Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.
! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and each week I share sermons that balance the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the truth of the Word of God.
Together, we'll explore Scripture using observation, interpretation, and application.
This helps us discover practical ways to live out our faith every single day.
Let's dive in together into God's Word.
Let us turn our Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18.
In your ESV Pew Bible, you'll find it on page 1042.
You know, parables are very simple and easy to understand,
but they carry with it much depth and much weight.
Each parable can speak to you in a certain way.
And that's the power of God's Word.
That it is living and active.
It speaks to us today, much like it has throughout, well, throughout the centuries.
And how blessed we are to have the Word of God together and read it.
So what I'd like for us to do, let's read the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18.
And it's going to be verses 1 through 8.
Are we all there?
Church, let's read it together.
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought to always pray and not lose heart.
He said, in a certain city there was a judge who what?
Neither feared God nor what?
Respected man.
And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him saying, saying what?
Give me justice against my adversary.
For a while he refused.
But afterward he said to himself,
Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
yet because this widow what?
keeps bothering me.
I will give her justice.
So that she will not, what?
Beat me down by her continual coming.
And the Lord said,
Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
And will not God give justice to his elect
who cry to him day and night?
Will he delay long over them?
I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily.
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,
will he find faith on earth?
We read that.
We can,
we first begin by looking about how Christ is talking about the coming of the kingdom.
And that it will come in such a way that people may not understand what's going on.
And so,
even in the prior verses,
leading up to it,
where it says in verse 20,
Christ is saying,
The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed,
nor will they say,
Look, here it is there.
For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.
Speaking of Christ being right there.
And it's going on further about how Christ is the better way.
The coming of Christ, that he is here.
Let us not lose heart.
And we see then,
even after we have the Pharisee and the tax collector.
The two people who go into the temple to pray.
We learn about how the tax collector is saying,
God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
And the Pharisee who,
well, he did all the right things.
But yet,
it was only the one,
the tax collector,
that was justified.
And so that kind of gives us a little bit of space to see,
well, what exactly is going on?
You have the coming of the kingdom,
and that there is this delay.
There is this misunderstood arrival, as it were.
And he's showing his disciples that they need to,
well, that first verse,
always to pray and not to lose heart.
And so we begin then,
always pray, right?
Never lose heart.
We know that in Scripture,
just as when Scripture says to pray without ceasing.
And to not give up.
We see then this scene,
this judge,
with this language on here,
where it's saying that this judge
neither feared God nor respected man.
Isn't that very interesting that
we should know,
as Christians,
if you don't,
we're called to love the Lord with all our heart,
right?
Love God and to love people.
But this judge does neither of them.
He doesn't love the Lord,
and he does not respect people.
We can easily say that this person was a wicked judge.
Do we have wicked judges these days?
Please don't answer too much here, right?
Right?
We have people,
and many times in Scripture,
where there are people in positions of authority
or in people that are in power,
those that are wicked
and those that are not.
Let us be reminded
of many Scriptures that say
we pray for those who are in authority.
Then we have the widow,
this woman,
who keeps coming and bothering this judge.
And I'm imagining this guy who,
you know,
he's in this very high status,
this place of authority,
and this woman keeps bothering him.
She is persistent.
She is asking for justice
from a wrong that has happened.
What does he say?
He says no at first, right?
For a while, he refused.
How many of us have tried
getting an answer
or getting a response,
or maybe you have identified
with seeking justice
and been denied it?
Isn't it interesting
we find this in Scripture then?
To continue and never to give up.
And eventually,
well, though I neither fear God
nor respect man,
this widow
is bothering me.
I'm sick of her.
Why does she keep showing up
and keeps asking the same thing
for justice?
Well, eventually,
well, he's getting so bothered,
he's like,
fine.
I'm going to give her justice, right?
I will give her justice
so that she will not,
I love the language in this,
she will not beat me down
by her continual coming.
I mean,
just the thought of a judge,
I mean,
even if we think of nowadays judges,
right?
Someone bothering the judge so much.
Maybe a modern day comparison
would be,
will you hear my court case,
maybe, judge?
You know,
can you speed things up along?
