a privilege to open up the Word of God to the congregation here at Sky View. I've been starting my own personal study in the Proverbs, or parables, excuse me, and there's 40 parables. And so this morning I wanted to pick a particular one that I think would resonate with our congregation as well as my own life. So I'm going to, in our reading, If you have it, as you have it in your bulletin, let's look together in the book of Luke, the gospel of Luke, in the areas of chapter 17 and 18 particularly. And then we'll flip over to a brief reading in Colossians. So here are the word of God. Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. Nor will they say, look, here it is or there. Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. And he said to the disciples, the days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the son of man. And you will not see it. And they will say to you, look there, or look here. Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and the lights up from the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first, he must suffer many things. and be rejected by this generation. Just as it is in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. And then I drop down to Luke 18, one through eight. And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, in a certain city, there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him saying, give me justice against my adversary. For a while he refused. But afterwards he said to himself, though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? And then to conclude the readings with A brief reading from Colossians 3, 1-4. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. This is the word of God and the people said? Amen. Pray with me. Heavenly Father, thank you for your mighty word. Help us to be strong in the strength of your might this morning. And may the word be a seed planted in the good soil of our hearts, that it may take root and grow and bear fruit. Speak to us, Lord, of your presence, of your will, of your directives for our life. Encourage us today with your word. And we ask this in Jesus' precious name. And may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. Well, last week we met for Easter. And I hope that victorious truth is still throbbing in your heart and in your soul. Our Easter lilies are still trumpeting the image of the resurrection. For as Jesus has been raised, so we have been raised with him in resurrection life. What does that mean? That means we are now in two worlds. We may be in the world, but we are no longer of the world. We now look for a world to come, which Jesus speaks about in the coming of the kingdom. We look with anticipation. We now look with preparation for that world to come, for the appearing of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of man and his kingdom. And when we do that, it raises a question for us. In our preparation for the coming kingdom, how are we then to live? How shall we live between the two worlds? How are we to thrive with the real tensions of those worlds as we are pulled sometimes in different directions? Where we live in the now but we yearn for the not yet. We live between Christ's first coming and we live between his second coming. Let me read Paul's words again on that very thing. Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, that's the coming of the kingdom, then you also will appear with him in glory. So we see that we have the coming of the kingdom as a wider context as we will look at this parable. Now, in Luke 18, we're looking at the parable of the persistent widow. It's not a parable that sits alone, therefore. It's in that context of preparing for the kingdom of God. Matter of fact, the kingdom coming sets the stage for this parable. In verse Luke 18, eight, Jesus ends the parable saying, when the son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? And then earlier, back in Luke 17, before he comes to the parable, as he speaks to the Pharisees, he says, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed. Now this wider focus, this wider lens of the kingdom, acts like bookends. And the parable is between those bookends. And it's that wider perspective that helps us to understand the point and the purpose of this parable of the widow. Jesus knows his disciples yearn and long for the fullness of the kingdom, but not yet, not yet. Of course, most people in the world could care less about it. They just go on living their own lives. They may even mock the church for this hope. At times through history, they persecute the church for this hope. But we live in the period of the church age. We too are waiting and preparing for the coming of the kingdom of the son of man. So in the meantime, the question comes to us. How then shall we live? How shall you live in this in-between time? Well, Jesus now answers that question. In the parable, which is only found in Luke, it's a parable about prayer, persevering prayer. Verse one, and he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart, that is not give up. Now, when we talk about prayer, what is prayer? We just don't want to assume that going on. Well, there can be different ways to define prayer. I love the definition that John Bunyan gives. It's concise and complete. Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God. through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit for such things as God has promised, according to his word for the good of the church with submission and faith to the will of God." It's hard to beat a definition like that, which resonates with our passage today. So the parable is about prayer. continuous prayer. It's essential to our lives if we are to grow as Christians, if our faith is going to grow in the knowledge and grace of Christ as we await for the coming of the kingdom. Prayer must always then be of great interest to Christians. I love this Quote by J.C. Ryle, he's a reformed bishop back in the 19th century in the Church of England, but he aptly wrote, prayer is the very life breath of true Christianity. Here is that where true religion begins. Here it flourishes. Here it decays. Neglect of prayer is the sure road to a fall. Whatever throws light on the topic of prayer is for our soul's health. See, that's my desire today before you, is to throw light upon prayer for our mutual health, our spiritual health. And Jesus in this parable will warn us, he will instruct us, he will encourage us about persevering prayer that is so vital if you and I are not to lose heart. that we would not give up in the long road of obedience in our lifetime. So I want to begin with prayer and discernment. Jesus connects prayer to the second coming. He wants his disciples, however, to be discerning about the second coming so their prayers are not misguided in how they have that expectation. The coming kingdom is not something to be fully observed, but rather it's a faith and hope to anticipate, so he wants to remove three errors for their discernment. And the first one, of course, is the error of nationalism, what the Pharisees were so eager to see fulfilled. They were looking for miraculous feats to overpower an oppressing regime of Rome. It was a more of a political vision of the kingdom where the Messiah will come and reestablish David's throne and create righteousness in the world. It was a very earth-centered, observed kind of anticipation. So Jesus' response to them that it was not observed will surely baffle them. And of course, false focuses will do that. The kingdom was already there in Jesus right before them, quietly but powerfully bringing God's salvation and rule to abide in the hearts of men and women, but they missed it. Second error is the error of speculation. That's 21 to 24 in 17. When the kingdom of God comes, it will not be hidden. It will not be a means of speculation. Oh, I see it over there. Or no, maybe it's over here. As if it takes some special interpreter to find it. He speaks this to his disciples. because he knows they desire to see it, but he does not want them tricked to follow private speculators about the kingdom. That's a false alarm as well. The kingdom will not come in a hidden way, it'll come in a catastrophic way. It'll be unmistakable. It'll even bring with it destruction. It's the difference between when Jesus first coming and second coming. It's a difference between a burning candle and a bolt of lightning. On that day, the Son of Man will come as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other. If you've ever been into a great thunderstorm in the Midwest, that can be pretty frightening. It's nothing like what will happen when the Son of Man comes. And one reason they are duped is that they never take into account the Messiah's rejection, suffering, and death. See, even people today can be fooled listening to kingdom prognosticators who presume to calculate Christ's coming on some particular date. And they'll write it and people will, be galvanized by it, they'll even pray about that. But Jesus warns us about that kind of speculation. And thirdly, there's the error of complacency. He goes on before the parable, and he uses the Old Testament as some examples. Jesus warns his disciples against complacency about the coming of the kingdom. In the past, people were not ready for it. They did not care to be ready for it. When the flood arose in days of Noah, or when fire came down and destroyed the city of Sodom, People were not prepared. They were not ready. They were too comfortable in their routines of eating and drinking, doing business, living ordinary lives, uncaring of the condition of their soul or the emerging crisis around them. And Jesus takes that picture of a catastrophe and applies it to the coming that will be of his own day of the kingdom when he will return. The world will not be prepared. They will be engaging in life as usual, not thinking about God, not thinking about their soul, until the lightning strikes across the sky and the trumpet shall sound. That Lot's wife looked back, looking for the world meant that she was unfit for the kingdom. You'll note that Jesus doesn't mention anything about all the perversions of Sodom. He doesn't mention that at all. What he does mention is he described the routine practices like planting, building, eating and drinking, ordinary business activities or family activities where people were so engrossed about their own futures on earth that they were oblivious, indifferent. to what God may be revealing to them. And the result is, and it's a sobering one, a great separation will happen. One is taking up, one is left behind. Those alive in Christ, ever prayerful, ready to meet him are gathered into him. Those spiritually