A 4-year-olds' Sunday school class was just about to begin, when a little boy showed up without any identification. The teacher managed to get his first name, but couldn't find out his last name. “Brian, what's your daddy's name?” she asked.
“Daddy,” he replied.
She tried again, “Brian, what's your mommy's name?”
“Mommy,” he answered.
Suddenly she realized exactly how she could get the answer she needed. “Brian, what does your daddy call your mommy?”
His face lit up. With a grin and a deep voice, he replied, “Hey, Babe.” (Susan Boatright, Savannah, GA, "Heart to Heart”, Today's Christian Woman)
Names – Why are they so important?
When we lived on Washington Island in Wisconsin, a member of our church, who was on the town board, asked me to give the opening prayer for one of their town board meetings. There was only one restriction. I could not use the name of Jesus in my prayer. That’s because every time the name of Jesus was mentioned in the town board meeting, a local citizen, who was an atheist, would report it to the county attorney, and that attorney would fine the Town of Washington $500.
Well, I wrestled with whether or not I could pray without using the name of Jesus. After all, the only way anyone can come to the Father is through the name of His Son, Jesus. Without the name of Jesus, our prayers are a sham. But I decided to go ahead and give the opening prayer at the town board meeting anyway, and I closed my prayer with these words: “In the name of the One whose name is above all names, amen.”
They never asked me to pray again.
Jesus – What’s the big deal? Why is His name so important? In our politically correct culture, why risk offending people with the name of Jesus? Why not just worship Him quietly in our own minds? Why make such a fuss about Jesus’ name?
After all, what’s in a name anyway? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Acts 3, Acts 3, where we see just how important the name of Jesus is.
Acts 3:1-8 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. (ESV)
The beggar had requested money; but instead, he received a miracle. For over 40 years (4:22), he lay a cripple; but now, in the name of Jesus, he’s walking and leaping and praising God. And the people are astounded!
Acts 3:9-10 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (ESV)
How important is the name of Jesus? Well…
THE NAME OF JESUS MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!
For 40 years, people had thrown money at “the problem,” but it really didn’t change the situation. Peter and John come along, without any money, they call on the name of Jesus, and in one afternoon, the man is thoroughly transformed from the inside out. The lame man not only walked, he worshipped the Lord!
The name of Jesus is ALL important. Without it, we’re just another social service organization; but with it, we have the power to change lives forever.
1200 years later, the pope was showing Thomas Aquinas the luxurious papal palace in Rome. As they toured the palace, the pope remarked, “Well, Thomas, the church in our day can not say, Silver and gold have I none.”
“No,” replied Aquinas, “neither can she say, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” (Rev. C. Perrin, as quoted by Rev. Aquilla Webb in, 1000 Evangelistic Illustrations, p.54)
The church had gained in wealth, but it had lost any real power. Oh, the pope was more powerful than any king in Europe at that time, but the church had lost its power to affect any lasting change in the hearts and lives of people. Why? Because they had ceased to operate in the name of Jesus. Instead, they operated in the name of political power and money.
Are we in danger of doing that today? The evangelical church in America is wealthy, and we have tasted political power; but are we really making a difference in people’s lives? I’m afraid, for too long, we have operated in the name of numbers. We have operated in the name of big, beautiful buildings. We have operated in the name of money and power, thinking that these are the things that will make the difference for us. Have we forgotten that true power comes only in the name of Jesus.
I think God is beginning to teach the American Evangelical church that lesson. We have lost much of our clout in the halls of political power. We are experiencing more and more persecution. Our own financial resources are dwindling; and soon, Jesus will be all we’ve got.
Tell me, will we find Him to be enough? Will we find Him to be sufficient? Yes! Because effective ministry is not accomplished in the name of money and power. Effective ministry is accomplished in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Leo Tolstoy, over a hundred years ago, tried to find a way to rid Moscow of the poor and the homeless. The famous author began by giving his money to the beggars on the street, but it didn’t take him long to discover that he was being cheated. Men would tell him, “They only needed money to buy a railway ticket home,” but a few days later, he spotted them still hanging around town.
Then, he decided to give his money only to the “truly needy.” But after months and months of trying, he concluded, “Of all the people I noted down, I really helped none… I did not find any unfortunates who could be made more fortunate by a mere gift of money.” (BI# 2799-2804; 6/1988.16)
Money is useful – God entrusted each of us with a certain amount of money to manage on His behalf, and God wants us to use it wisely, but money is not the answer. No. The only real answer to our problems is Jesus.
And that’s because the name of Jesus is powerful. It’s more powerful than the name of money. It’s more powerful than the name of political power. The name of Jesus is more powerful than any other name!
In A.D. 180, the aging Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, was about to pass the throne onto one of his generals, the General Maximus Decimus Meridus. But before that could happen, the emperor's son, Commodus, killed his father in order to establish himself on the throne. He then ordered the murder of Maximus and his family. Maximus’ wife and son were killed, but Maximus escapes, is later sold into slavery, and becomes a nameless gladiator. That’s the setting for the movie called The Gladiator.
The climax of the story comes late in the movie. After Maximus wins a great battle in the Coliseum, Emperor Commodus wants to meet this unknown gladiator face to face. The crowd watches as the emperor, in full pomp, strides with his soldiers onto the sands of the Coliseum. (Show movie clip.)
The emperor asks the simple question: “What is your name?”
Maximus, streaked with blood and dirt from the battle, takes off his helmet and says: “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, general of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife.”
