Luke 18:1-8 "Will Jesus find you waiting?" (Carlton 6:30pm)

Hello, everyone. Great to see you all. Some people who are just good at telling stories, I'm sure you know this. There are some people who are just good at making stories interesting. The other side of that coin is there are some people who aren't very good at telling stories.

We were talking about that at lunch, actually, about what makes a not good storyteller. But I won't go into that. There are all sorts of things that make some people good at telling stories that make a good story. Whatever else Jesus is, he is. And he is a lot of things.

He is the Son of God, he's the Messiah, he's our Savior. Whatever else he is, he was a master storyteller. And what is it that master storytellers do? Well, as I say, there's all sorts of things. But I think one of the things that makes a really good story is it tends to have some sort of a twist, you know, that it surprises you.

It's not obvious where it's going. Once it's obvious where it's going, you switch off. That's why I fall asleep in movies. There's other reasons for that to do with my age and not sleeping very well and all that sort of thing. But you know what I mean.

There's a twist in the tale of a good story. You don't know where it's gonna go. And as I say, Jesus was a master of this. And some of Jesus parables, some of his little stories he told, are some of the most memorable stories ever. And we are in a section of Luke's Gospel where we're going through a lot of these parables.

And we've got another one this week and then another one next week, an even better one, I think next week. Don't miss next week. One of my favorite parables. But why is it that Jesus taught in parables so much, do you think? Why do you think Jesus chose not to give a lecture, but often to tell a story to make the point that he was making?

I think people often assume and people often say when you ask that question, Jesus taught in stories to make it easier to understand. That's what I think most people think. They think, oh, what he did is he used illustrations from everyday life to connect with people and make a point memorable that people can understand. And some of his little stories are like that. So if you have a think about it, you know the one, build your house on the rock, not on the sand.

It just makes this very simple point. And anyone can get it, like a preschooler at Kids Church can walk out from that and get the story. You want to build your life on faith in Jesus. You want faith in Jesus to be the foundation of your life, not put it on other things. So simple story.

Just as often, though, Jesus told parables not to make it easier to understand and to actually make it harder for people to understand, at least at first hearing. And people don't like this. People go, jesus wouldn't do that. But actually Jesus says it a number of times that he teaches in parables to make it less clear initially. Because instead what he does is he uses the story to draw people in and to make them think and grapple with what he's saying.

And if they are willing to do the hard work, the point becomes clear. But often people go, what's he talking about? And they can't be bothered working it out. So often Jesus will say something absolutely outlandish just to upset everyone and just to make everyone think what's going on there so that they will grapple with it. And we saw that a few weeks back, if you remember, with the story of the dishonest manager.

Whereas you read it, you think, is Jesus really saying, likening us and saying, you should be like that crook, do you remember that one? Should you be like this con artist? That's what a crook. He commends the con artist and says, you my disciples, that's what you should be like. And I can tell you that parable worked.

Do you know why? Because I was away on holidays when it was preached and I listened to it. And since then I've had a conversation every week with someone about that parable because it just confounds people. They go, what? What could Jesus be saying?

Well, today I think is another one of those parables and this one will make us think on two levels. And I want you to think hard. Firstly, I think it makes you think, because at first read, you think you know what this is saying, but then as you go on, you realise actually it's not saying what you think it's saying. So that's the first thing. Then secondly, and more than that, it should make us think, because you think, is Jesus really comparing God to a corrupt, dishonest judge?

Because that's what he seems to be doing. So anyway, let's look at this next parable of Jesus, But I'll pray for us first. So let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for our Lord Jesus and the way he told these incredible stories that are even alive today and challenging people today. But we pray that we will not be like the people who just don't bother understanding, but instead we will be like people who are willing to grapple with what Jesus says, to be challenged by it, so that we can really understand the point he is teaching us.

So now, as we look at it together, give us hearts and minds like that. In Jesus name, Amen. I don't know about your experiences as small children, but I think most children are born with a natural ability to apply what I call dripping tap water, water torture to people. It might just be my children, but you never know. But I remember when I would go to the shops, which wasn't as often as perhaps it should be, because generally it would be Victoria.

But when I would go to the shops with the kids, it would start as soon as we walked in. Can I have a chocolate? No. What about that? Chocolate?

