DON’T LOOK BACK
I want to stress to you
that I myself, have made many mistakes in this area almost more than any other
area in God’s Word. I’ve worked it, experienced it, and paid the consequences
because it seemed to take me forever to just simply listen to God and not argue
with Him. I must say that this type of teaching often reminds me of how it
baffles me as to why they never teach human relations courses in college – how
to get along with your fellow workers – one of the most important aspects of
any job. Am I right? Let’s get to the Word.
I urge you to read
Genesis Chapter 19 before continuing. Lot was threatened by a crowd of
homosexuals – that’s right. They wanted to "know" him. That means
they wanted to have deviate sexual intercourse with him. What this group did
not know was that God had sent two angels to Sodom at evening (v. 1). But the
angels protected Lot and allowed the men pounding at the door to go blind (v.
11). These homosexuals brought it upon themselves. God brings no evil upon
anyone – HE ALLOWS IT TO HAPPEN. How? He allows the devil and his devil spirits
to inflict harm upon people who, by their own free will, choose to disobey God.
Let’s now go to verse 12:
And the men [angels]
said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy
daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: -- Genesis
19: 12
"Listen Lot, this
place is going to be history soon! Did you get everyone out of this city?"
The angels of the true God were trying to help Lot by warning him of what was
about to take place.
For we will
destroy this place [allow
it to be destroyed], because the cry of them is
waxen great before the face of the Lord; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy
it. – Genesis 19: 13
God sent those angels
and they weren’t messing around – they had a job to do and when God does a job,
He does it right. He doesn’t miss even the most minute detail.
Then the Lord
rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; -- Genesis 19: 24
And he
overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the
cities, and that which grew upon the ground. – Genesis 19: 25
What did God do? He
wiped out both cities – the plain – the inhabitants – the plants – EVERYTHING!
Do you think He missed anyone…………… or anything? God does a job right. So much
for the twin sin cities.
But here now is the
whole point of this record. First, we need to back up several verses to verse
17. Now note what the angels told Lot, his wife, and his two daughters. DON’T
FORGET THIS RECORD. This record sets the stage for this teaching and by
remembering it, it will greatly help you to master this very important
principle in God’s Word.
And it came
to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he [the angel] said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay
thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. –
Genesis 19: 17
Now watch this.
Revelation is always accurate to the necessary detail. Look what is in this
verse. "Escape for thy life" . . . . . . . . "LOOK NOT BEHIND
THEE" . . . . . . . . "escape to the mountain" . . . . . . . and
the consequences if you do not adhere to the revelation that is from the true
God . . . . . . . . "lest thou be consumed". Never do more or less
than God’s revelation. This will do more harm than good. Do what God tells you
to and stop. Remember, I’m teaching you keys to the more than abundant
life.
The angels were
relaying God’s detailed instructions to Lot and his family as to how to survive
what was about to take place in verse 24 – the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah. What should stand out to you in verse 17 that relates directly to
this teaching?
The angels instructed
them to "look not behind thee". Well,
you may think; ‘What’s the big deal if I turn around and look back?’ The big
deal is God said don’t do it. Either you listen to God or you don’t. If you
don’t genuinely want to listen to every Word that the true God speaks, then
this teaching and this web site is not for you. This web site is designed to
build leaders that will carry on God’s rightly divided Word for all their days.
Next verse: remember it forever.
But his [Lot’s] wife looked back
from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. – Genesis 19: 26
Lot’s wife was walking
behind him and by her own free will, turned around and looked back at the
destruction that was taking place. She outright disobeyed God’s instructions.
She died. We all have an old man and temptations that make us want to bring
back the past without realizing that this is not God’s Will for us. Especially
when we try to return to something that in the past ended in a disaster. Sound
familiar? I can and will give you some examples from my own life. But first we
must go and see what God says about the past.
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, –
Philippians 3: 13
God wants us to forget
the past since there is no profit in it at all. Some people constantly dwell on
the past – they live in it. It’s a form of devil spirit possession. It destroys
people. This spiritual attack on people reaches it’s fullest manifestation when
we actually make an attempt to return to something we once did where we were a
miserable failure. I’ve done it. Possibly, I use the term ‘possession’ too
loosely. A person who is manipulated by something spiritual can be said to be
controlled or possessed. No one is ever completely possessed – it is temporary.
When the spirit, who is always a parasite, gets what it needs, it moves on. God
wants us to reach forth unto what is in the present. We are not to live in the
past or worry about the future. This record concerning Lot and his wife is one
of the best representations of the purpose of this teaching from God’s Word.
