Only By His NAME

And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

(Acts 2:21, NKJV)

The second chapter of Acts brings to us the first sermon that Peter preached after the Holy Spirit visited the disciples in the upper room.  The significance of this sermon is seen in that all who heard the disciples, understood what they said as if they were speaking in their native language (Acts 2:5-7).  When I think of how this message was heard and the curiosity it raised among the people present, I am in awe of the power of the Holy Spirit of God, none can communicate to our hearts so directly as He alone can.  Brethren, the Holy Spirit made His presence known in great power and wonder to the hearts of men, He could not be ignored then, neither can He be ignored in our daily lives. 

We are reminded in this passage of Acts 2, that the disciples spoke as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance, so yes, the Holy Spirit spoke through them and it is very telling that in our reference verse, He pointed people to the name of the Lord for salvation, not His name but the name of the Lord Jesus.  A reflection of this reveals to us that the Holy Spirit did not lead people to Himself but to Jesus for salvation.  This affirms what Jesus told His disciples that when the Spirit of Truth comes on earth, He will not speak of Himself but will speak of what was to come glorifying Jesus (John 16:13-14).  The Holy Spirit in our lives seeks to make Jesus known and to draw all to the knowledge of Jesus’ saving grace.  Beloved, this sounds contrary to what we would expect going by human standards, that one chooses to lift up another person instead of lifting himself up.  According to human wisdom, one would think that the Holy Spirit would magnify Himself and not necessarily Jesus, but not so, clearly the Holy Spirit does not draw attention to Himself but draws all focus to Jesus Christ.  The reason for this is given to us by Peter and John speaking to the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:12) and they made it clear that salvation is found in no other name but only by the name of Jesus.  Jesus has to be the focus.

Brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit who lives in us does the same as He did on Pentecost day, He bears witness to Jesus Christ the Son of God.  Our witnessing of the gospel of salvation to the world makes impact only when the Holy Spirit leads us, He is the one who convicts and convinces the souls of men of sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:8).  It does not matter how much people hear of salvation if the Holy Spirit is not part of the communication.  Remember the Holy Spirit speaks the language of the individual and that is to the soul of the other person, opening their ears to the gospel preached.  When in our own strength effort we try to reach those whom we have been praying for, we get frustrated that nothing is changing, may this be a gentle reminder to invite the Holy Spirit to do in their hearts what only He can do.  It is not our words that change others, but the power of the Holy Spirit. For a change in the hearts of men, let us partner with the Holy Spirit, He amplifies our words and reveals Jesus to the searching heart. When the Holy Spirit takes the lead in our witnessing of Jesus, our hearts are encouraged, and the results are assured by the power of God.  Partner with the Holy Spirit as you exalt the name of Jesus and He will bring the harvest home. Please do not be tempted to go it alone, the Holy Spirit is our helper in the mission field.

Thoughts:

Are you a witness of Jesus Christ?  How?

Who is the focus of your witnessing?

How is the Holy Spirit partnering with you?

What is your reflection on this subject?