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Jack Graham: All the books in the world that scrutinized Jesus, some who criticized Jesus, who speak of Jesus, all these books in the world, he never wrote one. And yet, there's been more written about Jesus Christ than any person in history.

Guest (Female): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about the power in the name we proclaim above all others. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, Name Above All Names.

Jack Graham: I've been knowing this name, Jesus, since I've known my own name. And I'm so very grateful for parents and family who taught me early on, who whispered in my ear the name of Jesus, who sang the songs of faith. "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." So throughout my life, I've been hearing the story of Jesus, like some of you.

I never want to lose the passion, the love for Christ, that first love that God gave me even as a child. And that I would grow and love him more and more each and every single day of my life. And that's my prayer for you as well, that God would write on our hearts. Now, we can't tell the whole story. We would be here until Jesus comes, and that could be soon.

The title of this very first and introductory message to the series is "The Name That Is Above All Names." And of course, that's taken from Matthew chapter one. I want you to see verses 21 to 23 because we meet Jesus in the gospels nine months before he was born. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, and she conceived. Joseph, her husband to be, was stunned by this news that she was expecting a child.

What was he to do? An angel appeared and gave him this word, Matthew 1:21 and following: "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name," say it, "Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." And all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel," which means God with us.

And so the child was born, and the scripture says Joseph called him Jesus. Mary and Joseph, the parents, were the first to hear that name. That name is a Hebrew name, actually, a common name in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, Joshua or Yeshua, which means Jehovah saves, Yahweh saves, God saves.

So it is clear that in the very name of Jesus is the nature of Jesus and the mission of Jesus, who came to seek and to save the lost. He will save his people from their sins. He came to forgive us and to set us free from the power of sin and death and hell. And so it is Jesus whose name is above every name.

The great theologian and missionary, the Apostle Paul, said it in Philippians chapter two, that "At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God." Wonderful name, powerful name, beautiful name of Jesus. What is there so special and supernatural about this name?

A survey was taken a number of years ago in which they asked people who are the most influential people in human history, in your estimation? Who are the greatest people in history? And at the top of the list, people said Jesus of Nazareth is the most powerful, influential person who ever lived. Number one.

John Blanchard, who is an apologist for the Christian faith, suggests that there are about 60 billion, 70 billion, maybe, we don't know exactly, people who have lived since the dawn of human history. Billions and billions of people who have lived. And of the 50, 60 billion people who have lived on the face of the earth, there's just a handful of people who have really made a mark, really made a difference, really changed history, just a handful.

Among those who are just a handful, Jesus stands above all. His name is the most quoted name in history. If you're interested in knowing what the other nine on the list were that the people came up with: Napoleon Bonaparte, William Shakespeare, Muhammad, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Adolf Hitler, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Thomas Jefferson. And maybe you could add to the list of the great people in history.

But here's the point that I want you to know and make today. You can't include Jesus on any other list of human beings. Because Jesus Christ is not just a good man, even a great man, or the greatest man, he is the God-man. He is the God of heaven and earth. He is the Lord of life.

What is it about Jesus of Nazareth that sets him apart from everyone else so that he is the incomparable Christ? You can't compare him to anyone. What about it? Because when you think about it, he never traveled but a few miles from his own hometown. He never left the country except when his parents, in an interlude, took him over to Egypt for a few years and then brought him back.

He never traveled very far, just a few miles from his hometown of Nazareth. And yet, his name has traveled to the ends of the earth. His message, the story of Jesus, is everywhere on planet Earth. Virtually everyone on the earth can now know his name. He never wrote a book, not one. And yet, he is the author and the finisher of our faith.

Jesus wrote his own story. He's the author of this story. And we're praying that his story will be your story and my story. But all the books in the world that contain, the libraries in the world that scrutinize Jesus, some who criticize Jesus, who speak of Jesus, who theologize and eulogize Jesus, all these books in the world, he never wrote one. And yet, there's been more written about Jesus Christ than any person in history.

He was a carpenter's son on earth. He grew up in his earthly father Joseph's home and carpenter shop. He had no formal education. His little town of Nazareth was kind of a funky little town, oppressed by the Romans in that day. It was a wild town in many ways. In the time of Jesus, there would have only been 400 to 500 people living in his hometown. Just a few people.

He lived 33 years, most of what is recorded in the gospels is his three-year ministry on earth. And of the three-year ministry of Jesus recorded in the gospels, something you may not have thought about, but there are only parts of 26 days in the life of Jesus recorded in the gospels. The eyewitnesses, 26 days. Part of 26 days or less, Jesus changed the world.

What is it about this special, this supernatural name? He never started an educational institution or a seminary or a synagogue. He started a church, and the world has heard the message of Jesus. He's the most important person. He has been studied. He has been analyzed. He has been talked about more than anyone on earth.

And why is this? What is this that has happened? Who is this one? Why is he so unique and compelling? Why Jesus? A human being cannot fathom him. Our hearts cannot contain him. He is the imponderable, the incomparable, the uncontainable Christ. Words fail me when I come to talk about Jesus.

