Summer Song Vol. 3 // "I Speak Jesus"

I think that guy was kind of messed up about the whole thing.

He's like, what?

That these four moms at a camp.

And I say four because I did a little research and they got the number wrong.

It's actually four.

They might be counting as the fifth person, the lady most known for singing this song.

Her name is Charity Gale.

So if you've heard this song or seen it on your little radio screen, you've seen that name pop up.

But it's such a cool story to see how this song came about.

That literally there was a worship songwriting camp that Jesse Reeves, who's a prolific songwriter, along with his friend Dustin Smith, joined to be a part of.

And then after four hours in a room, these four moms wrote this song.

And it makes so much sense to me.

Like I wanted to make sure that we even put their names on the screen.

Abby Benton, Kristen Dutton, Carleen Prince, and Raina Pratt.

And when I found this out, I was like, of course, moms wrote this song.

I speak the name of Jesus for my family.

Jesus for my family.

I speak the name of Jesus.

When Sherry gets to that line, I see her fighting the tears every time she gets to that line.

Like, of course, moms wrote this amazing song.

I love it.

We're going to dive into that.

We're going to get to sing it together when we close in a little bit.

But I think there's so much scripture we can look at together today that supports really the message of that song that we're going to sing.

I got to pause for a moment though, because every now and then I get a little enamored over here on this side of the worship center because we have my buddy Tim Isles and the interpreter Christina, who's here today, interpreting today.

One of the first signs I ever learned, or maybe it wasn't one of the first I learned, but it was the one I can remember the easiest.

But we sang this the word hallelujah so many times just now.

And it's such a great sign.

It's just a clap and to put your fingers like this and swirl them around a couple of times and then give that to God.

And I'm like, ah, watching that happen with hands raised and voices lifted, uh, that we sing out in praise, hallelujah.

The name of Jesus causes us to worship.

If you've encountered him, if you know him, if he's changed you the way he's changed so many of us in this room and watching, listening online today, you can't help but raise a hallelujah to him.

There's really one main point that I hope you'll always remember for the rest of your life that really sums up everything we're going to talk about together today, and that is just simply there is power in the name of Jesus.

There is power in the Amen.

There is power in the name of Jesus.

I like what we learned about Jesse Reeves, and so he's a part of a house church.

And we actually have a network of house churches right here in northern Kentucky as well.

Uh, it's called Living Church.

Uh, a good friend of mine named Mark kind of pastors all of that, but they have their own pastors, if you will, in each of the houses.

And they still come together, multiple house churches will come together a couple of times a month to worship.

But on those Sundays that they don't do that, they worship in their home.

So what he was describing there was as a church, a house church, they're sitting in a living room or a kitchen or somewhere, and the first five minutes of their time together, they just say, So who spoke the name of Jesus this week?

And like he said, it's pretty awkward because uh there are going to be those who say, Yeah, I didn't, or those who say they did, and it was kind of hard, or this happened, or that happened, or whatever.

And he said, We just refuse to quit asking it because we believe that there's power in the name of Jesus.

And as he said, just speaking the name of Jesus, you can sense a shift in the air, in the atmosphere.

And I believe that to be true.

I know that to be true.

Um, I've witnessed it in a way, and it's not nothing that's anything crazy, but you can just tell something changes in that moment when you name Jesus in that moment.

At the very least, it's kind of an awkward silence, uh, maybe with the people that you're actually with.

We could have been joking around, we could have been doing this, that, and the other, and then all of a sudden someone says Jesus' name, and it's like, oh, okay, well, that changes things a little bit.

The name of Jesus, for all the amazing love and grace that comes through him, causes conviction and contemplation.

Those aren't bad things.

Conviction doesn't always feel good.

It's it's I can't even put words to the feeling of conviction.

It's like this moment where you feel like, man, I I'm not enough.

I'm not where I'm supposed to be.

You know what I mean?

Like there's I gotta change something.

I think that the name of Jesus brings a little bit of that into the atmosphere, into the moment, if you will.

Um, it's like that one time that Peter literally told Jesus, You gotta run away from me.

You gotta get away from me because I'm a sinner.

Even while Jesus was right there with him because he wanted to be right there with him and they'd witnessed a miracle of catching fish.

Peter was like, You got to get away from me, Jesus, because of who I am.

I think that's part of why there's a shift in the atmosphere when his name gets named, but also contemplation.

Like the moment we say his name and we don't, and we're saying it actually referring to the person of Jesus himself, it shifts gears a little bit, like, oh, this person just brought Jesus into the conversation, into the equation, and we contemplate.

May not be conviction, but at least thought.

And I just can't tell you how many times that, you know, I I sometimes like I love, I so badly want to bring gospel into any of the different places I get to be in.

I love my running community, and I know that everybody I run with or near, they may not have begun a faith journey with Jesus yet.

And I believe that anywhere we go, if we're belonging to Christ, he has us there for a gospel purpose, an eternal purpose.

And so just those opportunities to say his name, there's times when I can tell it shifts something and maybe it can be a little uncomfortable at times, but man, it's worth it.

You know, I when you speak the name of Jesus, it really can to some extent come at a cost to speak his name.

You speaking the name of Jesus affiliates you with him.

Like, I know this person, he's my savior, he's my Lord.

You just dropping his name affiliates you with him, and you may be treated differently.

It may not be actively different treatment, it might just be passively lack of treatment.

Or maybe you're just not immediately invited into conversations or places because people know you just might carry that name with you, and that might result in conviction and contemplation, and they don't want any of that right now.

That can happen.

I've seen it happen, I know that it happens, I've felt it happen in my own life.

But I tell you what, you don't have to be confrontational or preachy to speak his name.

You don't have to be morally perfect or theologically adept to speak the name of Jesus.

You can look at all four gospel accounts and see that.

But just speaking it in your real authentic, natural way in your life is so, so powerful.

And don't assume just because someone around you may not be ready to hear that name, or you're not sure how they'll react to that name, or they may not be a big fan of you naming that name, doesn't mean they still don't crave it, or that they're searching for the kind of life they could have if they were to embrace that name.

That's why we must keep speaking it, no matter what, because it really is power, it really is life.

So when I knew we were gonna be doing this song, and I'm like, what scriptures can we look at together that really hone in on the powerful name of Jesus Christ?

Uh man, it's Acts 3 and 4, is where it is.

We're gonna read several chunks of passages from those chapters today.

Uh to just give you a little context, when we look in Acts chapter 3, uh, the first two chapters, it sort of brings us into the moment where Jesus has been crucified, He's been, He is resurrected, He has appeared to the saints, and He in uh He ascends back into heaven.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

That's chapter one.

And he tells His disciples to be witnesses, and He tells them to wait for the paraklitas, the Holy Spirit to come, and when He comes, it's going to be amazing.

And that's what happens in chapter two.

The Holy Spirit falls on the believers, on the disciples.

The apostle Peter stands up, gives a sermon, 3,000 people repent and turn to Jesus, they're saved, they're baptized.

That's all chapter two.

So in chapter three, we see that after the day of Pentecost, Peter and John, probably two of the closest men that were closest to Jesus, are still in Jerusalem.

And here's what happens, starting in verse one of Acts three.

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer.