Reacting to Salvation: To Cling or To Go

In this episode of the Confidence in God podcast, host Julie McGhghy explores how people react after receiving salvation. Through the stories of the man delivered from demons in Mark 5 and the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, Julie highlights two common responses: clinging to Jesus or going out to share the good news. She also discusses the importance of both personal devotion and sharing your testimony, drawing on additional examples from Matthew 28. Whether you’re new to faith or looking to deepen your walk with God, this episode will encourage you to embrace your salvation and confidently share it with others. Resources and ways to connect are shared in the show notes. 

https://confidenceingod.com/resources/ 

Recognizing Jesus 

Timeline

00:00 – Introduction: Welcome to the Confidence in God podcast with Julie McGhghy. 

00:12 – Listener Appreciation: Thanking listeners and inviting contact. 

00:23 – Episode Overview: Exploring reactions to salvation through biblical examples. 

00:52 – Resource Mention: “Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God” and contact info. 01:21 – Invitation: Encouragement for those seeking salvation to reach out. 

01:35 – Reflection: Asking listeners to recall their own salvation experience. 

01:52 – Two Reactions: Clinging to the Lord or going to tell others; preview of biblical stories. 02:46 – The Man with the Legion: Jesus delivers a man possessed by demons (Mark 5). 

03:24 – Clinging to Jesus: The man’s desire to stay close to Jesus after his deliverance. 

03:51 – The Woman at the Well: Jesus meets the Samaritan woman (John 4). 

04:16 – Jesus Reveals Himself: The woman learns Jesus is the Messiah. 

04:41 – Sharing the News: The woman tells her city about Jesus, leading many to believe. 

05:24 – The Value of Clinging: Why we seek closeness with Jesus. 

05:39 – Is It Okay to Cling?: Jesus allows clinging for a time, then instructs to go and share. 

07:01 – The Purpose of Testimony: Sharing our story helps others believe. 

07:29 – After the Resurrection: Women at the tomb meet Jesus and are told to go (Matthew 28). 

08:15 – The Great Commission: Jesus instructs disciples to go and teach all nations. 

08:39 – Our Mission: Jesus wants us to share what He’s done for us. 

09:04 – Summary: Two reactions to salvation—cling or go tell others. 

09:26 – Final Encouragement: Both reactions are valid, but we’re called to share. 

09:52 – Listener Engagement: Julie invites listeners to share their stories. 

10:09 – Resource Reminder: “Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God” and contact info. 

10:28 – Closing: Subscribe, rate, and review the show. 

10:41 – Final Blessing: Confidence that God will complete His good work in you.

