You feel you should at least be able to explain your situation, so that people know the truth. You feel like you want to confront those that are putting you down, and put them in their place. You feel you want to expose those who are prospering wrongly.

You're not. You feel that somehow you should have the right to vindicate yourself. Well, in the world, that's the way to go, isn't it? In the world, we have recourse to the legal system.

You could hire a lawyer. You could sue somebody. You could do a lot of things, but you see, that's not God's way.

God's way is, He says, I will do the vindicating. I will vindicate you. I will prove you to be innocent.

I will bring down those who are opposing you. And I will expose those who are falsely rising up in your place. I want to look at two characters from the Bible who had to face this situation.

And I want to show you how God stepped in and vindicated them without them having to do it themselves. First one is the man who's considered the man after God's own heart, King David. We see David starts out in life being pushed down.

He's the eighth son in a long line. You know, often these days, and perhaps even back there, sometimes the last child kind of gets favored. In Afrikaans, we call them a lot, lamiki.

And sometimes that child is very spoiled. But in David's case, David was just right at the sort of end of the run. He had these seven brothers who were older than him and were being exalted and promoted.

So they gave David the dirty job that none of them wanted, to go and look after the sheep. You know, when you're made a shepherd, it's kind of the lowest of the low. You just have to sit there with these dumb animals and take care of them.

And so David was given the job that probably nobody wanted. Ever been there? Ever been there where everybody else around you is being given good positions, everybody else being recognized for their great abilities, but you're always just pushed to the bottom? See, David wasn't part of the in crowd. Oh, it's so great to be part of the in crowd, isn't it? To be right in the center of the limelight where everything is happening and to have everybody notice you.

Well, if you're called to be a prophet, you already know what I'm talking about because you've probably never been in with the in crowd. You've obviously always been on the lowest rung and pushed back. Samuel comes to Jesse's household.

God's given him a message. Amongst Jesse's son is one that is to be the next king of Israel. So Samuel gets hold of Jesse.

He says, call all your sons together. I want to see which one is the one that God has chosen. So Jesse calls his seven sons.

I thought you said he had eight sons. Yes, he had eight sons, but he called his seven sons, the top ones. Little David, well, of course he's not going to be the next king.

Why even invite him to the meeting? Leave him with the sheep. So we know the story how Samuel looks at the first born, the eldest, the good-looking guy, and he says, now that looks like a king to me. See, they were used to a king who looks six inches taller than everybody else, like Saul, great big strong guy, the kind of person that you would expect to be a leader, that people would follow.

And God says, no, don't look on the outward appearance. I look deeper than that. I look in the heart.

So Samuel goes through each one of Jesse's seven sons. See, David wasn't invited to the party, but God, God had made a choice. Samuel says, is that all the sons you got? Because none of these are God's king.

Well, you know, yeah, we have that one young, you know, the little guy. I mean, obviously we never invited him. All right, obviously he doesn't have the capability to be a king.

But when he arrives there, redheaded, I mean, a redheaded king, it just doesn't make sense. You know, he's redheaded. He's quite fair.

He's a pretty boy. See, God says, that's my man. That's my king.

God has a time. Though the world may have pushed you down, though others may have set you aside and considered you unworthy, God knows, and he has seen, and he has chosen you, and he has a purpose for your life. And in his time, he will bring you out, and he will show you to the world.

So young David has the oil poured on his head, and he's anointed to be the next king of Israel. Well, isn't that exciting? We need to get a hold of Saul and just let him know to move out of the palace because I'm moving in tomorrow. I'm the new king.

Did you feel that way when God first called you, when the Lord first spoke to you and said, I have called you to be my chosen one. I've called you to be my servant. I've called you to be a prophet.

Maybe even I've called you to be an apostle. Oh, yeah. That's me.

You see, that wasn't the end. It was only the beginning. And after that, David just went back to look after the sheep again.

It was as though nothing had happened. You see, God has a timing for everything. And even though the Lord may have confirmed to you what he wants to do in you, there's always a waiting period before the final manifestation takes place.

Sometimes we get a bit discouraged because we know what God has called us to. Nobody else knows. I remember a time when I knew that God had called me to be a leader in his kingdom, but he hadn't raised me up yet, and I had not built any kind of ministry yet.

I was still learning. And I remember visiting a very big megachurch to go and see what people are doing, to go and see what God's doing. And in the middle of the worship, unfortunately, as is always the case with me, my bladder was full.

