Dusty

Living Beyond Your Past

Kenneth Hagin Jr.

Have you ever seen a person walking down the street who
turns around to look back at something, when—

bam!—he
runs into something else? Because that person was looking in
the wrong direction, he probably suffered pain or embarrassment
or both!

The same could be said about a person’s walk with God.
After you’ve been born again, looking back at your past can
cause you unnecessary guilt, pain, and feelings of embarrassment.
You have to live beyond your past and look to your
future, because your future is as bright as the promises of God!
I want to let you know that even though you have a past,
you also have a future. Maybe your yesterdays weren’t all that
pretty, but if you’ll let God help you, your todays and tomorrows
will be beautiful.

Someone once said, “Don’t waste a day regretting yesterday.
Instead, make memories for tomorrow.� And one of my
favorites is, “There’s no use looking back unless that’s the
direction you’re planning to go.�

Everyone has a past to deal with, but God wants you to
realize that there is life beyond your past. The prisons of the
past will try to keep you from living today!

Looking back can be very dangerous. When Lot was told to
leave Sodom with his family, the angel told them not to look
back. But Lot’s wife looked back and she turned into a pillar of
salt (Gen. 19:15–26). I think one purpose of this biblical
account is to remind us that once we’ve been born again, once
we’ve started walking with God, we are not to turn around
and look back at our past.

With God, your past no longer exists. So don’t turn around
and look at the past. Doing so will hinder your progress
toward the future God has planned for you. After we accept
Christ as Savior, we have a future bright with the promises of
God. But we must choose to walk in it!

The enemy realizes that if he can get us to live in our past,
the only thing we will produce are excuses. He understands
that if he can keep us from looking at tomorrow in the light of
God’s Word, he can keep us from being the success that God
has called us to be.

God is not looking for perfect people, because there are no
perfect people. God does not use people who have a perfect
past. He uses people who rise above and beyond their past to
follow Him.

To get beyond your past, you must understand that God
has changed your identity (see 2 Cor. 5:17)! You are no
longer the person of the past. You are a new person in Christ,
and now you should only identify with the things of God.
You must also realize that your past mistakes have been

forgiven because of the blood of Jesus. God is not keeping

track of sin. He has wiped your slate clean. God forgave you,
but you may be having trouble forgiving yourself. When you
asked God to come into your life, He forgave all of your sins.
He wiped them all away. Now you must forgive yourself.
After you’ve forgiven yourself, you must go a step further
and forget the past. Philippians 3:13 says, “. . . But one thing I
do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is
ahead� (

NIV). The word “forgetting� in this verse means

choosing to neglect

.

You have to make a decision that you’re going to neglect
your past! You’re not going to think about it anymore.
Instead, stay focused on the fact that God has a bright future
for you. The next time your past starts to bother you, I want
you to point at yourself and say, “I am a new person in Christ.
Any mistakes I’ve made are under the blood, and I’m not
going to think about them anymore. God has called me to be

a success. My future is as bright as the promises of God!�



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smellycat

to look back with a good memory you understand a lot.memory and actual are 2 diffrent things.we learn by mistakes,learn and learn good people,then teach what you have learned.

Housesitter

Thank you Dusty.
A timely reminder.
Ray

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Ray
Enjoy a rent free holiday with
Christian House Sitters
www.christian-housesitters.com

violet

I know that you are right, Dusty. How can I know God forgives me yet let other people's opinions of me hurt me?
Sometimes I wish I could wear The Scarlet Letter!

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Dusty

Violet ,
That is a tough one alright and I know that we all struggle with that one. We want to be acceptable and pleasing to people but on the other hand we have to realize that God is number one in our lives and we are here to please Him.

People can and are very hurtful at times and can say hurtful things to each other but what I think is sometimes they say them in anger and not out of love and you know that the anger does not come from God, It comes from satan. But these are the things that are thrown up in our face and that we remember but learning from my own experience we have to move past these hurts and not let them eat at us because it is again the evil one who wants to gain control and we have to rebuke these thoughts in the name of Jesus who is as we know all powerful and in and though Him we can do all things and we must claim and stand upon the Word as our sword of the Spirit .

OUr past is what it is "our past". Sometimes at our weak moments is when all these things rush in when we are least expecting it but each time we rebuke these thoughts in Jesus name they do get less and less. Jesus told us we would not travel down an easy road but if we focus on the reward which is heaven and all it's Glory. it will be worth it all. Isn't that worth more than what people think? I have come to the conclussion in my own life that people don't matter and that is not to be harsh nor have I hardened my heart but God has given me awesome friends who would be here in a flash if something was wrong with me.

I used to be a people pleaser until the people I loved the most were not in my life any more and He taught me that I was loving and putting them before Him.It was a hard lesson to learn and even now sometimes I cry thinking that my son doesn't care, but then I think about my comforter and am lifted up again and put back on my feet. I put praise and worship music on and am comforted and can feel His arms round about me telling me it is alright.

So that being said God in His infinate Grace and Mercy knows exactly what and who we need in our lives. People will come and go in and out of our lives but the one true friend is Jesus Christ. I do praise and thank Him that He is there 24 / 7 for me. Thank you Jesus. I hope that helps Violet. God does forgive and He will reasure you and maybe not in the same way that He does for me but over time you will know that He forgives if you just let go and let Him minister to you. But I found that first you have to forgive yourself. That is the only way I can put it. May the Lord draw close to you Violet and give you strength. I am praying for you.

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violet

Thank you, Dusty. Everything you said makes perfect sense but what happens when your past becomes present by others?

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smellycat

it says were not accepted in our own towns,people don,t understand .they see us as hypocrites,but anyone can change.we have free will.

freedom07

Thank you for the post Dusty, this is very good. I know when we are walking with Jesus our past has been washed (buried) away, but there are times when the guilt of past choices will come back to haunt us (ME!) Yes! these things must remain buried because we cannot do anything about the past and through the Blood of Jesus Christ these sins have been cleansed. So we must live for the present as a Child of the Living God because we do not have a promise of tomorrow. We do have a promise of the future with our Savior, but we are not guaranteed another day in this life.

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Romans 6:4
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Dusty

Violet,

I am not really sure what you are saying here. Do you mean that whatever happened in the past even though we have confessed it to God others still bring up?

If that is what you mean then is it possible that you can tell them that God has forgiven you and He has wiped your slate clean and you wish for them to forgive you also and not to bring these things up.?

Also I think if we can forgive ourselves that is a huge barrier to jump over. Because the blame "me'" game is where once again satan wants us to be so we can feel the guilt and shame. God does want us there. He wants to deliver us from all guilt and put it all at the cross and leave it there. But I know that we tend to put it at the cross and then pick it up again and I have done that in my own life.

Sometimes, we want to defend the past as not our fault. But we don't have to do that and one day when my son did come over ( and it is usually for money), I wanted to talk about my part in the breakup of the family. He said to me mom, "that is the past and I don't want to discuss it." In a sense , I suppose he was right and I have left it there and do not bring it up.

I hope that was the answer that you were looking for Violet. If not we can talk about it more when I come back from church.
God bless you and give you a blessed Lord's Day.

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Dusty

Thanks for your response , freedom. Everything you said is true.and amen. Yes we must walk in the moment with Christ beside us and our past behind us.

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