The lesson this morning will
be taken from Luke 18, verses 1-8. The Gospel according
to Luke 18, verses 1-8. And the subject is prayer. And it gives us here a parable
about prayer. Let's read these eight verses
together. Luke chapter 18, verse 1. And he spake a parable unto them
to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. Say, here's the parable. 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 my adversary. We're not told what the adversary
did. Might have tried to squander
her inheritance, whatever it was. It was a serious matter because
it demanded vengeance. And he would not for a while.
The judge ignored her. 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? This was an ungodly judge. This was a man who feared not
God and didn't fear man. He didn't regard man. And he showed mercy to this woman and avenged
her. Because she kept calling on him,
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 earth. Now, why did he say
that? Why did he make that last statement?
Because without faith there is no praying. That's why he said
it. And the subject of these verses
is set forth by the only man who truly was fit or ever was
fit to unravel the mysteries of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the Word. Whatever it has to say directly
concerns Him. He's the Word. If there's any
communication between God and men, it's going to be through
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's a fit man to unravel these
mysteries. You want to know something about
prayer? Read and listen to what Christ said. You'll learn something
about prayer. He opens with the words, and
he spake a parable to this end, that all men ought always to
pray and not to faint. Old J.C. Ryle wrote He said,
to borrow the words of an old divine, the key hangs at the
door. You want to know what the mystery
is, the key's hanging right there at the beginning. Here's what
the parable's all about. He spake this parable to this
end that men ought always to pray. And this parable's an earthly
story with a heavenly teaching. It's something we can relate
to, teaching us about something we might otherwise misunderstand. Very few men and women know anything
about prayer, and those who do know very little. In our study this morning, I
want to point out for our benefit three facts about prayer set
before us by the Lord Himself. He points out three things, three
facts. Fact number one, men ought always
to pray. That's what the Lord said. We
ought always to pray. We live in what I call the instant
age. Everything has to be instant.
Somebody asks you a question, you have to have an answer right
now. Well, I don't know. Well, Google it. I want to Google
it. We live in what I call the instant
age. Information is immediate. It's
at your fingertips. Google this and Google that.
That's what people tell me. Anything you want to know and
then a whole lot you'd be better off not to know. But the only
one you can truly trust to have all the answers concerning all
the questions is God Himself. God Himself. What have we learned
in this world? Only what God has done from all
eternity, isn't it? We've studied, scientists have
studied, written books, scientists have experimented and tried to
prove all things about creation, and creation has been here from
the beginning. Has it not? He created all things. Why? Well,
He created it by His Son. And He created it for His Son
and He maintains it by His Son. By Him all things consist. And
He teaches us these things. The only one you can truly trust
to have all the answers is God Himself. If any of you, here's
what His Apostle James said, if any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God. Not Google. Let him ask of God. How many of us do that? We'll
grab a dictionary. We'll grab a concordance. We'll
grab this. We'll grab that. We'll grab everything
in the world before we ask God. Now God may be pleased to use
those things. I'm not saying that he doesn't.
But why don't we ask him first? Let him ask of God that giveth
all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. Why should men pray always? Well, let me give you six reasons. First of all, because without
him we can do nothing. Do we really believe that? I
asked myself that in my study this morning. Do I really believe
that I can do nothing without him? If he don't give me the
energy to do it, I can't do the least little menial task. I can't do it. And I acknowledge
that he gives me that ability. Without him, we can do nothing,
nothing of any lasting effect. Nothing of any spiritual value,
nothing that honors God and benefits our souls. We can't do a thing.
And then secondly, why should we pray always? He said pray
always. Men ought to. Why? Because He
alone has everything we truly need. You know, Brother Mahan and a
lot of other Preachers from days gone by, they used to talk about
salvation. They want to put salvation on
the mantel or in the secretary, and then if they need it, they'll
run back and get it. Well, that ain't where it's at.
It's in Christ. And Christ is seated at the right
hand of God. Only way you're going to get
it is if He gives it to you. And He ain't giving it to you
until you ask Him. He alone has everything we need
and no matter what you inquired after. I want you
to listen to this. Old Joseph was sold into slavery.
His brothers put him in a pit and sold him. And these guys
come along and bought him and they took him down to Egypt and
then they lied on him and he got thrown in prison. And while
he was in prison, he interpreted a dream for Pharaoh. And Pharaoh
raised him up out of that prison. Took him out of that prison.
