The Name Of Jesus, Part 1
By Kenneth Hagin Jr.
God has given us the name of Jesus as our inheritance. Apply that Name to every problem you face, and enjoy the benefits and blessings of God.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth.–Philippians 2:9,10
Jesus has given those who believe in Him a weapon more powerful than anything that can come against them. He has given them His Name. There is more power in the Name of Jesus than you realize. A few years ago, there was a popular advertising campaign on television for a stock brokerage company. In a room full of people, whenever someone mentioned the name of this brokerage company, everyone in the room suddenly stopped talking to listen. They all wanted to stop and hear this company’s advice on the stock market.
Well, I want to tell you, at the Name of Jesus everything stops. Notice the Word of God says, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth” (Phil. 2:10). When you speak the Name of Jesus, everything in Heaven and on earth stands still. Every problem, sickness, demon, and whatever else is coming against you stops at the mention of His
Name.
The Name of Jesus is known on the golden streets of Heaven. When that Name ascends on High, every heavenly being stops. As you read Scripture about that Name, it even sounds as if speaking the Name of Jesus in faith causes the Heavenly Father Himself to give attention. Jesus said, “. . . whatsoever ye shall ask the Father IN MY NAME, He shall give you.” (John 15:16).
People talk about the Name of Jesus — and we need to. We get excited about it. We say, “Amen” to it. But do we really understand the power that is in the Name of Jesus?
I remember hearing about a gospel singer who was invited to a large secular rock concert back in the late sixties. Several rock groups had performed ahead of him. When this artist was introduced, no one paid much attention. There were several thousand people there and they were making noise and talking. The musician sat down at the piano and began to run his fingers over the keys and say, “Jesus” into the microphone. After he’d said the Name of Jesus about three times, the whole place was silent.
Do you know why the place got quiet? Because even though the power of the evil one was present, at the Name of Jesus every demon had to stop dead (Phil. 2:10)!
Jesus has given us the legal right to use His Name. In this day and age, many people are familiar with the term “power of attorney.” If someone gives you the power of attorney, he gives you the legal right to use his name for transactions and documents. Power of attorney actually means a legal right to use a name.
The same concept applies to the Name of Jesus. The right to use that Name had to be given legally or there would be no power in it. But we have the power of attorney to use the Name of Jesus. The Bible tells us so (John 14:13,14; 15:16).
Notice what Jesus said would happen when you use His Name over the power of the enemy.
MARK 16:17,18
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
In these verses, Jesus tells you what results to expect when you use His Name. And that Name has been made available for every believer to use.
I have traveled overseas and have, at times, seen potentially dangerous situations arise. I remember a commotion that arose once as we were standing in a customs line. Things were growing very chaotic. Customs officers were screaming at each other, and the situation was getting worse and worse. I began to say, “In the Name of Jesus …. In the Name of Jesus …. In the Name of Jesus ….” I said it about five or six times and things began to quiet down.
The customs officials waved a whole bunch of us through and they didn’t even inspect our luggage. I had gone through a door and around a corner when, suddenly, I heard them hollering again. I just kept walking, thanking God for that Name. Even when you’re in the presence of danger, you have the right to use the Name of Jesus over circumstances.
The awesome power of the Name of Jesus delivered me from certain death when I was in the military, stationed overseas in Taipei, Taiwan. I was riding a motorcycle with a group of friends one night. We had visited one of the other islands and were returning to Taipei. The wind was blowing strongly as we sped through the mountains. I was on the tail end of the group, my motorcycle wide open. I leaned into a curve,
and a gust of wind picked up my bike. When my bike hit the ground, it slid toward the edge of the cliff and a thousand-foot drop. Teeth clenched, I kicked the ground trying to straighten the bike up. I was kicking gears and doing just about everything else I knew to do. But I was out of time. I just said, “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!”
The next thing I knew, the bike straightened, crossed the road, and ran up the side of the mountain. I regained control, and the motorcycle came to a stop in the middle of the road. Meanwhile, the other guys had turned around and come back to where I was. I was sitting in the road, shaking. The fellows came and shined their headlights on me. When they looked around, all they could see was a tire mark showing where the bike ran off the side of the road.
They said, “Man! You were lucky! You should have gone over the edge of that cliff.”
“No, I wasn’t lucky!” I answered. “The hand of God reached down and shoved that bike back!” They didn’t say much after that.
When I lost control of that motorcycle, I didn’t have time to pray, “Oh God, please help me!” I didn’t have time to go on a fast! I was on a highway about a thousand feet up a mountain pass at ten o’clock at night on the island of Taiwan with the devil trying to kill me. At that time in my life, I might not have been walking as close to the Lord as I should have been. But I knew enough to holler, “Jesus!”
The point I want to get across is that there is power in the Name of Jesus, and believers have a right to use that Name against the enemy. The secret to success over the devil lies in the use of that Name. We need to realize that Jesus Christ stripped the devil of his power, and Jesus gave the Church the authority to use His Name.
Let’s examine what John 16:13 says regarding the use of the Name of Jesus and what you get when you use that Name.
JOHN 16:23,24
23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father IN MY NAME, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing IN MY NAME: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
Notice verse 23 says, “If you ask the Father in My Name, He will give it.” But people have tacked “If it be His will” onto that verse, and it doesn’t say that at all. It says, “Ask the Father in My Name and
He will give it to you.”
Notice verse 24 says, “Hitherto, you’ve asked nothing in My Name …” “Hitherto” means until this present time. What was Jesus talking about in this verse? He was speaking about the New Day–the time after His death, resurrection, and ascension to His Father. And we are living in that New Day! He said that in that Day, we could ask, and we shall receive!
