1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,560 I'm gonna invite you as soon as you're able to we're going to the Word of God in first Chronicles chapter 4 and 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:13,160 Verse 10 excuse me verse 9 and I am beginning a short series a 3 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:19,060 Two-week series today called level up. Amen. Can someone say level up? 4 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:25,520 Level up we're gonna look at the life and the prayer of a man in the Bible named Jay Bez and 5 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:33,400 We're going to uncover this week and next some of the secrets to leveling up over our challenges and 6 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:36,040 into an abundant life 7 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:43,640 The Word of the Lord says this way in first Chronicles chapter 4 in verse 9 now Jay Bez was more honorable 8 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:45,280 than 9 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,280 his brothers 10 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:53,360 And his mother called his name Jay Bez saying because I bore him in pain 11 00:00:53,360 --> 00:01:01,240 And Jay Bez called on the God of Israel saying oh that you would bless me indeed and 12 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:08,800 Enlarge my territory that your hand would be with me and that you would keep me from evil 13 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,040 That I may not cause pain 14 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:14,800 so God 15 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:16,200 granted him 16 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:18,120 What he requested? 17 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:24,560 Amen. Why don't we pray one more time before we see it father? We thank you for your word. We thank you for your spirit 18 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:29,160 And we feel so powerfully so real in this place today. God 19 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:34,360 thank you God for meeting us at this appointed time and I ask Lord that 20 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:39,360 Father as we open our hearts to your word that you would speak to us that it be not mere 21 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,080 Man's words, but it would be the word of the Lord God 22 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:51,840 You would season every word with your anointing God and that you would touch every heart help us to receive this with gladness 23 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:57,280 Father I come against every every ounce of doubt every ounce of fear 24 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,160 We bind it all those contrary things in the name of Jesus 25 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:06,360 We we cast it out and we just we release faith in this place 26 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,240 God we release you to do what you want to do in Jesus name. We pray someone say amen 27 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:15,400 You may be seated in the presence of God. I'll give you my title in just a moment, but in the 28 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:18,760 1960s and 70s 29 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:24,360 Timex ran a series of TV ads where they put their watches 30 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:26,200 through 31 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:30,760 torture test to prove their durability and 32 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:35,400 It survived tests against different things like 33 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:38,040 paint mixers jackhammers 34 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,000 Washing machines dishwashers and even a 35 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,560 87 foot dive off a cliff in to the ocean 36 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:51,800 And after every test the spokesman would repeat timex's slogan 37 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:58,360 And the slogan was it takes a licking and keeps on 38 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,400 ticking 39 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:03,880 And I like that slogan so much 40 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:09,800 I decided to take the last part of it and preach on that today keep on ticking someone say keep on ticking 41 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:12,840 keep on ticking 42 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,240 the man that we're going to be 43 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:21,160 Studying and preaching from today and next week named Jay best 44 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,840 was one who took a licking and 45 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:29,240 Keep on ticking starting from the day that he was born 46 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:35,640 Most biblical figures just appear in the pages of scripture without much detail 47 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:38,280 about their 48 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,840 birth or their childhood 49 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,880 But the bible tells us about jay bez's beginning 50 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:47,960 and 51 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:49,960 When you read this short 52 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:55,400 passage you'll see that he could not have gotten off to a worse 53 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:59,400 start 54 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,240 I want to for a few moments walk you through 55 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,840 the start of jay bez's life and why 56 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:16,280 His witness his story is so profound scripture records that jay bez's mother said I 57 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,000 bore him 58 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:21,080 in pain 59 00:04:21,080 --> 00:04:24,600 And there are several things to note about this statement 60 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:26,600 first 61 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:28,600 She mentions the pain 62 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:32,840 Now that may not seem like a big detail, but 63 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:35,240 of course 64 