Don't Stop...and Start!

Luke chapter 18, if you've ever prayed about a matter so long that you just want to quit praying about it, this message is for you.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

If your prayer lacks faithful endurance, this message is for you.

If you talk about it more than you do it, this prayer is for you.

If you ever struggled in praying over something, this message is for you.

If none of that applies to you, this message is for you.

Because you're not honest about your prayer life.

Too hardened to see the struggle.

So regardless, I believe this message is for you.

And me.

It's in Luke chapter 18, beginning in verse 1.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

And it says,

And Jesus told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

He said in a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying,

Give me justice against my adversary.

For a while he refused.

But afterward he said to himself,

Though I neither fear God nor respect man,

Yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I'll give her justice.

So that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.

And the Lord said,

Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

And will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night?

Will he delay long over them?

I tell you, he will give justice to them spedly.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,

will he find faith on earth?

Last week I shared with you a parable that I was preaching from

that I told you would you be difficult.

It was difficult and one that seldom was preached on because of its difficulty.

And some of you told me afterwards that you'd never heard a sermon on that parable.

And if I preach that again in a couple of years, which I probably won't,

but if I did, you'd probably come back to me and say,

I've never heard a sermon on that parable before.

This one is tough too, but for, and for some of the same reason.

So I want to clarify something immediately

so that you know,

and then we can get on to how to apply this to our life.

God's not in this story.

Don't misunderstand me.

See, the story is from God.

And Jesus told the story, but God's not a character in Jesus's story.

The judge in this story is not God.

God's nothing like this judge.

I want to show you that,

and I want to show you the difference between God and this judge

and see why that difference ought to impact our prayer lives.

First thing I want you to see is the nature of God.

The nature of God.

This judge that Jesus describes in this story is godless,

and he's either an egomaniac or a sociopath.

Because Jesus states that he didn't care about God or about people,

and then he knew it about himself as well.

He couldn't care less about this woman's problems,

but she wears him down.

So he acts toward her as he should,

but not because he cares,

and not because he's concerned,

not because he's determined that fairness and justice must reign supreme.

To be honest, he's just tired of her.

It's not worth it to him to not respond.

Who cares anyway?

It's his attitude.

It's the same effort that any child makes when he wants a snack

or she wants a toy.

And the thought is I'll make my parents as miserable as possible

until I get what I want.

I have two girls,

and I'm pretty soft sometimes.

I'm not saying give in to it

because that's a sermon for another day,

but I'm saying this judge said just hush already,

and I'll do it.

And that may sound like a parent from time to time.

But that's this judge.

That's not God.

God expects us to ask.

God tells us to ask.

James chapter 4 verse 2 and 3 says,

James 4:2

you do not have because you do not ask.

You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly.

The nature of God is nothing like this man's sinful nature.

I'll tell you another difference between God and this judge

is the justice of God.

The justice of God.

There were two kinds of judges in this culture.

There was an orthodox judge in the tradition of Moses.

And there's a wonderful story, true story,

in Exodus chapter 18,

Exodus 18 · chapter mention

when Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, comes to see Moses.

He makes a visit.

And he sees Moses being pushed and pulled every way

as he tries to adjudicate every conflict

that the people of God had amongst each other.

All of them would come to Moses.

And it literally says that it went from morning until night.

Moses was constantly hearing of these conflicts

and making a judgment on each one.

And Jethro saw it, watched it, and said,

and you got to look deep into Hebrew to see this,

dude, you got to chill.

You're going to wear out.

You can't do this.

You need to develop a court system

that covers small numbers of people.

And then when there's a problem with that,

let them go to the next level.

And if there's a problem with that,

let them go to the next level.

He gave specific instructions,

and Moses followed his advice.

And then only the cases,

the only cases he saw

were those Supreme Court-type cases,

those ones that could not be handled otherwise.

Based upon that system,

there were judges that upheld the law of Moses

and its principles.

But there's another judge

that was common in this day,

and that was an appointed Roman judge.

They were appointed by Rome,

appointed by Herod,

and they worked without pay

from the government.

They made the verdict that they needed to make

in order to make a living.

A good living.

And so,

it's very possibly that kind of judge

that this widow,

who on the other hand has no clout at all,

in that atmosphere,

in that society,

poor and powerless,

typically,

she would be desperate.

And this situation sounds financial,

and she wants or needs someone to pay up.