Maybe that might be
a modern day comparison.
And so then,
the judge gives in,
but he is so bothered.
And then you have Jesus
who's saying,
listen up,
God is not like
this wicked judge.
Amen.
I mean,
if that's anything
we should praise God for,
it's that.
Because God is holy.
God is righteous,
and he is just.
We see here,
God is greater than the judge.
And what's interesting
is that final part then.
In that verse 8,
he will give justice.
Nevertheless,
when the Son of Man comes,
will he find faith on the earth.
How very interesting.
This then takes us then
into the interpretation.
What can we learn
from this scene?
What can help us
grow in our faith?
And the first one
is that persistent prayer
reveals real faith.
The widow doesn't win
by force.
It's not like she's stronger
politically or physically.
But she's showing her strength
by her persistence.
Continuing to pray,
enduring by that
faithful persistence.
And Jesus is showing
that we,
in the same way,
are to be like that widow.
Just as Scripture says,
to pray without ceasing.
Do you see how that's
connected there?
An example of something
like that.
Even when we find
in other verses
in Scripture,
like Revelation 6.10,
how long, O Lord?
Or in Psalm 81,
or 88.1,
I cry out day and night
before you.
This is nothing new.
We find in Scripture
that there are many people
and many situations
where there is a cry
to the Lord
for justice.
And I can't help
but think about
even today,
are there still injustices
in the world?
Right?
Are there still people
that are,
well,
mistreating others?
Absolutely.
And we can go on
and on about that.
I'm just giving
a broad view here
because we can understand
just as it says
in Ecclesiastes
that there's nothing new
under the sun.
There are still injustices
that happen
in our community,
in this country,
and even in the world.
other Scriptures,
right?
We know even
so many times
crying out to the Lord,
hear my prayer.
There needs to be justice
for this wrongdoing
that has happened.
And it's continuing.
Continue to pray
to the Lord.
Just like we don't
give up
on people,
we don't give up
on the Lord.
we continue to pray
every single day.
And it can be
very frustrating
for many of us
when we pray.
How many of us
we've prayed for the,
there's the classic scenario,
you pray for patience
and then you get impatient
and you,
it's the classic scenario,
right?
Sometimes we pray
for a day
and we expect God
to,
for it to happen.
But it's all
on God's timing.
It's continuing
to pray
for when He will act.
That's the thing.
God will answer,
you've probably
heard this before
in three ways.
It's yes,
no,
or not yet.
And we don't like
the not yet.
We'd rather hear
the no immediately
and move on.
But in a lot
of these situations,
we continue
to pray.
I can tell you
on a personal note,
there are people
that I continue
to pray for
that have completely
gone off the deep end.
People that have
become anti-Christian,
people who have
become,
well,
like the wicked judge.
Neither fearing God
nor respecting man.
We may know people
that are like
that wicked judge.
And certainly,
in the same way
that we pray to God
for justice,
we can pray for
the heart of the judge,
human judges,
human beings,
people,
for their hearts
to be softened.
And that leads us
to the second one,
that God is not
like the judge.
Praise God
for that one.
Amen.
The judge is
a human being.
But he's a wicked
human being at that.
Not fearing God
and,
well,
no love for people.
It is the opposite.
It's flipped on its head,
right?
The call to love God
and to love people
here is a scenario
where you see
the opposite.
And perhaps the judge
is a representation
of those that are
wicked,
even wicked systems
in place.
Certainly,
we can think of
systems that exist
in the world today
that are wicked.
And what's very interesting,
and I want to take a moment
for us to think about this,
because what Jesus
is doing
is something
that is a common pattern
throughout Scripture,
where Christ is saying,
look at how this judge
was so bothered
to give justice.
How much more
will God give justice
to those that he love?
It is a,
I'm going to teach you
some Jewish right now.
Can you say,
Cal?
Cal
Vol Hamer.
Cal Vol Hamer.
Okay?
And what that means
is from
lesser
to greater.
We find this
in parables,
we find this
throughout Scripture.
Example is
the mustard seed,
right,
being planted
into the ground,
representing the kingdom
of God
that is expanding.
