TEXT: Luke 18:1-8
TITLE: Praying with Excellence - P.U.S.H. Through (praying with PERSISTENCE)
SERIES: Being the Church with Excellence!
TOPIC: Persistence in prayer
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, March 17, 2013
PROP.: God is moved to action through our persistent prayers offered up to him!
INTRODUCTION: Good morning! Please open your Bible to Luke 18.
We are a church that desires to be committed to excellence…in whatever we do. Whether we are apart or together, everything we do…we are striving for excellence. Our model for what excellence looks like is the early church…the one that was birthed at Pentecost in acts chapter 2.
Our theme verses are on the wall. And what we’ve learned is that the early church was continually devoted to the right things. THAT is what helped them to be excellent. And so too, we if we desire to be excellent, we must be continually devoted to those things as well.
So we have been studying God’s word to see how we can be excellent when it comes to prayer.
Here’s where we’ve been in this series:
1. “Lord teach us to PRAY.” Luke 11:1. This was a request that the disciples had of Jesus. Those 12 men who followed Jesus for nearly 3 years wanted Jesus to teach them…They didn’t ask Jesus to teach them to teach lessons like Jesus taught. They didn’t ask Jesus to teach them how to perform miracles. They asked Jesus to teach them to PRAY! They wanted a prayer life that was significant, earnest and powerful. That’s where we started.
Then we looked at
2. Becoming a Circle Maker - Joshua 6. We learned that we have to be specific in regards to what we pray for. Generic prayers produce generic results. What exactly do you want God to do with YOUR Jericho? Become a circle maker who prays specifically.
Last week we learned that we need to PRAY BIG!
3. Small people…BIG prayers - Numbers 11
The God we pray to is a generous God is gracious and powerful. So much so that he provided quail to the Israelites as they wandered in the desert.
PRAYER CIRCLES - three tables. Visit them. There are some BIG prayer requests on those sheets of paper
Today we learn that as we pray, we need to have persistence in prayer! Do you know what I’m talking about? Are you facing an issue that you have been praying REALLY, REALLY intense for?
Do you have a prayer request that seems to continually make your list day after day? Are you persistent in praying about a situation you are dealing with or are you quick to abandon that prayer and move on?
ILLUSTRATION: A young man went into a drugstore to buy 2 boxes of chocolates. When the pharmacist asked him about the chocolate, the young man said, “I am going over to my girlfriends house for supper tonight to meet her family for the first time. I guess her mom is a real nut-job…so I’m going to give her some candy to try to win her over. If nothing more, maybe she’ll just keep her big mouth shut and chew the delicious candy.” He made his purchases and left.
That evening as he sat down at dinner with his girlfriend’s family, the young man asked if could say the prayer before the meal. He began to pray, and he prayed an earnest, intense prayer that lasted for almost five minutes. When he finished, his girlfriend said, “You never told me you were such a religious person…” He said, “And you never told me your dad was a pharmacist.”
Have you ever faced a crisis that you needed God to INTERVENE? It’s in times such as those that we learn to persistent, perseverance of prayer.
The title of this morning’s message is: “P.U.S.H. Through.” Push is an acronym that stands for - Pray Until Something Happens.
In Luke 18, we are going to study some more of Jesus’ teaching on prayer. And to help them grasp this truth about prayer, he is going to tell them a parable…a parable was an illustration that helps get the point across. Sometimes illustrations are true. Sometimes they are made up. We don’t know about this particular illustration. But the lesson the illustration teaches is ABSOLUTELY TRUE!
Luke 18:1-8
1Now [Jesus] was telling [his disciples] a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, (side note: When is it ok to be persistent about a prayer request you have? I was talking with someone this past week about praying persistently, and the comment was made: “I think there are some things that you shouldn’t ask God repeatedly about…“ Uh…Jesus tells a parable to show “AT ALL TIMES” it’s ok to be persistent in prayer. There isn’t any prayer requests you have that you shouldn’t be persistent in. verse 2)
2 [Jesus was] saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 There was a widow
(I want to stop right there for a moment. In this story that Jesus is telling, the main character is a widow. That’s significant for a couple of reasons. 1) This widow is alone. Her husband is dead. No kids are mentioned. She is alone. Have you ever felt alone as you are facing a problem in life? A problem that no one can help you with except THE holy, righteous Judge?
Second reason it’s significant that it’s a widow that Jesus uses in his story is: 2) It shows how big the problem was. You see, this widow was facing a POTENTIALLY big problem! It was common for widows in that day to have problems with people trying to cheat them out money or land that was to left to them by their husband. In the Old Testament account of Ruth, she and Naomi returned to Bethlehem as widows. They had no legal right to claim the land had belonged to their husbands. In Ruth’s case, she married Boaz and he became her kinsman / redeemer.
And so, Jesus uses the example of a woman to demonstrate the fact that when you feel alone…and the problem you are facing is serious…GO TO THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE OF GOD!
