Charles Stanley - The Name Above Every Name (05/11/2017)
Dr. Stanley shares how his son Andy got his name from the Bible and explains why Jesus received His divine name from God. Focusing on Philippians 2, he shows that Jesus, the Son of God who humbled Himself to die on the cross, has been exalted by the Father with the name above every name, calling us to honor it, pray in it, and proclaim it as the only way of salvation.
The Significance of Names in Scripture
Why did your parents give you the name you have? Well, probably for one of several reasons. And I can remember when my first child was born, I thought he was going to be a girl. So, I had this name, Rebecca Louise, after naming her after my mother. Well, she wasn’t a girl. He was a boy. And so, I didn’t have a name, except we agreed on putting Charles in there somehow. And so, two days went by, and I thought, «I’m going to find this boy a name.» So, I decided I’d get in the Bible and find one. And I read, started with Matthew, and I thought, «I’ll just read till God speaks to my heart.» And so, I only got to the fourth chapter of Matthew, when the Bible talked about Peter and his brother Andrew. And when I saw Andrew, I thought, «That’s it. And I’ll call him Andy.»
Now, you say, «Well, what’s so important about that?» In the life of the Hebrew family, one of the most important things that happened was naming that child. And so, they took great pains in discovering and deciding what they would name the child. And one of the factors was, maybe it was just on a personal opinion of them that they’d like to name the child this, that, or sometimes it was something about the child’s personality upon birth that they would name the child. And then sometimes, maybe because of some surrounding event, and if you’ll remember that Pharaoh’s daughter said, «I’m going to name this baby Moses because we drew him out of the water.» Or it may have been because of something that they felt, or some way they thought God would use that child.
Jesus' Name Was Divinely Given
When it came to Mary and Joseph, they didn’t have a choice. Because if you’ll read in that first chapter of Matthew, that’s the twenty-first verse, it says, «The angel said, 'You will name this baby Jesus.'» And when the angel spoke to Mary, he said the same thing. You will name this child Jesus. So, Jesus had a divine name. It’s the most awesome name ever known to mankind. And what I want to talk about in this message is the name above every name. And I want you to turn to Philippians chapter two.
Because in this passage, which is one of the most important passages in the Bible, because Paul is explaining here the incarnation, which simply means that God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ living among men in human flesh. Remember this, that He never… listen, that Jesus never ceased to be God. Because He was walking as man in human flesh did not mean He was not God. He was always God, always will be God.
The Exaltation of Jesus in Philippians 2
And so, this is His explanation. And then, He speaks here of how God has exalted, listen, the name as well as the Lord Jesus Christ. And beginning in the fifth verse, listen to what He says. He says, «Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus.» And He says, «Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.»
Now listen, «For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.»
Now, what He’s saying is simply this, that Jesus, who is the Son of God, is the most exalted person who’s ever walked this earth. And because of who He is, His name is the highest and most exalted of all names. It’s the name above every single solitary name. And so, what’s this passage all about? This passage is all about the exaltation of His name.
What Does the Name Jesus Really Represent?
Why this name? What does the name Jesus mean to you? And I’m going to repeat one or two things several times because I want you to get this in your mind and heart. That that name represents everything that Jesus Christ is. Now, for example, if somebody called your name, they have some thoughts because they have an idea of what your name represents. It may represent faithfulness and loyalty and devotion, or it may represent, «Oh, my goodness, here he comes.» So, whatever that name represents, it represents you, because that’s who you are.
So, I want us to look first of all here, and I want us to just think about this whole idea of the person who bears the name Jesus. Who is this person who bears this name, the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, think about it in this light. The Scripture says that God says it’s the name above all names.
The World’s View vs. the Biblical View of Jesus
But let’s look at it from a world view for a moment. If you ask the world, the unbeliever out there, «Who is Jesus?» Well, in their mind, and tragically enough, many, many young people and children today would have no earthly idea how to define who He is because they don’t know who He is. But you ask the average person, they say, «Well, he’s a historical character like, you know, Plato and Aristotle and Socrates and Caesar Augustus and Alexander the Great and all the rest.» He’s a historical figure. Besides that, he was a religious figure. And he claimed to heal and to help people in all different ways. And also, he’s the figure that his followers say rose from the dead and therefore began this group. And now, we have these people called the church. And so, Jesus is one of those historical figures whose followers now make up what is called the church. It has nothing to do with who He is, but that’s the world’s view of Him. So, therefore, they don’t follow Him. And they don’t particularly like Him. And so, they just sort of ignore Him.
