#26 Letting Go of the Past and Finding Freedom in Christ

Sunday LivestreamBecoming Whole

11 May

Written By Dave Connolly

YouTube Video of the Church Service

Time Stamps

00:00:00 - Welcome and introduction with Dan and Jan
00:02:00 - Talk begins: Forgetting what lies behind and pressing on
00:07:00 - The marathon analogy: What runners teach us about perseverance
00:13:00 - Why looking back can make you stumble in your spiritual journey\
00:17:00 - Finding your focus and surrendering control to Jesus
00:21:00 - Moving beyond disappointment and embracing God's purpose
00:24:00 - Conversation Street: Practical ways to let go of the past

Letting Go to Move Forward

Looking back can be a dangerous habit, not just in running, but in life.

As Pastor Dave Connolly showed us in his recent talk, when runners continually glance over their shoulders during a race, they're likely to stumble, slow down, or even crash into others. The same principle applies to our spiritual journey.

"Don't look back, look forward. Keep your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, regardless of what you're going through," Dave urged us. It's a powerful message drawn from Paul's words in Philippians 3: "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead."

But what does it actually mean to "forget what lies behind"?

The Marathon of Faith

Dave's wife, Julie, runs marathons. Not casually – she's been at it for over a decade, training consistently regardless of weather, mood, or circumstances. Through her dedication, we glimpse what spiritual perseverance looks like.

Marathon runners don't wake up one day and decide to run 26 miles. They build endurance through disciplined training, nutrition, rest, and mental preparation. Even when injured, they don't abandon their identity as runners – they recover thoughtfully before resuming their journey.

Similarly, our faith journey isn't about instant transformation. It's about consistent, intentional movement toward Jesus, especially when life gets tough.

"I've been a Christian since I was 19," Dave shared. "I've seen God do some really amazing things in my life...amd I am thankful for what God has done, from where he's brought me through some really difficult times."

The Christian walk isn't easy. We take knocks, encounter difficulties, get hurt and broken by people around us – sometimes intentionally, sometimes accidentally. But God doesn't want us to get caught in our brokenness.

Active Forgetting vs. Passive Time

Our culture often says "time heals all wounds," suggesting a passive process where memories simply fade. But Paul describes something more intentional: actively choosing to let go while pressing forward.

It's not denial. As Dave clarified during Conversation Street: "I don't think it's a forgetting. I think it's letting go... You choose to let go."

This active letting go often involves forgiveness. Last week, Sharon spoke about forgiveness, and during Conversation Street, she noted how "once I've forgiven from my heart, the hurt which was previously constantly on my mind becomes faint and more difficult to remember."

The hurt may still exist in your memory, but it no longer controls your thoughts or defines your identity. You've chosen to release its power over you.

Finding Focus in a Distracting World

One of the most challenging parts of letting go is the constant bombardment of competing messages. Dave highlighted how cultural mantras like "follow your heart," "be true to yourself," or "live your truth" directly contradict Jesus's teachings.

"Jesus never said follow your heart," Dave noted. "Scripture says the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure."

Instead, Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow him (Matthew 16:24). Our focus determines our direction. Like marathon runners who keep their eyes on the path ahead to avoid collisions, we must fix our gaze on Jesus to navigate life's complexities.

The Prize Before Us

Marathon runners don't just run for a medal. They run toward a finish line, toward the satisfaction of completing what they started. Similarly, Christians aren't just avoiding sin or earning merit badges – we're running toward Jesus himself.

"Get a hold of that finishing line," Dave encouraged. "I just envision him with his arms open... When Jesus was on that cross, his arms were spread wide open, inviting us to come, to welcome us."

This vision of Jesus waiting with open arms gives us something positive to move toward, not just something negative to move away from. We're not just leaving our past but embracing our future in Christ.

Practical Steps Forward

So, how do we practically "forget what lies behind" while pressing forward? During Conversation Street, the team offered several suggestions:

Actively choose forgiveness - When someone has hurt you, choose to release them from any debt you feel they owe, even if they never acknowledge their wrong.
Create space for communication - Don't bottle things up inside. Find trusted friends or mentors who can help you process pain in healthy ways.
Replace cultural messages with biblical truth - Identify worldly mantras that may keep you stuck and replace them with God's word.
Remember God's presence in the tunnel - When you're in dark seasons that seem endless, trust that the tunnel is leading somewhere. As Corrie ten Boom wisely said, "When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer."
Develop spiritual disciplines - Just as marathon runners train consistently, develop Bible reading and prayer habits that ground you regardless of feelings.

