Episode #52 Your Past Doesn't Define Your Present

Speaker A: 00:00:03

Welcome to the Hobo Soul Podcast of Road advised from the Bible and from me, Yvon Prehn, someone who's a little further down the road of life. I'll talk to you every Tuesday and Thursday for about 10 minutes.

And if you'd like more in depth information on walking with Jesus, you can find that at my www.bible805.com website. For now, let's get started on our topic for today, which is

Episode number 52 Your past doesn't define your present.

In Philippians 3: 13, 14 it says "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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Anybody over the age of 12 has a past, either a big past or a little past. Huge mistakes or minor transgressions.

We've all got one and Satan loves to bring it up.

Just when you're feeling really good about yourself and your walk with Jesus, the worst thing you can do for yourself, your walk with Jesus, and ultimately for those around you, in your family and ministry is is to camp out there, to pile on the guilt all over yourself again to allow it to cripple you. Remember in Romans 8:1 we are reminded there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

That is the legal determination from the throne of God. It is totally true. It is the foundational fact of your salvation. You are not condemned by God, but busy little worriers that we are.

We're quite good at condemning ourselves to help us in that and not pile on more guilt. And so again to be crippled in living the life Jesus wants you to live and so you won't feel more guilty about feeling guilty.

Let me share two lessons from the Bible. The first one is from the Apostle Paul. He lived the reality of not looking back, but pressing ahead.

He is the one who said the verse that I quoted earlier I do not consider myself to have taken hold of. He's talking about the final goal in Christ. But he says one thing I do forgetting what is behind.

He pressed ahead in the books of the Bible that he wrote. He doesn't go into detail at all about the horrific things he did prior to coming to know Jesus. He simply mentions he persecuted the church.

Now, that was not a small, insignificant action. He ruined people's lives. He had people arrested, imprisoned and executed. We have no idea how many or for how long this went on.

God knew every detail and he Forgave Paul. Paul was no longer condemned. His past was his past. Everybody knew about it. But it did not matter for Paul's current calling. And so he pressed ahead.

You may think you've done horrid things, and you may have done horrid things. Most likely you didn't cause the destruction of families and the death of many. But regardless of what you've done, you are forgiven.

You are no longer condemned. Don't look back. Press ahead and work for the kingdom of God. Rejoice in that. All is forgiven, all is forgotten in the mind of God.

And be who God wants you to be. Today there's another story, and this is. This is a really interesting one.

I just discovered it myself in reading the Bible and doing a little research. And this is about a group that's called the Sons of Korah.

Now, you might be thinking, if you've read the Bible a lot now, that sounds like a familiar name. They are mentioned quite a bit in the Psalms. You know that this is by the sons of Korah, from the sons of Korah, etc.

But their backstory is fascinating.

In the days of Moses, when the children of Israel first left Egypt, their ancestor Korah was someone who rebelled against Moses, and he tried to stir up a massive mutiny against Moses. Now, that was obviously not pleasing to God.

And in judgment, Korah and his immediate family were swallowed alive when the earth opened up and enclosed over them. Now, somehow, a branch of the family was not judged, did not participate in the sin.

And years later, during the reign of King David, who was himself someone who was greatly forgiven, the sons of Korah were included as the authors of some of the Psalms that David in the later part of his life, arranged for temple worship. Now, it's worth noting the little phrases that you see at the beginning of many of the Psalms.

For example, from Psalm 84, it says, for the director of music, according to the Gitaf of the sons of Korah, a psalm. These comments were not later additions to the Psalms. They weren't added by some future editor or just put in your translation.

They were part of David's original notes when he was putting the Psalms into final form.

And each time he did something that mentioned the sons of Korah, and each time the Psalm was read or sung, it served as a reminder that no matter how sinful not only our personal life might be or how horrific our heritage, God can redeem everything and anything.

And not only redeem our lives and our heritage in sort of a bland nothingness, in forgiveness, but forgiveness into a rich, full, incredibly blessed ministry. Your past does not define you. No matter how great your sins, it is not who you are today.

You are not judged or cursed for anything your family did in the past. Once you are a Christian, a child of God, that is the only heritage that matters.

As a final reminder of how the forgiveness is always new with God, let me close with part of Psalm 84. This, of course, was a psalm written by one of the sons of Korah, and here's what it says.

What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord who set their minds on pilgrimage. When they walk through the valley of weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.

They will continue to grow stronger and stronger, and each one of them will will appear before God. Forget your past, rejoice in the future God has for you, and grow stronger and stronger as you focus on your calling in Jesus.

That's all for this podcast, for transcripts, links to related material and much more to help you learn to know, trust, apply and teach the bible. Go to www.bible805.com for now, let me end with this benediction and prayer.

May you walk each day surrounded by the gracious love of the Father, guided by the gentle wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and conscious of the astoundingly real presence of Jesus, who will walk with you until you're no more a hobo soul, no more a transient, wandering heart, but at home in the kingdom prepared for you with your God forever. Amen.