Will He Find Faith? 🙌 | Luke 18:1–8 📖 |

Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.

! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I share sermons that balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth of the Word of God.

Together, we'll explore Scripture using observation, interpretation, and application.

This helps us discover practical ways to live out our faith every single day.

Let's dive in together into God's Word.

Let us turn our Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

In your ESV Pew Bible, you'll find it on page 1042.

You know, parables are very simple and easy to understand,

but they carry with it much depth and much weight.

Each parable can speak to you in a certain way.

And that's the power of God's Word.

That it is living and active.

It speaks to us today, much like it has throughout, well, throughout the centuries.

And how blessed we are to have the Word of God together and read it.

So what I'd like for us to do, let's read the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

And it's going to be verses 1 through 8.

Are we all there?

Church, let's read it together.

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

He said, in a certain city there was a judge who what?

Neither feared God nor what?

Respected man.

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

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 what?

keeps bothering me.

I will give her justice.

So that she will not, what?

Beat me down by her continual coming.

And the Lord said,

Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

And will not God give justice to his elect

who cry to him day and night?

Will he delay long over them?

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

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,

will he find faith on earth?

We read that.

We can,

we first begin by looking about how Christ is talking about the coming of the kingdom.

And that it will come in such a way that people may not understand what's going on.

And so,

even in the prior verses,

leading up to it,

where it says in verse 20,

Christ is saying,

The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,

nor will they say,

Look, here it is there.

For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.

Speaking of Christ being right there.

And it's going on further about how Christ is the better way.

The coming of Christ, that he is here.

Let us not lose heart.

And we see then,

even after we have the Pharisee and the tax collector.

The two people who go into the temple to pray.

We learn about how the tax collector is saying,

God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

And the Pharisee who,

well, he did all the right things.

But yet,

it was only the one,

the tax collector,

that was justified.

And so that kind of gives us a little bit of space to see,

well, what exactly is going on?

You have the coming of the kingdom,

and that there is this delay.

There is this misunderstood arrival, as it were.

And he's showing his disciples that they need to,

well, that first verse,

always to pray and not to lose heart.

And so we begin then,

always pray, right?

Never lose heart.

We know that in Scripture,

just as when Scripture says to pray without ceasing.

And to not give up.

We see then this scene,

this judge,

with this language on here,

where it's saying that this judge

neither feared God nor respected man.

Isn't that very interesting that

we should know,

as Christians,

if you don't,

we're called to love the Lord with all our heart,

right?

Love God and to love people.

But this judge does neither of them.

He doesn't love the Lord,

and he does not respect people.

We can easily say that this person was a wicked judge.

Do we have wicked judges these days?

Please don't answer too much here, right?

Right?

We have people,

and many times in Scripture,

where there are people in positions of authority

or in people that are in power,

those that are wicked

and those that are not.

Let us be reminded

of many Scriptures that say

we pray for those who are in authority.

Then we have the widow,

this woman,

who keeps coming and bothering this judge.

And I'm imagining this guy who,

you know,

he's in this very high status,

this place of authority,

and this woman keeps bothering him.

She is persistent.

She is asking for justice

from a wrong that has happened.

What does he say?

He says no at first, right?

For a while, he refused.

How many of us have tried

getting an answer

or getting a response,

or maybe you have identified

with seeking justice

and been denied it?

Isn't it interesting

we find this in Scripture then?

To continue and never to give up.

And eventually,

well, though I neither fear God

nor respect man,

this widow

is bothering me.

I'm sick of her.

Why does she keep showing up

and keeps asking the same thing

for justice?

Well, eventually,

well, he's getting so bothered,

he's like,

fine.

I'm going to give her justice, right?

I will give her justice

so that she will not,

I love the language in this,

she will not beat me down

by her continual coming.

I mean,

just the thought of a judge,

I mean,

even if we think of nowadays judges,

right?

Someone bothering the judge so much.

Maybe a modern day comparison

would be,

will you hear my court case,

maybe, judge?

You know,

can you speed things up along?

Maybe that might be

a modern day comparison.

And so then,

the judge gives in,

but he is so bothered.

