Tenacious Faith (Luke 18:1-8)

Tenacious Faith
Luke 18:1-8

INTRODUCTION:
Two spry young frogs one darkness night came hopping home toward the light.
And passing by the milking shed, one to the other, jokingly said,
“Let’s have a look inside the can, left near the door by our milking man.”
And accidents that happen still, befall those frogs - they take a spill.
And plop! The white whey pulls them in, with just two choices: sink or swim.
They quickly find their breath will stop unless they swim upon the top.
Their muscles ache, their breath grows short and gasping speaks one weary sport:

“(Sigh) dear ole’ boy, it’s pretty tough to die so young. But I’ve enough of kicks for life.
No more I’ll try it. I was not raised on a milk diet.”

“Tut, tut! Me’ lad,” the other cried. “A frog’s not dead until he dies.
Let’s keep on kicking! That’s my plan, we may yet see the outside of this can!”

“No use! No use!” Faint hearted replied. And he turned up his toes and he gently died.

The braver frog undaunted still, kept kicking with a right, good will.
And soon, with joy too great to utter, he found he churned a lump of butter.
So climbing on this chunk of grease, he floated there in perfect peace.

So, when times are hard, no trade in town. Don’t get discouraged and go down.
Just struggle still, no murmur utter. A few more kicks may bring the butter!

In Luke 18, Jesus gives us a parable to teach us the importance and the power of persistence, especially in prayer. Let’s take a look at that parable (18:1-8).

THE REASON FOR THE PARABLE - 18:1:
In verse 1, Jesus tells this parable to show His followers that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart. Take a moment and reflect on each word or phrase of this important sentence. “At all times.” That is an exaggeration but I will add to it. We ought to pray all the time, every where. In Colossians 4:2, Paul writes that we need to “devote ourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.” In the original language, Paul puts the noun first; he literally writes: “to prayer, be devoted.” In Acts 6:4, when we have the first Christian men appointed to the role that later came to be called “deacons,” the apostles tell the church that they need to “devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” We need to persist in our prayers; we need to be devoted to a strong prayer life. How?

Ephesians 6:18 - “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
1 Thess. 5:17 - “pray without ceasing”

Lumbermen and scientists examined a tree they cut down in California. They learned that it began growing in 271 B. C. When it was 516 years old, it was partly burned, the charred portions of the bark and trunk being visible far inside the giant. Other fires left their marks on it in 1441, 1580, and 1797. This last fire left an enormous scar eighteen feet wide. That tree is an object lesson in persistence. A Christian who perseveres in faith is a like a tree planted by the rivers of water (Psa. 1:3).

Someone once defined a diamond as just a piece of coal that stuck to its job.

The next word I would like to draw to your attention is the word “ought.” Notice this word. It means “must, ought, it is necessary.” This word carries it with the idea of a compulsion. Jesus is saying that we must devote ourselves to prayer. It is not optional. Not if we want to be strong in the Lord, if we want to be successful in life, if we want to reach heaven.

We have the verb “to pray,” which of course refers to us talking to God. We can give God thanks in prayer. We can unleash our pent-up emotions to God in prayer. We can ask God for His blessings in prayer. Let me remind you of the passage we looked at last week, Mark 11:24: “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Talk to God about it.

Finally, we observe the phrase “lose heart.” To “lose heart” means to be “discouraged.” The word “courage” comes to us from the Latin word for “heart.” Courage is “heart.” To be “discouraged” is to “lose heart.” Jesus understands how easy it is for us to lose heart. Paul wrote that we have the ministry of the gospel and understanding that you and I receive mercy from God, we do not lose heart (2 Cor. 4:1). Knowing that, in Christ, even as our outer body is decaying and wasting away, our inner man, our spirit can get renewed each day so that we do not lose heart (2 Cor. 4:16). Here is another important verse, Galatians 6:9: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” God promises a harvest of blessings if we pray persistently and we do not lose heart (cf. 2 Thess. 3:13).

Solomon directs us to consider the spider, who “takes hold with her hands and is in king’s palaces” (Prov. 30:28; KJV). A man had to take shelter from a storm in a barn. There he noticed a spider climbing a beam of the room. The spider fell tot he ground a dozen times but it succeeded on the thirteenth time! The best things in life do not come easily. A rose is guarded by its thorns; honey is defended by bees. No person will enjoy either one if he is annoyed by thorns or afraid of stingers.

THE PARABLE - 18:2-5:
So Jesus gives us this parable. This judge did not fear God and he did not respect man. He was not a scoundrel but he was certainly self-centered. He had no respect or fear for God and he equally had no respect for his fellowman. The point Jesus wants to emphasize here is that this man is self-absorbed and would not lift a finger to help someone out.

