THE NAME OF JESUS!
"Then Peter, filled with the holy Spirit, answered them, Leaders of the people and elders: If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a cripple, namely, by what means he was saved, then all of you and all the people of Israel should know that it was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead; in his name this man stands before you healed. He is ’the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved." Acts 4: 8-12
The name of Jesus has been a flashpoint for the last two thousand years. From the day Jesus died on the cross for the sins of every human being, the name of Jesus has become the dividing line between people. For those who love Him, it stirs unrivaled depths of passionate love and holy awe. For others, it can unleash unsurpassed hated and venomous bile.
This should be no surprise to us, because every demon from hell hates that name. They know what happened to them at the cross. They know their final destiny is sealed. They know what’s in store for them. If they could they would undo what they did at Calvary!
"Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." 1Cor 2:7-8
Satan shot himself in the foot when he orchestrated the crucifixtion of Jesus. His hatred of the name of Jesus knows no limits. His hatred of any committed, dedicated follower of Jesus knows no limits.
Franklin Graham, the son of famed-preacher Billy Graham has created widespread firestorms for his use of the name Jesus in public prayers at the 2001 Presidential Inauguration and the 1999 Columbine Memorial service. As long as preachers pray to a generic God, or to Buddha, or Mohammed, or to Goddess Gaia - no problem.
But if you let the name of Jesus out of your mouth in prayer - standby! The politically correct tolerance police led by The New York Times, will be on your case in a flash. Isn’t it funny how those who demand tolerance for every sexual aberration that comes down the pike, have zero tolerance for the name of Jesus. It’s easy to discern what is ultimately behind that hatred.
Chuck Colson recently wrote that "ABC officials recently chose to bleep out the word "Jesus" on the West Coast broadcast of its morning talk show, "The View." The daily show is hosted by Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Lisa Ling and Joy Behar, who commented on a broadcast on her successful weight-loss program. She exclaimed, "Yes, and thank you, thank you, Jesus, is all I have to say!"
Many cable networks have adopted policies in which the name of Jesus is habitually blasphemed. The Lord’s name is uttered countless times, and not in reverential terms. Watch a movie on any number of cable networks and you will frequently hear the name of Jesus Christ blasphemed and reviled."
The Church itself can be hesitant to lift up the name of Jesus. A subcommittee of the US bishops’ conference has approved a statement saying "campaigns that target Jews for conversion to Christianity are no longer theologically acceptable in the Catholic Church." The August 12, 2002 statement was entitled "Reflections on Covenant and Mission" and went on to say: "Thus, while the Catholic Church regards the saving act of Christ as central to the process of human salvation for all, it also acknowledges that Jews already dwell in a saving covenant with God."
If we buy this we are telling Jesus He made an awful, unnecessary mistake dying on that cross. He also didn’t know what He was talking about.
"And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Mt 15:22-25
Saint Peter is probably choking on this document also. This is what he said on the first Pentecost.
"Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, "What are we to do, my brothers?" Peter (said) to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:36-39
If we buy this statement put out by the US Bishops’ conference, it might put the final nail in the coffin of the presently mortally wounded Catholic Church in the USA.
Make no mistake about it, the devil is committed to silencing the name of Jesus and all Christians that are so bold as to lift up His mighty saving name. The Swedish parliament is currently debating an amendment to their constitution that would make it a crime to speakout against homosexuality. That means the politically correct police could come into church and monitor what is said from the altar. If you read Romans chapter one from the bible, you could be hauled off to jail.
We live in that kind of climate in our country also. The answer to it is not to back off in fear, but to be ever more ready to lift up the name of Jesus! It is a time to be bold and courageous, not timid and fearful. We are supposedly dead men already. ("The life I live now is not my own, but Christ living in me" Gal 2:20), so lets start acting like it. Decide today that they can kill this physical body of mine but I will never be quiet about Jesus.
Let’s turn in our tax-exempt status to the Feds and the State! Sooner or later they are going to take it away anyhow. Sure we will have fewer churches. But many of them should be closed down. They are preaching such a weak, insipid, lukewarm gospel that many of their members are in captivity to the devil and they don’t even know it!
Let’s start preaching the gospel in all its power and all its purity. Let’s start calling sin by its proper name - SIN, not calling it a weakness or a tendency. Let’s start challenging the evils in our culture of death. Let’s start lifting up the name of Jesus with vigor and unbridled passion. Let’s tell everybody there is salvation in no other name but in the name of Jesus! Let’s tell everybody we will have no king but Jesus and we especially won’t bow down to "Caesar". Let them throw us in jail and kill us, we dead already!
Let’s shout the name of Jesus from the housetops. Let’s tell all men, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Morman, Jehovah’s Witnesses, black, white, every man, woman and child, that JESUS IS LORD. Not in some aggressive, condemning, obnoxious way, but in a gentle witness by the way we live and in normal everyday sharing as the Holy Spirit leads us. But never, never let us be silenced by anyone about the name of Jesus.
A beautiful song by Brenton Brown from Mercy/Vineyard publishing sums it up simply and powerfully for us individually and as the Body of Christ.
LORD REIGN IN ME
by Brenton Brown
Over all the earth You reign on high
Every mountain stream every sunset sky
But my one request Lord my only aim
Is that You’d reign in me again
Lord reign in me reign in Your power
Over all my dreams in my darkest hour
You are the Lord of all I am
So won’t You reign in me again
Over every thought over every word
May my life reflect the beauty of my Lord
’Cause You mean more to me than any earthly thing
So won’t You reign in me again
***** JESUS IS LORD *****
