The Great Physician/The Best Surgeon
The Great Physician/The Best Surgeon
Key Verses
Jesus the Great Physician-sends the Best Surgeon to us
John 16:7-8
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the
Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. [8] When he comes, he
will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment
The Best Surgeon-God through the Holy Spirit performs surgery
Ezekiel 11:19-20
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them
their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. [20] Then they will follow my decrees
and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
Sermon
Joshua 5:1-2
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 we had
crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the
Israelites.
2At that time the Lord said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and
circumcise the Israelites again."
After the nation of Israel crossed the Jordan River, God told Joshua to have all the men get circumcised. This had to take place before they could receive the blessings of the promise land. They had already entered the promise land. They had crossed the Jordan River. The men had to be circumcised before the Israelites could receive the blessings of the promise land.
God's timing is perfect. He knew that Israel's enemies would not attack the Israelites. The Israelite men could be "disabled" by circumcision and Israel would not be attacked. God knows when it is the right time to circumcise our hearts. We should not question God's timing.
I. Circumcision of the flesh
Several things had to take place when the men got circumcised:
1. They had to be told by Joshua they needed to be circumcised.
2. They had to be willing to get circumcised
3. There was surgery performed
4. It wasn't a fun experience. (PAIN)
5. Blood was shed (Judaism is a bloody religion)
6. They were different and there was recovery. (Physically different) (During the recovery process they were probably questioning if Joshua heard from the Lord)
Guess what? God wants to circumcise the heart of His followers so that we can become the Bride of Christ and receive the blessings of His Kingdom here on earth and heaven. He is looking for a beautiful, pure, holy, Bride. It was God's plan for the nation of Israel to lead all nations to salvation. It is God's plan for the Body of Christ to lead all people to a saving relationship with Jesus. We have crossed the Jordan River, but we need our hearts circumcised so that we can the blessings of the Promise Land here on earth. What are the true blessings-freedom from sin.
II. Circumcision of the heart and scripture
A. God will circumcise our hearts
Deut. 30:6
The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so
that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.
Ezekiel 11:19-20
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from
them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. [20] Then they will follow my
decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their
God. (We will walk in the Spirit)
B. We are to circumcise our hearts
Deut. 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.
Jeremiah 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done--
burn with no one to quench it.
How can we circumcise our hearts?
By confession and repentance. Talk about this more a little later.
So guess what women? You are not left out, you get to also be circumcised. We are not talking about circumcision of the body, we are talking about the heart.
III. How does circumcision of the heart take place?
The same way circumcision of the flesh takes place.
It is according to God's timing. No sooner or later. We can miss God's will in our lives
by not following His timing.
1. Just as Joshua told the men they needed to be circumcised, Joshua (Jesus) tells us we need our hearts circumcised. It is the same as when we get a diagnosis from a doctor.
2. We have to be willing to get circumcised (be exposed). (We can feel embarassment-just like going to the doctor)
Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.
3. The Great Physician tells us we have (sin) cancer in our life and that we need surgery.
4. The Holy Spirit-the best surgeon in town does the surgery.
John 16:7-8
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the
Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. [8] When he comes, he
will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
When God convicts, (performs surgery) it isn't fun. There is pain.
5. After God's surgery we are different and we experience recovery (deliverance). The Israelite men were different. We have victory over sin.
IV. The church is like a hospital
Sinners go to church to be at a safe place to receive acceptance and love for where they are in their life's journey.
Sinners also look to Christianity (The Body of Christ) (The Church) (Christians) for spiritual answers and for a safe place to get spiritually well. They know they have a sickness and they want healed.
If the church is a hospital, then people should be getting well. They should be
experiencing deliverance from disease, sin.
If not, then what do we have to offer that is different than a country club or the local
bar?
As a church we may have greet greeters. Friendly-so is a bar.
As a church we may have great worship. Good entertainment-so is a bar
As a church we may have great potlucks. Great food-so is a bar
At church people may experience a high. Get high-happens at a bar.
These are all great things. But there is one ingredient missing.
After drinking at a bar the person is different. When we walk out of church we need to be different. If we truly experience God at church, we will be different. We are changed by the Spirit of God. But it should be lasting change. Should not have to keep going to church to get a fix.
As a sinner we come to church to get well. As believers we should be experiencing God in our lives everyday. When we come to church it should be to give, not get. And as we give, we do get.
As Christians we are a royal priesthood. The priests in the Old Testament ministered in the sanctuary, they did not go to the sanctuary to get ministered to. But believe me, as they ministered in the sanctuary they experienced the Shekinah glory of God. Again, Should not have to keep going to church to get a fix. However, there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. If you need a fix, go to the church, not a bar.
