Let us imagine for a minute that you are a homeless beggar and I give you a gift of a million dollars. When does the gift become yours? The minute you take it from my hands of course. Here is the truth, Even though you take the million dollars from me and you stand with it in your hands, you are still a homeless person, but you are no longer a beggar. Even though you are a millionaire, you are still wearing beggars clothes.
Taking the million dollars changes something within you. In your mind and heart a shift takes place. You know you are not destitute anymore. You know you have the security of the million dollars, so your heart has changed from hopelessness to joy. When does your reality start changing. Your heart and ming has changed, that is your perception of reality, but when does this gift change your actual reality.
Your situation will only change when you start using the gift you have received. Your life will change when you take the gift you have freely received and give it away to get a house, new clothes and a new car. Only when you use the gift does your situation change.
Salvation is the same. Jesus said if you believe you are saved, that is receiving the gift of salvation. However, Jesus also said if you love me you will obey me, and this is putting the gift to use.
You see if you repent and turn your life over to Christ you are saved, and you are a child of God. This changes your heart from hopelessness to one of joy in anticipation of the coming everlasting life. This is a great place to be in, but a Christian that stays in this place, is vulnerable to attack from the enemy.
Only when the believer acts upon this salvation by obeying the commandments of the Lord does he turn from beggar to prince. Those commandments are not burdensome but are glorious in their outcome. They seem daunting when you read them, but it is not by our own strength that these things become a reality in our life, it is through the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus that we are able to obey these commandments.
Sharing your faith, and telling your story is the best way for you to solidify your faith, when you bring someone out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light is when you understand the power of the gospel you’ve been made a steward of. Only when you realise that this simple act can change peoples lives, do you start appreciating the gift you’ve been given.
So let me tell you a story. When I was a young Christian I loved sharing my conversion story. In one such conversation I had spoke to a guy named John. John heard the gospel for the first time and gave his life to the Lord. I urged him to join a local church.
Two years later I bumped into John again, and he was ready and eager to tell me his story. He had become an evangelist working with drug addicts, and he had a ministry with 500 members that got saved through his ministry. These were people that were either going to die from an overdose or were on their way to a life of permanent crime.
Can you see what my story accomplished. It was through my obedience that John got saved and through him Christ touched 500 more people that would touch more from each of them. Oh the glory and wisdom of God.
Salvation is about you first. and that is an awesome experience when you realise you have been saved from darkness and hell and have been made a son of the living God and you are now a prince or princess in his kingdom.
But salvation in action is the salvation of others through your obedience, and the change of other people’s lives from hopelessness, bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, depression, anxiety, self destruction , fear, selfishness, abusiveness and depravity to light bearers of Christ, bringing peace, hope, joy, love, forgiveness, beauty and power to the world.
Being a Christian is about being a powerful witness of Christ. You cannot just be saved. People will still see you as the homeless beggar, even if you don’t feel it. Start doing, talking and using your gift of salvation and people will see and hear the changes. The Gospel is not a silent good life. The gospel is the WORD of God and it is spoken, it is shown, it is lived by telling people about it.
If you had cancer and you found a cure, would you just walk in front of the other cancer patients to show them you found a cure, or are you going to shout it out from the hilltops, and lead all the other cancer patience to the place where they can receive the cure.
Humanity suffers from a terminal illness called sin and separation from God. We are on our way to eternal darkness. It’s symptoms are vast and terrifying, and we were once ill as well, but we have since been saved, washed clean, we have found the cure. What will you do with it?
Shout it out from the hills, let everyone know you have found the cure and tell them your story, show them how they too can be cured.