The NXR Podcast - October 15, 2023


SUNDAY SERMON - Persistent Prayer ｜ Luke 18_1-8

Topics
election and justice prayer persistence
Hosted by
Joel Webbon Harrison Smith Antonio Griffith Dale Partridge Wewsley Todd Calvin Robinson
Mentioned
Jesus Christ John Bunyan Apostle Paul Holy Spirit Joshua Prayer Timothy Gospels Herein Joel Seek Adam
DAILY TRUTH - Calvinism, Arminianism, Unregenerate Children, & Covenant Succession DAILY TRUTH - Evangelicals Don’t Get What It Means To Be “Worldly”

Episode Stats


Length

45 minutes

Words per minute

150.2

Word count

6,909

Sentence count

348

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 .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00 If you've been with us over the last few weeks, you know that we finished our sermon series
00:00:05 through the book of Joshua, and we delight to preach through these books of the Bible
00:00:09 for this is what we believe is good.
00:00:12 The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to preach the Word in season and out of season, and
00:00:19 so we follow these marching orders given by the Apostle Paul.
00:00:22 We preach the Word on Sundays.
00:00:25 And so we just finished our series through the book of Joshua, and over the last few
00:00:29 weeks, we've been hearing some gospel messages. Joel preached through Jonah, as well as John 3
00:00:34 most recently. And this week, we will continue to do so with a specific parable from the gospel
00:00:41 of Luke. So if you have your Bibles or a copy of the notes in front of you, please direct your
00:00:47 attention now to today's text. This is specifically found in Luke chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.
00:00:56 Once more, this is Luke chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.
00:01:01 And as is our tradition here at Covenant Bible Church,
00:01:03 would you join me in standing in reverence for the Word of God?
00:01:10 I'll read the text in its entirety, and then when I conclude reading it,
00:01:14 I'll say, this is the Word of the Lord, and I'll respond that we,
00:01:17 or I will ask that we respond by saying, thanks be to God.
00:01:20 so this is once more this is luke chapter 18 verses 1 through 8 the bible says this
00:01:28 and he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart
00:01:34 he said in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared god nor respected man and there
00:01:41 was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying give me justice against my adversary
00:01:47 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself,
00:01:51 though I neither fear God nor respect man,
00:01:54 yet because this widow keeps bothering me,
00:01:56 I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. 0.98
00:02:01 And the Lord said, hear what the unrighteous judge says.
00:02:05 And will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night?
00:02:10 Will he delay long over them?
00:02:12 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.
00:02:16 Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
00:02:20 This is the word of the Lord.
00:02:22 Thanks be to God.
00:02:23 You may be seated and join me now as I pray once more.
00:02:30 Father, we thank you for this parable which was told by our Lord.
00:02:36 We thank you that he instructed us in so many ways.
00:02:39 And we thank you that, as I'll speak in this sermon, that the intent of the parable was clear.
00:02:45 from the outset, Lord, that you taught us to pray persistently and not lose heart. And so we pray
00:02:51 that today's message, Lord, and the scriptures that we will study today will be an encouragement
00:02:55 to us, O God. It seems that our Lord sought to encourage us and his disciples with this parable.
00:03:02 We thank you, O God, that you are good, that you are gracious, that you are praiseworthy,
00:03:07 and that you delight to teach us and show us the way in which we ought to go.
00:03:11 We pray, Lord, that as we look to Christ and have our eyes fixed on him, we pray that we would
00:03:16 grow in deeper love and appreciation for his mercies, for his kingly rulership over us,
00:03:23 which is good. And we pray that as we see the truth, as it's expressed in scripture,
00:03:29 we pray that we would delight to do all manner of worship of you, Lord, for you are fitting.
00:03:34 This is proper to worship you, Lord. And we pray that you'd be glorified in our worship today
00:03:39 and that the hearts of your people would be edified by this sermon.
00:03:43 We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
00:03:47 As I mentioned before, prayer is the subject at hand in today's text and today's sermon.
00:03:54 And so I believe a helpful starting point for us as we consider this text
00:03:59 is to look at a definition of prayer which is given by a faithful Christian father.
