Walking in the Power of Christ Can Break Your Chains | Tony Evans Highlight

Dr. Tony Evans challenges men to stop making excuses, take responsibility, and embrace the power of Jesus Christ, who can uplift anyone regardless of their background—so they can stand up, walk, and take ownership of their lives. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/drtonyev… If you would like to download two encouraging, FREE full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis,” you can do so by clicking on this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1atT9MJvXQN… If you would like to sign up for our daily devotional bringing you hope and inspiration, please go to this link: https://share.hsforms.com/1CkOLA910Sm… ▶ Do you know Jesus as your Savior? https://tonyevans.org/know-jesus-christ/ ▶ Stream Sermons: https://tonyevans.org/podcast/ ▶▶ Free Sermon App: https://subsplash.com/tonyevans/app/ ▶▶ DONATE: https://give.tonyevans.org/the-altern… ▶ Facebook:   / drtonyevans   ▶ Instagram:   / drtonyevans   ▶ Are you a preacher? Free sermon outlines: https://go.tonyevans.org/dr-tony-evan… Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually. #tonyevans #tonyevanssermon #BreakFree

so Jesus can meet you no matter where

you came from so don’t tell me what your

background was I all that may be real

but once I bring Jesus the Christ into

the equation I have now changed the

story and I can now tell you get up M

get up man it’s time to walk it’s time

to own it because there’s power in the

name of

Jesus we’re told about a

a lame

man the description of the man is given

in verse two we’re told a number of

things about this man first of all we

we’ve

told that he is

lame he’s a

but we’re told he was a

from his mother’s

womb so ever since he was born he’s been

crippled that means he was not able to

stand on his own two

feet and it’s hard to man up if you

can’t even stand

up he couldn’t stand on his own two feet

and according to chapter 4 verse 22 the

man is 40 years

old so for half of a

lifetime this man was not able to stand

up on his own we told a second thing

about this

man we’re told that his whole life

depended upon what other folk did for

him

cuz it says every day he was carried by

other

folk to beg see you know you lame when

everybody else has got to take care of

you when everybody else has got to bring

you to where you need to go because

you’re not able to get there on your own

and what’s interesting about verse two

is he was at the church house every day

it says he went to the gate called

beautiful that was at the temple and you

can be at the church house every single

day and still wind up to be a lame man

not able to stand up on your own two

feet cuz even though he was at church

nothing had changed in his

life we are living in a day when far too

many men are lame they may not be

physically lame they may be able to

physically stand up but that’s not the

only kind of lameness there is mental

lameness

where the man is not able to have the

cognitive capacity to take on his manly

responsibility there is social

lameness where men are expecting the

government to do what God has called

them to do there’s spiritual lameness

where the woman has got to lead the

devotions has got to pray with the kids

cuz he’s too lame to take the time to be

the spiritual head of his home see

lameness can come in all shapes and

sizes but it all bears the same

characteristic and that is somebody else

has got to do for you what you will not

do and choose not to do for yourself

even if you’re spending time at the

church house and so we find this man in

this physical condition but it’s put in

this passage to make the spiritual point

that he was not able to make it on his

own whatever the cause whatever the

influence he was not man enough to stand

up in order to man up and so as a result

of that everybody else had to take care

of him and he was living as a beggar so

that’s the

circumstance but now we enter two other

men verse one

says Peter and John were going into the

temple at the 9th hour that’s 300 p.m.

