My dear brothers and sisters, today we are going to talk about the power of the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus; there is great authority in the name of Jesus; at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. No one will be able to escape the power of the Lamb; Jesus Christ is called the Lamb because He is gentle and kind but He is also a Lamb with great power.
Here is a story from the Bible that talks about the great power in the name of Jesus:
“Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.
Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.” – Acts 3:1-7
“Haddaba saacaddii sagaalaad oo wakhtigii salaadda ah ayaa Butros iyo Yooxanaa macbudka tageen. Waxaa la soo qaaday nin curyaannimo uurkii hooyadiis kala soo baxay oo maalin walba la ag dhigi jiray albaabka macbudka oo la odhan jiray Qurux Badane inuu kuwa macbudka gelayay dawarsado. Isagu, markuu arkay Butros iyo Yooxanaa oo ku dhow inay macbudka galaan, ayuu dawarsaday iyaga. Markaasaa Butros, oo Yooxanaa la socdo, intuu aad u fiiriyey isaga, ku yidhi, Na soo eeg. Markaasuu u fiirsaday iyaga, isagoo filanaya inuu iyaga wax ka helo. Laakiin Butros baa ku yidhi, Lacag iyo dahab midna ma haysto, laakiin waxaan haystaan ku siinayaa. Magaca Ciise Masiix, kii reer Naasared, ku soco. Markaasuu intuu gacanta midigtaa ku dhegay ayuu sara kiciyey; oo markiiba cagihiisii iyo anqowyadiisiiba waa xoogaysteen.”
Here we see that it was by the power of the name of Jesus that the man was healed; a Christian commanded the paralyzed man to walk “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk.”
It says Jesus Christ the Nazarene because Jesus grew up in the city called Nazareth; Jesus became known as Jesus Christ the Nazarene. And Jesus Christ was also knows as the Christ because Christ means Messiah and Saviour. So at the name of Jesus Christ the man who could not walk was commanded to walk and he was able to get up and walk.
The people looked at the man who was now walking and they were all amazed; they were surprised to see that a man who couldn’t walk could walk again; they couldn’t understand how the man who could not walk could walk again.
So Peter, the Christian who told the man In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up walk spoke to the crowd to clear up their confusion. This is what Peter said of Jesus Christ and the healing of the man:
““Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
“Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’” – Acts 3:16-23
“Magiciisa ayaa xoogsiiyey kan aad arkaysaan oo garanaysaan, rumaysadka uu magiciisa ku rumaystay aawadiis. Rumaysadka uu ku rumaystay isaga ayaa ninkan idinka oo dhan hortiinna ku siiyey caafimaadkan.
Waxaanan ogahay, walaalayaalow, inaad tan aqoonla’aan u samayseen, sidii madaxdiinnuba yeeshay oo kale. Laakiin Ilaah sidaasuu u dhammeeyey waxyaalihii uu hore uga sheegay afafkii nebiyada oo dhan oo ahaa in Masiixu silci doono. Haddaba toobadkeena oo soo noqda, si dembiyadiinna loo tirtiro, si ay wakhtiyo qabowjis lihii uga yimaadaan Rabbiga hortiisa, oo uu soo diro Ciise Masiix, kii uu hore idiinku doortay, kan ay waajibka tahay inay samadu aqbasho tan iyo wakhtiyada la soo celinayo wax walba oo Ilaah kaga hadlay afkii nebiyadiisii quduuska ahaa tan iyo bilowgii. Muuse wuxuu yidhi, Rabbiga Ilaaha ahu wuxuu walaalihiinna dhexdooda idiinka kicin doonaa nebi anoo kale ah. Waa inaad isaga ka dhegaysataan wax kastuu idinku yidhaahdo. Waxay noqon doontaa in naf kastoo aan nebigaas dhegaysan dadka laga dhex saari doono oo la baabbi’in doono.”
There is power in the name of Jesus. The name of Jesus has power and authority over the demonic powers; Christians can pray and command the demonic powers to go away from them using the name of Jesus Christ; anyone can call upon the name of Jesus Christ when they are praying and commanding evil things to go away from them. There is a lot of power in the name of Jesus.
