Some men’s lives are written in chapters and stages. History is full of stories of men like Caesar, Napoleon. Our text however is only two short verses that tell our entire knowledge of Jabez. In this momentary glimpse we see a great deal that is essential about life. His life leaves behind lessons that are worth remembering. His very name means “He causes me pain.” Even though childbirth is painful, women do not name their children in a way that reference3s that pain. This very fact speaks to the troubled life that Jabez’s mother. There is no mention of his father. Culturally, this indicates that the father had shamed the family and was an outcast. His mother so lowly regarded Jabez that she passed her grief and pain along to him. His name was however just a label. Life and the world will place labels upon us: Loser, failure, troublesome, etc. Our text tonight is proof that we can outlive the labels that life places upon us. Jabez called upon God of Israel to bless his life and help him get out from under the label that had been placed upon his life. Jabez discovered that the key to life is not what happens to us, but what we do about what happens to us. He found that it does not matter how he started, it matters how he would finish. He ask to be delivered from the detractors in his life. God answered his prayer and later in the book of Chronicles, we learn of a city that was named after Jabez. This city housed scholars and people who wrote scripture. Out of a clouded beginning and dissatisfaction with his situation, Jabez offered prayers to be delivered from all of that and God granted his request. Bro. Hughes tells us that life cannot give us a label that we cannot outlive, but we have to want something better.

Jabez refused to get stuck in the past. The story of Jabez tells us all that we can overcome our past, but we have to let it go. Jabez had a vision of what he wanted. He asks God to enlarge his tent. He didn’t just ask for a better life, he defined it. Jabez looked beyond what he was; who they said he was and ask God for the vision of the life he wanted. God granted him every word of his prayer. If you want out you have to get your eyes off of the current situation and look forward to the future.

Everything has to stay connected to its essence in order to live. If you take the fish out of the ocean, he will die. If you take a cow and put him in the ocean, he will drown. If you pull a plant out of the ground it will die. The only way a man can live in a spiritual sense, is to stay connected to the source. In our text, Paul wants to know Him. We must stay connected to Jesus in order to know Him. If we can get connected to Jesus we will have found the essence of our spiritual origin. God called us to a relationship with Him. Power comes from the relationship. The apostles were called to a relationship long before they were called upon to perform miracles and teach. A ministry is not a replacement for relationship. There were those that cried Lord, Lord, but He told them “I never knew you.” He did not deny that they had done good works, but He said that He did not know them.

Being Christian is more than what we do. What we do is important, but more important is the nature of our spirit. We must have the right attitude. It has been said that to truly see the spirit of a person, observe how they react to a troubling situation. When someone is under pressure, their reaction will display the true nature of their spirit. A man who cannot control his spirit is like a city without walls.

Bro. Hilton sums up the solution to being a Christian: If you are not going to be intimate with God, you are wasting your time. An intimate relationship with Jesus is the key to a successful life as a Christian.

Everything has to stay connected to its essence in order to live. If you take the fish out of the ocean, he will die. If you take a cow and put him in the ocean, he will drown. If you pull a plant out of the ground it will die. The only way a man can live in a spiritual sense, is to stay connected to the source. In our text, Paul wants to know Him. We must stay connected to Jesus in order to know Him. If we can get connected to Jesus we will have found the essence of our spiritual origin. God called us to a relationship with Him. Power comes from the relationship. The apostles were called to a relationship long before they were called upon to perform miracles and teach. A ministry is not a replacement for relationship. There were those that cried Lord, Lord, but He told them “I never knew you.” He did not deny that they had done good works, but He said that He did not know them.

Being Christian is more than what we do. What we do is important, but more important is the nature of our spirit. We must have the right attitude. It has been said that to truly see the spirit of a person, observe how they react to a troubling situation. When someone is under pressure, their reaction will display the true nature of their spirit. A man who cannot control his spirit is like a city without walls.

Bro. Hilton sums up the solution to being a Christian: If you are not going to be intimate with God, you are wasting your time. An intimate relationship with Jesus is the key to a successful life as a Christian.