And I felt if I was going to enjoy the rest of the meeting, I needed to get out there to the bathroom so that I wouldn't be under pressure for the rest of the meeting. So what I considered quite normal, I got up to go to the bathroom. And as I stepped out of the aisle, an usher came to me and he said, How dare you move during the worship? Sit down.

A little usher! And I'm called to be an apostle! I looked at him and I thought, Do you even know who you're talking to? Do you even know who I am? Well, quite clearly he didn't. And neither did anybody else. I was just a little nobody in their big church where their great leader was everything and he'd given orders to the ushers, Don't let people move around during the worship.

It breaks the spirit. Well, I understood the concept. So I submitted to it.

But I knew who I was! And nobody else knew who I was! You been there? Oh, it is tough. You know that God has called you to great things. You're the only one who seems to know it.

Well, David's three eldest brothers figured the good thing to do would be to go and join the army. Go and fight with Saul. They were the big military types.

Strong guys. Very capable. David? I think if he'd applied, they would have turned him down.

You don't look like a soldier. Besides, the scripture tells us that Saul only took the best. When he saw somebody who was very capable, was very courageous and bold, he thought, now that's the kind of guy I want in my army.

That's the person he took. Little David? He didn't qualify for that. You know? God caused David to come to a place that his brothers couldn't reach.

See, his brothers were just little lowdowns in the army. They were under a leader who was under a leader who was under a leader who was under a leader. The king was so far above them that they probably never got close enough to talk to him.

But David, he played his harp and he wrote songs. He was a little wussy. Do you know what? David's ability, his faithfulness in worshipping the Lord in his music took him out and put him right in the king's house.

And he was the personal musician for King Saul. Again, God can take you and promote you and bring you to a place that you might not think is possible. Now supposing David said, well you know what? I need to do some more bodybuilding here.

I need to wear higher shoes so I look taller. I need to start acting like my older brothers and then maybe somebody will recognize me. David is the man after God's heart.

David is only interested in serving the Lord and he was faithful in doing the little dumb job that he was given to keep the sheep. And because he was faithful in that, the scripture says, he that is faithful in least is faithful in much. God lifted him up and put him in the palace.

Then after that the whole war broke out and he was sent back home again. And one day his dad said to him, go and check how your brothers are doing in the battle. Take them some provisions.

Take a gift for the king. And so David arrives there just in time to see the big giant Goliath coming and threatening the people. And so he speaks to his oldest brother and he says, hey, what's going on here? What's with this enemy? Why are you guys letting him get away with this? Isn't somebody going to do something about this? And his brother mocks him and scorns him and says, hey, why don't you just go home to your sheep? What do you know about war? What do you know about? You're just a little nobody.

So David asked somebody else. So what's going on here? Is nobody going to go fight this man? And what happens if somebody does? Well, actually, the truth is, if somebody goes and kills the giant, you're going to become the king's son-in-law because the king's promised his daughter. Wow.

Isn't that something? Little David, who would be so foolish as to think he could do what his big brothers couldn't do? Eventually the news gets to Saul and Saul says, well, okay, if you're dumb enough to go out and fight the giant, who knows, maybe by accident you'll kill him. But do me a favor, put on my armor so when we go out there, people will think it's me doing it, not you. Have you noticed how people who rise up and dominate will always do their best to push you down and to make themselves look good? Or what are you going to do about it? Are you going to brag and lift yourself up? Or are you going to be humble? David says, I can't use that armor.

I'm just used to going with my little sling. And so he goes and he kills the giant and he proves his skill. And you know, all of a sudden, Saul wants him in the army.

Before then he was just good enough to be the little harp player, to come and entertain the king when it suited him. Now suddenly, suddenly he's good enough to be one of the king's right hand men. How did that happen? God arranged it.

That's how it happened. All David did was wait for his time. Well, while he was waiting, he was practicing.

You see, when he was with his sheep, he was practicing killing lions and bears. No humans. But he was getting himself ready for that day when God would open the way for him to stand up and be the leader and the warrior that God had called him to be.

But it was God's timing, not his timing. And so David suddenly becomes famous overnight. And the women start singing their songs.

Well, they got to praise the king because he's the king after all. Saul has slain his thousands. Yeah.

But David, 10,000. What? Saul didn't like those songs. The first part of the song he liked.

The second part, no. What do you mean David slain his 10,000? They're making David better than me? Oh, you've been waiting so long for this opportunity to rise up in the public eye and to be recognized. And when it finally happens, you know what's going to take place? Opposition.