Let’s now take a look
at what God once again thinks about the past. This example concerns sin itself.
And their
sins and iniquities will I remember no more. – Hebrews 10: 17
When we break
fellowship and sin and confess that sin to God, He forgives us. But look very
closely at what the verse says. I REMEMBER NO MORE. When God forgives He
forgets. So if a sin from the past comes up in your mind, it can’t be coming
from the true God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Then it must
be coming from another source and that source is the god of this world.
When you desire to
return and look back to something you once failed at, that thought is coming
from hell. You need to remember that or you will be defeated in many areas of
your life. Looking back is one of the most subtle tricks the adversary uses and
with great success. Perhaps it’s time to give you some real examples from my
own life.
I did great in a job at
a State Hospital for the mentally challenged for a certain amount of time. But
then I experienced many problems with the staff who could care less about the
patients. At one point I lost interest, ‘doors closed’ and God wanted me to
leave. I left. For about 10 years or more, the thought of returning bothered
me. I tried reinstatement, took the exam all over again and spent many long
hours working with human relations. I had an interview and practically was
rehired. They decided to actually shut down this large hospital at the about
the time I was about to return. All that time, energy, and effort seemed WASTED
except for the fact that I could teach this example now to you. If you keep God
first, He will cover for your mistakes. However, if we keep making the same
mistake over and over again, we are going to have consequences. Don’t look back.
It was never God’s Will for me to go back – it was my will.
I graduated college
with honors, but much later became dissatisfied. I wanted to go back. During my
last two years at school, I experienced very many difficulties at a certain
campus away from home. People were like ‘ice’ compared to my home campus and
area. I later enrolled in graduate school at the same campus. I had a very
problematic instructor right from the start. To make this short, I withdrew
after one semester. It was God’s Will for me to finish my 4-year degree, but it
was not His Will for me to ever return again – it was my will. The time, work,
and money I spent seemed wasted – except that maybe you can learn from my
experience and therefore profit from it. Don’t look
back.
This is a difficult
renewed mind principle to master. You have to work at it. Remember what the
Word of God says you can do.
I can all
things through Christ which [who] strengtheneth me. –
Philippians 4: 13
Literal: I
am ready for everything and equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength
into me.
You can do everything
and anything according to the Word of God. God says "Don’t look back"
and you can do it. God never brings up the past to us so why should we bring it
up? I can go on with my examples for a long time. So let’s get back to the Word
of God and take a look at someone who did a marvelous job not dwelling on the
past. He could not afford to. Why?
The Apostle Paul
received the greatest revelation from God than any man in that time period.
You’ve got to be on talking terms with the Father to have that type of
relationship. Paul received the revelation of the great mystery.
To whom God
would make known what is the
riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory: --
Colossians 1: 27
Before Paul was
converted, we all know what Paul did. How in the world did he become such a
great man of God and not continually condemn himself by thinking on the past
and looking back at his old man? He applied the Word of God – that is the only
thing that defeats the adversary. I could say that a billion times. It only
works if you believe it. Here’s one dynamic principle Paul applied.
I thank my
God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: -- I Corinthians 14: 18
He operated this
manifestation of the spirit more than any other man. There are 12 documented
benefits to speaking in tongues in your private prayer life [see The
Benefits And Purpose Of True Worship]. It’s
God’s Will that you speak in tongues as much as possible. You want to argue
with Him, go ahead. When I speak in tongues, nothing – I mean nothing gets to
me – nothing bothers me – nothing defeats me. Paul became spiritually strong by
praying in the spirit as much as possible.
If Paul looked back, he
couldn’t live with himself, let alone accomplish what he did for God. Paul
mastered the art of not looking back – not thinking about or dwelling on the
past. That’s how he was able to do so much for the true God.
I do not want to repeat
myself or extend this teaching farther than it is necessary for it to be
effective. I honestly believe the point has been made. I only care that just
one person adheres to what is written in this teaching. That person will get
blessed and not be defeated any longer. That’s what the Word of God will do for
any man or woman who dares to believe and apply His perfect Word. You need to
understand that you are in a spiritual battle all of the time.
Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour: -- I Peter 5: 8
The enemy utilizes fear
and persecution to trick Christians into making serious mistakes and errors in
judgement. You need some help – you need to live by God’s blueprint and then
you will see the true God accomplish the following for you.
And the God of peace shall bruise [crush] Satan under your feet shortly [quickly]. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
-- Romans 16: 20
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