Please turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke and chapter 18. Luke chapter 18, and I'll read the first eight verses. Luke chapter 18 and verse 1. Now he was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, there was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. And there was a widow in that city. And she kept coming to him saying, give me legal protection from my opponent. And for a while, he was unwilling. But afterward, he said to himself, even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, lest by continually coming, she wear me out. And the Lord said, hear what the unrighteous judge said. Now shall not God bring about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night? And will he delay long over them? I tell you that he will bring about justice for them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? On an earlier occasion in Luke's gospel, Jesus slipped away to a lonely place to pray, and his disciples came and found him. And they asked Jesus, they said, Lord, teach us to pray just as John the Baptist also taught his disciples. And Jesus began to teach them how to pray by giving them that pattern of the Lord's prayer. And here again, he takes up this subject of prayer and gives them a lesson in persevering and persistent prayer. It is the parable that we call the parable of the importunate widow. Importunate, the word means to persist. It means to be relentless. Importunate means to be persevering in one's request of another. It is the best way to describe the widow of this parable. To be importunate means to come time and time again and over and over again with the same petition. It means to be determined, to be resolute, It is one who requests with perseverance of another in the face of obstacles and disappointments and discouragements. And so this is the quality of this widow. She is the importunate widow as she comes before the unrighteous judge. The first lesson that we learn in the passage is the power of importunity among men. power of importunity among men. There are two persons in the parable. We are introduced to the first in verse two where Jesus says there was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. Down in verse six he calls him the unrighteous judge. So he was an unrighteous man. He was a man with an evil and a bad character. And we're told two things about him in verse 2. First, that he had no fear of God. He had no conscience before God to do what was right in the sight of God. And second, he had no respect for his fellow man, meaning he did not care what his fellow man thought or how he treated his fellow man. And so in whatever he did, in whatever actions and decisions and words that he spoke, he had no concern about whether it brought God's judgment upon him or whether it brought the anger of man against him. He did not fear God, and he did not respect man. There are many people who have no fear of God in their hearts, but they still have regard for their fellow man. They may not be constrained by what is right in the sight of God, but they are still constrained by what may be right and good in the eyes of their fellow man. But here we have a man who had neither. He was completely void of any principle, it seems, at all. He had no constraint in regard to either God or in regard to what is good and right for his fellow man. And so he seems to have been a very corrupt and evil man, a man unrighteous, a man without really much humanity. And to make the matter worse, this man was a judge in this city. He had a position of authority and influence. He had power to make rulings, to make decisions and judgments in the lives of others. And all of his rulings, all of his actions as a judge came out of this character, this corrupt character. He was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. But then we meet the second person in the parable in verse three, where Jesus tells us, and there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him saying, to the judge saying, give me legal protection against my opponent. She was a very poor, distressed woman. We are told that she was a widow, which means that she once had a husband. Her husband had died, and now she is left alone as a widow. And she is the one who comes before the judge in the parable, which would have been unusual at that time for a woman to appear before a judge. And what it tells us is that she had no one else to come to her aid and stand with her. She had no one else who would help her in her troubles and in her distress. And she was a widow, which meant she was most likely poor. She was in great need. She was vulnerable to those who would take advantage of her and liable to the oppression of others. And this is what seems to have happened to this widow. We see at the end of verse three that she speaks of my opponent. There was someone who was oppressing her, someone committing injustices against her. Perhaps she was being defrauded of some of her income. Perhaps some inheritance, the inheritance from her husband, was wrongfully taken from her. Perhaps some of her belongings were being removed from her. The threat continued to come. So this widow came to the judge here. She is helpless. She is defenseless. And it seems that the law was on her side when she came to the judge, because what she is asking for is for legal protection. That's all she's asking for from the judge. She says, give me legal protection from my opponent who is oppressing me. When we see here in verse three that it said Jesus said she kept coming to him. That means that she was continually, repeatedly coming to this judge over and over again with this same request, give me legal protection from my opponent. Then we see the difficulty and the discouragement that this widow met with in the beginning of verse four. where Jesus says, and for a while, he was unwilling. For a while, which means for a considerable period of time, for an extended period