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,240 pain is 65 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:39,720 As normal in childbirth 66 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:45,560 She had other children. She already knew the pain of childbirth and so 67 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:51,880 The fact that it mentions this or the fact that she said it would suggest to us 68 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:53,880 that this was a 69 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:56,360 unusual pain 70 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:01,800 What I mean by that is that this was an abnormal pain or a pain that 71 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,480 went beyond the expected pain that 72 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,880 a mother in labor would experience 73 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,760 A different type of pain perhaps a combination 74 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:17,560 of pain physical 75 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:19,560 emotional 76 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:21,560 or emotional pain 77 00:05:21,560 --> 00:05:23,080 or mental 78 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:25,080 Bible doesn't give us the details of 79 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:30,380 What made this pain so extraordinary, but it was unusual 80 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:35,400 It suggests to us a pain that went beyond just the physical 81 00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:38,280 For these words to be recorded 82 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,600 in scripture secondly 83 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:44,600 Whatever painful issue was happening was so intense 84 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:47,400 That his mother 85 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,160 named him 86 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:50,840 jay bez 87 00:05:50,840 --> 00:05:52,840 which means 88 00:05:52,900 --> 00:05:54,900 sorrowful 89 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:57,080 Sorrowful 90 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:00,040 Man what a name, huh? 91 00:06:00,740 --> 00:06:02,600 sorrowful 92 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:10,280 Uh, that's probably not one of those, you know top five top ten names that uh expecting parents would 93 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:14,280 Name their children but 94 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:20,120 Whatever she was going through whatever was occurring whatever events were happening in their lives 95 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,080 must have been so significant that 96 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:24,680 she 97 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,400 decided to mark the occasion or at least 98 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:29,240 uh 99 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,200 Emphasize that moment by naming her son sorrowful and 100 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:36,200 I began to think about with a name like sorrowful 101 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:37,800 I 102 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:39,800 cannot imagine 103 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:41,800 What life must have been like? 104 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:43,800 for jay bez 105 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,520 With a name like sorrowful. I can't imagine 106 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,240 What it was like making friends 107 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,360 When you find out that their name is sorrowful 108 00:06:56,200 --> 00:06:58,200 Brother sorrowful 109 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:02,120 I can't imagine what it would have been like applying for a job 110 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:05,720 To write your name on the application 111 00:07:06,680 --> 00:07:08,680 sorrowful who's gonna hire 112 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,000 That guy um 113 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:17,240 There are a lot of things that I would imagine a name like sorrowful would make life 114 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:20,040 more difficult relationships 115 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:27,320 Pretty much every aspect of his life with that kind of name that would have been such a stigma that he had to carry 116 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,400 Almost as if he had to explain himself to people 117 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,120 Like my name is sorrowful, but you know 118 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,520 Let me let me explain why like most people don't have to do that 119 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,880 But with a name like that, you almost live your life apologetically 120 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,040 Like there's there's a reason behind that whatever it was so 121 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:48,840 There's another aspect 122 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:51,640 The fact that he was named sorrowful and lastly 123 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,040 And maybe even more importantly than all the other factors 124 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:58,760 That I've mentioned is that 125 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:04,440 His mother was the one who named him now according to Hebrew tradition 126 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:06,760 fathers 127 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,240 Were the ones who officially named 128 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:11,960 their children 129 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:14,360 in fact, there's even 130 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:16,440 records of 131 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,760 mothers naming their children one thing and then the father 132 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,400 renaming 133 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:27,240 The other thing that he was the one who officially named his children 134 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:34,200 the one who was even named their child something else and then that would be the legal name 135 00:08:36,680 --> 00:08:38,680 So one 136 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:40,840 could ask 137 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:42,840 Where was dad? 138 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:44,840 Was he not around? Did he? 139 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,680 Did he die? Was he just a silent figure? 