Sunday, December 31, 2017 - Leave the Past Behind!
Pastor Roger C. Marcos
December 31, 2017
We all have a past and some things are not so good, therefore we need to ask God for forgiveness, learn from our past mistakes, make amends if at all possible with the one we hurt and look forward to the new things the Lord will do in our lives.
As I’m going to speak today, “LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND!”
Everyone has its own experiences either have a bad one or a good one. Brethren, you can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.. your bitterness in life
Please Stop cheating on your future because of your past..It’s Over! Trust God and move forward.
“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” - Thomas Jefferson
Without realizing it, we often carry something around with us everywhere we go. We bring it out in our conversations, and it shows up in our attitudes. Whatever that thing is from the past may never have really existed, yet its power lives inside us and keeps us from moving forward.
Listen to people talk throughout the day, and take note of where their conversations are grounded-in the future, in the present, or in the past. Where would you guess most conversations draw from?
The Answer Is the Past. Isaiah 43:18-19 “The Lord says, “Forget about what has happened before”. Do not think about the past. Instead, look at the new things I’m going to do. Behold, I will do new thing. Now it shall spring fort; shall not know it? It will even make a road in the wilderness and river in the desert.
Isaiah’s writings to the children of Israel came at a bleak period of their history. They are in captivity, they have lost everything they thought they would keep forever, and they were home sick for the land and the blessing God had promised them.
CHANGE YOUR FOCUS - QUIT LOOKING BEHIND START LOOKING HEAD v.18 So, first, forget the former things
If you are continually looking behind you can’t see where you are going.
When people talk about or think about their past, it seems to take on the characteristics of a real-life being. The past cannot breathe, talk, think, or do. However, it is immensely powerful and can take over our future-if we let it. It’s like the sirens on the shore, luring you toward the rocks over and over again. Focusing on the past will certainly limit your choices for the future
We Should Forget the Past. (Determination)
For a lot of people, Christian/Non-Christian holds their Past and dwells on it. Yet no matter how painful our past may have been, for some strange reason we often choose not to let go. In order to get on with our future and simplify our lives, we must choose to make a clean break and leave the past behind.
There’s an engaging Peanuts cartoon where Lucy is apologizing to Charlie Brown for missing a fly ball during a baseball game. She’s sorry she missed the fly ball and says it’s because she started remembering all the others she missed. “The past got in my eyes,” she says.
Isaiah 43:18 “The Lord says, “Forget about what has happened before”. Do not think about the past. Instead, look at the new things I’m going to do.
Behold, I will do new thing. Now it shall spring fort; shall not know it? It will even make a road in the wilderness and river in the desert.
Embracing the new thing that God wants to do in your life is to;
CHANGE YOUR FOCUS - QUIT LOOKING BEHIND START LOOKING HEAD v.18 So, first, forget the former things. what has happened before.
If you are continually looking behind you can’t see where you are going. If you are ever going to move on to new things in Christ you must learn that;
1. You Cannot Depend Upon Past To Sustain You
The question isn’t what has God done -the question must be: What is God doing in your life right now?
What is it that you want Him to do in your life right now?
in order to move on to new things in Christ you must know that; You Cannot Allow Your Past Failures to Possess You.. do not dwell on the past.
The children of Israel did not deserve to receive anything from God. Yet He still loved them and He earnestly wanted to help them change. Notice God’s Message:
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
God was not condemning them for their past, they couldn’t do anything to change it. Instead God was holding out the hand of hope. He is in effect say-ing: Forget about your past - I am giving you an opportunity to start over.
Learn from the Past, Don’t Live in the Past!
2. Embracing the new thing that God wants to do in your life is to;
CLARIFY YOUR FOCUS - DISCOVER WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU. Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland
Perceive means to know by seeing; care, recognition, acknowledge, aware of, understand.
What do you see when you view your life? Do you see possibilities or problems? Notice what God said:
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
The children of Israel had a choice. They could view their past and the problems of their present, or they could focus upon what God wanted to do in their lives.
Phil. 3:13 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.
Carrying the past forward to the future will provide us with only one thing-incremental change-in our lives. “Unreasonable” people make a choice to create transformational breakthroughs, without “reasonable” ties to the past.
Each of us has a powerful choice. We have the ability to create our own simplified future by starting with a blank sheet of paper and a heart surrendered to God’s will for our lives.
FORGIVE & FORGET
"I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.“ Jer. 31:34
13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Col. 3:13
32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Eph. 4:32
II. Looking At the Past Will Slow You Down.
18 Do not take revenge on others or continue to hate them, but love your neighbors as you love yourself. I am the Lord. Lev. 19:18
26 If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. 27 Don't give the Devil a chance. Eph. 4:26-27
Give up Your Grudges
- Grudges Destroy Marriages
- Grudges Break up Families
- Grudges Ruin Friendships
- Grudges Split Churches
A deep seated grudge in your life eats up your peace of mind like a deadly cancer destroying a vital organ of life. John Mason
Conclusion:
Choose to leave the past behind, and begin living a life filled with new possibilities!
"I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.“
Jer. 31:34
- How has holding on to your past put limits on your future?
- What might you need to leave behind or let go of in order to move forward into the future?