Here's Something Worth Forgetting, Part 1

Hello this is Dave Speicher with an important reminder that midnight this Thursday is the deadline for sending your special year-end donation to Insight for living. Be sure to contact us today while it's fresh on your mind. If you're listening in the United States. Call 1-800-772-8888. You can also give online@insight.org with less than one week to go in 2020 is the perfect time to pause and conduction needed introspection doing so.

Perhaps, to set some new goals, and indeed most of us could afford to make a few changes. Perhaps it's shedding a couple of pounds more exercise will today on Insight for living Chuck's window suggests that our resolutions for 2021 might include a personal virtue that's likely to surprise you. Some of us need to master the art of forgetting teaching from Philippians chapter 3 titled today's message here something worth getting all Scripture is God breathed and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness with the man or woman of God may be mature, competent in every way he wrote elsewhere. Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort from the scriptures might have hope.

So in the Scriptures we have instruction we have reproof, we have direction and we find hope. It seems appropriate on this transition. Sunday and along with next Sunday that we spent time thinking about something that is worth forgetting today and then next time something that is worth remembering will look at James for next time. But today we look at Philippians chapter 3. If you have a copy of the Scriptures. Please turn to Philippians 3, I began reading a little after the beginning of the chapter and then I'll read along until the end of verse 14.

I'll be reading from the new living translation.

Philippians 3 I'll start at verse four, down through 14. We love the Lord our God, and out of respect for him and his word. We stand for the reading of the Scriptures verse four of Philippians 3 begins the lot could have confidence in my own effort. If anyone could indeed if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts.

I have even more however circumcised when I was eight days old.

I am a pure blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a real Hebrew if there ever was one.

I was a member of the Pharisees who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish wall. I was zealous so zealous that I partially persecuted the church and as for righteousness, I obey the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for his sake.

I have discarded everything else counting it all is garbage so that I could gain Christ's and become one with him on no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law rather I become righteous through faith in Christ, for God's way of making us write with himself depends on faith.

Verse 12.

I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I've already reached perfection but I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me know, dear brothers and sisters. I've not achieved it but I focus on this one thing forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God through Christ Jesus is calling us. Obviously, when you look at that 13 verse you can see what is worth forgetting all of us look back today to a year. That is almost passed just a few hours.

It is over. It's a good thing to remember what has been beneficial. It's healthy to forget those things that drag us down things that need to be forgotten, things that we sought for our own glory and our own recognition to search the Scriptures with Chuck's window. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going online to Insight world.org/studies. Today's message is titled here something worth forgetting.

Abraham Lincoln said listening intently, hardly moving a muscle. He chose to sit on the side room of the New York Ave., Presbyterian Church.

The Civil War was raging and wherever he went and seemed to cause a disturbance and he wanted none of that. He was there to worship to be fed spiritually and he listened as Phineas Gurley, the pastor preached his sermon when it was over. Lincoln continued to sit and ponder what he heard. The only one near him was his personal aide sitting at his side who broke the silence as he whispered to the president well what did you think of the sermon.

Lincoln paused for a few moments and then responded briefly and bluntly, I think it was a failure.

But why would you think it was a failure as the Lincolns quick answer was this because he did not ask of us anything green. I will say without hesitation.

My sermon today will not fail if that is the reason for a field sermon I'm going to ask of you something great but I need to warn you ahead of time. It won't be easy and it won't come naturally, but I assure you it will be worth all the effort before I address this bad habit. All of us must break to give you a statement of why statement the life which is unexamined is not worth living. Buzzwords are not only wise, their ancient Plato.

The Greek philosopher first thought them and then woke them 400 years before Christ came to this earth. I occasionally wondered if Paul in his studies.

Read Plato and David might have influenced him when he wrote the words in first Corinthians 11 verse 28.

