Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and mishpachah! The last sabbath of the month is upon us and judging by the fear that some of my friends have right now they are concluding it is the last hour! I know a lot of people have been terrified that President Trump is about to launch headlong into the Third World War, made worse by all the contradictory statements coming out of Washington. A lot of people are bracing for the worst, especially with the foreknowledge that a collapse and major judgment is just around the corner.

It is so easy to let fear build up to such an extent that it turns into full-fledged panic. Under such conditions a person does not think straight and can open himself up to all sorts of dangers and perhaps even lose hope. I realise that for many believers in the world today, especially in Syria, the situation can look hopeless. That poor country has been at war since 15 March 2011, that's over seven years, longer than the Second World War. And even though you may not be in Syria, you may be struggling to keep your head above water. I want to speak to these people today and to equip those who may have a tendency to panic or lose hope.

We are going to be reading from the 18th chapter of the Gospel of Luke, New Revised Standard Version:

"Then Yah'shua (Jesus) told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, 'In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared Elohim (God) nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of Elohim (God) and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.' And the Master said, 'Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not Elohim (God) grant justice to His chosen ones who cry to Him day and night? Will He delay long in helping them? I tell you, He will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will He find emunah (faith) on earth?'" (Lk.18:1-8, NRSV).

Now I don't know what thoughts and feelings stir within you when you read this well-known passage. I can well imagine that there are many believers crying out for justice and wondering why they have not received it. Practically-speaking, there may be some negligent judges who would respond to being pestered in this way but it is equally clear that there are many who would not and would likely order anyone complaining in this way to be dragged off and perhaps even imprisoned or executed! Have not some of our friends in East Africa recently experienced this? Yah'shua's (Jesus) was not, of course, first and foremost giving us instructions on how to deal with all unjust judges in all times and places. Many of my friends have been the victims of injustice, as have I. We have dealt with unrighteous and ungodly courts who were not at all interested in justice. That is, alas, the way of the world, and it's not about to change.

Yah'shua (Jesus) is using the illustration of an unjust judge to highlight how very different Yahweh is toward His own children in the matter of justice. The main point of this teaching is to encourage the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) to be tenacious and hopeful in any present ordeal by exercising the kind of emunah (faith) which He hints will be very rare indeed when He returns to the earth in glory. Therefore tenacious, hopeful emunah (faith) is not something you're going to see very often. But it is, and must be, absolutely a quality of the Remnant.

I'll not pretend this necessarily comes easily when one is in the middle of a terrible ordeal but it is by no means impossible otherwise Yah'shua (Jesus) would not call us to be this way. As one who has struggled, and continues to struggle - sometimes in desperation - I will not make light of how tough it can be to get this right. I had to wait until just before midnight last night before Yahweh gave me this message after struggling all day to know what He wanted me to share with you this morning. My body was screaming to go to sleep as I was so ill and exhausted but when the Ruach (Spirit) instructs you, you are expected to respond immediately in obedience.

We are never promised that life will be easy. And we are not promised that discipleship will be a piece of cake either. Life is hard, discipleship is a struggle and it costs but, Yah'shua (Jesus) says, preseverence always pays off. And He doesn't make any exceptions for 'special cases' - everyone is on a level playing friend when it comes to the exercise of emunah (faith). Listen to His wording: "Pray always and do not lose heart". What does He promise? "Will not Elohim (God) grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to Him day and night?" Where does He say that Yahweh will grant justice "sometimes" or "occasionally"? He says that Yahweh will not delay long and underscores that by saying, "He will quickly grant justice to them."

But Messiah knows our tendency to doubt. He knows it very well! Which is why He ends this parable with the words, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find emunah (faith) on the earth?" Not any old kind of 'faith', mind you, but tenacious, hopeful emunah (faith)! We can all of us 'believe'...or imagine that we do, but when the crunch comes - when the rubber of our lives meets the asphalt of reality - how strong does our emunah (faith) actually turn out to be?

The Book of Revelation describes the condition of humanity as the plagues progressively unfold. Yah'shua (Jesus) paints a picture to the apostle John there of a people paralysed by faithlessness, hopelessness and desperation who, rather than face the terror of the Great Tribulation with tenacious, hopeful emunah (faith), just decide to give up:

"Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?'" (Rev.6:15-17, NIV).

Such is the response of those who know that a fearful judgment awaits them, but that is not how "His chosen ones" or elect will respond. Why not? Because they are tenacious, they do not lose hope, and they cling to their emunah (faith).

Some people hearing this will either get angry or depressed. For us to be able to grasp the way in which the widow is a model of prayer that results in a successful and happy outcome means, quite simply, investing our whole life energy in our crying out with tenacious, hopeful emunah (faith) against injustice to our Elohim (God).

