Mind Games: I Don't Want To Live

Published: Sept. 14, 2008, 4:16 p.m.

Mind Games, Part 1: I Don\u2019t Want To Live

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"I don't want to live. I feel abandoned. I lack faith. I don't need God." If you've ever found yourself thinking these thoughts, you've probably found yourself in the midst of a mind game.

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\xa0\u201cWe are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world.\u201d Ephesians 6:12 (CEV)
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\u201cFor our struggle is not against flesh and blood\u2026\u201d Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)\xa0
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\u201cBe careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.\u201d Proverbs 4:23 (GN)
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OUR THEME VERSE FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES:\xa0\u201c\u2026..we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.\u201d 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)\xa0
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1. Question of Existence:\xa0 Why am I alive?
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\u201cWhy was I born? Was it only to have trouble and sorrow, to end my life in disgrace?\u201d Jeremiah 20:18 (TEV)\xa0

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\u201cThe Lord has made everything for his own purpose.\u201d Proverbs 16:4 (GW)\xa0

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\u201cLong before he laid down earth\u2019s foundations, he had us in mind, and settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.\u201d Ephesians 1:4 (MSG)\xa0
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Answer: I was created to be loved by God.
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2.\xa0 Question of Significance:\xa0 Does my life matter?

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\u201cMy work all seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and for no purpose at all.\u201d Isaiah 49:4 (NLT)\xa0

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Everyone lives life at one of three levels:
1.\xa0 Survival mode \u2013 just existing
2.\xa0\xa0Success level \u2013 world\u2019s standard/successful but still unfulfilled
3.\xa0\xa0Significance \u2013 find meaning and purpose
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\u201cI am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born.\u201d Isaiah 44:2 (CEV)\xa0
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\u201cYou... scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe.\xa0 Every day was recorded in your book!\u201d Psalm 139:16 (LB)\xa0
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\u201cHis plans endure forever; his purposes last eternally.\u201d Psalm 33:11 (GN)\xa0

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Answer:\xa0 I was made to last forever.
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\u201cWhen this tent we live in\u2014our body here on earth\u2014is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever.\u201d 2 Corinthians 5:1 (TEV)\xa0

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\u201cLeave your impoverished confusion and live!\xa0 Walk up the street to a life with meaning.\u201d Proverbs 9:6 (MSG)\xa0
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3.\xa0 Question of Intention:\xa0 What is my purpose?
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\u201cWhy did you create us? For nothing?\u201d Psalm 89:47 (NCV)\xa0

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\u201cKnowing God results in every other kind of understanding.\u201d Proverbs 9:10 (LB)\xa0
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Answer: I find my purpose by knowing God.
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\u201cFor everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible\u2026everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.\u201d Colossians 1:16 (MSG)\xa0
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\u201cIt\u2019s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for... part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.\u201d Ephesians 1:11 (MSG)\xa0
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\u201cIt makes no difference who you are or where you're from\u2014if you want God and are ready to do as he says, the door is open.\u201d Acts 10:35 (MSG)\xa0
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\u201cBe careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don\u2019t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.\u201d Ephesians 5:15-17 (NLT)\xa0

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For more information on the vision of Freedom Church, please visit our website at www. freedom-church.org.

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