Jabez’s Prayer (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)

Hallelujah, let’s look to the left and right and greet each other.  This week, our head pastor, Pastor Joshua Park, is in Korea for the World Missionary Conference, so I’m standing here in his place.  I hope that you will pray for him a lot so that he may come back with a great mission and great health.  

A few years ago, I received a diagnosis from the doctor that I have diabetes, so my wife has been feeding me rice that is better for diabetes.  For people who have this special type of rice, it’s not very delicious and it’s very hard; however, when you chew on that and eat that, it will be very good for your health. A while ago, I went out and had a meal at a restaurant with my family, and at that restaurant, they gave me a bowl of white rice, and I really enjoyed it a lot.  Because that white rice tasted so good, I asked for another bowl and ate that, too.  

But the problem happened the next morning when I woke up.  Like I do every morning, I tested my blood sugar, and it had gone up 20 to 30 points.  Ever since then, I was so shocked that now, I ask for a special type of rice or barley rice whenever I go to a restaurant. I hope you will believe the messages from our Senior Pastor Park is like that special rice, it is very nutritious and it is very good for you.  I hope you will believe that this is the pulpit message that is a little bit hard to chew, but if you meditate upon it and digest it, it will enable your spirit to live long.

My sermon will be a little bit like the rice you eat at a restaurant, so you can eat it more simply. The passage we read today was only two verses and the contents are very simple.  Usually in the Old Testament, especially in the book of Chronicles, it talks about the lineage of Israel and maybe the enemies of Israel, but there is this one portion that talks about Jabez and his prayer. So I’ve prepared to give you the Word of God today entitled, “Jabez’s Prayer.”

1. Prayer life

  1) Jabez’s Prayer

A few weeks ago, in preparation for this message, I was reading a book called, “The Prayer of Jabez,” from my bookshelf.  The Prayer of Jabez is very small, it’s about 140 pages, and I’m read it several times, but every time I read it, I feel something new and I’m inspired by it.  

    (1) Walk Thru the Bible / Dr. Bruce H. Wilkinson

The Prayer of Jabez was written in 2002 by Bruce Wilkinson, who was a doctor in New York who also wrote Walk Thru the Bible, which goes through the entire Bible and explains it.  As soon as it was published, it was translated into Korean and became an immediate best seller, it was flying off the shelves.  In the book, The Prayer of Jabez, not only do they give a detailed analysis and interpretation of Jabez’s prayer, but it also goes through how a Christian can live their everyday walk of faith through prayer.

    (2) Granted his request (1 Chronicles 4:10)

  2) Saint’s prayer

    (1) Breathing of the Spirit, Meet with God, Fellowship, Method of Communication

It’s recorded in this book that the prayer of the believer is one that is the breath of the soul, it is me, meeting with God, and it is a means of communicating with God, so if the members of the church want to meet with God and have fellowship with God, we must pray.

    (2) Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we are told to pray continually.  If the members of the church desire to have a healthy spirit, and with that healthy spirit to have communication with God, then we must pray.  In Ephesians 6:18, we’re told to pray with our spirit and to pray always, constantly.  It means that because our God is spirit, our prayers must be in the Holy Spirit in order for Him to recognize it.  

We are living now, in the age of the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit dwells within each and every believer, so that when we pray to God with the Holy Spirit, He will receive that prayer and communicate with us. If there’s one thing that those who pray must truly have an understanding of, it is believing in and relying on God. 

  3) Correct prayer life

    (1) Prayer of faith (Heb. 11:6, Mk. 11:24)

Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.  It means that, when we pray, we must truly have assurance that the God we are praying to is currently alive, and He has the power that transcends all things; He is capable of all things.  He is always with us.  Then, the God to Whom we pray will not only answer us, but He has a great reward in store for us.

Mark 11:24, Jesus gives us the Word, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  These are the words of promise that, if we simply believe in God, acknowledge Him, and request of Him what we need, then He will give it to us.  

