One of the guys at work raved about a certain brand of bottled water, which sold for $8.00 a bottle. He said it was so good he preferred the water over the alcohol he usually drank. I got invited to an elite party at one of the Las Vegas hotels and got served this same fancy water. Wow, was I in for a treat, right? Well it didn’t work out that way.
When I drank this special water I wasn’t very thrilled. I really wanted to be impressed, but it never happened. For me the fancy water didn’t live up to its name.
Everything in the earth has a name. With every name comes a certain level of authority or importance, some more powerful, some less. For instance, if I say the name “splinter,” you might think, “Oooh, that hurts!” But if I say the name “cancer,” what comes to mind is a whole different story. The name “splinter” doesn’t have a powerful authority attached to it. “Cancer” is a name that is attached to a much bigger importance and authority in most people’s minds. By our experience, either personally or from what we hear and believe of what others have told us, we give authority to a name.
Each of us has a certain authority to our names too. If your name is “mom” and one of the kids tells the other child, “Mom said,” the name “mom” has power. In all of our work places or our homes or with our family or friends or even with our pets we have a certain authority attached to our names. Think about it. What attributes are attached to your name? And if some not-so-good things are attached to your name, don’t worry because that can change.
Paul wrote that the name of Jesus is above every name, and “that at the name of Jesus every knee must bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” (Phil 2:9-10). So everything has a name: “depression” is a name; “cancer” is a name; “muscle pain” is a name; “lack” is a name. Everything has a name and we give authority and importance to the name by what we say and what we believe. Is it going to be a splinter, or is it going to be a cancer in authority? No name has as much power as the name of Jesus Christ.
I love that Philippians 2:9 says the things “in earth” must bow to the name of Jesus, because our human bodies are made up of the same components as the earth: sea water and dirt. So the name of Jesus is bigger than any thing in my dirt. Yeah! I really do believe this about the name and authority attached to the name, Jesus Christ. We can speak directly to anything that has a name, and to whatever that name is, say (for instance): “Tight muscle, you don’t have a name that is bigger than the name of Jesus, and Jesus wants me healed, and at the name of Jesus, you have to bow, because that name is bigger than you. So loosen up now in the name of Jesus Christ! Amen (literally, “so be it”).” I’ve done this to my own tight muscles several times. This stuff really works.
The name of Jesus is really powerful, but you and I are the ones who have to determine the validity of the name. I didn’t believe in the brand name of that expensive bottled water. It didn’t work for me. If you don’t believe in the authority of the name of Jesus over any other name, then it won’t work for you either.
The great thing about Jesus is that you don’t have to be a religious person, or a “good” person to believe. If you just take one little step and say, “I want to believe,” well, of course He’ll help you. Like the man in Mark 9 said, “Lord, I believe; [but] help thou mine unbelief.” And of course Jesus did, and the authority of Jesus was bigger than the problem in the man’s little boy and Jesus spoke to it and the problem went out and the boy was free and healed. (See Mark 9:17-27.) If we can get a hold of this principle of believing in the authority of the name of Jesus Christ, and begin to use it more, it can really help us.
God wants us to get to the good stuff. And one great way to do this is to recognize and apply the power of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
QUESTIONS FOR PONDERING OR DISCUSSION
1. What products, philosophies, and/or people have you put your trust in that ended up disappointing your expectations?
2. Who or what do you still believe in?
3. Make a list of the most powerful names that come to mind. Include names of things as well as people. Then put that list in order, from the most powerful to the least powerful and explain your feelings about each. Now look at the list again and see if you would change any of this.
4. In what situations have you or others used the name of Jesus Christ and seen great results?
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Mark 9:17-27
Acts 2:38
Acts 3:5-21
Acts 16:18
Acts 19:17
Philippians 2:9-11
Ephesians 1:21
1 John 3:2
NOTE: The above is one of the 61 chapters from my one year weekly spiritual workbook, WINGS: A Journey in Faith. In the book I include questions for reflection at the end of each chapter as well as scriptures for further study. I’ve included those sections so you can see a full sample. Here’s the link to Amazon where you can order my books:
Love, Carolyn
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