00:04:05 In his book entitled Prayer, John Bunyan gives us this definition as he writes,
00:04:11 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 for the good of the church with submission to the will, in faith to the will of God.
00:04:35 Now, I like this definition of prayer because it helps to highlight two key aspects of prayer.
00:04:41 The first is that prayer is a Trinitarian act.
00:04:45 We pray to the Father through Christ by the help of the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us in our
00:04:51 weakness. This is one of the defining characteristics of prayer and any of the means of grace for that
00:04:57 matter. From the outsider perspective, prayer may seem like an innocent or a helpless practice,
00:05:04 but it is far from that. Even the Christian may be unaware of the unseen realities taking place 0.92
00:05:11 during prayer. This is truly remarkable. When we pray, our prayers are carried into God's 0.62
00:05:26 presence by Christ himself and are sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit. All of this takes
00:05:33 place when we pray. The second aspect that is highlighted in Bunyan's definition is that the
00:05:39 content of Christian prayer should always be in accordance with God's will and purposes for his
00:05:46 people. A defining example of this is found in one of our Lord's most notable teachings on prayer,
00:05:52 which is found in Matthew chapter 6 and in Luke chapter 11.
00:05:57 Many of you know this particular teaching as the Lord's Prayer.
00:06:02 In Matthew 6, Jesus says,
00:06:04 Pray then like this,
00:06:06 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
00:06:10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
00:06:16 This specific teaching was given by Christ in response to the question,
00:06:20 Lord, teach us to pray. By this teaching, we are to understand that whatever words or petitions
00:06:28 fill our prayers, they are to be directed first to God's greatness and holiness and to his
00:06:34 purposes, both those that are revealed and those that are secret or hidden. Many of these purposes
00:06:43 are revealed to us, namely in the Bible, and that is why it is appropriate for us to pray
00:06:49 the scriptures. We learn how to pray by praying the Lord's Prayer or the Psalms, which are Holy
00:06:56 Spirit-inspired prayers, and fill the content of our prayers with the revealed will of God.
00:07:04 God's revealed will also serves as a guide when we are learning to grapple with his hidden will.
00:07:11 Though some of God's purposes may not be clear to us this side of eternity, the Lord grants us
00:07:17 faith to pray this petition, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
00:07:25 Such petitions align with God's secret will and help us during those times that we may wrestle
00:07:31 with the difficulties of tragedy and those times when God's providence may not be sweet, but bitter.
00:07:38 Prayer sets us aright and reminds us that all of God's promises are yes and amen in Christ.
00:07:46 You see, these two defining characteristics, which were given by Bunyan and I've hopefully
00:07:50 expressed, are crucial for us in our understanding of what Christian prayer is. And this is because
00:07:56 many people may insist that they are praying when they are, in fact, not. You see, in both of these
00:08:02 defining aspects of prayer, the common thread which is found is faith. Faith in Christ must be present
00:08:09 if one is to pray. Many may be driven to cry out to God for countless reasons, but they are not
00:08:16 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 for his glory. So we've seen from, just from this opening from God's word, what Christian prayer is,
00:08:30 but what else can we learn from the Bible about prayer? At this point, many of you may be familiar
00:08:36 with other teachings regarding prayer found in the scriptures. In Matthew chapter 6 again,
00:08:42 Jesus confronted the Pharisees who used the act of prayer to exalt and commend themselves before
00:08:48 others for their righteousness. What they were engaging in was actually hypocrisy and not 0.86
00:08:54 righteousness at all. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand 0.97
00:09:01 and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.
00:09:08 Truly I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room
00:09:13 and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret
00:09:19 will reward you. Another famous teaching on prayer is found in Philippians chapter 4 and is a favorite
00:09:26 among many. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
00:09:33 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all
00:09:41 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4, verses 6
00:09:48 and 7. In this case, in Philippians 4, prayer with thanksgiving is prescribed whenever we may
00:09:56 be plagued with worries or fears. Paul teaches us not to be anxious about anything, but rather
00:10:03 to make prayers to God with thanksgiving, with gratefulness. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1,
00:10:11 or in chapter 5 actually, we read, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all
00:10:17 circumstances, for this is the will of God and Christ Jesus for you. In these teachings alone,
00:10:26 we learn that we are to pray with humility, with gratefulness, and at all times and circumstances.