    (2) Prayer offered in thanksgiving (Jn. 11:41, 43-44; Phil. 4:6-7)

For those who truly have faith and believe in God, those who pray, there is something that really rings loudly in our hearts, it is thanksgiving. Because I have the assurance that, “God has already heard my prayers and has already given it to me,” I have thanksgiving in my heart.  There was a time when Jesus Christ prayed in front of Lazarus’ tomb while Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha were crying. When he was praying, it says in John 11:41, the very first thing Jesus says is, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.”  Jesus Christ’s first prayer is always of thanksgiving because in His heart, He has the assurance that God has already heard His prayer and is answering Him.

If you look in John 11:43-44, Jesus Christ shouts in a bold and loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  and when Lazarus came out, he was still wrapped in strips of linen with cloths around his face.  And I hope you believe that whenever you pray with full certainty and assurance that the Lord we are praying to is listening, is answering all your prayers and is with you, then God will even do great miracles.  

In Phil. 4:6-7, it says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”  That means, even if we’re anxious in our hearts and praying about a problem, we should not be praying while looking at the problem, but we should be praying, looking towards our Father who has the power and authority to change our problem and give us the answer, and therefore, we are thankful.  These are the words of promise, that not only will God guide us through that problem, but He will guard our hearts with His peace.

I would like to call Esther to give us the praise about prayer so that we can simply enjoy prayer at this moment. 

“When I pray”

2. Mother’s Prayer

Today, we are celebrating Mother’s Day in 2022, and we were all born on this earth through our mothers. If you look at 1 Samuel 1, there was a man who had two wives, Penninah and Hannah.  His first wife, Penninah, had many children, but Hannah had no children and was always in a lot of pain and suffering because of that.  Penninah, who had children, was always mocking and tormenting Hannah, so it was hard for her to live. 

  1) Hannah’s Prayer

Because Hannah had nowhere she could go, she went to pray at the Temple besides Eli, and she prayed to God. 

    (1) Wept bitterly and vowed in prayer (1 Samuel 1:10-11)

If you look at 1 Samuel 1:10, it says, “In bitterness of soul, Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD.”  Hannah had the desire and made a vow, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”  Hannah’s prayer was so filled with the Holy Spirit that even High Priest Eli who was watching her thought that she was drunk.  

    (2) Vows were fulfilled (1 Samuel 1:20, 28)

After praying that prayer, Hannah went home, and there was something strange with her body. In 1 Samuel 1:20, it turns out that Hannah had conceived, and in time, she gave birth to a son and she named him “Samuel.”  In 1 Samuel 1:28, exactly as she had promised to the LORD, when Samuel was old enough to be weaned, she gave him to the LORD for his whole life, and she worshiped the LORD there and sincerely entrusted her son to High Priest Eli, saying, “Please use him for the LORD.”  That boy grew up to be the light of God, the Prophet Samuel.  

  2) Mother’s Prayer

    (1) Head of Defense Industrial Division, DOD

When I was younger, I was in the military as the Head of Defense, industrial division, in the Department of Defense. I was living in the region of Seoul, and my mother and family were living in another region. Occasionally, my mother would visit my house for a few days and then go back.  

    (2) Daily early morning prayer / earnest wishful prayer for child

My mother was one of the first believers of the Korean nation, because she received the gospel through missionaries who had come over, and she accepted.  My mother’s basis of her walk of faith was for 365 days, every day, she would go to Early Morning Prayer.  So, even when she was visiting my house, she would go to the church near where I lived and do Early Morning Prayer there.  

My mother’s thinking was, “In order for me to be the first to receive God’s grace, I have to be sitting front and center during every message.”  Whenever the pastor was done speaking in the Early Morning Service, the first thing my mother prayed about was for me.  I’ll tell you a little bit about my mother’s prayer now.  For those who don’t want to hear it, I hope you will please understand.  

My mother was from the countryside, so she had a very rough dialect, and some people would criticize her, “How is this Senior Deaconess saying words and swearing up there?” Whenever my mother prayed, the first thing my mother would do is scream out, “Father God!”  And the first thing she would pray about is, “Father God, I hope you will break down that dang son of mine and that he will repent and come back to the Lord!” The reason why my mother prayed like that at that time was because I had my own problems.  

