There’s Power in the Name of Jesus

I was recently made aware of a social media post where an atheist referred to a video and said it was proof that there is no power in the name of Jesus. The video the person was referring to is of a woman named Sonya Massey who was tragically and senselessly murdered by a police officer after twice speaking the words, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

Before hearing about the social media post, another friend shared with me what happened, but I had not looked into any details or watched the video. As one who doesn’t watch the news, I considered this to be yet another tragedy that is only happening because of the enemy’s influence on the world. I did not feel a need to see it. Because it had been brought up twice within a couple of days, I understood that I should not ignore what happened.

As I watched the video, the tears came. There was absolutely no reason this woman should have died the way she did. I had a conversation about the social media post with the friend who told me about it. During our conversation, it became clear that the enemy is using this video and senseless murder to not only give non-believers ammunition and so-called proof that there is no power in the name of Jesus, but it may make many Christians and followers of Christ doubt whether there’s power in the name of Jesus.

There may be thoughts like, “Maybe it didn’t work.” We may remain quiet and be too embarrassed to share with anyone that we questioned it. We may not share the doubt with other believers because we do not want to show weakness or that we are questioning God, and we certainly wouldn’t want to share it with a non-believer because it only seems to strengthen their case against Christ. We may consider that it did work but not fully understand how it worked, which leaves us unequipped to be able to answer a question from a non-believer and feel at peace with it for ourselves. We cannot continue to live this way. How many times have we seen it on video where a person spoke a rebuke correctly according to the Word of God and they were still killed? I personally have never seen it.

The enemy’s oldest trick is to make us question the Word of God. He already has a hold on those who do not believe but if he can make believers question their faith and trust in the Word of God, he may lead them to believe the power that the Bible tells us we have is questionable or does not work for us all.

We are living in a time where now it is more important than ever to see and hear things with our spiritual eyes and ears and according only to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit within us. Being carnally minded and operating with a mindset that aligns with the world leaves us ignorant of the devil’s devices and vulnerable to his attacks. We must understand this if we want to walk in the fullness of the power that we have in us through the Holy Spirit.

It seems like one of the most important scriptures to help us navigate this life seems to easily be forgotten when the enemy attacks. Ephesians 6:10-17 explains how we need to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the devil’s schemes. For some reason though, it seems like verse twelve is ignored or not taken seriously. It says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

The enemy has led us to believe that some things are spiritual, and other things are natural or physical, and beyond our control. He wants us to believe that some things are from God, some things are from the devil, and other things are just a natural part of life. He leads us to believe we need to use things of the world to address problems of the world. The truth is that every single thing we deal with has a spiritual root. Everything is either of God or the devil. There is no gray area.

What happened with Sonya Massey was a public display of how the devil works. We must understand this and know without a doubt that there is power in the name of Jesus even though she died. What happened with her should not have occurred, but it did because the devil is the god of this world. We have the power however to stop his influence over our lives.

When Sonya Massey spoke the words, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” she used that power. The Holy Spirit spoke through her to the evil spirit that was in the police officer. That rebuke offended the evil spirit, and the police officer murdered her as a result.

Because we are navigating our human experience, we deal with pain, sickness, and things of the world. We have an attachment to our physical bodies that sometimes keeps us from understanding the spiritual realm. We must be aware of and take care of our physical bodies but regardless of what happens to the physical body, we were created for eternity. We know that whether we die, or are transformed, our current bodies are not the ones we will have in eternity.

So yes, Sonya Massey parted with her physical body, but she lives eternally with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Her work in this world was finished. Anyone who has ever lost someone they love to the physical death of the body knows how painful it is to deal with that loss. When someone dies tragically, it is even more painful, and we feel even more deeply for what they suffered through before leaving the physical body.

We must understand however that we cannot have any attachments to the things of this world, and that includes our physical bodies. We must be good stewards of our bodies while we are here, but we must also have peace in knowing that one day we will leave these bodies behind. 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 is a beautiful reminder of this:

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Paul, who was a tentmaker, used the example of a tent as a metaphor for our physical bodies. Just like a tent provides temporary shelter, our bodies provide temporary shelter for our souls which consist of our minds, will, and emotions. He is explaining that we can find comfort in knowing that if our physical bodies are destroyed, we have an eternal home in Heaven. The Holy Spirit that lives in us is like a deposit that guarantees what we will have in the future. There is so much more to learn from this scripture. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to study it in depth, verse by verse.

The enemy used what happened with Sonya Massey to get us to focus on the external things that we see. The carnal mind sees yet another police officer killing an innocent person. Another Black life was lost at the hands of a White person. The devil knew exactly what he was doing to get people focused only on what was happening on the surface. Cue the civil rights attorney and commentary about how this all needs to stop. If we do not address this spiritually it will never stop. A very harsh reality, I know.

The enemy wants to keep you distracted and focused on what is happening in front of you instead of what you do not see which is controlling all of this. I have said this before, and it is worth repeating; the devil will distract you all the way to your deathbed to keep you from having the life God wants for you during your time here on Earth. Our battle truly is not against flesh and blood. It never was. It is all spiritual, and until we take this seriously, there will never be a shortage of tragedies to report on the news.

The lives we are leading today are preparing us for eternity. How are you using that time? If the enemy has you so distracted to the point where instead of focusing on going deeper in your relationship with God, you can only focus on your job, your bills, your partner, your family, your health, or the endless struggles of this world, please understand that the enemy has you right where he wants you and is doing everything he can to steal, kill, and destroy you. He plays a long game and has no problem with doing it slowly.

You have a choice. Sometimes hearing about the unseen spiritual realm can sound a bit unreal or even crazy. We want to believe that we can solve problems using methods of the world. Take a look around. What more do you need to see and experience to fully understand that the methods of this world do not work? This is big. This is deep. This is all spiritual. Your life here on Earth and in eternity literally depends on the decisions you are making today. If you are taking life for granted and waiting for the perfect moment to have a right relationship with God, please wake up before it is too late. Today is the day.

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