Last Sunday, just after church, at 12:39 p.m., my mom took her final breath and woke up in the arms of Jesus! The day before, was her birthday, she turned 89 years old. On Saturday, the Doctors had called the family and told us she could pass that day… But it was just like Mom to wait until church was over last Sunday to go home to heaven. I am glad that Deanie Todd was prepared for eternity! She loved Jesus Christ with all of her heart and she endeavored to do His Will. When I was 15 yrs. old, my dad entered full time ministry as a traveling evangelist. For periods of time, my mom was both mom and dad to my sister and me. Many times I heard my parents in their bedroom praying: “Lord, we consecrate our lives to You! We want to be in your will more than we want anything in this world. We will go where you want us to go. We will be what you want us to be. We will say what you want us to say and we will and we will do what you want us to do." God loves it when we prepare to do His will! Preparation is very important in life. Preparation is often the difference between success and failure. Someone said, “Good fortune is where Preparation meets Opportunity!” The Florida State Football team lost a game last season to the University of North Carolina – a game they should have won. Some of the players admitted they didn’t prepare for the game, as they should have. Joshua chapter five tells us that God wanted to do some preparatory work inside the Children of Israel before they went to war with the Seven Heathen Nations that occupied the Promised Land. So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel. Joshua 5:1 Note verse 1: The people of the land are extremely intimidated by the presence of Israel. The Scripture says: - Their hearts melted - There was not more spirit in them to face Israel – they lost their Courage, and lost their Backbone! Note verse 2: At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” Joshua 5:2 God says, before you conquer the Land, I want you to do something. I want every male to be operated on – I want every soldier to first have surgery. “I want the flesh of every soldier’s private area to be cut away." Circumcision was introduced in Genesis chapter 17. God told Abraham, I am giving you a sign – a symbol of our Covenant Relationship – the sign is going to require surgery - the cutting away of the foreskin of your private area. In my mind, I can see Abraham saying, “God, did I hear you right?” “You want to do surgery where?” “That is kind of a delicate area Lord, how about doing surgery on my arm?” “That would be more comfortable.” I imagine Joshua was thinking, “Lord, can’t we do this after we fight the battles and take the land?” “Our entire army is going to need time to recuperate and heal.” “Right now, all the nations are afraid of us, can’t we go to war and strike while the iron is hot?” But no doubt, Joshua remembers the charge God gave him in Chapter One. God told Joshua that OBEDIENCE to Him Was the key to success! 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8 3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the Lord—to whom the Lord swore that He would not show them the land which the Lord had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”7 Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. Joshua 5:3-7 God didn’t want men in His army who didn’t bear the mark of circumcision. Because in the O.T. Circumcision speaks of COVENANT COMMITMENT! It was a mark of commitment to God and a mark of personal purity before the Lord. But what God really wanted wasn’t just the circumcision of the flesh. He wanted a circumcision of their heart! 16 Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer. Deuteronomy 10:16 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, And take away the foreskins of your hearts… Jeremiah 4:4 You can be circumcised physically, but not have a circumcised heart! You can bear in your body the symbol of a relationship with God, but not really have a relationship with God! “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Acts 7:51 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, Philippines 3:3 Circumcision of heart is when you completely give your will over to God. A circumcised heart doesn’t try to tell God how to run the universe. A circumcised heart doesn’t tell God how to answer your prayers. A circumcised heart says: “Not my will, but thy will be done.” I completely give my will over go to God. And I have “no will” in this matter. Both Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 tell us that Lucifer at one time had a great anointing in His life. He led all of heaven in worship, but He wasn’t radically sold out to God. He began to traffic in the anointing – he made merchandise of the anointing and was cast to earth along with 1/3 of the Angels. Rebellion turns angels into devils! 11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.18 “You defiled your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you, And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You have become a horror, And shall be no more forever.”’” Ezekiel 28:11-19 Lucifer’s Sin was Pride – (Pride goes before a fall and a haughty spirit before destruction.) But when pastors and ministers fall today, it isn’t just the pride – but usually another sin that causes the fall – (Women or Money). The pride is there, but it isn’t always manifesting to everyone. Pride leads to an uncircumcised heart and uncircumcised ears. I have been in services where notable miracles have taken place, healings and mighty signs and wonders and in some cases, I have seen pastors and evangelists stop everything to receive a second or third offering – because emotions are high and people are excited – that is Merchandising the anointing. Some pastor and evangelists pray regularly for spectacular miracles and healings to take place in their ministry – not to help hurting people – but so that they can get the credit and be a “big time” minister. “A big shot preacher.” In Acts 8, Simon the Sorcerer believed in Jesus Christ and was baptized in water. But when he saw Peter and John laying hands on people and folks receiving the Holy Spirit – he offered them money: “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” Acts 8:18-23 Circumcision of heart is when you completely give your will over to God. A circumcised heart says: “Not my will, but thy will be done.” I completely give my will over go to God. And I have “no will” in this matter. This is what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane. “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will by Thy will be done!” When I first sensed God was calling me into the ministry, it scared me so I backed off my walk with the Lord… It took me several years before I was willing to give full control of my life over to God. Took me some time before I was willing to TRUST God enough to say: “I am yours Lord. I want to be radically committed to you!” “Not my will, but thine be done…” All Stand – Altar Call “I want God’s will more than I want anything in this world. I want to love God and to please Him more than I want anything in this world. I love God with all of my heart and I want to fulfill His purposes for my life. I consecrate myself to Jesus anew and afresh.”
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