The crowd erupts with a deafening roar, while the emperor visibly shakes under the weight of the true identity of a man he thought was a mere slave. The emperor flees the Coliseum, only to face defeat and death later at the hands of Maximus. (Gladiator, Dreamworks, 2000, rated R, written by David Franzoni, directed by Ridley Scott, 1:28:30 to 1:32:00)
The name of Maximus Decimus Meridius was powerful, powerful enough to bring down an earthly ruler, who had all the wealth and might this world could offer. But the name of Maximus Decimus Meridius is nothing, compared to the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The name of the Carpenter from Nazareth can bring down principalities and powers in heavenly places. The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth can change lives from the inside out. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ can change YOUR life forever, if you’ll let Him, if you’ll just turn your life over to Him.
How important is the name of Jesus? It’s ALL important. It makes all the difference in the world. And as such…
THE NAME OF JESUS DEMANDS A DIFFERENCE.
It calls for a change. It calls for repentance in the hearts of those who hear it. At least that’s the point Peter makes in his message that follows the miracle.
Acts 3:11-16 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. (ESV)
“WE didn’t heal this man,” Peter says. GOD did, in the name of Jesus – in the name of His Servant (vs.13), in the name of the Holy and Righteous One (vs.14), in the name of the Author of Life (vs.15). It was the name of the One YOU crucified, but God raised from the dead.
Acts 3:17-20a “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus. (ESV)
The name of Jesus demands that we repent and turn to God. It calls us to change our minds about Christ, to do an about face in our relationship with Him, to stop treating him as a criminal and begin trusting Him as our Lord and Savior.
Gordon MacDonald says, “Repentance is not basically a religious word. It comes from a culture where people were essentially nomadic and lived in a world with no maps or street signs. It's easy to get lost walking through the desert. You become aware that the countryside is strange. You finally say to yourself, I'm going in the wrong direction. That's the first act of repentance. [Then] the second act of repentance is [simply] to go in [a different] direction.” (Gordon MacDonald, "Repentance," Preaching Today, Tape No. 121.)
The word for “repent,” literally means, “to change one’s mind.” The people of Israel thought Jesus was a criminal, a blasphemer, and a sinner. Now, Peter says to them, “Change your minds about Jesus. Don’t think of Him as a criminal. Instead, trust Him as the Christ. Turn to Him as your Messiah, your Savior and Lord.
Some of you need to do that very thing. In your heart of hearts, you really believe that Jesus has done you wrong. You believe that Jesus has been unjust and unfair with you. You believe that Jesus has dealt you a raw deal in life. If that’s the case, then you need to change your mind about Jesus. He is NOT an evildoer; He is the Lord, your Messiah and Deliverer.
Some time ago, I read the story of a woman who said that as a girl she was poor. She said, “I grew up in a cold water flat, but I married a man who had money. And he took me up to a place where I had flowers, and I had gardens, and I had grass. It was wonderful. And we had children.
“Then suddenly I became physically sick. I went to the hospital, and the doctors ran all sorts of tests. One night the doctor came into my room, and with a long look on his face, said, ‘I'm sorry to tell you this. Your liver has stopped working.’
“I said, 'Doctor, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Are you telling me that I am dying?’ And he said, ‘I can't tell you any more than that. Your liver has stopped working. We've done everything we can to start it.’ And he walked out.
“I knew I was dying, she said. “I was so weak, I had to feel my way along the corridor down to the chapel of the hospital. I wanted to tell God off. I wanted to tell God, ‘You are a shyster! You've been passing yourself off as a loving God for two thousand years, but every time anyone begins to get happy you pull the rug out from under them.’ I wanted this to be a face-to-face telling off of God.
“And just as I got into the center aisle of the chapel, I tripped, I swooned, I fainted. Then I looked up, and there stenciled along the step into the sanctuary, where the altar is, I saw these words: LORD, BE MERCIFUL TO ME A SINNER.
God spoke to her that night. He was telling her, “You know what this is all about. It's about the moment of surrender; it's about bringing you to that moment when you will surrender everything to me. These doctors, they do the best they can, but they only treat. I'm the only one who can cure you.”
And she said, “There, with my head down, on my folded arms, in the center of the chapel, repeating, ‘Lord, be merciful to me a sinner,’ I surrendered to God.” Then she found her way back to her hospital bed, weak as she was.
“The next morning, after the doctor ran the blood tests and the urinalysis and so forth, he said, ‘Your liver has started working again. We don't know why. We don't know why it stopped, and we don't know why it started up again.’”
But the woman knew. God had allowed her to come to the brink of disaster, just so she would turn her life over to him. (John Powell, "Prayer as Surrender," Preaching Today, Tape No. 108)
Some of you need to do that this morning. You need to stop treating God as a “shyster,” and turn your life over to Him. You need to trust Him as your Lord and Savior. In a word, you need to REPENT today. Cry out, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner,” and trust Him with your life and eternal destiny. Surrender everything to Him right now.
If you do, I can’t guarantee that you’ll be healed, because God doesn’t always choose to heal. But I CAN guarantee that your sins will be wiped out and times of refreshing will come, just like Peter promised here in verses 19 and 20. And it’s all because of the powerful name of Jesus.
The name of Jesus makes all the difference in the world, and it demands a difference in you and me. It calls for a change in our own hearts and minds.
In the first century, Archimedes said, “Give me a lever long enough, a fulcrum strong enough, and I, single-handed, will change the world.” In our day, Joseph Conrad said, “Don’t speak to me of Archimedes’ lever, just give me the right word and I will move the world.”
Do you know what that word is? It’s Jesus, the blessed name of Jesus. With that name, WE CAN MOVE THE WORLD. Without it, we are nothing.
