Chapter 1

Forget the Past

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 3:12–14

There are two things I want you to notice about this passage Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi: (1) “forgetting those things which are behind,” and (2) “reaching forth unto those things which are before.”

Before you can go on with God, you must forget about the past. In this message, I will show you how Paul, once known as Saul of Tarsus, had to forget about his past as a persecutor of Christians in order to minister effectively.

Let’s notice something Paul said about himself in writing to Timothy:

1  TIMOTHY 1:11–16

11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

The Word of God tells us that Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen:

ACTS 7:58

58 And cast him [Stephen] out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

And Saul consented to Stephen’s death:

ACTS 8:1

1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. . . .

Turning further in the Acts of the Apostles, you can read an account that Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote about Paul:

ACTS 9:1–2

1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

But thank God, God’s great mercy reached Paul! That’s one thing he was talking about when he said, “Forgetting those things which are behind . . . I press toward the mark.” It would have been a terrible thing for Paul to continually remember the havoc he had wrought in the Church by consenting to the death of Stephen and persecuting believers.

Dear friends, if we are to be successful in our Christian life and ministry, there is one thing we must do—and it’s a lesson Paul learned: We must learn to forget. If we don’t learn this lesson, we’ll be handicapped the rest of our life in living for God.

Remember this: The Lord Himself said in Isaiah—and it’s repeated in the New Testament—“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions . . . and will not remember thy sins [iniquities]” (Isa. 43:25). If He doesn’t remember them, why should you?

Notice what God said in the next verse: “Put me in remembrance . . .” (v. 26). In other words, God is telling us to remind Him of what He said!

Why? You need to remind Him and yourself, because when you enter into the presence of God to pray, the devil will bring all kinds of accusations against you. Invariably, he will bring your past before you as a photograph.

But that’s all it is: just a picture! It doesn’t exist anymore! God said, “I’ve blotted it out.” If He blotted it out, it doesn’t exist.

Let’s look again at verse 25: “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions FOR MINE OWN SAKE, and will not remember thy sins.”

God didn’t say He wouldn’t remember your sins or iniquities for your sake (although you get the benefit of it); He said it was for His sake He’ll not remember your sins.

Why? So He can bless you. So He can help you. So He can demonstrate His great mercy and love on your behalf.

Looking further at that 26th verse, we realize it is an invitation from God to come before Him and state your case. It’s talking about prayer: “Put me in remembrance: let us PLEAD together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.”

A marginal note in some Bibles says, “Set forth your case.” And you can do that only when you learn to forget.

Coming over to the New Testament, we see a similar verse in Hebrews 8:12: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

You can see that Paul had to forget his past in order to walk on with God and to stand in the full potential of the office and ministry to which God had called him.

Chapter 2

Faith to Forgive

Closely associated with learning to forget is learning to forgive. This forgiveness is twofold: Not only must you learn to forgive others; you also must learn to forgive yourself.

Notice what Jesus said about forgiveness in Matthew’s Gospel:

MATTHEW 18:21–22

21 Then came Peter to him [Jesus], and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? [Peter seemed to want to answer his own question.]

That’s a good question, isn’t it? Is that pertinent today, or did it just apply to people living back then? This is what Jesus said:

22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. [That’s 490 times!]

Now turn over to the 17th chapter of Luke. I want you to notice what Jesus says about the same question in the fourth verse:

LUKE 17:4

4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent: thou shalt forgive him.

If you’ll compare the two portions of Scripture, you’ll see that “until seventy times seven” in Matthew and “seven times” in Luke applied to one day, not a lifetime.

You see, we hear a lot preached about forgiveness, and we talk a lot about forgiveness, but somehow we don’t practice it the way the Bible said to. When you begin to study the subject in detail, it almost shocks you. Let’s take a closer look at Luke 17:

LUKE 17:3–5

3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent: thou shalt forgive him.

5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

This is still part of the faith message. It takes faith to forgive! In fact, your faith won’t work unless you do forgive.

