SERMON (Let It Go)

SERMON

By

Rev. Dr. James E. Tyus

Associate Minister

First Baptist Church

South Inglewood

Given

September 5, 2010

I. My Prayer

II. Greeting and Salutations

III. Scriptural Text:

Psalms 103 Stanzas: 1, 10-12

IV. Theme/Topic:

“Let it Go”

V. Introduction:

As we look back over our lives, and as we think thing over, we can truly say that we’ve been blessed.

Haven’t we been blessed?

Look where the Lord has brought you from.

Haven’t you been blessed?!!!

I know that I’ve been blessed!!!

Who would have ever thought that this little old country would be living in a house that has indoor toilets?-Not just one, but three!!!

· A house with Air Conditioning

· Running water, no doubt!!!

Who would have ever thought that!!!!

Look at your neighbor and tell them:

“Neighbor, I’ve been blessed”.

All of us ought to be standing on our feet and shouting like King David: “Bless the LORD, O my soul:

and all that is within me,

bless His Holy Name.”

Not only has He blessed us more that a abundantly,

“He has not dealt with us after our sins;

nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.”

“He has removed our transgressions from us…

As far as the East is from the West.” [1]

So here we are on this the first Sunday in September, gathered together to observe the Eucharist, The Lord’s Supper!!!

And as we look back over our lives, we realize that God has blessed us in spite of all our many sins and transgression.

As we look at this communion table that has been spread before us in the sight of God, some of us may have guilty feeling in the pit of our stomachs because of past sins.

Well, I stopped by this morning to tell you:

“You’d better Let it Go”!!!!

“It looks like another Love TKO”

Let it Go!!!

If you have repented of your sins and have truly asked God’s forgiveness, “You can Let It Go”!!!

It’s been another “Love TKO”!!!

Yes!!!! God has Knocked them out!!!

“He has removed your sins away from us as far as the East is from the West.”

So, Let them Go!!!

Illustration:

A. A Straight Line – The shortest distance between two

points. (Rope)

B. East vs West/North vs South – The Globe

God has removed our sins away from Himself as far as the East is from the West!!!

The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that; “… all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God…”

None is righteous, no not one according to the Apostle Paul. But isn’t it wonderful to know that we serve a Merciful and Loving God. --A God that, because of His love for us, has not punished us according to the sins that we are under.

He remembers that we are made of the dust of the earth (born in sin and shaped in iniquity).

And we all know that any punishment rendered unto us would be justified.

But God said that He would separate us from our sins as far as the East is from the West.

Not North from South, but East from West!!!

Isn’t it wonderful to know that if we travel east, there’s no end to an easterly direction.

That’s what God wants us to know.--That His separation of us from our sins is infinite.

God speaks to us this morning through the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 43:25 where He says,

“I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for

mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”

Jeremiah knew it too!!! God speaks through Jeremiah,

… “saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and I

will remember their sin no more. (Isaiah 31:34)

If we but Fear the Lord and repent and ask for forgiveness of our sins, He will be faithful and forget our sins (never to bring them up again).

I think you’d better Let it Go!!!!

It looks like another Love TKO!!!

We, as preachers of the Gospel, must tell dying men and women that Jesus loves them. That Jesus died for all our sins.

That He will “lift you up, turn you all around.

and place your feet on solid ground.”

“Let it Go”!!!!

VI. Text Lesson:
But there is somebody here this morning wondering,

“Does God really forgive and forget?

As Christians, we know that He forgives and we deeply appreciate that forgiveness!!!

But once we are forgiven, what does God do with the
memory of that sin?

· Does God “Really” forget?

· Can God “Really” forget?

I might also ask: What do we do with our own memories of our
past sins?

Paul tells us in Corinthians that we are to examine ourselves to see how we are doing in our walk with God.

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

GBut let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnationh to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. [2]

When we examine ourselves, we come to better understand our need for repentance and forgiveness. –

For who among us is worthy of the blood of Jesus Christ.

In the process of examining ourselves, many of us will remember past sins, sins that we have repented of and have been forgiven of.

But we’ve got to “Let them Go!!!! God has”!!!

Hebrews 10:16, speaks of God's Covenant between
Himself and His people in this way:
          "This is the covenant that I will make with them after
          those days, says the lord: I will put my laws upon their
          heart, and in their mind I will write them.”

