11-9-22 - How To Overcome A Discouraged Heart

Luke 18 is where we're going to be looking tonight.

Luke 18, one more Wednesday night, I wanted to teach on prayer, and Sunday we'll be wrapping up Jesus' study on prayer in Matthew's Gospel. So Luke 18, we're going to read verse one down to verse number eight. This is a very encouraging, I think, portion of Scripture that would be a very encouraging portion of Scripture.

It really fits well with the season of life, perhaps, that we're in. It tells us in Luke 18, we're going to read verse one down to verse number eight. It says, Yes, because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.

And the Lord said, Here what the unjust judge saith, and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cried day and night unto him though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth. Father, again, we are so thankful for the word of God that you've given to us that we don't have to wait for a vision or a dream or a traveling prophet. We can open the word of God and you speak to us. And Lord, we rejoice in that and we pray that your word would come alive to our souls tonight. May we be people of prayer. May we be people that seek you early and often and not lose heart, but find ourselves finding that peace and strength and fortitude in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Tell us now the study of your word, we ask it in Christ's name, and all God's people said, man, you may be seated tonight. Anybody have a tough week this week? Maybe a tough year?

Yeah. You said we had a tough time at the election boxes in some places around the country. And sometimes you do better if you don't turn the news on, right? You probably know what I mean by the statement when it rains, it pours, and I think some of us have had pretty heavy seasons like that in life. Sometimes life can hand us obstacles and sometimes it can hand us a multiplicity of obstacles. Sometimes they can be physical struggles. Sometimes it can just be internal things that we deal with. Maybe you're here tonight and you're in one of those seasons, you feel worn out inside and tired, tired of fighting perhaps with your own struggles, tired of trying to do things right, but simply falling back into the old patterns of life, saying and doing things that you regret.

Maybe you're tired of dealing with somebody in your life, a coworker, a family member, somebody at school or across the neighborhood. Maybe you're tired of dealing with the world and the culture that is just ramping up its sinfulness. They said 75% of the country that voted a certain way did so just because of how they felt about abortion. And that to me is such a heavy thought to vote against those people who would vote for life and your driving force would be the one issue of abortion.

We are the nation who've desired and rejoice now in the slaughter of our unborn. Jesus is telling us here that there's going to be some times in life that you may feel worn out, that He uses the word faint here and it's the idea of losing heart. And I think there are some Christians that sometimes feel like throwing in the towel and even have done so, they stopped serving God, they got overwhelmed by the pressures of society or the difficulties of their own personal life. When we come to Luke 18, Jesus just gets done teaching on His second coming and how He's going to come and set His kingdom up on earth to remove sin and bring in everlasting righteousness. And He's telling us here in chapter 18 how to stay faithful until that day comes. Not to give up, not to lose heart. And the way that we do that is through becoming a person of prayer.

This is the key of how to overcome a discouraged heart, how to survive the times of life and the season of life that really can become downcast. This is a powerful parable that the Lord gives in chapter 18 that really we will all need to lean on at some point in our life, whether you are in that season, have come out of a difficult season or perhaps are going to go into a season that you don't even know is in front. And the first thing He tells us here is really the priority of prayer in verse 1. It says, and He spake a parable unto them to this end that men ought always to pray and not to faint. The focus of Christ has been on the priority of prayer in His life. You find Christ praying all the different seasons of His life. Every time He faced a heavy issue at all, He always spent time in prayer. He prayed before every major event in His life, and sometimes He would pray all night long, which is an incredible thought.

He taught His disciples how to pray, gave them a physical example of how to pray by His own prayer life. And I wonder how much of the anxiety, worry, and spiritual defeat in the believer's life is due to us not making prayer a priority. Prayer is the response of the soul who sees God as the answer. When you believe God to be the answer, you will pray and seek Him. Prayer is putting God in the driver's seat and saying, God, I trust you more than my own decision-making here. This is the application of a Proverbs 3, 5, and 6 to trust Him with all of our heart. True biblical prayer is an act of self-denial. It's saying, God, I believe in you more than myself. It is lifting up God as we humble ourselves. Sadly, often a Christian who lives a defeated life often will be the person who makes prayer the last resort instead of the first response.

