08/07/2024
Sermon/Preaching/Message on Sunday, August 04, 2024 in outline and notes format for your edification
Theme: DEVELOPING ROBUST FAITH OVER
CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE
by Dr. J. Val-Addo
Text: LUKE 18:1-8 (Note v. 1, 8b)
Thesis: Developing robust faith comes through
facing challenging circumstances head-on
as an individual with deep trust in God
Almighty who can overrule them and
approaching it through persistent prayer to
Him
Goal: Four "P" words come to play: Promises,
Prayer, Persistence, and Patience.
Developing robust faith through challenging
circumstances of life requires PERSISTENCE
and PATIENCE in PRAYER, usually resulting in
inheriting Divine PROMISES. Hebrews 6:12 --
some people of old through faith and
patience inherited the promises of God and
that we should not become sluggish but
imitate them. An example of a widow:
INTRODUCTION:
A parable or story by Jesus to teach a lesson of life based on prayer, persistence, and the development of divine faith through patience--Luke 18:1
KEY NOTES:
1. Three major characters in the parable:
● A Widow
● A Judge
● God
2. Some life circumstances are difficult to handle
and will require prayer -- SPIRITUAL HANDLING
(v. 3a)
● The challenge of a widow -- the death of
husband and her portion of assets acquired
during marriage or bequeathed to her
(a global law of marriage)
3. Some life challenges may ALSO require LEGAL
HANDLING (v. 2a)
● It will require counseling or legal advice
■ Cannot avoid lawyers sometimes
(Disclaimer: In no way advertising for their
services)
● Going to court sometimes to seek for
JUSTICE -- The widow in v. 3b: 'Get JUSTICE
[equity, fairness, rightness] for me from my
adversary.' (one's opponent in a contest,
conflict, or dispute)
■ Cannot avoid judges in non-arbitration
legal cases (Disclaimer: In no way vouching
and advertising for all judges)
A. Christ's Description of the Judge:
Three (3)
(1) did not fear God (v. 2a)
(2) did not regard man (v. 2b)
(3) unjust judge (v.6)--Inconciliable or
conflicting PERSONALITY and
PROFESSION -- Right profession,
wrong personality
○ Same with some judges
□ Not being unkind to some people
in public service but just following
Christ in His description of a
judge as unjust. Examples are:
▪︎ Unjust Justice
▪︎ Persecuting Prosecutor
▪︎ Irreverent Reverend
▪︎ Dishonorable Honorable
Those descibed as such are like
"square pegs in round holes",
functioning, with due respects,
as professionals with "misfit"
personalities.
B. The Attitudes:
(1) The widow -- Going to the right PLACE
and the right PERSON (v.3)
○ Deuteronomy 17:8-9 in the settlement
of the children of Israel in the
Promised Land:
8 "If a matter arises, which is too hard
for you to judge, ... within your
gates, then you shall arise and go
up to the place which the LORD
your God chooses.
9 "And you shall come to the priests,
the Levites, and to the judge there in
those days, and inquire of them;
they shall pronounce you the
sentence of judgment
□ Sometimes combining two of the
three: SPIRITUAL (prayer to God),
and either binding ARBITRATION
(settlement by priests/in our day,
well-educated, trained, ordained, and
arbitration qualified ministers of
Christ) or the LEGAL (the courts by
by judges), where and when the need
arises
▪︎ Essence of the parable by Christ --
The followers of Christ should stop
the unscriptural saying that
Christians are to "leave everything
to God", making secular people and
"mixed multitudes" in Christianity
and churches take undue
advantage of them easily.
(2) The judge -- His attitudes are reflective
of the description in A. (1) - (3) above
○ A typical characteristic of an unjust
judge/justice in responding to duty/
cases: Delay in dispensing justice (v.
4a), which points to the popular
axiom: "Justice delayed is justice
denied"
□ Unfortunately, some judges are
sometimes involved in delaying
cases due to:
(i) filmsey excuses of too many
cases and scheduling
(ii) lack of management of cases
and application of similar case
laws and precedents for
delivery of justice in a
considerable time frame
(iii) a show or abuse of power to
either frustrate, punish, or
torment an accuse person or
use it as a means to deny
justice, or to use it as a means
to corrupt justice by subtly
or indirectly inviting the plaintiff
and/or respondent (defendent)
to the judge's chambers (office)
where in Africa, bribery or
immorality with the opposite s*x
takes place with a promise for
speedy trial and favorable
judgments
-- Isaiah 59:8b, 9
8 "[T]here is no justice in their
ways; they have made
themselves crooked paths;
whoever takes that way
shall not know peace.
9 "Therefore justice is far from
us, nor does righteousness
overtake us; we look for
light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk
in blackness!"