So, who is Jesus according to the Bible? The Word of God is very clear as to who He is. And that name is the most exalted name ever spoken by mankind. And the Father named Him. The angel said, for example, «For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.» The angel said His name will be Jesus.
Jesus Means «Jehovah Is Salvation»
What is it about this child that God named Him? The angels shed and spread that name. And the angel said to the father and the mother, supposedly the father Joseph, that His name is to be called Jesus. It’s because of what that name represents that Jesus said on several occasions, «If you shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.» You have to do certain things in My name. What in the world does that mean?
So, let’s think about, when you think about Jesus, who do you think about? What do you think about? Here’s what the Scripture says. The Scripture says, as He was announced by the angels, that He’s the Savior of all mankind. When the angel said to Joseph and to Mary, why this name? Because of His purpose in life. Now, that name Jesus in the Hebrew, the Hebrew name for that would be Joshua, or Yahshu, and Jehovah is salvation. So, He was named very specifically for the work that He would do, and that is to be the Savior of the world.
The Many Names and Titles of Jesus
So, the Scripture talks about Him as being the Son of God, and the Savior of the world. The phrase that Jesus most of the time used about Himself was «Son of man.» And I think primarily one of the reasons was that He did not want any political connotation on His name. And so, He’s called many things. He’s called, in the Scriptures, a prophet. We know Him in the Scriptures, a teacher. But the names that were given, in fact, there are over a hundred names given to Jesus that flow out of that name Jesus.
All the way back, for example, in the Old Testament, Emmanuel, God with us. And a prophet, one who would foretell us things that are to come. The Good Shepherd, the one who would care for us. The light of the world, the source of all true knowledge and understanding. Bread, because He would provide what we need in that area of our life. A king, because He was ruler and He had a kingdom. And when you go down the list of all those names, over a hundred different names. King of kings. Lord of lords.
And most of the time, when the disciples were addressing Him, they didn’t say, «Jesus.» They said, «Lord.» And why, Lord? Because He is the sovereign of the universe. The Bible says He’s established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. And His sovereignty still rules over all in spite of man’s unbelief. That doesn’t change who He is nor His power one bit.
Jesus as Our High Priest and Lamb
And so, when you go down that list and you come up with the word, High Priest. What in the world does that mean? That means that He is the one who stands between us and the Father. And He’s the one who makes intercession for us. In fact, Paul said to Timothy, he said, «There’s one mediator between God and man. That’s the man, Jesus Christ.» And in the book of Hebrews, ten times Jesus is referred to as the High Priest.
And in that fourth chapter of Hebrews, which is a wonderful passage in this fourth chapter, you’ll recall what He says that you and I have the privilege of doing because He is our great High Priest. Here’s what He says, «Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.» That’s the work of the High Priest, Lord, Savior.
And then, of course, He’s called the Lamb of God. What was all that about? Because He came into this world, listen, not only to live among men and to reveal the truth about the Father, but He came as a lamb, a sacrificial lamb, which all those Old Testament folks knew all about that. He came as a sacrificial lamb. Listen, God in human flesh for the primary purpose of going to the cross, laying down His life voluntarily, shedding His blood in this manner. He came as a substitution. So His death is a substitutionary, vicarious, all-sufficient, adequate death at Calvary. And in so doing and in so dying, He paid the sin debt of the entire world.
That does not mean that the whole world is saved, but it means this. It means that all who will trust in Him, place their faith in Him, their sin debt is paid for. And when we apply it to our heart by our faith, we become a follower of Jesus Christ. Every single name given to Him is a name, listen, that flows out of that Jesus because of who He is and all that is encompassed in His life.
Why People Resist or Profane the Name of Jesus
So, when you read the Scriptures, for example, you will find one word here and one word there and something else. And for example, He said about Himself, He said, «I’m a servant.» And what was He doing? As a servant, and that word and that phrase was His expression of His submissiveness to the Father to serve Him all the days of His life, even His death and through His death.
