When I was a boy, I watched several cartoon shows. One of them was Felix the Cat. I know, I am dating myself, but it was big in the TV world at the time. And yes, it was sometime after the Ice Age! But Felix was not my favorite character on the show. It was a little guy named Vavoom. Though Vavoom was small in stature, he had a deep and powerful voice. Not only was Vavoom his name, but it also represented a word of incredibly great power when he spoke it. When Vavoom bellowed out "vavoom", it would shatter rocks and could create cavernous holes in the mountains! It was both awesome and often hilarious to see what happened when little Vavoom shouted "vavoom"!
Though it was just a cartoon, a great point was made. There was great power in the person of Vavoom and also in the spoken name of Vavoom. Just recently in Frisco, Texas, the owner of a boutiqe demonstrated the power of the mighty name of Jesus. In closing her store one day, a robber abruptly stepped into her store wielding a gun. He promptly pointed it at her and demanded her money. Rather than doing as most people would do in a similar situation, she boldly told him "no" and turned the tables on him by demanding that he leave "in the name of Jesus." The man then turned to one of the owner's customers who had remained in the store and told her to lie down. Again, the lady owner said: "no, I bind you in the power of the Holy Spirit and command you to leave in Jesus' name." Well, the man was thrown into such confusion that he suddenly rushed out of the store -- without the cash he wanted and without harming a soul! Wow! What an act of faith! And a reminder was given to us as Christians -- the name of Jesus has power!
I fear that too many of us as Christians, and I am guilty of this myself, tend to limit Jesus' name to just a name or word to tack on to the end of a prayer. Whereas, it certainly is biblical to pray and ask "in Jesus' name," we sometimes say it as some dutiful religious rhetoric with little faith and virtually no conviction behind it. We certainly don't say it with the expectation of power behind it that Vavoom did when he blared out: "Vavoom!" You see, Vavoom expected the rocks to split when he spoke "Vavoom" with authority. What do we expect, if anything, when we speak the name of Jesus - in prayer, in witnessing, etc.? Do we really think the power of Jesus' name is only the power we experienced at the beginning of our relationship with Him when we "received Him and believed in His name?" (John 1:12)
Here are a few powerful things we should both remember and expect in faith in God / Jesus' name:
1. Power of Protection -- Proverbs 18:10 says:
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it and is safe."
How often do we really find ourselves running to His name expecting to find safety, shelter and protection from and through the storms of life when we need it?
2. Power of Provision -- John 16:23-24 says:
"... truly, truly I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for anything, He will give it to you in My name. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
When we pray, do we really believe in the power of Jesus' name to open the bountiful vaults of heaven which the Lord is so graciously ready to do for His children? How frequent is our praying in Jesus' name with deep and firm conviction, faith and expectation or has it become just the final meaningless words of a faithless prayer?
3. Power in Battle -- Luke 10: 17 says:
... and the seventy returned with joy saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."
The disciples had just returned after a time of when Jesus commissioned them to minister in behalf of the kingdom of God. They healed the sick and labored for the harvest in Jesus' name. Apparently, they invoked the name of Jesus in ministering, and the demonic hosts of Satan had to submit to them in Jesus' name.
Let us ask ourselves: "How often do we forfeit the power available to us in Jesus' name as believers by failing to inject the name of Jesus into our times of ministry?" Have we really forgotten that ministry is a time of spiritual battle that can only be won in Jesus' name? Somehow I believe the power may be missing in these times, because we have forgotten the power of His name in warfare. Maybe we have just forgotten that we are in a battle constantly against the forces of darkness.
4. Power of Sovereignty -- Philippians 29-11: says:
"Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
I am reminded of the story of the ungodly king, Nebuchadnezzar, of Babylon who erected a golden image on the plain of Dura and demanded all in his kingdom to bow and worshipthe golden image at the sound of various musical instruments (Daniel 3:1-7). In other words, the sound of these musical instruments had the ability to inspire worship, because they carried the authority of Nebuchadnezzar the king. But Philippians reminds us that the King and Sovereign of the entire universe, God Himself, has granted authority and power to the name of Jesus! There will come a day that the name of Jesus will be proclaimed, and every person ever born on earth -- whether in heaven, earth, or under the earth -- whether saint of sinner will bow, worship and recognize that Jesus is Lord! Wow! That is power of the highest degree! Hallelujah!
5. The power to save -- Acts 4:12 states:
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."
That puts the exclamation point on things. The name of Jesus is the only name that can make the distinction between sinner and saint, as it's the only name that can convert a person from sinner to saint. What a Savior! What a mighty name!
Maybe it is time for us to remember exactly how powerful the name of Jesus really is! Maybe it is time for us to think "VAVOOM!" when we invoke the name of Jesus in prayer, ministry, etc. What power might we begin to see if we were to do so?
