THE POWER OF THE NAME OF JESUS!
Lyn Grindley
There is a wonderful report of a miraculous healing
recorded in the book of
Acts, Chapter 3, verses 1-11.
Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the
hour of prayer, the
ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried,
whom they laid
daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms
from
those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into
the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look
at us." So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive
something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what
I do have I give
you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and
immediately his
feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple
with them;
walking, leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the
Beautiful Gate of
the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had
happened to him. Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and
John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called
Solomon's, greatly amazed. (NKJV)
"And His name, through faith in His name, has made this
man strong, whom you
see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this
perfect soundness in the presence of you all. (Acts 3:16 NKJV)
What made this man well? Faith in the Name of Jesus!
You will note there are two important elements here:
-
FAITH
-
THE NAME OF JESUS.
THERE IS POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
Why does His Name have such power, and what power does it have?
The apostle Paul wrote these words in Philippians 2: 9-10:
"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
those
in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,"
(NKJV)
That Name is worthy of being spoken out loud and with reverence: Jesus!
The prophet Isaiah wrote of Him:
"For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government
will
be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV)
Jesus has been given the Name that is above every name, and therefore
everything must bow to that Name – not only people, but angelic hosts,
demons, every kind of spirit, every living creature or organism that has a
name.
So powerful is the Name of Jesus that in the Book of Acts, Chapters 4 and
5,
Peter and John are commanded by the temple authorities not to speak or
teach
in the Name of Jesus.
You see,
1. HIS NAME IS POWERFUL FOR SALVATION
For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
"To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes
in
Him will receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43 NKJV)
2. HIS NAME IS POWERFUL FOR HEALING
The man at the temple believed; Peter and John believed in the power of
the
Name of Jesus.
We have to ask ourselves: Do we? Do we really believe?
In Matthew 13:58 we read these telling words: "Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
Jesus could not do miracles around people who did not believe.
……………. But if we believe, anything is possible.
A ruler of the synagogue discovered this:
And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And
when he saw Him, he fell at His feet, and begged Him earnestly, saying,
"My
little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on
her,
that she may be healed, and she will live." So Jesus went with him, and a
great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. (Mark 5:22-24 NKJV)
While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's
house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any
further?"
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of
the
synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."
And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the
brother of James.
Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult
and those who wept and wailed loudly.
When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The
child is not dead, but sleeping."
And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the
father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and
entered
where the child was lying.
Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi,"
which
is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."
Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.
And
they were overcome with great amazement. (Mark 5:35-42 NKJV)
And a father also discovered that if he believed, miracles happen. We read
in Mark chapter 9 of the father who brought his boy to Jesus for healing.
The lad suffered from seizures and was tormented by a deaf and dumb
spirit.
Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes."
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord,
I
believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:23,24 NKJV)
And the spirit was cast out, and the boy was healed.
So we need to ask again: Do we believe?
a.. How different would the Church of today be if we really believed in
the power of the Name of Jesus!
b.. How different would this community , city, nation be if the church
really believed in the power of the Name of Jesus!
Do we?
3. HIS NAME IS POWERFUL FOR DELIVERANCE
In Acts Chapter 16, Luke records Paul’s encounter with a demon-possessed
slave-girl who earned a great deal of money for her owners by
fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the
servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."
And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said
to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of
her." And he came out that very hour. (Acts 16:17,18 NKJV)
Paul’s experience confirmed what Jesus had said to His disciples:
"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast
out demons; they will speak with new tongues; (Mark 16:17 NKJV)
4. REQUESTS MADE IN HIS NAME ARE GRANTED
When Jesus was preparing his disciples for the time when He was to leave
them, He made them this promise:
"And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
"Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive,
that your joy may be full. (John 16:23,24 NKJV)
That promise has never been withdrawn. The Church today needs to take up
and
appropriate that promise, confidently using His Name.
5. THERE IS LIFE IN HIS NAME
The apostle John wrote his Gospel and letters to declare that there is
life
in Jesus’ Name, if we believe.
…..but these are written that you may
believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the
Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31NKJV)
These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of
God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may
continue
to believe in the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13 NKJV)
6. DO EVERYTHING IN HIS NAME
There is a call for us to do only those things which we can do in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, otherwise even our good deeds are in vain. Doing
things in Jesus’ Name makes all the difference!
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Col 3:17 NKJV)
"For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you
belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his
reward.
(Mark 9:41 NKJV)
These instructions are as alive today as they were in New Testament days. They stand forever. They are for the Church today!
His Name is powerful for salvation
His Name is powerful for healing.
His Name is powerful for deliverance.
Requests are granted in His Name
There is life in His Name
Do everything in His Name
Hold His Name in reverence, and speak His Name with authority.
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