We celebrate Easter in a world that is shadowed by many uncertainties: war, economic distress, and moral decay. Our world is in the process of rewriting history to eliminate references to the difference between good and evil. The world does not want to deal with the evil that condemns us, so they try to purge it. No matter how they may try, the world cannot put Jesus back in the tomb. Easter is a celebration of the greatest thing that has ever happened to mankind. It is a celebration not of a past event, but a celebration of life. Many try to discount the gospel, but they cannot discount the empty tomb. Jesus is alive! Easter reminds us that sin and man did not win. Man has been trying to do away with Jesus since His birth. Easter declares that He is still here and is able to save and deliver. The women going to the tomb on that first Easter were fearful that they would not get past the stone that covered the entrance. Then as now, Easter shows us that we do not need to fear the obstacles in life.

Easter is the affirmation that God finishes what He starts. If God started a good work in us, He will finish it. Easter is a personal message to each of us that if we let Him work, he will bring to pass desires and hopes in our life. Easter is an affirmation to us about how important our life is to Him.

We celebrate Easter in a world that is shadowed by many uncertainties: war, economic distress, and moral decay. Our world is in the process of rewriting history to eliminate references to the difference between good and evil. The world does not want to deal with the evil that condemns us, so they try to purge it. No matter how they may try, the world cannot put Jesus back in the tomb. Easter is a celebration of the greatest thing that has ever happened to mankind. It is a celebration not of a past event, but a celebration of life. Many try to discount the gospel, but they cannot discount the empty tomb. Jesus is alive! Easter reminds us that sin and man did not win. Man has been trying to do away with Jesus since His birth. Easter declares that He is still here and is able to save and deliver. The women going to the tomb on that first Easter were fearful that they would not get past the stone that covered the entrance. Then as now, Easter shows us that we do not need to fear the obstacles in life.

Easter is the affirmation that God finishes what He starts. If God started a good work in us, He will finish it. Easter is a personal message to each of us that if we let Him work, he will bring to pass desires and hopes in our life. Easter is an affirmation to us about how important our life is to Him.

Since 3600 BC the world has known only 292 years of peace. During this period of time there have been 14,351 wars in which 3.64 Billion people have been killed. Since 650 BC there have been 1656 arms races only 16 of which have not ended in war. The remaining 16 resulted in the economic destruction of the countries involved. Our world has needed and sought peace since for a long time. These statistics show that peace has yet to be found. Duke University conducted a study of peace of mind and the contributing factors to emotional stability. They determined that it is important to not live in the past consumed with past failures and mistakes. They discovered that we must not waste time trying to change that, which cannot be changed. The forth thing they learns is that we must resist the temptation to withdraw and hide in order to deal with emotional issues. The fifth thing is that we must resist the urge to indulge in self-pitty. In order to know peace of mind we must cultivate old fashion virtues: Love, Humor, Compassion, and Loyalty. Finally they found that men must find something bigger than themselves to believe in. They also discovered that we must not place unreasonable expectations of ourselves.

Duke spent a large amount of money and time to come to conclusions that are readily available in the Bible. Human kind wants to know peace. Peace is mentioned in 420 passages in the Bible. Peace in scripture means totality or completeness. It refers to health, prosperity, blessing and so on. So when God speaks to us about peace he is talking to us about something that helps to make sense of life and provide a sense of wholeness.

How can we have peace in the face of the strife, angst and daily grind of life? Bro. Hughes tells us that the answer is in the 11 verses of scripture that we read tonight. There are three factors that are noted in our text that hold the answer to peace in spite of everything.

First our text tells us that we cannot serve two masters. Everyone will serve some master, but a divided life is the most troubling thing a person can endure. Too often people try to make two world mesh. They reach for heaven with one hand but cling to the world with the other. A divided mind will never know peace. In biblical times there was slave ownership. The slave had no rights or say, however they also had no responsibilities. The master assumed all responsibility to provide for the slave. When we submit to God as our master, we are committed to Him and putting our full trust in him to provide for all the needs we have in life.

