The Power that Comes from the Name of Jesus Christ (Acts 3:11-26)
Let us bless and greet one another, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The title of today’s message is, “The Power That Comes from the Name of Jesus Christ.” Last week, we received the Word about the cripped beggar in front of the Temple Gate called “Beautiful” who was healed in the name of Jesus Christ. He was crippled from the moment he was born. Why did God allow him to be born crippled? Jesus Christ shows these miracles and signs in order to testify to all of the people.
1. God’s power
1) Solomon’s Colonnade (Acts 3:11)
(1) Healed man held onto Peter and John (Acts 3:11)
After this man was healed, he held onto Peter and John, in other words, he was always paraplegic, but now that he could stand up, he was able to hold onto Peter and John. In reality, he should be looking at Jesus Christ because he was raised and healed in the name of Jesus Christ’s authority.
(2) All the people were astonished and came running to them (Acts 3:11)
However, it says that because of these works, many people gathered around Solomon’s Colonnade. Solomon’s Colonnade was a location next to the temple, and it was a square or area where people would teach and listen to the Word.
(3) Jews demand signs (1 Cor. 1:22)
When Peter saw this, he said to the people, “Why does this surprise you?” 1 Cor. 1:22 says that Jews demand miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, so the faith of the Jewish people is that, if God is alive, He should demonstrate His power through signs and miracles, and because this crippled man was healed, there were many people gathering to see this miracle.
2) Peter
(1) Not by our own power or godliness (Acts 3:12)
(2) Why do you stare at us (Acts 3:12)
But then, Peter saw this and asked, “Why do you stare at us as if it were by our own power or godliness that made this man walk?” All religions demonstrate power, and there’s also healing that takes place. However, through those healings and through that power, it makes it look like it’s from the individual person. In reality, that power does not come from the person, it was revealed through the person by the authority and the power of the name of Jesus Christ.
(3) Religion, meditation, Qi healing, hypnosis – mankind’s abilities
But religions also have power. They also have the power to cast out evil spirits. How can a demon-worshiper cast out demons? There are cases where more powerful demons will cast out less powerful demons, but many people misunderstand this as “healing.” There are other types of healing as well. There are many religions that have this, “energy healing.” There are heretical groups in Korea that claim to do the work of healing. They call it, “energy healing,” but it’s really the work of evil spirits. But what we’re saying today is, when humans see miracles or signs, they follow the person who does the work. Even inside of the churches, if there’s a person who has the power of healing, many people will follow that person. Or, if there’s a person who has the gift of prophecy, many people will follow that person to hear that prophecy. If there is somebody who shows the gift of healing, many people will follow that person to receive healing. But Peter is saying that that is not the right way, that these works are not taking place by the power and godliness of people. Then, what is making this happen? The power is revealed by the authority of Jesus Christ, and Peter and John just used the name of Jesus Christ.
America is being shaken by transcendental meditation, especially centered on healing. In reality, transcendental meditation is a very old practice that stemmed from Buddhist and Hindu meditation. Through meditation, people receive healing. There are some people who use a hypnotic state to say they will heal your past life or your scars. In America, there is even a license for hypnotic healing. They say they used hypnotherapy to bring up the past experiences of one’s life to heal them, and they say you have to pay money to receive healing. People don’t know what any of these things are, so they go in the direction of incorrect healing. Humans are spiritual beings, so they always have a spiritual reaction, because when God created mankind, He made them different from animals and angels by making us spiritual beings. In other words, we are tremendous beings who are created so that we can only live with God. On the other hand, if we are not with God, then we become worse than animals.
So why do humans suffer? Animals do not suffer like we do, they just have to get food and they survive and roam around. Only humans suffer like this, why is that? If we don’t know the mystery of being with God, we are bound to suffer. But if we do have the mystery of being with God, then we have the blessing of ruling and subduing the earth. So, this is what human beings are like, and when we go to church, the churches don’t explain to us how to receive true healing, so people look for healing out in the world, through religions, idols, transcendental meditation, energy healing, and hypnosis. Then what are the churches doing that they don’t hear about healing and then they leave? They’re talking about physical blessings, power. People need to receive healing through only Jesus Christ, but instead, the churches skip over that and talk about the physical blessings and power through Jesus Christ, so people who need healing fall into the religions and the idols of the world. When these people go into worldly meditation, they do receive healing. I went to one of these gatherings, and it seemed like, to me, that they were meeting for very petty things, the scars of their past or the trauma of their past or the conflicts in their work life. Because they cannot resolve these with their own strength, they receive healings from these meetings.
