Run Into and Hold Fast to HIS NAME*

      If we are going to remove the veil, and know who Yeshua (Jesus) is, we need to know His name and what it means. Isaiah 12:1-6 says: "And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation (the Hebrew word Yeshua; see also Ps. 62:7 and Jer. 3:23); I will trust and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength, and my song; he also is become my salvation." He becomes our salvation when we believe in Him: If we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that Jesus is the Messiah/Christ, who died on that cross, and whom the Father raised from the dead, then we will be saved.

     Isaiah continued: "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee." We will see all of these verses from Isaiah 12 reflected in the scriptures that we will be reading.

     I want to say to all, but especially to my Jewish friends and neighbors, search the scriptures and see if what I am telling you is true. Jesus said to search the scriptures. Many, He said, searched the scriptures looking for eternal life, but those scriptures testify of Him. We will all face the Father when we die, including all doubters and unbelievers. However, the only answer that will be acceptable to God is the belief in His Son, Jesus, as Savior and Lord.

     In John 4, a Samarian woman meets Jesus at a well. It was a well that Jacob had established generations before. Jesus told her that unlike the water of that well, which will satisfy thirst only temporarily, He gives the water of everlasting life: "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." (v. 7-15, excerpt). Jesus, a Jewish Man, shared the truth of everlasting life with a Samaritan, whom the Jews would normally have nothing to do with, viewing them as inferior. Salvation is a matter of faith in the Messiah/Christ for both the Jew first and then the Gentile. The Lord does not discriminate.

     Jesus also said of those who believe in Him and come to Him for that water: "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." (Jn. 7:37-38). Because of the living water that we received from Yeshua/Jesus, we also have that same living water in us to share with others. Even though the LORD was angry because of our sin, as Isaiah said above, if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us (see also 2 Chron. 7:14). This is the promise of God to us.

      In the Book of Acts, we see a great miracle done by the apostles in the name of Jesus, and the resulting persecution by temple officials. Peter and John had brought healing to a lame man by the name of Jesus. Later, as Peter and John preached to the people through Jesus the resurrection of the dead, officials from the temple came and arrested them. When they were brought before the High Priest and the council of the temple, they were asked: "By what power, or by what name, have ye done this (healing)? Peter answered them by the Holy Spirit: "Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this (previously lame) man stand here before you whole....Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:1-10). Peter pointed out that it was these same High Priests, the religious hierarchy, who demanded of Pontius Pilate that Jesus be crucified. It is a grave error to blame the Jewish people as a whole for the death of Jesus. Scripture says that the people of Jerusalem wept as they witnessed Jesus being led to the place of crucifixion. Even so, Peter told these religious authorities of the council that the salvation provided in the name of Yeshua/Jesus was available to them also. Peter made it known in his answer to the High Priest(s) that this name is for them and for all the people of Israel. There is no other name that has been given for salvation, and IS salvation (Yeshua). 

     In deciding what to do with Peter and John, the council had to admit that the miracle healing of the lame man could not be denied. They also saw that even though these two men were not formally educated in the scriptures, they could tell that Peter and John had been with Jesus. They decided to tell Peter and John that they were forbidden to speak to any man in this name (Yeshua/Jesus) again. (v. 13-17): "And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." (v. 18-20).

      Jehovah IS Yeshua. When commanded not to speak the name of Yeshua/Jesus again, Peter and John said that they had to speak of what they had witnessed for themselves. Like Peter and John, when I was in the military, I was told to abandon my research on the Shroud of Turin by someone in the position to have an impact on my military career. However, I could not deny nor walk away from what I had seen and discovered for myself.

     Jesus, Yeshua, the Son of God humbled Himself and became obedient, even to the death on the cross. Because of this: "...God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:7-11). The name of Jesus is above every other name including the name of cancer, diabetes, blindness and all other things. We need to get this into our thinking. 

     In the Book of Nehemiah, the Levites said: "Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise." (Neh. 9:5). Again, we see that the name of the LORD is exalted above all: "...Thou art the LORD the God..." (v. 6-7). The Levites praised the LORD for being the Creator of all. It is vital for us to know how to run into and hold onto the name of the LORD.

     King David wrote: "I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." (Ps. 138:1-2). Even above that exalted name, God has magnified His Word. What Word is that? If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (see Rom. 10:8-10). This is true for all, both Jew and Gentile.

     The Word has been magnified even above His Name. We can see why in John 1: "In the beginning was the Word (Logos in Greek), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life (zoe - the God-kind of Life); and the life was the light of men." (v. 1-4).

     It is the Word that made everything that exists. That Word became the life and light within man. Jesus told us, "You are the light of the world." Scripture also says that Jesus came that we should have life and that more abundantly. Having life more abundantly means having Him more abundantly!

    "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." V. 5). Darkness cannot overcome the light of the Word.

     John wrote the promise of God regarding Jesus the Word: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (v. 12). Believe on that name of Yeshua, Jesus! That is the only name given by which we may be saved. This is the promise that was exalted above His own name. It was a promise made to man back in the Garden of Eden.

     The apostle John wrote again regarding the Word: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." (1 Jn. 1:1-4). With these words about the Word, Yeshua Jesus, John kept the promise that he and Peter had made before the council that had forbidden them to speak of Jesus or His resurrection. He said at the time that they could not help but speak of what they had seen and heard. Amen!

     Christmas is coming, a day that was set aside to celebrate the birth of Christ although this date is probably not His actual birth date. This child born in Bethlehem was the Savior who would defeat Satan, and who took the keys of death, Hell, and the grave on our behalf (see Isa. 9:6-7). Know His name and run into it.

     We live in a time when, according to all of the signs, the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled, and all Israel shall be saved. As we see all of these things happening, we have to hold fast to His name, as the Lord Jesus told the church of Pergamos (Rev. 2:13).

     *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 12/15/24 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on Dr. Stevenson's Facebook page. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook.