A Cry for Justice
A Cry for Justice
Luke 18:1 And he (Jesus) spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Luke 18:2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: Luke 18:3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Grant me Justice against mine adversary. Luke 18:4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Luke 18:5 Yet because this widow troubles me, I will grant her, Justice lest by her continual coming she weary me. Luke 18:6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says.
Luke 18:7 and shall not God give justice to His elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
Luke 18:8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"
In the final Analysis Riots are the language of the Unheard....and what has America refused to hear? Rev. Dr MLK.jr
As Long as America postpones Justice we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Rev. Dr MLK.jr
Social Justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of Riot prevention. Rev. Dr MLK.jr
His name is George Floyd. A Minnesota grocery store called the police on him when they thought he was writing a bad check. He wasn’t.
MPD officer Derek Chauvin (badge #1087), along with two other officers, pinned him down to the hard pavement and stuck his kneel on George’s neck until he died, while officer Tou Thao (badge #7162) stood by and did NOTHING.
Minneapolis city mayor Jacob Frey announced immediately after the incident, the four officers had been fired. However, In the aftermath of the firing of the officers 4 days of rioting ensued in Minneapolis and throughout the nation for these men to be brought to Justice for the murder of George Floyd.
In this parable in Luke 18:1-8 Jesus is teaching His disciples about Prayer. But not just any ole prayer. He teaches on prayer that releases Justice for His followers – those that have endured suffering in His name.
Prayer and long bouts with Injustice go hand in hand in God’s plan to release a cry from the earth that brings forth Justice. – Though He bears long with them, He will grant Justice to them that will pray, day and night. Luke 18-7, 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?
The Purpose of a Cry to Unjust rulers and judges for Justice of an oppressed people is faith for the return of Jesus.
OUR NEXT MONTHS SOLEMN ASSEMBLY IN THE MONTH OF JUNE JUNE, JUSTICE & THE RETURN OF JESUS WILL BE MAY 31ST - JUNE 6TH TO COINCIDE WITH PENTECOST......DURING THIS WEEK WE'RE GOING TO PRAY & LEARN WHAT THE JUSTICE OF JESUS IS FROM THE BOOK OF THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
What happened in Georgia, Minnesota and what has been happening in race relations in our country over the last 7 or 8 years, since 2012, I wrote was coming in my book, “The Beginning of Sorrows-biblical paradigms for the Comfort and Peace during times of Judgment and Tribulation.
It's the Matthew 24:8 signs of the Beginning of Sorrows (Birth Pangs) that includes the signs of nation (race) against nation (race) that will increase the closer we get to the coming of Christ and His kingdom, like a woman's contractions in birthing, which get longer and stronger the closer to the time of her delivery. With the Covid-19 plague together with nation (ethnicity) against nation (ethnicity) we can see that we've entered into this unique biblical time spoken of in scripture, preparing to usher the earth into a new age
Matthew 24:6-8 says, and ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation (ethnicity) shall rise against nation (ethnicity), and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, (plagues), and earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
These verses specifically indicate why racial conflict will increase as we come closer to the return of Christ and His righteous kingdom to the earth. Jesus came into the earth the first time, over 2000 years ago, in the context of racial oppression against His people, the Jews, and He's coming back to the earth the second time in the same context.
He's coming back in the context of a world-wide race war, as all nations come against Israel (Zechariah.14) simply because of their ethnicity.
Zechariah 14:1-3 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives...
To defeat racism, we must do as Jesus showed us while on the earth. Jesus came the first time during a time of severe racial oppression happening against His people at the hands of the Roman Empire, as they had colonized the nation of Israel and were keeping them down by ongoing marital law. But Jesus revealed how to respond in Luke 18:1-8.
Therefore, racial Injustice is the context from which Prayer is introduced to Jesus’ Church in the New Testament in Luke 18:1-8. The backdrop of the aforementioned teaching and parable on prayer and injustice is, that the Jews were experiencing severe oppression at the hands of their Roman occupiers of their land. Rome had colonized their land.