Transcript

0:00

Hello and welcome to the Confidence in God podcast. I am your host, Julie McGhghy, and our goal today is to help you walk with confidence in God. I so appreciate all of you who are listening to this podcast and the many who are contacting me either through Fan Mail or through the Confidence in God website. The fact that you listen to this podcast tells me that you have either received the salvation of the Lord or you are interested in doing so. So in this episode, we'll look at a couple of nameless individuals in scripture to consider different ways we might react after obtaining salvation according to God's work. We will look at a couple of nameless individuals in scripture to consider different ways we might react after obtaining salvation according to God's word. But first, I invite you to check out a resource titled Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God. You can have instant access to it by going to confidenceingod.com/resources. In this resource, you'll learn from the apostle Paul how we can live a life that is dead to sin. I'll drop the link to the resource in the show notes for your convenience. You can also contact me directly at julie@confidenceingod.com. I love hearing from my listeners and I want to invite those of you who have not yet experienced salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, but would like to learn more about doing so to contact me at that email address. Before I turn to a couple of nameless individuals in scripture to determine how they reacted to their deliverance by Jesus, which we will view as their time of receiving salvation, I would like you to think back on your salvation experience. How did you react to that? People react to salvation in different ways, yet it seems we either cling to the Lord or we go to tell everyone we know about it. Let's take a look at a couple of people in the Bible and see what they did. You might remember in the podcast episode titled, Recognizing Jesus: Power Amidst Life's Struggles, I introduced you to the man with the legion of demons that Jesus cast out in Mark 5:1-20. We're going to revisit him in this episode. In Recognizing Jesus, we considered what the man did prior to being delivered from the demons. In this episode, we'll consider what he did after being delivered. I'll drop a link to that episode in the show notes in case you haven't listened to it and would like to learn more about this man. Jesus had gone to the country of the Gadarenes. He met this man who was living among the tombs. He was living among the dead. The man was uncontrollable because of his extraordinary strength. The people tried to bind him with chains, yet the man broke every chain they tried to bind him with. Jesus cast the demons from the man. The man was restored to his right mind. Mark 5:18 lets us know that when this man received his miracle, he wanted to cling to Jesus. To cling means to hold tightly to someone or something. The man did not want to leave Jesus. He wanted to hold tightly to him. He wanted Jesus by his side at all times. When Jesus got into the ship to leave, the man wanted to go with him. He had spent too many years in the tombs with dead people. He was tired of people trying to bind him with the chains. He now wanted to spend his time with the man who offered him eternal life and freedom from sin. In response to his salvation, this man wanted to stay close to Jesus. Have you ever felt that way? Just keep me close to him and I'll be okay. Right? Well, let's consider the woman at the well that we read about in John 4:1-42. She was drawing water from a well in Samaria when Jesus approached her and He asked her for a drink. Jesus had intentionally sent His disciples on an errand so He could speak to this woman alone. Although she was a Samaritan and Jews did not socialize with Samaritans, Jesus spoke to her. He let her know that He knew all about her sin. He knew she had had five husbands, and at that time was living with a man that was not her husband. Yet he revealed to her that he was the awaited Messiah. He extended his love and forgiveness to this woman who was living deep in sin. Now, John 4:18-29, lets us know the woman did not clinging to Jesus like the man who had been delivered from the demons. Instead, she ran to her city and told the people about Jesus. She told them that he knew all about her and invited them to come and meet Jesus the Messiah. Because she shared her testimony. Many people from the city, the Samaritans, believed in Jesus. The man who had been delivered from the demons wanted to cling. Don't you wanna cling to Jesus? Isn't that why we go to church and we listen to Christian podcasts is to cling to Him and learn more and more about Him so we can walk with Him. Is it okay to cling? Absolutely. It is okay to cling for a short time. Jesus invited the man to sit with him and to talk to him for a while. The herdsman who had witnessed the man's deliverance immediately fled to the city and to the countryside and told everyone what had happened. While they were gone, the man clung to Jesus by sitting near him and listening to all he had to say. So when the people from the city and countryside went to see the man, he was sitting and clothed, and in his right mind, according to Mark 5:15. Jesus permitted the man to cling to Him for a while. But when the man learned all that Jesus wanted to share with him, and Jesus prepared to leave, the man wanted to continue clinging to Him, but Jesus did not permit it. Instead, Jesus told the man to do what the Samaritan woman did. Jesus told him to go. He told him to go home and tell his friends the great things the Lord had done for him and the compassion that Jesus had shown him. The man was obedient and shared his testimony. As a result, all the people marveled at the things Jesus had done. Yes, we need to spend time alone with Jesus. We need to have our own personal devotions and to be in Bible study and go to church to draw close to Him and to other like-minded individuals. But it is through the sharing of our testimony that other people come to believe in Jesus. We don't receive salvation just so we can cling to Jesus. We receive it so we can tell others about him. Now that we've seen these two different ways to react to experiencing salvation, let's turn to Matthew 28 and consider some people who encountered Jesus after his resurrection. The women who went to Jesus' tomb after His crucifixion discovered Jesus was not in the tomb. They immediately ran to tell the disciples what they had learned, and they met Jesus along the way. Once they met Jesus, they wanted to cling. They stopped, fell at his feet and worshiped. But then Jesus told them to go. In Matthew 28:9-10, He told them to go tell the brethren to go into Galilee and they would see Him there. In Matthew 28:19-20, after Jesus had been resurrected and appeared to several people, He gave his last instructions to his disciples before He ascended into heaven. Again, he said go. He instructed them to go and teach all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all things he had commanded them. Once we have received salvation, Jesus wants us to go and to tell the world what He has done for us. Yes, we may clinging to Him for a short time and we must continue to spend time with Him to learn to hear His voice and to know what He wants us to do. But we are also to go tell everyone what great things he has done for us. That was a lot of information in a short period of time. Let me summarize this really quickly. When we receive salvation, we may react by wanting to cling to Jesus like the man delivered from the demons wanted to do. Or we may be so excited that we run and tell everyone what we have experienced like the Samaritan woman at the well did. Either reaction is fine, but clinging should be done only for a short time. Jesus wants us to go and tell everyone what we have experienced and how they can meet Jesus. And we can be confident when we do so. Because just as He said to His disciples in Matthew 28:20, He will be with us always, even to the end of the world. I would love to hear from you. Let me know how you reacted when you experienced salvation. I love to hear people's salvation stories. Also share with me how God has built your confidence in him so that you can boldly share your testimony with others. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I invite you to check out a resource titled Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God. Just click the link in the show notes and click on the resource. And if you are a person who wants to learn more about receiving salvation, please email me at julie@confidenceingod.com. That's it for today. Please take a second to subscribe to our show so you'll be notified when future episodes come out. Also, it would be great if you would rate or review our show. That way more people can find out about it. Until next time, let's be confident in this, that He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.