No. Can I have a donut? No. Can I have a packet of chips? No.

Can I have a Coke? No. Can we go to McDonald's? No. It was just relentless.

It's persistent, it's. It's hard to resist. And truth be told, on more than one occasion, I gave in and got a donut or something else. Admittedly, it tended to be when I thought, actually I wouldn't mind a donut, and now if I get one, I'll have to buy them one. But even so, persistence works on even the toughest parent.

Truth be told, I'm not the toughest parent, but. And that's what people often think this little story is about. And I've heard it preached that way. It's about persistence in prayer. Ask God enough times and he will grant your request.

But is that actually what Jesus is saying? I mean, learning to persist in prayer is a pretty good point. And if we all went home tonight being challenged to pray more, I think that'd actually be a pretty good outcome for any week at church. But I just don't think it's the main point of what Jesus is saying. So let's look at it and we'll see.

Now, this parable isn't one where you have to ask, why have I got this story? Because we're told up front. Luke tells us. Look with me at verse one. It says now he told them.

Jesus told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. So straight away, we know what Jesus wants us to do in the light of this passage tonight. He wants us to keep praying no matter what. And he wants us to not give up or not get discouraged is another way of saying that. But what does he want us to keep praying for?

What is it he wants us to always pray for? And for that matter, when he says don't give up, what is it we're in danger of giving up? What might we be giving up? Well, just before this story last week in chapter 17, just before this, Jesus has been teaching about the coming of the kingdom of God and how he is bringing the kingdom of God. And he's explained how, first of all, he himself will suffer and die.

That's his first point he made last week. But then more than that, his disciples, us, we will have to live in this world until he returns. That's what we saw last week in chapter 17. And Jesus explained how while we wait, there will be struggles for God's people. There will be suffering, there will be injustices.

And so, given that, we might be tempted to give up because it's hard living in this fallen, broken world, waiting for Jesus to return. Here we are trying to live for Jesus, but it's hard. We struggle. And perhaps the hardest thing is we look at other people who aren't living for Jesus. We look at other people who don't trust in Jesus, and their lives seem pretty good.

And sometimes we seem to be missing out because we're making decisions to follow Jesus. And we can sort of think, why is this I'm meant to be one of the things, God's children. Why is it that I am struggling when that person over there seems to be doing very well? Now, of course, we know up here in our brains, we know that that's not right. That's an illusion.

We know that what we are looking forward to when Jesus returns will be so wonderful that it will put any struggle or suffering in this life in the shade in comparison. If you are a Christian, you know that in your brain. I hope you do. We saw it last week. Luke, chapter 17, verse 33.

Look back there. It says, whoever tries to make his life secure that's in this world will lose it. And whoever loses his life will preserve it. See, we know that people who live for this world and people who ignore God in this world will face judgment. And we know as well as we live for Jesus now, we might miss out on things.

Now we might think, oh, I'm missing out on this and that because I'm choosing to follow Jesus. But we have eternal life to look forward to. We know that. But the longer this world goes on and the longer we wait for Jesus to return, the more likely we are to get discouraged, the more likely we are to give up to say, actually, do you know what? I think I'd rather have the good life now.

I think I'd rather have worldly security now. I think I don't really want this suffering and this missing out now. I want what they've got over there. And we are tempted to seek after the things of this life. And if you hear that challenge to lose the life that matters.

And so it's in that light that Jesus says, keep praying always and don't give up. In a way, he's really only saying one thing here. He's saying, keep looking forward to Jesus return. Don't stop waiting for Jesus. Keep trusting God.

Which will then mean you keep praying to God, asking Jesus to bring in his kingdom once and for all. Don't give up. That is the point of this story. Do not give up waiting for Jesus. So now let's look at the story.

So come with me. Go to verse two. It says there was a judge in a certain town who didn't fear God or respect people. The idea is this guy is not very nice. To not fear God means he doesn't worry about how he acts.

Now, this is just a throwaway line in a little parable of Jesus, but it actually tells you the problem with our world. It's the problem of sin. The essence of sin is to not fear God. Because if you don't fear God, you don't think there are consequences of your actions. So if you can get away with it, you will.

And that was this man. He did not fear God. So he didn't care as long as he got away with what he did. More than that, he didn't respect people. He doesn't care how he treats people.

