A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday evening, March 23rd, 2022, by
Evangelist PAUL ACQUAH, Live on MZ Radio London, UK
Are you living with regret over the time you’ve wasted, the opportunities you’ve squandered, the sins
you’ve committed, and the relationships you’ve destroyed? You see, the reason so many of us never get
where we’re supposed to be in life is because we don’t want to leave where we are. But so often in the plans of God, letting go is the door to your destiny. Holding onto regrets will always hold you back from living the life God wants you to live. When you focus on your past mistakes, it causes you to run from the life God created you to live. It’s a new day with a new opportunity to get your life together and move on to
greater things, so don’t waste it looking back in regret! The purpose of this message is to encourage you to break free from regret to avoid missing your destiny by holding on.
We all deal with missed opportunities, regrets, sorrows, and disappointments. No one is exempted. You
can look back and feel sad about what you should have done, shouldn’t have done, would have done,
couldn’t do, or didn’t do. But know that God can restore you. God can do more with your future than you
could do if you were to live your past all over again. That’s the kind of God we serve. So, we can be free
from regrets, disappointments, missed opportunities, past sins, broken relationships and many other
situations that we face in our lives. We all have that. People think regret is a good thing. Of course, you
shouldn’t feel good about the bad thing you did. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to
salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor. 7:10). The worldly
sorrow produces death. But with godly sorrow, there’s some regret initially but it doesn’t last forever.
Obviously, it’s not going to last forever because God is going to wipe every tear from our eyes when we get to heaven. So, regret is not God’s long term will for you. You can apply the full manifestation of some of the inheritance that God has for us.
God wants you to move on with the life He has given you no matter what has happened in the past. Are
you dealing with the loss of loved ones? This is something that there’s no escape from unless you go to
heaven first. The longer you live, the more people you are going to know that pass away, and this can come with regret that you didn’t love them or show your love enough. There are all kinds of things that you think you should have done, could have done, would have done, and even just the loss itself. People are defensive, and I’m not here to say that you shouldn’t have a process to go through, but it shouldn’t last forever. Jesus wants us to be happy, Jesus wants us to be filled with joy, that’s why He comforts you when you mourn.
He wraps His love around you. He said “blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” (Mat.
5:4). Jesus wants us to move on in life.
I heard this testimony about a lady who was happily married and had three children. They were on a family trip and she was driving their minivan, but she fell asleep at the wheel and the van went out of control. It threw out her husband and their middle child, and they died. It was devastating. She nearly lost her mind because of not only the loss but the guilt as well. So, she was dealing with guilt and grief, and it was almost more than she could bear, but she gave herself to the Lord, and she gave herself to the word of God. Most people will think you can’t get over something like that. Maybe you shouldn’t get over something like that.
You did something terrible; you will have to bear that scar for the rest of your life. And that’s where people are, and you can’t talk them out of it. That’s their decision. But I don’t believe that long term chronic grieve is God’s will for His people. Jesus wants to set you free. This lady gave herself to the Lord, she prayed, she went to Bible school, she got into the word, and four years after that accident, she got married to a new husband. God set her free. And now her new husband testified that she’s one of the happiest people he has ever met.
If this woman could get over that, then you and I can get over ours. That’s what her testimony does. You
may have lived a mild life compared to her. We all have disappointments and regrets. You may be saying,
if you’ve been through what I have been through, then you will understand. But the Bible says there’s no
temptation taken you such as it’s common to man. Some people may say, mine is special. I tell you, very
few people have gone through what this lady had to deal with, but she overcame the situation.
Once she shares her testimony, people begin to realise that what happened to her is worse than what is happening to them. And if she’s happy and she got over it and moved on with her life, then we all can get over ours, and move on too. It’s God in us who makes us strong and turn us into overcomers. It’s Him in us who makes us brave and courageous. It’s Him in us who gives us confidence. It’s Him in us who gives us eyes to see a hopeful future.
It’s Him in us who allows us to not worry. It’s Him in us who gives us the tools to fight battles
bigger than ourselves. To fight against disappointments and regrets, and to move on in life. It’s Him in us
who helps us to overcome darkness. It’s Him in us who gives us joy, even in sorrow. So, when you feel
fearful, in panic, overcome by darkness, know that it’s Him in us who can tackle and overcome all things,
not by our strength but His strength in us. His Holy Spirit that lives in us is our greatest weapon. With His
strength, we can overcome anything, including disappointments, depression, anxiety, and regrets.
You are accepted in the beloved. “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself,
according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us
accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace “(Eph. 1:5-7). You are highly favoured, and accepted. Start quoting
that, instead of thinking about the failures. It sounds so simple, but it just works. It’s just true. The word
of God works. It’s time to move on. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off
my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, 12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever” (Ps. 30: 11-12). Is this not powerful for us? If
you apply that to your life, God is literally saying, He can turn your mourning into dancing.
Mourning is a sad thing. It’s a condition, and it’s got real factual evidence supporting it. You don’t mourn
over nothing, something must happen for you to mourn, but God can turn mourning, which is a real
condition, into dancing. That’s quite a claim. Only God can back that up. I tell you, God can do it, and if
you’ll let Him, He will turn your mourning into dancing. We can enjoy that part of the inheritance God has
for us, and that means we must get rid of these sorrows and move on with our lives. God takes away the
mourning of His people; and what does He give them instead of it? Dancing! You have turned for me my
mourning into dancing; He makes our hearts to dance at the mention of His name. He turns our mourning
into dancing when we approach Him in prayer, and a great deal more than that.
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. He takes off the sackcloth. That is good.
What a delight to be gotten rid of your mourning and be replaced with dancing and joy! He clothes us with gladness. Not an ordinary clothe, but His royal and divine gladness. Far, far better than the most expensive designer clothe you can find in this world or in any designer shop in any country on planet earth. You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness. Your sackcloth is a loose one, it will soon come off.
You can move on with your life. God will put off the clothes of mourning, disappointment, regret and
replace them with joy. Your sorrow will turn to joy. Joy is the true replacement of your sorrow. We have
every reason to rejoice. The joy of the Lord is your strength. You can move on with your life no matter
what has happened.
Christ is the only saviour of the world. Have you received Him? If you will, please pray this prayer after
me, saying every word from your heart…
Dear Lord, I recognise that I am a sinner and need to be saved.
I understand that Jesus died in my place and suffered the judgment of all of my sins.
I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and He is at the right hand of the father.
Lord Jesus, I surrender my Life to you.
Come and Live in my heart and be my Lord and saviour.
Thank You for saving me. Amen!