Call, Listen, And Wait, Lay It Down, And Leave It There

The world is full of people just like the ones that we just read about. Of the names we just read they were probably good people, upstanding citizens, and probably great to hang out with.

However, we probably would never even have read their names, if it hadn’t been for Jabez and his memorable prayer that he prayed. Those names probably would have been forgotten about, and maybe not even mention, but not because they were not good people, But because they never did anything memorable with their lives for the Lord.

However, when we look at Jabez, Jabez was different, he was willing to lay his petition before the Lord, and he didn’t just lay it down, but he lay it down and left it there and trusted God, no matter what the outcome was to be because he knew he could trust God with the results.

Someone might say lay what down, what did he lay down?

He laid everything that he had down;

All his hopes

All his desires

All his dreams and ambitions

Everything he possessed, everything he ever hoped to be, he

placed in the hands of God.

As we look at this in vs. 9 it tells us that Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez, saying, because she bore him in pain.

But what got me is when it said he was more honorable than his brothers is quite a statement that God had penned about Jabez.

He was more honorable than any of the names mentioned in the first 9 chapters of Chronicles, because he did something that was worth remembering. What he did do Pastor that was so amazing that God called him more honorable.

Vs. 10. And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain,” And because of that God granted him what he requested.

What Jabez did, he put his total trust in God’s capabilities. You see the problem today is that so many today, are willing to only rely on their self-effort alone, self-gain and self-support to get them where they want to go in life. And the sad thing is they always think self-effort will get them there, but they never arrive.

And even when they have been unsuccessful at doing it for a lifetime. Even when they know the outcome, before the end result, most people still think they can do a better job, than God can. In fact, they are so busy focused on what they can’t do, instead of being focused of what God can do.

I want to encourage somebody this morning that we ought to give God the opportunity. And if God can’t do it, it can’t be done. (Pause)

What we had learned about this passage is that Jabez called on God and then he waited on God, whether it was 5 minutes, or 5 years Jabez waited. And Isaiah reminded us that waiting is important. Isaiah 40:31 tells us “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; that means that in our waiting we will soar when the time come. They that wait, they shall run, and not be weary; which means that we can run the race with patience’s, and they shall walk, and not faint.” which means that they can take their time and won’t pass out. But we must learn to wait.

What Jabez realized is that he would never, be able to achieve his dreams and ambitions on his own, but the moment he sought God, the moment that he lifted up his voice, the moment that he petition God, God heard his prayer and God responded to his faith.

And I need to tell somebody here this morning that God will do the same thing for whoever calls out to Him in faith and believe that God will do just what he said that he would do.

Watch him show up, watch him make provisions, watch him take care of the situations. No matter how long it takes, I’m here to encourage somebody to wait on God.

If we would just think back on Matthew 9:20-22 when the woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years slipped in from behind and touched Jesus' robe. She was thinking to herself, "If I can just put a finger on his robe, I’ll get well. I heard that Jesus turned and said somebody touched me and when he realizes who it was. Jesus right then he reassured her to be encourage, daughter. Because you took a risk of faith, because you step out on faith, you can expect a miracle. And I heard from that point on the woman was healed from that disease.