“They commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council… they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Acts 5:40, 42.
(On the morning of April 15, 1913, John G. Schaepe ran through the Pentecostal camp meeting in Arroyo Seco camp in California proclaiming his revelation of the Name of Jesus. This year marks the 100th anniversary of this truth, the hallmark of the Apostolic faith.)
There is a reason why these disciples ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ forms the centripetal point of the law—everything converges upon Him, and the centrifugal point of grace—everything emerges from Him. He is the theme of both Old and New Testaments, the raison d’être to every dispensation of time, the reflection of every great personage and the substance of every great type. He is the arch-superlative. He is the writer’s masterpiece, the composer’s magnum opus, the architect’s signature creation, the artist’s exposition work, the mountain climber’s Mt. Everest, the scientist’s Nobel prize, the soldier’s Purple Heart, the actor’s Oscar, the Olympian’s gold medal, the sports hero’s championship ring, the miner’s mother lode, the judge’s landmark decision, the investor’s windfall and the inventor’s chef-d’oeuvre. Jesus is the best, highest, greatest, biggest, farthest, widest, richest and finest.
You can see why, then, that Peter, James, John and the rest kept speaking Jesus when they were told not to speak Jesus. But the disciples knew something the Jewish leaders refused to know. This man was not an imposter. He healed the sick, made the blind to see, unstopped deaf ears, cleansed the lepers—when they experienced his power, they exalted his name! If God has a name, it must not be hidden, silenced, muted, ignored, changed or compromised. It must be spoken, pronounced, invoked and expressed. In fact, there is a bias in the mind of God in favor of speaking, of verbal communication. In the very beginning, God began with nothing and began to speak everything into existence.
God commanded Moses to speak to Pharaoh. David knew that God desired us to use the gift of speech to talk about His name. “And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long. Psalm 35:28. We in Pentecostal churches wear that label because we believe that when the Spirit of God comes into our hearts, our mouths will speak out the evidence of his entrance. “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
There is power in speaking something that has God’s attention. Jesus said, “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.” Mark 11:23. There is an old saying, “Has the cat got your tongue? The real question ought to be, “Has the devil got your tongue?” Some people look straight at their mountain but don’t say a word. Don’t stare at your mountain and keep your mouth shut. The devil will play games with your mind. He will start speaking for you—and he’s not going to be speaking faith, hope and love! He will use words of doom, gloom and defeat. Next time you run into a problem, you need to say to the devil “Don’t you say a word! I’m going to beat you to the punch!” You need to speak to your mountain!
There is a name that explodes into the realm of men, angels and demons. Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” It is the name of Jesus! This name must be spoken. It is not enough to think the name. It is not enough to envision the name. God wants it spoken. In case you need a scientific explanation, here it is:
“Words are produced when air expelled from the lungs passes through a series of structures within the chest and throat and passes out through the mouth. Air that leaves the lungs travels up the trachea (windpipe) into the larynx, the organ that joins the trachea to the lower part of the mouth. Two sections of the larynx consist of two thick, muscular folds of tissue known as the vocal cords. When a person speaks, muscles in the vocal cords tighten up. Air that passes through the tightened vocal cords begins to vibrate, producing a sound. The nature of that sound depends on factors such as how much air is pushed through the vocal cords and how tightly the vocal cords are stretched. The moving air—now a form of sound—passes upward and out of the larynx. The epiglottis at the top of the larynx opens and closes to allow air to enter and leave the larynx. The resulting sound is altered by the tongue and lips. A person can form these structures into various shapes to make different sounds. The soft palate at the back of the mouth, the hard or bony palate in the front, and the teeth also affect the sound. The nose provides an alternate means of issuing sound and is part of the production of speech. Movement of the entire lower jaw can alter the size of the mouth cavern and influence the tone and volume of the speech.” (Adapted from encyclopedia.com). In case you were wondering, that’s how you speak the name!
This name must be declared. “That my name might be declared throughout all the earth.” Romans 9:17. This name saves. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13. This name is above all other names. “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named.” Ephesians 1:21. This name demands worship. “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.” Philippians 2:9-10. This name will make us live forever. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13. This name is the centerpiece of the last days! “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:16.
The Bible teaches us to speak the name, not just think or understand the name. We don’t just mean the name. We speak the name. We speak the name when we baptize. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38. We speak the name when we pray. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” James 5:14. We speak the name when we preach and teach. “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.” Acts 9:27-29. It is the name of Jesus that contains the power and the authority, the might and dominion. It is the name of Jesus that commands the attention of Satan himself. It is the name of Jesus that means “Jehovah has become our salvation!”
Some say this is too simple. They want us to launch into long, complicated explanations and treatises on various aspects of salvation, religion, recovery and spiritual metamorphoses. They believe we ought to search for answers in the realms of education, of politics, of activism, of mind power, of high finance. They believe we should analyze, scrutinize, categorize, pasteurize, downsize, revise, stylize, theorize—anything but baptize—the message of the name of Jesus.
Sometimes we fall prey to the desire to find something deeper, something more enlightening, something more palatable for the twenty-first century educated mind. But after going in full circle, we always come back to the name. When you are in trouble, just speak the name. When you are in the dark, just speak the name. When you are sick, just speak the name. When you are tempted, just speak the name. When you are discouraged, just speak the name. When you are challenged, just speak the name.
It is our covenant relationship. It is our family identification. It is our sin-remitter. It is heaven’s attention getter. It is the devil’s worst nightmare.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! There is just something about that name!