Something About That Name

In one of his books, Adrian Rogers tells of a hair-raising encounter he had with a demon-possessed man. He wrote:  

           

“The setting was Hyderabad, India. I had spoken to a crowd of some 50,000 in a soccer stadium. Then an Indian evangelist preached with power and was calling men and women to Christ. There was a great moving of the Spirit, and literally thousands were confessing Christ.

I was on the platform observing and rejoicing when I became aware of a disturbance. There was a man to my left who was writhing on the ground like a snake and then convulsing in unbelievable contortions. A small crowd stood in a circle around this man, not daring to get close.

As I watched, it was evident that this was an open attack of Satan upon him. This man was being violently tormented by a demon spirit. I had no desire to get involved and honestly felt somewhat fearful. I breathed a prayer and left the platform and went to the disturbance. I knelt beside this man, put my hands on him, and prayed, ‘In the name of Jesus, I rebuke this spirit. Come out of this man and leave him.’ At that moment, he went limp and fell to the ground. I took him by the hand and lifted him up. He put his head on my shoulder and wept softly, almost like a child. I have him a hug and prayed for him.

He didn’t understand my English, nor I his Telugu, but one thing I know: the powers of darkness understood the greater authority of the name of Jesus!”[1]

Sometimes I think we forget that there is power in the name of Jesus. Not long ago, I was studying the book of Acts and I was stunned at how the early church did their work in Jesus’ name. For example, here’s just a brief list: salvation is in His name (Acts 4:12), healing is in His name (Acts 3:6), demons flee at His name (Acts 16:18), baptism is in His name (Acts 2:38; 19:5), saints suffer for His name (Acts 5:40-41) and preached boldly in His name (Act 9:27).

The early Christians were few in number, meager in finances, and they had no social position or political power. But one thing they did have was—THE NAME!

Now don’t get me wrong, Jesus is not a magic word. There is nothing special about the arrangement of the letters in His name. We can’t just say, “Jesus” and expect fire to fall from heaven. However, we can minister, pray, preach and serve in the authority that His name gives us (Matt. 28:19-20). It is Christ in us who gives us the spiritual power to serve in His name, do His will and bring Him glory. “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim

Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,

But there's something about that name.

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[1] Adrian Rogers, The Incredible Power of Kingdom Authority (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2002), 114-115.