What Just Happened? After You're Saved - Part 3

Let me say it again today - Congratulations! When you called on Jesus Christ to save you, you made a choice that you'll never regret. Sure, there may be times ahead that are difficult to face - but your life is completely changed from this point forward.

So many things happened when you were "born-again" that it's easy to lose sight of them. Many of these changes go unnoticed at first...but they're huge! So, once again - get your Bible out and let's keep looking at what happened to you the moment you were saved.

We've already found out a few things:
#1 - You were delivered from Hell
#2 - All of your sins have been washed away
#3 - You were made into a brand new creature

What Else Happened to You When You Were Saved?

#4 - You were separated from the rest of world you're living in.

As we've already said, the world is going to Hell without Jesus. All of us were a part of the fray. We were all by nature "children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3). But when you were saved, you were separated from all of that!

True, you still live in this world.

True, you still have the same job and natural family as you had before you were saved.

But even though you still live in this world, you don't belong to it any more. In John 17:16, Jesus had this to say about us, "They are not of the world just like I am not of the world."

Jesus came down from Heaven to earth to live here and fulfill God's plan. He was here in the world, but He didn't come from it. That's the way it is with you and I now. Our new spirit was made by God in Heaven and sent to the earth with a plan. We live here, but we're not from here.

1 Peter 2:11 tells us, "Dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls." You're a foreigner here. This means you're never going to blend in with them any longer. You're different now - in the same way an ambassador from another country is different from the country that he lives in.

This is your responsibility now - you are now called to live out your separation from the world. 1 Corinthians 7:31 tells us that we should be using the things of this world, but 1 John 2:15 says that we should no longer love the things of this world. This is a major point - if you're going to live in God's system, you're going to learn to depend on Him and not on the things of the world that you used to look to.

You've been brought out of the kingdom of darkness, and have been brought into a new kingdom - a kingdom of light (Colossians 1:13). You're now just as different from the rest of the world as light is different from the dark.

#5 - You've been given the same amount of faith as every other believer

Romans 12:3 "...as God has given to each one the measure of faith."

You probably think that you made the choice to believe in God, right? But the truth is, God gave you that faith! And He didn't give any one of us more faith than another. We've all received the same measure of faith, it's the faith that you used to believe the Gospel of what Jesus did for you.

Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing. That's how it worked for you, my friend. You heard someone talk about God and how good He is...and that hearing brought faith. This is how we all received the faith that we have.

As you grow in the Lord and go on in your Christian walk, you're going to notice that some people seem to have no problems believing God in every situation. It will seem like their faith can move mountains and change bad situations around in an instant. When you see people walking in faith like this, you may even end up saying something like, "I with I had that kind of faith!"

But look back up to Romans 12:3...we all received the same amount of faith! So how is it that some people seem to have more faith than others? The answer is simple, they've grown and strengthened their faith over time.

The Bible compares faith to a seed (Matthew 17:20). Like any seed, it can be grown into something bigger and stronger than it was at the beginning. God gave you the same faith as everyone else...now, what you do with it is up to you! Are you going to keep that faith like a seed in your pocket? Or are you going to grow it and become "strengthened in the faith"? (Romans 4:20)

How do you grow your faith into something more, something stronger? That's another simple answer; faith keeps coming by hearing! You continue to grow in you faith as you continue to hear God's Word (the Bible). This is why reading the Bible every day is so important. This habit will strengthen and feed your faith as you keep your mind in the pages of Scripture each and every day!

#6 - Every promise that you see in the Bible now belongs to you!

There are some amazing promises that God has given His people! This is one reason you need to spend daily time reading the Bible...because you'll never have faith in a promise that you don't know.

Think about this, if you never heard that God would save you from your sin, would you believe that? No you wouldn't. You didn't receive that promise of salvation until you knew about it! This is how it works with all of God's promises.

There are more promises in the pages of the Bible that are also received by faith. This is why reading that Book each day is so important. It's similar to a legal contract or a will - studying it will reveal new entitlements (or blessings) that you have access to!

There are so many promises for God's people in His word!

Peace instead of fear.

Joy instead of sorrow.

Triumph in the face of trouble.

Healing instead of sickness.

Prosperity instead of poverty.

These are all available to you now...clearly revealed in the chapters and verses of God's word. As you see them in your reading...reach out your faith and grab them!

Just like salvation came by faith, each of these promises are also received by faith. (Hebrews 6:12)

You, my friend, have so much more at your disposal than you know right now...but as you grow in the Lord, you will begin to stretch out your faith and see these promises kept in your life.

Lastly, whenever you see a promise from God in the Bible and wonder, "does this apply to me?" - remember this verse! 2 Corinthians 1:20 "For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding 'YES!'"