LOOKING BACK AND MOVING FORWARD
“O Lord… all that we have done, you have done for us”
“Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you.
A human being lives in all three tenses-the Past, the Present and the Future.
? The Traditionalist lives for the Past,
? The Existentialist lives for the Present and
? The Utopianist lives for the Future.
However according to the Christian worldview one has to take all the three seriously.
As St. Augustine rightly puts it, “A Christian entrust his past to Gods mercy, his present to Gods love and his future to Gods providence”
In the Bible in general and in the Old Testament in particular, we find a special emphasis on “Looking Back.”
? There are positive and negative connotations in this practice.
? The people of God should not look back in their life like the wife of Lot in frustration but they should look back with a sense of gratitude of what Yahweh had been to them on this “earthly sojourn”
Think Positive and find fuel in failure
As a great servant of God once said, “we need to look back in order to move forward”. . In this regard, we can look at three aspects of our life.
Let Go of the Past to Move into the Future
• You can’t drive life’s road without sometimes hitting bumps like regrets, disappointments, and tragedies. When you do, it’s easy to get stuck there, gazing back into your rearview mirror at the past.
• But God wants you to move on toward the future He has planned for you.
• It’s a future filled with hope – but to get there, you’ve got to turn your focus forward and look through the windshield at the road ahead.
• Some of the best lessons we ever learn are learned from past mistakes.
• The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future.”
Here’s how you can let go of the past to move into the future:
I. God wants us to learn from the past—not live in it.
A. When the events of the past consume us, we have little interest in the future.
When they were stuck in the past, God said to Israel in Isaiah 43:18-19, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
B. God wants us to learn the lesson of the past, but keep moving.
? The Apostle Paul cited the stories of God’s people in the Old Testament to make the point that we are to learn from the past.
? He writes in 1 Corinthians 10:11-13, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Get rid of the poison of bitterness.
A. Bitterness will DEVASTATE you spiritually
? We can’t control what happens in life, but we can control how we respond/react!
? Holding bitterness is walking in the flesh
? In the Bonds of Bitterness? Let Christ set you free, because: Bitterness will devastate you spiritually…
B. Bitterness will DESTROY you physically
? And medical doctors say bitterness will affect your body, your physical health.
? Bitterness has been medically linked to glandular problems, high blood pressure, cardiac disorders, ulcers, and even insanity.
An article from The Gospel Herald:
“There was a man whose health was good. He was sturdy and strong. His heart action and blood pressure were fine. Then his father died, and he got into a prolonged legal dispute with his sister about their father’s will. The case went to court, and the sister won. From that day on, the man could think of nothing more than the lawsuit and his sister. He talked about it, he thought about it, he filled himself w/ it, it became an obsession. And each day, he grew to hate his sister more. Then he began to have difficulty with his heart and blood pressure. Next, his kidneys bothered him. Before many months, complications killed him. It seems obvious that he died from bodily injuries brought on by powerful emotion. I believe the man killed himself, death by bitterness.”
He committed spiritual suicide, and the trigger that he pulled was the trigger of bitterness
Prisoner of Bitterness? Let Christ set you free, because: Bitterness will devastate you spiritually, destroy you physically…
C. Bitterness will DISCOURAGE you emotionally
? Where there’s bitterness, there’s discouragement.
? Because bitterness leads to paranoia.
? You become negative, critical, and paranoid.
? You become judgmental of others and think you know their motives.
? You think people are talking about you.
Prisoner of Bitterness? Let Christ set you free, because: Bitterness will devastate you spiritually/destroy you physically/discourage you emotionally…
D. Bitterness will DIVIDE the fellowship
Collisions will happen w/in the fellowship…we can’t completely avoid that…but we can control how we respond
E. Bitterness will DEFILE your relationships
? You don’t have to be bitter toward your spouse to ruin your marriage
? Be sure of this: Bitterness toward anyone, living or dead, will destroy your relationship with God.
F. Bitterness will DEPRIVE you of a blessing
? Some people bring that negative, critical spirit to church with them.
? They don’t come looking for a blessing, they ’ll be looking for what’s wrong…and you’re sure to find it!
Bitterness will…
1. DEVASTATE you Spiritually
2. DESTROY you physically
3. DISCOURAGE you emotionally
4. DIVIDE Fellowship
5. DEFILE your Relationship
6. DEPRIVE you of a blessings
* Let go of unhealthy attachments.
II. God wants us to remember to carry life’s important values into the future.
A. Spiritual truths and spiritual values are some of the few things worth carrying into the future.
B. Gods faithfulness
C Gods protection
D> Gods
B. People who are always dissatisfied in life are often uncertain about what is important.
1. We must forget our past sins. That is, if we have truly repented, confessed and forsaken them (Proverbs 28:13), then we must forget them. If we have confessed and renounced our sin, God has forgiven it and forgotten it (1 John 1:9, and compare Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 44:22; Micah 7:19 and Hebrews 10:17). If God has forgotten our sins we must do the same, otherwise the memory of them will hinder us.
