No longer living in the past part Three

Maybe it’s not that anyone done anything to you maybe there is something in your past that you did, you let a friend or you feel you failed your spouse or children.  Maybe you said some hurtful things to someone.  Now you are carrying it around with you wonder to yourself, how could I have done that.  If only I could go back and have a due over.

This is not only unhealthy for you it also keeps you from being free to move forward.  We see Joseph he is not allowing to past to control him one bit.  But his brothers, all sudden remember what they have done. Now they are saying we are being punished for what we have done in the past, we sold Joe into slavery to die and know look at us.  They believed that God was punishing them for what they had done.  I’m going to tell you this, they were not being punished for what they done.  God does not punish us on this earth.  In fact what they didn’t know was what a blessing they were about to receive.  The only thing they could see was there past they were living in the past.

Let’s open our bibles to genius chapter 45 and lets read beginning with verse one.  I love this part, this whole time Joseph has been testing his brothers, he can no longer hold in all the emotions and says I am Joseph your brothers. Then he tells them to come close to him and has this to say to them. “But don’t be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives.” What a relief for the brothers, forget about living the past Joseph just released them of their past.

You see when we forgive people it one allows us to stop living in the past, and two it frees the person who wronged us to stop living in the past.  Realize that the person who wronged us may not realize what they have done or may not want that releasing and that there decision not ours.

Maybe right now you are sitting there saying that sounds really nice Scott but you have no idea what I have been through, no idea what has been done to me.  Let’s pick up our bibles and turn to John chapter eight and we will begin our reading at verse one. Let me give you a background information on what is happening here, the leaders of the church did not like Christ and what He was preaching so they thought they would try to trap Him and discredit His ministry so let us see how this plays out.

You see what happened there at the end, here is a woman who is condemned has no right to live by the law. Christ tells her I forgive you go and sin no more.   We have no right to ever not forgive someone and let go of our past.  God almighty the God who has never sinned, who came to earth and died on cross for our sins says your forgiven come follow and sin no more.