And there is desperation in what she says.

I mean, she wants somebody,

the original language is very clear about this,

somebody to pay.

And that could be somewhat vindictive,

and it could be somewhat in need.

Quite honestly,

if you get hungry enough,

it's hard to tell the difference.

You just need the matter taken care of.

And so,

she asked again,

and again,

and again,

and the judge gives her what she wants,

not for the sake of justice,

but because he does not want to be beat down by the lady.

That's a boxing term there.

It can be interpreted as,

I don't want her to give me a black eye.

I don't want her to make me look bad.

She keeps following me around,

begging me,

and I keep not responding to that.

She could hurt my reputation.

So,

he acted quickly to make her go away.

Not anything to do with justice.

Just make her go away.

Because remember,

he has no fear of God,

nor does he care for people.

He's self-centered,

and he makes the decision for his sake.

So,

don't ever get confused here.

This judge is not God,

and does not represent God,

because God loves us,

and cannot,

we cannot beat him down.

He's not concerned about us beating him down.

We can't give God a black eye.

Neither can anybody else,

by the way.

God's motive is not escape.

God's motive is not to get us to hush,

not giving us what we want,

or not to be intimidated,

or not to be bothered.

God's motive is just.

It's fair.

It's right.

It's his will.

And this godless,

disrespectful Roman judge

did something good for this poor lady.

If she,

if he would do that,

how much more would a loving,

just God do something for us?

I want you to listen to what Christ says

in the Sermon on the Mount,

Matthew chapter 7,

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

7 through 11,

about making a request to God.

He says,

ask,

and it will be given to you.

Seek,

and you will find.

Knock,

and it will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks,

receives,

and the one who seeks,

finds,

and to the one who knocks,

it will be opened.

Or which one of you,

if his son asks him for bread,

will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish,

will give him a serpent?

If you then who are evil

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your father,

who is in heaven,

give good gifts to those who ask him?

In other words,

folks,

listen to me.

Bring it to him.

Whatever it is,

he knows what's right.

He'll get it right every time.

You can rest in that

because God is just.

I'll tell you another difference

between this judge and God.

And that is the timing

of God.

At first,

for a time,

this judge refused

to give the lady

her request.

And her persistence

dragged him down

to the point

where he just gave in.

Again,

I want you to know

that that's not how God works.

God wants us to pray.

God wants us to pursue.

And he don't want us

to stop praying.

He is working in us

as we pray.

But he will not be

dragged down

by our prayers.

God moves

when and as

God chooses to move.

And one of the great

difficulties that we have

when we seek the Lord

in prayer

is the timing of God.

We just can't figure it out.

We just can't get it.

Because when we pray

for something,

we want it

and it'd be best

if we have confirmation

immediately.

We want it now.

We want it our way.

But that's not how God works.

God purposely

delays.

His delay

keeps us before him.

His delay

teaches us

patience.

You don't have to,

I don't like when people say

don't pray for patience

because God's going to

whoop you like a dog.

I just don't like

that kind of dog.

It's the fruit of the spirit.

We ought to have it.

I'll just tell you this.

And some,

some of our fruit

and patience

is not that,

not that rosy.

But

I'll just tell you this.

If you'll pray

about matters

consistently before God,

he'll teach you patience.

You don't have to pray for it.

Just pray for the matters

that are burdensome to you

because God's

has a purposeful delay

that teaches us patience.

His,

his delay

matures our faith

because we're trusting him.

God responds on,

on his schedule.

God does not respond

on our schedule.

And we can become

as frustrated

as we want to

and we can yell out

and walk out

in the backyard

and put on a show.

God's timing

is based upon

the will of God

and you can rest in that.

And that's tough

but it's true

for all of us.

But you know what?

It was true for Christ

because

in that difficult time,

the night of his arrest,

he spent that time

with the disciples

in the upper room

and then left there

to go to the Garden

of Gethsemane

on the,

on the night

of his arrest.

Matthew tells us

that he went to pray

with Peter,

James,

and John.

Then after praying

for a time,

he went a little further

to pray.

And I've heard

wonderful sermons

preached on,

you got to go

a little further.

But let me tell you

what that really means.

It means he walked

from here to over there.

That's what that means.

He got away from them

and he went a little

further into the garden.

And then he came

back to them

and he found them

sleeping.

And then he left them

and went back to pray.

He came to them again

and prayed the same thing.