In this situation,
it is the justice
of an unrighteous,
a wicked judge,
and God saying,
hey, look,
my justice
is much greater.
Or when we think of,
well,
trust in the Lord
with all your heart
and lean not
in your own understanding
in all your ways,
acknowledge him.
how many of us
lean on our own
understanding,
recognizing God
knows far more
than what we
can comprehend
from lesser
to greater.
That's another way
you can remember it,
right?
That God
in his essence,
who he is,
is far greater.
How?
It's the question of,
it's literally translated
into the English,
how much more?
How much more
will God give justice?
How much more
will God's love
be for his people?
Examples of this
is in Jonah.
If you guys remember
the Jonah series
where God provided
a plant
to the prophet Jonah
and the plant
provided shade
and Jonah
was basically,
that's a cool plant.
I like a plant
that gives me good shade
and then the plant dies.
And then,
and then God is saying,
hey,
you were,
you were upset
that this plant died.
How much more
do I mourn
for my people?
Lesser
to greater,
right?
It's showing
God's,
it's the magnification
to show God's love
for his people.
I mean,
I can imagine
having a tree
that gave really good shade
and it died.
It really upset me.
But think for a moment,
how much more
is God's love
for his people?
Even in,
well,
it's the question,
if Jonah loves
a plant,
how much more
will God love
the city of Nineveh?
In Luke chapter 11,
verse 13,
if flawed parents
give good gifts,
how much more
will God give
to his own?
Or even in Matthew
chapter 6,
verse 30,
if God clothes
the grass,
how much more
will he provide
for his children?
Do you get it?
God's love
is showing
the magnitude
of God.
And so this judge
is basically
showing
the limited,
the limit,
limited ability
of what a human
can give.
And Christ
is using this
as a teaching moment
for what God
can give
as something
that is greater.
The third thing
then is that
faith must endure
in a world
gone cold
or even in a world
that's gone mad.
We know this world
has gone cold.
How many of you
heard that song,
What the World
Needs Now
is Love,
Sweet Love?
Amen to that.
They need the love
of Christ.
It's very unfortunate
when people
are divided,
exhibiting hatred
and anger
towards one another.
Let us recognize
then the love
that God has.
Jesus
is closing
with this question,
Will He find faith?
Isn't it interesting
that even in the
Garden of Gethsemane
where He asked
His disciples
to pray with Him,
were they all praying?
Or did He come
and they were all asleep?
Some of you
know that story.
It's the same kind
of question
that Christ is asking.
Let us not be
asleep.
Let us remain
faithful to the Lord
even when we
continue to pray
without ceasing
and we're not
having answers.
Let us be faithful
in our prayers.
It's showing
the faith
and devotion
that we have
to the Lord.
In Matthew
chapter 24
verse 12
it talks about
the love
of many
will grow
cold.
and oh
does this world
grow cold.
Even at Luke
chapter 21
verse 36
where Christ is saying
to stay awake
at all times.
So it's not
just about
the question
of if Jesus
returns,
it's about us
believing
and continuing
to be faithful
to Him
when He does.
we've got
to remain faithful
even in times
of trials,
even in times
of injustice,
even in seasons
of delay.
None of us
here have never
experienced,
right?
Or have we
had those moments
before
where we've had
to patiently
wait upon the Lord
and His timing.
We continue
on.
And that leads
us then
into the application
then is
how do I
apply this
to my life?
All right,
Pastor,
you talked
about this
persistent widow
who was annoying
to a judge
and the judge
is like,
all right?
And Jesus
is saying,
my justice
is greater
than that.
How do I
live this out?
Well,
the first one
is to keep
praying
even when it
does feel
pointless.
Some of us
have had that
frustration.
Why am I
even praying
for this person?
You keep
praying for them.
Like the widow,
show up,
keep praying,
and stay
faithful
because God
hears our
prayers.
In Romans
chapter 12,
verse 12,
be constant
in prayer.
The second
thing then
is to trust
God's character
over corrupt
systems.
well,
you should
know.
If you
don't know,
you should
know.
Earthly
systems
can be
unjust.
They can
be biased.
