Church at Wieuca

Guest (Male): Well, good morning. Would you please stand and would you just continue your fellowship and greet those that are around you and share the love of Christ. Would you do that this morning?

Guest (Male): Good morning and welcome to Church at Wieuca for our worship hour as we gather in this space for prayer and concern of one another, to hear a word from God, and to praise God together. To those of you who are joining us online, we welcome you also on this Sunday morning.

If you are a guest, if this is your first time or a few times with us, we hope that you have already been greeted and welcomed by those around you. We would ask if you would, on your way out after worship, there's a table back here on the left that is our welcome kiosk. We would love for you to stop by. One of our ministers will be there to greet you and we would love to just get your name and if you're willing, a way to contact you and say thank you for being here. We also have a small gift we would love to give you on your way out for the rest of your Sunday morning. But know that we are grateful you're here, whether you're first time or this is your 700th time. We're glad to have you worshiping together with us.

Now, let us join together in our responsive scripture reading.

Guest (Male): The Lord is great, and is highly praised. His greatness is unsearchable. One generation will declare your works to the next, and will proclaim your mighty acts. I will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty, and your wondrous acts.

Guest (Male): We will proclaim the power of your acts, and we will declare your greatness.

Guest (Male): Would you please stand as we continue to worship together?

Guest (Male): Well, we want to make space and time this morning for us to go before God's throne. Hear these words from Philippians chapter 4, verses 6-7.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I know there's a lot of us in this room this morning that are struggling with anxiety. And so, we want to just take some time just to be quiet and then I will lead us together. But let's bow our hearts before the Lord.

Guest (Male): Lord, I am anxious over what I know and what I do not know. Over what I feel responsible for and what I cannot control. I'm anxious about my ability to measure up to impossible standards. Anxious about my ability to perform. Anxious about how I will be perceived and judged by others.

I'm anxious that I might miss out, anxious for myself, anxious for the ones that I love. Anxious for today, anxious for tomorrow, and for the years to come. Sometimes I can't even know and name the reasons why my thoughts and heart are so unsettled, and yet I am all the more anxious and troubled for that.

And when I am in this place, I cannot soothe myself. I cannot speak any meaningful peace to my own heart once these fretful feelings overtake me, once my sense of self begins to fray. Sometimes I feel it as a vague disquiet, other times a deep distress, and still others as a paralyzing panic.

But in such moments, I need my eyes to be fixed again on you, oh Christ, my North Star. To reorient my drifting heart to your loving kindness. In such moments, I need you, oh Christ, to speak into those agitated waters of my soul, calling them to calm. Speak now, oh Christ. Quiet my anxieties. And Lord, take these present anxieties and unseat them with your better promises. Anchor again my faith in your resting place as you hold me fast.

Guest (Male): Let us pray together. Father, we have just sung about you as our faith protector, and now, in response, we give to you our faithful provider. I pray, Lord, that you would just hold fast those in this room, Lord, who just need a tangible touch from you. Lord, give me them right where they are. Thank you for that.

Lord, we give this morning to you not what is ours, but only what is already yours. So bless, oh Lord, would you these gifts, its benefits that it might be received as evidence of your mercies, and multiplied in effectiveness for your kingdom. Amen.

Dr. Kevin Head: Thank you so much, Catherine. Always grateful for your presence and leadership. It's good to see all of you here this morning. So glad you're here if it's your first time with us, or if you've been coming for a few weeks, a few months, or if you've been coming many years. So glad to see all of you here today. It's a hot day outside. It's a good day to be in a cool place in God's house and we're glad that you are here this day.

We're continuing our summer sermon series. Actually, today is the last of this series of sermons. We've been talking about women and men of the Bible. So next week we're moving on to another series, another topic. But today we are thinking about a widow, stubborn and persistent. So I invite you to hear our text for today. It's in the Gospel of Luke. We're reading chapter 18, verses 1 through 8.

Dr. Kevin Head: The scripture says: Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said, "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about people or men. There was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused, but finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men or what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming.'"

And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" May God bless the reading and hearing of this word this morning.

Well, over the summer, as we've gone through this sermon series about women and men in the Bible, we've encountered some very interesting people. This widow, who serves as the focus for us this morning, is no exception. She is certainly a unique and interesting person.