of time, she was continually coming to this judge. She was making her request over and over again. And she was persistent, and she was determined that he would hear her. But he continued, and he remained throughout this entire period of time unwilling to grant her her request. Her persistence and her determination were only matched by his indifference and unwillingness to give her legal protection. She was nothing but a poor widow before him. She had no bribe in her hand. She had no powerful friends to speak for her on her behalf. And being a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man, he had nothing but contempt. He had nothing but indifference for this widow. And every time that she would come with her passionate plea for help, he would deny her request and turn her away. For a while, for a long while, he was unwilling to give her any legal protection. And he knew why he was unwilling. because he was a man who did not fear God, and he did not have any respect for his fellow man. He confesses this in verse four. And for a while he was unwilling, but afterward he said to himself, this is what he said, this is why I have been unwilling, even though I do not fear God nor respect man. And then finally he granted her request. See in verse five, the judge said, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, lest by continually coming, she wear me out. The King James translates it, because this widow troubles me, I will give her legal protection. That word at the end of verse 6, lest she wear me out, is a very strong word. It's an indication of the persistence of this widow. The word, wear me out. was one that was actually used by the Greeks to speak of boxers who would fight against one another and strike another in the eye. The word means to give a black eye, or it means to beat black and blue. It's the same word that Paul used in 1 Corinthians 9 in verse 27, where Paul said, but I buffet my body. There's the word. I buffet my body. I make it my slave, lest possibly after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. So this unrighteous judge, he was not merely concerned that the widow would make him tired. by her persistence and her determination in coming to him time and time again. He was concerned that she would actually ruin his physical health. It was her importunity, it was her persistence and her relentlessness in coming to him that finally moved this judge to grant her request. So his decision here was consistent with his evil character, that he was moved only by selfish motives for his own good and not for hers. He only feared what damage she would do to his own mental, physical, health, as if she would have beaten him black and blue as a boxer. So we can imagine that this woman here, this widow, she was so persistent in her requests of this judge, she would come before his courtroom. And in his courtroom, she would cry out for legal protection. And then at the end of the day, the judge would go home and she would follow him home. And even there, outside of his house perhaps, she was still there. She was continually following and requesting for this legal protection until finally the judge said, to preserve his own sanity and health, I will give her legal protection. So what Jesus shows us here is the power of importunity among men. There are times when there is nothing else that will influence men to do what is right than importunity. The unrighteous judge finally did what was right, not because he had any concern over what God thought or any regard to his fellow man, not out of any compassion for the widow, not even because her case was just before him, but only by her importunity, because she was so resolved that he finally gave way and granted her petition. So it is very clear in the parable that if she had not persevered, if she had not persisted in this way, then she would have not gained her request from this judge. Finally, under the constant irritation and pressure of her cry, the unrighteous judge declares, even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, lest by continually coming, she wear me out. The second point we see in our The parable tonight is the power of importunity with God. The power of importunity with God. Verse six, the Lord said, hear what the unrighteous judge said. And then Jesus tells us in verse seven, now he tells us to hear what that judge has just said. And then he says in verse seven, now shall not God, bring about justice for his elect, who cry to him day and night, and will he delay long over them? There are two contrasts set before us here. The first is a contrast between the unrighteous judge on the one hand and God on the other. The unrighteous judge, he was unkind in his character, He is one who is cruel. He is harsh. He is selfish. But God, on the other hand, in his character, he is always kind. He is always just and good. He is generous. He is the God who is gracious and compassionate. And he is always abounding in loving kindness and mercy. And so the point is, if the unrighteous judge with his evil character, if that unrighteous judge can be moved to answer the cry of this widow by importunity, then how much more shall God with his gracious and generous character be moved to answer the prayers of his people who come to him? The second contrast is between the way in which the unrighteous judge viewed the widow and the way in which God views his own people who come to him in prayer. The unrighteous judge looked upon this widow with nothing but contempt. She was only a poor and helpless woman. She was a stranger to him. He had no regard, no compassion for her. He despised her and scorned her and only gave her what she wanted so that she would be gone from his presence. But this is not how God looks upon his people. And his people are called here in verse seven, his elect, his chosen ones. And his elect refers to those whom he has eternally elected and given to his beloved son for salvation. The term elect, his elect, in the scripture is a term that is often connected with his special saving love of his people. When we read of election, the election of God, then we often read of the love of God for those elect. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 1 in verse 4, Paul says, knowing brethren beloved by God, his choice of you. Beloved by God, his choice of you. Love and election are together. Colossians 3 in verse 12, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved. In Ephesians chapter 1, verses 4 and 5, he chose us before the foundation of the world. In love, he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself. So God's elect are those whom he has loved from eternity. He chose them, and he set them apart from the perishing human race. He did so out of love. Those whom he foreknew in love he predestined. His infinite love is upon them. His elect are very dear to him. His elect have a special place in his soul, in his heart. He has such a deep interest in their welfare that he is determined to bring all the blessings of his salvation upon them. He has such a love for his elect that he sent his beloved son into the world to take away their sins by his death upon the cross. He has such a love for his elect that he raised his son from the dead and seated him in the heavenly places at his right hand where he is now the intercessor for his people. So all of the works of God are out of his love for his elect people. So there is the greatest difference between the way that this unrighteous judge viewed this widow and the way God views his elect. If the unrighteous judge who had no favor, no goodwill or affection for the widow was willing to hear her cry, grant her request, how much more Will God, who has such eternal love and affection for us as His elect, how much more will He grant our request to Him? If He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, then how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things? So we could read verse 7 in this way. Now shall not God, the good and gracious God, Shall he not bring about justice for his elect people whom he has loved and always will love from everlasting to everlasting? Will he not hear them and bring about justice for them who cry to him day and night? And will he delay long over them? And then Jesus closes the parable with a promise of God's answer to prayer. I tell you that he will bring about justice for them speedily. He asked a question at the end of verse 7. Will God bring about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night, and will he delay over them? And the answer is he will bring about justice for them, and he will do so speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith in the earth? And so the lesson of the parable is that if importunity, which is persistence and perseverance in prayer, if importunity had such power with an evil and an unkind judge, then how much more power will persistence and perseverance in prayer have with the good and righteous God? If it prevailed with the judge, it must prevail with God in heaven. Jesus spoke, or rather Luke tells us the reason why Jesus gave the parable back in the beginning of the chapter in verse one, back up in verse one before he even gives the parable. Now here in verse one, Luke tells us the purpose for which Jesus is to give the parable so we don't miss it. He says in verse one, Now, he was telling them a parable to show them that at all times, they ought to pray and not to lose heart. At all times, we ought to pray and not to lose heart. To lose heart means to grow faint and weary. To lose heart means to give up. And when one loses heart, then he ceases to pray. The two always are hand in hand. To cease from prayer is to lose heart. The Christian who has ceased from praying is a Christian who has lost heart. Jesus is telling us that at all times we ought to continue and persevere in our prayers, and we ought never to lose heart in our prayers. We ought never to grow faint and to give up praying. Jesus here would have us to follow the example of the importunate widow in our prayers that as persistent and determined and unrelenting as she was in her requests in the face of obstacles and discouragements, so we must be in our prayers as we come before our Heavenly Father. This widow knew who she was dealing with. what kind of a judge he was, how unrighteous he was. She knew that he had no fear of God, no respect for fellow man. Many times she would come and knock and she would receive no answer from him. He would denounce her, no doubt. Many times the door would be slammed in her face. Sometimes perhaps we can imagine that the bailiffs would have to be called in to take her out of the courtroom because the judge was so annoyed at her presence and her requests. But nothing would silence this widow. until she got the answer from this judge, until she received her request. Perhaps many times her friends would tell her that she's wasting her time, and this judge is hopeless. She will never get what she needs from him. And she would go home at night, and she would feel so rejected, and she would wonder if it was all useless. But she kept on. Going to him in the heat of the summer, in the cold of the winter, whether there was rain or snow, whatever was against her, she was unrelenting. She was determined that she would bring her requests before this judge. This is the way our prayer life should be at all times, Jesus says. We ought not to lose heart, but we should continue in prayer. in every kind of time that we find ourselves in, in life. In times of trial and affliction, in times of persecution, in times of uncertainty, in times of perplexity, in times of fear and anxiety, in times of doubt and confusion, in times of discouragement and despair, In times when we have prayed and we have prayed and it seems that our prayers have been turned away, what should we do? We should continue to pray at all times. When we have asked, when we have sought, when we have not, and it seems that the doors of heaven have been shut, we should continue to pray. When it seems as if God has denied our request and he has shut his ears, We should continue to pray. This is what we find in the Psalms with David. David says, how long, O Lord, wilt thou forget me forever, he says? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? O my God, he says, I cry by day, but thou dost not answer, and by night, and I have no rest. And Job says, why dost thou hide thy face and consider me thine enemy? Even in those times, we ought to continue to pray and not to lose heart. What Jesus is telling us here that there is never, never a time in the Christian life in which we ought to lose heart and cease to pray. No matter how distressing our circumstances may be, and no matter how pressed down we are under our troubles, We must continue to come at all times. And we ought to pray and not to lose heart. So our prayer life ought to resemble this importunate widow as she came before the unrighteous judge. Do we not believe that God hears us when we pray? Do we only believe that God hears us if we get the request immediately, quickly, that we ask for? Do we only believe that he hears us when we get exactly what we ask for? Can we not trust God that he will hear us and he will answer us in the proper time? Can we not have confidence in him that he will answer us, though perhaps not in the exact way in which we ask, but he has such infinite wisdom that he will give us something that is even better than what we ask? Can we not have confidence and trust in God when we pray to him? Our prayers are his delight, the Bible says, and he desires us. He desires us to persevere long in prayer. What Jesus is really teaching us in this parable is how hard prayer is, especially persevering prayer. Prayer is a labor. Anyone who would say that prayer is easy has not really prayed very long. and has not lived a Christian life very long. Who is better able to teach us about prayer and what's really involved in prayer than our Lord Jesus Christ? Who knows? Who knows what is more pleasing to the Father than the Lord Jesus? And this is what he is teaching us here. He is really teaching us how difficult true prayer really is. Who knows the mind of God with regard to the prayers of his people? And who knows the ways and the purposes of God in answering the prayers of his people than our Lord Jesus Christ? He came down from heaven from the right hand of the Father. He knows the mind of God. And he himself was about to ascend back into heaven to be the great high priest of his people. Who could teach us more about prayer than our Lord Jesus? And he teaches us here this great lesson of the perseverance and the persistence and how important opportunity is with God in prayer. This widow who came to this unrighteous judge, she had a just cause before this judge. She was only asking for legal protection. She was only asking for something that was according to the law. When we come to God in prayer, what should we ask? We should ask for things that are according to the word. And if we are asking for things that are according to his word, then we should be persistent and persevere in our prayers. We've perhaps heard others say such things. We've perhaps even said it ourselves that we've been praying for something which is according to the word of God, according to the promise of God somewhere. But then we pray for a while, we pray for a time, and we don't receive the request that we asked, even though it's according to the word. And so then what we say is, well, I guess it must not be the will of God. Well, how can you say it's not the will of God if it's according to the word? If it's according to the word, then how can you know that it is not God's will to fulfill that request in the future? If ever there was a time in which we should cease to pray for things according to the word, the Lord Jesus would know and he would have told us of that time. But he tells us nothing of that. He tells us actually the very opposite, that we ought never to lose heart or to cease at all times. We ought to pray and not to lose heart. We all know from our own experience of what it is to pray for things that are good and right and according to the word of God and according to his promises. And we have felt the discouragement and the weariness of it. And we have been tempted, all of us, to lose heart at times. When we come to that point, we ought to remember this importunate widow and this lesson that Jesus has taught us, that at all times, We ought to pray and not to lose heart. Back in verse seven, he mentions his elect. And then he mentions one of the characteristics of his elect, who cried to him day and night. That's one of the marks of the elect. How do we know, how does one know that he is among the elect of God? And the answer, one answer is that he is a constantly praying man or woman. We go to him, and we cry to him in our prayers, one of the marks of God's elect. We see the key to persevering prayer, which is the lesson of the parable, down at the end of verse 8, where we notice that Jesus says, however, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Now, it seems perhaps a little strange to us that he mentions faith in verse 8. We would expect him to have said, when the Son of Man comes in his second coming, will he find persevering prayer on earth? Because that's what the parable is all about, persevering prayer. But he doesn't mention persevering prayer here. He speaks of faith. And the reason is because faith is that which fuels and enables persevering prayer. Persevering faith is the only thing that will give persevering prayer. Faith is the strength and the power of persevering prayer. So in verse 8, the concern of Jesus is not whether God will answer prayers of his people. The concern of Jesus is whether his people will have faith