Good morning. I ask you to open
your Bibles to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. I bring you greetings
from mom and dad and all the brethren in Wheelersburg. Mark, as you were talking about
the needs of this congregation, I couldn't help but think that
I believe what the Lord's given me this morning. If we could
enter into this, it'll bless our hearts. Luke chapter 18,
we'll start here in verse one. It says, and he, referring to the
Lord, spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always
to pray and not to faint. Men ought always to pray." And
just as a brief introduction, I'd like for us to take a look
at just the meaning of these words here. It starts out and
it says, men. It says, men ought to pray. Thank God it doesn't say, good
men ought always to pray. It doesn't say, holy men. It
doesn't say, saved men ought always to pray. It just says
men. If you look up the definition
of that word, it's a general term that refers to all humans,
all of sinful man's fallen race. Men, women, children, children
aren't you too young to pray. Old and young, rich and poor,
all men ought to pray. Somebody once said this, he said,
the president ought to pray, the preacher ought to pray, the
drunkard ought to pray, the harlot ought to pray, the gambler, the
profane swearer ought to pray. There isn't a man or a woman
or a young person on this earth that ought not to pray." The
second word we see here, it says, men ought. Men ought. If you look that word up in your
concordance, it says, necessity established by the counsel and
decree of Almighty God. We're commanded by God to pray. Men ought always to pray. Though
it's been years since we've prayed, we ought always to pray. Though
we have sinned, great sin on our conscience, we ought always
to pray. Though we're in utter despair,
we ought always to pray. We're commanded to pray. Though
we've prayed before and those prayers haven't been answered,
we ought always to pray. That's what this scripture says.
Look at the next word here. It says, men ought always. Always. There's no confusing
always. Always means at all times. Listen to a couple of these scriptures.
Pray without ceasing. Continue in prayer. Praying always
and with all supplication in the spirit and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Rejoice in hope. Patient in tribulation, continuing
instant in prayer. Watch ye therefore and pray always. Always. There's no confusing
that. We're commanded always to pray. And then look at these
last few words. It says, and not to faint. And
not to faint. That word means to give up. to
grow weary of, to be exhausted of. But back home, we have fainting
goats. And if you run up to these goats
and you startle them, right, if danger's around, they faint. That's why they're called fainting
goats. They just, they go limp and they collapse. At the first
sight of danger, they just fall over and collapse. But we're
commanded not to faint. weary the throne, continually
come and bring our needs before him. Perseverance is what we
need in prayer. Like Jacob, who wrestled with
the angel of the Lord and said, I will not let you go until you
bless me. Men ought always to pray and
not to faint. In Matthew, the Lord says, Ask,
and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock,
and it shall be opened unto you. We're commanded to keep on asking,
to keep on seeking, keep on knocking. That's what we're commanded to
do. Let's read through this parable now. With that in mind, Luke chapter
18 verse 1 says, And he spake a parable unto them to this end,
that men ought always to pray and not to faint, saying, There
was in a city a judge which feared not God, nor regarded man. And there was a widow in that
city, and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. and he would not for a while.
But afterward, he said within himself, though I fear not God,
nor regard man, yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge
her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said,
hear what the unjust judge saith. He said, I'm sick of her coming,
and I don't want her to come anymore. So not of any good in
me, but just because of the fact I don't want her to come anymore,
I'm going to grant her request. I'm a middle school math teacher
and sometimes I'll have kids come to me and they just keep
on asking me the exact same thing over and over and over again.
