OT Sermon 91 Do You Know Your Vindicator Lives?
What have you been through that tried to take over and define you? What were you accused or of
which you never thought, said or did? There are times in life when we are falsely accused or made
to look a certain way when it is not the truth. We must still exercise faith in God- even when it
seems that He is doing nothing to make us look good. Sometimes He waits and it is a trial of faith for
us to endure criticism, slander or other forms of opposition. Job said that he knew his Redeemer
lived. During the middle of a trial you will need to declare that your Redeemer/Vindicator lives. If
you think that somehow your Defender is dead then you will come under the attack rather than be
on the attack. If you think that He lives you will know His strength even though He may not say
anything to you.
Job 19:25 (GW)
25
But I know that my defender lives, and afterwards, he will rise on the earth.
Job 19:25 (AMP)
25
For I know that my Redeemer and Vindicator lives, and at last He [the Last One] will stand
upon the earth.
It is important to “know” things during a trial. Job was misadvised by his so-called friends
throughout the long book. At the end of the day what you think about the trial you are going
through is not the real point. It is what you “know” about God that will take you through. This is
one such example of what Job knew. He knew that the One who would defend him was alive. He
also knew that same One was his Saviour and Vindicator. Job did not know Christ but in God He had
defence. We stand in Christ today and know Him as our Saviour and Vindicator. You must get to the
stage in your trial where you know that God is your defence. When accusations are coming and
people are saying you said things which you didn’t say or saying you did things which you didn’t do,
you must not get into argument with them. You need to rely on God as your defence.
We can spend a lot of time saying I think “God is teaching me this.......” “is humbling me”, “ God has
given me revelation throughout this trial” but it was is what you know about God that will carry
through this season of trial.
For example:
1. Do you know that God is faithful?
1 Corinthians 10:13 (KJV)
13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also
make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
2. Do you know that God is fair and loves justice?
Psalm 11:7
For the Lord is righteous, He loves justice; upright men will see His face
Acts 10:34 (AMP)
34
And Peter opened his mouth and said: Most certainly and thoroughly I now perceive and
understand that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons,
God doesn’t play favourites (GW)
3. Do you know that God can do anything?
Job 42:2 (AMP)
2
I know that You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained
or thwarted.
Luke 1:37 (GW)
37
But nothing is impossible for God.”
4. Do you know that He is leading you?
Psalm 23:1-4 (GW)
1
A psalm by David. The Lord is my shepherd. I am never in need.
2
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside peaceful waters.
3
He renews my soul. He guides me along the paths of righteousness for the sake of his name.
4
Even though I walk through the dark valley of death, because you are with me, I fear no
harm. Your rod and your staff give me courage.
If you know these things and can hold on to them, you will surmount the obstacles in front of
you. You will not need to defend yourself and go around putting down the opposition. You
will merely lean on God and let Him carry you through.
One of the most important things to learn is that rather than try to defend yourself you will
need to let God defend you. He is your Vindicator and Defender. God will prove you to be
correct even in spite of the many who have come against you.
The fact that He lives should give you confidence. It should be an encouragement to you that He
hasn’t retired or been killed off. Sometimes it can feel like He is not there. Job had to wait until
chapter 38 before God spoke. He had to know that God was around and for him even when He
could not be heard. Scholars believe this trial of Job’s lasted 9 months. How long have you been
going through this? Remember that Job went through a very severe trial and he still came out better
at the end. In a way it is good that God gives us the worst case scenario that Job had to face because
it shows that even when it looks really bad there is recovery and restoration.
People who can humble themselves and look to God during their trial are the ones who will come
out seeing the better rather than the worse.
Sometimes God waits for us to have this better rather than worse scenario
John 11:6 (GW)
6
Yet, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days.
Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick and didn’t move for two days. By the time He got to Lazarus he
was dead and had been dead for 4 days. Did it mean that Jesus didn’t care? Did it mean that Jesus
had had enough of Lazarus, Martha and Mary? Did it mean that He was too busy and was feeling
human that day so couldn’t make Himself available?
No it doesn’t. It says that Lazarus, Martha and Mary were people He loved. Because of the intimacy
He had with them He knew He could trust them with that silence. Yes, Mary does say if you had
been here my brother wouldn’t have died but when she sees Jesus she knows that He is the
Resurrection and the Life.
