New Beginings

i. See Charity, I knew there was a reason why I don’t like leftovers!

g. The truth is that they still had to get out there and take each day, they couldn’t rely on yesterday’s faith, they had to act in faith every single day.

D. Gift from God

a. Let me say this, “Every single day that we get to live, truly is a gift from God. Every single day! We are only deceiving ourselves if we think that we can live off the success of yesterday. We live looking forward, not looking back.

b. This is the way that the Apostle Paul lived his life, looking forward and not looking back. And it is a good thing because Paul had a pretty nasty history to look back on, he had made some really horrible mistakes.

c. He stood there and held the coats of the men who were stoning Stephen to death.

d. He was persecutor of the Church, so much so that Christians scattered all over the area to get away from Paul and his bad behavior.

E. Road Damascus

a. But one day on the road to Damascus, Paul had an encounter with God that would change his life.

b. The blinding light came down from heaven and Paul fell down to the ground.

c. God spoke to him and Paul repented of his sins. And in that moment he received the gift of salvation, in that moment all of his sins were removed from the sight of God.

F. Forgiven

a. Paul used to be a Christian killer, but now because of the gift of Salvation God called him righteous. God said, “I forgive you,” and Paul became a new man.

b. God does this miracle in Paul’s life and Paul goes on to become a missionary and write half of the New Testament.

c. Paul experienced a new found freedom and purpose in his life as a result of being forgiven.

IV. The past

A. Paul changed

a. But do you think that Paul could have done all of that if he was focused on all the terrible things that he had done before he was saved?

b. Do you think that he could have accomplished any of this if he focused on his past mistakes?

c. The bible says in Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV -12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

B. More

a. Paul understood that there was more to being a Christian than being forgiven of your sins. Is it important to realize that God has taken away all of your iniquities? Absolutely.

b. We too are also running a race. And no runner wins a race by looking back all of the time.

c. As a former cross country runner, stop laughing people. I was. I can tell you that it was imperative that you always looked forward because the terrain was rough and you never knew what was ahead of you.

C. The prize

a. What is the prize that we are running after then. It is the prize of hearing God say to you “Well done thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord”