We often make a lot of verses such as "God has given us [past tense] everything we need for life and godliness", and Jesus' cry from the cross "It is finished" to mean that God has already done everything he needs to do. These are indeed great and wonderful verses that we build our faith on. There is however a problem as always, when these things are taken to the extreme. These verses do not mean that our God is just a God of the past or that all his work is "past tense."
When God rested after the 6 days of creation, it did not mean he went into retirement, or that his words ceased to have creative power. God has been actively at work in his creation ever since. Likewise Jesus' finished work of redemption does not mean that he has taken early retirement. He is still actively working in us and through us to manifest the fullness of that redemptive work in our lives and in the world. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He did not just heal people 2000 years ago, or as a single act on the cross - he heals today! His Kingdom is advancing today!
What gets me excited is what God is doing now, today, PRESENT TENSE!
