SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
(1 Chronicles 4:9-10) (9) “And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.” (10) “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep [me] from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”
(Romans 15:4) “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
(Psalms 91:14-16) (14) “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.” (15) “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him.” (16) “With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”
(Psalms 19:14) “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”
(Proverbs 10:22) "The blessings of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he adds no sorrow with it."
(Psalms 37:4) "Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
PREFACE SUMMARY
Beloved reader, what we know about an honorable man named Jabez comes from two verses found in the Old Testament book of first Chronicles the fourth chapter, verses nine and ten which describes a man that although he was given a name which means bad omen at birth, he refused to allow that name to define him.
Saints of God, all we can say about Jabez would be the taken from the description the writer of the book gives us which some scholars believe to be the Prophet Ezra.
Saints, the writer does not give us much to work with except that he was born labeled as a problem child that caused his mother to have sorrow at the time of his birth.
Beloved, the writer describes him as having the favor of God on his life that caused God to insert his story in his hall of fame we call “the holy bible,” as being an honorable man more honorable than his brothers.
Beloved, down through the centuries, very famous writers have written entire books on the life of this man speaking of how he overcome his childhood by not allowing the label on his name to define who he is but beloved, how can they write about his life except to place themselves in his place and write about his life by the way God has acted in their own life by reflecting back on the many trials and experiences that God brought them through.
Church, a good way to start writing about this man would be to do a search and discover what our first name means in origin and what it means in the bible then beloved, do a search on our middle and last name.
Saints, you will be surprised when you discover that your past is very similar to what your name actually means, however like Jabez, we do not have to allow our past to define our future and if the devil can keep us tripped up in our past, he knows he will not have to deal with us in his future.
Beloved, when I read these two verses of scripture about a man labeled at birth as a problem child and to read where God speaks of him being more honorable than his brothers, causes me to look where the two chapters are located, for the chapter begins by naming the ancestral linage from Adam then breaks to tell the story of Jabez and finishes the chapter by listing the ancestral linage proving that the Israelites that had just come out of seventy years of captivity, were in fact, God’s chosen people.
Saints, in the closing of this presentation, I would now like to reflect on my forty- three-years as a professional truck driver in the United States and how reading this chapter reminds me of my trucking days experiences while driving through a very popular city called Las Vegas, Nevada.
Beloved, if we were leaving Salt Lake City, Utah and our trip destination is to be Barstow, California, we would travel Interstate fifteen south through the State of Utah and along the way, we would travel through a portion of a very curvy road that is surrounded by deep canyon gorges which would take our path through a portion of Arizona, and after leaving Arizona, we would enter a hot desert with nothing in sight for miles only to stumble upon a modern city rising out of nowhere called Las Vegas, Nevada.
Beloved, this popular city with its skyscrapers appearing out of nowhere reaching to the heavens has earned a nickname of being called (Sin City) and beloved, it is given this name because of its many enticing allurements and legalized gambling establishments that appeal to the flesh enticing people to visit from all parts of the world.
Church, if we keep continuing south bound on interstate fifteen, we will be dropped back into the desert for hundreds of miles, and thus is the scenario of the story of Jabez which appears in such an unusual place in scriptures to describe a man that made it into God's hall of fame.
WHO IS JABEZ
Beloved reader, all we know about Jabez is what the bible describes to us as found in verses nine and ten of first Chronicles the fourth chapter describing a man born with a name which means problem child but in not allowing that awful name to define his character, the man went on to become an example of how we can discard our past and not allow it to hinder our future by being like the apostle Paul as he is quoted in the book of Philippians that "he chose to forget the things behind him and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God which in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)
(1 Chron. 4:9-10) “And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.” (10) “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep [me] from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”
Beloved, the book of Chronicles is believed to be written about five hundred years before Christ and most scholars believe the book was written by the prophet Ezra.
Dear Saints, these verses tell the story of a man named Jabez who came into the world giving sorrow to his mother, and his name in Tagalog (Philippine language) would be “Bwisit” which means “bad omen” or “problem child” however the part that stands out to us today is that this man Jabez that was born under a curse, refused to allow that name to define him, causing God to grant the request in his special prayer asking God to bless him.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
Dear reader, did you know that if you were to look up the word “sovereign” in the dictionary, you would find words and phrases like “superior,” “greatest,” “supreme in power or the authority of a state to govern itself or another state?
