FINDING YOUR S.T.R.I.D.E. FOR MINISTRY:

"RESOURCES"

Rev. Kip Gilts

I Chronicles 4:10

                   Six years ago a little book about one single verse in the Bible swept this country by storm.  The book was The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson and 12 million copies later it continues to sell.  Ever since its release there has been quite a bit of discussion over whether this prayer found in only one verse of the Bible has been exploited as a materialistic fad, or exposed as meaningful faith.  The merchandising over the last six years (which have included key chains, charms, calendars, cards, journals, and even a Prayer of Jabez Teddy Bear) would certainly seem to indicate that this is a marketing crazed, materialistic fad.  Yet there is something in that one verse in the Bible that seems to carry with it a great deal of meaningful faith.  Perhaps it’s all in how you look at it.

          We are in the midst of a sermon series designed to help each of us find our S.T.R.I.D.E. for Ministry.  S.T.R.I.D.E. is an acronym developed to assist people to discover their place for ministry.  The S is for Spiritual Gifts.  The T is for Talents.  The R is for Resources.  When we talk about resources it can be a touchy subject.  So much attention is paid to what one has or does not have.  Listen to how Jabez addressed this topic in his brief prayed found in I Chronicles 4:10.  Hear now the Word of the Lord:

Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm!” And God granted what he asked.

          The Word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God.  In this passage Jabez prayer that God would provide for him and protect him.  The question for us seems to be, “Is this a materialistic fad or meaningful faith?”  It’s all in how you look at it.

Fad says, “Bless me”, Faith says, “bless through me”

          There are several factors that indicate this is a prayer worth looking at.  First of all, it occurs in a very unusual place.  I Chronicles is not the most read or recited book of the Bible.  I Chronicles 4 is especially tedious to those who do not feel a genealogical connection to the 44 names that occur in the first eight verses. Then there is a two-verse pause in which the author seems to say, “Before I continue with my list, you need to hear something about Jabez.”  Its very location, in the midst of over 500 names tracing a family line over thousands of years, tells us this is something worth noting.  Jabez is introduced as one who according to your pew Bibles is more honored than his brothers.  In the New American Standard Bible he is referred to as one more honorable than his brothers.  His life apparently did not start off too well, since his name means ‘pain’.  His mama might have said, “I did that because I bore him in much pain.”  Now we have all heard about and some have even experienced the pain of childbirth, but to name a child, “Pain”, seems a bit overboard.  The last thing that seems to indicate that this is a prayer worth examining is that God granted what he asked.

          The first thing for which he asked is God’s blessing.  Something God bestowed upon Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Wilkinson points out in his little book, “When we ask for God’s blessing, we’re not asking for more of what we could get for ourselves.  We’re crying out for the goodness that only God has the power to give us.”

          When I was a boy I visited Grandma Vee’s house a lot.  I always liked going to Grandma Vee’s for three reasons – Grandma was nice, she lived out in the country, and she had two ponies that we could ride.  One pony was named “Tinker” and he was a docile as they came.  Throw a saddle on him, climb aboard and he would walk around the field at a gentle, snail’s pace.  Tinker was safe.  The other pony was named “Patches”.  He was a paint pony who still had a little of the wild in him.  He hated a saddle, but with a little persuading would take the bit and the bridle.  I liked to ride Patches bareback.  One day when I was riding him, he was a little cranky.  He rubbed against the fence to persuade me off of his back.  I jerked the reins to my right, away from the fence.  That did not set well with the irritated pony, so he found a little brush on the right and rubbed against that, I jerked the reins to the left, away from the brush.  Then he decided to show me who was boss.  He started bucking and rearing, racing and stopping, turning and twisting.  I held on for dear life with eyes bigger than they had ever been.  This was not a gentle stroll around the pasture, this was the most terrifying, exhilarating, equestrian experience that I would ever have.  I finally dismounted at a 105º angle, which onlookers referred to as “being thrown”.  I stood to my wobbly legs, dusted myself off, and looked at the faces of those who had seen the whole thing.  It just took one, “That was amazing,” expression for me to stand a little taller and realize that Patches had blessed me that day.  He had given me something that I could not have gotten on my own.

When we ask God to bless us, we are in for the ride of our lives.  God will take us to places that we could have not have gotten to on our own.  God will use us in ways that we have not been used before.  God blesses us and like God told Abram in Genesis 12, “I will bless you so that you will be a blessing.”

Praying for a blessing is an act of meaningful faith, not a materialistic fad, when I invite God to bless through me.  I guess it’s all in how you look at it.

Fad says, “enlarge my kingdom”, but faith says, “enlarge my kingdom influence”

The second phrase of Jabez’s one verse prayer was, “enlarge my border”.  In other words he was saying, “Make my world bigger.”  Wilkinson wrote in his little book, “He wanted more influence, more responsibility, and more opportunity to make a mark for God.”  It is a prayer to do more for God.  Wilkinson went on to lament, “It is so rare to hear anyone plead, ‘God, please give me more ministry.’”  Our resources provide us the opportunity for ministry.  It may be money that we can invest in the ministry of this church.  It may be relationships in our lives where we can make a kingdom impact.  It may be opportunities that present themselves to expand our kingdom influence.

