What's In a Name?
THE NAME AS THE POWER:
NAME OF JESUS AS MOST POWERFUL
A GREAT QUOTE ABOUT A NAME, AS IN A NAME THAT SIGNALS REPUTATION;
(adidas commercial)
Life Story: We understand the “wait till your father gets home” idea.
(STORY)
Mom (was) calling on a greater power and authority or threat of punishment or what have you. Kids invoke parents, mom invokes Dad. Teacher invokes principal etc. Invoke the older brother.
She was “borrowing” from an authoritative power, (presumably greater than herself in the form of my dad)
The Name of Jesus is the Power. It is not a saying but an invoking. Not words but Power.
NAME BRAND
as a kid, knowing that levi 501 was the only jean, or
that stan smith was the only shoe,
schwinn was the only bike,
red rider was the only BB gun (Daisy) saw the packaging and it has the kids face on it from the movie!
The movie “Air” about Nike becoming the brand of Michael Jordan, “he is the shoe” the SHOE “Is” michael
“Air” Jordan...his skill became synonymous with the shoe itself
From Last Week; Phil 2:10
We see this “name brand power” in Acts repeatedly:
Act 2:38
Act 3:1-7
Acts 8:12 The Kingdom and the Name!
Even in the messaging, the belief is in the Kingdom AND the name.
The power of the Name Brand
How did Jesus manifest this power?
NAME RECOGNITION
Mark 1:34 they knew him, so they are not allowed to speak. How do they know him?
He is from their realm, they have known him for a long time. The way you know a former boss, a former coach, someone who had influence and power in your life that you thought was long ago, and now they have come back....there is history in this relationship. He has “Name recognition”
Mark 5:1-13
Jesus has a talk with some demons:
Jesus beings this conversation before stepping ashore and he addressees the demon not the man.
notice the qualities of this spirit, by what it does to the human host:
self destructions
self immolation
self loathing
reclusiveness,
anger, rage, violence
emotional distress
loss of voice and identity
(he has no name, but has been identified only by what is wrong with him....
Let’s take a moment with this:
How has sin malformed you?
What has it stolen from you?
What about how we see one another, do we magnify the sin in one another, point out the demonic qualities?
How do you self-identify? Is our self impression formed by the Name of Jesus, or by all of our faults?
“It is speech that suggests sins, that destroys reputations, that pollutes relationships, and this is the defilement to be concerned about.”
deSilva, D. A. (2012). Honor, patronage, kinship & purity: unlocking new testament culture (p. 281). InterVarsity Press.
Demon is destructive,
demon is possessive, it holds on to him,
Sends demons into pig and drowns them; sends unclean into unclean.
Jesus is banishing them to their rightful place, to an unclean place.
A Place where they are ‘more at home’. Re-drawing the power and purity map.
Conclusion
What is YOUR brand? How are you identified? For what are you known?
When we struggle, do we rely on the Name, invoke the name? Are we being set free in the Name of Jesus?
Pray this week for your greatest challenge and invoke the Name; specifically, pray repeatedly and fervently, ASK in the NAME.