Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Now


“Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.”Hebrews 11:1. 1Sam. 17:15
If we are ever going to get the victory, if we are ever going to reach our goal in life, it is important to start acting in the now. Psychiatrist will tell you that change is only possible if people would stop living in the past and start living in the now. In fact, research has shown that most mental illnesses come from a past traumatic events.

According to Ms. Stacey Lawson, co-founder of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at the University of California, Berkeley. The first principle of creating a sound mind is to live in the now. She said we spend too much time rehashing the past and fretting over the future.

Illustration: Matt Lauer interviewed Sarah Palin on the Today Show, and asked her is she the new face of the GOP, and Governor Palin started talking about something that happened in the past between her and Barrack Obama.

Instead of answering the queston like a winner, she spent her time focusing on the past campaign. Instead of just answering the question, she allowed herself to be distracted by her past failures. Furthermore, her fears kept her answering: "I don’t know we'll see."

Now personally, I am not a Palin supporter; however, I am merely illustrating how important it is to declare your faith now. If Governor Palin had the faith of "David," she would have declared herself a winner now, because faith speaks boldly now.


In 1 Samuel 17:15 David entered into battle acting as if God had already given him the victory.
It is important that you know that if you are ever going to defeat the giants in your life and have the future that you are hoping to have, that you begin talking and acting like you already have it now.

There are a few things that made David’s faith the "now" kind of faith.
1. David praised in the now.
  • Often times when we get into trouble, we wait to see what’s going to happen first before we give God a praise.
  • But Faith demands that we praise God now. Before you see the manifestation.Before you see the evidence.
A. One of the big problems in life is that we only get excited when we see God moving. Many of us have yo -yo faith. Its up and then its down.
  • But God wants us to be the same all of the time… He wants us to have a continual praise.
  • Ps. 34:1- I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
  • Look at what David said: God I’m going to give you the glory NOW…Weeping may endure for a night, but joy come in the morning. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.This storm is going to pass in my life.
  • If I’m going to get my victory, I’ve got to learn to praise God in the now!
B. David didn’t allow the size of Goliath to steal his enthusiasm.
  • Often times, we can let the size of our problem steal our joy.Goliath was over 10 feet tall, but David still praised God.
  • When we went to finance this building, we encountered problem after problem trying to get this building… ( Zoning, Municipal problems, Sprinkler system, parking issues) But how many of you know, we didn’t stop praising God because we were facing Goliath.
2. David acted in the now!
  • David told Goliath, I’m going to cut off your head, and he didn’t even have a sword.
  • But he acted like he had one. Because his sword was in his mouth… Ephesians 6:17
    We have to learn that what you say, is just as powerful as what you do.
    Illustration: We financed our first house, just by speaking and acting like we had the money.
    You stay in love, by acting like you are in love.
3. David confessed the named of God in the now.
  • When David was in trouble, the first thing that he did was to praise the name of God. He said I come to you in the name of the Lord of host.
  • I come to you in the name that higher than any other name. I come to you in a name that going to deliver me. I come to you in the name of Jehovah God.
  • When we speak the name of God, we are giving our problems to God.
    Acts 4:12"Salvation is found in no one else,for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
4. David saw victory in the now.
David didn’t wait to see what was going to happen.
  • David began to testify about what he saw in the spirit…
  • David saw the Giant with his head cut off!
  • You've got to see your victory in the spirit before you get it. See you giant with its head off.
  • What is your giant today? Your health, your husband not getting saved, you wife, your home life, your trouble finances, your children, troubled employment issues. What ever it is, you must learn to see yourself having the victory in that area of your life.
  • Then praise God for it! We can’t wait to see what’s going to happen before we give God the glory, we’ve got to praise God now.