Frankie Mazzapica - Hold onto the Sword
The title of today’s message is «Hold on to the Sword.» I want to define what the sword represents for the context of this message. The sword is having faith in God—having a faith that, as stated in Hebrews 11:6, He is there. I’m hanging on to faith that You actually exist. This is the sword of faith, and I’m not going to drop it. I’m going to hold on to it. Sometimes, I’m going to have a lot of faith; other times, I’m going to take the little bit of faith that I have and just hang on to that little bit.
Secondly, I want the sword to represent pursuing God. Sometimes it’s easy to pursue Him because your faith is strong, so coming to church is easy, lifting your chin to God is easy, whispering prayers is easy. But when you’re holding on to the sword, you’re saying that even when it’s not easy, I’m going to find the strength just to whisper, «I love You.» I was playing golf with a friend recently—we were playing nine holes. I brought 18 golf balls, so I was ready to go. He said, «You know what? I’ve been saying, 'I love You, God, ' a lot lately,» and he added, «I have to tell you, it’s making a difference.» I was like, «Do you think I stand up there on Sunday and just lie?» Holding on to the sword means you’re saying, «I have faith in You, and I’m going to pursue You.» That is the sword.
Now, in 2 Samuel 23:1, we read that the children of Israel, God’s people, were fighting against the Philistines, and the battle became so intense and intimidating that they dropped their swords and ran. But there was this one guy, Eleazar. The Bible says he struck down the Philistines. Keep this in mind: his army, his friends, left. He struck down the Philistines, and the second part of that first verse says that his sword froze to his hand. He hung on to it so tightly that his hand couldn’t let go after the battle, and then the Bible says the Lord brought the victory that day. He did all he could—he swung, he hung on, thinking, «I’m going to win. I don’t know how long this battle is going to take, but I’m going to win, some way, somehow.» There must have been moments when he got cut; there must have been moments when he got bruised. He didn’t walk out of that battle unscathed.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve gone through battles before where, yes, I made it through; the Lord gave me the victory, but I’ll never be the same. Are you with me? It hurt. But the Lord says, «You’re doing all you can do, and I’m going to make sure you get the victory.» I have three major points: the first point is how some people dropped the sword; the second point is how Eleazar hung on to it; and the third point is how God brought the victory. So let’s dive into it.
Like I just mentioned, they dropped the sword and ran. This wasn’t the first time we see the children of God leaving. In John chapter 6, Jesus was teaching His disciples. Now, He didn’t just have the twelve; the Bible indicates that He had concentric circles around Him. In Mark 3:20, it says that the multitudes followed Him so often that He didn’t even have time to eat. He had His twelve, another seventy He was discipling, followers who believed in Him—these were the thousands of people following Him—and then on the outer fringe were people who were either critics, showing up just to mock, and others who weren’t believers but were just interested—wondering what was going on over there.
So, Jesus stands in front of the multitude and says, «If you believe in Me, you’re going to have to eat My flesh and drink My blood.» When they heard that, the disciples looked at Him and thought, «Alright, that’s enough. Like, I’ve been following You around, I didn’t even bring food, and I’m starving, walking through the desert. I’ve done everything You want me to do, and I’m still in a mess.» You been there? Yes. So, one disciple said, «Okay, this is where we draw the line. I’m not going to walk up to You and bite You.» They couldn’t understand what He was trying to say, and because they didn’t understand, they left Him.
This is common; it’s a common thing where people get discouraged. «I don’t understand what You’re doing, so therefore I’m out.» Some of you know people like that. It’s a common thing— the battle in their mind is too big. They can’t understand what you’re doing, so they’re forced to think either A, «You’re crazy,» or B, «You don’t even exist.» Guess what? «I had faith in You, but I’m going to go ahead and drop the sword.» This is the common occurrence.
Between 2014 and 2019, I participated in a lot of endurance sports. I think I ran maybe eight or nine half marathons, did like five full marathons, and a half Ironman, which involves running a half marathon, biking 56 miles, and swimming a mile and a half—all in one day. There’s a moment at the end of each of these races, if you want to do well, where for the last five miles of the race, you look at a tree ahead of you, sincerely believing that you can’t pass that tree. You’re looking at your legs, unsure if you’re running or walking, that’s how exhausted you are. When this happens, a different kind of sweat emerges, burning your eyes like sunscreen dripping down your forehead. This occurs for the last five miles, which leads you to ask, «What are you going to do now? Quit?»
Some do. They see the «Patty Wagon,» where people who quit get picked up. You look at it and think, «I’m not getting in that Patty Wagon. I’m going to either die here or not quit.» You see, some people quit too easily; they get confused, discouraged, and stop pursuing. They stop worshiping, thinking that church is nonsense; they stop believing. Then you have Eleazar, point number two, squeezing that sword so tightly that I read about a sailor—a pirate, or not a pirate—and his ship was attacked. He grabbed his sword, stood firm, and fought with everything he had. His hand clung to the sword so tightly that surgically it had to be opened.
