Name of Jesus!

 March 16, 2026, Monday Message: 

John 14:13-14 NLT, Jesus speaking: “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!”

 When something in the Bible needs extra emphasis, it’s often repeated, written twice. Today’s scripture is a good example. It’s two verses that literally say the same thing. Anything we ask in Jesus’ name is possible. As an extreme example, you could order a mountain into the sea in Jesus’ name, and it would happen. (Mark 11:23)

 Certain rules come into play here, and this is not an exhaustive list. No showing off using Jesus’ powers, and nothing frivolous. His promise is for locked-in believers as they go about the Lord’s work. If we encounter someone who needs healing, we should take care of it. Note that our cry for healing won’t override God’s previous decision to call someone home.

 Satan, the “prince of this world,” is still free to inflict his brand of misery. Don’t take this to mean that he is equal to God, but it does symbolize the influence Satan has over human affairs and sinful choices. Did you ever notice that when Jesus healed someone, he would oftentimes cast out demons, perhaps the root cause of their misery?

 In the same way as Satan is inferior to God Almighty, he is also inferior to Jesus (Godly part of the Trinity). Therefore, Satan’s little demons are inferior to believers when we use the name of Jesus! We can cast them out, send them away using the name of Jesus.

 Luke Ch. 8 describes a group of women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. They now traveled with Jesus and his other disciples. One woman was Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. That’s a lot of baggage! Those women put their personal resources behind Jesus’ ministry, demons be damned!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
The Father’s House
Jesus In the City Fellowship
Truth & Freedom Church

Demons!

For Sunday, May 26, 2024

Ephesians 6:12 NLT: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

We cannot see God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, and yet that three-in-one God is the foundation of our religion. If you need evidence of a Creator God, just look around you! It’s springtime, and seemingly everything has turned green. God knew just how much to tilt the earth on its perpetual journey around the sun, so we have four seasons every year! It’s perfect! The earth itself spins, giving us day and night every 24 hours. It too is perfect!

Q: So what happened to Satan and his minions, his demons and his evil spirits? A: They are still present nowadays, providing an unending measure of misery. Even though – like God – we cannot see them, they are still hard at work. So we need to guard against their evil agenda. Put on the armor of God!

Jesus called us to the ‘priesthood of all believers,’ and the first thing a priest should do is cast out all the demons! Good and evil cannot coexist, so it you’re praying for Jesus’ intervention, you first need to remove all the evil.

With evil out of the way, deliverance becomes more likely!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship

Faith Healing!

For Saturday, December 9, 2023:

Mark 1:30-31 NLT: “Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. The disciples told Jesus about her right away. So he went to her bedside, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. Then the fever left her, and she prepared a meal for them.”

This wasn’t a big ceremonial healing for a large crowd. This was a personal faith healing. Jesus believed in the outcome, took her by the hand, and helped her sit up. It never occurred to him that she wouldn’t be well when she sat up. Faith.

Out of gratitude for the health she had been given, Simon’s mother-in-law prepared supper for the guys. They needed the sustenance. A line was beginning to form outside Simon’s house, and the healings would continue well into the night.

People were beginning to understand who Jesus was and what he could do. The townsfolk watched in amazement as he healed a great many, and sent evil spirits packing.

Life is better without evil!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

In Jesus' Name!

For Friday, December 8, 2023:

Mark 1:25-26 NLT: “Jesus reprimanded the evil spirit. ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man,’ he ordered. At that, the evil spirit screamed, threw the man into a convulsion, and then came out of him.”

Evil spirits are not on holiday. We don’t perceive them because we’re not looking for them. But evil is still out there, doing as much harm as possible. Just look at the world around you. Wars, prejudice and violence are far too common. It’s no accident! Someone or something is accelerating evil in our lifetimes.

From today’s scenario, we learn that evil spirits obey the Son of God. So if you’re trying to help someone who appears to be caught up in evil, you need to use the name and invoke the power of Jesus. Yes, it still works nowadays!

Paul taught us to never stop praying. Pray that goodness will overcome evil. Pray for goodness to be victorious. Pray “in Jesus’ name!”

"The news about Jesus spread quickly throughout the entire region of Galilee!” It’s still being spread nowadays.

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Disciple's Mission Trip!

For Wednesday, March 8, 2023:

Matthew 10:1 NLT: “Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness.”

McDonalds could only sell a limited number of hamburgers from one store. But through franchising, authorizing others to use the McDonalds brand, they could sell billions of burgers! Jesus is applying the same principle here. Only one Jesus was walking on this earth, but authorizing 12 others greatly increased his reach. This diverse group had little in common other than their love for the Lord Jesus.

I’m intrigued by the order in which these gifts are listed – first cast out evil spirits, and then heal. This tells me that Satan and his demons are a bigger problem than we acknowledge nowadays, and that healing may not occur while Satan is still at work. Satan’s minions will back off when they hear the name of Jesus! They know who he is!

Jesus is equipping his disciples for their mission trip. When God sends you on a mission, he will always equip you for the task. We need faith! The equipping may not be evident before the mission begins, but it will be evident along the way. So don’t worry about provisions. Just get ready to go when He calls!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship

Holy One of God!

For Saturday, December 18, 2021

Mark 1:24 NLT, evil spirit in possessed man speaking: “Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

There’s a wealth of information in this verse. #1, we learn that there are evil spirits, and that they can take over a person’s life and actions. They are aligned with Satan and his minions.

#2 The evil spirit identifies Jesus as the “Holy One of God.” Somehow the religious elite of the day couldn’t put their finger on who Jesus was, but the evil spirits already know that He is the Son of God!

#3 Evil spirits and God cannot exist together. Evil is not tolerated in the presence of the Lord. So as Jesus approaches the man, the spirit knows it’s time to leave.

I don’t often pray for evil spirits to leave someone; I pray for more Jesus to come in! Evil spirits may not obey me, but they run from Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship, 3249 30th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55406