TD Jakes - The Principle of Circumcision
I’m going to ask you to turn in your Bibles to Joshua 5:1-9. Yes, Joshua, the book you dare not open unless you’re prepared to fight! I’m so happy to have my friend, Dr. Sell, in the house. I know they’ve acknowledged you, but thank you for your long-time friendship and support of this church. Joshua is to the Old Testament what Ephesians is to the New Testament; it lays down the prerequisites and what is necessary to possess the things of God. Amen! In Ephesians, it says God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, and things that pertain to life and godliness. In Joshua, it starts out, «I have given you the land to possess.» In both books, there is a simultaneous transfer of influence and affluence, and we stand at the entrance of that transfer as Israel goes from being nomadic to possessing land for the first time after wandering in the wilderness.
Maybe this is you—you have wandered in the wilderness of ideas and have been in survival mode. They are now about to break into the next dimension of their lives and redefine themselves—not from a tent perspective, but with houses they didn’t build and vineyards they didn’t grow that are about to come upon them. After walking through the desert in the hot heat of the sun, they are now about to taste the grapes and enter into an unrivaled season of harvest.
They stop at Gilgal for just a moment, having ended their wandering stage, and we are now at the entrance of Gilgal as they begin to possess the land. Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear, and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. At that time, the Lord said to Joshua, «It would seem to me that the Lord would have said, 'Take them while they’re weak, take them while they’re scared, take them while they are paralyzed by the very thought of you.'» But instead, the Lord said to Joshua, «Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites.»
This is an important word! So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gihaloth. Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, so they were circumcised in Egypt. But all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not.
The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness 40 years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. The Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land He had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us—a land flowing with milk and honey. Oh my God! So He raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. After the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.
Then the Lord said to Joshua, «Today—notice this closely—today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.» They’ve been wandering for 40 years. Today, I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you; Pharaoh has been dead in the Red Sea, but today, I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. Can you say amen? Amen! I want to talk to you about the principles of circumcision—the principle of circumcision. I don’t so much want to focus on the act of circumcision as I want to discuss the principle it represents. I will mention circumcision, but ultimately, I want you to grasp the underlying principle.
Father God, in the name of Jesus, as we bow our heads before you, like the children of Israel, we are standing before the promises of God, and we are about to enter into a new dimension of living, unlike anything we have ever seen before. We dare not go forward without you; we cannot go to battle without you. We cannot possess the land without you; we cannot prosper without you. We cannot sanctify ourselves without you. We need your hand over our lives. Now, open our mouths and open our hearts that we might feed the flock of God universally, in every time zone and every language that is watching me around the world. I thank you for increase right now, in Jesus' name. Amen.
You may be seated in the presence of God. Now, let’s get into it. When we think of circumcision in our times and in our culture, we typically consider it for health reasons, and men understand the importance of circumcision from that perspective. As Judeo-Christians, we think of it from a spiritual perspective because, from a Biblical standpoint, circumcision is the sign of the covenant. Watch the words closely! It is not the covenant; it is the sign of the covenant. God entered into covenant with Abraham before he required the sign of the covenant. So, circumcision becomes an outer sign of an inner covenant. Are you hearing what I’m saying?
We see circumcision throughout the Bible—from Genesis to Revelation, there is a constant, almost nonstop debate about circumcision: who is to be circumcised, how they are to be circumcised, what circumcision means, and what is required in the Old Testament to legitimize it. There were complaints throughout the Book of Jeremiah that sometimes, people had the sign of the covenant on the outside through circumcision, but they didn’t have the inner circumcision of the heart. If you Google «circumcision of the heart» in your Bible, you will find that the outer sign of circumcision is supposed to indicate that you have a circumcised heart—that you have, as Hebrews would say, cleansed yourself of the filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit.
It is not enough for us to have symbols and religious ideas without incorporating them into our lifestyles, so that we go through more than ceremonies and rituals, but cultivate a personal and intimate relationship with God. I cannot think of anything more personal than circumcision. It is interesting that when we preach about childbirth, women start making noises, but when we talk about circumcision, men just look nervous. Their eyes squint, and they start fidgeting because every man in this room understands what it means to be circumcised from a Biblical perspective.
When we think of circumcision, we often consider Abram when God spoke to him to take a flint stone and to cut himself. Lord, have mercy! I mean, it’s not that I don’t love you, Lord. I really do. But could you repeat the question? I’m not sure I understand what you want me to do—right hand, left hand? I mean, give me some details; I need some more time. So Abram goes out and circumcises himself, and for most people who only read their Bibles, their reference to circumcision begins with Abraham, leading them to believe it is purely a Judeo-Christian ideology. But in reality, that is not true.
