Father, we thank you this morning for the blessings of the Lord's day. We thank you for the opportunity of fellowship and worship. And we thank you, Lord, for your word that we hold in our hands this morning, the inspired, inerrant, infallible, indestructible word of the living God. Lord, we pray that as we come to thy word just now, that we might hear thy speaking voice. Speak, Lord, in the stillness, while we wait on Thee. Hush our hearts to listen, in expectancy, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen. I want you to take your Bibles this morning and turn with me to the first book of Chronicles, please, chapter four. The first book of Chronicles, chapter four, and we're reading at verse nine. I want to thank Brian and Adrian for their kind words of welcome. It's lovely to be with you this morning. At my stage of life, it's lovely to be anywhere. But it's great to be here this morning and to have the opportunity of ministering the Word of God. And certainly you are in our prayers daily as we pray for you that God's blessing would rest upon you at this time. and that you might know the guiding hand of the Lord upon you in these days. Do remember our service tonight. We're thinking about the signs of the Lord's return. The signs all seem to say His coming is not far away. And where I live in Moira, there's a little sign on the wall. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. And I believe that with all my heart. And I'm going to give you five signs tonight. that tell us that the Lord's coming is very close. So do join with us, encourage others onto the sound of God's word, even this evening. But this morning we're looking in Chronicles, 1 Chronicles chapter four, and we're looking at verse nine, please. The first eight or nine chapters of Chronicles are filled with names. And then we come to this little interlude, this little oasis in the midst of these names. And chapter 4 and verse 9 reads like this, And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. And his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bear him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. God granted him that which he requested." Just two verses. Let me read them again, since there's only two verses. And Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. And his mother called his name Jabez, saying, because I bear him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, that thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that. which he requested. May the Lord stamp his blessing upon the reading of his own word. I want to talk to you for a few moments this morning on the subject Jabez. making a difference for God. In 1873, while he was in the city of Dublin, D.L. Moody heard the British evangelist Henry Varley make a statement that changed his life. It was after an all-night prayer meeting in the home of Henry Buley when Henry Varley said this, The world is yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully and wholly consecrated to him. D.L. Moody said, as I crossed the wild Atlantic, the boards on the ship were engraved with those words. He says, when I reached the city of Chicago, the very paving stones were grave with these worlds. The world is yet to see what God can do with, and in, and for, and through a man who is holy and fully consecrated to Him. And D.L. Moody said, by the grace of God, I'll be that man. The ramifications were not only felt in the United States of America, but in the United Kingdom as well, as D.L. Moody made a difference for God. If you had a choice this morning, would you want to live an ordinary life or an extraordinary life? What do you think the Lord wants for you? Well, I can tell you what the Lord Jesus said. He said, I am come that ye might have life, and that ye might have it more abundantly. God wants to make a difference in your life, so that you can make a difference in the lives of others. God wants to work in you, and with you, and through you, and for you, to reveal His glory in your life. And all of that leads us up to a man called Jabez. I wonder, have you ever heard of this man called Jabez before? His total biography occupies less than 80 words in the English language. And yet in those 80 words, we learn how to go from the ordinary to the extraordinary. We learn how to become the cream of the crop. For of Jabez we read, and Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. Now let me ask you, When you're having your daily devotions, and I trust you do have them, but when you're having your daily devotions, what do you do when you come to the genealogies? What do you do when you come to the family trees? The opening chapters of the Book of 1 Chronicles reads very much like a Hebrew telephone directory. Do you know what the last book in the Hebrew Old Testament is? It is Chronicles. The last book in our English Bible is Malachi, but the last book in the Hebrew Old Testament is the book of Chronicles. Remember that a chronicle is a record of events, and what we have in 1 and 2 Chronicles are a record