BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Notice Peter didn’t mention anything there about being an apostle. He didn’t say the miracle happened because he had a special ministry call. He said it happened because of the power of the Name of Jesus. He said much the same thing again the next day to the Jewish priests who arrested him and John and demanded an explanation of the miracle. “By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?” they asked (Acts 4:7). And Peter answered: “By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole…. for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (verses 10, 12). The Name Can Do Anything Jesus Can Do Look again at what Peter said there. He didn’t say the Name of Jesus has been “given among apostles.” He said Jesus’ Name has been “given among men.” In other words, God has given that Name to any man (or woman or child) who will believe in it. The Name of Jesus can do anything He can do! His Name carries the same power He carries Himself. Really, that’s true to some degree where any name is concerned. Even in the natural, a man’s name carries the same weight he does. If a man isn’t any good, his name isn’t any good either. On the other hand, if a person is highly respected for his power, wealth and integrity, that person’s name can accomplish great things—even when they’re not physically present. I like how Brother Oral Roberts’ oldest son, Ronnie, illustrated this. He told about a time when, as a young man, he’d grown tired of the notoriety that came with his father’s famous name and he became reluctant to mention it. He’d just gotten out of the military and, though he had a job, he didn’t have much money and he badly needed a car. When he went to the bank to apply for a loan he was told he didn’t qualify. “Son,” the banker explained, “the problem is we don’t know you. We don’t know anything about you.” “Well,” Ronnie said, “I didn’t want to do this…but would it matter if you knew that my daddy is Oral Roberts?” At the sound of that name suddenly things changed. “Certainly it would matter!” exclaimed the banker. “We all know Brother Roberts around here. Why didn’t you say before that you’re his son? Just sit down here and fill out this paperwork and you can go buy yourself a car.” That’s a great picture of what happens when you, as a born-again child of God, speak the Name of Jesus. Every angelic spirit in the heavens, all of this earthly creation, and every demon in hell recognizes that Name! First, it’s the Name of God Himself—the Name that contains the full measure of His almighty power. It’s the Name that has been inherited by the One, as Hebrews 1 says: “[God] hath appointed [his Son] heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (verses 2-4). Second, it’s the Name conferred on Jesus because, as a member of the Godhead equal to the Father, He made Himself of no reputation, came to earth as a man, and went to the cross to secure mankind’s redemption. As Philippians 2 says: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him [His] name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things [names] in heaven, and things [names] in earth, and things [names] under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (verses 9-11). Third, it’s the Name Jesus won by conquest when He conquered the devil and all his minions and took from them the keys to death and hell. It’s the Name He earned when, “having spoiled principalities and powers…[making] a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:15)—He declared, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18, "New King James Version"). 8 : BVOV

• Cover