Got severely disappointed let down depressed Mad sad and all the above and so I'm gonna have to preach till I get happy tonight. All right The best way I know how to say it. All right But I do appreciate this church and the goodness of the Lord and how good God's been to us Thank you so much for your hospitality taking such good care of my family and you all have been above beyond I appreciate you so much and For allowing us to come be a part of what God is doing here, and I look forward to hearing wonderful results For the weeks and months and years to come of what God's gonna. Do you pray for us? We'll leave here very early in the morning, and we'll drive to Lumberton, North Carolina And I'll be there Monday Tuesday Wednesday night this week and Lumberton, North Carolina preaching there and And uh, and then i'll be in augusta south collateral on thursday preaching there And so you just pray for us as we continue to travel I know god is going to bless here as well as he blesses us as well All right, grab your bibles. Give me the second samuel chapter 21 tonight second samuel chapter 21 Is where i'll be at tonight? And uh, I believe this is exactly where the lord wants us to be and i'll just want to encourage your hearts tonight And maybe i'll teach through this a little bit. Um, and then maybe I don't I don't know. I don't know how much um Really preaching preaching i'll do but I usually say that all the time and I end up doing that the whole time So i'm just gonna i'm gonna try to teach you this a little bit Maybe you've heard this story in their bible. Maybe you haven't heard this story in your bible But I believe this is where goblins is to beat tonight second samuel chapter 21 stand with me all over the building As we read and give reverence to the word of god Second samuel 21 if you're there and you love jesus say amen The Bible says in verse number seven, 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. But the king took the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Michal, the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel, the son of Barziliad, the Maholophite, and he delivered them into the hands of the Gideonites, and they hanged them in the hills before the Lord. And 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. And Rizpah took the daughter of Aiah, or excuse me, and Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the birds of the field by night. And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah the concubine of Saul had done. And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh Gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Bethshon, where the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa. And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul, the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged. And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin and Zillah in the sepulcher of Kish his father. And they performed all that the king commanded and after that God was entreated for that land. I want to ask you a question tonight before I get started. I want you to be honest with me. Let's just dive in this just for a moment. If you're here tonight and you have a son or a daughter that is not living for Jesus or in church, would you raise your hand? Do I have anybody here like that tonight? A couple of you. Do I have anybody that's got grandkids that's not in church living for Jesus? Do I have anybody like that? Do we have anybody that's got a brother or sister that's not living for Jesus in church? Yeah. Maybe, how about a mom, anybody that's got a mom or a dad not in church living for Jesus? Yeah. Yeah, there's a couple. Maybe somebody who's got an aunt or an uncle, niece or nephew that says, preacher, how about this? I've got family that I know of right now that's not living for Jesus. How about a coworker? I believe the family as a whole, the family unit, is absolutely under attack from the pits of hell. The devil knows if he can get the family, he will get the church. How many of you know that he doesn't attack us in the corporate world, he attacks us as individuals? And I tonight want to talk about the family. I want to talk about the family unit tonight. I want to preach to you on this thought, fighting for what's left. Fighting for what's left. Would you pray with me, Father in Jesus' name as we dive into this text tonight? I do my best to teach through this over the next few moments. I pray God you'd use me as your man. God, there are people who have vividly said tonight they've got family members and people in their life that are not in church and are not where they should be with you. God, my heart's desire is you'd raise up an army tonight that would be determined that we will fight until the day you call us home. God, you did not choose us and you did not call us to be benchwarmers or to be cowards. You called us to be warriors. It's a God's light. I pray you'd raise them a mighty army in this house And I'll thank you for all that you do in Jesus name. I pray and everybody said You may be seated. Thank you for standing fighting for what's left To get you caught up on what's happening here in 2nd Samuel 21 There is a three-year drought that is taking place here in our text David is the king and they're in the middle of this drought and so David goes to the Lord in prayer trying to figure out why they're in the middle of this drought and During David's time with God, God shows him the reason for the drought was because the innocent blood that was shed by the hands of Saul who killed innocent Gideonites during his reign. You Bible readers know tonight that God always takes very serious the shedding of innocent blood. And so in our text, we find that David is trying to find a solution, trying to figure out what is going on, what is happening, why