Series: Unsung Heroes
Sermon: Jabez
Scripture Text:
1 Chronicles 4:9-10: 9Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” 10Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
Introduction:
Back about 14 years ago when our clocks struck the new millennium a book was introduced to the church by Bruce Wilkinson called “The Prayer of Jabez” prior to this time Jabez was an unsung hero found tucked away in the Old Tetstament book of 1 Chronicles and it’s genealogies. No one knew of this man Jabez or of his prayer. Most Bible readers skimmed over his name, his heritage and his prayer as they were reading about the ups and downs of the nation of Israel’s history and genealogy. But tucked there seemingly invisible in a genealogy list of Israel was a summary of this man’s life and how God saw him. In the middle of all the names a named jumps off the page and the author shares more than just a name but a legacy.
The book “The Prayer of Jabez” and the many study materials which accompanied it impacted our world for a short time. The emergence of this man’s life from the Bible and his prayer resonated with the church and some outside the church. People were buying up the little book in masses, they were studying each word of his prayer in detail. They started Bible Studies using the book. Movements were started, curriculum developed, websites launched and it buzzed through the church world and to a degree the secular world for a while. But it was about a 5 year phenomena.
As I look back now 14 plus years later I know the book was unveiled for such a time as that – A new millennium was emerging – and for many it became a retrospective time of evaluating our lives, our culture, our technology and our destiny’s and life for the new millennium.
If you recall back – Y2K came along with the changing clock of the new millennium. The Y2K scare was a buzz everywhere and if you believed the worst reports everything was going to shut down in our society at the stroke of midnight. The doomsday prophets cried that life was going come to a screeching halt, power plants were going to shut off, water was going to stop flowing through our facets, computers were going to crash, planes could crash, and a host of other things. Some people were telling people to prepare for a major disaster, they were to up store food, stock up on water, buy generators, buy gold and hoard food. Some people feel prey to the fear, the turmoil and listened to the dooms day messages and yet we emerged into the new millennium with only minor glitches. I think the worst thing I heard was a electric train shut down somewhere in the world due to the glitch.
In the midst of the unknown and maybe a fear of the future this little book emerges onto the scene and picks up momentum encouraging people, giving people hope, and reminding them that God is here for us if we call on Him. It highlighted an unsung hero in the life and history of Israel.
As I look back many years later the book and its message has faded. The story of Jabez has drifted back into the background of a busy and stressed out life. It slowly drifted back into the pages of the OT and its long list of names. But it still has a small tiny flashlight shining on its message, in half price book stores, some websites, and some people’s bookshelves. Yes, it is tucked in a small dark corner somewhere in the Western Church.
Today I want to turn a spot light back onto this 2 line message from Scripture:
• I would like us to see an unsung hero of the faith today.
• I want us to hear his amazing prayer.
• I want us to grow spiritually from his life and prayer.
• I have prayed and asked God to reveal to us His message from these two lines! Why so as to stir our hearts toward Him.
T.S. - As I explored our two line story today – which is a short message with a big idea - I paid attention to the meaning of Jabez’s name which to me became important to get a little background on this man’s life. So let’s look for a moment at the meaning of his name.
I. The power of a name and its impact on a life.
a. Names are important – how many of you would agree with this?
i. Most of you know that Ashley is pregnant with our 4th grandchild and Vernon and Ashley are searching through a potential list of names for our new grandchild.
ii. Many names have been mentioned and discussed. They have searched for a name and the meaning behind the name. To me this is a wise process because many believe the name we are given to start life with impacts our lives dramatically.
1. Illustration: Johnny Cash
a. Play song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BJfDvSITY
b. Lyrics: "A Boy Named Sue"
i. My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
ii. Our song describes the importance of a name. In this case it had a positive and a negative impact on the boy named Sue.
2. When Kathy and I named our children we searched high and low for that right name with that right meaning because we wanted our children’s name to help them to succeed in life and to have the blessing of God on their life.
a. A name is important – it’s the identity chip per see for a child or person!
i. When we choose Tiffany I discovered it was derived from the word “Epiphany” – which reflects the birth of Christ and the nativity scene: Her name means, “Appearance of God.”
ii. Ashley – was derived from the experience of a person reflecting in a Ash Tree grove with a brook running through it and of finding peace and tranquility: So to me it meant: “The Peace of God or the calmness and tranquility of experiencing God through life.”
