THEME:           STANDING IN FAITH

LESSON:          Three

TOPIC:            FAITH IN THE WONDERFUL NAME OF JESUS TEXT:              Hebrews 11:1-4, Mark 11:23-24; Acts 3:1-16 MEMORY TRACK:

In our last study, we saw by the grace of God, that the only avenue through which Faith for salvation, baptism of the Holy Ghost, healings etc. comes by hearing the word of God. Faith is believing the word of God with our heart, then acting and confessing what we believe. It became obvious then that reading, studying and meditating on the word is very necessary for our walking, standing and abiding in Faith.

Faith in the Lord Jesus:

God, through our faith in the death and resurrection of His son, quickened us and we became born again in our spirit (Ephesians 2:1-2). We became one with Christ by baptism into His body by one Spirit (1Cor 12:13). So, our faith in God is through our Lord Jesus Christ. When we stand to pray unto God for anything, we exercise faith in the finished works of Christ for us. This is the ground we stand in exercising our faith.

The Wonderful Name of Jesus:

The name of Jesus is the totality of who He is, what He stands for and the summation of God’s blessing for man. The mention of the name of Jesus is the declaration of all these. Because He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name and have been made higher than the heavens and earth, in Him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily. When we call the name of Jesus, every knee bows, mountains obey, and doors are opened unto us to access our privileges in Him.

So, in exercising faith in the name of Jesus, we need to know our right and privileges in Christ. This will strengthen our faith and our confidence in Him.

All the promises of God are in Him Yea and Amen (2 Cor 1:20):

The scriptures from the Old to the New Testament is full of the promises of God. All these promises are in Christ, yea and amen. Christ is the embodiment of all the promises of God, and we (believers) have access to them all. Promises for our provision (Deut 28:1-13), for our healing (Exo 15:26, Ps103:3), success (academic and career) (Joshua 1:8), fruitfulness of our wives, raising of godly children (Psalm 128:1-6) etc.

The following are the privileges in Christ that the name of Jesus bestowed on us:

  1. Power of Attorney (Mark 16:17, Col. 1:14-19): A power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone else to act on your behalf. We are Jesus’ representative on earth to use His name and the authority His name bears on His behalf. All that God wrought in Christ Jesus was for us. None of the things He became or has in His possession is for His own benefit, but for us (His body, the Church). God has given us the power of an attorney to act instead of Christ and do what Christ would do if He were on earth.
  2. Relationship with the Father: When we pray, we should know that we are praying to our Father who is the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are God’s children – who were begotten in love and mercy, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God relates with us in view of who Jesus is. He is tender towards us and willing to answer our prayers when we pray to Him. We are God’s children and joint heirs with Christ (Rom 8:16-17). We have such a great privilege to be called the children of God.
  3. Deliverance from the Power of Darkness by Faith in His Name (Col 1:13): God has delivered us from the power of darkness by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. When He rose from the dead, He declared “all power in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mathew 28:18). All that initially belonged to mankind has been taken back from Satan. Our faith in the finished works is the key to accessing this.
  4. Deliverance from Sickness and Diseases by Faith in His Name (2Peter 2:24): Sicknesses and diseases are not from God; it is of Satan and God does not use it to chastise His children. We have been redeemed from the curse of sicknesses and diseases (which are caused by sin). We should know that the healing of our body has been concluded in Christ.
  • Deliverance from inherited Curses and the curse of the law by Faith in His Name: The greatest curse upon any man is the curse of sin and death. God also placed curse upon all Israelites who would not obey the Law of Moses. We have been delivered from these curses and every other curse that may have been placed upon our lineage. Now that we are new creatures in Christ, we are not under any curse. We are free! Hallelujah!
  • Redemption and Forgiveness of Sins by Faith in His Name (Act 13:37-38, Eph 1:7, 4:32, 1John 1:9): God had forgiven us all our sins which we committed before and after the new birth. The spirit of condemnation is of the devil. God does correct, rebuke and chastise His children but doesn’t condemn. Does that mean we should continue sinning? No! We must therefore learn to confess our sins to God and believe that we have been forgiven once confessed. We should learn to confess the forgiveness of sins rather than reminding ourselves and Satan of our sins. This cripples faith.
  • Success and Prosperity by Faith in His Name (man is worth more than ravens in the air and grasses in the field): Interestingly God has so much pleasure in the prosperity of His people (Ps 35:27) and we ought to believe this with all our heart. God is the provider of grace to make wealth (Deut. 8:18) and part of the blessings of Abraham is prosperity in the natural. Prosperity here is the sufficiency that will cater for bread and seed (2Cor 9:8). Satan does not have power over our resources because we have been redeemed from His kingdom. Our natural economy is not in his domain but in God’s! Hallelujah!

In conclusion, Christ died and rose again for our sake, and he has brought blessing to us both spiritual and natural. We must not cheat ourselves by ignorance but believe God and receive all the blessing by faith in the name of the Son of God.