00:10:33 These are particular teachings we find in the scriptures that mark the spirit of Christian
00:10:38 prayer and how it is to be employed. With these in mind, let us consider one more foundational
00:10:46 characteristic, which is to mark our prayers and is found in this parable, which we look at today.
00:10:53 Christian prayer is marked by, among all things, the believer's persistence in it. Look back at
00:11:00 verse 1 of our text, which reads, and he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to
00:11:07 pray and not lose heart. Herein lies the subject of the text. This parable emphasizes this specific
00:11:15 aspect of prayer, that believers ought to be diligent and disciplined to pray often and with
00:11:22 perseverance. When believers pray in accordance with God's will and promises as revealed in
00:11:29 Scripture, they have assurance that God will act on these promises on behalf of his chosen children.
00:11:36 And this helps us to pray fervently and often, and we don't see a prayer answered right away
00:11:42 because we are reminded that God has given us
00:11:45 not only his promises, but prayer as the means
00:11:49 by which he bestows his gracious gifts to us.
00:11:54 In addition to this, our Lord instructs us
00:11:56 through this parable not only to pray persistently,
00:11:59 but to do so with encouragement, to not lose heart,
00:12:03 to pray with optimism, if you will.
00:12:06 We will see this as we discuss the parable more in depth,
00:12:10 but at the outset, we can be reminded
00:12:11 that the believer has all the hope he or she needs to pray in faith because his or her prayers
00:12:17 are always heard by God and answered in accordance with God's fatherly love for his people. And so
00:12:25 brothers and sisters, as we consider this text, I hope to give you fuel from the word of God
00:12:31 to be people of prayer and to be those that pray persistently. If we're being quite honest,
00:12:38 prayer is not something that comes easy to us. It's often a difficult discipline, and this is
00:12:45 something for myself included. At points in my life, it's been far easier for me, at least in
00:12:51 my mind, to read scripture or to discuss theology than it has been for me to humble myself before
00:12:57 God in prayer. And so therefore, I'm sure many of you may measure your level of productivity,
00:13:03 significance, and assurance before God based on your self-assessment of how much you've been
00:13:09 reading or listening to podcasts or how well you can articulate a theological position.
00:13:15 These are wonderful helps to us and are great gifts from God to us. But sometimes,
00:13:22 especially in the Reformed camp, prayer may often take a backseat to these particular means
00:13:27 of grace. We might make a strategic plan to finish the institutes or to learn a new trade,
00:13:34 but how often do we carve out time in our busy days to pray? And with today's parable in mind,
00:13:41 do we find ourselves praying for the same things with a consistent hope over weeks, months, years
00:13:47 perhaps? Surely this is, again, not to cast shade upon the means of Bible reading and careful study
00:13:54 of solid material. Oftentimes, faithful Bible study or podcasts about sourdough making perhaps
00:14:01 by Christians drive us to prayer and therein to greater delight and worship of God. But this 0.97
00:14:08 parable seeks to confront us with two primary questions. One, are you praying? And two,
00:14:15 are you faithfully praying over time? In expositional preaching, I have found that a
00:14:22 helpful way to study the scriptures is to do so with the lens of three basic categories. And at
00:14:28 a surface level, we could say that these are the character and nature of God, God's revealed will
00:14:35 and actions, and the response of obedience that he requires of his people. As we consider our
00:14:42 Lord's teaching on prayer from Luke 18, I think it will be helpful for us to examine the parable
00:14:47 in light of these guidelines. From our text, we see first that God is the just judge. And what
00:14:55 has he done? He has sovereignly elected and saved a people for his own possession. It is to these
00:15:03 that God grants justice speedily. What then is required of his elect is persistent, faithful
00:15:10 prayer in all gratitude and assurance. Prayer comes from a true, genuine heart. It is aware
00:15:18 of the truth of things, things such as the state of sin, the need for grace or God's holiness,
00:15:25 perhaps. Prayer is an opening of the heart to God. And what do we pray for? For God's will to
00:15:33 be accomplished, for his promises to be wrought into our hearts. We pray in accordance with his
00:15:39 word for the good of his people and all submissiveness through the gift of faith by which
00:15:45 he saves us. And with these things in mind, let us consider our text. So we begin in the
00:15:52 place that all true and right biblical studies begin with the character and nature of God
00:15:58 as revealed to us by his word. In our Lord's parable, we begin with the example of the
00:16:09 He said,
00:16:11 In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
00:16:17 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying,
00:16:20 Give me justice against my adversary.