Remember, in Mark 11:24, after Jesus had spoken about “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them,” with the same breath, in the same setting, He immediately began talking about forgiveness in connection with prayer: “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (v. 25). (He’s talking about prayer in the 24th verse and forgiveness in the 25th.)

Now let’s return to the 18th chapter of Matthew, where we saw Peter asking, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” (v. 21).

“Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (v. 22). Then Jesus went on to give a parable that illustrates what He’s talking about:

MATTHEW 18:23–35

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents [or $9,250,000 in our money].

25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

27 Then the Lord of that servant went out, was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant . . .

Why did he call him wicked? Because he wasn’t willing to forgive. There’s no use in discussing what’s more or less wicked. If it’s wicked, we don’t want to have anything to do with it.

. . . I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:

33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one of his brother their trespasses.

That’s plain enough, isn’t it?

Whether you realize it or not, to forgive and to forget go hand in hand. And these are the things that hinder us from receiving from God, from growing spiritually, and from being who and what God wants us to be.

In June 1939, Oretha and I were moving our meager belongings into the little three-room parsonage of a church I’d just been called to pastor when one of the church members stopped by.

She talked a little about the weather and different things, but finally she blurted out what she had really come for. She said, “Now, Brother Hagin, I know you’re going to hear about it, and I wanted to tell you first so you could get it first hand.” (Usually you’d better watch people like that!)

She said, “I wanted to tell you how old Sister So-and-so treated me.” And she went on to tell me all about it.

Finally I interrupted and asked, “When did this happen?” (I thought that during the 10 days between pastors they had gotten into a fuss and their love had waxed “cold” one for another.)

She said, “Let’s see—1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 . . .” I thought she was going to say eight days ago. Instead, she said, “Thursday, I believe it will be eight years ago it happened.”

I guess my mouth fell open and my eyes got big, I was so surprised.

The woman said, “Oh, now, don’t you misunderstand. I’ve forgiven her, all right, but you know I never will forget how that old devil treated me!”

Without thinking, I pointed my finger right in her face and said, “Sister, you’re a liar. You’re just a liar. If you’d have forgiven her, you’d have forgotten it. Now, the devil might bring you a picture of it, but if you’ve forgotten it, you wouldn’t be here talking about it.”

Several months later, another member of the church came to the parsonage for a visit. After talking about other things, she finally said, “Brother Hagin, I’ve got a question for you.”

“Well, fine,” I said. “I’ll answer it if

I can.”

She asked why members of her husband’s family never failed to be healed while members of her family, who seemingly were more spiritual, never had received healing in almost a quarter of a century.

I answered her, “Without knowing your husband’s family, I would say, based on knowing the Bible, that they must have these characteristics: They are quick to repent, quick to forgive, and quick to believe.”

When I said that, her mouth fell open and she batted her eyes like a frog in a West Texas hailstorm. She said, “Why, that’s exactly right! You’ve hit the nail right on the head!”

“No,” I replied, “I didn’t hit the nail on the head; God did. I got that from the Bible.”

She said, “I believe my husband’s family are the quickest people to repent, forgive, and believe that I’ve ever seen. In fact, some of them would stay out of church a long time, but when they did come to the altar, they’d repent the fastest, believe the quickest, and get blessed the most of anybody I’ve ever seen.”

(Friends, there’s something about believing God, like Smith Wigglesworth said, that will cause God to pass over a million people to get to you.)

Then the woman started telling me about her own family. She said, “I believe we’re the slowest people you’ve ever seen when it comes to forgiving. We will forgive eventually, but the only reason we do is that we know we have to, not because we want to. And I believe we’re the slowest people you’ve ever seen when it comes to believing.”

Chapter 3

Forgive Yourself

Another thing that hinders people is that they’re often unwilling to forgive themselves. And that’s just as wrong as it is not to forgive others.

I was holding a meeting in 1955 in Fort Worth and a woman asked me to pray for her. At first she was reluctant to tell me her problem.