And this is why I'm so glad we have the Bible. Because the Bible is the story of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. His footprints are on every page. It's the story of Jesus. And today, in the brief time that we have together as we introduce this series, I want to talk about his name, his fame, and his claim.

First, the name of Jesus. There are actually in the Bible many names that describe Jesus because one name could not describe him. My friend Robert Morgan, the author, did a study. He scanned all the scriptures from beginning to end looking for the names of Jesus. The names, the illustrations, the appellatives, the descriptions of Jesus, the titles of Jesus, and he came up with over 350 names describing Jesus because no one name can describe the infinite God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ.

But his name embodies his nature and therefore his mission. Our God saves. He came to seek and to save the lost. And it is that name that we proclaim, the name that was given to him by God the Father. And it's that name in which there is power and there is prayer and there is presence and there is authority. It's all in the name of Jesus.

The great hymn writer and pastor John Newton put it this way: "How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer's ear. It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds, and drives away his fears." How many have cried out to that name in times of fear and death and sorrow and grief? It is that name in which there is power and there is healing. It is all in the name of Jesus. And his name is for everyone. His name is not for one group or one race or one kind of personality. The name is for everyone.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Name Above All Names. Did you know that you can join Dr. Graham for his daily devotion? It's a study of God's word that will help you grow in your faith, encourage you in your walk with Christ, and show you how to navigate through the challenges of life.

To sign up, text DEVO to 59789 and begin receiving Dr. Graham's devotional every day. Again, text DEVO to 59789. Every day, people are hearing the truth of Jesus Christ through PowerPoint's broadcasts, podcasts, and digital outreach. Some are discovering the truth of the gospel for the very first time. Others are learning to trust God more deeply.

And friends like you help make it all possible through your support. That's why this month, we want to say thank you for your gift of $10 or more by sending you Dr. Jack Graham's book, Choices. In this encouraging resource, Dr. Graham shares practical wisdom from God's word to help you make decisions with confidence, clarity, and faith.

To give your gift and request your copy, text AUGUST to 59789. Please limit one per household. Again, text AUGUST to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, Name Above All Names.

Jack Graham: Because of his name, his fame, because of who he was, Jesus of Nazareth, in Luke chapter 18, verse 37, Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He was just passing through one of those small villages around the Sea of Galilee, and the crowds would gather. Some rejected him, his own rejected him, but the common people heard him gladly. And multitudes gathered.

Miracles were performed, lives were changed, and his fame grew and grew and grew. Just a boy born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth. He lived a perfect life. He spoke like no one else has ever spoken. Words that, Jesus was not just a teacher who came from God, he was God who came to teach. And the crowds began to follow him, and they listened and they hung on every word.

They experienced his holy presence, and his fame spread from the little towns around the Galilee to the city of Jerusalem and all the way to the temple and ultimately to the ends of the earth. Just a small band of believers and followers and eyewitnesses to his resurrection took the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

His fame is unparalleled to the degree that on this day, one-third of the world's population believe in Jesus Christ and confess him and profess him as Savior. Millions will tell you from every background of life that Jesus changed my life. That's his fame. Many have predicted the death of Christianity through the centuries.

They took Jesus to a cross and took his life. He gave his life. But they put him in a tomb, a borrowed tomb. They said, "There, we're done with that. Just another religious huckster, just another troublemaker among the Romans and the Jews, just another would-be Messiah, another one crucified, just another one." To those who crucified him, he was just another one.

But to us, he is the only one. And his goodness and his grace cannot be controlled or contained. Put him in that tomb, they said it's over. It wasn't over. And here's why we still speak his name: he came out of the grave. And the message of Jesus is that because I live, you will live also.

And because he lived and because he lives, if Jesus were still in that grave, you would have never heard of him. He would have been gone forever, just another one. But Jesus came out of that grave. And we know his name because it is true. He is the inescapable Christ. He is the one and the only one who can be your Savior. The name, the fame, and then finally, the claim of Jesus.

Jesus claimed to be God. Now, as C.S. Lewis said, he is either a liar or a lunatic or Lord. That's a trilemma. He's either a myth or a mystic or misunderstood or Messiah. Back in the late 60s, the era of rock, sex, drugs, and rock and roll, another generation ago, a Jesus movement was forming on the West Coast that swept the nation.

But so many people were asking, "Who is this Jesus person?" People are still asking that question today. If you ask ten people on the street, "Who is Jesus?" you might get nine or ten different answers. But as the Jesus revolution was moving, it was a great revival that swept across America and in some parts of the world.

I'm a product, and many of you of that generation, of the Jesus movement and that revival of the time. So people were asking, "Who is Jesus Christ?" He was on the cover of Time Magazine, a facsimile of him, an artist's rendering of him. And then he was on the stage in London and in New York, a play, a rock musical by the name of Jesus Christ Superstar.

