Text: Luke 18:1-8

Our Spiritual DNA:

the fundamental and distinctive characteristics or qualities of someone or something

Jesus is speaking not to the ones there, but He is speaking to the end time believers!

Main Thought:

"8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" Will God not avenge those who cry day and night? The answer is yes, God will, and Jesus gives us great insight, not only will God answer but He is looking for those on the earth to cry, (notice the language here) out to Him day and night (constant, repetitive, urgently, desperately)

Men ought always to pray and not faint, in the midst of needs, and trials, you pray and you don't stop praying, don't lay down in the battle.

The Search: Will He Find It

God searches for men to use to bring about His purposes on earth
As God said in Ezekiel 22:30 "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none." He is looking for an Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me."

Oh the Spirit is searching, He is looking for those that will be found faithful today!.

Jesus ask when He returns will He find this faith on the earth...The thing He is looking for is those that pray without ceasing, a people that will not faint.

The obvious is the opposite, He will not find it, nor does not hear it or see it everywhere, many give up, are overcome by the circumstances and culture of this world.

Jesus tells us that this is the faith He will be looking for when He returns.

Our Ancestry: Faith

The need to break up the fallow ground (Hosea 10:12 "12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you."

They longed to see a move of God, things had been taken (children) and they were not going to relent until the enemy brought them back (David @ Gilgal)

They knew such thing as being too desperate, they knew what had been burdened upon their heart and cried to the only one who could change their situation (Hannah, Rachel)

Their was a desperate longing (Psalms 42 42 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?3 My tears have been my meat day and night, verse 7:7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me."

They stood on the promises of Jeremiah 29:13 "13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." and Isaiah 65"24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

They fought the devil for every inch of their city, Paul said he fought the beast of Ephesus, He fought the devil for that city.

This was their ancestry, it is who they were, give an example of my bald spots, my posture, my walking, it is who I am...This is our spiritual DNA, Christians prayers move heavens, Jesus has promised answers and power, no weapon formed against us shall prosper, the gates of hell will not prevail, this is our heritage....this is who we are!

A Lost Heritage:

But we have now places that sit as relics, places as God described to Jeremiah as desolate, with just the howling of beast, and I'm not talking about churches, they are abundant, but I am talking about those places where the cries of God's people were once offered up, there is entertainment but no anguish, abundance but no sorrow, laughter but no sorrow.....this man or woman of old is an anomoly.

Oh the tragedy of Judges, God's people in the hills and the caves
Oh the sadness of Psalms 137, "137 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion."

Oh maybe the shoe doesn't fit this morning, but we can look back and weap about yesterday or we can move forward and be the Church of Jesus Christ. Why sit we here until we die? (story of the four lepers and the Syrians in Samaria)

Hope and Power for Today:

This is the faith Jesus is looking for, faith that moves mountains, changes circumstances, heals the sick, brings deliverance to the captive,

But my Bible says that these signs shall follow those that believe, Mark 16 "17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Jesus said that we shall receive power!

I thank God for what He did for Blind Baremeaus, but there are blind Bartemeaus's today, Upper Room, Apostle Paul and so on......I want to see God move in power today!!!

God chose one man...Abraham, Moses, Elijah (go hide thyself), God will always use man/woman of prayer, Whitfield, Wesley, Jonathon Edwards, Evan Roberts, William Seymour.........God is looking for one, who will hide themselves in Him,

There is power availble today, Go hide thyself...There is provision, preperation, protection...Go hide thyself!

We have always been called to be a people of Power, a relavence has nothing to do with relatability, a relative church is not a church in touch with the world, but in touch with God,this has always been will always be the pattern

This is the faith, those persistantly looking to Jesus no matter what is going one, they are steadfast, windblown, cannot be dettered, they have set their face to seek Him and are not giving up! Nothing is going to stand in there way, in perils, in shipwreck....

But Prayer Was Made:

Example of Peter Acts 12....the enemy was attacking,but prayer was made, one day a testimony because prayer was made

This is our DNA, this is the ancestry of the Church, we have forgotten who we are, the way has been made, the doors flung open, we have become content to be victims, the violent take it by force!, Bind the strongman!

I'm not going to let the devil steal from me anymore.