Raised him up and made him second in command in all Egypt. And
he said, whatever you need, here's what he told the people. Whatever
you need, you see Joseph. Huh? He has everything we need. How that comes, but God gave
it to him. He gave it to him. He gave me power, he said, over
all flesh, that I should give eternal life to as many as thou
hast given me. I come down from heaven not to
do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this
is the will of him that sent me, that of all which he hath
given me I should lose nothing, but raise it up again at the
last day. Whatever you want, go to Christ. Go to Christ. Men ought always to pray. We ought always to pray to the
Lord, because without Him we can do nothing, and because He
alone has all that we need. Scripture said, Of God are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. That according as it's written,
He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. And we pray to Him
because without Him we can do nothing. Because He alone has
all that we need. And then thirdly, we pray to
Him because we're so ignorant of God's purposes and will and
of his ways and means. We're so ignorant of these things. You know it says twice, the wisest
man, the man that God gave wisdom, and wisdom shined in him, the
wisdom of God, Solomon, says twice in his book, there is a
way that seemeth right unto a man. But the end thereof are the ways
of death and the way of destruction. He says this, the way of life
is above to the wise that he may depart from hell beneath. And oh, how ignorant men are
of the ways and means of God and the character of God and
the purpose and will of God. And importantly, we ought always
to pray because We ought to be thankful for all that He's given
us. We ought to have an attitude, a grateful attitude, an attitude
of thankfulness all the time, 24-7. Every breath you take is
the gift of God. It's a gift of His mercy. Everything
that's out of Hell's mercy isn't. We ought always to pray because
we ought always to be thankful. Prayer is more than just a request. It's the expression of a grateful
heart over and over and over and over. Thanks be unto God.
Paul has kept saying, thanks be unto God, who made you meet
to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints in life. I thank
God for you, brethren, that God has from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of spirit and belief in the truth.
And then he says, giving thanks always for all things unto God
and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians
5 and verse 20. But especially here in 2 Corinthians
9.15, he said, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift,
the Lord Jesus Christ. So prayer is more than just,
Lord give me this, Lord I need this, It's the expression of a grateful
heart. And then fifthly, we ought always
to pray because our Lord and our God commands us to pray.
Now, His commands to us are not evil commands. Everything that
God commands you to do is for your good. It's for your good. And knowing that alone, we ought
to pray. We ought to say, well, He commanded
me to pray. It must be for my good. Why don't
I pray? Why don't I pray? God's authority
over us doesn't have an evil end, but it has a good one. And
without any other motive, we ought to pray out of obedience
to our Lord. And then lastly, we ought always
to pray because this is the means God has ordained to supply our
needs. That same apostle that I quoted
a while ago, the apostle James, he said this also. You have not
because you ask not. I don't have this. Did you ask? You have not because
you ask not. And you have not again because
you ask amiss. So fact number one, men aren't
always deprived. All right, here's the second
fact. Fact number two, all those who know their needs call on
Him. They call on Him. There's two
things absolutely necessary to prayer. The first is a true understanding
of our situation, condition, and inability before God. You'll
never call on God until you see yourself helpless. Helpless. You may call on Him like the
Pharisee and brag on your goodness, but you're not going to call
on Him for any kind of help until you see yourself helpless. Ruined
by the fall, dead in trespasses and sins, all our righteousnesses
as filthy rags. None good, none righteous, none
that understandeth, none that seeketh after God. That alone
ought to slay us. Man at his best state, altogether
vanity. And our Lord said this, here's
the condemnation, here's the judgment. You want to know if
you live in a cursed world? Here's the condemnation. Light,
perfect light, bright light, that light that lighteth every
man that cometh into the world. That light around which all creation
has been brought to pass. Light has come into the world
and men love darkness rather than light. That's your condition. That's our situation. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. And all men everywhere and in
every age are guilty sinners, sinners by choice, sinners by
nature, sinners by practice. And those whose eyes look full
into the heavens and gloat over their self-righteousness are
said to pray thus with themselves. Their prayers get no higher than
their own mouth. And those who call on God know
their condition and situation, and they call thus on the Lord
of glory. Lord, if you will, and that's
what the leper said, you can make me clean. And then secondly,
those who call on God know who God is. That's the second thing
about prayer. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. But how are you going to call
on Him in whom you have not believed? You can't call on an unrevealed
God. Those who call on God know who
God is. And at least some degree, what
He can do for them. Let him ask of God. That's what
the Apostle James said. Let him ask of God. Be the true
God. Not his God. Not the God of this
world. The true God. The God of glory.
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews. The most religious
people ever to walk on this earth. The Jews. The Pharisees. The Sanhedrin. And here they
were. Here they were. And they looked and listened
to what Christ was saying. And they said, wait a minute.
