How To Get PAST Your PAST, Pt. 3

Philippians 3:12-16; Selected Scriptures By D.Z. Cofield, Th.M., D. Min. January 22, 2023 Responsive Reading: Psalm 118:1-9 (ESV) Leader: 1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Congregation: 2 Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Leader: 3 Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Congregation: 4 Let those who fear the LORD say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Leader: 5 Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free. Congregation: 6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Everyone: 7 The LORD is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 1. J.K. Rowling She had just gotten a divorce, was on government aid, and could barely afford to feed her baby in 1994. She wrote a children’s book that she thought was good, but she was so poor she couldn’t afford a computer or even the cost of photocopying the 90,000 word novel, so she manually typed out each version to send to the publishers. It was rejected dozens of time until finally Bloomsbury, a small London publisher, gave it a second chance after the CEO’s eight year-old daughter fell in love with it. She was broke just three years before the first of her books was published, and now she is the best selling living author in Great Britain, worth over 820 million British pounds or over $1 billion US dollars. The name of the first book – Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone. Her name is J.K. Rowling. 2. Tyler Perry He had a rough childhood. He was physically and sexually abused growing up, got kicked out of high school, and tried to commit suicide twice—once as a preteen and again at 22. At 23 he moved to Atlanta and took up odd jobs as he started working on his stage career. In 1992 he wrote, produced, and starred in his first theater production, I Know I’ve Been Changed, somewhat informed by his difficult upbringing. Perry put all his savings into the show and it failed miserably; the run lasted just one weekend and only 30 people came to watch. He kept up with the production, working more odd jobs and often slept in his car to get by. Six years later, Perry finally broke through when, on its seventh run, the show became a success. He’s since gone on to have an extremely successful career as a director, writer, and actor. In fact, he was named Forbes’ highest paid man in entertainment in 2011 and today is worth over 1 billion dollars. His name, Tyler Perry. 3. Sylvester Stallone Born in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, complications his mother suffered during labor forced her obstetricians to use two pairs of forceps during his birth; misuse of these accidentally severed a nerve and caused paralysis in parts of his face. As a result, the lower left side of his face is paralyzed – including parts of his lip, tongue, and chin – an accident which has given him his snarling look and slightly slurred speech. By all accounts, he also had a difficult childhood. His parents had a volatile relationship and fought all the time. They eventually got divorced. So, after living for a number of years in the Washington, D.C. area, he moved to Philadelphia to live with his mother and her second husband. He took on a number of odd jobs during these days to pay the bill, including working in the cleanup crew for the lion’s cages at the Central Park Zoo. After several small roles, he began writing a screenplay that would change his life forever. In 1976 his life would make a dramatic change. The film he wrote and starred in was n...