1. When I named her I thought of Elijah who was under severe stress and on the run from Jezebel. God brought him to place of peace, safety, He fed him and encouraged in by the brook with the birds and the trees.”
a. See 1 Kings 19:1-18
iii. Christa – is derived from “Christian” - “the name means like Christ” – it speaks of being and acting like Jesus did.
b. The Bible characters you read about had names which for the most part had significant meaning.
i. The Bible will sometimes explain the meaning behind the names like in our text today and from my sermon last week.
1. If you recall last week we talked about Nabal – his name means “A fool.”
a. We talked about David’s name which means “Beloved”
b. We explored our unsung hero Abigail and discovered her name means “My father’s joy!”
ii. Bob Aubuchon from sermon central notes the following about the importance of a name:
1. In Biblical times the name given to a person often meant the character or the plight in life he or she might walk. For instance …
a. Jacob … means supplanter or one who tricks … he tricked his brother out of his birthright.
b. Jeremiah … God hurls or throws … he was thrown as a prophet into a nation of self-righteous people.
c. Jesus … God saves … He through His life, death, and resurrection saves.
i. From http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/three-distinctions-of-jabez-bob-aubuchon-sermon-on-prayer-how-to-33187.asp?Page=2
c. I also find it interest in the Bible in instances when God/Jesus changed people’s names to reflect their destiny and His specific mission for their life:
i. You may be thinking - "Why did God sometimes change a person's name in the Bible?"
1. Answer: When God changed a person’s name and gave him a new name, it was usually to establish a new identity. God changed Abram’s "high father" name to “Abraham,” "father of a multitude" (Genesis 17:5) and his wife’s name from “Sarai,” “my princess,” to “Sarah,” “mother of nations” (Genesis 17:15). We know from history that the descendants of Abraham and Sarah formed many nations, including the Jews’ and Muslims’.
2. God changed Jacob’s "supplanter" name to “Israel,” “having power with God” (Genesis 32:28).
3. Jesus changed Simon’s "God has heard" name to “Peter,” "rock" (John 1:42). Why did Jesus occasionally call Peter “Simon” after He had changed His name to “Peter”? Probably because Simon sometimes acted like his old self instead of the rock God called him to be. The same is true for Jacob. God continued to call him “Jacob” to remind him of his past and to remind him to depend on God’s strength.
a. Peter’s name was changed by the Lord from Simon to Peter in Matthew 16: 13-20:
i. 13When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
18And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
4. We know that Saul’s name changed to Paul after his conversion the first note of it is in Acts 13:9: 9Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said…”
5. So why did God choose new names for some people? The Bible doesn’t give us His specific reasons, but perhaps it was to let them personally know that they were destined for a new mission in life. The new name was a way to let them in on the divine plan and also to assure them that God’s plan would be fulfilled in them.
a. All those familiar with Pilgrim’s Progress have no trouble remembering that the Pilgrim’s name throughout the book is Christian. To my surprise few remember his original name, even though it is plainly stated in the allegory. In the scene where it first appears, the pilgrim is conversing with a porter: Porter: What is your name? Pilgrim: My name is now Christian, but my name at the first was graceless. The same could be said for all of us today who claim the glorious name of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our name is now Christian, but it has not always been so. That title was given to us the moment we believed, the day we took God at His word and accepted the gif of eternal life He offered us. Prior to the name change, we were Graceless, indeed (Charles Swindoll, The Grace Awakening).
d. In our short story big idea story and verses we see the meaning of Jabez’s name revealed. His mom named him “Jabez” because of the pain he caused her at child birth.
i. Stop – think about this for a moment?
1. How important is a name?
2. How would you like to be known for “pain” I imagine that he repeatedly heard growing up what his name meant “pain” what kind of identity is that – How would you like your name to be known for brining excruciating pain to your mother?
ii. Rodney Buchanan noted this about our man Jabez, “What a pain! Has anyone ever said that about you? It was said about the person we are looking at in this scripture today. Jabez’s name in Hebrew means “pain”! His mother delivered him in great pain and she never let him forget it. She named him Pain so that he would always remember what he had done to his poor mother. I had a relative who was a lot like Jabez’s mother, because she repeated the story of how much pain her child had caused her in birth. And she always liked to tell the old, old story when there were several people around. Other parents do something similar by rehearsing all the disappointments they have felt with their children, and the pain it has caused them “ (http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-prayer-of-jabez-rodney-buchanan-sermon-on-ot-characters-32816.asp.)
1. People also like to give people around the name “Pain!” “They are such a pain!”
2. Jabez had to grow hearing the story and dealing with the pain from the story. He heard it so much he prayed to God to help him not experience any more pain.
