Category: The Past

The Past – Our Biggest Enemy?

January 9, 2021

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:13-14

Is there one thing that will disqualify anyone from making it to Heaven aside from committing blatant sin? The scripture says that nothing can separate one from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39). Is that true? Is it really impossible to be separated from God’s love?

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Romans 8:38

But, what about the things not mentioned? Is something missing in the list? The present is mentioned and so is the future. But, what about the past? The Apostle Paul does not include the past as something that cannot separate one from the love of God. That means the past can. Our past is more powerful than we might imagine. Let’s take look into this.

The past is a powerful thing. It can be a well of pleasant memories of our childhood with family and friends. It can bring back thoughts of places we have been and experiences we have encountered. On the other hand, the past can be a difficult place to navigate. In fact, the New Testament writings when referring to the past many times paints it with colors from a dark, foreboding palette: (Rom 11:30, Gal 1:13, 23; Eph 2:2-3, 11-12, Phm 1:11, I Pet 2:10). These actions of the past are referred to the Apostle Paul as “dead works” (Heb 6:1 & 9:14), acts we all have committed of which we are ashamed and not particularly proud.

Why is this? When reminiscing about the past why do we tend to concentrate on the negative and not the positive? It is as if an internal switch defaults in the down position. This is no doubt a result of the law of sin resident in our members (Rom 7:23-24). So, when dealing with the past we come out of the runner’s block in life already disadvantaged because of the law of sin that seeks to always overrule our spirit (Gal 3:3, 5:17) that includes sinful thoughts and past sinful actions.

The Past & Who Is In Control? 

The past is also peculiar and somewhat enigmatic. The past on one hand can control us, yet on the other, it can be something else. What? The past can be something that only we manipulate that no one else can. Not even God if we so choose. We can be its arbitrator, judge or liberator. We cannot always control our present and less so our future. However, we can control our past by awakening it and repressing it at will. We can “bring up” the past on one hand and forget about it on the other – at will. Our will. That is control fueled by self-centered power. We can take ownership of the past because in doing so we can willfully control it. It is a piece of us that hinders and stymies the work and will of God in our lives because by manipulating our past we are in control and not God. And that is a big problem. A problem big enough that Jesus gave a warning:

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62 

Looking back (to the past) disqualifies one for kingdom work. It is a disqualifier and debilitating. Is this a hopeless situation? No, not with God. Because Jesus offers us new life, a new future and new beginnings. The key is to relinquish the past and move forward, by faith and trust in the Lord and in His word. Jesus came to heal us of our past – past mistakes we have committed (and we have all done them), past failures (even those), things done in the past to us, unpleasant thoughts from the past, all of these things Jesus can and is willing to give us victory over. Yes, he certainly can. And then we have the enemy to contend with in all this which brings us to the next subject. 

The Past & Oz Behind The Curtain

The enemy knows how powerful your past is. He understands that if he can interject or resurrect past unpleasant thoughts into your mind (yes, the devil has the capacity to do that – 2 Cor 10:5) he can at worst control you or at best stymie your spiritual growth and development.

Before we go any further, it may be in order to get a better understanding of this adversary we are dealing with. Demonic spirits are past-bound spirits with no hope and no future. Demonic spirits were in the past a part of God’s angelic heavenly host. They partook of the wonders and splendors of Heavenly glory (Jude 1:6). No more. They rebelled, were kicked out of heaven and driven to earth as fallen creatures (Rev 12:7-9). Their only hope, their only means of even the slightest relief before their final destination of eternal torment in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10) is to latch onto another God-given spirit that does have hope and a future. And that God-given spirit lives in you. The devil and his cohorts find relief by accusing, oppressing and possessing humans who have a spirit with hope. What is their diet? Dust (Gen 3:14). What are you made of (Gen 2:7)? This explains the conflict. 

So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. Matthew 8:31 

God created swine (pigs) for a purpose and for a reason. They are farm animals and make good pulled pork and bacon. And even a pig retains its original God-given purpose. Fallen angels did not. They are dead spirits. Devils even seek to find relief possessing a farm animal living under God’s provision and favor. Okay, let’s move along.

The enemy completely understands he cannot control a person with a “made up” mind, a mind focused on God, His Word, totally surrendered to God’s will and unequivocally trusting in God’s person. The devil has lost the battle with that individual who lives no longer in the past and lives instead in the promises and hope of His Person and Word. A believer set free from the shadows and vestiges of the past is unstoppable when infused with faith, hope and love. This is not the case for those bound by the past, those whose lives are directed by its sinful reminders whether true or untrue. This is a place where the Creator of the heaven and the earth does not want you to be for he came to heal and set you free of your past:

In Conclusion

Left untempered and unrestrained, our past may be our biggest enemy. By God’s grace and His promise of new life, the past can be a distant memory God has healed and made whole. But, someone may ask, “You don’t know my past? You do not know what I have experienced in life, the things I have done or the things done to me”. No this blogger does not. But, there is someone who does. Jesus experienced more shame and pain than any other human that ever walked this earth. And Jesus can be touched by your pain and shame because he has been there (Heb 4:15). Someone made the following statement: “Get yourself a good prayer life because no one understands your pain better than God”. 

