SIXTY SECONDS AFTER SALVATION
John 6:35-40
INTRO: A fellow pastor recalls: “When I was still a teen-age boy I left the little town where I was born and went to the big city to work. In the city I found a room with a nice family. They had something in their home that I had never seen. It was a gas water heater. First, you would light the gas jet. By the time you turned on the water, it would be getting hot. The heating process was indeed swift.”
Salvation is like that. Jesus assures us that we are saved the instant we come to Him in saving faith. When a baby is born into the world, all of its surroundings are strange and new. Doctors say there are fifty or sixty changes that take place in a new-born baby in the first few seconds of life. When a person is born spiritually, many new changes take place immediately. Let’s look at some things that happen SIXTY SECONDS AFTER SALVATION.
I. WE WANT THE WORLD TO KNOW IT.
Take the case of Andrew. He always appears as a quiet, reserved man. As soon as he met Jesus, he ran home to tell his brother, Simon Peter, of his wonderful discovery and experience. Then he did the greatest thing anyone can do for another. “He brought him to Jesus” (John 1:42). This is the natural reaction of every new-born Christian. This is one of the evidences that a person is truly saved.
ILLUS: Think of the woman at the well. Jesus dealt with her. She gave her heart to him. She left her waterpot, ran back to town and brought the townspeople to Jesus. There is no doubt that she was saved.
II. WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE.
When we are saved God gives us the same spiritual life that we will have when we have been at home with God for a million years.
ILLUS: 25 years ago a baby was born in a hospital. He weighed only a few pounds. He had to be pampered and coddled to enable him to live. Now he is 6’2" tall and weighs 200 pounds. There is a vast difference in the baby and the man. Yet the life he now has is the same life he had 25 years ago.
Our spiritual life grows in the same manner that our physical life grows. We feed the physical body on physical food, engage in physical exercise. Then our bodies grow. If we feed on spiritual food, engage in spiritual exercise, then our spiritual lives will grow.
III. WE BECOME THE CHILDREN OF GOD.
Read John 1:12. Today we hear many preachers proclaiming that all men are the children of God. They want to be tolerant and broadminded. This sounds good, but it is not true to the Bible.
There are many advantages to having God as our Father. One is that we have direct access to Him through the Lord, Jesus.
ILLUS: One day a minister was having lunch with a Catholic friend. He asked him why he prayed through the Virgin Mary. He answered, “It is because she is closer to Jesus than anyone else. She can get His ear and attention.” He said, “Suppose you wanted to have an interview with the president of the U.S. You could not go to him direct. You would have to go through some high official. It is the same way with coming to God. You must ask Mary to use her influence to get through to God.”
The minister responded: “But suppose that I am the president’s son. I live in the White House and eat at his table. Would I have to go through a high official to get to him? No I would go straight to him. Put my arms around him and make my wishes known. Well, I am a child of God. I don’t have to go through a human mediator to get to my heavenly Father.”
Sixty seconds after salvation we become the children of God. That’s better than being the child of a king, a president, or a millionaire!
IV. OUR BODIES BECOME TEMPLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Your body may be filled with sin. When you are saved, the blood of Jesus cleanses you from your sin. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in your heart.
Some of us don’t give Him much room in our hearts. They are cluttered up with things. If we are Christians, the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts. He may be pushed into a tiny corner, but He is still there.
ILLUS: Dr. C. I. Scofield, the eminent Bible teacher, once attended a Bible Conference in New York City. The chairman called on another minister to pray. His prayer went something like this: “Oh, thou great and terrible God. great is thy majesty. A great distance separates us from Thee. Poor lost sinners that we are, have mercy upon our souls.” Dr. Scofield, when the prayer was ended, whispered to another preacher. “Why doesn’t someone give that man a New Testament?”
The Christian’s body is the temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells. A temple is a beautiful place. It is set aside for God and must be kept clean. When Jesus found men defiling the temple, he cast them out. We are to remember that our bodies are the temples of God.
V. WE BECOME SAINTS.
What is a saint? Some people think that a saint is a perfect person. One who never sins. Yet no one ever measures up to that standard. Some think that a saint is someone who did good works on earth, and are highly honored by people after their death. According to the Bible, every born-again person is a saint.
Do you remember when you were converted? A warm glow filled your heart. You were happy that you had been saved. That you had passed from death unto life. Maybe as the years have gone by you have lost that feeling, that warm glow. You can thank God that you haven’t lost your position before Him. You simply need to get right with God in your everyday life.
CONC: Are you a child of God but not living up to your high position? Is there something between you and God, between you and someone else? Then think of all the good things that are yours in Christ. Show your gratitude by bringing your life up to what God would have it to be.