But, there was this particular widow who lived in the same city and, notice verse 3, she “kept coming” to him, saying, “Vindicate me from my adversary,” or “Give me legal protection from my opponent.” It is important to note the verb tense here: “kept coming.” That’s persistence. That’s the point of the parable and it is the point of my message this morning. Persistence. The power of persistence.

Does God, to us, seem distant? Uncaring? Unresponsive? How often, in our hearts, do we echo the fear of the apostles in the middle of the storm on the sea of Galilee, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38)

Or how often do we feel like the Syro-Phoenician woman in Matthew 15 who wanted Jesus to heal her daughter of demon possession, “but He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” (15:23)

Look at the judge’s response in verse 4. At first, he was not willing. For some period of time (and we don’t know how long), he was unwilling to grant this widow any legal reprieve. But, eventually, through her persistence, he carried on this conversation with himself (ver. 4-5), he says, “Although I do not fear God and I do not respect man” (apparently he felt some degree of pride in his narrow view of the world), “yet,” he says, “because this widow is troubling me, I will vindicate her, lest an end coming she might wear me out.”

This man was a judge. It was his job to carry out justice or to see that justice was carried out. In this case, he was not the least bit interested in carrying out justice until this little old widow woman bothered him constantly enough that she wore out his patience! This word translated “to wear out” is used in 1 Corinthians 9:27 where Paul writes that he “disciplines himself” so that he will not become unfaithful. Here, the judge is saying that this woman is persisting and persisting and persisting until she wears out and punctures through this gruff exterior and strikes at the emotions hidden deep inside so that he will vindicate her.

JESUS’ MESSAGE - 18:6-8:
So Jesus emphasizes the point in these verses. This man, this judge, was unrighteous. Yet, he responded to the persistent pleas of this woman.

So Jesus asks in verse 7, “will not God bring about justice (or vindicate us, answer our prayers) for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will not He delay long over them?” Do you, have you cried to God day and night for Him to answer a prayer? Do you believe so strongly in something that you will pray that persistently? If an unrighteous judge is willing to, eventually, answer the plea of a widow, won’t the righteous God answer the prayers of His own children, the elect?

In Hebrews 4:16, the Hebrew writer pictures prayer as approaching the throne of grace. Let that idea sink in… God’s throne is a throne of grace. It is a throne characterized by giving people, the elect, what they do not deserve. If you don’t pray as you should because you don’t feel like you deserve the blessings of God, then that’s the nature of God’s throne! Of course you don’t deserve His blessings. But blessings would not be grace if we earned them. That very thought should motivate us to be persistent in our prayers.

Yes, in fact, in verse 8, Jesus says that God will bring about justice, vindication, for His elect quickly. The troubles that afflict us in this life often steal our faith and wear us out. The problems that we pray about irregularly, that we ought to pray about regularly, are often problems that wear us out and steal our faith. So Jesus warns us in verse 8 that we must pray regularly, so we do not lose our faith because the question comes to us: when Jesus comes back to earth, will He find faith on the earth?

Family, that’s how important it is for us to be persistent, especially persistent in our prayers. It is all about keeping us faithful to Christ until He comes again.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PERSISTENCE:
We need to be persistent in pursuing what is good and right, within ourselves and with other people. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21)

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

The French have a proverb: “One may go far after he is tired.” It is not until your muscles get tired and worn out that they start to strengthen and grow. Persistence.

The Chinese have a proverb: “With time, a mulberry leaf comes satin.”

Think about some of the great men of the Bible: Moses - “He endured, as seeing him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27).
Job - “Till I die, I will not remove my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go” (Job 27:5-6).
Jesus - “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Paul - “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).

When Thomas Edison was working on the storage-battery. We learn that it was the result of 9,000 experiments. That is, success came after 8,999 failures. Persistence.
Edward Gibbon wrote the famous work The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire after 20 years of work.

CONCLUSION:
So what can I advise to help you tap into the power of persistence?
1. Remember that God has a reward for those who are persistently faithful - 1 Samuel 26:23 - “The Lord will repay each man for his righteousness and his faithfulness.”
2. Fear God; it will stimulate persistence - Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, is said to be a “faithful man and feared God more than many” (Neh. 7:2).
3. Don’t ever lie! “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal faithfully are His delight” (Prov. 12:22).
4. Stay faithful to God’s word - “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy” (Prov. 27:6).
5. Remember that greater blessings will come if we stay persistent: “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21).
6. Just stick with it!