In The Name of Jesus

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

There is a great worship song that goes, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name." What is there about that name that is so important?

In order to get this in perspective we must go way back to nearly 3500 years ago when Moses was being sent by God to face the people of Israel. Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:13-14).

From the beginning God's name is very important. His name is I AM WHO I AM. This means that God exists and always has existed. It is spelled in the Hebrew language by four letters without any vowels. It is YHWH. Some ancient rabbis have described the name of God as like taking a breath. It is Yah-weh. And every breath you take is like saying His name. His name is revered so highly by the Jewish people that they wouldn't even pronounce it. Instead they would use the word for "lord" in its place. Even today, most Jews will not spell out the word, God. They usually write it with a hyphen, G-d.

When we come to the time of Jesus, there is a lot of emphasis placed upon the name of Jesus. In the first few verses of John it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only.

Later in John Jesus says, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." What is it about this Jesus that is so attractive? Well, in Acts 4:12 it says, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved." There is something about that name.

Remember when the Lord spoke to Ananias about what he was to tell Paul, who had just been apprehended by Jesus on the road to Damascus. He said, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

When Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, He makes an interesting reference about the name of God, "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.

So what is the name of God that was given to Jesus? It is Jesus or "Yeshua" in the Hebrew. NOTE what this means. It is a combination of YE, short for Yahweh, and SHUA which means saves. So, the name is YAHWEH SAVES-Yeshua. It's a combination of the name of God given to Moses and the Messianic name given to God in the flesh-Jesus-God saves!

Even more specific is that Jesus makes several claims to being the I AM. When Jesus announced to His disciples He would be leaving, Thomas said, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

There is something about that name. The name of Jesus sets Him apart from all others, everywhere. As a Buddhist friend of mine said, "Jesus trumps everything and everyone else!"

This is why Peter and John were able to give the healing touch to the lame man in Jerusalem. It was all in the name of Jesus. This is why when two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus, He shows up in supernatural ways. This is why we are to pray in the name of Jesus and He responds to our heart's cries.

In the name of Jesus. There is something special about that name. JESUS.

The Primary Work of God

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

When Jesus spent His last few hours with His disciples, He gave them some of the most important principles ever given. One of the visuals Jesus used to describe His relationship with His disciples is a vine and a branch. Jesus posed Himself as the vine and His disciples as branches that are so connected to the vine that they draw their very life from this relationship. The purpose of this relationship is to bear fruit.

Check out Jesus' words: Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Jesus gives one command here-to remain in Him as a branch remains in a vine. To remain in Jesus is to abide in Him. This might sound like a passive thing to do, but abiding in Jesus is a very active work. It is work to keep your focus on this relationship.

But what is this work? Jesus had an encounter that might clarify this a bit: Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

So what is the primary work that God wants man to do? TO BELIEVE JESUS. TO TRUST JESUS! To trust Jesus is to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus-to follow Him. This is work. Have you ever tried it? This is why I instruct people to share with others: "I am doing the toughest thing I've ever tried to do. I'm trying to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus." Believe me, this is the greatest work you will ever do in your life!

God Has Already Done It!

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

Most all religious systems are about doing more or doing and not doing certain things in order to be acceptable to God. Then with some you can achieve certain levels of acceptability after death if certain conditions are met.

But with Jesus, it's completely the opposite. With Jesus all that makes you acceptable to God has already been done. There's nothing you could do to earn this acceptance-nothing. Instead of do, do, do, Jesus says, "It's already done!" Jesus took on flesh to suffer and die in order to turn the doing into done. Now, all there is to do is accept what He has done and respond to it.

Check out the message of the letter to the church of Jesus in Ephesus. There are 6 chapters and it lays out very neatly. The first 3 chapters set forth what God has done for us. · He has redeemed us · He calls us saints · He has given us the same power that resurrected Jesus · He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing · He has already seated us in heavenly places

Then, one of my favorite passages says: But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Paul's prayer expresses the same richness: I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

So, the first 3 chapters present much of what God has done for us. Then, the last 3 chapters give us 33 things to do. Here's the way I see it. Look what the Lord has done and is doing in you. NOW ACT LIKE IT! HIS WORK IN MY LIFE ALWAYS REQUIRES MY RESPONSE. SO, don't try to do it yourself. God has already done it. What He wants from you is to respond to Him and His work!

You Do It!

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

There's a powerful passage in II Peter that offers more balance of a genuine faith that is proven out by your actions. In this case it starts out with what God has already done for you: Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

God has already given us everything we need to live the faith life most effectively. Then, because of what God has done inside us, we are told to do some amazing things-to supply: Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Now, get this. God is not going to supply these things to our faith (moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love), we are to supply them to our faith. The word "supply" has the meaning of "underwrite" an event. This is to come from our efforts, so we must be capable of doing it.

Now watch the 3 results if we do these things: FIRST-For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. You will become fruitful in the true knowledge of Jesus.

SECOND-For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; If you lack these qualities, you will find yourself blind-can't see where you are, short-sighted-can't see where you're going, and having forgotten your salvation-can't see where you've been.

THIRD-for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. If you are faithful to supply these qualities to your faith, God will abundantly supply or underwrite a special entrance into the eternal kingdom.

TO SUM UP: God empowers us to live the faith life. We are commanded to do our part. Then, God supernaturally blesses us in our relationship with Him. It just doesn't get any better than this!

Walk By Faith!

FOR AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE.

Throughout the Scriptures there is a constant theme that under-girds our discussion on genuine faith that is accompanied by works. It is best expressed as WALK BY FAITH. WALK-that's what we are to do. BY FAITH is what we are believing God to do. So, in most every incident of life there is God's part and man's part.

By faith Noah built a boat. Noah worked very hard to build a boat by faith that God was going to do His part-to save the lives of Noah's family in a boat that floats in the flood. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho. Joshua led his troops around the city to do their part by faith that God would do His part-to knock down the walls supernaturally.

Check out in the letter to the church of Jesus in Galatia: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

In another passage in the letter to the church of Jesus in Philippi: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. That is man's part. I am to work out in my life the salvation I have in my heart. This is my responsibility-to flesh out this faith life in my body. Now, if this was the entire story, we could easily be quite discouraged and overwhelmed. But watch what the rest of the passage says. It goes on with: for it is God who works in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure-the thing that pleases him. My work to work out my own salvation is totally dependent upon God's work-to work in me with empowerment.

Here's how it works. You are to do the possible (that's your part), by faith that God will do the impossible (that's God's work). You cannot do the impossible, so don't try. He will not be held responsible to do the possible, so don't wait for God to do something that you can easily do yourself.

It's 100% YOU and 100% GOD. Now don't get upset with this. God's 100% is far greater than yours. So now, live your life each day by faith. This gives you something significant to do while depending upon the God of gods to supernaturally intervene. So let go and let God! It's the only way to freely and fully live!