Once they expended all their energies and resources, a person will conclude, well, I guess at least we can pray, as though that's like a sorrowful bad option at the end. Well, I guess we can pray about it now. Prayer has become option Z instead of option A.

It's at the back of the line instead of the front of the line. We need to understand that where we put prayer in our lives is exactly where we have put God in our lives. Our view of prayer is a mirror to our view of God, and our prayer life reveals our theology.

It reveals our view of God. If we spend more time making coffee in the morning than we do praying, then we will have a rich cup of coffee and a watered-down prayer life, watered-down spiritual life. People say, well, I just struggled to find time to pray like I should, and then making a statement like that, it reveals the problem itself. Prayer should never be something we find time to do. It's not like we're looking for extra time to pray.

It's something that other things should fit in around. We should make time to pray. You know, in life, anything we find time for is something that's not a priority, but the things in life you make time for are a priority. And so let me ask you, is prayer a find time or a make time thing in your life?

Do you prioritize it, or do you just fit it in where it can around the other more important things? To not make time for prayer is essentially to tell God that he's not a priority in our life. And we see the example of Christ when it comes to praying in seasons of difficulty. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was facing the cross, the bitter cup, 24 hours before his own death.

He's in such an agonizing season. And instead of throwing in the towel and saying, you know, this is just too tough, he calls his three closest disciples to him and he goes and prays with them. And in Matthew 26, 38, we read, then say, if he unto them, my soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death.

And we shared these verses last time. And he says, tarry you here and watch or the word means pray with me. And he went a little farther, fell on his face and prayed, saying, Oh, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And in this passage in Matthew 26, you will find Jesus going to God in prayer, not one time, not twice, but he does it three times. And what's interesting here is at the most intense portion of his life, when his heart was pressed to the point of physical death, prayer was his first, second and third resort. There was nothing else that he did. There was no other option. He went to the highest shelf, took the greatest response that he could possibly take. And he showed by living example how we respond to agony in life. How we respond when you feel like you're going to die, how you respond when life is pressed you to the point of sweating blood. This is the only response he gives.

There's nothing else. He doesn't say get out a journal and write down what you have on your heart. He doesn't say go and share with a therapist.

I'm not saying those things are wrong. I'm just saying Jesus doesn't do that. He says he prays. He tells them he wakes them up to pray because it's that big of a deal. He prays. He wakes them up again. And then he goes and prays and he comes back and finds them sleep again.

I wonder how often that we pray two or three times a day if something's on our hearts versus talking about it to other people two or three times a day just to stir up the worry and inflate it even bigger. Do you know the more you talk about something, the bigger it gets in your mind? When I was a child, the boogeyman was under my bed, right? I mean, he was under your bed too. I don't know how I got it loud to watch the scary movies that I did growing up. I didn't let my kids do that because they sleep peacefully in their rooms. I'm like, I mean, they'll go to their room by themselves and fall asleep. I'm like, when I was a little kid, man, I couldn't do that. Everybody else get corrupted in your mind. I saw Chucky one too many times, man.

I was like, that little though is under my bed. He's going to chew my food off or something at the end of the night, you know, and you get your head all corrupted. But you know, when you when you start thinking about these pressures in life, stuff you worry about, you talk about it, it gets bigger and bigger and bigger. But when you take things to God in prayer, it removes that it diminishes it and it puts it in proper perspective.

When you gaze at the wave, you will sink. But when you gaze at the Lord, you can transcend those earthly trials and what you would sink in, you now stand upon in victory. And that's that's what Christ does. And that's what prayer can do. Notice Jesus taught his disciples again with his life, the importance of prayer. What does it say when we face heavy seasons in our life and our children see us turn to God in prayer? What's it tell them? You know, it tells them it tells them that God is the one you turn to. He's your answer.