The practice of circumcision is believed to have originated in Egypt and was widely practiced throughout the Near East, including areas like Mesopotamia. It also was practiced by the Canaanites and non-Israelite people, so it didn’t necessarily start within the confines of Scripture. To appreciate it in the context of Scripture, we also need to understand that the rites of circumcision existed among many religions, tribes, and ideas that did not have the same meaning. Are you following me?
It was also practiced by the Virgins of the Tharis in Italy, among people who did not believe in Jehovah, as well as in Zoharitic communities in Judaism. The ancient Egyptians also performed circumcision for both religious and medical reasons. Medically, they believed it helped to cure a variety of ailments, including fevers, epilepsy, and even cancer. Religiously, they believed that circumcision signified purity and helped to protect the individual from evil.
The Greeks, on the other hand, did not practice circumcision at all, nor did the Romans. However, circumcision was practiced by the ancient Jews, as discussed with Abraham, as well as by the ancient Phoenicians, Hittites, and Mesopotamians. I might remind you that God called Abram out of Mesopotamia. So, where he came from, there was a practice of circumcision that did not reflect covenants with God. Just as there were tabernacles before the Tabernacle of Moses, there were tents. Are you hearing what I’m saying?
So, it is not the act itself, but the evolution of its meaning that becomes powerful from a spiritual perspective. We must understand the larger reality that we were not the first Judeo-Christians to come up with the idea of circumcision. The cutting of the flesh has been a necessary part of commitment, even among some armies. Let me say this is a significant commitment. If you take a sharp stone and circumcise yourself, I believe you. You are not playing games; you are serious about it.
From a Biblical perspective, we need to look a little deeper because it represents the cutting away of the flesh. That’s right, yes sir! We are all called, both men and women, to cut away the flesh. If we are going to walk with God, we must understand that we periodically go through seasons of circumcision; we face periods of setbacks. If we were bushes, we would refer to them as prunings. There are times in our lives when God allows us to lose something in order to gain something greater.
If we were to dive deeper, we would also understand that, according to the Book of Leviticus, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. And there is no blood that makes you appreciate the pain and the power of purpose like your own. When you put your own blood, sweat, and tears into something, you become serious about it. In fact, where there is no sacrifice, there is no commitment. The sacrifice teaches you that, to reach the next level, there has to be a cutting away.
It is essential for you to realize this truth and to always be reminded that circumcision occurs throughout Scripture as an indication of stepping into a new dimension, a new lifestyle, a new order. In the New Testament, it is compared to water baptism because it serves as an outward sign of an inward cleansing and an initiation.
Give me a moment. An initiation that says, «I’m going into the next level.» Let’s face it: moving into the next level is not easy. Change is hard. Anytime God orders change in our lives, it is complicated, especially when God changes your life but you won’t let Him change you. Life can take you to a place that you are not equipped to handle. Circumcision signifies that, if I’m going to go further, not only is my environment going to change, but I personally must change to enter this next level.
I am a sinner, and there are things that must be cut out of my life in order for me to progress to the next level. I can’t spend my entire life in kindergarten; sooner or later, I have to grow up, even if it means losing some friends I had in kindergarten to ascend to the next level. Circumcision becomes a necessary act. If you cannot feel it, it’s not a sacrifice. Sacrifices occur all over the world, but when you start talking about your faith, if you cannot feel it, it is not a true sacrifice.
We have raised a generation of believers in this era, intoxicating you with the promises of God. You get excited about the promises of God and the land that flows with milk and honey, but we often don’t discuss the pain associated with the promise. Consequently, we become more excited about the wedding than the marriage itself. We invest all our money, energy, and passion into the ceremony, but the ceremony is meaningless if the relationship behind it is not more beautiful than your wedding gown.
Are you hearing what I’m saying? We like the idea of saying we work for a major Fortune 100 company. We like to brag about it: «Where’s the logo? Get the preferred parking space; get the office!» But when it comes to the work involved, you would be surprised at how many people want the title but do not want to put in the work. It’s like the husband who keeps telling his wife, «I’m the head of the house! I’m the head of the house! I’m the man! I’m the head of the house!» Then, one night while they are lying in bed, they hear someone walking around the property and coming to the door. He says, «You better go see what that is!»