I told her, “How am I going to have faith for something if I don’t know what I’m having faith for? I can’t. Or how am I going to agree on something when I don’t even know what I’m agreeing on?”

“You won’t laugh at me, will you?” she said.

“No,” I said. “I might laugh with you, but I won’t laugh at you.”

“Well,” she said, “my husband is unsaved. We were married a number of years before I came to this church and got born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.

“Before I got saved, I was always hot tempered—just real fiery. I’d just go off, you know. But for this whole eight years I’ve been able to hold that in.

“A while back, my husband came in one Saturday night and acted like he was drunk. He never has drunk much in all the years we’ve been married. Now, he’s not a Christian, but he’s a fine gentleman, and I love him and he loves me. He’s just not saved yet.

“But some way or other, I got mad—my temper got away from me—and I started hitting him and he started hollering, ‘I’m not drunk; I’m just putting on! I only had two drinks! I just thought it would be fun to come in and pretend I was drunk!’ ”

She said, “That made me madder than ever, and I mean, I let him have it with both barrels. Then I went to my room and slammed the door. After I cooled off, I felt so embarrassed, because I had said a lot of things I shouldn’t have. I got down on my knees and prayed nearly all night long, ‘Dear God, forgive me. O my God!’

“Then the next morning at the breakfast table, I said to him, ‘Honey, I want you to forgive me. I’ve prayed nearly all night long, and I knew God said in His Word He’d forgive me, but I want you to forgive me.’

“And my husband said, ‘Well, if anybody ought to ask anybody to forgive them, I ought to ask you. I started the whole thing. I’m the culprit.’

“ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘but I’m a Christian and you’re not, and I just blew my stack and I shouldn’t have. I said a lot of things—in fact, I don’t even know what all I said and did.’

“ ‘No,’ he said, ‘I’m entirely to blame. You forgive me.’ Finally we agreed to forgive one another.”

“Well,” I said, “you haven’t turned in any prayer request. What is it you want us to pray about?”

She replied, “I wanted you to pray that God would give me some kind of feeling so I’d know He’d forgiven me.”

I started laughing. I couldn’t keep from it!

“Sister,” I said, “do you know what you’ve just got through telling me? You’ve just got through telling me you’ve got more faith and confidence in your unsaved husband than you do in God. You asked him to forgive you, and you both agreed you’d forgive one another. And that settled it, didn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she said. “It did.”

“But you won’t take God at His Word,” I continued. “He said if we’ll confess our sins, He’s faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Why don’t you take Him at His Word?

“When your husband said, ‘Forgive me—I’m to blame,’ did you get off the chair, get on your knees, and say, ‘Now, Lord, give me some kind of feeling so I’ll know he’s forgiven me’? No, you just forgave your husband and he forgave you. Do you have more confidence and more faith in your unsaved husband and his word than you do in God’s Word?”

I said, “Do you know what your problem is?”

She said, “Do you?”

I said, “I sure do.”

She said, “Tell me, then.”

I said, “You’re unwilling to forgive yourself because you lost your temper. God’s forgiven you. You’ve forgiven your husband. Your husband has forgiven you. But you haven’t forgiven yourself—you keep holding that against yourself. Forgive yourself and you’ll feel all right. You won’t have to pray that God will give you any kind of a feeling.”

Several days later she returned, and I didn’t have to ask her anything. Her face looked like a neon sign turned on in the dark. She was all smiles because she had forgiven herself.

You’ve got to take that first step. You can’t press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus without forgetting the things that are behind. And to forget them means to forgive—not only others but yourself.

You see, we’re to forgive like God does. Remember Ephesians 4:32? It says, “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

How does God forgive? He forgets. Forgiving and forgetting go hand in hand.

Some of you haven’t done that yet. If you need to forgive others, do it. But also forgive yourself of past mistakes, failures, and faults.

I remember there was a certain businessman in a meeting I was holding, and I laid hands on him three times for healing, but he didn’t get healed. All the leading healing evangelists of that day had laid hands on him; he’d been in all their meetings.

