God is still ...

Introduction

In light of the bashing Christianity receives in this generation, it is easy for people to think that God does not care, or that He no longer acts as He did in the past. Scripture teaches us that God is eternal and never changes. “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6) … “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8). We must believe that He is the same God as He has always been. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Until we settle in our hearts that God is, that He never changes, and that He can do what He has done in the past, then we will never be effective witnesses for Him.

God is still speaking

It is not that God silent but that believers are deaf to His voice. We only want our own ideas and plans fulfilled, and we are unwilling to receive guidance from the Lord. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

We can hear His voice if we are reading and studying the Bible, being led by the Holy Spirit, and accepting the godly advice of other believers. Almost all Christians want to find out God’s will, but how few bother to spend time in His presence. It is our own fault if we are not hearing His voice. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27).

God is still healing

“For I am the LORD that healeth thee” (Exodus 15:26). There are some sections of the church that dogmatically teach that the days of miracles ended with the apostles, but what text of Scripture states such a thing? Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” If Christ no longer heals, then He no longer saves.

Someone may argue that the verse quoted above speaks of spiritual rather than physical healing, but the Bible describes it as both. For physical healing: “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:16-17); for spiritual healing: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). Let us not be dishonest with Scripture, but instead believe that our God is still able to heal.

God is still filling

Here is another Bible teaching that some put in the distant past and rob the church of God’s blessing. “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)” (John 7:37-39).

This promise was fulfilled not only on the Day of Pentecost, but the fulfilment is ongoing throughout the church age. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). If the filling of the Holy Spirit is not for today, then neither is salvation. “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39). The church cannot survive unless it has such a filling. “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

God is still answering

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3). This text has been described as God’s telephone number because it teaches that He is willing to answer the call of anyone who comes to Him. “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come” (Psalm 65:2). This requires faith, but not the kind that the so-called Faith and Prosperity teachers suggest; instead it is simple trust in the promises of our eternal Lord. “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Matthew 21:22) … “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14).

God is still freeing

“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isaiah 61:1 see Luke 4:18). The Lord Jesus fulfilled this promise, but is still fulfilling it in the lives of those who are in bondage to Satan, sin and self. He still frees those who accept His word. “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free … If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:31-32, 36). He is still in the business of creating a holy people that are completely free from ungodliness.

God is still saving

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). While it is true to say that God in His sovereign power could destroy this world, He in fact is waiting patiently for the lost to accept His saving grace. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). No wonder the Lord Jesus told us to go into all the world to preach the Gospel (Matthew 28:19-20). We have to go and tell everyone the good news, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). This declaration is found in Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21, thus proving that the message is for all people of every generation. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Conclusion

God still speaks, He still heals, He still fills, He still answers prayer, He still sets people free, and He still saves. Why? Because despite what the modern theologians say, He is still God and He still rules in Heaven. The teachers and preachers may say that God has changed His mind and His plan, but they are the ones who have changed. They do not know the God of the Bible, but instead crafted a god after their own image. True Christians believe, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).