And again

and again

and again

he sought the Father

because

he was about

to sense

and feel

the wrath of God

of all of our sin

that was going to come

upon him that night

and the separation

that he feel

and the sin

that he would bear.

And he struggled

in that

and he went back

to God

the Father

again

and again

and again.

The Apostle Paul

had a thorn

in the flesh.

He said it was

a messenger

of Satan.

And theologians

have tried to figure out

forever

what that messenger

of Satan was.

What was that throne

of

that

not throne

thorn

that thorn

of the flesh.

What was that?

Was it a physical malty?

We know he had a problem

with his sight.

He even spoke of it.

He wrote in large letters

because he couldn't

see very well.

What was it that?

Was it somebody?

What was it

that just

just hung

onto him

so difficult?

He said

I prayed about it

three times

for God

to remove it.

Now

when I read that

I don't believe

that was

three

sentence prayers.

I believe

we're talking about

three seasons

of prayer

when he took

that thing

back to God

again

struggled

with that

in prayer

asking God

to remove it

and God

would not

remove it.

He never did.

He just taught

him that

God's grace

is sufficient

regardless

of the thorns

that we face

regardless

of the messengers

of Satan

that pass

through our lives

whatever they may be.

God's grace

is sufficient.

When Herod

threw Peter

in jail

the church

was earnestly

praying for him

and late

that night

miraculously

God led

Peter

out of the jail

and he went

right to where

that church

was praying

and he knocked

on the door

and a lady

named Rhoda

a servant

came to the door

and looked out

and saw it was Peter

and was so shocked

that she didn't

even let him in

she just ran back

and told the praying

church that he

was out there

and the church

said you're out

of your mind

he's not out there

because we're praying

for him to be released

and when they

opened the door

they were amazed

because in that case

the timing of God

was quick

quicker than they

anticipated

listen my friend

the timing of God

is something that

we'll never

understand

but I'm talking

to some people

this morning

who are going

through some stuff

I know a little bit

here and there

but I don't have

a clue

I've been doing

this long enough

to know

there's a pain

on every pew

in this place

this morning

I don't know

what it is

I don't have to

know what it is

God knows

what it is

and I want

you to know

you can trust

the timing

of the Lord

he's good for it

he can handle it

and he enjoys

the time

that you spend

pursuing him

in the matters

that are heavy

upon your heart

the timing

of God

is something

that we'll

never understand

but we must

trust

I'm going to

tell you

something else

the return

of the Lord

is certain

and it is soon

and it could be

today

we may not

leave this building

it could be

today

or it could be

after we're

all gone

and I don't

mean from the

building

I mean from

life

we don't

know

I'll tell you

it sure don't

look like

that's the

case

but we don't

know when

he'll return

but we do

know

we do know

that he will

and we don't

know when

or how

he'll move

in answering

to our prayers

but I can

promise you

Christ will

return

and Christ

will answer

your prayer

and it will

not be on

your or my

time schedule

but it will

be on time

because God's

always on time

I'll tell you

one more

difference between

this judge and

God

and that is the

motive of God

you know we

worry so much

sometimes about

what people

think of us

we don't talk

about it but we

worry about it

you know do they

really like me

why did they look

at me that way

I think I saw

them in the aisle

in the grocery

store and they

didn't speak

of course I

didn't either

but does that

person look up

to us

do they think

bad of us

Eleanor Roosevelt

said you wouldn't

worry so much

about what other

people think of you

if you realized how

seldom they do

let me tell you

who thinks the

world of you

and who's always

looking out for you

and that's God

Walter Dixon

lived in England

he was walking

home one day

and he passed

the home of an

elderly lady

who had been

forced to take

on a small

child because

of a family

tragedy

her and the

child lived in

that home and

the house was

on fire as

Walter walked

by

the lady

was saved

but Walter

saw the young

boy in an

upstairs window

as the house

was ablaze

there was an

iron pipe

a drainage

pipe that

came down the

side of that

building and

Walter grabbed

onto that pipe

and climbed that

drainage pipe

and rescued the

boy but the

pipe was burning

hot

and when he

brought the

boy back

down

Walter's

hands were

gnawed and

deformed

because of what

he had done for

that boy

several months

later the elderly

lady died

and the community

came around that

little boy

and many of them

wanted to adopt

him and bring him

home

one wanted to bring

him home because

they had lost