The Hour of Prayer so now enter two

other men Peter and John Peter and John

are going at 3:00 in the

afternoon to pray now that’s going to be

important in a second they are taking

their lunch hour if you will to go into

the house of prayer into the temple to

connect with the living and true God on

there their way in they pass by the lame

man and then the story

unfolds when Peter and John were about

to enter the temple verse

three he began asking to receive arms

that is begging for

money Peter looks at him along with John

fixes his Gaze on him according to verse

four and says to the lame man to the

beggar to the dependent

one look at us so I want youall watch

this undivided attention verse five he

began to give them his attention so he

pays attention he Peter said pay

attention he says okay cuz why expecting

to receive something from them Peter

says to

him I do not possess silver silver and

gold oh you got oh you got to be kidding

me you going to tell me pay attention

now you going to tell me you ain’t got

nothing you going to tell me you know

the bank is

broke I have not silver and gold you’ve

asked me for

money and I can’t help

you see far too many lame people and

lame men are thinking money is going to

solve their problem if I can make more

money if I can get a better job nothing

wrong with legitimately making money

nothing wrong with having a a job that

is productive nothing wrong with that

but when you lame and the doctor can’t

heal you and life has turned left on you

there are some things money can’t buy

and so he says silver and gold I don’t

have

that but then he adds to it in verse six

but what I do

have I don’t have what you ask for you

ask for money you ask for arms but I

have

something in fact what I have money came

by and here’s where it

gets gets beautiful he says what I have

I’m going to give to you I love the word

give because the word give is a Grace

word

give cannot be earned he doesn’t say you

have to earn it but he says I’ll give it

to you I don’t have what you ask

for cuz far too many men are praying for

the wrong

thing they’re praying for a better job

they’re praying for more money they’re

praying for more clout for more

notoriety they’re praying for the wrong

thing they’re praying for stuff when God

wants to change the

person and when God can’t change you and

you only want stuff from God you got it

backwards stuff is okay as long as God

is giving stuff to the right

person this guy all this guy wanted was

enough to keep his lameness

intact God is not concerned with keeping

our lameness intact he’s concerned with

changing our lameness so we’re not lame

men anymore so what Peter says is I got

something but it’s not what you have I

have something but it’s not what you ask

for

what I have I give to you in the name

somebody say in the name in the name of

Jesus Christ the

Nazarene

walk in the name of Jesus Christ the

Nazarene stop being lame anymore I want

you to get up and stand up on your own

two feet in the name so let me talk

about the

name in the Bible names have

meaning names are not merely

nomenclature they’re not merely uh words

given to people names matter because

they were designed to fit the reputation

or the character of the person or place

that is named so when you look at

something that has a name it’s giving

you something that has has to do with

the reputation or the character of the

person or place that receives the name

so let me tell you why this name matters

in this context in chapter 4 verse 7

when they had place them in the center

they begin to inquire of Peter and John

by what power or in what name have you

done

this so they’re telling the man to walk

the leaders want to know under whose

authority and in whose

power and by what name did you tell this

lame man to walk now why do I want you

to know that because the word name is

associated with the word power okay name

power they want to know what power has a

name attached to it that you could tell

this lame man to walk so now when you

read in chapter 3 in the name of Jesus

walk they were literally saying by the

power of Jesus walk because the name was

tied to the power associated with the

name let me show you Peter’s response in

chapter 4 Peter responds in verse 10 let

it be known to all of you and to all the

people of

Israel that by the name of Jesus the

Nazarene

whom you crucified whom God raised from

the dead by this name this man stands

before you in good health verse 12 and

there is salvation and no one else for

there is no other name unto Heaven that

has been given among men whereby you

must be saved so when they tell the man

to walk they tell a man to walk by the

name or according to the power that

belong belongs to Jesus Christ but let’s

go a little deeper he doesn’t say just

Jesus Christ he doesn’t say the Lord

Jesus Christ he doesn’t say Our Savior

Jesus Christ he says in the name that is

the power of Jesus Christ watch this of

Nazareth why does he say of

Nazareth why does he bring in the place

where Jesus was raised Jesus was born in

Bethlehem but but Jesus was raised in

Nazareth why does he tell you that the

power that got this man to walk was a

power from the Christ who was raised in

a community called Nazareth well that

means you need to know something about

Nazareth if you recall the question was

raised to Jesus Christ early on in the

Book of John can any good thing come out

of Nazareth you see Nazareth was a

no-name town Nazareth was the the town

you didn’t want to go in and you would

didn’t want to go through so you telling

me that the Jesus from Nazareth has the

power to make this man walk so why am I

telling you that I’m telling you that

cuz if you from

Nazareth that is you didn’t come from a

good background you didn’t come from a a

great beginning you didn’t come from the

nice

neighborhood and you’ve been messed up

for 40 years I want to tell you Jesus is

from Nazareth

so Jesus can meet you no matter where

you came from he can meet you if you’re

down and out as well as if you’re up and

out so don’t tell me what your

background was don’t tell me that your

daddy abandoned you don’t tell me that

your mama was no good don’t tell me that

you know that you were raised by a

rolling stone I all that may be real but

Jesus was from Nazareth he was from a

no-name place so he can meet any man in

any place at any time even when your

your life is half over and he can turn

that thing around cuz Jesus is from the

hood Jesus is from Nazareth and he can

meet any man in any place at any time

even though you haven’t walked for all

of your lifetime so let’s stop in the

words of one of my books no more excuses

let’s not make an excuse well if it

wasn’t for him and it wasn’t for them

and if it wasn’t for the man and if it

wasn’t for this circumstance and if it

wasn’t and if it wasn’t and if it wasn’t

all that’s real but in the name of Jesus

Christ of

Nazareth we don’t need to be walking

anymore but once I bring Jesus the

Christ of Nazareth into the equation I

have now changed the story and I can now

tell you get up Mis get up man it’s time

to walk

it’s time to own it to take

responsibility because there’s power in

the name of Jesus but it the power in

the name can only be used by a person

who Bears connection with the name so

you can say Jesus Jesus Jesus all day

long you can sing in the name of Jesus

in the name of Jesus we have the victory

you can do that all day long but if

there’s not connection with the person

you will not be able to display the the

power of the name that is why every man

is to passionately pursue a intimate

personal relationship with Jesus Christ

so when you use the name he’ll share the

power Jesus doesn’t share the power you

say I I’m I’m trying to change my wife

or change my kid and I call on the name

of Jesus and nothing happens well God

wants to know what’s the connection like

cuz you can’t expect your appliances to

work if they not plugged in to some

power

you can say refrigerator refrigerator

all day long stove cook all day long but

if you not plugged into the power you

just talking

smack Peter says what I have I give to

you cuz I’m so connected to the name

that he’s going to allow me to piggy

back on the power so I can help another

man who is lame himself

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