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BEARER MINISTRIES
A Ministry Carolina Memorial Baptist Church
422 Liberty Drive, Thomasville, NC 27360
You may contact the church at 336-472-7028
Email: bearerministries@carolina.rr.com

Bear One Another's Burdens and in so doing fulfil the Law of JESUS. Galatians 6:2

1 CHRONICLES 4:9-10 "JABEZ WAS MORE HONORABLE THAN HIS BROTHERS. HIS MOTHER HAD NAMED HIM JABEZ, SAYING, "I GAVE BIRTH TO HIM IN PAIN." JABEZ 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."

The Prayer of Jabez
The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles contain one list of names after another. We’ll talk about the importance of these lists tonight. But right in the middle of these lists, there is a short description about a unique individual. The only place we read about him in the entire Bible is in these two verses. Yet something was special enough about him that the writer Ezra felt he needed to let us know about him. The thing that made this man’s life special was his prayer life.
Verse 9 And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
Jabez – Ya‘bets – “sorrow”
It would seem that his mother had a difficult delivery when it came to giving birth to the baby boy, Jabez.
sorrow – ‘otseb – pain, sorrow
honorable – kabad – to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, be honorable, be glorious, be burdensome, be honored
Though Jabez certainly started out life in pain and sorrow, something happened to him that made him a man of “honor”, “substance”, of “glory”.
Lesson: Glory from sorrow
This is not meant to be a message telling you how to never be sad again. Life is going to continue to be filled with times of sorrow. But God wants to take the sorrow and change it to something weighty in your life.
Paul wrote, (2 Corinthians 4:7-11) But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. {8} We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; {9} Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; {10} Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. {11} For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
(2 Corinthians 4:16-18) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. {17} For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worked for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; {18} While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Paul knew that God was able to take the things of sorrow and use them to produce the “eternal weight of glory” God wants to make us “heavy” people, people with substance.
Verse 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying,
called – qara’ – to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim
Lesson : Prayer changes things
The root of why Jabez was “honorable” was because of his prayer. It is important that we learn to trust God when we pray. It is important that we believe. Jesus said(Matthew 21:22 ) And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
But the key to prayer is not just “faith”. The key to prayer is learning to ask God for the things He wants to do in our lives. Prayer is meant to be a means where God gets His will done in our lives.
(1 John 5:14-15) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: {15} And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
Prayer changes things. Prayer changes me. Part of growing in life is learning to pray for the right things, finding out what God wants in my life. What did Jabez pray for? He had four prayer requests …
Verse 10 Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed,
bless – barak – to bless, kneel. It comes from the word for “knee”. It seems to speak of submission, obedience, and prayer. It’s goal was to cause abundant and effective life to come upon a person or a thing. In the Old Testament, the concept of the abundant life and blessing was seen as coming from God’s love and faithfulness.
bless me indeed – the Hebrew has the words doubled, something like, “Oh that blessing You would bless me”. The Hebrew does this to show intensity, to “bless me indeed”, to “really, really bless me”.
Prayer Request #1 Bless me.
God wants to bless us. This is a difficult thing for some of us to ask for. We feel that we are unworthy of anything good that God might do for us. And there’s certainly some truth to that. There’s an aspect of God’s blessings that are tied to walking in His ways.
(Deuteronomy 28:1-2 ) And it shall come to pass, if thou shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: {2} And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shall hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
We on the other hand, deserve God’s judgment. We are by nature sinners. We deserve the wrath of God, to be judged for our sins. Yet God loved us so much that He gave His only Son to us. Jesus came to the earth for the expressed reason of dying on a cross, taking our place in judgment, paying for our sins. When we come to believe in Jesus, God removes us from the place of condemnation and puts us in the place of blessing.
(John 3:17-18) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. {18} He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
When we come to trust in Jesus, we become God’s children. God wants to bless His children. Jesus said,
(Luke 12:32) Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Jesus wants to give the kingdom to all who are in His flock.
Paul wrote, (Romans 8:31-32 ) What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? {32} He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
God wants to bless you. God desires to bless you.
Verse 10 and enlarge my coast,
enlarge – rabah – (Hiphil) to make much, make many, have many; to multiply, increase; to make much to do, do much in respect of; to increase greatly or exceedingly; to make great, enlarge, do much
coast – gbuwl – border, territory
Prayer Request #2 Stretch me
It seems to me that if God is going to bless us, He also needs to stretch us to be able to accommodate the kinds of things He wants to do in and through us.
Let’s say that you were just notified that you have won all the furniture that’s on display at the White House. I’d say you’ve got a problem. You’ve suddenly got more furniture than you’ve got room for. Solution? If you want to enjoy all the furniture, you’re probably going to need to knock a few walls out and expand your house!

