Date of Sermon Delivery : 2. 1. 2022

Place of sermon Delivery :  Delhi, India

Sunday Worship Service

Speaker : Jatin Bisht

Title – Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. 

Bible – Philippians 3:13-14

13. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 

14. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 

Good morning & Happy new year!!

I welcome you on the first Sunday of 2022, and I pray that God fills you with peace, prosperity, and love this year. 

Although today is the second day of this year still I can remember last year’s work of God which happened in our church, which happened in your life, and which happened in my life. 

Truly the Lord was faithful and be ready to see his faithfulness in this year as well.

Do you want to see his faithfulness more? then come close to Jesus and have faith in him.

Last month was a little packed for me, because along with the church I had to prepare for my exams, and I am thankful to you all for praying for my exams. 

As today is the first Sunday of 2022, and I hope yesterday you all made some new resolutions and goals for this year too. 

On 31st December, when was looking at our church 2021 goal and resolution, really I could praise God because we can be able to fulfil many goals by the grace of the Lord.

And I hope that the goals we could. Not reach in 2021, we will reach them this year or in the coming years.

 

Today morning I want to take your attention to letter of Philippians, it was not written to the country Philippine, but it was written to the city of Greece called Philippi. Where Paul went on his second missionary journey around 49-52 AD.

And now Paul is writing to Philippian’s church from the prison of Rome after 10 years. 

Do you know Paul was so absorbed in the lord that even after 25 years of Journey in Christ, he is writing the good news of joy from prison to God’s churches? He gave a big contribution to churches in the first century, he gave his whole life to God, because he knew that even after these few years of life, in that heaven, the lord has kept the crown of righteous for eternity.

How do you see your life after 10 years or 25 years?  I hope we all be like Paul or contribution will be more than Paul. 

Keep prayer to God that in this year lord I will contribute more to your kingdom than the previous years. 

Let’s open our bible with me. 

Philippian 3:13-14

13. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 

14. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Let me pray. 

As we are in life, we go through different things in life, we go through different trials, tribulations, and different problems but most of the time we find ourselves holding on same things.

Things that happened 15 years before, 10 years before, last year, or in last week, we just hold on. 

Many of us still hold what happened in our last years. 

There were many things in our past which were good, like shifting our church, our Christmas activities, and our active faith. But here past means the mistakes and failures which made us paralysis for the future in God.

Maybe there will be many of us who are still holding to old things of their life.

Why did he call me black?

Why did he dishonour me in front of everyone?

Why didn’t they praise me if I am doing a lot of hard work?

Why did he cheat on me?

Why did he love me?

Why did he make me mad?

Why do I do this sin, God I am not able for you?

Till now there will probably be a fault in the hearts of many. 

Is there anything from the past year that you need to forget, forgive and leave behind?

Sometimes we do not forget what was in past and try to keep on chewing, keep in our heart, not letting that go.

Jesus says that will lead us in an emotional prison of bitterness and anger.

When I started to coming church, one thing caught my heart, what would my uncle think, because I was very much afraid of your uncle, because of this I did not want to come to church many times. That thought caught my heart for God. That thought caught me and no to look forward.

But I am thankful to God that I have forgotten that all things because today I know who is my God and what he can do for me.

Joyce Meyer once said in her testimony that when she was a child she was sexually, mentally, and emotionally abused by her father, she said she was raped every week till her age 18. More than 200 times she was raped.

Finally, she left her house, but she could not forgive her father because of his wrongdoing, but later on, she forgave him, because she found the love of God, she could understand who God is, and God restored her again, and today you can see her, a great preacher of Australia. 

Today Paul is writing these words about forgetting, forgetting what is behind.

When I see Paul, who had been beaten, he had been imprisoned. 

He had been tortured, he had been tormented, he had been misrepresented, no other reason but because he was telling others about Jesus. If anyone had a reason to feel anger, or feel bitter, it would have Paul.

But he is saying forgetting what is behind. And he says I am putting all that behind me and 

Now I am moving forward.

As we have entered into 2022, is there anything that we need to leave behind, or to release, or cancel or forgive? Is there some past here that you are still holding?

In 2 Corinthians 5:17(ESV) Paul says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come.

Old things dominated our lives and control our lives, but keep apart that old thought.

Because the thought is going on in your mind, which makes you paralyzed, I want to tell you that thought will not define who is Manish, or who is sister Meenakshi. But Christ defines you now not your past.

This is what Paul is saying, if you want to win a run, you cannot look back.

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) 

Forgot the former things do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

Today God encourages us to think through like do you not perceive it? What?

That I am going to do a new thing. 

The same thing Paul said in his passage that the new has come and the old has passed away.

But this morning I want to tell you one thing, you will not able to perceive anything new in your life if you are living/holding at your past.

Therefore, Isaiah says do not dwell on the past, if you are looking back, you are not going to be seeing what God is doing ahead of you.

If you are just looking at your past, dealing with your issues then it will be bigger every day, but better to see forward and look at Jesus who is going to wrestle your past and who is able to heal those past hurts. 

Forgot your past, because God has forgotten your past.

Do not carry anything of your past, in this year of 2022.

But Paul says straining toward what is ahead, 

When we see, a runner who is going to run, he never runs with full pack cloth on his body, if he will wear that cloth and run, do you think he would win that race? No 

His all strength will be consuming to carry the weight of his clothes. 

Dear brothers and sister 

There will be a lot of things in 2021 that will have prevented you from growing in Christ, which would have prevented you from coming to the Lord, which would have prevented you from moving forward. 

Remove your old clothes and wear new cloth in Christ

Remove your old life, which was leading you to death.

 look forward in this year to God, 

Do you want to grow in this year with God? 

Do you want to get a good relationship with God? 

Do you want to walk to the light and share shine with others this year? 

Then straining toward what is ahead. 

Look ahead worship team, and think that now how you can do better.

Look ahead my brother and sister, and pray to God that how you can strong more in Jesus.

Look ahead metro vihar team and pray that now how we will do in metro vihar

Look ahead senior of this church that how you will push this church into the direction of God 

Look ahead believers, pray to God and ask him that you may grow more in his word.

If we will hold past then we will not able to get what the Lord has set for us for this year.

And when we will look ahead, then we all will be pressed on toward the goal to win the prize. 

Goal to finish your bible reading, goal to 365 days prayer, goal to walk to the light, and goal to achieve all blessing which God kept for us in this year.

And more than that we will be able to win the prize that is heaven. 

For this God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Amen