DEDICATED TO BRINGING GLORY TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

COLLEGE LAKES BAPTIST CHURCH

4704 Ramsey Street
Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311-1615
Church Office 910-488-8344
Church Cell Phone 910-977-4704

www.collegelakeschurch.org
R E T U R N S ERVICE R EQUESTED

T HE
C OLLEGE L AKES

Challenger

News From College Lakes Church

April 3, 2014

A Message from Reverend Lanier ...

strivings possible; it is the word forgetting.

Paul was a deliberate and intentional forgetter.

Forgetting the Past and Pressing

Forward

One of the things that keeps so many people

from going forward is their unwillingness to
forget or set aside things from their past.
Many are unwilling to forget their prosperity,
position, and possessions in order to fully
follow Christ.

Dont Let Your Past Keep You From

Serving God
by Troy Dorrell

One of the most often rehearsed quotes from

the lips of the apostle Paul can be found in
the third chapter of the book of Philippians.
After listing all the things he has been
through both good and badhe reaffirms
his intention to continue to pursue Christ by
saying:
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.
When we consider this text, we usually think
about Pauls exclusive focus (this one thing
I do). We are inspired by someone who is
following, reaching, and pressing toward the
finish line despite lifes challenges. However,
in the examination of the text we often fail to
consider the imperative word that makes his

Paul, no doubt, had all these things. He was a

Pharisee and a man of prominence, and it can
be assumed that a good life was attached to
these things. But Paul considered them waste
and dung in comparison to living for Christ.
Today, too many of us may have worldly
attachments that keep us from serving Christ,
and we may need to learn to forget them just
as Paul was willing to do.
We also have to learn to be willing to forget
our pains and problems. Many Christians
cannot go forward in their walk with Christ
until they are willing to lay aside some hurt,
offense or problem. Like a computer that has
locked up because it cannot resolve a problem,
we too often get stuck on a recent difficulty
we cant seem to get over. The result is a
heart that is not focused on Christ, a spirit
unable to pursue right things, and an attitude
that lacks grace and peace.

2 New s From College Lakes Church

Forgetting past hurts, offenses, problems, and
failures is necessary in order to genuinely
press toward the mark of Christ-likeness. We
should learn from lifes injuries, not be held
captive by them. Forgetting is often the
prerequisite to going forward. As we follow
the example of the Apostle Paul and echo his
words of this one thing I do, lets not miss
the truth that in order to reach ahead and
press forward it may be necessary to forget
some things.
Let me offer three thoughts about the
importance of going forward and overcoming
the offenses and hurts of the past.
1. Looking Back Encourages the Possibility
of Going Back
When it comes to offenses one of the best
things we can do to overcome them is to stop
rehearsing the hurt in our ears and our heart.
When we do this we begin to justify our
bitterness toward the other person. This keeps
us from focusing on forgiveness, grace, and
the fact that we have often been guilty of the
same failings.
Looking back keeps us from looking to God
for help and the potential of considering our
offender in a better light. If our eyes and
heart are turned in the wrong direction and
we dont become deliberate forgetters, we
then give place to the devil to spoil our spirit
and we allow him to keep us in a cage of our
own making.
Forgiving and forgetting are keys to true
freedom in the Christian life. It is sometimes
best to forget what is behind you so that it has
no opportunity to overtake you again.
2. We Do Not Want Our Response to Fail
of the Grace of God
In the twelfth chapter of the book of
Hebrews, we find encouragement to lift up
hands which hang down and to make straight
paths for our feet, lest that which is lame be
turned out of the way. In offense and injury
it is possible for us to develop a lame spirit
and hard heart. However, God provides all
the grace we need to be bigger than our hurts
and offenses.
Bitterness and anger are deliberate choices to
avoid the resources we have in Christ. When
this happens we run two risks. The first is to
allow the injury to do more damage to us

April 3, 2014

than it should have. Secondly, we run the risk

of our response being more evil or hurtful
than our actual injury. I have watched people,
hurt over small things, respond negatively in
a really big way. They turned a molehill into
a mountain and became viler in spirit than
their supposed offender ever was.
When the Pharisees condemned people harshly
for their sins, Jesus in essence told them their
response was more evil than the sins of the
people they were accusing. We need to go
forward in forgiving so that we dont become
worse than the very thing we think we hate.
3. There Is Much to Be Gained and
Learned by Forgetting
Paul pressed forward for a prize. To him there
was something greater to be gained by moving
ahead and not lingering in the past. That is
true for us in terms of offense as well. There
is simply nothing to be gained by going back
to past hurts and refusing to get over them.
However, by forgiving and pressing forward,
we gain a greater Christ-likeness. We gain
strength, maturity, understanding, and
patience. We grow in wisdom and faith and
give both our offenders and ourselves the
opportunity to learn from the past and be
better in the future.
There are many reasons we should forget the
past and go forward. Chief among them is the
reward of knowing we have done what is
right.

Ushers for April 6

A.M. Jerry Adams
Michael Williams
John Johnson
John Hughes
Billy Tyson
Sonny Alvarez
P.M. Ken Triplett
Welcome New Member
Please welcome Jerry to our fellowship!
Sunday, April 6
Dr. Ken Williams will be preaching Sunday.
Prayer Request
Please pray for Liz Triplett and family in the
passing of her mother.