THE MINISTRY OF THE ARMOR BEARER (part 1)
Various Passages
Introduction
A couple of weeks ago, I preached on being part of the body
You and I have been given special talents and enablements, spiritual gifts to operate in the body of Christ
We all need each other…every member must be a vital part of the ministry of Trinity Baptist Church
Paul says we are all many members…but one body…and Paul goes on to say that in Eph 4:3 that we are to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace
Till we come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God
So we must “endeavor” – which means “to make a concerted effort” to keep the unity of the Spirit…to be like-minded in our ministry
But how many of you know that trying to keep unity in a church can be almost impossible
Why? Because there is a battle going on…Spiritual warfare is alive and well in the 21st Century
Now back in the Old Testament…there was a lot of physical warfare going on with God’s people…can I get a witness
New Testament there is still warfare but it is now more in the Spirit
Spiritual warfare is real and the truth is that the average Christian don’t really know all the warring that is taking place in the heavenlies
And in going to battle…how many of you know that Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 to “put on the full armor of God”
Why? So that we can withstand the wiles, or the schemes of the devil
Paul is telling us that we are to put on protection and that protection is God’s armor because it is a fight
It’s a fight to believe God…to stand in faith…to trust His Word
In 2 Tim 2:3 & 4 Paul tells Timothy to wage a good war as a good soldier of Christ
2 Cor 10:4 says, “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds.”
Notice we still have warfare and we still have weapons but they are not carnal…not of the flesh…but for pulling down strongholds (spiritual realm)
So I say all these so you and I can understand that there is still a battle that wages…and we are all in the battle
Our warfare is not with people anymore or with God because He has made peace with me through the way of the cross
But I do war against principalities, demonic forces, against powers and rulers of darkness
Now these are just a few passages in the New Testament that talk about warfare going on
And remember everything in the Old Testament is types and shadows of things to come
And they have come to pass in the substance of Jesus Christ
And if there was an Armor Bearer in the OT that played an important role in warfare…
Then we have to understand there is a ministry of the Armor Bearer in the New Testament warfare and is important to the success of us being fruitful, to us multiplying
I believe our ministry here at Trinity is about to expand but we cannot be effective unless more people are willing to step up to the plate in the ministry of an Armor Bearer
Pray
1. What was the ministry of the Armor Bearer in OT warfare?
First, they carried the king’s shield into battle
They protected and guarded the king
They were a servant and a friend to the king
They were loyal and committed unto death
They were courageous and fearless in the battle
Armor bearers were hand-picked among the warriors and they picked the men of valor and who were courageous
Because the armor bearer was assigned to protect the king
You don’t want a wimp protecting the king…you don’t want someone who is going to panic in the midst of the battle and flee
You want someone that will be loyal unto death…and that was the ministry of the armor bearer
Jesus said in John 15:13 “No greater love hath any man than this than to lay down his life for a friend.”
Strong’s concordance defines armor bearer as “to lift up, to hold up, to bear up and to regard and respect”
There were 5 armor bears mentioned in the OT…
Joab had an armor bearer…even though nothing is mentioned in detail
Abimelech had an armor bearer and we are fixing to look at him
Saul had 2 armor bearers…one was David who grew to be King
Jonathan, Saul’s son, had an armor bearer
Let’s look at these now and glean some things from the OT armor bearer and transfer it over to NT armor bearers
Let the Lord speak to your heart, birth in your heart, enlarge in your heart the ministry of an armor bearer
Turn to Judges 9:50-54 and let’s look at Abimelech’s armor bearer
This is king Abimelech who was a sorry king…there is nothing good to learn from Abimelech except don’t do anything Abimilech did
This guy killed 70 of his brothers…he was an evil person…but he had an armor bearer and something very good is said about his armor bearer
Read passage
Now you got to understand at that time, in that culture, to die at the hands of a woman was dishonorable
So we have a war going on…Abimelech has pushed the enemy back into a corner
He goes through a door and a woman drops a large millstone or grindstone on his head and cracks open his skull
So the first thing to understand is that this is a fatal wound…he knows he’s going to die and he fears dying at the hand of a woman
So he looks at his armor bearer and says “kill me with your sword” and he did
So there are some vital things we can learn here from the armor bearer
1. Abimelech’s Armor Bearer
A – The armor bearer was with him in the heat of the battle
Armor bearers stay with their assignment in the heat of the battle
He was right there beside the king…wherever the king went…he was there
A lot of people will stay with you in the ministry while it’s going good
But how many of you know when things are going bad…they abandon ship
Some times we go through fiery trials in the ministry and we have to have people who will stick with us in the heat of the battle to accomplish the purposes of God
I don’t know if you know this but it is a fact: when a ship catches fire…the first thing to get off the ship are the RATS
I think you got that and I will not elaborate
So #1, the armor bearer stays close to the king in the heat of the battle
I will have to stop here and continue this next week because I am running out time
Pray
B - He was equally concerned with the Kings honor
Remember, the king is saying thrust me with the sword and kill me because it will be a dishonor to die at the hands of a woman
The armor bearer was equally concerned about the kings honor and we have missed this in the New Testament church at large
And that is, (pause) how Satan wills above all to dishonor Godly leaders
He wants to dishonor me more than anything else in this church
Because if he can dishonor me, if he can dishonor my office…that will hinder you from what God puts in my heart for you
In Mark 6:4, Jesus talked about how, in His own hometown, He could do no mighty work except heal a few sick