I should think it is obvious - but I will say it nonetheless - that Yah'shua (Jesus) says clearly that Yahweh shows partiality towards His children. He's biased in our favour. But, as in the Master's or Lord's Prayer where we are commanded to forgive others in order to receive His free pardon for our own sins (Mt.6:12), so here is implied His requirement of us to be impartial towards others. If Yahweh shows extreme, positive prejudice towards us, His children - prejudice that is in overwhelmingly in our favour - then might He not also require that we show extreme, positive prejudice towards others as a quid pro quo - as a necessary condition or exchange? Consider, if you will, this scriptural injunction by way of an example of what I mean:

"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am Yahweh your Elohim (God)" (Lev 19:9-10, NIV; also 23:22).

From the earliest times Yahweh has expected us to reciprocate His generosity and positive prejudice toward us in our dealings with others. He repeats that mitzvah (commandment) twice in the same book, incidentally. Would you believe me if I told you He repeated the same instruction a third time in the Book of Deuteronomy? (Dt.24:19-22). Just as Yahweh has a surplus of ahavah (love) and favour for us, so, it would seem, we are to show a surplus of ahavah (love) and favour toward our brethren and sisters. In other words, He is saying we must not be stingy. Don't be mean. Be generous. Such a one reflects Yahweh's heart most perfectly.

Now the translation I used in this passage from Luke is not, I think, the best. "So that she may not wear me out by continually coming" (v.5, NRSV) is the very watered-down way the NRSV Bible version renders this scripture. Other versions are even weaker: "because she keeps bothering me" (NIV, ESV), "because she troubles me" (NKJV, NASB, AENT). And one calls her a Jewish "nudnik" (JNT), which means a 'pest' or a 'bore' - "because she keeps pestering me" (JB), as another version has it. Yet none of these convey the actual sense of the original which should read, "lest she continue coming and end up doing violence to me"!

Now that changes the whole sense of the passage, does it not? This judge was not simply irritated into action that ran contrary to his will, he was dead scared because he feared that violence would be done to him! Now think about that for a moment - because we have to weigh these words very carefully. This is the point: according to societal norms, this widow should simply have accepted her fate, not resisting the injustice. By refusing to just 'take it' lying down, she acts so out of character that the judge is astonished and it is in this way that she becomes a model of "faithfulness on earth" (NRSV) which Yah'shua (Jesus) wonders if He will find when He returns. This is the diametric opposite of being dumbed down, cowered or reduced to craven submission, the things that Satan wants and why he has devoted so much time and effort in making society compliant and non-resistant.

Such a picture does not exactly 'fit' with traditional Christian notions, does it? 'Oh,' someone might say, 'but we are supposed to offer the other cheek! We're not supposed to resist!' Haven't you heard that retort before? And then, of course, you will get Yah'shua's (Jesus') teaching quoted at you in an English translation like this one:

"Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also" (Mt.5:39, NKJV).

Before I go on, please understand that I am not saying this widow threatened the judge with a sword or a heavy rolling pin. Neither am I suddenly advocating violence or revolution. I am not remotely saying that. Let's get that clear from the start. Six years ago during Chag haMatzah (Feast of Unleavened Bread) I gave a sermon called, Turning the Other Cheek - some of you may remember it. At that time I made the point that Yah'shua (Jesus) was not inviting the perpetrator of the first assault to have a second go. When Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself was struck on the cheek by an official of the Sanhedrin at His trial, He did not offer his other cheek to be struck (Jn.18:19-23). Far from it! Neither did He retaliate by striking back. But He did reprimand the man who struck him most emphatically. To strike a man on his left cheek with your right hand is reflexive, but to strike him on his right cheek is not. To strike someone's right cheek with the right hand has to be premeditated. To do that - to do it calculatedly, with evil design - is to deliberately dishonour and humiliate the victim. It's taking the sin to a higher level of abuse.

Yah'shua (Jesus) never told us to be silent about sin or injustice but He very definitely did command that we not lash back in vengeance or return insult for insult. It is right to make a lot of noise about injustice. Yah'shua (Jesus) did. He reacted when He was struck. But in offering the 'other cheek' he was telling us to do it in the Christian/Messianic way. We are to offer resistance in a godly way. Otherwise why would He tell us to resist the devil and not do the same to unjust human beings? And by the way, what are we promised if we resist the devil?

"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7b, NIV).

But we must do one other thing first:

"Submit yourselves...to Elohim (God)" (James 4:7, NIV).

Is that all? No, read the verse before that one:

"Elohim (God) opposes the proud but gives grace (undesererved loving kindness) to the humble" (James 4:6, NIV).

By challenging the ungodly judge openly - in a spirit of humility - you are offering your 'other cheek'. You're inviting him to go to a deeper level of wickedness if he dares. But to strike the other cheek, he must cross another line and do a greater evil by dishonouring you even further and that he might be afraid to do because of the potential consequences to him because of a public backlash.

