A 40-Day Personal Journey FOR INDIVIDUAL AND
GROUP USE
God’s Armorbearer Volumes 1 & 2
T E R RY N A N C E
© Copyright 2006—Terry Nance All rights reserved. This book is protected by the copyright laws of the United States of America. This book may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. The use of short quotations or occasional page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged. Permission will be granted upon request. Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NKJV and AMP are taken from the New King James Version and the Amplified Bible, respectively. Please note that Destiny Image’s publishing style capitalizes certain pronouns in Scripture that refer to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and may differ from some publishers’ styles. Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized. We choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical rules. Text compiled by Jan Sherman. DESTINY IMAGE® PUBLISHERS, INC. P.O. Box 310, Shippensburg, PA 17257-0310 “Speaking to the Purposes of God for this Generation and for the Generations to Come.” This book and all other Destiny Image, Revival Press, MercyPlace, Fresh Bread, Destiny Image Fiction, and Treasure House books are available at Christian bookstores and distributors worldwide. For a U.S. bookstore nearest you, call 1-800-722-6774. For more information on foreign distributors, call 717-532-3040. Or reach us on the Internet: www.destinyimage.com ISBN 10: 0-7684-2353-8 ISBN 13: 978-0-7684-2353-2 For Worldwide Distribution, Printed in the U.S.A. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 / 09 08 07 06
CONTENTS
Day 1
Revelation of an Armorbearer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Day 2
Developing the Spirit of an Armorbearer . . . . . . . . 9
Day 3
Duties of an Armorbearer—Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Day 4
Duties of an Armorbearer—Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Day 5
Duties of an Armorbearer—Part 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Day 6
Duties of an Armorbearer—Part 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Day 7
Function of an Armorbearer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Day 8
Armorbearers of the Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Day 9
Two Different Armorbearers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Day 10
The Ministry of Armorbearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Day 11
Faithful Armorbearing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Day 12
The Service of an Armorbearer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Day 13
The Cry of God’s Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Day 14
Send Me a Joshua!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Day 15
Steps to Develop the Spirit of an Armorbearer . . 61
Day 16
Fields White Unto Harvest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Day 17
The Anointing of an Armorbearer. . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Day 18
Recognizing the Human Side of Leaders . . . . . . . 73
Day 19
Recognizing the Right of Divine Authority . . . . . 77
Day 20
Giving Birth to God’s Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Day 21
Understanding Our Assignment and Appreciating Our Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Day 22
The Hour of the Local Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Day 23
Armorbearers Are Vital for Churches . . . . . . . . . . 93
Day 24
Successful Keys to Blooming Where You Are Planted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Day 25
Keys to Longevity—Understanding the Call of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Day 26
Keys to Longevity—Those Who Seek God Will Follow a Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Day 27
Keys to Longevity—Stay Where God Puts You . 109
Day 28
Keys to Longevity—Trust and Obey. . . . . . . . . . 113
Day 29
Keys to Longevity—Patience and Flexibility . . . 117
Day 30
Keys to Commitment—Loyalty and Faithfulness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Day 31
Keys to Commitment—Do Not Be Too Big or Too Small . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Day 32
Keys to Commitment—Always Do Your Best. . . 129
Day 33
Keys to Attitude—Willingness and Thankfulness 133
Day 34
Keys to Attitude—A Servant’s Heart . . . . . . . . . 137
Day 35
Keys to Attitude—Understanding Authority . . . 141
Day 36
Keys to Attitude—Five Structures of Authority . 145
Day 37
Keys to Attitude—Reproof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Day 38
Keys to Teamwork—Walking Without Offense and Use Your Talents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Day 39
Keys to Teamwork—You Are Important and Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Day 40
Keys to Teamwork—Run With the Vision. . . . . . 161
D AY 1
Revelation of an Armorbearer
A
ND
DAVID
CAME TO
SAUL,
AND STOOD
BEFORE HIM: AND HE LOVED HIM GREATLY;
AND HE BECAME HIS ARMOURBEARER
16:21).
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(1 SAMUEL
T O DAY ’ S D E VO T I O N
W
e live in a world that seems to know very little about laying down one’s life for another. A full understanding of this concept is vital to the Christian, especially if he knows he has been called into the ministry. Instead of offering ourselves to wait on others, we in the Church often expect them to wait on us. This is particularly true of our attitude toward the man or woman of God. … [Also,] there is a great fear today among many pastors that their associates are out to steal the sheep from them. As a result, there is little or no trust between the pastor and his assistant, no flow between the two of them. I believe God has someone prepared for every pastor…someone to stand with him in the ministry. I see today great ministries which are built around one person. What will happen when he is gone? It is of no credit to a pastor, or any man of God, to know that when he leaves town the sheep cannot function…. Where would we be today if Jesus had not put a portion of Himself into the twelve disciples? What would have happened if…there had been no one…to take up His ministry on earth? …Jesus’ ministry increased and multiplied. That’s because there were armorbearers standing with Him. (Quote from God’s Armorbearer,Volume 1, Pages 11-13.)
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QUESTIONS
1. What does “laying down one’s life for another” mean to you? Why is a full understanding of this concept vital to Christians? Why is it especially vital if we are called into ministry?
2. Why do you think so many in the Church expect the leaders to serve them, rather than having a heart to serve the leaders? What does this kind of attitude reveal about the hearts of many in churches today? Do you see this attitude prevalent in your church?
3. Have you seen fear between the pastor and those who serve in high positions of leadership under them? Have you personally experienced the outcropping of such fear? What do you think is at the root of such distrust?
4. Have you seen a ministry built around one person die after that person left? Why do you suppose the mantle was not picked up by another? Why couldn’t people accept a new leader and just continue on in the ministry?
5. As you study Jesus’ example of discipleship training, where do pastors tend to fail or find it difficult to train their leaders? Where do the leaders they train seem to fail? How has your attitude been toward others you have served? Have you been trustworthy?
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M E D I TAT I O N
“You and I will never flow in the anointing of Elisha until we have learned to serve an Elijah. It is not difficult to claim that we are submitted to Jesus, but the question is: are we submitted to another human being? That is a different story.” (God’s Armorbearer,Volume 1, Page 12)
Submission is a word that can bring feelings of pain or fear, or it can bring feelings of release. What feelings does this word bring to your heart? Take time to ask the Lord to bring release through submission in your life.
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