The Coach Who Believes in You

The most encouraging aspect of this race is that we don't run alone. Jesus isn't merely waiting at the finish line – he's our coach, cheering us on through every challenging mile.

"It's time to listen to your coach who's cheering you on, who's saying, 'I believe in you. I have spoken over you. I'm calling you. You can trust me,'" Dave reminded us.

When we stumble, when we're tempted to look back, when the path ahead seems impossible, our Coach is right there, believing in us even when we struggle to believe in ourselves.

Don't Save Anything for Later

As Dave concluded his talk, he observed how marathon runners look when crossing the finish line – exhausted, spent, having given everything they had. They're not saving their energy for some future race; they're fully committed to the one they're in.

"If you're a Christian, don't save anything," Dave challenged. "Go for it wholehearted. Heaven isn't the time to go for it – go for it now, with everything you've got, to cross that line."

Whatever you're facing today – disappointment, heartbreak, failure, or just a sense of being stuck – don't let your past define your future. Choose to let go. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Press on toward the goal.

He's waiting with open arms.

Are you struggling to let go of something from your past? We'd love to pray with you. Send us your prayer requests, or join us for our Google Meet after the livestreams. And don't miss next week's talk on anxiety as we continue our series on wholeness.

#26 Letting Go of the Past and Finding Freedom in Christ
Dan Orange: [00:00:00] Live, welcome to Crowd Church. Um, it's great to be here today. And today I am joined by the wonderful Jan Birch.
Jan Burch: Hello. Hello everyone.
Dan Orange: How are you today, Jan?
Jan Burch: I'm fine, thank you. Yeah, yeah. Enjoying the sunshine.
Dan Orange: I was about to say. Yeah.
Jan Burch: It's been gorgeous.
Dan Orange: Yeah. We're in Liverpool, which is known to be a rainy city, but it's not for the last few weeks.
No, it's amazing.
Jan Burch: It has been great. Yeah.
Dan Orange: Cluster side. It's awesome. Yeah.
Jan Burch: Um,
Dan Orange: what have we got lined up today? We've got, got
Jan Burch: the wonderful, um, Dave Connolly, um, pastor Dave speaking tonight about, um, forgetting what is behind pressing Dave? Pressing on. Yeah. Pressing on. Pressing on. Yeah. Towards the goal.
Dan Orange: Amen.
Brilliant. I'm really looking forward to this. Yeah, me too. Yeah. Is, I was just thinking before we went on there, it's great to be able to just hear [00:01:00] about what God's doing, what is going to do. Yeah. Talk about Jesus. It's just, it's great, isn't it? Yeah,
Jan Burch: absolutely. No, I feel quite excited as well. No pressure, Dave.
No, it'd be great.
Dan Orange: Well, I think without further ado. Mm-hmm. Let's pass on to Dave. Yeah. Thank you very much, Dave. Thank you. Thanks
Dave Connolly: online. And, um, we're gonna look at, at the theme of pressing on, and if you have a Bible, um, I'd encourage you up. You know when, when you tune into crack open your Bible, whether it be on your phone or, or even a book, if I'm sure they're still available. And there's a book called, um, Philippians, and it's in chapter three, verse 13 and 14 that we're gonna talk about tonight.
And, um. I'm probably gonna, I'm just feeling that God's got a real specific word for us, um, beyond any thoughts that I [00:02:00] have that he wants to speak to each of us, to encourage us, to challenge us, to provoke us. And, um, let's just read these two verses and it says this, um, I'm reading from the English standard version.
It's an easy read. It says, brothers. I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And maybe some of those words may be a bit new to you, and you may not know exactly what they mean.
But, um, maybe we could just explore them a little bit. And, um, I just wanna start at the beginning. It says, I do not consider that I have made it my own. And if you've been a Christian any period of [00:03:00] time, you know, it's not easy. Um, being a Christian, doing this Christian walk, as they talk about, um, people have said, oh, oh, you know, you only become a Christian if you, you know, if you're weak or if you need a crutch.
And I'm like, yeah, okay. Guilty. You know, I had something missing in my life and Jesus has filled that wonderfully. But you know, I've been a Christian since I was 19. I've seen God do some really amazing things in my life and um, and I've seen God do amazing things in many other people's lives, but I am thankful.
From where for what God has done, from where he's brought me, you know, um, through some really difficult times, you know, and through some amazing blessing. But, you know, as we do life, um, we can get, we can take on the NOx, say we [00:04:00] can, um, encounter difficulties. We can be hurt, we can be broken by people around us, and sometimes it's intentional.
Sometimes it's just accidental, you know, it's just part of life. But you know, God doesn't want to, he does not want us to get caught up in our brokenness, and I'm not saying that we should get over it. What I'm saying is that we need to invite God into it and lots of times we, we get caught in brokenness and that's never a good place to be.
