Kenneth Copeland - The Power and Authority of the Name of Jesus
Now, we have learned that there's great power in the name of Jesus and that we, being born-again sons of God, and you know there's always people that are, you know, want to pick at it. Well, she's a daughter of God. Well, that's true. But it's referring to mankind, men and women, that there's power in the name of Jesus, the night that I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I'd never read the Bible. And Gloria accepted Jesus from the Bible my mother sent me that I never opened up. And, but my mother had prayed.
Now, you can do this on the 5th chapter of I Peter, "Casting the whole of your care over on Him for He cares for you". That's what she did. But she didn't do it acting on that scripture. She just got tired of praying for me. And she said, "That's it. I've prayed for him the last time. If he goes to hell, it's your fault". Gloria got saved the next week. She hadn't said anything to me about it. I got saved two weeks after she said that. She literally got out of the way in all of her vain repetitions that Jesus said, don't do. She said later, I could have done that all the time. So it really wasn't vain. But think about this now. She prayed and obviously prayed in faith. But then she just kept on.
So she kept negating what she'd already prayed by going back and praying the same thing again over and over and over. And she put a stop to it and just got out of the way and said, "If he goes to hell, it's your fault". Well, there's no way He's going to let that happen. And then that... I never heard of a new creature like 2 Corinthians 5. But when I obeyed God and I still had my Sunday school teacher's voice in my spirit, I heard her voice say, "Boys, you have to ask Jesus to come into your heart". And I did. And for about 30 seconds there, I couldn't close my mouth. And profanity was gone from that day until this.
Now, there's a lot of other junk hanging on that had to go, but I had record of the fact that I was a new creature. And then when I found that scripture, I said, "Well, of course, that's what happened to me". Now, that's a marvelous miracle. Marvelous miracle. Because I didn't know it then. Well, don't turn here. I'm just going to turn over there and where our classmates can know where it is, 2 Corinthians 5.
Verse 6, "Wherefore we are always confident in Him, knowing that while we're at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith and not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labor or endeavor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that which he has done, whether it be good or bad. That knowing therefore that the terror of the Lord we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God, I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again to you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that you may have somewhat to answer them that glory in appearance and not in the heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God, or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then all were dead. And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. Therefore henceforth know we know man after the flesh, yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh. Yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new, and all things are of God".
What passed away? That old carnal nature. It's gone. That's what happened to me that night. In November the 2nd, 1962, "Who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to know that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing or holding against them their trespasses, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us". We pray. So this is a prayer class. This is a good prayer. We pray you in Christ's stead, you be reconciled to God. For he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. New creatures in right standing with God. That's what righteousness means. That's just simply an old English word of saying it.
I've heard men that build race engines and stuff say, well, that engine needs some help. It's just not righteous yet, but we'll get there. We'll get there. Something wrong with it. We then as workers together with him. Oh, hallelujah. So now to the book of Hebrews. "God, who at sundry time and in different manner spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things".
All right, now here we are. The power and authority of the name of Jesus. Number one, he inherited it. I had the Spirit of God tell me in my spirit one time, "Kenneth, if you don't let me die, you'll never let yourself live". Let him die. "Heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, and express image of his person, upholding all things by the Word of his power". Wow. "When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, and again I will be him a Father". Now, that's not at Bethlehem. That's in the pit of hell itself. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me"?
22nd Psalm, and then in the Classic Amplified, it is finished. Well, one of them heard him say, why have you forsaken me? And another one heard him say, it's finished. But he went into hell on that psalm. He died. Just continue to read where we were in the book of Acts, and the apostle Peter brought it out. He went to hell and suffered there. They will not leave his body to suffer corruption. But he died and was raised up from the dead. Now, these words, if you read them carefully, the apostle Paul, by the Spirit of God, is revealing to us what God said that raised him out of hell itself. "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, and again I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son".
Again, again. He was separated from the Father. He went to hell, class so we don't have to go. He was separated from the Father. And the very thought of it caused him to sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. If there's any way, let this cup depart from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. Amen.