Persecution. Trouble. And you may have thought, well, why did I bother? I should stay by the sheep.

Don't be in a hurry to get yourself out there. Don't be in a hurry to stick your head out there and have somebody take a pot shot at you. There's going to be a price to pay for you to be lifted up and to be vindicated by the Lord.

And that's why sometimes God takes so long to make it happen. You see, God had called David to replace Saul. And from the day, from the moment that Samuel anointed David to be king, the scripture says the spirit of God left Saul.

In God's eyes, it was done already. But it had to get worked out. It was a process that had to take place.

And though you may know that God has destined you for great things, it doesn't mean you go out there and wave your hand and say, here I am. You got to wait for God to do that. And when God does that, and when God promotes you, nobody can stop it.

But expect trouble. Expect opposition. Saul is so jealous of David that he wants to kill him.

He wants to get rid of him. So what does he do? He tries to trap David. He says, tell David I would like him to be my son-in-law.

I'm going to give him my daughter to be his wife. It's just a little price he needs to pay. Just go and kill 100 Philistines.

It was a trap. Don't ever, ever be seduced by the system. Don't ever be tempted to be lifted up and say, they've noticed me.

Look at that. See? The king's even inviting me to be his son-in-law. I've arrived.

Well, the Scripture doesn't tell us that that was David's attitude. Do you know what David's attitude was? I feel unworthy to be the son-in-law of the king. Who am I? This guy's called to displace the king.

And he feels unworthy to even be related directly as the son-in-law of the king. Can you see why he was a man after God's own heart? He had a humble attitude. He wasn't trying to lift up and exalt himself.

If he did, he would have been killed long before he ever reached that opportunity to take the throne. So be very careful, folks. If you think that you must vindicate yourself, if you think you must lift yourself up and defend yourself, be careful.

Because if you do it prematurely, before God does it, there's gonna be a price to pay for it. You'll probably lose the opportunity that you've been waiting for. In the end, David has to flee for his life.

He has to leave Saul. He has to leave the palace. He has to leave the army.

He has to leave all of his adoring women fans. Run away all by himself. And there he sat crying out to the Lord.

Just do a search in David's psalms. Just search for, Lord, how long? You'll find at least half a dozen songs where David cried and said, Oh, Lord, how long, Lord? How long are you gonna let my enemy triumph over me? How long, Lord, are you gonna take before you vindicate me? How long will it take, Lord? Before people finally know that you've called me. Before I get the opportunity to do what you've called me to do.

There's always a waiting period. There'll always be a waiting period if you are truly called by God. And if God has called you to greatness, that greatness is going to take time to be accomplished.

Many years ago, when I first began to move in ministry, I began to see people rise up ahead of me. I knew what God had given me. Nobody seemed to recognize it.

Everybody was going into the ministry and becoming pastors of their own churches, and I was still sitting as a deacon in the church, about as high as I could get. And I cried out to the Lord, like David, Lord, how long? Lord, why? And the Lord said, I've called you to greater things than that. You wouldn't be satisfied with that.

But I moaned and I groaned and complained, so eventually the Lord said, Okay, you can have it. And they put me in the ministry and I became a pastor. It wasn't a couple of months, and I said, Lord, what did you put me here for? Lord, this is terrible.

Lord, I don't like this. Lord said, yeah, because I've called you to something greater than that, but that's what you wanted. I gave it to you.

Is that really what you want? Are you going to wait for my time? Well, that's when I went back into the backside of the desert. That's when I went back to the sheepfold and vanished and disappeared again. This time I learned my lesson.

No, I didn't actually. I tried a few more times to get in there and to get known. Each time I tried it, I failed.

But I eventually came to the place and I said, Okay, Lord, I died to it. I let it go. Who am I? Who am I to say that I should be rising up and be the star? See, there's time.

During that time, there's going to be a temptation for you if you want to defend yourself to somehow tear down those people who are rising up ahead of you. You know that it's unjust. You know that they don't deserve to be there, that you should be there.

It's such a temptation to expose them for who they are, to try and maybe expose some of their weaknesses and faults. All their followers are praising them and they think they're so wonderful and they don't know you exist. All the people continue to follow Saul and David.

Nobody knew he existed. Saul was drawing all the best warriors, the people who really were the top of society. All David got pulled were the dropouts and the losers who were in debt, who were in trouble.

That's all he could draw to him. You ever felt that way? Seems like the only people you're reaching are the little nobodies. You know, why can't I at least influence somebody who's got a name? If somebody's got a name, promotes me, then I'll get a name and I'll get promoted too.

