Joseph’s life reminds us that God is not a slave to the sinful decisions of man. He can take the worst of decisions, and bend and weave them into His sovereign plan We should take heart that God is big enough to redeem the worst of decisions (both ours and others) for our good and His glory.

The attitude of Rebekah’s heart was revealed in this act. She could have done only what was asked of her. But of her own initiative, she went beyond that, and offered to serve lowly, smelly camels water as well. This revealed a servant heart that was literally bursting with desire to serve – to go beyond what was asked of her.

This is not a lesson limited to women, but for every person who calls themselves a child of God. We are to be eager servants. We should look for ways to surprise others in the ways that we serve them. And there should be no act of service (even if it is “watering camels”) that is beneath us. “For even the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve….” (Mark 10:45).

Upon my return I begin to dive back into my semi-warm burrito when my 4-year old son says, “Daddy, I need to use the bathroom.” The same look is exchanged between my wife and I, and once again I volunteer to do bathroom duty(grudgingly I must admit). Since he’s a boy, I think this will be a much more efficient and less risky trip – until we close the door and he informs me that this is going to be a #2 run. So I repeat the steps you read above, trying to thank God for indoor plumbing and for kids that are out of diapers. I returned to my now cold burrito, when a thought hit me like a ton of bricks. Christ-like joyful servants don’t whine or complain.

These are small inconveniences that I have recounted – small acts of service to my kids. And yet, I blow them out of proportion, as though I am actually having to make a sacrifice for my kids when I do this. A minor inconvenience, an interrupted meal, a so called “gross experience – are these worthy to even be called sacrifices? They are not. Romans 15:3 says, “For Christ did not please himself….” Christ was always looking for a way to please and serve others. His service to others was wholehearted, without grumbling or whining. How I need God to change my heart to one of joyful sacrifice for my wife, my kids, my church, and the world. It’s amazing that God can use the potty to challenge me toward joyful service.

The Bible is not merely a collection of several little stories all compiled in one book. It is the telling of one story, that “Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim 1:15). It is the telling of God’s divine rescue plan, revealed one step at a time over the course of many years. From the Garden of Eden to Revelation, God is building a people to worship Him forever. He builds this people through the work of His son Jesus. So, whether is is the story of David and Goliath, or Paul on the road to Damascus, they are all pieces of the greater story of God’s Glory shown most clearly in the work of Jesus Christ.

If you would like to join in this journey here is a link to the reading plan and here is a link to a video that explains more about this journey. I look forward to sharing some of these questions, quandaries, observations and celebrations of God’s Word with you.

In Psalm 119:9 it is said “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” It is God’s light that allows us to see. We cannot understand anything about life, family, faith, work, or government without the light of His Word. We cannot make our way through the “Sleepy Hollow” of life apart from it. When his light illuminates, we see things as the really are and realize that the things we feared are not really that fearful. When His light illuminates, we see the next step we ought to take, even if we can’t see all the way to the end of the path. When His light illuminates, we can tell the difference between light and dark, causing us to run toward light, and run away from darkness.

Our Good God has not left us to wander in the pitch black of this fallen world. Take up His Word daily, and rejoice in the light that it gives!

1. The Day of Adversity will come – The verse pre-supposes that there will be days when the cards seem stacked against you. Suffering and trials are part of life in a fallen world. If you are not living in the day of adversity now, it will come eventually. We cannot avoid it, so we should not be surprised by it.

2. Fainting in adversity is condemned –  Our temptation during these times is to give up on life and God. We might assume that God is not good and that he is not in control. The fainting of our faith is not an option. Though the soldiers of our soul seem to be on the run, though we may loose ground at times, we must turn the fight back toward the enemy. We must not loose the field. We must not give up. We must not faint.

3. The “strength” Solomon refers to in this verse is the strength of our faith in God to bring victory. Only God can bring us through days of adversity. Were He to leave us alone, we would certainly faint. The fight is His. He is the great General leading the charge. But we have to trust him enough to surge into battle behind him against thoughts of doubt and despair during hard times.

“…for we know that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness.” – James 1:3

This passage of the rich young ruler is primarily about God making the impossible possible. This rich young ruler was both a legalist and a man in love with his wealth. God uses these two deficiencies in this man to teach us the lesson that both conditions make reunion with God impossible – unless He intervenes.

Impossibility #1 – A Legalist Gaining Eternal Life – v18-22a

• The misguided view of doing – 10
  
  • “What must I do?” We are a “do” type of people. We love to ask this question.
    
    • We want to know what to “do” to save ourselves. – This leads to a “Do it Yourself” Salvation
      
    • We want to know what to “do” to be pleasing to God. This leads to a “Do it Yourself” Sanctification
      
    • We want to know what to “do” to feel good about ourselves. This leads to a “do it yourself” Joy
      
  • We think that doing “good things” makes one “good.” “Who is Good?” “No one is good except God alone.” Our “good” deeds are nowhere close to the true sense of “good.”
    
  • Our example of someone with this attitude – The Pharisee of v9-12 was obsessed with doing. You cannot do enough.
    
• The right view of doing – 5
  

  Lest you hear me saying that we need to do nothing, let me share how we “do” in a way that is pleasing to God.
  

  • What you do cannot save you but is a response to what has been done for you.
    
    • Recognizes what we do is important – but what God can do is more important.
      
    • Recognizes what we do is a response to what God has already done.
      
    • Recognizes the activity itself is not the issue, but the attitude.
      
    • Recognizes we don’t need to stop the doing, but change the motive of the doing. It is not that we stop doing the commandments; we simply do them for the right reasons. A right question for the ruler would have been, ‘teacher, what can I do to show my gratitude for what God has done for me?’
      