3) World – New Age
(1) Empty yourself
The method is typically meditation, where they empty themselves and concentrate on a specific point. The basic principle of these practices says that the incorrect things inside of you are not the true, “you,” that is the false “you.” Then, you need to let go of the false you and hold onto the true and correct “you.”
(2) Fill yourself with something else
Then, people think, “Oh, the traumas of the past are the fake ‘me,’ and there is a true ‘me’ that is god-like and powerful that I need to hold onto.” So, boldly they let go of the scars of their past and claim they had been healed. Human beings are spiritual, so we can never receive true healing unless it is by the name of Jesus Christ. Then, what is healing? Is the healing of your disease healing? Then, what about people who never get diseased? Is getting more money healing? Then, what about people who are wealthy? So that’s not real. It is fundamentally the spiritual relationship with God being restored. Through the name of Jesus Christ, when our relationship with God is restored, then that is true healing.
(3) Healing with your own training and discipline
Another form of transcendental meditation says that you must receive the tremendous power of the universe inside of you, then what is their standard? They say then that you can overcome yourself because there is tremendous power in the universe, and you must receive that into yourself. How? They make people concentrate upon this point through transcendental meditation. They turn on music, and they send out a message. Then what happens? The churches don’t know this accurately so they’re not able to provide the proper guidance. Matthew 12:43-45 says that this becomes a channel for seven more evil spirits to enter. It’s not that the world is doing something wrong, it’s that the church is not able to give people the correct healing, so they go in the wrong direction. You may not be interested in this, but that’s not right; you must be interested and receive proper healing yourself, first, because we have the bartizan of Satan and the bartizan of the world inside of us.
When we face a situation, we revert back to our me-centeredness, that is the bartizan inside of us. As soon as we face a problem, we go back to being centered on ourselves, “Can I fix this or not?” As soon as we have financial problems, we have the bartizan of being centered on ourselves and falling into despair. We need to change that bartizan to be centered on God’s sovereignty and His will. We say that Christ is our Lord, Christ is the Lord of my past scars, Christ is my Lord in the midst of today’s problems. Christ must be revealed. Only Christ is the true Lord and the true God. Satan does not place Christ into us, he places “myself” into us. Then, whether that person is facing a problem or not, they are centered on themselves so they will always be controlled by Satan. If something good happens, I like it; if something bad happens, it’s bad for me. Why? I’m bound to fluctuate based on my environment, because I am the Lord of my life. If Jesus becomes my Lord, then Jesus is the Lord in that environment as well.
In today’s present reality and the future, Christ is the Lord. That’s what we’re saying today. Without Christ, there cannot be true healing. The problem you keep facing again and again is happening because Christ is not your Lord. There is also the stream from our family line, for many generations, and the stream that will continue after me. We must break it down in Christ. That doesn’t mean to just pray about it simply; it means Christ must become your Lord. If you experience this just once, that becomes the beginning of being set free from addiction. If you start this just once, then that becomes the beginning of your freedom from mental problems. Why do we have mental problems or addictions? I have addictions and I have mental problems, because I do not have the power to overcome my situation. That’s why I cannot do this. But every religion, idol, energy movement, and meditation is all centered on me, so evil spirits enter me, and the world tells us, “You can do this,” and we do, but what about after? What can we do when it’s impossible? That’s when elites crumble. Yes, we can do it, but you’ll face something you cannot do, then you will be at a loss, because you’ve done everything until now, but now, you can’t. Actually, that becomes an opportunity to make Christ your Lord, but no one tells us this, so we fall and that’s why elites fall into meditation. Now, meditation has become the culture. You and I must be aware of this and relay this.
A long time ago, I was with a group of pastors, and someone who knew that we were pastors said, “Going to church is useless.” What was the standard of that person? This person was saying, they were living their entire life in pain because of the scars of their past. But, he claimed that he was healed when he went to a meditation retreat. He told us about two scars and traumas he experienced. He was skipping stones on the Han River, and right as he was skipping a stone, someone came out of the water and the stone hit them right in the eye, and of course, the person who was hit didn’t know who threw the stone, but the person who threw the stone was afflicted by their guilt trip every night. And he told us about one more incident. He said, “One day, I was biking to school and there was a girl who was the same age as me, who I ran into with my bike, and I caused a huge accident,” so he was afflicted by this his whole life, he was afflicted by this guilt trip. He thought, “Oh, I’ve ruined these people’s lives.” He was older than I was. He came all the way to America, and he was working at a fried chicken shop downtown. He would always work and drink alcohol, and he’s very critical. So, even in front of a group of pastors, he would boldly say, “Going to church is useless; I’ve tried it,” and he said he received healing from a retreat. So what could I say to someone like that? I told this person, “Later on, you will be possessed by evil spirits, so at that time, come back to church.” Am I going to fight this man? I just told him what would happen in the future, and I told him very boldly while smiling. “In the future, when you’re afflicted by evil spirits, come back to church,” and he didn’t understand what I meant so he stayed quiet.
