There's Nothing Back There

THERE’S NOTHING BACK THERE

Just want to look at several passages of scripture with you about dealing with what is behind us. Gonna go through them kind of fast, you may want to just write them down, instead of trying to turn to them. Obviously up to you.

1) PSALM 103:12 NKJV

“as far as the east is from the west he removes our transgressions from us”

Do you think David had some transgressions that God needed to remove? Of all the INCREDIBLE things David did, he had some UGLY mixed in there too didn’t he. We are all David in one way or another. We can be giant slayers or we can be adulterers and husband murderers

Remarks:

1) Have you ever wondered why Gods’ word says “East from West” as instead of “North from South”? When you are traveling North to South, eventually you behind traveling North again. Also, when you are headed south, it is a downward direction. When you are traveling East to West you are always headed in that direction and East remains the same distance from the West.

2) Years ago a friend sent me a meme. It was a picture of the grim reaper, and the capture said “When your past comes knocking, don’t answer, it has nothing new to say.”- In other words “there’s nothing back there”!

3) This passage is also about forgiveness. We must forgive others. There’s healing power in forgiveness.

2) MATTHEW 8:21-22 NKJV

“Then another of His disciples said to Him “Lord, let me first go and bury my father” but Jesus said to him “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Remarks:

There are at least a couple of things we can take away from this:

1) Years ago, I attended a conference and one of the speakers started began his message by saying “I’m not sure if I’m here to harvest fruit, or prune deadwood, I guess I’ll probably do a bit of both.”

2) Deuteronomy 6:15 ESV

Tells us “For the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God”. So when the disciple tells Jesus “let me first go…” He is immediately placing Jesus second.

3) Jesus said “let the dead, bury their own dead”. He’s telling the disciple “there’s nothing back there, follow me”.

4) PHILIPPIANS 3:13 NKJV

If you are running a foot race with everything you have in you, what generally happens when you look back? That’s right you’re probably gonna stumble and fall.

Paul writes “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind me and reaching forward to those things which are ahead”

Remarks:

1) Years ago, a movie came out titled “The Gumball Rally”. Early on in the movie, Franco (played by Raul Julia) was sitting in his sports car and said “The first rule of Italian driving; whatsa behind me is notta important” and he rips off the rearview mirror.

In verse 13 Paul is saying “whatsa behind me is notta important”. But look at verse 13 along with 12 & 14. 3:12 “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”> Then read 13: Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind me and reaching forward to those things which are ahead”. 3:14 “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

5) (GENESIS 19:17 and 19:26 NKJV)

This may be the first example of God saying “there’s nothing back there”.

19:17 “So it came to pass when they had brought them outside, that he said “escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed”

Then in 19:26 “but his wife (Lot’s wife) looked back behind him and she became a pillar of salt.” God is serious when He says “there’s nothing back there.

Most times when we are told “there’s nothing back there” there are uncomfortable results. Other times it might just be deadly.

In Luke 17:32 Jesus said “Remember Lot’s wife.” Jesus got right to the point didn’t he!

6) (MARK 8:26 NKJV)

Like Lot’s wife, do you have friends who have “gone back there”?

Then He sent him away to his house saying “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town”

1. Story of when Jesus gives sight to the blind man. Leading up to this passage Jesus asks the disciples “Who do men say I am?” As is he were saying “you know, like the general population, those in spiritual blindness.” Then Jesus asks “Who do you say I am?” Perhaps He did this to see if they yet realized they had spiritual sight.