They can
be wicked.
I'm not
saying all
systems are,
but they
certainly
can be.
And
God
does not
get worn
down.
God has
much greater
love,
mercy,
and
justice.
Think about
that.
In
Lamentations,
that's a
book we
don't really
think about.
Chapter 3,
verse 25,
the Lord
is good
to those
who wait.
It's a good
encouragement
from such
a sad
book
in Scripture.
And then
the third
one,
then,
is to
guard
your
faith
in the
delay.
It can
be challenging
for us to
understand
God's
timing.
I get
it.
When we
pray,
we want
it to
happen
now.
But we
are to
remain
faithful
in our
prayer.
Don't
let the
silence,
don't let
it harden
your heart.
let me
say that
one more
time.
Don't
let the
silence,
don't let
the delay
harden
your heart.
We
continue to
pray for
those whose
hearts are
hardened,
don't become
the very
thing that
they are.
Pray for
God's
intervention
on whether
there are
wicked
judges that
you know.
You may
know someone
that is
like that.
It is a
call for us
to continue
to pray
for those
in
authority,
those that
we know
that,
well,
they need
a softening
of the
heart.
Just as
in Galatians
chapter 6
verse 9,
it says,
don't grow
weary in
doing good,
or even
when Christ
says to
keep watch.
And so
we think
about these
things.
Who do
you identify
with?
Do you
identify more
with the
persistent
widow?
Or do
you identify
more with
the judge?
If you
identify more
with the
judge,
I pray that
your heart
is softened,
that you
come to
know the
Lord,
and that
you will
have a
love for
God and
a love
for people.
And if
you identify
with the
widow who's
constantly
praying for
friends and
families,
or asking
God for
justice,
don't lose
heart.
You keep
praying.
You keep
praying.
Pray without
ceasing.
That is a
good thing
for us to
learn in
all of
this.
And so,
like it
says,
keep praying
even when it
feels
pointland.
Trust in
who God
is.
And guard
your faith.
Protect
it.
Don't be
discouraged.
Know that
God is
there for
you,
and he
will answer
in his
timing.
We don't
know when,
but we
know that
God will
answer again
in those
three ways.
It could
be a yes,
it could
be a no,
it might
be a not
yet.
It's in
those times
of waiting
we remain
faithful to
the Lord.
Just like
the widow,
she cried
out for
justice.
And even
let us
remember
that last
verse at
the end.
When the
Son of
Man comes,
will he
find faith?
And I
pray that
for each
and every
one of
us,
we patiently
wait upon
the Lord,
we remain
faithful to
him,
and we
don't
lose
heart.
let's
pray
together.
And
Father,
we thank
you for
this
parable.
It's a
very different
parable as
it's talking
about human
judges,
but there's
such depth
in this,
Father,
when it
talks about
how much
more your
justice is
for us.
Just like
how greater
your love
is,
and how
greater your
mercy is.
And
Father,
we recognize
that there
are unjust
people and
there's unjust
systems in
the world.
Father,
if there's
anyone that
we know
specifically
that needs
that kind
of prayer
that instead
of disrespecting
God or not
having a love
for God or
respect for
people,
we pray that
hearts will be
transformed,
whether that
is a literal
judge or
maybe a
politician or
maybe a
family member,
maybe someone
that we know
who goes to
class with
us,
maybe someone
who works
in the same
department,
or maybe it's
just someone
that we've
forgotten about
that needs
that prayer.
Father,
we recognize
the power of
prayer and we
recognize that
you hear our
prayers,
but we have
to trust in
your timing
and in your
answer.
And so,
Father,
we thank you
for this
wonderful parable
that shows us
how much
greater you
are than
us as human
beings.
We love you,
we praise you,
we glorify you,
and we honor you.
It is in the name
of Jesus Christ
that we pray and
we all say
together,
amen.
Amen.
Thank you for
listening for this
week's message from
Ontario Community
Church.
I pray that you
are encouraged and
strengthened in your
walk with Christ.
For more sermons and
resources, visit
OntarioCommunityChurch.org.
May God bless you as
you live out his
grace and truth
every single day.
Thank you.