this drought has come. He hears from the word of the Lord, the reason the drought is upon this land is because of the innocent bloodshed during King Saul's reign. And so David goes and gets the seven sons of Saul, and he takes the seven sons of Saul to the Gideonites and hands them over to them as a ransom or as a payment for what happened during the time of the reigning of King Saul. God nor David told the Gideonites to hang these seven sons, but the Gideonites decided that they would take these seven boys of King Saul and perform a lynching, if you would, or a hanging, the Bible says, on the side of King Saul. a hill. Now here's what we find. We find that now there is a ceremony, there's a celebration, there is a shouting and a celebration time of the Gideonites as they take these seven sons of Saul, as they bind them up with rope and as they take them to the hillside outside of town, as they put a noose around their neck and they throw the rope overneath the tree. Can you see the picture that is unfolding here as all the Gideonites are gathered around watching as the life of these boys are literally ripped out from underneath them. They kick the chair out from underneath them, and here we find seven boys hanging in a tree on the side of the hill, squirming like a fish out of water, dangling there, in a tree, taking their last gasp of air. I see, as they begin to die, as their air begins to leave their body, as their body begins to squirm and gasp for air, finally, the Gideonites begin to celebrate, they begin to shout, they begin to rejoice, because in their mind, all they see is revenge, or a payment for what took place during the reigning of King Saul. There are seven sons of them now hanging there dead. The Bible tells us of five of those sons were from a woman by the name of Michal, the daughter of Saul, the wife of David. There were two sons as well on this hill from a woman by the name of Rizpah, who was King Saul's concubine. I don't have time to really talk to you tonight and explain all that goes into what a concubine is, but Saul had this woman in his life who she bore him two children, Armanna and Mephibosheth, these two sons. were a part of the seven who were hanging there on side of the hill as a ransom for what happened. The Bible says that these young boys hung there on side of the hill for all the world to see. And I can see as they begin to celebrate, as they begin to rejoice, as they begin to be glad for what was taking place, now that their life is over, now that the squirming is over, Now that their light is done and every breath is now removed from their body, the Bible teaches us and tells us that the Gideonites turn and remove and walk away and go back to their everyday life. But what I'm interested in tonight is as everyone was walking away, there was one who did not walk away. When everyone else was leaving and going back to their ordinary life, there was one person in our text, in our Bible, that when everyone else turned and walked away, there was one lady, one mom, if you would, that decided, I'm not leaving, I'm going to stay here and I'm going to protect my family. my two boys. Can't you see as everyone else leaves and everyone else turns and walks away? Rizpa said, I will not leave. I will not go back. I will stay right here and protect my two boys. You may read this as well as I didn't wonder what in the world is going through this mother's mind. Rizpa just saw her two boys taking into captivity. Her heart was just ripped out of her chest as she sits in the Right now, they're hanging, they're dead. And the question would be asked, why would you not just leave them there, Rispa? They are dead. Rispa, here's what I wanna ask you tonight. Those two boys are hanging there lifeless. Those two boys have a rope around their neck. Those two boys have no breath in them at all. Rispa, why are you still here? Rispa, why do you intend on continuing to stay here day after day I believe Rizpah, if we could ask her tonight, you'd say Rizpah, why are you still here? Look at all you have lost. But I believe tonight knows exactly what the enemy wants you to do when we look at the condition of certain areas of our life. The enemy wants you to focus on what you have lost. Let me want you to dial in on the things that you no longer have, but I want you to hear me today. Rispa did not stay there that day because of what was lost, but Rispa stayed there that day because of what was left. And I come here tonight with a mission on my heart not to talk about what is lost in your life, but I come to talk about what is left in your life. Ladies and gentlemen, the enemy is good at placing our minds on what we have lost. That's all we ever talk about. That's all our negative minds ever go to. We're thinking about what's lost in our marriage, what's lost in our family, what's lost in our churches, what's lost in our world. We're always talking about the school shootings, and the drug overdose, and the divorces, and the churches who are closing, and the pastors who are quitting, and the people who are walking away. And I do believe those things have their place for certain times. But tonight, I did not come to talk about what is lost. I come to talk about what is left, because I believe it is that which is left that is worth fighting for. We did not gather in this room talking about something that is dead. We did not gather in this room talking about something that is gone. We believe what is left is worth fighting for. Somebody say amen. Let's just be honest. We can look in the condition of our church. We can look at the condition of our family. We can look at the condition of our world and think there's no hope. What are we gathered here for? Why do we pray for revival? Let's just be honest. It would be easy for us to look at the condition