Here's Your Sign

Introduction

ILLUSTRATION: I’m a dirt collector

Show countries

But I also wanted to be sure to have this one

Dirt from the garden in our first house in CA

Foreign dirt is cool, but USA is necessary - why?

This one doesn’t represent where I’ve visited

This one represents where I’m from...

This one represents who I am

It’s a good thing to have something that represents you, communicates your identity

YouVersion: Here’s Your Sign

We’re in Genesis 17:9-14

Genesis 17:9 (ESV)

9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.

RECAP: Last time he became Abraham – God made promise AGAIN

Signs communicate important things

OTHER REMINDER EXAMPLES:

We have lot’s of symbolic reminders in Scripture:

The Ark - Mosaic Covenant - Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a pot of manna

Communion - New Covenant - Christ’s death on a cross

Jews recognize three specific signs:

1. Shabbat (the Sabbath) - Ex 31 tells us its a sign between God and Israel - represents creation and God’s rest

2. Rainbows - Gen 9 Noahic Covenant – God will never destroy the earth by a flood again

And now the third sign… one for the Abrahamic covenant

Genesis 17:10–11 (ESV)

10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

3. Circumcision - cutting off the male foreskin

Michael Jr.: “God told him to go home and circumcise his whole household; even the servants… That is obedience because I don’t know if I could have been a servant. I would have had a couple of questions first… Okay, what exactly did God say? His words, please. Okay, ‘circumcised in the flesh of their foreskins.’ Are you sure He didn’t say, ‘your skin?’ Go back up there and check, come back with a note.”

To you, that might sounds cary and weird, but there’s some things we have to know

God is now assigning the first covenant task specifically for Israelites – a SIGN of their covenant

God chose to assign cutting away male foreskins. WHY?

1. It was a common ritual

a. Sometimes God uses common practices for His own benefit – incense, Christmas trees, baptisms...

b. Why do we have a Christian flag, the cross, the fish and WWJD bracelets?

i. Because we use common methods for Godly things (circumcision for them)

2. It was healthy

a. S.I. McMillen cited studies - Jewish women had incredibly low rates of cervical cancer

3. Most importantly it was a SIGN

a. On organ of procreation for newly named Abraham (father of multitudes), how fitting...

b. Cutting away the FLESH

Romans 8:5–6 (ESV)

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

ILLUSTRATION: Worship team fast teaches that the flesh isn’t needed

This particular circumcision symbolizes the removal of flesh

Genesis 17:12 (ESV)

12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,

Even the eighth day is significant:

Day 2-5 - Infants are susceptible to bleeding

Day 5-7 - Vitamin K forms as a blood clotting agent

Day 8 – Prothrombin (another clotting agent) is at its highest level

POINT: The 8th day is the safest day to perform!

INTERESTING FACTS:

Hebrew = brit milah (Ashenazi) bris milah (Yiddish)

8th day means Wednesday to Wednesday (unless after sunset)

May be performed on the Sabbath (Shabbat) although blood drawing blood is otherwise forbidden

Can be delayed for health reasons (then 7 day wait from healthy declaration)

The father makes the decision (or the child once an adult)

Circumciser or mohel (moil) is pious observant Jew educated in Law and surgical technique

Even if a rabbi blesses it otherwise, it doesn’t count (even if by a physician)

Means most men in here who are circumcised don’t count

May have symbolic circumcision or hatafat dam brit (hate-a-fat dam breet)

Involves a pinprick taking blood from the tip of the penis (no thanks, I’ll stay Christian)

The god-father (sandek) has the honor of holding the child

Usually a grandparent or the family rabbi

An ornate chair is set aside for Elijah who presides over all circumcisions

Blessings are recited, and the baby is given wine on a pacifier or a drop

The doctor pulls, clamps, trims and sometimes the baby doesn’t even cry

Used to use flint knives

Anesthetics have only been used since the 1980’s

Then the child is given a formal Hebrew name and the foreskin is buried

Then there is usually a festive meal with dancing and refreshments

This was a boasting point for Paul when arguing with Jews:

Philippians 3:4b–6 (ESV)

4b If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

We’ll get back to this a little later...

Jews were very proud of their circumcision because it sets them apart!

