The Day of New Beginnings

Preparation of Heart

 

Deut. 1:
40  ‘But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’
41  "Then you answered and said to me, ‘We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain.
42  "And the LORD said to me, ‘Tell them, "Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies."‘
43  "So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but rebelled against the command of the LORD, and presumptuously went up into the mountain.
44  "And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah.
45  "Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.
 
Mystically, “going up into the mountain” means ascending to a higher spiritual realm. What’s being taught here is that spiritually the Israelites attempted to enter a realm they were not prepared to walk in. They did not have the necessary faith, trust, and submission to the Lord in their hearts to enter the realm of promise. Consequently, they were defeated by their enemies. They were driven back from Seir to Hormah. 
 
At the present time in Christianity, there is much teaching on sonship, the Melchizedek priesthood, apostles and prophets, and a host of other topics that sound exciting. What the Lord is indicating is that it’s possible to enter a higher spiritual realm, yet without the necessary preparation of spirit to abide there. Like the Israelites, it’s easy to take a word God has spoken and presumptuously declare it, and even seemingly possess it. But like the Israelites, unless the heart is prepared to enter, there will ultimately be the thrusting out. 
 
Let’s look at this principle in the New Testament.
 
Mat.22:
1 ¶  And Jesus answered and spoke to them again in parables, saying,
2  "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king, who gave a wedding feast for his son.
3  "And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come.
4  "Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast."‘
5  "But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business,
6  and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them.
7  "But the king was enraged and sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and set their city on fire.
8  "Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
9  ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’
10  "And those slaves went out into the streets, and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.
11  "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw there a man not dressed in wedding clothes,
12  and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And he was speechless.
13  "Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14  "For many are called, but few are chosen."
 
The wedding feast of this parable represents the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is a realm or relationship entered into with Christ. It’s a realm where all that is taught in Christianity today is actually fulfilled. Notice these verses from Revelation 19:
 
5 ¶  And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great."
6  And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
7  "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."
8  And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9  And he *said to me, "Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’" And he *said to me, "These are true words of God."
 
Many are gathered into the wedding hall, all declaring the great and wonderful promises of God. Many claim to have possessed the promises. But there comes the time, as stated in verse 11, when the King comes in to look over the wedding guests. “Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?” The man was speechless. “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness.” The outer darkness of weeping and gnashing of teeth can be interpreted on a higher plane than just “the man was sent to hell”. The outer darkness of weeping and gnashing of teeth can also point to being bound to the flesh nature, unable to function or move in God. That state persists until the work of the cross is accomplished, freeing the spirit to enter into the realm of His kingdom. Remember, the King called the man “friend”, indicating a certain relationship already existed. This applies to entire segments of Christianity, not just individuals. It pertains to many movements within Christianity that spring up and seem to have something of God. Ultimately they will be bound "hand and foot". The hands and feet in Scripture always point to ministry. The ministry will cease to function until the proper preparation of heart takes place.
 
For a season we can seemingly move up “into the mountain”, but abiding there is another matter. Without the deep preparation of heart, we are doomed to be ultimately thrust out, defeated by our enemy. If the work of the cross isn’t operating in our lives crucifying the self life, we will find God Himself becoming our enemy, standing in the way of any fulfillment we might desire. 
 
Mat. 7:
21 ¶  "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
22  "Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23  "And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
24  "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.
25  "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
26  "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
27  "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
 
Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven. This isn’t speaking of the forgiveness of sins. Many Christians are forgiven their sins, but have not entered the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven speaks of a higher realm of Spirit in which the Lordship of Jesus Christ reigns over His subjects. It’s the marriage supper realm spoken of in Rev. 19, and the wedding feast realm of our parable in Mat. 22. When Jesus says, “I never knew you,” He is speaking of not knowing them in the higher realm of His kingdom. Notice how He says, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” It’s the humble, broken spirit of submissiveness that enters into Christ’s kingdom. It’s those who have prepared their hearts through submission to His Lordship that not only enter in, but abide.
 
Verses 24-27 speak of building houses. Houses represent spiritual abiding places. The wise builds his house on the rock, the foolish builds his house on the sand. Both houses endure for a while. But in the hour of testing, when the King comes out to look over the wedding guests, only those who have acted upon His word remain. The floods, the rain, the bursting of the winds against the house all speak to the testings of the Lord upon our hearts. The prepared of heart are those who remain in their dwelling place. 
 
Ps. 24:
3 ¶  Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?
4  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully.
 
“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?” Who may rise up into the higher realms of His presence and experience fulfillment? Verse 14 in our parable in Mathew 22 says, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Many can enter in for a season, but only a few are chosen to remain. It’s those who have prepared their hearts that not only ascend, but stand in His presence. It’s the clean hands and pure heart that are created through the cross that enables us to abide and remain.