In Peter Allison's sermon 'In the Meantime,' he explores the parable of the unjust judge and the persistent widow from Luke 18:1-8. The sermon emphasizes the importance of persistent prayer and maintaining faith while waiting for Christ's return. Allison contrasts the unjust judge with God, highlighting that unlike the judge, God is just and cares deeply for His people. The sermon discusses the nature of God's kingdom, noting that it is a spiritual kingdom already realized rather than a future earthly reign. It warns against living in a state of complacency and encourages believers to focus on advancing God's kingdom joyfully and willingly. Allison addresses the challenges of discouragement, explaining that prayer is a vital tool to combat it. He acknowledges that while God's answers to prayers may be delayed, they are always for His glory and our good. Throughout, he stresses the connection between faith and hope and the need for believers to persevere in prayer, as it reflects trust in God's character and His ultimate victory.

Please turn in your scriptures to Luke chapter 18. I had thought about jumping back to Proverbs, but this chapter really continues the discussion and it's really one part, a contiguous part of the previous chapters. So we'll be looking this morning at Luke 18 verses one through eight. Hear God's word. Then he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying there was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

Now there was a widow in that city and she came to him saying, Get justice for me from my adversary. And he would not for a while. But afterward he said with him in himself, though I do not fear God nor regard man, Yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her lest by her continual coming she weary me." Then the Lord said here what the unjust judge said, and shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him though he bears long with them I tell you that he will avenge them speedily nevertheless when the Son of Man comes will he really find faith on earth those who seek these his precepts will walk at liberty. Almighty Heavenly Father, your word is true though every man be a liar. We ask that as we read your word and as we hear it this morning you might give to us faith and that you might give to us a new obedience.

And I ask that you would preserve my lips from error, that you would sanctify me this morning. As we continue to worship, Lord, please Speak to us now in Jesus name. Amen. Last week in the last chapter, Jesus spoke about the kingdom, the kingdom. He was asked by the Pharisees when this kingdom would come, when his kingdom would come.

Because the Pharisees had a view of the kingdom that something like the reign of Solomon would be restored to the earth. That the Messiah would come and push out the Romans and reestablish on earth this glorious reign, this glorious kingdom that they read about in the Old Testament or they thought they read about in the Old Testament with such eagerness and expectation. And Jesus said that the kingdom doesn't come that way, doesn't come with observation. And we defined the kingdom, which is generally understood as the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20, this period when Christ is reigning. So that's the kingdom.

Now there's some questions about it that of course many people have, many believers, many Christians, evangelical Christians have different ideas about. But there's a couple basic questions, three basic ones about the kingdom. Is this a literal or figurative thousand years, this kingdom that the Pharisees are asking about? Okay, and we saw last week it is a figurative time. It is, next question is, is this a realized kingdom?

Is it now, are we in the kingdom, or is it something that's coming in the future? We saw that it is a realized kingdom or a realized millennium. And then the next question about this is, when does Christ come in respect? When is his second coming? Is it before this kingdom or is it after this kingdom, after this millennial reign?

And we saw that Christ comes at the end of this reign. And this section here, the previous section in chapter 17, kind of laid that framework out for us that first Jesus said there would be he had to be suffer many things and be rejected by that generation right speaking of his crucifixion and then he speaks about the coming days of the Son of Man referring to the destruction of Rome and Jerusalem in the first century and then he spoke about the second coming the day of the Son of Man and and in both cases God comes and and people the unbelieving generation is oblivious to it. They're not aware of its coming. And Jesus' instruction to his disciples is that in this time, they ought to spend and to be spent in the kingdom and not to be not to look back like Lot's wife did but rather to be focused forward on the coming of Christ's kingdom and that's what their energy and direction should be said those who seek to save their life are going to lose it but those who lose their life will preserve it and so the the disciples then asked him well where is this going to be Because they still had this idea that this kingdom would come with observation, that it would be an earthly kingdom.

And Jesus has been saying, no, this kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. He told Pilate, it's a spiritual kingdom. It's not of this earth. He told the Pharisees, no, the kingdom is within you. That could be it could mean within within us as Christ rules in us, in our hearts so that we delight to do what he commands us to do that's Christ's rule that's this kingdom it could be could have been saying that or he could have been saying this kingdom is already here it's in your midst either whatever whatever it is it wasn't this earthly kingdom that would have a great show and pomp and circumstance and a parade and so on to inaugurate it.