that produces the persevering prayers of the parable. Faith looks at the promises of God, and faith believes in the promises of God, even when the promises seem contrary to what we see in our own experience This is what happened with Abraham. Paul tells us in Romans chapter four that without becoming weak in faith, he contemplated his own body now as good as dead, since he was about 100 years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb. Yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but he grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what he had promised He was able also to perform. That's the way it was with Abraham. Abraham, he had a promise. Him and Sarah had a promise that they would have a son. Abraham was nearly 100 years old. Sarah was 90 years old. He looked at the deadness of his own body and the deadness of Sarah's womb, and all the circumstances were against the promise, and he could see nothing that would validate or confirm the promise that was given to him. And yet he had faith. He did not grow weak in faith. He grew strong in faith, and he became fully assured that what God had promised, he was able and he would perform. And that's the way it must be with us, that we must have faith that looks at the promises of God and believes Him and everything that He has said, that He has power and He is able to fulfill the promises, even in times when we see no evidence. of those promises around us. This is the kind of faith that produces the persevering prayers that are given, that are commanded in this parable. Notice Jesus says in verse eight, at the end of verse eight, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? When the Son of Man comes, he's speaking of his second coming. And that's the context in which this parable is given. If we look back to chapter 17 of Luke's gospel, verse 24. And Jesus said, for just as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day, in the day of his second coming. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall happen 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. And it was the same as happened in the days of Lot. When 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. So it is in the context of the second coming of Jesus that Jesus asked this question, will he find faith on the earth? The idea is that the delay of Christ will seem so long to many that they will give up the hope of his coming and they will cease to be those of faith and those of persevering prayer. His church on earth is like the widow in the parable. So long oppressed in this world, so long pressed down under sufferings, trials, and persecutions, it seems to be so long that many lose the expectation of his coming to deliver them, and to bring about justice for them against all of their enemies and all who oppress them. So we view the parable in the light of the long-awaited return of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we view the parable under the continuing wrongs and the injustices which are done against the church and the people of God throughout this entire age of the church. That helps us to understand why we see the word justice in verse 7 and in verse 8. Now shall not God bring about justice for his elect? And Jesus says in verse 8, I tell you that he will bring about justice for them speedily. That's what he will do when he comes again. The Son of Man will bring about justice for all the wrongs that have been done to his people. The long-awaited return of Jesus will be the deliverance of his people from all the oppressions and all the wrongs and all the injustices of this world. Throughout this entire period, we are separated from our master who is in heaven. Our faith is tested as we pass through the fires and the testings and the trials of this present life. But as we live in this world, we must at all times pray and not lose heart and continue to cry to God in heaven. He will fulfill every promise, and he will come and bring about justice on that day. He will bring it about very speedily for all of his elect. So in this present age, we long for the day of the Son of Man, when he will return. And we continue with importunate and persevering prayer, with faith and hope and expectation until he returns. The church should always be crying, come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly. That's the lesson, one of the lessons of the parable. Lord Jesus, we are here like that suffering widow. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. When you come, we are those who have faith and persevering prayer. Come quickly and bring about justice. A glorious day it will be when the Lord Jesus returns from heaven. And every suffering that we have been through, every trial that we have passed through, will be abundantly rewarded. Every prayer we will see has been answered exceeding abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think. And all of our faith will be vindicated when we see the Lord Jesus in all his glory when he comes back on that day. So may we be those of faith and persevering prayer until the Lord Jesus comes. Let us pray together. Father and gracious God in heaven, we do thank you for the words, for the wisdom, and the guidance of our Lord Jesus Christ. who knows the struggles that we experience in this world, who knows the difficulties and the labors of prayer. And so, Lord, you have spoken these words to us to encourage us, to help us, that we would not lose heart, but we would continue to pray at all times. Give us grace now as we would go into this present week. May we be men and women of prayer. May we be those who persevere. May we be those who continue to look to you and cry to you in faith. Lord, help us to fulfill all of your desires for us and to be pleasing to your sight and to be as this importunate widow in our prayer life before you. We thank you now. We pray that you would hear us and bless this week to us. In Jesus' name, amen.