3. He did not want to hurt others – he did not want to inflict pain on another person.
4. He wanted delivered from pain!
T.S. – Names are important and Jabez’s name reveals the pain he had to deal with growing up but the Bible says he was more honorable than his brothers, which means he fought through the pain to honor God. He did not want to be stuck in “pain.” So he prayed to God!
II. Jabez’s Prayer
a. If we look at the prayer I find 5 specific requests to the Lord from Jabez known as “Pain!”:
i. God will you bless me! (I am tired of the pain and I want to be called blessed - not pain!)
1. I have been reading a book by Robert Morris pastor of Gateway church in Texas.
2. He has some great quotes and thoughts on being “blessed” - from The Blessed Life by Robert Morris:
a. He states, “Being ‘blessed’ means having supernatural power working for you.” (page 27). Jabez wanted this power working for him in his life!
i. He explains: “Before we continue, I should probably define terms. What do I mean by ‘the blessed life?’ What does a life filled with blessing look like? Being ‘blessed’ means having supernatural power working for you. By contrast, being ‘cursed’ means having supernatural power working against you” (page 27).
1. Jabez wanted to break the curse on him which was “pain!”
b. Robert also adds, “There are principles, however, that we have to follow in order to experience God’s highest rewards. They are the keys to living the blessed life” (page 27).
i. Jabez came to know that to be blessed means I have to be living right and honorable for God. I need to honor Him if I want Him to bless me.
3. The Prayer of Jabez first point is rooted in the thought that a believer in God can reach their full potential in life by being blessed by the Lord. Nothing less will do if you really read and understand God’s Word. What could be more wise in life than to ask God daily to bless us and realize I cannot bless myself – I need God’s blessings?
a. Historical setting: If we all were living back in Jabez’s time frame, his prayer would make a lot of sense. In those days Israel knew little of God’s blessing due to a national spiritual decline and spiral away from God, idol worship was everywhere, a falling away from God was common and disobedience to Moses’ Law was the norm.
i. Sound framiliar?
b. Jabez was personally asking God to give him the blessings consistent with God’s covenant promises to Israel for living an honorable (righteous).
i. Is this a reasonable request to God?
1. Remember he was in right standing with God and living out a right relationship with God.
a. In other words his priorities were in the right position, God was placed in the right position in his life.
2. So the answer is ‘yes’ this is a reasonable request!
ii. I have to come to realize that people want the blessings of God but they don’t want to give God the right position in their life.
1. Robert Morris, and many other pastors or bible teachers will tell you that blessings come to those who are in a right position with the Lord.
2. Here is a Scriptural truth: “You cannot have the blessings of God if God does not have the right position in your heart and life!”
a. Rick Warren highlighted this in his famous book The Purpose Driven Life – his first chapter is title “It all starts with God!”
b. Robert Morris in his book “The Blessed Life” says God must be first in your life and it all starts with putting God first in your heart, your daily life, in your finances, and yes even in church attendance (One of the big 10).
i. There are in Scripture conditions spelled out to receive a blessed life.
4. Jabez understood this biblical principle of blessing.
a. Do you? Is God first in your life?
ii. Jabez then prays, “God will you expand my border/enlarge my territory!”
1. Jabez then moved from asking for a blessing from God to asking for God to specifically prosper him – in those days prosperity was associated with land ownership.
a. Don’t forget - remember he honored God – first – he followed the Bibles instruction to give his first fruits to God his heart/ his life/ his tithe and offerings to meet the condition for God’s blessings.
b. He prioritized God in his daily life doing and following his teachings for living rightly. He worshipped and served God regularly and did not allow any idol to usurp God in his life.
i. In those days idol worship was associated with things like - sex, sacrifices to gods for better crops, even child sacrifice, for favor from the gods, and for prosperity.
ii. Remember their idols were man- made and were made to replace the worship of the truth God and the following of God’s specific teachings.
2. Today some of the idols that a I see usurping God in people’s lives are:
a. Money
b. Jobs
c. Sports
d. Drugs
e. Fame
f. Power/control
g. Celebrity status
h. Materialism
i. Individualism
j. Education
k. Party life
3. Robert Morris highlights that if you really want to prosper you need to make sure your finances first of all honor God! Scripture is clear about this:
a. In Proverbs 3:9-10 we find this command: “Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.”
b. We are to honor the Lord with all that we have. How we behave with our finances does a lot to reveal our heart toward God. Jesus said, “…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. ~ Matthew 6:21
i. How do we accomplish this? We are instructed in verse 5 to “trust in the Lord with all [our] heart and do not lean on [our] own understanding”. Trusting God is the first step in honoring Him – this is true in salvation, finances and all other affairs of life. According to Romans 4:3 (quoting Genesis 15:6), this is what pleased God about Abraham.
c. In our finances, we are expected to give our BEST and FIRST to God! God commanded the nation of Israel saying, “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God” (Exodus 23:19a) and when detailing the offerings that went toward supporting the priests He says, “You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep” (Deuteronomy 18:4).
d. We are also expected to be generous and ready to share. Proverbs 11:24-29 tells us: “There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. He who withholds grain, the people will curse him, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but he who seek evil, evil will come to him. He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf. He who troubles his own house will inherit wind, and the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.”
iii. Jabez then prayed on and added, “God please let your hand be on my life!”