But this widow just keeps coming and pestering him. And she's seeking justice in her legal case, but there hasn't been justice. So she keeps going and knocking on the door. There's someone who's wronged her and she wants justice to be done. She wants the judge to give her justice.

And so look at verse four. It says for a while he was unwilling. It's like the first time she comes to us, she can't even get past the secretary, you know, she doesn't even get into the office. And he doesn't want to do anything. Can't be bothered.

What do I care? This is just some poor widow. She can't do anything for me. And it's the same when she comes the second time, the third time, the fourth time, the fifth time, and so on, and so Forth. Maybe after the 10th time, she really starts to annoy him.

She's like, you know when you have a fly in your bedroom at night, sort of buzzing around, you can't get to sleep. That's what she's like for him. She's like a burr in his saddle, so to speak. And so look at verse four again. It says, for a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, even though I don't fear God or respect people, just because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, you see, just because she's wearing me down, I will give her justice so that she doesn't wear me out by her persistent coming by the 15th or the 20th or whatever it is time, like a child in the checkout queue, she gets away just to get rid of her, he gives in and he gives her what she asks for.

Now at this point, I think the person who's thinking hard sort of thinks, hang on, is Jesus really saying that? Because at this point, if you didn't go any further in the story, you think, hang on, is Jesus saying God is like this unjust judge? Because this is what Jesus parables do. They mess with your mind a little bit. And is he saying, really, if I just knock on the door hard enough, eventually God will just give in and give me what I want?

You'll wear God down and God will give you what you ask for. Is Jesus saying, if you pray enough, God will give in? God is like a, frankly, a bad parent. Is that what it's saying? God is like an unjust judge?

Do you see how if you're willing, Jesus draws you in and gets you to think, well, let's go on. Because Jesus point is actually the opposite of that. Look at what Jesus says at verse six. Then the Lord said, listen to what the unjust judge says. Notice the way he keeps pointing that out.

Again, it's the unjust judge. And his point isn't to say that God is in any way like this lowlife. That's not the point Jesus is making. His point is, if even an unjust, biased, selfish hypocrite like this guy, if even someone as ungodly as him will eventually give you justice, well, how much more will the loving and righteous and holy God want to give his people justice? How much more will the judge who loved the world so much that he sent his son into the world to take the judgment for we who do not deserve it, how much more will he want to give his children justice?

And so we come to verse 7 go to verse 7. He says, will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? If you trust in Jesus, God has chosen you to be one of his children. That's what it means when it calls us his elect. There, God has chosen you to be his child.

We are God's children. And so his point is, if an unjust judge will give justice to a widow he doesn't like, who pesters him, well, then of course our loving Heavenly Father will grant justice to his children who call out to Him. Of course our loving Heavenly Father will listen to our prayers. Of course he will help us. But what is the answer that he is promising?

What is the prayer he is promising to answer? This is not a promise to answer every prayer. Every. If you just ask enough, if you're just persistent enough. He is promising to answer our prayer for Jesus to return.

He is promising to deal with the injustice of our fallen, broken world. His point is, God knows the pain of his children. God knows the struggles of his children living in this fallen, broken world. God hears the prayers of his children who cry out to Him. Whatever pain and persecution and suffering God's children suffer now Jesus will return and he will bring justice, perfect justice.

Now part of that justice is judgment. Judgment for people who refuse to trust in Jesus. And in particular, do you remember a couple of weeks ago where it talked about a millstone being hung around the neck of people who lead his little ones astray? Part of God's judgment will be justice. Judgment for people who lead his children astray, who persecute his children.

But he will also bring vindication and relief for those who have suffered for his name. Now I just want to pause at this point and make sure we've got this. So two quick points. The first is, I hope you can see this is not just a general prayer promise. It's really important to see that this is not saying God is some genie who will give you what you want if you just ask enough times.

I want a higher paying job. If I pray enough, God will give it to me. I want to be healed of this affliction. If I pray enough, God will do that for me. Sadly, that is what passes for Christian teaching in some churches.

That's not what this is saying. And frankly, that is not the God I want to worship. If you think about it, would you want to worship a God who lets me, in my often selfish sinfulness, decide what is best for me? That's not the God I want. I don't want the God who Gives me what I want all the time.