And so the disciples said where And Jesus' answer was this figurative cryptic answer, where the body is there, there the eagles will be gathered. Jesus said, though, in that he opened that passage of discussing, talking to his disciples by saying that the days will come when they would desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and they wouldn't see it. They wouldn't see it. Jesus said elsewhere, we don't know. We don't know when the day when the Son of Man will come.

Jesus said even He in his human nature did not know it. Only the Father knows that. There's no answer to that question. When is he coming? It hasn't been given to us to know.

And so the question becomes, well, how how are we to live in the meantime? What are we to do in the meantime? What should our perspective be as we wait for Christ coming at the end of His reign. Well, we don't want to live as they did in the days of Noah, eating, drinking, marrying, and making merry, chasing pleasure or money or fame or thinking that this life is all that there is. You know, just having game night after game night or job after job, late work night after late work night to get ahead in life.

You see, that's the way. The people were prior to Christ coming in judgment against Jerusalem and Rome in the first century. And that's the way the unbelieving generation will be when Christ returns at the end of the millennium. They see as our as disciples of Christ, we know crisis taught in the last chapter that our calling is to spend and to be spent for the advancement of his kingdom and for his glory so that his will is done here on earth, just like it is done in heaven willingly joyfully delightedly. You see, God's will is always accomplished, of course.

Nothing happens that was not decreed from before the foundation of the earth, but it's not done willingly. It's not done joyfully by those who are grateful for His gracious and abundant provision of everlasting life and an abundant life. It's not done willingly by those kinds of people unless Christ has subdued us to Himself and has conquered us as our King and forgiven our sins as our High Priest and revealed to us this will of God by the work of His Holy Spirit. So we know then what our calling is. To see that the will of God is done throughout the earth as it is already being done in heaven.

To see that it's done willingly and delightedly and joyfully. But we know that as soldiers of the cross, we're going to face difficulties. There'll be many days that we don't have great victories and great judgments and seeing the God's enemies defeated, either in his grace through conversion, in which case all their sins are paid by Christ or conquered in his wrath. There are many days that as soldiers at the cross, we don't see these victories even sometimes in our own lives. Of course, yes, there are, we can read about periods of great success at the preaching of the gospel so that thousands are converted as in as in the day of Pentecost and the days after that or in the days of some of the great awakenings more recently or in many of the other periods throughout the last 2, 000 years But the Gospel isn't always preached with equal liberty and success.

There are many more days when the church is persecuted, scattered, driven underground, Fearful of the knock on the door. Of their families being divided up, of loved ones being killed. Imprisoned. We see there are many other times where the church is scattered and persecuted. Jesus made a promise.

In this world you will have tribulation. In this world you will have tribulation. That's probably not a promise you have on your mirror. But it is true and it is a promise. Now Jesus, The rest of that is that Jesus said, These things I have spoken to you that you may have peace and to be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.

But there are days that we don't see that. There are days that we have the tribulation and we don't see this overcoming of the world. And we certainly may not feel peaceful. Jesus said in the last chapter, he put it this way, the days would come when we desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but we wouldn't see it. See, discouragement is something that we all have to battle at times.

Things don't always work the way we want them to, the way we'd like them to, even when the way we'd like it to is good. Discouragement is actually one of the biggest tools that the enemy uses to feed us. Discouragement makes us feel like we are useless. But all our labor is for nothing. It's wasted.

Discouragement makes us feel like things are hopeless. We read the newspaper and we feel like it's hopeless. Why bother? Why fight? The enemy's winning.

They're overwhelming. The enemy is winning. They're overwhelming. And so discouragement can steal the joy in our heart. There are lots of things that can discourage us.

We can be discouraged by criticism, by mocking of what we have done or who we are. Criticism is a very powerful tool to bring discouragement. It's real. Criticism is a real discourager. That's why sports teams have cheerleaders.

