Your Past Defines You Series

### **Introduction: The Lie We Believe**

Video Ill.: Sermon Bumper 2

Last week, we began a new series “Lies the World Tells”, where we are for the next several weeks exposing the lies the world wants us to believe, how those lies impact our lives, and the truth we can accept in our hearts.

We began by exposing the lie that we have to earn God’s love. We saw that in a world where we’re taught to work hard and earn everything, it is easy to believe that God’s love works the same way.

But the truth is, God’s love is not earned—it is a gift. It is not based on performance, but is poured out freely by grace.

This week, we uncover another lie the world tells us: That our past defines us—that our failures, our regrets, and our mistakes have the final say.

The world loves to label us by our past—a failure, an addict, a divorcee, a criminal, the dropout, a disappointment.

And many times, we become the result of that past.

https://www.hustleinspireshustle.com/blog/famous-failures

https://www.oxford-royale.com/articles/9-famous-people-failed-spectacularly-before-success

Consider these public figures whose past handcuffed their present and completely defined their futures:

1. **Richard Nixon**: The 37th President of the United States faced significant challenges due to the Watergate scandal, which ultimately led to his resignation in 1974. Despite his earlier accomplishments, including opening relations with China, the scandal overshadowed his legacy, and he struggled to regain public trust.

2. **Lance Armstrong**: Once celebrated as a cycling champion, Armstrong's career was marred by a doping scandal. After years of denial, he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs, which led to the loss of his titles and sponsorships. His attempts to rehabilitate his image have been met with mixed reactions.

3. **Tiger Woods**: The professional golfer faced a public scandal in 2009 involving infidelity, which led to a significant decline in his career and personal life. Although he has made a comeback in recent years, the impact of his past mistakes continues to affect his public image.

4. **Mel Gibson**: The actor and director faced backlash after making anti-Semitic remarks during a DUI arrest in 2006 and later faced allegations of domestic abuse. While he has attempted to return to Hollywood, his past controversies have made it difficult for him to fully regain his former status.

5. **Kevin Spacey**: The actor's career took a significant hit following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct that surfaced in 2017. Despite his previous accolades, including Academy Awards, he has struggled to find work in the industry since the allegations came to light.

6. **Bill Cosby**: Once known as "America's Dad," Cosby's legacy was severely damaged by numerous allegations of sexual assault, leading to his conviction in 2017. Although he was released from prison in 2021 due to a legal technicality, the damage to his reputation remains significant.

Their past mistakes have had lasting effects on public perception and their personal careers, often overshadowing their achievements. When we think of these folks, that’s all we remember now.

And that’s just the way the devil wants it to be. The author of lies, the prince of deception, wants to chain us to our past, and bind us in guilt and shame.

His world lies to us, telling us, “Your mistakes are who you are. You’ll never change. You are stuck.”

But, folks, as I hope we will see today, God’s grace has the power to rewrite our story.

### **I. The Weight of Guilt and Shame**

As we begin, when we are shackled to our past mistakes and failures, when we believe the lie that our past defines us, we each certainly feel the weight of guilt and shame.

Imagine You Are Watching The Olympics. All … (Revised)

By Tyler Edwards

Copied from Sermon Central

**Illustration: The Safe Skater**

Imagine you are watching the Olympics. Skater after skater takes the ice, performing difficult routines—jumps, spins, and sequences that require incredible skill and courage.

Each routine is judged not only on how cleanly it is executed, but also on how challenging it is. A skater who attempts a difficult jump but falls might still earn more points than someone who plays it safe, because they dared to take a risk.

Now picture this: one skater comes out and simply glides slowly in a circle. No jumps. No spins. No artistry. Just a smooth, cautious loop.

Technically, they made no mistakes—but also, they made no attempt to do anything that required courage or skill. Watching from home, you might ask, *“How did they even make it to the Olympics?”* You would not be impressed. You would not be moved. You certainly would not say, *“Well done.”*

That is exactly what shame can do to our spiritual lives.

When we are weighed down by guilt and fear of failure, we stop taking spiritual risks. We play it safe. We stop serving, stop reaching out, stop growing—because we are afraid of falling.