Someone once wrote: Lord I crawled across the barrenness to You with my empty cup, uncertain in asking any small drop of refreshment. If only I had known You better, I’d have come running with a bucket. I think that God would like to do more in our lives than we are aware of. Jesus had sent the disciples into town to get some lunch. While they were gone, He began speaking to the Samaritan woman that came to the well. She was changed by her encounter with Jesus.

(John 4:28-35) The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, {29} Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? {30} Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. {31} In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat. {32} But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. {33} Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? {34} Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
The disciples only have one thing on their minds. Food. They have their minds focused on lunch. Jesus is thinking of something else. {35} Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. As Jesus said this, the crowds of people were beginning to come out of the city, moved by what this Samaritan woman had told them about Jesus. The disciples were thinking about lunch, Jesus was thinking about people. The only thing about being stretched is that sometimes it seems a little uncomfortable. We like comfort. We like to know what is in our routine for the day. But what if God wants to give you MORE than you are comfortable with?
Pray for a larger vision. Help me to see beyond just my own needs. Help us to see beyond our little church. Help us to see God’s vision for the world.
Verse 10 and that thine hand might be with me,
Prayer Request #3 Empower me - the Holy Spirit
The “hand of the Lord” is a phrase that we see throughout the Bible. When it is used in reference to God’s enemies, it seems to speak of God’s acts of judgment:
Exodus 7:5 And the Egyptians shall know that I [am] the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
But when it is used in relation to God’s people, it seems to speak of the work and power of the Holy Spirit.
Ezekiel 37:1 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,
You can also see this in 2Kings. 3:15; 1Chronicles. 28:19; Ezra. 7:6; Ezekiel 3:14,22; 8:1; 40:1.
Jabez is one of God’s children. He is asking for the working of the Spirit of God in his life. We too need the power of God to be able to keep going. We need the power of God to be able to do the things God has for us to do. One of the things that God has for us is to reach others for Jesus (Mark 16:15). But that’s a pretty difficult thing. We need His power. So Jesus told His disciples: (Acts 1:4-5) …that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. {5} For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (Acts 1:8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
With the power of the Holy Spirit, the early church reached the world.
(Acts 11:20-21) And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spoke unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. {21} And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. We need to be open to all that God wants to do in us and through us.
Verse 10 and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!
grieve – ‘atsab – to hurt, pain, grieve, displease, vex, wrest. This is a form of the word translated “sorrow” in verse 9. Jabez doesn’t want any more “pain” in his life than he’s already got, and he knows that evil brings about much pain and grief.
Prayer Request #4 Protect me
We are living in a time of evil. When God begins to bless and your coasts are enlarged, the enemy will attack. A girl went to her friends house and she ended up staying longer than planned, and had to walk home alone. She wasn't afraid because it was a small COMMUNITY and she lived only a few blocks away. As she walked along under the bike trail Diane asked God to keep her safe from harm and danger. When she reached the alley, which was a shortcut to her house, she decided to take it. However, halfway down the alley she noticed a man standing at the end as though he were waiting for her.
She became uneasy and began to pray, asking for God's protection.
Instantly a comforting feeling of quietness and security wrapped round her, she felt as though someone was walking with her. When she reached the end of the alley, she walked right past the man and arrived home safely.
The following day, she read in the newspaper that a young girl had been raped in the same alley just twenty minutes after she had been there. Feeling overwhelmed by this tragedy and the fact that it could have been her, she began to weep. Thanking the Lord for her safety and to help this young woman, she decided to go to the police station.
She felt she could recognize the man, so she told them her story.
The police asked her if she would be willing to look at a lineup to see if she could identify him. She agreed and immediately pointed out the man she had seen in the alley the night before. When the man was told he had been identified, he immediately broke down and confessed.
The officer thanked Diane for her bravery and asked if there was anything they could do for her. She asked if they would ask the man one question.. Diane was curious as to why he had not attacked her. When the policeman asked him, he answered, 'Because she wasn't alone. She had two tall men walking on either side of her. Amazingly, whether you believe or not, you're not alone. God is always there in your heart and loves you no matter what: We need to pray. Pray for me. Pray for my family, this ministry and my church.
Prayer is part of our defense against the enemy. Jesus taught us to pray: (Matthew 6:13 ) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
Verse 10 And God granted him that which he requested.
The Lesson is this that God answers these kinds of prayers
The question is, are we praying these kinds of prayers? Do you pray believing that your prayer will be answered? Do you have faith that Our GOD will answer the prayer? When you are in trouble do you go to the LORD first or last? Jabez prayed, Elijah Prayed, Solomon prayed, David prayed, JESUS prayed; What about you? When someone asks you to pray do you say you will and then don't? How can GOD honor what you refuse to ask?

May each of you know HIM and HIS will for your life.

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