August 21, 2022 Sunday Worship Service (Roy)

we've been discussing and Number of lessons along the way, since January talking about the Life of Christ. And this particular lesson, this morning's going to involve to parables. In fact, it's going to evolve to Parables that involve prayer. So I named them Parables and we're going to be looking at wearables this morning as a relates to this particular chapter. But as we think about this chapter, we are looking at something that perhaps you have not seen before. Perhaps you're familiar with it, but Luke chapter 18, Luke chapter 18 beginning and verse one will read the first portion, which is verses one through eight. And then we'll read the second portion which is verses 9 through 14. So, this is preferable number one. Prairieville number one. How do you spell comparable to them? That men, they always ought to pray and not lose heart. Well, I think right there we get the the idea of what he's going to talk about. The theme of these verses that we don't give up and really, that's the, the meaning of the Greek word that's used. Therefore not lose, heart, don't give up. And of course, I think one of the greatest illustrations of don't give up, was when Winston Churchill, during WWII in the bombing of London, said to his fellow brittners never give up. And that's exactly what our Lord is teaching Us in this particular passage but elsewhere as well. We understand that we are to never give up that. We are to run the race with endurance that we are to do in the very best that we can and give it all that we have as so it's a parable that men are always ought to pray and not lose heart saying there was in a certain city of Judge, who did not fear, God nor regard, man. Any idea of the word regards are is Shane. And I thought you what the passage is telling us, is that this God or this judge, you thought he was God, he did not fair God and did not regard, man. Neither, did he have Shane for such things? These things God and man were just not that important to this judge. This judge was important to this junk. He says, now there was a widow in that City. A little Widow in that City and she came to him saying, get Justice for me from my adversary and he would not for a while. But afterward he said within himself though, I do not fear God nor regard man yet because this woman troubles me, interesting. The idea of this word troubles is a Greek word. That means to punch It's a fighting term. It's a picture of this Widow, this little Widow coming before the judge all the time and she's giving him right jams, right? And he knows the left is coming. And so he says, you know what, I've had enough of this annoying, little fly this annoying, these annoying little Jabs at me, and because of that, I have become weary. And so he says, I will Avenger less by her continual coming, she weary me. And so she has come and come and she's pleading her case time and time again and he has thought of it as a sport if you will. Because he got used to saying no and he see her face the next day. No, and she kept coming and he would say no. Now, you know sometimes you get involved with something and it seems kind of fun. But after a while you begin, not to like it anymore. And this is where this fellow is in his thinking that she just keeps coming and she is persistent in her coming to him. And she said, you said, lest by her, continual coming, she weary me. She punched me down. Now that word is used by the Apostle Paul, and 1st Corinthians chapter 9, verse 27, where he says, I busted my body that's the same exact word that's use. He says, I punch my body down. I resist my body down. that I might not be disqualified so he was doing that in a figurative sense, just like that is used here then the Lord said Hear what the unjust judge said. So this passage, although he mentions persistence and although he mentions his widow coming to him everyday, if you will. Pleading her case that her address Siri would be that she would have defense for the adversary that was coming at her. He says hear what the unjust judge said when I say that, because I've read over the years with the emphasis of placing placing the emphasis on that Widow. But the emphasis is really not placed on the Widow. It's placed on the judge, Because he says hear what the unjust judge said. Now, we find elsewhere.

Something's gone. I can't see the next slide, brother.

You doing me wrong.

