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Published: Aug. 19, 2015, 4:59 p.m.

\u201cForget the former things; do not dwell on the past.\xa0 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)\xa0

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Message Title:\xa0 For the Love of The Game

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\u201cI know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name\u2019s sake and have not become weary.\xa0Revelation 2:2-3 (NKJV)

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Nevertheless I have\xa0this\xa0against you, that you have left your first love.\xa0Revelation 2:4 (NKJV)

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Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works\u2026\u201d Revelation 2:5(NKJV)

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\u2026I am the\xa0Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.\xa0 I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the\xa0Lord\xa0your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.\xa0 I will bring you into the land I swore to give\u2026 Exodus 6:6-8 (NLT)

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RELIGION is your effort to PLEASE God.

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JESUS is God\u2019s effort to LOVE you.

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Then God gave the people all these instructions: \u201cI am the\xa0Lord\xa0your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. Exodus 20:1-2 (NLT)

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\u201cYou must not have any other god but me. Exodus 20:3 (NLT)

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\u201cYou must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.\xa0 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the\xa0Lord\xa0your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods\u2026 Exodus 20:4-6 (NLT)

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\u201cYou must not misuse the name of the\xa0Lord\xa0your God\u2026Exodus 20:7 (NLT)

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\u201cRemember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.\xa0 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the\xa0Lord\xa0your God...\xa0 For in six days the\xa0Lord\xa0made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the\xa0Lord\xa0blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. Exodus 20:8-11 (NLT)

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\u201cHonor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the\xa0Lord your God is giving you. Exodus 20:12 (NLT)

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\u201cYou must not murder.\xa0 \u201cYou must not commit adultery.\xa0 \u201cYou must not steal.

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\xa0\xa0\u201cYou must not testify falsely against your neighbor.\xa0 \u201cYou must not covet your neighbor\u2019s house. You must not covet your neighbor\u2019s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.\u201d Exodus 20:13-17 (NLT)

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When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram\u2019s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. Exodus 20:18 (NLT)

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And they said to Moses, \u201cYou speak to us, and we will listen. But don\u2019t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!\u201d Exodus 20:19 (NLT)

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\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid,\u201d Moses answered them, \u201cfor God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!\u201d Exodus 20:20 (NLT)

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As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was. Exodus 20:21 (NLT)

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Signs you have lost your love for the game:

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Your feelings are leading, not your choices.

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There is a way that seems right to a man, but\xa0its end is the way to death. Proverbs 14:12 (ESV)

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Choices lead; feeling follow.

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You are moving, but not growing.

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But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless\u2014like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. Ecclesiastes 2:11(NLT)

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There is no neutral.\xa0 We are either growing or dying.

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You aren\u2019t having fun.

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You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. Psalm 30:11 (NLT)

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If you aren\u2019t enjoying the journey, you aren\u2019t doing something right.

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You want to escape, instead of rest.

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Then Jesus said,\xa0\u201cCome to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.\xa0 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.\xa0 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.\u201d Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

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God established the Sabbath so we would develop a habit of REST, instead of working ourselves into the need for an escape.\xa0

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How do we get back to our first love?

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Rest our Bodies

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When you are worn out\u2026 you won\u2019t make wise decisions.\xa0

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He says, \u201cBe still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.\u201d Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

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Realign our Hearts

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Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. \xa0Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV)

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Worship realigns our heart with an eternal perspective.

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And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice\u2014the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.\xa0Romans 12:1 (NLT)

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Don\u2019t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God\u2019s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.\xa0 Romans 12:2 (NLT)

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Refocus our Purpose

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Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Galatians 6:4 (MSG)

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Don\u2019t be impressed with yourself. Don\u2019t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life. Galatians 6:5 (MSG)

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Remember the Cost

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He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God. Romans 4:25 (NLT)

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I have been crucified with Christ\xa0and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,\xa0who loved me\xa0and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (NIV)