Tonight you will find in Luke 18, we will read the first eight verses. Luke 18, the Gospel according to Luke, verses 1 to 8. Then he, that is the Lord Jesus, spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying, There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard men. Now, there was a widow in that city, and she came to him saying, "'Get justice for me, for my adversary.'" And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself, though I do not fear God nor regard men, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continually coming she worries me. Then the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said, and shall God not avenge his own elect? who cry day and night to him, though he bears long with them, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on earth? Thus far the reading of God's word. Please be seated. congregation, and maybe our children, maybe our young people knows this hymn, oh, what a peace we often forfeit, what a needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. And maybe there are times in our life that we share our burdens with other people, and sometimes they disappoint us, or sometimes they do not listen what we really have to say, or we carry needless pain or hurt without bringing it to the Lord in prayer, or everything time and again without ceasing persistently to God in prayer. A God who promises here, here in Luke 18, will not God give justice to his elect, to his people who cry to him day and night? And on this passage, I want to meditate with you with the help of the Lord. Luke 18, the verses 1 to 8a. Sometimes it's called the parable of the unjust judge. And maybe we can call it also the parable of the persistent prayer of a widow. And therefore the theme for tonight, the question that we have for tonight is, are you, am I, are you persistent in prayer? Are you persistent in prayer? And three brief main points arise from this parable as it speaks about the prayer's posture, the prayer's petition, and the prayer's promise. Let's speak about prayer, our posture, our petition, and the promise. Friends, this parable we find in the midst of the discourse on the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven. That is the broad context In this chapter, Luke 13, that begins with, what is the kingdom of God like? How does it like? Well, it becomes small, says the Lord. It becomes very large. It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden and grew and became a tree. Or in the parable, it was the kingdom of God is like a great value, illustrated by the parable of the hidden treasure and the parable of the pearl of the great price. Or Luke 14, the invitation to the kingdom of heaven, the parable of the great banquet. Come, everything is ready. And yes, many make excuses, but it does not stop the king to bring in the poor and the blind and the lame and those who has no helper. and then also to live in that kingdom. Now already aspects of living as citizens of that kingdom, how to live out of forgiveness, the parable of the unforgiving servant, how to practice love, the parable of the good Samaritan, but also how to be persistent in prayer. And we find it also in Luke 18 of Luke 11, the friend that came by night. But also here in Luke 18, parable of the persistent prayer of the widow, a widow that seek justice and a judge who lacks compassion, but give her justice, avenges her due to her persistent continually coming to her. And therefore, one of the questions that we have is, how is our prayer life, your and my prayer life? Is it without ceasing? Is it persistent? Is it tireless? Is it constant? And by grace, if you can testify, you have been called to the kingdom of heaven. You have been brought into the kingdom of heaven with great patience and compassion of this gracious king. And then not prayer, and not always consistently pray, And he spake, the Lord Jesus spake a parable unto them, unto us this night, to this end, to this effect, that men always ought to pray and not faint, not lose heart. Not an encouragement, pray always. Do not lose heart. Do not give up. Don't be discouraged. Don't grow weary. That is Christ's encouragement to those that he has brought into the kingdom of heaven, which begins here already on earth. What a reminder, and particularly in the immediate context of these words. In Luke 17, that Christ reminds his people, trouble will come. There will be a time, he says, like in the days of Noah, like in the days of Lot. as we see it in our world today. It seems that we live in a world of unending calamities, a world with pain and hurt, of wars, rumors of wars, pain and hurt of broken and strained relationships, a world of injustice, of suffering, a world of temptations and trespasses, so begins chapter 17. And when the disciples hear that, they say, Lord, increase our faith. Friends, if the disciples of Jesus ask him this, how should we, in the times in which we live, with our children, with our grandchildren, if you have them? Because if anyone who thinks that he stands Take heed lest you fall. Pray with the disciples of the Lord. Lord, increase our faith. Which Christ then begins to answer also with these words to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to lose heart. Particularly in these challenging times. Even in times of suffering, in times of injustice, to follow the footsteps of Christ. As the apostle reminds us in Philippians 1, for it has been granted to you for the sake of Christ that