You ever thought that? Lord, why do you just keep me ministering to these little nobodies? Why can't you give me somebody that is a somebody? This is not time yet. David had an opportunity on two occasions to actually take Saul's life and to kill him. Isn't that just been such an easy solution to the whole problem? Because once Saul was dead, David could step in and say, God's called me to be the king, here I come.

But David refused. He said, if anybody's gonna kill him, it'll have to be the Lord or somebody else, but I will not touch him. God requires that commitment from you.

Don't you dare try and exalt or vindicate yourself. Vindication is mine. I will pay them back, says the Lord.

I will do it. Aren't you? And in God's time, God removed Saul. Actually, Saul killed himself.

God didn't have to do anything. Saul killed himself. And you know, those who are opposing you and opposing the call of God in you, they're not gonna get away with it forever.

It may have looked like Saul was gonna get away with it forever. It went on and on and on. And then Saul would say, okay, I'm sorry.

And in a matter of time, back he was again, attacking David, trying to kill him. It just seemed never to end. But God had a time.

The Saul era came to an end in God's time. David was finally able to become king. And even that didn't just happen overnight.

It had happened in two stages. So don't think that one day, suddenly it's going to happen. Ta-da! Here I am.

I step onto the center stage and the world will know who I am. God has a timing for everything. And you're gonna have to trust God.

That timing. That was David. Took him a long time to get there, but he did.

And then he became the most famous king that Israel had ever had. Not just any king. Jesus' claim to fame was that he was the descendant of David.

Centuries the Jews boasted in their king, David. Little guy who started out as a nobody. Your time will come.

And God does it. I wanna look quickly at another character. Joseph.

Joseph was very different. Joseph came in with a very different set of circumstances. I think most of us would love to be Joseph.

Joseph gets these dreams when he's young already. Where the Lord shows him he's gonna be a hotshot. Where all his brothers and everybody gonna bow down to him.

God's already showing him at a very young age that God has great things for him. Joseph makes the mistake of sharing the dreams with his brothers and they know immediately what it means. How dare you suggest that we're gonna bow down to you little kid brother.

Little nobody. But you see, he was more than a kid brother. He was daddy's blue-eyed boy.

He was a favorite. All his brothers hated him firstly because he was different. Because he had these dreams.

He had delusions of grandeur. And his brothers hated him because he was his father's favorite. And his father made it very clear that he was the favorite.

Promoted him above his brothers. Gave him favors that the brothers didn't get. And that didn't make it very easy.

But you see, Joseph was nevertheless called of God. God had chosen him. Those dreams that he had were of God.

God had a plan. Only difference is he started out in a totally different way to what most of us start out. A totally different way to what David started out.

David started at the bottom and had to work his way up. Joseph started at the top and had to be brought down. So don't, don't complain about being the David.

Because there's only one way to go and that's up. If you're a Joseph, the bad news is you're going down. So don't, don't envy the Josephs out there.

It's just not fair. Just look at that. Everything just gets handed to them on a platter.

Well, that platter is going to shatter. Sooner or later. And that's exactly what happened to poor Joseph.

You know, Joseph, he became a bit arrogant. You know? He saw that his brothers were doing the wrong thing and so he told his dad about it. Well, there was nothing wrong about that.

He didn't lie. Perhaps his dad asked him and said, so tell me, what were your brothers doing? And he said, well, to tell you the truth, dad, this is what I saw them doing. What? His brothers were in trouble.

See, but you kind of get the impression that Joseph was what we call a little telltale, you know? He wanted to tear his brothers down so that he could look good. There were other characters in the Bible like that. Jacob was like that.

Jacob wanted to tear his brother down so that he could rise up. See, don't ever think that because you got handed a platter that it's going to stay that way. For Joseph, it didn't.

Because his brothers hated him. They sold him into slavery. And wonderful Joseph disappeared and went into obscurity.

He was as good as dead. His father thought he had died and I'm pretty sure his brothers figured that he probably didn't live long as a slave anyway. They would never see him again.

Joseph was gone into obscurity. No longer had dad there to promote him but he had a heavenly father who still promoted him. And in spite of that, God still honored Joseph.

And everything that Joseph touched, scripture says, prospered. People saw that if they employed him, their business boomed. And in fact, the man who bought him Potiphar was so impressed, he eventually put him in charge of everything because he was so skillful.

