Now That I Am Saved, Now What?

By David Weddle

This idea first came from watching and hearing televangelists on Christian broadcasts after I had been saved. I was blessed to have a pastor and a church family that embraced me and poured themselves into my life with teachings and testimonies that enhanced my walk with Jesus immensely. I often wondered who were there for the people who received Jesus over the television waves or in large convention centers after the message ended. I'm sure some had pamphlets and flyers to hand out, but in many cases, that is not enough. My book Now That I Am Saved, Now What? is designed to give the reader a quick synopsis and revelation of what you can expect and what is expected from a loving good God who is no respecter of persons. From the cover illustration, you can ascertain that a man is overboard and the men of God have thrown him a life preserver. He is saved, but he seems to be asking, "Now what?" They are all pleased he is saved, but no one seems willing to pull him into the safety of the ship. Jesus is at the helm and will always be the author and finisher of our faith if we trust him fully and follow his lead through his Word.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644580035

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Now That I Am Saved, Now What?

David A. Weddle

Copyright © 2019 by David A. Weddle

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Neslson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Life Application Study Bible copyright 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, IL 60188. All rights reserved. The Bible text used in this edition of the Life Application Study Bible is the Holy Bible, New King James Version.

Scripture taken from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE, Old Testament copyright 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Tell of All Thy Wondrous Works

Baptism: Sacred or Sacrament

What Does It Mean to Suffer as a Christian?

Words: The Sword of the Spirit

Jesus Is Coming!

Preface

Iwas saved in May of 1992. I was blessed to have been plugged into a body of Christ led by a pastor that stressed how important the Word of God was to everyday life. He impressed upon all of us to see the Bible as our owner’s manual instead of merely a history book. He planted and watered a seed in me through the Holy Spirit, which were the Words of God. He challenged me and all of us to prove God; in other words, find the promises in God’s Word that pertained to any life situation and come boldly to the throne of grace and reveal to our Father that we had found his promise in his Word and then through faith (unquestioning belief), simply expect him to bring his promises to pass. The booklets that follow this foreword are a product of that initial teaching of my pastor and family of God, combined with the many teachings of other faith-filled believers be it through tapes, books, or television broadcasts that I was led to give ear and voice to. I endeavored also to complete a three-year Bible Correspondence School by Kenneth Hagin as well. Those three years were filled with books from a variety of faith teachers, prophets, apostles, pastors, and evangelists.

This book called Now That I Am Saved, Now What? is a compilation of five separate teachings I have written in the past twenty years or so. These teachings are meant to be a witness tool for me in that usually there is not enough time with each one-on-one encounter with unbelievers or new believers to stress upon them what to expect once you are saved or what to do to even when you receive salvation. My hope and belief is that God will use these writings I believe he has inspired me to write to reach the believers and nonbelievers they are intended to reach.

When I first received this idea in my mind, it was approximately in the mid-1990s. I had pondered many times after watching televangelists on TV broadcasts give an altar call at the end of each show or crusade, which is great and good, but I always remember putting myself in the shoes of these people sitting at home who once they had prayed the prayer of salvation in their homes or at large crusades in sports arenas or convention centers had to be asking themselves, Okay, now that I am saved, now what? There are some ministries that offer booklets to send to you if you call in or request one and that is for sure commendable but not all do this. I figured I can at least share what I have experienced by writing these short booklets that follow as part of my mission to share the gospel and what you can expect. I received this idea one day as I was walking down a hallway in my home in North Vernon, Indiana. I saw the title of the overall compilation like a marquee sign across the inside of my forehead, Now That I Am Saved, Now What? I have dragged my feet at times and have handed out many of these books one at a time as I had them written, but I feel they are now complete and ready to be compiled together and offered as a witness package.

I am not an artist, and I remember one day in the same hallway that the Holy Spirit gave me a vision of the cover picture, and he also told me who to have drawn it—my little brother, Brad. When I described the picture I saw in my mind to Brad, he went home that very night and drew it exactly the way I saw it.

As you ascertain from the picture, a man is overboard in the sea. There are four men of God standing along the guardrail of the ship (SS Jesus). They have thrown the man who is overboard being tossed by the waves a life preserver, and he has subsequently grasped ahold of it, but no one is bothering to pull him in to the safety of the ship. He is looking up at them, seeing them all smiles in that they are pleased he is saved but he is asking, Now That I Am Saved, Now What? He need not fear because above the men of God stands Jesus at the helm; he will reel him in for sure! He will soon find that Jesus is the author and finisher of his faith!

I hope all who read the following books and teachings will glean some worthwhile life-changing revelations and blessings from their content. Thanks for reading. Feel free to pass them on to others as you are led. God bless you all!