So, when somebody says to you, «Well, I believe in Jesus.» Well, who is it you believe in? And here’s something I want you to think about. Why is it that people don’t like Him? Why do people criticize Him? I’m going to come to that in a few moments, but think about this. And what I ask people, if somebody gives me some smart remark about Him, here’s what I ask them, «What is it about Jesus you don’t like?» No one has ever answered that question. What is it about Him you don’t like? It isn’t that they have some reasons not to like Him. They hate what He represents.
The name that is above every name on the face of this earth, a name, listen, divinely given by God to His mother and supposed Father, because He was divine, born of a virgin. What is it about that name? It is the most powerful name. And men bend before that name. And I think about this. One of these days, out there in the end times somewhere and somehow I think about in Heaven, the name of Jesus is going to be pronounced, «Jesus.» Maybe the Father’s going to say it. And when He does, the Bible says that every single knee is going to bow, and every single tongue is going to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God.
Now, does that mean that all of a sudden they’re all going to be saved? No. They are bending and confessing in submission to the awesome, listen, irresistible power of the sovereign God who has exalted His Son and exalted His name, and at that moment they’ll be, listen, there won’t be any coaxing. Now, you folks over here get on your knees. You folks over here confess no. When the Word by the Father, I trust by the Father simply calls His name, it’s all over. His name is exalted above every other name.
Honoring the Sacredness of Jesus' Name
And I think oftentimes we as believers, we just say Jesus and say that name without realizing what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the only Savior of the world. We’re talking about the great High Priest. We’re talking about the Lord of Lords. We’re talking about the King of Kings. We’re talking about the Prince of Peace. We’re talking about Emmanuel, we’re talking about bread, we’re talking about the Shepherd, and He says, «The door in eternal life.» This is who He is. And when you recognize who He is and acknowledge who He is, you will not use His name in a slang fashion. It is the most sacred of all names.
Jesus, Son of God, virgin born, coming into this world as the one and only Savior. He said, «I’m the way to the Father, and there’s no other way.» So, when I think about the person that bears that name, once you begin to grasp that, that name will become sacred and holy in your thinking, and you would not dare use it in a slang fashion, which many people do. And when they do it, it’s like all the other profanity. They have very limited vocabulary. They have no earthly idea what they’re talking about, but they will be held accountable for it.
Now, what about the position of this name? It’s very evident from the Scriptures and according to what the Apostle Paul says here. He says that, «For this reason also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.» Every name. There’s nothing to even begin to match the name of Jesus Christ.
The Power of Jesus' Name in Salvation and Prayer
So, when you think about what its position is, in other words, it’s the most powerful name, it requires and demands my worship, it requires and demands my best in whatever I do, if I’m going to call myself a follower of Jesus. Think about this. When you say, «I am a follower of Jesus Christ,» look what you have just said. «I’m following the great High Priest. I’m following the Savior of the world. I’m following the Lamb of God. I’m following the light of the world.» In other words, you are acknowledging who He is. And you and I are professing, listen, professing in a godly fashion, I trust, to be a true believer and a true follower of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as He is described in the Word of God itself.
So, when I think about that, and over and over again, I hear people naming the name of Jesus Christ and not realizing that His name is above every name and the awesome power behind that name. And you think about how many times have you said, at the end of your prayer, «In Jesus' name, Amen.» What did you mean by that? Now, that’s a tack-on sometimes. Probably very few people understand what that means and why they say that, and I’m going to explain that in a moment.
But think about this. If this is the supreme name divinely given by God to only one person who’s ever lived, how can you be profane in using that name? You hear people say that in your office. You may hear people say that in your home. You may hear people say that who are very young and very old. It’s a slang. It is a word of profanity.
So, I want you to turn, if you will, somebody says, «Well, what difference does that make?» You’re just, you’re just making words. Turn to the twentieth chapter of Exodus, and I’ll tell you why it is very unwise to do that. The twentieth chapter of Exodus, as you know, contains the Ten Commandments. And it appears that a lot of people have forgotten what this says. He says in the seventh verse of the twentieth chapter, «You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.»
