Matthew 8:1-4 records an event in the life of Jesus that occurred immediately after the great Sermon on the Mount. It was an act of reaching out to one who was considered untouchable. The Sermon on the Mount was one of challenge to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself, which Jesus displayed as He came down from the mountain. Great sermons are more than just putting people on a spiritual high. Great sermons also prepare us to care and to serve. The man that Christ healed was a leper, whom society had labeled as untouchable. Jesus touched him and made him whole. As we serve the Lord, we must be Christ-like in the sense that we have compassion for those who are unclean. Like the leper, there is a world who is decaying from the effects of sin. As followers of Jesus, we must not only say the right things, we must demonstrate them through our willingness to touch the untouchable. Many need the touch of God in their lives and He has called us to go to them. Luke 19:10 says Christ came... “to seek and to save that which is lost.” As His ambassadors, that is our mission as well. There is no sin too deep, no sorrow too great that God cannot save. Let’s reach the hurting!

As believers, faith is an area of our life that must be used in order to please God so we get proper results in the destiny He has called us to. Although faith is the evidence of things not seen, it is NOT silent. Faith must be given a voice. Faith must be confessed daily in our walk with Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:13 - “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke...” The voice of faith should be loud and clear. When God’s written Word declares a truth, we speak that Word in faith over our lives. It is then that faith is established and His Word will do what it is sent to do. By making “faith declarations,” we come into an agreement with the Word of God. When we agree with the Word, the Word comes alive and our faith then becomes sight. However in exercising faith, let us be careful to discern the difference between faith and presumption. Proper faith is believing what God has already established through His Word... Presumption is only our own thoughts or desires. Abraham was a man who had faith in God’s Word and did not presume, but simply took God at His Word; and because of His faith confession, He was called the “friend of God.”

Consider a concept that will revolutionize the way you think about ministry and the destiny God has mapped out for your life. It is the idea of being an armor bearer. In Exodus 17:8-16, we read where Moses, the great leader of Israel was holding up his hands over the army of Israel as they waged war against Amalek. When his hands were raised, Israel prevailed. When his hands would tire and were not raised, Amalek prevailed. In order for the battle to be won for Israel, Moses’ hands had to remain lifted up. To help him, Aaron and Hur supported each arm and kept Moses’ hands up and Israel won the battle! Armor bearers are those individuals who help men and women of God to succeed in their vision and calling. Many armor bearers in the Bible like David, Elisha and Joshua, were men who served others before they were in positions of leadership. In the New Testament, Barnabas was called the “Son of Encouragement” because of his willingness to help those in leadership. To be great in the Kingdom is to have a servant’s heart. God is looking for individuals who will simply be encouragers, supporters and loyal and faithful to those called to leadership. Will you be an armor bearer?