Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Collierville First Baptist Church
[01:00:00;29 - 01:00:02;31]
We get to do what we do today
[01:00:04;24 - 01:00:12;18]
because of what many who've gone before us have done by spilling their own blood for the freedoms that we enjoy.
[01:00:14;47 - 01:00:23;09]
Every year at Memorial Day, we ask families who have lost a loved one,
[01:00:24;20 - 01:00:26;43]
who have lost a loved one in battle,
[01:00:29;04 - 01:00:39;44]
to stand and we wanna honor you. We thank God for the sacrifice of your family members who are willing to lay it on the line
[01:00:40;50 - 01:00:42;14]
for the freedoms we enjoy.
[01:00:43;41 - 01:00:49;45]
So if you have a family member who served and has died, would you stand up please?
[01:00:53;14 - 01:01:00;30]
Amen. (Gentle Music) We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
[01:01:03;08 - 01:01:05;57]
Also, I'd like to ask if you served,
[01:01:07;21 - 01:01:12;00]
I know it's Memorial Day, I know this is to honor the fallen,
[01:01:13;30 - 01:01:17;19]
but I'd also like to ask if you served in the military, would you stand up?
[01:01:20;18 - 01:01:26;06]
Thank you. (Congregation Applauding)
[01:01:28;44 - 01:01:31;02]
Would you bow your heads for just a moment, heavenly Father.
[01:01:32;53 - 01:01:35;18]
From the depths of my heart, I thank you
[01:01:37;10 - 01:01:38;49]
for these families who stood
[01:01:40;07 - 01:01:45;46]
because they had a family member who spilled their blood to protect this nation
[01:01:46;59 - 01:01:49;39]
and to provide the freedoms that we enjoy today.
[01:01:51;23 - 01:01:54;29]
I pray that you would bless these families on this Memorial Day.
[01:01:56;16 - 01:02:00;30]
I pray that they would rekindle wonderful memories of their loved ones.
[01:02:02;03 - 01:02:06;54]
And I pray you would bless them with a peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension.
[01:02:08;43 - 01:02:12;38]
I thank you for the men and women in this church who have served their country.
[01:02:14;26 - 01:02:19;24]
And Lord, we do pray, we pray heavenly Father for America
[01:02:21;28 - 01:02:28;36]
in just about a month, Lord, we're gonna celebrate the 250th anniversary of America.
[01:02:30;33 - 01:02:34;21]
And I pray heavenly Father that you would have mercy on us.
[01:02:35;44 - 01:02:38;47]
Father, I pray that there would be a great spiritual awakening
[01:02:41;00 - 01:02:44;43]
that would traverse this whole country
[01:02:46;26 - 01:02:53;20]
and would result in hundreds and thousands upon thousands and hundreds of thousands coming to faith in Christ.
[01:02:55;14 - 01:02:57;36]
I pray heavenly Father that we would repent
[01:02:59;42 - 01:03:10;14]
of the things that we've done and the beliefs that we have so tragically embraced that are contrary to your word. Oh God, help us to repent.
[01:03:12;18 - 01:03:27;51]
Help us to see a revival among churches in this nation, churches that believe in Jesus, churches that believe in the word of God. I pray you would light a fire that the enemy could not put out.
[01:03:29;29 - 01:03:32;54]
Heavenly Father, I thank you for this church.
[01:03:34;12 - 01:03:37;10]
And I pray heavenly Father as we open the word of God,
[01:03:38;53 - 01:03:43;24]
one of the great privileges and freedoms that we have is freedom of religion.
[01:03:45;09 - 01:04:01;42]
And I pray heavenly Father that we would never ever ever trade freedom of religion for anything that is contrary and inferior to that. Oh God, please, please.
[01:04:02;47 - 01:04:04;46]
So Lord, today as we open the Bible,
[01:04:06;03 - 01:04:15;12]
I pray that the Spirit of God would use the word of God in a powerful way to change our hearts, to change our lives.
[01:04:18;08 - 01:04:23;09]
Lord, give us a heart that's ready to receive what you have for us today.
[01:04:24;44 - 01:04:27;59]
In Jesus' name, amen.
[01:04:30;17 - 01:04:39;16]
Hey, it's a wonderful thing to see the core values of this church on display,
[01:04:40;50 - 01:04:43;15]
to see all these folks gathered here,
[01:04:45;49 - 01:04:51;15]
Jason and Don who are going to a very dark part of the world.
[01:04:53;03 - 01:05:02;46]
And John Aaron and his team are going to Guatemala to minister to children and to adults
[01:05:04;00 - 01:05:09;02]
who desperately need the gospel and they need to be loved on and ministered to.
[01:05:10;31 - 01:05:12;43]
And I just pray with all my heart
[01:05:14;09 - 01:05:21;43]
that they would come back with amazing stories about the supernatural activity of God in and through their lives.
[01:05:23;41 - 01:05:25;28]
So I want you to take your Bible today
[01:05:26;54 - 01:05:29;21]
and I want you to turn to Luke chapter 18.