You should examine yourself later in life. He wrote something similar to young Timothy first Timothy 416. Pay close attention to yourself. The new living translation renders that keep a close watch on how you live JB Phillips handles it this way. Keep a critical eye upon your own life. I'm grateful for the transition that comes annually. It's a natural time for us to Paul's and examine ourselves.

By the way, when we examine ourselves we discover things no one else knows we dig into the secrets of our lives we've never shared.

We acknowledge habits that we begun to form but quite likely no one else has noticed in the self-examination is profitable. In fact, Plato was right.

If one lives a life without self-examination is hardly worth living that life. So today, as I warned you earlier.

This is going to include something that won't be easy, but it will make life worthwhile. As we examine ourselves to ignore this occasion would leave us with a life not worth it.

So it's time to cut to the chase here is that something great.

I'm going to ask of you stop being preoccupied with what has been and start looking forward to what might be.

It's important enough to repeat stop being preoccupied with what has been and start looking forward to what might be. In other words, get me along the way you were that is the past for much of it was putting you in the center and move on to a bright new tomorrow that allows Christ to take first place. Let him redirect your future in areas you right now do not know about or could even expect allow him to take center stage and in today's terms to call the shots stop the bad habit of longing for things and your own life to be as it has been and start anticipating and focusing on the way things could be and through Christ should be. I can already hear the metal breaks screeching first because of the habits that you have formed for your stock and if nothing else, you found security in those habits of reliving, rehearsing, going back over the things of the way you were. Throughout this past year.

This kind of habit breaking has good scriptural support is found in Philippians chapter 3 verses 13 and 14. I read that and I do and when I do it when I've done it earlier. I smiled because I pictured Paul who has a lot of things on his plate. His mind filled with a lot of situations. A number of people needs his own battles, to say nothing of the battles he was fighting with the enemy and he boils live down to this one thing I do is you miss that as you get to the end of verse 13, I focus on this one thing look at forgetting the past. Looking forward to what lies ahead. And what a past Paul headed. I realize as I say that I'm speaking to people who also have had some pretty illustrious past we have in our congregation. The person who was once a professional football player. He was a star in fact of the team. We have an individual in our congregation who has been a professional musician played in fine orchestras and symphonies still plays very well but all of this is passed, we have individuals who have run companies they've done very well and their success is now known among the business world realize that we have you who have reared a family no small task.

Your children are pressing on doing what you had long for them to do that is fulfill the will of God in their lives.

You look back, remembering that past all of these things in the past have had their great and glorious moments. You.

You may even have a shelf for you have your awards.

Nothing wrong with that trophy cases are found in many homes. Maybe one of your walls is marked by plaques, photos and images of you with other great people. I have a good friend in Jake Kessler, who was the leader of youth for Christ and then later became the president of Taylor University wonderful friend dear man.

He said you know, I realize truck as I looked over the wall. I have with pictures of my shaking hands with great people, all those great people are looking at someone else while they're shaking my hand. I feel I got mean very little to those people, though that picture means a lot to me. Paul look back at his wall of significance and of telling you no one else in his day could have these trophies. That is all of these and I count seven of them. Beginning in verse five of that same third chapter he started all exactly is a good shoe would begin circumcised the eighth day of his life. He said I am pureblood citizen of Israel, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest, but the significant tribe from which the first king of Israel, James Saul king Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin. I was a real Hebrew if there ever was one. Since Paul, I was a member of the Pharisee you and I don't appreciate that because in our world there are an appointed official Pharisee, but when you were a Jew and you were a Pharisee you were like none other.

