Circumcision of the heart
1. THE FORMATION OF OUR CHARACTER
- Jesus is the exact “representation” (= character) of the Father’s nature according to Hebrews 1:3.
- The meaning of the word is “a tool used to engrave”. So if we’re going to be conformed unto Jesus we need to let God engraven our soul and life so that it will become just like His Son’s.
- God uses the circumstances of life to form us into His shape: He is the potter we are the clay. This begins when we are Born Again and made “holy”. The word “holy” simply means “to be set apart”.
- God takes us and sets us apart to make us into the form or shape He desires.
- This is why the formation of our character is important. We need to cooperate with the Lord in becoming more like Jesus.
- Read what Paul says in 2 Cor. 7:1
2. THE HEART
- In Scripture the heart is linked to our inner-man, our spirit-life. This is why we are told to guard our heart. Prov. 4:23
- Our human character is formed by our upbringing, education, experiences of life, etc. But our Christian character is moulded by the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual union with God brings forth holy (=“separated”) fruit in our lives.
- So it can be said that our Christian character is grown and nurtured within our spirit-man, the heart. Therefore, whatever is in our heart will determine our character. What comes out of our heart will reveal to others what our character is really like!
- We need to control what goes into the heart. Self-discipline, spiritual regulation and guarding our inner life are ways of protecting the development of the inner man.
- There is a need to re-order our life so that:
The spirit is king
The soul is servant
The body is slave
- The formation of the Christian life is a lost art in modern Christianity. The Hebrews, the early Christians and even those at the time of the Reformation, all had a sense of “developing the Inner Life”. John Wesley had such a method of it that his followers were even called “Methodists”. His early assembly of Christian friends called themselves “The Holy Club” (= the separated ones).
- The attitudes needed to bring about this Christian Formation of the inner man can be found in the Beatitudes (Matt 5: 3-8) and in the list of the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5: 22).
3. REVELATION IS NEEDED
- Revelation is needed in order for us to see we need change. Without God showing us our needs we are lost. So many of us try to keep on pleasing Him by reverting to religion and works.
- Once revelation comes and we see the need to be changed and revived our next step is to obey. It is here that so many Christians fail.
- They don’t fail because of insincerity or lack of zeal; they fail because they look to “works” rather than to the person of Jesus.
- When revelation does its convicting work, our part is to look away to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, not to some method, work or religious thing that will bring us into further bondage.
- We will grow in character by learning to look upon Jesus and to behold Him. The better we know Jesus the more our spirit-man will yearn to be like Him. This is an automatic process based on God’s spiritual laws.
- Remember that the work of change going on within us is not our work, it’s God’s work! Our work is to bend and to be pliable to Him.
- The Adamic nature that fights for control over our life has already been put to death on the Cross. The life that is now within us is the Seed that the Father placed there through the New Birth.
- It is our duty, privilege and even joy, to cooperate with our Father as He brings this seed to full maturity in us!
4. BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND Eph. 4:22-24
- Throughout the centuries, but particularly in the 20th, Christians have tried to renew their minds using all sorts of spiritual disciplines and methods. Most have failed – because they were based on man’s works to try to improve himself.
- God doesn’t want to improve us, He wants to transform us!
- Therefore the only place we can find such change is before His throne. Certainly, there are things we have to do and habits we have to confront and put away. But the most vital aspect of circumcising the heart and becoming more like Jesus is to spend time with God, sitting in His presence and allowing His quiet but steady work to act upon our hearts.
- This will require a measure of humility Rom. 12:1-3
- Currently the Holy Spirit is calling the Lord’s people to “come in” and sit with the Father. Many ministries are finding they’re being called to put aside unnecessary issues and to be single-minded.
- We will not stand in what is coming unless we have aligned ourselves with the Father and allowed Him to do His work in the inner man of our heart. Our ministry anointing might be wonderful and good, but it alone will not see us through the days that lie ahead.
- The more we guard and nurture the heart the more we will conform to the image of Christ Jesus our pattern.
- The Issachar Ministry
Teaching by
Peter McArthur
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Tags: Christian Books, Prophetic Books, Prophetic Ministry, Prophetic Teaching