their own son

and they

wanted to bring

that child

home and

another wanted

to bring him

home because

they had a

farm and

they needed a

good worker

on the farm

and they could

provide a good

living for the

boy it was

a both and

situation

and in the

midst of these

requests Walter

Dixon walked

up and he

just held up his

scarred hands

and he was

granted the

adoption

if you ever

wonder what

Christ thinks

of you

if you ever

wonder what he

thinks of your

request of him

be sure of

something

he loves you

dearly

and his

motive

is his love

he cares so

much about you

that he sent his

only son to die

in your place

John 3 16 and

17 says for God

so loved the

world that he

gave his only

son that whoever

believes in him

should not perish

but have eternal

life for God did

not send his son

into the world to

condemn the world

but in order that

the world might be

saved through him

he loved us so

much

that he stretched

out his arms on a

cruel Roman cross

and had the

equivalent of

railroad ties

hammered into his

hands

and Christ died

for you

and if there's any

doubt about his

motive

you just look at his

hands

and realize the

love

that he has

for you

but I'm thankful

today that I can

tell you that Christ

not only died for

you

Christ lives for

you

as a matter of

fact he's making

intercession for

you

the Holy Spirit

even interprets

our prayers on

our behalf

Romans 8 26 and

27 says the

spirit helps us

in our weakness

have you ever been

weak in prayer

has anybody ever

struggled with

how do I pray

about this

God do I pray

for them to

linger for a

possible healing

or God

do I pray that

they receive their

heavenly reward

their struggles

and we don't know

how to pray

for we don't know

what to pray for

as we ought

and the spirit

himself

intercedes for us

with groanings

too deep

for words

and he who

searches hearts

knows what is

the mind of

the spirit

because the

spirit intercedes

for the saints

according to the

will of God

that means I

don't have to

figure out how

to pray God's

will I just

have to pray and

seek God and the

Holy Spirit knows

my heart

and he will

interpret what

I'm trying to

say and smooth

it out and

bring it before

the father

he will work

in you because

not because you

beg or beat him

down but because

he loves you

don't ever question

the nature of

God

don't ever question

the justice of

God

don't ever

question the

timing of God

or the motive

of God

instead live in

response to

that

how do we

live in response

to that

that's why he

told the parable

pray always

1st Timothy 5

chapter 17

says pray

without ceasing

wow

that's a

statement

ain't it

what that

means is we

live a life

of prayer

it does not

mean that it's

absent from having

a time set

aside just for

prayer when

everything around

us as much as

possible gets

still and we

take time out

of our schedule

and we book it

for the Lord

Jesus and lift

up our prayers

to him

prayer

but it also

means that as

we go along the

way that we're

praying

it means when

we're in the car

by ourself that

we we cut off

the console

we stop worrying

about the telephone

and we just

seek God

it means that when

somebody comes by

and says will you

pray for me

do it

right then

if God

leads you

stop them

and say let's

do it

if you don't

pray for them

right then

so you don't

lie and say I'm

praying for you

and forget about

it

pray for them

and then continue

to pray for them

as a matter of

fact you can just

have an ongoing

conversation with

the Lord at all

times if you'd like

to that's what

praying without

ceasing is

and then

Philippians 4 6

says don't be

anxious about

anything but in

everything

if you think

there's matters

in your life

that's too small

to pray for

you're wrong

if you think

there's two matters

in your life

that's too big

to pray for

they mean too

much to you

you don't want

God's will

you just want

your will

we won't admit

that but I'm

going to tell

you if there is

things like that

everything

let everything

be a matter

of prayer

a prayer

and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your request

be made known

to God

and there's a

passage

that I've

struggled with

over the years

and I've learned

to understand it

and I want you

to as well

because I believe

it'll help you

it's Psalm 37

4

and it says

delight yourself

in the Lord

and he'll give

you the desires

of your heart

so does that

mean

that if I

get happy

with the Lord

he's going to

give me

everything I want

because man

I got a list

no that's not

what it means

it means

if we make

him a priority

in our lives

we spend time

with him

and we delight

in him

and he

becomes the

love of our

life

the joy

that we

experience

God does

a work

in our

heart

he changes

the desires

in which we

have

the things

that have

meant so much

to us in the

past don't mean

as much as

they used to

the stuff

that we feel

like we've

got to have

