THINGS YOU OUGHT TO FORGET -- Phil. 3:13
I. Introduction
A. Memory is a wonderful thing. It is said James Farley knows 100,000 people by name.
1. Angel Martinez, a Southern Baptist Evangelist has memorized the entire New Testament.
2. I had a teacher in college who memorized everything in a Life Magazine and would tear it up
and distribute it to scores of people who then asked him various questions concerning the articles.
B. The Bible tells us to remember certain things.
1. Remember thy Creator in the days of your youth.
2. It is important to remember but it is equally important that we also learn to forget.
C. The happiest most useful people are those who know how to forget.
1. Paul tells us that he had learned to forget the things which were behind.
2. It would be wonderful for all of us if we would all develop the faculty of forgetting.
D. Many live bitter and unhappy lives because they cannot forget certain things which have happened.
1. Time is a great healer but it doesn't seem to help some people.
2. They simply don't want to forget.
3. They harbor things which eat away their happiness and spiritual power.
4. If we are going to have peace of mind we are going to have to learn how to forget.
E. What are save of the things that we are to forget.
II. We Must Forget Our Sins
A. All of us have sins to forget.
1. You can find all types of people in the world but you will never find one that hasn't sinned.
2. Not only does the Bible speak out against our sins, but our consciences condemn us. We know we have gone astray.
3. All of us are sinners and we all have sins to forget.
B. There is only one way to forget your sins and that is to lay them upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. He comes to us in our sins and says: Put your sins on me.
2. Though I have borne all the sins of the world, I still have strength to bear yours.
3. I will wash them away in my own blood.
4. 1 will remember them against you no more so you can forget them as well.
5. If Christ has taken our sins then there is no need for us to bear them.
C. God says; "As far as the east is from the west, so far will I remove your transgressions from you."
1. Isaiah 38:7 Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.
2. Thy sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
3. When we face Him in heaven, we need not be ashamed for God will have forgotten all our wrong doings because they are cleansed by His blood.
III. Forget the petty Quarrels and Misunderstandings of Life
A. It is natural for us to disagree and misunderstand one another. All of us are just a bit selfish.
1. Because we are we can be easily offended if we think someone has said something unkind about us.
2. We harbor those things in our hearts and refuse to have anything to do with that person, this adversely affects our life.
B. A genuine Christian should be too big to keep these things in his heart.
1. He should forget them and put them away.
2. We must remember our own weaknesses. In doing so we can overlook the weaknesses of others. (Matt. 18:21-35)
3. Life is too short to carry grievances against others.
4. A wrong spirit eats away happiness even as cancer eats away the vital parts of our body.
C. We must maintain a forgiving spirit and forget the petty quarrels and misunderstandings of life.
IV. We Must Forget the Money We Give to God
A. The reason I say that is because, we have a tendency toward thinking, Man., think of what I could have bought if I hadn't given so much money this past year.
1. All that we have belongs to Him - He gives us the health and strength to make every penny.
2. When we give to the Lord, we are simply paying rent for the space we are occupying in His world.
3. Money was never meant to be our master, but our servant.
4. It should be our joy to give to His cause.
5. The only real treasures we have are those which are laid up in heaven.
B. There was a double cartoon in the newspaper some time age. in the first panel a man was seen going up to a theater ticket window. He said, "Give me two of the finest six dollar seats that you have in the house." In the next panel we see him sitting in church. As the offering plate is passed by, he puts in a dime and there is a scowl upon his face. Yes, we freely pour out our money elsewhere and give God the leftovers.
1. A certain Christian business man gave $25,000 to the cause of Christ.
2. A year later his business went under, someone reminded him of the money he had given away and said; maybe that money would have saved your business.
3. The businessman wisely responded; All I have left is the money that I gave to God. That gift to the Lord's work is the only money that I saved.
C. Our investments here can fail but the ones laid up in heaven are eternal.
1. Jesus admonishes us - to lay up treasures in heaven.
2. No one has ever lost anything by giving to the Lord.
V. We Must forget Our Sorrows
A. Bible says; Man that is born to woman is of few days and full of trouble.
1. All of us have our sorrows. The sun shines for a while and then darkness comes.
2. How can we forget our sorrows - We can only do it by bringing them to Jesus.
3. He says; Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
4. We are to cast our cares upon Him and then leave than there.
B. As we go through life let's learn the value of forgetting.
1. Let's place the past into His capable hands knowing that He will care for us and bring us safely through.
2. Someday we will discover that many things which seemed so hard down here were really blessings in disguise.
3. God has allowed them for our good and His glory.
C. This allows us to forget the things that are behind and to press forward to the things that lie before.
I. The only way that can be done is by forgetting on the one hand and receiving on the other.
2. Receiving Christ as Savior - Receiving humbly His dealings.