"And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, Let all the angels of God worship him, and of the angels, he saith, who maketh his angel spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he said, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, hated iniquity. Therefore, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And thou, Lord, in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remain. They shall all wax old as does a garment. And as a vesture, thou shalt fold them up, and they shall be changed, and you are the same, and your years shall not fail. With you the angel said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them, who shall be heirs of salvation".
Hallelujah. We're heirs of salvation. They are ministering spirits sent forth the minister. Hallelujah. Thank You, Jesus. Praise the Lord. Now, my mother's brother, younger brother, the older brother, enlisted World War II immediately, and then went to OCS and received a commission. Well, they both went to Texas Tech in Lubbock back in the day. Both of them graduated. But once Alton did that, Alton Leroy Owens, they would not allow, that was the end of the Owens name. They wouldn't allow him to be a part of that. So, he worked out here at Consolidated, and he was a security guard. He was naturally the most powerful man that I know anything about, and just physical power.
When his son was being born, second one, who was named after, we called him Uncle Bud, but he was, and in fact, they named him Buddy. And they found out that when anybody went into labor, you better get there quick. And they were out there in the country, and they had a blowout. He jumped out of the car, ran around there, and loosened all the lug nuts, got back there, and there wasn't a jack. I'm telling you this to get to something else about an angel. So, my mother, he loosened all those lug nuts, and he backed up to that car. And he told my mother, he said, "Now you got to do this in a hurry, because I'm not going to be able to hold this thing up very long".
He picked up the rear of that car long enough for her to jerk that tire off of there, and put it back in, and get the lug nuts started. Then he finished it up and got to the hospital. He was driving a new Studebaker and it was wet and slippery. This is back before the day of seat belts in cars. And that car slid on a road going up like this, it fishtailed, and then rolled down like this into a little valley there in a hole and stopped upside down. He was out of the car with the car on top of him. And he said, "I thought about flipping that car off," but he said, "I'd have broken my feet if I'd have done that".
So he kept picking it up long enough to breathe. Well, he had a scratch on his hand, he had squirted blood all over himself, but that's all wrong with him. And this woman came up. Now listen, his nickname was Pete. The older brother nicknamed everybody, but anyway. And so he was Pete Owens. But that's important here. This woman walked up there and said, "Pete..." He is out in the middle of nowhere. Everything's going to be all right. Help is on the way. So, they brought the equipment down there and picked that car up and moved it to get it off of him. She called him by his nickname. His name was Floyd Russell Owens. He wouldn't wear anything but blue overalls.
So my uncle Boyd called him Pete Edmund Boy Blue. So he was Pete Owens the rest of his life. Somehow a woman called him Pete and said, "Help will be here in a moment". He looked all over the place trying to find her. She wasn't there. Ministering spirits sent to minister. Now in the Bible, all the angels are called men, but it also says we have entertained angels unaware. And that the devil is able to turn himself into an angel of light. They're spirit beings. I have always thought that my uncle Pete didn't need to see some great big angel. He needed some sweet looking face and calm him down. Pete, everything's going to be all right. Right out in the middle of nowhere with a car on top of him. Praise God. Thank You, Jesus.
So now, but now listen, "Therefore, all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken of by the Lord and confirmed unto us by them that heard him. God also bearing them witness both with signs and wonders and with different miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost or distributions of the Holy Ghost according to his own will? For unto the angels, hath he put into subjection, hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, what is man that thou shalt be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should visit him. You've made him a little lower than the angels".
Now, Psalm 8:5 said a little lower than God, but that's not what this referring to here. The devil is a fallen angel. We know what his name was. It was Lucifer.
"A little lower than the angels, you crowned him with glory and honor, and did set him over the works of thy hands. They'll put all things in subjection under his feet for in that he put all in subjection under him. He left nothing that is not put unto him. But now we see not all things yet. We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor that by grace he should taste death for all men. It became him for whom all things, by whom all things and bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect or mature through the things that he suffered, but both sanctified for both he that sanctifies they who are sanctified or all of one of which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. I will declare your name unto my brethren, your name unto my brethren, your name unto my brethren in the church. I'll sing praise unto you and deliver them".
Verse 15, "Deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage for verily he took not upon him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham upholds all things by the Word of his power". He is our Lord seated at the right hand of majesty on high. And every day is one day closer to the resurrection. And we'll be back in just a moment.