He's your strength, your support. But on the other hand, if we talk about the stresses and problems and difficulties of life and and all that's going on in the world, but we know they never see us pray about it. What's that teaching them? On the other hand, we're teaching them to build up problems, make much of your problems, but make little of prayer. Keep big of the problems of life, but don't take that to God.

You say, I would never say that we don't have to say it if we're doing it. So we need to understand the first thing Jesus teaches here is that prayer is a priority. It must be a priority in our life. Secondly, the danger of prayerlessness. Verse one, he goes on to say that men are always to pray and not to faint. Jesus not only focuses on the priority of prayer, of prayer, but the sustaining power of it. And he makes a clear equation here that if we do not pray, we will faint. The word faint describes a believer who loses heart and gets so discouraged that they quit. Anybody ever been discouraged as a Christian before?

As a Christian, you said, you know what? I'm just I feel so down. I feel so discouraged, so pressed down. And let me give you three things that can bring great discouragement to us. The first thing that can discourage us is our own sin. Romans 7 18, Paul says, For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me to how to perform that which is good, I find not.

And he concludes with 20 verse 24 by calling himself a wretched man who that I who a wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Find it unique and interesting when in this world, people say, you know, my problem is just I need to love myself more. I need to love myself more. Maybe you at some point were counseled to do that. Maybe you think that in life. I'm sorry, but that's nowhere found in the Word of God. Nowhere is that found in the Bible. You know, the Bible tells us to love others as ourself. God makes it clear that our default position is self love. You don't have to choose to love yourself.

We naturally fall there. We serve ourselves, defend ourselves, justify ourselves, live for self, we feed ourselves, we take care of, I mean, we're pouring into self. What is not natural is to humble ourselves, deny ourselves, die to self, as Paul says in Philippians 2, esteem others better than self, and love others as ourselves. That's what's not natural.

That's what's not natural. The reason people say this, that we need to love ourselves is they have committed a lot of sin in life that they are burdened about, and they don't need to cover it with self love. Rather, they need to cover it with repentance and God's grace.

You hear that? I'll say it again. The reason people say that they need to love themselves is because they're burdened under a weight of guilt over some sins that they've committed. And so instead of saying that I need to cover those sins with self love, I need to repent and bring those to God and be covered with God's grace. My value is not based on covering my sin with self love. Rather, my value is based on the fact that even while I was a sinner, Christ died for me. My value is based upon God's love for me, and not my love for myself. And so the scriptures never teach that.

That's a secular reasoning. Secondly, another thing that can discourage us in life is the sins of other people. Who has allowed perhaps another believer's sins to cause you to be discouraged?

Has anybody ever had that happen before? Another Christian that did some sinful thing and caused you to be very discouraged? I found in life the most discouraging thing isn't the sins of the world, but it's the sin of believers. I'm more discouraged by the sinfulness and the pulpits of this country than I am in the politics of this country. Our problem isn't in politics, it's in ministries. It's in churches.

You say, I don't like how people vote in this country for certain things. They won't even speak against those things in churches. I mean, the brashness of people that push against the biblical worldview is so strong, it's so violently strong. And yet, we think that we're going to stand up for Jesus by being silent about the word of God and only speaking about what we would be in agreement with in the world.

That is a deception. The Bible tells us that there will not just be the difficulty of the lost world. Jesus said, if they hate you, they will hate me. But he also taught that there will be sinful Christians that can cause people to discourage you. I mean, Jesus had 12 disciples and one of them betrayed Christ, right? I know in my life, some of the discouragements I found at times have been Christians who even in this church, I remember early on one of the men who was in leadership in the first couple of years of the church. The church was exploding in growth, people getting saved just weekly.