[01:05:30;35 - 01:05:36;34]
Luke chapter 18. Now you'll quickly notice that in Luke chapter 17,
[01:05:37;48 - 01:05:41;19]
Jesus is teaching his disciples about the last days.
[01:05:42;39 - 01:06:02;10]
Look at verse 26, and just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.
[01:06:04;01 - 01:06:08;00]
Verse 28, it was the same as happened in the days of Lot.
[01:06:09;19 - 01:06:26;45]
They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building. But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
[01:06:28;27 - 01:06:33;55]
So right here on the heels of Luke chapter 17
[01:06:35;13 - 01:06:39;55]
and Jesus teaching on the second coming
[01:06:41;05 - 01:06:49;05]
and what it's gonna be like in the last days. By the way, I believe we're not only in the last days, I believe that we're in the last of the last days.
[01:06:50;53 - 01:06:53;57]
And then we come to a parable,
[01:06:55;29 - 01:07:01;14]
the first part of chapter 18 that we're going to zero in on today.
[01:07:02;15 - 01:07:06;56]
Let me read it for you, Luke chapter 18 verses one to eight.
[01:07:08;34 - 01:07:12;51]
Now he was telling them a parable to show that at all times
[01:07:13;53 - 01:07:16;16]
they ought to pray and not to lose heart.
[01:07:17;59 - 01:07:20;51]
Saying that in a certain city there was a judge
[01:07:21;55 - 01:07:24;39]
who did not fear God and did not respect man.
[01:07:25;54 - 01:07:32;45]
There was a widow in that city and she kept coming to him saying, give me legal protection for my opponent.
[01:07:34;07 - 01:07:36;21]
For a while he was unwilling.
[01:07:37;32 - 01:07:39;44]
But afterward he said to himself,
[01:07:40;47 - 01:07:52;41]
even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because of this widow, how she bothers me, I will give her legal protection.
[01:07:53;51 - 01:07:57;26]
Otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.
[01:07:59;36 - 01:08:02;47]
And the Lord said, hear what the unrighteous judge said.
[01:08:04;10 - 01:08:08;05]
Now will not God bring about justice for his elect
[01:08:09;11 - 01:08:11;00]
who cried to him day and night
[01:08:12;08 - 01:08:14;16]
and will he delay long over them?
[01:08:15;29 - 01:08:19;57]
I'll tell you that he will bring about justice for them quickly.
[01:08:21;15 - 01:08:23;25]
However, when the Son of Man comes,
[01:08:24;33 - 01:08:27;51]
will he find faith on the earth?
[01:08:29;59 - 01:08:33;02]
Yeah, I'm gonna let you in on dirty little secret, okay?
[01:08:35;02 - 01:08:48;19]
So many of us know we ought to pray and we ought to pray more and we don't do it because we allow life to crowd out the time we would spend praying and reading our Bible.
[01:08:50;01 - 01:09:02;40]
Or we are bushwhacked by the enemy, Satan himself, who would like nothing better than to take away that special time you have with the Lord praying and reading your Bible.
[01:09:04;28 - 01:09:06;11]
And as a result, we feel guilty.
[01:09:07;31 - 01:09:17;32]
We feel guilty because we don't pray as we ought. Look, if I did a show of hands today, do you feel real good about your prayer life?
[01:09:19;15 - 01:09:33;18]
I'm sure that many of you could not raise your hand because you don't feel good about your prayer life. Now, can I just set you at ease? This sermon is not designed to put you on a guilt trip. That's not the purpose of the sermon.
[01:09:34;29 - 01:09:44;32]
The purpose of this sermon is to equip you and to motivate you to pray like God wants you to pray.
[01:09:45;33 - 01:09:53;44]
Now, this is a fifth sermon in the series that we've entitled "Pray."
[01:09:55;09 - 01:10:01;34]
We've looked at number one, the priority of prayer, number two, the power of prayer, number three, the potential of prayer,
[01:10:02;45 - 01:10:14;11]
number four, the practice of prayer. And today, we're looking at this particular parable, which can only be found in the Gospel of Luke. It's not in any of the Gospel.
[01:10:15;36 - 01:10:20;43]
And this parable, we're entitling the persistence of prayer,
[01:10:21;55 - 01:10:29;11]
the persistence of prayer. Now, a parable is a story drawn from everyday life
[01:10:30;21 - 01:10:38;27]
to illustrate kingdom values, kingdom principles, and kingdom opportunity. Jesus was a master teacher,
[01:10:39;58 - 01:10:54;08]
and Jesus was a master at using everyday things to tell parables to teach amazing spiritual truths. Now, most parables only have one point,
[01:10:55;19 - 01:10:58;08]
and that's true for this parable itself.
[01:10:59;13 - 01:11:25;22]
In fact, one of the hardest things and takes me the longest period of time in sermon preparation is to come up with a takeaway truth. Every Sunday, I give you a takeaway truth, something that you can go home and you can talk about this truth from the Scripture with your kids and your grandkids and help them to grow spiritually and be young champions for Christ.
