Forget the Past. Look forward! – Sermon – 1 January, 2017
Forget the Past! Look Forward
Philippians 3:13-14
Paul uses the analogy of a runner to describe the Christian’s spiritual growth. The believer has not reached his goal of Christlikeness, but like the runner in a race, he must continue to pursue it.
1 John 3:2 “Dear friends, now we are children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him”.
What the Apostle John and Paul are saying is, “Presently we walk by faith and we are saved. However, the true heavenly divine person won’t be revealed until Jesus appears. In the meantime, the Holy Spirit is working into us the image of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-25 – Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one get the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who completes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
1 Tim. 6:12 – “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses”.
The race toward Christlikeness begins with a sense of honesty and dissatisfaction.
Phil. 3:12 – “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold for me”.
Paul uses the word; ‘I press on’ The Greek word was used of a sprinter, and refers to aggressive, energetic action.
Paul pursued sanctification with all his might, straining every Spiritual muscle to win the prize.
Jesus Christ chose you for the ultimate purpose of conforming you into His glorious image, and that should be your number one goal.
Philippians 3:13 in another words: Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus.
Paul says: “I focus on this “one thing” Christlikeness; Forgetting what’s behind me, and go onward!”
Phil. 3:14 – I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
I want us to see how we can turn this New Year to be better than last year and how we can rekindle our hope if during the past year every bit of it was destroyed.
I believe by now some are already worrying about what the New Year holds. But there is a way you can manage the New Year and make it worthwhile.
- Forget the past.
Paul says that he is not all that he should be but still focuses his energies on forgetting the past. And that is the point. Sometimes we allow the past to rob us the happiness that should presently be ours. We stay long in regrets over failed plans in our life, or assignments we did not complete or even standards we were not able to meet. This can easily lead to pain and grief that will disturb our peace. And when peace is gone, our fellowship with God is broken.
I believe forgetting the past with its hurts, regrets or pain is quite important. As you face the New Year, isn’t it time to forget those moments that did not work the way you planned? Isn’t it a time to disregard the feeling of helplessness over goals that were not reached and achieved? We should strongly believe that with God on your side you will set your hope high. The fact that the previous year ended with none of your plans accomplished is not a reason to dismiss this New Year that might be carrying great surprises for you.
- Strive ahead.
A better word is press on. You might have no valid reason to do so but press on. A dark cloud may be hanging over your life right now but press on anyway. Those who give up too soon miss great opportunities that are waiting around the corner. There is hope because it is a new day! There is hope because God is in that day! Press on and see what he has kept in store for you. Do you know that in life you are the only one who has power over your plans or vision? You alone can decide to kill them and killed they will be. Or you can hang unto them and succeed! You might see them accomplished!
Even after undergoing great challenges in your life know that you are not knocked out yet. A knock down is never a knock out. Paul says he strives ahead, he presses on and that is in spite and despite of all trials he was facing.
- Get the Prize
But we cannot press on without getting the prize right. What is the prize for our faithfulness and commitment in Christ? That is also something to consider as you labour this year. Ask yourself these questions? Are we to live just for this life? Only work to get good education for our children, or own beautiful and expensive homes and maybe even run big businesses? Is that the only thing we should strive for? While I agree it is important to make our life here worthwhile but it is good to know that if we set wrong goals, we will apply wrong methods to attain it. Our prize is to see Jesus face in Heaven. We strive to this end, living righteous and holy lives. We should set our sight on this one goal; to be with our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven and at His coming.
As we celebrate the New Year let us set our goals right.
Let us forget the past with its pain and regrets.
Let us press on in this race setting our sight on our high calling in Christ.
Let us face the New Year with HOPE.
A new hope indicates a hope of a new dawn.
A hope to make amends the past mistakes
And a hope to live as better Christians today, earning a rightful living.
A hope to be with Jesus at his coming.
Forget the Past! Look forward.