LUKE 18
11 Outlines
Luke 18:1-8
FAITH LESSONS
THE PARABLE – Vss. 1-5
·
The Judge was UNFAIR – Vs. 2
·
The Woman was UNRELENTING – Vss. 3-5
·
The Judge was UNDONE – Vss. 3-5
THE POINT – Vss. 6-8
·
God Is NOT UNJUST – Vs. 7
·
God is NOT UNREACHABLE – Vs. 7
·
Man is NOT UNDERSTANDING – Vs. 8 – If we truly grasped
these principles there would be no fear of faith being present when Jesus
comes.
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Luke 18:1-8
LEARNING FROM A STUBBORN WIDOW
I once knew a stubborn widow. Her name was Margaret Hunt.
·
She was stubborn enough to hit a would-be kidnapper
over the head with a nightstick, thus saving her little girl.
·
She was stubborn enough to raise her youngest daughter
herself when her husband died at age 46.
·
She was stubborn enough to walk again (in her 70’s)
when the doctor said she’d never walk again after a broken ankle.
·
She was stubborn enough to keep house and cook for her
son well into her 80’s.
I knew Margaret Hunt well. The baby that was almost kidnapped was my
mother. I called Margaret Hunt
“Grandma”. We can learn a good kind of being stubborn from Margaret Hunt.
Jesus told a parable about another stubborn widow from
whom we can learn in Luke 18:1-8.
A PERVERTED JUDGE – Vs. 2
A PERSISTENT WIDOW – Vs. 3
A POSITIVE RESULT – Vss. 4-5
A PERSONAL APPLICATION – Vss. 6-7
A PERPLEXING QUESTION – Vs. 8
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Luke 18:1-8
PRAYER PARABLE
THE JUDGE HAD PROBLEMS -
Vss. 2-3
1.
He didn't fear God
2.
He didn't regard Man
3.
He had pesky woman
troubling him.
THE WOMAN WAS A PAIN -
Vss. 4-5
She would not stop
pestering him until he gave her what she wanted.
THE PARABLE HAS A POINT
- Vss. 1, 6-8
1.
Men should always pray
and not faint. Vs. 1
2.
God will answer the
prayers of his own as they persist in prayer. Vss. 7-8
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Luke 18:1-8
DILIGENT PRAYER
A PURPOSEFUL PARABLE -
Vs. 1
A PERVERTED JUDGE - Vs.
2
A PERSISTENT WOMAN -
Vss. 3-5
A PERCEPTIVE CONCLUSION
- Vss. 6-8
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Luke 18:1-8
BEYOND TODAY
Today something will bother
you.
It might be a minor
thing.
It might be a major
thing.
But something will
bother you.
You might be bothered
that a friend has said an unkind word.
You might be bothered
that your job is leading nowhere.
You might be bothered
by your health or the health of another.
You might be bothered
by problems at school or on the job.
You might be bothered
by the problems of a friend.
You might be bothered
by your husband or wife, son or daughter, brother or sister.
You might be bothered
about the inconsistencies in your Christian walk with God and in your
testimony.
You might be bothered
by the inconsistencies of fellow Christians.
You might be bothered
that so few people seem to be saved through our church.
You might be bothered
at a general lack of interest in Spiritual things by some of those in this
church and their sporadic attendance habits.
There is a lot about
today that can bother us.
I've only mentioned a
few possibilities.
There is a lot about
today that can get us down.
Norman J. Clayton
wrote a song
If we could see beyond today as God can see,
If all the clouds should roll away, the shadows flee.
O'er present griefs we would not fret,
Each sorrow we would soon forget,
For many joys are waiting yet, for you and me.
If we could know beyond today as God doth know,
Why dearest treasures pass away and tears must flow.
And why the darkness leads to light,
Why dreary days will soon grow bright,
Some day life's wrongs will be made right, faith tells us so.
If we could see, if we could know, we often say,
But God in love a vail doth throw across our way.
We cannot see what lies before, and so we cling to Him the more,
He leads us till this life is o'er, trust and obey.