He then says, “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."

We all know that God forgives our iniquity, our sin, by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. But that is not all He does for us!

God says,

“No More!!! I will remember their sins No More”!

God doesn't just forgive, which in itself is a marvelous and wondrous gift, No No!!!

He goes beyond that. He forgives and He forgets!!!
Forgiven, Forgotten, Forever. Amen!

He will not call our sins to remembrance; they will not ever enter His mind.

GOnce God forgives us, it is as if the sin never happened.

God, in His marvelous mercy, blots out our sins as a benefit to us to be sure, but also for “His own sake” because He earnestly desires to make us part of His eternal divine family.

We have His guarantee that when He blots out our sins, they really are blotted out forever.

He will never bring them up; they will never enter His mind.

It will be as if they never occurred!

GI don't know about you, but somebody ought to give the

Lord some praise right there!!!

Did you know that Paul sometimes doubted his worthiness of bringing the gospel to others or even being saved for that matter?

He wrestled with feelings of guilt and about being unworthy of his ministry because of his past, back when he persecuted the church before encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road.

Jesus told the then Saul to arise and go into the city of Damascus and get on “A Street Called Straight” and wait for a man named Ananias.

And in my eccleastical mind I can see Jesus telling Saul, “Saul, you need to get yourself on over to Straight Street.”

That’s why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:9: "For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."

GJesus had to put Apostle Paul on Straight Street.

Don't we tend to feel like Paul sometimes? Do you ever feel unworthy of your salvation?

Memories of past sins often times bring us down and discourage us. Paul, too, was well acquainted with this problem.

That might very well have been one of the thorns in his flesh that continued to buffet him.

And it might be buffeting us today as well.

Am I right about it?!!!

Now obviously God wants us to learn from our mistakes, and our memories do help to reinforce those lessons.

GLearning from our mistakes is an essential part of building

spiritual character.

But after we have learned from our sin we must “Let it Go”.

GWe must not let the past bog us down and rob us of the joy

God wants us to have.

GThe purpose of examining ourselves is to look for sins that

remain in us, so we can take steps to eliminate them from

our lives.

Although the apostle Paul genuinely felt unworthy to be called an apostle because of his actions against the church prior to his calling, he didn't let those memories hinder him from being a useful tool for Christ.
GPaul came to understand that he had to forget his past, to

put it out of his mind and move on.

Look at your neighbor and tell them, “Let It Go”!!!

Paul refused to let his faults and shortcomings keep him from fulfilling God's purpose for his life.

He wanted to take hold of eternal life as part of God's family.

That’s why he said in Philippians 3: 13-14:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:

but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. [3]

Paul learned to forget those things which are behind.
He learned to put his past out of his mind, just like God does.

Well, Tyus, How did he do that?

· By reaching forward to the things which are ahead.

· By continuing to travel easterly on Straight Street!!!

· Toward the Bright and Morning Star”.

Are you pressing forward, are you reaching for Heaven today?

Is that what lies in store for you?

The purpose of examining ourselves is not to make us feel unworthy or make us sad.

It is all part of God's wonderful plan to reconcile His children into his Family.

By putting sin out of our lives, correcting bad behaviors and wrong thoughts, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we develop Godly character and we allow His Kingdom to come and dwell in us, so that we become more and more like Him as time passes.

GLet us resolve to put the sin out of our lives!!!

“Let it Go”!!!!

And then ask God to apply the blood of Jesus Christ to our sins so they will be blotted out, forever!!!

Then know, and really know, not just in our mind but in our heart too, that God has forgiven and forgotten our sin.

Forgiven, Forgotten, Forever.

Let’s try to do what Paul did, "Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead."

The Heavenly things!!!! -- On Mt. Zion!!!!

— (HERE)

I don’t know about you, But…

I’m pressing on the upward way

New heights I’m gaining every day.

Still praying as I’m homeward bound.

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground!

My heart is fixed my mind I made up!!!

I’m gonna “Walk the Walk” and I’m gonna “Talk the Talk”!!!

Where are you going Tyus?!!!

ØI walking down Straight Street!!!

I’m bound for Mt Zion way out on a Hill.

If anybody makes surely I will!!!

ØThough enemy hounds are on my trail.