you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake. Now, do we see that always? I mean, you go through difficult times in life. Is it not more that we ask, why, Lord? Why me? But we tend to forget that living in the kingdom of God by grace, pure grace, brings suffering and injustice, which can be in various forms. Christ reminds his followers, in the world you will have tribulation. And that was not only in the time of the disciples. That is for each of his children even now. But he also said, be of good courage, cheer up, always pray, and not to lose heart. For as the Himmleriter of all the roads is their trouble anywhere, let us never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Now, how, you could ask? That is our first point, the posture of prayer. And I do not mean the position or the practice of prayer, bowing or kneeling or standing or prostrating or with raised hands, as we find in Scripture, but the attitude of our prayer, as we find it in this parable. Because what is going on in the setting of the Middle East of this parable, the cultural setting of the time, Or you should picture a noisy and busy room of a judge. Clerks and people want their case to be heard, their claim to be heard. And very often in the time bribing the court, clerks would result in speeding up the hearing by the judge. And always, women would be represented by a man. Women were not counted at that time in the society. Women were not heard. And widows, they were completely helpless, powerless, defentless, and no rights. And now we read in this parable, as we have read it this night, there was a widow in that city, and she came to a judge saying, avenge me of my adversary. And she kept coming, and she pleaded the case. Whatever it is, it is not mentioned, but she said, give me justice. So not only Jesus' example is very counter-cultural, progressive for its time, male-dominant society. Well, the parable is speaking of an helpless widow. A woman that has no rights. But also illustrative and instructive of our coming to the Lord in prayer. Because here is one who is helpless. Here is one in the shadow of society. Here is one often forgotten. Here is one desperate need. There is no one to help. Disadvantaged, no rights. Friends, is that our prayer? Our prayer life, coming to the Lord as a people in need, in desperate need, deserving nothing, unworthy. As one who knows something of the desperate cry as we find, for example, in Isaiah 63, and I looked and there was none to help. Or that man in John 5 telling Jesus, sir, I have no one. The disciples asked Jesus, who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus answered, he points to an helpless, innocent child, one who has to be carried, cannot do anything by him or herself, in need of help. And Jesus, he welcomes them. This poor man cried, this woman cried, this man, maybe this father or this young mother here tonight, but the Lord, hears and saves them out of all their troubles. And therefore we ought always to pray and not lose heart. So often, maybe you recognize this in your own life, there is so little time spent in prayer with the Lord. We are so busy, busy in the morning, busy in the evening. Well, so often we come with a list of needs and wants, kind of entitlement. But do we come to the Lord as one who deserves nothing, helpless, recognizing our needs, coming to the Lord as a poor and needy one, known to help but Jesus? Because every time that we turn in prayer to the Lord, we acknowledge our desperate need. French prayer accentuates our helplessness and acknowledges that we cannot do it by ourselves. And sometimes we think that prayer is a strength in the believer's life. But do we see prayer as our desperate and dire need for help? What we see in the verses following in this parable concerning the Pharisee and the tax collector, the one prays about his abilities and competencies, and the other pleads and prays, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. And who went justified home? The tax collector. receives mercy, like this widow, in desperate need. And so, all who come to the Lord, as we read in Jeremiah 22, he judged the cause of the poor and the needy, and then it was well. With the words of the hymn writer of old, who will... who will all our sorrows share. Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer." That brings us to our second point, the petition. "'Avenge me,' he says. The widow says, "'Avenge me of my adversary, of my enemies. Give me justice.' So the widow said to the unjust judge. The petition is here for justice. That is the reason for the widow's persistent calling upon the church. And we can pray for mercy, we can pray for forgiveness, but what about justice? Justice, friends, is about the right relationship that reflect the character of God. And a God-centered biblical justice cannot but has to speak about sin and a Savior. First, if we understand what sin is, we have to understand what our sin is. And we know that the world is full of sinners. But the fundamental saying of justice is, the soul who sins shall die. But a true Christ-centered understanding of justice begins in dust and ashes, where we confess our sin, none is righteous, no, not one. Justice begins with repentance. before a righteous God. Friends, there is an objective standard of meaning and morality, a standard of justice, a God, God justice, the one who defines and loves justice, the one who calls us to justice. If that is not considered, then life is meaningless. There is