Last Good Friday, our daughter Chelsea was at the Roman Coliseum for a candlelight vigil.  During the vigil the candle got a little too close to her head and soon she began to smell an unmistakable odor of burning hair.  She extinguished the blaze, but could not stifle her giggles over the event.  She was receiving a lot of glares from people repulsed by the smell in the air and distracted by her laughter.  Once she composed herself she became very homesick.  As she boarded the bus back toward her apartment, she became more aware of the pushing, shoving, and total disregard for her as a person.  She began to cry.  Just then an African man whom she had seen smiling during the blazing hair episode at the Coliseum began to speak to her.  He was from Cote d’Ivoire.  He visited with her for the entire bus ride assuring her that as a stranger in a strange land he understood her feelings of homesickness.  She told me later the next day, “He restored my faith in humanity.”  She did not discover his name until about six weeks later, when a friend was visiting her and got lost in a sketchy part of the city.  She called Chelsea to get directions and was scared.  Some men were circling her at the bus stop and she did not know what to do.  Just then she said a man offered to help her, by taking a taxi to their neighborhood.  Chelsea and her roommates were wise enough to meet the taxi on a corner two blocks from their apartment so that the man would not know where they lived.  They could not believe that their friend had gotten into a car with a strange man.  They embraced their frightened friend as she emerged from the cab.  When they looked up their friend introduced them to the man who had helped her.  He was an African man from Cote d’Ivoire.  He smiled as he greeted the girls and when he came to Chelsea, he said, “I know this one.  She is my friend.”  He then said, “My name is Emmanuel.”

Last month when Dr. Nandjue visited from Cote d’Ivoire, Chelsea was one of the first to give me $10 and say, “Buy a net for me.”  Her territory had been enlarged and her new friend Emmanuel had taken advantage of the divine appointments placed on his calendar.

You have opportunities to minister beyond your borders.  Pray for them, act on them, recognize them when God places them on your calendar.  Last month we prayed for God to give us as a church a significant ministry to 1% of the college student population in College Station and Bryan.  We realize this would translate into a college ministry to over 550 students.  Already two members have taken me to lunch to say, “We want to provide a small group setting and leadership for college students in our home on Southside.”  They are using their resources to increase their kingdom influence.  They are praying for God to give them more ministry.  This is not a materialistic fad.  This is meaningful faith.  It’s all in how you look at it.

Fad says, “Hand me things”, Faith says, “let me take your hand”

The third phrase of Jabez’s prayer was for God’s hand to be with him.  Now there are two ways to understand this.  One is for us to see God as a heavenly vending machine handing to us the desires for which we pray.  That is the faddish “name it, claim it” prayer.  The other way is to pray for God’s hand to clasp yours and guide you into the future.  Bruce Wilkinson wrote about his ministry, Walk Thru the Bible, taking off so fast that he could not keep up.  He was overwhelmed and went to a trusted friend.  The friend told him, “That feeling you are running from is called dependence.”  God often calls us to attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed…unless God steps in. 

Do you ever feel over your head?  I do.  Months ago I wrote something on the back of a bank receipt and I have carried it around with me every day.  Allow me to read a portion of it:
 

I keep this with me to remind me that I need God’s hand right here, right smack in the middle of my hand, to guide me and protect me like a parent guides and protects a child by taking his or her hand as they cross the street.  Do you pray for God’s hand to be with you?  God will give you the resources you need to be used by God. In fact, in many cases, God already has.  I guess it’s all in how you look at it.

Fad says, “How can I do no wrong?” but Faith says, “Let me focus on what is right”.

Jabez prayed for God to keep him from hurt and harm, much like Jesus taught his followers to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  This is an appropriate end to a prayer that involves resources.  We are often tempted to hoard resources or take credit for what God has given us.  Temptation is real and it is a bear.

I like how Jason dealt with temptation in the Greek myth.  You may remember that there was a Temptation Island in Greek mythology where the Sirens lived.  These creatures that were half-human, half-bird sang so beautifully that sailors would plunge themselves in the water to swim toward the music, only to be dashed to their death on the jagged rocks.  Jason brought Orpheus with him on his voyage.  Orpheus was the greatest of all musicians.  As the ship neared the island of the Sirens, Orpheus began a splendid song of his own. Jason and this crew did not listen to the Sirens and thus were able to sail past the island unharmed.

We have a more beautiful song than that of Orpheus.  It is the song of Jabez - a song for God to bless through us, for God to expand our kingdom influence, for God to hold us by the hand, and for God to guide us passed the jagged rocks of temptation.

As you seek to find your S.T.R.I.D.E. for ministry consider your resources of time, finances, and relationships.  How do they provide opportunities for your niche for ministry?  More than likely it’s all in how you look at it.  Amen.