To tell the players how great they are and to get all the fans that are there to do the same because there is it's reality criticism is discouraging and when we're discouraged we feel defeated and defeated people don't win You ever been maybe you work out and you know you have maybe a personal goal you're going to try and do this long or do this many exercises you ever notice that if you your mind wanders into some discouraging thought area, you kind of fail in that goal. You lose interest. You just can't do it. But If you are encouraged, then you are usually much more able to reach your goal. You see, we get discouraged under criticism.

We can lose heart also when we get tired and worn out, like Elijah. He was worn out by that great battle on Mount Carmel such that when Jezebel came at him with a threat to make him like the he had just made the prophets Elijah became discouraged And he ran away. He cried out to God saying, I'm the only one left. He felt alone. We can also lose heart when the job before us seems overwhelming.

How can the wickedness of our land ever be defeated? How can government schools with their ubiquitous presence and immense treasure chest and taxing ability and on and on it goes, How can they ever be defeated? You got government schools turning out generations of morally, intellectually, and physically compromised and corrupted children, youth. You have powerful lobbies with billions of dollars at their disposal and armies of people that seem to influence every area of legislation. We have hordes of regulators that can pour into our lives with new and harsher dictates, that challenge our authority as parents to raise our children in the fear and nurture of the Lord.

All these things can be overwhelming. We can become discouraged when we become afraid and we begin to fear people. We can become discouraged just waiting for Christ's return. Peter said in his second epistle, we know that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.

And we can become discouraged and wonder. You know, and if discouragement is not defeated, it will bring many other of its friends with it. Doubt, loneliness, anger, depression leading to joyless hopelessness. Those all kind of come in when discouragement is not defeated, when it's allowed to lie around. And so Jesus tells this parable.

And the key to this parable is as one commentator said, hanging at the front door. The key to this parable isn't in the back after it's told. The key is right at the front door. Jesus told this parable to explain one very important aspect of what we are to do in the meantime while we are waiting. We are to pray and not lose heart.

Man ought always to pray and not to lose heart. Prayer can be hard, especially if there doesn't seem to be any response to our prayer. Prayer is hard work. It's not something like, it's not the same as watching a movie. You can watch a movie by default.

You can spend time in a game just by default. But if you're going to pray, it takes work, it takes effort, it takes purpose, takes diligence. So Jesus tells this parable to help his disciples in this hard work of praying so they don't lose heart. He said there was a widow in a city or there was a certain judge, certain in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now what is that saying?

The judge did not fear God or regard man means he ignored the first table of the law and he ignored the second table of the law he didn't care about worshiping God he didn't care about reverencing God's name and his ordinances and his works and his attributes. He didn't care about preserving the proper worship. Like Josiah did in the passage we read as king, he didn't this judge doesn't fear God and he doesn't regard man either apparently. In other words, he doesn't really care if somebody gets robbed. He's not interested in bringing justice.

He doesn't really care if a murder is avenged. He didn't fear God nor regard man. He is completely disqualified as a judge. Because a judge is somebody who has to fear God and to do justly. A righteous judge.

This judge doesn't have any of that. The Israelites, this was a judge that was, according to Edersheim, this was a judge that would have been a civil judge paid out of the temple who would have this would have been his job. So they were the temple that was forced to pay for him but they were apparently their nickname was robber robber judges because they were notoriously unjust notoriously wicked people who justified the wicked and condemned the righteous who didn't care didn't regard the truth And so there's a widow in this city. And she comes to this wicked judge who doesn't fear God or regard man. And she asks for justice from her adversary.

She's being oppressed. Now there are many things that may move people that move juries or judges. And one of them is to be destitute to be a widow to be to not have any other means of help and when you see somebody that helpless it's just natural for you to feel some tenderness toward them, some desire to help. When you see a little helpless baby, even the roughest of people can hold and treat a baby tenderly. So she's a widow.

Those who treated widows unjustly or who oppressed them in any way, God said, and they cried out to him, his anger was hot. God said his anger was hot against widows or orphans who were oppressed in any way and so this widow has been oppressed by some adversary in some way and she comes to this wicked judge to get justice. And he doesn't, he doesn't care about justice. He doesn't give her justice, He ignores her. But she continues to come regularly.

