YOUR PAST DOES NOT DEFINE YOU GOD DOES 2 Corinthians 5:16-19

Transcription

1 YOUR PAST DOES NOT DEFINE YOU GOD DOES 2 Corinthians 5:16-19

2 Introduction Part 4 of our series Be Transformed We first saw how we need to no longer be conformed to this world or worldly thinking We need to get rid of stinking thinking We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds

3 Introduction Then, we looked at our need for love a love that never fails We were created with an innate need to be loved (relational beings) This need is so great, most will do whatever it takes to find it The only place to find it is in your relationship with God

4 Introduction Last week, we looked at how God really sees us So many believers today question their worth and who they really are The truth is that we are special because that is the way God made us We need to embrace this truth because this is how God sees us

5 God s Truth You are SPECIAL You are not a mistake You are not less than God meticulously created you to be who you are You are His masterpiece!

6 Introduction Today, I want us to look at how our past can define us Our past can motivate our living in the present Our past has the power to shape our lives Our past can cripple us or empower us

7

8 So, the big question you and I must answer is Will we run from our past or learn from it?

9 2 Corinthians 5:16-19 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who

10 2 Corinthians 5:16-19 has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

11 How does our past define us? GUILT I wasn t strong enough I wasn t brave enough I didn t trust God enough I wasn t committed enough Guilt keeps us from embracing the truth that we have been made over by God

12 How does our past define us? SHAME Creates a fear of judgment We believe what others think is more important than what God thinks We believe we must be perfect to be accepted (by others and by God) We try to hide from it (run from it or overcompensate for it)

13 How does our past define us? HURTS Create a spirit of unforgiveness (hurts we have inflicted and hurts we have endured) Create a spirit of fear (to be hurt again) Prevent us from embracing others (our forgiveness or their forgiveness) What do we do?

14 Embrace God s Truth You are a NEW creation You are not a failure old things have passed away You do not need to fear judgment everything has become new You can forgive and be forgiven you have been reconciled and given the ministry of reconciliation

15 Embrace God s Truth You have been RECONCILED Your reconciliation with God is not based on what you have done You were reconciled through what Jesus did for you To experience this reconciliation, you must first deal with your sins

16 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

17 Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

18 Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more."

19 Embrace God s Truth You have been RECONCILED This means God has taken care of your sins There is no more guilt before God because Jesus made it right Having experienced this reconciliation, you must be reconciled to others

20 Embrace God s Truth You have the ministry of RECONCILIATION If God has reconciled you to Himself through Jesus If God has taken away all your sin through Jesus If God has recreated us as new creations whose past no longer defines them We must be reconciled to others

21 Embrace God s Truth You have the ministry of RECONCILIATION We forgive as we have been forgiven We accept others as forgiven by God We do what depends on us to be reconciled to others Then we must trust God to do what only He can

22 Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

23 Embrace God s Truth Reconciliation means our past need not define us He works all things together for good Therefore

24 Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

25 Embrace God s Truth Reconciliation means our past need not define us He works all things together for good There is no condemnation for you and me Therefore, there is assurance of victory over our past

26 Romans 8:37-39 "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

27 What will you do? Quit the stinking thinking? Keep wallowing in the guilt of your sins and mistakes? Keep being enslaved by the shame of your past? Embrace the truth that God has defined you as a new creation? Accept others as new creations, too?

28 This is who you really are This is who they are, too!

29 Remember.

30 God Does!