We'd be not born upon occasion. We're not like those Gentile
dogs. We'd be not born upon... We have
one Father, even God. He said, if God was your Father,
you'd love me. I proceeded forth and come from
God. You're of your father, the devil. God alone is just and justifier
of all that believe on His Son. God alone is righteous in His
remission of sins. And in all that God does for
sinners and gives to sinners, His character is not compromised. His love does not compromise
His justice, nor does His grace dishonor His righteousness. And
we pray in that name when we pray. were justified freely by
His grace through the redemption that's in His Son. And listen
to me, when I think on the privilege of prayer, the privilege of prayer,
the value of it, the many examples of it, I have to weep over my
lack of it. Don't you? God says to unbelieving Israel
and all their religious traditions and imaginary closeness to God
in Isaiah 112. He said, when you come to appear
before me, who hath required this at your hand? When you run
into my presence and start rattling off a book, who required that
at your hand? You know, I think about the lady
there in the Old Testament. She was queen. But you didn't
go into the king's throne room. You didn't have an audience with
the king uninvited. And if you did, he sure better
hold that scepter out to you. If he didn't, you're history.
Queen or no queen, you didn't come into his presence. And was
it Esther? Esther came into the king's presence,
and he just looked at her, and she looked at him, and he stretched
out that scepter. The privilege of prayer, my soul,
we have an audience with God. Think about that. I dare say if you had an audience
with the president, even as bad as you don't like him, if you
had an audience with the president, you'd have more respect for it
sometimes than we do respect for an audience with God. He said, you come with your vain
offerings and sacrifices. You come bringing your incense.
You come on certain days and new booms and holy days. And
you come in a way of the calling of assemblies. God said, I cannot
away with it. He cries, it's iniquity, even
your solemn meetings. All your ceremonial days are
a trouble to me. My soul hateth them. I'm weary
to bear. And what do the fleshly show?
He said, when you spread forth your hands, I'll hide my eyes. The privilege of prayer is given
to us by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a new and living way through
the blood of Christ and His resurrected person going into glory opens
the way. It opens the way. And we receive
that adoption and by His Spirit what do we climb? Abba Father. What a privilege. If I'm going to come in His presence,
I'm coming there realizing that I need a perfect righteousness
to come and stand before Him. Paul said, having set Christ
before us is our sanctification, our one sanctification. Having
therefore, brethren, boldness. That's the word. We might find
all kinds of words to describe it, but when you pray to God,
this describes it to a T. Boldness. Boldness. Having therefore boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and
living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that
is to say his flesh, And having a high priest over the house
of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our
bodies washed with pure water. That pure water is the water
of the Word. And all think of it, an audience
in the very courts of God to look to the sovereign God
of glory and say, Our Father. What other word could be more
fitting than that which the Holy Ghost has chosen? Boldness, confidence,
a full assurance of faith. And in fact, number three, he
says here, God will avenge his elect. They're treated like dirt
here in this world. We don't say anything because
we know that's what we're worthy of. But God's going to bend his
leg and he ain't going to wait. He's going to do it speedily.
Speedily. He has a purpose. He's working
that purpose. As it affects that purpose, when
that purpose allows, he's going to bend his leg. And he does
and he is. Vengeance is mine. I will repay,
saith the Lord. And there's a day of reckoning
coming. Somebody told me one time, all I want is what I got
coming. OK, it's coming. It's coming. Be warned. And that's not what
you want. I promise you, that's not what
you want. Paul said, God has appointed
a day in which you'll judge this world in righteousness by that
man whom he hath ordained, by Christ. His elect was judged
in Him on the cross of Calvary, but there's another judgment
coming, and that guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead. Now here's the real question.
When He comes, and He is coming. Actually, the scripture says,
when He cometh. What's the difference? The difference
is, when He cometh, that means No matter when. When does he
come? Well, he comes in his gospel,
don't he? He that heareth you, heareth me. He comes in his gospel. He comes by his Spirit. His Spirit
is called the Spirit of Christ. He comes by his Spirit. He comes
through his words. When He comes, when the Son of
Man comes. No, that's not what He said.
He said, when the Son of Man cometh. It's a present tense,
an ongoing sense of coming. When He cometh in the preaching
of the gospel, in the power of His Spirit. When He cometh in
the incarnate flesh. When He cometh in all the glory
of His Father's house. When the Son of Man cometh, shall
He find faith on earth. You reckon he was puzzled about
that, or did he say they asked that all together for our sakes? It'll be exactly as it was in
the days of Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. The Lord finds faith, I hope
you'll hear me, where he gives it. Faith is the gift of God, not
of works, lest any man should boast. It's the gift of God.
And the Lord finds faith where He gives it, He finds faith where
He maintains it, and He finds faith where He preserves it.
We're kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. And the fruit of this faith,
I hope you can hear me, the fruit of this faith is prayer. As breath is to a newborn baby,
prayer is to the believer. Fruit of faith is genuine prayer
to God. Do you believe on the Son of
God? If you do, you'll bless God for His electing love and
the gift of His grace given to you. If you believe, salvation
and eternal life are yours and a way has been made for you.
If you believe not the Son, the wrath of God abideth on you. and you'll never even perceive
what life is. May the Lord give us a true understanding
of his word and over these things that he sets forth in his word
as prayer and repentance and faith and such things as the
child of God needs to know.