00:16:23 These are the two characters which are presented in this parable,
00:16:27 the judge and the widow.
00:16:30 And from the outset, we are introduced to both.
00:16:33 The judge is somewhat of a rogue judge, you see,
00:16:36 neither respecting God, the true judge, or men, those whom the judge was to represent
00:16:42 and advocate for. In view here were subjects, either the judges or a king in whose court the
00:16:49 judge was serving. Regardless, the judge was tasked with representing and administering right
00:16:56 and correct judgments in their favor. One of these particular subjects is the widow, 1.00
00:17:02 the other character who is found in this parable. And she resided within the city and was represented
00:17:08 by the judge, likely we know from her appeal to him. From a surface level, we don't have much
00:17:13 information as to what wrong was committed against the widow, but we can tell that she does seek a
00:17:19 righteous ruling on her behalf. We see this from her plea. She says, give me justice against my
00:17:28 adversary. And this would seem to clue us in that some wrong had been done to her by her adversary
00:17:33 and enemy. The fact that she petitions for justice would be evidence to this position.
00:17:41 And the judge being the upholder of justice was the one to whom such a petition ought to come.
00:17:48 And yet being neither a respecter of God nor a respecter of man, we see that the judge had failed
00:17:54 to uphold the duties which were given to him by God himself. Consider for a moment what the second
00:18:01 London Baptist confession of faith has to say about the duties of civil magistrates. In chapter 24 it
00:18:08 reads, God the supreme lord and king of all the world hath ordained civil magistrates to be under
00:18:16 him over the people for his own glory and the public good and to this end hath armed them with
00:18:23 the power of the sword, for defense and encouragement of them that do good, and for the punishment
00:18:29 of evildoers. By both human standards as well as God's, we can easily assert the judge in this
00:18:38 parable is unjust. He had been ordained by God and had assumed his role on the bench to do a
00:18:45 particular duty. This judge, by duty of his office and appointment by God, was to rule for the public
00:18:53 good, rendering righteous judgments for the defense and encouragement of them that do good and for the
00:19:00 punishment of evildoers. Yet we read the judge neither feared God nor respected man. He was a
00:19:08 judge who was motivated by his own self-interest, his own advancement, his own glory. The judge in
00:19:16 our Lord's parable is, simply put, a wicked tyrant. Moreover, the fact that it is a widow seeking
00:19:22 justice in the judge's court seems to make the situation even more hopeless by human standards.
00:19:29 The widow had no husband, male relative, or lawyer to advocate her case. There was no mention of any
00:19:36 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 bribe the judge even. She insists only on obtaining justice. She staked her claim in the matter on 0.99
00:19:50 what was fair and right. She advocated for due process and a fair penalty for her adversary in
00:19:57 the situation. And knowing the character of the unjust judge as revealed in the parable,
00:20:03 we can only assume that the widow's chances of obtaining this justice were slim to none due to
00:20:09 the judge's impartiality. But listen to our Lord's words as we read them in verse 6. And the Lord
00:20:17 says, hear what the unrighteous judge says, and what does he say? According to verses four and
00:20:25 five, for a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, though I neither fear God nor
00:20:33 respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that
00:20:40 she will not beat me down by her continual coming. You see, the unrighteous judge is ultimately moved 0.99
00:20:46 to do his job out of mere annoyance. We learn that the widow asked repeatedly, continually coming to
00:20:55 the judge's court to plead for the justice due her. The widow is patient and persistent and ultimately
00:21:03 beats the judge at the long game. She wears him down before he can shut her down. Interestingly 1.00
00:21:10 enough, her continual coming does not produce a radical heart change in the judge. He does not
00:21:16 begin to fear God or become a respecter of man due to her continual coming, but is moved to fulfill
00:21:23 his obligation as a civil magistrate by her continual and constant bothering, he says. 1.00
00:21:31 The mere inconvenience of the poor widow's appearance was all it took for the unrighteous 0.67
00:21:37 judge to grant justice. And the Lord uses this parable to commend her persistence.
