Hold On Like a Lock Jaw: The Widow and the Judge

Sermon outline

When we pray "give us this day our daily bread", we come as sons who are sure it is God's will to provide, we ask specifically for what serves His purpose, and we hold on to His word with tenacity until what was stolen is restored.

1. Draw near with a true heart, and keep assembling

   A true heart is a sincere heart that comes to the Lord without an agenda. Do not forsake assembling together, so much the more as the day approaches. Woe to the man who receives the blessing he prayed for and then uses it as the excuse not to be in the house of the Lord, because he has organised his life around the blessing instead of the One who gave it.

   Illustration: After three years of asking for a promotion you get it, and now you are always busy, sitting in the prayer meeting with your laptop open doing work.

   “He gave you the blessing, but now you are appropriating your life according to the needs of that blessing, rather than the person who gave you the blessing.”

   • Hebrews 10:22-25
   • Proverbs 10:22

2. You cannot come to the Lord in fear

   He recaps the four prerequisites from the previous nights: communion with the Father, fellowship with the local church, a diligent and balanced work life, and obedience in giving. When we are consumed by the worries of the world we go into workaholic mode and then panic mode, take every extra job, and push God out of the driver's seat. If we truly believe He will provide, we rest in His ability to meet our need.

   Illustration: Like Leon Schuster, we become the panic mechanic. We tell God He is driving like an old man and jump into the driver's seat because we need to get there today.

   “Never make a decision when you're panicked. Never make a decision when you're fearful. Never make a decision when you're double-minded.”

3. Believe that it is God's will to prosper you

   God's timing is almost always different from ours, so the only way to be sure is to be in His will; then what is yours will come. Do not go running after someone's lucky streak. A poverty mentality will never receive God's best, and the man who wavers should not expect to receive anything. God's word promises the blessing, the return on giving, the hundredfold and the supply of every need, so we come as a son living in his father's house.

   Illustration: Auntie Shirley down the road went to the casino and made a thousand rand, so now everyone wants to catch her magic touch. He calls that devilish.

   “We don't take our faith into our own hands. We make a decision to trust the Lord, and we follow. Even when it seems like it's not going anywhere, we follow God.”

   • Deuteronomy 28:1-6
   • James 1:6-7
   • Luke 6:38
   • Mark 10:29-30
   • Philippians 4:19

4. Be specific

   Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known. Praying "if it be your will, give me a job" is double-minded and a poverty mentality, because God wants to bless you. But be specific about what is necessary to do His will, not about wants that serve no purpose of His. At the right time and place, God brings the desires of the heart of someone who is in His will.

   Illustration: He would like an expensive pair of AI glasses for translating when he travels, but he does not bring that before the Lord, because it is a want. His car is serving God's purpose bringing people to church, so why pray for a three million rand car?

   “So when we are specific, we are specific about what's necessary and we need now in order to fulfill and to do His will better.”

   • Philippians 4:6

5. Hold on like a lock jaw

   The widow received her answer from the unjust judge because she would not stop asking, and God will avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and night. It takes tenacity to recover what the adversary has stolen, like a pit bull whose jaw locks and holds on even if the dog is killed. This is not asking from a fearful place but thanking God, receiving it, and reminding Him of His word. A thief who is caught must restore sevenfold.

   Illustration: A pit bull, which they call a lock jaw, holds on to the thing even after the dog is dead.

   “It takes tenacity to recover what Satan, our adversary, has stolen from us.”

   • Luke 18:1-8
   • Proverbs 6:30-31
   • Joel 2:25

6. God is redeeming the time

   Redeeming the time does not necessarily mean adding years to your life. In this year of double blessing and great grace, what should have taken five years will take less than one, and what should have taken a year God can give overnight. It is grace, not work, so you will never have to explain or justify it.

   “You will never have to explain the blessing of the Lord because the blessing of the Lord will be evident.”

   • Ephesians 5:16

In this message