In the Church, there’s still a lack of knowledge about the Name of Jesus. People used to pray, “For Jesus’ sake.” Have you ever heard anyone pray that way? But Jesus doesn’t need anything. You pray for your sake, not His! The Bible doesn’t say, “Ask it for Jesus’ sake, and the Father will give it to It says, “Ask in My Name.”
Some people say, “Maybe God will do it and maybe He won’t.” But Jesus did not say, “Up until now you have asked nothing in My Name. Ask, and you shall receive. However, sometimes I may say, ‘Yes,’ and sometimes I may say, ‘No,’ and sometimes I may say, ‘Wait a while.”‘ I’ve heard that taught, but that’s not what He said in His Word. Jesus said, “. . . Ask, and YE SHALL RECEIVE, that your joy may be full”
(John 16:24).
You need to know that Jesus did not put a time limit on when you would receive. He didn’t say, “Tomorrow by six o’clock, your prayer will be answered.” He just said that you would receive. He said, “Ask, and you shall receive.”
I think believers struggle in receiving from God because they put Him on a twenty-four-hour timetable. When things don’t happen when they think they should, they give up. But if you continue to believe that you receive as you ask in His Name, your answer will come. It may not come tomorrow, but it will come. Some things have taken me several months, or even years, to receive, but my prayers were answered. Some Christians focus too much on the timing of when they think they should receive from God. They need to focus instead on the fact that there’s power in the Name of Jesus and that God will answer them when they pray in that Name.
Realize, too, that the Name of Jesus not only gets your prayers answered, but that Name can be used against the unseen forces of evil that surround you.
In October 1963, I’d been in the Army for one year when I was assigned to a tour of duty in a country in the Far East. When I stepped off the airplane and began to walk down the steps, I sensed the demon oppression in that country. I’ll never forget it. On the inside of me, I could hear the Holy Spirit saying, “Demon power. Demon power.” What He was trying to tell me was, “Take the Name. Take the Name and break the authority of any demonic influence that would come against your life.”
You might have all kinds of demonic activity going on around you. But when you exercise your authority over that power in the Name of Jesus, it’s as if you’re in a cocoon of protection. You don’t have the authority to do anything about what’s going on outside of your sphere of influence. In other words, you can’t just use the Name of Jesus for people who may not even want the Name used for them. But you do have authority over your own life and your family’s lives and over your house, your car, and anything else you own.
For example, I never get in an airplane or a car to go anywhere without appropriating the Name of Jesus. Whether I say it out loud and people hear me or I just say it quietly, _ appropriate Psalm 91 in the
Name of Jesus. I say, “No harm shall come near me. No plague shall overtake me.” Many times I have felt the unction to wait a few minutes before leaving to go somewhere. In more than one case, I found out later that if I had left at the time I had originally planned, I could have been involved in a major accident.
Mark chapter 16 speaks of the power over the enemy that believers have in Jesus’ Name.
MARK 16:17
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; IN MY NAME shall they CAST OUT DEVILS; they shall SPEAK WITH NEW TONGUES.
Notice that this verse says, “. . . these signs shall follow ….” The New International Version says, “. . . these signs will accompany ….” To accompany means to come along side of. Who will these signs come along side of? They will come along side of those who believe in Jesus and use His Name.
I want you to understand that believers have a right to use the Name of Jesus. You can use it when you’re speaking to your mountain (Mark 11:23). You can use it in prayer. You can use the Name of Jesus when dealing with the forces of evil that come against you. And if you are a believer, the signs listed in Mark 16:17 and 18 shall accompany you in Jesus’ Name.
In late 1943, when I was about five years old, I used to stay with my dad’s mother, whom we called “Pat’s Momma.” Due to a series of emotionally stressful events, she became blind while she was carrying her youngest child. Doctors didn’t know as much then as they do now, and a doctor who was trying to help her did something that caused her to be blind permanently.
Now it so happened that my great grandfather had saved up quite a bit of money before the Depression of the 1930s hit. The word around town was that he had given some of that money to his only daughter–Pat’s Momma. Everyone believed she kept it in a trunk in her closet. But, actually, that trunk was full of quilts. One night I was asleep facing the bedroom window when my grandmother came and woke me up. She said, “Son, someone’s trying to break in. Don’t move; be very quiet!” I just lay there, but I opened my eyes to look, and there was a man at the window.
The window was open, but there was a screen on it. I turned over and whispered, “Yeah, he’s there, Pat’s Momma.” She said quietly, “Don’t worry about it,” and then started saying, “Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.”
That fellow took the screen off. I could see him with my own eyes. He lifted up his leg to step inside, then backed up and looked around. He couldn’t climb in the window! He tried, but he couldn’t do it. The whole time he was there, Pat’s Momma kept saying, “Jesus. In the Name of Jesus.”
Friend, I want you to know that there’s power in the Name of Jesus! Believers must realize that there’s protecting power in that Name, and they must learn to use it!
When you confess the Name of Jesus in the midst of adverse circumstances, you’ll not only experience God’s protection but you’ll receive everything that you need to handle your situation. Realize that the Name of Jesus is above every other name in Heaven, on earth, and in hell. You might come up against problems and tests that could cause you to lose heart. You might encounter seemingly impossible situations. But
if you’ll boldly declare the Name of Jesus in the midst of your difficult circumstances, you’ll see that God will bring you through every time. Learn to call upon the Name that’s above every name, and, no matter what you face, God will lead you through to victory!
The Above Material Was Published By The Word Of Faith, March 2001, Pages 20-23. This Material Is Copyrighted And May Be Used For Study & Research Purposes Only.
