Introduction:
Today is the last Sunday of 2024, and it makes me remember “Mang-Nyun-Hoe,” a year-end party I frequently attended. The literal meaning of the term is a gathering held to forget the hardships and unpleasant memories accumulated over the past year. It carries the message of leaving behind the hardships of the past and welcoming the coming new year with hope. Today’s Bible verse from the Lord carries the same message. Let me read it:
Phil 3:13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
This is Paul’s view of the past.
It is what we need to hear as we enter the new year. The eventful year of 2024 is only a few days away. Paul calls us to forget what lies behind us to advance toward the future. What about you? Aren’t you still living in the past? One of the characteristics of a loser is the repetitive and obsessive dwelling on past events.
Ghosts of the past shackles:
This term refers to the haunting memories or negative experiences from your past that continue to hold you back or weigh you down like invisible chains preventing you from moving forward. Psychologically, the term is also called Rumination.
That’s why Paul urges the Philippians to forget what is behind.
Remember: The Holy Spirit makes us look forward, and the devil makes us look back.
Do you have the ghosts of the past that hold you back? Hear what Paul said:
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Let me paraphrase what Paul just said:
Who cares what your past was like?
What matters is now.
Stop nagging and run.”
This is the message that Paul gives us.
Would You Repeat after Me?
I will first read in English, then, in Korean.
“Lord God,
Give us the courage to forgive ourselves and others and release us from the grip of bitter roots so that we may move ahead;
Give us the new vision for the New Year for this church and show us what each of us can do to contribute to the vision;
Give us the strength to run full speed toward the new vision of the new year!
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ.”