And it was just growing so fast, things were going so good. And we had a guy in leadership that was every week just was a thorn in my side. He would get upset because he wasn't chosen to be the leader to sit by the back door during the service. He was upset because he didn't get to pick out the ushers that service. He left church one night because he didn't get to pick out the ushers. He would call me on a weekly basis, griping and complaining about how he, you know, nothing was about the exaltation of God, the glory of God, the winning of souls.

None of that. It was about what he was. And if I was, I didn't, you know, if I knew now what I, if I knew then what I knew now, he wouldn't, it would have been a little bit cleaner, cleaner cut, you know, I'd have confronted that thing a little bit less gracious, I think. But I, at the time I was thinking, you know, Jesus had 12 disciples and they did stupid stuff all the time. And, you know, I used to do dumb stuff all the time and you know, I'm going to give this guy some grace and it just, and you know, that cancer spreads and you know, that negativity boils over into other people and they begin to slander that person, this person and it breaks your heart and it just weighs you down and you see Paul dealing with that in almost every church he was at.

It wore him down. And so I'm so thankful for Lighthouse, I am so blessed, our church is 600 some people and the unity is amazing and the leadership and that's only by God's grace. That's only by God's grace because I can't create unity, I can't produce that, that's something that the word of God and the Holy Spirit produces. But I say all that to say this, sometimes people will throw in the towel and stop serving God because some other Christian discourages them. When you do that, you've allowed what I call the Judases of life to keep you from following Jesus. Judas was one of the 12 disciples and how foolish would have been if Jesus said, you know what, Judas, if you're going to betray me, I'm done with this salvation thing.

What if he bailed out for one out of the 12, but he didn't do that. And sometimes Christians say, you know, I'm not going to serve in a ministry because years ago, you know, this person, you know, they hurt my feelings really bad or, you know, I had somebody and they really, that pastor was really mean to me years ago or this person did that and that really upset me. So you're going to allow the Judases of life to keep you from following Jesus in life. You're going to allow somebody you don't like to have more influence over you than the one you say you love. So let me ask you, who has more control over your life than spiritually? That person that hurt you back then or the Christ who died for you and you say is in your heart? And so today, if that's you, if you have some person in life that has discouraged you, that's caused you to lose heart in some area, I would come and pray and say, God, I'm sorry.

I got my eyes off you. You're my motivation. You're my reason to live and serve and worship and follow you. Let me not get sidetracked by another person.

I can tell you something. Jesus is very serious when he says, don't offend other believers. Make sure you don't offend other believers. And he said, if you find one of these little ones, believe on me, said it's better that you take a millstone, which was a giant, what they call a donkey stone grinding mill. He said, and wrap that around your neck and be cast into the depths of the sea. Like don't offend other believers.

Don't offend young believers. We need to be very, very careful. And I think of that man back then and and other people he could have offended.

I tell you what, that is a very that's very dangerous to walk on those lines. And you know, when we get so focused, we can get offended all the time, can't we? Think about do a test for me this week, ready? Take the next seven days, wait for the next offense to happen and ask, am I offended for the glory of God for the betterment of other people? Or am I offended because they irritated me? What is the cause of my frustration?

And usually it's because I've been disserviced, I've been upset, they were rude to me. It's something about self and Jesus says, well, die to yourself, die to yourself. I think sometimes if we came to Jesus with complaints, he would say, good, that's all. That's all you have. Yeah. Good.

I those things will help you. Read James one for a moment. Lesser are you when you fall into diverse trials and temptations, I don't want to read James one. Well, then go to first Peter, you know, fiery trials that try you as be perfecting and say, I don't want to read that.

Well, then go to first Corinthians, you know, go to Philippines for, you know, I mean, just go right through here. And so we have to realize that trials are beneficial. I was talking to somebody before church tonight and we work out at the Y together in the mornings. And you know, if you if you want to, you want to get in shape or or exercise for your lungs, your body or muscles, you've got to have some resistance there, don't you? But as Christians, sometimes we want to remove all resistance. But God says those resistances are the things that build strength and endurance. And you don't want to have a frail structure because if you do, then you'll get knocked down and broken very easily.