1. We live in a world and a culture that celebrates individuality – we hear a lot about individual rights – the right to focus on ourselves first – the getting of our ways and the importance of being independent or self-sufficient is appauled.
2. But the Bible tells us that we really need to be dependent on God for everything in life. We need his hand on us daily not just on Sundays or when we throw up a panic prayer in a crisis moment.
a. Many think God should only be in part of lives but not in other parts but this is not what Jabez prayed.
b. Bruce Wilkinson says, "The second your not feeling dependent is the second you’ve backed away from truly living by faith."
i. We should feel dependent on the Lord!
3. Jabez knew that a relationship with the Lord takes continual work and maintenance on our part or we will drift from that relationship.
a. Relationships with others and with God take a lot of work!
b. Is a relationship with God worth it to you?
iv. Jabez continues his prayer, “God please keep me from evil!”
1. Remember evil is the opposite of good!
2. Jabez knew he needed help from the Lord to keep him from the grips of evil.
3. Jabez knew how deceptive evil was and how quickly he could get sucked into it and suffer.
a. Jabez knew how dangerous evil was – do you?
4. Remember Evil does not bring healing, or peace but the opposite pain and panic. Yet sadly we have people looking to thing’s God calls evil in the Bible as good and right.
a. We need to be wise and understanding like Jabez and avoid evil – don’t play it or court it root it out of your life with God’s help.
5. Jesus prayed in John 17:15:
a. “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
b. Jesus prayed for us to be protected from evil – because evil is so deceptive it can disguise itself as good, even as an angel of light and then pull you into it’s web of pain and infliction.
c. I challenge you to pick up your Bible this week – go to the concordance in the back and read all the references to what evil looks like in your Bible.
v. Jabez then prays again “God keep me free of the pain – that evil brings with it!” (Lord I am tired of pain please deliver me from the pain!”)
1. Jabez has had enough pain in his life - he wanted delivered from it – he wanted protection from it! He knew evil and it’s bite which always brought pain to life.
a. So he chose to live rightly and in doing so asked God to bless him.
2. Have you been there in your life? Have you cried “Lord keep me from being hurt again!” “Lord I am so tired of the pain of life.”
3. Ask God for help! Ask God to keep you from the pain.
a. Ask God to deliver you from evil!
Conclusion:
Our final thought here is this “God granted his request.”
Why? Because Jabez honored God and put Him above everything else!
Do you want to be blessed like Jabez?
Then learn the spiritual meanings of this message --- in other words - What do we need to know from our message today?
Jabez honored God more than his brothers – God saw this.
Jabez in a time when many others were walking away from God instead drew nearer to God – God knew this.
He prayed to God for His blessing, he asked for prosperity, for a hands on relationship with God and to be delivered from evil and it’s excruciating pain and God heard His prayer.
God heard his prayer and then granted it!
Why do we need to know this? Or Why is this in the Bible?
Why so you do and pray like Jabez did! It’s a life lesson God placed in the Bible for you – today!
We need to know that we too can live holy and honorable in life even when others around us are not.
We need to know that our society as a whole rejects God more and more but we don’t have too.
We can maintain a righteous life that glorifies God even in a nation which is moving away from Him if we pray to God for help.
We need to remember that God is watching and observing our lives – He wants you to ask for His help.
We need to remember that God knows where He rates in your daily lives and in your hearts. He knows if you have placed Him second or third or even last in your life.
We need to know that God listens to our prayers when we are in right relationship with Him.
We need to know that God will answer our prayers if we do our part.
So What do we need to do?
We need to prioritize God in our life and make Him first!
We need to pray to Him and ask for His help following the outline of Jabez’s prayer
Why do we need to do this?
Because Jabez is an example given to us by God to say do what He did and I will bless you too!
God wants to take away the pain and give you spiritual gain!
Altar call: Prayer for salvation – or for recommitment to the Lord – specific prayer requests!
