Title: Humble Perseverance
Introduction:
Today we are looking at two parables in Luke 18. These two parables teach us how to Humbly Persevere as we live out our Christian life in today’s society.
a. The purpose of the first parable is given to us; to show us that we should always pray and not give up. Does this first parable apply to us today? Is there a tendency to give up instead of persevering? There may have been times when some of you at some point during this deployment thought, “I have had enough. I’m done with the Army”, or “I’m done with my marriage.” Suicide is the ultimate give up. The person who commits suicide has given up on himself, his/her friends and family, and has given up on God. Last year there were 142 suicides in the Army. The highest number since the Army started keeping records. In January of this year more Soldiers killed themselves than were killed by the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. What about marriage and divorce? A marriage typically ends because someone has given up on the relationship instead of persevering and making the marriage work in sickness and health, in good times and bad, for richer or poorer, until death do us part. Yes, this parable definitely applies to us today.
b. The second parable is a contrast between pride and humility. It deals with attitude during prayer and every other aspect of life.
c. So how do we Humbly Persevere as we live out Christian lives in a society that cares less and less about God and eternity.
1. Pray in all circumstances
a. Context:
1. The setting is a courtroom. Not an ornate building like we have today but a tent which moved from place to place as the judge covered his circuit.
2. The judge, under Old Testament law was charged to fear God and defend the oppressed. The judge set the agenda and was surrounded by his assistants. Anyone could attend the proceedings and watch but only those cases that were approved and selected were heard. Therefore it was very helpful to your “cause” to bribe one of the assistants to bring your case to the judge’s attention.
3. This put the widow in quite a predicament. Women in that society had a very low standing. They needed a man/husband to provide them with a home to live in, land to live on and income by which to live. They were not allowed to go to court on their own. The widow has a great need for assistance. The widow in this parable represents all those who are oppressed for she is an example of oppression in her own society.
b. The predicament seems hopeless. If you or I were the widow it would be so easy to give up. A person in her circumstances could easily say, “I might as well give up, nobody cares about me. I have no money, they are trying to kick me off my land, my husband is dead and cannot defend me, support me or even be with me to comfort me. Then on top of it all I get this crooked, unjust judge who only cares about getting more money. Oh by the way, did I mention I don’t have any money to bribe him with? He’ll never hear my case. I shouldn’t even waste my time. The decision has already been made.”
c. Instead of giving up we are told to pray in all circumstances. It does not matter if all seems hopeless. Paul says in Phil 4:11-14
“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
2. Pray continually
a. Then Jesus draws a comparison between the unjust judge and God. 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.
Jesus is saying “Look at this judge who does not care about people, has no regard for God and cares about nothing but himself. Even he, if you pester him enough will desire to give justice if for no other reason than to remove the thorn in his side. How much more will God extend justice for those he loves, cares, died for, created, and for whom he has a perfect plan.”
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.
NIV
Glenna’s goal book illustration
Ps 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Glenna forgot about the first part of PS 37:4 where we first “Delight in the Lord.” When we delight in him we desire to do His will and he takes away our desires and replaces our desires with his.
3. Pray with a humble attitude.
When we pray we must realize that we are approaching the throne of God Almighty. We must realize that we are entering the presence of the Creator of all things in heaven and on earth, the One who formed us in the womb and knew each of us intimately before the foundations of the world were laid. You and I approach the One who loved us so much that he took on human flesh, was nailed to the cross and died, buried for three days to pay the penalty for your sins and mine and rose again ascending to heaven where he purchased a place for each of us which he offers to us as a free gift which we can neither earn nor deserve.
Homiletics (Jan–Mar/96) told of a turtle who wanted to spend the winter in Florida, but he knew he could never walk that far. He convinced a couple of geese to help him, each taking one end of a piece of rope, while he clamped his viselike jaws in the center.
The flight went fine until someone on the ground looked up in admiration and asked, “Who in the world thought of that?”
Unable to resist the chance to take credit, the turtle opened his mouth to shout, “I did—”
(from 1001 Quotes, Illustrations, and Humorous Stories for Preachers, Teachers, and Writers, 2008 by Christianity Today Intl. All rights reserved.)
Pride comes before the fall.
The Pharisees were a prideful bunch. They had every reason to be since they were well educated, highly regarded, and had prominent position in society. They definitely let people know how good they were. They gave long winded prayers in public using very large words. They boasted about how they fasted and not only adhered to the law but exceeded it. The Pharisee stands and approaches God and prays about himself while chastising the tax collector. Notice that the Pharisee is standing before God content in his own righteousness.
Throughout our lives we need to maintain the attitude of the tax collector. Notice how he approaches God. He stands at a distance not feeling worthy to be in the presence of Holy God. He does not lift his head but keeps it bowed out of reverence, fear, and guilt. He beats his breast and acknowledges that he is a sinner.
The Pharisee approaches God with an attitude of pride and proclaims his own righteousness. The tax collector approaches God with an attitude of humility declaring his unrighteousness with his words but declaring God’s righteousness with his actions and posture.
The Pharisee is not justified by God but the tax collector is.
There is no set way to pray. Prayer is merely you and I interacting in personal relationship with God. It can be spoken word or prayerful thought. An easy way to practice humble prayer is the acrostic ACTS:
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication
4. Conclusion
Our social circumstance spiritually is precarious. Our society has lost or is losing the fear of God. People have no fear using the Lord’s name in vain. They have no respect for spiritual things. You can hear it in jokes or comments like, “I’m already going to hell anyway.”
The way we combat this is to Humbly Persevere by:
1. Praying in all circumstances
2. Praying continually
3. Praying with a humble attitude
There are two questions before us today:
a. will he find us faithful?
b. will he find us humble?