Secondly after deciding the issue of who is the master, we must understand that He is able. Our text tells us to look around at nature to observe that the Lord has taken care of everything for His creation. As bad as things might be, nothing can stop the wind from blowing. Nothing can stop the sun from shining, or the seasons from turning. And nothing can stop the mercy of the Lord for His creation or His endless grace for us. If he can maintain the world and all that is required to sustain life on a dally basis, He can easily handle our needs. We need to learn to be happy where we are because if we are not happy where we are, we will not be happy whenever we get to where we think we need to be.

Thirdly in order to have peace, we must develop the right priorities. Keep the first things first. We must love the right things. Money, fame, talent are nice, but it is not the most important. There is far more to life than things. We must learn to measure life with the right scale. What counts and what doesn’t. If we try to measure our life by what someone else things our life should be, we will never be happy. We have to measure our life against what God wants our life to be.

If we want peace in spite of everything, then we have to focus no only on doing His will but on accepting His will.

Since 3600 BC the world has known only 292 years of peace. During this period of time there have been 14,351 wars in which 3.64 Billion people have been killed. Since 650 BC there have been 1656 arms races only 16 of which have not ended in war. The remaining 16 resulted in the economic destruction of the countries involved. Our world has needed and sought peace since for a long time. These statistics show that peace has yet to be found. Duke University conducted a study of peace of mind and the contributing factors to emotional stability. They determined that it is important to not live in the past consumed with past failures and mistakes. They discovered that we must not waste time trying to change that, which cannot be changed. The forth thing they learns is that we must resist the temptation to withdraw and hide in order to deal with emotional issues. The fifth thing is that we must resist the urge to indulge in self-pitty. In order to know peace of mind we must cultivate old fashion virtues: Love, Humor, Compassion, and Loyalty. Finally they found that men must find something bigger than themselves to believe in. They also discovered that we must not place unreasonable expectations of ourselves.

Duke spent a large amount of money and time to come to conclusions that are readily available in the Bible. Human kind wants to know peace. Peace is mentioned in 420 passages in the Bible. Peace in scripture means totality or completeness. It refers to health, prosperity, blessing and so on. So when God speaks to us about peace he is talking to us about something that helps to make sense of life and provide a sense of wholeness.

How can we have peace in the face of the strife, angst and daily grind of life? Bro. Hughes tells us that the answer is in the 11 verses of scripture that we read tonight. There are three factors that are noted in our text that hold the answer to peace in spite of everything.

First our text tells us that we cannot serve two masters. Everyone will serve some master, but a divided life is the most troubling thing a person can endure. Too often people try to make two world mesh. They reach for heaven with one hand but cling to the world with the other. A divided mind will never know peace. In biblical times there was slave ownership. The slave had no rights or say, however they also had no responsibilities. The master assumed all responsibility to provide for the slave. When we submit to God as our master, we are committed to Him and putting our full trust in him to provide for all the needs we have in life.

Secondly after deciding the issue of who is the master, we must understand that He is able. Our text tells us to look around at nature to observe that the Lord has taken care of everything for His creation. As bad as things might be, nothing can stop the wind from blowing. Nothing can stop the sun from shining, or the seasons from turning. And nothing can stop the mercy of the Lord for His creation or His endless grace for us. If he can maintain the world and all that is required to sustain life on a dally basis, He can easily handle our needs. We need to learn to be happy where we are because if we are not happy where we are, we will not be happy whenever we get to where we think we need to be.

Thirdly in order to have peace, we must develop the right priorities. Keep the first things first. We must love the right things. Money, fame, talent are nice, but it is not the most important. There is far more to life than things. We must learn to measure life with the right scale. What counts and what doesn’t. If we try to measure our life by what someone else things our life should be, we will never be happy. We have to measure our life against what God wants our life to be.

If we want peace in spite of everything, then we have to focus no only on doing His will but on accepting His will.