00:21:44 As is so often done in the scriptures, Jesus makes the argument from the lesser
00:21:48 to the greater. If even an unjust judge will do justice to a poor widow, how much more will God?
00:21:58 And if even an unjust judge will grant justice due to that poor widow's persistence, how much
00:22:04 more will God. This is reason for great hope in us, for the Lord's judgments are just. What grounds
00:22:12 do we have to approach God for deliverance? Because we are his elect. Although we have not
00:22:19 earned God's goodwill or favor through anything we have done, he grants it to us graciously
00:22:26 through his son, Jesus Christ. Is he bothered by our continual coming? He is not. In fact,
00:22:33 the text later says clearly that he will give justice to them speedily. And so at this point,
00:22:40 I want to present you with a few more scriptures which remind us of the gracious character
00:22:45 of God, especially as it regards the practice of prayer. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
00:22:53 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights,
00:23:00 with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1, 16 and 17.
00:23:08 Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you.
00:23:16 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks,
00:23:24 it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?
00:23:30 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 gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those
00:23:44 who ask him? Matthew 7, 7 through 11. You see, these words ground us and root us in the truth
00:23:53 that God not only hears our prayers, but delights to answer them. When we pray, we are not praying
00:24:01 to an unrighteous tyrant, but the Father of lights, who bestows every good and every perfect
00:24:07 gift. And if even earthly fathers provide good gifts to their children when asked, how much more
00:24:14 shall we expect from the King of Kings, the Lord of the cosmos, who wields all means and possesses
00:24:20 all power at his disposal. These scriptures, in conjunction with today's parable, are meant to
00:24:27 encourage us to pray with boldness and humility and to pray often. What boldness the widow possessed
00:24:36 to approach a tyrant for justice and to do so repeatedly. So forget not that we pray not to 0.96
00:24:48 a tyrant, but to the Lord, the one whom Jesus taught to address us as our Father. He is perfectly
00:24:57 righteous, unmatched in his holiness and greatness, and yet has promised to act on behalf of his people,
00:25:05 his children. His grace alone is what motivates us to continually pray. There are times when we may
00:25:12 not receive immediate deliverance or be granted a good thing we desire and have been praying for,
00:25:19 and this is not due to a deficiency in our prayers or in God's character. But nevertheless,
00:25:25 may we be driven back to prayer and be reminded of God's perfect patience and grace as we pray
00:25:32 with persistent hope. In his book, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels,
00:25:42 By dent of sheer importunity, which is a fancy word for saying persistence.
00:25:55 If importunity obtains so much from a wicked man, how much more will it obtain for the
00:26:01 children of God from the righteous judge, their father in heaven?
00:26:06 so having this considered the character of God as the righteous judge let us now consider the
00:26:13 truth of what God has accomplished for us in Christ the most obvious answer for the Christian
00:26:19 is salvation he has saved us through his sovereign unconditional election let us look back at our
00:26:28 text and see it there hear what our Lord says in verses 7 and 8 and will not God give
00:26:36 justice to his elect who cry to him day and night. Will he delay long over them? I tell you,
00:26:43 he will give justice to them speedily. As we have said before, God grants justice to those who cry
00:26:50 to him day and night. And according to the text, who are those who cry to him day and night? They
00:26:58 are the elect. Therefore, the ultimate subject and recipient of God's justice, Christ says,
00:27:05 is those who were predestined graciously before the foundations of the world to believe in him.
00:27:13 Consider for a moment the truths of the gospel. God is holy and just. He is the creator of the
00:27:21 heavens and the earth and perfect and righteous in all that he is and does. All men are sinners
00:27:29 by nature and by choice and stand righteously condemned under the weight of God's just 0.75
00:27:35 wrath. God's perfect holiness stands in opposition to all sin and unrighteousness. And because sin
00:27:43 is not just something that we do, but the fallen condition of all men's hearts before God, we stand
00:27:49 condemned against God. But consider God's gracious gift. He sent Jesus Christ, the perfect, eternal,
00:27:58 divine Son who took on flesh and lived the life that you and I were required to live.