[01:11:26;48 - 01:11:33;20]
Well, I'll tell you what, it took me about one minute to come up with a takeaway truth for today. How about one minute? You know why?
[01:11:34;33 - 01:11:41;23]
Because Luke included the takeaway truth in verse one. All I had to do was read verse one.
[01:11:42;40 - 01:11:43;48]
Look at verse one again.
[01:11:45;44 - 01:11:56;25]
Now, he was telling them a parable. This is Luke talking. He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.
[01:11:58;28 - 01:12:06;58]
Now, understand this. Praying and not losing heart go together like peanut butter and jelly, okay?
[01:12:08;00 - 01:12:16;15]
If you don't wanna lose heart living in the last days, if you don't wanna lose heart when life gets hard,
[01:12:17;32 - 01:12:26;44]
then keep on praying. That's the truth for today. Keep on praying, keep on praying. Don't quit praying. Don't give up on God.
[01:12:28;17 - 01:12:29;12]
Keep on praying.
[01:12:31;50 - 01:12:49;36]
Pray when life is discouraging. Pray when the culture becomes vicious and vile. Pray when it takes God longer to answer the prayer than you think it should take. Keep praying. We must never give up on God. We must never give up on praying.
[01:12:51;47 - 01:13:08;54]
Now, let's just get into the parable itself. Now, this is Jesus talking here, verse two. So imagine him, he's got his disciples around him and he's teaching them about the importance of persisting in prayer.
[01:13:10;05 - 01:13:13;22]
Verse two, saying in a certain city,
[01:13:14;43 - 01:13:18;52]
there was a judge. Now, Jesus is making up a story here
[01:13:19;55 - 01:13:31;36]
and he's using this story to teach a vital spiritual truth. And there was a judge in that city who did not fear God and did not respect man.
[01:13:33;01 - 01:13:38;52]
There was a widow in that city. She kept coming to him saying, "Give me legal protection for my opponent."
[01:13:40;45 - 01:13:53;59]
Now, these verses, verses two and three sort of give us the main characters in the story that Jesus is sharing with his disciples. There's a half of the story that Jesus is sharing and there's a helpless widow.
[01:13:55;14 - 01:13:58;36]
And there's an unscrupulous judge.
[01:14:00;32 - 01:14:03;47]
Jesus shed some light on that judge's character.
[01:14:05;02 - 01:14:06;46]
He had no reverence for God.
[01:14:07;47 - 01:14:09;45]
He was no reverence for God whatsoever.
[01:14:11;08 - 01:14:13;20]
He had no respect for people.
[01:14:14;54 - 01:14:19;05]
And in verse six, Jesus said he was an unrighteous judge.
[01:14:21;18 - 01:14:25;03]
This man had no use for the moral authority of God.
[01:14:26;33 - 01:14:34;31]
Therefore, he basically developed his own script and did what he wanted to do from the judge's chambers.
[01:14:36;31 - 01:14:50;47]
Sounds a lot like some of the judges we have in America today, doesn't it? An unscrupulous judge. Then our Lord pointed to this widow.
[01:14:51;50 - 01:14:57;46]
It's interesting, Luke probably mentions widows more than any other gospel writer.
[01:14:59;48 - 01:15:06;48]
And in this culture, the culture of the first century, a widow was basically defenseless.
[01:15:08;25 - 01:15:11;01]
She didn't have the money to bribe the judge.
[01:15:12;02 - 01:15:24;43]
She didn't have a husband to provide encouragement and to stand before the judge and demand that justice. She didn't have that.
[01:15:26;59 - 01:15:34;25]
She was basically dependent upon that judge to do what was right.
[01:15:36;11 - 01:15:39;17]
Somebody was trying to swindle her out of her possessions.
[01:15:40;36 - 01:15:42;37]
Now she probably had very few possessions.
[01:15:43;57 - 01:15:48;45]
Maybe the husband left her a small little place to live.
[01:15:50;19 - 01:15:53;45]
And maybe her adversary, whoever that adversary was,
[01:15:55;13 - 01:15:58;23]
was trying to take what was rightfully hers,
[01:15:59;42 - 01:16:01;01]
what she had to live on.
[01:16:02;10 - 01:16:07;27]
Now, when you think about that part of the story, does that not make your blood boil?
[01:16:08;51 - 01:16:16;31]
I mean, it makes me so mad when I read about a judge,
[01:16:18;03 - 01:16:26;27]
an unscrupulous, unjust, unrighteous judge that no fear of God, no reverence for God, no respect for people.
[01:16:27;40 - 01:16:33;47]
And yet he's trying to avoid helping a lady who desperately needed his help.
[01:16:35;17 - 01:16:38;00]
By the way, that's why Jesus told these kinds of stories.
[01:16:39;43 - 01:16:43;32]
It's to get you involved in the story.
[01:16:45;05 - 01:16:54;07]
And it's to spring the truth that he wanted you to learn and to apply to your life at some point in the story.
