‘Living on in the

Flesh…’“Fruitful Labor”

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in

the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know

which to choose”

Phil. 1:21,22

• How do we view our future? – Paul was confident that whatever time he had left on

the earth would be time involved in “fruitful labor”. – Do we anticipate being involved in God’s work and do

we believe that this work will be enjoyable, productive and edifying?

“The Prayer

of Jabez”1 Chronicles

4

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother named him Jabez saying, ‘Because I bore him with pain’. Now Jabez called on the God of

Israel, saying, ‘Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be

with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!’ And God granted him

what he requested”

1 Chron. 4:9,10

“Oh that You would bless me indeed”

The Prayer of Jabez

• There is nothing wrong in wanting to receive God’s blessings, both spiritual and physical, to use them in His service.– “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2). • “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones

those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling” (Matthew 23:37)

“Bless Me”

The Prayer of Jabez

“Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him,

that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be

numbered”

Genesis 32:11,12

“And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. 14 Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the

earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 28:13,14

• Do we plead the promises? –When unity is threatened do we plead Jn. 17:20-21? –When we feel alone do we plead Hebrews 13:5-6? –When we are tempted do we plead 1 Cor. 10:13?

“Pleading The Promises”

“Enlarge My Border”

The Prayer of Jabez

• For Jabez this may have meant an increase of land; especially true during the period when the Israelites were seeking to drive out the Canaanites.– For us, enlarge our spiritual borders in terms of

opportunities, more responsibilities, & more influence.

“Enlarge My Borders”

“When was the last time we prayed and asked God that

He would give us more to do in His kingdom?”

“Enlarge My Borders”

“He had served the purpose of God in his own generation”

Acts 13:36

“The Lord will accomplish what concerns me”

Psalm 138:8

“so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might feel for

Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

Acts 17:27

“God is seeking men and women with good and honest

hearts—and God is seeking such people who are

available.”

“Enlarge My Borders”

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the

power that works within us”

Ephesians 3:20

“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of

the world”

Matthew 5:13,14

“But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to

the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside

down have come here too.”

Acts 17:6

• Do we pray that the gospel message would penetrate borders that seem unconquerable?

• Do we pray that we can drive back the armies of darkness and regain territory that has been lost to Satan?

“Enlarge My Borders”

“Your hand might be with

me”

The Prayer of Jabez

“If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us

up from here”

Exodus 33:15

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain

who build it.”

Psalm 127:1

“Do we feel an absolute dependence upon Him and are we unwilling to go any further in life unless we know that we are right with Him and that He is

with us?”

“Your Hand Be With Me”

“Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.”

Psalm 19:7-13

“That You KeepMe From Harm”

The Prayer of Jabez

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me”

Matthew 5:11

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation,

but take courage; I have overcome the world”

John 16:33

• I don’t believe that Jabez was praying for an immunity from temptation, earthly pain, or suffering, but protection from evil.

• Jabez may have been praying that God would keep him alive during battle.

“Keep Me From Harm”

“Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver

us from evil”

Matthew 6:13

• We need to remember that the more spiritually significant we become, the more we grow and make a determined effort, the more that the devil will try to bring us down. – Do we pray for men and women who are giving

themselves to the work? • Do we realize the pressures that they are under &

what is at stake if they fall?

“Keep Me From Harm”

• Jabez did not want to live up to the negative undertone of his name (“pain”, “sorrow”). –“Are we afraid of what we might become if

God is not with us?”

“Keep Me From Harm”

• Jabez realized that in the end only God could protect him. – Do we feel this way, that all our efforts to protect

ourselves are not enough and that in the end only God can truly protect us?

– “Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

“Keep Me From Harm”

Conclusion

“Fruitful Labor”

• Are we confident like Paul that whatever time we have left on the earth will be time involved in “fruitful labor”?– Are we anticipating being involved in God’s work this

coming week? (work will be enjoyable, productive and edifying? )–Are we available to God?

“Keep Me From Harm”

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in

the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know

which to choose”

Phil. 1:21,22

‘Living on in the

Flesh…’“Fruitful Labor”