And, um, that God has a better plan than that. You know, as a Christian, some of our most difficult times come when we're enc couching great success, great blessing. You find that trials come shortly after, you know, so I, I wanna say, you know, um, Paul in these verses, he, he's talking about a race. He's trying to [00:05:00] give us an illustration.
I can't imagine Paul actually running a race and, um, like myself, you know, we're not really built for it and Matt's laughing at me loudly. I'm sure you can hear him. Um, but it's just an illustration and um, I think there's a lot that we can learn from it. You know, that Greek word, um. It's, I think it's the oco.
Um, it's talking about pressing on, it's not standing, still moving on, even if there's resistance. And, and that's good. You know, 'cause I think athletes runners know about that. And if you're a runner, please don't send me a message explaining. 'cause I'll never understand it. I'm married to a lady who, um, runs marathons and off marathons, you know, so I understand the training and all that goes on with that.
And I still don't want to do it. And, um, my wife really caught the bo the bug for running. I think it was when she went to see [00:06:00] my daughter run the London Marathon. I. And she said, I'm gonna do that next year. And I'm like, what? Why would you wanna do that? You'd have to be crazy to wanna do that, to run 26 miles.
And you see people who are really fit, crawling across the finishing line and everything. But, um, that was. Over 10 years ago, um, I think it's maybe 14 years she's been running for. And um, it's really interesting that, you know, you hear these stories about the person, they'd never run Jan, they'd never run a race, and they got off, off the couch and they ran a marathon.
And I'm, I'm not doubting they did that. I'm just doubting the. That it had no impact on their body because when you run a marathon, it has huge impact on your body. And um, so let me tell you some of the things that I notice about my wife, she's continually running. Yes. Even when there's no immediate [00:07:00] race, she probably runs three times a week and she's got, um.
It's got all technical names, you know, like she does, um, distance and then there's time and then there's intermediate running right over my head. But she's committed to it and it affects how we eat. Um, but there's a real commitment. So it means going out in all weathers, you know? Yes, you do have to be sensible.
But it's an all year round training and she may, I think this is right. I think she may take two, three weeks off, or that's what she allows herself. But you know what? I don't think she ever takes the three weeks because she's passionate about running. When she's training, it's great opportunity for her to be thinking and praying.
I'd be concentrate non-breathing. And looking for an Uber probably. Um, [00:08:00] but you know, these runners, these long distance run, they're in it for the, for the long haul really. 'cause 26 miles is some distance, even if, for me, traveling by car. And I, I just want you to make some comments about this. They train for the distance.
They mean in their training. They seldom run the whole 26 miles. And it's not that they can't, they just want to hold something back. As I said, they do the long runs, the speed, they do the speedway, they're working on their body strength, you know, their, their core stability, whatever that is. Jan, you know, their nutrition, their hydration, their rest, their recovery, their sleep.
And I, I don't think Julie's ever had an injury and or may, maybe possibly one. And, um. And they're aware of how, you know, their mind is their motivation because I'd need supernatural [00:09:00] motivation for it to have an impact to get me to do it. But there's a joy in doing it. And I went to see Julie run her first London marathon and um, it was quite amazing.
I was, I was quite emotional. And all these people are watching, you've probably seen it on tv, the marathon. And, um, I get right up in one of the key areas and all, you know, all the elite runners are running through. And then you've got all these other people who have trained and trained and trained, and they're all in different shapes and sizes, different abilities, et cetera.
And you know what You don't hear. You don't hear anybody say, run faster, try harder. You just hear people being encouraged. And I think we can learn something about that as we're in this long haul to be encouraging each other. And you'll see people, um, like if somebody, you know, I, I remember, um, some runners and they weren't the elite runners, [00:10:00] um, but you know, this, this guy, he falls and the people who were running behind him stopped to pick him up.
And, and you know, and I'm sure that that guy was wanting a personal best, but it's beyond that. It's about finishing. In your training, I believe, you know, you're always trying to get your, your PBS apparently means personal best. And, um, but you know, I was so impressed, I was so moved and, um, this is what, you know, they trained for, you know, Julia is trained and probably the best photo I have, um, in all the years we've been married.
