Making A Dwelling Place For God

(The Attic) What Are We Hiding!

I don’t know about your attic but we have all kinds of stuff up
there. My wife rights on the boxes treasures. The attic
represents the place where we buried our memories of photo
albums, and other memorabilia over the years.
Some of us still have some funky clothes from the past. My
wife’s mom always told her hang on to it, it’ll all come back
around!
Jesus knows those places we keep hidden from the world
buried in the darkness. It is time to slay finally the things that are
holding us back from our new life in Christ.
The attic represents the place where we hide our past failings,
it’s the place we want know one to see. Our attic is staked up
with our past failings and disappointments.
The Bible has many examples of people who should have been
wrecked by their past.
Joseph betrayed by his brothers!
Look, what Joseph said to his brothers after all he had been
through, he saw God’s bigger picture of his life. This was all to
help preserve the Israeli race.
Gen 45: 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry
with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives
that God sent me ahead of you. 8 “So then, it was not you who
sent me here, but God.
Mary Magdalene demon possessed by seven demons!
Mk 16:9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven
seven demons.

Paul persecuting the church!
How would you like to be the Apostle Paul persecuting the Lord
?‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8 “‘Who are you,
Lord?’ I asked. ”‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are
persecuting,’ he replied.
Peter denying the Lord could you picture yourself as Peter this
scene!
Luke 22:61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then
Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him:
“Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three
times.”
The Bible is full of people who had a past of disappointments.
But it did not stop them from accomplishing their destiny for the
future.
1Cor 6:9- 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom
of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Lets read Heb 12:14-17 do not fall short of His grace.
When we fail to apply God’s, grace to ourselves and to others it
will cause a root of bitterness that defiles everyone around you.
With the church with God and with people around you. That
word defile means to pollute or contaminate. to soil, stain,
corrupt, or infect by contact or association the environment
around you. Its like a poison.
Jesus said in John 6:14-15 14 For if you forgive men when they
sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But
if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive
your sins.

John Wesley John Oglethorpe, a friend of John Wesley,
allegedly told Wesley, “I never forgive.” Mr. Wesley wisely
replied, “Then, sir, I hope that you never sin.”
Through our weakness, God’s strength can be revealed.
Joseph was jailed, David driven into hiding, Paul imprisoned,
and Christ crucified. But even in defeat. God’s servants are not
destroyed. Part of the miracle of grace is that broken vessels
can be made whole, with even more capacity than before.
This is
The sole condition on which this righteousness is imputed or
credited to the believer is faith in or on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith is called a “condition,” not because it possesses any
merit, but only because it is the instrument, the only instrument
by which the soul appropriates or apprehends Christ and his
righteousness (Rom. 1:17; 3:25, 26; 4:20, 22; Phil. 3:8–11; Gal.
2:16).
We need to live this life by faith and not just by our emotions.
Its time to stop playing that DVD of past sins over and over
again in our heads. If you have truly repented and asked for
forgiveness than receive it. 1John 1:9 If we confess our sin!
Conclude with Paul’s words about forgetting the past!
Phil 3:10-14
We can’t move into our future if we can’t leave our past!
I know there are people here tonight that are trapped by there
past. I Christ has forgiven you then you need to get over it and
move onto the things He’s called you to. Others depend on it.