140 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:51,720 In the background 141 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:54,760 We don't know but what we do know is that either way 142 00:08:54,760 --> 00:09:02,840 his father's voice who could have renamed him something else would have had a profound effect 143 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:13,040 on his life. We can dig into that if we'd like to and think about all the psychological implications 144 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:20,400 that there might be. Whether he was there or not his voice wasn't it prominent enough in his life 145 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:28,240 to reverse this negative label that was placed on him. So when you add all these things up when 146 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:34,600 you look at the situation he was born into, the name that he was given and the fact that there 147 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:43,720 was not a figure in his life to come and maybe rescue him and redeem the situation with all these 148 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:52,680 odds stacked against Jabez he could have easily become just another statistic. He could have 149 00:09:52,680 --> 00:10:01,560 easily become just another number, just another life that was relegated to despair and live up to 150 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:08,680 his name. Think about it if all Jabez ever did was be sorrowful for the rest of his life he would have 151 00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:16,320 at least lived up to his name. Nobody would have held it against him. Nobody would have said well 152 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:25,920 Jabez I mean man the guy has so much potential. The fact that if he had turned out sorrowful 153 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:33,120 everyone would have kind of looked around and well kind of make sense. Nobody was really setting a 154 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:40,000 high bar for this guy. Nobody was counting on him. Nobody was placing their bets on him. Oh this guy 155 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:47,760 is going somewhere this Jabez you know. With a name like sorrowful you're not gonna win over too 156 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:53,280 many people. With all these odds stacked against him he could have easily chosen a life of sin, 157 00:10:53,280 --> 00:11:01,720 turned his back on God, pushed people away and even lived with a constant chip on his shoulder. 158 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:12,160 Feeling judged all the time, condemned by people who don't even know him. He could have lived his 159 00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:18,040 life like that and probably been justified in doing so and saying hey I didn't ask for any of 160 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:23,880 this. I didn't ask to be born on this side of the tracks. I didn't ask to have this name you know. 161 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:30,840 I didn't ask for any of this. It was just I inherited it. This is just the lot I was given. 162 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:37,040 These are the hand that I was dealt. What am I supposed to do? And he could have just resigned 163 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:43,800 himself to a life of sorrow and misery but when we read the scripture we see something. We see that 164 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:50,000 somewhere along the way we don't know where, we don't know when, we don't know what moment, 165 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:57,400 what time in his life but somewhere along the way Jabez must have come to a place in his life 166 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:05,360 where he made up in his mind that he was gonna place his trust in God and put his life in God's 167 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:13,320 hands and persevere. At some point in his life he realized that I can either be another statistic, 168 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:18,840 I can either be whatever one else thinks I'm going to be, I can either live up to those low 169 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:30,840 expectations or I can take a licking and keep on ticking. I can reach the purpose that God has over 170 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:39,040 my life and Jabez was a man who did exactly that. He overcame the odds. He overcame the odds and he 171 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:48,440 was an Old Testament believer with I believe a New Testament fruit of the Spirit. One of the most 172 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:56,600 least talked about fruits of the Spirit is the fruit of long-suffering. You ever notice that's 173 00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:05,000 like the forgotten fruit? I'm growing and I'm growing in joy, I'm growing in peace, I'm growing 174 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:16,040 in love. You don't ever hear somebody say I want to grow in long-suffering and it's interesting 175 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:24,840 when you read newer translations of the Bible because newer translations of scripture replace 176 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:33,920 the word long-suffering with a much nicer word, patience. Patience sounds a whole lot nicer than 177 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:41,200 long-suffering doesn't it? Can I tell you something? You can be patient but it doesn't mean you're 178 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:50,000 necessarily long-suffering. Patience is not the same thing as long-suffering and the word long-suffering 179 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:57,480 in the Bible is made up of two Greek words and this is all relevant to Jabez's life and I wanted 180 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:05,760 to call this out so we can understand the mentality, the spirit in which this man was living in. 181 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:18,640 Long-suffering is made up of two words meaning long and temper. It literally means long-tempered 182 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:28,720 and it carries the idea of going through