I was showing Janet earlier and it's when Julius finished and it's took me 20 minutes to get to her and I put my coat, I put my arms around her. I was just so proud. I think I'm allowed to say she was, she was probably over 50 when she started running marathons, and I was just so proud that she'd run through all these, you know, she'd run through the war, which I think is the thing.
Um, [00:11:00] you know, she'd, she'd press through. She's never, if you know Julie, she's never gonna walk. You know, she got a, you know, she just, that's not an option. And then. She got this. It's a, there you go. It's a medal. And thousands of people have got them, you know, and I think she's, I think she's run it twice, but you get that at the end, but they're not running for that.
They've got something before them and they're not gonna give up. You know, they're, they're continually training. They're persistent. They are committed, and when they get injured, they look after themselves. When they get sick, they look after themselves and, you know, so many things can affect your running.
So I'm told the weather. How hot it is, how cold it is. You know, if you've got a virus or anything, it can affect you and that's why you often see people falling by the side of the road and it's very, you know, quite [00:12:00] often small things are, you know, big effects on them. So let's see what Paul's saying.
'cause you're probably thinking when you're gonna read, you know, talk about the Bible. Paul uses this as a great illustration about being committed to something. Clear goal. Are we clearly and wholeheartedly committed in our walk? Do we get caught up with things from our past? Listen, very real things, very real dis real disappointments, disillusionment, you know, people being unkind.
You know, some foolish and wrong decisions that we may make ourselves. But Paul says this, I press on. You know, how determined are we to press on in spite of, even though these things are happening in our families, you know, in our workplaces, all around us, in our world, [00:13:00] we're required to press on in spite of those things.
I can imagine, Paul, you know, just being so focused on the finishing line. And we have a finishing line. Jesus is coming back or should we die? We perish note, we know that we're gonna be with him. And you know, as you, as you get a bit older, you know, it seems like, you know, death. I'm 70, I'm six, I'm not 70, I'm 67.
Just feel 70. You know, as you get a bit older, you know, you notice a lot of people dying around you. Um, a chap died this week, um, who got saved the same day as I, um, got saved, became a Christian, and he was notorious. Um. And when he got saved, everybody in our neighborhood knew about it. Me, I was a rollercoaster, high highs, low lows.
But this guy really went up for it. And, um, [00:14:00] and he struggled in lat in, in, in, you know, after a few years with his walk and a few months ago, and we were both, I seen him for the first time in 50 years at a funeral, and he came up to me and he grabbed hold of my face. And, um, I think everybody else thought we were broke to fight.
And, um, and we talked and I got to pray with him and he was saying, I've wasted my life. And I was able, the night we got saved, I can remember the talk. And I said to him that that word that was spoken that night still applied for him and he prayed with me and, um, it was just wonderful. And, um. And after that, who knew whether, I'm not sure he knew that his health was gonna deteriorate and that he was gonna die.
Um, but I thank God for those opportunities, you know, and, and we need to press on. We need, you know, life can be tough. I wanna encourage you in your Christian walk. [00:15:00] Press on, move on to all that God has got for you. Don't allow situations, circumstance to rob you. Get ahold of that destination. Fix God. Fix Jesus' arm.
Open arms the, and run into them. Don't run away from God. Be diligent in your efforts. We call them disciplines. I would encourage you start to read your Bible and you think, I don't understand. Don't let that put you off. We watch lots of things on TV and I scratch my head and and think, I've just wasted three hours of my life and I'm no wiser watching it.
I'd encourage you, read your Bible. If you don't know Jesus, or if you're struggling in your war, read your Bible and say, God, just you show me because he has sent the Holy Spirit to be our teacher. It make, honestly, it will make a huge difference in your life because he said it would.[00:16:00]
I just wanna say, my friends don't waste your life. Looking back, if a runner is continually looking back, they're most likely gonna fall over. And it doesn't matter whether you're first time runner or whether you're an elite runner, you keep looking behind you. And you're likely to fall over. You will see him on tv, I think it was in the Olympics.
