So many times, we have heard the expression, "Let go and let God". Let your problems go and let God deal with them. Let go of your worries and let God take care of that. Let go of your past and let God give you a future. All of that is as true as the Holy Scriptures themselves. And yet somehow, we have forgotten that age old, time tested, proven philosophy. You would be astonished at how many people, not only in the world, but in the church as well, are still harboring feelings of hurt and betrayal. You would be amazed at how many people specifically in the church today still hold grudges and resentment at someone who hurt or betrayed them.
How many people do you know in the church who still cringe at the mention of a person's name when they hear it? How many people do you know in general who still grow stone faced when they see someone who did them wrong or hear their name in conversation? And yet, they say they forgive that person? I rather doubt that. True forgiveness is being able to see someone who hurt you, hear their name, and it has absolutely no effect on you. True forgiveness is being able to let go of the past and move on without harboring the pain, the heartache, or the resentment towards someone who did you so horribly. When you can do that, you will know you have truly forgiven that person and that God has truly forgiven you.
Jesus said it best in Matthew 6:14-15 when He said, “For if you forgive men their trespasses (that would be sins), your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Will you pray with me? "Heavenly Father, we come here today to honor You with the reading and teaching of Your Holy Word. Father God, in the matchless Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we ask you to bless this time of fellowship and learning the Word of the Living God with grace and power. Let every person reading this transcript today hear the very voice of the Lord their God. Let the power of the Holy Spirit touch them in a new way and bring peace to those who are troubled by the shadows of their past. Help them to forgive, repent and release their past into the hands of God today. In Jesus Holy Name we pray and ask it in faith believing and expecting." If you accept and receive that, give God praise for hearing our prayer today.
At first, I was going to title this sermon, "Let Go And Let God". But as I was writing the previous paragraphs, I felt the touch of the Lord inspiring me to name this message, "Shadows of the Past". Why? Because THAT is the very root of this word today. When you live in the shadows of the past, you become a victim of what awaits you in the future. You say, "How is that possible?" Easy. When you allow your past to control you and make you fear repeating history, you become leery of anyone who tries to get close to you or even sticks out a glad hand.
Without even realizing it, you have built walls around yourself keeping you from being hurt like that again. Walls keep people out of your life, that's true. But be careful who you shut out. Walls are never built for just anyone specifically. Once walls go up, its purpose is to keep EVERYONE out! You could very well be keeping the very people God has sent to you to comfort you OUT of your life. And in so doing, you are keeping God Himself out of your life! That's no way to live.
I had a person tell me one time, "I can't let go of the past! It has made me what I am today!" Wrong! The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:9, "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." David said in Psalm 139:14, "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." Let me tell you something, if that goes for David, it certainly goes for you, too! YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made! YOU are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation! YOU are the apple of God's eye, the Bible says in Psalms 17:8. God PROMISED YOU in Genesis 12:3, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Yes, God was talking to Abraham when He said that. But that promise is our inheritance in God by the shed Blood of Jesus Christ on the hills of Calvary, where He died on a Roman cross for ALL your sins and mine! Through the shed Blood of Christ, we have been redeemed by the curse of the law which is recorded in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death;" Many people will tell you today that that no longer applies to us because of what the Lord did on that cross, but I'm here to tell you it STILL applies to this day! Why? Because if you don't receive God's gift of salvation that His Son bled and died for on Calvary, YOU will have to pay that sin penalty YOURSELF! So, I urge you, in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost! RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR TODAY! Yesterday is gone! Tomorrow is NEVER guaranteed! But TODAY is a gift! That's why we call it the Present! Give the Lord praise for His sacrifice today!!!
"The wages of sin is death", the Bible says. Now, let's look at the rest of that verse, "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." You have a gift waiting for you and it has your name on it. It's called, "Saving Grace". However, if you continue to cling to the shadows of the past and refuse to release your past to be thrust into the abyss where it belongs, that saving grace will never be yours. Nobody preaches that anymore, do they? No. Why? Because the church today would rather preach a feel good, don't worry be happy style of sermon. You hardly ever hear anyone preach on the Gospel anymore. I've said it once, and I'll say it as long as there is breath in this body, when you don't preach about Jesus, you not preaching the Gospel because Jesus IS the Gospel!
