The God of Now

In a time where people need heart transformation, spiritual intervention and peace of mind we look at the present nature and intent of Gods plan, his purpose and his desire to have a personal, purposeful and meaningful relationship with him. Delve deep into scripture with us as we explore and discover The God Of Now.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to Rema Bible Studies. And we'll be speaking today from the scripture, the Hebrew chapter 13 and verse 8. The theme of the message is the now God. The now God. And so we will be looking at what it means to have God in the now. Of course, the world operates and on both the past, the present, and the future. And so when we talk about the now God, we're dealing with the present. And this is where I believe that people really need to understand where God is in there now. Now, here the Bible tells us in verse 8 of Hebrew 13, it says, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now the word of God requires us to consider Jesus Christ in relationship to his pre-existence, his post-existence, and his present existence. That is what the Bible is requiring us to consider. Why? Because it again wants us to understand that our God is not only in the yesterday, but He is in the today. And today is where most people's needs are. Now we have our yesterday to remind us that we have come from somewhere. We have our future to remind us that we are going somewhere. But right now, in the present, we are existing at this moment in time. And so we have St. John chapter 11, 20 to 36, helping us to understand these three dimensions within our life. Now, the past, it is reminiscence in the sense that the word of God always wants us to not forget where we are coming from. And so, as people reminisce in their natural life, they look back at what has happened to them, whether it is negative or positive. And so people like to feel that yes, I have something good to look back at. Whether it is good or bad, it is in your past. And it may be a case where you need to deal with it. And we are here to show you how to deal with it because we are dealing with a God who can fix things even in your past. How much more in your present? Of course, your future hasn't yet happened. So we have the chance and the opportunity to create the platform in the present so that the future can be in a safe place. Now, this, of course, uh the word of God holds blessings and cursing. What do I mean? I mean that in our life we have experienced both good and both bad. We experience love and we experience hate. We experience joy and we experience sadness. So that seems to be the narrative in most people's lives. Now you can refer to that as the uh up and the downs. Now most of us are looking to have more ups than we have down. So the good news is that with Jesus Christ in our life, we can guarantee that in irrespective of the downside, we are going to have wonderful upside. And therefore, when you really consider it, I always let people know that the uh downside is God's speciality, the upside is our blessing. What do I mean by that is what we feel we cannot handle, we can entrust it to the capable hands of God to deal with it for us. And as a father, he is always looking out for his children, and that is what makes the difference in knowing him as our personal savior. Now, this oftentimes punctuates the fact that life is punctuated with grief and with pain. But today I am here to let you know that we have the answer in the now God. These things happen as we go from day to day where we experience pain or we experience joy. Again, I say that situation comes, it is the reality of life. That these are going to happen and we cannot ignore it. But what we're looking at is not merely the problem, but understanding the cause and to present the solution. And this is where we have confidence in our knowledge of God, in our experience with God, that when these things come, we know where to go or who to go to to have the solution to the problems. Now, the Bible went on further to let us know that there are some things in our past that act like chains that bind us to issues and situations that oftentimes leave us in regrets, sometimes in tears, and causing us to question why me? And this is something you'll hear almost wherever you go. People are going through situation, and immediately they take it personally, and you'll hear such questions as why me? Okay. Now there are those who forever remain focused on the negativity of the past. This is another problem that oftentimes affect people, and we see that too many times, where the negativity of things that has happened that you would call your downside, that is what occupies people's mind to the point where they don't see any of the good things that may be happening in their lives. So, in other words, they are a person who may have 10% of issues that has affected them, and they would ignore the 90% of wonderful things that is happening and live under the oppressiveness of the negativity. But here we are. Without any awareness, one needs to understand that in these times, right, you are never alone. And that is why the now God is so critical, so important for us to comprehend that whatever you are going through, whatever you've gone through, and whatever you're likely to go through, you are never, never alone. I want you to be confident. You may feel that you're all by yourself, you may feel that you don't have many people to call on, but I want you to know there is someone who will ever stay with you, ever present in your life. 24-7. And we're going to talk a little bit about him in just a moment. So, having understood, therefore, that you are never alone, Jesus was with you in the storm of your life. He was with you in the boat, uh, as it were, sleeping. Now, the Bible tells us that the Jesus and his disciples were on the way to um to another shore, and he fell asleep. And there arose a storm, and the disciples felt that they were going to be drowned by the storm that they were facing. And they got very anxious, and they wake up Jesus and ask him a fundamental question. Don't you care that we perish? And Jesus rose and rebuke the storm and calm the sea, as it were. Now, in the same way, there are times you're going through challenges in your life, and it feels like it's gonna take you down. It feels like you're so overwhelmed and you don't know what to do, how you're going to overcome the situation. And there it is, we're here to remind you that Jesus is in your boat. Yes, he may feel like he's quiet, he is silent in your situation, but don't worry. You can wake him at any time you want. And that it takes just a simple prayer, just breathing his name and asking him for his help. So your past may have been bad, but Jesus was there with you, anyhow. And oftentimes you go through terrible situations and you wonder how did you make it? Because of your own violation, you knew you didn't make it. But anyhow, you you came through. And this is where we are saying that the your unseen guest, your your unseen um protector is always there with you, working on your behalf, even when you may not fully comprehend it, he's there anyhow. And so I'm here to again share with you that take heart. God is very, very much you're now God. Okay. Now he saved you, he saved your life, and of course, too many times. I can speak from experience. Man, travel having traveled the world, man, gone to very strange places, unknown places. For example, like