of America and think there's no point in praying for revival. it will be easy in us walking in our lives and think there's no point in praying for my children, there's no point in praying for my family, it will be easy for us to walk in here on Sunday night or on Wednesday night and look at all the empty places on the pews and think why didn't he come back, why didn't she come back, and the devil is so good at convincing and putting our minds in all the negativity and all the things that are going on, but I believe She wrote in on something supernatural when she made up her mind. I'm not here fighting for what's lost. I'm here fighting for what's left tonight. Somebody say amen. Maybe your kids are a million miles away from God. Maybe your marriage is crumbling. Maybe your grandkids have walked away. Maybe your joy you once had was gone. Maybe that smile you used to have is no longer there. Maybe you used to shout, you don't shout no more. Maybe it looks like your life is dying everywhere you look. and the enemy wants you to look around, and he wants you to focus on what is lost. The Bible says the thief come, but for it to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. And ladies and gentlemen, it is the devil's job to get you so depressed, and so low, and so down in the dumps, that you wanna just throw in the towel and quit, but I come to encourage you, gospel-like to tell you that yes, we may have lost some things, but I believe there's still enough left that is worth fighting for. I believe God can raise up a generation tonight as we look around this room and say there is something worth standing and worth fighting for tonight. I come to tell you that it's time we stop allowing the devil to focus our eyes on what's lost, but rather say I'm willing to fight for what's left. Can't you see this, Mama? People are saying, why don't you go home? Can't you see this, Mama? People are asking her, why are you still here? What are you doing here? And Rizpah said, I am here. I refuse to accept defeat. I may not be able, watch this now, I may not be able to recover what is lost, but I can sure protect what is left. And I come to encourage and tell you, don't give up on what looks dead. Keep fighting for what is left tonight. Number one, let me give you a couple of things before I take my seat tonight. Number one, I want you to see the reality of this loss. The reality of this loss, Rispa had lost. Death has already claimed her sons. The promise of their lives are gone. She had every excuse to quit. Ladies and gentlemen, life sometimes will deal us losses. Sometimes dreams may die. Sometimes friendships may end. Sometimes ministries may crumble. Sometimes loved ones may be taken away, but hear me, loss does not have to lead to quitting. Does loss hurt? Absolutely. Does loss bring pain? Sure it does. I realize that it's hard for you to continue to serve Jesus even when you're espoused to us not. I realize that it's hard for you to keep loving those babies even though they turn and walk away. I realize that it's hard to keep serving God in a godless society, but I come to challenge you and I come to encourage you to tell you Every time we turn around, people are quitting. People are throwing in the towel. People are walking away. Churches are closing by the dozens, and we cannot afford to see another church go down the drain. We can't afford to see another marriage fall apart. My babies can't afford to see another teenager quit on God. I still need a generation that'll stand to their feet, that'll rise to the occasion, and say, I've come too far. Turn back now. God's been too good to me. I'm not gonna quit. I said, I'm going to fight for what is left tonight. Rispa said, y'all do what you want to do, but I'm not leaving this spot. And hear me, I'm not trying to take away the pain you experienced during the loss, but I am trying to turn your attention, let you know that there's still something that is left and that is worth fighting for. I see the reality of loss, but I'll see the refusal to quit. Watch this. I love this part of the story. The Bible says in Rispa, took sackcloth. Go with me here in the text, verse number 10. The Bible says that Rizpah took sackcloth. And anywhere in your Bible, if you're a Bible reader tonight, you know that anytime sackcloth is mentioned or brought up, it's always during a season of loss. It's always during a broken season. It's always during a sad season. Nothing good is happening when someone brings out sackcloth. And so by Rispa bringing out sackcloth in this chapter, she is publicly admitting to all of us reading this text that loss is here. She's in a season that she wished she was not in. And if she had her way, she would not be standing where she is. She's broken, she's hurting, and she is in a very low, in a low place. Can we all agree that seeing your two sons hanging there on a rope in a tree is nothing that no mama ever wants to see? Somebody help me preach tonight. And here we find this woman is admitting that she's broken. She's admitting that she's in a low place. She's admitting that she's down in the dumps and she wishes she was not here. But what I love about this story is when Rispa brought out the sackcloth, lean in here, Rispa did not put this sackcloth on dirt and she did not put this sackcloth on sand. the sackcloth anywhere but the Bible says she spread the sackcloth upon a rock. My God in heaven ain't it good to know the sackcloth is middle of a broken season. Sackcloth is a perfect example of Rispa being heard. Rispa being low. But Rispa said even when I'm broken and even when I'm low and And even when I'm hurting, I can find something sturdy that I can stand on. I can find something solid I can lean on. Well, I said I wasn't going to preach, but I feel like preaching now. Because I know