1. We are fighting for GOD’s agenda in our nation.
ð Study the story of Nehemiah: Was it God’s perfect plan for the walls of Jerusalem to be destroyed, and that Jerusalem be a subject of ridicule and scorn? No! All He needed to rebuild its walls were faithful people to work and fight for His divine agenda for their nation.
o Psalm 2:8– Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
o “I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And, if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?” (Benjamin Franklin)
2. We are fighting for the sagigilid of our COUNTRY.
ð During Esther’s time, was it right and just for the Jews to be eradicated from the land they were in? No! Esther was there to stand for her people. With her resolute words, “If I perish, I perish,” she decided to fight for her countrymen in dire need.
o Psalm 82:3-4 – Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
o “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
3. We are fighting for our FAMILY’s better chance at life.
ðLook around us: will the people we love, at all times, be exempted from what is happening in our country? Of course not! Our fight is also for them – for their right to a good life.
o Esther 5:13-14 – He sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.”
o Nehemiah 4:14 – “After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’”
o “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” (Theodore Roosevelt)
4. We are fighting for OUR own legacy in our country’s history.
ðLook at Nehemiah. Was his life as cupbearer to the king enough for him to live in peace? Is he now known as Nehemiah the Cupbearer? No! He left his prestigious job and dirtied his hands for the sake of leaving a legacy in his nation. He is Nehemiah, the Rebuilder of the Broken Walls.
o Nehemiah 2:20 – I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”
o From the movie Braveheart:
William Wallace: I am William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny. You’ve come to fight as free men… and free men you are. What will you do with that freedom? Will you fight?
Veteran: Fight? Against that? No! We will run. And we will live.
William Wallace: Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live… at least a while. And, dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take … OUR FREEDOM!
5. We are fighting for our DESCENDANTS’ promise of a good future.
ð Are we fighting for a better life for ourselves and our family alone? No! We seriously understand that what we build today, our children and their children’s children will enjoy in the future. What we sow today, they will reap. The prize of what we are fighting for today, they will enjoy.
o Psalm 127:1 – Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
o “We can never really be happy nor be able to live with our consciences when we know there is a wrong that can be righted. And though our arms are weary and our bones are broken, it is not right that this nation—and those who will come after us—should bear an unbearable sorrow.” (Dr. Jovito Salonga)
Our fight is far from over – we all know this. But we should never stop fighting. Because this is for eternity’s sake! And because this same principle is what fuels the man with whom we rally behind all our efforts—our icon of hope: Bishop Bro. Eddie C. Villanueva. He said:
“When you do something not for your own interest but for the sake of the people of our nation, there is no defeat in that. Before the eyes of history, before the eyes of eternity, you will always be a winner.”
(“Kapag ginagawa mo ang isang bagay hindi para sa vested interest mo – wala kang personal agenda – para sa kabutihan ng mga mamamayan sa bansa lalo na sa mga kabataan, WALANG TALO YUN. Before the eyes of history, before the eyes of eternity, laging panalo.”