The Cry for Vindication
We should cry out to our Judge who is our Father God, using spiritual weapons like prayer to overcome the enemy in spiritual warfare.
Watchman Nee emphasizes the importance of seeking vindication from God rather than relying on earthly judges. He illustrates this through the parable of the widow who persistently cries out for justice, highlighting that our true battle is spiritual and cannot be fought with fleshly means. Nee encourages believers to utilize spiritual weapons, particularly prayer, as the most effective tool against the enemy. He warns that without reliance on God's power and the practice of prayer, believers risk being overcome by Satan's attacks. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a steadfast commitment to prayer as a means of seeking God's vindication and judgment against evil.
Text
After the widow suffered, she came to the judge for vindication. We should learn from this. We should not come before earthly judges for anything. We should cry out to our Judge who is our Father God. The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly (2 Cor. 10:4); hence, we should not deal with the fleshly men, who are utilized by Satan, by any fleshly means. Instead, we should pity them because they have become Satan's tools. In spiritual warfare, fleshly weapons are completely useless.
Not only are they useless, but all those who use them will be overcome by Satan! We should use spiritual weapons to fight spiritual warfare. There are, of course, many spiritual weapons, which are all recorded in Ephesians 6. The most important of these is the prayer of verse 18. We are powerless in ourselves and cannot seek to avenge ourselves, but we can pray to God and ask Him to avenge us. Prayer is the best offensive weapon against the enemy. In prayer we maintain our ground, and through prayer we can attack the enemy and damage his plan, his work, and his power.
The widow knew that for her to fight or argue with the opponent was futile, for a weak widow can never prevail against an evil rogue. In the same way, if God's children will not trust in God's power, if they will not have prayer as their shield, if they will not accuse the enemy in the midst of his accusations, crying for God's avenging, but rather, go to war alone against Satan, they will surely be hurt by his flaming darts. In this parable, the Lord Jesus tells us the best way to overcome our opponent--by crying to God day and night, calling for His vindication of us and His judgment and punishment on Satan.
Sermon Outline
- The Widow's Cry for Vindication
- The Parable of the Widow and the Judge
- The Application of the Parable
- Prayer as Our Shield and Offensive Weapon
- Accusing the Enemy in the Midst of Accusations
- The Necessity of Trusting in God's Power
Key Quotes
“In spiritual warfare, fleshly weapons are completely useless.” — Watchman Nee
“Prayer is the best offensive weapon against the enemy.” — Watchman Nee
“We should cry out to our Judge who is our Father God.” — Watchman Nee
Application Points
- We should use prayer as our shield and offensive weapon against the enemy in spiritual warfare.
- We should accuse the enemy in the midst of his accusations, crying for God's avenging and judgment.
- We should trust in God's power and not rely on our own strength to overcome the enemy.