“Let’s talk about our past. This is an area that many fail to realize they can, and must, be loosed from. We have all been there, and no doubt, are still there. Yet, in the spiritual kingdom of God, if we are going to walk in the Spirit and mature in our walk and relationship with Christ, we must be delivered from out past. God cannot forgive what we will not commit to him. “
To View Entire Article, Click Here
To Download the Article Directly to Your Computer, Click Here
To View PowerPoint, Click Here
By James Holland, Sr.
Getting Free From Your Past
Let’s talk about our past. This is an area that many fail to realize they can, and must, be loosed from. We have all been there, and no doubt, are still there. Yet, in the spiritual kingdom of God, if we are going to walk in the Spirit and mature in our walk and relationship with Christ, we must be delivered from out past. God cannot forgive what we will not commit to him.
In John 18: 25 & 27, we find the account of Peter warming by the fire, and of course, denying the Lord, not once, not twice, but three times. Yet if we look close at the life of Peter, we will see ourselves. He was so spiritual and yet so carnal, so we see in him the struggles of us all. The truth is, we don’t recover from failure, guilt, and wrong decisions easily. We fall into canyons of despair, trials, and wrong choices, and all the guilt that goes along with them. Peter was following the Lord, yet not closely, so he found himself warming by the wrong fire. When we stray from the fire of the Holy Ghost, we will always wind up at the wrong fire. Thank God Peter was forgiven and freed from his past by the Master. Had he not been, who would have delivered the message on the day of Pentecost? True, no doubt, that even after his deliverance, every time he heard a rooster crow, it sent chills through him.
Satan had driven his spear deep into the spirit of this future Holy Ghost preacher, just as he drives his spear deep into our human spirit when we make mistakes and wrong choices. The oppressor never grants freedom. You better know that even when you come to God, and are born again, that Satan will be sure to place some roosters around in your life, to remind you of your past.
When people do not get free from their past, they always respond to wrong choices with phrases like, “it’s not my fault”, “I am not to blame”, and “everyone has problems”. Remember, God can’t heal what we deny! How can he touch what we cover up? Don’t be afraid to confess wrong to God; he already knows it anyhow.
When we confess, we are agreeing with God that we have done wrong, yet we believe that God will forgive us. We, in the kingdom, need to know the power of forgiveness. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things have become new.” Paul also writes in Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the Love of God, tribulation, distress, persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?” He continues if verse 38, “nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers nor things present nor things to come” shall be able to separate us from the Love of God. Notice he did not mention the past. Why? Because if we do not allow God to deliver us from our past, our past will hold us in bondage. You need to let the power of God shoot the roosters in your past.
How do we get free from our past? The Bible declares we must be born again (John 3:5, Acts 2:38). We must receive the forgiveness of God, then we must walk in that forgiveness. God’s love is so great for us that there is nothing we can do to destroy His love for us.
