk
00:33:38.720 in God's commandments because of his unconditional election. The imperative present in today's
00:33:46.360 parable motivates us to one specific sort of Christian obedience, and this is found again
00:33:53.160 in verse 1. And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not
00:33:59.220 lose heart. In light of God's character as the perfectly just and righteous judge who grants
00:34:06.400 justice speedily, the elect ought to be marked by a spirit of persistent prayer with all gratitude
00:34:13.740 and assurance. As fuel for us in this endeavor, let us consider a few more scriptures which are
00:34:21.120 given for our encouragement and speak of the believer's privileges and prayer. These have
00:34:27.900 granted me assurance in my prayers and I pray that they do to you as well. But I call to God
00:34:35.800 and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I utter my complaint and moan and
00:34:42.760 he hears my voice. Psalm 55, verses 16 and 17. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from
00:34:51.840 his holy hill. Psalm 3, verse 4. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
00:34:59.540 but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. Proverbs 15, verse 8. And the eyes of the
00:35:07.480 Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. Psalm 34 verse 15. When our feelings
00:35:16.300 and our circumstances may tell us otherwise, we must be driven to trust the testimony which is
00:35:22.620 given to us in God's word. These promises in scripture are given to those who are God's elect
00:35:28.580 children. They remind us that whenever and wherever we might find ourselves humbled in prayer,
00:35:34.980 in those quiet, solitary moments, or when praying with your family or a close Christian friend,
00:35:41.060 or when praying corporately with God's people in church or in the town square,
00:35:46.260 God hears those cries with perfect attention and answers them from his holy hill. If you ever find
00:35:53.920 yourself tempted by your own sin or supposed unworthiness, remind yourself that Jesus bore
00:36:00.920 these sins in his body on the cross. Christ bore our condemnation there, and for it, his cries to
00:36:09.660 God were not heard in that dreadful hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud
00:36:15.680 voice saying, Eli, Eli, lemma sabachthani. We might be motivated to pray. Who are the Lord's
00:36:31.900 eyes and ears toward? The righteous. And whose prayer is acceptable to God? The uprights. You
00:36:40.120 see, your prayers are not heard because you pray eloquently or because you have somehow mustered
00:36:45.100 up enough faith to garner the attention of Almighty God, you and I are heard because we
00:36:51.780 have the imputed righteousness of God in Christ. And moreover, we should be encouraged that the
00:36:57.460 very act of prayer and our persistence in it is not ultimately left to us. It is a gracious work
00:37:05.580 of God's Spirit in the hearts of his people, and the Holy Spirit will see to it that our prayers
00:37:11.340 are sanctified and held up in importunity.
00:37:15.640 Reading from John Bunyan once more in his book on prayer, he writes,
00:37:20.080 As the heart must be lifted up by the Spirit if it pray aright,
00:37:24.060 so also it must be held up by the Spirit when it is up,
00:37:28.380 if it is to continue to pray aright.
00:37:32.600 And so what kind of things ought we to be making persistent prayers for?
00:37:37.820 The parable before us today would remind us that seeking justice in the civil matter is
00:37:43.460 certainly something Christians ought to be praying for.
00:37:46.640 Our parable brings to mind texts such as those found in 1 Timothy chapter 2.
00:37:52.140 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings
00:37:57.840 be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead
00:38:03.880 a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. We are to pray for our civil leaders
00:38:11.960 that they may rule righteously. The reason given in this text for these type of prayers to be made
00:38:18.900 is so that Christians may lead peaceful and godly lives. And this would require such leaders to rule
00:38:26.080 in an actual legislation which esteems goodness, virtue, and Christian morality. We're also to
00:38:34.480 pray for fellow Christians everywhere. The Apostle Paul writes to this end in his epistle to the
00:38:41.060 Ephesians, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end,
00:38:48.820 keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. We are also to
00:38:56.420 pray persistently for diligence in the war against the flesh, that God would continually bring about
00:39:02.160 his work of sanctification in us by mortifying the sin that still remains. We are to pray for
00:39:10.060 our children, to make supplications for God's blessing in our work, for the salvation of our
00:39:16.460 unbelieving family members, and for God to grant us courage to be found faithful in the day and the
00:39:22.940 age and the time in which we live. At times, it is even permissible and right to pray for the just
00:39:30.420 destruction of the ungodly. These are just a few examples that we find in the scriptures.