V. It is time for circumcision
In order for the Body of Christ to offering healing to the lost, we need to be
healed.
It is time to invite the Great Physician to diagnose our ailment and let the Best Surgeon
in town to perform surgery on us.
What follow is very direct. If you already know as a Christian you are weak and you are
feeling hopeless, then wait to the end of this message for hope.
Remember:
Romans 8:1
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
No one needs to experience guilt or condemnation, but do pray for conviction and honest, open hearts. Not talking about legalism, works-oriented gospel, being sinless, or any other false religion.
VI. Born Again Believers should not be like the world. (There is sin in the camp)
Born Again Believers should not be like the world. Would you agree? We should be clothed with Christ's
Many Christian teenagers and women parade around beaches, pools, the malls, and even in church wearing clinging or revealing outfits or low cut blouses. Women say they want men to respect them. Then women, you need to respect yourself and dress modestly. And men, you are not off the hook. You need to respect women regardless of how they dress.
Job stated in Job 31:1 "I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl".
We have fornication(sex outside marriage) happening within the Body of Christ.
Christian men who have phone bills of $200.00 a month for phone sex.
Christian men and women are addicted to pornography. Did you know until the Internet, very few women were into pornography, but now women are being drawn into the pornography net.
So called Christian chat rooms that have more than the appearance of evil.
Churches all over are ordaining homosexual leaders and starting to marry homosexual couples (couples?).
I am also going to talk about another 'political' issue. Abortion. The killing of an unborn people has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with morals. Which the last I knew, the church is suppose to take a stand for morality. Nazi Germany, Slaves, now abortion. First Jews, Blacks, Unborn, and now approaching the elderly-mercy killing. Removing a feeding tube is not mercy. It is starving a person to death. That is murder.
This is sin, not a political viewpoint or 'alternative' viewpoint on morality.
This is happening in the church of God
All these things are symptoms of something deeper. The Holy Spirit wants to reveal to
us what is the root of this symptoms. The root can be control, loneliness, low
self-esteem, perversion. Let him speak to your heart.
Marital affairs, divorce, single parent families is happening in the church almost at the same rate as society.
We allow violent, perverse, ungodly movies and video games in our homes.
As parents we are either too strict and legalistic(as we live a lie) or we have no discipline in the home at all.
We want our children to respect us and yet we show them no respect.
And we have children in our home who are in rebellion to their parents.
Physical and verbal abuse is happening within homes by both men and women.
This is sin, not just a bad upbringing. We can't say, it's not my fault, my parents were a bad example. Or I am an angry person because of my nationality. These are all excuses.
This is happening in the church of God
Again what is the root of these symptoms? Anger, reaping our bitterness towards our own parents. Unforgiveness. Generational sin.
One more thing about the disintegration of the family and society. As Bible Believing Christians we have ignored the blessings of the Seventh-Day Sabbath. For many the Sabbath has become a holiday instead of a Holy Day.
It is more than a day of rest. Jesus ministered on the Sabbath. It is a day to minister
to the hurting the lost. Not just a day for our families. If we would prepare for the
Sabbath ahead of time, we would have time for our families on Friday nights and Saturday
mornings. Instead we are rushed to go to church and we are burned out by the time church
is over. Again we are not talking about legalism.
Dominated by the Gods of materialism and greed.
Christians are just as much into materialism as the world. I bet in Seattle there are more kids that have computers than teddy bears.
We want the best cars, best clothes, best house, best furniture, best restaurants, and best entertainment center. Nothing wrong in having the best. But when you put your family into debt and when both couples have to work the rest of their life to pay for it, it is sin.
Sin, not just a bad choice. It is the worshiping the idol of materialism.
This is happening in the church of God.
What is the root? Pride. Jealousy. Coveteousness.
Many Christians are addicted to alcohol, drugs, food, sex, television. Co-dependency
There are people who have been Christians for years and years and are still struggling with the same addictions they had as teenagers.
Addictions are destructive, no matter what type of addiction it is. Being addicted is being self-centered to the maximum. And guess what? Until you acknowledge you have an addiction, you can't be set free.
This is sin, not just bad habits.
This is happening in the church of God
What is the root to our addictions? Lack of self-control, rebellion, desire pleasure
more than obedience. We as the Body of Christ desire pleasure more than obedience.
Have I been stepping on someone's toes? Or, more importantly, is God putting conviction in your hearts? Some may be getting mad as the read this. They may feel they are being judged. We are not judging. We are calling sin, sin.
Actually the next group are the ones who usually get mad when you talk about their sin.
