Scripture: Philippians 2:9-11
Song: I Speak Jesus by Charity Gayle
The name of Jesus is not a religious habit. Many people say it the way they say “amen”, as a tradition to end prayer. However, heaven does not treat it that way, hell does not treat it that way, and the early church did not also treat it that way.
Philippians 2 tells us God gave Jesus “a name above every name.” It means no power outranks Him, no throne competes with Him, no situation can claim final authority. The Name Jesus is above names we fear; rejection, delay, failure, sickness, shame, bondage. Some of these names have bullied people for years, yet Scripture says they have a superior.
Paul explains further: things in heaven, things on earth, and things under the earth. Heaven speaks of unseen powers, spiritual structures people cannot argue with. Earth speaks of what feels practical; people, institutions, government, money, decisions, everyday pressure. Under the earth reaches into the realm where hope is usually buried, where death, darkness, and issues people have concluded cannot change. The Bible intentionally names all three so your faith has no excuse to say, “This one is different.” No realm is exempted from the Lordship of Jesus. Therefore, every knee bows, not because the Name is shouted, but because reality bends to it.
The book of Acts describes what this looks like on the street, in real life.
Peter met a man at the Beautiful gate who had been lame from birth. This was not a temporary struggle. This was a life-long limitation, carried daily, placed at the same spot, reduced to survival. The man asked for money because he had stopped expecting change. His faith had been trained to beg, not to rise.
Peter looked at him and said something that sounds almost rude if you don’t understand the Name: “Silver and gold have I none.” In other words, I cannot fix your life with what you asked for. Then he did not give advice. He did not offer sympathy. He did not lead long prayer. He gave what he carried: “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
One sentence. One Name. One command.
The man did not slowly improve. He did not gradually recover. Strength entered his ankles. He stood. He walked. He leapt. He praised God. A problem that had a history met a Name that had higher authority.
That is what the Name does: it interrupts what is abnormal but looks normal for too long.
Many of us are like that man in ways we don’t like to admit. Something has sat in our lives for years; fear that keeps returning, sin that keeps resetting, delay that keeps repeating, heaviness that keeps coming back, a limitation that has become identity. Over time, we stop praying with expectation and start managing life with coping strategies. We ask God for help when what we really need is a command from authority.
The Name is not for decoration. It is for enforcement. It is a master key, that opens doors of relevance.
The Name of Jesus works best in mouths that are submitted. Peter did not use the Name as a performance tool. He used it as a servant under a Master. Authority is clean when the life is aligned. Therefore, you cannot carry rebellion and still want the Name to carry you. The Name is not a charm. It is the banner of a Lord. It flows with confidence where surrender is real.
Today, stop begging at doors Jesus already opened. Stop treating the Name like a signature at the end of prayer. Put it where it belongs, at the center of your faith. Speak it with understanding. Use it when you must enforce what Christ has already finished. If the Name raised a man who had never walked, it can also raise the things in you that have been lying down for too long.
Prayer: Jesus, forgive me for using Your name casually. Today I honor it. Every name that has spoken over my life (fear, bondage, delay, shame, affliction)I place it under Your Name. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, let what has been crippled rise. Let what has been stuck move. Let what has been silent find its voice. Amen.
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