A Prayer for the New Year

A PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR 1 CHRONICLES 4:9-10 And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. INTRODUCTION The story was told about a man who had a problem finding a parking space. He finally parked in a no parking zone and left a note on his windshield that read: "I’ve circled the block for 20 minutes. I’m late for an appointment and if I don’t park here I’ll lose my job. Forgive us our trespasses." When he returned later that evening he found a parking ticket on his windshield and a note that read: I’ve circled this block for 20 years, and if I don’t give you a ticket, I’ll lose my job. “Lead us not into temptation” Our text this morning is about a man named Jabez. Jabez is one of the Bible’s most obscure characters. His story is obscurely hidden away in one of the most obscure books of the Bible. We find Jabez’s story in 1 Chronicles chapter 4 verses 9 & 10. The Book of Chronicles is one of the least read books in the entire Bible. You may ask pastor why is that so? And I’d reply go read it and you will see why! For those of us who have the patients to read this book. One of the very first thing we noticed is that the first nine chapters of this book, chronicles the official family tree or the genealogical record of the tribes of ancient Israel. Nine long chapters, all 407 verses of "begats". And so and so begats so and so, who begats so and so". Reading the first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles is as exciting as watching paint dry. I remember as a young Christian when reading the first book of chronicles and came to one of these genealogical sections, I recalled that I would often skip over these sections in order to get to what I then considered the good stuff. But in the case of 1st Chronicles chapter one through nine, if you skip over all the begats in these chapters, you would most certainly miss the story and the prayer of a man named Jabez. You see, Jabez’s story is hidden deep within the genealogical record in 1 Chronicles 4. 1 Chronicles chapter 4 alone, have some six hundred genealogies listed, they are name after name, after name. But buried deep in the middle of all these names, (some of which I find extremely difficult pronounce) is a thumbnail sketch of a man named Jabez. • So who is this guy Jabez? The Bible didn't say… • Why did the author paused and took time to mentioned his name and a simply prayer that he prayed? That we don't know either. • It’s believed that the prophet Ezra authored the books of 1 & 2 Chronicles and if that’s true, how did Ezra come to know about Jabez? That, we don't know either. What we do know is that Jabez is from the tribe if Judah and he is described as a man more honorable than his brothers…. It important for us to note that the Bible did not say that Jabez’s brothers were dishonorable men. It didn’t say that they were dishonest men, or that they were men with flawed character. NO! They themselves may have been honorable men with high character. But the Bible took time out to emphatically state that Jabez was more honorable than they were. This man, Jabez, must have been a man of very high character and very high morals. He must have lived a life of greatness, because the Bible tell us in 1 Chronicles chapter 2, that a city was named after him, people followed him. Oh! he was a man of God, a man of faith; a man who turned his pain into prayer. A man who would not allow his beginning to determine his end…. He would not allow where he came from to determine how far or where he goes…. He was a man who would not allow his past to determine his destiny. His biography is one of the shortest, if not the shortest in the entire Bible, the Bible simply said of him "Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.” That’s his entire biography. Oh yeah! And that he prayed one simple prayer. Nothing more is said of him! But despite how brief his story is, Jabez was a man who stood up and stand out... The Bible went on to say that “His mother named his name, Jabez, saying, ‘because I bore him in pain. That is definitely not a good name for a child and it sure didn't help his self-image. Oh! I can just imagine Jabez at school and how the other kids would mock and jeered him “your name is Jabez and you brought pain and brings shame”. But Jabez would not allow this mockery, this jeering or the definition of his name to determine who is or what kind of man he would become. Since the Bible tells us that he had brothers, which mean his mother had given birth before. Which lead me to ask the question. Was not the birth of her other children painful as well? So why then is he the only one with such a name. You see, the word “Jabez” in Hebrew is transliterated Yebetz which means, “pain” and when we take a closer look at this word we learn that while the word Jabez in the Hebrew means pain, it also means metaphysical pain, such as grief, sorrow, and even shame. Oh! I believe that there is something more to the birth and the naming of Jabez than just his mother’s physical pain at birth. • Was there something not quite legitimate about his birth, something that caused his mother great shame and sorrow? • Was it, immorality on her part, or maybe even rape? That we don't know, but whatever it was, the pain and sorrow of his birth must have hung over the head of both mother and son. So much so, that His mother would never let him forget it… She named him Pain so that he would always remember what he had done to his poor mother and the shame he caused her by just being born. Maybe, Jabez came from a very dysfunctional family, with