There are those in church who are religious. Proud.
And there is the gossiper, grumbler, slanderer, judgmental, self-righteous, contentious, self-centered. "Holier than thou".
Here are some strong words for this group. Those who fall into this category are the hardest for God to reach. They are stiff-necked. They think their sin is not as bad as the rapist, or the drunkard, or the abuser. At times there are more of the 'religious, self-righteous in the Body of Christ than any other group.
Many roots to self righteous. Pride, hatred, bitterness, self-sufficient,
A man or woman who speaks in tongues, but does not have the fruit of the Spirit is a
clanging symbol. A man who prays for the sick, but cherishes sin, is a stench to God. More
important than the gifts of the Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit.
The last group of people is:
Lazy in regard to things of God. Rebellious. Filthy talk or course jesting, cheating on your income tax, stealing from the employer. Divisive. Procrastination.
Or just the reality of living in a sinful body. We all at times make bad choices and sin. Nobody is free from the attacks of the enemy. And sometimes we become His prey. Sometimes we get contaminated. We sin.
Our own righteousness is filthy rags. Not one of us has arrived.
God is coming for a holy bride, not a woman who prostitutes herself with sin. I say it
again. God is coming for a holy bride, not a woman who prostitutes herself with sin.
Some of us want a 100% restoration of the power and the gifts of the Spirit, even though we may only want to give God 25% of our life. It simply will not happen this way!
Is your soul downcast? Is your spirit grieved by the sin in your life? Do you see your own sin, not your neighbor's sin? Are you ready for a solution?
You have heard the bad news. Its time for the good news.
VII. Solution
Lets look again at the steps to a circumcised heart.
Again, it is according to God's timing. And guess what, you are reading this message, so
it is time to receive surgery on your heart.
1. Jesus has diagnosed us.
2. We have been willing to get on the altar
3. The Holy Spirit has performed surgery, convicted us.
4. There is another step. I don't know how many of you noticed, but I skipped this step earlier.
When there is a circumcision, there is blood.
When there is surgery for removing a tumor, there is blood.
In surgery, the Surgeon and the patient can get very bloody.
How many are scared of blood or get sick from blood. Especially when it is your blood?
You don't have to get sick. You know why?
Read closely!
When God does surgery on us, He pours the blood of Jesus over us. He immerses us in the blood of Jesus. And guess what? There is no tumor(sin) after the blood is applied! As soon as the blood touched the tumor, the tumor was destroyed! It evaporated. It is as if the tumor was never there. No matter how big the sin is, or how many sins there are, they are destroyed by the blood of Jesus.
People! Don't be afraid of the altar. Don't be afraid of the scalpel. Don't focus on the tumor(sin). Focus on the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus takes away all sin. The blood of Jesus forgives sin.
In order for a doctor to bring healing, He has to get bloody. Our Great Physician got bloody. The patient has to get bloody. We need to get bloody with the blood of Jesus to be healed.
VIII. How is the blood applied?
By confession and repentance
Repentance is the turning away from sin. It is the renewing of your mind, making a choice to go a different direction, and then walking the new path. We must do all three-renew our mind, make a choice, and walk a new way.
But we cannot do this on our own. It takes the cleansing blood of Jesus first. We need a clean slate.
Vision/picture given to Joshua Dover
Joshua saw a lake filled with blood. In the middle of the lake was a cross. Joshua was at the bank of the lake with his back towards the lake. He had his arms outstretched and his shadow was reflected unto the cross. He immediately leaned back and was in the lake. As he got out of the lake, he kept saying 'I want to see Jesus'. I man walked up to him and pointed to the Heavenly Father. Joshua saw nail scarred hands on the man. Joshua thought the man was Jesus. But then he realized that as he(Joshua) pointed to the man that Joshua also had nail scarred hands.
Interpretation:
Galatians 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."
We are to think, talk, walk, and live like Jesus.
No more religion. You know what religion is? Religion is hanging around the cross. Admiring the cross. Thanking Jesus for the cross. But never getting on the cross. We need to get on the cross! We need to be living sacrifices-dying to self and living for Jesus.
True repentance is ruthless with sin and rough on the flesh.
True repentance: It sees sin for what it is and truly sorrows for sin. It not only confesses sin, but it is genuinely ashamed for sin-it hates it and turns away!
Remorse is not repentance. Remorse produces wordly sorrow-a sorrow that only arises because of the ugly consequences of sin without ever recognizing the ugliness of sin itself. Remorse will not set us free. Repentance will.
