The Name of Jesus
Acts 4:12
So many great things happened to us in Israel. So many experiences with God that we’ll have with us the rest of our lives. But there was one thing that was especially impactful to me personally. I was extremely aware on this trip, more so than in the past, of the absence and the impact of the NAME of Jesus.
Even our guide, who was a Christian Specialist in the Holy Land and has written the only real Christian’s Guide to the Galilee, and with whom I had talked numerous times about our trip being a uniquely special “Christian” (and Jesus centered) trip, and though we loved him, and he gave us very accurate information about the land… It didn’t take long to figure out his knowledge of Christianity was not “personal.”
He had just chosen to specialize in Christian tours – seeing a possible “niche” for his guide business. The name Jesus, was just a historical figure to him, a person he knew we were very interested in, and a person he respected on our behalf – especially in light of what we were paying him. But the true name of Jesus was foreign to him. The true understanding, the true power in the name of Jesus was foreign to him.
In fact, the power and the truth of the Name of Jesus was completely foreign to most people in the land that bears the name of Jesus to us so much. And so, a type of spiritual divide became apparent. Not with our guide, he was professional and very courteous. And not with our driver, we believe he was an underground Christian – but his faith was “private” so as to not lose business from the guides.
The divide (the Challenge) was a spiritual one.
When we said the Name
When we spoke the Name
When we shouted the Name
That was when things happened. That is when things changed.
Immediately there was peace, there was confidence, there was power. When we began lifting up the banner of Jesus over his land and over his people, there was a spiritual peace, and comfort, and power that is very hard to explain back here in Nuevo.
And so, today I just want to talk about the name. The name that is above every other name. The name at which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess as Lord. The name that brings eternal life. The name that brings transformation, and healing, and peace. The name at which the demons of hell tremble. The name of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. There’s just something about that name. It was the name that made the difference in Israel. It was the name that set us free in Israel. It was the name that brought joy, and peace, and revelation in Israel.
The entire group will come up here and share and show some of our favorite pics two weeks from today – December 28. Be sure and be here.
But, let me just tell you – for today… In the Galilee, it was easy. The name of Jesus was everywhere. We could rest in it, bask in it. He was everywhere. But Jerusalem is the absolute center of all spiritual warfare on the earth. And honestly, the enemy doesn’t care what name, or what religion is being lifted up – as long as it is not THE NAME. There is only one name the enemy wants hidden in Jerusalem. Only one name the enemy wants defeated in Jerusalem, and that is the Name above every other name – the Name of Jesus.
While we were in the thick of all the spiritual confusion that the enemy sows in Jerusalem… right in the middle of it all, our bus driver – Shabby – had seven of the group with him, and he got them alone for a minute. And he stood up and told them they can’t see Jesus without the Holy Spirit, they know about him, they know that you know him… But they look at the holiest place on earth, they look where Jesus walked, they look at the miraculous signs God has preserved… and they can’t see Jesus. It’s because they don’t have the Holy Spirit to open their eyes so that they can see him, and so they go on with their lives, in the midst of the Holy City from where Jesus will rule the world…
At the very point where Jesus will return and crack the Mount of Olives in half, and right there they can’t hear the name. They don’t see him – because they won’t see him. Even in the most holy place on earth (maybe especially) you still have to want to see Jesus. You still have to desire to see Jesus. You still have to look for Jesus. And when you do, he will meet you there with power, and then you’ll understand the real difference. Then you’ll understand the real battle.
The real battle in Jerusalem is not Palestinian versus Israel
The real battle in Jerusalem is not Islam versus Judaism
The real battle in Jerusalem is spiritual.
It is all religions of man versus the name of Jesus Christ!!
That is the real battle. That is the battle we experienced there. That is the battle that we were victorious in because our victory comes in the name of Jesus. Our victory is in the name of Jesus Christ and nothing else.
But please listen to me very closely. The name of Jesus is not some kind of a magic word that you can just throw out and experience the power of that name. Speaking the name of Jesus is calling on a true, personal, vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. And if you don’t have that real relationship with Jesus, and you try to use the name as some kind of superstition “mo-jo”, you’re going to end up worse off than when you started.
Consider some crazy “Traveling Jewish Exorcists” who tried to “leverage” the name of Jesus for their personal benefit in Acts 19. When Paul came into Ephesus (Acts 19) God really lit that city up with the name of Jesus. For two years, God had Paul teaching and doing miracles in Ephesus, and God was working so mightily that even handkerchiefs and scarves that Paul handled were being used to heal people. It’s then that we get to meet our first “Itinerant Jewish Exorcists.”
