“I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” Gen 15:1

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Gen 32:34-30

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings…they removed, and stood afar off… 21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was. Exodus 20:18-21

3 “ But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people” 15 “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.” 18 “Now show me your glory.” Exodus 33

11 The L ORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent. Exodus 33:11

16 Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Ruth 1:16

“‘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.” Acts 15:16-17

The sinful woman (Luke 7:38) Mary of Bethany (John 12) Peter (Matt 14)

One thing have I desired of the Lord – that I will dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence.

22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ 5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless. 13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

God gives us the choice of how much of Him we want in our lives; the difference between taking him for granted and actively "waiting on the Lord." We can choose to go deeper in Him, we can make room for him to show up in a big way in our lives, or we can leave him at a distance.

Great men and women of God are such because they made a very personal choice to be dependent on God This choice led them into great difficulties, but it also led them into God’s heart

It's a combination of (on one hand) getting our heads above the clouds of this world to behold Jesus, and (on the other) inviting Him to part the clouds and intervene sovereignly in our lives. This meeting of heaven and earth in our lives happens in an atmosphere of longing, risk, and endurance.

Worship at all times Reminders to practice the presence Pray continuously Imaginative prayer – beholding the Lord

He will direct your paths if you trust in the Lord and acknowledge him If not, you can choose to be subject to the randomness of this world

2 Tim 2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with him.