Now, a lot of people are… listen to this. A lot of people are suffering things in their life. They don’t even know why. They just know things aren’t going well, or things are really bad, or whatever it might be. When you profane the name of Jesus Christ, God says, He’s the one who gave the Ten Commandments. He says, «You will not go unpunished.»
Why Profaning Jesus' Name Brings Consequences
What does that say? It says, somebody says, «Oh, but, but, but, no, wait a minute. That’s in the Old Testament, and that’s about God, and that’s not about Jesus.» Then you’ve forgotten something. Who is Jesus, and who is He? You see, Jesus is God, who came into this world in human flesh to reveal the truth of the Father, and to lay down His life for your sin and mine. You cannot separate God the Father from the Lord Jesus Christ when it comes to these things.
So, when a person says, «Well, you know, I can say what I want to say about Jesus as long as I don’t say it about God,» then you have missed the point. Jesus is God, the God-man who came into this world to die for our sins. And what He says here is this, «Well, think about it this way. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and so you profane the name that God the Father says is the most exalted name ever spoken, and you profane that name, which is the name of the Son of God.» Either way you look at it, it is profanity.
And I think oftentimes, people are committing sins, they don’t think about it, and then they wonder why things don’t go right in their life. And if you’ll think about it as what could be worse than profaning, that is demeaning, diminishing in power and meaning and holiness, the most sacred name under heaven, given by God Himself that should make us bow before Him at the very sound of it.
And I’ll tell you something else. I do believe that when we hear people say things like that, no matter where you are, you say, «Well, suppose I’m in my office at work, and somebody uses that name. Here’s what you say to them. You said that in Jesus' name. What did you mean by that? Oh, do you know who He is?» Somebody says, «Well, at work you can’t talk about those things.» Well, you brought it up. And I was just asking for information. I’m asking for information. Now, who was that you were talking about? First of all, they’re going to be shocked that you’d ask them. And secondly, they don’t have any earthly idea what the answer is because they don’t know who He is. The most exalted name ever spoken by man. And therefore, because it is, its position is number one. There’s no name equal to it.
The Unmatched Power of Jesus' Name
Now, what about the power of this name? Well, I think about first of all in salvation, and if you’ll turn to Acts chapter four for a moment, and you’ll recall Peter and John are in trouble with the Sadducees and the Pharisees and that whole crowd. And one of His answers to that question, and we’ll come back to this later, but in the twelfth verse, let’s look at his whole testimony. So, Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, and he says in verse ten, «Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone, and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.»
Now, this is very simple. There is no forgiveness. There’s no hope of eternal life. There’s none of that if you ignore or refuse and deny the name of Jesus Christ. None at all.
Now, watch this carefully. And you see, I understand people who don’t like this, and I understand people who don’t like the idea and call us narrow-minded because we say Jesus is the only way. So, let me ask this question. If there is some other way to heaven, besides the way that Jesus, who is the Son of God, with the most exalted name of all, if there is some other way to get to heaven, what is it? I’ll tell you what it is. Every other way is the works of man. I’m good. I’m not bad. I’ve done this. I’m not as bad as they are. In other words, first of all, there’s no such thing as being accepted by God on the basis of your works. For the simple reason, there’s one major issue you’ve forgotten. You came into this world as a sinful human being. You have a sinful nature. You can’t deal with your sinful nature.
Jesus' Name Opens the Door to God in Prayer
You may stop this and stop that and stop the other. It doesn’t make you any better because before long, you’re going to be back at it. The only person who can save you is the One who laid down His life and shed His perfect blood, His innocent blood, because He was a sinless human being and sinless God at the same time. He’s the only person who is capable and fit to die for your sin because He’s the only perfect One.
And so, when somebody says, «Well, I just believe that somehow God’s going to take me in.» Why? And then you get this reply, «It’s none of your business.» Well, it’s none of my business after you reject it, but it’s my business to tell you the truth. So, you ask anyone, in other words, «What is it about Jesus you don’t like?» There’s, «What did He do wrong?» No answer. «What is it about Him you don’t like that can’t tell you?» Well, how do you think you’re going to… in other words, «Do you believe that Jesus was a truthful man?» «Oh, yeah, I believe He was truthful and He… I don’t doubt the question that He was a good man and a good teacher and all this…» Wait a minute. You said you believe He was truthful? «Yeah, I believe He’s truthful.» No, you can’t… you know, He couldn’t be truthful. If what you say is true, He couldn’t be truthful. He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be the only hope of salvation and the door, only door to salvation. And so, if He claims that and you say it’s not true, then He wasn’t a good man and He was a counterfeit and He was a fraud.