And He marveled at their disbelief and vs 4 says “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown, among his own house, among his own kin”
See they dishonored the Lord, in his own hometown, and that hindered the power of God through Jesus to minister to them
Satan wants to dishonor pastors, associate pastors, youth leaders, elders, deacons
He wants to dishonor any one that is in the position of authority so that it will keep you from being blessed
Some folks can have a falling out with the pastor…and they can’t wait to tell new folks about what has happened
You may thing Bro Jimmy hung the moon but let me tell you about this and such…and if you had only been here when…
The devil loves to hurt and harm the man of God…not to hurt and harm him but to hurt and harm the people from receiving from the man of God
This armor bearer was equally concerned about the honor of the man of God even unto his death
We must have armor bearers who will honor our church leaders, honor authority, honor positions of authority
And not allow anyone to dishonor them in our midst and never be a party to the dishonoring
Have you ever noticed on TV or the national media, you can have conventions with 70 – 80 thousand men and not a word is spoken about it
Worshiping God…Trying to be better husbands, fathers, leaders, workers, men
But yet let one man of God make a mistake…and it’s on every broadcast
There’s a reason for that…the powers of darkness are warring against the will of God and Satan loves to dishonor men of God because it hinders people from receiving
C. The armor bearer submitted to and obeyed the king
He thrust his sword through the king and killed him
TRANS: Now let’s look at one that seems almost the opposite
Go to 1 Sam 31:1-5…now this is…
2. Saul’s armor bearer
This armor bearer will show another ministry of an armor bearer
D – The armor bearer respected the king and was loyal even to death
Saul died, and his three sons, and Saul’s armor bearer also died
Now that seems to be the opposite…but if you understand the ministry of the armor bearer, he was not afraid as we call afraid, like being scared
The word “afraid” here is used in the Hebrew that of fear like reverence for God…not like afraid or scared
When you handpick armor bearers, you pick ones that are bold and courageous…
Saul’s armor bearer was not afraid but he had a reverence, such a respect for his king he couldn’t thrust him through
Unlike Abimelech, this wound was not fatal…the reason I know that is…
Notice Saul said “lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me” or if you will, tortures me
He wasn’t fatally wounded…and he was Israel’s first king…so all he had to draw from was the judges…how the Philistines treated the judges
I am sure Saul was thinking about one man that they had tortured and that was Samson
And when the Philistines captured Samson, they gouged his eyeballs out and turned him into nothing less than an oxen
Another reason I know he wasn’t afraid is because in verse 5 he too fell on his own sword
If he was afraid or scared, he could’ve fled but he didn’t
So this armor bearer had a reverence and respect for the king, even unto death
Notice, he didn’t have a plan B…when the King died, he was with him in death
Lastly let’s go to 1 Sam 14 and look at
3. Jonathan’s armor bearer…my personal favorite
E. The Armor Bearer protects the king from rear attacks
There’s another war going on…any where you open the OT there’s a war going on
Jonathan’s is Saul’s son and he just decides that while his Daddy is strategizing on how to defeat this enemy
Jonathan just decides…I am gonna go whip this enemy for my daddy
I like boys like that…and boys will be boys so
Here’s what it says in 1 Sam 14:6-8 (read)
And notice in vs 8, Jonathan is not real for sure what the Lord is going to do yet
But he trusts that God can win the battle whether he has many warriors or only a few
Notice that the armor bearer was with him and told Jonathan in vs 7
“Do what you think is best. I’m with you completely, whatever you decide.”
Now look what vs 11 says (read)
Underline come right behind you…in other words…the armor bearer had his back
Alright, the armor bearer says “Do what you think is best…I’m with you”
He was saying, “You’re called to lead, I’m called to follow and unless you do something that violates the authority of the word or my conscious, I am with you.”
In the Kingdom, God is trying to put together an army and there has to be rank and there has to be order
God is a God of order and not a bunch of confusion
There has to be a point where we are all willing to submit and follow a vision and direction that God is trying to take us
And I want you to notice, the man of God, Jonathan, the leader, is killing these Philistines left and right
And the armor bearer is with him, beside him, and is covering his back
That is a biblical principle of watching, caring for, one another and our leaders
I want you to know that most things that Satan tries to attack me with from the front…I can win the battle because I can see it face to face
But let me tell you where the enemy has gotten me and most men of God throughout this country
It’s not the enemies that attack head on but the ones who flee….and come in the back door or come from behind
Let me give you three things pastors or leaders cannot win against because they always scatter and come from the back…
They hardly ever confront the man of God but try to attack from the rear
1. Criticism –
2. Murmuring and Complaining
3. Accusations
Every time a man of God hears God…begins to release a vision or a direction from God…criticism circles to the rear and attacks
Murmuring and complaining circles to the rear and attacks
Accusations circles to the rear and attacks
Why do these things happen? Because it is a spiritual warfare
We need NT church armor bearers that will protect the rear guard and kill these things that try to attack from the rear
CONCLUSION
I believe these are some things that we can glean from the OT armor bearer and apply to the NT in today’s spiritual warfare
1. Armor Bearers are with the leader in fighting the spiritual battle
2. Armor Bearers are equally concerned with the leader’s honor
3. Armor Bearers submit to and obey the leadership authority
4. Armor Bearers respect the leadership and with them unto death
5. Armor Bearers protect the leader/leadership from rear attacks
We need more armor bearers in the church and not pall bearers (KILL PREACHER)
We are going to have more and more ministry…and we must have people who are sold out…even unto death…in fighting the spiritual war ------ Pray