I was born into a Christian family, and I was very obedient, I followed everything, I went to the Early Morning Prayers and everything.  However, after I went into the military, I was always getting promotions and getting recognition, and so I was getting very arrogant and my walk of faith became more like religious traditions.  But that doesn’t mean that I ever missed a Sunday message or anything.  So, even though I just barely came to church on Sundays, I would go to the very first service at 7 am, and before the pastor even said, “Amen,” I would bolt out of there and start playing golf.  Then, I would spend the evening time drinking in different bars with other senior officers, only to return home after midnight.  When my mother saw me living like that, her heart ached so much for me.  

But one day, my mother’s prayers began to change; one day, she started to pray, “Father God, I pray that You will use my son as a servant of the Lord, use him as a pastor.” It was such a foolish prayer, but she would follow up that prayer with, “Father God, I pray that you will take that son of mine and break his leg, and make him into a pastor so that he will believe.”  Just like today, many years ago, it was Mother’s Day.  The senior pastor we had at that time gave us the message of Hannah’s Prayer in 1 Samuel.  During that message, the pastor said, “There’s a Senior Deaconess in our church who is praying for her son to become a pastor, and I believe that will be fulfilled just like Hannah’s Prayer in 1 Samuel.”

From that large church, all the congregation members were echoing, “Amen! Amen!”  At that time, there was nobody who didn’t know that the pastor was talking about me and my mother’s prayer. I could feel my face was getting hot, and as I looked around, I knew everyone was looking at me.  So, I just couldn’t even look around, I had to sink my head down low and I was just muttering to myself.  I said multiple times to myself, “Yeah, right, be a pastor? That’s not even on the table for me.”  

However, later, after that, there were some strange things that happened around me. The military career at which I was succeeding so much, closed all of a sudden.  I had so many savings and so much property, but I lost all of them one by one, and eventually, I had nothing.  Not only that, but I actually got into an accident, so my neck which was so arrogant and stiff was broken, and my legs that were strong enough to take me to the top of the mountain were also broken.  So, I had no choice but to be hospitalized for six months.

As I was thinking about this, I reflected and realized that God was actually answering my mother’s prayers, one by one, and my heart began to change.  No matter how much I tried to sleep, I was losing my sleep.  As I thought about all the wicked and sinful acts I had done throughout my life, I began to cry, I was really full of remorse.  So, whenever night came, I would lock myself in the bathroom, turn the sink on, and kneel before the toilet, praying before God.  At that time, I dusted off the old Bible I had and began to read it.  

    (3) God’s irresistible grace, absolute and irresistible works

I was waiting, looking towards heaven, really wondering if God had Words that He was speaking to me through this Bible and if, in this Bible, God would show me the new path He would like me to walk.  We even went to the point where my wife and I would go to the mountain behind my house, and we would hold onto this tree and pray out loud.  With such a heart of repentance, I sang “Amazing Grace,” how could this grace forgive such a wretched sinner like me, and I came back down from the mountain.  

When I was 56 years old, I received a heart to leave Korea and I settled in America.  From there, I went to the Calvin Seminary School, I received my Master’s of Divinity, I was ordained as a pastor, and I served as a pastor for 21 years, and after retiring, I’m serving this church.  As I look back on my life, it’s impossible for me not to testify that God has guided me every single moment by God’s absolute plan.  

    (4) The Five Points of Calvinism

In 1517, during the Religious Reformation led by Martin Luther and John Calvin, there were the very famous “Five Points of Calvinism.”  These five points of Calvinism are the fundamental principles used in a lot of Reformed churches and a lot of Presbyterian beliefs.  

      a. Irresistible Grace (Job 1:21)

The fourth point among the five points is Irresistible Grace. The point of Irresistible Grace is that for those whom God has chosen to give His grace to, no matter how much they try to run away, it is irresistible.  God will fulfill His absolute plan through them and give them His grace. 

The book of the Bible I read the most during this time was in Job.  Of the book of Job, I really made my confession of faith in Job 1:21, “the LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away; may the name of the LORD be praised forever,” and the confession of Job became my confession.  God is the One Who has given me everything I have in my life, and God is also the One Who has taken things away.  When I had everything in the world, I thought this was the greatest, this was everything in life, but it all rotted away; God took it away to use me as a servant of the Lord, and for this, I praise the Lord my whole life. 