You need to you need to have some spiritual fortitude there. And so the trials of life can also a third thing, the trials of life can discourage us. So our own sin, the sins of others, but the sins of just the trials of life. You know, I would say it is discouraging to see a nation freefall. I think about the the older generation in our in our country today who saw America, where it wasn't, wasn't where it is today. And when you're teaching some of the insane teachings that we have going on, and I some of the you ever turn you ever turn a news station on or you're flipping through and accidentally comes across something like this, and they begin to put someone down who has the exact same beliefs as you. And they talk about them like they're like they're as bad as is Hitler or something.

And I'm thinking what? Like I agree with that guy. I agree with DeSantis down in Florida, I agree that little children should not be taught about transgender stuff in elementary schools. Praise God for a governor that has a backbone.

That's not that's and that's not political statements. That's biblical stuff. It's it's insanity. And they'll talk and it's like you're going to run that situation down.

That's crazy to me. And just you think you think people aren't going to get more more rabid against places like lighthouse in the days to come in the years to come. And so trials like that can can can wear you down. I think looking at the world I think sometimes it's better to not watch the news.

Sometimes we face physical struggles that can wear us down, financial struggles, sometimes loss of loved ones. Again, Jesus just comes off the heels of talking about his second coming where he's going to vanquish evil, defeat the enemy, set his kingdom up on this earth. Second Timothy three one though, Paul says very clearly this no also than the last times last days, perilous, violent. It's that word perilous is the same word used for like a demon possessed person.

Like that kind of time will come. When it's like a society is like a demonic possession, like a like a like a nation possessed. Second Timothy 313 evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived. Is the world deceived?

Is it getting worse and worse? I mean, is there any question there? Jesus made it clear in Luke 18 one that men are always to pray and not to lose harder to faint. Don't be discouraged. Christians who have remained faithful through the years are those who've remained praying through the years. Prayer is to nourish the soul like food nourishes the body.

A malnourished body can become weak and faint under duress and a malnourished soul can become weak and faint in trials. We are good at checking the the phone life, right? Anybody have a phone go down to like 2% you're like, Oh, no. And then what do you do?

What do you do? You say, Hey, you don't you don't have a charger, do you? And then they say this, Well, what kind of phone do you have? And and no matter what I say, at this point, there'll be a bias, Android or iPhone and and so then you get a you know, you get a charge, you plug that in you wherever you go, you'll, you'll be in a business, hey, do you guys have a you have a charger? I need to just charge this and and you what if we treated our spiritual life as serious as we do our phones life? What do we say you know, I feel under charge right now I really need to go plug into to prayer I need to plug into God I really need to spend some time with the Lord I feel weak I feel famished spiritually and and what if we checked our spiritual life as much as we do our phones life? God forgive us for not having that same desperation when our spiritual life is weak.

Jesus said in john 15, five, I'm the vine, you are the branches and he that abideth in me and I and him the same bringeth forth much fruit. Without me, you can do nothing. You can do nothing if we have time to worry.

We should have time to pray, we have time to talk to others about our struggles, take that in prayer. And this is a good thing to do to with people. If somebody comes to you often with their problems, don't raise your hand if that's the case.

But they're always like, oh, you know, always, always some big issue in life always. You know, I tell there's two kinds of people, those who blow up balloons and those who seek to release the pressure. Don't be a balloon blower, always. You ever have somebody blow a balloon and it's like, are they going to pop that thing?

What's it do for you? Your blood pressure rises, right? It's like, you know, it's gonna, you know, don't stop, stop blowing that up. And they're like, No, take more.

You know, it's like, ah, you're gonna blow that thing up. And there's just people that do that in life, they just, just constantly, no matter what it is. You could give them $10 million, put them on Hawaii Island, and they would have something they're stressed out about. You know, there was a tsunami, you know, over in India, you know, they get all worried, and there'd be something that would flurry up in their minds and it's, I just think that if a person does that to you often, learn to stop them and say, let's just pray about that right now. Let's just pray about that right now.

