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FORGETTING THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE BEHIND

by James Manning  
12/29/2012 / Christian Living

Philippians 3:13
King James Version (KJV)
13Brethren, 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,

If you are going move ahead or go forth into the great life that has been given you in Christ Jesus you must be willing to forget those this which are behind.

Remember, all that has a beginning, in the bible is consider a thing. Therefore man is also considered to be a thing,


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

The old things are everything that you were before Christ and the new things are everything that you are in Christ Jesus.

You and I must forget everything that we were before Christ; we are to forget that old life; we are to forget that old man.

And you may ask, but how do I do that? Well, I'm going to show you how to do exactly that. But let me begin by helping you understand something about yourself,

Past-Present-Future

First you need to understand something about yourself in reference to your past, present and future.

As you know, your present life is sandwiched between your past and future.

Without your past and your future, your present has no active expression. Your present is either dominated by the active expression of your past or your future.

Let me illustrate it this way, without a past or future your present is like a sheet of paper with nothing on it.

Man was taken from the earth, and when God formed the earth there was nothing on the earth, the earth was without active expression until the Lord God planted his seed into the earth.

The active expression of the earth was in the seed.

And because man is earth and was taken from the earth, he also must have seed planted within him in order for him to have active expression.

Every seed has a future harvest, it was planted in the past but it will yield fruit, that is, its active expression in the future,

Why is it set up to work this way? Why didn't the Lord just set it up so that a seed would be planted in the past and just give me a present life?

One of the reasons are that the Lord never intended for you to live your life by looking behind. Even though the seed was planted yesterday, your life is ahead of you and not behind you.

But we ended up with another problem, man lost his future.

Remember this, God is the only one who can predict and set in motion an accurate future for his people. that will happen exactly the way he set it in motion to happen.

When the enemy of God and man came and distracted the man by planting a different seed (or word) the man looked back and he lost his future.

Now remember, the devil can not take away from you what you refuse to take your eyes off of.

When man took his eyes off of what the Lord God place out in front of him, he became a man of the past (literally).

Now we have a man who's stuck in the past, somewhat like a man who is stuck in quick sand. he is a man without a future.

Having your conversation in times past,

Ephesians 2:1-3
King James Version (KJV)
2And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.


Now get this, to walk according to the course of this world is to walk backwards. Which is to say, that you are living in the past. And this is the very reason why you as anindividual can not get ahead.


HavingNoHope,


Ephesians 2:12
That at that time ye werewithoutChrist, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having nohope, andwithoutGod in the world:

Hope is always future tense, hope is always favorable.

Man without God has no hope nor future. The only thing he has is his past. The past is dominating the man's present. His past is being expressed in his present; you are indeed looking at a man of the past.

Now get this, your present is either being dominated by your past or future, there is no in between

ThatYou MayKnow

Ephesians 1:18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is thehopeof his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

God has call you to hope; the word 'know' in this verse means to see. God has called you to a future hope, and you must see this hope,

Now understand this, you have a hope that must be seen by you while you are still living in anticipation of hope in the future, and this means that your future can be a living reality in your present right now..


The apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of your understanding be enlighten that you may see the hope that you have been called to.

Now, why is this so important? It is important because of the fact, that whatever you see or look at steadfastly will dominate your present.

You will never be able to forget the things that are behind you until you refocus your eyes and begin to look steadfastly at what's in front of you.

You can not look behind you and in front of you at the same time.

As you fasten your eyes on what's in front of you, what you see ahead of you will erase your past,

And what's ahead of you in your future hope will dominate your present, and your present will have a new active expression.

Now remember this, Your new hope is everything that you are in Christ Jesus. And even though it is future, it can dominate your present (now).


AboundingInHope

Romans 15:13
Now the God of
hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in
hope
, through the power of the Holy Ghost.


You are abounding in hope when your hope is dominating your present (now) through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God did not intend for you to just do the miraculous, but he intended that you live the miraculous.

For your hope to dominate your present is for the Holy Spirit to come upon your flesh causing you to bodily walk like Jesus walked. Your hope or future is a life that has been given to you by God.


Paul said that he was looking ahead to the mark of the high calling of God. It is a high calling because the Lord God has given the Lord Jesus the highest seat. He has raised him above all others, and the bible says he has raised us up together with him in heavenly (high) places.

You are everything that Jesus is, and the only way that you are going to forget who and what you were before Christ, you must fasten your eyes upon him.


For AsHe IsSo Are We


1 John 4:17
King James Version (KJV)
17Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

You are an exact duplicate of Him, as he is right now seated at the right hand of the Father in heavenly places so are we in the world.


This is what you and I must look steadfastly upon if we are going to forget what's behind us.

Let me ask you a question, what are you looking at? Or, what do you see?


If you see anything other than who you are in Christ Jesus then you are looking at the wrong person.

2 Corinthians 5:16-18
King James Version (KJV)
16Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Verse 16 starts out by saying that we see or know no man after the flesh. And verse 17 says, if any many be in Christ he is a new creature, and that old things (all that your were before Christ) is past away, and verse 18 says, and all things are of God.

If what you see when you look at yourself is not of God, then you are looking at the wrong thing.

Do you want to be free from your past? If you do, then you need to fasten your eyes upon Jesus, the one who is the hope of your calling.


Hebrews 12:2
King James Version (KJV)
2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.


Jesus is both the start and finish of your faith. He is the finish product of all that you are at this very moment. But your past (all that you were before Christ) will continue to dominate your present as long as you continue to look behind you, and you are looking behind you when you look at who you were before Christ.

In other word you are no longer a sinner saved by grace.

But you are now a son of the most high God, and you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

You are complete in him, which is the head of all principalities and powers.

You are an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ Jesus.

Right now you are just as holy and pure as Jesus is holy and pure. What he is, so are we in this world.

You are a man or woman who is free from sin and all error.

In you there is nothing lacking and there is nothing missing.

Remember, it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that you will be able to switch over and have your future hope to dominate your present, so get acquainted with him.

Let him be your friend, show him the proper respect. Do not be afraid to talk to him on these lines. Prick up your ears to his voice, knowing that he will always respect what is written, His voice is in what is written,

Awake!!! Awake!!! awake to righteousness and sin not!!!

When you truly understand this message, you will be able to answer those who ask you do you sin by saying no. It is impossible for the seed of God to sin, and I am the seed of almighty God and as his seed I remain in him.

1 John 3:9
King James Version (KJV)
9Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Now I am the seed of God, that is the same as saying, now I am a son of God,

1 John 3:1-3
King James Version (KJV)
3Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

I am called a son of God because right now I am a son of God and as he is so am I in the world and it is with this hope (future) that I declare that I am as pure as he is pure.


Forgetting those things which are behind!!!



Copyright By James R Manning
All Rights Reserved

Started his ministry as a pastor in the African Methodist Episcopal church and later became an associate pastor in the Missionary Baptist Church. James graduated from the Word of Faith Bible School in 1983. He is a certificate holder with Rhema Bible School. James founded and pastured the Shinning L

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