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Deuteronomy 10:16
“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.”
Many people focus on outward religion.
They focus on what people see.
They focus on appearance.
They focus on titles.
They focus on activities.
But God always looks deeper.
1 Samuel 16:7 says:
“Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
God is not first interested in your clothes.
He is not first interested in your position.
He is not first interested in your activity.
He is interested in your heart.
The heart is the control center of your life.
Your thoughts come from there.
Your desires come from there.
Your decisions come from there.
Your actions come from there.
Proverbs 4:23 says:
“Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”
If the heart is wrong, the life will be wrong.
If the heart is clean, the life will change.
That is why the Bible talks about circumcision of the heart.
What Is Circumcision of the Heart?
In the Old Testament, circumcision was a physical sign.
It was done on the body.
It was a mark of covenant.
It showed that a person belonged to God’s people.
Genesis 17:10 says:
“This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.”
But God always wanted more than a mark on the body.
He wanted a change inside.
Deuteronomy 30:6 says:
“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”
Circumcision of the heart means:
• Removing what blocks your love for God
• Cutting away sin inside
• Removing pride
• Removing stubbornness
• Removing hidden rebellion
• Removing double life
It means God changes you from the inside.
Romans 2:28–29 says:
“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.”
God is not impressed by outward signs alone.
He looks for inward change.
Why the Heart Needs Circumcision
The natural heart is not clean.
Jeremiah 17:9 says:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
The heart can:
• Hide sin
• Justify evil
• Love the world
• Reject correction
• Resist truth
• Pretend to be good
Jesus said in Mark 7:21–23:
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
The problem of man is not first outside.
The problem is inside.
You can change your environment and still be the same.
You can change your friends and still be the same.
You can change your job and still be the same.
But when God changes your heart, your life changes.
That is why the heart needs circumcision.
What Blocks the Heart
Many things grow in the heart like unwanted flesh.
Some of them are:
• Pride
• Unforgiveness
• Love of money
• Love of praise
• Secret sin
• Bitterness
• Jealousy
• Hypocrisy
• Stubbornness
These things make the heart hard.
Hebrews 3:8 says:
“Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness.”
A hard heart:
• Does not listen
• Does not repent
• Does not change
• Does not obey fully
• Does not feel God’s correction
Circumcision of the heart removes this hardness.
Ezekiel 36:26 says:
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.”
A heart of flesh means:
• A soft heart
• A teachable heart
• A humble heart
• A repentant heart
• A responsive heart
Who Does the Circumcision?
You cannot change your own heart by effort alone.
You can try.
You can promise.
You can struggle.
But only God can truly change the heart.
Deuteronomy 30:6 says:
“And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart…”
God does the work.
But you must agree.
You must submit.
You must open your heart.
Psalm 51:10 says:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
This is a prayer.
This is surrender.
This is honesty before God.
God does not force the heart.
He works where He is welcomed.
How Does God Circumcise the Heart?
God uses several tools.
- His Word
Hebrews 4:12 says:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The Word cuts.
The Word exposes.
The Word corrects.
The Word cleans.
When you read and obey the Word, your heart changes.
- His Spirit
God works inside you.
He shows you what is wrong.
He convicts.
He guides.
He corrects.
John 16:8 says:
“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”
Do not ignore conviction.
Do not silence it.
That is part of heart circumcision.
- Trials and Discipline
Sometimes God uses trouble.
Sometimes He uses pressure.
Sometimes He allows shaking.
Hebrews 12:11 says:
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”
God is not trying to destroy you.
He is trying to purify you.
Signs of a Circumcised Heart
You can see the result in daily life.
Here are clear signs:
• You hate sin more
• You love truth more
• You repent quickly
• You forgive easily
• You obey willingly
• You become humble
• You seek God in secret
• You stop living for show
Colossians 2:11 says:
“In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh…”
A circumcised heart puts off sin.
It does not excuse it.
It does not hide it.
It fights it.
David is a Good Example
David failed badly.
But he did not protect his sin.
He did not argue.
He did not blame others.
Psalm 51:17 says:
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
God is not looking for perfect people.
He is looking for broken and honest hearts.
The Danger of Outward Religion
You can:
• Sing
• Preach
• Give
• Serve
• Attend meetings
And still have a hard heart.
Isaiah 29:13 says:
“This people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me…”
God does not want empty activity.
He wants your heart.
Matthew 23:27 says:
“Woe unto you… for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones…”
God hates hypocrisy.
He loves truth in the inner man.
Psalm 51:6 says:
“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts…”
A Personal Call
This message is not for your neighbor.
It is for you.
Ask yourself:
• Is my heart clean before God?
• Do I hide secret sin?
• Do I resist correction?
• Do I obey fully or partially?
• Do I love God or just religion?
Lamentations 3:40 says:
“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.”
This is a time to examine your heart.
How to Respond
Do these simple steps:
• Ask God to search your heart
• Confess what He shows you
• Forsake what He condemns
• Obey what He tells you
• Stay in the Word daily
• Stay sensitive to correction
Proverbs 28:13 says:
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
A Prayer You Can Pray
“Lord, search my heart.
Remove every sin.
Remove every pride.
Remove every stubborn way.
Give me a clean heart.
Give me a soft heart.
Help me to love You with all my heart.
Help me to obey You fully.
Amen.”
Conclusion
God is not looking for perfect outward people.
He is looking for transformed hearts.
Circumcision of the heart is not a one-day event.
It is a daily walk.
A daily surrender.
A daily obedience.
Let God work inside you.
Let Him cut away what does not please Him.
Let Him give you a new heart.
Ezekiel 18:31 says:
“Cast away from you all your transgressions… and make you a new heart and a new spirit…”
This is God’s desire for you.
Not a changed appearance.
But a changed heart.