[01:16:56;05 - 01:17:00;28]
Now, unfortunately, even in Jesus' day,
[01:17:02;13 - 01:17:26;18]
the righteous elite, or those who call themselves the righteous elite in Israel were known, listen, they were known to do exactly what the adversary was doing to this dear widow. Let me read you a passage, Mark 12, verse 38 to 40. Listen to it.
[01:17:27;28 - 01:17:29;46]
Jesus, in his teaching, was saying,
[01:17:31;00 - 01:17:51;23]
"Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and like respectful greetings in the marketplaces and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquet." Now look at verse 40. This is Jesus talking. This is not the parable.
[01:17:52;53 - 01:17:58;14]
This is real life stuff here. He says, "These scribes, these religious people,
[01:17:59;54 - 01:18:03;41]
they devour widows' houses," in verse 40.
[01:18:05;47 - 01:18:10;49]
He hear people who claim to be righteous, who claim to be men of God.
[01:18:13;02 - 01:18:18;03]
And yet they're swindling widows out of their livelihood.
[01:18:20;14 - 01:18:31;07]
I just can't imagine it. And Jesus said this, he said, "And for appearance and sake, all for long prayers," listen to this, "These will receive greater condemnation.
[01:18:33;43 - 01:18:43;23]
This dear lady turned to the Jewish justice system for help, but she was ignored.
[01:18:45;17 - 01:18:49;03]
And her pleas went unheeded."
[01:18:50;24 - 01:18:51;50]
Look at verses four and five.
[01:18:53;48 - 01:18:56;50]
"For a while, he was unwilling."
[01:18:57;58 - 01:19:08;23]
He just turned a deaf ear to her. He didn't give her a place in his courtroom to state her case.
[01:19:10;21 - 01:19:12;07]
He did nothing to help her.
[01:19:13;13 - 01:19:15;38]
"For a while, he was unwilling, but afterward,
[01:19:16;39 - 01:19:18;07]
he said to himself,
[01:19:19;49 - 01:19:24;28]
"Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
[01:19:25;45 - 01:19:31;59]
yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection.
[01:19:33;19 - 01:19:38;50]
Otherwise, by continually coming, she will wear me out."
[01:19:41;37 - 01:20:16;48]
I wouldn't say that his motive was where it should have been, right? She bothers me, lest by continually coming, she will wear me out. Imagine the judge going out on his porch for a cup of coffee, and there's the judge for a cup of coffee, and there's the widow there on the sidewalk. Hey, judge, give me the justice that you're supposed to give me. Imagine him going to the marketplace to buy a loaf of bread, and he goes to the marketplace, and there she is again. Judge, give me the justice that you're supposed to give me. Wherever he went, there she was.
[01:20:18;52 - 01:20:21;33]
It's interesting, in the Greek language,
[01:20:22;59 - 01:20:32;26]
when it talks about her continually wearing him out, it literally means to give him a black eye, a black eye. Now, not physically.
[01:20:33;47 - 01:20:38;31]
That poor little widow can give the judge the black eye, but here's what I think it means.
[01:20:39;54 - 01:20:52;40]
I think the judge was so concerned about his reputation in the community that he didn't want her going in the community telling that he was not helping her as a widow.
[01:20:55;41 - 01:21:02;31]
Interesting, isn't it? Boy, Jesus knew how to tell a story. My goodness.
[01:21:04;19 - 01:21:14;30]
Now, this parable, if you wanna interpret this parable correctly, you got to understand that this is not a parable of comparison.
[01:21:16;12 - 01:21:20;32]
Jesus is not comparing God to the judge.
[01:21:22;26 - 01:21:26;20]
He's not comparing Christians to the widow.
[01:21:27;38 - 01:21:33;50]
This is a parable of contrast. It's a contrasting parable.
[01:21:35;22 - 01:21:42;44]
Listen, God is not like the judge, I promise you. And we as believers, we're not like the widow.
[01:21:44;44 - 01:21:45;18]
It's interesting.
[01:21:47;15 - 01:21:50;53]
In Luke 18, six through seven,
[01:21:52;06 - 01:22:00;06]
listen to what Jesus said. Now, he's told the story, and now he comes back, and he gonna make his point.
[01:22:01;11 - 01:22:04;19]
And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said.
[01:22:05;41 - 01:22:09;24]
"Now, will not God bring about justice for his elect,
[01:22:10;35 - 01:22:15;31]
"who cry to him day and night, "and will he delay long over them?"
[01:22:17;02 - 01:22:18;03]
Here's the Lord's point.
[01:22:19;34 - 01:22:26;19]
If the unjust judge granted the persistent widow's request,
[01:22:28;10 - 01:22:32;44]
how much more will a just, loving, and gracious God
[01:22:33;47 - 01:22:35;46]
grant the petitions of his children,
[01:22:37;01 - 01:22:40;10]
whom he sacrificed his own son in order to save?
[01:22:42;42 - 01:22:49;05]
You say, "Well, who is a child of God? "Isn't everybody a child of God?" No, everybody not a child of God.
[01:22:50;41 - 01:23:01;02]
Hey, take your Bible just a minute, turn back to, turn over to Luke, John chapter one. Just flip to your right, just a few pages. John chapter one.