trouble without getting bitter or allowing it to destroy 183 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:35,920 you. It means it carries this word picture, this image. This is the image that I want to put in 184 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:44,800 your mind of long-suffering. It actually means to have a long fuse as opposed to a short fuse. 185 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:53,280 Long-suffering is the gift of God. It's the fruit that gives you a longer fuse. 186 00:14:53,280 --> 00:15:06,360 A short fuse when it's lit blows up pretty fast. A long fuse when it's lit takes a long time for 187 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:17,160 the bomb to go off. It's a long fuse. The opposite of long-suffering is short-suffering. Big 188 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:26,720 revelation, right? It's a short fuse and that is not what's going to keep you ticking. That's not 189 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:34,040 what's going to help anybody level up in God is you have a short fuse. Jabez, to live the life that 190 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:45,080 God had destined for him had to learn the art or the practice of long-suffering and this is a fruit 191 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:52,720 of the Spirit. This is a part of Christian life. This is an area that we all, if live life long 192 00:15:52,720 --> 00:16:00,680 enough, will experience and it's entirely up to us what we become at the end of our trials and our 193 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:05,600 tribulations, at the end of our troubles. And there are three keys that if you just give me a few 194 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:11,900 moments today I want to share with you that I believe Jabez demonstrates to us three keys to 195 00:16:11,900 --> 00:16:20,720 keep on ticking. The first key is perspective. Somebody say perspective. Perspective is one of 196 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:30,480 the hardest things to find and maintain in the midst of hardship. One of the most valuable places 197 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:37,000 or I should say vulnerable, one of the most vulnerable places to be is when you don't know 198 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:44,200 which way is up or which way is down. One of the most vulnerable places to be is when you are in 199 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:55,120 some way disoriented or confused or misunderstanding what it is that is taking place in your life. When 200 00:16:55,120 --> 00:17:02,400 you're struggling to make sense of your situation, struggling to connect the dots in your life, 201 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:08,640 struggling to understand why something is happening to you. And what I want to tell you today is that 202 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:16,160 a lot of Christians think that the devil is only after your joy and your peace. But I want to inform 203 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:25,080 you today that he's also after your perspective. The devil wants to distort the way that you see 204 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:33,840 God and the way that you see yourself in his plan. If he can distort, if he can thwart, if he can 205 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:39,760 darken your perspective, how you see your life and the circumstances that are beyond your control, 206 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:47,920 in many ways that he can dictate or influence your life and your decisions. Perspective is so 207 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:55,560 important. It is one of the most important things that we cannot afford to lose in the midst of pain, 208 00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:06,880 problem or trouble. We cannot lose perspective. Someone say perspective. Perspective is a delicate 209 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:14,640 thing. You can have it one day and lose it the next. Perspective is something that day after day 210 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:24,360 you must renew your mind and ensure that you have a godly, healthy perspective. Amen somebody. I said 211 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:31,040 amen somebody. It is something that you cannot put perspective on autopilot. You cannot put 212 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:37,920 perspective on cruise control. You cannot, you must take an active, intentional approach in your 213 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:46,920 Christian walk to maintain a biblical, godly, healthy perspective about what is occurring in 214 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:54,960 or around your life. Because if the devil can thwart your perspective, if he can taint your view 215 00:18:54,960 --> 00:19:04,000 of God or how you think God sees you, that in itself can set off a chain reaction of things in 216 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:10,200 your life that can ultimately take you out of the will of God. And I came to encourage somebody 217 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:17,800 this morning. The one thing that you cannot afford to lose in your pain, in your battle, in your trial 218 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:26,480 is your mind. Someone say my mind. You cannot afford to lose your mind. This is the one reason 219 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:35,400 that I believe that we see Jabez. The Bible says in verse 9, it says but Jabez, now Jabez was more 220 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:43,000 honorable than his brothers. I began to meditate upon that verse and I thought about what was it 221 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:49,920 that made Jabez more honorable. He was probably dealt the same hand as his brothers. He grew up 222 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:56,720 in the same household as his brothers, possibly dealing with the same pain as them. Why did the 223 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:02,680 Bible says that he was more honorable than his brothers? Why couldn't it just say Jabez was 224 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:11,320 honorable period? Why did it have to say and his brothers? As if to show us a comparison and show 225 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:17,920 us that both him and his brothers were dealing with similar things in their life. But Jabez found 226 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:25,280 greater honor. What was it about Jabez that found an honor that distinguished him from his brethren? 