When we lived in Japan, we often rode the trains. Just outside the train window we could see houses very close to the tracks as we whizzed past. Then as we slowed for a stop we were able to see, for a moment, people going about their daily activities: kids playing, housewives hanging up wash, or families sitting on the floor around a table inside. We caught just a glimpse of their lives before our train rumbled on.
In a sense we are doing that today in I Chronicles. Our train is heading down the track through a long list of over 500 names, most of them related to King David in some way, and they go whizzing past. It takes nine chapters to get through this list. If you are reading the Bible through, you might be tempted to quit here because there is nothing more boring than a list of hard-to-pronounce names. But the list is important, not just because it establishes the importance of David in God’s lineup which eventually goes all the way to the birth of Jesus, but also because through all these generations of people, God worked to accomplish his purposes.
In this list are not only people who were part of the bloodline back to Abraham, but people are named here from outside that biological family, people from different races and national backgrounds who were grafted into the family tree. For example, we see an Ishmaelite father in 2:17, a mother who was an Egyptian slave in 2:34, an Aramean princess, one of David’s wives, in 3:2. Already, long ago, God was reminding his people that his family was not limited to a certain race, or place, or ethnic background. And we dare never forget that. As Paul reminds us in Romans, salvation comes through faith and it is for everyone.
But as our train rumbles through this list of names, here and there it slows enough for us to catch a glimpse of someone whose name gets special mention. One of those names is Jabez, mentioned once in the Bible.
You have probably wonder how some people got their names. One course I enjoyed teaching was The English Language about why and how American English got to be the way it is. One lecture focused on the names of people in the U.S. Some names come from the Bible. Some from tradition. Some are just unusual. For example, a man who graduated from Harvard in 1852 was named States Rights. Another man I heard of was named Adrian Constantine, because his mother was born in Adrian, MI, and the father in Constantine, MI. In 1936 a man died whose name was Willie 3/8 Smith.
Some parents, in naming their children, choose an admirable quality such as Faith, Hope, or Justyce. Or it may be a person they admire. On my 33rd birthday, after we had been in Japan for several years, I received a letter from my mother saying that my parents had named me Wesley because they hoped I would be a missionary like John Wesley. Other times parents use names related to an experience they had. I heard of two babies born during a flood: Highwater and Overflow.
The name Jabez meant pain in Hebrew. His mother chose the name because his birth was especially painful. Maybe his father died. Maybe she didn’t want another baby. Maybe he was a breach baby. And just maybe this kid was a pain from the moment he was born. I don’t know. But, Kids, can you imagine having a name like ache or hurt or pain and being reminded every day that you were a pain to your mother? With an unfortunate name like that, we might think of Jabez as a born loser. Here he was trying to deal with an emotional hang-up that was weighing him down. How could he ever succeed in life with a burden like that? If there ever was a guy who could be bitter, it was Jabez. His very name could have driven him to a life of hate and bitterness.
You may have heard of the song by Johnny Cash, A Boy Named Sue. It’s the story of a boy who was named Sue by his father, who wanted his son to become tough in this mean old world. But it drives this boy to become bitter and mean and he seeks revenge on his father for this awful name. He finally finds his father, who had abandoned the family, and beats him up in a bar, and nearly kills him, as his father tries to explain.
As for Jabez, rather than letting his name determine his destiny, he rose above his name, becoming a man of noble nature. What does that tell us? It tells us that our past does not have to determine our future. Booker T. Washington said "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life, as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." Washington was a good example of that. Jabez helps us to see that by giving ourselves to God we can become all that God wants us to become.
Maybe you have felt like Jabez. Here you are saddled with a past you didn’t ask for, a handicap you wish you could get rid of, or a family situation that is tough to live with. And you wonder how you can ever rise above it. You can take a lesson from Jabez. Through his pain he became a man of vision and a man of prayer. Here is his prayer: “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm!” And God granted what he asked.
Some of you have probably read this little book by Bruce Wilkinson, The Prayer of Jabez. When it came out, it soon landed on the best sellers list. Millions of people of people began praying the prayer of Jabez. Wilkinson encouraged readers to pray these words every day. It’s an inspiring little book, but I hope you will read it with discernment. He says, for example, that the prayer of Jabez is a prayer God ALWAYS answers. And he makes it sound like one can be a successful Christian by praying this one simple prayer over and over again. It almost sounds like whatever your desire is, God’s will is that you should have it. That is not the way Jesus prayed just before his crucifixion. He said, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). As someone has said, “If all our prayers were answered, we would soon become monsters. We would use the power of prayer for ourselves -- health and wealth and success and domination -- and not for the good things that God wants for us -- holiness of life, faithfulness in service, and goodness of heart, the very qualities unanswered prayer helps to cultivate. (“Encouraging people when prayers are unanswered” by Jerry Sittser). Having said that, though, you might find this little book encouraging because the story of Jabez provides a little window into the heart of a man of faith.