we don't have

to have it

like we used

to

he may give

us an insight

about something

that

that we a lot

of times

don't have

until we buy

it

and we start

paying on it

and then go

wow

I guess I had

to have this

after all

God gives us

an insight

into those

things

changes the

way our

heart works

changes the

desires of

our heart

and so when we

delight ourselves

in him he gives

us the desires

of our heart

because the

desires of our

heart is to

have more

of him

that's what

transformation

is about

that's what

sanctification

is about

being made

more like

him

that's what

happens

when we

spend time

in prayer

bringing everything

before him

and delighting

in him

he'll do a

transformation

in you

but only

if you seek

him praying

always

Martin Luther

the 16th

century German

theologian

said prayer

should be

brief

frequent

and intense

and Jesus

said you

ought to

pray

so pray

always

and lastly

believe

always

don't lose

heart

he gave

this parable

so that we

would not

lose heart

even when

you're weary

seek the

face of God

for the will

of God

in the name

of Christ

he told us

this story

so that we

ought not

to lose

heart

my friend

that's what

living by

faith is

living by

faith is

not giving

up

it's trusting

the Lord

when you don't

see his hand

at work

it's trusting

the Lord

when things

don't seem

just

and don't

seem right

it's trusting

the Lord

with his will

what is best

and relying

upon him

John tells

us in

1 John 5

14

and this

is the

confidence

that we

have toward

him

that if

we ask

anything

according

to his

will

he hears

us

we ought

always

to pray

and not

lose heart

I titled

this sermon

don't stop

if there's

a matter

on your

heart

that you're

taking

before the

Lord

and you're

struggling

with it

because you

don't seem

to get an

answer to

that

don't stop

praying

don't stop

just keep

bringing it

back to him

you need it

he enjoys

the time

with you

don't stop

and if

your life

is not

marked

by seeking

the face

of God

in prayer

well then

start

today

quit worrying

about all

this stuff

and give

it to God

prayer is not

about getting

your will

done in

heaven

it's about

turning your

will over

to him

and watching

his will

work in

you

that's what

it is

and it's a

transformation

process

it's a

growing process

and you don't

pick up on

that with

every episode

that comes

along in

your life

but if

you'll seek

God in

prayer about

those matters

you'll see

the difference

some of you

need to come

to this altar

today and

give something

to God

you've been

holding on

to it

you've been

worried about

it

and you're

not letting

go of

it

some of

you are

weary

there's

matters in

your life

there's a

thorn in

your flesh

there's a

messenger of

Satan

there's some

garbage going

on somewhere

that you don't

want anything

to deal with

and you're

struggling with

that

and God

says pray

always

believe

always

I'm going

to tell you

he's at

work

I thank

God he's

at work

in us

I thank

God he's

at work

in you

seek the

face of

God today

with every

head bowed

and every

eye closed

it is my

greatest burden

that someone

may hear my

preaching and

never have

received the

Lord Jesus

Christ as a

personal Lord

Savior

and if that's

your case

today I want

you to know

that today's

the day of

salvation

he'll save

you he'll

change you

from where

you are

don't try to

clean up

before you

come to

Christ you'll

never be able

to do it

you'll never

will you

come as you

are and

he'll make

you everything

you need to

be

love to guide

you in that

we're going to

stand and sing

in just a moment

you just come

you come and

say I want to

give my heart

and life to the

Lord Jesus Christ

we'd love to

guide you in that

process maybe

you're here this

morning and

there's a burden

upon your

heart burden

you want

somebody else to

pray with you

about or a

burden that you

just need to lay

at this altar

before the Lord

that's what it's

for no reluctance

let's just be

concerned about

what God would

have maybe God's

leading you to

make a private

decision public

maybe you've

given your

heart and life

to the Lord

Jesus but

you've never

been baptized

as a believer

you've never

publicly

acknowledged your

faith before

him let us

lead you through

that process

maybe you're

here this

morning and

you're struggling

with

you're struggling

with God

leading you to

be a part of

this church

you'd like to

talk to us

about that

we'd love to

have that

conversation with

you I

encourage you

today whatever

God's telling

you to do

don't do

anything less

you don't have

to do anything

more than that

but if God's

telling you to

do something

you'll be

obedient and

follow him

Lord Jesus

thank you for

your word

thank you for

your love

thank you for

what you show

us help us to

live in response

to it oh God

I pray in

Jesus precious

name amen

stand together