The Romans began the military conquest concept of Colonization. The Jews were colonized in their own land and were under severe oppression. They looked and longed for their Messiah to come, which had been prophesied centuries before, to overthrow the yoke of Roman oppression.
Jesus, their promised Messiah comes and very few recognize him, because he did not come violently overthrowing the Roman government. But he teaches them another way to respond to injustice from their Roman oppressors that not only would free them from their oppressors, but free their oppressors also – PRAY. Why?
Justice is not just for the oppressed, but for the oppressor also
Jesus’ Justice is not just for the oppressed, but for the oppressor also. He wanted them to access a kind of Justice that would bring reconciliation of the oppressed to the oppressor, tearing down the wall of Hostility (Eph. 2:15). This was accomplished under the ministry of Apostle Paul to the Romans, as the gospel ended up being spread in all of Rome by the Romans that came to Christ through Paul’s message.
Justice culminates in Racial Reconciliation
Do you think the Romans would have come to Christ if Jesus led a violent overthrow of the Roman Government like many of His people and disciples wanted him to? No, Jesus response released true Justice that is liberty and Justice for all, not just the oppressed.
He teaches them that Prayer releases the Justice of God into the earth. But not only does it release Justice into the earth, it gives the oppressed the character and nature of the Love of Christ to be able to love, forgive and have compassion on their oppressors as that Justice is being released, releasing reconciliation along with Justice, which is what true Justice entails.
The Cry for Justice and the Civil Rights Movement
Regardless of what side of the divide you fall on we cannot deny that there’s something bigger than this that’s going on, not only in our nation, but in the nations of the world. There’s a cry for Justice going forth throughout our nation. This cry for Justice is the same type of cry that went forth in the first century when Jesus came to his own and they did not receive Him.
Because His directive to them was to pray, day and night, and while you’re praying and waiting on Justice, He tells them to love your enemies, pray for those that persecute you.
Bless those that despitefully use you. (Matthew 5:24).
This is the same type of cry that went forth when Martin Luther King Jr. led a non-violent movement for racial justice in the United States of America in the 1950s and 60s. This was the same pattern and method undertaken by Dr. King and the civil rights movement in their quest for civil rights that began in the African-American Church, which began the breakdown of the system of segregation in America and around the world, in the 20th century.
The principles of non-violent engagement in civil disobedience
Though there were differing methods employed by different groups during the Civil Rights movement that might have cluttered and attempted to shroud over the methods employed by Dr. King, in the end it was Dr. King’s visionary leadership and principles of non-violent engagement in civil disobedience that won out over an unjust system of racial discrimination.
Dr. King often led prayer vigils in the churches before they would lead protest marches for the rights of African-Americans for freedom and Justice. He wrote during the Montgomery bus boycott in an article called Pray for Justice. – From the book, “A Testament of Hope,” Harper Collins. p.84
Even though convicted, we will not retaliate with hate, but will still stand in love in our hearts, and stand resisting injustice, with the same determination with which we started out. We need a great deal of encouragement in this movement. Of course one thing that we are depending on, from not only other communities but from our own community, is prayer. We ask people everywhere to pray that God will guide us, pray that justice will be done and that righteousness will stand. And I think through these prayers we will be strengthened; it will make us feel the unity of the nation and the presence of Almighty God. For as we said all along, this is a spiritual movement.
A New Movement of Justice in this Generation
Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement was a foretaste of what is coming in our generation, with their many prayer meetings, speeches, marches, and sit-ins, resisting unjust laws in a system of injustice towards African-Americans in the 50’s and 60’s.