00:28:05 and died the death that we deserved to die. He died as our substitute in the place of wicked
00:28:12 sinners and was then raised to life and is now seated at God's right hand. He triumphed over
00:28:20 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 child of God is repentance of sin, as we have done, and faith towards God. The Gospel of John says,
00:28:35 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
00:28:41 of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
00:28:49 but of God. John 1, verses 12 and 13. And in Colossians 1, he has delivered of
00:29:05 So what has the Lord done?
00:29:12 The Lord has saved those who have faith in his Son.
00:29:17 He chose us in him before the foundations of the world
00:29:21 that we should be holy and blameless before him.
00:29:25 The Lord perfectly exercises his sovereign election
00:29:29 to justify Christians by the righteousness of God 0.71
00:29:32 and seal them with the promised Holy Spirit.
00:29:36 As our sanctifier and head, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
00:29:43 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word,
00:29:48 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor,
00:29:51 without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
00:29:58 salvation belongs to the lord in our text his elect refers to those who are justified by his
00:30:06 grace and are kept in his special care so if you are a christian god takes ownership of you
00:30:14 you are his elect the text says and one of the greatest benefits of your election is god's
00:30:21 merciful promise to grant justice to you speedily. Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will
00:30:29 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 children among many. God's promise is here that he will not delay long over us and will grant
00:30:46 justice to us speedily is something to rejoice in, to delight in. If even earthly fathers will
00:30:54 not give their children stones when they ask for bread or serpents when they ask for fish,
00:30:59 how much more will God give good gifts to us, his beloved and chosen children?
00:31:07 So the point of this is that, first of all, pray. You have no fear in approaching God
00:31:13 in prayer, for he will never give you an evil gift. God, as our benevolent father, has already
00:31:20 given us all that is needful for us in this life and every opportunity that we possess.
00:31:26 Think for a moment about everything good in your life, your wife, your husband, your kids,
00:31:33 your job, the very breath in your lungs. Has not all of this been given to you by God himself?
00:31:39 Like a loving father, God delights to give us good gifts in life, and especially so when we
00:31:47 come to him asking for these things in prayer. Secondly, when our prayers are not answered in
00:31:54 the time frame or in the manner in which we had expected, this parable and the underlying promise
00:32:00 is helpful to ward off the inherent temptation that we may face to doubt the Lord or to become
00:32:06 slack in our prayers. God has promised that he will grant justice to his elect speedily, that he
00:32:14 will not... and optimism in our prayers. J.C. Rowe, writing again in his book, Thoughts for Men,
00:32:28 Thoughts for Young Men this time, he writes, prayer is the life breath of a man's soul.
00:32:34 Without it, we may have a name to live and be counted Christians, but we are dead in the sight
00:32:40 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 of spreading before him our soul's wants is an evidence that we have the spirit of adoption.
00:32:56 The Christian, God's elect, is marked by this fervent desire to pray, to converse with God.
00:33:04 And as you make progress in the Christian life, may this refresh you, that even the most feeble
00:33:10 prayers are reminders of your election, of your adoption. And as this bolsters you in faith and
00:33:18 in hope, may we be a people who are marked by humble, hopeful prayers. And so in light of God's
00:33:26 sovereign grace, let us consider what this parable requires of us in Christian obedience. As we
00:33:33 remind ourselves each and every Sunday, God's people are marked by a grateful desire to walk
00:33:38 in God's commandments because of his unconditional election. The imperative present in today's
00:33:46 parable motivates us to one specific sort of Christian obedience, and this is found again
00:33:53 in verse 1. And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not
00:33:59 lose heart. In light of God's character as the perfectly just and righteous judge who grants
