Philippians 03:12-14 Looking Back – audio

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Text: Philippians 3:12-14

Introduction

1. Earlier this year, the college football season opened with the University of Michigan playing Alabama.

2. Michigan was beaten badly. 41-14.

3. After the game, coach Brady Hoke said, “The important thing is that we can’t let Alabama beat us twice. This is a week where we will learn about our team’s leadership and our motivation. There are only 11 more guaranteed opportunities for University of Michigan football games, so we have to learn from what happened in Dallas and start focusing on Air Force this weekend.”

4. Wide receiver, Devin Gardner said, “”I haven’t looked at every defense we play, but they have got to be the best. I learned more in that game than I’ve learned in all the practices I’ve had since starting to play wide receiver. That’s the important thing. We don’t just want to forget this happened — we need to learn from this and apply the lessons to Air Force. We can’t let one team beat us twice.”

5. In these comments we see two important facts.

a. Michigan wanted to learn from their mistakes and get better.

b. Then they wanted to move on and not allow Alabama to “beat them twice.”

6. In other words, once they had analyzed the game and learned all they could, they wanted to forget about it and move on.

7. As Christians, we must do the same thing.

Body

I. IT IS BENEFICIAL TO LEARN FROM THE PAST.

A. We can learn from other’s mistakes – 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

1. Notice that in 1 Corinthians 10:6, we are told that what happened to Israel was an example to us.

2. Notice that in 1 Corinthians 10:11, we are told that these things were written for OUR admonition.

3. Their failures, and their subsequent punishment, should teach us…

a) Not to lust after evil things – 1 Corinthians 10:6

b) Not to become idolaters – 1 Corinthians 10:7

c) Not to commit sexual immorality – 1 Corinthians 10:8

d) Not to tempt Christ – 1 Corinthians 10:9

e) Not to complain – 1 Corinthians 10:10

f) Not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought – 1 Corinthians 10:12

4. The Old Testament and history in general are full of lessons to be learned.

B. We can learn from other’s successes – Hebrews 11:1-12:2

1. Hebrews 11:1-40 is often referred to as the Hall of Fame of Faith.

2. It gives us a list of people who trusted God and were rewarded for it – Hebrews 11:6

3. We read of such people as:

a) Able.

b) Enoch.

c) Noah.

d) Abraham and Sarah.

e) Moses.

f) And many others.

4. Then in chapter 12, we are told… Hebrews 12:1-2

a) That “great cloud of witnesses” is comprised of all of those who we discussed in the previous chapter.

b) Their faithfulness to God and God’s faithfulness in them ought to teach us to trust in God as well!

C. We can learn from our own mistakes.

1. David’s example.

a) With Bathsheba.

(1) 2 Samuel 12:7 – Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!…

(2) 2 Samuel 12:13 – So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

(3) It is important to note that, even though he undoubtedly would have had other opportunities, David never did something like this again.

b) With the movement of the ark.

(1) 2 Samuel 6:3 – So they set the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.

(2) 2 Samuel 6:6-7 – And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.

(3) David learned from his mistake – 1 Chronicles 15:11-15

2. What about us?

a) Are we wise enough to learn from our past mistakes?

b) Proverbs 26:11 – As a dog returns to his own vomit, So a fool repeats his folly.

c) We have a duty, an obligation, to learn from our past mistakes.

d) If we do not learn, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes again and again.

e) Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. – Einstein.

f) Learn from your mistake so that at least one good thing will come from it.

D. We can learn from our own successes.

1. David’s example – 1 Samuel 17:34-37

a) David knew that God had delivered him from the lion and bear in the past.

b) As a result, he knew that God would deliver him from Goliath.

c) It is important to note that David gave God the credit. He did not claim to have done these things by his own power or strength.

2. What about us?

a) Do we remember all of the answered prayers?

b) Do we remember all of the times that God helped us get through a difficult patch?

c) Remembering those things ought to give us courage for the future.

II. ONCE WE HAVE LEARNED WHAT CAN BE LEARNED FROM THE PAST, WE MUST PRESS ON.

A. Dwelling on past mistakes can be torture.

1. If ever anyone who had a past that they would like to forget, it had to be the apostle Paul.

2. Yet, he said that he had to forget the past and press on – Philippians 3:12-14

3. There comes a time, when you just have to move on and press onward and upward.

4. Even if our heart condemns us (We can’t forgive ourselves), God is greater than our heart – 1 John 3:20

B. Dwelling on past successes has the potential to be equally dangerous.

1. Past successes will not get me to heaven.

2. I have to stay faithful till death.

3. Ezekiel 18:24

4. Even Paul pointed out that he had not yet attained to perfection – Philippians 3:12

5. I must not be overconfident – 1 Corinthians 10:12

III. THERE IS ONE SENSE IN WHICH WE MUST NEVER LOOK BACK – LUKE 9:61-62

A. No one has ever turned back who has not first looked back.

B. We dare not look back on our previous lifestyle with longing.

1. Proverbs 3:31

2. Proverbs 23:17

3. Proverbs 24:1

4. Proverbs 24:19-20

C. Hebrews 6:4-6

D. 2 Peter 2:20-21

Conclusion

1. As Christians, we must learn from both our past mistakes and our past successes.

2. Once we learn what we can, we must move on…

a. And not continually beat ourselves up over our mistakes.

b. And not continually pat ourselves on our back for our successes.

3. We must never look back to that old life of sin with a desire to return.

Delivered on: November 11, 2012. Streetsboro.