A Man Named Jabez (Part B)

As an assembly of believers.

We all want to see church we want to see effective. We want our lives to be useful for the king. But if we're not praying as individuals forget just forget it is an encouragement to take stock again of your own prayer life in the light of a man named Jabez to pray that powerful prayer and strength of the spirit of this is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Genesis. Please stay with us after today's message more information about cross reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching today. Pastor Rick will continue his message called a man named Jabez will begin today in Luke chapter 2 Luke's gospel chapter 2 records this about Jesus Christ and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. You see God's blessing was on the Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly in a greater way than anyone because God's blessings on Jesus Christ was a signal to mankind that this one is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one, the one unlike all the others. Some of you are familiar with the temptation of Jesus Christ carried in Matthew chapter 4. If you have watched the movie the temptation of Christ, you need to hook your head up to a delete machine and have it all scrubbed out from the inside and then post the watch none of it creeps back in. But the temptation of Jesus Christ. The question you may ask yourself if if you don't, you haven't thought about it or what the question you may ask yourself is simply this. What if he failed. What if he did succumb to one of the temptations. What if he gave in and this is the response.

There was no way for him to fail. There was no way for him to given the temptations that he wasn't during wasn't to trip them up, but to show us that he is God Almighty, and the only one that can beat down Satan's temptation because Satan has nothing in him there is no sin within him to attach to. So the temptation of Jesus Christ was a broadcast of mankind. This is the Christ, God in the flesh, the second person of the Trinity. That's the statement behind the temptation of Jesus Christ. It does not mean though that he is not insensitive under the secondary messages he is sensitive to the temptations we go through. He felt the pains just was no way for him to fail and in the presence of that.

He knew that we would fail and we would fail often and still he would die for us, because God is love is not a thing about God is not like yeah you know he was a really good writer of poetry so he is love. That's what he is so vast and so great. Certainly there's more to God than that, but all that is there is to God comes out of that God is loving God is like God is good when we get to heaven the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth will be told in its fullness in acts chapter 24 in relation to what was said about Jesus Christ.

This is what is said about the apostle Paul. He is giving his testimony to Felix, a corrupt politician surprise. I myself always strive to have a good conscience without offense toward God and men, not enough to say I'm good God, how you would people. Now the granite of deer and great persecution than if you can't have a pass on that section, but when things are status quo, then how are you with God and how are you with men. You be doing better with men than you are with God, and you could be doing better with God. On the surface and poorly with men, because you doing poorly with God when it gets down a little deeper past the skin. The idea is to have them both and so when Jabez says he called on the God of his race of all that you would bless me. He met with God and with men and as a result he got both.

God answered his prayer and he had an honorable name in spite of difficult start and then he says that you would enlarge my territory. He didn't want to crowd anyone else he wanted space, but he also wanted to reach anyone with righteousness in God's name. How do I know that when it's not said how I know that he wanted to convert those who were going the wrong way simply because in evidence of genuine conversion to Christ is the desire to make him known to others, and the result of having a fervent prayer life with God is a desire to spread righteousness among men.

You cannot detach the two.

They are inseparable and so he asked God to expand his space and that also meant his reach to the loss.

Beyond this is the old map makers used to say when they would chart out a map and they could go no further than they did not know was beyond that point they would ride beyond. This may be Dragon who knows what's on the other side things and bite and blow fire at you but we Christians were supposed to say beyond this may be more converts.

That's the spirit that is sent so many out into the mission field that is the spirit that is because so many of us to reach those who are lost. Listen, if you are around, especially family members who don't like you being a Christian given Christ give a more give them more of who you are is ill. I don't know all the Greek and the doctrine in the Scriptures. You don't have to you know Jesus Christ give them Jesus Christ. That's what God wants you to give them be able to say them, let me tell you why I'm a Christian I'm not giving in to your view why I'm not going back to Sodom and Gomorrah, and in looking back at it, let me tell you why know you had your time mocking me you had your time belittling me you had your time to sway me away. Now it's my turn equal time to say with all that to give you but if you can. It might go somewhere you tell, you testify to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't worry, God will swoop down with the Holy Spirit on you so powerful and mightily that it would be miraculous. You give them the gospel if they don't ask you.

God doesn't open a door that you don't say anything, but if they talk on your sword then they're going to get cut in conscience deeply. If you give them the word of God and so he says also here that your hand would be with me to seek God's blessings is to seek his presence and to seek his presence is to seek his will and to seek his will is to seek results from that will something concrete. Not abstract. Something unclear and foggy but something that you can touch something that is real and then he says, and that you would keep me from evil. This this was given to him. Of course, by God, the Holy Spirit, teaching this man how to pray through his life to live, just submitted to God. Jesus, when when the disciples came and said, teach us to pray because we don't know how to pray without God.

Some of you have not verbalized that in you still don't know how to pray God is saying in the Scripture come ask me. Others of you. It has been given to you. You've never asked for it.