(Source: Singing Evangelism: Billy Graham Campaign Songs, #81, by Norman J. Clayton, 1943)
In a literal sense we can not see beyond today and its
problems.
But today's problems will defeat us unless we learn in
a spiritual sense and in a real sense to look beyond today.
In Luke 18:1-8 Jesus tells a parable. I see
this parable as my Lord Jesus showing us how we can see beyond today, not
letting today's circumstances defeat us.
WE CAN SEE BEYOND TODAY THROUGH PRAYER - Vs. 1
Vs. 1 - And
he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not
to faint;
Jesus knew that when times were tough, and especially
when Christians were being persecuted, that we would faint, or lose heart and
want to give up.
I'm sure that there have been times when you wanted to
just quit.
So how do we see beyond today so that we don't faint,
lose heart or quit?
Jesus tells us that we are always to pray. This
doesn't mean that we have to twist God's arm and plead desperately in order to
have our prayers answered. But it does
mean that we are to be in continual prayer until the answer comes. It also
means that prayer is to be a habit!
Whatever happens today in my life, I should be praying about it.
1 John 5:14-15
Notice that our confidence is in God, not in ourselves
and not in our "clever" solution to problems.
Notice that when we ask we are to ask according to
God's will.
If I know that something is God's will, I can ask for
it.
When I am not sure what God's will is, I can ask Him
to show me His will.
And I should always be yielded enough to say
"nevertheless, thy will be done."
I want to encourage you that as you pray, don't
neglect to ask God for Spiritual things.
Ask God to save specific individuals.
Ask God to change you spiritually. And what you know to be God's will in the way
of Christian behavior, ask Him to make it real in your life.
And pray for other Christians that God will work in
their spiritual lives as well. In
Ephesians 1, Ephesians 3, Philippians 1, and Colossians 1, you will find
prayers that Paul prayed for other Christians. You can pray them for Christians
you know.
Mark
WE CAN SEE BEYOND TODAY THROUGH PERSISTENCE - Vss. 2-5
Vs. 2 - Jesus tells His story.
In a certain city there was a judge, who was supposed
to administer justice.
But he had no regard for either God or man.
That would probably mean that he could be easily
bribed.
He was not concerned as much with doing right as he
was doing what was convenient or profitable.
Vs. 3 - In the same city there was a widow
who had a legitimate case. She was
asking for justice. Widows in those days had very little rights. They could easily be taken advantage of. It would have been very easy for this woman
to give up in despair.
This woman however was very persistent. She kept on
asking.
Vs. 4 - For a while, the judge just ignored
the woman.
But
then, after a while she began to grade on him.
It was
becoming obvious that this woman was not going
to
quit asking.
This judge begins reasoning within himself. He says, "I don't regard God or
man." In other words, he wasn't
afraid of what God or man would do or say.
Vs. 5 - The widow was troubling him. I've had some people trouble me when they
have been persistent. He concludes
"I'll give her justice lest she weary me by her continual coming." The word means to "give a black
eye". He wasn't thinking of a literal
black eye, but that it would make him look bad.
Although the judge didn't regard God or man, he was concerned about his
own reputation, and the persistence of this woman was not making him look good.
This woman did not faint.
This woman did not lose heart or quit.
Why was that? She was looking beyond today to see, in
her mind, the judge giving her justice.
So, she could persist until she won her case.
We are told to persist in prayer. 1 Thessalonians
5:17, Philippians 4:6-7, Ephesians 6:18
WE CAN SEE BEYOND TODAY THROUGH PROMISE - Vss. 6-8
Vs. 6 - Jesus tells us to listen to what the
unjust is saying. The unjust judge
didn't care about justice and still answered the woman's request.
Vs. 7 - God is not like the unrighteous
judge.
God
cares about His elect.
Who
are God's elect?
God's elect are the people who have come to God, God's
way. They have been born again. They are God's children. Romans
If you are a Christian, you are one of God's elect and
you are a child of God. The promise here is that God will act much more
graciously towards His children, than an unjust judge.