nothing absolutely right or wrong. And everything is then a matter of opinion. As C.S. Lewis highlights this point when he writes, a man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straighter line. And with our sin, we miss the mark. We've got young people who has to punish our sins. Or as the Lord says by Jeremiah, I will punish as your deeds deserve. declares the Lord. That is the objective truth. But do we know this subjectively? Do we know this personally? If you, Lord, mark my iniquity, my sin, who can stand? That is what justice demands, to realize experience. No one, none of us, standing before the judge of the world with sin and guilt, and then, to whom else shall you go? But remember, a God-centred justice speaks also about a saviour, about Christ, because the clearest display of God's justice of sin is seen on the cross. Christ on the cross, he has become our justice, says the apostle. God made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God, just before God, justification, right with God, for Christ's sake. Friends, the most definitive justice that any society has yet witnessed was when Christ suffered the full wrath of the justice of God in the judgment of God for the sins of his people. The only Savior who satisfied God's justice. And that is also the good and the gospel news tonight. We deserve nothing. But God gave everything that he had, his son, a savior for sinners such as you and me. And young people, there's only in Christianity where justice and mercy meet in the cross. And it tells us there is no delay in God's justice and justice we deserve. But mercy was offered to those who do not deserve it. And that's for Christ's sake. Till on the cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied, for every sin on him was laid. And by grace also, your sin. To experience personally when he reveals himself to your soul, for I am his. and he is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ." And therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our sins were judged in Christ. And Francis, the undeserved and the unmerited and the amazing grace, And that in a world who cries for justice, in a world where there's so much pain, hurt, and rejection, and discrimination, with desperate needs. And yes, one may speak about forgiveness and mercy, but mercy without justice, or at the expense of justice, is no mercy at all. It will leave us deformed and incomplete, and there is no closure. it would mean that injustice would continue and neither of these outcomes is merciful. And therefore in a world of many cries of justice and many, many, many more silent cries of abuse, the cry of destitute refugees, the cry of marriage problems, or family relationships, and it seems no one hears these cries, or whatever burden you have in your life, even this night. For such a troubled world, Christ told them, tells us this parable, that we always ought to pray and not to lose heart. Have you heard the psalmist's crying prayer? Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my supplication. In your faithfulness, answer me, and in your righteousness. Or like the psalmist in 27, Lord, hear me when I pray, and answer me in grace. The persistent prayer, the posture, the petition, and in the third place, the promise. The promise, as we find it in the text of the parable in verse 7 and 8a, will God not give justice to his elect who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he gives them justice to them speedily. And Christ tells here, the church who neither fears God nor respect men initially refuse, but because this widow troubles him, he will avenge her, lest by her continually coming she worries me. What a contrast with the words of the Lord, the church of heaven and earth. Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry, they anointed him, though he bear long with them? These are two questions. Will not God give justice to the elect who cry to him day and night? And the answer is yes, he will hear their cry. And the second question, will he delay long over them? And the answer is no. Friends, remember also for this week, there is a God in heaven who hears the cries of his people and act upon it. It shows us the heart of God, that it is he, this God, a father to the fathers, a defender of the widows, that it is he who take up their cause, that it is he who promised them, when they cry out in their distress, I will surely hear their cry. For a people who say or sigh or cry, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God, then I remind you, have you not known, have you not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord of the creator of the heaven and the earth, faints not and neither is weary? Here is a God who let us know, I know what is going on in your life. I know your circumstances. I know your troubles and trials, but come to me. Come to me, you weary ones. You are bowed down. You heavy-laden ones. Come to me." Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care? Here is one. who sits at the right hand of the Father, even now, and intercedes, I have prayed for you that your faith fail not, even that weak faith, that struggling faith, in times of unbelief, that there is an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who pleads the cause of each of his children, whose request I never rejected for his sake, for his complete and finished work accomplice. Whereas the in-writer of all is like precious savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer. The text says, or Christ says, I tell you, he will give them justice speedily. Now, there's maybe not always experience in our life, speedily. Maybe you are awaiting a long time, or maybe you think, the Lord does not hear my prayer. But if we render these words from the original, it states, he will execute justice surely and certainly. Surely and certainly, as is appropriate for the circumstance. And so that we may learn two things by grace, also for this new week. The first is the Lord hears and acts. He will give justice. He executes justice. It will be done. It is sure. And secondly, it will be done suddenly, unexpectedly. Similar what the Apostle writes in 1 Thessalonians, for yourself know perfectly that the day of the Lord, the day of judgment, the day of justice, comes as a thief in the night. You never know, but he surely comes. Friends, what a comfort for a persistent prayer. The Lord is at work even when I do not experience it always. Our perspective on the timing compared to God's timing is kind of for adults compared to a two years old. Sometimes God has good reasons for us to wait a long time, to see some of our prayers answered. Charles Spurgeon said, when prayer is long in the answering, it will be all the sweeter in the receiving, like a fruit that is well ripened by hanging longer on the tree. But in our prayer life, to rise from prayer with discomfort and confidence, I brought everything to the throne of grace. He has heard my cry. and I leave it by Him. And therefore, fear not when your prayer is stammering, when your words are feeble, when your language is poor, the Lord can understand you. I read somewhere in preparing this sermon, all the petitioners once shall be supplied, because it is a throne of grace. Suppose I come to the throne of grace with the burdens of my sin. There is one on the throne who felt the burden of sin in ages long gone by and has not forgotten his weight. Suppose I come to this throne of grace loaded with sorrow. There is one on that throne who knows all the sorrows to which we and I can be subjected. When I am distressed or depressed, do I fear that God himself has forsaken me? There is one on that throne who once said, my God, my God, why has you forsaken me? So that you are never forsaken by him. It is a throne from which grace delights to look upon the miseries of us. As Jonathan Edwards once wrote, He delights to look upon the miseries of us with a tender eye, to consider them, to relieve them, and therefore come to the Lord in prayer. The throne of grace will look upon you if you cannot look on it, and it will give to you though you have nothing to give in return, and it will deliver you though you cannot raise a finger to deliver yourself. But having this confidence, this peace, this rest, this trusting, he truly will take care in his way and at his time. Even in times when he tolerates oppression and disappointments and troubles and trials for a long time. but time and again persistently casting your cares, your burden on the Lord and experience, and he will sustain you. And therefore Christ reassures us also tonight. I tell you, he says, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking, and it will not be in vain. Coming to him will not be in vain, only and because of that one and gripping day in history, in the deepest trial, that the father did not answer his son when he called, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? So that you, whatever trial and testing you go through, even now, that I'm never forsaken by him who promised, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Oh, friends, Jesus was persistent in prayer throughout his life on earth. He told his disciples to pray. He healed people through prayer. He denounced the corruption in the temple worship, as he said, is a house of prayer. And he insisted that some demons should be cast out only in true prayer. Christ who prayed often and regularly with fervent cries and tears, as we learned from Hebrews 5. He prayed sometimes all night. The Holy Spirit came upon him and anointed him while he was praying, as we read in Luke 3. And when he faced his greatest crisis in life, he did so with prayer. We hear him praying for his disciples in the church on the night before he died, and he petitioned God in agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and finally he died praying, and truly, deeply experienced, be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. And for whom? And for whom? For the people like you and me, who often lack the persistency of prayer, And when life goes smoothly, our true heart treasure seems safe. It does not occur to us to pray, but to take refuge in Him, always in prayer. In the Old Testament, we read that the sacrifice was commanded to be offered in the morning and the evening. And continually, it was sometimes called a burnt offering. And Matthew Henry, one of the commentaries says, that when we are bid to pray always, we have to pray without ceasing, in the morning, in the evening, throughout the days, to offer up our prayers and praises to God. And therefore, precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer. This ever-praying and interceding high priest, this blessed Saviour, Christ, and Him alone. Oh, friends, what a privilege it is also for this new week to carry everything to the Lord in prayer. And therefore, He told us, and therefore, He reminded us, also tonight, to the effect, to this end, that we ought always to pray and not lose heart. Amen.