[01:23:05;53 - 01:23:09;17]
Look at verses 12 and 13. You wanna know who a child of God is.
[01:23:10;18 - 01:23:20;06]
I think a lot of people are walking around thinking because God is creator, and they are created that they are children of God.
[01:23:21;10 - 01:23:24;03]
Now, I want you to listen to the Bible definition of a child of God.
[01:23:25;54 - 01:23:31;16]
Verse 12 of John one. "But as many as received him," that's Jesus,
[01:23:32;48 - 01:23:53;10]
"as many as repented of their sin "and received Jesus by faith as Savior and Lord, "but as many as received him, "to them he gave the right to become children of God, "even to those who believe in his name, "who were born not of blood nor the will of flesh, "nor the will of man, but of God."
[01:23:54;48 - 01:23:58;14]
You wanna know who a child of God is? There's your answer.
[01:23:59;39 - 01:24:03;29]
Now, you may have come in here today, or you may be watching live stream,
[01:24:04;58 - 01:24:15;46]
and you are debating whether you're a child of God or not. Can I just say something to you as lovingly, as graciously as I possibly can?
[01:24:17;09 - 01:24:23;25]
Please, please do not walk out of this service today
[01:24:24;48 - 01:24:27;06]
unless you know for absolute certain
[01:24:28;22 - 01:24:29;26]
that you're a child of God.
[01:24:30;51 - 01:24:33;53]
Now, here's the test. Just read it to you.
[01:24:34;54 - 01:24:35;51]
The test is this.
[01:24:36;59 - 01:24:45;02]
If you're a child of God, it means that you have received Jesus as your Savior and your Lord, and you have been born again.
[01:24:47;40 - 01:24:48;57]
Does that describe you?
[01:24:50;48 - 01:24:52;38]
If it doesn't, in a few moments,
[01:24:54;00 - 01:24:57;33]
our staff will line up across the front, our worship team will come,
[01:24:59;06 - 01:25:09;23]
and we're gonna give you an opportunity to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord today, and give you the opportunity to become a legitimate child of God.
[01:25:11;24 - 01:25:15;38]
Oh, I tell you, friend, if the unjust judge
[01:25:17;05 - 01:25:21;25]
will give to this persistent widow what she desires,
[01:25:22;46 - 01:25:31;01]
how much more will a gracious, merciful, loving, heavenly Father give what his children need?
[01:25:32;21 - 01:25:37;10]
See, this is a how much more parable, all right?
[01:25:38;53 - 01:25:40;57]
Now, think about this.
[01:25:42;47 - 01:25:49;35]
Jesus promised that he would come again. We know that, right? It's in the Gospels, in the Bible.
[01:25:50;59 - 01:25:53;14]
He'll come again to right every wrong
[01:25:55;15 - 01:25:59;17]
and to rule and reign over his glorious kingdom. He's coming.
[01:26:00;22 - 01:26:02;03]
I can't tell you when he's coming,
[01:26:03;11 - 01:26:04;28]
but I can tell you he's coming.
[01:26:06;35 - 01:26:17;31]
And therefore, as disciples, we cannot lose heart in the fact that Jesus has not already come. We want him to come today, but he's not gonna come until he gets ready to come.
[01:26:18;58 - 01:26:21;55]
See, it's all been planned out before the foundation of the world.
[01:26:24;43 - 01:26:29;15]
And we must not lose heart and quit praying
[01:26:30;48 - 01:26:33;25]
because things are getting tough in the world today.
[01:26:34;53 - 01:26:36;50]
They're not just getting tough, they're getting crazy.
[01:26:38;01 - 01:26:40;36]
Absolutely bonkers, nuts.
[01:26:42;30 - 01:26:43;33]
Don't lose heart.
[01:26:44;52 - 01:26:47;36]
Keep praying, keep on praying.
[01:26:48;51 - 01:26:54;08]
In Romans 8.32, Paul wrote, "He who did not spare his own son,
[01:26:55;36 - 01:27:02;26]
"but delivered him for us all, "how will he not also with him freely give us all things?"
[01:27:04;14 - 01:27:14;18]
That's how much God loves you. I'm gonna tell you, God is totally 180 degrees opposite of the judge in this parable.
[01:27:18;07 - 01:27:24;30]
Now, our father delights in giving good gifts to his children, the Bible says.
[01:27:26;01 - 01:27:33;02]
However, persistence and prayer does not mean that God will always give you what you want.
[01:27:34;48 - 01:27:38;40]
You say, "But pastor, I prayed over and over and over for this."
[01:27:41;27 - 01:27:45;18]
That doesn't mean God's gonna give you what you want. I'll tell you what he will do.
[01:27:46;19 - 01:27:47;50]
He will give you what you need.
[01:27:49;16 - 01:28:03;31]
And you say, "But pastor, I've been praying about this "and I've been praying for a long time about this, pastor. "And when is God gonna give me what I want or what I need?"
[01:28:04;54 - 01:28:06;59]
It doesn't mean that he's always gonna give you
[01:28:08;02 - 01:28:10;06]
what you asked for when you want it.