In a he's already talked about persistence so he's he's not really focusing in on the Widow and her persistence. He's focusing upon this unjust, judge is making a contrast between the unjust judge and the righteous judge. And as soon as we looking at this a little bit more, he says here with the job. The unjust judge says and God and she'll God not avengers, Tony elect who cry out day and night to him though, he Bears long with him. I tell you that he will avenge them. Speedily, there's the difference. You had a unrighteous judge who was going to take her side. After he got tired of her. All right, but here we find that God is going to come to the rescue how speedily quickly. So, nevertheless, when the son of man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? So we go back to Luke chapter 11 in are Luke chapter 11 beginning of her sake and says help? Because of his persistence here, is the story of persistence that I alluded to just a moment ago. Hair is a story that Jesus tells about a friend who comes to another friend and he wants some bread but it's late at night. He and his family are in bed and he tells the friend go away for sleeping come back later but the friend keeps on persisting. And so the guy gets up out of bed like picture yourself getting up out of bed, going down to the kitchen opening up the counter door or whatever. It is the bread bread, you put bread in and you get that bread to your friend. And so he says, yeah, because of his persistence, he will rise and give him that bread, ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find knock and it will be open to you. So that's that particular, passage dealing with the Persistence of Prayer. In our passage, in Luke chapter 18, it's about the Persistence of this woman coming to God, asking for protection, asking for defense. Can't help. But think that first John chapter 2, beginning of verse, to tells us that we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. He is our defense attorney is our counselor, that's the idea. There, we have an advocate one who comes to our side. Please our case he is our attorney. And so this Widow and Luke chapter 18 is talking about the idea of judgement here, Jesus has been talking about the judgment is second coming. You go right back to Luke chapter 17. And that's where we find that context. That's all we enter into Luke chapter 18, and he's talking about this persistent Widow. But then The attention turns to the judge, the unrighteous judge and then he contrasts the righteous judge with that particular, unrighteous judge. But in Luke chapter 11, he says if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly father? Give give Holy Spirit to those who ask him. There is no definite article before the word, Holy Spirit in the Greek texts but your English Bible has that. And so it's a father, give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. And I just for sake of illustration, what he's talking about. It within the context, he says good gifts. And that the father, give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him and Matthew's account, Matthew chapter 7, beginning and verse 11. He says, if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven? Give good things to those who ask him, if you can see it, there's an arrow from good things to the Holy Spirit above, and there is an arrow from good gifts up to good gifts. So Jesus is telling his disciples is 12 mind you. He's teaching them how to pray. And there are you says here you guys are going to ask for this Holy Spirit. He's not talking to you and me. The application is to them, not to you and me. Eddie says, you're going to ask for good things, good gifts and it's going to come from the spirit. That's what you're going to ask for and where you can read about that fulfillment and Acts chapter 8 beginning of verse 14. But we have more to talk about. This particular passage. So the idea is that this judge

Did not want to plead the woman's case initially, and for sometime decided because of her persistence that he would, now does God behave. That way? Does he need you to come to you every day? Pleading pleading, pleading, or does he know the situation when you pray and he's going to come to you? No matter what?

What does the Lord tell us twice. The Lord says I will never leave you nor forsake you he's there he is with us. We might not think so but he is there. Remember the 23rd song? Write the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes me to lie down in Green Pastures, he leads me by The Still Waters. He restores my soul. He, what he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea though, I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear. No evil for because you are with me your ride and your staff. They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.

And so we find here, this idea that God is there. God is blessing David and just like David God is there. Jesus is there in your life? He has promised to never leave nor forsake. He's going to provide the assistance that you need because he knows what you need even before you ask. He does want us to ask. So you can see how chapter 11 of Luke and chapter 18 of Luke, China coalesced around each other because he tells you keep saying. Keep on asking, keep on seeking. Keep on knocking with regards to prayer. That's persistent prayer. But now the judge. We have a righteous judge who hears our prayers and he will provide, we talked about Wednesday night about the God of Abraham, the god, of Isaac, and the god of Jacob. And we're talkin through the, the life of a ham in the book of Hebrews and Hebrews chapter 11, and our sister Juanita brought up a great point about God. He will provide. And you remember when Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac that when God stayed his hand, he says. Now I know of your face. He said I will now give you the proper sacrifice and what do we find? A ram caught in the thicket. Right? And there it says the place where Jehovah-jireh provided God provides Jehovah-jireh and when he says he will provide upon answering our prayer, you can take that to the bank. I'm so we coming to the second. Parable Parable and he says that they were righteous and despised others. I want to stop there for just a second. There's this Miss understanding. I believe I feel a logical misunderstanding. About what it means to trust in themselves. What does it mean to trust in your own righteousness? You won't find that verse in scripture. You will hear everybody on TV in your community in your books. Don't talk about all you can't trust your own righteousness.

