““Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.””
““he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.””
““For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.””
Interestingly enough, with God’s creation in the beginning, he asked man to give them names ( Genesis 2:18-22-animal and birds; Genesis 2:24- woman). Everything has a name. When we are born, we are given names. There are all kinds of names in the world, some good and some bad, although it can be relative. When parents are expecting a newborn, some may spend a lot of time reflecting on what to name the child. Sometimes, names result in family arguments. People name their pets, some name their cars, etc. In a family of about 10 people, there can be a total average of about 30 names, if not more. One person can have many names or choose to change their names. Some people even organize ceremonies to name their child. However, all these names may be important to man but will NEVER IN ANY SHAPE OF FORM BE THOUGHT OF AS THE NAME JESUS BY WHICH WE CAN BE SAVE. Philippians 2:9-13 “9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The name of Jesus is not just an ordinary name. According to Philippians 2:9-13 above, God himself placed this name to the highest-ranking position above any other name in the heavens or on earth. In addition, every other name reduces to nothing when the name of Jesus is around. The name is the word of God; the name is God and the revelation of who God is. Therefore, the church must build an understanding of what the name Jesus stands for rather than just using it like it’s just another name on the list. It was through the name that things came into existence, and without the name, nothing existed. The name has life and at the same time, light, and when it shines, darkness has no choice but to flee. ” John 1:1-5: “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
According to John 10: 9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture”. The name is a door; thus, the name is the only means by which we can be connected to God. Thus, it is very clear that for anyone to be saved, the name of Jesus must be understood and revealed through the power of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:8-11 “ 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 8 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
According to John 16: 8-11, He here refers to the Holy Spirit, and there is an emphasis on three things that we must understand.
1. Convict of sin because they have not believed in God. So, preaching does not bring repentance, except the Holy Spirit works in the heart of the sinner. The Holy Spirit works in the heart of the sinners to convince them to believe that Jesus is Lord because it is an issue of unbelief.
2. Convict of righteousness because Jesus, the righteous one, goes to the Father. The world has its own kind of righteousness, and that is why the bible calls it filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Jesus took the place of the sinner that he can be made the righteousness of God. 1 Corinthians 1:30 “ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.” God is holy and righteous, and only Jesus has real knowledge about that. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is here to reveal God’s wisdom in the person of Jesus and convict the world of his righteousness so that the world can turn away from its filthy rags and embrace the righteousness in Christ by faith.
3. Convict of judgment because the ruler of the world is judged. In addition, whoever does not believe in him is condemned.
John 12:31: “Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.”
John 3:18: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Judgment has already been started. Jesus defeated satan through his death and resurrection. Therefore, repentance is encouraged because, for anyone who rejects Jesus, it means they have accepted judgment. The role of the Holy is, therefore, to enforce that understanding in the minds of people.
The church must understand this truth if souls must be won for God’s glory. Most often, we have people who attend programs and give their lives to Christ not because of conviction but because of the emotions of the moment. They quickly fall within a month.
Prayer points
Hosea 4:6: “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.”
1. In many instances, the church lacks knowledge, rejects it, or even just ignores it and focuses on something else that is not God. Ask God for forgiveness and mercy over this kind of wickedness of the church.
Philippians 2:9-10: “9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
2. Pray that God will give the church a revelation of Philippians 2:9-10. “The name Jesus has been highly exacted.”
John 16:8-11 “ 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
3. John 16:8-11 highlights some deep truths on conviction, sin, belief, righteousness, and judgment. Pray that God will open the eyes of the church unto this word so that the church will not neglect the role of the Holy Spirit in convicting the world. Pray that the Holy Spirit will do his work in the people's lives.
John 5: 24: “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.”
John 12:48: “There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not receive My words: The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
4. Pray that as people hear the word of God, the Holy Spirit will convict them so they can respond by believing and turning their hearts to Jesus. This will also protect them from God’s judgment.
John 11: 25-26 “25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. 26 And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
5. Pray that the resurrection power will arise again and resurrect the church back to life. He died and rose again to life; he carries life, and he is a life-giver. He said I have come (John 10:10). Pray that the church will open their eye and see that he has come. And he is the resurrection and life (Not will be or will come; he is and has come)
Ephesians 2:8-9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
6. Pray that the grace of God that brings salvation will visit all the lost in our homes, communities, and churches.
John 3:16-18 “16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
7. Pray that the Holy Spirit, who has the power to convict the world of sin, would also convict the world to the love of God so that they will open their arms to embrace the love of Christ.
1 John5:20 “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
8. Pray that the son of man will bring forth through the power of the Holy Spirit the understanding to know Jesus Christ, who is truth, and allow Him to work in us.
Matthew 9:35-38 “35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
9. Jesus did not spare the time to spread the word of God. Everywhere he went, he used the opportunity to share the gospel. Pray that many will answer the call as harvesters to be sent into the ripe fields.
Daniel 2: 21: “He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”
Isaiah 55:8-9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
10. Pray for spiritual strategies for the church to be able to discern the time to pray and time to go out for evangelism and missions. Only God understands them all.
Acts 2:39: “This promise is to you and your children. It is to all people everywhere. It is to as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Joshua 24:15: ” But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
11. Stand on this word to declare salvation for your children and other family members.
John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
12. Pray that God will open their eyes to see his truth- that he is the way. Pray that God will give them a new heart, a new spirit within and remove the heart of stone.
https://youtu.be/Nl2IQFk8k8o