You know why people don’t like His name? He brings you right to center with Almighty God. There’s no compromise and there’s no getting around. Jesus is the pivotal point of all human history. And so, His name is the most powerful of all names. And the greatest expression of that power is this: that He can look down, listen to sinners like us. And you can take the most vile sinner, no matter what they’ve done, how long they’ve done it, vicious, in prison, you name it. And they cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin. And on the basis of who He is, and they cry out to Jesus to forgive them, that name carries with it forgiveness and cleansing and a new name written down in glory and the absolute assurance of eternal life. There’s nothing in all of life and no name that can possibly do that. The most powerful of all names.
Now, not only in salvation, but also true in every aspect of our life. Because, for example, what does it mean to do something in the name of Jesus? He says we’re to baptize in His name and we’re to give in His name and many other things. But what I want to do is to take a moment to talk about this whole issue of the name of Jesus when it comes to prayer. Because we said a few moments ago, many people just tack this on the end and sort of a magic formula. Well, if I pray in Jesus' name, then it’s going to happen.
So, I want you to turn to the fourteenth chapter of John and I want you to consider a question here. Something that Jesus said. Fourteenth chapter. And He said about the same thing, two verses in a row. And I want you to think soberly about this. He said, the night before He’s being crucified, fourteenth chapter, thirteenth verse, here’s what He said. «Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.»
All right, you got that? Now, listen to this. Suppose Jesus had said this. Suppose He had said, «Whatever you ask, that will I do.» Or suppose He’d said, «If you ask Me anything, I will do it.» Why didn’t He say that? Why did He say in My name? Why didn’t He say, «Anything you ask, I’ll do it.»
Well, first of all, that would never work for several reasons. One of which, most of us would have destroyed ourselves asking for things that would have killed us or destroyed us. But that’s not the primary reason. Why did He say, «If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.»
Four Key Principles for Praying in Jesus' Name
Now, I want to give you four words. And I want you to jot them down. And I want to talk about this whole matter of the name of Jesus when you and I come to pray. And how important it is and what it really means to say, «I’m asking this in Jesus' name.» Because if you will sift your request, no matter what it is, if you will sift your request through these four words, you will come to the end and say, «Oops, I might as well not ask that. Oh, Lord, I need some direction here.»
Because think about it this way. «In His name,» now watch this, «involves my association with Him.» Now, I’m going to put them all in an «A» so you can remember them, but we’re talking about it by association, our relationship to Him. «I’m coming to Him on the basis of my relationship, my association with Him, which is that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, I’ve been saved by His death at Calvary, and now I’m one of His children. On the basis of my relationship as a child of God, I’m coming.»
The second word is access. That because of my relationship to Him, I have access to Him. We read a few moments ago in this chapter in Hebrews, where we are encouraged to come to Him. And He says, «Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we will receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.» So, I have access to Him.
Now, watch this carefully. Apart from Jesus Christ, you have no access to God. Somebody says, «Well, wait a minute. I can tell you right now, I pray to God, you may be praying. You’ve rejected His Son.» Let me ask you a question. If His Son is who He says He is, and He is, do you mean to tell me that you believe that God is going to ignore what He said about His Son, and you’re going to go around His Son and get what you want? No way.
So, He says, «First of all, because of my relationship to Him. Secondly, I have access to Him.» He says in Romans chapter five, He says, «Therefore, being justified by faith that is declared no longer guilty by my faith in Christ.» He says, «We have peace with God.» And also, He says, «We have access to Him.» That is, what makes it possible for us to go to the Father and to reach Him? It is through the Lord Jesus Christ, and no other way.
Now, here’s the reason why. God is absolutely holy, and God, listen, God is not going to stand in the presence of wickedness and evil and sinfulness and unwholeness. He’s separated. And so, if you want to look at it this way, here’s Almighty God, and here’s mankind. And the only way holy God and mankind will ever connect is because somebody paid the price of that sin debt and makes it possible for them to get to God, access to Him.