[01:28:11;24 - 01:28:15;34]
He may not give you what you want, he may not give it to you when you want it,
[01:28:16;43 - 01:28:20;40]
but God will answer your prayers. And by the way, let me say, if you're a child of God,
[01:28:22;26 - 01:28:26;50]
God is not bothered when you come to him in prayer like this judge was.
[01:28:28;35 - 01:28:30;53]
He loves for you to come to him in prayer.
[01:28:34;00 - 01:28:42;42]
Now, I found this from a pastor in Virginia,
[01:28:44;41 - 01:28:46;34]
trying to remember his name.
[01:28:47;45 - 01:28:49;43]
I'll think of it when I'm driving home, okay?
[01:28:51;20 - 01:28:56;26]
And he said that there are three factors we must consider when it comes to God's will.
[01:28:57;58 - 01:29:02;51]
Number one, maybe you're not getting what you want
[01:29:03;56 - 01:29:09;54]
when you want it because it's not God's will. Number one, it's not God's will. Factor number one, it's not God's will.
[01:29:12;14 - 01:29:19;54]
We must learn, here's what we gotta learn. We got to learn to align our will with God's will when we pray.
[01:29:21;07 - 01:29:27;39]
Sometimes it takes a period of time for our will to be meshed with God's will.
[01:29:29;01 - 01:29:49;48]
Think about the Lord Jesus Christ in Gethsemane. In Matthew chapter 26, verse 39 to 45, the Bible says, "And he went a little beyond them." He got Peter, James, and John, and they're separated from the other disciples, and Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane. He's literally hour from being crucified.
[01:29:52;17 - 01:29:56;42]
And he went a little beyond them, fell on his face, and prayed, Jesus prayed.
[01:29:58;36 - 01:30:02;33]
Say, "My Father, if it is possible,
[01:30:03;55 - 01:30:07;27]
let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will."
[01:30:09;15 - 01:30:32;10]
Jesus said, "Father, if there's any other way for people to be saved other than me, going to the cross and dying for people's sins, Lord, if I can get out of this suffering, Lord, if that's your will, may your will be done." He came to the disciples and found them sleeping and said to Peter, "So you men cannot keep watch with me for one hour.
[01:30:33;22 - 01:30:40;58]
Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation, the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
[01:30:42;10 - 01:31:06;22]
He went away again a second time and prayed, say, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, your will be done." Verse 43, "He came again and found them sleeping for their eyes were heavy. And he left them again and went away and prayed a third time." A third time, saying the same thing once more, "Father, if it's your will, let this cup pass from me."
[01:31:07;50 - 01:31:15;42]
Verse 45, "Then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?
[01:31:17;21 - 01:31:22;19]
Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners."
[01:31:24;06 - 01:31:25;57]
Now what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane?
[01:31:27;06 - 01:31:27;50]
I'll tell you what happened.
[01:31:29;03 - 01:31:33;28]
The will of the Son of God was synced
[01:31:34;48 - 01:31:36;41]
with the will of the Father.
[01:31:38;10 - 01:31:47;30]
He prayed three times for the same thing. He persisted in prayer and God the Father showed him that it was his will that Jesus go to the cross
[01:31:48;43 - 01:31:49;55]
and die for our sins.
[01:31:52;03 - 01:32:01;02]
Second Corinthians chapter 12 tells about Paul being caught up into the third heaven
[01:32:02;29 - 01:32:05;19]
and seeing and hearing things that no man has ever heard.
[01:32:06;58 - 01:32:13;00]
And the Bible says that God gave him a thorn in the flesh to keep him from exalting himself.
[01:32:14;52 - 01:32:20;48]
And three different times, Paul prayed to the Father and asked that that thorn be removed.
[01:32:23;04 - 01:32:32;56]
And the Father revealed to Paul it was not his will to remove the thorn of flesh but he said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you."
[01:32:34;09 - 01:32:44;03]
And so what happened? In both cases, in Jesus the Son of God and in Paul, the greatest missionary who's ever walked on the face of this planet,
[01:32:46;21 - 01:32:49;18]
their wills were synced with the will of the Father.
[01:32:50;43 - 01:32:54;01]
And sometimes in our prayer lives, as we persist in prayer,
[01:32:55;07 - 01:32:59;58]
God uses that time to make sure that our wills are lined up with his will.
[01:33:02;13 - 01:33:08;24]
So it's not God's will, that's the what of God's will.
[01:33:09;46 - 01:33:13;06]
And then here's a second factor, it's not God's timing.
[01:33:14;29 - 01:33:20;21]
Maybe you're not receiving what you're praying for even though you're persisting because it's not God's timing.
[01:33:22;10 - 01:33:27;35]
So we got to discern the what of God's will and the when of God's will.
[01:33:28;42 - 01:33:30;41]
For the greater part of his ministry,
[01:33:31;58 - 01:33:37;03]
the Lord Jesus repeatedly said, "My hour has not come."
