Sunday Morning Service - Forgetting what is behind you, living for Christ

Sermon Summary: “Forgetting What Is Behind You, Living for Christ”

1. A Call to a Year of Yielding

The sermon opens with a prophetic emphasis for the new year: a year of yielding. God’s will is not accomplished in believers’ lives through effort alone, but through surrender. Just as Jesus yielded His will to the Father in Gethsemane, believers are called to yield their strength, plans, and control to God so His purposes can be fulfilled.

1. Sanctification Comes Through Yielding

Believers are already perfected in Christ, yet are continually being sanctified. Sanctification is not achieved by striving, but by yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit. Our position in Christ is greater than our current condition, and real spiritual growth requires humility, honesty, and willingness to change.

1. Peter’s Failure Reveals the Danger of Self-Confidence

Through Matthew 26, the sermon examines Peter’s denial of Jesus. Peter failed because he:

• Refused to believe Jesus’ warning
• Neglected prayer and watchfulness
• Substituted action for prayer
• Followed Jesus from a distance
• Catered to his flesh

This progression shows how spiritual drift leads to open denial when believers rely on self-confidence rather than surrender.

1. Yielding Prevents Spiritual Collapse

Jesus warned, “Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation.” The sermon explains the difference between falling into temptation and entering into it deliberately. Yielding involves intentionally setting one’s life up for spiritual success through prayer, discipline, and obedience.

1. God’s Grace Restores the Fallen

Despite Peter’s failure, God’s grace was greater. Fifty days later, Peter stood up on the Day of Pentecost and preached the most powerful sermon in history. This demonstrates that failure does not disqualify a yielded heart. God restores those who repent and trust His grace.

1. Forgetting What Is Behind

From Philippians 3, the sermon teaches that many believers are controlled by their past. “Forgetting” does not mean erasing memory, but neglecting its power. Paul deliberately turned away from both sinful and successful parts of his past so he could pursue Christ fully.

1. Yielding Requires Intentional Neglect of the Past

Believers must choose to lay aside memories, regrets, accomplishments, and wounds that hinder forward movement. No counselor or circumstance can do this for someone—it is a personal decision empowered by the Holy Spirit.

1. A Unified Pursuit of Christ

The church is described as a people who are “with it” because they share the same pursuit, not because of obligation or structure. When believers wake each day seeking to please God, unity naturally follows.

1. Final Call

The sermon concludes with a strong call to surrender:

• Yield fully to God
• Forget what is behind
• Press toward the upward call of Christ
• Live not by sight, but by faith

Believers are challenged to enter the new year with renewed commitment, trusting that a yielded life leads to freedom, restoration, and spiritual power.