She came regularly. Asking for justice. She couldn't do anything else. She didn't have lots of dollars to line his pockets. She didn't have lots of friends to get him access and influence.

She wasn't famous and well-known. There wasn't not going to be any great public outcry because nobody probably knew her. Very few knew her. But she comes asking for justice, and he doesn't. But after a while he says within himself, Though I don't fear God nor regard men, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming, she wearies me.

Notice it's all about himself. It had nothing to do with justice for her. It's She's just wearying me. I'm just tired of this. This is bothering my day and bothering my pleasure.

And what I want to get done. So I'm going to do what she's asking. I'm going to give justice. Jesus tells this parable. As an encouragement to us.

And the point is not here that God will respond if we pray hard enough and often enough. That's not what the point of this parable is. It's not that, well, we just need to keep praying every day. The point is, rather, that we pray because we know that God will answer us and that he can and will accomplish his purposes. We we persevere in prayer because we know with full confidence that God is able to do all that he has promised to do.

The contrast here is God is not like this judge. God is the very opposite of this judge. God is a judge, as Jesus says, who who will avenge. His people, his elect. God does care about justice.

God does care about widows. God does care about mothers and fathers and children and families in need. He cares about his people. Not at all. He's not at all like this judge.

The point is if this judge, if even this wicked judge is willing to grant what this widow is asking, how much more will our heavenly father give to us what we're asking? And more than that, here's a widow who has no standing with this judge. There's no relationship, there's no connection to this judge. And yet when we come to the Lord, we're coming to our Father. We're coming to the one who has loved us and given himself for us.

We're coming to him not as some distant judge that knows nothing about us, but rather the one who has died for us, the one who ever lives to make intercession for us, the one who always hears our cry, the One who cares about us, who knows every hair that falls from our head, that's who we're coming to. So how much more then, how much more then, it will God not give to us what we are asking. See, prayer is a remedy against discouragement. Prayer is a remedy against discouragement. Prayer is, you can say, the lifeblood of us as Christians.

We're the only people that can have hope because the hope is future-oriented we hope for what we do not see and and the and our praying is the means that the Lord uses to preserve our hope, to preserve us, and to enable us to persevere. Paul told the Colossians, Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. Told the Thessalonians, Pray without ceasing. And Jude said, but you, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, undue eternal life. Beloved, building yourself up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

Keep yourself in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ under eternal life. Hope is so important. It is hope by which we are saved. Paul prayed for the Ephesians that the eyes of their understanding being enlightened, that they might know what is the hope of his calling, Christ's calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance, Christ's inheritance in the saints. He prayed that the Ephesians would know the hope of Christ's calling and his riches in the saints.

Paul told the Colossians that they would be presented holy and blameless if indeed you continue in faith grounded and steadfast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard. And yet a little later he said to his saints God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, The hope of glory. Paul told the Thessalonians, but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, the hope of salvation, the hope of salvation. And we desire, Paul, the Hebrew in Hebrews six, we desire that each of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end this hope we have as an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast in which enters the presence behind the veil. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul.

And you see Christ is our hope. Christ Jesus is our hope. Peter said therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. He said earlier, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope, our Now sometimes our prayers are delayed.

God doesn't answer our prayers in just when we pray them. Their prayers are delayed. Why? Well, sometimes we have to say God's ways are greater than our ways. His thoughts are above our thoughts.

His ways aren't our ways. What we think he would do, what we think would be good to do, he doesn't for reasons known only to him. And we have to be willing to say God's thoughts aren't our thoughts and his ways are far above our ways or not our ways. And so we sometimes don't know why he is delaying in answering But we do know that whatever he is doing, it is for his own glory. Sometimes he delays for our good, to sanctify us.

Maybe we're not ready for what we're asking for yet. We don't have the spiritual maturity. Or we are lacking. There's something that he wants us to learn. And so he sends these trials that through them we can learn patience and we can learn character And we can learn perseverance and we can learn hope.

And so we know that whatever God's answer is, It's for our good. Sometimes it's because of our sin. He won't hear our prayers. In Revelation, God talks about not coming into an assembly because of something he has seen that has turned him away. He talks about that in the law as well, the Levitical law, where God sees uncleanness and unholiness, he turns away from it.