Maybe it's go to the water fountain, go to their locker or something
and I'll tell them no, but they'll just keep on coming and they'll
keep on asking and eventually I'll just get tired of them asking
and I'll say go. We got a dog at the house. She's a Weimaraner, and she's
the most attention-craving dog you've ever seen. And that dog,
it'll sit there when it's hungry or when it wants attention, and
it'll just bark. And it'll just stare at me. And it'll just keep
on doing that until eventually I think, I'm sick and tired of
this. I'm going to go feed that dog. I'm going to go give that
dog some attention. That's what we see here. That's what this
woman was doing. She kept on coming. She kept on bringing
her need. Look here, look here at verse
7. If we can enter into this, it'll
bless us. It says, And shall not God avenge his own elect,
which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with
him? Shall not God avenge his own
elect? That's pretty clear. His own
elect. This isn't for everyone. And
not simply an elect, but God's own elect. Not just a chosen
people, but God's chosen people. Not simply a people set apart,
but a people set apart by God himself. That's what this word
says. The word of God is completely
true. How could anyone argue about election? Shall not God
avenge his own elect, which cry unto him day and night? Look
here at verse eight. It says, I tell you that he will
avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of
Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? If you look at
the top of your page here, if your Bible's like mine, it says
the importunate widow. That's what this account is called,
the importunate widow. And what that means is that this
woman, she would not stop coming until her need was met. That's
what importunity is. It's continual coming. It's not
stopping to come. And that's why the Lord has given
us this account. He's given us this story to tell
us to do the exact same thing. The exact same thing. And this
widow in the text, she has a great need. We're not aware. It doesn't
tell us what that need is, but it's a picture of our great need. We think that we have lots of
needs. We think we'd like to have good health and a good job
and a good life and happiness. And sure, all those things would
be nice, but we've got One need, one thing is needful, that I
may win Christ and be found in Him. We need God's mercy and
grace. We need the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ to cover us from all sin, to cleanse us from our
sins. And to that end, this is His commandment, men ought always
to pray and not to faint. And we might ask these questions,
isn't God sovereign? Isn't salvation already finished? Isn't known unto God are all
his works from the foundation of the world? Aren't all those
things true? Isn't salvation, isn't the elect, isn't that already
accomplished? Well, yes it is. But the same
God who said that has commanded us this. Men ought always to
pray and not to faint, not to grow weary, not to give up. And
I'd just like to read a few scriptures in God's word this morning to
illustrate this. And as I go through this, these
are all things that we ought to pray for, that we can pray
for from the youngest to the oldest person in this room. The
first scripture I'd have you turn to is Matthew chapter 15. Matthew chapter 15. We'll look at verses 21 through 28.
This is a familiar passage of Scripture. Matthew 15, starting in verse
21. It says, Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the
coast of Tyre and Sidon, And behold, a woman of Canaan came
out of the same coast and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy
on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil. But he answered her not a word.
And his disciples came and beside him, saying, Send her away, for
she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am
not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then
came she, and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me. That's a simple prayer, isn't
it? Only two words, Lord, help me. This is importunity. She came to the Lord, and it
said He answered her, not a word. Could you imagine how discouraging
that must have been for her? Then she went to the disciples,
and they said, send her away, Lord. Then she comes back to
the Lord again, continually coming. keeps on coming. Look here at
verse 26. It says, But he answered and
said, It is not meat to take the children's bread and to cast
it unto dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord, yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table.
She said, This is true, Lord, but even the dogs which come
to your table are fed. They don't go away empty-handed.
Do we hear that? Can we get a hold of that? Not
even dogs which go to the master's table are going to go away empty-handed. Here's the heart of it. No one,
when they by faith go to Christ, continually come to Him, no one
goes away empty-handed. Look here at verse 28. He said,
then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy
faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was
made whole from that very hour. We see God's promise in this.
If he gives the faith to bring the need and he provides the
faith to keep bringing the need, if he does that, we ought to
be encouraged because he's faithful to supply the need. He's faithful. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
20, just over a few pages. Matthew chapter 20. We'll start
in verse 29. Matthew chapter 20 verse 29 says,
and as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him.
And behold, two blind men sitting by the wayside, when they heard
that Jesus passed by, cried out saying, have mercy on us, O Lord,
thou son of David. And the multitude rebuked them,
because they should not hold their peace. But they cried the
more saying, have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. Another
example of importunity. They cried for mercy. That's
what we need. Like that publican prayed, God
be merciful to me, a sinner. He said all those people in the
crowd, they told him, would you just be quiet? But it says they
cried the louder. Have mercy on me. Have mercy
on me. Look here at verse 32. It says,
and Jesus stood still, and called them and said, what will ye that
I shall do unto you? And they said unto him, Lord,
that our eyes may be opened. What a picture of our great need. Lord, would you open my eyes?
There's not one of us in here who can't pray that, who can't
ask God that by faith. Lord, open my eyes. And look
here at verse 34, the result of this, it says, So Jesus, He
had compassion on them, and touched their eyes, and immediately their
eyes received sight, and they followed Him. The Lord, He's telling us, cry
out to God. Keep crying out to God, because
He'll answer it. He's faithful to answer prayer.
Look over to Mark chapter 9. Mark 9, starting in verse 14.
It says, And when He came to His
disciples, He saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning
with them. And straightway all the people,
when they beheld Him, were greatly amazed. And running to Him, saluted
Him. And He asked the scribes, What
question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered
and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath
a dumb spirit. And wheresoever he taketh him,
he teareth him, and he foameth and gnashes with his teeth and
pineth away. And I spake to thy disciples
that they should cast him out, and they could not. And he answered
and said, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?
How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. and they brought
him unto him. And when he saw him, straightway
the spirit tear him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed foaming. And he asked the father, How
long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
And oft times it hath cast him into the fire and into the waters
to destroy him. But if thou canst do anything,
have compassion on us and help us. Verse 23, And Jesus said
unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth. And straightway the father of
the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. He said, Lord, I acknowledge
that I don't have the faith in you that I ought to have, that
I need to have, that I should have. Would you please give me
more? Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. What a thing to continually bring
to him, continually asking for that. Lord, help our unbelief. All of us, all of us need more
faith in Christ. Isn't this what his apostles
prayed for? Those whom physically they knew the Lord, they walked
with the Lord. They said, Lord, increase our faith. Increase
our faith, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. And this thing
of faith, how does faith come to God's people? Two ways. First, faith is the gift of God.
We read that in Ephesians, for by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. And secondly,
faith cometh by hearing. Romans chapter 10 verse 17 says
this, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God. The more of God's word that we
hear, the more faith it will produce. That's what the scripture
says. Faith cometh by hearing. Faith
is a gift of God. Ask Him for that gift. May God
cause us to hear much and to ask much that we may receive
much. Lord, we believe, help our unbelief. Turn with me over to Acts chapter
16. Acts chapter 16. Pick up here in verse 20. Acts 16 verse 20. It says, And they brought them
to the magistrates, referring to Paul and Silas, saying, These
men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city. and teach customs
which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe,
being Romans. And the multitude rose up together
against them, and the magistrates ran off their clothes and commanded
to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them,
they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely,
who having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison
and made their feet fast in the stocks. Now, here we have a pretty
bleak picture. Paul and Silas have been stripped
naked, they've been beaten, and they've been cast into prison.
Every time I hear this account of Scripture, I think of the
Count of Monte Cristo. It's a movie and it's a book
as well. And there's this prison in that book, it's called the
Chateau D'If, and it's on this island, and the jailer, he's
just a wicked man. and just enjoys the cruelty and
the punishment that he delivered to the prisoners. And there was
no escape from this prison. And that's what I picture. That's
where I picture they put Paul and Silas and this wicked evil
jailer who laid these stripes upon these men. He lived in that
jail. He was always there. And we think,
what hope? What hope could possibly be in
this situation? But let's look here at verse
25. He says, and at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang
praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. I've never really
thought about this before. I've never picked up on this. And Paul and Silas prayed and
sang praises unto God. When should a man pray? What
did we read earlier? Should a man pray when he's been
falsely cast into prison, when he's been stripped naked, when
he's been beaten, And when he has no hope, absolutely. Men ought always to pray and
not to faint. We think, boy, in this situation,
I'd faint. I'd think there's no hope for
me. And let's look here at verse 26. says, and suddenly there
was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison
were shaken, and immediately all the doors were open, and
everyone's bands were loosed, and the keeper of the prison,
awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open,
he drew out his sword, and he would have killed himself, supposing
that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice,
saying, do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called
for a light. and sprang in, and came trembling,
and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out,
and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house And they spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to
all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour
of the night, and he washed their stripes, and was baptized he
in all his straight way. And when he had brought them
into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing
in God with all his house." Just take a minute. Consider what
we've just read. What just happened? Consider
that this is the Holy Word of God, and every bit of this is
true. Every bit of this is God breathed. In the midst of this situation,
having been cast into prison and beaten and having no hope,
these two men prayed. They sang praises unto God. And as a result of that, that
great earthquake was sent. Paul and Silas preached the word
to this man, and that man and all his family heard the gospel
and were saved. We think that was an impossible
result. We think up there, there's no way this is gonna happen.
