Sermons from Good News: The “Now What” moments of life

Church 9/14/2024


Announcements scripture:

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Offertory scripture:

The Church, that is, the Body of Christ is our happy place.


Psalm 103:11

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

Sermon message:


Thesis: The “Now What” moments of life

This is a sermon of compassion and love and understanding.

The answers to the above questions are in the Bible.

Psalm 121:2

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

Point #1: Everyone faces the “now what” moments of life.

The Bible makes the above very clear.

1 Peter 4:12

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;

Hebrews 4:15

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Point #2: The “now what” moments are for a season.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:

“This too shall pass.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Concentrate on the promises of God, not the “now what” situation.

Jesus Christ is here to help us in our “now what” situations. How we respond to these moments can often determine how long these now what moments last.

Psalm 32:3-5

When I kept silent, my bones grew old

Through my groaning all the day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;

My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I have not hidden.

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

1 Samuel 30:4-6

Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

Point #3: Take your “now what” moments to God.


Psalm 121:2

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

1 Peter 5:7

casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Matthew 11:28

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Psalm 23:1-7

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.

Philippians 4:19

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Point #4: Rejoice, pray, and give thanks in the “now what” moments of life.


1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.

Paul and Silas were doing God’s will and then were thrown into prison. This is how they responded:

Acts 16:25

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Daniel 3:18

But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Point #5: Know God is with you in the “now what” moments.

Note after sharing the sermon: because of the spiritual wrestling I’ve mentioned in recent previous posts, I held off on posting sermons from my church. That included this one, in large part because I was unable to receive this line: 

Jesus Christ is here to help us in our “now what” situations. How we respond to these moments can often determine how long these now what moments last.

The truth is, most of my life to date, even now to November 2024, has been marked by “now what” situations and other sorts of trials and tribulations. One common complaint I lobbed back to heaven was (especially in my recent seasons of trial and tribulation): how was I supposed to respond when I was 2 years old / 3 years old / 6 years old / 7 years old / 10 years old / 11 years old / etc when I faced yet another “now what” situation? Where was my healing then? Why did You put me through one thing and then another without any rest or relief in between? (By the way, I'm still waiting for my healing.) Et cetera. To date, I still haven’t received an answer, but I’m approaching a point where I may be okay with not receiving one. Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, certain emotions of mine get over-evoked due to believing lies. To reiterate what God promises, here are again a few answers to those questions, true regardless of whether my two-year-old self could handle it:

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5B-6, NKJV

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8, NKJV

When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the Lord will take care of me. Psalm 27:10, NKJV

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10, NKJV

One huge step of faith is to take these past and present (and even potential future) circumstances and to declare these verses over them. I still don’t have a model for how to handle these “now what” moments, and learning trial-by-fire has proven to be painful and slow (and even then, I sometimes don’t retain things I learn, often due to something else coming up). For me to learn anything of this sort, I have to take a holistic, zero-sum approach to learning. That’s why I’m doing these Bible reading programs, because 1.) it forces me to stay connected with Scripture on a day-to-day basis, and 2.) over time, hopefully things will slowly start to stick. I have learned unfortunately that I’m not a quick learner, not even in fields of interest. It’s incredibly unfortunate that this is the case, but it’s the hand I’ve been dealt in life. The question is, what do I do with that? And I think this is where I can therefore connect with the above-shared sermon, particularly the pain point:

Jesus Christ is here to help us in our “now what” situations. How we respond to these moments can often determine how long these now what moments last.

In the end, I should come to expect that my life is going to be but a series of “now what” moments and “now what” seasons. But, I can find things to do to learn, even if I ever only learn in part. Even over the last 10 ½ months as I’ve been reading through the Bible in a year (will be less, as I’m almost done now) I have had good days and bad days. I still have days where I “go through the motions” doing the reading, the prayer, or the devotional. On any given day, doing any of these things will not necessarily or automatically push me from a bad place to a good place (although any one of them may sometimes). But what I’m finding is that it’s the doing over the long term that counts.

I’m still grateful for my pastor, and I’m still grateful for my church, even though we don’t agree on 100% of the things that are taught or practiced. There’s a way for us all to be okay with that. Praise God indeed.