Do that to them over and over and over. Because what we can do with a listening ear is actually do something that's not helpful to them. Because we can take the place of God in their life that by accident, they come and complain and worry and stress and anxiety, and they're dumping on you what they should be bringing to God. And they find relief in that like somebody who would go to a recovery meeting. They talk it out, but they're not, if they don't turn to the Lord, they're not finding that lasting relief that they need that's only through Christ. Philippians 4, 6, and 7 says, be careful or anxious for nothing, and everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and then you're going to get the fix of the peace of God, which passes all understanding shall keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Jesus said we ought always to pray, not always to pray, 1 Thessalonians 5, 17 says, pray without ceasing. Ephesians 6, 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. This doesn't mean constantly repeating a prayer. Jesus warned against vain repetitious prayers in Matthew 6, but what it means is our life should be continual communion with God. Prayer should flow out of us like breathing. There should be times we're alone with God, but then also through the day, you can communicate with God and commune with Him, whether with words or without words. You don't have to pray out loud. You can pray in your spirit to the Lord, internally, with your heart, and thinking about Him through the day. Sometimes you could be in a situation where you don't have time to really talk and think about Nehemiah that did that, right, in the king's court as a cupbearer, and he made a quick prayer. I'm sure that was just between him and the Lord, and so do that.

Take that time. Let's go to the third and final point, the encouragement to pray. Let's walk through this text.

Jesus gives here an incredible illustration to encourage us to be faithful to prayer. One of the most familiar techniques of the Jews when driving a point home was a method of logical argumentation called, call the homer, literally it means in our English, from light to heavy, which argued from the lesser to the greater. It has been referred to as the how much more argument.

In other words, if X is the case, how much more would Y be the case? This type of logical reasoning is what Jesus often used, and he would do it to drive a point home. And so here's the illustration. He starts off with a wicked judge. He says in verse two, there was in a city a judge which feared not God, and neither regarded man.

And so there's two problems with him. He had no fear of God, and Romans 3 tells us that is the core issue with the sinfulness of man, is there is no fear of God before their eyes. There is no fear of God before their eyes, neither regarded man, and no regard for man. The regard for man means, in the Greek, speaks of having no shame before men. This man was shameless. This means you could not guilt him into something.

Like you need to help your mother, it's your mother. Like somebody like this guy, he would be like, I don't care. I don't care that that's a lady who fell down.

I don't need to help her. I don't care that there was no shame for him. This was the kind of person he was. He had no fear of God, he had an atheistic heart, and he was cold toward men. And so he broke the two greatest commandments, right?

He didn't love God and didn't love people. We see in verse three the afflicted widow. Luke interestingly mentions widows more than all the other gospels. Widows struggled in those days to make ends meet, and God gave clear commands to those in authority to make sure they did not neglect the widows and the fatherless.

This judge didn't have a husband. This widow, I should say, didn't have a husband to help her, to protect her. And in those days, it was very needful for men to help their wives, both financially, both physically, but also in these situations of jurisprudence, and she is in desperate need for the law to step in and protect her against somebody who had done her wrong. We know it has left her in a desperate condition because she appeals to this judge continually to vindicate her.

It says, she came to him saying, avenge me of my adversary. So the court settings in those days would be a judge would travel from town to town, they would set up a tent, and they would hear the cases of that city. The judge, not the law, determined the agenda. He sat regally in his tent, he would be surrounded by different assistants, and they would bring to him the different cases. But only those who were approved and accepted could be tried, and there was a precedent for paying off the judge or paying off the court. So you gave them some money, they would bump up your case.

And this usually, again, was a call for bribing. The woman had some difficulties to overcome. First of all, she didn't have anything. She was poor.