when I went to India and traveled hundreds of miles into the interior to meet tribal people and different groups of people. Of course, everyone who has been to India knows how many different culture that is there. And I go there, to some they may think it's crazy. What on earth am I doing in place like that? But because I'm very conscious of God's presence with me, yeah, I'm not scared. Like when I went to Nepal and again traveled in places that most people would be terrified to even contemplate much more to go there. I've been to Nigeria, been to a different part of Africa, and you know, God has always been there. And through difficult times, hard times, he's there to protect me. Imagine how many thousands of miles I've flown, but I've never been caught in an accident or anything of that nature, because God has been there to protect and to watch over us. And so, as I want to identify the fact that yes, you have gone through many bad things in your life, it's not because you've done anything wrong, but it's because of who you are. You are a child of purpose. And too oftentimes, when things are happening in our lives and that does not fit the narrative of what people consider to be good, then we immediately begin to be uh self-condeming, uh condemning. Well, I'm here to let you know that it's not everything that's bad that is happening to you, it's about something wrong with you. But oftentimes it is sometimes an opportunity for God to show up in your situation and to let you know that yes, you're not alone. Why? Because you are born with a divine purpose. I want to say, if you don't, if you don't hear anything else, I want you to hear this. You are a child of purpose. That's who you are, and whatever is going on in your life, you must know that God is watching over you, He is protecting you because you are a special child. You know, I I want to draw your attention to the book of Matt, to the book of Jeremiah, chapter one, where it again reminds us who we are and how special you are. And if you get the chance and the opportunity, I want you to go to the scripture and is Jeremiah 1 and verse 4 and 5, and look at it and meditate on it, and you will understand that there is nothing accidental about your life, but your life is truly, man, being created, and uh God has enables you to be functioning as a child of purpose. So wherever you are in the grand scheme of things, you are there for a divine purpose. All you have to do is to look for it, work with it when you find it, and you will see incredible results come from you fulfilling your purpose in life. Now, of course, the devil would desire to kill you if he could, because he was where you were and where you are. Now, of course, he would bring circumstances, but that could not destroy you. When situations arise in your life, but you come through it. You've been criticized, astracized, but yet you're still left to remain standing. Those who tried to put you down themselves have been put down while you are still standing. Those people who have tried to hurt you are themselves looking at you with great admiration, because why? You have overcome what they thought you would never yet. Sicknesses came, but that did not destroy you, because again, you are a child of purpose. Disease came along, but again, you overcame it. It could not destroy you because you are a child of purpose. Why? The now God that we talk about, and I want to even define him even more by saying, he is your father, because there is a relationship that goes on. He's not just um some mystical being, he is your father, he's watching over you day and night. Yes, pain come but could not break you. Yes, misunderstanding happened, but it did not bring you down. And here it is. There are those of you that have been through abuse, there are those of you who have been hated, you've suffered separation, some have felt the power of rejection. However, none of these could take you out because you're stronger than what you even think you are. And with your father's help, with our father, man, who is with you, then you are a child of success. Your child going somewhere to happen. And this I want you to understand and to fully be aware that you are love with an everlasting love. Now, sometimes you feel like you've been left for dead, but death could not again destroy you because you have a life, and life opposes death, and with Jesus Christ in your life, that is what you are. He made you, and he came, and he died for you, so that you would have life and that more abundantly. So, when did he die? He died in the past, but so that your present and your future would be secure. So, when we think in terms of where we go from here, that is our future. Because any well-thinking person cannot ignore the fact that you have a past, you have a present, therefore you must have a future. And unknown to many, most people are more worried about their future than they are worried about their present. Not realizing that it's what you do in the present will help to mitigate your future. And so having knowledge of who is your help in the present and recognizing that he promised to be the same in your yesterday, in your today, and in your tomorrow, then your future is glorious. And by such, you need to uh embrace it. Now, the glorious hope, as we call it, because that which is not yet seen lies within the realms of hope. That is why faith is such a powerful tool in the lives of God's children, because what faith does? Faith brings the reality of what you dream about, it brings the reality of your future and into a tangible consciousness of your present. That's what it does. So that's why we uh embrace our faith in God, because it gives us that tangibility. So this we call it the glorious hope, and that is for the saints, for those who recognize Jesus. Now, what are we looking for for the future? We're looking for immortality. Yes, that is what we will become. That is the inability to die. So you can one can imagine that with um with Jesus in our life, we have great confidence that our future is a bright one. Of course, here it is. It also informed us that we will not only have a glorious future, but we will gain Christ. He will be in our future. Eternity with the Father awaits us. Crowns of rewards awaits us. Worshiping with angels awaits us. Reigning with Christ awaits us. The millennium again is another thing for the future that is await us. And this millennium, which is representing a thousand years of Christ's reign upon the earth, it awaits us. So when you consider all of these wonderful things that is presently in man awaiting us, then we can march forward with confidence that yes, the future is truly, truly great. So my recommendation to you today is to build yourself up. In your most holy faith and secure not only your present, but procure your future in knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior. So let me say to you, you can be optimistic. In spite of what is happening in the world, it doesn't oftentimes look accommodating. In fact, oftentimes it looks destructive. Sometimes it feels like your future is in danger of being blown up or destroyed. But I'm here to let you know that there is a reality that will take place before any such thing happens. So, my friends, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, I am here to let you know that Jesus is yesterday, isn't yesterday. He is the same today, and he is the same for the future. God bless you. Until the next time. Stay blessed.