Strengthened By the Name of the Lord

"I am a weakling!" All of the blog posts around the theme of 'strengthening' stem from the truthfulness of this declaration. Only when we firmly believe that we are weaklings will we be motivated to run as fast as possible to the Source of strength, our Lord Jesus Christ. Because Jesus always provides what we need for life and godliness, it should not surprise us that He has a number of avenues through which this strength is forthcoming. So far we have considered the avenues of His grace, His word and His joy.

Now, we turn our attention to being strengthened by the NAME of the Lord. The NAME of the Lord is part of God's daily provision that is essential in being able to live the victorious Christian life.

The word 'name' is found about 750 times in the New International Version. 500 of the 750 times the word is used with a direct reference to God - be it God the Father or God the Son. It is so used in 48 of the 66 books of the Bible. For a bit of trivia...in the Old Testament the book of Psalms wins for the highest number and in the New Testament the award goes to the book of Acts.

First, the NAME of the Lord is STRONG to SAVE! The first actions and sermons of the Christian church establish this priority in no uncertain terms.

• Peter said to the man crippled from birth, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!" (Acts 3:6)
• When giving an explanation to how this man was healed, Peter declared, "By faith in the NAME of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong" (Acts 3:16)
• The crown jewel of this account is Peter addressing the rulers and elders who were trying to silence the apostles: "...know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised form the dead, that this man stands before you healed...Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no NAME under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:10,12)

We cannot be saved by our good deeds, our religious observances or our own moral superiority. All of our righteousness is filthy rags. The NAME of the Lord is strong to save.

Second, the NAME of the Lord is STRONG to PROTECT! This is true in both a passive sense and an active sense.

The passive protection is highlighted in Proverbs 18:10: "The NAME of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Once inside this tower, there is nothing for us to do. It is already done through His provision and His presence. How comforting and peaceful it is to hide behind the Name of the Lord in this strong tower.

Perhaps the best illustration of the active protection comes from the very familiar story of David and Goliath. Since it is so familiar, I am going to engage your interest with a quiz question: What was David's weapon in slaying Goliath? If you answered a sling shot and a stone, you are incorrect. I'll let David speak for himself in providing the correct answer. David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the NAME of the LORD Almighty..." (1 Samuel 17:45)

The spiritual battle is raging all around us. Fighting on our own power with our own weapons is a sure recipe for defeat and disaster. I declare to you on the authority of the Word of God...the NAME of the Lord is strong to protect.

Third, the NAME of the Lord Is STRONG for SPIRITUAL WORSHIP! Worship is seeing God from God's point of view. Worship is agreeing with God that the NAME of Jesus Christ is the NAME above all names! Worship is all about Jesus and His honor and not about us and our needs.

• Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess His NAME. Hebrews 13:15
• I will give thanks to the LORD because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the NAME of the LORD Mist High. Psalm 7:17
• I will bow down toward Your holy temple and will praise Your NAME for Your love and Your faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things You NAME and Your Word. Psalm 138:2

While we engage in the privilege and the celebration of worship, we are strengthened. The NAME of the Lord is strong for spiritual worship.

Take the Lord at His word and agree with His assessment. Without Him you can do nothing. But with Him all things are possible. Willingly, and often, declare your weakling status and run as fast as possible to the only Source of strength. You will find Him faithful as He strengthens you through the might and majesty of the NAME that is above every name: the NAME of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Not FORBIDDEN...But FRUITFUL

The Word of God is quite clear. It is not the Lord’s design that pain and suffering be forbidden in our lives. Rather, it is His design that it be fruitful. Human authors can help make this point. Ray Stedman writes, “God whispers in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our sufferings.” C.S. Lewis terms pain “God’s megaphone.”

