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BURY THE PAST "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 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." (Philippians 3:1-14) I'm going to speak mostly about verses 13 and 14, forgetting the past and focusing on the future, but I included verses 1 through 12 also because of the contrast that they offer. Paul is in prison, yet he's writing about "joy" in verse 1. Joy is the theme of Philippians, yet he's writing the letter from a prison! You might remember that in Acts 16 he was in jail, at Philippi, along with Silas, yet they sang praises to God at midnight, and some pretty exciting things happened. They didn't sing the blues; they sang praises, and God got involved and turned the whole thing around for a great victory, not because of sadness and complaining, but because of joy and praise. That's what this deluded world will never understand. You don't find happiness by complaining, protesting, marching, fighting and trying to squeeze your so-called "rights" out of someone else. True joy comes from WITHIN. It cannot be found externally. That's why Whoopie, Joy and Sunny will keep right on being bitter, angry and gloomy. They don't have a clue what it means to be happy at all, much less happy in the Lord. Paul started out in Philippians 3:1 by exhorting the believers there to "rejoice," and then he emphasized that this was a spiritual thing of the heart, not of the flesh. That's why the world don't get it. Then he goes into his own past and shows why he COULD make excuses for playing the victim and moaning the blues, because he had been a brainwashed Pharisee who persecuted the church. Some folks grieve over what others have done TO them, but Paul's case was even worse, because not only had the evil Pharisees done him wrong by teaching him wrong; he had done others wrong. So that's a double black mark on his record. He could have dropped his head in guilt and depression and used that as a crutch for the rest of his life, but he had better sense. For sake of decency, I don't want to overdo it, but I think it's important to notice a word that Paul uses in verse 8. He said that his unfortunate past that amounted to great loss he counted as DUNG that he might win Christ. That's is, what happened in the past was DUNG compared to what he now enjoyed in Jesus Christ. That's the mindset that Paul had, and that was the secret to his joy and victory. Now, as I said, I don't want to overdo this, but an application is needed here regarding the DUNG that Paul mentioned. Please turn to Deuteronomy 23. This is Moses doing a rehearsal of the Old Testament law with the people of Israel, and God has many laws about cleanliness. One such law was this one in verse 13: "And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee." They didn't have toilets to flush, so God said for them to EASE themselves and then BURY IT. Both were important. Don't hold it in. Get it OUT and GET IT BURIED. Amen? When Paul compared his unfortunate past to dung, that's what he was saying: BURY IT. He was saying, "HOW DARE YOU MENTION A TROUBLED, STINKING PAST IN LIGHT OF THE GLORIOUS, ADUNDANT LIFE THAT YOU NOW HAVE IN JESUS CHRIST!" He was saying to never even think of defeat when we have victory in Christ! He was saying to BURY THE DUNG and move on. I don't care if you FELL into the sewer; you don't have to stay there. Get out, clean up, and move onward. Yet, some folks refuse to do that. They might sing, "We shall overcome," but they'll never overcome, because they refuse to come over! They keep looking back. Some look back and complain, others look back to grieve and try to "find closure," they say, but it's all a big waste and a big mistake. If you want closure, you will find it in the death, BURIAL and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Your past can be finished, because Jesus said "IT IS FINISHED." Your past can be BURIED, because Jesus was BURIED, and you can rise to live a better, more abundant life because Jesus ROSE from the grave. Stop stepping in the dung, and just BURY it and move on! Until then, you will not have victory and you will not have joy. Look at Deuteronomy 17:16: "But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way." Egypt is a type of the world, the old life before you were born again in Christ, or maybe even periods of backslidings in your new life. Look at the command: "Ye shall henceforth return no more that way." Flush the past, bury it and move on. That's the command. Come to Psalms 45. This is actually one of the messianic Psalms, and there's a great picture of the church in verses 10 and 11: "Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him." Look at that. He said to FORGET some people so you can truly worship God. That doesn't mean to totally forget them, but rather to forget anything about them that hinders you spiritually. Cut the ropes so you can be free and happy in the Lord. Next, let's get Luke 9:62: "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." If there's something in the past that is encouraging and inspiring, then that's good, but some things just need to be buried, and they'll stink up your life, if you don't bury them. I suppose there are different reasons why people have such a problem with that. One reason is that they have never really settled the thing with God (Plp. 4:6-7). Another reason is that they have nothing better going on in their life right now. Kind of hard to bury the past when you have no future. That's sad, but very true with many people. I know a man who has completely destroyed his life, his joy, and possibly even his health by living in the past. Two or three people in his family supposedly did him wrong years ago, and now that's all he can talk about. He's having some pretty concerning health issues, possibly due to unnecessary stress, and he sees a shrink every week. Yet, there's never any new developments, never any real progress or victory. Why not? BECAUSE HE REFUSES TO BURY THE DUNG! Alright, get Luke 17:32-33: "Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." You know what Lot's wife did. She not only looked back; she looked back from behind. She lingered and lusted after the things of the old life instead of showing faith and joy in her new life in the Lord. Jesus said to remember her, lest you and I fall for the same sorry example of unbelief and loss. It's an insult to God for a believer to be continually unhappy about the past and unexcited about his glorious future. I Corinthians 2:9 says, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him," yet some Christians get nothing out of that at all because their life is all stunk up by some dung that they failed to bury five, ten, twenty, or maybe even fifty years ago. It's DUNG, it STINKS, and it is totally unworthy to have any influence in the believer's life today! BURY IT, and then bury the shovel so you won't be digging it up again.Just a couple more. Get Philippians 4. Verses 6-7: "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." The Christian's heart and mind is the rightful home of faith and joy, not fear and gloom, so God says to bring EVERY THING to him with a thankful heart and LEAVE IT. BURY IT. There's a period at the end of verse 6. Just think of that as a grave where you buried the stinking past. Then, and only then, can we claim the promise of having the "peace of God, which passeth all understanding." Some folks never have it, because they've never given the past a burial and a funeral. Okay, Romans 8:18: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." There it is again. Whatever bad might have happened, it isn't worthy to have any place in the believer's life today. Lot's wife LOST her life by thinking that it did, by looking back instead of looking forward. The very angels of God Almighty had taken that woman by the hand and set her without the doomed city with her family, giving her every reason to hope and to believe in a brighter future, but she insulted God by looking back with sorrow and fear instead of looking forward with gratitude, faith and joy. Then she lost it all. Don't make that mistake, friend. You get only one life. Don't stink it up with the past and become an offense to God by failing to BURY YOUR DUNG. We all have dung. Some bury it, and some carry it. Ease thyself, bury it, and get on with your life. Sorry to be so, crude, but that’s what some of you need to hear.