But there's one thing about this woman that is different from all the other people that we have talked about this summer. Every other person we've talked about was an actual, real, living human being, but not this woman. This woman was not an actual person. She is the only woman or man we've talked about in this sermon series who's not a real person. I enjoyed a few weeks ago when we had Kids Adventure Week, I got to tell the Bible stories, and we'd talk about different men and women and I loved the questions the children asked. Several times they would say to me, "Was she real? Was he a real person? Did they really live here on earth?" What a great question. And everyone we've talked about this summer has been real, except this woman.

This woman is a fictional character. In other words, she's make-believe. The passage tells us at the beginning Jesus told his disciples a parable, a fictional story. And this woman is a character in Jesus' story. So she was not a real, actual person. She's a figment of the imagination of Jesus. He uses this fictional character to make a point for the listeners.

But still she has something to teach us. Even though she wasn't a real person who actually lived like us, she has something to teach us today. And at the beginning of Luke's passage here, he tells us that Jesus told the disciples this parable, quote, "to show them that they should pray, always pray, and not give up."

I wonder, have you ever felt like giving up on prayer? Maybe not prayer totally in your life, but maybe have you prayed about a specific thing, and you've prayed about it over and over and over again, and it doesn't seem to change. In other words, it feels like your prayers bounce off the ceiling and that God never listens, and the situation that you're praying about never changes, no matter how much you pray.

Maybe you're tired of praying about a loved one: a child, a brother, a sister, a parent, a friend. Maybe you're tired of praying about someone whose life has gone astray, and you've prayed and prayed and prayed, but their life still hasn't changed. Maybe you're tired of praying for peace. Maybe you're tired of praying for satisfaction or fulfillment in your life. Maybe you're tired of praying about your health. Maybe you pray over and over again, and nothing seems to change. Maybe it's an unhealthy habit. Maybe you're stuck in an unhealthy habit, and you've prayed and you've prayed and you've prayed about it, but nothing seems to change. Maybe it's an addiction that's ruining your life, and no matter how much you pray, you can't break the habit.

Maybe it's about money, financial problems. No matter how hard you pray, there doesn't seem to be enough when it's time to pay all the bills. Maybe it's your marriage. Maybe it's a relationship in your life. Maybe it's a friendship that is troubling you.

I imagine on some level all of us can relate to this widow, this stubborn and persistent widow, who keeps coming back to the judge time and time again with the same request. I think maybe all of us know what that feels like. To be bothered by something and to pray about it over and over and over again, but nothing seems to change. Let me ask you this morning, what do we do when we pray about a situation over and over and over again, and it doesn't seem to change?

That is exactly why Jesus told this parable for today. It's exactly why Jesus told about this woman, this widow, who was stubborn. She was persistent. She kept coming to the judge time and time and time again. And Luke tells us that she wanted to teach us something about prayer. But let's ask, what what is Jesus teaching about prayer?

Let's ask some tough questions. Is Jesus saying here that if we just pester God enough, we'll eventually get what we want? Kind of sounds like that, doesn't it? Kind of sounds like Jesus is saying, in your prayer life, if you just keep coming back to God over and over again, eventually God's going to get tired of dealing with you and God's just going to give you what you want.

It's kind of what it sounds like. If you're a parent or a grandparent, maybe an aunt, uncle, you've probably been there. You've been to the store with a child, and the child says, "Hey, can we get some candy when we go in the store?" And you say, "No, no, we're here for something else today. We can't have any candy." But the child persists. "Please, please can I have some candy?" "No, like I said, we're not going to get any candy today." "Oh, please, please, pretty please, with sugar on top, please? Can we get some candy?" "No, we're not going to get any candy today. You can stop asking because we're not getting any candy." "Please, if you just get candy this time, I'll never, ever ask for candy again," right? Just please, let me have one piece of candy. Just one piece of candy. "No, that's my final answer. We're not going to have any candy." And then the tears start, right? And the tears start coming down. "I just want one piece of candy. Just one piece of candy." And finally you say, "Okay, stop crying, and we'll get one piece of candy. Are you satisfied?" How about two, right?