227 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:32,600 I believe that it was because of his perspective that he had about God. He realized that despite 228 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:39,600 everything going on in his life and the problem that affected his household, he had the approach 229 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:47,440 that my life still matters. He had the mentality that he had a future and a calling that was worth 230 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:54,080 fighting for. And I believe today that as I preach to you, there is somebody in this house that is 231 00:20:54,080 --> 00:21:00,320 having a mental battle within yourself about what route and approach you should take in the midst 232 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:06,400 of your pain, in the midst of your struggle. But God sent me here today and tell you that you got 233 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:13,480 to get your mind back and you got to retake those thoughts and retake and count. My God, hallelujah. 234 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:21,280 I can imagine Jabez was battling in his mind. I can imagine there was a tug of war between what 235 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:27,440 thoughts he ought to feed and what thoughts he ought to starve. But he ultimately took authority 236 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:35,720 over every wild and worrying thought that came to sabotage his mind and plague his future. The Bible 237 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:41,760 tells us this when Paul writes in Philippians 6, and I preach like I want to today, he said in 238 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:50,320 Philippians 6, 8, finally brothers, whatever is true, someone say true, whatever is honorable, 239 00:21:50,320 --> 00:21:58,920 whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any 240 00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:09,520 excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. We've got to get to a 241 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:15,880 place in our life because we got to get to a place in our Christian life, in a place in our 242 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:22,360 relationships, in a place in our walk with God where we start taking control and command over 243 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:27,880 our thoughts and over the things that come into our mind because the one thing you cannot afford 244 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:36,080 to lose is your perspective. I want to tell you how to get the right honor and let me tell you how 245 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:46,920 you do it. The right perspective comes by replacing dishonorable thoughts with honorable ones. You 246 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:51,800 replace it with honorable ones. You need, can I tell you, you need to tell yourself what to think. 247 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:59,520 Let me put it to you this way, you need to start thinking about what you're thinking about. Come 248 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:04,520 on now, that's just plain. That's, I'm just trying to keep it plain right there for somebody. You need 249 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:12,080 to think about what you're thinking about so you don't lose perspective and realize that wait a 250 00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:17,800 minute, God is much bigger and greater than everything that I'm going through. He's got the 251 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:29,600 whole world in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands. 252 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:37,760 He's got and you know what's part of that world? You. Y'all forgot that song didn't you? Amen, 253 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:44,040 hallelujah. He's got you in that world so why should I worry? Why should I fret? Why should I 254 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:50,800 allow my mind to get all confused and disjointed and why should I panic? Why should I freak out? 255 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:57,040 Why should I throw in the towel? When God's got everything under His control I can lift up my eyes 256 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:04,640 to the here and see the help that comes from the Lord. Clap your hands and give God some praise 257 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:11,080 today. You gotta start casting down arguments every high thing that exalts itself against the 258 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:19,040 knowledge of God. Bring in every thought into captivity through the obedience of Christ. Say 259 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:25,700 get over here little thought. The devil's a liar. Get over here. Bring it to captivity. Come back. 260 00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:31,160 Reel it in. He said no this is this is this is not God's purpose for me. No no no no no don't get 261 00:24:31,160 --> 00:24:37,560 confused. Don't get blind. Don't allow things to rob you of your perspective. So this is the 262 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:42,280 first thing. I got a roll here with the next point because the next key hallelujah is praise. 263 00:24:42,280 --> 00:24:52,000 Someone say praise. In order to see how praise was a key for Jabez you have to zoom out and look at 264 00:24:52,000 --> 00:25:01,080 the entire context. Jabez's story appears in 1st Chronicles chapter 4. This is an important 265 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:09,280 chapter in 1st Chronicles. Now in all these chapters both before and after are listing the 266 00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:15,920 descendants of different tribes of Israel. The different tribes. There was 12 in total and in 267 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:25,880 this particular chapter in 1st Chronicles chapter 4 records all the descendants of Judah. And guess 268 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:34,720 where Jabez was. He came from the tribe of Judah and that name Judah is special because it means 269 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:42,640 praise. Someone say praise. Judah was a special tribe because they were the ones who made music 270 00:25:42,640 --> 00:25:50,520 and led the people of God in worship. They were the ones who are responsible for offering up praise 271 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:56,920 to God and they were not just the music department of Israel. They were also strategic in warfare 272 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:03,480 because most times when the armies of Israel would go into battle God would instruct the 273 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:09,760 tribe of Judah to go first in front of all the 11 tribes. They were on the front lines of battle. 