September 20, 2023
6:30 PM - 7:45 PM
500 Williams Street Hattiesburg, MS 39401
Today's Notes:
Praying for Justice
Knowing the God who Exercises Justice (Part 5)
Opening Text
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NASB)
{Jer 9:23} Thus says
the LORD, "Let not a wise man
boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a
rich man boast of his riches;
{Jer 9:24} but let him
who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness,
justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,"
declares the LORD.
Overview
How to Enjoy God’s Justice
§ God’s justice is enjoyed by those who trust.
§ God’s justice is enjoyed by those who obey.
§ God’s justice is enjoyed by those who pray.
What is the justice for which we pray?
§ To pray for justice is to pray for the impartial retribution for unrighteousness inflicted upon others.
§ To pray for justice is to pray for the impartial restoration for loss brought about to the unrighteousness inflicted upon others.
§ To pray for justice is to pray for impartial relief from the unrighteousness currently being inflicted upon others.
§ To pray for justice is to pray for impartial reasonable righteous restrictions to prevent loss unrighteousness being inflicted upon others.
§ To pray for justice is to pray for the impartial enforcement of reasonable righteous requirements in our relationships with others.
' In many ways a prayer for justice is a prayer for right and righteousness to prevail.
Psalm 17:1-2 (KJV) Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
Psalm 17:1-2 (ESV) Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right!
Psalm 17:1-2 (TEV) Listen, O LORD, to my plea for justice; pay attention to my cry for help! Listen to my honest prayer. You will judge in my favor, because you know what is right.
The Lesson
How Shall we Pray for Justice?
Luke 9:51-56 (KJV)
{Lk 9:51} And it came
to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly
set his face to go to Jerusalem,
{Lk 9:52} And sent
messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the
Samaritans, to make ready for him.
{Lk 9:53} And they did not receive him,
because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
{Lk 9:54} And when his
disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire
to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
{Lk 9:55} But he
turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye
are of.
{Lk 9:56} For the Son of man is not come to
destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to
another village.
G When the innocent is killed, inside and outside the womb, or souls are being lost for eternity due to mass deception, it is righteous to cry out for justice.
Psalm 17:1 (NLT2) {Ps 17:1} O LORD, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips.
2 Thessalonians 1:4-6 (NLT2)
{2Th 1:4} We proudly
tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the
persecutions and hardships you are suffering.
{2Th 1:5} And God will use this persecution to
show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you
are suffering.
{2Th 1:6} In his justice he will pay back
those who persecute you.
2 Thessalonians 1:6 (NKJV)
{2Th 1:6} since it
is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble
you,
Psalm 9:7-12 (ESV)
{Ps 9:7} But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for
justice,
{Ps 9:8} and he
judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with
uprightness.
{Ps 9:9} The LORD is a stronghold for the
oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
{Ps 9:10} And those who
know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD,
have not forsaken those who seek you.
{Ps 9:11} Sing praises
to the LORD, who sits enthroned in
Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!
{Ps 9:12} For he who avenges blood is
mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
§ Pray for Redemptive and Restorative justice – pray that God will execute justice to lead unbelievers and backslider to repentance.
§ Pray for Redemptive Restorative Justice for a backslider
1 Corinthians 5:3-5 (KJV)
{1Co 5:3} For I verily,
as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though
I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
{1Co 5:4} In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
{1Co 5:5} To deliver
such an one unto Satan for
the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the
day of the Lord Jesus.
Psalm 99:8 (ESV)
{Ps 99:8} O LORD our God, you answered them; you
were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
§ Pray for Redemptive Justice against a deceiver to lead a deceived sinner to Christ.
Acts 13:6-12 (NLT2)
{Ac 13:6} Afterward
they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they
reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named
Bar-Jesus.
{Ac 13:7} He had attached himself to the
governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The
governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God.
{Ac 13:8} But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek),
interfered and urged the
governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor
from believing.
{Ac 13:9} Saul, also
known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the
sorcerer in the eye.
{Ac 13:10} Then he
said, “You son of the devil,
full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good!
Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?
{Ac 13:11} Watch now,
for the Lord has laid his hand of
punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will
not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the
man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand
and lead him.
{Ac 13:12} When the governor saw what had
happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the
teaching about the Lord.
§ Pray for Preventive Justice
Ecclesiastes 8:11 (NASB) Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.
Psalm 9:17-20 (KJV)
{Ps 9:17} The wicked shall be turned into
hell, and all the nations that forget God.
{Ps 9:18} For the needy shall not alway be
forgotten: the
expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
{Ps 9:19} Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged
in thy sight.
{Ps 9:20} Put them
in fear, O LORD: that the
nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
Psalm 79:9-12 (ESV)
{Ps 79:9} Help us, O
God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our
sins, for your name’s sake!
{Ps 79:10} Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?” Let
the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations
before our eyes!
{Ps 79:11} Let the
groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power,
preserve those doomed to die!
{Ps 79:12} Return sevenfold into the lap of
our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
§ Pray for Protective Justice
Psalm 10:17-18 (NLT2)
{Ps 10:17} LORD, you know the hopes of the
helpless. Surely you will
hear their cries and comfort them.
{Ps 10:18} You will bring justice to the
orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.
Psalm 146:6-7 (HCSB)
{Ps 146:6} the Maker of heaven
and earth, the sea and everything in them. He remains
faithful forever,
{Ps 146:7} executing justice
for the exploited and giving food to the hungry. The
LORD frees prisoners.
Psalm 40:9-15 (NLT2)
{Ps 40:9} I have told all your people
about your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as you,
O LORD, well know.
{Ps 40:10} I have not kept the good news of
your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness
and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your
unfailing love and faithfulness.
{Ps 40:11} LORD, don’t hold back your tender
mercies from me. Let your
unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me.
{Ps 40:12} For troubles
surround me— too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can’t see my way out.
They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage.
{Ps 40:13} Please, LORD, rescue me! Come quickly, LORD, and help me.
{Ps 40:14} May those
who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take
delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace.
{Ps 40:15} Let them be
horrified by their shame, for they said, “Aha! We’ve got him now!”
Let Us Pray
§ Let us pray for the impartial retribution for unrighteousness inflicted upon others.
§ Let us pray for the impartial restoration for loss brought about to the unrighteousness inflicted upon others.
§ Let us pray for the impartial relief from the unrighteousness currently being inflicted upon others.
§ Let us pray for the impartial reasonable righteous restrictions to prevent loss unrighteousness being inflicted upon others.
§ Let us pray for the impartial enforcement of reasonable righteous requirements in our relationships with others.