Watch THIS if You Just Became A Christian
In this sermon, the speaker welcomes recent converts to Christianity and outlines practical next‑steps for growing in the faith. Beginning with the biblical truth that believers are "new creations" (2 Cor 5:17), he emphasizes that salvation is a gift of grace, not earned by works, and that God alone saves and perfects the believer (Phil 1:6, Eph 2:8‑9). He then presents five (plus a financial) actionable disciplines: (1) trust God’s saving work; (2) develop a regular prayer habit, using Hebrews 4 and Luke 5:16 as foundations; (3) commit to a Bible reading plan, citing Joshua 1:8, Matthew 7, and James 1:23‑24 to stress the Word as a spiritual foundation; (4) engage in consistent fellowship with other believers, referencing Hebrews 10:25, Matthew 18:20, and other passages to highlight the necessity of community; (5) share one’s personal testimony and the gospel with others, illustrated by the Samaritan woman and the demoniac (John 4, Mark 5). He also warns against divisive “heresy‑hunter” attitudes, urging focus on core doctrines. Finally, he encourages generous financial giving to support the ministry, citing 2 Cor 9:6‑8. Throughout, the speaker blends scriptural exposition with practical challenges, calls to action, and a closing prayer.
Chapters
If you've just recently given your life to the Lord, I wanna welcome you to the family of God. You made the best decision in your life, and you're never alone now because the presence of the Holy Spirit dwells with you. I wanna talk to you now about next steps. So you've become a Christian, you're a follower of Jesus. What now? And I also wanna encourage you, even if you've been saved for several years, this message can still be a great refresher, and it can help you learn the basic truths so that you can help guide others once they have given their lives over to the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we read this: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. This means that in Christ now, you are a new creation, a new creation with new desires, a new nature, a new identity. Despite what has been in your past, despite the mistakes you have made, despite the many sins that you have committed against God, the Lord now has welcomed you in. You have become a child of God. This means you've now developed a brand-new identity. So whatever it is that you're carrying over from the past, whatever it is that the devil will try to accuse you of, whatever it is that maybe you'll remember and cringe, I want you to know that there is no sin so dark that the blood of Jesus cannot wipe you and wash you clean. This is the power of new life in Christ. This is the power of the blood of Jesus. You are now a new creation. This means Everything has become new. You're gonna develop now a new mindset. You're developing now from that new nature. You're not performing to gain God's acceptance. You're performing from God's acceptance, which brings me to the first point. Trust God to save and perfect you. That's number one. Trust God to save and perfect you. This means that God is the one doing the work. You're not the one saving yourself. Now, I know that sometimes the impression of Christianity is that if I do enough good, then God will accept me. Or if I go to church enough, if I live clean enough, if I speak well enough of the Lord, then maybe God will accept me. And at the end of my life, I might be saved. I might enter the heavenly place. I might enter God's good graces. But that is not how it works at all. You see, as a Christian, you're not performing so that God will save you. You're not performing so that you will be accepted. It's because God has saved you already. It's because God has accepted you already that you can now perform from the place of new identity and a new nature. In Philippians 1:6, we read, And I am certain that God who began the good work within you Will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. So God is the one doing the work. Now, this doesn't mean that we can just go on living however we want to live. As a new creation, you've been given new desires, and you should act on those godly desires. You should submit to God. You should surrender. You should bend your will to his will. Amen. and allow him to do this work. But remember that ultimately it depends on the power of God. It depends on the working of the Holy Spirit in you. So again, we see that God is the one who began the work. God is the one who will complete the work. He is the one who is faithful. Now, many give up at this point. Maybe you just gave your life to the Lord and you already see that there's gonna be a struggle maybe with some old habits, old patterns, old way of thinking. or old ways of thinking, you should know that God is working on you, that you are being perfected, whether you feel that or not, whether you believe that or not, whether you see that immediately or not. I want you to know that God is working on you. You don't save you. God saves you. God has saved you. You have the assurance of salvation. As Christians, We don't live our lives biting our fingernails wondering, when I die, am I gonna go to heaven? Am I gonna be accepted by the Lord? No, we as Christians live with the joy of confident assurance knowing that we have been saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 says this, God saved you by his grace when you believed, and you can't take credit for this. It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Amen. So when you believed, you became a child of God. John 1:12 says, but to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. So