What does that mean? It drives me bananas to hear that expression and no explanation was ever given. So who trusted in themselves that they were righteous? What does that mean? As opposed to what other people claiming me the Pharisees thought they were righteous. But they didn't do anything. Got us ending. What were they doing? Well, the their fathers substituted traditions for God's word and the sun's began to follow those Traditions. Go by the time of Christ in the first century, they thought they were doing God's work. They thought they were righteous. But when you compare their thinking of righteousness, with God's word, they fell far short of being described as right now. Just consider this for a second. The religious world thinks that were made righteous. Not by what we do, but by Jesus Christ, not in a sense, that's correct. You can't be right just without the cross surprise, you can't be righteous without the shed blood of Christ. That's true. But there's more to the story isn't there? Right? He is the author of Eternal salvation to all those who have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. No, He says he is the author of Eternal salvation on to all those who obey him. Hebrews chapter 5 and verse 9. So, you are made righteous by the blood of Christ. If you continue in obedience, you understand that, right? If you continue in obedience, Jesus basically said the same thing in John 8:31. You are truly my disciples if you continue in my word so I love you. You're my disciples. If you continue in my word, fuel keep following me, you keep obeying me. That's the idea. And so I want you to think about this and 1st. John 3:7, John Wright's, my little children do not be deceived. Well John what might we be deceived by? He says he who practices righteousness. Get it. Now is righteous. Just ask he? He Jesus Christ is righteous. You follow that. So, yes, Jesus makes us righteous. He makes us righteous to live a life working. Those good works that he has provided for us. Such as Faye. Yes, faith is a work, right? Faith is a work. This is the work of God that you believe on him. He sent. Work. Faith repentance is a work. Right. Jesus said That middle CC Heaven long before these other towns because they repented at the preaching of Noah. And then you turn to Jonah or the Dupree you but you turn to Jonah 3:10 and then it shows and God saw their Works in that they turned from their unrighteousness. Repentance is a work And so, we find so that those things are inseparable, they're part of obedience that we always need to repent when we need to, but we continue living by faith because we must because we must and so, therefore, we find I want to turn your attention. Now this is not on a screen. Go to Romans, if you would Romans chapter 10,

Romans chapter 10.

Brethren my heart's, desire and prayer to God for Israel, is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a Zeal for God. They have a Zeal for God. They're excited about God, they do a lot of good things for God.

But there's a caveat there. But not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness. Have not submitted to the righteousness of God. What are you telling us, Paul?

The Jewish. Christians in particular, we're going back to the law of Moses. And the Jews in general. we're still under the law of Moses, at least they perceive that, But the gospel haven't had eliminated all of that by the death of Christ and the ushering in of the Gospel. The law was nailed to the cross. So whether you be a Jew or a Jewish Christian one who converted to Christ by obeying the gospel and you were trying to live under the law, by the name of You by forcing circumcision upon the Gentiles. If you were doing that, you are trying to establish your own righteousness, your own right doing Righteousness, right. Doing And they were not submitting to the right doing righteousness of God. The right doing of God was given to both Jew and Gentile on the day of Pentecost when the gospel was first declared by Peter. And then it continued to spread and continue to be revealed through scripture. And it's by the black gospel that we are saved. It's by that gospel, we are sanctified. And so it is is what the Hebrews writer tells us and Hebrews chapter 10 beginning and verse 10. He says by that will The new will the New Testament will cry when he says by that. Will we are Sanctified not by the law of Moses. Not by the old Covenant law, not buy anything, ever practiced in the law of Moses, but by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And the thing about it is Jesus never talked about having to be circumcised and when he commissioned his Apostles to go into all the world to preach the gospel, they never said anything about having to be circumcised, but some group of folks along the way as is the case along many years of religiosity they come along and they said, you know, We don't really like the Gentiles. We don't think you're equal with us. And so, in order for them to be justified by God, they too need to be circumcised. Like, we are because we're the chosen ones of God. Where the Justified ones of God,

And then we talked about and Acts chapter 15 a week or so ago talking about when the elders and the apostles got together to talk about this very issue. How someone forcing circumcision, telling them that they needed to follow the law of Moses and then in the letter that they wrote to the congregations, the Apostle said we gave no such commandment We gave no such commitment. You see, a lot of people in the religious world today and even in the Church of Christ.

