1. Eyes On The Prize

2. Hebrew
זָכַּר
To Remember
לֹא זָכַּר
Not Remember
נָשָׁה
To Forget

3. Not Remember
Forget

4. To remember means to focus on and often to take an action
God Remembered
Noah (Genesis 8:1)
And the flood ended
Abraham (Genesis 19:29)
And Lot was spared
Rachel (Genesis 30:22)
And opened her womb
Hannah (1 Samuel 1:19)
And she bore a child

6. Acts 9 – Paul Meets Jesus Acts 9:10 – Ananias
Jesus refocuses Paul from self to Jesus
Acts 9:10 – Ananias
Jesus refocuses Ananias from what Paul did to who Paul is
With Paul refocused on Jesus, he has placed his eyes on the prize
He will be stoned (Acts 14:9)
He will be dragged from the Temple (Acts 21:20)
He will be arrested, shipwrecked, prisoned, and eventually beheaded
Paul writes: (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

7. A man after God’s own heart
King David (1 Samuel 13:14)
A man after God’s own heart
David sins, and God puts them away
God does not hide sins, nor does He remove the consequences of the sins and bad decisions we make. He uses them to teach, train, and strengthen our relationship with Him.
We know that – (Romans 8:28)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

8. JOB
Job is never called ‘perfect,’ ‘sinless,’ nor ‘holy.’ He is called ‘blameless’ and ‘upright.’
God can brag about Job because He is focused on Job’s character, not on what Job has done in the past.
Job remains focused on God through all the trials.
Never waivers
Never blames God
Job reveals a biblical truth.
We can say anything to God. In fact, we are told that:
We can cast our burdens on the LORD. (Psalm 55:22)
We can cast our anxiety on God because He cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7)

10. Matthew 14:28-33
As long as Peter remained focused on Jesus he walked on the water.
Then the wind blew …
and he was distracted by the world.

11. I become focused on self
When I Am Distracted
I become focused on self
I feel lonely
Friends, family, and God seem far away
Lord, Save Me!
I worry
Family is sick, I am tired, and God seems far away
I struggle
Work is hard, I am failing, and God seems far away
I do wrong
I sin, I fail to help, I let people down, and God seems far away
I am powerless
I feel helpless, nothing I can do, and God seems far away

12. And Jesus immediately reached out and took hold of him.
O you of little faith, why did you doubt? Matthew 14: 31

13. How long O Lord. Will you forget me forever
How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me. O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed over him,’ lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have entrusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 13

14. WE WIN Application God is always forward focused.
God has plans for us.
God will train us and give us the skills to do what He has asked us to do.
He puts aside our sins and does not focus on our past.
We need to remain focused on God at all times.
Especially when the world works to distract us from the love of God
When we stay focused on the PRIZE, which is an everlasting relationship with Jesus,
WE WIN

15. One More Thing God has plans and has a goal in mind for Himself.
Throughout the Bible, God has expressed a desire to dwell with us – Genesis 1, Old Testament, John 1:14.
Revelation 21:3 – And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.”
God remained focused on His goal and paid a price to reach it – the life of His only Son.
Jesus kept His eyes on the prize as he paid the price for our salvation.