PHILIPPIANS 3:13-14 – Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
THEME OF THE DAY. DEALING WITH THE PAST. All of us have a past. Yes, of course, we have a past, but I am referring to a past we may not be too proud off; things in our past we are ashamed over, embarrassed by, and would not want anyone to know. Now this isn’t about “big” sins or colossal failures. Not murder, adultery, grand theft, or any of the obvious things in our past that would cause us to hang our heads in shame. It is all those things in the past that show how we failed the Lord, failed His people, and didn’t not live up to our calling as Christians. Perhaps you are not identifying with me on this. Perhaps you look back and say, “My past? Nothing there. I made some mistakes, but overall, my past isn’t an issue with me.” Okay, if you are one of those types, and I have failed to ever meet one of those types, try this – would you like every thought you ever had, every incident you chose to yield to temptation, and every word you spoke be placed on display for everyone to observe? Yes, all of us have a past and it isn’t pretty because we are sinners from birth and that ensures a not pretty past. And we need to be armed with this truth of our past as it applies to spiritual warfare.
Our chief spiritual foes – an accusing devil and condemning conscience – see our failed past as fertile ground to plant the seeds of spiritual discouragement, defeat, even despair. And should we listen to their voices, all of those will occur. Be aware of those whispers to the heart of condemnation – “Look at your past. Such a failure. Remember those times of choosing sin over Jesus?” How about when you lived more for yourself than the Lord? Witnessing? Yeah, you passed up so many opportunities out of fear. Yeah, great Christian you have been. Oh, how about all those times you hurt people with cutting words, harbored ungodly attitudes, and cared more about yourself. Your past defines you and because of it, God won’t and can’t use you. Give up. Your past has ruined your present.”
When those fiery darts come, and they will, run to the scripture of today. The Apostle Paul had a past. Not a good one. He was a hater of God, a persecutor of His people, and frankly, would be considered a religious terrorist against the cause of Christ. The devil would have attacked him unrelentingly over his past, but Paul responded in two ways that led to the devil’s defeat. First, he refused to dwell on the past – “But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind.” This is critical. If God has said, and He does, “I will remember their sins no more”, then we must strive for the same mindset (Hebrews 10:17)
Another thing the Apostle Paul does is remember his union in Christ. Over 164 times in his New Testament letters, he would refer to the believer being “in Christ” and that means we are new creations, the old has passed away, all things are new and that means the past is gone – obliterated by the blood of the Lamb! Here is the lesson. We must always look to our past through our oneness in Christ. If we don’t and listen to the voices of our spiritual foes, the devil and our conscience will seek to fill us with regret, remorse, and condemnation over our many failings and sins of the past. Should we listen to them, gone will be joy; gone will be peace; and gone will be a life of living in the freedom from the past Jesus has given us. May the Lord help us to see, not only our past, but our present and future lives safely secured in our union with Christ. This truth always leads to victory over our spiritual foes.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to see all of my life through my union in Your Son – my past, present, and future.”
QUOTE: “The devil and our conscience want to paralyze us from our past while Christ sets us free from our past.”