They think they can operate believe practice and think whatever they want. If God is not legislated against it, God does not need, does not need just legislate against, don't think he does not have to condemn something in order for it to be condemned. Use this as a perfect example and you've heard it before but you need to hear it again because you need to also teach others. This message. You look at the religious world where / many things, right? No question about it. One thing we are all agreed upon that we come together on. Is this what we just did here today? What are we do? We have the Lord's, Supper, some people call it to you first. Some people call it communion, you can call it either one of those, the same word. Same term Lord's, Supper, what consists of the Lord's Supper Club. Jesus made it very plain. He said, this is the bread, which represents my body. This is the fruit of the vine which represents my blood Why is it that no church in this community? No church throughout Oklahoma and no church throughout the United States and no church throughout the globe will ever tell you, or even demonstrate by any action that you can have bread, the fruit of the vine and pizza. That might get people in the door but that doesn't make it right. You know why? Because they'll say Christ said the bread and the fruit of the vine. There you go. You got that, right? We all agree. That was that. So when God says I gave no such commitment. Why are we at to go beyond what is written? Like many, do, like these Pharisees were doing, they trusted in themselves because they trusted in their Traditions. They didn't trust in God because they were not following God. When you follow God at his word, you're trusting, God, you're not trusting yourself. Right. It's not in man to direct his own steps. I can't ever think of a way to heaven for myself. I have to submit to the way the Lord has said, this is how you get to heaven through his word but many take it upon themselves like these Pharisees to do it. Their own way to do their own thing because it's not written.

The Bible tells us the things that are written or for you and for your children.

Your progeny.

But the things, the secret things, the things that are not written, they belong to God and to God Alone we have no right to act for God has not so spoken word spoken. We have every right to ask and we can find ourselves within the word of God by what he says and what he has directed us through words not through not saying a word. And so he says, they trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despise the other two men went up to the temple. To pray. One up there and see the other attacks collector the Pharisee, stood and prayed bus with himself. God, I think you that I am not like other men. Extortioners unjust adulterers are even as this tax collector. Ice asked twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess and the tax collector standing a far-off would not so much as raises eyes to heaven, but beat his breast and God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you this man went down to his house Justified rather than the other rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will there. It is for everyone who exalts himself. Will be humbled one day and he who humbles himself will be exalted one day. You think about that? Think about the idea that this person says he's coming to God in prayer and basically what he's telling the creator of the universe, our heavenly father, he's telling this God You must be thankful that I'm coming to you in prayer. you must really like me to have me come before you And then, you must be very happy to be in my presence. That's the type of attitude, that this fella had and the way he bumped his nose down at this tax collector, as if this guy was not guilty of sin himself, But he thought he was above all of that and so he will be humbled. And this man will be exalted. A tax collector will be exalted. Imagine that in the vocabulary of a Jew, the tax collector was the worst individual. And yet Jesus himself says, you know That guy's going to be exalted and you will be humbled. Let's have not the haughty attitude that we might enjoy simply because we're children of God or children of God. But yet we have nothing before us, that would ever tell God that he must save us. Remember the story of Luke chapter 10 and verse 17 about being the slave or this, the the servant, right? He says if you're going to serve, you must do what you must do. But you also have to have the attitude that you are not worthy. None of us are truly worthy before. God. But thankfully, we have one guy who saw this worthy enough to send his son into this world to die, for your sins and my sins. That's love. That's Grace. That's what we're talkin about.

And so, from these two Parables this morning, we find exactly who we need to be. And what we need to be about. And that's about God, you're subject to the imitation of Christ this morning. You'd like to put Jesus Christ on in, baptism for the Forgiveness of your sins, you can do that. We can make arrangements for that. Perhaps you have done that, perhaps you've not been walking with God. Perhaps you falling away in Jesus says, come back home. Repent of your sins and you'll be restored. That's a promise that God says you can take to the bank. If you're subject to that imitation of Jesus Christ, this morning, won't you come as Together, We Stand and sing.