Parable of the Persistent Widow
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
The last time I shared I was speaking a lot about Trials and not giving up and how it can be difficult for us as Believers to go through trials.
I didn’t go into too much details on what to do when going through the trials but I did mention 3 P’s that can help you.
One was Prayer, the other People and the third was Presence.
Today I would like to share on the first P which is prayer.
talk about pastor and tools boy tools
Prayer is one of the number 1 tools we have in our tool kit to fix problems but we rarely use the tool.
I have a padna who always buying tools. It’s an obsession and many of those tools are never used.
It is sad how we as Believers have this important tool and it is just lying dormant in our tool kit
We as Christians we good at talking to everyone else but when it comes to talking to God
man me aint have no time for that nah
We good at calling up this one and that one to tell them the latest gossip
We could talk about how long Susan sing for or how long the Pastor preaching and meh belly hungry
We could be texting whole day on whatsapp
We have all the time to communicate with everyone but the most imprtant person in the entire word who is our God
We ain’t have time to talk to him
The one who loves us more than our boy friends, our girl friends, our fathers, our mothers
We ain’t have no time to talk to him because we are BUSY
Being Under Satan’s Yoke
God in his word has a lot to say about prayer
He spoke a lot about it.
Jesus spoke a lot about it because prayer is important
987God the Holy Ghost writes our prayers, God the Son presents our prayers, and God the Father accepts our prayers. And with the whole Trinity to help us in it, what cannot prayer perform?—54.342, 343
Charles Spurgeon
When you feel disinclined to pray, let it be a sign to you that prayer is doubly necessary! Pray for prayer!
The Sealed Hand-A Winter Sermon, Volume 58, Sermon #3289 - Job 37:7
Charles Spurgeon
Scripture
Scripture
1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ ”
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Background
Background
When Jesus tells a parable he had an important lesson that he wanted to communicate with his hearers and in this parable he wanted them to know the importance of prayer.
If you ever needed convincing that prayer is important then here it is.
Jesus says it is important.
Notice what it says in verse 1.
When we stop praying we tend to lose heart.
When we go through our trials and our tribulations we need lots and lots of prayers
Some of you came to church today and you don’t need anoher message
You need a miracle
We get that miracle through prayer.
Jesus told this parable because he wanted his Disciples to know that God is willing to hear the cries of his children and act on their behalf.
Now let us pause for a cause here
This is written for God’s Children to know he hears us
Keywords here is God’s children
Are you God’s child today . If so you can claim the promise that he will hear you and answer you.
If you are not his child then you cannot claim this promise.
Now who are God’s children?
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
You see just because you coming to church doesn’t mean you are his child
It says only those who have received him and believed in him can call themselves children of God
You see it is possible to be in church but not in Christ
The woman who had a muslim bf
It have lots of people in the church today who coming but their motives not right
As Children of God we need to the right thing for the right reason
Give an explanation of the scripture
As we can see it is important to pray
Last week Pastor Diandra spoke about how it is something we do every sunday where we pray for each other because Prayer is important to us
When we look at our core values we see prayer is listed there
So what can we learn about prayer through this passage
Prayer is comprised of 3 things
Firstly We going to God
Firstly We going to God
We need to be like that widow
“In Jesus’ day a widow generally had no education, no job, no money, no property, no status and no power. Her survival was critically linked to whether or not she had a son, a father or a brother-inlaw who would agree to care for her. If not, she likely would become a beggar—the first-century equivalent of a homeless person. Regardless, she’d forever remain a social outcast to those in her community.”
This parable has been misinterpreted by a lot of people
“We humans are the widow. powerless, with no connections and no status, we are unable to handle our problems alone and feel that we have nowhere to turn.God, then, must be the judge, these misguided readers continue. He’s not really interested in our situation. After all, he has a universe to run, angels to keep in harmony, harps to tune. It’s best not to bother him unless it’s really important.