However, as we embark upon this next season of a cry for Justice, as was depicted in Luke 18:1-8, there’s another protest movement of resistance to injustice that’s arising from this generation that will highlight day and night prayer with singing and worship that goes up 24/7 to God from the earth that will stand against an unjust system in our generation. Luke 18:7 and shall not God give justice to His elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
This Movement of Justice must include Prayer along with Protest Marches
This movement for Justice will not only involve marches, sit-ins and die-ins, but sing-ins, worship-ins, prayer-ins. It will prioritize and highlight worship, singing and prayer as the primary means for the release of Justice. It is during this time that many African-American protestors that flow into the Churches of this generation, will come, not just to have a church service, nor to hear a sermon, but to pray and sing for Justice to come to the earth.
It’s in this context and in this climate that God’s church is going to become a house of prayer for all nations. And those that prioritize prayer for Justice, going to the Judge of Heaven and earth, will rise up with further wisdom from this blueprint, with unique strategies to lead this generation to the door of the unjust judges and systems of this generation, for the release of the Justice that will change our Justice system, our Legislative and Law enforcement systems, our Religious systems, our Families, our Educational systems, as well as our Business systems, to release Justice into all the earth.
This movement of Justice in this generation is going to come through day and night prayer in the Love of God. Dr. King and the civil rights movement gave us a foretaste of what’s coming for this generation. This cry for Justice is a cry that’s going up all over the world.
There is a cry for justice going up all over the world. The cry for Justice that’s going up presently in this nation from African-Americans is a cry that comes from deep down within the soul of a people-group, put there by God.
It’s a cry from centuries of injustices all conjoined together in one act, that reveals that past attempts at justice have fallen short and have yet to satisfy and bring forth true Justice.
Because true Justice does not just bring forth a favorable verdict, but it brings forth reconciliation, and can only come through day and night prayer that releases Jesus into the hearts of men, and eventually into the earth.
The Return of Jesus and True Justice
When you look at Luke 18:1-8 and how Jesus will return to the earth to make wrong things right - I tell you, He (Jesus) will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" - You can see that Minnesota is about something much bigger than the murder of George Lloyd by a Minnesota Police officer.
They just happen to be the two that stepped on the stage of history in this end of the age narrative of nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom that Jesus said would be the backdrop of His return in Matthew 24:7, 8 This is where we are in the earth.
This cry for Justice in our nation, with this particular incident in Minneapolis, is conjoined with the cry for justice all over the earth, and with all of the past injustices in the history of this nation against African-Americans, by a key phrase from these verses that gets to the essence of what this teaching on Prayer is unto – God will grant Justice to his elect, which cry day and night unto him, THOUGH HE BARE LONG WITH THEM. Jesus begins the parable admonishing them not to lose heart in prayer, but to pray continually – day and night (Luke 18:7).
Notice in this parable, the widow woman bothered and bugged the unjust judge into giving her justice. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.'4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'"
We should further see that the unjust judge didn’t give her justice because he felt like she had experienced injustice. He only gave her justice because she kept bothering him. His heart wasn’t changed towards the widow woman, he was just tired of her bothering him about her situation.
Jesus was trying to show His disciples that when true justice comes it will change the hearts of all parties involved, not just those who have experienced the injustice.
Jesus wanted His disciples to see, just as the widow woman sought the unjust judge continually, day and night, to get his attention, followers of Christ and seekers of justice must also seek God in prayer, day and night, not only to receive justice from the unjust judges of the earth, but to receive justice from the judge of heaven and earth, causing the hearts of all parties involved to be healed and changed, ending in reconciliation, which is true justice.
Jesus was saying, if they would seek God, day and night, like this widow woman sought the unjust judge day and night, He would release the justice of God that would culminate in the Son of man returning to the earth in answer to their faith-filled prayers to Him.
African-Americans have sought justice from the White man, when Jesus has said, Justice can only come from the Son of man, through day and night prayer. Minneapolis, Minnesota is strategic, meant to refocus African-Americans in prayer from seeking justice from an imperfect system, to seeking justice from the system of the kingdom of God, releasing a fervent cry to God for Jesus to return.
If voices of reason arise and the people respond right to God in this incident, He will release a prayer movement in the African American community that will get the attention of heaven. How will we respond?
