Let us Ever Walk With Jesus!
Walking with Jesus Means Knowing He Hears You!
Luke 20:1-8
† In Jesus Name †
May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ lead you to understand that God is present in your life, listening…
Is the lesson that we are to be a pain in the neck?
When I read the gospel story about the widow who consistently stood before the self-centered judge, I think I should make the case for a different sermon title. That one would simply be,
Walking with Jesus? Get what you want by BEING A PAIN IN THE NECK!
At first glance, that is what the passage seems to be saying, isn’t it? Jesus is teaching us to pray and never give up, so just keep on bugging God till we get what we want, right?
You want a new car? Bug him.
You
want the bills paid, just keep on bugging him, and never give up.
You want to stop people from making stupid decisions, and then watch them as
they
You want to feel better, be less tired, have less back pain, stop feeling old. just keep praying and never give up making a pain in the…. neck of yourself.
That seems to be what Jesus is talking about, when he tells us about the lady, isn’t it?
If it is that, then I think that the lesson in the story is simply. And most of us, have no problem in making ourselves a pain in the neck, when we want to be!
Ready for communion?
O wait, the story isn’t about the widow… .
So back to the beginning, or maybe to the end.
What about the question… Will God find people trusting in Him?
At
the end of the passage, Jesus asks a great question:
“when
the Son of Man* returns, how many will he find on the earth who have
faith?”
Will God find people who trust in Him, will he find people who will depend on Him, who will find in Him the hope they need to live in this broken life?
Will we, in the midst of the good times or the bad find the ability to cling to God, knowing that only in Him do we find hope?
Or will we walk away, like all but the apostles did, when He talked of His body and blood being their true food and drink?
Will we count on Him listening to us, or will we give up?
I’ll be honest, there are times where giving up seems like the option. As we get tired of being broken, and we look round and see that the world is more broken. And oh boy, this week, did it appear broken!
In those times, I am not sure I want to hear Jesus say – Just always pray and never give up!
There is a tendency to want to fight or flee, to struggle or simply walk away. Those reactions, whether choices of not, are sinful, and we need to hear once again that our sin is forgiven. We need to hear that though we didn’t move toward God, that we didn’t put everything in His hands, we can now… including our weak faith…
The example in the story isn’t the lady…. But the judge!I mentioned earlier that Jesus focus wasn’t on the nagging widow. The story isn’t about her. It is about the unrighteous judge, and the fact that even someone like him would eventually hear the person calling for justice, calling for righteousness.
If an unrighteous judge would listen, how much more likely is it that a good, loving merciful God listen to those whom he dwells with?
That’s the point of this parable, this story Jesus tells. When we cry out to Jesus to make us righteous, to make the situation we struggle in something good, He does. The challenge is seeing it, something we can’t do if we are trying to fix it ourselves.
Our confidence needs to be in the fact that God does exist, is present in our lives, that He loves us and is acting to defeat our enemies, Sin, Satan and the fear that death brings. He’s taken care of it all, as He has cleansed us of all sin, as the Holy Spirit dwells with us, as we are never alone, as our cry never goes unheard.
Prayer, as odd as it sounds, benefits us more than we can ever imagine. Not because of how well we pray, and its not about the burdens we lay down.
The key is that as we pray, as we reach out to God, we remember His promises, we remember all He is done to make this relationship happen, and we begin to realize that “the Lord is with you” is not just a polite greeting, it is the truth we have to depend upon. HE is with you and He hears your cry to for righteousness, for justice, and Christ died to give you that justice! To bring you back to the Father, to make everything right!
The more we do pray, the more we seek His face, the more we will trust Him, for we will experience His love, we will see Him at work in our lives, making our lives a masterpiece. The more we will treasure the hope we have.
That is what this passage is teaching us, that to walk with Jesus means we know He hears us, and makes our lives righteous.