All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name

Perhaps it was so outlandish you would not even mention it to anyone. Let me give you a couple of examples.

(1) WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TO HAVE AN EVIL GANG TRAVEL ACROSS THIS COUNTRY AND PULL UP ALL THE ROAD SIGNS IN ONE NIGHT?

This would not bother us in the slightest if we only had to travel on roads we were familiar with, but, once we would have to go beyond that area we would begin to have some serious problems. The only way a person could travel out of familiar territory would be to stop and ask directions.

(2) WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE IF NO NAMES WERE GIVEN TO PLACES, OR THINGS, OR PEOPLE?

Every time we would go to a different place we would have to ask, “What is the name of this place?” This would be very confusing and time consuming.

To keep down confusion we have given everything names. For example, restaurants have names and when we hear those names we associate them with places. As soon as we hear the name “Shoney’s” etc., immediately a picture comes to our minds.

Illus: In Columbia, S.C., there is a very popular restaurant that had no name assigned to it. Finally they named it, “No Name” restaurant.

Again, those who live in the area, when they hear the name “No Name” the picture of this restaurant comes to their minds.

EVERYTHING and EVERYONE has a name that we can identify it by. Let us look at...

I. OUR NAMES.

Now if we did not have personal names, we all would have the same name. To get our attention, people would have to call, “Hey you!” In other words all first names would be HEY and our last names would be YOU.

Sometimes people are given names they wish they had not been given. For example...

Illus: A preacher whose last name was HOGG, had quite a sick sense of humor. When his girls were born, he named one IMA, and the next one, URA. Can you imagine what it must have been like when those girls had to get up and tell their names in school?

• One would have to say, probably embarrassed, “Ima Hogg.”

• The other probably had to stay in for recess after saying, “Ura Hogg.”

Famous people’s names are often seen in neon lights. It always seems tragic when some of these will be willing to sell their names to liquor or cigarette industries, or something even worse.

Those who do this are telling us several things about themselves.

(1) They have no respect for their own names.

(2) They will do anything for money.

(3) They have no concern for others.

If they did, they would never sell their names to promote or endorse evil things that destroy lives and break up homes.

Those who sell their names are NOT WORTHY of any ADORATION OR ADMIRATION that is given to them.

Proverb 22:1 states clearly, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches...”

Illus: Years ago, in South Carolina, one of the major banks came into some very serious financial problems. The officials met and decided their situation demanded that they reorganize.

They selected a successful farmer in the area to be their new president.

When they approached him about their decision to make him president of the bank he was absolutely speechless. After they left him, he thought, “Why have they selected me to be the president?” He then came to this conclusion: “This bank is having some serious financial problems and evidently they think I have an abundance of money and I can bail them out.” So, he met with them again and told them, “Gentlemen, I appreciate the offer of this position, but I am not as wealthy as you may think.”

The board saw the confusion on his face and told him, “The reason we selected you to be president is because you have something that is worth more than money. YOU HAVE A GOOD NAME!”

The Bible says, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches...”

Illus: Everyone has played the game called, “Association.” In this game one calls out a word and someone else is to speak the first thing that comes to his mind.

When your name is called, what do people immediately think about?

Illus: After having denied it for over seven months, Bill Clinton finally confessed to having a sexual affair with a twenty-one-year-old intern. A poll was taken in which people were asked, “What do you think about when you hear the name, ‘Bill Clinton?’” The answer was staggering. The poll indicated that “liar,” popped into the minds of over fifty percent of the American people.

When people hear your name, WHAT IS THE FIRST THING THAT POPS INTO THEIR MINDS? You can rest assured of this. When your name comes up, people have a mental picture that pops up. It happens every time! For example...