Article quoted in podcast:  https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3773483,00.html

 

I'm an ex………alcoholic, drug addict, criminal, hustler, womanizer, fighter, liar, manipulator, player, drug dealer, thief, abuser, hypocrite, and a worldly, confused individual.

 

My name is Ben Lively. I'm not who I was before.

 

I'm a born-again child of the Most-High God!!  Anointed, Chosen, Set Apart and called to represent the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

I teach Christians the Truth of Gods' Word.

 

I'm a mouthpiece for the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

I will not compromise, play any games, or waste time with this mission from on High. I know that in and of myself I am Nothing. I need God for every breath I take and every move I make.

 

I have Christ living in me and I'm burning with the fire of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, I'm different now and forever more.

 

This earth is not my home. I know that and I declare it, boldly.

 

I'm strong in prayer, praying in Power and in the Spirit.

 

I will preach, teach, deliver, evangelize, prophesy, baptize and build up groups of believers as God allows. HE IS working through me as I'm surrendered to His service as an instrument of righteousness.

 

And if you know me or get to know me you realize that I take no credit for this but God gets ALL the GLORY. In Christ, I live and to Heaven, I will rise...

 

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 #9!  

 

I just want to thank you for tuning in, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing right this very moment.  And listen - If you find any value in today’s episode – please pass the news, pass the podcast name and link to a friend, family member, or colleague that you feel would benefit from this show, and become blessed as you are through the words that the Lord shares through these messages.  It’s probably one of the easiest things you can do to spread the word – just pass the resource on and let God do the rest, right?  That’s what I do just about every minute of every day.  Just a note, if you haven’t checked the show out yet at www.shaken-awake.com, please do – I’ve just added more information and transcripts of the show for those that prefer to read or review snippets of the show without having to listen to the entire podcast again, or if you want to share out some of the messages stated on the show to friends, family, or colleagues – go for it!  It is better viewed on a desktop, laptop, or tablet, but available on all devices.   Also, just recently added was Shaken Awake’s podcast presence and pages on LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter, with more to follow – great avenues and channels to spread the messages even further!  Check ‘em out if you get the chance, would you?

 

Just a fun fact – the 9th podcast episode is the average number where a podcast show typically goes away, meaning, the podcast host stalls out, or more or less ‘quits’.  I know, hard to believe right??, But it’s the current average, or it was a year or two ago, tops.  I always was amazed by that fact, and LONG before God called me to do this show.  However, the devil’s placed that in my ear from the moment I began planning for this show, attempting to sow that seed in my mind.  So I’m here to tell YOU guys, this episode number 9 ….. is only the begging – just the start and not the end!!!!  I’m letting satan’s attempts to dissuade me, fuel my trust in Jesus even more; so here’s to another THOUSAND episodes!!!!  I’m claiming it RIGHT NOW in God’s name!

 

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 with you, even when you think He’s not.  So, let’s get ready to invite Him in with us, right here, right now and allow Him to speak directly to your heart and minds.   

 

So, let’s get right into the heart of today’s topic, shall we???

 

Today, we’re going to be diving into a very important topic, “Taking our eye off the prize and living each day as though we’ve got a million more”

 

 

The point of today’s episode that I really want to hit home for all of you is the one that God revealed to me and hit home with me, like a ton of bricks being dropped on my head.  I’ve said before, among many things, God has given me revelation and wisdom that feels like it’s been downloaded into my heart and brain quicker than I can understand it or retain it – yet I do, and both.  Not only that, He’s given it to me for two reasons – 1.) to completely change MY life and 2.) to not keep it inside or to myself, but to proclaim it to you all.  Some of these revelations and wisdom He’s given me, I’ve later found out, in writing, through His Word – as confirmation, or I guess double-confirmation of the revelation and wisdom.  Some, I have not, but feel it and know it’s the work of the Holy Spirit working within me.

 

With that said, the topic for today’s show is not a cliched’ statement but has more meaning than we, at least I, never really paid attention to until it was dropped on me in a spiritual way by God and the Holy Spirit.   I’d like to share the awe and amazement and meaning behind this phrase and I pray this has a lasting effect on your hearts, your minds, and your life moving forward, from this day forward.

 

Two focal points that we’re going to define and combine to receive the total message for today is the relativity between taking our eye off the “Prize”, and living each day as though we’re immortal and “KEEPING OUR EYE ON THE PRIZE AND LIVING EACH DAY AS THOUGH IT’S OUR LAST.”

