Spiritual Warfare: The Name of Jesus
This week, Justin VandeWater brought the message focusing on the name of Jesus. He began with asking the question, "What were some of the amazing, miraculous, authoritative things that Jesus did?" Some the answers shouted out were that he healed the sick, multiplied food, walked on water, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, prophesied, baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, trained his disciples, and conquered death.
John 14:12-14 says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." We can ask in Jesus' name and he will do it. Jesus said that we can do what he did and even greater things! So, how are we doing with doing the works of Jesus?
This week's Verse of the Week is Philippians 2:9-11, "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father". Justin shared how his initial thought in the past has been "Well, he is God so of course he does those things" We are not God, so our expectation is that we don't do those things. This pushed Justin to pour though the gospels, looking for what it is about Jesus that he can do these things.
Jesus was never less than God, but he was also never more than man. So how is there so much power and authority to do the things that he did? What can we do? Try harder, pray better? We are drawn to Jesus' power and authority, but if we focus on that, we miss what preceded this power and authority. It was the radical, costly submission and surrender to his Father's will.
Going back to Philippians 2, starting in verse 5, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Then the big word, "THEREFORE" follows. Therefore, because of Jesus' obedience, he was highly exalted...
So what preceded Jesus' ministry? His "yes" to the Father to leave the throne and humble himself. Jesus' "Yes, Father" lead to his humility. We see in the gospels that Jesus was baptized and given the Holy Spirit and then sent to the desert to be tempted by the devil. In the desert, Jesus was obedient to the Father. Jesus kept saying "Yes, Father", and he overcame.
We failed in the garden - we were given all we needed, yet could not obey, so Jesus came to model that for us. Jesus was able to live in alignment with the Father. In John 5, Jesus says that he only does what the Father says. Jesus trusted his Father and obeyed. That power of Jesus is available to us when we submit and surrender to the Father.
In spiritual warfare, our obedience and submission to the Father is our warfare. We must listen to the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit tells us "no" to something, yet we do it, we grieve the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit tells us to do something, yet we don't do it, that is quenching the Spirit.
What is impacted by our obedience and coming under the authority of the Father?
- our worship
- our prayers
- our command and authority over demons
- our power to heal
- our ability to preach (Acts 4:13)
- our ability to suffer well (Acts 5:41)
Justin challenged the group in speaking of his deep love for Jesus and his desire to serve and love him well, but at the same time, he does love his life and often feels he has to prove himself and find his identity in other things. That is the battle. We cannot have both. We strive to be obedient to the death, as Jesus was.
Justin concluded with Ephesians 1:15-23 as our prayer, "For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all".
To watch the IGNITE service, click here.
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