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Jabez - A Children's Pastor???
by Sharon Cox
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Think about it…. If Jabez was the children’s pastor of his day and he prayed this prayer:
“Oh that you would bless me indeed…”
And the Lord blessed him with hundreds of children ages 0 to 12, so that Jabez could shepherd them and lead them to the Lord. And Jabez was faithful to instruct the children and to disciple them and grow them into young pray-ers who served their Lord. Jabez believed that the Lord wanted to use the children, right now while they were still children to minister to others and lead them to Him. And the children did just that!
As others heard of how faithful Jabez was to minister to the children they began to come along side him and work with him to reach more children. Watching him as he worked with the children inspired them. And the children’s ministry continued to grow.
“And enlarge my territory…”
And the Lord brought children from the streets. They had never heard the name of God and knew nothing of the Word. Jabez reached out to them and instructed them and with the help of his young pray-ers, shepherded them and helped them to grow in the Lord. Then the Lord sent Jabez across the sea to minister in a far away country and bring the Word to children there. And many came to know the heavenly Father. And the Lord connected Jabez with other children’s pastors so that they might encourage each other.
Everywhere that Jabez traveled, people observed his love for his ministry and as he worked faithfully to reach children for the Lord, they saw his commitment to the little ones. Many joined him in this work and learned from him so that the work could continue and grow.
“That your hand would be upon me…”
And the Lord was with Jabez through it all. When others were too busy to work with the children, the Lord was there. When the budget was small and the recognition and praise even smaller, the Lord was there. When others criticized Jabez and worked against him, the Lord was there. So Jabez continued in the ministry that the Lord had called him to. Others saw that he was not discouraged when things didn’t happen just the way he expected. They saw his desire to keep his eyes on his heavenly Father.
“And that you would keep me from evil…”
And the Lord was faithful to keep Jabez from evil. He kept satan at bay as he would try to tempt Jabez to complain when there was no money and few helpers. He protected Jabez from the criticisms and petty arguments so that Jabez did not let these things deter him from the work he was called to do. Others saw that he kept his eyes on his heavenly Father rather than these things that often distracted them.
“So that I may not cause pain…”
Because Jabez kept his eyes on the Lord, he was continually giving thanks in all things. He was able to look past the flaws in others (and in himself) and the lack of things that others felt were so necessary to ministry. He learned to rely solely on His Father in Heaven for all that he needed to fulfill his calling.
“So God granted what he requested…”
And Jabez had all that he could ever hope for. He was blessed with a ministry that grew and reached out to others. He inspired many to join him in his ministry. He took his ministry to others in far away countries. Many more joined him in taking the message to children of other lands. He was able to encourage others who, like him, were called to similar ministries for children.
As many of the children he had instructed and discipled grew, they desired to continue in this ministry. So a new generation of children’s ministers and missionaries to children was born.
As his peers and the children he mentored went out in ministry, they remembered the prayer of Jabez and they, in turn prayed it each day. Because of this their ministries grew and more children were reached for the Father.
Because Jabez was faithful to pray this prayer, he was blessed beyond measure. His focus changed. Instead of praying from his own perspective, which was very small and limited, he began to pray from God’s perspective. As others joined him, the excitement spread to the four corners of the earth and every child that walked upon the earth came to know their heavenly Father…..
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Sharon Cox is founder and director of For HIS Kidz. Sharon and her husband, Richard recently formed Power-Pak Assemblies to take quality assembly programs into schools across the country. Together they pray the prayer of Jabez daily and are learning to keep their eyes on Jesus and rely on Him for His direction in their lives.
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