Beloved, we must realize that our God is eternal and is not bound by the dimension of time and the law of physics, for he created time as a temporary context for His creation, and dear Saints, everything that has ever happened or will ever happen has already occurred within His awareness.
Dear reader, did you know that all creation relies on God for existence, but He does not need what was created to sustain him.
Beloved, our God has the power to speak everything seen and unseen into existence and sustain it with the right hand of his power for beloved, his creative power is beyond our comprehension because when he speaks galaxies are born.
Saints, our God our God is holy which is what sets him apart from everything that is created and his moral character is the absolute standard of integrity and ethical purity.
Saints, did you know that the holy scriptures tell us that Jabez refused to be defined by what people thought about him and not only recognized the sovereignty of almighty God but cried to the God of Israel declaring his lordship and headship to govern his life?
Beloved, this recognition of God's supreme right to rule over his creation reminds me of King Jehoshaphat when he was surrounded by an enemy who had besieged the city, as he went before the Lord praying a prayer that not only acknowledged the God of Israel but identified his relationship with him as being his personal God and was careful in his prayer to let God know that he was placing his complete trust and dependance in him. (2 Chronicles 20:6-12)
Beloved did you know that to be Holy is to be unique and separate from all things created both seen and unseen, and our God is far above and beyond anything our three pound brain can imagine because he has no limitations on what he can and cannot do in other words, he is able to work inside and out side creation with no restrictions?
(Psalms 24: 3-5) (3) "Who may ascend to the hill of the Lord, and who may stand in His holy place?" (4) "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully." ( 5.) "He shall receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation."
Saints, did you know that the holy scriptures tell us that Jabez cried to the God of Israel declaring his lordship and headship to govern his life, which reminds me of King Jehoshaphat when he was surrounded by an enemy who had besieged the city, as he went before the Lord praying a prayer that not only acknowledged the God of Israel but identified his relationship with him as being his personal God and he was careful in his prayer to let God know that he was placing his complete trust and dependance in him. (2 Chronicles 20:6-12)
JABEZ MAKES HONOR ROLL
Beloved, how did Jabez who was marked at birth with a name which means a problem child that was born under a bad omen become honorable and even more so in the eyes of God than his brothers?
Church, did you know that our past does not have to define who we are and sometimes we develop habits of comparing ourself to others and many times we see ourselves falling short of where we think they are but in reality, we really do not know what they have been dealing with in life; because people can sometimes look good on the outside but on the inside, they are miserable because of dealing with past hurts.
Beloved, Jabez lived his life not allowing others to influence him and notice beloved, it was not man that declared him to be an honorable man but God himself.
Church, today we have judges, ministers and dignitaries that present themselves as being honorable men however some fail miserably to live up to that standard because they do not have a heart but beloved, Jabez had a heart that pleased God and does not the scriptures state in the book of Matthew that "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)
Beloved Saints, in Gods eyes, Jabez was considered to be an honorable man even above his brothers, because God was looking at his heart and his heart pleased God.
THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS
“That thou wouldest bless me” - Jabez not only recognizes God as the one and only true God, he also acknowledges that all true blessings come from God alone and he trusted God to be the one to decide the depth of the blessing he desires for he understood that God alone knows just how much he can be trusted with."
Beloved, can you reflect back on your life and remember how God has many times come to your rescue especially when your back was against the wall, and maybe with someone like Job’s wife standing in your face screaming, “where is your God now when you need him?”
Saints, I can relate to the above verse and admit that I have been in those situations and have had God show up just in time to bless me in spite of everything warring against me, therefore may we realize that not only can God bless us with spiritual things but he can also bless us with materials things especially if we are faithful with our tithes which allows his work to continue throughout the Earth.
ASK GOD TO ENLARGE OUR BORDERS
“That thou wouldest enlarge my coast” – Many think that Jabez is simply referring to some physical land when asking God to enlarge or multiply his border, however, if we look at the lineage of Jabez, we can understand that he is not merely speaking in terms of wealth and prosperity but in terms of blessing the kingdom of God.
Beloved, Jabez had a sincere desire for God to enlarge his blessing so it will spill over and bless others, therefore beloved, when we find this kind of honor with God, we too can say “I’m drinking out of my saucer because my cup is full.”