There are moments you’re going to be tested in your faith and pursuit. When I say «pursuit,» don’t judge me, but I’m a sucker for country music. There are times when I’m in my car, and I feel that if I don’t listen to worship music, I’m going to feel weak. I have to consciously pursue Him. Have you ever been there? If you end up dropping the sword, it can lead you to trouble.
I was in the car with my son, and if you’ve been coming to this church for a while, you’ve heard me talk about incidents on the road where I’m surrounded by terrible drivers. Last week, just four days ago, I was driving down a road where the speed limit was probably 45. I doubt I was driving that fast, but there was someone speeding, cutting in front of me. At a red light, I thought, «I need to see what this guy looks like,» so I creep forward and look. He then creeps forward, and I feel my pride and ego rising. When I see his face, I think to myself about rolling my window down to confront him.
But I’ve been pulled into situations before and spent time praying, saying, «God, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.» I’ve left services before wondering why I had reacted that way to others. I’m tired of spending time praying to get out of a season that I’ve been in for too long. It’s time to pray about the next season God is calling me to. I need to hold on to the sword of faith and move forward instead of standing in the same place fighting the same battles repeatedly.
It’s time to start going to places and seasons that God is calling you to, rather than fighting these same silly battles over and over again. The devil goes, «Uh-oh, they just worshiped!» «Uh-oh, their faith is going up! Just send someone over there to get them angry; they’ll stop moving forward.» Whatever that might be for you, you just sit there, saying, «God, I’m sorry for getting angry. I’m sorry for getting angry.»
In 1 John 2:15–16, it says: «For the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.» The pride of life refers to this intrinsic desire to be admired. The Lord says, «That’s not of Me.» It’s time to stop fighting the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Eleazar says, «I’m taking over. I’m moving forward.»
Now, watch point number three: how God gave him the victory. There will be seasons of your life when you may think, «Don’t do that anymore.» You beat yourself up for making mistakes, saying, «I did it again.» But when you’re hanging on to faith—saying, «I believe in You» and «You’re going to get me through this"—it’s a lot easier to withstand a moment of temptation when you’ve already been praying. If you wait to pray in the middle of a battle, it’s much more difficult. However, if you’re already worshiping in your car and telling the Lord you love Him, when the battle comes, you’re already moving forward.
The Lord looks at you and says, «I see what you’ve been doing. I see that you’ve been fighting. I know that you can’t do this by yourself.» You’re trying to shake off depression, trying to shake off anxiety, trying to shake off an addiction. You’re committed to worshiping, so much so that your hand is cleaved to the sword.
When Jesus looked at His disciples and asked, «Are you going to leave me too?» after the others left, He looked at the twelve and said, «Are you going to leave me too?» Peter replied, «Where are we going to go?» What I like about that statement is it implies he’s thought about it. «I’ve thought about it. You’re saying some crazy stuff, and I’ve considered leaving, but my other options are terrible.»
He understands that if he goes back to his previous life, he’ll be miserable. So, even though he doesn’t understand what Jesus is saying, he’s not going back to where he was, and he’s not going to be like those who just quit. In other words, he’s committed to holding on to this sword.
Do you know how Jesus responded? If you fear abandonment, you’d say, «You thought about leaving? Well then, I thought about leaving too, so bye-bye!» But Jesus looks at him and says, «You’ve been considering other options, but you didn’t take them. You’ve kept believing, you’ve kept worshiping. You are my guy.»
Come on, give Him applause! You are my guy, you are my girl! Stand up on your feet and give Him a standing ovation! He loves you for what you’ve done.
In James 5:15, it says, «Pray one for another; pray for the people you love, and they will be healed.» Thank you, Lord! I just want to say some of you have loved ones and friends who are not praying for themselves, and you know it. The Bible says, «Pray one for another, and they will be healed.» You can pray for people who aren’t praying for themselves, and the Holy Spirit will support you and help bring victory because you are hanging on to that faith.
But there are times when you need to say, «If that scripture is true, I need to be healed. I am physically sick. I need healing. People have hurt me; I need healing.» Sometimes your faith has been rocked, and your faith needs healing. So today is your day. I’d like our prayer partners to come down. These prayer partners are here to pray with you.
If you look down here and see the prayer partners with folks already praying, don’t hesitate to come to the bottom of the aisle. Our ushers will help point you to the first available prayer partner. If you’re in this room and know in your heart that if your heart were to stop beating in the next five minutes, you’re not ready to see God, I want to challenge you and implore you to come down here and take a prayer partner’s hand. Say, «I need to get my life right.»
The Bible says that if you’re ashamed of Him in front of people, He’ll be ashamed of you in front of the Father. It’s important that people see this is your decision, so if you want someone to pray with you, come out of your seat. You can come right now; there’s no official dismissal. You can leave whenever you’re ready.
But let’s sing this song one time before anyone goes: may the Lord bless you, may He keep you, may His face shine down upon you and be gracious to you. May His countenance be lifted upon you and bring you peace. In Jesus' name, amen.