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The name:
Perhaps a lot may wonder about Moses’ question to the Lord, when God called him to go to pharaoh to ask him to let the people of Israel go out of Egypt to serve Him in the wilderness” Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” ( Exodus 3:13). But the Lord answered Moses and did not leave him wondering, as if He was telling him yes, whoever deals with Me, has to know My name. And now to you Moses – My name” I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” ( Exodus 3:14). And the meaning of this divine name is” The Existing Who Exists”.
From here- my beloved- God wants to reveal Himself to us, that He is not a mysterious power or force, but a Person Who has a name, and His name carries His limitless Divine Being. This is the secret of the adherence of believers since the Old Testament and up till now to the name of the Blessed Lord… The name of the Lord was used in the Old Testament with great reverence and respect. And because of the greatness of His name, the Jews used the name ” Jehovah ” with regard to worshipping in the altar, incense, the Ark of Covenant, and the manifestation of God’s authority and kingship. As for other practices, they often used ” Adonay” meaning the Lord.
Let us take few examples- from very many- in the Old Testament of the importance, greatness and power of the name of God… The word of God to pharaoh through Moses was” But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth” ( Exodus 9:16). Dear reader, may the powerful name of God be always on your tongue and in your mind and heart so you can experience the greatness of This name. And beware of using His name in vain with recklessness…. And know beloved of the Lord that your devotion to His name will be immediately rewarded with a radiant, healing and blessed life. ” But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves” ( Malachi 4:2). Knowing that whoever clings to The name of the Lord will be in the fortress of safety and survival. ” Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name” ( Psalm 91:14). Didn’t Solomon the wise man say this?!!” The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe” ( Proverbs 18:10). Perhaps this is the way that the saints – in the Old and New Testament- followed, to pray in the name of the Lord and to always chant His name in praise… Even in our everyday life, people mention God’s name for surrounding and protection against satan’s sudden attacks. We must not underestimate the power of protection of this this inherited faith.
In the New Testament, in the Person of the Lord Jesus, Who was incarnate and became Man, the Son of God, His Word, Mind, and Wisdom, the name of God became ours and we were called in His name. Because we became in Christ – to Him is all the glory- the sons of God by adoption, having the name of Christ accompanying us throughout our lives. The Lord Jesus encouraged us to use His named to pray to the Father” If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” ( John 14:14).
If we only beloved of the Lord experience the power of ” Jesus’ prayer”. Which is simply repeating the name of the Lord Jesus constantly, in depth and focus like the holy fathers who taught us to say” My Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God have mercy upon me, my Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God help me, I praise you my Lord Jesus Christ.
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Great:
The greatness of the blessed name of God takes it’s dimensions from the His great Person. And this is taught to us in Revelation” For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods” ( 1 Chronicles 16:25). Therefore, with confidence, faith and pride, we speak in The name of the Lord in the face of the devil and all his works, thoughts, and his visible and invisible helpers, finding instant Divine help…. And if one of us is struggling in his war against satan, the world and the body, then he should seek the name of the Lord Most High, to rise and triumph” But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted” ( Psalm 89:24).
How good is it to bow down and worship in spirit, truth, and in the body as well, when we speak in the name of the Lord our God” Let them praise Your great and awesome name—He is holy” ( Psalm 99:3). And in the Old Testament it was fitting to offer incense in the name of the Lord, as stated in the book of Malachi” For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts” ( Malachi 1:11). And non the less in the New Testament, the incense is offered to the great name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us know the greatness and strength of the name of our Lord Jesus against the enemy of good. When the disciples returned to the Lord Jesus after He sent them to preach about the kingdom of heaven and repentance, they said” Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” ( Luke 10:17). The Lord has given this authority to those who believe in His name, and on His ascension He said” And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues” ( Mark 16:17)… And in this context we recall how, in the city of Philippi” Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour” ( Acts 16:17-18). ” This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified” ( Acts 19:17). And the greatness of Jesus’ name is not only in literally taking out demons, but on the spiritual level we have the power to use the name of the Lord to cast demons out of ours thoughts, and to resist his temptations, expelling all evil away from our lives, homes and works, entrenched by the power of the great name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
And the greatness of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is that without Him there is no salvation, as Peter testified before the priests and the Jews saying” Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” ( Acts 4:12).
Let us, my brothers, ask- with faith- from the Lord Jesus our God, to glorify His name in our lives and to make in us, our churches, our country, and all what is around us, wonders for the glory of His name and the salvation of many. This was the prayer of the apostles in the face of persecution” Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” ( Acts 4:29-30). And the Lord has given it to them without hinderance, charming the world with His good name. There is nothing more magnificent than the revelation that John has seen to show the greatness of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, riding on a white horse” And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” ( Revelation 19:16). To Whom is all glory forever, Amen.