You've been there. You know what it's like to be pressured into doing something. I'm I'm not proud of this, but I'll say it. I've bought something before that I didn't really want just to get rid of a pesky salesperson. Have you ever done that? I mean, you know what it's like to be pestered over and over again and eventually giving in. And it almost sounds like Jesus is saying to us, "Follow the example of this woman. And if you want something in life, you just keep praying about it over and over again, and eventually God's going to say, 'I've had enough,' and is going to give you what you want."

Well, at first glance, that's what seems to be happening in our text today, but that doesn't seem right, does it? It doesn't seem like the character of God. It doesn't seem like the character of Jesus that we would learn that if we just pray over and over again and we pester God long enough, God will give in. That doesn't seem to be right.

Well, if it's not right, then what is Jesus saying? I like to go back to that very first line, the first verse of chapter 18 that we were reading. Luke says, "Jesus told this parable to teach us that we should always pray and not give up." That's why Jesus told this parable. So let's take that statement at face value. Jesus is teaching, we should always pray. In other words, Jesus is teaching, we should persevere in prayer. What does that mean? What does it mean to persevere in prayer?

Well, maybe part of the answer is this. When you ask God for something and it doesn't happen, Jesus says, "Don't think that you can't ask God again and again for the same thing." Ultimately, this is about faith, he says. When we ask for something once, to ask again is not troubling to God. In other words, God doesn't mind if we keep asking for something over and over and over again. Even about the same issue. God will not get frustrated with you for continuing to pray about a certain matter or issue in your life. God wants us to pray honestly, to pray sincerely, to pray what is on our heart.

So think of it this way. If you've asked God for something seven times, Jesus says, "Don't stop asking. Don't stop thinking, 'Well, God doesn't hear me. God's not going to answer that prayer.'" Jesus says, "Continue praying about the matter. Even if you pray about it 77 times or more." Sometimes the answer God gives us is, "Wait."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the great preachers of decades ago. In one of his sermons, here's what he said. He preached, "Friends, how many times do we ask God, and we have not because we do not wait long enough at the door. We knock a time or two at the gate of mercy, and as no friendly messenger opens the door," he says, "we go our way."

I read about a minister who was walking down the road one day on a sunny afternoon. And he as he walked down the street, he looked over the side and he saw at this one particular house there was a really short little boy who was trying to ring the doorbell of the house, but he was so short he couldn't reach. And the minister kept watching him for a little while, fascinated by the effort of this little boy. And finally, he thought, "I'm going to go help him." So he walked up to the house, walked up the steps onto the porch and he knelt down beside the little boy, and he reached up and he rang the doorbell. And he looked at the little boy and he said, "Now what do we do?" And the little boy said, "Now we run."

That that's kind of what Charles Spurgeon was talking about, right? Not exactly, but what he's saying about our prayer life, it's too many times we knock at the door and then we leave. We leave before God has time to come and answer what we are praying about. Too often we knock once or twice and then we leave. We're like the little boy running away. And Spurgeon says, "Oh, for grace to stand foot to foot with the angel of God and never, never relax our whole feeling that God will plead with us and we will be successful."

Jesus says to us, "Don't give up praying. Don't give up praying about something that is important to you. God does not mind at all for you to keep asking, for you to keep knocking, and for you to keep asking and knocking again." Sometimes God wants us to wait until the timing is right.

But we also need to remember that sometimes God's answer to our prayer is, "No." Sometimes God says, "No" to us when we pray. And "no" is often difficult to hear. It's difficult to receive. When we're pouring our heart out to God about something that matters to us, something that is of a deep concern to us, and the answer is "no," it becomes so difficult.

We remember in scripture, Paul prayed over and over and over again, he said, to God to remove the thorn from the that was in his side. He asked, pleaded with God to remove the thorn. But in divine providence, the answer was, "No." There are times that no matter how hard you pray, no matter what you pray, no matter what words you use, sometimes God will say, "No."

But you know, even when God says, "No," it can be a blessing. When God says, "No," it can be a blessing to us. Ruth Harms Calkin wrote a poem. I won't read it all, but listen to these words. She says, "Lord, day after day, I've thanked you for saying yes, but when have I genuinely thanked you for saying no? Yet I shudder to think of the possible smears, the cumulative blots on my life, had you not been sufficiently wise to say an unalterable no. So thank you for saying no when my want for things far exceeded my longing for you. When I asked for a stone, foolishly certain that I was asking for bread, thank you for saying no. To my petulant, 'Just this one time, Lord,' thank you for saying no. To senseless excuses, to selfish motives, to dangerous diversions, thank you for saying no. When the temptation that enticed me would have bound me beyond my escape, thank you for saying no. Thank you for saying no when I asked you to leave me alone, God. Lord, my awe increases when I see the wisdom of your divine no."