I want the God who loves me enough to give me what I need all the time. Second point. I don't think it's even particularly a call to pray a lot. As I said before, if you walk away from this passage wanting to pray more, I praise God. That's a great outcome of tonight.

But I think it misses the point. Jesus is sort of assuming if you are a Christian, you will cry out to your heavenly Father. That's actually the assumption of this passage. He's not saying, so go and pray more. He's saying, you will pray if you know Jesus, if you know your Heavenly Father.

You see, if you know God is your loving Father who cares for you, of course you will cry out to Him. Of course we'll be seeking his grace. Of course we'll be seeking his forgiveness. Of course we'll be asking for his help. Prayer is faith in action.

A faith without prayer is not faith because you are not trusting God if you do not speak to Him. You see, that is what prayer is. Prayer is a natural outflow of faith. If we know the God who loves us, we will bring our requests to Him. When we don't pray, we're acting as if God is not real.

We're acting as if God is not relevant. See, the Christian doesn't pray to get what they want. The Christian doesn't pray to twist God's arm. We pray because we know God loves us and we know God is in control. That's why, even as we ask for things, which is absolutely right to do, to present our petitions to God, even as we ask for things, what does Jesus teach us to say?

Not my will, but yours be done. You see, that's actually the essence of godly prayer. He's actually saying, this is what I think I need. But I don't know everything. So not my will, but your will be done.

That is how Jesus taught us to pray. But his point here is, when we face injustice in this world, when we face suffering in this world, when sin and sinners seem to be winning and we seem to be losing, when it is hard to keep following Jesus, don't give up. Don't let it cause you to walk away from Jesus. Don't let it make you stop praying. Instead, keep crying out to him and know that he hears you.

Keep crying out to God. Keep asking him for help. And even if it seems like nothing changes, remember, he will grant justice. If even an unjust judge will grant justice, how much more will their loving Father grant? Justice, he will help his children.

But there's one problem in all of this, and it's in verses 7 and 8. So come with me again to verse 7 and 8. It says, will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? That's what we've already seen. It then says, though, will he delay helping them?

I tell you that he will swiftly grant them justice. What are we to make of the fact that God says he will not delay and that God says he will swiftly grant his people justice? What are we to make of the fact that it's been 2000 years and Jesus has not returned? Well, there's a couple of answers to that. A lot of people say, and I think this is true.

Some people talk about what Peter, who would have been listening this day, says in 2 Peter 3, that for the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. And it tells us any slowness in God sending Jesus to return is because God longs for every person to repent and have the opportunity to find salvation in him. In God's timing, we're told there is no delay. And that is absolutely true. Other people think what he's saying here is actually that's true.

But what he's saying is when Jesus returns, there'll be no messing around. When Jesus returns, that will be it. There will be justice once and for all. And so many of Jesus parables talk about this, how there'll be a division at that point, a judgment and a vindication for God's people. But I think what's actually happening here is there are two parts to how God answers the prayers of his children who cry out.

The first is that Jesus will return and bring justice. But I think Jesus promises us more than that. God will bring justice. And God does not delay in helping those who call out to him. Because God doesn't just promise that Jesus will return.

He also promises to help us persevere to the end. He promises us to help us keep following Jesus no matter what happens. He will help his children, his chosen children, to keep trusting Jesus. It's the promise Jesus makes in John chapter 10. It'll come up on the screen where Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice.

I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. Isn't that one of the most wonderful promises of Scripture? Even when we struggle, God will hold on to his sheep.

And that's his point here. Don't get discouraged when this life is hard. Don't give up when being a Christian is difficult. Don't give up when you face struggles and suffering. Don't get discouraged when people who ignore God seem to do better than you do, who are seeking to be faithful to Jesus.

God will help you persevere. God hears your prayers. And ultimately, when Jesus returns, he will bring justice once and for all for his people. Which brings me to the final verse and my final point for tonight. You see, Jesus was worried here about people giving up because of suffering and in particular because of persecution.

Don't give up trusting God. Don't give up praying, no matter how hard life gets. And that would have been an incredible message for those first disciples to hear. And so important because if you know anything at all about the rest of the Bible and the rest of history, nearly every one of these disciples ended up being killed for their faith. So only one John lived to old age.