of events during the period after the exile. So here we are, we're living in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Remember in Ezra chapter 1, that Cyrus issued that decree authorizing the Jews to go back to the land of Judah, back to the city of Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple, to rebuild the walls, and immediately 50,000 Jews responded, and they went back to the land to rebuild the walls and to rebuild the temple. And so here we are. in our time zone. We're living in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. And this gem among the genealogies may have been given to encourage the spirited exiles. You see the word Jabez means pain. It means sorrow. And so the pain felt by the returning exiles can be changed to blessing by God, the God who answers our prayers, enlarges our borders, dispels our loneliness, and conquers our enemies. Now, when you go back looking through the first opening chapters of the book of Chronicles, you'll find that in all of the more than 500 names that are mentioned, not one is mentioned in connection to prayer. And thus while others may have been consumed with goods, and with greed, and with gold, Jabez was concerned with God. He was consumed with God. He was the cream of the crop. For Jabez was more honorable than his brethren. The Hebrew conveys the idea of bringing glory to someone, not yourself. You see, Jabez chose to honor the Lord. He was able to rise above his circumstances and become a channel of blessing to others. Here's a man, my dear friends, who stirs us to want to give our best, to do our best, and to be our best for God. He teaches us to despise the ordinary and seek the extraordinary. Someone has said that in each of us there are three persons. There is the person you are right now. There is the person that you could be for evil if Satan ruled your life. There is the person you could be for God if God run your life. William Crary often prayed, oh God, help me to be the man that you want me to be. You want to make a difference for God? Well, let's look at Jabez this morning for a moment or two. Notice first of all his passion for God. Look at the verses, his passion for God. Let me pause. Have you got a passion for God? I'm not asking you, have you got a passion for the church? I'm not asking you, have you got a passion for the activities of the church? I'm asking you this morning, have you a passion for God? Have you a thirst for God? Can you say with the psalmist, my soul thirsteth for God, for the living God? Can you see the intensity of this man's passion for God in his prayer? He's coming into the presence of God and he says, Oh that thou wouldst bless me indeed. He wanted to be all that he could for God. And he wanted to have all that he could have of God. I mean, can you see the desire that consumed him? Chavis didn't want an ordinary blessing. He wanted an extraordinary blessing. He prays, O that thou wouldst bless me indeed. His desire, his goal, his ambition was to be blessed indeed. The word literally means to call out loudly. He wanted to get someone's attention. Jabesh knew who he needed to address, and he wanted to ensure that he had God's full attention. There's a word here that Jabesh uses that you and I never do. Do you know what it is? It's that word, indeed. In the Hebrew language, that would be like adding five exclamation points. It would be like writing the request in bold capital letters. It would be like underlining it and putting it in italics. In italics, here's a man who comes into the presence of God and he says, God, I want the best that you have. I'm grateful for what I have already. But if there's something more, I want you to give it me. What does it mean to ask God to bless us? If you're like me this morning, you kind of use that phrase in a lazy way, bless the children. Bless the church. Bless the pastor. Bless the food. Bless the preacher. The word bless or blessing is used over 600 times in the Old Testament. What is a blessing? Well, to bless in the biblical sense means to ask for or to impart supernatural favor. When we're asking for God's favor, we're not asking for something that we could get for ourselves. We're crying out for that unlimited, that wonderful goodness that only God has the power to give and only God knows exactly what to give us. The Bible says, the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich and addeth no sorrow with it. Did you know this morning that a blessing has three characteristics? One, it comes from God for His glory. Two, it comes to you for your good. Three, it is channeled through you for the blessing of others. Don't forget that. Oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed. I don't want a substitute blessing. I don't want a false blessing. I want it to come from God for His glory. I want it to come to me for my good. I want it to be challenged through me for the good of others. My friends, God blesses us that we might be a blessing to others. Isn't that what happened to Abraham? Abraham, the Lord