dead are left gathered instead for destruction. sobering stuff. When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? You can feel the disciples almost look at one another or look at themselves and say, how will we endure? What about us? We feel such weakness. We feel such inconsistency and faults in our life within us. How will we ever keep true in the faith and persevere to the end? How will we be able to resist the growing pressures and temptations of our society as it becomes like Sodom? Will the Son of Man find us ready? Or like Lot's wife, too captivated by the world, thus unfit for the kingdom? Well see, Jesus has created that sense of need and concern. He's preparing them for his answer. And the answer to their concern is the parable of the persistent widow. One through eight, in the face of living in this world, he knows they need more than a warning. They need God's sustaining power, released from the Lord for their faith and for their life, to bring them to pray always so they do not lose heart. The next point, from prayer and discernment to prayer and persistence. Let's look at the drama of the parable. two to five. The parable focuses on two distinct people, very opposite on the social spectrum, a judge and a widow. Let's look at the judge. In a certain city, there was a judge who neither feared God or respected man. So that's his godless, heartless reputation of which he acknowledges himself. Now, interesting, if he was Jewish, he would be defying the primary directive to adjudicate cases in the fear of the Lord. In 2 Chronicles, King Josaphat, in a move to create order and restore the principles of the Lord, reminded judges that they are not judging for man, but for the Lord. who is with you whenever you give a verdict. See, that was the essential necessity of a judge in his office. See, if a judge had no such fear of the Lord, he'll not submit to any universal standard of justice except that which is expedient or that which is of self-interest or of mere convention. You see, if he thinks he's not accountable to the God's bar of justice, he is capable of anything but justice. This is who the widow has come to face. Well, what about the widow? Here was a widow who kept coming to him saying, give me justice against my adversary. I mean, think of the afflicted Naomi in the book of Ruth. Life has dealt a blow to this widow. See, widows were very vulnerable in the ancient world. Malachi says they were often oppressed. Isaiah reports that they were made legal victims, often. Acts 6, even with the new Christian fellowship, it says widows were being neglected. And then Luke 20, 47, unscrupulous men, namely scribes, were castigated by Jesus for devouring their houses, taking their resources. Now the widow here was probably duped by some unscrupulous adversary. In desperation, she comes to this judge, not for vengeance, but for correction to seek restorative justice for what she lost. But this judge is so unpredictable unless he gets a bribe. But a poor widow has only a plea. A plea is all she had. But she applied it incessantly. She applied it constantly. You get the sense she bothered him everywhere. bothered him, hounded him in court, called him out on the street, came to him in the marketplace, interrupted when he was with his colleagues, maybe called to him as he was walking home. Every chance she had to reach him, she persisted. Of course, in such scenarios, most people of her status would have been ignored. But in this case, her persistence pays off. He relents. Verse 5, because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so she will not beat me down by her continual coming. She wore him out. You know, that phrase, beat me down, is really a proverbial sense of she gave him a black eye in his reputation. That's more the literal meaning. But persistence, in this case, won out. The judge still knew how to give justice, and so he gave her justice. Now, what's the lesson we have here? We need to see in this parable that there's fundamentally one of contrast. Contrary to some popular ideas, this parable is not teaching that you, it's a virtue to feverishly pester God and hoping he will answer. That is not the point. It's not about begging God to convince him that he should help you. One commentator concludes that to pray that way is almost idolatrous because you're coming to God as if he is an unjust judge. So when Jesus says, always pray and not lose heart, that is not the approach he's advocating. Jesus in verse six says, listen to what the unrighteous judge says. That is, listen and see the contrast for what your God is. And he highlights a kind of contrast, a lesser to greater kind of contrast. That is, if an unjust judge is finally willing to give a nameless widow justice, how much more will the righteous God give his people justice? And speedily. See, the God of grace, our Heavenly Father, is not some unjust judge who is reluctant to bless. And we are not like a nameless, helpless widow, but we are the covenant people of God. So you see the contrast. Now, as we look at that, there's some questions that arise, probably even maybe now. If this parable is not about pestering God to get an answer that he may be reluctant to give, where does this example of persistence come in? I mean, is it wrong to continually seek God over an important matter in your life? Not at all. Persistence and importunate prayer is a biblical concept. Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened. Now those verbs are in continuous imperatives. That is, go on asking, go on seeking, go on knocking. that is continued, but not in a fearful way. You come in faith. An ongoing prayer that puts everything in God's hands. It's about continuing your prayer in faith, even when you do not see yet an answer. What do his disciples do? They cry to him day and night. They seek his face because, not out of fear, not because they're anxious about whether God will love them enough or not. They're not desperate to pull God's attention toward them, but because we know he cares, we know he loves, and we know he hears us. Apostle Paul. continually sought the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh, which is probably possibly persecution. There were fervent prayers of intercession by Paul. His persistence was not because he felt his faith was so defective and weak, almost sounding like this, hey Lord, you know, sorry, I'm back. I blew it. please forgive my lack of faith. I will pray better next time." I wonder how many of us have almost prayed something like that. No, not at all. Paul didn't pray that way. In the end, his thorn remained, but God gave him something better. to cope with the thorn, to live with the thorn. God gave him more grace, God gave him more empowerment, and God gave him more fruitfulness. But nevertheless, there are times we need to draw near to God with deliberate prayer When we have critical decisions that need to be made, maybe medical decisions for a loved one, perhaps when danger confronts us in this culture, or when a stubborn heart around us needs to be softened, or when tragedy or evil strikes a church, or a family, or a loved one, or when a national crisis looms as Dietrich Bonhoeffer prayed constantly because he saw his nation going to war. Those are times of persistent prayer, not out of fear or doubt, but in faith. Because God knows what we need before we even ask him. He knows, he hears the cry of faith from a heart of faith. because God is for us. In Christ, God is always for you. He'll answer speedily for our good. That raises the second question. All right, preacher, but what does speedily mean in this context? I imagine some of us can get frustrated, maybe puzzled by this fact. You have prayed to God. You have sought him and he seems silent, too quiet. That can be discouraging. In fact, it may tempt you to lose heart. But do not think such silence means God is aloof. Jesus assures us, will not God give justice to the elect? and give it speedily, will he delay long? Of course the answer to that is no, in stark contrast to the unjust judge who callously delayed for the widow. But in the context of the kingdom coming quickly does not always mean immediately. But God does act swiftly. God's timing is not always our timing, but when God is ready to act, he acts swiftly. Whether we see his work immediately or not, a father delights to answer his children's prayers. How much more does our Father in heaven delight to do that? You know, I think Peter was dealing with the same kind of struggles with people of his own congregations when he's in pondering God's timing in prayer. He says, but do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Perhaps Peter was dealing with the same situation and counseling those who struggled with God's silence. So how can we interpret God's silence? What are ways that we can come to terms with that? Well, there's no silver bullet answer, but there are biblical ways to reflect upon God's silence in prayer. Let me give you five of them. Sometimes God's silence means his answer is a loving no. Or it's an answer that says, wait. Or sometimes our requests can be good and sincere, but there's a better thing coming for you than what you're asking for. Sometimes his silence is a delay to allow our prayers and the knowledge of him to mature. If answered on our schedule all the time, Our prayers may not be prepared by the Spirit in a way that is for our good and His glory. Sometimes God's silence means we are asking amiss. We're not really serious about getting an answer. Sometimes you run into people who says, you know, I prayed and God didn't answer and I just move on with my life. Well, that probably needs a lot of inspection in terms of what's going on in that dynamic. We can ask amiss, but because there could be a bigger blessing that's going to come in store, one that we can't just yet understand. Oswald Chambers, I think, said, come the day we stand before the Lord, We may find that we were relieved that he never answered our initial prayers, or that he did answer it amazingly, and we just miss it. There's a story of the professor Howard Hendricks, if you knew of that name, of Dallas Theological Seminary. And in his younger years as a seminary prof before he was married, during certain events that he gathered with other Christians, he could tell that some of the women kind of had a design on him for their daughters. And one mother spoke to him at a social event and said, Dr. Hendricks, I am praying that you will be my son-in-law. And Dr. Hendricks, as he tells the story, said, well, in a somber mode, I said, oh, ma'am, do you believe in unanswered prayer? More seriously though, silence can also be the aim of instilling dependence