trust God to save you and trust God to perfect you. Recognize that, yes, you ought to live holy. Yes, you ought to live a disciplined life. Yes, you ought to obey God. That's what you should do as a Christian. But ultimately recognize that you are not saved by your good works. You are saved by Christ's work upon the cross, and when you believe in that work, he begins to perfect you. So that's number 1, trust God to save and perfect you. Number 2, develop a prayer routine. This is gonna be so key because you wanna open that line of communication. In any relationship, communication is key. And so prayer is how we communicate with God. There are many different things that you can bring to the Lord in prayer, but first let's read in Hebrews chapter 4, beginning at verse number 14. So then, since we have a great high priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. In other words, since Christ is making those sacrifices on our behalf, we can hold firmly to what we believe. Verse 15, this high priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. You can approach God boldly in prayer. Yes, even when you make mistakes. Yes, even when you don't feel like praying. Yes, even when you're struggling with doubt, you can approach God boldly. Why? Because you are confident in Christ's sacrifice. Again, Getting back to a little bit of what we're talking about in the first point, sometimes we think of prayer in the same regards. Many Christians, especially when they've just given their lives to the Lord, think that prayer is this privilege that only comes by perfection. In other words, if I've been a good Christian today, or if I've been a good Christian this week, that I can now have the reward of prayer. But that's not how this works at all. You don't trust in your perfection. You don't trust in your works, you trust in Christ's sacrifice. And because that sacrifice has already been made, and because Christ has made that sacrifice on your behalf, and you receive those benefits when you believe, now you can enter that place of prayer even when you've made a mistake, even when you feel a little weak, even when you feel a little bit of doubt in your heart, even when you're going through hardship and trial, even if maybe you missed a Sunday of church, God's not gonna say, well, you didn't go to church on Sunday, or, well, you know, you weren't perfect this week, or, you know, you thought that bad thought, so I don't wanna talk to you. No, you can come boldly before the throne of grace. You can come boldly into prayer because of what Christ has done. And again, I wanna emphasize, this doesn't mean that our wrongdoing is excused or that we shouldn't live holy lives. This just means that prayer is always accessible. Luke 5:16 says, But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. So even Jesus had a discipline for a scheduled prayer routine. So you can pray anytime you'd like. You can pray on your way to work. You can pray when you're waking up in the morning. You can pray when you're falling asleep at night. You, of course, should also set a time secluded prayer. You should schedule a time where all you're doing is praying. But of course, you can also pray throughout the day. Make this a habit. I challenge you to do this. Set up a routine. Begin with at least 15 minutes of prayer a day. Now, as Christians, we should pray more than that, but this is a great place to start. Try praying for just 15 minutes a day and then increase that time from there, but do start with something. And often you'll find that if you wanna commit to 15 minutes, you might even go an hour and not even realize an hour has passed. But for now, just commit to 15 minutes. If you wanna do more, please do more. And as Christians, again, we should pray more than that, Amen. But begin somewhere. Acts 2:42 says, all the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to sharing in meals, including the Lord's Supper, and to prayer. So this is a part of the Christian life. Prioritize prayer, schedule your life around prayer. You might be asking, well, what do I do when I pray? You can thank God for the day. You can ask him to help you with the various things you're going through. You can pray for others, your loved ones, your children, your spouse, and you can take time to just worship him. Amen. Sing songs to him, tell him you love him. Keep it simple when you begin. Number 3, commit to a Bible reading plan. So in prayer, mostly you're talking to God, though he does speak to you. But then the word is how God speaks most clearly to you. Yes, the Holy Spirit can speak directly to your heart and mind. Yes, God will speak directly to you. That's true. But let's begin with the foundation first. You want to build your life on the Word. Why? Because the Word is the most clear form of communication that God has given to you. Joshua 1:8 says, study the book of instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. So prayer, or excuse me, devoting yourself to the Word produces that result of prospering in all that you do, and it becomes your foundation for living. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, beginning at verse number 24. Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it It would collapse with a mighty crash. So Jesus is telling us that in life, storms will come. You know that as Christians, we're not exempt. Just because we're saved, just because God loves us doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to us. Jesus tells us that the storms will come. But if you build your life on the Word, if you build your life on the sayings of Jesus, if you build your life on the teachings of Scripture, you read and you become familiar with that Scripture and you apply that Scripture, then when the storms come, you'll remain standing. The Word becomes a mirror in which we see our spiritual reflection. James 1:23-24 says, for if you listen to the Word and don't obey, it's like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. So the Word is that mirror, and as you look at that mirror, you can see all of those things that need to be perfected. The Word of God helps to keep your beliefs in line. 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, work hard, so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. So by getting into the word and becoming familiar with the word, it keeps our beliefs properly in line. Don't just believe anything and everything that you hear. Don't believe everyone on the internet. Don't even believe just everything I say. Take it to the word. What does the word say? Compare it to the Word and live your life by the Word. Now, I wanna caution you here. This is a little bit of a side note. As a new believer, you may find that there's a whole subculture of Christianity that's hypercritical. We call these heresy hunters. And by that, I mean that there are people who devote their whole lives to just tearing other ministries down. They're kinda like on YouTube, how you have drama channels. Well, it's the same thing. Christianity unfortunately has that too. So, just be careful with that because there is room for disagreement on certain issues. Like, for example, if we wanna talk about the rapture, the rapture is where we believe we'll be caught away with the Lord. Now, there are some who believe that we're gonna be raptured before things get really bad here on earth. Others think that things are gonna get really bad here on earth and then we're gonna be raptured. Okay, that's a point of disagreement. It can be debated from both sides looking at Scripture, but we're not gonna call each other names, divide, and— disconnect and demonize one another simply because we disagree. And there's a lot of different doctrines like this, like healing, like the gift of speaking in tongues, things you'll be hearing about, what day you should go to church. And there's just debates on all of these different things. None of these are reasons to divide. None of these are reasons to demonize one another. Just because someone can make a good case for what they believe doesn't mean that you should demonize the person they disagree with. So be very careful that mature believers ignore that kind of division And we stay focused on the basics, things like Jesus is God, Jesus died for our sins, Jesus lived in sinless perfection, Jesus rose again on the 3rd day, and so forth. So just beware of unnecessary division disguised as intellectualism. That's out there, and I just had to warn you about that. Matthew 4:4 says, but Jesus told them, no, the scriptures say people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. In other words, the Word sustains you. The Word gives you spiritual strength. The Word is what gives you the ability to continue in your faith with great maturity. Number 4, fellowship with other believers, because you can't do this alone. You were not designed to do things outside of community. As a born-again believer, you were designed to function within the body of Christ. You may hear things like, well, I don't follow people, I follow God. You may hear people say things like, well, the church is a system and God is not about that system, or God is not about organized religion. I promise you this, God is not disorganized in his approach. God is not scattered in the way that he does things. Everything that God does requires structure. Everything that God does requires connectivity. And so the church is no different. Hebrews 10:25 says this. And let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. So we are not to neglect our gathering together. That's something we as believers ought to prioritize. So we regularly gather. Now, when you pray, you may have a moment of solitude. Yes, you may have a moment of isolation, of course, but your lifestyle should be one of connectivity. So as a true believer, connecting with other believers is going to help you. Don't listen to teachings that tell you of unhealthy independence, where you're a lone person off on the side doing your own thing with no one's help, just you and the Lord. It's good that you have a relationship with God, but make sure that you're also connecting with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Matthew 18:20 says, for where 2 or 3 gather together as my followers, I am there among them. Hebrews 10:24 says, let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. James 5:16, confess your sins to each other, pray for each other so that you may be healed. 1 Thessalonians 5:11, so encourage each other and build each other up just as you are already doing. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 2 people are better than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. And that's biblical truth. Now, we have to emphasize this point. You will not find a perfect church. There's no one place you can go and get it all. Anywhere you go, you're going to be able to criticize something about it. Anywhere that you go, you're going to find an issue with that place that you're gathering. People will hurt you. The church will disappoint you. Things are going to go wrong. Things are not always going to meet your expectations. This is no reason to say, "Oh, that place, I want nothing to do with it," or "Oh, I want nothing to do with people anymore." No, we as Christians ought to commit to unity and connectivity, even if we have to work through some difficult things. Okay, now maybe this is speaking to you, and maybe you know other believers who can benefit from this truth. So I want you to take a moment. To share this teaching with someone because somebody you know may have come to the Lord. So make sure they get this, share this teaching, and also make sure you leave a like if you're enjoying this so that more people can receive this content. And also, let's stay connected. Subscribe to my channel so that you don't miss a single teaching. Number 5, share your faith. Now, you might not feel qualified yet. You might say, well, I have so many flaws. There's so many things wrong with me. I don't know if I'm someone who can share my faith yet. Well, let me encourage you. Think of the woman at the well. Here's a woman who was divorced multiple times. She had a bad reputation. Society had rejected her. She has one encounter with Jesus and look at what she does. John 4:28-30. Then leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah? They came out of the town and made their way toward him. Think of the demoniac. Immediately after he had demons cast out of him, we read in Mark chapter 5, verse 18, as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, no, go to your family and tell them everything the Lord has done for you. And how merciful he has been. So the man started off to visit the 10 towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed at what he told them. So here's a man who in one instance was filled with a legion of demons. Jesus drives those demons out of him, and now he's proclaiming his testimony in the towns. So share your testimony. Your testimony is a presentation of the gospel. The way that Jesus saved you, the way that Jesus forgave your sins, that's going to inspire someone else. Don't wait to share what Jesus has done for you. Now, that's different than getting in a pulpit, teaching the Word, preaching, becoming a pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet. I understand that's all different. I'm talking to you simply about sharing what Jesus has done for you. You can begin to do that right away. Share Jesus with your friends, with your family, with your coworkers in appropriate settings. 2 Timothy 4:5 says, but you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the good news and fully carry out the ministry God has given you. Acts 20:24, but my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus. The work of telling others the good news about the wonderful grace of God. 1 Peter 3:15 says, instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. Mark 16:15-18, and he told them, go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone. Anyone who has believed and is baptized will be saved, but anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe. So this is talking about you. They will cast out demons in my name. They will speak in new tongues. They will be able to handle snakes with safety. They will— if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and they will be healed. So as you share your testimony, the power of the Holy Spirit's gonna go with you and he'll give you the words to speak. In Luke chapter 12, verses 11 and 12, we read, and when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don't worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said. The Holy Spirit will teach you. The Holy Spirit will be present with you. So step out and share your faith. And I wanna pray now that the Lord would encourage you. And strengthen you and help you on this journey. Because remember, you're not doing this alone. Precious Holy Spirit, I pray, come over that one receiving this now. Let your power envelop them, touch their lives, transform them. I pray, Lord, that they would sense your presence near to them even now. Thank you, Jesus, that you are strengthening them. Thank you, Jesus, that you are bringing clarity of mind. I give you the praise, Lord. Guide them, keep them, protect them. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say a big amen. I want to read one more portion of scripture to you. Second Corinthians nine six to eight. Remember this: a farmer who plants only a few seeds. will get a small crop, but the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give, and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure, for God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As Christians, we are called to give to the gospel. Yes, I'm talking about money. Paul here was talking about money. Now, I know sometimes the impression people get is, oh, those preachers, all they want is your money. And I understand some preachers abuse these kinds of texts. But listen, as believers, we all share in the responsibility of expanding the kingdom of God. We all share in the responsibility of supporting the church and ministry. So I want to encourage you to become a giver. Go right now to davidhernandezministries.com/partner to become a monthly supporter of the ministry. Maybe you've been saved for several years. Maybe you've been only saved for a few weeks or a few days, maybe a few hours. You should be a giver. Go right now, davidhernandezministries.com/partner. You can partner with our ministry for as little as $15 a month. Now, if you're already a monthly supporter, or you're not quite ready to become a monthly commitment yet, then you can go to davidhernandezministries.com/donate to give a single gift. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God.
