From This Moment On Series

From This Moment On

Galatians 1:13-24

I wish there were some wonderful place called the Land of Beginning Again,

Where all of our past mistakes and heartaches,

And all of our poor selfish grief,

Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door

Never to be put on again”

Source:(Louisa Tarkington quoted in Putting Your Past Behind You, E. Lutzer, Here's Life, 1990, p.13.)

If we are honest, there are many things from out past that we regret. There are words that we have said that would like to take back. There are relationships that we have damaged that we would like to repair. There are things that we have done that we would like to do over (and differently). Maybe we look back and the things that we spent most of our life focusing on no longer seem important.

We all have regrets, and chances are we have learned some lessons the hard way. And the fact is we cannot go back, there are no do-overs. Though we may have been given a second chance, we cannot erase the errors of the past. But I come have good news tonight… though “The past has past, the future is wide open! No matter how old or how young you are… your past cannot be altered, erased or re-written. But you can start today to make the rest of your life, the BEST of your life!

There are some people who cannot get past their past! They spend their life dwelling on regrets and missed opportunities. Some of you can’t move forward for God because you are dwelling on sins that have long been forgiven. The Devil will remind you of sins of your past and convince you that you are worthless! The whole time, the sins that are holding you back are sins that you have repented of and God no longer remembers.

Listen to this portion of scripture from Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. 19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.

You have heard it said that “The Lord has cast our sins into the sea of forgetfulness and put up a no fishing sign” - But many times we ignore the sign and cast our reel and bring up sins that have been forgiven. Many believers today are living lives that are consumed with guilt, shame and discouragement. I am here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way! The Christian life should be an abundant life... a life of VICTORY!

If you are “in Christ” you are a new creation - 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.

If you are lost I hope that you will turn to Jesus today and let Him begin a new life in you. If you are saved I hope that you will realize that you don’t have to wait till you get to Heaven to have a great life. I hope that everyone here today can move past the past and start a new life before you leave here today.

- Join me in Galatians 1:13-24 as we preach on the thought “From This Moment On”.

As we arrive at our selected text we see The Apostle Paul as he recounts some events from his past: I am sure he would have liked to change a few things. I am sure he wished he had not held the coats as they stoned Steven. I am sure he wished he had not wreaked so much havoc on the early church. I am sure he had many issues from his life before Christ that he would like to do over. Paul realized that he could not change the past, but he could make the rest of his life the best of his life!

Friend, you have a choice to make… Will you allow your past to hinder your future? Or, will you make today a turning point and ensure that the future will be brighter than the past? In these few verses I would like to identify 4 things that you can do to determine that your future will be better than your past…

I. FROM THIS MOMENT ON… REMEMBER YOUR PAST v13-14

It is beneficial for us to remember our past. But we CANNOT dwell on our past! It helps for us to remember where we came from and learn from past situations and errors. The benefit in this is looking at what we were before our conversion and then seeing what Jesus has done for us!