00:34:06 justice speedily, the elect ought to be marked by a spirit of persistent prayer with all gratitude
00:34:13 and assurance. As fuel for us in this endeavor, let us consider a few more scriptures which are
00:34:21 given for our encouragement and speak of the believer's privileges and prayer. These have
00:34:27 granted me assurance in my prayers and I pray that they do to you as well. But I call to God
00:34:35 and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I utter my complaint and moan and
00:34:42 he hears my voice. Psalm 55, verses 16 and 17. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from
00:34:51 his holy hill. Psalm 3, verse 4. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
00:34:59 but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him. Proverbs 15, verse 8. And the eyes of the
00:35:07 Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. Psalm 34 verse 15. When our feelings
00:35:16 and our circumstances may tell us otherwise, we must be driven to trust the testimony which is
00:35:22 given to us in God's word. These promises in scripture are given to those who are God's elect
00:35:28 children. They remind us that whenever and wherever we might find ourselves humbled in prayer,
00:35:34 in those quiet, solitary moments, or when praying with your family or a close Christian friend,
00:35:41 or when praying corporately with God's people in church or in the town square,
00:35:46 God hears those cries with perfect attention and answers them from his holy hill. If you ever find
00:35:53 yourself tempted by your own sin or supposed unworthiness, remind yourself that Jesus bore
00:36:00 these sins in his body on the cross. Christ bore our condemnation there, and for it, his cries to
00:36:09 God were not heard in that dreadful hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud
00:36:15 voice saying, Eli, Eli, lemma sabachthani. We might be motivated to pray. Who are the Lord's
00:36:31 eyes and ears toward? The righteous. And whose prayer is acceptable to God? The uprights. You
00:36:40 see, your prayers are not heard because you pray eloquently or because you have somehow mustered
00:36:45 up enough faith to garner the attention of Almighty God, you and I are heard because we
00:36:51 have the imputed righteousness of God in Christ. And moreover, we should be encouraged that the
00:36:57 very act of prayer and our persistence in it is not ultimately left to us. It is a gracious work
00:37:05 of God's Spirit in the hearts of his people, and the Holy Spirit will see to it that our prayers
00:37:11 are sanctified and held up in importunity.
00:37:15 Reading from John Bunyan once more in his book on prayer, he writes,
00:37:20 As the heart must be lifted up by the Spirit if it pray aright,
00:37:24 so also it must be held up by the Spirit when it is up,
00:37:28 if it is to continue to pray aright.
00:37:32 And so what kind of things ought we to be making persistent prayers for?
00:37:37 The parable before us today would remind us that seeking justice in the civil matter is
00:37:43 certainly something Christians ought to be praying for.
00:37:46 Our parable brings to mind texts such as those found in 1 Timothy chapter 2.
00:37:52 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings
00:37:57 be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead
00:38:03 a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. We are to pray for our civil leaders
00:38:11 that they may rule righteously. The reason given in this text for these type of prayers to be made
00:38:18 is so that Christians may lead peaceful and godly lives. And this would require such leaders to rule
00:38:26 in an actual legislation which esteems goodness, virtue, and Christian morality. We're also to
00:38:34 pray for fellow Christians everywhere. The Apostle Paul writes to this end in his epistle to the
00:38:41 Ephesians, praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end,
00:38:48 keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. We are also to
00:38:56 pray persistently for diligence in the war against the flesh, that God would continually bring about
00:39:02 his work of sanctification in us by mortifying the sin that still remains. We are to pray for
00:39:10 our children, to make supplications for God's blessing in our work, for the salvation of our
00:39:16 unbelieving family members, and for God to grant us courage to be found faithful in the day and the
00:39:22 age and the time in which we live. At times, it is even permissible and right to pray for the just
00:39:30 destruction of the ungodly. These are just a few examples that we find in the scriptures.
