13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
As human beings it is physically impossible, barring a miracle or a traumatic head injury, to “forget” the past. So what is the Apostle Paul talking about? How do we “forget” what is behind us. How do we get beyond our past?
What is the past? I looked it up. In this case it is a noun. One of the definitions I found said, "the past is an earlier period of a person’s life that is thought to be of a shameful nature."
This definition seems to fit what Paul is referring to here to here. Not every part of our pasts are shameful, but it’s only the shameful parts that hinder us and need to be forgotten. It’s the events in our lives where we’ve failed God that seem to be the hardest to get over. They keep us from worshiping the Lord freely, they hinder our relationships with others. The past can be a crippling force if we allow it to.
This definition seems to fit what Paul is referring to here to here. Not every part of our pasts are shameful, but it’s only the shameful parts that hinder us and need to be forgotten. It’s the events in our lives where we’ve failed God that seem to be the hardest to get over. They keep us from worshiping the Lord freely, they hinder our relationships with others. The past can be a crippling force if we allow it to.
Another definition I found said, “The past is the period of time prior to speaking.”
The past is the period of time prior to the words that are coming out of your mouth right now. That is powerful! Your past can only hinder you from God's purpose, keep you from receiving His anointing, or diminish the power of the Holy Spirit working through you, if the words that are currently coming out of your mouth allow it to.
The past is the period of time prior to the words that are coming out of your mouth right now. That is powerful! Your past can only hinder you from God's purpose, keep you from receiving His anointing, or diminish the power of the Holy Spirit working through you, if the words that are currently coming out of your mouth allow it to.
If you keep focusing on what "you" have done(your past), instead of focusing on what God can do(your future), you’ll continue to be a prisoner of your failures. Instead of living in a land of milk and honey, you’ll be stuck wandering, circling the same old mountain year after year, until you wither up and perish in the desert. If you want to possess the promises of God, you need to speak the only thing that has the power to erase your past – The Name of Jesus!
Stop receiving the lies of your enemy! Stop dwelling on your failure!
In Colossians The Apostle Paul writes, “13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[d] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
God has taken everything that was against you and nailed it to the cross and then made a public spectacle of you enemy the devil. I can picture the Lord coming up behind Satan with a bloody nail pierced hand grabbing him by the back of the neck, and taking the keys of hell from him, and then dragging him back and forth in front of his subjects so they could see their ruler had been conquered.
God has made us alive in Christ. We are no longer defeated, we are no longer slaves of sin, we no longer live under a death sentence, our past can longer hold us down, we no longer have to accept the lies of the enemy. In the name of Jesus is the power to do what is physically impossible to do. It is the name of Jesus that brings about the miracle that allows us to "forget" what is behind us.
In my past I was a drunk, today I am born again! In my past I was a drug addict, today I have been baptized in the Name of Jesus! In the past I was a fornicator, today I am filled with the Holy Ghost! In the past I was lost, today I am found! My life was once rudderless, it had no meaning, no purpose, and no hope, and I was a slave to my flesh; today I am a child of God, I am heaven bound, my eyes are fixed on Jesus, I am anointed by the power of the Holy Ghost, I have purpose and a destiny, Jesus has deleted my past and given me hope. In the past I feared the devil, today in the Name of Jesus, the devil fears me!
God has made us alive in Christ. We are no longer defeated, we are no longer slaves of sin, we no longer live under a death sentence, our past can longer hold us down, we no longer have to accept the lies of the enemy. In the name of Jesus is the power to do what is physically impossible to do. It is the name of Jesus that brings about the miracle that allows us to "forget" what is behind us.
In my past I was a drunk, today I am born again! In my past I was a drug addict, today I have been baptized in the Name of Jesus! In the past I was a fornicator, today I am filled with the Holy Ghost! In the past I was lost, today I am found! My life was once rudderless, it had no meaning, no purpose, and no hope, and I was a slave to my flesh; today I am a child of God, I am heaven bound, my eyes are fixed on Jesus, I am anointed by the power of the Holy Ghost, I have purpose and a destiny, Jesus has deleted my past and given me hope. In the past I feared the devil, today in the Name of Jesus, the devil fears me!
Since your past is the period up to the point of speaking – Speak the name of Jesus, forget what is behind you and live, abundantly!
Amen! Look see and taste what Jesus has to offer. You will know then the difference and why it is better. It is difficult telling others of Gods saving grace without knowing the difference, but once you do..."he who has been forgiven much, loves much more". Luke 7:36-50.
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