PREPARING FOR HIS PRESENCE

John the Baptist was the 'forerunner' of Jesus Christ. The book of Isaiah predicted his coming and Luke's gospel confirmed it ...

And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying ... 

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be smooth, And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.  Luke 3:3-6

Salvation begins with acknowledging one's sinful state and the need for a Savior. When you repent of dead works and put your faith in Christ's redemptive act, the road is made ready for His presence in your life.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Matthew 3:1-2

Spurgeon explains what will take place in the heart of a believer so that he can experience the fullness of Jesus Christ in his everyday life ... 

1. Every valley shall be exalted. 
Low and groveling thoughts of God must be given up; doubting and despairing must be removed; and self-seeking and carnal delights must be forsaken. Across these deep valleys, a glorious causeway of grace must be raised. 

2. Every mountain and hill shall be laid low. 

Proud creature sufficiency, and boastful self-righteousness, must be leveled, to make a highway for the King of Kings. The Lord hath respect unto the lowly and visits the contrite in heart, but the lofty are an abomination unto him. 

3. The crooked shall be made straight. 
The wavering heart must have a straight path of decision for God and holiness marked out for it. Double-minded men are strangers to the God of truth. Take heed that thou be in all things honest and true, as in the sight of the heart-searching God. 

4. The rough places shall be made smooth. 
Stumbling blocks of sin must be removed, and thorns and briers of rebellion must be uprooted. So great a visitor must not find miry ways and stony places when he comes to honor his favored ones with his company. 

Don’t misapply the analogy. It is not teaching that you must remove every trace of sin and corruption before you can receive Christ into your life ... if that were possible, His crucifixion was in vain. A willingness to be placed in God's hands in order to be sanctified is the more appropriate rendering.

Only He can cleanse you.