 

So here we go!!!  

 

What’s the meaning of “Taking our eye off the prize?”  To me, it means to have an end goal but allowing outside and/or inside influences or ‘noise’ as I like to call it, capture our attention and begin to pull us away from and then ultimately, mostly or completely off the end goal.

 

So then, the opposite could be agreed on as Keeping Our Eye ON the Prize, correct?

 

The online definition of keeping your eye on the prize is, “To remain steadfastly focused on one’s goal.”

 

I asked a few listeners of this show what their thought or definition was of keeping their eye on the prize and one said, “You’re going to need determination and endurance for said prize.  In order for me to get that prize, I’m going to need the ingredients to complete the recipe to get that prize.” I thought that was a great metaphor!  Additionally, they added, “To keep your eye on the prize means to stay on the straight line and not deviate.”

 

Another listener explained, “I see a goal that I want in my life.  I stay focused on that goal.  I don’t stop until I reach it.  Not much else is more important than that goal.  And, I never give up until it’s mine!!!”

 

So, I believe that we could all agree that each of these personal definitions may be close to or exactly how you, yourself, would define the phrase.

 

As always, let’s hear what the Bible says on this very subject:

 

 

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

 

1 CORINTHIANS 9:24 NIV 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

 

 

For all that he had learned of Christ and all that he had accomplished for him since his conversion, the apostle Paul did not believe he had reached the point where he could relax and “coast” in his Christian life. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says:

“I have not yet received all of those things. I have not yet been made perfect. But I move on to take hold of what Christ Jesus took hold of me for.”

“Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet. But here is the one thing I do. I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. I move on toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.”

(Pause)

 

Let me ask each and every one of you today:  What is YOUR prize.  There is a prize you’re aiming for – WHAT. IS. IT.?  What’s YOUR PRIZE?  

 

Some do NOT have a prize – they spend or waste their lives “living” for each day.  Similarly, to eating vs. dieting – some say they live to eat while others eat to live.  Two different directions and mindsets with similar actions, right?  So, with that said, some don’t have a prize – just make it through each day, make it through each week, month, year, etc., and just……make the most out of it?   They have nothing they’ve set their sights on, they aim at nothing and hit the bullseye every day.  AND THAT’S OKAY WITH THEM!!  Go to work, pay your bills, have fun with what’s leftover, if anything; sleep, rinse repeat.  RIGHT?!?!

 

Others have very definitive prizes – retire by age 60.  Have the most fun I can before my time is up.  Make the most money while I’m able to work.  Travel to the most places and enjoy all life has to offer.  Have the most fun while I’m young and agile enough to.  Be the best person I can be to other people.  Build the best things in life – businesses, investments, network of friends, net worth, etc.  

 

Here were my prizes, in order from teen to my early 40’s:

·     Have the most fun

·     Get the most high

·     Get buzzed or drunk every moment I can

·     Get the most out of everyone and everything to my advantage

·     Make money to support going out 6-7 times per week to get drunk and party

·     Get work done quickly so I could ‘enjoy life and freedom’

·     Make the most money

·     Climb the corporate ladder

·     Build businesses to make tons of money and retire early

·     Just be ‘good enough’ so I wasn’t a bad person anymore

 

These were my life’s prizes worth fighting for, day after day!!!  How deplorable!  How demeaning!  How worldly was I living???

 

Where was God in all of this?  Why wasn’t HE my prize worth living and fighting for??  Why was He not even on my mind 364 days out of the year – IF THAT!!!??!?!!??!?  Why was He not important to me?

 

Let’s pause here for a moment and turn the table over.  Let’s talk about living forever...or should I say, we’re NOT.  There’s only one guarantee in life when we’re born – and that is, that we will die one day.  No one in history has escaped death.  No one in history has even been able to purchase or barter for one more minute to add to their life!  

 

I can’t remember the year, but perhaps it was 3-4 years or so ago, I thought about why we don’t consciously think about dying.  I mean, I’m GLAD we don’t – it would be horrible to wake up every day thinking, is today the last day I’m going to live!  Nevertheless, why do we (I was thinking mostly about myself then) not consciously ever think about dying?  Why did I never have a feeling of death being imminent until I reached a later stage in my life, such as in very old age?   The best I could come up with was it was the equivalency of not fearing a car accident or an auto death every time we step in our cars.  Yet, we know it happens every few seconds in the world – we don’t think about it – we just hop on in and GO, right??   I pretty much stopped there.  Now, I felt a need to know, because it has significance, not to our life, but in how we actually live it and perceive it.  It also, then, has direct impact on how we do (or don’t) keep our eyes on the prize, correct?