upon Him, as Paul learned in praying to remove the thorn. I think Kent Hughes said it right, if there is one sure way to cultivate a deeper dependence on the Lord, it is to persist in determined prayer. And it's not so much that we're changing God's mind, it's what it does to us. It draws us to him, it prepares our heart for him, it prepares our requests for him in what he wants to do in our lives more fruitfully. Prayer and discernment, prayer and persistence, and prayer and encouragement. Jesus does not leave us without encouragement. In verse 7 to 8, He gives constant encouragement in your praying, and He wants us to fix our prayers upon two pillars of truth, so you don't lose heart, so I don't lose heart. First of all, as you pray, remember who God is. He is a loving, merciful, good, and gracious God, but He's also just. He loves justice. His actions for our good are never less than just. Hear the psalmists. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed, Psalm 103.8, as it talks about the benefits for the believer. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne, says Psalm 89. No wonder then Jesus reminds us in verse 7 that unlike the unjust judge, God will not spare, God will not forget his elect. He will give justice to his elect. How much more will he do that because of his steadfast love for his people? We need to meditate upon that as we pray of who God is and what he has promised us. But there's a second pillar of truth. As you pray, remember who you are. We are not strangers before God. We are not like the nameless widow in the parable. We are Christians made in his image. We are chosen, we are redeemed in Christ. Therefore, you are of the elect. So if a judge with no fear of the Lord can be swayed by a widow, how much more certain can we be assured that He will answer us and help us as we cast our cares on Him? See, election is one of the deepest truths of assurance in Scripture. Because of who God is and because of who we are, there is no reason to anxiously beg God as if he may not reply. No reason to unwittingly imitate the prophets of Baal, who pathetically kept chanting and crying out and calling on their silent idol, O Baal, answer us. Baal didn't answer them because he didn't exist, but the true God answered Elijah with justice. So Jesus reminds us, will not God give justice to his elect? Will not God vindicate you? We are not strangers to God, and the mark of his elect is this. they humbly cry to him day and night." See, the term elect here is purposely emphasized. It's not that just we have been chosen from before the foundations of the earth, it's that in life and therefore in prayer, God is for you. And if God is for you, who can be against you? Who is it that now intercedes for you at God's right hand? Who can bring any charge to God's elect? Who will separate you from the love of Christ? No one, those assuring words from Romans eight have immediate application to your prayer life. So it'll keep you true and you will not lose heart in the long obedience of life. So in final reflection, God has given his elect the gift of faith, a faith that trusts in his Son, Jesus. Prayer and faith are intimately connected. It is far more easy to begin a habit of prayer than to keep it up. People will pray for a season if they're pricked in the conscience, or they come to some inspiring event and they're led for a while to pray. But to go on praying, whatever life circumstances, to go on praying until the Son of Man comes, well, that requires faith. If today God has called you If you are trusting in Christ today, if you have received the forgiveness of sins by his promise, then you are saved to the end. You may be weak and frail, erring sinners who stumble at times, that we all do, we all do, but do you believe? Do you believe continued prayer is the sure evidence of faith? When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? It's a solemn, humbling question. He will find it in us. He will find it in you as you are cleansed by the blood of Christ and by his power He maintains your life of prayer so that you don't lose heart. He will do that. He is faithful to the end for our good and his glory. Let's bow in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you for your mercies that are new every day, for your gracious hand upon us. Oh Lord, help us to be strong in the and the strength of your might. Help us to be a praying people because we are a chosen people. We are people who believe, who have been cleansed and renewed and adopted, people who are given an eternal hope. And so Lord, with great confidence, I pray that you would strengthen us with the Holy Spirit, especially in times of difficulty, times of temptation, times when we are dry, times when we wonder what our condition is before the Lord. Lord, that you would meet us, that you would sustain us, that you would pour out your spirit upon us, that you would draw us to yourself, reminding us who we are and who you are, that we would not lose heart. that we would run the race that is before us, ever looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Lord, thank you for your mercies that are new, for your faithfulness that is forever. Guide us in this path, guide us in this blessing. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. It's time now, I want to invite the ushers now to come forward