While I was in America, I heard news that my mother in Korea had dementia, and immediately after that, I brought my mother to America and we lived together. Even though she had dementia, she didn’t show signs of it because in the morning, she still went to Early Morning Prayer, and in the afternoon, she was still reading her Bible and singing her praises.  Of the praises she sang, one was Hymn 180, it is about the Trumpet of the Lord.  

“When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more, and the morning breaks, eternal bright and fair; when the saved of the earth shall gather over on the other shore, and the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.”  

Even in her old age, she was singing all three verses about when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, it was about the salvation of those whom the Lord had deemed for salvation.  Even in the age of her dementia, my mother was waiting for the Lord to call her with the trumpets of the Lord.  She was waiting in eager anticipation for the angels and heavenly hosts of the Lord to call her to heaven.  

Even though she didn’t show many signs of her dementia, there was one peculiarity, she always wanted to go outside, so whenever I had time, I would take my mother by the hand and walk her down Western Ave.  As we were walking, if she passed by somebody, she would make them stop.  She would stop these strangers as they were walking by, and she’d say, “Sir, do you know who this man is? This is Pastor Kim, and he’s my son.” Then she would say, “You should believe in Jesus Christ and go to heaven, do you know that?” That person would just stare at her, dumbfounded.  I would explain to that stranger, “I’m so sorry, my mother has dementia,” and I would apologize and hope they’d understand.

For all of us, this is the heart of our mothers.  Our mothers always have a heart of such pride, where they always think their children are so renowned, and they always want to tell of their children wherever they go. You and I are here only because of the love and care of our mothers.  Because this is Mother’s Day 2022, I will talk a little bit more about mothers.

In 1945, there was the division between North Korea and South Korea. I was living in North Korea, and we wanted to leave because of Communism, so we had to cross down to the South as refugees.  As soon as I got there, we had the Korean War.  It was so difficult for my family to go through that.  It was especially hard because we had nothing to eat, and we were always starving.  One day, my mother would come home with a boiled potato, and she would feed each one of us, one by one.  As soon as she prayed, “Father God, thank You for the food You have given us today,” we would start eating.  

I had a younger sibling about six years younger than me, and he said he didn’t want to eat the potato.  He would pout and say, “How come you give so much potato to my older brother but you only give this little to me?” and he would be so resentful. It is true, my mother gave me a little more because I was older and bigger.  Seeing that my little brother was upset, my mother would say, “My stomach is a little bit upset, maybe I ate something wrong,” and she would give a portion of her potato to my younger brother.

My mother would go outside, get a large pot of water, drink it all down, and say, “Oh, that was so refreshing, I’m so full now,” and she would go back to her room. That is the image of mothers. Even if they’re starving, they will try to save their children, and our mothers want their children to have a better life than they have had.  The mothers’ desire is to be able to boast and talk about their children wherever they go.  If you go and visit some of the senior homes, the thing they talk about the most is their children, they are bragging about their kids. Sometimes there’s even a situation where they’ll be talking about things that either exist or don’t exist about their children and they start fighting with one another over it.  

We are sitting here today because of the love and sacrifices of our mothers.  I hope that, from the oldest to the youngest people here, you will believe that you have received this love.  Today, let us raise our hands and say, “Thank you, Mother! We love you, Mother!”  As we think about our mothers and how they’ve guided us here, I want to sing another song, but there’s not enough time, so let’s look more deeply into Jabez’s Prayer.

3. Jabez’s Prayer

  1) Prayer that seeks blessings

In 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, Jabez first prays for God to bless him.  This blessing is not talking about the blessings of the earth, but I hope you will believe that it is a gift of grace that the Lord has given to us, the Lord is the Originator, and the Lord has already given this to us.

    (1) Source of blessings (Gen. 12:2)

If you look at Genesis 12, God first gives the blessing to Abraham, who, by the command of the Lord, leaves his father’s household in Ur of Chaldeans and heads towards the Promised Land of Canaan.  God blesses Abraham saying, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”  So I hope you will believe that the blessing of God is a special present God gives to those who follow after God’s Word.

    (2) God’s sovereign grace (Ps. 1:1-2)

If you look at Psalm 1:1-2, it says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”  The blessing the Lord has given to us is irrelevant to those who are sinners, mockers, and the wicked.  This blessing belongs only to those who follow and meditate on the Word of the Lord and seek God. 