3 There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ (an opponent is defined as “one who opposes”. One who gets in the way. Who is your opponent? For some, its cancer. For some its disease. For others it’s a financial burden or a rebellious child. Your opponent is whatever has your immediate and undivided attention. So this woman has a problem. And she goes to the judge…not just once…but “SHE KEPT COMING TO HIM…” She was like, “Hey! You can fix this problem. So will you help me? Verse 4)
4 For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”
And now comes the application of the illustration that Jesus gives…verse 6
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge *said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
So there’s the lesson on prayer. A lesson based on the story of a woman in need who is seeking help from one in authority. I believe there are some hidden truths that we can learn from this story that Jesus tells…
T.S. In fact, there are three things that we learn from the persistence of this widow…
The first thing we learn from the persistence of this widow is…
I. God’s nature
The first thing we learn about God’s nature through our persistence is that he is INCREDIBLY…
A. Patient
Did you notice the language that is used to describe this woman? Look at it again.
Verse 5 - yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.
The word used for bother is the Greek word “kopos”. It means pain…whether that be literal or figurative. So basically the judge is calling this woman a PAIN!
Like an annoying little mosquito in the ear of the almighty God, this woman seemed to incessantly be an annoyance. And yet…the judge does not punish her or demand her to stop coming to him with her request…he has the power to put an end to her once and for all, but chooses not to do so. THAT is patient!
But not only is God patient…God is
B. Compassionate
In the parable, the judge gives what is needed…but one could HARDLY say that it was because of compassion. In the parable, the judge finally gives in to the request of the widow because he’s annoyed and bothered. But that’s where the comparisons stop. This judge in the story has NO compassion in regards to man. Our heavenly judge is FILLED with compassion! You’ve heard me say this before: Compassion is what causes God to respond. I mean, as you take an overview of Jesus’ ministry, it is crystal clear that Jesus’ ministry sprang forth from compassion.
When Jesus performs a miracle, it’s because compassion is felt.
#
#Matthew 15:32
[ Four Thousand Fed ] And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “ I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”
Matthew 20:34
Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
Mark 1:41
Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
And notice, it’s not PITY. It’s compassion. Pity leads to disgust. Compassion leads to a miracle!
God’s nature is one of patience…and compassion as He deals with the requests of His people!
Here is the second thing we learn from the persistence of the widow…
II. God responds to desperate people
I’ve all ready touched on this a little, but I want to go over it again so that it’s crystal clear this morning…
In the parable that Jesus tells, the judge represents God. But Jesus is very sure to point out that the judge in the story is NOT like God. The judge in the story doesn‘t care about man! And the reason that Jesus makes the comparison to the judge is because if this earthly judge who is NOT God and cares nothing of mankind can be moved to action by the persistence of this widow…how much more will the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE who deeply loves mankind respond to the persistent, desperate cries of His people?
But the question remains…
A. How desperate are you?
The persistent widow’s methodology was a little unorthodox. She was HARDLY following protocol. Technically speaking, the widow should have waited for her court date. Going to the personal residence of the judge crossed all sorts of professional boundaries.
But desperate people take desperate measures. And that’s the beautiful thing about Our heavenly judge. God couldn’t care less about protocol. If he did, Jesus would have chosen Pharisees as His disciples. He never would have honored the prostitute that crashed the dinner party at a Pharisee’s home to anoint his feet!
If Jesus cared about protocol, he wouldn’t have honored the tax collector (who climbed a tree just to get a glimpse of him) by going to his home and eating supper with him.
And Jesus honored the friends of a paralyzed man who were desperate to have their friend healed…so desperate, that they cut a hole in the roof of some guy’s home and lowered their friend on a cot right in front of Jesus’s feet!
How desperate are you? Let me answer that for you. Not desperate enough. We give up too soon. We become content with how things are. We think that God is not willing (and if we’re being REALLY honest…we may even think that God is NOT able!). Our persistence consists of praying for a couple of days. And when God doesn’t move or respond on OUR time table…we are quick to give up. That’s HARDLY persistence.
When was the last time you found yourself flat on your face before God almighty??? When was the last time you cut off your circulation kneeling before the Lord? When was the last time you pulled an “all-nighter” in prayer? Then my friend…you aren’t truly desperate enough.
Listen, nothing has changed! God is still honoring Holy Desperation! God honors those who crash parties and climb trees. God is still honoring those who defy protocol and pray with audacity and tenacity!
ILLUSTRATION: PUSHING THROUGH is all about consistency! It’s circling Jericho so many times it makes you dizzy! PUSHING THROUGH won’t take no for an answer. And people who are persistent in prayer understand it’s ALWAYS too soon to quit praying because you are always only one prayer away from a miracle.
And the persistent widow is selected as the gold standard when it comes to praying hard. Her unrelenting persistence was the ONLY difference between justice…and injustice.
That leads me to this question
B. Can prayer change God’s mind? (answer: Sometimes)
Can your persistence in prayer change God’s mind? Can a “no” be turned into a “yes” through your persistence in prayer? Ready for the complicated theological answer? The answer is…SOMETIMES.
Believe me when I say, I have wrestled with the answer to this question all week long. I read commentaries, had discussions with friends and read a LOT of scripture. And it is clear that there are times when God DOESN’T change his mind.