blessed Abraham and Abraham became a channel of blessing to others. I wonder, is that your desire this morning? Is that your longing? Is that your aspiration? Oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed. Can you see the desire that consumed him? Look again. Can you see the difficulties that confronted him? You see, his name suggests that there were some difficulties and handicaps that Jabez had to overcome. His name means pain or sorrow. He who gives pain. Come to think of it, I've known more than a few Jabez's in my lifetime. I mean, what was his mother thinking about? Didn't she have one of those baby name books with a thousand names in it? Can you imagine his mother's voice coming to the back door at tea time and shouting out, he who causes me pain, it's time for dinner. I wonder why she named him this. It may have been that she had a hard time delivering him. It may have been that he could have been born with some handicap. It may have been that his brothers had a bad reputation and he decided that he wanted to be better. Whatever, Jabez was able to rise above his circumstances and become a blessing to others. My friends, God can take our disadvantages and use them to His advantage. God can take our liabilities and use them to His ability. Our handicaps this morning need not harm, need not hinder, need not hurt our spiritual progress with the Lord. G. Campbell Morgan, preached a trial sermon on the 2nd of May, 1888, in a large Methodist church on the mainland. He later received word from that church that they weren't even considering him to be their pastor. And Morgan felt totally rejected. And he sent home a telegram to his father that contained one word, rejected. His father sent back a telegram with these words, rejected on earth, accepted in heaven. G. Campbell Morgan went on to become one of the greatest Bible expositors that the world has ever known. I wonder this morning, are you saying, God could never bless me? God could never use me? God could never do anything special with my life? In July 1952, a young woman by the name of Florence Chadwick waded into the water off Catalina Island, intending to swim the channel between the island and the Californian coast. She had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in two directions. The water was freezing that day. The fog was so thick that she couldn't see the people in her party. Sharks had to be driven away. She swam for more than 15 hours before being asked to take her out of the water. Her trainer tried to encourage her. She was only a mile from home, but when Florence looked up, all that she could see was fog. She quit one mile from her destination. Wasn't it cold? Wasn't the fear, it wasn't the exhaustion, it wasn't the shocks that made her quit, it was the fog. Two months later, she tried it again and she swam that distance setting a new speed record. Why? She could see the land. Wonder this morning as a Christian, are you only seeing the fog? Are you looking at your inability instead of God's ability? Are you looking at what you feel you can't do instead of what God knows you can do? Look at the land this morning. Look at the promises of God. Look at the person of God. Look at the power of God. Don't settle for anything less than the best. Ask God to bless you indeed. J. N. Darby translates it like this. Oh, that thou wouldst richly bless me. I tell you, he's praying for more than a spiritual shower or two. He wants something special. I wonder this morning, is this your passion personally? Is this your desire corporately? Are we asking God to bless us indeed? Oh, when others seek for good things, may we seek great things. When others seek for the ordinary, may you and I seek the extraordinary. For as A.B. Simpson says, our God has boundless resources. The only limit is us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying is too small. Our expectations are too limited. his passion for God. Look again at the verse. I want you to see from the context, not only his passion for God, but his prayer to God. R. A. Torrey said, there's only one limit to what prayer can do, and that is what God can do. Here's a man who discovers that prayer is the key that opens up the wide, inexhaustible storehouse of God. Jabez wanted great and mighty things from God, and so he prayed for them. Now look at this this morning. I want you to see that his prayer wasn't a willy-nilly prayer. What does he ask God for? What are you asking God for this morning? I want you to notice that he prayed for three things. Have a look at them very quickly. One, a greater place to serve in. A greater place to serve in, enlarge my coast. Oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed. Verse 10, and enlarge my coast. Now in that day, A person's border, a person's territory would mark the limit of his influence. You see what Jabez was asking for? He was asking God for more responsibility, more influence, larger opportunities to do something for him. His was a God-sanctioned ambition for his underlying motive was the glory of