It is likely that Jabez was in the process of expelling the Canaanites from the land the Lord had promised Israel. Removing the Canaanites was not easy. It was a long struggle and, in fact, some were not pushed out, because the Israelites lost heart or turned to idols. So here is Jabez, trying to do what God commands, and He cries out to God for help. God had planted within him a vision of what it would be like if the borders were enlarged, if his efforts to build God’s kingdom were fruitful and rewarded. He had a vision for bigger things.
Verse 10 says Jabez called on the God of Israel, this God who is all powerful, compassionate, holy, and faithful. Jabez could have told you how God called Abraham out of a pagan background and formed a family of faith. He could have described God’s power in delivering those Hebrew slaves from bondage in Egypt. He could have recounted the work God had done in opening up their new land and making Jericho’s walls fall down. Jabez knew what God could do.
Sometimes small churches look at themselves and say, “Oh, we can’t do this and we can’t do that because we are too small. We don’t have the resources.” And their vision gets limited by their circumstances and instead of taking giant steps of faith, they take baby steps. I’m reminded of the story of a man who had done something wonderful and the king called him in and told him he could mark off as much of the kingdom as he wanted and it would be his. The man took his staff and traced a line in the dirt around himself. The king watched as he finished and said, “Is that all you want? Just what’s in that circle?” The man said, “NO. I want everything OUTSIDE the circle.” What if we drew a line around this building and said we want to claim all the territory beyond this place for God? Jabez looked beyond where he was and what he could do to where God was and what God could do. We can take a lesson from the vision of Jabez. Let’s not sell ourselves short.
Jabez was not only a man of vision, he was a man of prayer. That was what set him off from all the hundreds of people in this list. He prayed. Maybe you have been with others when they prayed and one person’s prayer stood out. That happened to me last week. We were at a pastors’ luncheon and after eating, we spent some time in prayer. And one person prayed such a heart-felt, wonderful prayer, I knew he was one who experienced a deep prayer life. I think that must be the way it was with Jabez. People recognized him for the way he prayed.
For some time, Sue and I have felt that God is calling this congregation to be people of prayer. Just recently, we’ve become aware of so many people, so many circumstances that remind us of the need of God’s special blessing if the territory is going to be enlarged. And we realize that no matter how hard the pastors work or any of us work, we will not be successful unless we call on God for his blessing. Jesus taught that our heavenly Father wants to give good gifts to those who ask. We have wondered if there might be a handful of people willing to commit themselves to prayer for this congregation, that we may be empowered to carry out the mission God has given us. Maybe God is laying that same burden on one of you and wants to use you as a prayer minister to mobilize a prayer team.
We know a woman from a local church who heads up their prayer ministry. That congregation has marked off five blocks around their property in each direction that they regard as their territory. They pray for the families in that area. They walk those blocks, praying for them, and have even teamed up with another church to prayer walk together for the neighborhood. Here is a church with a vision and a prayer ministry to support it.
Friday evening, Sue and I decided to take a power-walk around the reservoir where God arranged a special encounter for us. We decided to go opposite directions and meet on the other side. On her leg of the walk, Sue spied a man sitting on his chair reading a book on prayer. She stopped. When I got there, Sue introduced me. The man said he felt called to find a way to support his pastor, but didn’t know what to do, so he went to the bookstore. He found a book Partners in Prayer by John Maxwell. He knows he can’t do the work his pastor does, but he can support him through prayer.
He told us about the impact their church is having through some of their ministries. One day last summer they decided to hold a day of ministry at a park, handing out clothes, providing candy and hot dogs, and offeromg prayer for people. They expected maybe 100-200 people to show up. By the end of the day, over 1,000 had come through. Ten of those made commitments to Christ, and now one of the families comes to their church. They have also gone to other cities with an outreach. We asked how big their church is – about 50 people. Here is a church with a vision and a prayer ministry to undergird it.
How is God speaking to you? How is God speaking to this congregation? Some months ago, Sue and I put forth this vision for our congregation: A vibrant, diverse congregation of 100 people who have purposed together to continue the work of Jesus by exercising their spiritual gifts and sharing their financial resources for ministry in His name.
Many of you affirmed the picture this vision provides. We don’t know what all God has in store. But whatever it is, we can’t accomplish it in our own strength. Jabez knew that. We know that. We can’t even begin to imagine what God might have in store for us if we would only ask and trust God to provide for us. All we know from the Jabez story is that God granted what he asked. Jesus said in Mt. 7:7 Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. May it be so for us.
I want to close our worship this morning by giving several of you an opportunity to pray about the church’s ministry and mission. I’d like to ask someone to offer prayer on behalf of the congregation for each of these ministries:
• Sunday Night Lifeline contemporary service
• ACCESS TRUTH kids club
• Ministry with small children Wednesday evenings
• Christian Education & Sunday school
-Wes
