There's nothing worse than having old sin creep back into your mind. Take back your peace and joy in these three simple steps below!
As we get closer to God, He opens our eyes to the truth of sin and we can't help but grieve. We grieve as the Holy Spirit grieves, we grieve how much evil is in the world, and even in ourselves. We might even let our minds wonder and drift to the past. But this seemingly innocent path traveled by our minds stops us from receiving the true joy the Holy Spirit wants to give us. As well as it preventing us from fully stepping into our calling in Christ.
Below I have presented three real steps we can take to overcoming this problem, and how to truly move forward with Christ no matter the sin of the past.
Step 1 | Repentance And Renouncing
True Repentance
We can never forget the simple path Jesus Christ has paved for us believers to receive atonement for our sin. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross has paid for all our sin, this truth and act of love is all sufficient to our old evil ways. We have to trust God when he tells us that confessing our sin to Him, asking Him to forgive us, and then turning from that sin is enough to receive atonement.
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Renounce
Renouncing is the act of verbally revoking all ties to sin or demonic spirits. To put it in another way, it's the act of telling evil, "I sever myself from you and you have no hold on me". Doing this with old sin so crucial, it tells all evil spirits linked to that old evil we have no place with evil. It's the eviction notice these haunting thoughts of the past need for them to move out!
2 Corinthians 4:1
"But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."
Step 2 | Forget about it!
You're forgiven, Now Forget
Yup, forget about it. Once you've asked God to forgive you and have ceased your old sin, move forward. You have to let go and of the past. God promises He will not remember our sin, He actually forgets about our sin. You're the only one in your relationship with God looking back. We have to believe with full confidence God has forgiven us!
Hebrews 10:16-17 "I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
Rebuke it, Take Control!
The past is haunting you because you might be overcomplicating this whole process. Look at it this way, if you were getting unclean thoughts about a co-worker you'd rebuke it! So treat these thoughts about the past the same! Rebuke these thoughts and make them submit to Christ!
2 Corinthians 10:5
"...bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
Step 3 | Declare & Decree
Use Your Authority in Christ!
We must declare and decree God's word over our lives. It keeps the enemy in check, and prevents us from looking like a "soft target" in his eyes. It also puts our flesh and spirit in line, reminding ourselves who is in charge in our temple, Jesus Christ. Below I give a few decrees I use in my own walk that keeps my spirit and flesh focused on Christ, and off the past:
I will be a baby before Christ.
I will leave the past in the past and will boldly walk forward with Christ.
Today is a new day and I will focus on dedicating it to the Lord.
I declare God's love will rule in my spirit, mind, soul, and heart.
I declare Jesus' sacrificial death has washed me of all my sin, and made me righteous before God!
Conclusion
Looking Forward
Move forward and never look back. We turn into Lot's wife when we look back, the evil of the past encases us in a hard rock covering that prevents us from moving forward with God. The sad truth is if we look back for too long we get just as stuck as Lot's wife, becoming a mentally stagnate pile of salt. Drop the old ways and old days, today is a new day God has blessed you with! I think that's reason enough to give God some praise, and looking forward let's think about how we can be more grateful to God for all He's done!
Stand boldly on your faith and declarations, rebuke the devil every time he rears up his ugly head, and give God praise for blessing us with another day! Comment below on how this post has helped you. Or even some of the tactics you've used to overcome the guilt of sin in your life.
Dealing with Stress?
I'm big on supporting other ministries! If you feel like you're at a point where you just can't take it anymore, then please check out the blog link below. By my brother in Christ, Pastor Vlad has put together an amazing article on overcoming stress as a Holy Ghost filled believer!
https://pastorvlad.org/stress/