God. You see, he's coming into the presence of God and he's asking God for increase. He wants God to expand his opportunities for service. Now the Christian life begins with a very narrow road, but it soon broadens out into a full life. You think of the kind of life that Peter would have had if he had stayed around the lake of Galilee. Most of the disciples were from around the lake, except Judas, he was from the south. Most of them were from the north. They knew the lake of Galilee like the back of their hand. You think of the kind of quiet existence that Peter would have had if he had stayed around the lake of Galilee. But then he met the master and the Lord Jesus said, follow me. And that immediately meant enlargement. There are some believers who are afraid to grow. You know, my friends, growth is a very difficult thing. A little baby comes into this world and that little baby is born with everything. He or she needs to become an adult. I mean, you don't go back into the hospital a month later and pick up two eyes, and then a month later pick up two arms, and then go back a month later and pick up two legs. No, it's there in miniature. And you take that little baby home, and you clothe that baby, and you feed that baby, and you nourish that baby. And that little baby grows. But some children get to the stage where they don't want to grow, and they go back to sucking their thumbs and holding blankets, and some adults even do that. My friends, it's a challenging thing to grow. Do you know what the consequences of growth are? The more faithful you are, the more God blesses you. The more God blesses you, the more enlargement there is. The more enlargement there is, the more work you have to do. Do you remember what Christ said concerning the good servant? Thou hast been faithful over a little, have thou authority over ten cities. Faithfulness in little things It's God's appointed way to bigger things. Oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed and enlarge my coast. It was Hudson Taylor who prayed, oh God, give me wider usefulness. You ever wonder why the Lord moves a pastor from a small church to a bigger church? It's nothing to do with the man. It's nothing to do with the personality. It's to do with the gift. And remember, the gift in the man is nothing to do with the man. The gift is from the Lord. And sometimes God takes a man from a smaller church to a larger church. Why does He do it? So often it is that the gift might be used to that very maximum. Is it not sad that there are Christians who are looking forward to retirement so that they can do less? Jabez wasn't looking to do less. He was looking to do more! Jabez wasn't looking to slow down. He was looking to speed up. In effect, he was coming into the presence of God and he was saying, Oh God, expand my opportunities, impact my life, that I'll touch other lives for your glory. I wonder, is that your desire this morning? Maybe you're here this morning and as a believer, you become complacent. Maybe you're satisfied this morning with your comfort zone, with the status quo. I wonder, are you growing like you should be? What about your work for God? Do you want God not only to use you, but to give you greater usefulness? A greater place to serve in, growth. Look at the text again. a greater power to serve with, guidance, a greater place to serve in, growth, a greater power to serve with, guidance, and that thine hand might be with me." You see, my friends, enlarged territory involves increased responsibilities. It imposes greater demands. Jabesh knew that he He needed a power greater than his own to develop, to possess and develop his new land for God. My friends, listen, God's hand represents his mighty power. When God wants something done, he gets his hand upon you. Ezra says, I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me. Nehemiah testifies, I told them of the good hand of my God which was upon me. John the Baptist moved the nation of Israel so mightily because the hand of the Lord was with him. Is that not what Jabez wanted? Oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed. and enlarge my coast, that thine hand might be with me, pushing me, holding me, sustaining me. My friends, listen, Jabez realized something very important that you and I need to realize this morning. It's this, the blesser is more important than the blessing. Did you get that? The blesser is more important than the blessing. You see, my dear friends, when you seek the blessing of God, you have to remember that you must seek God in the blessing. Why? Otherwise, you won't be able to handle the blessing that God gives you. Did you realize this morning that success is more dangerous than failure? Failure never went to anyone's head. You see, it finally hit Jabez. If God answers my prayer, and God blesses me, and God enlarges my territory, and God gives me more responsibility and more opportunity, his hand must be upon my life, or I won't be able to handle it all. Oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed, that