Mensa Otabil - Believe In His Name
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Well, it’s been a great time this week talking about faith and how faith works and what it is, and all of that. We’re concluding by talking about faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts chapter 3, verse 16: «And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.» This is based on the first miracle worked by the disciples of Jesus Christ after Jesus had ascended. Peter and John are going to the temple at the hour of prayer, and at the gate of the temple, they meet a man who has been paralyzed. The man asks for money. Peter and John give him the name of Jesus, and the man gets up, is healed, and walks and leaps in the temple. People are amazed, and everybody’s wondering how could these Galileans, who have come from Galilee, their Master has left them. How could they be doing these things at this time? People are really flabbergasted by this miracle, and Peter now has to explain how the miracle happened. Now, this is a good time for Peter to show off, but listen to what he says, and he shows us how the miracle happens. He says first that it is through the name of Jesus that this miracle happened.
So what lessons do we learn from Peter? First, for us to use our faith or to see the power of God, we must know the power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus is powerful by itself. When Jesus rose from the dead, He had a name that is above every name, that at the mention of His name, every knee bows.
So the name of Jesus is powerful, and you don’t need to give the name power; it’s powerful by itself. Its power is not based on how you shout it. Its power is not in the name of what you add to it. Without adding anything to the name of Jesus, it is powerful by itself. But Peter goes beyond just the name of Jesus; he talks about faith in the name of Jesus. Though the name of Jesus is powerful in itself, we must have faith in it. It’s like having a key that can open a door. The key can open the door, but you must have faith to use it; otherwise, you can hit the door and punch the door. If the key is too small, you may think, «Oh, a small key cannot open a big door.» The same way, many times, we think, «Oh, faith is too simple.» You want to add a little oil to it and a little water to it, and a little handkerchief to it, and a little something to it, you know, and we add all kinds of things to it. But the name of Jesus is powerful; all you need to do is believe in the name.
So anytime you pray and you say, «In the name of Jesus,» you must have faith in the name-not faith in yourself, not faith in your pastor or your church, but faith in the name of Jesus. So the name is powerful by itself; we must have faith in the name. Thirdly, we must speak in the name of Jesus. If you have faith in the name of Jesus, then you must verbalize it. Remember, Peter had faith in the name of Jesus; John had faith in the name of Jesus. But how could that faith be activated? They said, «In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk.» And that’s why, in operating in faith, the words of our mouth are so important. The meditations of our heart-we have faith in our heart, but the word of our mouth we must declare it.
So if you’re going to see the power of God, if you’re going to work the miracles of God, if you’re going to move in the supernatural, you must have faith: faith in the name of Jesus, that the name of Jesus is powerful by itself, that you don’t need to do anything extraordinary for the name to be powerful. God has given the name power, and all you do is believe the name and speak the name. So in the coming week, have faith in the name of Jesus and speak the name of Jesus, and you will see the signs and wonders that will accompany you throughout the week.
Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, thank you that signs, wonders, and miracles follow me. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»