Learning to Live Face-to-Face with the Father [Scriptures]

(pic credit: Untitled ©2023 by Richard [Dick] Robinson. Used with permission of the Estate of Dick Robinson and his family.)

TITLE: Learning to Live Face-to-Face with the Father [Scriptures]

   Sub-title: Walking in my Identity as a God-Worshiper

This is a supplement to the pulpit Message, ‘Community of Worshipers 2: Learning to Live Face-to-Face with the Father’

These are the main Scriptures referred to in the Message presentation.

For cogency, I’m [trying] to line them up with the Key frames in the Message powerpoint.

Enter in!

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^^Opening: Psalm 27:6-9

⁶Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
    be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
    Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
    do not turn your servant away in anger;
    you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
    God my Savior.

^^Breaking the Alabaster Jar on the feet of Jesus

Two Gospel accounts of woman who broke Alabaster Jar and poured precious oil of Jesus’ FEET   Luke 7:36-50 and John 12:1-3

Luke 7: 36-50

³⁶ When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

⁴¹ “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,^[c] and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

John 12:1-7

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint^[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.^[b]” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you,^[c] but you will not always have me.”

^^Time with Jesus           His invitation!

Mark 6:31-33 “… come away with me…”

^^^Until Then… 

‘In eternity, we will be overwhelmed by HIM…

until then, we press in to seek HIS face…”

1 Cor 13:12

¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

^^“Nothing Between My Face and Yours”

Exodus 20:1-3

¹And God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

            Hebrew:   לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים על פני

            [ lo yid-yeh laka ‘Elohim ‘aherim ‘al panaya ]

            Literal: You shall have nothing between my Face and yours

^^The WORD of God… Scriptures [constantly meeting the Author to learn…]

Matthew 4:4

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

‘It is written’ Jesus says 30x in Gospels

2 Timothy 3:16-17

¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of God^[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Jeremiah 15:16

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, LORD God Almighty.

^^Tent of David

1 Chronicles Ch 16     intimate instructions

2 Samuel 6:16-19

¹⁶ As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. ¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. ¹⁹ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

^^Temple Veil Torn from Top to Bottom: Full Access

Matt 27

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

2 Corinthians 3:18

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

^^Morning by Morning

Psalm 63:1-8

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water… When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches.

 (Ps 63:1,6 New KJV)

^^Thank You, Papa

Philippians 4:6-7

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

^{1 Thessalonians 5:16-18}

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.

James 1:17

¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

^^Wonder… Breakthrough Moments

John 20:19-20

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

^^Sing a New Song… Music

‘sing’ –  over 400 times in Scripture, 50 ‘commanded’

‘new song’ 29 references

Ephesians 5:18-20

¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

^^Pain, Complexity, Confusion, Loss

^{1 Thessalonians 5:16-18}

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.

^^The Secret Place

Matthew 6:5-6

⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Mark 1:35

³⁵ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

^^In Community

Acts 2:1-4

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

Matt 18:20

^20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

^^Pure in Heart Will See God

Matt 5:8

Blessed are the pure in heart,  for they will see God.

John 14:8-14

⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

^^New Tent of David

<>it will happen in the context of the Community of Worshipers

<>it will happen way outside our box of understanding, probably offend many ‘Sunday church-going types’

<>it will happen… it will…

Acts 15:12-18     (Apostles at Council of Jerusalem)

¹² The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. ¹³ When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. ¹⁴ Simon^[a] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. ¹⁵ The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

¹⁶ “‘After this I will return
    and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
    and I will restore it,
¹⁷ that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
    even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’—
¹⁸     things known from long ago.

TAKE-AWAY:

A quote from Amanda Cook on her Instagram:

“No cameras no lights no sales pitch no pulpit no performance no PR campaign for God. God spoke for Godself. I found myself laughing about some times that came to mind when I felt like I needed to “do” or “pray” a certain way to get the attention of the small deity in my mind that represented god back when my version of religion was seemingly loosely based on a heavy handed mostly frustrated narcissist in the sky. If I’m honest that version feels mostly learned, not innately known. If I travel back far enough, my most true memories of God have nothing to do with all the metrics and methods of trying to “get to” god. Instead it feels like God couldn’t be closer. Feels molecular. Feels like breathing. Feels less scrupulous, more curious, less certain, a lot more trusting.”

[ Instagram @amandalindseycook ]

The only other ‘powerpoint slide’ I was deeply tempted to have was on ‘journaling’… somehow writing down, either in pics or words or doodles or drawings… the things THE LORD puts in your heart during this incredible Journey with Him.

That’s a whole Blog by itself. Until then, I offer Jonathan David Helser’s recent video blog on this topic, which is really, really good…

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written by crisbaj

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All Scripture references from New International Version unless otherwise indicated.

    Notation abbreviations:       NIV  New International Version

                                                      TPT The Passion Translation

                                                      MSG The Message Translation

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