00:39:37.940 Through this parable, our Lord reminds us that because of our place in his kingdom,
00:39:43.080 we are to strive in our prayers for such things with a persistent optimism, keeping our eyes on
00:39:50.740 Christ himself. And so therefore, Covenant Bible Church, we pray and are reminded by our Lord to
00:39:57.820 be persistent in it and to not lose heart, because God himself is the just judge, acting righteously
00:40:05.300 and administering justice swiftly to us and to his saints. I hope and pray that you are more
00:40:12.680 assured today that your prayers are heard by the Lord, and you are encouraged to continue more and
00:40:18.600 more in this precious grace. As we close, I want to consider our Lord's final statement, which is
00:40:25.080 found in the parable, and it's found at the end of verse 8. This phrase is written, nevertheless,
00:40:33.560 when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? This phrase may seem to be out of place at
00:40:40.720 the end of the parable, but I want to encourage you with its meaning. Interestingly, this parable,
00:40:47.240 which is found at the beginning of Luke chapter 18, comes directly after a teaching that our Lord
00:40:52.300 provides to his contemporaries on the coming of the kingdom of God, which is found previously in
00:40:58.540 Luke 17 at the end of that chapter. In that teaching, he likened the days which were to come
00:41:04.520 with the days of Noah and the days of Lot, times in which it seemed as if unrighteousness were
00:41:11.800 abounding. But yet God's gracious outworking of his covenant promise to Adam and Eve was unfolding
00:41:19.340 even in those days. Similarly, when we see evil in our day, what kind of attitude should we
00:41:26.620 possess? Should a Christian react with griping or with despair? These words from our Lord in Luke
00:41:33.860 18 would seem to suggest the contrary. When faced with unrighteousness, tyranny, or a reminder of
00:41:42.320 the curse of living in a fallen world, we should be reminded of this parable and be a people who
00:41:48.440 respond with diligent, faith-filled prayers. In the same way that the widow did not allow her
00:41:55.140 circumstances to detract from her unwavering quest for justice, we the people of God should be
00:42:01.700 striving to be those who pray that all of Christ's enemies will be put under his feet
00:42:07.820 once and for all. One psalm I have found encouraging in this is Psalm 37, which reads,
00:42:15.580 Do not fret because of those who are evil, or be envious of those who do wrong. For like the grass
00:42:21.860 they will soon wither. Like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good.
00:42:29.560 Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
00:42:32.920 Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
00:42:38.120 The believer's attitude, you see, is not one of fretting or envying the wicked and his present prosperity.
00:42:44.660 In fact, our Lord told this parable so that we might pray all the more and not lose heart.
00:42:51.240 The believer is confident in the end of all things
00:42:54.540 and knows that today's faithful obedience
00:42:57.460 will beget a blessing in future generations.
00:43:01.660 We will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
00:43:05.920 Once more reading from J.C. Ryle, he says,
00:43:08.440 Have we faith ourselves?
00:43:10.740 If we have, let us bless God for it.
00:43:13.520 It is a great thing to believe all the Bible.
00:43:16.600 It is a matter for daily thankfulness
00:43:18.780 if we feel our sins.
00:43:20.500 and really trust in Jesus. We may be weak, frail, erring, shortcoming sinners, but do we believe?
00:43:31.080 That is the grand question. If we believe, we shall be saved. But he that believeth not
00:43:37.840 shall not see life and shall die in his sins. Will Christ find faith on earth when he returns? 0.55
00:43:45.840 for those in Christ, the answer will be yes. Our belief in Christ, our trusting of his promises,
00:43:54.160 and our persistent prayer were purchased at Calvary. Christ will find faith in those whom
00:44:01.820 he granted it to. On the other hand, many will be found to be faithless at Christ's return.
00:44:09.320 Those who are not saved by grace through faith in Christ
00:44:13.180 will be condemned under God's just wrath.
00:44:16.980 But take heart today, Christian.
00:44:19.180 If you are counted righteous through faith in Christ this morning,
00:44:23.780 Christ will find faith in you.
00:44:26.560 And that is reason to pray persistently.
00:44:30.020 Let's pray.
00:44:32.280 Father, we thank you for your word,
00:44:34.300 which again is such a guide unto us, Lord.
00:44:37.160 such an imperative that we would pray, and pray often would be so crushing, Lord, if we were not
00:44:46.620 reminded of the grace that comes for us in Christ. I myself, and I know that many others, we are
00:44:52.760 marked by often that spirit of unworthiness, or feeling that our prayers are feeble, or not
00:44:58.720 enough, Lord, or that we become discouraged or slack in our prayers, and yet all the more Christ
00:45:04.880 encourages us to pray persistently and to take heart in the matter. This is because you are
00:45:10.620 sovereign and good, and you have saved us according to Christ's righteousness. And so as we remember
00:45:17.260 this parable, would we remember that Christ has saved us? We are those who are classified as his
00:45:23.580 elect. And because you have purchased us and given us faith that we have been saved by grace
00:45:29.660 through faith in Jesus Christ,
00:45:31.960 may we delight to respond with obedience to you, Lord.
00:45:36.720 And would this parable direct us, oh God,
00:45:39.560 to grateful, persistent, humble, and joyful prayers.
00:45:44.560 Lord, will we do this today?
00:45:46.320 Would we do this tomorrow?
00:45:48.180 And will we do this over time?
00:45:50.040 Let us be marked by those who pray, oh God.
00:45:52.860 We love you, we treasure you, we need you,
00:45:55.320 and we pray all of these things for your glory and our good.
00:45:57.920 In Jesus' name, amen.