Some guy he, he in, I can't remember which race it was, but he looks back and he's overtaken by somebody. And I wanna say to you, don't look back, look forward. Keep your eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, regardless what you're going through, my friend. Keep your eyes on him. Move towards the goal. Be deliberate. Be deliberate.
It's not easy [00:17:00] getting outta bed. And so I'm told and doing your training, it's not easy controlling your diet. It's not easy getting the right amounts of sleep. There's a discipline and if we will be disciplined in seeking Jesus. We'll find him. He's not hidden. I wanna say to you, don't be afraid to trust him.
Let him be your coach. Jesus has, has walked this earth. He's encountered every test and trial that you and I are likely to encounter. He understands. You can pray and just pour out your heart, honey. He'll come, honey. He'll minister to you. He'll speak with you.
Get a hold of that finishing line. You know [00:18:00] it goes on to say, to win the prize, and our prize isn't a medal, it's a crown. Scripture tells us, but you know, I'm running to Jesus. I, I just, and my best days and my worst days, I just envision him with his arms open like this cross here. When Jesus was on that cross, his arms was spread wide open, inviting us to come to welcome us.
And even though Jesus died and rose again, his arms are open to you and I to come to come. To come, you know, you and I, we need to surrender our own agendas. We've all tried life our own way
and for many of us it was with lots of pain, didn't bring us fulfillment. And some of us, even as Christians, we still wanna hold the driving wheel [00:19:00] because as surrender your life to me and trust me.
Good as when we invite Jesus into our lives, we hand over control. He becomes our destination. He becomes the one that we're seeking. He's the one that we are trusting. I. And we run to the prize set before us, for which God has called us. Do you know my friends? You and I, we were created for purpose and that purpose is to be in relationship with a living God.
That's why you created, you know, for many years I was told I was a mistake. I was an afterthought. I was this, I was that. I would never do anything. But you know, the one who made me, made me to have relationship with him [00:20:00] when I became a Christian. One of the first faces that totally changed my life was this.
And it's God saying that he knew me before I was in my mom's belly before. That's how purposed I was. That totally changed my life. And you know, God has a plan for each of our lives. When we come to him in surrender and we invite him into our lives to be Lord and Savior. I'm not for one minute saying it's an easy walk.
It's challenging. There's a cost, but he has paid the ultimate cost. When he bought our sin on that cross, he suffered death that we might. Have life and life abundance.
You know, marathon runners, there's just something about them. They have great tenacity. My wife loves that word, [00:21:00] tenacity. They just have this inner resilience that even on their bad day, they get up and they do what they have to do. And I don't know what you're going through this evening, but I want to encourage you.
To look heavenward, to look towards God. And I wanna say to you, you know, you, you may never have heard any of this stuff and you might think, well, I just clicked on by mistake. Or maybe you intentionally clicked on, God has got something to say to you and it's clearly this, I died for you. That you may have life and that you may have it in fullness.
You know, there's another wonderful verse. And God says, I will never leave you or abandon you. That was one of my second life verse, and I want you to know, I said I became a Christian when I was 19, and I've had amazing highs and I've had some really low lows, but the one thing I can say to you is [00:22:00] this, that God cannot fail and he cannot lie.
So. For you to surrender your life to him and to run to him this evening to cry out to him. He's just waiting and he's listening, and he will receive you wherever you've been. Whatever you've done. He says, come, you are welcome. In closing, I wanna say this.
Have you become distracted? Have you come, become disillusioned or you're disappointed? Are you injured? My friends? It's time to listen to your coach who's cheering you on, who's saying, I believe in you. I have spoken over you. I'm calling you. You can trust me. Don't give up on yourself [00:23:00] because he hasn't given up on you.
Don't let your past situations and circumstances rob you of the joy that is set before you. God bless you.
Dan Orange: Wow. Thanks Dave. I. I, I love that talk. Mm, I love it. I, that verse anyway, looking, not looking back and pressing towards a goal. And, um, in my, in my family, my dad was a runner and my sister loved to run. So I always had that, um, desire, you know, to watch the Olympics and stuff, and. I love that. It's a, it is a race, isn't it?
It's not an, it's not an instant thing. It's not a, um, something that just happens. God doesn't just drop us off and go there. It's done and I'm, I'm gone. Yeah. He wants to teach us and, and, [00:24:00] um. Wants us to Yeah. To learn more about him. Anyway. Um, Jan, before I go, what, what were your takeaways from that? Yeah.
