Circumcision of the Heart
Hi Friends,
Just this past Wednesday at prayer, I received two visions that I would like to share with you today. One concerns the heart and the other concerns the end times.
The Visions
In the first vision, I saw a man’s hand holding a scalpel like he would a pencil or pen.
In the second vision, I saw at a distance, a stage with the outermost curtains pulled back to either side. In the center between the two draperies was a one-piece curtain that was being lowered to the floor of the stage. There was light coming from the stage, behind the center curtain. As the curtain was lowered the light was blocked. When the curtain was fully lowered there was no light at all.
What these visions mean:
The Theater Curtains
Concerning the second vision of the theater curtains, a scripture came to mind:
“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5
I believe that the scene was placed in the distance to show that it was not immediate, but in our near future, at a distance on God’s timeline.
The stage represents the world. There is a famous line in William Shakespeare’s play, As You Like It: “All the world’s a stage.”
The curtain is used to separate the stage from the audience, to separate what is visible from what is not visible.
As the curtain is lowered, the light coming from the stage is effectively “blocked out.” The entire scene becomes dark and the vision ends. In the scripture above, Jesus says that while he is in the world, he is the “light of the world.”
When Jesus left this world to go to the Father, he did not leave us without his light. He gave instructions to his disciples that he would send the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit to us. Jesus said:
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” John 16:7-15
Right now there is light in the world, because the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, dwells within each believer. After declaring that he was the light of the world, Jesus tells us that we are also the light of the world:
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
But, when will darkness overtake the world? When will it be a time that no one can work? I believe that the time of darkness will come when the restrainer of evil is removed or taken out of the way, as this next passage reveals:
“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?
And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-7
I believe it is the Holy Spirit that indwells the believer that provides the supernatural power to resist and restrain evil. And that when the Holy Spirit or restrainer is taken out of the way, the world will no longer see his light. Many believe that the Holy Spirit, the restrainer departs from the earth with the saints (the church) when the Lord returns for us, his bride. We call this the rapture of the church. It could come at any time, but in the passage above seems to indicate that it happens just after the rebellion or falling away of the church. Apostasy is the willful act of leaving the faith. That is why it is referred to as the rebellion.
After this rebellion, the restrainer is taken out of the way and then the anti-Christ is revealed. All the world will become dark when the Anti-Christ is revealed and the church is no longer here. However, there are other opinions that are valid, the three most commonly held are: the pre-tribulation rapture, the mid-tribulation rapture, and the pre-wrath rapture.
I believe that this vision of the curtain being lowered is telling us that the days are growing more and more evil, and that the time is approaching when no one will be here to work the works of God. This vision only confirms the fact that the time of the end is nearly here.
“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12
Since Covid came on the world scene, we have seen unbelievable wickedness in our government, and in the actions of social media and tech giants. We have seen large banks and pharmaceutical companies along with hospitals, mayors of large cities, and governors of various states show their colors. The banners they fly are colored with greed, control, and deceitfulness. “You will know them by their fruit.” Matthew 7:16
So while it is still day, we must work the works of God, and to resist the devil and restrain the evil in the world. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
The Lord has given us authority over the powers of darkness.
“I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19
The other aspect of this vision, of the curtains, is the idea of doing God’s work while it is still day. And what is God’s work? Isn’t it to do what Jesus did? If we are his disciples, then aren’t we to follow his lead. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.” Ephesians 2:10
Jesus speaks of his Father’s work done through him:
“It is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14: 10-14
And the “work” that we are to do is made possible through our obedience to the will of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit. In the Lord’s summary of the Law and the Prophets, he commands us to love and serve God alone:
“He answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27
We are to obey the Lord’s teachings in the New Testament, and the requirements that the Apostles gave in instruction to the new Gentile believers.
