November 18, 2019
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My friend Margaret had just been to a family gathering in the Midwest, and she saw many loved ones there, including her deputy sheriff nephew. Now, as she started heading home, her foot got, shall we say, a little heavy. Or at least that's what the officer who pulled her over seemed to think. As he turned to go back to his car with her license and registration in hand, Margaret said, "Do you know Deputy _________?" and she mentioned her nephew's name. The officer did know him. After a few minutes of record checking and paperwork in his squad car, the officer returned to Margaret's car and said, "I'm just going to give you a warning," followed by, "I checked with your nephew."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Power of the Name."
Now we could discuss the appropriateness of Margaret's invoking her nephew's name. But one thing is very clear. There can be decisive power in a name, even power that delivers you from what you deserve. And there is no name with more decisive power in all the universe than the name of Jesus. His name accomplishes things that nothing else can accomplish.
In John 14:14, Jesus said, "You may ask for anything in My name, and I will do it." The name of Jesus opens heaven's resources to meet your deepest needs - not just used as some hollow mantra, but as an expression of complete reliance on your living Lord. Acts 4:12 makes clear that "there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." It's only the name of Jesus that opens heaven to us sinners who could only have our sins forgiven by the man who died for them. When we come to God, calling on the name of His Son, we don't get the awful judgment we deserve. Jesus took it for us.
And nowhere is the power of that name expressed more boldly than in our word for today from the Word of God in Philippians 2:9-10. "God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." It is the name of Jesus that subdues all opposition, that intimidates, that paralyzes all the forces of hell.
That's the reason those who plotted the death of Jesus told His early followers to stop speaking what they called "the name." Hell has been trying to get Christians to stop saying the name that hell fears ever since. Now, maybe you've choked on that name, even though those who don't care about his name use his name all the time. The old hymn writer said it pretty well, "Jesus! And shall it be a mortal man ashamed of Thee? Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise, whose glories shine through endless days? Ashamed of Jesus, that dear Friend on whom my hopes of heaven depend? No; when I blush, be this my shame, that I no more revere His name."
Jesus: the name that opens heaven's resources to meet your every need, that makes heaven possible for you, that subdues every other being in the universe. How can we live ordinary, powerless lives? How can we surrender to hell and be ashamed to speak His name? And it may be you've never called on that name of Jesus and asked Him to be your personal Rescuer from your personal sin. God's been waiting a long time to hear that from you. This could be your day to do that.
One day you will bow before Jesus. He will come then as judge. Today He's offering himself to you as your personal Savior; your Rescuer from your sin and its death penalty. If you'll grab Him in total faith and say, "Jesus, I'm yours."
There's some great information at our website that I want to give you today that will help you be sure you belong to Jesus. And that website is ANewStory.com. Get there as soon as you can.
The song writer said, "Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there is something about that Name!"