The enemy wants your hope. The enemy wants your future because he has none. It is said that the devil does not care about your past or your present, he just wants to steal your future. Don’t let him. Jesus has something more powerful for you than what a future-less, hateful and destructive end the enemy hopes for your life. What is it? It is the New Birth of water and Spirit (Joh 3:1-15 & 7:37-39). A new life, a new beginning and a entirely new bright future eons away from your regretful past.

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; Song of Solomon 2:11-12

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

What’s On Your Mind?

February 28, 2017

mind-1
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Did you notice something there? Did did the writer leave anything out?

The Present? – No (‘things present’ is there).

The Future? – No (‘things to come’ is there).

THE PAST? Yes. The past is missing in the two verses.

The past can separate us from the love of God. The past is the only thing that can sever the love of God from accomplishing its perfect work in one’s life.

The Apostle Paul, the writer of the above two verses, knew a thing or two about the past, and much of it he wished he could forget. Let’s look into this a little bit further.

The Mind and The Conscience

Paul wrote more about the mind and the conscience than any other writer of the New Testament. Before his conversion, Paul was known by his Hebrew name, Saul, the fervent persecutor of the church. He was responsible for putting mothers and fathers in jail, and even put to death. He also tempted believers to deny the Lord and blaspheme his name.

It is quite likely when he ministered in synagogues sons and daughters were present who were orphaned, and women who were widowed, because of the persecution he leveled against the Christian church. His sordid past undoubtedly stared him right in the face on more than one occasion.

This writer of Romans knew about a past filled with regret and remorse. And that is a very heavy weight for anyone to bear. Paul’s epistles  contain all but 4 of the 31 times the word ‘conscience’ is mentioned in the scriptures. Paul had a lot to say about the conscience.

Why? Our conscience has a tremendous influence not only in this life, but also in our eternity (remember the Biblical account of the rich man and poor Lazarus?). Paul knew all about a conscience and he carried the load of that weight on his shoulders throughout his life. He never forgot where the Lord had brought him from. It is good to think like that.

The somewhat condescending nature Paul embraced bled into his thought patterns. This in turn caused his epistles to reveal a writer as someone who lived with a heightened sense of awareness of the human conscience. Interspersed throughout Paul’s writings we see a man who lays bare his inner man and shows a hurt deep down inside that he could never dismiss.

We read scriptures such as:

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. I Timothy 1:15

And ….

And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am….. I Corinthians 15:8-10

The phrase “born out of due time” is actually the translation of a Greek word used only one time in the New Testament – ektrōma. Ektroma means ‘a wound’, an ‘untimely birth’, a ‘miscarriage’ (abortion).

Paul is literally saying that he considers his life, in comparison to Jesus’ other esteemed acquaintances and intimate companions, a mistake, an aberration, a birth gone awry.

Why make such a fuss over the conscience? Because the conscience is a major player in spiritual growth. One cannot grow spiritually, mature or allow the Lord to build the level of perfection He desires into our lives if our conscience is out of kilter and misaligned. In fact, one just simply cannot effectively operate in any kind of spiritual capacity if a past lurking in the background is birthing a mercurial conscience:

And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. Acts 24:16

There are men and women who formerly held responsible positions in the church, pastors, pastor’s wives, Sunday school teachers, or just everyday normal people who may have never set foot in a church who are separated from their healing by God’s love. Why? How?

Because of their past. A past that will not let them go. A past that separates them from God’s healing love.

The Solution

Let’s start with the ‘numero uno’, the big enchilada that stumps us the biggest and is the wrecking ball of our past, the ‘S’ word – SIN.
When you start to make a move towards God you will have to face the ‘S’ word. Jesus has us covered on that one:

Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:8-10

Our sins and our PAST can be ‘put under’ and put away by the blood of Jesus Christ. There is more.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:17

And …

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38

Looking Past the Past

In conclusion, the only way one can be separated from the love of God is for that separation to be generated internally, not externally, by that person. If such a force exists it must be of an internal origin, a space of time known as the past.

In fact, Jesus eludes to this space in Luke 9:62:

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

By looking at things we leave behind, things in the past, we disqualify ourselves from doing kingdom business.

Is your past holding you back? If Jesus gave Paul the healing he needed to become a champion and powerful messenger of the love and grace of Jesus Christ to a dark and sinful world, He can do the same for you.

Be Blessed.