You're not even may be conscious of it. But God is taught you how to break but you know how to praise because God is taught you and he taught Jabez and Jesus said in the prayer when he is teaching his disciples. He said pray in this matter, and then he gets to the point lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory you can do this. You've got the mic you have the strength and all those Bible translations that put a little note well and the powers not really there throw that Bible away because it is there throughout Scripture, and they want to fuss and bicker over little things that are insignificant but yet inescapable. It is in the originally and it is the truth. His is the kingdom's is the power and the glory. That's what makes it the kingdom that it is its power. You can do anything without power when God breathed into Adam. He gave him power in that sense is not one of those you know, blabbing gravid sermons got much of which you send $50.

This ministry every day. I'm telling you, if it were for that stuff about nonviolence.

I punch those guys in the nose but I'm stuck anyway. I'm just a sale of that to express the irritation when a minister begs for money done with me. I'm I'm just done.

I don't want set saying that you need to be like me with this on my own conviction is look you preached the power of God to preach all these things out of Scripture.

I sufficient for all these things and then you go telling the people how much you need the money to survive. I'm sorry I will hear what you have to say about the Bible. That's my thing. Now I want to say that to strongly have learned over the years to come up with something strong like that. And God points at something all now some recording somewhere so but still this is a righteous resistance inside of me. This is this is not right brothers.

I'm not questioning their salvation on questioning their love for God, but on this point.

They are way way way wrong and you know that's the pastoral and American going to sheep end of that is just as bad, but I would rather meet in a strip mall because we couldn't afford to build their own building. Then they hit you up for a nickel and I hope that the integrity of the ministry never goes away.

I am prepared to do without. If that's what God wants me to to be if that's what he wants me to have. I'm not any different from you. I would love to be filthy rich, but is probably not going to happen: around uncles and on seeing how much they got in their accounts another getting close to the left of that's insane. Thank you that you did laugh as if Udall said man that you would keep me from evil, unlimited, let me just make this clear nose state of holiness from man exist beyond temptation. You are never going to get so close to Jesus Christ in this life that you are beyond that you are exempt from temptation and temptation in the Greek and the New Testament is a dual meaning it is not only me to be seduced or lured. It also means to be put under pressure to find trial and hardship in life, but it is saying for a Christian to say, I accept what you've given me. I thank you that you feel that I am big enough for this.

However, I also pray that I don't enter into these things.

That is the balance that is the understanding that God is looking for from his people, and then he says, and I think one of the most powerful things about this prayer that I may not cause pain. You may have heard the story of William Booth. He is the founder of what was once really the Salvation Army. I mean one time they were really about salvation and nothing else.

Now automatic taking cheap shots at them. I know that within that group. There are still to this day. Those who are upset about salvation, but I don't know that I'm not so sure that that is the message that you get when you see the Salvation Army there more now socially directed their salvation is concerned, limited to social ailments but not moral and spiritual issues. Well William Booth but he was too old and too sickly to attend one of the their grand meetings and so he sent a note they wanted to hear from the founder. Their leader, and when the note was taken in front of the assembly and read simply said one word others that has irritated me since the first time I heard it because others, quite frankly, often times our pain in the neck or they're not a pain in the neck. But still, I gotta give up something of my time and energy for others possess the flesh does the flesh is insane. It is incurable. Again, it will not leave you alone because it's pooped or because it has dropdead it's going to be there every day until that day comes when we see Jesus face-to-face and then it will never be ever again. But until that time, it has to be engaged and one way that it is engaged is increasing Jesus Christ and decreasing my own self myself nature and so when he says he prays that I may not cause pain. He is directing this towards others. Yes, he's going to be the beneficiary also.

But he's thinking about other people. My mom named me Mr. pain and I don't want to be that I don't want to hurt anyone want to be wise as a serpent harmless as a dove, especially needless pain. Now if you're righteous in your living the life in Christ you will going to cause pain to someone else's sinful nature. If you're standing up for righteousness. That's not what were talking about here talking about someone who does not want to carelessly, recklessly, selfishly, any kind of way because someone heard you are hurt their feelings doesn't want to hurt their body doesn't want to hurt them in any way he wants to be bring blessings and question I asked myself is am I going to cause pain to anyone today with the stay out of my way on the highway. Probably not, but he had a great hope for his own life, and this was it. He didn't want to be a foreign is not not a mistake that I chose that word born, I could've chosen you know he didn't want to be a bayonet.

We did not want to be, you know, any irritant see the word born is that is connected to sin in Scripture. He did not want to give sin a chance sin in him to poke someone else regardless of the who they were and then he says in verse nine. So God then it says so God granted him what he requested to verbalize this is as beneficial to the one praying as it is to the one being prayed to is a great benefit to say to God these things to to pray to God, but it is a benefit to God. Also, because God is long-suffering, willing, that none should perish but that all should come to eternal life and the way that he does that and almost exclusively the way he does that is true believers and the believers if they are not praying to him, they are not very useful to him. Their out-of-court dwellers. They're not in the court with the presence of God there just outside. I want to be so close to the throne that I could feel the vibration of the voice of God when he speaks that's not hyperbole, but it is poetry. God granted him his request got said yes, the very things he prayed for were given to him. He was honored by God. Anytime God says yes not a mean in the sense of balance.