 

I knew there had to be something scientific but also spiritual at work, to allow our minds to function like this.  Upon my research I stumbled across a great article on www.calcalistech.com, I’ve placed a link in the notes section and online on my website to this article, entitled, “Looking Death in the Eye:  Why Your Brain Is Convinced You’ll Live Forever”.

 

At 17, Yair Dor-Ziderman encountered death, and it was not what he expected.  Years later, he is researching the complex mechanisms that make us certain that mortality is something that happens to other people.

 

When he was 17, Yair Dor-Ziderman experienced the trauma of death in a particularly jarring way. In 1994, his childhood friend Arik Frankenthal, then a private in the Israeli military, was abducted and killed by Hamas, which is a foreign terrorist regime.  All Dor-Ziderman remembers now is feeling numb, he said in a recent interview with Calcalist.  As everyone else around him collapsed, he started questioning himself.  Why wasn’t he crying like everyone?  During the funeral, he forced himself to shed tears.

 

“It was a dissociative situation, like being in a dream,” he recalled. “It was clear to me then, and it is even clearer to me now, that something was wrong.”

  

It is even more clear today because Dor-Ziderman, now a graduate student at Bar-Ilan University, spent the last few years studying the way people deal with death.  On Friday, a new research paper he co-authored will be published in the scientific journal NeuroImage, discussing a study he and his fellow researchers conducted that revealed the mechanism the human brain employs to shield people from accepting their own mortality.

 

The key concept is mortality salience, the moment awareness of death occurs and the brain’s defensive mechanism springs into action, he explained. “The study shows that the brain has an unconscious but very basic belief that death is something that happens to others, not to me,” he said. “And that belief is activated whenever we come into contact with something that could remind us of death. We repress its relation to us and project it onto others, and that protects us. The study made me understand not just how the brain constantly interprets reality to construct a story, but how fundamental the mortality denial mechanism is to our consciousness and brain.”

 

Dor-Ziderman puts into words something we already instinctively know: were we aware of death at any given moment, life would have been immeasurably harder. Animals, at least as far as science is aware, are not cognizant of their eventual death. Humans are, but evolution (or what I will call satan) has produced repression mechanisms that enable us to operate despite that knowledge. They are constantly working, for example when one passes by a cemetery or glances over an obituary while reading the morning paper. Death is recognized and immediately rejected via systematic emotional detachment that turns death into something that happens to others.  As far as we are concerned, we’ll live forever.

 

That was the focus of Dor-Ziderman’s study, conducted jointly with Adrian Lutz under the guidance of Avi Goldstein of Bar-Ilan’s Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center. It was performed using a neuroimaging technique for mapping brain activity via magnetic fields. Dozens of volunteers were instructed to look at a screen onto which the image of a stranger was imposed, along with random words, half of which had a connection to death. Then, a photo of the volunteers themselves was unexpectedly shown, along with a death-related word like grave or funeral.

 

The researchers tracked all brain activity using 248 sensors, and discovered that images of strangers, no matter the words shown, created one type of activity, while the individual’s image—only in connection to a death-related word—created another, unusual type of activity. Under lab settings, they managed to duplicate the feeling of deathly fear, that feeling the brain suppresses mostly successfully in real life—making the participants confront their own mortality and recording that very brief moment of brain activity before the brain’s denial mechanism comes into play.

 

To isolate the brain’s reaction to death from its reaction to other negative concepts, the researchers also performed a control test where they exchanged the death-related words for other ones intended to create negative emotional response, but those did not cause the same activity in the brain.

 

By recording the brain’s beta wave activity at the moment of deathly fear, the researchers essentially proved the existence of a mechanism that neutralizes that fear the rest of the time.

 

So what, actually, is deathly fear? According to Dor-Ziderman, it is a “failed update of a prediction.” What that means is that the brain does not have an unbiased connection to the world, but rather conceptualizes its surroundings based on statistical beliefs that rely on already existing definitions and information.