We don’t always grasp how much it costs to go through transitions—the price people pay to become who they are. Heroes—how they function in our lives, what they do in our lives—we don’t understand how much it costs to make ourselves available. We see them on the stage; we see the comedian making us laugh, and we think they must be happy people. Yet we have had countless famous, successful comedians commit suicide because we don’t understand that there’s some bleeding and some cutting going on. All we see is the performance, but we don’t see the pain, and we don’t see the price. It is painful to be a good husband; it costs you something to be a good husband. You have to cut your ego back to be a good husband; you have to cut your pride back to be a good husband; you have to cut back your need for reciprocity to be a good husband. It is not easy to be a good husband.
Women, you are kind of quiet, but you’re going to let this next part, uh-huh, be heard. It is not easy to be a good wife. It is easier to look like a good wife, and that takes a lot of work. You spend hours looking the part, but when it comes down to actually being a good wife, that’s a task. Listen, ladies, if you have a dog, you have to feed him; if you have a cat, you have to deal with the cat litter; if you have fish, you have to change the water every so often. You can’t take in something and not expect it to require something. Just because you have a baby doesn’t make you a mother, uh-huh. Let me give you something to chew on: you are a mother, but you don’t want to get out of bed; you’re a mother, but you don’t want to cook; you’re a mother, but you don’t want to wash clothes; you’re a mother, but you don’t want to deal with the issues; you’re a mother, but you don’t want to do homework.
You like the title, but you don’t like the job. Circumcision, then, says that in order to go to this next dimension, you’re going to have to pay a personal price. In order to evolve, it’s going to cost you something. I know it’s not the way you’ve always done things; I know it’s not the way you like it, but we are getting ready to cut away the way you like it so that we can do it the way God wants it. It requires something of you. Everything in life requires something of you. Promotions require something of you. If you get a promotion, they’re paying you more; you love the money, but you don’t love the extra work, the extra hours, the extra demands, the extra stress, and the extra headache.
Nothing is free; there are no free rides. The fact that God allowed Abraham to cut himself was to help him understand that salvation is expensive; redemption is expensive. He later says to Abraham, «Take now thy son, thy only son, and take him to a place I will show you, and offer him as a burnt sacrifice.» He wants to know, Abraham, do you have any skin in the game? Everybody wants you to invest in them, but they don’t invest in themselves. Do you have skin in the game? Circumcision is about having skin in the game. Circumcision is about being fully vested in the fact that you are committed to whatever it takes to get to this next level in life. In our text today, when we begin to deal with it, we understand that not only in our text but all the way to the New Testament, all the way to the cross, we look at circumcision. Beyond the cross, they’re still debating about circumcision throughout the Epistles.
In the book of Acts, there was a great discourse; they almost came to blows in Antioch over whether the Gentiles, who were being converted to Christianity, had to go through the remedial process of being circumcised as Jews in order to be eligible to be Christians. The disciples almost came to blows! When I read that, it did me good because preachers get into fights today. This lets me understand that the early church had its issues as well. They had their disagreements, and they had their fights. I used to think that you could only walk with people who are in total alignment with you, but when you’re going to do great things, you have to work with all kinds of people.
Sometimes you have to deal with people you philosophically don’t agree with; but in order to get the task done, you’ve got to work with different kinds of people. You cannot just hire people because they’re nice; you can’t hire people because you like them; you cannot hire people who always say yes to whatever you say. You’ve got to be able to deal with all types of people. The disciples almost came to blows arguing about how to get this right—how much of the old do we take into the new? How much of it is still relevant? What did the Cross cancel out, and what didn’t it cancel out? How big is the word grace, and is the word grace encompassing enough to allow these uncircumcised heathens, who were idolators, to go through the blood of the Cross and that be enough circumcision for them to be redeemed?
The debate brought the disciples to the point of being ready to fight. In the 15th chapter of the book of Acts, they start the discussion. Just give me the first couple of verses: certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers, «Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.» That’s what they were teaching. This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute, which means fisticuffs; Paul and Barnabas were ready to get it on.
So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. They were traveling all the way back to Jerusalem to go before the council to debate this issue because it had become toxic; it had become violent, and they were willing to fight over it because it was a big deal. They were concerned that circumcision would delay the Gentiles from converting to Christianity. If you make the cost too high, they might fall away. Secondly, they were concerned about our understanding of grace—how gracious God’s grace is, how efficacious His redemption is, and is it efficacious enough that they don’t have to go through the path I went through to get to the place I’m going? You didn’t hear that. They don’t have to go through the path I went through to get to the place I’m going.