Once a spotlight is shone on evil, by the righteous one protesting her innocence non-violently, then the wicked will often think twice. What was previously done in darkness or the twilight must now be done in a bright light. Don't we see this going on now in the West as our evil rulers are challenged to expose themselves even more? I am not saying this is necessarily easy. It isn't. To be more vocal - to call out the wicked - entails a certain amount of risk which the dumbed down and compliant are not usually willing to do. So it requires courage. It requires tenaciousness. It requires hope for a successful outcome. And to have that sort of hope, requires a deep emunah (faith) in Elohim (God).

Now some judges or officials may only need some 'pestering' or 'bothering' to get them to act right, for whatever reason, but those with greater power and therefore with more to lose may require something a little harsher. Yah'shua (Jesus) clearly intimates that the kind of 'pestering' we do will result in the wicked being fearful. And though no violence is being threatened they may fear that nonetheless.

I have spoken a lot in recent times of the Spirit of Elijah because as the world gets more wicked and our rulers become more corrupt and implaccable, we are going to need to do a lot more than simply make some weak protests at injustice. We are going to have to be up in their faces, trusting Yahweh to bring down spiritual and/or literal fire on them. Do you believe this?

I am telling you now, you need to believe this because the kind of emunah (faith) needed to call down such power from Heaven is precisely the kind of emunah (faith) that the Remnant will own. And that is why it will be so rare on the earth when Yah'shua (Jesus) comes back. And if you have never considered this before, now is absolutely the time to seriously do so, unless you are of the mind to go with the crowd and be absorbed into the darkness of the cowered and faithless.

Again, I repeat, I am not saying this is easy. I would be deceiving you were I to say that all you have to do is 'name it and claim it' because you can't do that. Yahweh isn't going to give any 'spoiled brat' such power to wield recklessly and irresponsibly like a drunk teenager who has stolen the keys to his father's car and is about to go on a potentially dangerous and fatal joy-ride.

Am I making sense? I hope so because I am not saying any of this lightly. I am being deadly serious because this can be a matter of life and death. Also, I don't want you to go away with the wrong idea that all of this is terribly complicated. It isn't. If you are going to pursue justice - and the chances are you may be forced to at some time - then you have got to be submitted to Yahweh - for real - and be humble. And if you're not sure what being hunble is like, I can tell you it's not swaggering around like some spoiled, entitled 'king's kid' who gets to control Elohim (God) simply by using certain words, as so many in the Charisamtic Movement do. That's occultism. That's what Satanists and devil-worshippers do. The Besorah (Gospel) isn't remotely like that.

To be humble is to be unpretentious, to be conscious of one's failings and to be deferential...not insisting on your own way. To be humble is to be willing to have a lower status than others in order to serve them. But there's more to humility than that - implied within the humility that is spoken of in Scripture is the notion of a willingness to suffer for others. Humility is part of the character of Elohim (God) Himself which is why Yah'shua (Jesus) was willing to suffer for us, and die on the cross. Humility is a big word - it is a loaded word, ir is a 'dense' word, as one theologian I know likes to describe such 'big' terms.

Our fellow human beings will afflict us in this life, and often Yahweh permits this in our lives so that we can learn humility. Offering the other cheek is not an act of defiance! It is the very opposite - to be willing to be degraded requires humility absolutely, but as I said, to be humble does not mean that you give an oppressor carte blanche to do what he wants - you have to stand up for what is right boldly, but not arrogantly. That's a hard but necessary lesson to learn. To be firm is not the same as being defiant because defiance is rooted in anger, indignation, offence and much else that is negative besides. Humility, on the other hand, but is rooted in ahavah (love).

The Spirit of Elijah is not given to the arrogant, defiant, indignant, offended or impatient because "ahavah (love) is patient, ahavah (love) is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Ahavah (love) does not delight in evil but rejoices with the emet (truth). It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (1 Cor.13:4-7, NIV).

Which brings us back to where we started, does it not? We have now defined clearly what tenacious, hopeful emunah (faith) is - the kind of emunah (faith) that causes widows to prevail over unjust judges and rulers, the kind of emunah (faith) that will see us through every kind of trial and tribulation, seeing us victorious at the very end. "Will He delay long in helping...?" (Lk.18:7b, NRSV) How long is "long"? I cannot say for sure. How quick is "quickly" in "He will quickly grant justice" (v.8a, NRSV)? Again, I cannot say, because Yahweh's version of time - His sense of what is "long" and "quick" is not necessarily ours. The only thing that is absolutelty certain is that in the end there is always ABSOLUTE JUSTICE. That is the hope of man. Without it, life is goalless and purposeless.