This is what the field of the world is like now. Because the churches are not giving the correct things, people are receiving the incorrect things and making a fuss with incorrect healing. Whether your job is working well or not, quickly come out of that. Why do you stay so stuck on being centered on yourself that you cannot see what God wants? The devil makes it so that you cannot escape from “me,” it’s always “me,” the category of all of my thoughts cannot escape, “me.” May you have the beginning of true healing that sets you free from the me-centered thinking and be centered on Christ our Lord.
2. God of the Covenant
1) Jews
(1) You handed over Jesus (Acts 3:13)
(2) You disowned the Holy and Righteous One (Acts 3:14)
(3) You killed the author of life (Acts 3:15)
Then in Acts 3:13, Simon says, ‘The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, you handed him over to be killed. You disowned him before Pilate, though he decided to let him go.”
2) God
(1) Glorified Jesus (Acts 3:13)
(2) Raised from the dead (Acts 3:15)
(3) We are witnesses of this (Acts 3:15)
“The Messiah that you are looking for is the Jesus Who you crucified, and God glorified this Jesus Christ by raising Him from the dead, and you are sinners.” To whom is Simon saying this? He is saying this to us. Do you know what Original Sin is? We read this and we think this is a story of the Jews, don’t you? What is Original Sin? “I am the sinner who disowned Jesus.” If I had lived 2000 years ago, then I would have been in the seat of original Sin that disowned Jesus. The Word of the Bible is not a historical tale from 2000 years ago, it is spiritually continuing today. You might think, “I wouldn’t have killed Jesus,” that’s why you’re not receiving grace. What is Original Sin? “I did kill Jesus,” that is Original Sin. I would have stoned Jesus to death right here, so what must I do? We must repent. “Repent” means turning back on the path that you are on. “I’ve lived incorrectly until now, I thought I was okay,” and yes, you’re okay because people say you’re okay, but when you listen to God’s Word, He tells us that we have Original Sin. From the moment we are born, we are disowning Jesus and following after Satan, running his errands. That message must be relayed, then what must we do?
3) Healing
(1) Healed through faith in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:16)
(2) Faith that is through Jesus (Acts 3:16)
In Acts 3:16, Peter says that it is by faith in the name of Jesus that this man was healed. This man was not healed because Peter and John were so great; this man was healed because he believed in the name of Jesus Christ. Why are you looking at your problems and the people you don’t like? Why are you looking at your environment or circumstance? You should look at the Christ Who is controlling all of that. Why do you focus on yourself as if you have some kind of great wisdom to solve your problem? The only wisdom you have is the wisdom to disown Jesus. The only wisdom you have will elevate and exalt human beings. You must look at Jesus Christ instead, because all of God’s wisdom and knowledge come from Jesus Christ. That’s what Peter is saying.
When Christ becomes the lord of your past, present, and future, then everything is finished. No matter what problem your situation you’re in, if Christ becomes your Lord, then everything is finished with that. The world educates us to be focused on, “What can you do, what do you need to do to solve this problem without Christ?” Why do elites fall into mental problems? Because they have done everything with their own strength until now, and they keep trying to solve it on their own, but when they’re not able to solve it, they fall into despair. We must look at Christ. Yes, we need the education of the world, but it must be an education that reveals Jesus Christ. Yes, American education might be great, but any education that does not reveal Christ is actually used to kill people. All wisdom, power, and knowledge is coming from Christ. “Oh, but I’m so smart,” God actually gave you that talent in the name of Jesus Christ. “Oh, I’m so athletic,” or, “I have musical talent.” God gave you that. Why do you boast of yourself? You should be boasting of Christ. That’s what He is saying today.