The third word that’s important is what? Authority. And that is, because of our relationship to Him, because of our access to Him, we’re His children, we have authority. Now, what’s that authority? We have the authority to come before Almighty God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and make our request. Why? Because He told us to do it. He said, «Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find.» He says, «This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us,» and so forth. And He says, «If you shall ask anything in My name.» He says, «When you pray, believe that what you’ve asked you have received.» That is, He’s into this asking and receiving. He wants us to live our lives in our relationship to Him through prayer. So, we have the authority to come to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The fourth word is what? According to His will. So, now, think about this. When you pray, are you willing? You might as well be, because this is the way it is. You have to sift your prayer requests through four things. Number one, do I have this association, my relationship to Him? Yes. Secondly, do I have access to the Father? Yes, I do, because I’m one of His followers. And that is the third one, is do I have authority to ask this question? Yes, I do, because I’m one of His children and He’s given me that authority. And the fourth is this, according to His will. Is this the will of the Father?
Now, if I come to those first three and say, «Yes,» and then I ask, «Is it according to His will?» Here’s what you are saying. Now, watch this. When you say, «According to His will,» you’re saying, «I am submitting myself to You, Father, to answer my prayer on the basis of Your knowledge and Your wisdom and Your grace and Your love for me, because I don’t want something You don’t want me to have. I want You to grant my petition according to Your will. Coming in the name of Jesus Christ.» All of that is involved when you and I come to pray.
The Persecution and Proclamation of Jesus' Name
And somebody says, «Well, He says, ask and it’ll be given you.» Mm-mm, mm-mm, mm-mm. Anything you ask in my name, because you see, when you and I, for example, go to someone and we say, «I’m coming in the name of Jesus, I’m coming with all that in my mind.» In other words, I have an authority and a basis for coming. And so, the power of the name of Jesus, it’s the awesome power that has done what? That’s flung the door open for you and me to be able to relate to Him, and to call Him our Father, and to walk in His ways, and to receive our needs.
It’s all about Jesus, and when I hear people talking about praying and asking God about this and that, and never mentioning Jesus. For example, when we pray for people to be healed, what are we doing? We’re coming in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and asking. When we’re coming and praying for people to be saved, we’re coming in Jesus' name. In other words, preaching the gospel in Jesus' name. Believers are followers of Jesus. Listen, watch this. Followers of Jesus, not followers of somebody else. Followers of Jesus, we come in His name, by His authority, according to His will, to seek His purpose, and to bring Him glory and honor, not ourselves.
Well, then there’s another word I want you to notice, and that is the persecution of this name. What was it about this name? Listen to this. It’s who He is. What does the name Jesus represent? It represents everything we said in the very beginning of who this is. This is the Son of God. This is God who came to earth in flesh to die on the cross for the sins of the world. There’s none like Him. There’s no name like Him. It’s the most hated and the most holy name ever known to mankind.
What is it about Him people don’t like? And as I say, again, I’ll say this, and I would say it to you. You don’t like the name Jesus. What is it about you don’t like? You say, «Well, I don’t like what He represents.» So, what does He represent? «Well, He represents…» No, let me tell you what He represents, Son of God. God, in other words, write down this list of things we’ve talked about. I’ve never heard anybody criticize Jesus to say, «Well, He did thus and so.» No. «Well, He lied.» No. It’s… they can’t even tell you what it is about Him they don’t like. For the simple reason, He is God. No mistakes, no sins. This perfect, loving God came to earth in the awesome person of Jesus to love the world and to point them to the right way and to lay down His life is the greatest expression of love man’s ever known. And they don’t like Him.
I’ll tell you why. Because His very presence stirs up within them conviction. And if you’ll think about this for a moment, in our own country, what is it? What is it about Him? Well, back around a number of years ago now, in order to get Him out of our society, the leaders, in this country, not somewhere else, said, «If we’re going to get rid of Him, we have to start in school. So, let’s start interpreting the Constitution so that we can get Bible teaching out of the school and prayer.» That’s two good strikes against Jesus.
Then, think about this. Isn’t this interesting? That men you and I sent to govern us have not had, do not have the courage to stand for what is right. They could have overridden that decision, but they were quiet. They were quiet to save their own position. Very quiet. The name of Jesus cannot be persecuted, criticized, and cast out without paying a terrible price.
