First Baptist Church
1 Chronicles 4:9-10
Temptation Island
June 16, 2002
Out of the four sermons on the prayer of Jabez, I must admit this has been the most difficult to write. The reason is actually kind of strange. I looked at the NIV, RSV, NKJV, NLT, and the NASB. Unfortunately they didn’t all agree with each other and what was worse, it seemed that the meaning was changing. When you look at your sermon notes, I have the NIV and NKJV listed. You can see how they appear to have different meanings.
NIV = "Keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."
NKJV= "Keep me from evil that I might not cause pain."
At first glance the difference is that in the NKJV Jabez says ‘he doesn’t want to cause pain to others.’ While in the NIV Jabez seems to say he doesn’t want any personal pain.
In the end, I really don’t see a huge difference after reading the Hebrew. You see, I believe that Jabez didn’t want to cause pain to others, because in bringing pain into another’s life, it would also cause him pain. And isn’t that true in life, whenever we hurt someone we care about, we end up feeling a good deal of pain. Jabez had experienced enough pain in his life and now he wants to be rid of causing pain and experiencing pain. I don’t think any of us would disagree with that being an appropriate prayer. None of us want to experience any more pain than we consider necessary and we don’t want to inflict pain upon others.
So, as we look at this final aspect of the prayer of Jabez, let’s look at the deep meaning and how it applies to our lives today.
When Jabez prays to be free "from pain," he is acknowledging that sin always brings grief. We cannot sin and win. Jabez had a healthy awareness of the evil lurking in his own heart and of the external temptations that were ready to pounce on him as soon as he let his guard down. Genesis 4:7 paints a vivid picture of what each of us face on a daily basis. God told Cain, "if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
One way we can master sin is by asking God to take evil away. This is exactly what Jesus taught His followers to do in Matthew 6:13: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." When God answered the first three requests of Jabez, satan got angry. When we’re blessed so that we expand our ministry and trust the open hand of God, we begin to invade satan’s turf. Since satan doesn’t want us serving, he begins to send temptations our way.
I’m sure most of you have heard about the Fox TV show called, "Temptation Island." It’s one of those reality television programs. It is based on 4 couples arriving on an island and being separated from one another for two weeks. During these 14 days, they have no contact with one another but will be tempted and seduced by scantily clad singles who are simply looking to break up these relationships – all for the sake of ratings.
I can’t imagine why these couples would agree to test the strength of their relationships by throwing themselves on an island filled with temptation. It’s dangerous and wrong. I hope none of you watch this show.
While we might get upset at a show like this, my guess is that some of us put ourselves in situations that tempt and tantalize. Instead of running from sin as 1 Corinthians 6:18 urges us to do, if the truth were known, many of us go to Temptation Island all the time.
You see, it is one thing to pray to God to help you resist temptation, but when you keep walking toward the door of temptation, you really aren’t wanting God’s help. Instead, God tells us to run. That’s right, some might think that’s cowardly. But I would rather be known as a coward than to give in to satan.
Look at some of the scriptures, Paul wrote, in 2 Timothy 2:22, he told Timothy to "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
When those evil desires come your way, move out of the way. If a man of God like Timothy needed that kind of counsel, I think it’s safe to say we all need it. Cowardly? I don’t think so. I would call it smart. Flee. Turn your back on those desires that will ultimately cause pain and run. Avoid situations that put you at risk.
James tells us in 4:7, "Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
Did you catch a difference there? Look who is doing the fleeing now!! When we draw near to God and submit ourselves to Him, we will resist the devil and he WILL FLEE FROM US. That’s great news.
If you’re struggling with sin and are tantalized by temptation on a regular basis, join the club. But, you don’t have to settle for sin dominating your life. Claim Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 10:13: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Could it be that God is more interested in keeping us from temptation than we are? Ask Him to show you the way out when you’re in a slippery situation. Ask Him to keep you from sinning. Plead with Him to take evil away.
The beauty of that scripture is that the temptation you are experiencing right now is a common one. And we learn that God is faithful to us, He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear and He will always provide a way out.
We must understand what was happening in the life of Jabez, he was being blessed abundantly, his borders were expanding and he was experiencing the hand of God upon him. Jabez was realizing the abundant life that is available to all of us. When that happens, someone else gets involved. That someone is satan. You see, the more you are doing for God’s kingdom, the more satan will do in his power to trip you, tempt you and make you vulnerable to his darts.