    (3) Blessings of heaven / 8 Blessings (Mt. 5:3-10)

The sure interpretation of the word “Blessing” is given by Jesus Christ in the New Testament.  He begins in Matthew 5:3; Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  All through verse 10, Jesus Christ is speaking of the Beatitudes, or the 8 blessings, given to us from heaven, they are blessings of heaven.  All the blessings we think about on this earth, I’ve had them before and I’ve wanted them before, too, but all of that will rot away and disappear, but I hope you will believe that the true blessings are from heaven, given to the children of God for eternity.  

  2) Specific blessings that Jabez sought (1 Chronicles 4:10)

    (1) Enlarge my border

Later on in this verse, Jabez is praying more specifically about the blessing.  He first prays to enlarge his territory.  In reality, we’re also praying for God to enlarge our territory.  

      a. Me, children, temple construction, goal

We pray, “God, will you enlarge my business or my job,” and we pray for our children to be able to be successful in their studies and to be able to have social influence when they go out into the world.  Even though we pray this way, in order for us to receive God’s blessings and follow His Word, we must have the correct motive or goal.  If you’re asking for God’s blessings just so you can eat a lot and be rich, God will not give you blessings. 

      b. Prayer that seeks the heavenly kingdom and His righteousness (Mt. 6:33, 9)

Matthew 6:33, Jesus Christ says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Our main scripture passage says Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and God recognized Jabez. I’m sure of the fact that the reason the Lord answered the prayer was because Jabez’s prayer was honorable and his prayer was not for himself.  In our church, we are praying for the Lord to give us a new temple.  We need to be certain of the reason we’re praying for temple construction.  You must not pray for the Temple Construction so we could have a big, beautiful church, something that the world brags about.  

I believe that God will surely give us the new Temple Construction when we are praying with the heart for the temple construction to save this nation as the soldiers of the cross, who will not only evangelize to America but to the world, to make disciples of all nations.  Even when Jabez prays to enlarge his territory, he is praying for the hand of the Lord.  Even if we pray, just like Jabez did, for God’s blessings to enlarge our territory, if we’re not able to enjoy this, then it’s all useless.  Because we have the blessing, but around us, there’s always the devil who is trying really hard to deceive us.  Whenever the devil finds a foothold, he will come in to torment us, to make us worried and anxious. Only the Hand of God can drive out the forces of demons.  Only the hand of God can give us those blessings, protect them, and relay them forward to people through us.  

    (2) Your hand might be with me

I’m sure when we pray before God, we will say, “God, place Your hand upon me.”

      a. To enjoy the blessings that I received

      b. God’s helping hand (Isaiah 41:10)

Whenever we do that, I’m sure God will give us the answer of Isaiah 41:10.  Let us read this verse together as we place this within our hearts. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  I bless you all in the name of the Lord that from now until the rest of eternity, the Hand of the Lord that drives out your enemies, that blesses you and guides you to establish God’s kingdom, will be upon you.

There’s another church in LA called “Eun Nee,” and there’s a pastor there.  This pastor read these scripture verses and was so touched by it that he actually composed a song.  This song is entitled, “Jabez’s Prayer,” so we will have Esther come and lead the praise, and we will conclude the Word. 

Conclusion

1. Prayer is the method to communicate and have a relationship with God

2. God who answers the mother’s prayer

3. Prayer and answers for a new temple construction

Prayer

Let us place the Word we have received in our hearts and have contemplation prayer.

Offering Prayer and Newcomer Prayer

Father God, we thank You so much for allowing us to come to this Temple, to receive Your Word, to worship You and praise You and to give You the offering that You have given to us.  We pray that You will use this offering so that the works of the heavens will never be lacking.  We pray that You will bless the hands that have given these offering so we may do the work of the Lord and receive even greater blessings. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.  

Father God, we pray that You will bless every footstep that the newcomers will take, and as they come into the church and as they come out of the church, we pray that You will give them your eternal blessing and grace.  In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.

Benediction 

Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending and great love of God, as well as the the indwelling, working, guidance, and communion of the Holy Spirit, be on all the mothers who have poured their devotion and love onto us, and those who desire to repay that love, be upon us from now until forevermore always, amen.