1/26/14

From Ben Fronczek... The Mighty Power of Jesus’ Name



The Mighty Power of Jesus’ Name 
True Story: 

Earlier this year a armed masked robber got more than he bargained for when he entered a woman’s home in Lake City, Florida intending to rob her and her friends at gun point.
“Lake City police say Derek Lee, 24, entered a house on Lakeview Avenue where the homeowner had 14 women over for a jewelry party. Police say Lee was wearing a dark ski cap on his head along with a bandana across his face. He allegedly showed a gun and ordered the women to hand over their money and phones.      One woman who though it was a party gag pushed his hand aside while laughing saying, “It’s only a water gun”.  Police said that Lee held the gun to the woman’s head and said, “I’m not joking, I’m going to shoot someone, give me your money.”
 Jacquie Hagler, who owns the house, says she then put her faith into action; she said. “When I realized what was going on, I stood up and said, ‘In the name of Jesus, get out of my house now.’   And he said, ‘I’m going to shoot someone.’ And I said it again, real boldly,” Hagler said. “Everybody started chanting, ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,’ and he did a quick scan of the room, and ran out the door as fast as he could go.”
Can you imagine the unbelievable fear that surged through this career criminals mind? As I am sure he was used to dealing with violence because he is a previous offender, he apparently had never seen or felt the power of Jesus Name like he did this day. Lee was later picked out of a lineup by several of the ladies from the party, police say. He is also being investigated for attempted robbery at a nearby ATM, which happened just prior to the home invasion.He was held on $200,000 bond in the Columbia County Detention Center

Today I’m here to tell you that the name, because of WHO the Father  named Jesus is like no other name given to men. 

In Philippians 2:9-11 Paul wrote,  

“God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that   at   the   name of Jesus   every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father..” NASB

I would like you think about that statement for a moment which Paul made here.    At the name of Jesus every knee of every man of every woman every angel of every being born will one day bow at the name of Jesus, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of God. What majesty, what preeminence God has bestowed on that name and the one He named Jesus!
 As a matter of fact Mary and Joseph did not even name their son Jesus, God the Father chose that name for Him. 

In Matthew’s account, in chapter 1 we read, 

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save His people from their sins.”    22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

In that body of flesh, into that baby boy the eternal, divine God, God the creator of all things (all the stars, all the galaxies, all the planets, all that is seen and all that is unseen), God the sustainer, God the source of all life, was born into a body of flesh, into this little baby God the Father named Jesus.  For a short time He lived amongst us, to help us understand God, and then saved us from our sin by dying on the cross of Calvary as the ultimate sacrifice.  And because of that Paul wrote that “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name”,

Jesus is the part of God which took on flesh. Yet He Is Lord of all, of all the universe, of everything that was ever created, of everything that has ever moved or lived, and at some point in time, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus is truly Lord,  whether they have chose to follow Him in their lifetime or not.

At the name of Jesus every knee will bow because of WHO HE IS! And I believe that is why we read of how and why amazing things happened in the Bible when people called upon the name of Jesus.

In Acts 3:1-10 we read  

“One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer– at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful,
where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. (NIV)

Jesus Himself promised to answer prayer which was directed to God the Father in His name.

In John 16:23, He said 
Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, He will give it to you.” (of course our prayers an’t going to over-ride God’s own will)

Paul wrote and instructed the early Christians by writing, Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Col. 3:17.

Jesus told the early disciples in Mark 16:17 “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues” (NKJ)

There is great power in the name of Jesus. Scripture shows us over and over again the power in His Name. And as a Christian Jesus Himself, has given us authority to use His name.

Those who called upon the name of Jesus were healed, prayers we answered,  some were freed from evil spirits or demons coming out with shrieks.  In Acts when they were in Philippi,  Luke wrote this 

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.”

Jesus’ name is also so very important to our eternal future. In Acts 4:12 we read, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no  other    name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

On the day of Pentecost, when Jews learned about Jesus and sought to be saved from their sin in Acts 2 we read that Peter told the people  “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. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

As Philip preached to the Samaritans in Acts 8 we read that “when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 8:12

I believe that there is power released in the spiritual and physical realms when a believer proclaims or declares the name of Jesus. I believe angels sit up and  take notice and begin to take action when a believer speaks the name of Jesus in faith.

I believe that this is a special privilege given to Christians to call upon the name of our Lord. But this privilege is not  for everyone.  Those who do not belong to Jesus cannot use His name with the same power. As Christian we have been given permission to use His name, but that is not true of everyone.   

In Acts 19:13f we read:  
“Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”  Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.  One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”  Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.  17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.”

In this day and age many see Jesus’ name as nothing more than a curse word. Shame on us if we use such a great name, the name of the creator, the sustainer, savior and the final judge as a swear word.

One of the Ten Commandments says not to use the name of our Lord God in vain… if you have used the name of Jesus in this manner you have sinned and insulted the name.

One day every tongue, will call Him Lord.
The Mighty Power of Jesus’ Name
What I want to do today is encourage you recognize how important and how powerful the name of Jesus is. It has Power because of WHO HE IS!
If you are Christian I encourage you to call upon His name with faith when you pray,                                  

Call upon His name when you are afraid. Call upon His name when you feel tempted, even when you feel weak.