Christians love the name of Jesus Christ because they love Jesus. Jesus has the power to save you from your sins; Jesus has the power to raise people from the dead; Jesus has the power to bring you to heaven after you die on this earth; Jesus has the power and the authority to protect your soul so that you will go to heaven. Even when faced with death many Christians are not afraid; even when they are dying many Christians are singing and praising the Lord Jesus Christ.
In 1992 there was a Christian who lived in Kaduna, Nigeria. Evil men have been killing Christians in northern Nigeria, torturing them and burning down their churches. But this does not stop the people of Nigeria from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. One day in Kaduna a violent group of evil people were burning churches and killing Christians. One Christian man was attacked and the evil people cut of his right hand; but the Christian raised the other hand and cried out singing with a loud voice:
“He is Lord! He is Lord! He is risen from the dead and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Maybe some of you have laughed at the name of Jesus; maybe some of you were happy when a Christian had been killed; maybe some of you have killed people who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Maybe you are just like those people who were alive at the time when Jesus died; maybe you rejoiced and were happy when you heard that people who believed in the name of Jesus were killed; maybe you thought that those Christians deserved what they had received. There is hope for you – even if you are a murderer. Jesus Christ died for all the sins of the world, He did not die only for some of them. Listen to what Peter told the crowd of people who saw the man healed in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene:
““Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’
“Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.” – Acts 3:17-26
“Waxaanan ogahay, walaalayaalow, inaad tan aqoonla’aan u samayseen, sidii madaxdiinnuba yeeshay oo kale. Laakiin Ilaah sidaasuu u dhammeeyey waxyaalihii uu hore uga sheegay afafkii nebiyada oo dhan oo ahaa in Masiixu silci doono. Haddaba toobadkeena oo soo noqda, si dembiyadiinna loo tirtiro, si ay wakhtiyo qabowjis lihii uga yimaadaan Rabbiga hortiisa, oo uu soo diro Ciise Masiix, kii uu hore idiinku doortay, kan ay waajibka tahay inay samadu aqbasho tan iyo wakhtiyada la soo celinayo wax walba oo Ilaah kaga hadlay afkii nebiyadiisii quduuska ahaa tan iyo bilowgii. Muuse wuxuu yidhi, Rabbiga Ilaaha ahu wuxuu walaalihiinna dhexdooda idiinka kicin doonaa nebi anoo kale ah. Waa inaad isaga ka dhegaysataan wax kastuu idinku yidhaahdo. Waxay noqon doontaa in naf kastoo aan nebigaas dhegaysan dadka laga dhex saari doono oo la baabbi’in doono. Nebiyadii oo dhan tan iyo Samuu’eel iyo kuwii ka dambeeyey, in alla intii hadashay, waxay wada sheegeen maalmahan. Waxaad tihiin wiilashii nebiyada iyo wiilashii axdigii Ilaah la dhigtay awowayaashiin, markuu Ibraahim ku yidhi, Qabiilooyinka dunida oo dhammu farcankaagay ku barakoobi doonaan. Ilaah markuu Midiidinkiisii kiciyey, idinkuu markii hore idiin soo diray inuu idin barakeeyo markuu midkiin kasta dembiyadiisa ka soo jeediyo.”
My dear brothers and sisters; God will forgive you of your sins. You did not know who Jesus Christ was when some of you did those evil things to Christians. You may have thought that you were doing the will of God when you killed them. Maybe you thought that these Christians were committing a sin or shirk because they put their faith and trust in Jesus.
But Jesus was the Messiah and Saviour who was talked about by all the prophets in the Old Testament; Jesus is the Messiah and Lord who the people of the Book said would be the Prophet that everyone should listen to. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.
Now my dear brothers and sisters you have now heard the message of the Lord. You have heard that God planned to send His Son Jesus Christ since the beginning of time and from before the creation of the world; you now understand that Jesus is the promised Messiah who can forgive your sins and give you eternal life; you now understand and know that no matter what sins or sins you have done in your life you can bring your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and he will forgive you of your sins and give you eternal life. It doesn’t matter who you are; it doesn’t matter what you have done; Jesus Christ will forgive you and give you eternal life. Turn away from the evil things that you have been doing and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray…