What We Can Learn From The Past (New Year’s Sermon)

That is, almost daily he appeared on television, and it seemed like the very serious allegations that were being leveled against him were not phasing him in the slightest.

• Some said it was because he is shameless

• Others, pundits in Washington, had a different take on it. They said, the only way he could survive this scandal physically was due to his remarkable ability to compartmentalize.

That is, some folks have the ability to take something as serious as the allegations being leveled at him, and shove it in a corner and leave it there. They then go on about the routine of life as if the problem never existed.

One of the remarkable abilities God has given us is the ability to compartmentalize things, such as: Past, Present, and Future.

Let’s look at-

I. THE PAST

Look at these words in verse 13. We read, “…This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind…”

One of the most foolish things a person can do in this life is to live in the past. That is, they always want to live in the “Good old days.”

Illus: A young lady had a college romance with a handsome young man. They got into an argument at the end of the school year, and the next year she did not get a chance to go back to college. He met another girl and he fell in love with her, and later married her.

But this other young lady is now in her sixties, and she has never gotten over this fellow. She still talks about him like it was yesterday.

Her life has been ruined, because she lived her life wishing she could return to the “Good old days!”

Well the fact is, she can live the remaining days of her life still wishing for the “Good old days”, but they never will come back again.

So many people live in the past.

Illus: A mother with two teenage daughters cannot accept the fact she is getting old. She wears the same kind of clothing her teenage daughters wear.

And if you really want to make this woman happy, just walk up to her and say, “I can’t tell which one is the daughter and which one is the mother.”

There are so many people today who are still trying to live in the past.

Illus: Some lost a spouse many years ago, and they have never gotten over it.

What we have to do with the past is what Paul did, he said, “…This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind…”

Maybe you made some terrible mistakes in the past. You need to put those things behind you because the PAST IS THE PAST!

WHY SHOULD THEY PUT THE PAST BEHIND THEM

Because, most of the time when we think of the past we do not do it wisely.

Look at Eccl. 7:10. We read, “Say not thou, WHAT IS THE CAUSE THAT THE FORMER DAYS WERE BETTER THAN THESE? for THOU DOST NOT INQUIRE WISELY CONCERNING THIS.”

There are two things we need to be concerned with when we live in the past.

1. Our memories of the “Glory days” can be SELECTIVE.

That is, our memories of the “glory days” are RARELY ACCURATE.

When we look back, we always look selectively. We remember how GOOD THINGS WERE, but we forget about how BAD THINGS WERE.

Illus: There is a book that is titled, “The Good Old Days…They Were Terrible!”

2. Also, our memories of the “glory days” can be SEDUCTIVE.

When we are looking at the past, there is a temptation to go back and desire the sin of the past.

SATAN WANTS YOU TO -

• Remember the taste of the alcohol on a hot day

• Remember the pleasure of a cigarette after dinner

• Remember the physical pleasure of a sinful sexual experience

SATAN DOES NOT WANT YOU TO REMEMBER -

• The hangover after the alcohol

• The bad taste in your mouth, the stained fingers, the smelly clothes, the cough, and the smoke covered lungs caused by the cigarettes

• The guilt and worry produced in your heart (would there be a child, a disease, etc.?)

We look at THE MEMORIES OF THE PAST, and also we look at...

II. THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST

We can regret the mistakes we make, but we cannot change them.

A. THE PAST CANNOT BE CHANGED

What is done is done!

Illus: David’s sin brought about some terrible things in his life. His child became very sick, and David fasted and prayed for God to spare the child, but God saw fit to take the child.

All of David’s friends saw how he fasted and prayed. They were shocked after the child died, because David got back into the routine of life so quickly.