Beloved, Jabez wanted his spiritual territory to increase, to claim future generations for the Lord of Israel, and Saints, do you need to claim or reclaim some of the blessings Satan has robbed from you, then beloved, ask God to enlarge your life and expand doors of opportunities that will allow you to become a greater impact in promoting his kingdom.
PROTECT ME LORD
“That thine hand might be with me” – Jabez understood with the kind of blessing that he was asking for, he would need the power of God’s hand to protect and to guide him in the right direction and when we ask for God’s mighty presence like Jabez, we will experience tremendous results that can be explained only as from the hand of God.
Beloved reader, Jabez understood that with the type of blessing he is asking for, he would need God’s guidance and wisdom to keep him on the right path to enjoy the fulness of the blessing because there are so many temptations lurking around every corner that would like nothing more than to rob him of the blessing.
MAKE MY LIFE A TESTIMONY
“Keep me from evil that it may not grieve me” Beloved, the name Jabez literally means “born with pain,” and dear reader, did you know that Jabez’s own mother named him a man of sorrows because of the pain she endured in
having him?
Saints and fellow peers, take special notice that when Jabez makes his prayer before the Lord, he does not acknowledge the labeling of his name as being under a curse and beloved reader, notice how he asked God in his prayer to keep him from evil that he would not be hurt or tempted.
Beloved, did you know that this prayer has worked to bring blessings to many who prayed it in sincerity including myself and beloved, I always end my prayer asking God to rebuke the spirit of retaliation especially after being in a good spirit filled service because beloved, those same spirits you met while high in the spirit are going to be mad and waiting on you when you come down in the valley.
Saints, we can turn to Matthew’s gospel and find Jesus instructing the disciples to ask God to forgive their trespasses as they forgive the trespasses of others including asking God to deliver them from evil in what is described as the model prayer which Jesus gave his disciples as being the right way to approach God their heavenly father. (Matthew 6:9-13)
Beloved, there are many paths that we can take as we journey through life and there are just as many things that can tempt and distract us from the path God desires for us to take therefore may we like Jabez pray a prayer that will get God's attention asking him to keep us from evil realizing that God’s bountiful blessings can only find us when we allow him to lead us to them.
MY CONCLUSION
Church the bottom line taken from this important message is for us to ask the Holy Spirit to give us understanding in the mindset Jabez was in when he asked the God of Heaven to guide him in the blessing and keep him from evil as we trust him to make our life count.
Beloved reader, the first thing that comes to my mind in needing God's guiding hand in the blessing would be recognizing that sometimes, I can become my own worst critic, therefore, I believe he was praying that God would strengthen him by his power that he would not give in to temptation which could destroy his testimony and church, I have learned by experience that when we learn to submit our will to God and pray like Jabez, we will begin to see God move in mighty ways for he said in his word found in (Jeremiah 33:3) "Call unto me and I will show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!"
MY CLOSING PRAYER
Heavenly father, we thank you for your great love and blessing over our lives, for we rest in knowing that you promised to never leave nor forsake us as your children, but you promised to go with us all the way even to the end of the world.
Dear Lord, please forgive us for failing to remember that you know and understand what we need, for you were once one of us that was tempted in all points as us and you went to the cross to pay our sin debt that we could be drafted into your royal family as Sons and Daughters sharing with you in your glory acknowledging our dependence is upon you and realize that we are apart of your glorious body on Earth.
Lord help us realize that there is strength in numbers and we need each other to be fruitful and live a prosperous life as your people that we be not careless and prideful in our Christian walk, Lord, looking like a bunch of used body parts, but help us realize Lord, that we are apart of something bigger than ourselves; that we are a part of your glorious body as sons and daughters in your kingdom.
Lord in closing, we ask for you to enlarge our borders, put your hand on us to guide us in the blessing for we need your divine guidance that we might walk fully in your blessing and goodness as you lead us by your Spirit to divine appointments that your name might be glorified as you leave your signature through us to future generations.
Father we ask that you assign an Angel to accompany this work into the home of every person that will take time to read it, and heavenly father, we ask that you keep us from evil that we will not be grieved, tempted or cause pain and Lord I ask in Jesus mighty name that you will touch, heal and deliver all that read this prayer and call upon your wonderful name. A-men
International Evangelist
Jerry W. Hulse Ph.D.
Miracle Life Church International