Acts 19:13–17 (NLT)
13 A group of Jews (ESV says – Itinerant Jewish Exorcists) was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this.
15 But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”
16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
17 The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.
Notice, the name of the Lord was greatly honored. And then we see the tangible results of the name of Jesus being greatly honored in the next two verses (very important).
Acts 19:18–19 (NLT)
18 Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.
19 A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.
That is some genuine, tangible honoring of the name of the Lord. Notice, please, that truly calling on the name of the Lord involves repentance – it always involves repentance… Tangible, life-change level repentance. And there are some here today that need that level of repentance before you will be able to experience the transformation of calling on the name of Jesus. There are some books, videos, computer files, secret things that need to be destroyed for the name of Jesus.
We can’t call on his name without truly receiving him as Lord and giving him the rule of our lives, and we can’t call on his name without true, tangible repentance.
Here’s why…
When we do call on the name of the Lord Jesus for healing, peace, transformation – we are calling on the full character of Jesus Christ, on his full authority, and on his true position in our lives and in this world. And we cannot do that without a real relationship with him and without turning from the idols in our lives currently, and when we are at that place, and we do begin to call on his name… LOOK OUT!
Look at the power of the name of Jesus in Acts Chapters 3 and 4. Just after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, and the beginning of the New Testament Church, Acts Chapter 3 begins with Peter and John going to the Temple one afternoon to pray. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried to sit at the Temple gate called “The Beautiful Gate” (approximately where we were – under the arches on the Temple Mount). Each day he would sit there begging, and when he saw Peter and John, he asked them for some money. Let’s pick it up in:
Acts 3:4–6 (NLT)
4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!”
5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.
6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Then Peter took the man by the hand and lifted him up and he was healed. And verse 8 says he went walking and leaping and praising God into the Temple with them. And verse 9 says all the people rushed to see the man who was holding tightly to Peter and John. Peter saw an opportunity to preach, and he says in verse 12 Why are you staring at us like WE did this? Then Acts 3:13 says,
Acts 3:13 (NLT)
13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this . . .
Then Peter reminds them, this is the same Jesus whom they demanded to be crucified, though Pilate wanted to release him. And in Acts 3:16 Peter says,
Acts 3:16 (NLT)
16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
But then, while Peter was preaching, the Jewish leaders had him and John arrested and thrown in jail. The next day, the same High Priests who had Jesus crucified brought Peter and John to be interrogated.
Acts 4:7 (NLT)
7 They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
Then Peter says,
Acts 4:10 (NLT)
10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.
And finally, we read,
Acts 4:12 (NLT)
12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
All of man’s religions are accepted in the holy Jerusalem, but the name of Jesus is where the line is drawn. Even Orthodox Christianity, with all its pomp and gaudiness, is accepted alongside the other religions. But when you start holding up the Banner of Jesus, when you start lifting up the Name of Jesus, that is when things start to change. That’s when you start to get the attention of the enemy, but it’s also when you start to rise up in victory.
It truly is about the Name of Jesus
representing all that he IS
representing his full authority
representing his salvation in your life
The real battle in Jerusalem is not Palestinian versus Israel
The real battle in Jerusalem is not Islam versus Judaism
The real battle in Jerusalem is spiritual.
It is all religions of man versus the name of Jesus Christ!!
Because there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. The enemy of your soul has no problem with you taking on any religion on earth… But when you take on the Name of Jesus, that’s when he knows he’s lost you to heaven.
I think the thing our very professional and knowledgeable guide in Israel may have struggled with… is the fact that we had no desire to adhere to a religion that was attached to the name of Jesus. We wanted Jesus – himself.
We wanted to experience the power of his name
We wanted to experience all that his name implies
We did not fly 8,135 miles (not to mention driving to LAX) in order to experience one of a hundred religions in the Land of Israel. We flew 8,135 miles to experience a Person.
To experience where he walked
Where he lived
Where he taught
Where he died to pay for our sin
Where he rose from the dead
We went to experience the power of the Name of Jesus. All that his name represents. All that he IS. And we did just that! We met him every single day in one way or another – at every single site. The truth is we weren’t moved by the land… we were moved by the Name that chose that land, the Name of Jesus that rings out to us in that land. We were moved by the power of the Name, in the land.
There is so much power in the Name of Jesus. We were moved by the Name when we were in Israel. We are saved by the Name, right here today. And we have life by the power of the Name. And only by that Name… because there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
At the end of the Book of John we read,
John 20:30–31 (NLT)
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.
31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
I want to give you a chance to consider the power of the Name of Jesus, a chance to call out to him, to acknowledge the power of his Name in your life.
