00:00Hello everyone, this is William Chambers. It is a blessing to be here once again with you guys,
00:05with the Word of God, with people who love the Word of God. Let us look into the text. Today,
00:10if I had a title for this message, I would call it, The Day One Man Held the Line. And
00:18that's
00:18good news that one man, not a crowd, can hold the line. What do I mean by holding the line?
00:25We live in a dark culture, a dark society. God has called us to be light, and He's called us
00:34to
00:34certain posts, and He's called us to do certain things, and we are to hold the line at wherever
00:40He assigns us at. Well, this text is about one man who held the line when all other men ran.
00:47Many
00:48people leave the battle when pressure rises, but this man by the name of Elie Azar, he stayed.
00:54He fought until weary. He clung to his sword. And today, we're going to learn what it means to
01:01stand alone. Victory does not require a crowd. That ought to get you excited. You don't have to
01:07have a crowd to have victory. When one person holds the line, God can still work a great victory.
01:14Let's look in the text. And after him was Elie Azar, the son of Dodo, the Ahadite,
01:19one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered
01:26together to battle. And the men of Israel were gone away. He arose and smoked the Philistines
01:33until his hand was weary, and his hand claved unto the sword. And the Lord wrought a great victory
01:40that day. And the people returned after him only to spoil. So there was a battle brewing.
01:48And the Israelites were facing their long persistent enemies, the Philistines. And the Israelites had
01:55retreated. But there was one man that said, I am not leaving. I'm going to stay in the fight.
02:01No matter what comes, what goes, I will fight this battle. His name was Elie Azar. Elie Azar did not
02:08measure strength by numbers. He did not quit because he did not have any support. He didn't
02:14quit because his support dried up. Elie Azar said, I'm going to stay regardless. It is easy
02:20for us to be bold when we have a group of people around us. It is easy to fight when
02:26the numbers
02:26are on our side. But when all of your support dries up, when nobody's helping you,
02:35that's when your conviction is tested. How much are you convicted by this? How much does it matter
02:40to you? This battle mattered to Elie Azar. And Lord, help us. Whatever spiritual battle he's
02:46called us on in, help it to matter unto us enough to stand alone. I will fight this fight even
02:52if I
02:52must stand alone. The spirit of Elie Azar. Lord, give us the spirit of Elie Azar. The men were gone
02:59away. This suggested that they retreated. The Philistines had gathered together, meaning the
03:05pressure had intensified and the majority withdrew. And there are many times where when pressure
03:14intensifies, the majority runs away. All except Elie Azar. Elie Azar stood and fought. The Bible
03:22said he was a man that fought until he was weary. Oh, faithfulness, being faithful to God can be
03:31exhausting. He did not quit. He did not give up. He may have been weary, but he did not faint.
03:39Oh,
03:39Lord, help us not to faint when we get tired in the battle. A man that fights even when he's
03:45weary
03:45is a man that's close to seeing God move. Elie Azar fought until he was weary and saw God work
03:54a
03:54victory. The Bible goes on and says he was a man who clung to the sword. He not only was
04:03weary,
04:03but he clung, he claved to his sword. The sword was no longer something that he carried. It was something
04:09that was attached to him. The word of God should be something that becomes attached to us, shaping our
04:17thoughts, shaping our reactions, governing our emotions, and directing our decisions. Elie Azar said,
04:25I must fight. I must not let go of this sword. This sword is all I have to fight with.
04:33He understood
04:33that if he dropped his sword, he would die. When the battle was intense, you need to have a firm
04:40grip
04:40on your sword. What I mean by that, it is your sword that helps you with being alone. It is
04:46your
04:46sword that helps you through discouragement. It is the sword that helps you through betrayal,
04:51isolation. It is the sword that helps you with all the pressures of life. When the life turns up,
04:56you need to have your hands on the sword. So Elie Azar, he did not run. He stood alone. He
05:05was
05:06weary and he held onto his sword and God gave him the victory. When a man refused to let go
05:14of his
05:14sword, the Lord refused to let loose of him. God gave him the victory. And this proof positive that you
05:20don't need a crowd to have victory. We're talking about the day that one man held the line. One man
05:26said,
05:26I'm not leaving. I'm going to stay right here and fight. Even if everybody else leaves, even if I
05:30got to stand alone, I will stand right here. And God gave the victory through that one man's
05:37obedience, through that one man's courage. Help us, oh God, to hold the line wherever you place us.
05:44In Jesus' name we pray and say, amen.
05:46Amen.
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