He told me he’d had a heart attack and he had a severe kidney condition. His doctors had told him to sell his business. They said if he stayed on medication and rested, he might live another two years. He was only 54. I agreed to meet him in the pastor’s study.

On the way to our meeting, it was as if somebody were sitting in the back seat of my car. I realized it was the Lord talking to me.

He said, “Do you think I’d require you to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do?”

I said, “Why, no, Lord. You wouldn’t do that. If You required me to do something and You weren’t willing to do it, that would be unjust, and You’re not unjust.”

Again that voice said, “Do you think I would require you to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do?”

“No, Lord,” I said. “You wouldn’t do that. If You required me to do something and You were not willing to do the same thing, that would be unjust, and You’re not unjust; You’re just and righteous.”

A little while later, He asked me the third time: “Do you think I would require you to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do?”

“No!” I answered. “You wouldn’t do that—that would be unjust.”

Then He said, “Do you think I’d require you to forgive your brother if he turned and repented and said, ‘Forgive me,’ 490 times in one day and I wouldn’t be willing to do it?”

I said, “Certainly You’d be willing to do it.” (That’s what got me thinking and studying along this line. I had to look it up, and when I put both the references together, I could see He was talking about forgiving 490 times in one day.)

When I got to church, I found out why the Lord had told me this. In our counseling session, the businessman said, “Brother Hagin, I’ve been saved and baptized with the Holy Spirit for over 35 years. I’ve been prayed for by every outstanding healing evangelist in America. I’ve missed it in so many ways. I’ve failed so often in this 35-year period.”

I was ready for him. God had gotten me ready for him.

I asked him, “Do you think God would require you to do something He wouldn’t be willing to do?”

“No, of course not,” he replied.

I brought to his attention that he hadn’t forgiven himself for the mistakes he’d made over the past 35 years. When he forgave himself, I laid hands on him. He realized that God would freely forgive him when he repented and asked Him to (he wasn’t sure before). Then he was healed.

Years later I was preaching in that area, and some of this man’s relatives told me he had retired from business the previous year. They said, “He was 75 years old and got tired of running his business. He just decided he’d get out of it and go fishing for a while.”

Hindrances like unforgiveness stand in the way of healing for many people, even though they search, seek, and ask others to pray for them. Until they correct their thinking, healing won’t work for them.

But if believers will purpose to forget those things in the past, to forgive others and to forgive themselves as God has forgiven them, they will be in a position to receive the blessings of God in their lives.

A Sinner’s Prayer to Receive Jesus as Savior

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to You in the Name of Jesus.

Your Word says, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37), so I know You won’t cast me out, but You take me in and I thank You for it.

You said in Your Word, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). I am calling on Your Name, so I know You have saved me now.

You also said, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9–10). I believe in my heart Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that He was raised from the dead for my justification, and I confess Him now as my Lord.

Because Your Word says, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness,” and I do believe with my heart, I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) . . . And I am saved!

Thank You, Lord!

Signed____________________________

Date______________________________

About the Author

Kenneth E. Hagin ministered for almost 70 years after God miraculously healed him of a deformed heart and an incurable blood disease at the age of 17. Even though Rev. Hagin went home to be with the Lord in 2003, the ministry he founded continues to bless multitudes around the globe.

Kenneth Hagin Ministries’ outreaches include The Word of Faith, a free magazine; Rhema Bible Training College; Rhema Alumni Association; Rhema Ministerial Association International; Rhema Correspondence Bible School; and the Rhema Prison Ministry. Rev. Hagin’s son and daughter-in-law, Kenneth W. and Lynette Hagin, co-host Rhema Praise, a weekly television broadcast; Rhema for Today, a weekday radio program; and Living Faith Crusades held around the world.

Table of Contents

Forget the Past

Faith to Forgive

Forgive Yourself

A Sinner's Prayer

About the Author

Table of Contents

Forget the Past

Faith to Forgive

Forgive Yourself

A Sinner's Prayer

About the Author