Jan Burch: Um, I just found it absolutely so encouraging and so challenging. Um, I can relate to all the things that you said, the distractions. Um, looking over my shoulder, looking back, I definitely, you know. Have, have done that and, and still sometimes do. Um, and then you wonder why you're tripping up. You wonder why you're on the floor.
Um, but it, you know, it makes perfect sense. I just, um, yeah. The fact that you are here, you got saved when you were 19, Dave. Um, you know, you're only a few, you know, a few years older [00:25:00] than that now, but you're still here. You picked you, you know, God picked you up, you got up and you continue to run. What, what has that felt like for you when you've had your low lows?
Dave Connolly: I think I have never got over. I've never got over, um, being thankful. You know, um, I've never got over being thankful. I know what my life was probably gonna hold, which wasn't very much, but lots of pain. Lots of pain and the brokenness. And when I gave my life to Jesus, I was thankful. Yeah. And I've remained thankful, you know, just, just something on, on the runs.
I just thought about then that, you know, when runners are running, you know, if they don't have their eyes. Fix someone what is head, they can actually run into each other as well. Mm-hmm. And I think run these runners in one sense [00:26:00] aren't running against other people. They're running for their own self worth, their own self value that they can do it.
You know, they're not necessarily running for their pb No. That's, that's a plus. But, um, yeah. I've ne I, I think I have, if I've never got over being, I, I'm just so thankful. Mm. For what God has done, I feel spoiled. Yeah. I feel lavished upon, I feel valued and I know that is all because of Jesus. Yeah.
Dan Orange: I love that.
All because of, yeah. All because of Jesus got some, um, comments and things that have come through and um, so our culture often says, time heals all wounds. But Paul, he suggests that it's like an active thing. Forget in the past, but go forward. How, how can we do that as an active, I asked you [00:27:00] Jan, first and Dave, how, how can we, how can we do that as an active thing, not just letting it sort of fade from our memory.
Some things they don't, they're, they're there and they hurt. What can we actively think, can we do to help, help that?
Jan Burch: Well. You know, last week, um, Sharon spoke magnificently about forgiveness. Mm-hmm. Um, which again, was another challenging, but really she really walked us through that, the teaching really well.
Um, so I would say, you know, if there's someone that you. You know, has tripped you up if you like, that's causing you issues, um, you can't forget then, then maybe it's forgiveness, maybe a, an, you know, something that you need to look at. Um, and then I think it's a lot, a lot we can do is, is communicating. I think when we, as Sharon herself last week, said she used to [00:28:00] bottle things up inside.
Um, but. When we do that, they have ways of, of, of coming out, you know, when we least expect it usually. So I think, you know, go and talk to somebody, um, you know, inv involve people that love you. Yeah. You know?
Dan Orange: Yeah. That sounds good. Dave, do you want to add anything?
Dave Connolly: Yeah, I think, you know, we live in a broken world.
Yeah. We live in a, in, in a sinful world, you know, and, um, we listen to a lot. Of what people say around us. And you know, Bible says that, you know, with the tongue, we either speak life or we speak death. And, um, for me, if we are broken, I would encourage you to find out what the Bible says about that. Because, you know, there's lots of things that we say, and if I can just mention something, we, we, we say things like, follow your heart.
Jesus never said that. [00:29:00] Jesus and Jeremiah scripture says, um. The heart is deceitful and above all things and beyond cure.
Dan Orange: Yeah.
Dave Connolly: You know, and, and, and Jesus never said be true to yourself. No. He actually said in Matthew 1624, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and pick up the cross and follow them.
He never said Believe in yourself. I'm like, I say these things or upset them. It. Jesus never said them. Jesus said in John 14, verse six, I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes to the Father, but by me. Jesus never said, live your truth. It's okay, John, live your truth. He didn't say that, John.
Eight 12, I am the light of the world and one final one. As long as you're happy. That's all that matters. Jesus didn't say that. No. Matthew 1626. Well, you, you have a look at that for yourself, what he says.
Dan Orange: Yeah, thanks Dave. That, going back [00:30:00] to the athlete analogy is that, is that pressing, isn't it? If you haven't, if you haven't got your focus, you're not going to go anywhere, wouldn't you gonna go off course and when you, you're going to bump into someone or you're gonna look back.
But having that. Mm. That focus and our focus on Jesus, like you say, not look, not our heart, but looking at at him what he's, what he's got for us. Absolutely. And um, last week we were talking about forgiveness and we were talking to Sharon afterwards and we were both saying that as we've learned to forgive others, that naturally mm-hmm.
