1 Corinthians 5:17

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

"Old Things!"  Our past can have two effects on our lives, can't it?    It can either be a launching point that pushes us into better places, or it can be a lead weight that holds us back.  One of the great plans of the enemy is that you and I would stay in condemnation, that we would get stuck there.   I like what Rick Warren says:  "If you are going through hell, you don't rest there, you don't stop, you keep moving, you keep moving."   Paul said it in Philippians 3, "I press on toward the upward goal."   

This is what the Paul is conveying, that because of Christ, you and I can "Press On!"   We can "BECOME" all that God intended us to be, we can put our past respectfully in the place it belongs, in the PAST.   

Some of us this morning need to say it:

• "I AM A NEW CREATION!"   Maybe even shout it!
• "OLD HAS GONE"   because that is not who we are anymore.
• "NEW HAS COME" because I am becoming what Christ called me to.

The application here is to pursue Christ, to become transformed by that pursuit. Notice he says, "Anyone who is in Christ."   That is you!    If you are pursuing to be transformed by knowing Christ, that is you, you're in Christ.    Which means that you need to let go of who you were before Him and become the new creation IN Him.

Lord, I pray that we will get this, that our walk with you;  It is that which transforms us, that changes us, that we would be able to forget what is behind, press on toward the prize that is Christ Jesus, that we would be renewed, reframed, refreshed, in Jesus' name, Amen!