DARTS EXAMPLE
The more you want to do for Jesus, the more satan will attack you. The less you do, the less he cares about you. If you are a nonbeleiver, satan could care less about tempting you, he already knows you’re on his team. For example, why is it that we have more arguments with our spouses and kids on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings? You don’t think satan is working overtime to get you so angry that you don’t come to church? Guess again.
I had a doctoral class with Howard Hendricks who tells the story about a seminary student that is also in Bruce Wilkinson’s book. A seminary student told Hendricks, "When I first came here, I was so tempted and tested I could barely keep my head above water. But now – praise God! – my life at seminary has smoothed out. I’m not being tempted hardly at all!"
Hendricks said he gave that student a look of being shocked and alarmed, definitely not the reaction the student was expecting. "That’s about the worst thing I could have heard," Hendricks told the student. "That shows me you’re no longer in the battle! Satan is no longer worried about you."
Now I’m not saying we should just go out and invite temptation, but if you are not experiencing it like you used to, then maybe something has happened in your walk with God. Ask God show you where you have allowed complacency to slip in.
If you feel like you’ve messed up this morning, you’re not alone. And, it’s never too late. Satan wants you to believe two lies:
· Just once won’t hurt.
· Now that you’ve ruined your life, you are beyond God’s use, and might as well enjoy sinning.
These are lies from hell. Don’t give in to temptation when you’re faced with it. Look for the way out. If you look hard enough its there. Better yet, join Jabez and pray that God would keep the temptation away from you in the first place. Partner with God by not putting yourself in situations that are detrimental to your faith.
Look at what God did for Job — how God bragged about him. Satan tells God in Job 1:9-10 — "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. You see, God had been providing long-term protection for Job and his family.
Every night when I pray for Joshua and Zachary I say the same words. I have been saying them for the past 4½ years and in essence I have been asking God to place a hedge of protection around them. This is a glimpse of my ususal night time prayer —
"Help Joshua and Zachary to sleep restfully and peacefully, to wake in the morning refreshed, for another day of life, another day to play and learn, to explore, to create, to imagine to laugh and to love. Lord, I pray that you keep satan and his demons out of our house and especially out of our rooms and out of Joshua and Zachary, so that no evil comes in to their heart or mind, body or emotions, spirit or soul. Lord, let it be your love that is evident in our lives."
After talking to my friend Tim about Zachary’s waking every night screaming, Tim asked if I was praying about it. I hate when others are so spiritual. So I now include, ‘Lord, help Zachary and Joshua to have no night mares, no night terrors or bad dreams, let their dreams be filled with peace, comfort and joy.’ I started by asking for good dreams of trucks and so on, but we have one movie that shows a construction worker appearing to get run over by a steamroller and then picked up by a loader, so I thought even a truck dream could lead to something negative.
I am sharing this, not because my prayers are the only ones, but to give an example of how we can pray for a hedge of protection in our lives too. God just didn’t want to protect the prophets of old, He wants to protect us and bless us as well.
Well, it seems pretty amazing that for the most part, we have spent the last 4 weeks talking about one verse from the Bible, but I believe it is a vital prayer.
The prayer of Jabez can revolutionize our lives. As we close, I want to remind you that God wants to bless you, He wants to do it so abundantly that even you will be wowed. There is no blessing that is above God. Ask God to do something so big in your life that you know and everyone around you knows that it is only God who is the author. Ask God to enlarge your borders, to increase the influence and borders of your ministries.
Then ask God to reveal to you that His hand is upon you, that you know you are not doing His work alone, but you are being guided by His hand which is filled with protection and providing for you. And finally, pray for protection from the evil one, satan. He is out to destroy, don’t ever doubt it, that is why in 1 Peter 5:8, Peter tells us "be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith."
Are you satisfied with life. If not here is a prayer for you. Were you created for more of life than you are living? Do you want to live larger than life? Then join me for the next 30 days to commit to praying this prayer, not just once, but many times a day and write down the ways you are experiencing God’s hand upon you, write down the blessings and expanding borders, and even the times you learn that God was protecting you. If you are willing to do that, would you write your name down on the bottom of the sermon notes, and I will contact you.