Secondly, in those days, it was a culture dominated by men, and in that Palestinian culture, you had to be a man in order to go to court. And so she didn't have authority in the court, and she didn't have money. She was just really in a bad situation.

So she really doesn't have a lot of options, but the only thing she does have is her voice. And so she comes to the tent, and she is relentless with her voice. And she says, avenge me of mine adversary, and she does this repeatedly. Notice verse four, it says, and he would not for a while, and he wouldn't help her because he didn't have any shame, he didn't care about her. And notice what causes this man to change his mind according to verse number four and five. It says, but afterward, he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man, I mean he's a self acclaimed wretch, he says in verse five, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming, she weary me.

Now that word weary is a Greek word that literally means, it was a word used of boxers that would black the eyes of their opponents. He's like she is assaulting me with her voice. She is relentless.

She is beating me up and it's wearing me out. This unjust, unloving, ungodly judge, though he doesn't love God, he doesn't love people, produces justice for her, even though he's in that kind of a wretched setting of his own heart. And it's not because somebody argued for her, it's not because somebody gave the judge money, it's only because of her mouth.

She pleaded her calls repeatedly. And so the unjust judge brought justice to her adversary. In verse six, listen to what Jesus says. And the Lord said, hear what the unjust judge sayeth. Christ is saying, did you hear what the judge did, this unjust judge? He did what was right, even though he was unjust and but couldn't resist the continual pleas of a widow who's beating him up. Then Jesus goes here from the argument from the lesser to the greater.

He says in verse number seven, and shall not God avenge his own elect, which cried day and night unto him, though he bear long with them, I tell you that he shall he will avenge them repeatedly. What he's saying here is if a poor widow got what she deserved from a selfish judge, how much more will God's children receive justice from their loving Heavenly Father. She had no one to help defend her call. She had no advocate, but we have Jesus Christ, the righteous seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This widow had to cry from outside the tent. But we friends are able to enter into the holiest by the blood of Christ, according to Hebrews 10 19, not outside the veil, but now inside the veil. She was an unloved uncared for widow, but we are the beloved children of God. First John three one says, Behold, what manner of love the Father had bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. God loves us friends, we are not some poor widow crying from outside the tent, we are the beloved children of God with access to the throne.

Also we don't have a cruel and sensitive judge who is bothered and annoyed at our request. Rather we have a loving Heavenly Father who calls to us to come and to bring our burdens to him. Christ says in verse eight, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. The word event speaks of God giving justice to his children in the trials and hardships of life. And if Jesus says the Father will avenge us speedily and answer us speedily, why are there seemingly then Pastor Josh delays in the answers to prayer?

What are the cause of these delays? Well, verse seven tells us, it says in shall not God avenge his own elect, which crying to him day and night notice, though he bear long with them. That word bear long speaks of the patience that God has with the believer in this sense. He allows the believer to go through that trial or that difficulty and patiently allows them to endure that to produce the good fruit that he wants in the believer's life from the trial. As the judge in the illustration delayed due to indifference, God delays for the purpose of accomplishing a better work in us. Warren Wiersbe says God's delays are not the delay of inactivity, but of preparation of preparation. Romans 828 says, but we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are called according to his purpose.

What a wonderful reality that when you come to God in prayer, he is working and he is sustaining and we say God turned the temperature down and God says just a few more moments. In one hand, he has the carving told another hand he has the heat regimented and he's turning the heat just right and he's carving us into what he wants us to be because he's producing something in us through that work. Jesus closes with a warning in verse number eight as we come to an end. He says in verse eight, this is very telling. He says, Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

This ties into chapter 17. This ties into the Lord's second coming. He's saying when he comes, will he find this kind of persevering faith that is praying and seeking the Lord? Or will he find Christians who've lost heart and stopped praying? Will he find us on bended knees seeking God or will he find us just so worn out with our own sin with the sins of others with the sins of the world that we just kind of gave up?