We need to know Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life. We need to be able to speak to any dead
situation or circumstance and know that Jesus can resurrect them at any stage no matter how far
we’ve gone. Often it’s when it looks too late that God intervenes.
God is always looking at His children and delighting in them. He loves to see His children obeying
Him and trusting Him. I once heard a preacher speak of God as an invigilator. A good invigilator
keeps silent during the test. The invigilator will allow you to show what you’ve learnt and will only
speak at the end.
Rather than complain about your trial, use it as an opportunity to put what you’ve learnt into
practice. So what if you go to every conference or love listening to favourite preachers? If the test
comes and you can’t apply what you’ve learnt then you will keep taking the test until you pass! You
need to humble yourself now and stop trying to defend yourself. Submit to God and instead of
complaining about what has been done to you, apply the Word of God you know about forgiveness
for example. It is not enough to read the books and watch the DVDs. Your faith has to be living and
active like your Defender. If your faith is dead then don’t be surprised if your trial seems to be
fruitless.
You must make the devil sorry that he ever tried to attack you and ruin you. You must demonstrate
the greatness of God in you to a degree that makes satan look stupid. He tried to snuff you out so
that people could never hear you preach the gospel. Instead he attacked you so much and you
ended up triumphing so much that people see the greatest display of God in action. He didn’t get
what he wanted and God allowed it to go on for longer because He could see the fruit you were
bearing and the souls that were being won. God turns it on its head and makes it of value.
When we keep our meditation on the fact that God lives and that He cares it will keep away some of
the negative thoughts we would be likely to have if we start to worry.
MEDITATION
Meditation is good during a trial. Once we meditate on scriptures or topics we open our spirits to
the truth of God’s Word. If you can worry then you know how to meditate. Open the Word of God
and take a passage. Don’t set yourself a target for how much you want to get through. You may
only meditate on one word in a verse. Roll it over and chew on it until you’ve had a good meal.
When we meditate we ponder, we think of the deeper meaning. Meditation will often lead you to
prayer. Praying Word-based prayers is powerful and means that we are praying according to the will
of God. If we pray according to His will then we know He hears us. Don’t worry if you can’t hear
Him saying anything in particular. Accept His Word and know that as you apply His Word and pray in
faith you have the requests you have made.
We have all tried to justify ourselves at times. Job did this during his trial.
Job 32:2 (AMP)
2
Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became indignant. His indignation
was kindled against Job because he justified himself rather than God [even made himself out
to be better than God].
We get into a phase where we think we know best. It is ludicrous to think that we know better than
God. If anyone were to ask us if we knew better then we would say ‘no’. However, we sometimes
show by our actions or what we deny with our mouths. God is not in need of our wisdom. He knows
what He’s doing. If God has not intervened in your situation it doesn’t mean He doesn’t care. What
it means is that the answer to the prayer you prayed just hasn’t manifested yet. If you prayed in
faith then you need to remain in faith.
I find that God allows things to go on often up until a crucial moment. When I demonstrate my faith,
He honours it. I have to remain in faith even when people ask me questions which I would be
tempted to answer with words which would show a lack of faith. I have to show that I have staked
my all in Christ-even when I don’t know how He will answer.
Once you have prayed and remained in faith, God will often give you a conversation with someone
in which you could easily complain, worry, doubt, or say you don’t know what’s going to happen.
When this happens you need to demonstrate your resolve to dependence on God. You need to talk
about what you KNOW rather than what you DON’T KNOW.
It does sometimes make you look stupid to do this because any normal person looking at you would
wonder how it is that you are not worried or how it is that you can be so bold. People want to make
it look as if you are only responsible if you worry. This is not the truth. There is a difference
between worrying and taking responsibility. We must always take responsibility but we must never
worry. Worrying short circuits the power of God. The times when God has worked in my favour the
most were when I didn’t know how He was going to do it. Instead of focussing on what I didn’t know
I chose to focus on certain truths.
Abraham had to hope when there was no reason to hope:
Romans 4:18 (GW)
18
When there was nothing left to hope for, Abraham still hoped and believed. As a result, he
became a father of many nations, as he had been told: “That is how many descendants you
will have.”
If Abraham had decided to jack it all in because he had no reason to hope anymore and didn’t know
what God was doing He would not have inherited the promise. He would not be the father of faith.
God has a position for you. He has an anointing for you. Receive it and go through the process for it
to manifest it. You will not be disappointed!