Part 1

Tell of All Thy Wondrous Works

Personal life experiences with the supernatural power of God

Introduction

Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works. (1 Chron. 16:8–9)

That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. (Ps. 26:7)

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. (Ps. 71:17)

For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. (Ps. 86:10)

O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk of all his wondrous works. (Ps. 105:1–2)

Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works. (Ps. 119:27)

I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. (Ps. 145:5)

If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works; that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. (John 10:37–38)

All of these scriptures have one common theme; God has always since the beginning of time done many wondrous works. Since Genesis chapter 1, many of God’s wondrous works have been recorded in his Holy Bible. He even saw fit to relate to us in the book of Revelation the finish of his wondrous works. The actual writing of the Bible was completed somewhere around AD 95 according to historians. There have been many other historical accounts penned since AD 95 in many volumes throughout the world that testify of the miracles, grace, mercy, goodness, and love of God for all his people. St. John 21:25 also tells us, There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.

I believe that everyone who has come to truly know God have at least one testimony of a wondrous work, but I believe several that they could tell others about; they have experienced in their lifetime. I feel that God has moved upon my heart to write and tell of his wondrous works he has done in my life that I personally know about. I believe every person should write their testimonies down if not for others to read but for yourself as an encouragement when hard times or troubles come in order that you can be reminded of the goodness of God and what Jesus has already done in your life. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes, but we have the choice to change our thinking and limitations we place on God and his promise through our diligence and perseverance to broaden our knowledge (range of information), understanding (the power to think and learn), and faith (unquestioning belief) we place on God and his promises written in his Holy Word.

I pray that all who read the following testimonies of these miracles and promises of God’s Word manifesting in my life will be an encouragement to you to find the promise in God’s covenant with us that delivers from all trials, tribulations, afflictions, etc., and stand on his Word and accept and act upon the covenant he has made with all of his people. He is no respecter of persons, loves all equally, and desires that all of us be prosperous (successful) at whatever we put our hands to, enjoy and walk in divine health even as our souls (mind, will, and emotions) are prosperous (successful), (Third John 2). He is truly a good God!

In Exodus 33:18–23, Moses asked God to show him his glory. God responded by shielding him from his brightness and letting his goodness pass before him. Glory, I believe, can be defined as what someone is most known for or famous for. In this instance, God’s glory; what he is famous for is his goodness! When an insurance company or the media or even a church categorize a tragic occurrence somewhere in the world as an act of God, it hurts my ears because the God I have come to know is a good God all the time, which is his glory. Romans 13:8 says we are to owe no man anything but to love one another and in verse 9, he says that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and in verse 10, we are told that love works no ill to his neighbor. In case you don’t know, our neighbor is anyone in this world besides ourselves. Do you really think that a God who commands us to do no evil to anyone in the world that he would not abide by his own rules? In the Old Testament, God judged according to his written law in that covenant but now a new and better covenant, the New Testament, sealed in the blood of Jesus has made the old covenant obsolete. We now have the gospel (good news) to depend on—the New Testament, which is filled with promises of healing, blessing, prosperity, favor, redemption, salvation, and deliverance to every area and aspect of our lives during this vapor of life in comparison to eternal life in the world to come. We are redeemed from the curses of the Old Testament, the law. There is much more that could be written here and has been written by many faith authors, but I want to get to the experiences I have had personally with the good God that I have come to know who lives within me. Thanks for your audience!

Testimonials

This first testimony pertains to my initial introduction to salvation—the day I first believed and met Jesus.

I was like many people in the world, searching for peace and contentment to all life’s struggles, problems, challenges, and afflictions in all the wrong places and through many avenues the world had to offer. I was a union construction laborer working for a local contractor in Columbus, Indiana. I was assigned to work at Belzer Middle School in Northeast Indianapolis, located in the Lawrence area adjacent to Fort Benjamin Harrison at this point in time, May 1992. I was living in North Vernon, Indiana and the drive to work had some distance; so like a lot of workers, I searched for someone to ride with to share expenses. I began riding with a friend and coworker of mine who just happened to be a pastor of a local church in Bartholomew County, Indiana. He was not accustomed to riding with nonbelievers such as me because, really, most secular people do not seek out pastors to ride to work with, but when I asked him for this favor, he gladly accepted. Truth be told, I was really contemplating a change in my life and as I found out later, we were both following the leading of the Holy Spirit because I found out later he and his congregation had been praying for me for some time.