thou wouldst enlarge my coast, and that thine hand may be with me. There were two ladies who were praying for D.L. Moody in America, in Chicago. They told him so, and he was angry. And then he joined them for prayer. One day while walking down Wall Street in New York, he describes it in his own words. He says, one day walking down Wall Street, I can scarcely describe it. I seldom refer to it, it's almost too sacred to mention. I can only say that God revealed himself afresh to me in blessing and power, and I ask God to stay his hand. D.L. Moody went out preaching. Again, the messages were no different, the sermons were no different, but every time he preached, hundreds were being saved. He said, I would not go back to where I was before that blessed experience. Is this not our greatest need? to have God's hand upon us in power. It's interesting. There are two words in the Bible for hand. One refers to a closed hand, that refers to God's displeasure. The other refers to an open hand, that refers to God's delight. And the word the Jabba is used here in the Hebrew is the word yat. It speaks of God's open hand of delight. It implies that God's power would not be withheld, that His power would be unleashed immediately. Oh, I'm aware that Jabez knew something of the history of the children of Israel. For he calls on the God of Israel. Do you see what he's saying? He's saying, Lord, I want your open hand of past history to become your open hand of present history. Greater place to serve in, that's growth. Greater power to serve with, that's guidance. Ah, but look again. A greater protection to serve by, that's guardianship. Look at again what he prays. And that thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. Jabez knew well the peril of an enlarged coast, increased activity on the part of his enemies. He knew that the more you do for God and the more that God does for you and the higher ambition you have, And the more advancements that come your way, the more you're being set up for the devil to tempt you and trip you and trap you. Do you see how Godly Jabez was? He was saying, Lord, bless me and enlarge my coast. Empower me, but keep me humble, keep me holy. Do you remember how Christ taught us to pray? Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. How many of you have ever committed a sin? How many of you have ever committed the same sin? How many of you have ever committed that sin a hundred times? Why is that? We commit sin. And then we come to the Lord and we say, Lord forgive me, I've messed up again. And thank God, God does forgive us our sins. But Christ taught us to pray, forgive us our sins, but also deliver us from evil. We need protection from sin. One day, Coach Jordan of Auburn University in the United States of America said to a man called Mike Colon, who played for the Miami Dolphins, he said, Mike, I want you to go through the country and do some scouting for me. Mike said, sure, Coach, what kind of man do you want? Well, he said, you know, Mike, there's a man on the field of prey that when he gets hit, he's down and he never gets up again. Mike said, we don't want him, do we, Coach? He said, no, we don't want him. He said, but Mike, there's a man on the field of prey, when he gets hit the first time, he gets up, when he gets hit the second time, he gets up, but when he gets hit the third time, he stays down. We don't want him, do we coach? No, we don't, Mike. But he said, there's a man, Mike, When he gets hit, he goes down, but he gets up again. No matter how many times he's down, he gets up. And Mike said, that's the kind of man we want, isn't it coach? No, said the coach. I want you to find the man who keeps knocking everybody else down. My friends, there are times when we get knocked down. And I'm grateful that the Lord comes along and picks us up. But I'm here to tell you this morning, God wants us to do a little knocking for a change. He wants to be victorious. He wants us to be victorious in our battles with sin. And that's why Jabez prayed that God would protect him from evil. evil communications, evil speaking, and evil heart. You see, the one thing in my life that can reverse the process and take me or you from the extraordinary to the ordinary is sin. Do you remember Samson? that man that was empowered by God, and then he divulged the secret of his strength to Delilah, whose name means seductress, and they brought him down to where? They brought him down to Gaza. They put him in the prison house. He lost his sight, he lost his strength, he lost his service. How be it that hair of his head began to grow again? The one thing that can take you from the extraordinary to the ordinary is sin. Now I asked you this morning, when you measure your praying by this man's praying, how do you feel? Mind you, it wasn't a long prayer, but then it's not the length of your prayer that counts, it's the strength of your prayer that counts. You say, well, how did God respond? Well, look at the final thought. Can you see here his passion for God? Can you see here