Most of you have to be careful who you let mentor you because people tend to think you have to go through the same path they went through to get to the place God is taking you to. When in reality, sometimes God took you through it so that I don’t have to go through it. God allowed you to face it so that I don’t have to face it. So don’t make me go back and go through what you went through in order to get to where I’m trying to go. Can we pick up from here? Can we take it from right now? Can I listen and learn? Do I have to go back and repeat the classes that you’ve already taken in order for me to go to the next place? You’ve got to be careful who you let mentor you because instead of just giving you their Christ, they will force their culture upon you and won’t accept that you can have Christ while still being uniquely who you are.
You make me have to dress like you, act like you, talk like you, think like you, or else you threaten me with hell if we disagree on a point. I noticed in the Word that God gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, but He didn’t give anyone the keys to hell. The substratum of this text then centers around the reality that they have now crossed through the Jordan, and what you don’t realize is that this whole story is full of circumcision. It is not merely the physical act of circumcision that is the substratum of this text. The very fact they went through the Jordan is a type of circumcision; it is a type of baptism, a type of burial, a type of new beginning, and it is a new understanding of yourself.
A new self-actualization takes place as they come through the Jordan on dry ground, and it was so powerful that when the heathens heard about it, their hearts melted inside of them. When they saw how God made a way for them, you must be in trouble for God to make a way. Now you want God to prove Himself strong in your life, but you don’t want to get into any trouble. The reality is that in order for God to prove Himself strong, He has to put you in trouble to show you how strong He is—so that the heathens can see that God brought you forth on dry ground, and you made it across to the other side. Somebody shout hallelujah!
So here we have this new generation of Hebrews who are now ready to possess the promises of God. They have seen the hand of God on Moses; they have seen the anointing that is on Moses; they have seen the gifting that is on Moses. Moses has led them for 40 years through the wilderness. But the truth of the matter is that the circumcision doesn’t start at Gilgal. The circumcision starts at Mount Nebo when Moses goes up on the mountaintop and never comes back again. That’s a circumcision too. There is a synergism between Moses going up on the mountain in the book of Exodus and them cutting away the flesh in the book of Joshua. The loss of Moses sent them into a state of grieving that lasted 30 days before they were healed, and the loss of their flesh sent them into a state of pain that required them to spend weeks and weeks before they recovered. We are seeing a series of circumcisions from the death of Moses to the Jordan.
Let me go deeper: you must understand that the Jordan is fed by the Sea of Galilee. It starts as freshwater, turns into saltwater, and ends up in the Dead Sea. So to cross the Jordan is to say that everything I was goes into the Dead Sea; everything that I went through went into the Dead Sea. This is why, when Jesus got ready to be baptized, He got baptized in the Jordan that it might fulfill all righteousness—letting us know that God doesn’t hold grudges. When God washes it away, He washes it all the way into the Dead Sea, not to be remembered in this world or in the world to come. I wish I had somebody whose sins have been washed into the sea of forgetfulness—somebody who understands that you might remember, but God doesn’t remember.
I’ve been through the Jordan and walked through the process, and my past is behind me, so I don’t have to live in guilt; I don’t have to cross the street when you walk by. You can roll your eyes at me, but it doesn’t stop the fact that I’ve been through the Jordan, and I’m free. All the free people, show them how free people pray! Yeah, that’s how free people praise; that’s how free people praise the Lord. That’s how free people praise! When you’ve been free, when you’ve been forgiven for much—when you have survived much, when you have endured pain, blood, and swelling, and trauma—and still made it to the other side, you don’t care whether people like you or not. You will praise the Lord because I’ve already been through the Jordan. I’ve already lost people that I love; I’ve already had to survive grief, pain, and disappointment, and without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.
See, salvation is a blood business. We used to sing, «I’ve already been to the water, and I’ve already been baptized. My soul has been converted.» I feel alright! Hallelujah! Where I already… your soul—I feel, I feel, I feel alright! Hallelujah! Just for a minute, tell your neighbor, «I’ve been through something.» Tell your neighbor, «I’ve been through something!» I didn’t just show up at church; I’ve been through something. I’m not talking about where I parked; I’ve been through something. When you’ve really been through something, you don’t argue about petty stuff. «They took my parking space"—you haven’t been through nothing, baby! «They didn’t speak to me"—you haven’t been through nothing!
When you have really had to face a sharp knife, your feelings get tough, your back gets straight, your head goes up, and your mind becomes invincible because you know the cost. There is a principle that goes along with circumcision that says to us, instead of God sending them in to fight their enemy, He told them to be circumcised. It seems like it’s a bad time to be circumcised while I’ve got a fight. I would rather wait until I am healed before I fight. Right in the face of an enemy whose heart is melting for fear of the fact that you’re with me. This seems like a bad time for me to take PTO, right when I’m about to possess the land, right when I’m about to step into the blessing, right when I’m about to walk into my destiny, right when I’m about to walk into my future, right when I’m about to rebuke the witch, right when I’m about to rebuke the Warlock, right when I’m about to break the curse.