▪︎ The above descriptions are some
elements of Negative Delay
tactics some unjust judges
employ to make them stick and
become relevant in people's lives
through the court system
-- If that is the case, why did Christ
encourage going to court in a
parable where He plainly
describes a judge with three
negative characteristics as
unavoidable in life? Was Christ
being inconsiderate? No. Not
at all. As the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are God's
thoughts and ways higher than
that of humans (Isaiah 55:8,9).
▪︎ Sometimes some Delays are
Positive. Such are orchestrated by
God (v. 7b) for positive purposes --
to absolute dependence on God's
in spite of having an attorney and
going to court to have a judge sit
on or preside over a case; to build
or develop divine faith in us
through PERSISTENT PRAYER and
PATIENCE that further develop
maturity of PERSONALITY in the
process.
▪︎ In life circumstances, there may be
two types of delays -- negative and
positive -- that may innure to the
benefit of the committed follower
of Christ
(3) Widow: Exhibited persistence (v. 5a) in
spite of all odds against her
(4) Judge: Change in response (v. 4b-5) and
therefore in attitude
4. Life Application from Christ
● God, the Supreme Judge overules unjust
judges who do fear Him nor regard fellow
humans (v. 6-7a)
■ Keys to use to team up with God to overule
unjust judges: Four (4)
(1) Praying without losing heart, being
discouraged, fainting (King James
Version), being frustrated in handling
personal issues of life that require the
involvement of the courts and judges
(v. 1)
○ when there is delayed expectancy --
when answers to legal justice are not
forthcoming as quickly as expecting
(expectancy
delayed)
(2) Persistent trust in God expressed
through crying out day and night to Him,
"though He bears long with them (v. 7) --
that is, PERSISTENT, UNYIELDING
PRAYER TO GOD about certain issue
that affect life immensely -- as if one's
life at a particular time depends on it
(fir example, the assets for the survival
of the widow)
(3) God building a STRONGER FAITH in His
elect (chosen ones) unto MATURITY in
the face of either judge's intentional
delayed justice (v. 4a) or divinely-worked
out delay (v. 7b) to answer prayer
○ Divine intent is to encourage
persistent, unyielding prayer to God
(v. 7b-8).
□ A potent way to build robust/divine
faith -- Allow it; don't prevent it; don't
become negative. frustrated, and
upset. Reason --
▪︎ "All things work together for good
to them that love God and are
called according to His
purpose" (Romans 8:28)
▪︎ A song we used to sing at youth
(Christ Ambassadors/CA) meetings
and camps in the 1970s:
"Keep praising the Lord
When the skies above are gray
Keep praising the Lord
For the answer is on the way
Do not despair
For the Lord will answer prayer
To those who endure,
Victory is sure
Keep praising the Lord!"
For the purpose of this sermon, you
may substitute the first and last
lines of the song as follows:
"Keep [praying to] the Lord
(4) There are other prayer means known to
those who study matters and issues
pertaining to God, perceived from God,
and proceeding from God (studied in
Sacred Theology for ordained, senior
and veteran ministers) for God to
handle and/or overule intimidating
prosecutors, unjust judges/justices
and other stubborn and wicked people
who abuse power to keep fellow
humans in captivity or imprisonment of
some sort
○ Refer to my two Facebook posts on
08/03/24 for a narrative of testimony,
especially GOD STILL RULES IN THE
AFFAIRS OF MEN
MESSAGES: 4
1. Who watches the watchman? There ought to be
a Divine Justice watchmen to watch over the
judges and justices of our courts, the reason
being just judges/justices have a divine role to
play in human life to ensure justice and liberty
or freedom.
The same Divine Justice Watch will be watching
over and praying on those who have the three
negative characteristics and delay of justice,
according to the parable of Christ and bring
about what is in Isaiah 59:8b-9 on society. If they
make themselves crooked paths and walk
thereon they shall not know peace (Isaiah
59:8c). That entails a lot. Persecuting
prosecutors and unjust judges and justices have
to repent genuinely, accept Christ as their
individual personal Savior, Lord, and Supreme
Judge (John 1:12-13; Romans 10:9-10), and
attend worship services of moderate Christian
churches (Psalm 50:5-6 ; Hebrews 10:24-25).
2. A follower of Christ who faces challenging
circumstances of life should understand why
and learn how to pray without losing heart;
being discouraged or being frustrated (Lk. 18:1)
3. Learn to build robust faith over circumstances
of life through persistent, unyielding, patient
prayer for God to overule and overturn them (Lk.
18:7) and regarding professionals employed to
occupy positions of trust in institutions of State
for your well-being but seen as working against
individuals or some group of citizens through
suppression, denial, capture, and imprisonment.
● Let a genuine man of God, educated and
trained in Sacred Divinity principles of petition
prayer help you on that
4. Let Jesus find divine faith in you as one of His
committed followers on earth even before He
comes (Lk. 18:8).
God bless!!!