[01:33:39;22 - 01:33:42;10]
In Psalm 24, verses four and five,
[01:33:44;02 - 01:33:46;32]
the Bible said, "Make me know your ways, O Lord.
[01:33:48;00 - 01:33:57;21]
"Teach me your paths, lead me in your truth "and teach me for you are the God of my salvation. "For you I wait all the day."
[01:33:58;32 - 01:34:08;22]
Sometimes we have to wait on the will of God to receive the answer that we're persistently praying for.
[01:34:10;37 - 01:34:12;05]
And then here's a third factor,
[01:34:13;32 - 01:34:15;49]
not only it's not the will of God,
[01:34:17;07 - 01:34:22;35]
not only if not God's timing, here's a third factor, it's not God's best.
[01:34:24;56 - 01:34:31;01]
Now I want to share with you a story right out of the New Testament that combines all three of these.
[01:34:32;04 - 01:34:39;26]
Not God's will, it's not God's timing, it's not God's best. It's the story of Lazarus.
[01:34:40;42 - 01:34:45;15]
You remember Lazarus and Mary and Martha, they were great friends.
[01:34:47;03 - 01:34:57;33]
And Martha and Mary sent word to Jesus who was ministering somewhere else and said to him, "Come quickly, Lazarus is sick. "We need you to heal him."
[01:35:00;33 - 01:35:01;41]
Do you know what Jesus did?
[01:35:04;15 - 01:35:08;06]
He didn't drop everything and run to Bethany
[01:35:09;35 - 01:35:10;47]
to heal Lazarus.
[01:35:12;20 - 01:35:16;43]
In fact, he delayed, he delayed on purpose.
[01:35:18;10 - 01:35:23;10]
And when he finally got there, Lazarus had died. He was dead as a hammer.
[01:35:24;51 - 01:35:29;23]
In fact, four days earlier, they had buried him in a tomb.
[01:35:33;10 - 01:35:34;26]
Now let me ask you a question.
[01:35:36;03 - 01:35:38;05]
We're thinking about God's best here.
[01:35:39;52 - 01:35:49;18]
Was it better that Jesus heal a sick man from his sickness or was it better and more powerful that Jesus raised a dead man to life?
[01:35:50;49 - 01:35:52;30]
I think you know the answer to that.
[01:35:54;00 - 01:35:59;54]
And it was God's will that Lazarus died and it was God's will that the Son of God
[01:36:01;25 - 01:36:02;59]
would raise him from the dead.
[01:36:04;37 - 01:36:09;54]
God got more glory from that than if Jesus had healed him from the sickness.
[01:36:11;04 - 01:36:19;26]
And more people were saved as a result of that miracle. All right, now look.
[01:36:21;33 - 01:36:22;55]
Here's the lesson for us.
[01:36:24;41 - 01:36:25;42]
Keep on praying.
[01:36:27;24 - 01:36:29;27]
Keep in mind the what of God's will,
[01:36:30;27 - 01:36:34;06]
the when of God's will and the why of God's will.
[01:36:35;45 - 01:36:38;34]
Look 18, verse eight, look at it.
[01:36:39;36 - 01:36:42;40]
I tell you that he will bring about justice for them quickly.
[01:36:44;31 - 01:36:47;56]
However, when the Son of Man comes, the second coming of Christ,
[01:36:49;03 - 01:36:52;10]
will he find faith on the earth?
[01:36:54;21 - 01:36:59;55]
For Luke and the first century disciples, the second coming of the Lord Jesus was a vibrant hope
[01:37:01;20 - 01:37:04;57]
and a very real expectation for them.
[01:37:06;23 - 01:37:19;43]
Although it appeared that the second coming was being delayed, these believers expected that the blessed hope of Jesus would be realized soon.
[01:37:21;44 - 01:37:25;41]
A little chronological time is different than heaven's time, you know that don't you?
[01:37:27;16 - 01:37:40;35]
You say, "Pastor, I'm praying fervently but the things are getting worse and worse and worse in the world and I'm getting discouraged and depressed over what's happening in the world. And Pastor, I'm about ready to give up on this prayer thing.
[01:37:42;00 - 01:37:43;27]
Don't you dare do it."
[01:37:44;52 - 01:38:07;41]
Because the Bible says that with Jesus, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day. You say, "Why Jesus delaying is coming so more people can get saved, so people in Nepal can be saved, so people in Guatemala can be saved, so people in Cairo can be saved." That's why the Lord Jesus is delayed.
[01:38:11;12 - 01:38:12;43]
He wants people to be saved.
[01:38:15;15 - 01:38:18;50]
It's interesting in the Greek where it says,
[01:38:19;50 - 01:38:27;48]
"Will he find faith on the earth?" There's an article before the word faith in the Greek. It's not faith, it's the faith.
[01:38:29;20 - 01:38:43;07]
Well, what's he talking about by the faith? I believe he's saying this. When Jesus comes, will he find believers who have not given up on God and who are praying persistently without losing heart?
[01:38:46;19 - 01:38:55;57]
In this parable, the judge is a contrast to the father. But not only that, the widow is a contrast to us as believers.