We keep looking at people, we keep looking at our own mental strategies, or we look at people who seem wiser than us, and we try to find more wisdom by finding books written by older people, but Solomon already told us that it is all in vain. Who was more wise, more successful, more wealthy, more educated, or married more women than Solomon? He thought there was something in those things, but there was nothing to be found. There is nothing other than “Only Christ,” only God. So what are you looking towards, now? Are we looking towards ourselves, or are we looking for Christ in us? Are we trying to find the strategy of our own minds or are we receiving the answers from Christ? That is what today’s content entails. Even if you do find an answer from your own brain, that is not real healing. You must receive the healing from Christ fundamentally. Whatever we solve with our own mental strength is just momentary, and it will crumble in the end. It is a house built on sand. So the principle is, no matter how great mankind’s power is, it is bound to collapse or crumble, but anything that is built in the name of Jesus Christ is built on rock that will never fall. Why are people falling into addiction, mental illness, suicide, or murder? Because they have raised their life on sand, on the foundation of elite education or the standards of the world. We must build upon the foundation in the name of Jesus Christ. The house that is built on that foundation. That’s what they’re saying. “Why are you looking at us right now? Look at Christ.” The Jews had lived their entire lives like that, without Christ, looking at people, looking at the power of people, it’s not that.
(3) Healed in front of all the people (Acts 3:16)
This person was healed by the name of Jesus Christ, and that faith comes from Jesus Christ. There is a faith that comes from me, and there’s a faith that comes from Jesus. Even our faith must come from Jesus, because someone might look very faithful, but it might be their own stubbornness. You must be able to discern between faith and stubbornness; you must be able to discern between faith and your pride. There are some people who don’t have faith, but they have the pride of being a Christian; that’s not faith. “Oh, I’m a Christian, I should be at least X, Y, Z, that’s not faith, that’s pride, and that’s a channel for Satan. Later on, that will be broken down. It must be the faith from Jesus Christ. In other words, being able to believe by the grace of Christ. It must be from Christ to continue. The Jewish people thought they had faith, but their faith was not from Christ. It was actually just their strong ideologies that were rooted down from many generations of religious tradition. “I’m a Jew, I believe in God.” For thousands of years, they had this very strong ideology in them. Only from Christ, through the grace given to me by the Lord, can we continue.
3. Renewed life
1) Jesus Christ
(1) Through the prophets, God foretold the sufferings of the Christ (Acts 3:18)
(2) God fulfilled what He had foreknown (Acts 3:18)
(3) Repent and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out (Acts 3:19)
So, in front of all these people, they testified that it was by the power of Jesus Christ that this man was healed. Then Peter says to the Israelites, “Repent, turn back to God so that your sins might be wiped out.” When you believe in Jesus Christ, you are no longer in the stream of your past and family line, you are in a new stream. I died on the cross with Jesus Christ, and the stream that was in my family line and in my personal life has been crucified. Now, Christ lives within me as my Lord and I change him into the stream of a new life. All of the prophets have testified that this Christ would suffer, and the Lord knew this in advance and fulfilled it. Therefore, repent, turn to God so that your sins might be wiped out. The issue right now is not how correct your thoughts are. Just go back to Christ, start everything with Christ, any repentance that doesn’t start with that is fake. “Oh, I repent for saying the wrong thing,” you’re repenting like a nonbeliever. Repentance means turning back from the path you are on to the Lord. Even nonbelievers will journal every night saying, “Oh, I did this wrong,” or, “I shouldn’t have said that to that person.” That’s not repentance; repentance is to God. It is turning to align in the same direction as God.
2) Time of renewal (Acts 3:19)
(1) The Christ appointed for you (Acts 3:20)
That this Christ has been appointed to you, that God has appointed this Messiah to save you from long ages past. What does this mean? It means that right now, in this time schedule, Jesus is revealing Himself to you through my message, that this beggar who was crippled his entire life was predestined to receive his message. So, he had to be born in this family line to his parents, and he had to be born as a cripple. The fact that he was destined or appointed to receive salvation, means the Lord already knew this would happen and allowed it, because there is a work that God must do through this crippled man. That work is to reveal Christ and make Christ His Lord, and in order to do that, He allowed this man to be a crippled beggar for 40 years. Everything that happened in your past, your successes, your failures, your scars, God has allowed so that you can receive Christ as your Lord correctly. If your entire life does not get organized by Christ alone, then you will have mental problems and addictions. Because your mind is complicated, your emotions become complicated, and you reach a mental state where you cannot have the correct emotional or mental responses.
