The Believers Duty to FORGET
Philippians 3:12-16
INTRO. Have you ever forgot anything?
IS there ANYTHING more embarrassing than forgetting a special day???
Or is there anything more dreadful to a man than hearing these words…Honey, did you forget something?
An elderly woman took her husband to the Dr. and said, Doc, I think he has Alzheimer’s…he forgets things all the time…Doc checks him out and says no…it’s just the natural effects of old age…have him start writing things down to help him…that night as they get ready for bed she says…I’d like some ice cream…he says…I’ll go get it…she says…you’d better write it down…He (angrily) I can remember ice cream…She says…I want some chocolate topping on it too, you’d better write it down…he (angry) I can remember…ice cream with chocolate topping…(repeat for cherry on top)…he goes off to the kitchen and is gone for some time…finally he returns with bacon, eggs, hash browns and a glass of milk…She says…you idiot…how could you have forgotten my toast???
All joking aside…if we are ever going to live up to our potential as Christians, Paul says there are some things we SHOULD forget !
I think that all of us gathered here tonight have a desire to live a life that counts for Christ.
But…if we are not careful…our memories of our past lives (and even our current) can drag us down as effectively as an anchor stops a ship.
Satan is a liar…
John 8:44 (NKJV) 44You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Not only is he a liar, but Jesus said he is the father of all lies and the truth is not in him…
Now where does that fit in here? Satan wants you to believe that your past sins are either:
a. Unforgivven
b. Unforgotten
He will spend day and night in your conscience throwing around a wrecking ball called guilt, and have you so worked up and feeling guilty and ashamed that you will not even come to into the Father’s presence!!!
Listen to what God’s Word says…
Psalms 103:12 (NKJV) 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Isaiah 43:25 (NKJV) 25 “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
These two scriptures tell us unequivicably that not only does God forgives us of our sins…but that he forgets them as well!!!
And if we are ever going to reach our full potential as a Christian, we must do three things…
Philippians 3:12 - 14 (NKJV) 12Not 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. 13Brethren, 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, 14I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
1. We must FOLLOW after Christ.
Beyond doubt, Paul was one of the greatest men who has ever lived. The great Book of Second Corinthians clearly shows this.
If Paul was so short of perfection, how much further are we?
Paul followed after perfection, after his God-given purpose. When Christ saved Paul, that was just the begin-ning, not the end. He had been saved to live for Christ and to serve Christ, and as long as he was on this earth he was going to live for Christ and do all he could to serve Christ.
The word "follow after" (diōkō) means to press; to pursue just like a runner in a race. There was no place for walking, much less for sitting or lying around in comfort, complacency and lethargy. Christ had saved Paul for perfection—to attain to the resurrection of the dead—and as long as Paul was on this earth, he was going to press and run after perfection.
⇒ Paul was going to do all he could to help the Lord in the Lord's great task of perfecting him.
⇒ Paul was going to do all he could to lay hold of perfection—the perfection for which the Lord had laid hold of him.
Thought 1. There is no such thing as a genuine believer sitting still after he has been saved. The believer must not...
• become comfortable, complacent, lethargic, or lazy • waste time and lose opportunity • begin to think he is safe and secure forever; therefore, he can sometimes do what he likes and give in to his own desires.
The believer must follow, run, and press after perfection—the perfection for which Christ has saved him. The believer must be active in living for Christ.
Now note a critical point: no person achieves perfection on this earth. The fact is so evident to the thinking and honest man that it is actually ridiculous to even make the statement. Yet, too many are so narrow in their thinking that they seldom if ever grasp what perfection would really mean. For example...
• Consider the brain and the mind. It has been estimated that man uses only one-tenth of one percent of his mental capacity. Imagine how far short this is of perfection!
• Consider the body. What would a perfect body be like? A body that never desired, thought, or did wrong; that never came up short; that never aged, deteriorated, died or decayed?
The examples could go on and on, but note what Paul says: he had not attained perfection. In fact, he was always emphasizing how far short he came.
Romans 7:18 - 19 (NLT) 18And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.£ I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
Even though we will never attain perfection in this life, there is no reason why we shouldn’t attempt it!
2. We must FORGET the past, and FOCUS on the future!
2. Paul worked at forgetting the past. This is a verse that is of enormous help to believers who have failed God—miserably failed Him.
Paul faced what so many of us face:
⇒ failure and shortcoming
⇒ the struggle to forget it and to move on
How does a person do this? It is one of the most difficult things in all the world to do. And it is especially difficult if others are not forgiving and willing to let the believer put his failure behind him. But note: Paul tells us how to deal with the past. How? By concentrating and controlling the mind and by reaching forth to those things which are before us. Note the concentration and focus:
⇒ but one thing.
⇒ but this one thing I do.
In one focused act, we must forget the things that are past and reach forth to those things that are before us.
The act involves two parts: both forgetting and reaching forth.
The past cannot be forgotten without reaching forth to what lies ahead.
A person cannot sit around moaning and regretting the past. To do so is to be concentrating upon the past. The things of the past are to be forgotten.
The things of the future are to be the focus of the mind. The believer is to zero in on the things at hand and on the things that lie ahead. If we do this, there is no time to wallow around in the past and its failure.
What we focus on is what we accomplish…you say you want to forget your past…in order to do that you MUST FOCUS on the future…
If we are a child of God, everything in our past that we have confessed is covered under the blood!!!
Every sin of ours Jesus covered was a future sin!!!
FIDO Forget it Drive On!!!
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9).
3. We must FORGE on ahead.
Paul pressed on toward the goal, toward God's purpose in Christ Jesus. What is God's purpose for us in Christ Jesus? It is to be conformed to the image of Christ—to be perfect even as He is perfect. Once we are perfect...
• we shall be incorruptible and eternal.
• we shall live in honor and glory.
• we shall live in God's perfect presence and power.
• we shall live in perfect righteousness and purity.
• we shall live worshipping and serving God eternally.
Perfection means eternal life, a perfect life that never ends—that goes on and on doing the things that God created us to do.
2. Paul kept his mind on growing and maturing in Christ. All believers are ordained by God to be perfect in Christ Jesus, and we shall be perfected in the glorious day of redemption. Let us, therefore, as many as are ordained by God to be perfected, keep our minds on perfection.
Note: this is sometimes difficult to do because we live in a world that is gripped by the lust for...
• comfort and ease
• pleasure and plenty
• possessions and recognition
• indulgence and extravagance
• more and more
But note something: God will not let the genuine believer rest unless his mind is on righteousness and purity, the gospel and witnessing. God pricks our hearts, reveals that we are failing and coming short. God stirs us to get our minds back upon living like we should—upon pressing for perfection.
5. Paul maintained the growth he had already achieved. Too many live up and down lives. We gain some discipline and some growth, then before too long, we slip right back. It may involve...
• lying, stealing, or cheating
• devotions or prayer
• control of thoughts and mind
• discipline of body and habits
Growth takes place, but then some circumstance or interruption takes place, and the new man and new growth are forsaken and we slip back into being the old man, living just like we used to live.
But note the strong exhortation of Scripture: take what you have learned and attained and walk by that rule; keep your mind upon that rule.
Galatians 5:16 - 18 (NLT) 16So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
So…FOLLOW after Christ
FORGET the Past by FOCUSING on the Future
FORGE on…