[01:38:58;05 - 01:39:01;04]
Now, if you're a born again believer, if you're a child of God,
[01:39:02;20 - 01:39:04;11]
and we defined that a few moments ago,
[01:39:05;16 - 01:39:09;11]
you need to realize that the widow appealed to a heartless judge,
[01:39:11;12 - 01:39:14;10]
but the believer appeals to a loving heavenly father.
[01:39:15;43 - 01:39:17;41]
The widow approached a court of law,
[01:39:18;57 - 01:39:21;42]
but as believers, we approach a throne of grace.
[01:39:23;35 - 01:39:25;33]
The widow was awarded justice.
[01:39:27;08 - 01:39:30;10]
The believer is awarded mercy.
[01:39:31;46 - 01:39:43;32]
How blessed we are to be children of God, a gracious, merciful, patient, loving, heavenly father who delights in giving good gifts to his children.
[01:39:45;19 - 01:39:50;23]
I'll tell ya, I don't need much more motivation than that to keep on praying.
[01:39:57;35 - 01:39:57;51]
Listen.
[01:40:01;41 - 01:40:03;04]
If you don't wanna lose heart,
[01:40:05;16 - 01:40:07;05]
you gotta pray, you gotta keep on praying.
[01:40:08;43 - 01:40:12;40]
There's enough that going on in the world today to make anybody lose heart.
[01:40:15;43 - 01:40:17;31]
You know, this idea of lose heart,
[01:40:18;38 - 01:40:26;06]
in the amplified version of the Bible, it says instead of lose heart, to become a coward,
[01:40:28;54 - 01:40:29;35]
to faint.
[01:40:31;29 - 01:40:32;05]
To fail.
[01:40:34;21 - 01:40:34;56]
My goodness.
[01:40:36;23 - 01:40:40;20]
I don't want that moniker hung on me, I promise you that.
[01:40:41;58 - 01:40:45;03]
So we gotta keep, if you don't wanna lose heart, you gotta keep on praying.
[01:40:46;16 - 01:41:27;10]
Keep on praying for lost friends and family members to be saved. Keep on praying for the pastor search team that will be presenting to you on June the 14th. Keep on praying for a powerful unity to grip Carnival First Baptist Church. Keep on praying that the Lord will lead us to the next pastor that he's already chosen. Keep on praying that strong Christ-honoring marriages will dominate this church. Keep on praying that your children, your grandchildren will have a biblical worldview. Keep on praying for spiritual momentum to take place in this church until Christ comes.
[01:41:30;03 - 01:41:30;46]
Keep on praying.
[01:41:32;14 - 01:41:34;57]
That's a challenge for every child of God in this room.
[01:41:38;10 - 01:41:39;49]
But for those of you who say,
[01:41:41;22 - 01:41:45;03]
pastor based upon your definition, by the way, it's not my definition,
[01:41:46;29 - 01:41:49;15]
it's the Bible's definition, it's God's definition
[01:41:50;31 - 01:41:52;03]
of who a child of God is.
[01:41:53;11 - 01:41:57;13]
Based upon that definition, pastor, I don't think I'm a child of God.
[01:42:02;22 - 01:42:03;04]
You can be.
[01:42:05;16 - 01:42:06;50]
If you will repent of your sin
[01:42:08;54 - 01:42:16;38]
and place your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who went to the cross of Calvary and died for every one of your stinking sins,
[01:42:20;07 - 01:42:21;44]
surrender to his Lordship,
[01:42:23;58 - 01:42:29;57]
by faith receive it as your Savior and your Lord.
[01:42:31;45 - 01:42:35;20]
I'll tell you, the moment you do that, you become a child of God.
[01:42:37;58 - 01:42:48;22]
You become a child of God. And all these things that we've been talking, all the benefits of being a child of God that we've been talking about, they're yours instantly.
[01:42:51;29 - 01:42:55;29]
So I'm gonna ask our staff to come, I'm gonna ask our worship team to come.
[01:42:57;18 - 01:42:59;06]
And we're gonna give you an opportunity today
[01:43:01;57 - 01:43:03;20]
to become a child of God.
[01:43:04;47 - 01:43:28;45]
We're gonna give you an opportunity as a Christian, a child of God to come to this altar and to kneel before the Lord and to just commit your life, to keep on praying, no matter what happens in this world, no matter what happens in your life, no matter what happens in your family, keep on praying. Never give up on God, never give up on praying.
[01:43:31;54 - 01:43:33;13]
Father, in the name of Jesus,
[01:43:34;43 - 01:43:40;01]
we thank you that you're a gracious, loving, merciful, patient Father.
[01:43:41;18 - 01:43:44;44]
We thank you that you love to give good gifts to your children.
[01:43:46;14 - 01:43:51;53]
And we pray that right now, Father, you would be honored and glorified by our response to you and to your son, Jesus.
[01:43:53;04 - 01:43:57;56]
In Christ's name, amen. Let's stand and worship and you come as God leads.
[01:43:57;56 - 01:43:59;25]