As we mentioned earlier, husbands not dwelling with their wives in an understanding way, Peter said, your prayers will be hindered. God isn't going to hear that prayer. But Jesus gives this this encouragement to prayer. He says, here what the unjust judge said. Because this wicked judge who doesn't care about anything just and true, gave this woman what she was asking for.

And Jesus then says, "'And shall God not avenge His own elect "'who cry out day and night to Him, "'though He bears long with them.'" What is the purpose of our prayer? That Christ's kingdom would be advanced, that His will would be done here on earth as it is already being done in heaven. The purpose of our prayer is for the complete and total victory of Christ over all of his enemies, for our victory over all the sin that dwells in us. And it's not our strength that accomplishes that victory. It's not our strength.

In fact, it's in our weakness that the power of Christ rests upon us. As Paul told the Galatians, we died. And it is no longer I who, this life that we live in the flesh, it is no longer I who live it, but we live by faith in the Son of God Who loved us and gave himself for us This life that we now live in the flesh we live by faith Now this Jesus says this this this avenging is speedy. He said I will avenge them speedily that's not the same as soon you gotta keep those you got to keep that distinction in mind Speedy is not the same as soon. Does it, right?

Speedy refers to how quickly it happens. Soon or not soon refer to how long it takes for it to begin to happen or for it to begin. We can say that somebody can die suddenly but not soon. If a man at 105 dies in a moment because he just ceases to breathe he died suddenly maybe he was in a conversation and he died suddenly that but there wasn't soon that was a long life he lived something can happen soon, but not necessarily speedily. It may begin to happen and might take a long time to happen.

It might be a hard work. You might begin to build a house tomorrow, but it might take a year or more to build. That's the difference between soon and speedy. Jesus doesn't say he will avenge them soon. He says I will avenge them speedily.

And any delay in this is because God is for the benefit of that of the elect. Because all the God delays his judgment is final. The final day of judgment is delayed because God is gathering his elect and until every one of his people have been subdued and conquered in His grace, this judgment is delayed. But when it comes, it will be speedy. And Jesus says, Will he find faith on earth when the Son of Man comes?

Will he find faith on earth? Faith and hope are connected. Faith and hope are connected. See, and prayer is the barometer of our spiritual life, where prayer is lacking, faith is lacking. Faith is lacking.

When we don't pray, we are really saying that we don't think God is really ruling. We don't think that He will be really victorious over all His enemies on this earth. We're saying we don't really think He really cares about us Or is really willing to help us? When we don't pray, when we're not continuing praying without ceasing, We're really calling into question the character of God. God is not like that wicked judge.

When we stop praying, when we falter in that, we are really saying that God's like that wicked judge and there's no use praying. Paul calls us in Romans 12 to rejoice in hope, to be patient in tribulation, and to continue steadfastly in prayer. Steadfastly in prayer. Yes it's hard. Yes, it's a discipline.

Yes, it takes work. It doesn't just happen unless we plan for it to happen. For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Paul asked the Thessalonians, is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming? Is it not you, you and I, His people in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming?

That is our hope. That is our sure and certain hope. And when we have that sure and certain hope, then we will continue in prayer. We will persevere in prayer. As long as the Lord tarries, we will be watching and praying.

Waiting and praying. Working and praying. May God grant it to be so in our lives. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, You know us even better than we know ourselves.

And you know how easily we are discouraged. And how easily we lose heart and grow weary while doing good. And so Lord we pray especially that you would strengthen us in the inner man by your spirit that we would be continue steadfastly in prayer praying without ceasing remembering that that the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous has much, is effective, has great effect. Not because of any power in us, but because You are the righteous judge. You delight in mercy and in avenging your elect, your people.

And we know, Lord, that you will because you have said so. No matter how long you tarry, till the time seems good to you. Lord may you encourage us as Jesus encouraged his disciples with this parable. May this be in in our mind that you are not like that judge, that you delight in in the prayers of your people, you delight in blessing and sanctifying us. It is, our sanctification is your will for us.

We ask Lord that you would give us great faithfulness and greater faithfulness in this blessed exercise calling upon you. We ask this In Jesus' name, amen.