    • Recognizes there will always be “one thing we still lack.”
      

Christ does not list the commandments as a prescription to salvation, but as a measuring stick to reveal the man’s utter need for God to do in him what is impossible for him to do himself.

Impossibility #2 – A Rich Man Gaining Eternal Life – Is there any hope for the rich? v22b-30

What this is not saying:

1. Possessions are Evil – Sell Everything you Have
   
   • Examples like Abraham, Jacob, Job, David, Solomon and Joseph or Arimethea proves such is not the case.
2. Selling your possessions is the climax of your Spiritual Journey
   
3. A Single Dramatic Act will impress God
   
4. If you are not wealthy by American standards, this passage does not apply to you.
   

What this is saying:

• Sometimes God calls us to Sacrifice Goods for Him v22
  
  • We can all be more giving to the poor than we already are
    
• Giving to the poor accomplishes nothing if we do not also “follow him.” – v22
  
  • If we only “give” and do not “follow” we repeat the mistake of the legalist
    
• Possessions compete with God on the throne of the wealthy man’s heart – It is difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom – v24
  
  • We need to be able to put ourselves in the rich young ruler’s place, and say with confidence we would give up anything if God called us to
    
    • The Danger of Taking this to lightly
      
    • The Danger of Taking this to literally
      
• When he calls us to Sacrifice Goods, he will bless our sacrifice – v29-30
  
  • In this life
    
  • In the life to come
    
• It is impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom apart from God’s Grace – v26
  

We’ve looked at two conditions that make it impossible to inherit eternal life – being a legalist and being wealthy. But God can make the impossible, possible. If you are His, He has saved you not because of what you have done, but in spite of what you have done. You and I are the Wealthy Legalist. Let’s take a moment to thank Him for doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

What do widows, tax collectors and children have in common? One may not see much on the surface, but today’s passage will show us otherwise. Today we are going to look at three passages that are often treated separately. But I believe that Luke strung them together in his gospel to illustrate a common thread runs through them all – The proper attitude for prayer – that attitude being Humble Persistence. We will first look at the two sides of this coin, one being persistence and the other being humility. We will then see this attitude personified at the end of our passage.

I.     Persistence in Prayer

It is not uncommon to be tempted to “lose heart” when praying for things that have yet to be granted. God wants to encourage us to continue praying with persistence and he states that as his purpose in this passage.

• The Persistence of the Widow
  • The widow was persistent – v3
    • Do we “keep coming?” Do we keep bringing our requests to God? Do we use “Thy will be done” as an excuse to pray half heartedly. Is there fervor in our prayers?
    • The purpose of prayer is not so much to change God’s mind as it is to change ours.
  • The judge responds because of her persistence – v4-5
    • He was not a kind and loving judge. How much more will a loving father do for his persistent children?
      • His answer will be swift (v7). Though it tarry wait for it. Also 2^nd Peter 3:9
• The Plea of the Widow
  • Give me justice (v3)
    • God hears his children’s prayers for justice.
• Our Parallels with the Widow The Pattern of the Widow
  • Humbly acknowledge that there is a judge who can answer our petitions
  • Ask Him to answer
  • Ask Him again (“day and night”- v7)
  • Ask for Faith to believe that He will answer (v8).

II. Humility in Prayer

The Pharisee

• Cannot see his sin (v11)
• Uses others as his comparison (v11)
• Rests in measurable activities (v12)
• His words are many (33 to be exact)

The Tax Collector

• Willfully acknowledges his sin (13)
• Uses God as his comparison
• Rested in nothing but God’s Mercy
• His words are few (7 to be exact)

• Humility leads one to recognize his/her unworthiness
• Our good works do not earn us the right for God to hear our prayers.

III. Humble Persistence in Prayer Personified

• Christ is looking for a child-like attitude in prayer
  • Children are persistent in pursuing what they want. They are not afraid to ask time and time again.
  • Children are humble in recognizing their dependence. They ask for what they lack.
    • A child asking for her milk.
    • Psalm 131:1-3
• Humble Persistence is not attractive to the world (v15)
• Humble Persistence is necessary to enter the Kingdom of God (v17)

It is just like the Lord to use the least likely of examples to illustrate a point. He did not choose a king, an orator, or a statesman to demonstrate how we ought to pray. But he chose a widow, a tax collector and a child to demonstrate what a proper prayerful attitude should look like. But He has given us an even better example of the prayerful attitude of humble persistence in Jesus Christ. His humility was a perfect humility. And His persistence is seen even now, as he patiently brings our prayers to the Father moment by moment, hour after hour, day after day. Let us look to Him as our most perfect example of humble persistence in prayer.

In times like this, it is good to be reminded of 1 Peter 1:3-5 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled,unfading, kept in Heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Here are some lessons from this verse that are worth remembering:

1. When we feel hopeless, we can be reminded that God has given us hope – not in a stock market rebound, but in His son Jesus Christ. It is a living hope that does not ebb and flow depending on the events of the day.

2. Our lasting inheritance is not our Retirement Plan (important though that may be). Our True inheritance is in Heaven. There is never any risk of our Heavenly inheritance falling, fading, or vanishing.

3. God is the great guard of our eternal  inheritance. Your financial adviser and the best asset allocation strategy in the world are not capable of perfectly guarding you and your future. Only the God, by his power can guard your eternal future.

I certainly don’t intend to minimize the importance of wise decision making when it comes to our Earthly inheritance. I do intend to remind us that there is a much more important Heavenly inheritance that has been forever secured for the Children of God by the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let that comfort you on down days like today. It isn’t the first, and it won’t be the last.