What we are to do, regarding to the commands of God in the Old Testament, was discussed by the all the Church elders in Jerusalem: Peter, James, Paul, Barnabas, Silas and others. But after prayer, and discussion, they did not want the Gentile believers to be required to be circumcised and to follow the Mosaic Law. Here is a short account of the topic:
“Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.’
Peter then gave his testimony of how the Holy Spirit was given to Gentiles just and it had been given to Jewish believers. He attributed the gift of the Holy Spirit to their simple faith in the Lord. Then James spoke up in agreement:
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
After this they sent a letter to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. This is an excerpt of that letter:
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.”
Farewell. Acts 15:5-29
So, we are to stay in tune with the word of God, by following his commands and the leading of the Holy Spirit. The works we do for the Lord are to bring him glory, and not to impress others.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24
The Scalpel
In the first vision, a man’s hand held a scalpel like a pen or pencil. A scalpel is held in this manner so that the surgeon would have full dexterity and control over the instrument. Cleavers and kitchen knives are held in a different manner because the tasks that they perform are far different, requiring less dexterity and more force.
A surgeon uses a scalpel to perform various surgical procedures accurately. It is a necessary tool for a surgeon, to correct a problem or enhance a person’s health. I believe that the hand in the vision is the Lord’s. He is the ultimate healer. He is the one that brings healing to our bodies through our prayers and his divine intervention. He speaks and all is accomplished.
“He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.” Psalm 107:20
His word does not return void:
“So shall my word be, that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
When God made a covenant with Abraham, he asked him to be circumcised as a sign of agreement. Abraham also circumcised every male that belonged to his household and all his servants as well. This became a tradition of the entire Jewish nation. It was a sign of obedience and faithfulness to the commands of God and his lordship over everything and everyone.
But as we just saw In the passage above, from the book of Acts, there was an important change made to what the Lord requires of us as believers. We see that circumcision of the foreskin is no longer necessary. We have a new and better covenant between ourselves and God made possible with the Lord’s sacrificial death on a cross, which canceled our debt of sin, with his blood. Because of this new covenant, the Gentile believers were not instructed to follow all the Mosaic Law that required circumcision. The letter to the Gentiles required only four things: “You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” Acts 15:29
But I believe that the Lord is asking us to allow him to circumcise another part of us: our heart.
“And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:6
“I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” Jeremiah 24:7
Not only will the Lord circumcise our hearts, He asks us to circumcise our own hearts. He wants us to discipline ourselves and to willingly submit to his Lordship.
“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” Deuteronomy 10:16
“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.” Jeremiah 4:4
If we willingly allow the Holy Spirit to have his way in our lives, he will shape and form our character to become more Christ-like and pleasing to him.
“No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.” Romans 2:29
Surgery for a Stony Heart
Recently, a friend and I were praying for her relative who underwent surgery to remove calcium deposits on his heart. Calcium is not meant to be in the soft tissues of the body, as the heart, kidneys, brain and arteries. These calcium deposits are hard as stone. They interfere with the functioning of those tissues, and in this case it is the heart. The surgeon was only partially successful, not able to remove all of the calcium in the walls of the heart. But we know that Jesus is the healer. He can remove the stony deposits in the natural heart and heal the spiritual heart too.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26
We are praying for his full recovery and full functioning of his heart. And we also pray for the Lord to heal his spiritual heart. Our hearts can become stony and hard when we become offended by the actions of others. If we forgive them, then our hearts can remain tender. But if we carry the offense and do not forgive, resentment takes root in our hearts and they become hard.
This is an important scripture: “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, or give place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26-27
Refusing to forgive is the very thing that opens a door to the devil. We are commanded to forgive others when they sin against us, no matter what the circumstances may be. “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14-15
Let us not hold onto offenses, but forgive others, because it is the Lord’s will for us. Let us also allow the Lord to perform whatever surgery is necessary on our hearts to heal them and make them soft and tender towards him. Jesus have your way in our lives! Heal our stony hearts and make them yours!
God bless you! Please share this message with those you love!