This ain’t no time for me to have… Have you ever had something bad happen at the wrong time? Have you ever noticed that the worst things happen at the best times in your life? Just when you’re getting ready to get yourself together, all hell breaks loose. It is the principle of circumcision. Just when you’re about to step into your destiny, that’s when you have the most trouble with your spouse, the most trouble with your children, the most trouble on your job, the most trouble in your house. It is the principle of circumcision: that before you can possess, you’ve got to go through pain. To possess, you have to do cutaways. Abraham’s going up on the mountaintop; he’s followed by his servants who are behind him.
When he found the vision of where he was supposed to go, he told them to stay with the donkeys. «Me and the lad are going yonder to worship.» The separation from the servants who were serving him is circumcision. Circumcision isn’t just about a sharp knife in a personal place; circumcision is about who doesn’t get to come along with me. Come on; I’m just getting started. I’m ready for you this morning. The problem with some of you, the reason you can’t possess the promised land, is because you can’t say goodbye to some of your fleshly, no-Bible-reading, no-faith-believing, no-favor-developing people. But some of us have made up our minds: if Mama don’t go, if Daddy don’t go, if Sister don’t go, if Brother don’t go, I’m going all the way with the Lord.
Is there anybody in this place that has made up their mind that they’re going all the way with the Lord? Is there anybody in the balcony? Is there anybody online? Is there anybody strengthening? Whatever I’ve got to give up, whatever habit I have to break, whatever problem I have to solve, whatever mountain I have to cross, whatever river I have to ford, whatever dry place I have to walk through, I’m willing to walk through it to get what God promised me. I want to talk to some people who are standing on the verge of the next dimension. If you’re in the house, give God a little bit of praise. It would be remiss of me if I didn’t point out that circumcision is a battle tactic because if I’m going to fight the battle, I want to have paid the price to fight the good fight of faith. I want to make sure that I’ve cut off enough of my pride, my arrogance, my flesh, my temperament, and my attitude, so that when I’m in the fight, the devil can’t bring up anything.
I don’t want to give him anything to work with. I feel like preaching this morning! I don’t want to give him anything to work with. There are some people in this room whom God is getting ready to take so high that you can’t afford to play down low any longer. You don’t want the enemy to have anything to work with because God is getting ready to take you to… Who am I preaching to? Yeah! If I’m preaching to you, touch your neighbor and say, «Something is about to happen! Something is about to happen! Something is about to happen! Something is about to happen! Something is about to happen! Something’s about to happen! Something is about to happen!» I’m cleaning up stuff that I used to let go. I’m saying yes when I need to say yes and no when I need to say no because something is about to happen. And you say, «I’m acting funny.»
Maybe I am, but something is about to happen in my life. Is there anybody in this place that understands the words that are coming out of my mouth? Circumcision is a principle; it’s necessary. It was good that I’ve been afflicted. Had I not been afflicted, I would have never known the goodness of the Lord! Are there any mature Christians in here that can say, «It was good that I was afflicted! It was good that we broke up! It was good that you fell out with me! It was good that you left me! It was good that you fired me! It was good that the house didn’t sell! It was good that things didn’t work out! It was good!»
I want somebody to rejoice while you’re bleeding. Y’all didn’t hear me. I’m going to say it again: I want somebody who can rejoice while you’re bleeding, rejoice while you’re still bruised, rejoice while you’re still swollen, rejoice while you’re still in the hospital! I want somebody in this place that can see that all things are working together for the good of them that love the Lord, who are the called according to His purpose. And the Lord wanted you to be here this morning to say you’re still on track! You’re hurting but you’re still on track! You’re swollen but you’re still on track! You’re bleeding but you’re still on track! The battle is not yours; it belongs to God! It belongs to God!
Somebody holler, «It belongs to God!» I feel the anointing walking up and down in this house. I feel the Spirit of the Lord in this place. I feel handcuffs falling off. I hear chains falling to the ground. I see God opening up doors. This word is for you: before you cross into the next dimension, there’s some cutting that’s got to be done! Get your scissors out. Snip, snip! It’s time to cut away. Stop trying to be polite. Stop trying to fit in. Stop trying to get along. Whatever it takes to get to the next level—snip, snip! It may hurt, but I’m going to cut. I might be lonely, but I’m going to cut. I may cry myself to sleep, but it’s got to be cut. Now, I want you to understand this, I’m still developing this just a little bit.
