Sermon 2-2-14 the parable of the unjust
judge Lk 18:1-8
Then
Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray
and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who
neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow
in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my
adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself,
‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because
this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she
won’t eventually come and attack me!’”6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what
the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his
chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?
8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However,
when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
Persistence
This
is a topic that has been on my mind.
Another
topic that has been on my mind recently is the selective way that we tend to
look at scriptures.
ONE - At first it seems a parable that
indicates
that if you stay after it long enough, god will give you what you
want.
Is
that the purpose of Prayer…
Does
God change His mind?
If I get more people to pray will that work?
Is
prayer about us changing God?
Is
prayer about us getting what we want or God getting what he wants.
Or
in prayer does God change our hearts?
Although we are encouraged not to pray
with vain repetitions,
Prayer
is intended to be an ongoing life of communication with God
I
was reading the other day about how little Americans pray.
That people should have a set time and pray
for at least five minutes in the morning and 5 before bed.
Really?
Then the rest of the day belongs to me?
I
would offers something else.
Prayer
is intended to be an ongoing communication with God.
Prior to cell phones and email, I had to go to a
phone to call you.
I
had to wait for a pay phone to open up.
Now
that we have cell phones, I can talk to you anytime.
We
can be in constant communication.
So
how I pray is no longer a hit and miss thing, but an all the time thing
My
praying becomes a fluid experience.
usually
this relationship happens over time. It takes time to build
in
time - My vantage point –view point begins to shift toward God’s.
My
will to his will
That
is when I can begin to see something that that I had not before….
Realize
a Story bigger than me is happening in and around my life.
The prayer in this story is not about
me getting what I want for my consumption
TWO - It is about justice.
I
am not going to chase this a lot this morning, it is very painful to us
But
imagine if our lives and brains,
instead
of thinking about what I want and desire
Thought
instead about making things fair in life. Giving others a fair shot.
Micah
6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good -And
what does the Lord
require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
Justice
conference dates……..Feb 21-22
Lets talk about the spiritual nature of
persistence……
In
life, it is a character trait……. To persist. To be determined.
To
stay with a thing.
It
is a character trait that we honor, it is a spiritual character trait
·
The
little engine that could
·
The
tortoise and the hair [the tortise]
·
Getting
up and getting after things.
·
When
the going gets tough, the tough gets going
That
is why we love underdog stories
Great
come from behind stories- where someone stayed at a thing
It is a skill that is mandatory for a
successful life.
You
have to say with a thing
You
have to work at a thing- did I say work?
2 thess 3:10 Paul – if a man would not work, neither would he eat
You
have to work for a living. – I have been trying to teach my kids this their
entire life
If
you work in life, you have a chance, if you don’t, you are doomed to a life of
victimhood
Get up when you get knocked down
Work hard
Work first. Play second
Go
to work, work all week.
You
can solve your problems on the nights and weekends.
You
have to keep going.
Some people quit.
Its
too hard - Its not easy
They
become Bitter and angry - There is never anything to gain from this.
Do
you want to quit? --You can always quit tomorrow
Don’t
give up today
[some
relationships should end, but that is not what I am talking about]
You have to keep after a thing.
The same implies to spirituality. The
importance of staying with it
Praying
thru to the other side
Adonijah
-Holding on to the horns of the altar 1 kings 1
Jacob
wrestling with the angel [before meeting esau]
The
nature of the spiritual walk in engaged for the long haul
Leland
high school 1973 - Story of first track meet – fastest 880 man.
Passed by their three.
At the end of the season, I was the slowest
880 man
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing
our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before
him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of
the throne of God. 3
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not
grow weary and lose heart….
The
nature of the spiritual walk is Engaged for the long haul
THREE - Will the son of man
find faith on the earth
If
it doesn’t go the way that we want it to go, will we still remain faithful?
The parable does not end with an insistence
on the promise of God
But
on a question of whether or not we will remain faithful, even if things don’t
go our way
James
1:2-4 2 Consider it pure joy,
my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because
you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may
be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Maybe
you know the story of
Derek Redmond,
400
m runner for the British in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Invested
his life in training for this race. – he was favored to win
150
m short of the finish—
He pulls up lame
PHOTO 1
torn
ham-string and down on his knees.
He
was leading only a couple of seconds before, now everyone passes him on the way
to the finish.
He is in great
pain
PHOTO 2
Track
personnel gathered around him, stretcher bearers huddled…
then, Derek Redmund emerged up from the
midst of the huddle and started limping/hopping his way toward the
finish.
Photo 3
The
crowd of 65000 rises to its feet…cheering him
on
After
he struggled to go some 30 m or so…a man appeared on the track…
fighting his way past
security…
Photo 4
he
put his arms around Derek and helped him to the last leg of the journey.
It
was his father
You may have collapsed under…
a
heavy load, a physical condition, a broken heart, a
conflict, a disappointment, a loss…
Will
everything turn out as you want? Perhaps not…
Did
Derek Redmund lose? Who defines losing?
Maybe
God has a different finish line…
A
broken son…was joined together in the arms of a loving Father.
65,000
in the stadium cheered on as they witnessed courage, persistence, and
faithfulness.
All
of heaven rises for you. we still cheer on courage, persistence and
faithfulness
God expects us to keep trying.
He
promises to be with us.
Isaiah 40:29-31 says:
“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even
youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but
those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on
wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Let
us pray
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