274 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:16,680 They didn't play harps and flutes man. These were warriors. Amen. These were people of battle. 275 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:22,080 These were people who were full of boldness and courage and so the praisers, someone say the 276 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:28,960 praisers. The praisers were out on the front lines and they went ahead of the armies and when the 277 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:35,400 enemy saw the armies of Israel coming and all the tribes of Judah with their worship and their 278 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:39,680 singing and their instrument, you know what it would do to their enemies? It would confuse them. 279 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:49,440 They were mystified, baffled that these praisers were in the front and what it did for the people 280 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:56,840 of God, it gave them the element of surprise. The enemies were confused. They didn't know what to 281 00:26:56,840 --> 00:27:04,080 expect. Here comes these worshipers and praisers and it knocked them off balance so that when the 282 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:08,480 armies of Israel came in and we know that it was the hand of God that was moving upon them, 283 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:15,680 God would give them the victory. But God also wanted his people to know a fundamental about 284 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:22,040 living for him. That it's not by power and it's not by might but it's by my spirit says the Lord. 285 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:29,080 God wants us to understand that the key to keep on taking, the key to keep on making it, 286 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:34,600 the key to victory is not in how knowledgeable you are, it's not in how strong you are, it's 287 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:41,240 not in what your name is, it's can you praise him in the midst of it all and when you learn how to, 288 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:48,360 my God, hallelujah, when you learn how to praise God and praise is a part of who you are, that's 289 00:27:48,360 --> 00:27:59,840 your natural response. J. Best had praise flowing in his DNA. It was flowing in his veins. He came 290 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:07,160 from a long line of praisers. He was surrounded by a people with the praise first mentality, 291 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:13,860 surrounded by a people who knew how to rejoice in the midst of trouble, knew how to rejoice in the 292 00:28:13,860 --> 00:28:20,040 midst of warfare. Well, God sent me here today this afternoon to encourage somebody who finds 293 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:25,680 themselves in the middle of a problem of pain and struggle. I come to encourage you and tell you, 294 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:34,280 like David said, I will bless the Lord at all times and his praise shall continually be in my 295 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:41,480 mouth. There is something you need to know today that if you become a praise first Christian, 296 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:49,400 the devil will never be able to rob you of your joy, of your peace, of your future. I wonder if 297 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:55,400 there's somebody today that can give God a praise. I wonder if there's somebody under the sound of 298 00:28:55,400 --> 00:29:02,960 my voice that can shout hallelujah, that can bless his name, that can say thank you, come on somebody, 299 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:10,160 can you give God the praise? He is worthy of all the glory and all the honor. Paul taught these 300 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:18,120 words and he taught the words he said be filled with the Spirit speaking because one of the signs 301 00:29:18,120 --> 00:29:24,080 that you're really filled with the Spirit is that you will be speaking to one another in Psalms, 302 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:31,040 hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Paul was a 303 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:38,160 witness to the power of praise. Paul was a witness in Acts chapter 16 when he and Silas were there 304 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:43,640 chained up in that Philippian jail. My God I want to preach here today. You could come on up here 305 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:49,200 brother I'm almost done. He was there in that Philippian jail and all of a sudden the Bible 306 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:56,200 says at midnight Paul and Silas began to sing praises unto God. Oh despite the fact that they 307 00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:01,080 were bound, despite the fact that they were hurting, despite the fact that they were persecuted, 308 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:07,720 they began to lift up their voices in the midnight hour and began to sing glorious songs unto God. 309 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:15,920 And began to pray and the Bible says that at midnight as they prayed suddenly the foundations 310 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:21,680 of the prison were shaken by an earthquake. I want to tell you that when you begin to praise God, 311 00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:30,720 you begin to attract the presence of God. God my Lord. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises 312 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:38,560 of his people. If you want more of God, I've got the answer for you. Learn how to lift up your voice. 313 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:46,560 Learn how to lift up your hands. Learn how to shout hallelujah anyhow. Doesn't matter what I'm 314 00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:57,200 going through. Doesn't matter what I feel. I've got to praise here. Anyhow somebody shout hallelujah. 