what it's like to be low. And I know what it's like to be broken. I know what it's like to be in a low place. But all of a sudden, in the middle of my lowest of places, there's a rock of ages on Christ, a solid rock. I stand. All of the ground is sinking sand. Somebody thank god that even in the broken season, we can hold to the rock of ages tonight. I have been in churches where people sit and worship God. I've been in churches where on one side of the church, there was a little old grandma who's been through several chemo treatments. She don't have hardly two dimes to her name. She's low and she's broken. And I've seen that grandma go to worshiping Jesus. go to praising Jesus, go to shouting, in the same exact service. I've seen a millionaire that's got everything life has to offer, has got great and perfect health, drives a fancy car, lives in a nice house, and won't even smile in church. And some will look at that situation and think that it is the things of this life that makes us worship, It's the things of this life that makes us shout, but I come to tell you I have found that happy people and worshiping people are not those that have the most, but they are those that make the most of what they have. And usually you will find that the loudest praises in church and the most crying in church and the loudest shouting in church is usually the people that's been the lowest of places and the brokest of places, but they have found that there is a walk of ages we can hold on to, we can stand firm to, and I'm thankful for a rock tonight. Somebody say, man. Here's Rispa. When others moved on, Rispa stayed. When the world said it's over, Rispa said, I'm still here. This is determination. Listen to me. Rispa could not bring her sons back. But here's what I know. She can still protect what remained. And I want you to listen to me tonight. The Bible said that she stayed from harvest until the rain fell. This would have been about a six-month cycle, that this woman stands on a rock for six solid months. The Bible says, refusing to let the birds and the beasts destroy what was left, she stood guard day and night. You say, preacher, has she lost her mind? Some would say she has. But she saw value in what was hanging there. And how many of you know ain't nobody gonna love you like mama loves you? How many of you know ain't nobody gonna take care of you like mama takes care of you? Isn't it interesting that when everyone else said there's no use in staying here Rizpah said I ain't going nowhere When everyone else said you might as well stop praying for that Prodigal Rizpah said I'm gonna keep praying When everyone else said revival is not possible Rizpah said there's still a possibility When everyone else said there's no way God's gonna come through for that marriage Rizpah said I ain't going nowhere y'all can move on if you want to but I am standing guard and I am fighting for what's Left only listen to the preacher Laney listen to the preacher because here's what I believe I believe there are a lot of people that are living their life in regret and the reason they can enjoy where they are today is because they regret and can't get over what happened years ago and The devil holds it over our head listen to the preacher. You need to hear this you cannot go back and undo every mistake you've made and I believe if I could ask some parents who've already raised their kids, you would probably say, if I could go back and re-raise my kids, I'd do a thing or two differently. And maybe you would, but you can't do that. I believe if I could talk to someone who doesn't have that spouse they used to have, you'd probably say, if I could go back, I'd re-do a couple things. And maybe you would, but you can't go back. And the devil will hold that over your head. And the devil will tell you, you are a failure. You are no good. You have messed up. You have done wrong. You are the reason life is the way it is. And the devil will beat you over the head for that. And eventually, you will walk around so depressed and so discouraged, not because of what's happening tomorrow, but because of what happened yesterday. And listen to me now. Now what is happening is you will get in such a place in your mind that tomorrow is no good to you because yesterday is a failure. And I come to tell you that you will listen to me right now, that the devil will hold yesterday over your head. The devil will tell you that you should do this differently, and maybe you should have, but tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I can't go back and fix nothing that happened yesterday, but I can make up my mind. I've still got tomorrow. I've still got today. No, I can't fix it, but I can sure determine to be better I was yesterday, tomorrow, somebody say amen. Listen to me, you can't undo every mistake. You can't make back lost time. Maybe you've buried dreams, but you can still protect what is left. You say amen. I've lost my children, they won't speak to me. You say my children are strung out in the world and have nothing to do with God. You say my spouse refuses to have anything to do with God. You say my church has lost its fire for revival. You say my heart is empty and I feel like I'm all alone. You say our country is dying and things are getting worse. I say God give us some respites that will get the strength in their bones and say it may look bad, but there's still something worth fighting for. Several weeks ago, there was a brutal assassination that you all saw with your eyes to a man by the name of Charlie Kirk. I really don't care about your opinion on the matter. I really don't care what rabbit holes you've read into or read down and what conspiracy theories you may believe. I do know this, that Charlie Kirk was making a dynamic and a huge impact in my generation, amongst the men and the women of my generation, seeing God do things through his ministry in a big, big way. from the death of that young man on national television. Probably the largest gospel presentation that has ever been preached was preached on national television just a few months, just a few weeks ago. We saw it with our own eyes. I saw Fox broadcast it, I saw CNN broadcast it, and isn't it interesting that almost every man and woman that walked across that stage somewhere in their speech made mention that Jesus was the only way to heaven. Somebody ought to thank God for that. We saw that happen. Since then, there has been a shift in the air of what's happening across America. I don't know if you all felt it here, but I felt it almost everywhere that I go. But since the assassination of Charlie, there's been a shift in the atmosphere. I've read comments and testimonies on social media of people that have said, I did not go to church. But since I saw that, I've started going back to church. I did not do this, I did not do that, but there's something that happened. It's shifting in the environment. Something is happening in the crowd. I don't exactly know how to explain it other than I can say this, it would have been easy for us to sit there and look at the death of Charlie Kirk and say because Charlie is dead, now what hope does America have? Not what hope does the young boys have. Not what hope does the young girls have. But I, myself, and I begin to look at that picture and see what was happening on that Memorial Sunday. I did not see one man that was dead. I seen 80,000 people that were still left. And I say what is left is worth fighting for tonight. It's worth fighting for. This lady stood guard. And the Bible says for six solid months, she stood on the rock protecting what was left. Listen to the preacher. Some would say, do you think she stayed there the whole time? I think she stayed there every single minute of the time. If you don't believe that, you don't really know what a mother's love is like. And mama has seen that when nobody else sees value in my babies, I see value in them. You say, did she sleep? I don't believe she did. Because if she went to sleep, the Bible said there were beasts of the field that would come and try and attack and eat those dead bodies. You say, did she go home? I believe for six solid months she stood guard. Now go with me here. I don't know if you all have ever smelt the stench of death. But the smell of a dead body is a smell that once you smell it, you will never get it out of your nostril. It's disgusting. And what's interesting to me about stories in the Bible is in John chapter number 11, Martha and Mary both looked at Jesus and said, Lord, actually, I think it was Martha that said this. She said, Lord, it's been four days, and by now, he stinketh. And I begin to think, if Lazarus was stinking after four days, what does Armana and the fever shell smell like after two months? What is the smell that is going through this valley off that hillside after four months? What is left hanging there on that rope after all these months of deterioration? Bodies, odor is now echoing throughout this hill. And mama, even though it stunk, she said, I still got to stand here and protect what God has given me. Can't you see, I see mama as the birds, the vultures begin to fly and circle around those dead bodies. I see mama, the closer they'd get, eventually, I believe she probably got her hanky out. She probably said, shoo. Y'all ever been on the wrong side of a shoe from a grandma? You know what I'm talking about? You ever seen grandma start shooing someone out of the kitchen or shoo something, you know what I mean? When I grew up, I was always one of those kids that wanted to be where the Christmas presents were. And I'd try and shake the Christmas presents, smell the Christmas presents, loose the, you know what I mean? And my grandma would come in, she'd say, shoo, get out of here. And here's what I know, when grandma started shooing, you better tuck tail and get out of there. Somebody say amen. And I see mama standing here on the side of the hill, and every time a vulture would come, she'd say, shoo. You can't have that. Every time a bear would come and try and devour those babies, she'd say, shoo, bear. Get out of here. You can't have that. And somebody would say, what in the world, Risp, are you doing there? She said, I'm dead. She said, they may be dead to you but to me, they're still worth fighting for. Here comes a lion and she said, get out of here. You can't have them. You can't help my babies and somebody said, have you lost your mind? Won't you just give him to him? Won't you just let the lion have him? Won't you let the bear have him? And he said, oh no, I'll stay here as long as I gotta stay. I gotta fight. I gotta protect what god's given me. You know, I begin to think about this, I begin to think of how many things the enemy has that's trying its best to get at what God's given us. I think about how Rispa, when she was shooing away those vultures, to you and I, what she was saying was, shoo, depression, you can't have my kids. To you and I, she was saying, shoo, addiction, you can't have my kids. To you and I, she was saying, shoo, sex and a wet logger, you can't have my kids. To you and I, she was saying, shoo, crack cocaine, you can't have my babies. Shoo, devil, you can't have my church. It may not make sense to some of y'all, but if you saw value in Rispa was standing there, she'd say, I know it, I don't know what makes sense to you all but I've seen god do too many things. I've come too far and I refuse to let the devil have what god has given me. She said, I started thinking about this shoe in business. the enemy trying his best to devour what god's given us. I was sitting over there a minute ago and