Say it out loud if you need to. Say over and over, “Jesus you are my Lord, Jesus you are my God, Jesus you are my savior, Jesus help me, Jesus You are the Christ, Jesus, my savior; help me.”
I truly believe that such a prayer, declaring Jesus name in faith is SO powerful.
It gives me strength and I believe it will give you strength when you need it.
It will help you resist when you are tempted, will comfort you when you are afraid and much more.

If you are not a Christian yet, if you have not personally accepted Jesus as you Lord and your God, If you have not allowed Him to remove all you sin in the waters of baptism, I encourage you to call upon His name, ask Him to be your Lord and Savior, ask Him to take away you sin, and with Love He will help you become one of His own.

For more lessons click on the following link:
http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?page_id=566

From Jim McGuiggan... Say what to the troubled? (2)


Say what to the troubled? (2)

Peter’s readers were Messianic Jews scattered through the provinces he mentions as he begins his letter. Not only would they be in a real sense alienated from the Gentile world around them, many of them would be regarded with suspicion and worse by leaders in the Jewish communities (compare 1 Peter 2:4-10 where the Christians are viewed as stones in the temple built on the Rejected Stone and see Acts 4:11). These Christians were already suffering in some ways and to some degree and Peter insists that there is more ahead (1 Peter 1:6 and 4:7, 17).  

Since God is their Father and they are his chosen they might have expected to have everything going for them (this is a commonplace expectation and it isn’t an unreasonable one). Pain and loss speak their message loud and clear—“You don’t matter; if you mattered you’d be taken care of!” This is part of the reason Peter repeatedly stresses their identity—because their experience calls it into question.  

Having assured them of their identity he speaks to them of their inheritance in 1 Peter 1:3-5. 

You understand that what members of a good family inherit is not only a series of blessings—being part of a “good” family is the supreme blessing. Still, we mustn’t try to be too precise; while just the privilege of being part of a good family is the root of everything there are blessings that come to a good family that can’t be experienced by those outside it. It would be wrong to seek God only for what he can give us but it would be stupid to think we aren’t allowed to rejoice in the blessings he does give us.  

Peter’s troubled readers who were redeemed by the extraordinary (1 Peter 1:18-19) are heirs of the extraordinary. Whatever the inheritance is it cannot be seized by oppressors or plundered by conquerors. It is reserved in a realm beyond tyranny’s reach and in a place where thieves can’t steal it. It isn’t the kind of treasure that moths can eat or rust can destroy (Matthew 6:19-21). Present experience and past history would give all this a special clarity for these Jewish believers but it would say no less to Christians everywhere who live in slums with rapacious gangs and landlords and brutal governments and militia groups on the prowl. That inheritance which is now theirs by virtue of who they are will one day be their actual and personal experience. 

In the meantime—and this truth must be a terrible burden for the truly burdened by life—part of what they have inherited as part of the community of Christ is to share the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Note the explanatory words like “for” in passages such as 1 Peter 2:21; you were called to this “for” (because) Christ also suffered for us.  

Why should Christians suffer when their inheritance in Jesus Christ is glory, honour and immortality? Because they are part of the body of Christ who has borne our sicknesses and carried our diseases (see Matthew 8:16-17 and click here). Christians suffer for the world! They are part of the redeeming presence of Jesus in the world in every generation.

So that even their suffering—however difficult it is for truly suffering souls to believe—even their suffering is shot through with glory. 1 Peter 4:12-16. That passage focuses more on the suffering that is persecution but to limit the NT’s view of the sufferings of Christians is a real mistake. Do see the piece on Matthew 8:16-17. 

A day will come when those who have embraced Jesus Christ will show the scars they gained as they served him and they’ll glory in them. Note this from Shakespeare’s Henry V about his outnumbered troops gathered against the French at Agincourt: 

We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers
 
This too is part of the inheritance of Christians. This too is part of what we should say to the truly troubled. 
 

From Mark Copeland... Remember The Resurrection Of Jesus (2 Timothy 2:8)


                    "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY"

                Remember The Resurrection Of Jesus (2:8)

INTRODUCTION

1. As Paul continued to encourage Timothy, he reminded him of Jesus...
   a. Who had been born of the seed of David
   b. Who was raised from the dead according to his gospel
   -- I.e., in the midst of hardship remember that Jesus Himself
      suffered much, yet overcame through His glorious resurrection from
      the dead - 2Ti 2:8; cf. He 12:2-3

2. The fact of Jesus' resurrection is very important to the Christian...
   a. Certainly as inspiration to persevere in the midst of hardship
   b. But there are other reasons why we should "remember" and never
      stop believing in it

[While we may not suffer hardship like Paul or Timothy, it is imperative
that Christians "Remember The Resurrection Of Jesus".  For reasons why,
consider first some implications...]