I've known many people who have gone through and endured the most trying of times and horrific ordeals and have become prisoners of the past. I knew one person who got out of a failed marriage. And after leaving that marriage, they purposely looked for anything in a person they were dating that reminded them of their former spouse. Let me tell you something, when you go looking for similarities between your ex and the one you're dating now, you'll find it every time. Every time. Why? Because you willfully and purposefully seek it out. Stop it! Stop looking for shadows of the past and start looking for the promises of the future. Stop looking for flaws and shortcomings in the man or woman you're dating. And start looking for the good in that person. When you do that, you will find everything you've been looking for.
Our past can easily become a ball and chain. When you have more walls around you than a prison yard, you need to get on your knees and cry out to God for salvation and deliverance from those walls. Stop looking for the posterboy of GQ Magazine. Stop looking for the next JD Rockerfeller. Stop judging a book by its cover! And start looking at the heart of that person. Don't worry about what physical and monetary attributes they bring to the table. If they don't bring Jesus to that table, RUN!!!!!
Let's say you were in a marriage, and your spouse cheated on you. By the Word of God, divorce is acceptable in the eyes of God. Why? Because when your spouse cheats on you and has an affair with another person and they have sexual relations with that person, in God's eyes, THEY initiated the divorce by severing their vows and breaking the covenant they made with God and you. They have desecrated the marriage bed. Listen to what the Bible says in Malachi 2:10-16;
"Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another
By profaning the covenant of the fathers? Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned The Lord’s holy institution which He loves
(he's talking about marriage here). He has married the daughter of a foreign god. May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, being awake and aware, yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts! And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; So, He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she IS your companion and your wife by covenant. But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore, take heed to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. “For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” says the Lord of hosts. “Therefore, take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”
How many couples in the church today have divorced because of adultery? How many couples in the church have gone through infidelity and have overcome it? Now ask yourself this question, "How many couples in the church have divorced citing "irreconcilable differences"? Irreconcilable differences is NO EXCUSE nor justification for divorcing your spouse! I had someone tell me one time that God told them to divorce their spouse and they had been released by God from their marriage. And this was a Godly marriage. You just read in God's own Word that He HATES divorce! So, tell me? Why would God Who clearly said He hates divorce go against His own Word and tell anyone to do that? Answer: He wouldn't. Not now, not then, NOT EVER! God hates divorce and He is not about to go against His own Word!
The Bible says in Hebrews 6:17 that God is bound by His Word. And yet, because we have allowed this world and the modern church preachers who have forsaken the Gospel to fill our heads with utter nonsense, we believe that God would in fact go against His Word and permit things the Bible clearly says He forbids.
How many of you are being condemned by someone you hurt in the past and they constantly remind you of your wrong doing? Take peace in knowing that Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-3, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?" You say, "Preacher, how can I take peace in that?" Because Jesus meant that for all people. Including those who still harbor your past faults against you. When you allow past hurts and betrayals to cause you to pass judgment on someone, the same measure of judgment, Jesus said, will be used to judge you. Think about that.
Shadows of the past easily become chains and shackles that imprison us to those who hurt us. Which makes our betrayers and those who hurt us our wardens and prison guards. What we don't realize is that even though we have allowed those people to bind us in chains and shackles and imprison us to our past, we STILL have the keys to the cell in our hands!
YOU are the only one who can unlock the door and leave that prison cell! How? Let the past, the pain and the heartache go and let God fill you with joy, peace, happiness and healing in Jesus precious, precious Name! Amen?
If you're reading this and you are either harboring shadows of the past that deeply hurt you or even betrayed you. Or if you are someone who is being held in contempt by someone you hurt, even though you have repented and asked God's forgiveness, I want to pray with you. If you're reading this and you are having trouble letting go of past hurts and betrayals, I want you pray with us today.
"Heavenly Father, thank You for the grace You are offering me to set me free from my past. Lord God, in Jesus Name, I ask You to remove the pains of the past. Remove the scars that were never meant to be here. Take away the shame, the heartache and the memory of my past hurts. Dear Lord, forgive me for hurting those I love, those I have betrayed, those who were close to me. Heavenly Father, cleanse me in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ today. Wash me clean of the shadows of the past. Set me free from my past and give me a bright and glorious future. Take the chains and the shackles off of me, Lord, so I may serve you all the days of my life. In Jesus Holy Name. Amen and amen!"
