18 Luke - Persistence

By Richard

When I read Luke 18, I was just about to start preaching an Advent series at Mountainview. The first message was entitled, Jesus is Coming, and looks at the prophets. There are over 300 OT prophecies about the first Advent of Jesus and over 500 concerning his second Advent. One of the points that we made was that the prophecies for the first Advent help us believe whereas the prophecies for the second Advent help us prepare and persevere.

It was comforting to read the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) who badgers a mean judge until she gets the justice that she needs. Jesus uses the story to remind his followers to persist in prayer. If a mean judge will change his mind how much more will our Father in heaven, who love us greatly, give attention to our prayers and answer them. Jesus closes the section with this challenge, "How much…persistent faith will the Son of Man [Jesus] find on earth when he returns?”

The challenge is this. Jesus is coming back (to get us in death or to end the world – whichever comes sooner). He wants us to persist in prayer. He wants us to persist in doing good. He wants us to persist in loving and serving him. He wants us, even though he’s invisible, to persist in our faith so that when he returns to the earth he will find us ready.