Fight for What Remains
Tony Schachle
Fight for What Remains • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Some things are worth fighting for!
Your faith | church | Biblical truth
Your family | marriage | children
Your testimony | integrity | identity in Christ
Your joy | peace | mental health
Your calling | anointing | spiritual fire
But what about when those things are not only threatened, but they are taken away?
What about when the enemy comes in and begins to steal, kill, and destroy for what you’ve been fighting for?
What about when you are knocked down and lose ground?
What about when relationships end?
What about when your heart is broken?
What about when you feel like you are more more piece of bad news away from having a nervous breakdown?
What do you do when it feels like:
the dream is dead?
the promise is past?
and all hope is gone?
I want to encourage you this morning to FIGHT FOR WHAT REMAINS!
As long as something remains, it is worth fighting for!
And I want to use a story from the Bible that is not well known about a woman by the name of Rizpah who seemingly lost everything, but still chose to FIGHT FOR WHAT REMAINS!
SCRIPTURE
SCRIPTURE
1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. 3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord?” 4 And the Gibeonites said to him, “We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.” So he said, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5 Then they answered the king, “As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, 6 let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord chose.” And the king said, “I will give them.” 7 But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the Lord. So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. 10 Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.
MESSAGE
MESSAGE
You Don’t Have to Let the Enemy Have the Last Word
The worst thing you can do is give up hope.
If God is on your side, there is still hope.
It is not over until God says it is over.
You Don’t Have to Fight for Everything, Fight for What Remains
Some things are just not worth fighting for.
How did Rizpah fight?
She spread out sackcloth
represents a contrite spirit and a broken heart
represents prayer and fasting
She stood on the rock
represents depending on God
represents standing on God’s Word
She drove away what came to destroy
represents spiritual warfare
represents refusing to let the devil take what remains
What the Enemy Tried to Destroy, God Can Restore
The rain didn’t come until the fight was over
God can restore the years that have been lost
25 “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
The rain represented:
the end of divine judgment
heaven’s response to persistent faith
restoration and healing
life after loss
the promise of abundance
41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
CLOSING
CLOSING
Some things are worth fighting for!
Rizpah lost her two sons, but she fought for what remained.
She did not give up.
She defended the honor of her son’s lives.
You may have:
experienced loss.
suffered a setback.
just come through one of the most difficult times of your life.
Or you may be there right now.
But, I want to remind you that where God is:
there is hope!
there is healing!
there is restoration!
there is strength to fight the battle!
there is power to shoo away the enemy!
there is the promise that the rain is coming
FIGHT FOR WHAT REMAINS!
CALL TO ACTION
CALL TO ACTION
Do you recognize that there are things still worth fighting for in your life?
Don’t give up
Don’t lose hope
Maybe:
it has been stolen
it has been broken
it has been destroyed
FIGHT FOR WHAT REMAINS!
Fight for your faith | your church | the truth of God’s Word
Fight for your marriage | the spiritual covering over your children | your family
Fight for your testimony | your integrity | your identity in Christ
Fight for your joy | your peace | your mental health
Fight for your calling | your anointing | your spiritual fire