At this point in time, I was basically a walking time bomb. I was an alcoholic, did my share of illegal and legal drugs, every other word out of my mouth was seemingly a profane one and had a violent temper. All of these attributes of mine made me a less than attractive person to associate with. One day at home, while drunk as usual, I went off, screaming at my eight-year-old daughter, who at this point had always shown me nothing but unconditional love since she was born. She was a Christian at this point in her life four years already. I was thirty-eight years old, and she was smarter and wiser than me, no thanks to me but to Jesus and her mother’s leading. Anyway, it was during this tirade that for the first time I saw fear in her little face of me, her beloved daddy. I thank God for the people who were praying for me because I believe it was those prayers that allowed me to see through my drunkenness the fear in her countenance. It was a sobering look that I have never forgotten. I knew right then and there I had a problem and needed to make a change. I realized that not only was I on a path of losing my daughter’s respect but also her trust and adoration. I also realized I could lose everything and perhaps my life.

Each day that I rode to work with my friend and coworker, the pastor, I took advantage of the time to seek answers to a lot of questions I had about everything spiritual in general. I knew absolutely nothing about Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit, the Bible, the cross or the blood except that I had merely heard of it, and that was the range of my information. I had merely heard of all these things but had no working knowledge or concept of how to be saved. I was like a lot of people who think that just being a decent individual most of the time was all that was required. I also thought like many that someday I would clean myself up and stop my bad habits and then start going to church. I rode with this pastor approximately thirty days and literally had thirty days of questions, which he was gracious and patient with me to answer them all.

Finally, one day after arriving back home to his house where my vehicle was parked, I realized that I was ready and wanted to repent, make a lasting change in my life. Since I now understood the concept of salvation, I made Jesus the Lord of my life that evening in my friend, the pastor’s driveway.

During the thirty days of schooling that I had previously received, the subject of healing and deliverance through the laying on of hands had been discussed at times. This man became my pastor this night and my friend. He asked me—knowing full well how I had been living my life—if there were any bad habits that I would like Jesus to deliver me from before I started home. I asked Jesus that evening to deliver me from alcoholism, drug usage, profanity, and the violent temper. When my pastor friend laid hands on me, God did not disappoint. Although I did not feel the earth move or see any lightning strikes, I experienced the miraculous supernatural power and mercy of God and salvation (deliverance) came to many areas and aspects of my life at that moment. I was not the same person when I left that driveway that night; a new creature had been born. At the time of this writing, it is May 2016. Twenty-four years later, salvation to all these areas of my life are still in place, and victory over bondage is the only way to live. What I tried to accomplish on my own for several years, Jesus was able to fix in one evening when I finally surrendered all to him. My mouth has transferred from speaking the world’s language to speaking and confessing God’s Word on a daily basis. I’ll never forget the surprise and elation on my family’s face when I walked into the kitchen that evening and announced to them that I was saved, and we were all going to church together that coming Sunday fully prepared to begin a new adventure and journey. As a matter of fact, many things in my home had to be gone through and destroyed because they were not good influences on my new changed nature one of which was all my music with all the bad lyrics. I was a diehard rock and roller, and the first CD God led me to begin my new collection was an album by Stephen Curtis Chapman with the title song The Great Adventure. If you listen to the lyrics of that song, the timing could not have been more precise, for it described exactly what was about to take place in my life and the adventure has been wonderful! Praise the Almighty God for his faithfulness and his love for me! (Rom. 10:9–10, St. John 16:23–24, 1 John 5:14–15, Matt. 12:34–37)

Approximately one month, June 1992, after my initial salvation experience, God gave me another glimpse of his healing covenant that he made with me and all mankind. I was working at the same jobsite with my pastor, Belzer Middle School in Northeast Indianapolis, Indiana, and at this point was attending services every time the door was open at this pastor’s place of worship, which was four times per week. It was a sixty-mile round trip each time from our home in Jennings County, Indiana, to the church in rural Bartholomew County, Indiana. God blessed me to be in close contact with my pastor for the first six months of my walk with him, and I believe it was a crucial time for me and God knew that I needed this time of his counsel in order to get me rooted and grounded in the gospel. My pastor shared the teachings of faith giants such as Kenneth Copeland, Jerry Savelle, Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Hagin, Charles Capps, Joyce Meyer, Lester Sumrall, Smith Wigglesworth, etc., who were highly instrumental in my development and maturity in learning the blessings and benefits that our Heavenly Father had provided for us with the covenant he had established through Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior and his blood.

On a Wednesday afternoon, I and one of my coworkers were rolling out wire mesh for a concrete pour the following day. My helper had to go somewhere else for a moment and I was expected to wait patiently for his return, but the Lord had not really gotten too far with me so far in the patience department. I got the bright idea that I could roll it out myself. The mesh we were laying down for those who can’t picture what I am referring to looks like an old rusty roll of fence wire. This fence wire consisted of six-inch squares and was of a six-gauge thickness, approximately 3/8, very heavy and tightly rolled. This roll was commonly called 666, since it was six-inch-by-six-inch square and six gauge. We all know the implications that number represents. The rolls start out in seventy-five-feet spools. One person normally stands on one end of the roll while the other rolls the wire out to the