Lesson 8 The Power Of His Name

     Philippians 2:9 (Amplified) declares that Jesus was given a name above every name.  This isn't just for Christian people, but for the entire world.  For those who believe, it's the path of liberty and for those who don't believe, it's the bondage of sin and death that keeps the world under bondage.
     Jesus said in Luke 4:18 (Amplified) that "when He came it was to set at liberty all that were bound and to set the captives free."  Satan doesn't want you free or at liberty.  He's held the world in bondage for thousands of years and he doesn't want you free.  He will set up different gods for you to serve, but they all serve him so you're still in his bondage.  No matter what god you serve, you're still not free.  Only one name can set at liberty the captives of this world and that's the name of Jesus.
     Even in the Church today, we still hear a lot of teaching about how God's using sickness, calamity, poverty or even the death of a loved one to teach His people.  The devil may not be able to keep you from being born again, but he will still control you by the deception that Jesus is doing these things to you.  We hear all the time about God using cancer or some other disease on His people.  This is the same devil whose always wanted to be God and who will use this religious lie to keep even the liberated people (the Christians) in bondage.
     When you read in the book of Genesis about the Hebrew people in Egypt, you find them in prosperity.  Only when they tried to walk with the One true God did the false gods want them bound and enslaved.  I was always amazed when God told Moses to go into Egypt and set His people free.  I used to wonder why, if they were God's people, then why would they need to be set free anyway.
     The people of God were still serving God and that was something satan couldn't tolerate.  Public opinion was trying to dictate the rules of a heathen god to the children of our God.  It angered satan that  they continued to hold onto Almighty God and he tried to destroy this union and make the people worship him instead.  Satan has always wanted the worship or the place of being God for Himself.  The only way he could do this was through fear and bondage and holding the people in the chains of restraint.
      When Jesus came and preached deliverance to the captives, His name was enough to break every hold of the devil even before His resurrection.  Luke 10:17 (Amplified) says that, "even the demons are subject unto us in [Jesus'] name!"  His name held power even before the crucifixion that the enemy was afraid of and subject to.  After the resurrection, Jesus declared that "all power has been given to me both in heaven and in earth" in Matthew 28:18 (Amplified).
     The only thing satan can do now is to stop Jesus' name from being preached or prevent people from hearing about the power of His name.  Once you've heard about the power of His name and received salvation, satan's only recourse is deceiving you like he did in the Garden of Eden.  He'll say, "Has God really saved you?"
     Satan will ask you whether God has really healed you; whether God really declared you righteous; whether God really doesn't remember your sins anymore; whether God really said you have been given authority by the name of Jesus; whether satan really has no power over you or whether God said that you are one spirit with Him.
     The only thing that satan has going for himself now is the hope to deceive you into believing that Jesus' name really isn't above all names.  He hopes to deceive you into believing that the name (or spirit) of fear or the name (or spirit) of adultery is a name that can't be brought into subjection by the name of Jesus.
     Satan will try and say that the Church is still subject to oppression, depression, fear, torment, guilt, shame, condemnation and the same things that held you in bondage are still Lord over you now.  Satan will try to deceive the Church into believing that they must put off the power of Jesus' name until we get to heaven.  We'll never be able to stand against the forces of the enemy through the power of Jesus' name because we have bought into the lie of public opinion which has been preached in the Church for so long.