THE FIRST FOUR READINGS
EXCERPTS from Breaking Through
The Jabez Breakthrough
BOOKLET
21 DAY READING
Sometimes a BREAKTRHOUGH
comes after the biggest
breakdown of your life.
Hang in there!
We all love to read stories about men and women who overcame hardship and went on to
bless others, and even more, we can be encouraged to know that God can even use difficult
things in our lives for His purpose and glory.
Reading the first 10 verses of 1st Chronicles chapter 4,
you will read a list of names that most of us haven't even encountered before.
However, the writer of the book paused in the names and gave us a man named Jabez, a descendant of
Judah, who was “more honorable than his brothers” (v. 9).
Jabez was held in high esteem by the Lord because of his ability to rely on God even in the midst of struggle and pain. In his prayer, Jabez asks God to “bless” him, “keep” him, and “free” him; he even asks God to extend his border.
His prayer is meant to exemplify the power and greatness of God.
Jabez shows us that the name we are given or the circumstances we are born into do not define us or determine our destiny.
Welcome to our 2024 THANKSGIVING!
Every year we set a side and dedicate a month for us as a church family, ONE HIS LIFE, to give thanks to God through our Lord Jesus Christ for who He is and for what He has done for us.
We are encouraged to remember His faithfulness, counting all our blessings and giving us the opportunity to express it by giving the best that we give back through our praise and thanksgivings to God. In this Thanksgiving celebration, join us as we explore the life of a man named Jabez, who did not allow his circumstances to ask God for a BREAKTHROUGH so that it could be a blessing to others.
21-Day Reading
To further understand and appreciate our daily readings, we divided them into three groups
according to their main points and for emphasis.
AN HONORED LIFE, HONORS GOD.
The first seven readings will challenge us to live a life that honors God.
Let other people know that they are more honorable than others by being passionate about loving and serving God. You may be surrounded by people, but you stand out among the rest.
YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES DO NOT DEFINE YOU.
The next seven readings will remind you that, whatever situation you are born into, be it being poor, handicapped, or struggling with past hurts, pains, or failures, it’s time to believe in bigger things.
It’s time for an increase, time for promotion, and time for supernatural favor.
TAKING ACTION ASKING GOD FOR MORE.
Lastly, the last seven readings will challenge us to trust God and believe that He alone provides, therefore enabling us to give praise and thanksgiving.
This last 7-day reading will also encourage us to give the best that we can to God, who loves us
and makes our territory large.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NIV
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave
birth to him in pain.” 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that you would bless me and
enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free
from pain.” And God granted his request.
From your HLM Pastors!
WEEK 1
AN HONORED LIFE, HONORS GOD
“As God’s chosen, blessed sons and daughters, we are expected to attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed...unless God steps in.”
― Bruce H. Wilkinson, The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life
DAY 01 Jabez: The Man Who Stood Out In a Crowd
1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NIV
9 Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.
Even though we may be surrounded by friends and other people, it’s still possible to feel
completely alone. On our part, there are several reasons for this feeling of aloneness. Maybe we
feel disconnected from those around us, or maybe we feel scared that they don’t or won’t
understand what we are going through. Humans have a need to feel connected to other
people; no one can meet all of our needs on their own. But how about being lost in the crowd,
when nobody really cares if you are there or not? Deep inside, we want to be counted and
noticed.
In order to provide us with these insights concerning Jabez, the writer of the genealogy of
Judah, pause for a while and expound on the life of this one man. His relationship with God had
to be unusually remarkable. Though the writer of Chronicles used this list of names to show how
God has chosen Israel for a prominent role in history, for us modern readers, this list is just names
of people or the crowd that we may not remember except Jabez who stood out among the
crowd. “He is more honorable than his brothers.”
Standing out of the crowd to follow Jesus is not easy because not following the mass would
mean that everyone else would be against you. Jabez can keep quiet and be part of a
number, but "then he "called on the God of Israel," knowing that he could only depend on the
Lord to be delivered from the prophecy of his name pain and the curse of sin.
Psalm 139:14 NIV
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,
I know that full well. Things to Reflect
THINGS TO DO AND REFLECT
1. Have you ever been lost in the crowd because of insecurity and shame? Can you write
down your experience?
2. Share your thoughts on this quote: "Those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it."
Pastor Rick Warren.
3. Take some time right now to thank God for the common and the amazing blessings in
your life.
4. Have a note on your phone or laptop and write down your thoughts and prayers for
today. Make it a journal with your personal questions and answers. You can share it with
your Life Group team at your next meeting.
THANKSGIVING STEWARDSHIP TIP
SEE GOD'S OWNERSHIP
Colossians 1:16-17
16” For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
1 Chronicles 29:11-12
11” Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the
splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are
exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In
your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.”
Day 02 Living Above Average
1 Chronicles 4:9a NIV
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.
Have you considered being called average a compliment? I hope not, because that means
you’re just as close to the bottom—not even in the middle—as you are to the top. And God
never intended for you to be average. In our society, excellence has become a goal to obtain,
a test score to achieve, a set of rules to follow, or a value to have. But is there a standard for
excellence?