This situation, it's just, it's too dire. Over in Genesis, I won't have
you turn there, but Abraham, God appeared unto Abraham and
Sarah and said, Sarah, you're going to have a son and you're
old age. And it says she laughed in her
heart. She laughed in her heart because she thought this thing's
impossible. And this is what the Lord said. He said, is anything
too hard for the Lord? Whatever you need. Is anything
too hard for the Lord? God, who spoke this earth into
creation, who's absolutely sovereign in all things, who orders and
directs everything that goes on, is anything too hard for
Him? No. No. Our text says, men ought
always to pray and not to faint. Not to faint. Turn with me back
to 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles chapter 16. Just a couple more scriptures.
1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings,
1 Chronicles. Up to this point, we've read
of men who have prayed in time of need. And while we're commanded
to do that, therefore let us come boldly
to the throne of grace to obtain help in time of need. We're commanded
to go in time of need, but our text this morning says men ought
always to pray, not just in time of need, always. So if you've
got 1 Chronicles 16, look down At verse 28, 1 Chronicles 16 verse 28, a little
background, the Lord has returned the Ark, the Ark of the Covenant,
unto David and the people of Israel. And this is what David
is praying here, verse 28. says give unto the Lord ye kindreds
of the people give unto the Lord glory and strength give unto
the Lord the glory do his name bring an offering and come before
him worship the Lord and the beauties of holiness fear before
him all the earth the world also shall be stable that it be not
moved Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and
let men say among the nations, the Lord reigneth. Let the sea
roar and the fullness thereof. Let the fields rejoice in all
that there is therein. Then shall the trees of the woods
sing out, at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to
judge the earth. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. And say ye,
save us, O God, of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver
us from the heathen, that we may give thanks unto thy holy
name, and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever. And all the people said amen.
and praise the Lord. We're to pray unto Him at all
times, even when there is no evident need, nothing that we
need, give thanks unto the Lord for He is good and His mercy
endureth forever. Turn over with me to Romans chapter
8. Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8, we'll just
read two verses, verses 26 and 27. It says, likewise the Spirit
also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
Maketh intercession, that means to pray. The Holy Spirit makes
intercession, prays for all the saints according to the will
of God. What a blessing. If we could
enter into that. Christ prays for us without ceasing. You know, our text this morning
says men ought always to pray and not to faint. And boy, I'd
like to be able to do that. Not to faint. But there will
be times when we grow weary and we do faint. And we won't pray
as we ought. But aren't we thankful? There
is one who prays for us, who can never faint. Who can never
faint. Remember what the Lord said to
Peter when he said, Peter, Satan hath desired thee to sift thee
like wheat. And he said this, but I have
prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. When we get overwhelmed and when
we do faint, because we're sinners and we will, There is one who
prays for us always, always. If we could get a hold of that,
if we could just enter into that for a little while, boy, that'd
comfort our hearts. All right, let's turn back to
our text, Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18, we'll just read
through this one more time, says, and he spake a parable
unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not
to faint, saying, there was in a city a judge which feared not
God, neither regarded man. And there was a widow in that
city, and she came unto him, saying, avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while. But afterward he said within
himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man, yet because this
widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming
she weary me. And the Lord said, hear what
the unjust judge saith, and shall not God avenge his own elect,
which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with
them. I tell you that he will avenge
them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of
Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth." Can this poor
widow who's avenged, who's delivered by this unjust judge, can she
be delivered and us not be? When we cry unto God, the judge
of the earth, who can only do right? Shall not the judge of
the earth do right? Pray to him. In closing, I'm
gonna read this. Spurgeon wrote this. He said,
we may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in his
word, he intended to be vitally important in our lives. If he
has said much about prayer, it's because he knows that we have
much need of it. So, so deep is our need that
until we are in heaven, we must not cease to pray. Lord, give
us faith to pray. Amen.