Apostle Peter repented. Judas remorsed. Even though Peter sinned, he still surrounded himself with others after he cried out to God. Judas went to be by himself. Walked in shame. Peter became a powerful preacher of the gospel. Judas hung himself.
We are not talking about guilt/shame. Guilt disables us. With guilt, we get stuck in the mud. Satan encourages us to sin and then brings guilt/shame afterwards.
We are talking about responding to conviction placed on us by the Holy Spirit. We need to experience the scalpel of the Best Surgeon in town, the world, the universe.
IX. There is one more step after repentance and that is Recovery.
The Israelite men that got circumcised experienced recovery. As Christians we need to experience recovery. We need to stop falling back into the sin that so easily entangles us. We can have victory if we abide in Christ, confess our sins to one another, have fellowship with other believers. Get Godly counsel if we need it.
Jesus must be all or nothing: he is either king, sovereign ruler, governor, or absent altogether. Is He on the throne or only on the footstool of your life? Is He just your savior and not your Lord. If He is not your Lord, then He will not be your savior.
Heaven is not going to be filled with slaves of Satan. That's right! Heaven is not going to be filled with slaves of Satan.
One last scripture.
1 Cor. 6:9-11
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do
not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
homosexuals, [10] nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. [11] And such were some of you; but
you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God."
There is another group that will not inherit the kingdom of God-the religious and
self-righteous.
These are strong words. But did you hear what the scripture said?
And such were some of you-past tense
But you were washed. We are washed by the blood of the lamb.
So be set free today! Receive the forgiveness and mercy of God. Receive the grace of God to have victory over sin.
Experience salvation and deliverance today!
Go the altar of God. The altar is not just for unsaved people. It is for everyone of us who need to repent.
Many times we need a friend to be with us when we are going through surgery. If you don't have the strength to go to the altar by yourself. Grab a friend.
Experience forgiveness today! Start with a clean start. Receive the cleansing blood of
Jesus.
X. Scriptures on the Blood of Jesus
Rev. 7:14
they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Hebrews 9:22
without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Ephes. 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance
with the riches of God's grace
Romans 5:9
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from
God's wrath through him!
Rev. 12:11
They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
May the Body of Christ (churches) be a hospital where sinners are welcome to come with all their sins and receive the healing and deliverance that God has for them. It starts with us as believers. We need healing.
We need to welcome sinners. We need to welcome the lost. We need to welcome the addicts, the prostitutes, the abusers. We need to be loving and accepting. And we all are on a journey. And there needs to be plenty of mercy and acceptance of one another. No judging.
All of us need the Blood of Jesus. Need to receive forgiveness and deliverance.
God is a God of New Beginnings.
Get right with God today.
Let's be a beautiful Bride for Jesus.
Be a living sacrifice for Jesus.
Did you hear about the doctor who performed a C-Section and carved his initials on the
women's abdomen?
The Holy Spirit does not carve his initials on us when He does surgery. He does such a
good job that it is evident to those around us that we have gone through a Holy Spirit
surgery.
XI. LAY 'EM DOWN AND LET 'EM GO
LAY 'EM DOWN AND LET 'EM GO
By David Irish
If you're on a desert road, carrying a heavy load,
Troubles got a hold of your heart.
If you're feeling down and blue,
Your bad sides got the best of you,
The joy you once held unto is gone.
Pre Chorus:
Like a whisper He keeps calling,
Can you hear that sweet voice say…
CHORUS:
I am the freedom your heart longs to find,
My yoke is easy and my burden is light…
Those chains that bound you were broken a long time ago,
Lay 'em down and let 'em go.
Life is hard enough 'round here, without anymore needless fear,
Hanging on and weighing us down.
Lets throw it off and cast away, that old rusty ball and chain,
Listen close and you'll hear that sound.
Pre Chorus:
Like a whisper He keeps calling,
Can you hear that sweet voice say…
CHORUS:
I am the freedom your heart longs to find,
My yoke is easy and my burden is light…
Those chains that bound you were broken a long time ago,
Lay 'em down and let 'em go.
BRIDGE:
Chains of oppression, rejection, and fear,
Chains that can drag us down, drive us to tears.
Chains that keep hangin 'round year after year.
Can you hear His sweet spirit say,
Can you hear His sweet spirit say,
CHORUS:
I am the freedom your heart longs to find,
My yoke is easy and my burden is light…
Those chains that bound you were broken a long time ago,
Lay 'em down and let 'em go.
CHORUS:
I am the freedom your heart longs to find,
My yoke is easy and my burden is light…
Those chains that bound you were broken a long time ago,
A long time ago
Lay 'em down and let 'em go.
Lay 'em down and let 'em go.