 

“The eye receives light rays that bounce off a certain object, and the brain knows how to extract the right coding from memory and say that it is an apple,” he explained. “The brain actually monitors its internal and external environment to keep up to date, and updates its predictions accordingly. Are there any signs of predators? Are there potential sources of pleasure? Is it cold? Is there a shortage of food? That constant activity surrounds a virtual gravity source we experience as the self.”

 

The key finding of the study was that the brain refuses to connect death with the self, or predict that the self is finite, Dor-Ziderman said. “The self knows his fellow men will die, but not him,” he said, and therefore it will always categorize death-related information as something that relates only to others. “So deathly fear is therefore the moment when our definition of death as something that only happens to other people is disrupted, the prediction wasn’t updated, and the brain could not soften the blow like it usually does.”

 

I’m going to stop here.  While fascinating, you can read more about it, including the scientific data that accompanies their findings, but for time sake, let’s focus in on the importance of this fact, from a Biblical stance.

 

If I had to sum up my beliefs that are in addition to this and an abundance of scientific proof on this subject, I’d suggest that a bit of spiritual warfare comes into play here.  Maybe I’m wrong, but if satan deceives by convincing many he and hell doesn’t exist and that for those that DO believe he and hell does exists, that they have all the time to get themselves right with God (we just went over this last week) – then this would be a PERFECT way to help his mission, no?   For many DO get saved when on their deathbed and death is imminent and they turn to God with seconds or minutes left to live – just like the thief on the cross, no?  Absolutely!  Therefore, the less frequently that happens, the better off satan and HIS chance of winning his prize becomes!!!(which by the way, is your soul)  Think about it!!!  Whether I’m right in that thinking or not, it’s still a fact and it still occurs every day.

 

But WAIT – I can’t stop there!  For what is most important is what God’s Word states – not what we believe or think or what science states is real or not, correct?  So today, I did some research in God’s Word and this is what He and His Word says about this very subject (all for the English Standard Version of the Bible):

 

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls”

We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again.

For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace.

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.

Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.

Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!  

***Children of man means children of the devil.  That’s those that are unbelievers or in a current state of backslidings without repentance.  So, it IS the work of the devil/satan, as I had suggested a few moments ago – this verse confirms that belief and makes it a fact, a reality.

 

As you clearly see form the Word of God, Dor-Ziderman’s study is not a misnomer, in fact it’s simply scientific fact about what’s at work to prove what the Bible says is real, from the standpoint of science.  Therefore, we can conclude that in both the spiritual realm and the natural realm, we are fooled into thinking we have the time remaining that we do not actually have.  Well, now we know.  What do we do with this wisdom and reality?

 

Well, let’s circle back around and combine two forces at play, in motion, that can be either FOR US, or AGAINST us, and is God’s message to us today.  

 

What is the prize you’re keeping YOUR eye on?  Is it Jesus, or is it You?  What holds the greatest value in your life?  What is the ultimate prize in the way you’ve ran the race that’s been set before you?  

 

Just as you wouldn’t train for a bicycle tournament by practicing rowing a boat, why would you place any other prize above the Lord your God?  I’m not implying that you are, but I am stating what I had been doing my entire life.  All my prizes did not include Him whatsoever; in fact, they ignored and denied His very existence.  

 

What do we, you, need to do to in order to be rewarded with the words from His mouth saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant?”   Is it placing value on the things of this world and working towards them?  Certainly NOT!  

 

In fact, He says in 1 John 2:15:

 

1 John 2:15, "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."

 

What we view as most important, or in other words, replace HIM with for our prize, is considered adultery.

 

 

Breaking Down the Key Parts of James 4:4

#1 “You adulterous people,”
Those who love the world, do so in a way that precludes love and fidelity to God. We cannot have two masters (Matthew 6:24), and we cannot have two husbands.

 

#2 “don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?”
“Friendship with the world” means that one loves the ways of the fallen world, the dominion of darkness and of Satan (Colossians 1:13). It is not possible to love what is anti-God and also love God. It is not logical, and so it is impossible.

 

#3 “Therefore anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
Care must be taken on this point. Jesus Christ came into the world as a friend, to seek and save what was lost. It is a great kindness to offer up himself because he “so loved the world” (John 3:16). The kindest and most loving thing is to oppose the world with urgency, calling men and women to repent and turn and be saved. But to choose “to be a friend of the world” is to approve of and participate in the sin of the world. Nowhere does God call his set-apart people to become like the world, rather, we are to be different from the world.