All the rest were martyred. And I'm sure there are people here for whom this is an incredibly pertinent word. I've spoken to a couple of people after church this morning who this was a word that they need to hear. Cause they are going through a dark, dark time in their Christian faith. And that might be people here tonight.

People who are really struggling or who are facing difficulties in their family because of their faith in Jesus. But there are others of us who I think are tempted to another type of. Of prayerlessness and faithlessness. There's another type of giving up. It's where we stop praying because actually life is too good.

Because actually this life is pretty good. It's where we drift away from Jesus because we're pretty secure and comfortable in this world. We didn't hear the warning of last chapter 1733. There's that wonderful proverb that we often talk about when we're talking about money, when we've got a sermon on money. It's a proverb I nearly always preach on where it says a prayer to God that says, don't give me too much and don't give me too little.

And that's what the wise person says. And it's not just money. It's about everything in this world. Don't give me too little so that I actually am in a situation where I have to steal. And so I dishonor your name.

But then the other side of the coin is the prayer, don't give me too much so that I forget you. So that I actually think I don't need Jesus to return don't give me too much so that I get so secure and so comfortable that I don't need to pray. Because actually, I don't think I need you at all. It's very powerful to put it in a New Testament setting. It might be, God, don't let me get too secure in this world.

God, don't let me get too comfortable in this world. Otherwise I might stop praying because I think I have everything I need already. My point is prayerlessness and then walking away from Jesus. It doesn't just come because of suffering. It doesn't just come because of persecution.

In fact, in my experience, more often suffering drives people closer to God because they actually realize, wow, I can't deal with this. I need God's help. I need only God can help me. That causes us to cry out to God now. It's often actually comfort and security that are the far greater dangers to Christian faith.

Which brings us to the last thing Jesus says in this little story. Having promised that God will help us, having promised God will bring justice, he finishes with what I think is one of the most ominous questions Jesus ever asks. Look at verse eight. He finishes and he says, nevertheless, when the Son of man, that's what Jesus called himself, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth? It's a really, really probing question.

He's saying, yes, God is faithful. Yes, your Father loves you. Yes, God will bring justice. God will send his Son who will usher in the new creation, who will do away with sin and pain and suffering once and for all. That is true.

Don't think God will ever not be faithful. God is faithful. But sadly, many people, the majority of people in our world, truth be told, won't be found waiting for Jesus. Sadly, they won't have taken up Jesus offer. They don't cry out to God.

Sadly, for many people, God's justice will mean that they will face judgment without forgiveness. More than anything, we need to pray for people to come to know Jesus so that when Jesus returns, he finds faith, he finds them waiting for him, ready for him. But I think more than that, Jesus wasn't talking about the world at this point. He was challenging his disciples. And I think it's really interesting when you think about it, that standing there were people like Peter and John who would do anything for Jesus in the end.

But also standing there was Judas who ended up walking away from Jesus. And Jesus is challenging his disciples with this final question. He's challenging us, and he's saying, when I return, will I find you faithful? When I return, will I find you trusting me? Will that be something you thought you used to do?

When I return, will you still be praying? Will you still be crying out to me? Will I find you trusting me? Because that is the point of this story. Do not give up.

Keep trusting God. Keep praying. Keep waiting in faith until Jesus returns. So, yes, pray. Pray more.

I don't know anyone here who would say I pray more than I think I should. Pray more. Pray always. If you struggle to pray, come and talk to me. I would love to help you learn how to pray more, how to be more faithful in prayer.

But not because you can twist God's arm. Because you can't. He knows what you need before you even ask. God isn't some crooked judge who needs you to knock down his door before he listens to you. No, we pray because we are God's chosen people.

We pray because we are his beloved children, who he loves. And what should our prayer be more than anything else? Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus. Let's be people who live ready and waiting for Jesus to return.

Let me pray. Heavenly Father, we thank youk for the wonderful way that Jesus challenges us by parables such as this one. And we pray that we would be a people of prayer. But especially we pray that we would be people who are found ready and waiting for Jesus. And so, Father, we pray that as we cry out to you, we know that you are listening.

We know that we don't need to twist your arm, but you are there helping us to persevere. And more than anything, we pray. Come, Lord Jesus. And we ask that he might return and bring your justice once and for all. In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.