And if you see yourself as religious today, please hear me. There are hundreds of religions – all somewhat similar. But there is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Philippians 2:6–11 (NLT)
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Even our guide, who was a Christian Specialist in the Holy Land and has written the only real Christian’s Guide to the Galilee, and with whom I had talked numerous times about our trip being a uniquely special “Christian” (and Jesus centered) trip, and though we loved him, and he gave us very accurate information about the land… It didn’t take long to figure out his knowledge of Christianity was not “personal.”
He had just chosen to specialize in Christian tours – seeing a possible “niche” for his guide business. The name Jesus, was just a historical figure to him, a person he knew we were very interested in, and a person he respected on our behalf – especially in light of what we were paying him. But the true name of Jesus was foreign to him. The true understanding, the true power in the name of Jesus was foreign to him.
In fact, the power and the truth of the Name of Jesus was completely foreign to most people in the land that bears the name of Jesus to us so much. And so, a type of spiritual divide became apparent. Not with our guide, he was professional and very courteous. And not with our driver, we believe he was an underground Christian – but his faith was “private” so as to not lose business from the guides.
The divide (the Challenge) was a spiritual one.
When we said the Name
When we spoke the Name
When we shouted the Name
That was when things happened. That is when things changed.
Immediately there was peace, there was confidence, there was power. When we began lifting up the banner of Jesus over his land and over his people, there was a spiritual peace, and comfort, and power that is very hard to explain back here in Nuevo.
And so, today I just want to talk about the name. The name that is above every other name. The name at which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess as Lord. The name that brings eternal life. The name that brings transformation, and healing, and peace. The name at which the demons of hell tremble. The name of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. There’s just something about that name. It was the name that made the difference in Israel. It was the name that set us free in Israel. It was the name that brought joy, and peace, and revelation in Israel.
The entire group will come up here and share and show some of our favorite pics two weeks from today – December 28. Be sure and be here.
But, let me just tell you – for today… In the Galilee, it was easy. The name of Jesus was everywhere. We could rest in it, bask in it. He was everywhere. But Jerusalem is the absolute center of all spiritual warfare on the earth. And honestly, the enemy doesn’t care what name, or what religion is being lifted up – as long as it is not THE NAME. There is only one name the enemy wants hidden in Jerusalem. Only one name the enemy wants defeated in Jerusalem, and that is the Name above every other name – the Name of Jesus.
While we were in the thick of all the spiritual confusion that the enemy sows in Jerusalem… right in the middle of it all, our bus driver – Shabby – had seven of the group with him, and he got them alone for a minute. And he stood up and told them they can’t see Jesus without the Holy Spirit, they know about him, they know that you know him… But they look at the holiest place on earth, they look where Jesus walked, they look at the miraculous signs God has preserved… and they can’t see Jesus. It’s because they don’t have the Holy Spirit to open their eyes so that they can see him, and so they go on with their lives, in the midst of the Holy City from where Jesus will rule the world…
At the very point where Jesus will return and crack the Mount of Olives in half, and right there they can’t hear the name. They don’t see him – because they won’t see him. Even in the most holy place on earth (maybe especially) you still have to want to see Jesus. You still have to desire to see Jesus. You still have to look for Jesus. And when you do, he will meet you there with power, and then you’ll understand the real difference. Then you’ll understand the real battle.
The real battle in Jerusalem is not Palestinian versus Israel
The real battle in Jerusalem is not Islam versus Judaism
The real battle in Jerusalem is spiritual.
It is all religions of man versus the name of Jesus Christ!!
That is the real battle. That is the battle we experienced there. That is the battle that we were victorious in because our victory comes in the name of Jesus. Our victory is in the name of Jesus Christ and nothing else.
But please listen to me very closely. The name of Jesus is not some kind of a magic word that you can just throw out and experience the power of that name. Speaking the name of Jesus is calling on a true, personal, vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ. And if you don’t have that real relationship with Jesus, and you try to use the name as some kind of superstition “mo-jo”, you’re going to end up worse off than when you started.
Consider some crazy “Traveling Jewish Exorcists” who tried to “leverage” the name of Jesus for their personal benefit in Acts 19. When Paul came into Ephesus (Acts 19) God really lit that city up with the name of Jesus. For two years, God had Paul teaching and doing miracles in Ephesus, and God was working so mightily that even handkerchiefs and scarves that Paul handled were being used to heal people. It’s then that we get to meet our first “Itinerant Jewish Exorcists.”
Acts 19:13–17 (NLT)
13 A group of Jews (ESV says – Itinerant Jewish Exorcists) was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!”
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this.
15 But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”
16 Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
17 The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.
Notice, the name of the Lord was greatly honored. And then we see the tangible results of the name of Jesus being greatly honored in the next two verses (very important).
Acts 19:18–19 (NLT)
18 Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices.
19 A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars.
That is some genuine, tangible honoring of the name of the Lord. Notice, please, that truly calling on the name of the Lord involves repentance – it always involves repentance… Tangible, life-change level repentance. And there are some here today that need that level of repentance before you will be able to experience the transformation of calling on the name of Jesus. There are some books, videos, computer files, secret things that need to be destroyed for the name of Jesus.
We can’t call on his name without truly receiving him as Lord and giving him the rule of our lives, and we can’t call on his name without true, tangible repentance.
Here’s why…
When we do call on the name of the Lord Jesus for healing, peace, transformation – we are calling on the full character of Jesus Christ, on his full authority, and on his true position in our lives and in this world. And we cannot do that without a real relationship with him and without turning from the idols in our lives currently, and when we are at that place, and we do begin to call on his name… LOOK OUT!
Look at the power of the name of Jesus in Acts Chapters 3 and 4. Just after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, and the beginning of the New Testament Church, Acts Chapter 3 begins with Peter and John going to the Temple one afternoon to pray. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried to sit at the Temple gate called “The Beautiful Gate” (approximately where we were – under the arches on the Temple Mount). Each day he would sit there begging, and when he saw Peter and John, he asked them for some money. Let’s pick it up in:
Acts 3:4–6 (NLT)
4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!”
5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.
6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Then Peter took the man by the hand and lifted him up and he was healed. And verse 8 says he went walking and leaping and praising God into the Temple with them. And verse 9 says all the people rushed to see the man who was holding tightly to Peter and John. Peter saw an opportunity to preach, and he says in verse 12 Why are you staring at us like WE did this? Then Acts 3:13 says,
Acts 3:13 (NLT)
13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this . . .
Then Peter reminds them, this is the same Jesus whom they demanded to be crucified, though Pilate wanted to release him. And in Acts 3:16 Peter says,
Acts 3:16 (NLT)
16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
But then, while Peter was preaching, the Jewish leaders had him and John arrested and thrown in jail. The next day, the same High Priests who had Jesus crucified brought Peter and John to be interrogated.
Acts 4:7 (NLT)
7 They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
Then Peter says,
Acts 4:10 (NLT)
10 Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead.
And finally, we read,
Acts 4:12 (NLT)
12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
There is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
All of man’s religions are accepted in the holy Jerusalem, but the name of Jesus is where the line is drawn. Even Orthodox Christianity, with all its pomp and gaudiness, is accepted alongside the other religions. But when you start holding up the Banner of Jesus, when you start lifting up the Name of Jesus, that is when things start to change. That’s when you start to get the attention of the enemy, but it’s also when you start to rise up in victory.
It truly is about the Name of Jesus
representing all that he IS
representing his full authority
representing his salvation in your life
The real battle in Jerusalem is not Palestinian versus Israel
The real battle in Jerusalem is not Islam versus Judaism
The real battle in Jerusalem is spiritual.
It is all religions of man versus the name of Jesus Christ!!
Because there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. The enemy of your soul has no problem with you taking on any religion on earth… But when you take on the Name of Jesus, that’s when he knows he’s lost you to heaven.
I think the thing our very professional and knowledgeable guide in Israel may have struggled with… is the fact that we had no desire to adhere to a religion that was attached to the name of Jesus. We wanted Jesus – himself.
We wanted to experience the power of his name
We wanted to experience all that his name implies
We did not fly 8,135 miles (not to mention driving to LAX) in order to experience one of a hundred religions in the Land of Israel. We flew 8,135 miles to experience a Person.
To experience where he walked
Where he lived
Where he taught
Where he died to pay for our sin
Where he rose from the dead
We went to experience the power of the Name of Jesus. All that his name represents. All that he IS. And we did just that! We met him every single day in one way or another – at every single site. The truth is we weren’t moved by the land… we were moved by the Name that chose that land, the Name of Jesus that rings out to us in that land. We were moved by the power of the Name, in the land.
There is so much power in the Name of Jesus. We were moved by the Name when we were in Israel. We are saved by the Name, right here today. And we have life by the power of the Name. And only by that Name… because there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
At the end of the Book of John we read,
John 20:30–31 (NLT)
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book.
31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
I want to give you a chance to consider the power of the Name of Jesus, a chance to call out to him, to acknowledge the power of his Name in your life.
And if you see yourself as religious today, please hear me. There are hundreds of religions – all somewhat similar. But there is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Philippians 2:6–11 (NLT)
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.