315 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:11,520 Somebody shout hallelujah. I don't know where it was when J.B.S. got that revelation. I don't know 316 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:18,600 if it was in the midnight hour. I don't know if it was somewhere by himself. I don't know if it 317 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:26,000 was when he was crying himself to sleep. But all I know is that something changed in his mentality. 318 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:34,640 J.B.S. probably had an aha moment. He probably had a turnaround moment. He probably figured I 319 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:41,480 could spend the rest of my life complaining about what's wrong. Oh my God I want to preach today. 320 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:48,720 I can spend the rest of my life saying woe is me. And if you only knew what I've been through, 321 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:57,040 I can spend the rest of my life blaming everybody for my problems. Blaming the pastor. Blaming my 322 00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:04,720 friend. Blaming my coworker. Blaming my dear. I can spend the rest of my life here. But J.B.S. 323 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:13,920 must have got a revelation. He said hold up. Wait a minute. I am from the tribe of Judah. I am a 324 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:25,200 praise from the inside. And so for that reason I refuse to stay where I am. Oh I wonder if somebody 325 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:32,080 hears me today. I said I wonder if somebody is hearing me today. Are you going to spend the rest 326 00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:38,800 of your life feeling sorry for yourself? The rest of your life waiting for a pat on the back. 327 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:45,360 Waiting for somebody to you know make feel sorry for you. Or are you going to lift up your voice 328 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:52,640 and say I will bless the Lord at all times. I will bless the Lord at all times. I will bless the Lord 329 00:32:52,640 --> 00:33:04,160 at all times. I will give him a song in the night. I wish somebody would just magnify the Lord with me. 330 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:14,720 And let us exalt his name together. Let us exalt his name together. Let us exalt his name together. 331 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:21,280 I wonder right there where you are. If you could just call the devil a liar. You can shut the mouth 332 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:29,120 of the devil right now. You can shut the mouth of every lie. Every dysfunction. Every fear. Every 333 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:36,720 my God you can shut it down simply by opening up your mouth. Simply by giving God the praise. 334 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:46,720 They say I will bless his name. I will bless him. I will bless him. People say pastor you are old 335 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:53,360 school. Pastor we are more dignified than that. Pastor we don't make that kind of noise. Pastor 336 00:33:53,360 --> 00:34:00,400 it's the 21st century. The devil is a liar. From the time that I learned how to talk I learned how 337 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:07,920 to praise. From the time I learned how to walk I learned how to jump. This is who I am and I'm not 338 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:15,760 going to change for nobody. I am a praiser. Is there anybody else out there with me today? 339 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:23,440 I feel the Holy Ghost. I feel the Holy Ghost. I feel the Holy Ghost. 340 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:31,280 I don't know what it is that's holding some of you back. I don't know what it is that's stopping you 341 00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:39,760 but there is something happening right now. Oh my God. My God. My God. My God. My God. I feel 342 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:48,000 something happening. The Bible says the third key I tell you was the key of prayer. As I finish 343 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:56,400 the key of prayer he began to pray. J.B.S. called out to God. Next week I'm going to preach about 344 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:02,400 the contents of the prayer but for right now I just want to emphasize on the fact that he prayed. 345 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:11,600 Oh my God. That he prayed. He called on the Lord. 346 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:25,680 Oh my God. My God. He called on God. He called on him. He called on him. I feel the Holy Ghost 347 00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:33,840 right now. He called on him. He called on him. He called on him. He got into his prayer room. 348 00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:41,360 He put a sign on the door that said do not disturb and he called on God. He called on him 349 00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:47,840 and he came before God humbly. He came before God desperate. I want to tell you something 350 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:52,720 that there is something about this prayer that really got into my spirit. There's something 351 00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:58,480 about this prayer that really got a hold of me. Even if J.B.S. had turned out all right. 352 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:05,280 Even if he did not become a failure for the rest of his life. Even if he just lived an average life. 353 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:11,120 You know maybe he didn't have to pray the way that he did. If he just took a couple of self-improvement 354 00:36:11,120 --> 00:36:16,400 courses. If he just read a couple of self-help books. He might have just made it all right. 355 00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:22,000 But I've come to announce it to somebody's heart today that Jesus didn't come all the way down here 356 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:28,800 and go to the cross for us. Just so that you can live an average life. He came so that you 357 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:36,560 can level up my friend. He came so that you can live an above average life. He came that you would 358 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:46,720 be the head and not the tail. He came that you would be above and not beneath. He came that you would rise up. 359 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:56,880 He came, he came that you would level up. That you would experience the best life. An abundant life. 360 00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:17,040 A life overflowing. A life full of grace and truth.