I've been told that her sword could pierce a scroll of the scriptures and the Pharisee could tell you which words in the scrollwork peers. They knew the Scriptures like that much of the word of God was memorized, especially in the Torah and always from the Old Testament. I was a Pharisee who demanded the strictest obedience of the law. So to sell us was I that I made it a career out of persecuting Christians those who were standing against us. Those people of the church. Those who saw themselves as the actually see the called out ones I've found them and I put thumbs down on them and I saw that they were brought to trial and I watched as some of them were put to death and I smiled all the way through it I obey the law without fault. It was it was a an external blamelessness that I live my life and I love the applause and I delighted in the significance of my role, but would you notice what he writes. Once I thought those things were valuable, but now everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for his sake. I have discarded everything when the apostle Paul peels away the layers of his own personal interest revealed that everything is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Jesus you're listening to Insight for living in a message from Chuck Swindoll will hear more from this study in Philippians 3 on Tuesday and took us here to share a closing comment as well so please stay with us to learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org. Let me give you a sneak preview of what's ahead in the new year of 2021.

Chuck is already mapped out as preaching schedule for the program and I'm pleased to tell you that were going to begin a brand-new verse by verse study through the book of Matthew. Matthew provides a detailed description of the life and ministry of Jesus that begins with our king's arrival in Bethlehem and ends with his great commission. In addition to Chuck's teaching series were pleased to offer his brand-new commentary. It's called Swindoll's living inside commentary for Matthew and is published in two hardbound volumes. If you're prepared to deepen your knowledge of the real Jesus, we highly recommend that you purchase your copies in time to begin the study with Chuck to purchase Windows living inside commentary for Matthew Collis if you're listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or go to Insight.org/store in these more than 40 years of ministry that inside for living has been teaching the Bible, I've never witnessed a year quite like 2020, chances are you have an either. This was a year defined by general enormous disruptors. The disruptors are personal disasters that derailed our plans and stole any modicum of peace would come to enjoy the number-one disrupter.

Of course, was the unnerving coronavirus, but make no mistake, the chaos cannot be isolated to a contagious flu bug alone. In addition, Colby did seem to ignite a powder keg of emotions that exploded like bombshells in our political and civil discourse and the end result.

Our world is embroidered in the diabolical war against itself. These are serious days and now you're probably thinking on chart lighten up a little. I know I know is not like me to paint such a dark and hopeless picture but I would deny the obvious. If I didn't acknowledge the minefield of troubling issues that litter our path today, so here's where I turned the corner lest we think were trekking through uncharted territory. Let's pause to remember Jesus has been down this road before. In fact, when you think back this time as were rife with crisis just desires our impact when the baby Jesus broke under the human stage in Bethlehem, the political climate in Rome was deep and treacherous Caesar Augustus was demanding a census and Herod the great was on a rampage of fury and it was no accident that Jesus arrived when he did remember Paul's words when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son, Galatians 44 20 Matt was Jesus arrived right on time. Ultimately Jesus died on the cross right on time and later walked out of the grave right on time.

I believe that God has appointed Insight for living ministries to declare the truth about Jesus for such a time as this.

It is right on time. He is our only hope.

Christ is still the one who is able to bring light when all around us is dark as night. God is still with us in this year of loss and violence division arguments and pandemic. So now as we turn the page and come to the end of this chapter called 2020.

I'm asking you to join me in proclaiming the truth about Jesus with a world that's overcome with fear. Look, I'm keenly aware that many of our listening family have endured financial setbacks this year. I realize that and I stand with you. Some, however, are capable of giving on their behalf above and beyond in any case, I can assure you that your much-needed year-end gift will become a light to those who are walking in darkness.

Any amount God places on your heart to give to Insight for living ministries will make all the difference.

You can imagine and it will make a difference to those in need. Together, let's assure them of this.

You are not alone.

God is still on the throne and he's always right on time. Thanks Jack.

Perhaps you're in a position to give on behalf of others who come to rely on Insight for living. Just as someone once did for you and your generosity right now will arrive at just the right time.

So here's how to connect your listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to Insight.org you can also get a year-end donation by calling us listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or give online@insight.or Swindoll continues his something worth forgetting. Tuesday Insight for living. The preceding message here something worth forgetting was inaugurated in 2019 and 2020 and the sound recording was copyrighted 2020 by Charles R.

Swindoll. All rights are reserved. Will duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited