Persistent Prayer: Overcoming Sin Through Faith and Grace

Luke chapter 18 Jesus told a story of a widow and the widow was being harassed by an enemy and he says she came to the judge Luke 18 verse 3 and says please protect me from the enemy is the devil and he's harassing believers constantly condemning them making them fall making them slip up tempting them making them trip up what is the widow do it's interesting that Jesus always pictured Christians as weak people Christians are never pictured in the Bible as a Giants or lions no Christians are pictured as have a son to go and talk to the judge she has to go herself she's got no children a childless Widow can you think of anyone more helpless in that this is the picture Jesus gives of a Christian so Christians are not supposed to be great mighty powerful strong people like Giants they're helpless people like sheep and widows so that they don't depend on themselves but go to God for help that's the point of the story [00:10:55]

this Widow is helpless against and it says the judge will not listen to her so what did she do she kept on pestering the judge went to his house at two o'clock in the morning knocked there went to the office his office later on during the day and kept on pestering him til it says the judge says even though I don't fear God Luke 18 for and I don't respect any man he says I couldn't care less for the opinion of any man see the Lord is contrasting an unrighteous judge with a loving father this unrighteous judge was willing to listen to the widow because she pestered him saying protect me from my enemy and he says do you think your loving father will not protect you from your enemy who's making you sin again and again and again [00:12:11]

about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night I think that's the secret a lot of people who want to be free from sin I believe they have a desire but not strong enough to cry day and night I mean if your child was seriously so when we don't have that attitude to overcoming sin our problem is that we think sin is not as bad as a sickness I think if you had if you were diagnosed with cancer you'd certainly pray day and night and that's one of the things I discovered I was also defeated even after being born again for many years in my Christian life I would follow Jesus was my forgiver I would always be forgiven every day if I died I'd go to heaven because I confessed my sin and I was forgiven but I he hadn't saved me from my sin then I saw that I have to cry day and night so I said Lord I'm gonna take this matter of sinning seriously [00:12:57]

do you know that your soul is meant to be entirely gods he created your soul to be entirely belong to him but the devil that's your property and the devil has encroached into your soul and occupied more and more of your property which should belong to God is this wise you mean you murmur complain and grumble and love money and be bitter against someone and gossip and backbiting your property is getting lost I mean if that was happening to your earthly property you'd do something about it you go to a court and get some action taken against that guy is occupying your property but you don't seem to realize your soul is gradually being occupied by the devil more and more and more and more [00:16:22]

the Israelites were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb they put the blood of the lamb outside that door posts they were baptized in water they went into the Red Sea and came out and they were baptized in the cloud a picture of the baptism the Holy Spirit they had the same experiences symbolically that people who say they have the full gospel have but what happened to these people they were rejected by God it says they provoked him verse 16 those who came out of Egypt and he was angry with these people who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb baptized in the Red Sea and baptized in the cloud he was angry with them for 40 years he's not up talking about being angry with Egyptians he's not talking about being angry with a Canaanite Giants he's talking about being angry with those who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and were baptized in the Red Sea why their bodies fell in the wilderness because he told him to go and possess the land and they didn't bother about it [00:23:45]

Joshua and Caleb said yes God can help us to overcome these giants who are pictures of sin and they went in all the others perished don't think the majority is right in the wilderness when they came to the land of Canaan first time there was six hundred thousand men only two people got in Joshua and Caleb this is written as a warning for us that you can be redeemed by the blood of the Lamb baptized in water baptized in the Holy Spirit and when it comes to dealing with sin in your life the Giants of sin that rule in your life you let them rule your body just like those Israelites let the King and I Giants rule Kenan which is meant to be for God your body is meant to be the temple of the Holy Spirit and you allow those sins to rule [00:25:16]

we have a high priest verse 15 who can sympathize with our weakness it's put in a negative way we don't have a high priest who cannot sympathize meaning that we do have a high priest who can sympathize with our weakness what is our weakness our weakness is not that we cannot lift heavy weights our weaknesses that we are not done by sin you know how they say there's an expression in English saying you can knock that man down with a feather a feather you know thin and light a feather is what type of man is this who you touch him with a feather and he falls down he must be really weak and the devil says most of these men I just sent a pretty girl down their way there knocked out a feather they finished or that wife at home some little thing goes wrong in the house one feather and she's down knocked out yelling at her husband anger these are supposed to be Christians God gives strength to the weak [00:34:56]

Jesus came he can sympathize with our weakness he knows her weak and he came with the same weak body that could be tempted to sin but did not sin that's a tremendous secret and when my eyes were open to that Lord Jesus you walked on earth tempted with every single thing I'm tempted by what was i tempted by when I was nineteen twenty years old Lord when you were in Nazareth at the age of nineteen and twenty you're exempted exactly the same way when I started earning money what was i tempted with Jesus started earning money as a carpenter he was also tempted the same way but he never sinned and he was tempted in all things verse 15 as we are but he did not sin and sit there for what so what we say he said so what in verse 16 so we can come to that same throne of grace and first of all receive mercy which is I don't condemn you our past is forgiven and for the future receive grace to help us in our time of need [00:36:56]

when we attempted to sin we come to a fork in the road you know like sometimes you come to a fork in the road when you are travelling somewhere and you listen to the GPS right if you are in a strange territory and the GPS says turn right here don't you listen to it believers listen to the GPS much more than they listen to the Holy Spirit I'll tell you that and the GPS knows how to take you to your destination if we can trust the Holy Spirit like that oh don't you hear the voices Holy Spirit you certainly do I know you do in that moment of temptation the Holy Spirit tells you shut your mouth now don't say anything but you don't listen and you open your mouth and let the other person have it does the Holy Spirit get angry with you that's a wonderful thing he doesn't if you take if you disobey the GPS and turn the other way you know what the GPS says he doesn't say why did you go that way no no no no no no it says recalculating I'll bring you back to the right direction I love that it reminds me of the Holy Spirit when you take the wrong turn he doesn't yell at you and say why didn't you take that turn he says I'll bring you back to the right one just listen to me at least now you've wasted a lot of time taking all those circuit as routes trying to think that you know better than the GPS and you went astray and you think you know better than the Holy Spirit newest a lot of your life in your time but he says don't worry I'll bring you back now you would have thought with one lesson like that you'd learn to obey the GPS thereafter I think most people will but when it comes to the Holy Spirit one lesson is not enough we keep on disobeying when will we stop listening the Holy Spirit [00:49:10]

Isaiah chapter 30 it says here in the middle of verse 20 your teacher that's Jesus Christ will not hide himself your eyes will see your teacher tempted like you but not sinning the Holies will show you your teacher and then you'll hear a word in your heart saying turn right here don't turn left when you have to turn to the right or to the left exactly like a GPS but whether you obey or not that's up to you the GPS doesn't take away your free will and God doesn't take away your free will but if you want to end where you should be going to your destination it's better to listen with the GPS and to the Holy Spirit may God help us let's pray so whatever the Lord is spoken to your heart will you pray that the Lord will imprint it in your mind and your memory so that you don't forget it think about it when you go to bed tonight and say Lord what is it you've been trying to say to me this evening something that can change the direction of my life for good please help me to meditate on it it's like pouring water on the seed that was sown we've been sowing a seed here I want to ask you to pour some water on it otherwise it won't grow pour some water on and meditate on it think about it and say lord please I want my life to change I want to go away at the end of this weekend a different person from the way I came please work in me Lord I believe God is more than eager to help you if you're honest about your need and say Lord I cannot overcome but I know you'll help me and crying out you knew the best I know how I'm crying out to you that's enough [00:49:33]