a controlling mother who was an expert at extracting guilt from her children. But despite all his pain, his shame and his sorrow, Jabez overcame every obstacle created by his birth and throughout his upbringing. Because the Bible said of Him that “he was an honorable man — more honorable than every other member of his family”. This is truly incredible. Because, when we look at Jabez's very brief biography, we find in it no major accomplishments and no outstanding achievements… So why then was this man remembered? Why did Ezra, the chronicler made special mention of him... He led no army… He won no wars… He wrote no books… Erected no great building… Performed no miracles… All he did was prayed a simply prayed. Somehow, he was able to take this pain and transformed it into prayer. He prayed 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV) ... 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 the bible said that God grant his request What is so unusual about this prayer is the fact that Christians been talking about it for centuries? This was not an obligatory prayer, it’s not a binding, or mandatory prayer, neither was it required prayer…. But it was a prayer directly from the heart of Jabez. A prayer borne out of his own reflection. He reflected on the pain, the sorrow, the shame of his birth and his upbringing then 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”. We sing of a sweet “hour of prayer”, we applaud and tout men to be great spiritual giants if they pray long prayers… but Jabez’ prayer doesn't pass the "length" test… His, is a simple prayer that is short, direct and precise. But nevertheless, filled with power, insight and foresight. This morning I’d like for us to take a moment and look at his prayer piece by piece in order to discover why God was so pleased with Jabez’s prayer that He have it forever recorded in scripture In this prayer Jabez asked God for four things. 1) He prayed that God would bless him. 2) That God would enlarge his territory, or his borders 3) He prayed that the hands of the Lord will be with him. 4) And that God would keep him from evil FIRST, HE SOUGHT GOD’S BLESSINGS ON HIS LIFE Jabez wanted God’s best and he had all the confidence that God would give His best to him. So, he prayed “Oh that thou would bless me” To be blessed, is to have God poured out His supernatural favor upon your life. Can I tell you that God wants to bless you in this new year? Yes, He wants to bless you… - He wants to expand your influence - He wants to expand your personality - He wants to expand your leadership Oh! What are you saying preacher? I’m saying that God wants to bless your family, He wants to bless your finance… He wants to bless you in your going out and in your coming in…. He wants to bless you, but you must submit your will to His will and cry “Lord not my will, but thy will be done” Not my agenda, but your agenda. Not my way, but your way... In this new year, God wants to bless you but you must submit and say yes to hime. Oh! Song writer said I say yes Lord yes, To you will and to your way I say yes Lord yes, I will trust you and obey When your spirit speaks to me With my whole heart I’ll agree And My answer will be Yes Lord, yes! Yes, God wants to bless you, but your blessings, your obedience and your submission to His will are wrapped in the same package, you can’t have one without the other. The bible said in Genesis 12:1-3, that God told Abraham… … Get thee out if thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Th bible said that Abraham packed his bags and in obedience, set out in search of a city that he knew not and because of his obedience, God blessed him! Oh! Can I tell you that obedience comes before the blessing? Obedience is the conduit to God’s blessing. They are wrapped in the same package. David said in Psalms 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way od sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, Bit his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doeth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like the tree planteth by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doth shall prosper… Oh! David asked Who shall ascend into the hills of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessings of the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Jabez sought the blessings of the Lord, but not just for himself, he sought to be blessed that he might be a blessing to others. Oh! Church of God, hear me today, we are not here for ourselves, the world does not revolve around us. We are here to serve others. So, when God blesses us, he does not bless us for ourselves, he blessed us, so that we might be a blessing to others. What are you saying preacher? I’m saying that the reason for our existence is to serve God and to be a blessing to others. Solomon said, in Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter; Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of men. Somebody say pastor, what is God’s commandment? I’m glad you asked, God’s commandment is to “Love God and love people” In Matthew 22:37-40, a lawyer asked Jesus, which is the greatest commandment? Jesus responded by quoting the shuma, He said… Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the laws and the prophets There is nothing wrong with praying for God to bless you and enlarging your territory, if it is for the purpose of blessing other and being a blessing. It is not wrong to pray for wealth, if your desire is to use it to bless others If you want to have more, so that you can give more and serve, God will honor your request But if you just want