Has helped it help us to forget it because it doesn't have any hold anymore. That thing that was just there niggling. Why, why does it niggle? 'cause the, the, the, the forgiveness, the thing that we hadn't forgiven had, had caught in and we'd, we've let that go and it actively Yeah. Falls from your, you know, it's still there.
It's still, the thing still happened, but it doesn't have that power that it, that it had before.
Jan Burch: Yeah. [00:31:00] I, I just think, you know, the whole analogy of running a race and training, um, is. It is hard because you only have to step outside of your house first thing in the morning having prayed with all the best intentions, and then you get into the car or walk, whatever you do, and someone cuts you up in the car.
Mm-hmm. Or you see someone walking down the street who looks better than you do. Um, you know. Et cetera, et cetera. Life is full of challenging, uh, challenges from the start of the day to the end of the day. And we can't do it on our own. You know, I can't do it on my own. Um, and we've got, I loved what [00:32:00] Dave said about having that Jesus is our coach and, um.
That, that he cheers us on. Um, you know, some of us have had a lot of negative voices in the past and that's, um, you expect people to, um, criticize you or say, you know, that was rubbish or You should do better, but God doesn't like that.
Dan Orange: Yeah. Um, Matt put this great quote on. That we are, we're in this race.
So we're on this journey. Uh, co turn, boom. Famous quote says, when a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and you trust the engineer. She's, yeah, she's right on the wall. Then she, she's a
Dave Connolly: legend. Yeah, she is. If you don't know, um, that's Cory Tambo.
Get a go on the internet. Find out her story. Yeah.
Dan Orange: Yeah. Brilliant. Just [00:33:00] that's, that's an example of forgiveness and actively forgetting and, and, and moving and pressing to, to the NS degree. Don,
Dave Connolly: can I just say I don't, I don't think it's a forgetting. I think it's letting go. Yes. Yeah. You know, because Yeah.
It's still, it's, it's in letting go. I mean, and I think that's, that's why we struggle. Yeah. You know, um, it's about. You choose to let go. And, um, sometimes we feel, you know, I've got to go tell somebody that I'm forgiving them. And yet real maturity is you don't, they may not think they've done anything wrong in, you know, in their brokenness.
Yeah. And as we mature and as we understand that we are forgiven, we freely choose to release them from any debt. That we feel owed. And I, and I, I, I just think, you know, maybe for people I, you know, listening to, I think, well, I, I will never get I own, I get that.
Jan Burch: Mm.
Dave Connolly: You know, when I, we're not talking about denying anything, we're about [00:34:00] recognizing the impact that that has had on your life.
Yeah. And you choose because of the grace of God in your life to freely forgive them.
Dan Orange: Yes. Yeah. Brilliant. Yeah. Um, at one point, just in the, in the talk or Jan or Dave you mentioned just you, you just said being saved. What, what, what do you mean by being saved?
Jan Burch: Um, yeah, good point, Dan. Um. It's one of the terms that we use, um, when we mean when somebody recognizes Jesus accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, that someone who wants to follow Jesus, basically.
Yeah. Thanks.
Dan Orange: Um, one of the things in the talk that I liked was that, that being wise with our time, um, and. You mentioned like, you know, you can watch, watch tv and you can rest and you can relax. Um, but [00:35:00] sometimes you can wait thinking, what did, what did I do with that? And, and in another way, I've, I've recently, I recently became, became 50.
I turned 50. And, um, how long did that take? I know. Hell yeah. Um, and one of the biggest things that has dawned on me is that. Um, I've grown up, and that might seem strange, but things that God has done in me, I've sometimes not acknowledged them because I've thought I'm still young. Mm-hmm. I'm still, I've still got lots to learn.
There's people that know more than me, that people that are older than me don't miss out on what God is doing now because it's, it's learning. It's moving, it's moving. We are in, we're progressing, we're moving forward. Um. Yeah, I just wanted to say that don't miss on the, the now things by we, we are looking forward to the goal.
Absolutely. But God is teaching us [00:36:00] things now that we need to help us move on. Yeah. Um,
we're, we're in, in a series of wholeness and, and I love that I. Our faith. This, this faith is Jesus isn't just about one thing. Um, have you got any examples, either of you, of where, um, you, you, you know, this, like this, this, perhaps the tunnel phase that Cory Tam boom was? Was talking about where you've just been there and you've had to just, just hold on and it looks like you, you can't see what's, what's ahead, but you just had to push on.
