The Ministry Of The Armor Bearer

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