If you don't know the story of balance read up on and find out that's not how to be, but in the in the case of Jabez isn't honored is honor bestowed upon him. James chapter 5 verse six. Confess your trespasses to one another is when you wrong someone that's not going to a booth and sitting down the sink blessed me, for I have sinned and he says, confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. Isn't that significant is a symbol similar warning to two marriages.

Some of the marriage is in shambles amongst Christians. The prayer life is now shut down, got saddled, you need to fix that now come to me asking for something you need to get in there and work on that.

Take stock of yourself because you're part of the problem now that there are steps of their time to it as one of the spouses there got all the wrong but then he says this is the part I was after the effective and fervent prayer of a righteous man does a lot says avails much. But it does a lot. Oswald Chambers if you don't know who Oswald Chambers is every Christian I think should get his book. I think God is made a classic for us is called my utmost for his highest. It's a daily devotion.

Each day you would get read.

Maybe two paragraphs so and and this is very he's going to be able to say things to you that if I said them. You leave the church which you need to hear and is one of them, so don't leave the meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer is simple but when it comes from a man who said so many other great things. You tend to listen to that when life turns violent on us unanswered prayer can cause us to feel the God in its most extreme form can make us think that God hates us and the lesser extremes. It makes us think he doesn't like us that is judging us. Maybe he's not the God we thought he was or that the Scriptures tell us that it makes these promises and yet it doesn't deliver Job dealt with this Job chapter 16 he says, speaking of God, and he said he tears at me in his wrath, and hates me. He gnashes at me with his teeth.

My adversary sharpens his gaze upon me, remember when we went to the book of Job. He said Job went up to the borderline of blasphemy. He never crossed it but he went up to it and in the end God bless Joe and God let Job know that no this was not a joke that he was doing something we've learned through the generations. Countless multitudes of Christians have been enriched and blessed and effective useful to God because a man named Joe, our Lord prayed in Psalm 22 and then he recited this on the cross, but it comes from Psalm 22, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.

Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning. Jabez went through that you think he just woke up one day and figured it all out. He went through these things and he stay true to the end of almost finish these afflictions are useful against man's larger enemy are larger enemy is the damnation of souls. Death is our enemy.

The Scripture tells us in this life. It is after this life. There is no more death. He who believes in me shall never die. Jesus said do you believe this, that's what. He also asked right after making that statement, but our greater enemy is the damnation of souls, and where part of the process to keep them from being bound and so David prayed in Psalm 119. Before I was afflicted I went astray. But now I keep your word before you laid it on me. I was doing all sorts of things that were wrong, but then affliction came from your hand upon me, and it drove me to your word and now I understand. How can a young man cleanse his way by taking heed to your word hidden your word in my heart that I may not sin against you. And so what we find is that we are not to pray against stubborn sin for a time. That's what we do. We pray against some stubborn sin for a time and then to despair. We let it have its own way with us. We give up what Jesus said men not all men men ought always pray and not lose heart.

That's what Luke was saying about the teaching of Jesus on prayer.

Pray to the end.

It's not the results. It's not the yes or no. As much at it as it is getting in the presence of the one who can say yes or no regardless of what he says.

And in that section of Luke chapter 18 always is what is insisted on seventh verse of Luke chapter 18 again with thinking of men ought always pray and not lose heart.

And then he says and shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night for him though he bears long with them all day, all night, first thing in the morning first thing at night Christianity is for weak people. The physician has come for those who are sick. Salvation is for weak people. It's for people who cannot save themselves. The flesh hates this the flesh wants power. He wants money it wants independence. But that's not how the spirit works. Here is what I'm trying to say through the whole message as I began I think as an assembly of believers. We all want to see the church strong. We want to see it. Effective. We want our lives to be useful for the king. But if we're not praying as individuals forget it. Just forget it is an encouragement to take stock again of your own prayer life in the light of a man named Jabez to pray that powerful prayer and strength of the spirit.

There will always be an excuse waiting for you after service to undo everything God has said to you in the service expected be ready for it. Don't give up.

Don't quit God's sake don't say I've tried this before. It doesn't work, go to your death. That way, then it is worth that God is faithful and it will be good. Trust God.

But as a congregation get on your needs to God reign power down this assembly few years back I came from pastors conference and I shared about the Holy Spirit.

At the end of the service, I invited people to come up to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit is the greatest turnout we have one after service, prayer requests or lines of people for those of you who are wearing those lines, and many of you are still here, where are you now do you think that because you didn't hover off the ground that God did not answer your prayer.

The fact that you're still here is an indication God has answered your prayer, but it needs polish needs work God find us praying people beating back the wiles of the devil who you've been listening to cross reference radio daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick is teaching from God's Word each time you tune as we mentioned at the beginning of today's broadcast.

This teaching is available free of charge at our website. Just visit cross reference radio.com that's cross reference radio.com would also like to encourage you to subscribe to the cross reference radio podcast subscribing ensures that you stay current with all the latest teachings from Pastor Rick you can do so@crossreferenceradio.com or search for cross reference in your favorite podcast app store. That's all for today joined Pastor Rick for more character study right here on the cross reference or a