his prayer to God? Look at the last phrase. Can you see here his prosperity from God? And God granted him that which he requested. Do you see the measure of this blessing? And God granted him that which he requested. The word granted is only used 15 times in the Bible. The idea is this, that God gives it, but He gives it with great satisfaction and delight. He not only hears this kind of prayer, He honors this kind of prayer. And God enriched Jabez. And God enlarged Jabez. And God empowered Jabez. And God encompassed Jabez. You know something? God wants to bless his people. What do you want from God this morning? What would you like God to do in your life and in the life of this assembly? You know what God says? Call unto me and I will answer thee and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not. Sometimes I hear Christians praying, Lord, just give me the crumbs from the master's table. I wonder, is that why we have so many crummy Christians? Listen, God wants to bless you and me. Ah, can you see the measure of this blessing? Ah, but look again. Can you see the motive for this blessing? You see, my friends, God is sympathetic toward a holy ambition when His glory rather than our glory is the real motive. This is not a selfish player. This is so important for us to understand. Jabez didn't want more just to have more. He wanted more so that he could do more. He didn't want to get to keep, he wanted to get to give. He wanted more so that he could do more for the glory of God. And old Puritan said, Lord, I'm only an old rag, but I've been soaking myself in your Word. Now take me and squeeze me that I might be a blessing to others. Theodore Monod compressed it into this motto, all in Christ by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. What about your motives this morning? What about your motive in giving? What about your motive in serving? What about your motive in testifying? What about your motive in ministering? Is God's glory your chief concern? Not your glory? Not the glory of the Baptist certainly? Not the glory of any hall? Not the glory of any denomination? Is God's glory your chief concern? God delighted to honor Jabez because Jabez delighted to honor God. In his day and age, he made a difference for God. He was the very cream of the crop. I heard the story of an Indian who found an eagle's egg and he put that egg into the nest of a little prairie chicken. And that eagle hatched and grew up with those little prairie chickens. And all of his life that eagle thought that he was a prairie chicken. And he did what the prairie chickens did. He would look and he would pick up seed from the dirt of the ground. He would never fly any higher than a few feet from the ground because that's what prairie chickens did. And years passed and this eagle grew very old. And one day he looked up into the sky and he saw a bird with graceful majesty on the powerful wind current, scarcely exercising a beat of those strong golden wings. And he thought to himself as he looked up into the sky, what a beautiful bird. And then he said to his little prairie chicken friends, he says, what kind of bird is that? Oh, said his friends, that's an eagle. He's the chief of all birds, but don't you ever give him a second thought. You could never be like him. So he never give it a second thought. And he died thinking that he was a prairie chicken. I'm here to ask you this morning. Do you want to live an ordinary life on the level of mediocrity, on the level of complacency, on the level of apathy? Or like Jabez, do you want to live an extraordinary life, soaring above the level of the average, making a difference from God? My friend, are you prepared to move out of your comfort zone this morning? Are you prepared to become dissatisfied with the status quo? Are you prepared to become great? Not in the eyes of men. but in the eyes of God. Then I exhort you, go through with God. Thy vows to pay. Thine all upon the altar lay. The Holy Ghost will do the rest and bring to thee God's very best. Jabez, making a difference for God. As you step out of an old year and into a new year, I wonder, have you that desire? Let's pray. Father, we thank you this morning for the challenge and for the instruction of your word. Help us, Lord, to rise above the ordinary to the extraordinary. Help us, O God, to make a difference for Thee in our day and generation. Help us, Lord, to be determined to go through with God our vows to pay. Help us, our Father, to know the blessing of God upon our lives, upon our ministry, as we seek, like Jabez. to make a difference for you. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. We're gonna sing a lovely hymn in closing. It's gonna come up on the screen. It's 606. It's Noel Grant's hymn. And Noel Grant was a great evangelist and Ulster. and a past day used of God mightily. And he wrote this lovely hymn, above thine own ambitions here, another voice is sounding clear. It is the call of God to thee. Oh, leave thine all and follow me. Let's stand as we praise the Lord together.