And then you have Jesus

who's saying,

listen up,

God is not like

this wicked judge.

Amen.

I mean,

if that's anything

we should praise God for,

it's that.

Because God is holy.

God is righteous,

and he is just.

We see here,

God is greater than the judge.

And what's interesting

is that final part then.

In that verse 8,

he will give justice.

Nevertheless,

when the Son of Man comes,

will he find faith on the earth.

How very interesting.

This then takes us then

into the interpretation.

What can we learn

from this scene?

What can help us

grow in our faith?

And the first one

is that persistent prayer

reveals real faith.

The widow doesn't win

by force.

It's not like she's stronger

politically or physically.

But she's showing her strength

by her persistence.

Continuing to pray,

enduring by that

faithful persistence.

And Jesus is showing

that we,

in the same way,

are to be like that widow.

Just as Scripture says,

to pray without ceasing.

Do you see how that's

connected there?

An example of something

like that.

Even when we find

in other verses

in Scripture,

like Revelation 6.10,

how long, O Lord?

Or in Psalm 81,

or 88.1,

I cry out day and night

before you.

This is nothing new.

We find in Scripture

that there are many people

and many situations

where there is a cry

to the Lord

for justice.

And I can't help

but think about

even today,

are there still injustices

in the world?

Right?

Are there still people

that are,

well,

mistreating others?

Absolutely.

And we can go on

and on about that.

I'm just giving

a broad view here

because we can understand

just as it says

in Ecclesiastes

that there's nothing new

under the sun.

There are still injustices

that happen

in our community,

in this country,

and even in the world.

other Scriptures,

right?

We know even

so many times

crying out to the Lord,

hear my prayer.

There needs to be justice

for this wrongdoing

that has happened.

And it's continuing.

Continue to pray

to the Lord.

Just like we don't

give up

on people,

we don't give up

on the Lord.

we continue to pray

every single day.

And it can be

very frustrating

for many of us

when we pray.

How many of us

we've prayed for the,

there's the classic scenario,

you pray for patience

and then you get impatient

and you,

it's the classic scenario,

right?

Sometimes we pray

for a day

and we expect God

to,

for it to happen.

But it's all

on God's timing.

It's continuing

to pray

for when He will act.

That's the thing.

God will answer,

you've probably

heard this before

in three ways.

It's yes,

no,

or not yet.

And we don't like

the not yet.

We'd rather hear

the no immediately

and move on.

But in a lot

of these situations,

we continue

to pray.

I can tell you

on a personal note,

there are people

that I continue

to pray for

that have completely

gone off the deep end.

People that have

become anti-Christian,

people who have

become,

well,

like the wicked judge.

Neither fearing God

nor respecting man.

We may know people

that are like

that wicked judge.

And certainly,

in the same way

that we pray to God

for justice,

we can pray for

the heart of the judge,

human judges,

human beings,

people,

for their hearts

to be softened.

And that leads us

to the second one,

that God is not

like the judge.

Praise God

for that one.

Amen.

The judge is

a human being.

But he's a wicked

human being at that.

Not fearing God

and,

well,

no love for people.

It is the opposite.

It's flipped on its head,

right?

The call to love God

and to love people

here is a scenario

where you see

the opposite.

And perhaps the judge

is a representation

of those that are

wicked,

even wicked systems

in place.

Certainly,

we can think of

systems that exist

in the world today

that are wicked.

And what's very interesting,

and I want to take a moment

for us to think about this,

because what Jesus

is doing

is something

that is a common pattern

throughout Scripture,

where Christ is saying,

look at how this judge

was so bothered

to give justice.

How much more

will God give justice

to those that he love?

It is a,

I'm going to teach you

some Jewish right now.

Can you say,

Cal?

Cal

Vol Hamer.

Cal Vol Hamer.

Okay?

And what that means

is from

lesser

to greater.

We find this

in parables,

we find this

throughout Scripture.

Example is

the mustard seed,

right,

being planted

into the ground,

representing the kingdom

of God

that is expanding.

In this situation,

it is the justice

of an unrighteous,

a wicked judge,

and God saying,

hey, look,

my justice

is much greater.