Even though there are times when we need to wait for
God to act, we must realize that God has not forgotten us. He works out His answers in His time
according to His will. God's silence is
not an indication that He has not heard or that He is ignoring us.
As we persist faithfully in our prayers, God will
"avenge" us or bring us justice.
Vs. 8 - When God acts, he will do so speedily and
decisively.
There
will be no doubts.
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Luke 18:9-14
TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS
THE CAUSE FOR THE
PARABLE - Vs. 9
Some were trusting in
their own righteousness and despising others.
THE CHARACTERS
INTRODUCED - Vs. 10
THE CONCEIT OF THE
PHARISEE - Vss. 11-12
THE CONFESSION OF THE
PUBLICAN - Vs. 13
THE CONCLUSION OF JESUS
- Vs. 14
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Luke 18:18-27
THE RICH YOUNG RULER
HE ASKED – Vs. 18
He came to ask what he must do to inherit eternal
life.
JESUS ANSWERED – Vss. 19-20
Jesus replied that the only who is good is God. The inference, I believe, is that because
Jesus is good, He is God.
Jesus further told him to “keep the commandments” and
named them.
HE ADHERED – Vs. 21
According to this man he had obeyed these
commandments, and evidently knew that he still lacked that he still lacked
something.
JESUS ANSWERED – Vs. 22
Jesus’ challenge was for the man to sell what he had
and to follow Jesus.
Jesus does not require this of all who would follow
Him. But in this case, it was evident
that the man’s wealth was in the way of His trusting Christ for salvation.
HE ACHED – Vs. 23
He went away filled with sorrow, because he was rich.
JESUS ANSWERED – Vss. 24-27
Jesus showed how difficult it was for a rich man to be
saved. It was actually impossible
without God’s intervention.
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Luke 18:35-43
ON THE
THE GOOD NEWS - Vss. 35-37
Jesus is passing by.
THE GREAT CRY - Vss. 38-41
The blind man continually cried out for help. Jesus
stopped and asked what he wanted. The request was for his sight.
THE GRACIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT - Vs. 42
Jesus, based on the man's faith, granted his request.
THE GRAND RESULTS - Vs. 43
The man was healed. He continually glorified God.
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Luke 18:35-43
BY THE WAYSIDE
When Jesus came to
He had some very special qualities which we should
imitate. He was:
A MAN WHO WAS IN A PREDICAMENT - Vs. 35 - He was
blind.
A MAN WHO WAS PERSISTENT - Vss. 36-39 - He continually
cried out to Jesus for help. He would not be silenced.
A MAN WHO WAS PARTICULAR - Vss. 40-42 - He knew
exactly what he wanted from the Lord and asked for it. We should be specific with our prayers.
A MAN WHO WAS IN PURSUIT WITH PRAISE - Vs. 43 - He
followed Jesus, and gave the honor and glory to Him.
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Luke 18:35-43
INCIDENT BY
MAN IN NEED - Vs. 35
There was a blind man
along side of the road begging.
MOUTH IN MOTION - Vss.
36-39
The blind man would not
be silenced. He cried out to the Lord Jesus, seeking His mercy.
MASTER IN CONFERENCE -
Vss. 40-42
Jesus listened to the
man's appeal and pronounced that the man was to receive his sight because of
his faith.
MIRACLE ON DISPLAY - Vs.
43
The former blind man
followed Jesus and gave God the glory. This led to others glorifying God as
well.
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Luke 18:35-43
MAKING THE BLIND TO SEE!
This is the story of "Blind Bartimaeus"
(Mark
THE GOOD NEWS - JESUS IS PASSING BY Vss. 35-37
THE GREAT CRY - Vss. 38-41
Bartimaeus continued to cry out to Jesus for mercy.
When Jesus summoned him and asked what he wanted, he
asked for his sight.
THE GRACIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT - Vs. 42
It was Bartimaeus faith that brought him his sight.
It was faith in the Lord Jesus.
For spiritual sight, we must also put our faith in
Christ.
THE GRAND RESULTS - Vs. 43
Not only was he healed, but he followed Jesus and
"glorified God".