And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
A hardened heart comes from a deceived mind. A mind blinded by Satan to My glory in Christ. And what is My Glory? How did I describe it to Moses? My goodness. When My Glory fills that earth miracles of healing and provision happen.
What does a deceived mind do? It questions My goodness. You hear it all the time in those who have hard hearts to Me. They are deceived and miss all of the good things of My house and of My promised land. They only see evil and never see good.
Thus says the LORD, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant.” Jeremaih 17:5-6.
But what happens when the deception is removed and you know Me for who I am?
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8.
Be careful that you are aware of the wiles of devil and he may not find you off guard and take you captive by deception. The devil is seeking to harden your heart towards Me so that My Word can never gain entrance into heart.
“Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.” Luke 8:11-12.
How did the Israelites miss the promised land? The devil made their hearts hard to My promises by their blaming and complaining about Me. They did not see Me as gracious and kind, though I had been nothing else to them. They constantly criticized Me and My actions attributing evil intentions to Me.
Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” Numbers 14:1-4.
And what was My response about this kind of unwarranted behavior?
Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. Numbers 14:22-24.
Do you see something? They put Me to the test and they never listened to My voice. They spurned Me. Do you know what I am talking about?
THEY NEVER WORSHIPPED.
Worship is the place of purpose and power, of grace and prayer, of faith and trust, it is a flow of yourself to Me and Me to you. It is a place where I fill you with My goodness and you respond in awesome wonder. IT IS THE PLACE IN WHICH YOU HEAR MY VOICE AND CAN RECEIVE IT.
Do you recall what I told Moses when I first introduced Myself to him, though I had been with him always, saving him as a baby and leading him by the miraculous but he had not known Me and had ignored Me until I stood before him on Mt. Horeb (which is also know as Mt. Sinai). But what did I tell him?
“Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” And God said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” Exodus 3:10-12.
And I prepared the whole nation I brought out of Egypt for that day when they came to Mt. Horeb (Sinai).
In the third month after I brought all Israel out of the land of Egypt, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain. And I called to Moses from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My special treasure among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ Exodus 19:3-6. Moses did this and the people responded, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” Exodus 19:8.
Then I told Moses to get the people ready for the worship I had promised him that would take place on that mountain when I would speak to and reveal Myself to My people, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments; and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” Exodus 19:10-11.
But do you recall what happened? The people did not worship or listen to Me, in fear they withdrew and told Moses to talk with Me and then come and tell them what I had said.
And it ended up that when Moses went to talk with Me, they went and made a golden calf from the gold I had given them when they left Egypt and worshipped it in an immoral and lustful party, breaking the commandments I had just given them.
They did not worship. They never had a personal relationship with Me. In Psalm 95, David, by inspiration of My Spirit, looks back at the desert years, especially the events at Meribah and Massah when the Israelites rebelled and complained as warnings to later generations, urging them not to repeat the faithlessness and hardening of the heart shown by their ancestors during Israel’s wandering period. And what does he show as the cure for that hardness of heart? The key of David: worship with songs of praise and shouts of joy.
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest. Psalm 95:1-11.
Worship softens even the hardest of hearts. Songs of praise in the beauty of holiness bring Me down and the glory can come to work miracles of grace and wonders of love.
What made Caleb different? He had a different spirit. About Joshua I said the same. They did not have the devil blinding their minds, they had the spirit of faith. They mixed faith with My promises. But it was more than that. They knew how to worship. Their hearts were open to Me. They spoke My Word because it was in their heart and they trusted in My goodness. They had made the effort to know Me by My Word.
Joshua spent his days and nights with Moses in the tent writing My Words and meditating upon them and I affirmed to him that this was wise and would make him prosperous and successful. There was no blinder on his mind.
Be very careful about finding fault, grumbling and complaining, this is not fitting for one for whom Christ has died. Instead choose joy. It is an option. Worship is the key to a heart on fire for Me.
Make every moment an encounter divine, your life here is brief, make the most of your time. Remember, you are the branches I am the vine, deeply attached , your fruit makes the new wine that you will drink in My Kingdom with Me, rewarded forever, blessed you will be.
Worship in prayer makes a dry place to bloom, refreshed and blessed, as you sing a new tune, filling a place with purpose and power, addressing the needs of each day and each hour. Filled with My grace in that divine place, driving out darkness and sin and letting the glory in to fill hearts with My love, pouring down from above, to draw all men to Christ, your life, to free nations and places from divisions and strife, to take down the strongholds of demons and men, to bring the world back to My glory again. Opening doors to the good news of salvation, lifting Jesus high to draw every nation into the place of divine re-creation together as one in My Beloved Son, hastening His return to the earth by bringing all men to the joy of new birth, as you stand together from every tribe and nation, as priests and kings with a sacred vocation, joining together in prayers that prevail, setting men free and lifting the veil.
Learn how to worship, I will teach you if you will just come sing with Me.
“The LORD your God is in your midst, a warrior who saves. He will exult over you with joy, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with songs of joy.” Zephaniah 3:17.
I love you. You have My Spirit in you and you are My temple, and in the temple all say “GLORY!” Fill your house with My glory and listen for My voice and that is worship. David was never deceived and never left Me for another god. Why? He knew how to worship 24/7:
The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely. For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo corruption. You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalm 16:5-11.