Of course, the divine Author, Who inspired the Scriptures, speaks authoritatively and comprehensively. Before I list a couple of His statements, let me relate an episode from a few years back. During a causal discussion involving five of us, one pastoral colleague cautioned us to be careful about using clichés when ministering to people undergoing pain and suffering. Immediately following that statement, he proceeded to give a couple of examples. The second example of a cliché was, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…” I was immediately flabbergasted and dumbfounded. This pastor had just labeled one of the most profound truths in the Bible as a cliché!

The Bible is never a cliché or a sound bite. Every verse is a true and significant revelation from the heart and mind of the Living God.

Many have already recognized that the above Bible verse labeled a cliché is Romans 8:28. Perhaps it has been a while since you read it in its context. Here it is:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified…Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:28-30,35,37-39

Here is one more profound truth statement from the Bible regarding pain, suffering and evil. Following a life in which his brothers sold him into slavery and he ended up spending quite a few years in prison, Joseph said to those very brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” Genesis 50:20

Indeed, we may wish that the Lord would forbid pain and suffering. We need to have a change in our spiritual mindset so that we can pray to our Heavenly Father, “Lord, I ask that this pain and suffering would be fruitful in conforming me more to the image of Christ, my Savior.”

Strengthened By the Joy of the Lord

If you are a regular Bible reader, your list of favorite verses continues to grow. I had a preacher-friend who, when asked the identity of his favorite verse, had a standard reply: "Whichever one I am preaching on this Sunday." One of my favorite verses provides the foundation for what I am writing about in this posting. It is the last sentence of Nehemiah 8:10: "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." What you are about to read would make a lot more sense if you opened your Bible and read the entire eighth chapter of Nehemiah.

The setting for this event is at the Watergate. Nehemiah proves that a great deal can be accomplished in a short period of time - in this case a little over two months. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he found a city and its people in great trouble and disgrace (this is, the absence of grace) and the wall and gates of Jerusalem in ruins.

Fifty-five days later, the walls were rebuilt and the gates were in place. Nehemiah had brought an amazing security renewal, political renewal and social renewal in the span of two months. But one major - and the most important - area that needed renewal and revival was still in critical condition.

Disgrace and the accompanying joylessness had the people in the doldrums. Nehemiah, being an astute follower of the Lord, knew that reforms without a solid spiritual underpinning would be very short lived. So plans were made for a very unique spiritual gathering. In fact, try this today and see how few attend.

A high wooden platform was constructed and the notice went out to the people, calling them to be in attendance by sunup (approximately 6 AM) on the first day of the next month. For six hours - until noon - Ezra, Nehemiah and the Levites read and explained the Word of God to the people. They made the Word of God clear be giving the meaning so that the people could understand its contents.

Up until that event, the Bible had been neglected, God had been put on the shelf and spiritual matters received only scant attention. This is a certain recipe for disgrace, joylessness and living in ruins.

At Watergate, the Spirit quickened the hearts of the people be initiating the response of repentance. Repentance is realizing that we are going our way (which is opposite of God's way), crying our to God for forgiveness and then making a U-turn by taking the beginning steps of active obedience. This first day ended with the Levites encouraging the people by saying, "This day is sacred to the Lord. Do not grieve, for he joy of the Lord is your strength."

On day two - the second day of the month - there was another gathering much like the day before. No music, no congregational dinner. Simply meeting to give careful attention to God's Word. They discovered that for generations they had been neglecting a festival commanded by Moses. We know it as the Feast of Booths. Immediately, the people went into action and obediently did exactly what they had just heard from God's Word. The episode ends with this telling postscript: And their joy was very great.

From centuries of disgrace and joylessness to very great joy in less than a week.

It really is very simple. However, for one very important reason, we have made the search for joy very difficult. No we have made it impossible. We are reaching for something that does not exist: The emotion of joy.

Joy is not an emotion. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. The main nourishment that we need for this fruit to grow and develop in our lives is the Bible. Read it, study it and put it into practice and joy will be yours. And along with joy, the Lord provides a hefty dose of spiritual strength that each of us weaklings desperately need.