Thank you so much for tuning in and Welcome everyone – Hope you’re well!  I’m your host, Ben Lively, and you’re listening to “Shaken Awake” – Episode #37! 

 

I just want to thank you for tuning in, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing right this very moment.  

 

And, as always, I promise you another great show – But, more than anything, my HOPE for you today, and always, is that you have an actual encounter with the Lord - He’s is always right there beside you.    If you find ANY value in these episodes, the greatest thank you of all is to pass the work to at least one person you know to help spread the word.

 

So, without further ado, let’s get ready to invite God in with us, right here, right now and allow Him to speak directly to your heart and minds.  

 

So here goes, here is today’s topic: “Are You Actually in Love with God, or Simply the Idea of Him?”

 

I’ve had many convictions and lessons handed to me by God and The Holy Spirit over the past 2 ½ years.  They’ve never stopped since TOTAL SURRENDER and grace occurred on April of 2019.  I suppose they will never stop, until I am no longer in the world.  And I’ve come to embrace that, welcome that, and cherish that fact.  I truly don’t believe that a true son or daughter of God can ever STOP being convicted or taught by the living God and The Holy Spirit….a subject worth of a future episode, I’m sure.

 

One of the most recent convictions and lessons I’ve been given was the meaning of TRUE love for God and then mankind; not worldly love, but supernatural love – agape love.   Here’s how I was convicted…..I often use the scripture of Matthew 22:37-40 to teach on many points.   I’ve used it here on the podcast many times and so here it goes again – it NEVER gets old! - 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”   

 

It was a few months ago and I was instantly convicted by The Holy Spirit when reading or writing that, I cannot remember.  The conviction was this – Do I, Ben Lively, REALLY LOVE God, or do I love the THOUGHT of Him in order to get to Heaven and/or more as an appreciation of all He’s done?  Do I really LOVE all the people/neighbors as myself, or am I just making it a point to be extra nice to others now and provide more grace and understanding, etc.?   I’m going to be completely transparent with you guys right now, as I was to The Holy Spirit and God, who already knew my heart and knew my answer (i.e, the reason for their conviction – their convictions don’t come about for nothing – it is usually and simply to teach, build, correct, and save you and then give you the free will to either change or continue down your own path) – I was honest with myself and went into deep reflection; after all, Jesus Himself said that these were the two greatest commandments.  

 

I understood love, but I don’t believe I loved God the way He loves me.  And therefore, it was impossible for me to love others as myself.  I loved God because of WHO He was and is, for what He had done for humanity and me and those I love, for the place He had Jesus go and prepare for you and I upon our arrival at our eternal destination, Heaven, but did I LOVE HIM?  Did I LOVE Him?  I first thought, “We’ll, I’m ready to die for Him and certainly will if I’m given the choice between taking the mark of the beast, for example, or dying a gruesome death over my believe and choice of God over man.  But, was that because I truly DO believe in Him and know that (because Jesus told us that) if we die for His namesake, we will be glorified in Heaven that very day?  Yes, yes it was?  But the conviction of that was, yes, but it’s due to selfish reasons….i.e, the duty and reward I have as a Christian.  But take that scenario aside and take it away from the equation for a moment and think about what Jesus said were the two greatest commandments…..they did not include a clause for doing so only if your eternal destination depended on it.  It did not include a disclaimer that mentions the benefits to us if we do – NO, it Commands us to love God with all of our heart and with all our soul and with all of our mind!  Was I doing that??  Was I really doing that day in and day out??  NO!  In fact, I was more concerned with how I was meeting the other acts of service and worship and praise and obedience to God, but the one that was the greatest of all – LOVE.  Love for HIM, not for me or what I get from loving Him!  I loved him like I love air, like I love gravity, like I love food, like I love the ocean – it was more of a deep appreciation and respect, but it all boiled down to what I WAS GETTING from Him, not a Love from the heart that surpasses all else in my life.  And that mentality also transferred the same to loving my neighbors as myself.  Same difference.  It was a type of love, but not agape love.

 

The question then became, how do I continuously love Him with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind, day in and day out?  How do I do the same for others.  So I did a bit of searching and here’s what I found; or rather, here’s where The Holy Spirit led me to in order to help me understand, and better instruct me in living up to the requirements and commandments of our Lord:

 

 

I first needed to understand the love that I DID have for God, because I did love Him.

 

Merriam-Webster - a feeling of strong or constant affection for a person

 

And that, my friends, was the love I had for God.  It was true, it was real, and it was constant.  But that isn’t true love according to the Heavens.

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[a] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 

 

So that was the love I was missing.  I had to separate the God of the universe, the Judge, the Creator, and get closer to Him so that He became my Father.  The one that is focused on me and loves ME unconditionally and continuously. The one that even while I’m sleeping, has more thoughts about me that outnumbers the grains of sand on the face of the Earth.  I had to understand and have a full and pure grasp of who He really is to ME – not just about what He has done, but who He IS to me.  When that happened, the floodgates (that’s just what I call them) opened up and released an ocean of understanding, meaning, and wisdom that flooded my heart, my soul, and my mind.  I realized that everything I’ve ever wanted or want in my life and in the afterlife is HIM, not what HE provides.  For what He provides IS HIM!  HE is LOVE; He is the definition of Love, not the byproduct.  “God” should be the written definition of the word love in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.  Then, it would be a true definition.

I want to share some Bible verses with you that really helped open up my mind and heart to receive and then regenerate my love for God and my neighbors.  These helped open up my soul to changing my definitions of love from the inside out, not just to be obedient, but so that they were now a permanent and eternal part of me.

 

 

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

We love because he first loved us.

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Let all that you do be done in love.

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man.

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that 

So, my final questions to you is then this:    

Compare the proof of love you have for anything in this world (children, spouse, family, etc.) against the love you have for God.  Is it stronger and more prevalent in your life, and does it show in your heart, your mind, and your soul, day in and day out, or is it in your mind only?

My final statement is this:   When you compare what you expect from someone that loves you unconditionally, every day, in action - not talk; is that the love that you yourself are giving to God first and then everyone around you?  If you struggle to have a deep relationship with the Lord and have a heart that has nothing but pure and true love for Him and for those all around you, even before yourself, the only one that can change your heart is the One who created it.

---------------------------------

So, before we end today’s show, I just want to thank you all again for tuning in and I HOPE you were touched by today’s message and scripture.  I’d like to ask you a favor only IF you received any value out of today’s show – would you tell at least one person you know – call them, text them, email them, talk to them – tell them to give this show a listen.  

 

Check out the show at shaken-awake.com, email me at ben@shaken-awake.com or call or text me directly for any reason at (407)-493-3208 (repeat).  If you have ideas for the show – LET ME KNOW!  If you know of someone that has an incredible testimony of coming to the Lord, and you think they would be a great guest of this show, please connect with me – I’d love to hear more.

Next week!!!!  Tune in Next Sunday – or WHENEVER YOU’RE ABLE, as we dive into another important topic of our day, which is, “Where you Place your Time, Energy, and Effort is What’s Most Important to You – What’s Your Time Spent on?”

Next week’s episode is another powerful and DO-NOT-MISS episode – thanks for joining!  

Until next week, take great care of yourself and each other, and God Bless You all.  

 

Outro music.