And when I first heard it, I thought that's a bit blasphemous. But as I've thought about it through the years, and if you listen to the tunes of Jesus Christ Superstar written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, they asked the questions that everyone was asking then, everyone has been asking since, and really in all times.

"Jesus Christ Superstar, do you think you're what they say you are?" That's a big question. "Jesus, do you think you are who they say you are?" Well, Jesus knew fully and full well who he was. And what he claimed is critical to who Jesus is. Larry King, the great interviewer, was being interviewed by Bryant Gumbel.

And they asked Larry King, Gumbel asked Larry King, who was Jewish, if you had one question that you could ask God, what would you ask? And Larry King said, "I would ask him if he had a son." Good question. The question. Jesus asked it, "Who do men say that I am?" Jesus took on the names of God, the Great I Am.

What were his claims? He claimed to forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins. He claimed that God had given him all authority in heaven and in earth. Jesus claimed that if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Jesus claimed that I am the light of the world, and if you reject me, you will walk in darkness and judgment.

Jesus claimed that if you do not believe me and follow me, that you will die in your sins. Quite a claim, isn't it? He said he came down from heaven as the bread of life. He claimed, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he be dead, yet shall he live." Jesus claimed, John 14:10, "I am the way, the truth, the life, and no man comes to the Father except by me."

Jesus said, "I will judge the nations," in Matthew 25, and determine the eternal destiny of billions of people. Quite a claim. He experienced and accepted worship as God. For example, when Thomas, after the resurrection, said, "My Lord and my God," and Jesus accepted, he didn't say, "No, don't say that. Don't say that."

He accepted the skeptic's confession, doubting Thomas's great confession of faith. I think Thomas sometimes gets a bad rap. I think he was just a man with some questions, and he wasn't afraid to look for the answer. Jesus claimed that heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. All authority in heaven and earth is given to me.

Now, you have a decision to make. Is he right or wrong in what he named and what he claimed, who he said he was? Jesus Christ, are you who they say you are? Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. And the reason that Jesus deserves and demands our full allegiance, therefore in obedience, is because he is preeminent. He doesn't want a place in our lives, prominence in our lives, but preeminence and obedience in each of us.

How are you going to know God? Say, "I want to know God. If there's a God, how can I know him?" Not by religion, not by reason, though our faith is a reasonable faith with evidence, but not by reason. Not by the rules of human effort and self-discipline. Not by rules, not by religion, not by reason. How will we know God? By revelation.

And the revelation is Jesus Christ. John put it this way: "In the beginning was the Word, the revelation, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the same was in the beginning with God, and all things were made by him, and without him was not made anything that was made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men."

It's revelation. Jesus is the revelation of God, and that's how you know him. So the question then that we all have, Jesus answers the question, "Who am I?" but we have another question. It was the question raised by Pontius Pilate at the trial of Jesus. And he said, "What will you do with Jesus, who is called the Christ?"

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Name Above All Names. Let me remind you about an encouraging resource Dr. Jack Graham created to help you navigate life with biblical wisdom. It's his book, Choices, which comes as our thanks for your gift of $10 or more. When you give today to support the outreach of PowerPoint Ministries, you'll help share biblical truth and the life-changing hope of Jesus with people around the world through broadcast, podcast, and digital ministry.

To give your gift and request your copy, text AUGUST to 59789. So that everyone has a chance to take advantage of this limited offer, please limit to one per household. Again, text AUGUST to 59789. Did you know that you can join Dr. Graham for his daily devotion? It's a study of God's word that will help you grow in your faith, encourage you in your walk with Christ, and show you how to navigate through the challenges of life.

To sign up, text DEVO to 59789 and begin receiving Dr. Graham's devotional every day. Again, text DEVO to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: The fact is, if you know Christ, you want to make him known. If you believe he has forgiven you of all your sins, changed your life, and given you a hope and a future that is forever with him, how can you not speak of him and what he has done for you?

So today, I want to encourage you to think about the difference Jesus has made and is making in your life. How he has changed your thought life, how he has changed your habits, the way you behave, the peace that you now have in your life. I want to challenge you then to share the ways that Christ has changed and is changing you every single day. That you are not the person you ought to be, but you are not the person that you used to be. Jesus is changing you.

Now, this doesn't have to happen in some forced or canned conversation. It could be something as brief as a note of encouragement to someone who is hurting, or it can be a phone call to let someone know you're praying for them. It can be a quiet conversation over coffee, just speaking of the things of the Lord in your life. The Bible says, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so."

Whatever God leads you to do, do it right now. If you're afraid or nervous about talking of Jesus and the things of God, then ask God every day to give you the power and the boldness that in the name of Jesus you will share him and his love with somebody else. I truly believe as you commit to sharing Christ with others, God will give you an incredible courage that you've never known before, and I believe that he will use you to influence others for him.

Guest (Female): And that is today's PowerPoint. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about the sonship of Jesus Christ. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.