Our Responsibility

Your Responsibility

We have seen the marvellous possibilities that belong to the believer who knows the authority and power that is invested in the name of Jesus, and this knowledge carries with it a responsibility that cannot be ignored. You can never be the same kind of Christian that you have been in the past.

You have caught a glimpse of what you might do if you dared to use the authority that is now your own, because the moment that you are recreated, that Name became yours. It gives you an opportunity to help those around you.
Most of us have been brought up to court our weaknesses and failings and to think of our lack of ability. But there are sick and needy ones that could be helped through that Name. There are those bound by habits whom Satan rules with a merciless hand that could be set free if you would take your place.

I want you to notice the distinction between John 14:13-14 and John 16:23-24. “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.” With this, goes Mark 16:17-20.

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that disbelieveth shall be condemned. These signs shall accompany them that believe: In My Name, they shall cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; if they shall drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

“And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed.” Notice carefully, this Scripture differs from John 16:23-24 where Jesus says, “And in that day ye shall not pray to me. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father, He will give it you in my name; ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be made full.”

In this Scripture, you are praying to the Father in Jesus’ name. In your praises and petitions, you come to the Father in Jesus’ Name. In the other Scripture, you are not praying, but you are using the authority of the name to heal the sick, to cast out demons and to set men and women free. Acts 3:1-10 illustrates this. Peter did not pray when he said to the impotent man, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

There is no record of their praying for the sick in the Book of Acts. They simply laid hands on them and commanded the adversary to leave and for the sick to arise and walk. From Mark 16, you can see that the moment a man is born again he is expected to begin to use that Name. You lay your hands on the sick and say, “Disease leave this body.”

Another staggering fact was that the Name was used largely in healing men and women who were not Christians. It evidently was God’s method of advertising the ministry. So you can lay hands on the unsaved. When you realize that this authority has been given to the individual members of the body of Christ and not to the ministry alone, it puts the responsibility squarely upon every believer. You are not only a member of the body, but you have become a responsible member of that body.

Another significant fact is that the word “Faith” or “Believe” does not occur in these Scriptures from the gospel of John. It is evident that the Believer had a legal right to the use of the Name and it was not a problem of Faith, but obedience to use the ability that God had given.