 

What this meant to me in my life was to replace the prize I had my eyes on with God and God alone.  The prize changed, and therefore, my race and everything in the race changed.  This was a gift from God called grace that allowed me to make this change.  Removing the scales on my eyes, the cement in my ears, and the rock formed around my heart allowed me to take my eyes and life on MY prize, and replace it with a Prize that I will always and continue on forever having my eye on.  Nothing will separate me from running the race set before me, for the Prize is too great.  The Prize is Jesus Christ!

 

Lastly, knowing now, by the handiwork of God at work in my life and leading me to the meaning behind what science and what I firmly believe and I’m led to believe is the handiwork of satan, in deceiving me to believe I have forever to live, allows me to pause and counter this deception.  This lie.  This false sense of time is on my side.  NO, It’s NOT – it’s against it!  This ability I have prayed for and I strongly recommend if you haven’t, you do this also – pray to God to allow you and bless you with the wisdom, knowledge, and power to spiritually comprehend what each minute of your life is truly worth – not for THIS world, but for the next.  Since this world is not your home, you see, we’re simply in the dressing room of eternity, we need to comprehend that what time we do have, we owe and give to HIM and HIM alone.  To much is given, much is required.  The mere fact you do not know the month, day, hour, or minute of your death, should take your sense of urgency from a 1 to a 10.  Not in fear, but in serving God.  What will you and I tell Him the day we’re face-to-face with Him, as to why we chose this or that over Him, if that’s in fact what we do?  What will be our reasons?  What will be our arguments?  What will be our punishment?  What will be our reward?  THAT, my friends, is up to YOU right now and every waking moment you have for the remainder of your lifetime.

 

Do not allow the enemy to allow you to believe you have all the time to get ‘right with God’.  What if tomorrow is your day to go?  What if this evening is your time to go?  What are you doing right now to prepare for that?  What are you doing right now to keep your eye on the prize and realize, you don’t have eternity to successfully run the race that has been set before you?  One day, it will be too late for many – your eternity will be determined where your heart was on Earth.  Did it love the Lord God all the while, or was it fixated on worldly things and worldly pleasures and pursuits?  It will truly be too late then to repent and change.  FACT:  There’s no better time, in fact, there may not be a time remaining except for RIGHT NOW to get right with the Lord and understand that He is your prize, and you have a certain number of heartbeats remaining to run the race and win that prize.  The rest is up to you and that clock starts right now.

 

I’ll end with this portion of a prayer I literally read this morning before preparing for this show on this very subject (coincidence?  There is no such thing); it’s taken from the devotional book, “The Valley of Vision” and a puritan’s prayer entitled, “To Be Fit For God” on page 255 – “May I duly regard the doctrine and the practice of the gospel, prizing its commands as well as it’s promises.  Sanctify me in every relation, office, transaction, and condition of life, that if I prosper, I may not be unduly exalted, if I suffer, I may not be over-sorrowful.  Balance my mind in all varying circumstances and help me to cultivate a disposition that renders every duty a spiritual privilege.  Thus may I be content, be a glory to Thee, and an example to others.”  Amen. 

 

My final statement is this:  A wise person would not invest everything in something temporary. A wise person invests in something that will last.  Invest your life wisely – you don’t have forever!

 

 

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 God through 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.  It may just help them in their walk with Christ.  

 

Also, I really need your support - If you could do me a huge favor, would you go right now to whichever podcast app you’re listening through today and just give me a quick star rating and if you want to go the extra mile for Christ, not me, put a quick review in – takes 20 seconds.  I’d love that help and support for you guys, which will allow the Lord and the Holy Spirit to reach even more lives throu=gh this broadcast.

 

If you’d like to get ahold of me, you can write me a note on www.shaken-awake.com/contact you can also email me directly at ben@shaken-awake.com or even call or text me directly for any reason at (407)-493-3208 (repeat).  I want feedback, questions, ideas, requests, criticisms, corrections, I want it all.  If you’d like to be a guest of this show, please reach out to me, as well.  If you have a life and/or eternity-changing story you’d like to share, please let me know and I’ll schedule you in.  We don’t hear enough of the TRUTH these days or the POSITIVE ways of God and Jesus Christ these days, and this podcast is going to help change that up – I'd love your help with this where you can.

 

 

Next week's episode is another powerful and DO-NOT-MISS episode!  

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