PRAYER THAT OPENS DOORS
“Moving from Pain to Potential”
1st Chronicles 4:9-10
Eagle’s landing is now in our 18th year of ministry. New things happen sometimes when we turn 18. Right? You can vote, open a bank account on your own, you can be sued, you can serve on a jury; you can even get a tattoo or can join the military without parental consent. When you are 18 you sort of officially become an adult. At that age you begin to make bigger decisions than you have in the past.
So Eagle’s Landing is 18. And we have decisions ahead of us. Decisions about the future. My wife and I served a church in Kentucky before moving to Florida that was 200 years old. It was truly a great church. We loved it there. God then moved us to Florida. I heard the story of another church-they were celebrating their 200th year also but they had a problem and they didn’t know how to handle it. They had a large bell tower and they would ring the bells every Sunday and they would sound throughout the community and everyone loved it-but as I said, there was a problem-their bell ringer was going to be out of town.
So the pastor began to advertise for someone else to come and ring the bells. He finally found someone so when the replacement showed up for work the pastor took him directly to the steps leading to the bell tower…... some 150 feet above them. Round and round they went climbing to the top and they both were getting out of breath. Just as they reached the top where the bells were located, the railing broke loose and the new replacement fell all the way to the ground. But miraculously he was not hurt... He was just stunned. But the pastor decided to take him to the hospital anyway. When the doctor saw the man he turned to the pastor and said, “Do you know this man’s name?” Pastor said no, I don’t remember now..... But his face sure does ring a bell.
This morning I want to preach a message based on the life of a man who had a name that was easy to forget. In fact you may not have heard of him. His name is Jabez. Jabez is best known for a very short passage in the Bible that also contains a short prayer that he prayed. Here it is. 1st Chronicles 4: 9-10.
In the first nine chapters there is a list of 500 names. So it would be easy to forget at least one of them... These names make up the official family tree of the 12 tribes of Israel and they are wonderful for bedtime reading—most of them are listed without any comments at all--but there are a few that stand out.
• Chapter 1:19... One was named Peleg. His name means divided. • 2:3... One was named Er..... was wicked. • 2:7…Achan, who brought disaster. In fact known for his sin.
And so we have one guy who is given a name that means divided/division. Another man was wiped out because of his wickedness. Another man named because he brought trouble to Israel because of his sin.
Now let’s turn again to chapter 4. In 500 names we’re not finding anything here but then suddenly a face begins to stand out in the crowd. It’s like a camera scanning this crowd of 500 names and suddenly the focus is on one individual. His name is Jabez. 44 names into the chapter we read these verses. Verses 9-10.
It’s clear from the beginning there is something unique about Jabez.
[1] First of all, his character is strong. Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. This of course says as much about his brothers as it does about him. Jabez was honorable. His brothers were dishonorable.
[2] He was a pain to his parents. His mother named him pain. Why would you do that? In one church we served there was w woman named Anti and she lived up to her name. So why would you name a child “pain?” Didn’t she have one of those baby name books? Verse 9 gives us a bit of insight. It says, “I gave birth to him in pain.” This could of course refer to the pain of childbirth but I don’t think that’s what it means here. Here his name indicates that something was troubling his mother. She was discouraged. The only thing she could see in her future was difficulty so she named her baby pain. Only God knows what her pain was.
[3] Her future was bad. Often babies are given the name of a relative. Some use Bible names. Sometimes they just sound good. In the Scripture, children were often given names that would reflect their character; their destiny. For example Solomon ---his name means peace. He was the first king of Israel to reign without going to war. And at times their name was like a prediction of the person they would become. Names matter. But Jabez means pain. So he had an uphill battle from the start. Imagine when he was playing outside at the age of five… it’s time for dinner and his mother yells out the back door, hey-you who causes me pain, you source of grief you, you little loser you-it’s time for dinner. Moms often refer to their children as their pride and joy but not this one.
[4] His family was likely very poor. It seems obvious there is a financial struggle going on here. Jabez asked that God would increase his possessions. I can’t help but notice also that there is no mention of his father. In all of the other listings the father is named... But not this one. I can only guess that he was out of the picture.
[5] Jabez doesn’t want to stay where he is. He’s not content with where he has gotten in life. This is huge---this matters. “Keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” There is a play on words here. The word pain also translates into the name Jabez. So what he is praying is:
“Lord whatever it is that is in me that is wrong, I pray that you will keep it from Jabezing me-from hurting me. Basically he is saying, “Lord keep me from the pain that I seem to bring on myself.” Teddy Roosevelt once said, “If I could kick the guy in the seat-of-the-pants who causes the most pain for me, I wouldn’t be able to sit down for a month.” Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.
When we put all the pieces together we have a picture of a man who has all the cards stacked against him. His brothers have humiliated the family. His mom calls him a pain. His father is not in the picture. He seems to have no property, no cash and no future. I suspect there are some here today who feel the same way. Maybe your family has made you feel insignificant, maybe your dad was never there for you; perhaps your siblings were an embarrassment to you. Your money is tight and you worry about the future. That’s where prayer comes in. Jabez begins with this prayer.
“Bless me. Enlarge my territory. Stay with me. Let your hand be with me. Take evil away. Keep me from harm.”
Verse 10. Jabez cried out to the God of Israel. This wasn’t a whisper-not a casual prayer. The prayer at first glance appears to be selfish. He uses the words me, mine and I five times in just one verse. But he’s actually praying for things God wants him to have. Bless me indeed ... Blessings are pictured as gifts in the Bible and often pictured as rain. Ezekiel said, “There will be showers of blessing.” When I ask God to bless me I am asking him to reveal himself to me in a way that he has not done before. James says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” We are his children and God wants to bless his children.
Some of you have expressed your anxieties about the cards you have been dealt this year ….…I see some of these on social media; others have spoken to me personally; there are frustrations over salary or unemployment, sadness/depression over something, disappointment in others, disappointment in yourself. So we have to ask how will we respond to what life brings us? …. How will we learn to rise up and move forward … us in 2019, will we rise up and move forward? Will we let go and turn these things over to God? Will we be called honorable? Will we actually allow his hand be with us and let him be in control? Or will we continue to live in our misery/pain and just complain about all of it? When I read that passage, I see a man who could’ve said, “poor me!” But instead he said, “God I’m yours... guide my every step... Don’t let my destiny be determined by my name... Let me live in your name!
A young man named Ben Hooper grew up in the mountains of Tennessee. His mother wasn’t married when he was born and that was a difficult matter at that time. Classmates made fun of him, called them terrible names. He said at school he would just go to recess by himself so they couldn’t pick on him. Said he felt like everyone felt that way about him. When he was 12, a new preacher came to his church. Ben would go in late and leave early so he wouldn’t have to talk to people. But one day the preacher prayed quickly and closed before he could get away and then he had to talk to them. The preacher said to them, who are you son? Whose boy are you? He said I felt this big, dark cloud weighing on me and I thought everyone is putting me down; now the preacher is to! But then the preacher looked down at him staring at him and began to smile and he said, wait a minute, I know who you are now! Yep, I see the family resemblance! You are a child of God. He put his arm around him and said you’ve got a great inheritance son. Now go out and claim it. Ben Hooper said those were the most important words anybody ever spoke to him and he said I have never forgotten them. Ben Hooper grew up and he became the governor of Tennessee---he claimed what God had for him. You and I need to do the same. Pray. Don’t stop. Pray with confidence. Knock on heaven’s door until he answers. Pray knowing God will do what is best.