Can I go deeper? I said, can I go deeper? You must understand that before they ever even got to the Jordan, they lost Moses. They lost Moses. The losing of Moses is a professional circumcision. The person who mentored you, fed you, and brought you through the wilderness and brought you to where you need to be—it’s a professional circumcision. No Moses stays. I’m going to say it to y’all; see if y’all get it: no Moses stays. That’s why you have to value them while you have them because no Moses stays. That’s why parents don’t outlive their children—because no Moses stays! No Elijah stays! No Paul stays! No Naomi stays! God puts people in your life to hold you up like jet propulsion. He puts them in your life to hold you up until you get to a certain height, and then they fall off when our purpose is completed.
Our separations occur. It doesn’t have to be a devil. It doesn’t have to be a witch. It doesn’t have to be Satan. It can be by design. The device attached to the top of a rocket is put there; it’s called a payload fairing, and it’s put on the top of the rocket, and when they put it on there, they know it’s coming off. They put it on for it to come off. The standard payload fairing is typically a conical-cylindrical object at the top of the apparatus due to aerodynamics. It is put in place with the consideration that although other specialized fairings are in use, these are designed to come apart and fall off. The type of fairing that I’m talking about in this illustration, which separates into two halves upon jettisoning into place, is called a clamshell. Like a clam opens up and releases what’s important on the inside, it is designed to come off.
There are some people in your life that were there for a season, and they were designed to come off. And when you get high enough—when you get high enough—things start coming apart. Things start falling off. Everything that wasn’t necessary starts moving out of your way because you’re airborne now. I want to talk to some people that are airborne. And everybody that started with you is not staying with you. Everybody that launched with you is not staying with you. But you’re right on track! God designed you that once you got to a certain height, they have gone as far as they can go. They have to come off for you to go to the next level. And you’ve been feeling like your life is falling apart; your life is not falling apart. It’s doing exactly what it’s designed to do. It’s the principles of circumcision: when you get so high, it’s got to come off!
What the law said to circumcise a baby when it’s 8 days old— but in Gilgal, these are grown men! If they would have gotten cut when they were supposed to, they wouldn’t even remember it now! But everything you don’t cut when you’re supposed to cut it, the later you wait to cut it, the more it hurts. Come on, come on, come on! Stay with me! If I would have cut it when I was 20, I wouldn’t be fighting with it in my 40s! If I’d have cut it when I was 40, I wouldn’t be fighting with it when I’m 60! That’s why the Bible said the day you hear my voice, Harden not your heart! The moment I tell you, let them go, let them go! Let Lot go! Let his wife go! Let him pick what he wants to pick! Let him rip you off!
As long as they leave the children of the born wife will not inherit with the children of the married wife! Tell Hagar to get out of the house! All of this is circumcision! All throughout your life, if you look back over your life, every so often, something fell off. Every time you went a little further, something stepped off. Every time you climbed a little higher, something fell off. If ain’t nothing falling off of you, you’re in trouble! If everybody still likes you, you’re in trouble! There ought to be something falling off of you because you’re about to go into the next level! Touch your neighbor and tell them, «It hurt, but it’s worth it! It hurt, but it’s worth it! I cried, but it’s worth it! I was in turmoil, but it’s worth it!
I was angry, but it’s worth it! I had anxiety, but it’s worth it! These light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work for us a far more exceeding weight of glory. For we look not at the things that are seen, for the things that are seen are temporal, and the things that are not seen are eternal.» High-five somebody and say, «Cut it off! Cut it off! Cut it off! Cut it off! You’re going to the next level! Cut it off! God’s about to do a new thing in your life! Cut it off! God’s about to give you houses you didn’t build! Cut it off! God’s about to put you in the flow! You’re about to step into the flow! You’re about to step into the flow! You’ve been walking through dry places all your life, but God’s about to put you in a place where the milk and honey are flowing in your direction! Somebody step into the flow! Step into the flow!
I’m about to step into the flow! There’s a current, there’s a wave, there’s a flow, there’s a rhythm, there’s a movement, there’s a flow! I’m going to step into the flow! I’m not going to be like the man at the pool who sat by the pool for 38 years waiting on somebody to drop me in the water! The devil is a lie! If you don’t carry me, I’ll carry myself! If I can’t carry myself, I’ll crawl! If I can’t crawl, I’ll roll! If I can’t roll, I’ll slide! Whatever it takes to get to the next level, I’m willing to go all the way! I wish I had a thousand radical people, a thousand desperate people, a thousand relentless people! Make some noise in this house! Yes! Profound pain is the one who taught me and the one who led me and the one who brought me gets me so high and then falls off.
