Dear friends, if we are to be successful in our Christian life and ministry, there is one thing we must do—and it’s a lesson Paul learned: We must learn to forget.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
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, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
(Phil. 3:12-14)
There are two things I want you to notice about this passage Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi: “forgetting those things which are behind,” and “reaching forth unto those things which are before.”
Before you can go on with God, you must forget about the past. Paul, once known as Saul of Tarsus, had to forget about his past as a persecutor of Christians in order to minister effectively.
Let’s notice something Paul said about himself in writing to Timothy:
According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
(1 Tim. 1:11-16)
The Word of God tells us that Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen:
And cast him (Stephen) out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
(Acts 7:58)
And Saul consented to Stephen’s death:
And Saul was consenting unto his death….
(Acts 8:1)
Turning further in the Acts of the Apostles, you can read an account that Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote about Paul:
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
(Acts 9:1-2)
But thank God, God’s great mercy reached Paul! That’s one thing he was talking about when he said, “Forgetting those things which are behind…I press toward the mark.”
It would have been a terrible thing for Paul to continually remember the havoc he had wrought in the Church by consenting to the death of Stephen and persecuting believers.
Dear friends, if we are to be successful in our Christian life and ministry, there is one thing we must do—and it’s a lesson Paul learned: We must learn to forget. If we don’t learn this lesson, we’ll be handicapped the rest of our life in living for God.
Remember this: The Lord Himself said in Isaiah, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions…and will not remember thy sins [iniquities]” (Isa. 43:25). If He doesn’t remember them, why should you?
God didn’t say He wouldn’t remember yours sins or iniquities for your sake (although you get the benefit of it); He said it was for His sake He’ll not remember your sins.
Why? So He can bless you. So He can help you. So He can demonstrate His great mercy and love on your behalf.
Learning To Forget
Looking further at that 26th verse, we realize it is an invitation from God to come before Him and state your case. It’s talking about prayer: “Put me in remembrance: let us PLEAD together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.”
A marginal note in some Bibles says, “Set forth your case.” And you can do that only when you learn to forget.
Coming over to the New Testament, we see a similar verse in Hebrews 8:12:
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
You can see that Paul had to forget his past in order to walk on with God and to stand in the full potential of the office and ministry God had called him to.
May we do the same.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications
Rev. Hagin served in Christian ministry for nearly 70 years and was known as the "father of the modern faith movement." His teachings and books are filled with vivid stories that show God's power and truth working in his life and the lives of others.
Rev. Hagin was born on Aug. 20, 1917, in McKinney, Texas, a son of the late Lillie Viola Drake Hagin and Jess Hagin.
Rev. Hagin was sickly as a child, suffering from a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease. He was not expected to live and became bedfast at age 15. In April 1933 during a dramatic conversion experience, he reported dying three times in 10 minutes, each time seeing the horrors of hell and then returning to life.
In August of 1934, Rev. Hagin was miraculously healed, raised off a deathbed by the power of God and the revelation of faith in God's Word. Two years later, he preached his first sermon as pastor of a small community church in Roland, Texas.
In 1937, Rev. Hagin was baptized in the Holy Spirit and began ministering in Pentecostal churches. During the next 12 years he pastored five churches in Texas: in the cities of Tom Bean, Farmersville (twice), Talco, Greggton, and Van. In 1949, he began an itinerant ministry as a Bible teacher and evangelist.
During the next 14 years, Jesus appeared to Rev. Hagin eight times in visions that changed the course of his ministry. In 1966, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he opened a ministry office. That same year, he taught for the first time on radio—on KSKY in Dallas. In 1967, he began a regular radio broadcast that continues today as Faith Seminar of the Air. Teaching by his son, Rev. Kenneth W. Hagin, is also heard on the program.
In 1968, Rev. Hagin published the first issues of The Word of Faith magazine, which now has a monthly circulation of more than 250,000. The publishing outreach he founded, Faith Library Publications, has circulated more than 65 million copies of books by Rev. Hagin, Rev. Hagin Jr., and several other authors worldwide. Faith Library Publications also has produced more than 9 million audio teaching tapes and CDs.
Other outreaches of Kenneth Hagin Ministries include RHEMA Praise, a weekly television broadcast hosted by Rev. and Mrs. Kenneth W. Hagin; RHEMA Correspondence Bible School; RHEMA Alumni Association; RHEMA Ministerial Association International; RHEMA Supportive Ministries Association; the RHEMA Prayer and Healing Center; and a prison ministry.
In 1974, Rev. Hagin founded RHEMA Bible Training Center USA and in 1976 moved the school and ministry offices to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where they remain. To date, RHEMA Bible Training Center USA has 23,000 alumni, and RHEMA Bible Training Centers have opened in 13 other nations: Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Romania, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand. Together, the 14 schools have more than 28,000 graduates worldwide.
RHEMA Bible Church, pastored by Rev. Hagin Jr., began holding services in October of 1985 on the RHEMA campus in Broken Arrow and has since grown to become a thriving congregation with more than 8,000 members.
Rev. Hagin's daughter and son-in-law, Pat Harrison and the late Doyle "Buddy" Harrison, founded Harrison House Publishers in 1975 and Faith Christian Fellowship International Church in 1977. Both organizations are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Until shortly before his death in September 2003, Rev. Hagin continued to travel and teach throughout the United States and into Canada conducting All Faiths' Crusades and other special meetings.