Authentic Faith, clinging to it with all you have

These are my notes from last night's youth message. Authentic means real, and something real doesn’t change or wash away. P.J. absolutely loves tattoos, she gets one everytime we go to certain restaraunts to eat. They are a dollar or sometimes .50 and they last a few days. We always make her put it somewhere that it won't show just because we don't know how long it will take to wash off. Well, tattoos unfortunately are a big deal these days, I personally don't believe in defiling my body therefore I don't necessarily like them. The idea of doing something to my body that God did not intend and having it last forever just isn't my idea of fun, or smart. Well, a real tattoo lasts forever, it stretches, fades and changes with your body but it is always there. Now, a fake tattoo is gone in a week or so, it washes off as soon as some soap and water hit it. It fades, and then a faded half washed off tattoo is absolutely hideous. That cool design that P.J. picked out is now just a black or blue mangled dot of dirt appearing skin. Our faith is meant to last forever, it is meant to be real and strong and endure the test of time. Unfortunately many of us don't have that strong of faith, we don't take the time to cultivate it and so we end up with a faded, unattractive and basically useless faith. That isn't the way GOd intends it to be. Let's look at some verses. Hebrews 4:14-16 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 2 Samuel 23:9-10 8 These are the names of David’s mighty warriors: Josheb-Basshebeth,a Tahkemonite,was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.9 Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim[d] for battle. Then the Israelites retreated,10 but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead. Eleazor is for whatever reason one of my favorite BIble characters the story of him slaying an army and fighting until his hand was basically frozen to the sword is a perfect picture of what our faith should be like. Josheb, Shammah, and this great character ELEAZAR were Davids' mighty men, men who had together slain thousands with their own swords and their own hands. He is particularly remembered for his heroic deeds in a battle with the Philistines. In 1 Chronicles 11:12-14 we are told a little more about this occasion. The battle scene was at a place called “Pasadammim” - “the dell of bloodshed”. It is, interestingly, the same place where David (years before) had defeated Goliath. This place seems to have been a recurring headache for Israel - Saul had been held up there by the Philistines until David stepped in, and now David is returned there facing the same enemy (the Philistines) in another confrontation. There’s something to be learned here - the enemy will often take us back to old battlegrounds; places where he’s held us up in the past! [As I look back on my Christian walk, my greatest battles have been fought over the same things time and time again - things that I’d already dealt with.] Here at Pasadammim again then, the Philistines stood in the way of GOd's army and GOd's people. What a man this Eleazar was! We can learn a lot from him; 1. THE SUFFICIENCY OF ELEAZAR’S WEAPON. He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil. (verse 10) Eleazar brought down the entire Philistine militia with just one weapon in his hand - his trusty sword. It was: a.) A WEAPON HE HAD CONFIDENCE IN. He had, no doubt, fought many battles with it before. It had been a reliable sword to him - he cared for it himself, sharpening and oiling it continually, so that he knew it would not fail him in the heat of battle. I understand that one of the first things an Australian soldier is issued with when he enlists is his automatic rifle. Each soldier is taught to know everything about his weapon - before long he can dismantle and reassemble it blindfolded in seconds. He is the only one allowed to clean his rifle, and if he misplaces it he is severely disciplined. The point of all this training is so that when he goes into battle the soldier is not concerned about whether or not his weapon will fail him - he trusts it because he knows it completely and has proven it in many repeated drills. Eleazar wielded his sword with confidence - it had proven reliable to him time and time again. It was also: b.) A WEAPON HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH. Eleazar, by constant use, had mastered that sword. Before he ever came near the battlefield he had defeated a thousand imaginary enemies - he had practised with it for hours on end. He was familiar with its feel and its weight; he knew what it could cut through, and how much force he needed to swing it with. He knew how to use it both defensively and offensively - he was totally at home using this sword. He was so familiar with it, in fact, that it became just like an extension of his own arm. Secondly, we see: 2. THE STUBBORNNESS OF ELEAZAR’S GRIP. . . . his hand CLAVE unto the sword. OH, I LIKE THAT! Eleazar’s hand clave unto the sword, despite the fact that: a.) THE SITUATION “SEEMED” HELPLESS. . . . the men of Israel were gone away - YOU run away as well, Eleazar, what’s the point?! You can’t face this whole horde of Philistines alone - “He who turns and runs away lives to fight another day!” - Isn’t that right? NO - . . . his hand clave unto the sword. Despite the fact that: b.) ALL HUMAN RESOURCES WERE GONE. All his human counterparts, his fellow soldiers completely bailed on him and all that was left was him and his sword. There are going to be times in your life when all you have is your faith, and when those times come you better have full confidence in your faith and full assurance that it is all that you need. You better cling to it with all you have and stand your ground, no one else will be able to do it for you! And notice too, that his "help" only showed up after the battle was over to loot and strip the dead of anything of value. You are going to face times like these too, where people watch you stand firm in your faith and then they come back to get credit alongside of you, this too is a test of faith. NO - . . . his hand clave unto the sword. NOTE THIS WORD “CLAVE”: The Hebrew word implies two meanings, both of which are significant I believe. a.) “PURSUING”, “clinging onto”, “grasping”. If wetake this meaning, Eleazar “went after” the sword - he clung to it for dear life. A sword with a life of its own. How many have ever been in situations where there’s been nothing left to do but CLING to God’s Word - to pursue it and, when you have found His promise, to hold on to it for dear life! b.) "WELDING”, “soldering”. The sword was “welded” to Eleazar’s hand! What a great picture that is. In the heat of the battle, Eleazar and his sword BECAME ONE INSTRUMENT! My new race car that I purchased a few years back has a complete funny car cage in it. THere are bars located all the way around me so that if I ever got into an accident there is no way that my body could come in contact with anything. I am in a huge bubble of steel bars, those bars are welded together strongly. Weld is a process of heating up metal to hold two metals together so that it is impossible for them to come apart. Oh, that we might all be welded to the Word of God and our faith. Eleazar clave unto the sword. We see the stubbornness of Eleazar’s grip. Thirdly, and finally, we see: 3. THE SECURER OF ELEAZAR’S VICTORY. "... and the Lord wrought a great victory that day." You cannot fight life's battles alone, days will come when you are at your end. You have no strength left, no energy left and seemingly very little hope left. It is in those times that your faith will be most valuable to you. Not when life is great and you are soaring high, not when life is ho hum not bad and not good, but when you are at the end of your human resources. Those times when you are on your own, that is my fear and also my hope for our youth ministries. That we build young people whose faith is so strong, and who cling to it song strongly and stubbornly that they stand up against thousands knowing that their faith will not let them down.