That’s as far as they can go. Their falling off is a sign that you can go the rest of the way by yourself. They wouldn’t have fallen off if you couldn’t do it! Stop telling yourself you can’t do it. The sign that you see them falling off is a sign that the jet is now high enough that it’s got enough thrust under itself to keep on going! Just keep on going! Just keep on going! Look over at somebody and say, „I will survive!“ I’m hurt, but I will survive! I’m bleeding, but I will survive! I’m in pain, but I will survive! I’m in grief, but I will survive! I miss him, but I will survive! I was built to fly! I was built to go up! I was built to go further! I was built to reach up! I was not built to sit down! I was not built to give up! I was not built to quit! I was not built to walk away!
The devil is a liar; you ain’t going to stop me because you fell off! Hallelujah! I’m about to go higher than you ever saw me go in all of my life! Can I stop right here and say when I think of the goodness of Jesus, and all that the Lord has done for me, my soul cries out. Find somebody and say, „I can make it from here! I can make it from here!“ They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Somebody has gained enough altitude that you can make it from here. You may have tears in your eyes, but you can make it from here. You may be lonely sometimes, but you can make it from here. I feel a victory praise about to take over this house right here and right now. I don’t know who it is, but something just fell off of you. Something just fell off of you! You’ve got to feel it! Touch your neighbor, touch your neighbor and say, „You just dropped something! You just dropped something! You just dropped something!“ Excuse me, ma’am, you just dropped something. Excuse me, lady, you just dropped something. Excuse me, preacher, you just dropped something. Excuse me, businessman, you just dropped something. You just dropped it! If you would have needed it, it would have stayed, but it fell off so you could go higher. Shout yes!
As I hasten, there was professional pain—the pain of separation, the pain of abandonment, the pain that Moses is not coming back, the pain that the chariot has taken my father away. There’s pain associated with it. This pain that Naomi is no longer there, there’s pain associated with it—professional pain. My mentor is gone. I’m not sure if this will work for me like it worked for you. Elijah comes to the Jordan; there we are in the Jordan again. He has the mantle of his father, but will it work for me like it worked for my father? It’s the same mantle! The Bible said when Elijah smote the waters, it wasn’t so much the man that the water recognized, it was the mantle that the water recognized. And when the water recognized the mantle, it will part for any man.
Does anybody have the mantle in here? Something’s getting ready to open up for you! If you have the mantle, are you hearing what I’m saying to you? So, that’s the professional loss—"My father, my father, the host of Israel has taken you away,» and I feel like I still need you, and you’re backing away. «No, I must back away so you can discover who you are! If I don’t back away, you will never come into your own; you will never reach the height that you could have reached if you allow me to stay stuck in the place I was in.» And then from professional pain to personal pain. Personal pain is the pain that you bear in your body, the things that you go through that nobody knows about.
The pain that you bear, and you’re smiling, but it’s hurting to walk—the bruises you incur that you don’t testify about, the things you live within your house that you say nothing about. Personal pain is when you’ve been cut in a place that you can cover. The Bible said, «Don’t do any work yet,» even though you can cover it. Covering is not healing! I don’t want you to go into this battle covering personal pain. I want you to give yourself a moment to heal so that once the swelling has gone down and the bruising, which is trapped blood, begins to move away, you can go into the battle with the full assurance that that was then, and it ain’t hurt me! Let me try y’all: that was then, this is now! So, they had the professional pain of losing Moses, the personal pain of being circumcised. And then, when God told them to take Jericho, He said, «But I don’t want you to live there. Destroy everything in Jericho because Jericho is circumcision too—cutting off that which comes first: first fruit offering, lifting it up to God.»
So they marched around the wall, and they spent time healing in Gilgal. Then, they spent a week marching around a wall to take a city that they don’t get to keep. Some people only fight for stuff that they get to keep; you have to be willing to fight for something even when you don’t profit from the fight. Come on, come on, come on! Do you hear what I’m saying to you? Jericho was the first city. It was the first fruit of the promised land; it was to be offered up to God. Much like David killed the Philistines and took a hundred foreskins and threw them at the feet of Saul, it is a sign that I made contact with my promise. So, God said, «Don’t save anything out of Jericho 'cause we’re going to cut this once and for all. If you cut it right, I’ll give you every other city that comes after it.»