more wealth in order to spend it on yourself… your prayer will never be answered. If you want wisdom, just so that you can brag that you are smarter than others… your prayer will never be answered. If you want success, or want to be a leader, just so that you can lord it over others… your prayer will not be answered. The problem we have today is that the church is gripped with apathy as a result, we don’t seek God’s blessings any more… We act as if we have enough, as if our plates are so full and we are too busy to be bless. You see, blessing means responsibility. It means serving God by serving others… and serving God takes time and it takes sacrifice. If God gives you more, He is expecting more from you. Secondly Jabez prayed that God would enlarge his borders. The second part of his prayer: Jabez prayed that God would enlarge his borders. Jabez was from the tribe of Judah, which was the ruling class among the Hebrews. To increase his territory meant that his people would have more land to live on and more people to serve. He was not thinking of himself, he was thinking about the welfare of others. A leader is a servant of the people. Jabez wanted to be used by God more than anything else. His desire and passion were to serve God and His people. Do you want to be blessed by God to be a blessing? Then pray for God to enlarge your life and your sphere of influence…. Pray for something so big that you cannot possibly do it by yourself, something bigger than yourself. Ask God to enlarge your territory. You see, there is more to life than trying to make yourself happy. Isaiah said, Isaiah 54:2-3 2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; 3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles God wants you to see beyond yourself, beyond your circumstances. He wants to enlarge your life, if you will join him by praying and believing for his blessing. The third thing Jabez prayed for was that God’s hand would be upon him. Jabez knew that what he was praying for was bigger than himself, he knew that he could not accomplish it on his own. He was praying for something so big that only the hand of God on his life could accomplish it. Oh! can I tell you that when the hand of God is upon your life you can accomplish anything. When the hands of God are upon you, you can do the impossible. The hand of the Lord was upon Ezekiel and He worte, Ezekiel 37:1-2 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, 2And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. (ELABORATE) Jabez prayed that God would keep him from evil But the final part of Jabez’s prayer is the most important. Here Jabez prayed that God would keep him from evil. His name meant pain. His birth had caused pain, but he himself, did not want to cause pain. He couldn’t do anything about his birth, the pain or the sorrow it may have cause his family. But he wanted his life to be a blessing. He wanted to be protected from the harm of evil, and he wanted to be kept from sinning, because he knew that sin causes pain. Sin brings pain into the world. It brings pain into the life of the one who commits sin, and it brings pain into the lives of those whom the sin was committed against. But most of all, sin causes God pain. The Bible says that, in Genesis 6:5-6 (NIV) “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. “The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain” Sin brings pain to the heart of God. It was sin why Jesus went to the cross. We sometimes miss the pain of the cross. You see, crosses today are made of polished brass, so they shine and sparkles in the light… We wear the cross as jewelry… they are beautifully decorated and made to look like gold… But there was nothing beautiful about the cross; the cross was an instrument of torture, an instrument of shame, of suffering and of pain Sin caused God real pain. In Christian art, Jesus is often pictured on the cross, with his body clean and his head lifted toward heaven with a sublime look of peace on his face. But that’s not real, that not a real picture of the crucifixion. The real crucifixion was ugly, bloody and very different. In the real crucifixion Jesus was naked, the flesh on his back and on his chest had been shredded by Roman whips… His body was filthy from the cell where he was kept… There were deep bruises from the beatings… The painful crown of thorns caused rivers of blood from his head to stream down his body. But all of that was nothing compared to the moment God poured upon him the sins and iniquity of the world, when God separated himself from his Son. Oh! Sin causes pain and when it’s through it brings forth death. Jesus taught us to pray the prayer of Jabez when he prayed, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evil” (Matthew 6:13). Sin is level, it’s ike a cancer; it will eat its way through your life. It will strip you of God’s blessing and destroy your effectiveness. It will tear your relationships apart and leave you empty, naked, and broken. It will leave you beaten, broken and alienated from God. In this season of seeking, you need to Pray that God will keep you from evil and from the pain That it inflicts. Because if you do, you will experience the blessing of God and feel his hands upon your life. God is still in the blessing business, and he saying to you today, (Isaiah 43:1-3). … Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the eater, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy one of Israel, the Saviour; Take hold of the promises of God and do something great for him. Go ahead and ask him for the moon, and he will give you the sun and the stars as well