Maybe you're familiar with the prayer that is often attributed to a soldier. His prayer reminds us that even even though we do not always get what we want and what we ask for, and what we pray, God always gives us what we need. The soldier prayed, "I asked God for strength that I might achieve, but I was made weak that I may learn humbly to obey. I asked God for help that I may do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of others. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing I asked for, but everything I hoped for. I am among all people most richly blessed."

I believe in this parable, Jesus is teaching us, even when the answer is "no," God wants us to keep praying. God wants us to keep asking, to be persistent in prayer. We keep on praying. We keep on trusting that God knows what is best for us, but still, even if the answer is "no," God still values our feelings and our concerns. Think about it. What parent does not want to listen to his or her child's feelings, even when we can't give them what they're asking for, we still want to know. What are they thinking? What are they feeling? What is happening in their life? How much more does God feel the same about us.

See, the point of the story, it's not that if we keep on praying, we will eventually get what we want. No. God is not like the parent who gives into the child so that they don't have to listen to the wines and the tears. God knows what is best for us. And sometimes that means God says, "Wait." And sometimes that means God says, "No." But no matter what the answer, God wants us to trust in God's love and grace for us and to be persistent in prayer.

Francois Fenelon, wonderful writer wrote these words about prayer. He said, "Tell God all that is on your heart. Tell God your troubles that God may comfort you. Tell God your joys that God may sober them. Tell God your longings that God may purify them. Tell God your dislikes that God may help you conquer them. Talk to God of your temptations that God may shield you from them. Show God the wounds of your heart that God may heal them. Tell God how self-love makes you unjust to others. How vanity tempts you to be insincere. How pride disguises you to yourself and to others. For if you pour out your weaknesses, all your needs, all your troubles to God, there will be no lack of what to say."

Here's what I believe God is saying to us today through this stubborn and persistent widow. God is saying to us, "Don't give up on prayer. Don't stop praying. Don't give up asking God for something, even if the answer is 'wait' and even if the answer is 'no.' Don't give up on prayer for I am listening," God says. "I am listening to your heart." Let us pray.

Good and gracious God, what a blessing it is to learn from women and men of the Bible. And Lord, today we're grateful for this fictitious widow who through the words and teachings of Jesus reminds us that you want us to always pray. Pray when the answer is yes, pray when the answer is wait, pray when the answer is no. For you are always listening. Always listening to the needs of our heart. And through faith and trust, we believe God that you are working for good in all of our lives. So lead us and guide us in this faith. For we pray in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. Amen.

Dr. Kevin Head: Our song of commitment today is a wonderful opportunity for you to respond to God's word today. Maybe you respond where where you're standing and singing. Maybe you respond as you go home today. Maybe you respond by coming forward. Maybe you respond in whatever faithful way God is guiding and leading you today. To join this church, to make a profession of faith, to recommit your life. As we stand to sing, as God has prompted you today, would you respond? Let's stand as we sing, "He Leadeth Me."

Dr. Kevin Head: Thank you, Josh. I'm really excited about a lot of new ministries that we're starting this fall. Great time for us to be coming together and involved in all these things. Even if you can't participate in these things, I hope you can be praying for them. With Song Shape beginning this next week, and then our mental health program starting, Towers Ministry, lots of good things. So hope you can get involved. Hope you can get plugged in. Be in prayer for all of those things. So good to see each one of you here today. I pray you take the Spirit of God with you as you leave this place and that it may influence everything you do and say throughout this coming week. And I join me for the benediction. Let us pray.

As you leave this place today, may you never be too young to respond to God's word, nor too old that you would ignore it. May you never be too shy to follow God's commands, nor too bold to refuse them. May you never be too busy to do God's will, nor too lazy to try. But may God take us as we are and fill us with faith and courage that every day of our lives we would be persistent in prayer, believing that God is always listening to the needs of our hearts. For we make this our prayer in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.