I mean, if you stop babying yourself and pampering yourself and snipping at yourself and going, «Oh, that hurt!» If you just go ahead, and I feel like I’m talking to somebody—I don’t know who it is—just go ahead! The quicker, the better! Just cut it off! Have you ever had somebody—men can relate to this—they put some tape on your chest and they’re trying to be delicate, and you just say, «Just rip it off!» Just rip it! Some of you are so close to where you got to go that you have to rip it off—personal pain! Then they gave themselves time to heal so that they wouldn’t walk into their promises still bruised by their past, so that your next marriage doesn’t get your old marriage’s beating! Somebody holler, «Cut it off!»
So that you’re not in a situation bitter about where you came from! Somebody say, «Cut it off! Cut it off!» So that you don’t go on your new job talking about your old employer! Somebody say, «Cut it off! Cut it off!» Whoever said that, you’re getting ready to step into a new arena and a new place in your life, and God wanted you to hear this word so that you would get the principles of circumcision. So they completely destroyed Jericho; they burned it down to the ground—destroyed it so badly they still can’t find it! They burned it completely up, except for one man who tried to save a little bit for himself, which led to the defeat at Ai. They didn’t get beat because they weren’t able—Ai was a small city—they got beat because he didn’t fully cut it off! You broke up, but you still got the number! Oh no, no, no! Shout! Shout! Shout! Y’all ain’t going together, but you in the mix from time to time! Come on! Shout! No, no! Shout! Shout! Shout!
See, if they shout, say, «Cut it off!» You do it; you just don’t do it as frequently as you used to. Look at somebody and say, «Cut it off! Cut it off!» Because God is about to give you—listen to this! Everybody stand! If you learn the principles of circumcision, I have noticed in my life that every time I get close to something major, every time—I mean every time—unrelated to the thing I’m about to possess, something that doesn’t have anything to do with it, something that’s designed to distract me, to discourage me, to humble me, to break me happens in my life. Every time! Gilgal is important to Jericho. Gilgal is 50 miles from Jerusalem. Jerusalem will become the base and still the spiritual base for three major religions. They’re 50 miles away.
And when the Day of Pentecost was fully come, when Jesus went up in the clouds, there Moses was gone. Fifty days later, He came in the form of the Holy Ghost and sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost—50 days, 50 miles! Shake your neighbor and say, «You’re close! You’re close!» When I was studying to preach this message, the Lord let me imagine, because I can’t remember being circumcised, He let me imagine the intense, uncomfortable pain of circumcision—the danger of infection in the vulnerable state of having just bled. You know, when you just lost somebody, you’re vulnerable to infections. People who come and look like answers… I’m almost done!
If you have a good experience at Gilgal, you will make it to Jerusalem. If you can be grief-stricken, heartbroken, paid, and still keep walking… The Lord told me if I would preach this message, there would be somebody here who’s been in pain in a secret place. It’s been hard and tough, 'cause not only have you lost people that you love, you’ve been hidden places you can’t talk about. And God told me to teach on the principles of circumcision. You might be limping now, but you won’t be limping long when you get to where God’s going to take you! The first city belongs to God! The first fruits! Stop giving Him what’s left! Stop giving Him what’s last! Put Him in His rightful place because it is not the amount that moves God; it’s not the amount that really moves God. What really moves God is order! Putting Him first! Putting Him first! The priority! So the first city belonged to God, and God said, «If you give me the first city, I’ll give you every other city that comes after it, and you will dwell in Jerusalem, the house of the Lord, forever!»
Now, there’s a lot of talk about pain and emotions and feelings, and how we deal with them; how we handle them or shouldn’t handle them or should handle them. There are a lot of devices, therapy, tools, medication, and diagnosis… I don’t know what to call it, but when it hurts, it just hurts! And I want to talk to somebody who’s been hurting in a hidden place. You come to church and go back home, and you come to church and go back home. But God brought you here this morning because He wants you to get healed! Some scholars say that when He said, «We rolled away the reproach of Egypt,» that there were some men who had been circumcised by the Egyptians.
This was their first time to be circumcised under covenant, and it rolled away the final reproach that this is not just an action done by the Egyptians; this is a covenant relationship that started with your father Abraham. And I know it’s been 400 years that you haven’t worshiped me, so if you came out of Egypt circumcised, it’s in all likelihood the Egyptians that circumcised. Let’s get it right this time so I can roll away the reproach of Egypt! Wait a minute, how could I have reproach from Egypt if everybody was born in the wilderness? Not everybody! There is a remnant that remains—perhaps with an Egyptian circumcision praising a Jehovah God! Go! And this is the place where we become one! This is where we stop being Boomers and Millennials and Gen X’s and Gen Z’s and Gen Y’s! This is the place where we become one! So that when we get to Jerusalem, we are not many different groups!