2 Corinthians 12:7-9
Certainly in the case of the apostle Paul when he earnestly and persistently prayed 3 times that “the thorn in the flesh” given to him by God would leave him. And each time, God was like, “No. My grace is sufficient for you.” So sometimes, God doesn’t change His mind. And we need to be ok with that! We need to understand that God’s ways and thoughts are higher and far greater than ours!
But then there are times, when God DOES change His mind because of prayer.
In Exodus 32, Moses has just been up on Mt. Sinai and has received the 10 commandments from God.
And while Moses is on top of the mountain, Aaron and the people thought it would be a good idea to make a false god out of gold to worship because they thought Moses was dead or left them because he had been gone so long. And in verses 7-14, God tells Moses what he intends to do…
Exodus 32:7-14
7 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’” 9 The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people. 10 Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”
11 Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people whom You have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants to whom You swore by Yourself, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” 14 So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.
If not for Moses and his prayer to God…the people would have been punished to death! But verse 14 makes it REALLY clear what the result of Moses praying on behalf of His people accomplished.
How humbling is it that the God of the universe moves to action as a result of the prayers of His people?!?!? And so I want to encourage you to continue to pray PERSISTENTLY to God for what you need and what you want…
And in the case of this widow, if she would have given up, and not been persistent in going to the judge with her request, she would have never received what she asked for!
God responds to desperate people!
And finally, the last lesson we learn from the persistence of the widow is
III. God is perfect
By perfect, I mean without fault. Complete. He needs nothing and all He has is absolutely 100% awesome, just the way He is.
But in particular, his GIFTS are perfect! James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift is from God. God only gives perfectly.
And so, maybe you need to be reminded that…
A. His timing is perfect
You’ve heard me say this before as well: God is RARELY early…but He‘s never late!
That was never more proven true than in John 11. It’s a familiar story. But what I want you to get out of this story is God’s timing. How PERFECT it is…
John 11:1-6
1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.
(ok wait a minute. Read verse 5 again. “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus…so what does he do? Look at verse 6. So he stayed two more days before leaving to go see this family that He loved! Really? THAT’S how you show your love?
Listen, this is merely proof that God’s timing is perfect…)
Verses 17-23
17 So when Jesus came, He found that [Lazarus] had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house.
(why did Martha go see Jesus and Mary stayed at the house? Was Mary too angry to face Jesus? Was she beginning to doubt that He was the son the God? We don’t know. But we do know that Martha goes to meet Jesus and have a serious conversation with Him…)
21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
23 Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
WHAT AN AMAZING STATEMENT OF FAITH MARTHA GIVES! Look at the beginning of verse 22...those two words - “EVEN NOW”.
Even when it seems to everyone that God showed up 4 days too late…Martha knew God’s timing is perfect.
Some of us are facing difficulties. When something bad happens, we need to believe EVEN NOW…even as the adoption falls through…even as the business goes bankrupt…that even now, God can still work.
Why? Because God’s timing is perfect. It may not happen when YOU want it to happen…but that’s the odd thing…God created time…but he never on OUR time table…and that’s because God’s timing is perfect.
Not only is God’s timing perfect…but
B. His provision is perfect
“how much God gives is perfect”
God gives JUST enough. And maybe you’re like - “well God has been pretty skimpy on the miracles in my life lately…”
Have you ever felt that everyone else around you is getting a miracle except you? Have you been mad at God for not coming through like you thought He should?
In chapter 7 is a seemingly strange scene. John the Baptist is in prison…and while He’s there, he sends some of his disciples to go ask a strange question of Jesus. Let’s read in
Luke 7:18-23
18 The disciples of John reported to him about all these things. 19 Summoning two of his disciples, John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” 20 When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, to ask, ‘Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?’” 21 At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. 22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
Why did John question Jesus at this point in his life? Didn’t he spend his entire ministry promoting the coming of Jesus the Messiah? Why question Him now?
Here’s the deal…there is this unspoken sub-context going on. John the Baptist is in prison…and Jesus is performing miracles. He’s healing the sick. Giving the blind back their sight. The lame can get up and walk. So…where’s John’s Miracle?!? How could Jesus work miracles for all of these other people but not for His own cousin, John?!?
That’s why Jesus says in verse 23: “Blessed is he who does not take offense at me.”
Jesus flat out says, “Don’t get angry if you see me doing stuff for others but I don’t do what you want me to do in your life…in fact, you will blessed if you don’t get angry with me.”
Listen, I’m not going to spend time delivering some theological discourse on “why God doesn’t answer your prayer the way you want Him to.”
I am not going to pretend to know why God what he does.
But this is what I DO know: 100% of the prayers I DON’T pray, go unanswered.
Trust that God’s timing is perfect. Trust that God’s provision is perfect. PRAY PERSISTENTLY.
CONCLUSION: So where are you at this morning? I mean in regards to your prayer list. Have you abandoned prayer? Are there prayer requests you have given up because quite frankly, you’ve grown tired of praying for the same thing over and over and over.
I simply want to end with a verse of scripture:
1st Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
May we be Praying with Excellence - persisting and not giving up.
Pray big
Pray specifically.
Pray persistently.
