Face to Face, Pt. 10: Returning to Joy

Victory Life Durant, Midweek — Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Readings:

John 14:15-27 (ESV)

Keeping the Frame

Humans as God’s Image: Representation and Rule in partnership

The whole biblical story is about God’s desire to take crooked people and the twisted world that we’ve created and to make everything right. Through Jesus, God invites us to become whole, new humans (2 Corinthians 5:16-17). Our new “in Christ” identity is the truth of who we are. Living in a “face to face” relationship with God means seeing ourselves as God sees us: loved equally as the Son is loved by the Father.

What’s true of Jesus becomes true of us.

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.

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (ESV) 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Joy

Joy is the greatest fuel for the brain, and it is a relational byproduct, it’s the result of being connected with someone who is happy to be with you and share in the moment. Joy is the greatest fuel for life, work, purpose, and character transformation.

“God designed our brains to run on joy like a car runs on fuel.”

Our brains desire joy more than anything. Our brains look specifically in the face of another person to find joy, and this fills our emotional gas tank. God designed our brains to seek joy through the eyes and facial expressions, through being with people who are glad to be with us.“Joy does not exist outside of relationship.”

John 15:9-11 (ESV) 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Joy helps us regulate our emotions and endure suffering. Joy does not remove our pain, but it gives us strength to endure (Hebrews 12:2). Joy is the foundation for a secure bond (attachment love) with God. The goal in our relationship with God is to nurture the attachment love until there is no fear (1 John 4:18).

“Our brains draw life from our strongest relational attachments to grow our character and develop our identity. Who we love shapes who we are.” ~ Michel Hendricks

A healthy identity is built and formed by joy-bonded relationships. The identity center in our brain grows in response to joy, which helps us act like ourselves in all situations.

“When we see the sparkle in someone’s eyes, their face lights up with a smile when they see us. We feel joy. From the moment we are born, joy shapes the chemistry, structure and growth of our brain. Joy lays the foundation for how well we will handle relationships, emotions, pain and pleasure throughout our lifetime. Joy creates an identity that is stable and consistent over time.” ~ Jim Wilder

Psalm 16:11 (ESV) You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Six Negative Emotions — [ SADSAD ] — Sadness, Anxiety, Despair, Shame, Anger, Disgust

Key Vulnerable Times: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired

Romans 14:17 (ESV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

“Both human and spiritual maturity are demonstrated in having feelings, desires, and emotions under the guidance and control of what is good. Persons who are not spiritually mature are under the guidance and control of feelings, desires, and emotions.” Jim Wilder

Extra Notes on Negative Emotions

6 Negative Emotions: S.A.D.S.A.D.

• SADNESS. “I have lost something that brought me joy.”
• ANXIETY. “I fear not being able to find joy as I look at the future.”
• DESPAIR. “I feel like joy is impossible.”
• SHAME. “I feel like hiding because I can tell I don’t bring you joy.”
• ANGER. “I want something to stop now because it is robbing me of joy and causing pain.”
• DISGUST. “I feel like recoiling from a person or situation.”

God’s Shining Face and Lifted Countenance

Numbers 6:23-26 (ESV) “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

Verses 25-26: When God “shines” his face, he looks on his people for good. The “shining forth” and “lifting up” of Yahweh’s face are more closely defined by His positive presence issuing grace and peace. Yahweh’s face shining upon his people, by which his good pleasure and good acts will be exerted on behalf of his precious possession, is enhanced by the invoking of his grace. Yahweh’s lifting of his face is an expression referring “to an appearance of the countenance expressive of pleasure and affection, functionally equivalent to ‘smile.’” Yahweh’s face “smiling” upon His people bestows to them His “shalom,” which means fullness of life and wholeness in all areas of life: material, familial, societal, and religious.

2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV) For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

John 14:27 (ESV) “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Michel Hendricks and Jim Wilder, The Other Half of the Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2020), 54

Michel Hendricks and Jim Wilder, The Other Half of the Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2020), 56 and 79

E. James Wilder, Edward M. Khouri, Chris M. Coursey, Shelia D. Sutton, Joy Starts Here: The Transformation Zone, (Life Model Works, 2021), pg. 35

Jim Wilder, Renovated: God, Dallas Willard & the Church that Transforms (NavPress and Tyndall House Publishers, 2020), pg. 50

Warner, Marcus; Coursey, Chris M.; The 4 Habits of Joy-Filled Marriages: How 15 Minutes a Day Will Help You Stay in Love (p. 75-78). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Cross-reference with Psalm 27:7-8 and 67:1-7 and Exodus 33:12-20. Connected to Jesus, see John 1:9-18.

Cole, R. D. (2000). Numbers (Vol. 3B, p. 131). Broadman & Holman Publishers. Quoted from M. I. Gruber, “The Many Faces of nasaʾ panim, ‘lift up the face,’ ” ZAW 95 (1983): 253; S. Ahituv, “The Countenance of Yahweh” (Hebrew), in Tehillah Le-Moshe: Biblical and Judaic Studies in Honor of Moshe Greenberg, ed. M. Cogan, B. L. Eichler J. H. Tigay (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1997): 3–12.

Ashley, T. R. (1993). The Book of Numbers (p. 152-153). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.