If we’re desperate, though, we can always do what the widow did: we can annoy him. Bang on the doors of heaven. Spend hours on our knees. Ask our friends to bug him too. Sooner or later we may wear him down and wrench a blessing from his tightly closed fist. Eventually he will shout, “I can’t stand it anymore—somebody fix this problem! Whatever it takes, just do it. This person is driving me crazy!”
Honestly, now, does that sound like the God you know?”
This widow was desperate and she went to this judge who could free her from her adversary
All of us have adversary at times but we refuse to go to him
We go to everyone else and we save God for last
God is our last resort
Some people will go by the Obeah man befoer they go to God
The widow knew that even though the judge was an evil man he was the only one who could free her from her adversary
As Christians we know that God is a good God and we should be willing to run to him the way how this widow ran to the judge
God wants us to come to him
Secondly Prayer is God coming to us
Secondly Prayer is God coming to us
Prayer is how we approach God and it is also God’s approach to us
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
When we go to God like that widow - he comes to us
The widow eventually got the Judge to come down from his level and give her what she wanted
In the same way When we go to God in prayer - we have a God who comes to us and answers our prayers
2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
If we want something from God we need to go to him and he will come to us
He said we do not get because we do not ask
God always answers our prayers although he may not answer it the way you want him to answer
But prayer is also God’s way of coming to us
In the Movie Batman when the police needs his help they send out the Bat Signal. That signal is sent into the skies to let Batman know that he is needed and they want him to come down from whereever he is an help them.
When we want God to come down and show up we have a signal that we send out and that is prayer
Talk about Kayla and the surgery
People know the power of Prayer because it causes God to act on their behalf
When people buy a new Vehicle they bring it by a man of God to bless it
Once my dad had to bless a ring
If we want God to act on our behalf and come down let us first go to him in Prayer
It's like having a direct line to the President of the country, and not only does He listen to your concerns, but He comes down to your home to discuss it with you. That's the kind of personal attention and care God gives to each one of us when we pray to Him.
Don’t be fooled by those people who misinterpret this text and say you need to keep on naginng God like how some wives might need to nag their husbands to get them to do things
God is very interested in what his children have to say and we can go to him and he will come to us and act on our behalf
God is the total opposite of that uncaring judge
That judge only cared about himeself and wanted her off his back
God is concerend with the intricate details of our lives
The first five books of the Bible have 189 chapters. In 139 of those chapters, God approaches men: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and others.
Thirdly prayer is us receiving by Faith
Thirdly prayer is us receiving by Faith
8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
Jesus ended this parable with a little rebuke
He asked if when he comes will there be faith on this earth
Praying for a bar to bun down
Many times we can be like that Pastor
We are praying without faith
Many times we praying for a miracle but in the back of our minds we not expecting anything to happen
We are filled with doubts
We don’t believe God can answer our prayers
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
The Bible says here that it is not pleasing to God when we lack faith in him.
He is the all powerful God. We tell people our God is a miracle working God.
We sing it all the time.
But yet when it comes to us praying to him - we lack faith in him.
Our mountains look bigger than our God
We are like the people of Israel who saw Goliath and were struck with fear
But David went up to face him in faith in his God
I once heard a story of a young child who eagerly held out his hands as his father poured a glass of milk for him. The child didn't doubt for a moment that his father would give him what he asked for. In the same way, when we approach God with childlike faith, we can expect to receive from Him without doubting.
We have to be a people of faith and not fear
You will always hear me mention her name because she was a woman of faith and that was Sister Maria
If you are a person who is facing a situation and you are lacking faith ask God to help you to believe
23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
We need to be honest like that man and ask God to help us to believe and not doubt
Conclusion
Conclusion
“A LADY came to the great preacher of the last century G. Campbell Morgan and she said, “I only take the big things to God. I don’t take the little things to God.”
G. Campbell Morgan looked at her and said, “Lady, anything you take to God is little.”
That is precisely the case. You can bring everything to God because anything you bring to God is little to Him, even if it is big to you.