I can tell you there's going to be some ashamed Christians at the coming of the day of Christ. Out of church, not reading their Bibles, not praying, not giving, not serving, doing nothing for the kingdom, defining God by their own sense, living on their own is the driver of their own life. I can tell you, friends, we need to be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. Doesn't he deserve our faithfulness? I want to be found even if we're blackened by the world and the difficulties of life that we would be found faithfully persevering, not because we held ourself up, but because he sustained us. We are not kept by our own power. We're kept by the power of God.

Anybody thankful for the sovereign keeping of God's power? You know why you're here tonight? It's not because you're good enough. It's because he's good enough. We're not here tonight because we have such a love for Jesus.

It's because he loved us so much, and we're responding to that love, right? So do you find yourself discouraged tonight? Some weights in life may be pressing you down.

I can tell you that's going to happen, and they're real, aren't they? They're tough. Man, I preach Don't Forgiveness Sunday, and I pray going into those kind of sermons because I say, God, there are some people that have faced some things that I have never been through the weight of some of the stuff they've gone through. There are some pains and hurts and betrayals, and the cuts can go so deep. They can be so painful, but God, I know what your word says about this, and I'll preach it, but let it land on soft hearts to where they can take that truth and take that and apply that, and so listen, I don't want to be insensitive tonight. I know sometimes the discouragements can be heavy.

I know that times can be very dark, and that should just press us more into what Jesus did in Matthew 26, shouldn't it? That's option A is prayer. What else can I do? Well, then you can pray again. Okay, after I've prayed, and then I pray again, what do I do, and then pray some more.

So if you have some of those things in life, say, what's my best options? Your best options is to do what Jesus did. The Bible's written for our learning, isn't it, and so let us find that. We've talked about prayer journals. Turn that into a prayer journal request.

Make time to pray instead of finding time. Listen, friends, either we will be sustained by prayer and being faithful, or we will faint due to lack of prayer. Faithfulness in life will result from faithfulness in prayer. When Christ returns, what will he find in our faith, strong or wavering?

Don't you want the Lord to come back, and your faith is strong, loving him? Wouldn't it be great to be in the middle of a devotion in the morning? Christ takes you up to heaven. You say, boy, I'm glad I went out that way. There's a whole lot of ways we could go out, isn't there? I don't want to be in the middle of a bitter argument or some bitter evil thought or some angry situation or some sinful road rage.

Talking about when you're at Walmart, you know, going into the lines. We want to be, we want to be loving Christ, sharing his truth. Galatians 6, 9 says, and let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we will reap if we faint not. If you're here tonight and maybe you're going through some of those seasons, why don't you come and take a moment in prayer and say, God, help me in this season. Maybe it's a family thing, financial thing. Maybe it's a health situation.

Maybe it's just the state of our country through the seasons that we've seen going through. Let's all stand tonight. Maybe you're here tonight and you need to make a spiritual decision. I'll be down front.

We have other men and women down front. We'd love to talk with you, but tonight's just a good night. It's a good time to be able to say, God, let me just, I know I've prayed about this before, but let me pray again. I know I've come to you about this before, but, but I just, I need to come to you again.

And God sees it and he hears it and he knows it. Father, we are so thankful that your ear is open to us. Thank you that you're not a mean judge, that you're a loving father. Thank you that we're not a unloved widow, but we are a child of the king.

Thank you that we're not standing outside of the tent, but we're inside the tent. You've welcomed us and we have boldness to the throne of grace. Thank you that your mercy is here. I pray for anyone tonight that may be going through heavy seasons, they would find their strength in you. God, we want to remain and may, may the Holy Spirit that has begun a good work in us be faithful to perform until the day of Jesus Christ. God, as we face trials and temptation, may we perceive them and see them as James one says that we would count it all joy. See those fiery trials is producing in us a greater work. Let us not lose heart. Draw us ever near to you. Be with anyone tonight that needs to be saved or make a spiritual decision that they might come and trust in Christ. We ask it in Jesus name, Amen.