Milly shares her thought from the week; what a powerful name.
Do you know what your name means? Well, Jesus was born into a culture in which names had great significance; the name couldn’t be separated from the person. It spoke of the person’s character and his mission. Daddy God himself is referred to by a whole variety of names, each of which says something about his character and allows us to know him more fully.
Matthew 1:21 tells us that Angel Gabriel said to Mary,
you shall have a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Matthew 1:21
The name ‘Jesus’ is derived from the Hebrew name Yeshua, and it means saviour, one who saves, who rescues. The Greek equivalent for this is sozo, to save, heal and deliver. So the name Jesus speaks about his mission on earth. His name is all-powerful. It has lost none of its power, the power to save, to heal, to deliver, and rescue all that Jesus was while he walked to the earth. His name is today. And the thing is that Jesus gave us authority to use his name as seen in John 16:24. So when we pray in the name of Jesus, we are in effect representing him. Using his name empowers us to really change transformation, and victory into a situation where using his authority to carry out his will on the earth.
His name shifts the atmosphere. And we see examples of the power that the name of Jesus has over the forces of darkness. For instance, in Mark 1, we read that a man possessed by an evil spirit cried out,
“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God”. “Be quiet”, said Jesus, sternly “Come out of him”. And the evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
Mark 1:24-26
Demons know his name and they are terrified. In Luke 10:17 the 72 disciples whom Jesus had sent out on a healing mission returned with joy and said,
Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name glory to God
Luke 10:17
And in Acts 3, Peter commanded a lame man to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus.
So when we use his name, the living healing Christ is present. Jesus is in that name right now. He is that name. We see in Philippians 2 that when God exalted Jesus, He also exalted his name. The authority in that name will cause every knee to bow in reverence and every tongue to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Everything and everyone will submit to his name, hallelujah. Jesus paid the price on Calvary, therefore at the mention of his name, peace must prevail in the midst of a storm, clarity and hope must prevail in a difficult situation, Sickness must bow the knee, the power of darkness must flee, addictions must break off.
His name is life, his name is healing, his name is power, and his name is victory. Glory to God, Amen.
Every week one of our members shares a short thought aiming to inspire you for the week. You can watch previous Thought For The Week videos by clicking here.