I watch those two girls get up here and But the devil didn't see that. Now do you mind to think the devil wouldn't love to take the talent those young girls have and before they ever get 12 and 15 years old try his best to ruin them? and wreck their life. The devil would love to take those young girls, slap off a church pew, rip their purity from them, put some young punk boy in their life, and whisper lies in their ear. I've seen it too many times. I've seen young girls just like those young girls that were standing on stage giving God the glory, worshiping God, only for the devil to come in through some boy or through some situation, through some broken season, and wreck and ruin their life. Now they're not in church no more, their life is a mess, and what we need in this house is two or three of y'all to make a, I don't know how they're related to you all, but they need somebody in their life that'll say, devil, you may get the girl down the road, you may get the girls up the road, but you ain't getting my babies. I will stand guard all day, I will stand guard all night. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. I start looking at all these young people up here and think that y'all be out of your minds and think the devil wouldn't love to destroy you. Take your life, wreck you. I guess y'all are boyfriend and girlfriend, right? Y'all gonna get married one day? Don't look that way, just look at me. Get up there and sing like you did, sing together. You'd be out of your mind to think that the devil ain't watching everything you do. You're a preacher's kid, you're a preacher's kid, and I'm a preacher's kid. Statistically says that none of the three of us should be in this room tonight. We should hate God, we should hate people, because we have seen how people out there treat mama and treat daddy. We've seen the lonely nights that mama and daddy have had. We've seen all that, and there's no way we should be sitting where we're sitting at tonight. And you'd be out of your mind to think, and here comes some young man in the picture, and you're trying to take preacher's only daughter, and let me just go ahead and be honest with you, you're a brave, brave man. Somebody said, he's way nicer to you than I'll ever be. Can I be honest about this thing? And here's what I know, I know with you all together, I don't know how many boyfriends you had before, how many girlfriends you had before, I don't know the stories of nothing at all, but I do know this, there's probably been moments in both of y'all's relationships in your life where you thought, mama don't know what she's talking about, daddy don't know what he's talking about, I'm ticked off, I'm mad, when I have a girl, I ain't never gonna treat them this way. When I have a boy that's in a relationship, I ain't never gonna treat them this way. And maybe, just maybe, the devil's trying to get in between y'all and them and try and guard the vision and Charles Crowley. But I come to tell you what I see is I see a mama and I see a daddy that'll stand guard over their baby, stand guard over their young boy and say, God has given you to me and I refuse to let the devil come in. Come on now, you better make up your mind if you're gonna show up in this place and take that young girl under your wing and one day I don't know what your life is like but you must make up your mind. I'm not going to I'm not gonna throw in the towel. I have decided Jesus is worth fighting for. Jesus is worth standing guard for. And I need somebody in this church that'll say every one of these young men, every one of these young women, the devil would love to get after them. He'd love to destroy them. But I need a grandma or a grandpa. I need a man of God or a woman of God that'll say if he gets them, it'll be over my dead body. I will stand guard. I will fight. what the devil is or what God has given us. You better listen to me. You better hear me. I sat around the church or the table today at lunch. I heard story after story after story of what God has done through this place, through this building, through this church. Many of you have been here to see all of it. I hear what God's gonna do in the future to watch God unfold all this, but you would be out of your mind to think the devil's gonna give you a free pass. You'd be out of your mind to think the devil ain't gonna send some floozy or some Mr. So-and-so in the back door. They're trying to wreck and trying to split and trying to destroy. There have been better churches than this that have fallen apart. a man of God or a woman of God. I don't say if I'm gonna stay here all night long, I will stand guard and the devil cannot have it. I will fight for what's left tonight. You have to fight. You have to make up your mind. I ain't gonna quit. I ain't gonna throw him a towel. I'll protect what God has given me. I'll protect what God has given me. Getting married in June, is that what I hear? June what? 20th, I got married on June the 24th. And here's what I know. I know the devil wouldn't love to take your marriage and make another statistic. There's probably someone somewhere that's whispering things like, yes, it ain't gonna work. It ain't gonna last. It's just a fad. He'll turn out like everybody else. And the devil has one thing in mind for your marriage, and that's divorce. Almost every young marriage in 2025 ends in divorce. I hardly ever see someone my age that has a mom and daddy that's still together. You don't find it. Usually it's mom's on this week and dad's on this week Because the devil doesn't play fair He doesn't care who you are. You don't care that you're a PK. You don't care that you're sitting on the front row tonight You don't care that you love Jesus. You don't care, but he has one thing in mind and that's to wreck and ruin your life And I'm sick