In our text, Jesus is entering Jerusalem for the last time. As he entered, those that saw him cried out and worshiped him loudly and boisterously. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to rebuke them. Jesus replied that if those that worshiped were silent, the very stones of the earth would cry out in praise. The question is not could the stones speak. If He said that they could speak, they surely would. Bro. Hughes asks not if the stones could speak, but what would they say? These stones had been around from the formation of the earth so they would say that when God speaks, things happen. If the stones could speak this morning they would praise the wisdom and power of their maker. They would testify of chaos turned into order. If stones could speak they would say that with God all things are possible. When we read the bible we find a God of blessing, help, strengthening and calming peace. If stones could speak they would tell of the successive stages of God’s way of working His will. God’s process is as important as His promise. The process will lead you to His purpose. The way that God leads us is as important as the destination He is leading us to. If stones could speak they would cry out to the majesty of the builder; the one who put everything in its place. None of this happened by chance, but by a divine purpose and plan.

If stones could speak they would tell us of how wonderful God is, about the wonders of His creation and they would tell us that whatever chaos we may be experiencing right now, that God had an answer.

Bro. Hilton begins with the story of a young man who was the first draft pick in the Major league draft in 1999. He had a rocky start to his career with injuries and missed games. As he dealt with these, he turned to substance abuse including alcohol, and both prescription and illegal drugs. In 2004 he was banned from baseball. In 2005 he hit rock bottom when he awoke on his grandmother’s doorstep from a crack cocaine stupor. He was at a cross roads in his life. Fortunately he chose the right path and began a come back. He describes his recovery experience as a “God thing.” He recalled a dream where he battled with the devil with a baseball bat until he was exhausted and could no longer raise his arms. In June 2006 he was reinstated to baseball. Soon after, the devil began to return to his dreams. This time the dream was different. He would hit the devil and knock him down, but he would always get backup. At the point of giving up, he felt a presence. That presence was Jesus battling with him. At that point this young man understood the scripture “I can do all things through God who strengthens me.” Josh Hamilton fought many things in his recovery and has gone on to win batting titles and MVP awards and has played in the World Series with the Texas Rangers. He credits God for his recovery. Bro. Hilton shares this story to convey God’s message: Take my hand you can get up. You can make it.

Sin is defined as missing the mark. While many of us in the church lead what we would call a righteous life, if we are not doing something that God has called us to do, we are missing the mark. Bro. Hilton shares a very personal story from his life where he submitted himself to God’s will and it changed the course of his life. He gave up opportunities for football scholarships and followed God’s will that led him to Texas Bible College and the ministry. Even though we knew he was in the will of God, he struggled with many things and attacks from the enemy. Like many others, Bro Hilton questioned the will of God in his life and strayed from that path. He shares this story and asks the question: “Have you missed the mark?” What is it in your life that you are not doing that you know you should be doing? It is time to get up.

Bro. Hilton begins with the story of a young man who was the first draft pick in the Major league draft in 1999. He had a rocky start to his career with injuries and missed games. As he dealt with these, he turned to substance abuse including alcohol, and both prescription and illegal drugs. In 2004 he was banned from baseball. In 2005 he hit rock bottom when he awoke on his grandmother’s doorstep from a crack cocaine stupor. He was at a cross roads in his life. Fortunately he chose the right path and began a come back. He describes his recovery experience as a “God thing.” He recalled a dream where he battled with the devil with a baseball bat until he was exhausted and could no longer raise his arms. In June 2006 he was reinstated to baseball. Soon after, the devil began to return to his dreams. This time the dream was different. He would hit the devil and knock him down, but he would always get backup. At the point of giving up, he felt a presence. That presence was Jesus battling with him. At that point this young man understood the scripture “I can do all things through God who strengthens me.” Josh Hamilton fought many things in his recovery and has gone on to win batting titles and MVP awards and has played in the World Series with the Texas Rangers. He credits God for his recovery. Bro. Hilton shares this story to convey God’s message: Take my hand you can get up. You can make it.

Sin is defined as missing the mark. While many of us in the church lead what we would call a righteous life, if we are not doing something that God has called us to do, we are missing the mark. Bro. Hilton shares a very personal story from his life where he submitted himself to God’s will and it changed the course of his life. He gave up opportunities for football scholarships and followed God’s will that led him to Texas Bible College and the ministry. Even though we knew he was in the will of God, he struggled with many things and attacks from the enemy. Like many others, Bro Hilton questioned the will of God in his life and strayed from that path. He shares this story and asks the question: “Have you missed the mark?” What is it in your life that you are not doing that you know you should be doing? It is time to get up.