2. We must forget our past failures. This is not easy, but if we are constantly dwelling upon our failures and reviving the memory of them, we shall find that our peace is destroyed, our progress is impeded and our usefulness is limited. Some people are always filled with regret over what might have been. “Don’t cry over spilt milk!”
3. We must forget our past successes. To dwell constantly upon our past achievements will certainly not ensure present victory, and it may in fact engender pride. Some Christians are living on a past experience and some Christian workers are living on a past reputation.
4. We must forget our past pleasures. The Children of Israel failed just here, and frequently we read of them crying for the abundance of food and water which they had had in Egypt ?- look up Numbers 11:5-6; 20:5 and 21:5. To be engrossed with the past advantages of Egypt is to fail to realise the value of God’s present miraculous provision.
5. We must forget our past unhappy experiences. Have we lost a fortune? Forget it! ?- thinking of it cannot bring it back. Has someone let us down? Forget it! ?- to keep reviving the memory of the experience will cause resentment, and this will do far more harm to ourselves than to anyone else.
6. We must forget the sins and the failures of others. This needs to be said, for we so easily remember the shortcomings of other people. If we have been wronged, we must forgive and we must forget. Do not say, “I can’t!” You can!
III. God wants us to move forward without fear.
2 Timothy 1:7: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (Read and pray.)
? Fear is one of the most powerful emotions. It has a very strong effect on your mind and body
? Everyone gets scared; fear is an unavoidable facet of the human experience.
When you feel frightened or seriously anxious, your mind and body work very quickly.
These are some of the things that might happen:
? Your heart beats very fast – maybe it feels irregular
? You breathe very fast •
? Your muscles feel weak •
? You sweat a lot •
? Your stomach churns or your bowels feel loose •
? You find it hard to concentrate on anything else •
? You feel dizzy •
? You feel frozen to the spot •
? You can’t eat •
? You have hot and cold sweats •
? You get a dry mouth •
? You get very tense muscles
The more scared you feel, the scarier things will seem.
Fear dictates the actions you take.
Actions motivated by fear fall into four types—
? freeze, fight, flight, or fright.
Freeze means you stop what you are doing and focus on the fearful stimulus to decide what to do next (e.g., you read a memo that your company will be laying off people).
Next, you choose either fight or flight. You decide whether to deal with the threat directly (tell your boss why you shouldn’t be laid off) or work around it (start looking for another job).
When the fear is overwhelming, you experience fright: You neither fight nor flee.
The potential effects of chronic fear on overall health include:
• Immune system dysfunction
• Endocrine system dysfunction
• Autonomic nervous system alterations
• Sleep/wake cycle disruption
• Eating disorders
• Alterations in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis
. Why is fear such a problem in our lives?
A. Fear can prevent you from:
1) serving others (2 Timothy 1:6-7)
God has given each of us gifts for service, but fear can prevent you from developing your gifts and serving other people as God desires.
2) sharing the gospel (Acts 4:18-20; 1 Peter 3:14-15)
Fear can prevent you from sharing the gospel. In some countries people who share the gospel are risking their very lives. In our country we mostly worry about what people will think or say.
4) taking a stand for Christ (John 12:42-43; Matt 26:75)
B. Fear can lead to:
Fear not only prevents certain good things from happening. It can also lead to bad things as well.
1) hiding from God (Genesis 3:10)
For example, fear can lead to hiding from God. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, God called out to them in the garden, “Where are you?” Adam answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Genesis 3:10)
III. Dealing with fear
S
o, we have talked about the problem of fear, and we have talked about understanding this problem of fear. Let me close by sharing with you seven guidelines from the Bible that will help you in dealing with fear in your life.
A. Develop a healthy fear and respect for God (Psalm 27:1)
Number one: Develop a healthy fear and respect for God. Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)
When we’re afraid, we should look at our God who is bigger than all our fears and ask with awe and wonder:
When you fear God, you need fear nothing else.
B. Worrying about the future will not help us accomplish anything.
Remember Jesus’ well-known words in Matthew 6:28, "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
B. The key to confidence is in being in God’s will, not in having all the answers.
In the book of James, James cautions us in chapter 4:13, “Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such
boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.”
• God is in our past. We can live in the freedom of forgiveness.
• God is with us now. We can live in His strength and wisdom.
• God is waiting on us in our future. We can live in hope and joy.
Because God is, we can
In order to forget we must reverse the process of remembering. To remember one must revive the image and keep on reviving it. Now reverse the process; refuse to revive the image. Forget!
Let’s follow Paul’s example here, " forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." The first principle Paul teaches us for the New Year is Forgetting the Past, and the second is...