Or when we think of,

well,

trust in the Lord

with all your heart

and lean not

in your own understanding

in all your ways,

acknowledge him.

how many of us

lean on our own

understanding,

recognizing God

knows far more

than what we

can comprehend

from lesser

to greater.

That's another way

you can remember it,

right?

That God

in his essence,

who he is,

is far greater.

How?

It's the question of,

it's literally translated

into the English,

how much more?

How much more

will God give justice?

How much more

will God's love

be for his people?

Examples of this

is in Jonah.

If you guys remember

the Jonah series

where God provided

a plant

to the prophet Jonah

and the plant

provided shade

and Jonah

was basically,

that's a cool plant.

I like a plant

that gives me good shade

and then the plant dies.

And then,

and then God is saying,

hey,

you were,

you were upset

that this plant died.

How much more

do I mourn

for my people?

Lesser

to greater,

right?

It's showing

God's,

it's the magnification

to show God's love

for his people.

I mean,

I can imagine

having a tree

that gave really good shade

and it died.

It really upset me.

But think for a moment,

how much more

is God's love

for his people?

Even in,

well,

it's the question,

if Jonah loves

a plant,

how much more

will God love

the city of Nineveh?

In Luke chapter 11,

Luke 11:13

verse 13,

if flawed parents

give good gifts,

how much more

will God give

to his own?

Or even in Matthew

Matthew 6:30

chapter 6,

verse 30,

if God clothes

the grass,

how much more

will he provide

for his children?

Do you get it?

God's love

is showing

the magnitude

of God.

And so this judge

is basically

showing

the limited,

the limit,

limited ability

of what a human

can give.

And Christ

is using this

as a teaching moment

for what God

can give

as something

that is greater.

The third thing

then is that

faith must endure

in a world

gone cold

or even in a world

that's gone mad.

We know this world

has gone cold.

How many of you

heard that song,

What the World

Needs Now

is Love,

Sweet Love?

Amen to that.

They need the love

of Christ.

It's very unfortunate

when people

are divided,

exhibiting hatred

and anger

towards one another.

Let us recognize

then the love

that God has.

Jesus

is closing

with this question,

Will He find faith?

Isn't it interesting

that even in the

Garden of Gethsemane

where He asked

His disciples

to pray with Him,

were they all praying?

Or did He come

and they were all asleep?

Some of you

know that story.

It's the same kind

of question

that Christ is asking.

Let us not be

asleep.

Let us remain

faithful to the Lord

even when we

continue to pray

without ceasing

and we're not

having answers.

Let us be faithful

in our prayers.

It's showing

the faith

and devotion

that we have

to the Lord.

In Matthew

Matthew 24:12

chapter 24

verse 12

it talks about

the love

of many

will grow

cold.

and oh

does this world

grow cold.

Even at Luke

Luke 21:36

chapter 21

verse 36

where Christ is saying

to stay awake

at all times.

So it's not

just about

the question

of if Jesus

returns,

it's about us

believing

and continuing

to be faithful

to Him

when He does.

we've got

to remain faithful

even in times

of trials,

even in times

of injustice,

even in seasons

of delay.

None of us

here have never

experienced,

right?

Or have we

had those moments

before

where we've had

to patiently

wait upon the Lord

and His timing.

We continue

on.

And that leads

us then

into the application

then is

how do I

apply this

to my life?

All right,

Pastor,

you talked

about this

persistent widow

who was annoying

to a judge

and the judge

is like,

all right?

And Jesus

is saying,

my justice

is greater

than that.

How do I

live this out?

Well,

the first one

is to keep

praying

even when it

does feel

pointless.

Some of us

have had that

frustration.

Why am I

even praying

for this person?

You keep

praying for them.

Like the widow,

show up,

keep praying,

and stay

faithful

because God

hears our

prayers.

In Romans

Romans 12:12

chapter 12,

verse 12,

be constant

in prayer.

The second

thing then

is to trust

God's character

over corrupt

systems.

well,

you should

know.

If you

don't know,

you should

know.

Earthly

systems

can be

unjust.

They can

be biased.

They can

be wicked.