I. IF JESUS WAS NOT RAISED FROM THE DEAD

   A. PREACHING THE GOSPEL WOULD BE IN VAIN...
      1. The preaching of the apostles would have been empty,
         meaningless - 1Co 15:14
      2. There would be no purpose in preaching about a lie today

   B. OUR FAITH WOULD BE VAIN...
      1. Our belief in Christ would also be empty, meaningless - 1Co 15:14
      2. For our faith would be in a lie

   C. THE APOSTLE WERE FALSE WITNESSES...
      1. An implication admitted to by Paul - 1Co 15:15
      2. For they swore that God raised Jesus from the dead - e.g., Ac 2:32
      3. They claimed to spend 40 days with Him after the resurrection,
         eating and drinking with Him - cf. Ac 10:39-41
      4. There is no way they could have been deceived or mistaken;
         either they told the truth or they were deliberate liars,
         deceivers, and frauds!

   D. WE ARE STILL IN OUR SINS...
      1. Our faith would be futile and we would still be sinners - 1Co 15:17
      2. For it would have been a liar or lunatic that died on the cross
      3. And no such person could have provided a sacrifice that was
         holy and without blemish

   E. BELIEVERS WHO HAVE SINCE DIED HAVE PERISHED...
      1. Those who had died believing in Christ - 1Co 15:18
      2. Their faith would have been in a false Messiah
      3. They would have had no atonement for their sins
      4. Dying in their sins, there would be no hope

   F. CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE PITIED...
      1. If their hope in Christ relates only to this life - cf. 1Co 15:19
      2. Because we believe in a false Messiah
      3. Because our faith in Him leads us to refrain from much worldly
         pleasure
      4. Because we are often ridiculed or persecuted for our faith

[Such are the implications if Jesus did not rise from the dead.  Now
let's review the implications of Jesus' resurrection which should
encourage us to always "remember" it...]

II. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS FROM THE DEAD

   A. VERIFIES OUR JUSTIFICATION...
      1. Note Paul's mention of this consequence of the resurrection
         - Ro 4:24-25
      2. Jesus claimed His blood would be adequate for the remission of
         our sin - Mt 26:28
      3. By raising Jesus from the dead, God demonstrated His acceptance
         of Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins! - cf. Ro 8:33-34

   B. DEMONSTRATES GOD'S POWER TOWARD US...
      1. The greatness of which Paul wanted Christians to know - cf. Ep 1:18-20
      2. Power involved in our conversion, raising us to a new life - Co
         2:11-12; 1Pe 3:21
      2. Power available to live the Christian life, for God is at work
         in us - Php 2:12-13; 4:13; Ep 3:20; 6:10

   C. PROVIDES HOPE CONCERNING OUR OWN RESURRECTION...
      1. His resurrection gives us a living hope! - 1Pe 1:3,21
      2. Especially concerning the resurrection of believers! - cf. 1 Th 4:13-14

   D. DEMANDS OUR COMPLETE LOYALTY TO JESUS...
      1. He died and rose again that He might Lord of the dead and
         living - Ro 14:9
      2. He was raised and then exalted to become our Lord - Ac 2:32-36;
         Ep 1:20-23
      3. Thus our lives and service belong to Him - Ro 14:7-8; 2Co 5:15

CONCLUSION

1. The Christian must never lose sight of the significance of the
   resurrection of Jesus...
   a. It is the foundation upon which our faith and hope is based
   b. Deny the resurrection of Jesus, and we are no longer Christians

2. The reality of the resurrection of Jesus is very important to the
   minister of the gospel...
   a. No one can deny Jesus' resurrection and claim to be a minister of
      Christ
   b. Those suffering hardship can take comfort knowing that Jesus also
      suffered and rose again

Will we be sure to "Remember The Resurrection Of Jesus", and live our
lives accordingly...?

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

From Gary... Your diet, your choice- God's gift



























Yesterday, I said to Linda: "Lets go out to eat for breakfast"; big mistake.  We went to four restaurants, all with huge lines.  Finally, we found ourselves at Subway (would you believe- Breakfast?).  She had one of their "breakfast" sandwiches, but I, well, I had to try something new.  So I decided to try a foot-long, Subway melt (with double meat [of course]).  The thing is: it was great!!! and to top it off, it was two weight watches points LESS than my normal Monday night indulgence.  OK, I know this is NOT a picture of something from Subway, but it DOES look WONDERFUL!!!  What do this and and a more healthy Subway sandwich have in COMMON?  Before I tell you, please read the following...

Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2
 24 There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and make his soul enjoy good in his labor. This also I saw, that it is from the hand of God. 

Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3
12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice, and to do good as long as they live.  13 Also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy good in all his labor, is the gift of God.

 Ecclesiastes, Chapter 5
  18  Behold, that which I have seen to be good and proper is for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy good in all his labor, in which he labors under the sun, all the days of his life which God has given him; for this is his portion.  19 Every man also to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to eat of it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.

Enjoyment- a gift of God!!!  Only some gifts seem better than others!!!  Over the past year and a half, I have found that even HEALTHY food can warm the soul.  Think about that one the next time you are in the mood for a feast!!! And before you order- look in the mirror!!!!!