It was a SIGN

ILLUSTRATION: Bill Engvall does a bit called “Here’s your sign”

He believes stupid people should wear signs to warn others

Instead of warning labels like roll on deodorant “Do not roll on eyes” don’t sell to people with signs

Tash says she wants a sign

When we watch a show, I have to pause it 1,000 times to tell Tash what’s going on

She just struggles keeping up sometimes

It’s a stressful problem for her - so much she’s always afraid of one thing: jury duty

I just know the lawyers and the judge would be so irritated with me

I wish I could wear a sign like that - I’d walk in and the judge would say, “Dismissed, have a nice day.”

Signs are important

European blue arrows signs

Numbers in sports

Men and women’s signs for bathrooms

Signs quickly tell us what we need to know

And this is what God chose for a sign

David Guzik: “For a Jew it means ‘I'm not like the other nations. I listen to God and do what He says I should do’.”

Genesis 17:13 (ESV)

13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.

Notice it mentions an everlasting covenant

The order is given to Abraham (Can check verses in YouVersion)

It becomes part of Mosaic Law (Leviticus 12:3)

The Israelites stop after leaving Egypt (Joshua 5:5)

They start again at Gilgal (Joshua 5:2)

When the Jews weren’t circumcised God kept them from His promise

Not because of circumcision (but maybe?) but because their behaviors go hand in hand

Our behavior should match our signs

If you run a stop sign, the sign is pretty worthless when you t-bone the minivan!

Genesis 17:14 (ESV)

14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Refusing to participate in the covenant was unacceptable to God

It’s the same today – Jesus’ covenant is simple (I die, you accept)

It’s laid out in John 3:16

John 3:16 (ESV)

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Just like the rejecters of Abraham’s covenant, we can reject Christ

And the result is the same: “...that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

Is circumcision something we do today? Yes and no...

Even Paul struggled with this - you can check this in YouVersion as well:

Acts 16 – Paul gives in to pressure and has Timothy circumcised

Yet...

Galatians 2 – Paul absolutely stands against circumcising Titus

Today we sometimes still remove foreskin, but it’s not that significant for us

Philippians 3:7 (ESV)

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Mark mentioned this last week - all the old Jewish stuff he casts off

Including his own fleshly circumcision

Why would Paul count his circumcision as loss? (NOTE plural gains, singular loss)

Because Jewish Christians looked down upon gentiles who were not circumcised

Philippians 3:3 (ESV)

3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

He then says “I could brag about my fleshly accomplishments too, but I count them as loss”

What Paul is saying is that while our fleshly pursuit of God is nice, it ALWAYS falls short

Galatians 5:6 (ESV)

6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Our signs point to Jesus Christ, and so our setting apart is through Him

So let’s talk about a different kind of circumcision:

Colossians 2:11–14 (ESV)

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Circumcision is a sign that Israel was set apart by God

We are also set apart by Jesus and the working of the Holy Spirit

It’s called, “Sanctification”

Our signs include things like baptism and communion...

But there’s more to it than that

Christian circumcision is the same, but different...

Let em explain this:

If you want to be circumcised don’t waste your time thinking about the physical

ILLUSTRATION – Cutting shirt tail for first solo

Old instructors sat behind and tugged on shirt tail

When you can fly without the help of an instructor, they cut your shirt tail

Because you don’t need it! Enough change has happened inside you

You’re not dominated by fear, confusion or ignorance anymore

Now, turn to your neighbor and cutoff their shirt tail!

Not really, but let’s say we did...

Now let’s all go hop in airplanes and fly around - I mean, the shirt tail is cut, right?

We’d have a lot of dead people out there… why?

The outside sign isn’t enough - it’s about that inward change

When I say our circumcision is the same , but different...

It’s because we’re the same in that we remove flesh to show we belong to God

But it’s different in that the flesh is different in each example

Jews circumcise the flesh of their foreskins - it’s an outward sign

But as Christians, we cut off the flesh of our hearts - our sinful flesh

We practice circumcision of the heart

We abandon our fleshly desires, to seek after the spirit

There may be outward signs for us too…

Baptism, communion, wearing crosses or putting John 3:16 under our eyes...

But the real change for us, is the change in our hearts

The change made by Jesus Christ

For a Jew, you knew who they were by their blood stained pants

But Christians, we are known this way

John 13:35 (ESV)

35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

That is the sign the world should see when they look at us

Not crosses, communion or circumcision

But by our outward actions

I’ll put it to you this way:

We have plenty of Christians that walk around with their shirt tails cut off

Let’s see more of us who know how to soar

Who desire to practice their faith from the heights of God’s promises

Instead of just pretending to look the part flatly from the surface of the world

Prayer