(Act 3:16) And his name through faith in his name hath
made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is
by him hath given him this
perfect soundness in the presence of you all. (Act 2:21) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Act 2:38) Then Peter
said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost.
There is so much to say about the
Name of Jesus that books have been written and books can be written without
exhausting the wealth of information available on the Name.
We try to restrict ourselves to a
few noteworthy points drawn from the miracle, message and meaning exposed to us
in Acts 3 and 4 by Peter.
(Act
3:6) Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have
give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
Peter had
something he was able to give to the lame man.
He
admitted that it was not by his own power or holiness.
He quickly pointed to the source of
the healing miracle.
(Act
3:12) And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of
Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by
our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
1.
THE
EXPECTATIONS OF THE LAME MAN.
a.
His
expectations were ordinary.
b.
His
expectations were natural
c.
His
expectations were at a lower, accustomed level
2.
THE
EXCLAMATION OF THE CROWD
a.
They had
just witnessed the unexpected
b.
Their
everyday normality was disturbed
c.
Their
lives would never be the same again.
3.
THE
EXAMINATION OF THE COUNCIL
a.
They were
astonished at this display of power.
b.
They were
disturbed at the reaction of the people
c.
They were
perplexed and in anxiety about the consequences
4.
THE
EXPLANATION OF THE MIRACLE
a.
The
denial by Peter of any personal power or holiness.
b.
The
direction of attention away from themselves
c.
The
declaration of the real reason for the miracle
(Act 4:7) And when they had set them in
the midst, they asked, By what
power, or by what name, have ye done this?
Their
answer was by the name of Jesus and by Him alone
(Act
4:10) Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man
stand here before you whole.
No other
name but the name of Jesus can bring Salvation
(Act 4:12) Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved.
THE BELIEVER AND THE NAME OF JESUS!
The name of Jesus is not a talisman,
or a good luck charm. The Name is not to be treated lightly. It must be
remembered that this Name packs behind it all the authority in heaven and in
earth and earth may be limited but heaven is unlimited!
As already stated by many writers
and drawn from the Word of God, Jesus obtained His name by Inheritance, by
Conquest and it was bestowed upon Him by the Father.
1. BY
INHERITANCE
Heb 1:1-4 God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (2)
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3)
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by
himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high; (4) Being made so much better than the angels, as
HE HATH BY INHERITANCE OBTAINED A MORE EXCELLENT NAME THAN THEY.
2.
BY BESTOWAL
Php 2:5-11 Let this mind be in you, which was also in
Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not
robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took
upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8)
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9)
Wherefore GOD ALSO HATH HIGHLY EXALTED HIM, AND GIVEN HIM A NAME
WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11)
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
3.
BY CONQUEST
Eph 1:16-23 Cease not to give thanks for you, making
mention of you in my prayers; (17) That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him: (18) The eyes of your understanding being
enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (19)
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe,
according to the working of his mighty power,
(20) Which he wrought in Christ,
when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the
heavenly places, (21) FAR ABOVE ALL PRINCIPALITY, AND POWER, AND
MIGHT, AND DOMINION, AND EVERY NAME THAT IS NAMED, NOT ONLY IN THIS WORLD, BUT
ALSO IN THAT WHICH IS TO COME: (22)
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church, (23) Which is his body, the fulness of him that
filleth all in all.
Col 2:6-15 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk ye in him: (7) Rooted and
built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving. (8) Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of
the world, and not after Christ.
(9) For in him dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head
of all principality and power: (11) In
whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in
putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of
Christ: (12) Buried with him in baptism,
wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God,
who hath raised him from the dead.
(13) And you, being dead in your
sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him,
having forgiven you all trespasses; (14) Blotting out the handwriting of
ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of
the way, nailing it to his cross; (15) AND
HAVING SPOILED PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS, HE MADE A SHEW OF THEM OPENLY,
TRIUMPHING OVER THEM IN IT.
Note that the principalities
and powers that we wrestle against are the same Jesus defeated and is above.
They are under the feet of His Body which is the church…which is you and I.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of
this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Col 1:9-18 For this
cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to
desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding; (10) That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of
God; (11) Strengthened with all might, according to his
glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; (12)
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light:
(13) WHO HATH DELIVERED US
FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS, AND HATH TRANSLATED US INTO THE KINGDOM OF HIS DEAR
SON: (14) In whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins: (15) Who is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of every creature: (16) For by him were all things created, that are
in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by
him, and for him: (17) And he is before all things, and by him all
things consist. (18) And he is the head of the body, the church:
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might
have the preeminence.
As noted we have
been delivered from the authority of the enemy. We are no longer subjected to
his rule. We have been given the name of Jesus to use. That Name has all the authority
of heaven and earth behind it. When you stand in His name against the powers of
darkness be aware that you are clothed in authority from His throne. Be aware
that His Name carries weight and irresistible power. Be aware that He gave you
permission to use His name.
A police officer is
nothing by himself as a human being but when backed by the law and authority of
the whole USA he becomes a force to be reckoned with. The authority that you have
is greater. The Roman centurion recognized this when he compared the authority
he had with the authority of Jesus.
Luk 7:1-10 Now when
he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into
Capernaum. (2) And a certain centurion's servant, who was
dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.
(3) And when he heard of Jesus,
he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and
heal his servant. (4) And when they came to Jesus, they besought
him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: (5)
For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. (6)
Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house,
the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself:
for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: (7)
Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in
a word, and my servant shall be healed.
(8) For I also am a man set under
authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and
to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth
it. (9)
When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him
about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not
found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
(10) And they that were sent,
returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.
It caused Jesus to marvel! A Gentile had recognized the
authority and Jesus placed the reason directly on the man’s faith! It takes
faith to recognize this authority! It takes faith to act on this authority! It
takes faith to accomplish anything by this authority. And as the Word says in Romans 10:17 SO THEN FAITH COMETH BY HEARING, AND HEARING
BY THE WORD OF GOD.
Not by some tear jerking sentimental
song or story but by the Word of God.
Not by some preacher’s reputation but
by the Word of God
So let us saturate ourselves
prayerfully in the Word of God. Let it seep through our very being, the fabric
of our whole man. Believe His Word and in believing we will act on it. This
authority cannot be bought or sold not cannot be traded for anything. It comes
by the Holy Ghost saturated Word of God made effective by fervent prayer!
Act 4:29-31 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and
grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy
word, (30) By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and
wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. (31) And when
they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake
the word of God with boldness.
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