00:39:37 Through this parable, our Lord reminds us that because of our place in his kingdom,
00:39:43 we are to strive in our prayers for such things with a persistent optimism, keeping our eyes on
00:39:50 Christ himself. And so therefore, Covenant Bible Church, we pray and are reminded by our Lord to
00:39:57 be persistent in it and to not lose heart, because God himself is the just judge, acting righteously
00:40:05 and administering justice swiftly to us and to his saints. I hope and pray that you are more
00:40:12 assured today that your prayers are heard by the Lord, and you are encouraged to continue more and
00:40:18 more in this precious grace. As we close, I want to consider our Lord's final statement, which is
00:40:25 found in the parable, and it's found at the end of verse 8. This phrase is written, nevertheless,
00:40:33 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 the end of the parable, but I want to encourage you with its meaning. Interestingly, this parable,
00:40:47 which is found at the beginning of Luke chapter 18, comes directly after a teaching that our Lord
00:40:52 provides to his contemporaries on the coming of the kingdom of God, which is found previously in
00:40:58 Luke 17 at the end of that chapter. In that teaching, he likened the days which were to come
00:41:04 with the days of Noah and the days of Lot, times in which it seemed as if unrighteousness were
00:41:11 abounding. But yet God's gracious outworking of his covenant promise to Adam and Eve was unfolding
00:41:19 even in those days. Similarly, when we see evil in our day, what kind of attitude should we
00:41:26 possess? Should a Christian react with griping or with despair? These words from our Lord in Luke
00:41:33 18 would seem to suggest the contrary. When faced with unrighteousness, tyranny, or a reminder of
00:41:42 the curse of living in a fallen world, we should be reminded of this parable and be a people who
00:41:48 respond with diligent, faith-filled prayers. In the same way that the widow did not allow her
00:41:55 circumstances to detract from her unwavering quest for justice, we the people of God should be
00:42:01 striving to be those who pray that all of Christ's enemies will be put under his feet
00:42:07 once and for all. One psalm I have found encouraging in this is Psalm 37, which reads,
00:42:15 Do not fret because of those who are evil, or be envious of those who do wrong. For like the grass
00:42:21 they will soon wither. Like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good.
00:42:29 Dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
00:42:32 Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
00:42:38 The believer's attitude, you see, is not one of fretting or envying the wicked and his present prosperity.
00:42:44 In fact, our Lord told this parable so that we might pray all the more and not lose heart.
00:42:51 The believer is confident in the end of all things
00:42:54 and knows that today's faithful obedience
00:42:57 will beget a blessing in future generations.
00:43:01 We will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
00:43:05 Once more reading from J.C. Ryle, he says,
00:43:08 Have we faith ourselves?
00:43:10 If we have, let us bless God for it.
00:43:13 It is a great thing to believe all the Bible.
00:43:16 It is a matter for daily thankfulness
00:43:18 if we feel our sins.
00:43:20 and really trust in Jesus. We may be weak, frail, erring, shortcoming sinners, but do we believe?
00:43:31 That is the grand question. If we believe, we shall be saved. But he that believeth not
00:43:37 shall not see life and shall die in his sins. Will Christ find faith on earth when he returns? 0.55
00:43:45 for those in Christ, the answer will be yes. Our belief in Christ, our trusting of his promises,
00:43:54 and our persistent prayer were purchased at Calvary. Christ will find faith in those whom
00:44:01 he granted it to. On the other hand, many will be found to be faithless at Christ's return.
00:44:09 Those who are not saved by grace through faith in Christ
00:44:13 will be condemned under God's just wrath.
00:44:16 But take heart today, Christian.
00:44:19 If you are counted righteous through faith in Christ this morning,
00:44:23 Christ will find faith in you.
00:44:26 And that is reason to pray persistently.
00:44:30 Let's pray.
00:44:32 Father, we thank you for your word,
00:44:34 which again is such a guide unto us, Lord.
00:44:37 such an imperative that we would pray, and pray often would be so crushing, Lord, if we were not
00:44:46 reminded of the grace that comes for us in Christ. I myself, and I know that many others, we are
00:44:52 marked by often that spirit of unworthiness, or feeling that our prayers are feeble, or not
00:44:58 enough, Lord, or that we become discouraged or slack in our prayers, and yet all the more Christ
00:45:04 encourages us to pray persistently and to take heart in the matter. This is because you are
00:45:10 sovereign and good, and you have saved us according to Christ's righteousness. And so as we remember
00:45:17 this parable, would we remember that Christ has saved us? We are those who are classified as his
00:45:23 elect. And because you have purchased us and given us faith that we have been saved by grace
00:45:29 through faith in Jesus Christ,
00:45:31 may we delight to respond with obedience to you, Lord.
00:45:36 And would this parable direct us, oh God,
00:45:39 to grateful, persistent, humble, and joyful prayers.
00:45:44 Lord, will we do this today?
00:45:46 Would we do this tomorrow?
00:45:48 And will we do this over time?
00:45:50 Let us be marked by those who pray, oh God.
00:45:52 We love you, we treasure you, we need you,
00:45:55 and we pray all of these things for your glory and our good.
00:45:57 In Jesus' name, amen.