I'm not

saying all

systems are,

but they

certainly

can be.

And

God

does not

get worn

down.

God has

much greater

love,

mercy,

and

justice.

Think about

that.

In

Lamentations,

that's a

book we

don't really

think about.

Chapter 3,

verse 25,

the Lord

is good

to those

who wait.

It's a good

encouragement

from such

a sad

book

in Scripture.

And then

the third

one,

then,

is to

guard

your

faith

in the

delay.

It can

be challenging

for us to

understand

God's

timing.

I get

it.

When we

pray,

we want

it to

happen

now.

But we

are to

remain

faithful

in our

prayer.

Don't

let the

silence,

don't let

it harden

your heart.

let me

say that

one more

time.

Don't

let the

silence,

don't let

the delay

harden

your heart.

We

continue to

pray for

those whose

hearts are

hardened,

don't become

the very

thing that

they are.

Pray for

God's

intervention

on whether

there are

wicked

judges that

you know.

You may

know someone

that is

like that.

It is a

call for us

to continue

to pray

for those

in

authority,

those that

we know

that,

well,

they need

a softening

of the

heart.

Just as

in Galatians

Galatians 6:9

chapter 6

verse 9,

it says,

don't grow

weary in

doing good,

or even

when Christ

says to

keep watch.

And so

we think

about these

things.

Who do

you identify

with?

Do you

identify more

with the

persistent

widow?

Or do

you identify

more with

the judge?

If you

identify more

with the

judge,

I pray that

your heart

is softened,

that you

come to

know the

Lord,

and that

you will

have a

love for

God and

a love

for people.

And if

you identify

with the

widow who's

constantly

praying for

friends and

families,

or asking

God for

justice,

don't lose

heart.

You keep

praying.

You keep

praying.

Pray without

ceasing.

That is a

good thing

for us to

learn in

all of

this.

And so,

like it

says,

keep praying

even when it

feels

pointland.

Trust in

who God

is.

And guard

your faith.

Protect

it.

Don't be

discouraged.

Know that

God is

there for

you,

and he

will answer

in his

timing.

We don't

know when,

but we

know that

God will

answer again

in those

three ways.

It could

be a yes,

it could

be a no,

it might

be a not

yet.

It's in

those times

of waiting

we remain

faithful to

the Lord.

Just like

the widow,

she cried

out for

justice.

And even

let us

remember

that last

verse at

the end.

When the

Son of

Man comes,

will he

find faith?

And I

pray that

for each

and every

one of

us,

we patiently

wait upon

the Lord,

we remain

faithful to

him,

and we

don't

lose

heart.

let's

pray

together.

And

Father,

we thank

you for

this

parable.

It's a

very different

parable as

it's talking

about human

judges,

but there's

such depth

in this,

Father,

when it

talks about

how much

more your

justice is

for us.

Just like

how greater

your love

is,

and how

greater your

mercy is.

And

Father,

we recognize

that there

are unjust

people and

there's unjust

systems in

the world.

Father,

if there's

anyone that

we know

specifically

that needs

that kind

of prayer

that instead

of disrespecting

God or not

having a love

for God or

respect for

people,

we pray that

hearts will be

transformed,

whether that

is a literal

judge or

maybe a

politician or

maybe a

family member,

maybe someone

that we know

who goes to

class with

us,

maybe someone

who works

in the same

department,

or maybe it's

just someone

that we've

forgotten about

that needs

that prayer.

Father,

we recognize

the power of

prayer and we

recognize that

you hear our

prayers,

but we have

to trust in

your timing

and in your

answer.

And so,

Father,

we thank you

for this

wonderful parable

that shows us

how much

greater you

are than

us as human

beings.

We love you,

we praise you,

we glorify you,

and we honor you.

It is in the name

of Jesus Christ

that we pray and

we all say

together,

amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you for

listening for this

week's message from

Ontario Community

Church.

I pray that you

are encouraged and

strengthened in your

walk with Christ.

For more sermons and

resources, visit

OntarioCommunityChurch.org.

May God bless you as

you live out his

grace and truth

every single day.

Thank you.

Thank you.