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, assuming that his brothers were also honorable’
well known in the area of excellence (we can only speculate). Jabez was an honorable man
not because of what he owned and not because of his social status, but because he was a
man of faith, a man of prayer, and a man of service.
God desires quality work produced through the application of our faith, our message, our
knowledge of God, our eagerness to let Him know, and our love for others. Paul modeled
excellence in everything he did, from tent making to church planting to writing. He was
intentional and focused on serving Christ to the best of his ability. Nothing less than the best
would suffice, so he pressed toward the mark with all his might. We must model excellence. We
must fully apply our knowledge and skills to the tasks put before us. In that way, we will bring
glory to God and increase our influence, credibility, and reputation among those with whom we
work. Excellent work is an act of worship.
1st Timothy 3:13
"Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great
assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus."
THINGS TO DO AND REFLECT
1. Why does it matter that our words and deeds glorify Christ, considering these readings
about excellence?
2. To what extent does our vocation reflect Jesus Christ as we do it with excellence?
3. Share your thoughts about your personal understanding of excellence. And pray it
together with your group.
4. Have a note on your phone or laptop and write down your thoughts and prayers for
today. Make it a journal with your personal questions and answers. You can share it with
your Life Group team at your next meeting.
THANKSGIVING STEWARDSHIP TIP
YOUR ROLE IS TO BE THE TRUSTEE, MANAGER AND STEWARD OF 100% OF
WHAT GOD ENTRUSTS TO YOU DURING YOUR LIFETIME.
Colossians 3:17, 23-24
“Whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus....Whatever you do, work
at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive
an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
1 Corinthians 4:2
” It is required in stewards that a man is found faithful”
DAY 03 Deflecting Name- Calling
1 Chronicles 4:9b
“His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.”
Name-calling is common and can be done for several different reasons. By calling you names,
someone may be attempting to be funny, to engage you in a conversation, or to see what you
will do and how you will react, or to put you down and hurt your feelings.
The author of the Book of Chronicles tells us that his mother gave him this name since he was
born in pain. His name comes from a Hebrew term that sounds like pain, meant to foresee a life
of suffering for him. So, "Jabez sees only impossibility before him—a future shut off—weighed
down by the sorrow of his past and the misery of his present." Many think that Jabez will just sit it
out for the rest of his life, but the name-calling is wrong, Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, that
He would bless him and even enlarge his influence.
Do not feel pressured to respond right away. Be kind to yourself. Acknowledge you’re hurt,
remind yourself that you are not alone, and do not buy into the name-calling. Tell yourself of the
grace and love of God, and take good care of yourself. Jabez deflected his prophesied name,
"pain,” and believed in God, who gave him life and purpose, God still in the business of
changing us new name for His glory.
John 1:42 NIV
And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will
be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
THINGS TO DO AND REFLECT
1. Do you have any experience with name-calling? How does it affect you?
2. Have you ever been influenced by someone who was calling you names? In what way?
3. Share your thoughts on this quote” Name-calling has 100% more to do with you than it
has to do with the person you are calling a name.”
4. Pray for freedom that comes from the name of Jesus for you and ask God to set you free
from insecurity.
5. Have a note on your phone or laptop and write down your thoughts and prayers for
today. Make it a journal with your personal questions and answers. You can share it with
your Life Group team at your next meeting.
THANKSGIVING STEWARDSHIP TIP
SEE GOD’S PROVISION
1 Chronicles 29:11-12
11” Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the
splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are
exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In
your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.”
DAY 04 Rescued from Pain
His mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.”
What exactly the pain is not revealed to us. That has some beauty to it. Such unspecific suffering
encourages us, whatever our own suffering may be, to imitate Jabez. Whatever the cause,
Jabez had a difficult start to life. However, it doesn't seem like he let it get to him or accepted his
victim status. He also didn't try to make up for it by using his own strength and willpower. Instead,
he prayed to God, "calling upon the God of Israel, Jabez turned his attention and his faith in the
right direction.
Indeed, God is a savior. He doesn't guarantee that his people will never experience pain and
suffering, but when we do, he takes great pleasure in pulling us out of it, and most importantly,
that is in accordance with His timetable not from ours. While many rescues may take time, some
happen immediately. Many of the well-known saints both in the Bible and in real life have
suffered greatly throughout their whole lifetimes on earth.
THINGS TO DO AND REFLECT
1. What are healthy responses to despair in our lives? What are unhealthy responses?
2. In what ways can we challenge our assumptions about suffering and God?
3. Pray that people in your group will understand that pain in life does not defined you but
the healing power of God and the assurance that you are love,
4. Have a note on your phone or laptop and write down your thoughts and prayers for
today. Make it a journal with your personal questions and answers. You can share it with
your Life Group team at your next meeting.
THANKSGIVING STEWARDSHIP TIP
GRACIOUS ACT OF GIVING
Deuteronomy 15:10
“Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your
God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.”
TITLES
DAY 5 onwards
ONLY GOD CAN. LIVE TO BE DIFFERENT. BLESSINGS FROM THE HAND OF GOD. CONFUSING CONTENTMENT WITH LAZINESS. STOP PLAYING IT SAFE. GOD NEVER FAILS TO PROVIDE.
COMMITMENTS
SONGS PLAY LIST
November Series (Thanksgiving)
Carrier Song
Breakthrough