(2) Christ – Incarnation, resurrection, second coming, judgement
So, this is the Christ from long ages past. The Christ Who was born incarnate in the flesh, and the Christ who has finished all the problems and sins on the cross, the Christ Who died and resurrected and is alive right now, working. The Christ Who will come back for the second coming, the Christ will come as the Judge. It is all the same “Christ,” but He is revealed differently depending on the time schedule. So in our past, present, and future, Christ is the Lord of all. This is where we need to receive all of our healing and all of our power. May you become new through Christ. “Oh, I’ve done so well until now,” that’s you. Later on, you won’t do well because I’m not God. If you’ve done well until now, now is the time for you to know Christ properly. If you have not done well until now, that’s normal. God is waiting for you and now is the time for you to meet Christ correctly as your Lord, that is the true healing of the crippled beggar. We must have true healing today. If you discover yourself correctly through Jesus Christ, that is true healing, everything else is in vain, everything else isn’t healing, it’s just treatment. Healing is a fundamental restoration. Yes, a doctor can give you treatment, but he cannot heal you because only Christ can give you the fundamental spiritual restoration. So, do not focus on who did these works and who did that healing; instead, focus only on Christ. In the case of Mongolia, they have a long history of idol worship, so there is a lot of shamanism and mysticism inside of the churches. So, these very renowned people will come and pray for other people, and a large crowd will gather to receive prayer. Why do we gather there? That’s what happens in idolatry and religions, and they always have this habit of going to a shaman. Even now, people gather in Arizona to find shamans. Even churchgoers, it’s because they have a longstanding foundation.
To become “Only Christ” is not a simple matter, but from the moment we do have “Only Christ,” that is when His power is revealed. No matter what anybody says, it’s all just words. You and I must hold onto only Jesus Christ. Inside of that faith, power is revealed. Each and every one of you has the power to do this healing, because you have the right to use the name of Jesus Christ. You don’t receive the power to heal; the power is in the name of Jesus Christ. All I’ve received are faith and grace, and I use it in faith. It is not through my faith that a person is healed, it is through the name of Jesus Christ and His power that they are healed.
(3) Prophet spoken of by Moses and Samuel (Acts 3:22-24)
For Moses and Samuel said, “This Jesus Whom You crucified is the Christ.” The seed of Abraham is this Jesus. When God called Abraham, He said, “Through your offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed.” We who believe in Jesus are also Abraham. Through you, all peoples on earth will be blessed. Do not hold onto anything else but hold firmly to this.
3) Children of the covenant – God’s watchtower
(1) All peoples on earth will be blessed – God’s journey (Acts 3:25)
(2) Through you (source of blessings) – God’s watchtower (Acts 3:25)
(3) All regions restored from curse to blessing – God’s guidepost (Acts 3:26)
When you hold firmly to what God has promised, then God works. “I will make you into a source of blessings.” This means that God will flow blessings through you. God will bless your family line through you. God will bless my company through me. God will bless my entire region through me. Whatever blessing God has given to Abraham is ours when we have this faith in Christ, and that is how the works of true restoration take place, where we are moved from curses and death into life. Not because of me, but in the name of Jesus Christ, and you reveal the name of Christ. We hold onto, enjoy, and testify of that name. Who am I? I am a source of blessings, that’s what God promised me. “Whoever blesses you, I will bless, and whoever curses you, I will curse.” The standard is not me, but it is the Christ Who lives in me. It’s not saying, “Oh, if you curse me, then God is going to curse you,” but it’s saying that, “If you curse me, the Christ inside of me will result in a curse for you.”
Conclusion
1. The power of the name of Jesus Christ
Ultimately, it comes from the power of the name of Jesus Christ. That’s why you must pray in the name of Jesus Christ. When you receive answers, it will be power. Isaac received an answer of 100 years with just one prayer. What wisdom do we have? Christ Himself is wisdom; what power do we have? Christ Himself is power. So may you hold onto the name of Christ and pray. When you have Christ as your Lord, His power is revealed.
2. Healing
3. Become a witness to all nations and peoples
When you have Christ as your Lord, then His wisdom follows you, that is how you receive healing, and then you will be a witness to all generations. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ that you may stand as a witness of Christ to your family line, your region, and your field.
Message Prayer
Let us pray holding onto the Word we have received. I will hold onto this covenantal promise with God throughout the rest of the week, and even as you eat, hold onto this Word as you eat. When you’re studying, when you’re working, hold onto this promise and receive answers through that prayer.
Offering Prayer and Newcomer Blessing
God, we thank You. We believe the Lord will guide us as witnesses throughout the week with the power that comes from faith in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, You have promised that we can do all things in Your name. Allow us to challenge with faith in the name of Jesus Christ. We pray You will bless us so we may be the witnesses of Christ Who is living now.
We have returned Your materials as offering. Everywhere it is used, we pray that dying souls will be saved, and we pray that You will bless the hands that have given the offering with the blessing of the economy of light. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Closing Prayer and Benediction
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the unending love of God, the indwelling, working, guidance, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be upon all the people of God who desire to stand as a witness of the power of Jesus Christ, be with them now and forevermore always, amen.
You already have victory!