Armorbearers International

Have you ever put your leader in front of God? I don't mean on purpose; for none of us would purposely put anyone above God, right? But somehow through wrong thinking and wrong choices it happens to the best of us. God ends up further and further from the top (first place).

            In Bible days, Gehazi, servant of Elisha was given an order to carry out but instead he did what he wanted to do for himself. Later, he received the leprosy that was upon Naaman because of his disobedience. Now just think, what would happen if every time we did our own thing instead of what our leader told us to do we would break out with leprosy? I think we would be a bit more careful to carry out our leader's commands. (II Kings 5:20-27)

       Which brings me to the question in my title, are you a man pleaser or a God pleaser? I know some of you will say as an armorbearer aren’t we suppose to please our leader? Yes, but there must be balance. Ultimately, the Lord is always first then our leader.

       The reason I'm writing about this is because I see an imbalance in this area of ministry. I've noticed quite a few armorbearers serving as men pleasers; in the long term it never works.  Being a man pleaser will eventually burn you out; it will lead you into wrong motives and it will always leave you with unfulfilled expectations.

The Lord Must Be First

This is not a pastor bashing session. Nor, am I blaming your leader for he or she is only human. Usually, it's more us (the armorbearer) that puts a wrong priority on our leader than the leader being prideful or self-centered. Sometimes, when looking at our anointed leader, we can begin to see them as a superman or a super woman. For example, I love my pastor; he is one of the most gracious, loving, powerful in revelation, plus much more man of God that I know. But still in our relationship, no matter how much I esteem him, the Lord must be first.

       It is important that we get this right and stay balanced in our thinking. The Word of God says He is a jealous God and will not share his glory with anything. (Exodus 34:14) I'm simply saying don't put your pastor or any man or woman on a pedestal so high that our Father God has to wonder who holds first place in your life, Him or your leader.

       The Bible speaks of our works being tried in the fire. When we stand before the Lord he will judge us or I could say weigh us by our works each one. The Word of God says He knows the secrets of the heart and he knows us so close he can separate soul from spirit. (Hebrews 4:12) So we must judge our self less we be judged. When we are diligent to judge ourselves the Holy Spirit can help us stay balanced in our thinking. We will keep everyone in their proper place; secondary to our holy God.

       I don’t want to sound mean spirited but this is a very important matter for the armorbearer. I believe every time we are given a direct order and decide to do our own thing instead of what we were asked to do; we stand a chance of walking in disobedience. Therefore, we must be watchful and not act for selfish gain, do stuff just to be seen, be prideful, careful to submit to authority, and the list could go on.

Hearing God For Yourself

Personally, I don't think you can be a man pleaser and a God pleaser at the same time. I'm not saying that we aren't supposed to submit to authority for we must. God has placed a chain of authority through man. Even so, there is always a time when God, our heavenly Father speaks to us (our spirit man) and it is crucial that we submit to His divine authority.

       Over the years, I've learned that we follow our leaders and pastors as they follow Christ. But we must learn to hear God for our self and in our individual life. Years ago, I had served the Lord faithfully for a number of years. I was wondering if God had called me to preach His word. A little later, I was in counsel with a man in authority that told me if I had been called to preach, I would have already been preaching by now. I was in my late twenties at that time and was not preaching. If I had listened to man instead of God, I would have never accepted the call by faith.

       Another time, I was told by a person in authority that I would do better at another ministry. What if I had just left offended or just because this person in authority told me to leave, I left? I would have missed all the rich relationships I now have with my fellow church members and not even mentioning the armorbearer ministry that was birthed out of my serving relationship with my pastor.

       So that you will know at these important times I chose to listen to God instead of man, I did accept the call of God to preach. I was ordained as a Baptist minister by my natural father Rev. La Varn E. Brown.  And I have stayed with the ministry and church I felt called by God to be a part of. If I had given up and listened to man and never accepted the call by faith, I wouldn't be where I am today in ministry.

God Holds Us Accountable

Ultimately, even though we submit to man's authority God will still hold us accountable on whether we individually are obedient to His voice and His Spirit's leading. I remember well when I became aware of God holding me accountable for following the Holy Spirit's leading. (Romans 8:14)

       For weeks, I felt prompted of the Lord to join a group called Ministers In Training at our church. I kept procrastinating until finally the Holy Spirit showed me I was in disobedience because of this. Before I could even form the question in my mind, "Lord, when did you audibly tell me to join the MITs?" It immediately came to mind about all the prompting by the Holy Spirit I felt over the past weeks. I repented and turned in my application the next day. I was accepted.

       It turned out that door was about to close and Father God strategically wanted me in that group. I would have missed the impartation and training I received from my pastor who I later became an armorbearer to.

       Even so, there is another side to this that I must mention. Please know that I don’t mean to offend anyone; it is most important that you are led by the Spirit of God when you choose your leader to serve or if you are choosing your armorbearer.  Do you remember what happened to Saul and his servant? They both died disobedient. 

       I know two pastors that got off the path of God; one is in prison and the other ended up with his faith major shipwrecked.  I weep for them for I met them both personally.  I'm not being judgmental but I must tell you KNOW who you are serving and KNOW who is serving you. The Thessalonians writer said it like this, "Know them who labour among you!"  (I Thessalonians 5:12) 

Summary

In ending, I pray that you can hear my heart in this. I only want you to make sure God stays in first place in your life. I'm not on an armorbearer bashing trip. It's quite the opposite I'm still very passionate about armorbearing and the ministry of helps.  I served as an armorbearer to my pastor for over ten years. We're still friends and He blesses me every now and then to do activities with him.

       Besides how I feel personally, God has called me to help other servants of God walk and serve in right thinking. Years ago, I was being persecuted for being an armorbearer. I got upset and rashly made the statement, "I don't want anything to do with armorbearing anymore." The Holy Spirit pulled on my heart so hard and heavy that I know I grieved Him. I repented and said whatever you want me to do Lord, I'll do it. So, here I am years later writing an article about armorbearing.

       I have carried this in my spirit for some time; I thought it was time to be obedient and write it. I have more to say about this matter; I've only touched the surface so maybe we'll talk some more later. Until then, keep God in first place and be blessed in your service!

 Keep serving faithfully.
Your brother in Christ,
Varn Brown