and tired. You say, Preacher, you sound agitated. If I'm honest, I'm fed up to the devil destroying what God's given us. I'm sick and tired of the devil taking good things and ruining them. I'm sick and tired of us turning our back and playing part-time Christianity while the devil's working overtime. And we'll let the devil just continue to just veer in. And listen to me, y'all. I have skin in the game now. I told y'all this morning I got three kids and went on the way. And I made up my mind the devil will have to go through me and have to go through mama if we can get my baby. Somebody has to fight for what is left tonight. Here's what the Bible says. The Bible says, risk was stayed day and night and fought for what was left. Everyone either just raised your hand a moment ago, said you had family. Can I ask you a question? If you don't fight for them, who's going to? If you don't go get them, who's going to? If you don't win those grandbabies, who's going to? God forbid we see them get thrown in the hell. God forbid we see another young person's face on the news. God forbid I have to attend another 16, 17, 18-year-old funeral because they committed suicide or overdosed or something else. Somebody has to fight. I'll tell you this. I'll take my seat. I got to go. Rispa stayed day and night. She fought. The Bible says, from the end of harvest until the rain fell. I told you, it was a three-month period, three-month, or three-year, excuse me, three-year drought that was happening. Rizpah stood on this rock for six solid months. And all of a sudden, after six long months, the Bible says that water started falling from heaven. Rain came, if you would. I believe I preached to y'all on rain enough this morning, but I'll have to go back through how important rain is. But I'll just say it like this. Here's what I want you to know. I want you to know that when rain comes, watch this now. When rain begins to fall, why did it matter that rain fell? Because here's what I found about rain when I was studying about rain. I found that when rain begins to fall, I found that the vultures begin to run and hide for protection. Why? Because vultures don't fly when the rain's falling. Vultures love dry seasons. Vultures love when there's no rain in the forecast. But you want to make a vulture run and hide for the hills? Let a rainstorm come up. Let rain start falling. And you won't find a vulture flying nowhere. Why? Because it bothers their wings. It makes their wings heavy. And they don't want to be nowhere around. They'll hide for shelter. They'll run somewhere. That's why I refuse for dead church. I refuse to walk in church without the Holy Ghost. I refuse to accept a dead Christianity. Why? Because that's when the vultures start flying. That's when the devil sticks his head up. Well, as long as we can keep the rain in the house, as long as God can continue to send the Holy Ghost, we'll be okay and sheltered from the enemy. Somebody say amen. And so Rizva stayed, and she fought for what was left. The Bible says that one day after six months, somebody went and told the king. King, there's some lady that's down there still protecting those six lifeless boys. And the Bible says the king went down to where Rispa was and took all seven of those boys and then took Saul and Jonathan's bones and had a proper burial for all of them. What did Rispa, here's the question you may be wondering, why did Rispa fight for these lifeless bodies? Here it is, I'll tell you. Because all Rispa wanted was for someone to notice her boys and give them a proper burial. All Rispa wanted was for someone to see value in her two sons. And isn't it interesting? For six months, nobody saw value in them. But the moment the king took notice, everybody saw value in them. Can I just say it like this before I take my seat? Maybe there's someone in the room, and you may think that nobody knows who you are, and maybe they don't. But if the king knows who you are, that's all that matters. When the king takes notice, business gonna pick up. When the king shows up, that's when we know that everything's gonna be okay, because the Bible says when David showed up, David got all those bones, David got all those bodies, and he went and had a proper burial, and mama got what she had been fighting for. And so here's my prayer to you all, and I'm gonna take my seat, whoever wants to play the piano, you can come play the piano, I'm done. Here's a prayer to you all. You say, preacher, how long do I need to fight until the king takes notice? He said, Preacher, I can't go into that drug facility where my kids are. No, but the king can. He said, Preacher, I can't go in that bar where my grandkids hang out. No, you can't, but the king can. He said, Preacher, I can't go. I can't fix my marriage. No, you can't fix it, but the king can. He said, Preacher, I can't save that baby. No, but the king can. You have to stand guard and fight until the king takes notice. And then when the king shows up, everything is going to be OK. My challenge to you all tonight is to fight for what is left. Heads are bowed, eyes are closed over the house tonight. Here's what I'd ask you to do. I'd ask for a mama. I'd ask for a daddy. I'd ask for a young person. Maybe a leader of the church. Maybe, I don't know. To find a place, I'd say it like this. If I was a dad in this room and had kids, I'd find a place around this altar somewhere, and I'd pray, God, put a hedge of protection over my babies. Put a hedge of protection over my spouse. Put a hedge of protection over my family. If I was a church member in this place, I'd probably find somewhere around this church, and I'd say, God, put a hedge of protection around my church. God, don't let the devil get my church. If I was a young person, I'd probably find a place around this altar and