If you are not familiar with an Anglican Service there are 4 readings prior to the Sermon. The assigned readings for this day were: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:7-16 and Luke 20:9-19.
I will be Drawing from our New Testament reading in Philippians this morning.
And I would like to address "Holding on to our past" something that can inhibit not only our relationships, our outlook on life, but also our sense of identity and spiritual growth in Jesus.
Listen again to what the apostle Paul shares with the Believers ... That's right to the Believers gathered in Philippi. BIBLE ... may I know (Christ) and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. END (Philippians 3: 10-14)
Paul is pointing out a truth ... a fact, "I let go of the past and strained towards my future in Christ."
We must leave the past in the past.
Yes, learn from it but press on ... straining forward to what lies ahead.
Press on toward the goal that lies ahead.
You cannot relate to the present ... if you are still reacting to the past.
Sadly ... We bring so many unresolved problems into ... our present relationships.
We are prone to carry ... emotional garbage around with us.
We rehash ... our resentments.
We mull over like a bad movie the bitterness we hold.
Our anger toward the those that have hurt us.
We rehash ... and rehash ... and rehash our resentments and our regrets.
Those things we have feel guilty about, and the "if only" regrets.
It is as if we cannot get them out of our mind. "Only if"?
We rehearse our resentments, and we replay our regrets.
And many of us are weighed down by remorse.
And when we feel down ... when we feel depressed.
When you carry the emotional garbage of rehashing resentments, remembering regrets, and reinforcing remorse.
Well ... it tends to cause you to react to life rather than enjoying life.
Yet Paul shares with us a solution hear God's word.
BIBLE "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind (Forgetting what lies where ... in the past) and straining forward to what lies ahead. END
Beloved ... Jesus is clear BIBLE "'No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'" END (Luke 9:62)
Until you stop looking backward you are not fit for service on this side of eternity.
If you are looking back ... if you are holding on to "If Only's" well, you then you are not walking in God's will.
And we each get stuck there sometimes.
So ... how do we let go of the past?
Well first you must let go of your bitterness of your grudges.
Paul shares this truth to the believers gathered in Ephesus.
BIBLE "31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor, and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." END (Ephesians 4:31-32)
Get rid of all bitterness.
Get rid of all rage.
Get rid of all anger.
Chuck it!
Throw it away!
Eliminate it!
Beloved do not hold on to resentment.
If you do, it will ruin your relationships.
There are few things in life that can cause more danger to a relationship then resentment.
Beloved resentment does not resolve anything.
Remember when you are resentful, it does not upset the other person, it only ... it only upsets you.
You remain the one who hurting.
Resentment never affects or hurts the other person it only affects you.
Hear God's word from Job: BIBLE "to worry yourself to death with resentment would be foolish, senseless to do ...... you are only you're hurting yourself with your anger." (Job 5:2 and Job 18:4)
Yes ... we can be resentful towards people who have hurt us in the past ... but it will never ... change the past.
Resentment is a waste of time ... or as the scriptures state ... it is foolish ... because it never resolves the problem ...... it only makes it worse.
And the truth be told ... Our resentment .... makes us a slave ... to the one .... we resent.
When you say to somebody, ... "You are making me so mad" ... you are in essence ... admitting to a weakness.
You are making me mad.
That means ... you are admitting that you cannot control your own emotions.
You are admitting that others control you .... Others have the power to make you happy or mad.
Beloved, know this truth nobody ... no one can make you mad without your permission. REPEAT
Some of us may have been hurt in the past.
But that past does not have to keep on hurting us in the present.
Lay that resentment at the Cross and allow God's grace and power, to move within you.
Allow the Holy Spirit to transform you.
Create in me a clean Heart O God and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)
We must learn to yield the past through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Are you holding resentment ... a grudge against someone from the past?
A brother a sister? A father or a mother? A spouse, a coworker?
I have found many adults are still fighting their parents unconsciously.
They feel they were unloved, ignored, verbally abused, physically abused, intimidated ... manipulated.
Many have buried that hurt deep and have never addressed it.
And if they have buried it ... in essence they are still holding on to it.
We need to dig it up and let go; we need to lay this at the foot of the cross.
Beloved we will not be able to fully relate to our present relationships if have allowed bitterness to take root ... if we are still holding on ... to the past.
The writer of Hebrews puts it this way: BIBLE "14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness ...without which ... no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.
END (Hebrews 12:14-15)
That bitterness, that Bitterroot if it takes hold will impact our current relationships.
Some of you may have allowed bitterness, anger and hurt to pile up from the past.
And instead of taking it out on that person ... you take it out on your husband ... or on your wife ... or on your children.
Beloved that is wrong ... and that's ... not fair.
So ... let go and let God move and have his way in your life.
Trust that he loves you.It's time to move on ... to strive forward ... in your new life in Christ.
It's time to forgive and to lay this bitterness at the foot of the cross.
Remember the prayer that we pray each Sunday.
Father forgive us ... forgive me my trespasses ... only ... only as I forgive others.
We must also be willing to give up our gloom.
Gloom a word not used very often anymore.
Gloom a combination of Sorrow, grief, sadness, heartbreak, and worry.
Everyone experiences some type of gloom in their life.
Many of you have experienced major losses, some in the past several years.
And loss, ... gloom, ... hurts.
And mourning ... grieving is a natural part of life.
There is nothing wrong with mourning.
In fact, the scriptures are clear, "there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, and a time to mourn and a time to dance." (Ecclesiastes 3:4)
In fact, Jesus says "blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)
It is alright ... it is OK to grieve and to weep.
We know that Jesus Wept at the Tomb of Lazarus. (John 11:35)
Yet there is a significant difference between mourning and moaning.
Moaning is self-pity ... "poor me".
When we moan, we empower gloom ... we allow gloom to rule the outlook... of our life.
Beloved ... pain is a part of life.
Everyone experiences pain.
Everyone hurts and has heart aches.
Yet, ... hear me on this ... do not allow your pain to make you ... it's prisoner.
So (1 finger) let go of your grudges (2 fingers) And let go of your gloom.
If you don't, ... they will strangle you.
Yet ... how do we let go of gloom... when it is strangling us?
Well, ... except ... what cannot be changed.
Many of you may be experiencing pain ... from events ... that happened ... many years ago.
The key to Peace of Mind can be found in one word... and that word is ... acceptance.
Acceptance of God's will.
Allowing God's way ... in your life.
God is on his throne ... and he is working ... all things together for your good.
All Things ... The Good ... the bad ... and the ugly.
Let go of your grief and give it to Jesus.
And if you do, it will release you ... from the clutches of its pain.
Play it down ... and pray it up.
Spend more time praying then complaining.
Or as a seasoned Christian friend would always say ... "Go to the throne ... before you go to the phone."
Beloved ... focus on what is left ... not on what is lost.
You might be saying ... you do not understand how much I have lost ... and how little is left?
And you are right ... I will never fully understand.
But this I know ... little is much ... in the hands of almighty God.
For he takes all things ... the good ... the bad ... and the ugly ... and works them for good... for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:28)
Beloved ... self-pity ... is more damaging to you ... and to your life ... than any tragedy you will ever face.
Why? Because ... self-pity perpetuates pain.
Let go of your grudges. Give up your gloom. And lastly give up your guilt.
Some people refuse to accept forgiveness from God.
They hang on to their guilt.
In fact, ... many ... hold on tightly to it ... like a blanket.
In a way ... they have locked themselves in a prison ... And thrown away the key.
And allow the guilt ... of what they have done to play ... over and over and over ... in their mind.
I recently read a letter that speaks to this issue.
"I am 31 years old and divorced.
Though I fought the divorce bitterly I feel bad because it went ahead anyway, and now feel badly that I have no hope for the future.
Often, I go home from church and cry but there's no one to hold me when I cry.
No one cares.
I have begged God for the grace to be single for his glory and to fix my eyes on Jesus, ... but nothing changes.
I continue to fail.
I am a basket case emotionally and on the verge of a collapse.
Something is very wrong.
I am so crippled and embittered that I can scarcely relate to anybody else anymore.
I feel as if I will have to set out the rest of my life ... in the penalty box."
Beloved this letter describes many people.
They have done things or have had things done to them and they are wallowing in that pain.
And in a way ... have placed themselves ... in a penalty box.
Beloved ... That is not the message of the Gospel.
We have a forgiving gracious God, ... a God of second chances.
But you need to lay your guilt down.
Yet how do you let go of guilt?
Well there are two approaches one is right and the other is wrong.
Hear God's word BIBLE "your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." END (2 Corinthians 7:9 -10)
These two approaches to guilt and both illustrated in the lives of two of Jesus disciples, Peter, and Judas.
Both Peter and Judas, on the night before Jesus was taken into custody, denied Jesus.
They both sinned.
Yet as we know ... they both responded very differently to this guilt.
One response was right, and one response was wrong.
The way Judas responded was self-condemnation.
Here God's word: BIBLE "when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse. Then he went out and hanged himself." END (Matthew 27:3-5)
Judas took his life in his despair.
He allowed his despair ... his sin ... to overwhelm him.
He felt that life was no longer worth living ... so we went out ... and took his own life.
Peter, ... on the other hand, ... his response ... was not condemnation but confession.
Again, hear God's word BIBLE "then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken and he went outside and wept bitterly." END (Matthew 26:75)
Peter also experienced remorse but he wept bitterly and obviously ... confessed his sin and sought forgiveness.
How do we know he did that, ... because not many days later God ... used him in a mighty way.
You can almost hear him say Jesus I failed, I let you down Forgive me.
Have you ever said that?
Jesus I have let you down, I have been unfaithful, I have not followed your ways?
Beloved we have a forgiving God.
We have a God who forgives.
And that can be seen in the life of Peter.
For on the day of Pentecost Peter spoke and 3000 people were saved.
We must come to the throne and confess our sins and we most come to the throne for forgiveness.
Hear again God's Word: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
Thank you, Lord, for this glorious promise.
How much emotional garbage are you still carrying?
Lay that worldly garbage down at the cross.
Give them all to Jesus.
Let go of the past so His joy can permeate the present and all things can become new.
Beloved you are a new creation In Christ Jesus.
You are sanctified and continually being sanctified.
Lay your burdens at the foot of the cross and look into your saviors' eyes.
He loves you and wants your life to be filled to the brim with His joy.
Sing.
Give them all ... give them all
give them all to Jesus
and he will turn your sorrows,
he will turn your sorrows,
Yes, he will turn your sorrows, into joy.
Amen.
This Message is based of a Sermon by The Rev. Kelly Irish titled "Letting go of your past" which is available on YouTube.
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