Studies 10

Forgetting the Past and Reaching Forward -10

Just for few minutes I want to encourage you by teaching on the subject, from Philippians 3:13, Forgetting the Past or the things which are behind and Reaching Forward to those things which are Ahead.

One of the greatest Apostles that ever walked on the face of this earth was a bitter persecutor of the church his Hebrew name was Saul and was called Paul as a Roman citizen.

Acts 8:3-4 tells us,
Before Paul came to know Jesus, his mission was to destroy the church of Christ with cruelty and violence. Entering house after house, he dragged out men and women and put them in prison. ⁹“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. ¹¹and I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Then in Galatians 1:13 He says, “I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it”.

The Bible tells us, Saul was licensed to destroy the Christian church, Acts 9:2. But when he had an encounter with Jesus, (when he met Jesus) Acts 9:3-6, Saul (Paul) was given a new focus in life. After his conversion he did not want to dwell on the past, neither did he continue to feel bad about the fact that he had persecuted the church. He had a revelation from Christ and became a new person in Christ, he knew that old things had passed away and all things had become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Addressing the Philippians, he said, forgetting the past or the things which are behind me, I am looking forward, or reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, Philippians 3:13-14

It is sad to know that many of us are still living in the past and sulking or feeling sorry for themselves. The Bible tells us we don’t need to live in the past as we are born again and are a new creation in Christ Jesus. Therefore we can move forward by forgetting the past and reaching forward to those things which are ahead of us.

It does not matter what your past was, it does not matter what happened to you, what people have done to you, it does not matter how bad you were, it can not be worse than Saint Paul. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. We need to move forward, winning souls for Jesus and building up the body of Christ.

Saint Paul talks about the Lord Jesus as though he walked and dined with him but everything he knew about Christ was not from the flesh; rather it was by revelation, Galatians 1:12. He knew Christ as a friend; as his Lord; Saviour and as his God. He knew the lord Jesus personally and that’s why he could preach the Gospel with all his being.

Galatians 1:12.

^12”For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ”.

The most remarkable statement he ever made was when he said:

^20”I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”. Galatians 2:20

The old I who lived in sin under the law is dead, and the new I lives in Christ or rather Christ lives in me. After the encounter with Jesus, he was completely lost in the love of his Saviour, Jesus Christ. His only goal was to preach Christ and demonstrate his power to win all for his Lord and he did all this with passion for Jesus.

Is it your goal or desire to serve Christ?

Just imagine if Saint Paul dwelled on his past, he would have never grown any further. He said, forgetting the past and the things that are behind me, I am looking forward to reaching, to things which are ahead,

Isaiah tells us in 43:18-19

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not

know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert”.

Just like this Great Apostle of Christ, let us move forward this New Year, and fill our thoughts and mouths with the love and grace of God.

Let us demonstrate the Lord’s will and his word as we walk in his Holy Spirit.

Let us count all things as loss for the excellency, of the knowledge of Christ. God has given us the gift of his Son and his righteousness, so let us forget the past. Don’t let it hold you as a slave to its failures and successes, live today to its fullest and press on into the future, Holding the Word of God as your banner.