Our Calling to Proclaim Jesus to the World
And yeah, I hear people saying, «Oh, you’re going to get through with this, it’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay, it’s going to be all right.» My friend, if I were you, I’d stop and think about what place Jesus Christ has in my life.
But let me say one last thing. And that’s simply this, that this name is the name that is to be proclaimed throughout the whole world. Remember what Jesus said to His disciples in Luke, that twenty-fourth chapter? He said, «Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations beginning in Jerusalem.»
What is the work of the church? Proclaiming the name of Jesus and all that goes with that. What’s missions all about? Missions is all about proclaiming the name of Jesus. Now, I’m all for helping people with food and clothing and medical attention and all the rest. But the primary basis of all missionary work is Jesus. And you can help people, but if you don’t give them Jesus, they don’t need help again next week. Jesus is the message. Jesus is what it’s all about.
And it’s not just the name, it’s all that name represents. And when I look to see what that name represents, I want to fall on my face before Holy God and thank Him for grace and mercy and love and forgiveness which none of us deserve. And Paul said, «That name has been highly exalted above every other name, that at the name of Jesus Christ, every knee should bow, every tongue should confess, and one day, everyone will bow, everyone will confess.»
Now, I don’t know what you believe about Jesus, but let me just say this, you’ve heard the truth. I’ve just told you what God said. And I would simply say to you, and I would warn you, if you use Jesus' name in a slang fashion, you will be punished. That’s what God said. But the believer, the Word is disciplined, strongly disciplined. You hear your children saying it, you should discipline them immediately and listen, explain to them why you don’t say that about the name of Jesus Christ.
And I would say to you, my friend, if you’ve never trusted Him as your Savior, if there were any other way, I promise you, I would tell you, there is only one way. Jesus, the Son of God, said, «I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me.»
One of these days, you’re going to die. You’re coming to the end of your life, and I trust that mercifully, you’re awake and conscious that last hour. Because if you are, you’re going to do some serious thinking. About your life, and about this Jesus you heard about all during those years, let me just say this to you, in that moment, you will need Him and only Him above everything else in life. No doctor, no parent, no child, no friend, no money, nothing. You’ll just need Him. You may not get that hour.
And so, I want to encourage you to ask God to forgive you for your sinfulness and your rebellion toward Him. And that you are willing to believe the testimony of Scripture, that He went to the cross and laid down His life and paid your sin debt in full so that it is not your works, it is your faith in Jesus, the surrender of your life to Him that brings about your eternal redemption and life everlasting. And that’s our prayer for you.
Because you see, that’s what this church is all about. Why do we have In Touch? One reason. To proclaim the name of Jesus to the uttermost parts of the earth, to everybody on the face of this earth we can get that name to is what we’re all about. That’s all we’re all about.
Now, you think about this. Is it not your and my personal responsibility to spread that name? You say, well, everybody I know knows about Jesus. No. You think they do. They don’t. Why don’t you start a conversation? And you might ask them, «What do you think about Jesus?»
He said, «Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.» He wasn’t talking about preachers, necessarily. All of us are to be witnesses. What are we to witness? We’re to witness Jesus. And if He’s in my heart, I can tell somebody about Him, and so can you. Do you have children that live in your household that don’t know who He is? Are you living with somebody who doesn’t know Him? Are you married to someone who doesn’t know Him? Do you work with someone who doesn’t know Him? And that’s true all across this world. You have an understanding of what that name means, and I challenge you, don’t live another day without telling somebody who Jesus Christ is.
And Father, we know that You will honor our testimony. We know that sometimes we make mistakes, and we stumble, and we falter. Maybe we don’t understand it all enough to do a lot of explaining. And yet sometimes all we have to say is, «I love Jesus.» Or, «Jesus means everything to me.» I pray the Holy Spirit will sink this message deep in the heart of every person who hears it. May we go to bed thinking about You and waking up thinking about You. And may all, during the day, we recognize we’re living for You. We’re extensions of Your life, demonstrations of Your power, exhibitions of Your love. And may it be true in our lives, in Jesus' name. We pray it. Amen.