See, you will have to pay a price of going into obscurity but the Lord will never forsake you because he has called you and he will confirm his call again and again. But there will be a waiting period. Very different to David's where he had to wait to go up.

You have to first go down. And Joseph actually had a couple of stages down before he could come up. You know, David, he started at the bottom and he came up a stage at a time.

Joseph, he started at the top and went down a stage at a time and then God took him from the bottom to the top. Very different situation. God's timing, Joseph was vindicated.

He was so good at interpreting dreams that his dream interpretation skills brought him into center stage. People sought him for his ability to interpret their dreams. But it didn't help him much.

He still stayed in prison. He is forgotten in obscurity. Now, what chance do you have of coming out of prison and rising up to the level of what God had showed Joseph he was going to be? It looked like an impossible situation.

Now, you may be one of those who, unlike David, had great opportunity, was recognized and promoted, perhaps even took center stage and became famous and became known. I kind of had a bit of both of those. I had an opportunity to stand up, be the assistant pastor in one of the largest churches.

People loved my preaching. Oh, it felt so good to stand up there and to preach and to have everybody say, Wow, awesome preaching. We'd like you to be one of our speakers at our international conference.

And you're just a little junior pastor. Wow. I was lifted up and exalted.

Things were going great. And then it ended. And it went down, down, down, down, down.

So, I kind of know what it's like to be David. And I know what it's like to be Joseph as well. God has his timing.

And in God's time, in God's time, Pharaoh had the dream. And overnight, Joseph comes from the prison to being the highest leader in the land under the Pharaoh. God can do that.

How's he going to do it? It's not for you to find out. It's not for you to figure out. It's just for you to continue to be faithful to do what he's given you to.

And so, Joseph's dreams come true. His brothers bow down to him. He becomes the savior of his entire family.

Have you been wrongly accused? Or judged? Does it seem like other people are rising up before you? Do you cry out like David? How long, oh Lord? How long before you fulfill your promise? How long, Lord, before I see what you said you would do in me? Well, your vindication's coming. Don't try and do it yourself. Resist the temptation to lift yourself up and exalt yourself and wait for the Lord to do it.

I can promise you when it comes, it's going to be worth the wait. Because the chances are it's going to be bigger than you ever expected. Everything you ever anticipated and hoped is probably going to be small in comparison with where God's going to put you and make you.

And when you finally get there, I believe that like David, you will still walk humbly before the Lord. And not stand up and say, well, I deserved it, you know. Just look at all the hard work I put in.

I have created this. You will know that you didn't create it. You will know that the Lord created it.

You will continue to walk humbly before him. And perhaps, you too, may be considered a person after God's own heart. I don't know about you, but that's the way I want to be.

So though I may remain at times in obscurity, though I still, after many years, wait for the promise of the Lord to bring me to a place where I am known, where I am an influence, where I can fully fulfill the mandate he's given me. I wait for his timing. I wait for him to do it his way, not my way.

And so then, I remain faithful to do to the best of my ability what he's put in my hands to do right now. I suggest you do the same. I suggest you take whatever opportunity you have before you right now, though it may seem small and insignificant, be faithful, be faithful to do what God gives you.

And as you are faithful in that, the Lord will lift you up, and he will promote you, and he will fulfill the promise that he gave you to lift you up. In the end, it is the Lord who will vindicate you. Father, I just thank you for your word.

I thank you for each one who's heard this word. We all come from different circumstances. We all have different callings.

We all have different goals and aspirations. Each one of us has that burning passion and desire within, Lord, to be used by you. To make a difference in this world.

To make a difference in the lives of others, Lord. Sometimes it seems like it's never gonna happen. It seems like we're put on hold.

Like David, we've been pushed out. Like Joseph, we're sitting waiting in prison. Lord, we make ourselves available to you.

We say, I'm ready, Lord, to do what you want me to do. I'm ready, as Paul said, to be exalted and to be abased, to be demoted. I'm ready to be promoted and demoted.

Whatever it is, I will rejoice. Whatever happens, I will continue to praise you and I will continue to be faithful to do whatever you put in my hands. Make that your prayer today.

Very soon, you're gonna start seeing some things happen. Perhaps overnight, like Joseph, you might be lifted up. Perhaps it may come in stages as it did like David.

God is faithful and he will fulfill his promise. You don't need to pay back those who have hurt you. You don't even need to think about getting revenge.

You don't need to think about them being exposed and brought down. God said he's gonna do the payback. He'll do it his way.

You just be faithful to him. Thank you for it, Father. Jesus.

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