say, God, protect my purity. God, protect my mind. God, protect who I am and let me fight for what's left. Every mama, every daddy, every grandma, grandpa, brother, sister, husband, wife, niece, nephew, whoever you are, if God's got people in your life you need to fight for, I challenge you to come find a place. Clear you off a spot and fight for what's left. Father, in Jesus' name, I've done what I need to do tonight. I have preachers to put on my heart. God, I pray you to raise up a multitude of people that will be warriors in this house. God, may we stand and fight. Words fall short I got nothing new How could I express All my gratitude I could sing these songs As I often do With my arms stretched wide I will worship you So I throw out my hands and praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a hallelujah And I know it's not much But I'm nothing else fit for a king Except for a heart singing Hallelujah I've got one response I've got just one move With my arms stretched wide I will worship you So I'll throw up my hands and praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a heartache And I know it's not much, but I've nothing else fit for a king Except for a heart singing Hallelujah, Hallelujah All my words fall short I got nothing new How could I express All my gratitude I could sing these songs As I often do But every song must end And you'll never be So I'll throw in my hands And praise you again and again Cause all that I have is a heartache Hallelujah And I know it's not much But I'm nothing else fit for a king Except for a heart singing Hallelujah Hallelujah I could sing these songs as I often do But every song must end and you never do So I throw in my hands and praise you again Cause all that I have is a Hallelujah, Hallelujah And I know it's not much, but I'm nothing else fit for a king Except for a heart singing Hallelujah So come on my soul, oh don't you get shy on me Lift up your soul, cause you've got a lion inside of those lungs Get up and praise the Lord Oh come on my soul, oh don't you get shy on me Lift up your soul, cause you've got a lion inside of those lungs Get up and praise the Lord So I'll throw up my hands and praise you again and again, because all that I have is a heartland. Hallelujah And I know it's not much But I'm nothing else fit for a king Except for a heart singing Hallelujah Hallelujah Amen Praise the Lord God is faithful And the Lord is good. There's no telling what God can do in this church through people have desire to give themselves over to him. And God's blessed and done so many tremendous things here in this church, and I'm looking forward to continuing to see what God's going to continue to do here. God is faithful. Listen, we was talking about just the church and the ceiling when it fell in years ago and just other blessings that God has blessed gospel ain't with. I know there was many things even before I got here, but we was just speaking on some just how good God's been since we had been here and the things we have seen. And I'm looking forward to seeing when God still has down the road. Cuz I still think the best is still yet to come. We always pray all the time in our office when we get together on Sunday nights. And we pray as men and we say, God, help us to see things we've never seen before. God, pour out your spirit like we've never had it here. God, do amazing things here, Lord, that we've never even heard of. Because we have a God in heaven that can do above and beyond what we've ever even imagined. And that's what I want. That's what I want for this church. That's what I want. That's what I want for y'all. That's what I want for me. That's what I want for this community. And that's what I want for every church that's around here. Amen? Listen, I ain't in competition against nobody. Right? I'm not in competition against Liberty down the road or Friendship down here or any other Bible-believing, preaching church out here. Listen, I got enough. I got enough of our time just trying to keep the devil off my back. Let's on. Been fighting that against anybody else. I got so much to hand to my own self. I tell you what, we get together, we unify as a body of Christ, as a church, but also as a community of Bible-believing believers. There's no telling what we can do with the power of God. Praise the Lord, God is faithful. Thank you, Brother Blue, for being here and your precious wife and other folks that have came with you. We appreciate y'all and it has been a blessing to be with y'all. Thank you for playing and singing, everybody. Thank y'all for being here tonight. What we're gonna do this evening now is if I could get some men to come up, we're gonna take up a love offering here tonight. So if I can get some men to come up, maybe perhaps you gave this morning and you wanna give again tonight, maybe you wasn't here this morning, now's your opportunity to be able to do so. And so everything that we take up here this evening, of course, will go to the Blue family and their ministry and take care of their needs as they travel and different things like that. And so let's just pray for the offering tonight and God that would bless them. If I could get them, they would make their way towards the back like they did this morning. I'm sure folks would like to shake their hand on their way out and give you a word of encouragement as they leave. But we're thankful that y'all were here tonight. Listen, I got in January, I don't wanna give you too much right now, but in January, for every Friday in January, I got fresh fire Fridays. And so every Friday in January, there's gonna be, every Friday night, there's gonna be, hey, we all like, hey, when bad biscuits get together, we gotta eat something, right? And so we'll have some soup and things like that in the evening, and then we'll come out here,