Jan Burch: Um, I would say, um, probably, um, in my career, in my job, um, which I did, I was at, worked for the NHS, the in a [00:37:00] hospital as a midwife for many years, and, um. There were lots of issues that started to grieve me. Um, and I, I just couldn't even imagine setting foot one more time in, in the place, or I loved the people.
Um, I loved the, the work, but the politically and, you know, circumstances were very, very hard and. I just, it was a, it was a, it was like a long tunnel. Um, and I just knew I had to keep going. I had to get through it. And, you know, my husband was very encouraging, but, but sometimes when we're in the tunnel, we, it can become overwhelming.
Yeah. Um, and it. I [00:38:00] a hundred percent understand how people say enough or that's enough. It's too hard. It is. It can be hard, but we, we we're not on our own in the tunnel. We, we do have Jesus. Yeah. You
Dave Connolly: know, and the tunnel's leading somewhere. Yeah. Isn't it, you know, it's dark, you know, and, and, and you think, how long are we gonna be in this tunnel?
You know, is it really necessary? And I, I would've to say for, that's a great point that, yeah, I mean, I, I just think, you know, we go through stuff and you think, is this really necessary? How long going to be here? And we wanna get out of it as fast as we can. You know, none of us like to be. Hate or struggling, but I, I, I have found personally in my, in my life that it's in the tunnel.
I learn more. Mm-hmm. I learn to depend on God and I think just to really get a hold of the word of God and pray it into and over my life because [00:39:00] there's, there's a discipline that brings a revelation, I think, you know? And yes, I am in a tunnel. I wish it was shorter, but you know what? I know it is leading to some work.
Dan Orange: Yeah. Love that. It's again, that discipline, isn't it? The discipline of, of constancy. And that does that, that helps me that just sometimes in the morning, um, I know this is my time that I read. This is my time that I pray and sometimes I won't feel like it, but it, it's the discipline knowing that it's training and, and, and just with, with crowd encouragement.
Hmm, please just, um, we hope that, that, this is in encouragement, this word, but if you've got any prayer requests, please send them in. Um, 'cause we'd love praying for you. And that's why we're, that's why we're here. God's asked us to, to pray. We'd love to pray and, and it is about encouragement when you're going through hard times.
Get with friends, get into God's [00:40:00] word and learn more. Know more about him. Just just get to know him. Get to know him more. Um, we're, we're getting close to our time, but has anyone else got any, got anything you'd like to say before we
Jan Burch: move on? No, just, just thank you Dave for, um, it was a, a really No, it was lovely.
It was just a great talk. Thank you, Janet. Um, that I will. Listen to again and again. Um, it's one of those, Dan, isn't it? That you, you know, I just found the, the tone of your voice. Everything was just soothing and brought hope, you know? Thank you so much.
Dave Connolly: If you've ever seen anybody who's run a marathon.
They don't look that triumphant. When they cross the line, they look shattered, they look sp you know, this picture I have of Julie in my arms, I was so proud and I've got older. Her moments later, she's on the floor. [00:41:00] She just collapsed and she had too many gels. Shh, don't tell. And um, and she was down, you know, for a while.
But, you know, you see people, they are, they're not saving anything. No. You know, so if you're a Christian, don't save anything. Go for it. Wholehearted, you know, get into Heaven isn't the time to go for it. Go for it now. With everything, you've got to cross that line and you will know that you've given everything and you are running into the arms of a savior that's cheering you on.
Come on, and he calls you by name. Son, daughter.
Dan Orange: Yeah. Um, we were talking before about that when, when we've been forgiven and, and Sharon's just said in her experiences that, um, once I've forgiven for my heart, the hurt which was previously constantly on my mind becomes faint and more difficult to remember.
And I think that that's it, isn't it? It's still there, but it it, yeah. It doesn't [00:42:00] have those hold anymore. Why? Absolutely. It's not. Mm, pricking our consciousness all the time. Um, we've, yeah, we're coming to our, our our time already. Um, next week we're continuing the series on wholeness. Um, and it's me again, um, gonna be talking about anxiety and I'm quite looking forward to this 'cause I'm a person that does get anxious with things so.
I've been able to, to study it and, um, hoping to bring something of what God wants to say about that. Um, and after the live stream we'll have the Google meets. So I think it'll popped up or had already popped up on the screen. Um, so if you want to join in live, then come along and you can come and chat to us if you've got any.
Um. Other questions or encouragement. We'd love to love to speak to you. So just leads me to say [00:43:00] thank you very much, Jan. Yeah, thank you. And thanks Dave. Thanks for that word. Pleasure. That was amazing. And we'll see you next week. Yeah.
Jan Burch: See you.