Worry Don’t Work Pastor Steven Furtick

So I thought it was masterful.

You know how Jesus says, not only am I commanding you,

do not worry. But then he builds the case for

why worry doesn't work.

It doesn't work.

Were any of you here years ago when I wrote

a song from this passage of scripture?

It was like it was a country song. And it

was called Worry Don't Work. And I think it was

a hit before its time.

And I went into the archives and I brought it

out for today.

But it's a simple song now.

There's not a lot to it yet. I hadn't met

the verses or the bridge or any of that.

But I got the chorus.

It's called Worry Don't Work. But the chorus says that

you should work.

But don't worry.

Work, but don't worry, because worry don't work. You see

how I flipped it? Work, but don't worry. Why?

Because worry don't work.

Now turn to somebody next to you and sing up

to him. Say, work, but don't worry, because worry don't work. Again. Work,

but don't worry, because worry don't work.

Can we get that on SoundCloud?

Because first I thought Jesus was saying, You know, don't

worry like in the same way that the people will

say to you, don't worry about it. You know, the

people who don't ever prepare or plan for anything.

And then they say, don't worry.

And then they need us to take care of them

when they run out of money because they didn't worry

about it. But he's not saying that at all. He's

saying that worry is worthless. He say that it's worthless.

He says, look at the birds. You want me to

be like a bird? Lord, I'm really sorry, but that's

very abstract.

Now, don't be like a bird. Observe the birds.

So to see the birds, where do you have to look?

And maybe that's what Jesus is trying to get me

to do in this sermon on the mount is to

change my line of sight. Maybe the reason that I'm

worried like I'm worried, I know it's a lot of

deep reasons. I know that there are traumas that can

affect us. I know that there are certain things that

we can feed our minds, but maybe at the heart

of it all, it's because I'm looking on.

The wrong level.

I'm going to preach this today for whoever has been

giving yourself ulcers. Jesus said, you never see a bird

with ulcers. because a bird flies above stuff. You don't

see worried birds flying around. You got angry birds, but

not worried birds.

Worried birds is not a game.

Worried birds is not a thing because the worried bird

knows that if I wake up and do my part,

there will be a worm.

My father knows how to feed me. Jesus helped me

with this message.

So it's not that things aren't going on in my life.

That's not the message. It's not that I live in

denial of reality. That's not the message. It's that I

know where to look. Shove somebody next to you.

And say, look up.

Because as long as you're looking like this, let me

tell you what's going to happen. Your mind is going

to spin in circles. Worry is that circular thinking.

It's called rumination. It's when you take a thought.

In fact, that's the actual literal translation of worry in

Matthew 6, verse 25.

Matthew 6:25

Take no thought.

Or some translations say, be not anxious. Or our translation says,

do not worry. But the thing that it has in

common is that it all starts with a thought.

It always starts with a thought. You being in your

seat right.

Now while I'm preaching this word started with a thought,

we should go to church. And then another thought came,

but the game is today. And then so another thought came, well,

I'll go to the early one. And then another thought came,

but I got to get the kids dressed.

And then another thought.

Came and you had to decide which one to take.

And then when you took the thought, the thought brought

you to this place where you are.

One day I'm going to preach a good sermon.

No, it helped me because my mind does this. My

mind spins.

It's circular. Worry is circular. Have you noticed that? And

this is what Jesus appeals to.

He says, don't worry about your life. Don't worry about

what you're going to eat, drink, which basically represents survival.

And then he says, don't worry about what you're going

to wear and how it's going to look, which is status.

Got it?

Survival and status. How did he know that 2018 we

were still going to be spinning around and around about

the same two things? How did he know to preach

this game changing sermon that would reach.

Into our lives? How did Jesus see.

Instagram 2000 years ago? To know that we are still

posting about the same thing that they were worried about

in Palestine.

We are still posting about what? What we ate and

what we wear. It's cyclical. It's the same.

We're still worried about the same things. And now it's

gluten free, but we are still worried about it. And

now it's keto, but we are still worried about it.

And now it's brands, but we are still worried about

what diet and dress provision and position.

Survival and status. And so we go around and around

and around and around.

And this is how my mind works when I get

up to use the bathroom because I love Diet Coke.

And so at three in the morning, when I wake up,

my mind starts spinning. And sometimes it's in the middle

of the day. And sometimes it's in the middle of

a meeting. And sometimes it's when I'm all by myself.

But my mind starts spinning. And worry looks like this.

Worry whirls around and around and around and around. But

it starts with a thought. It starts with a thought.

It starts with the thought, my kid's gonna need braces.

Now my kid's only two, but one day my kid's

gonna be braces. You see that one right there, how

it's growing and crooked? One day my kid's gonna need braces.

And by that time, because of inflation, Braces are going.

To be $ 473, 223.

And then when they get the braces, they're going to

get made fun of at school. And then they're going

to get beat up and traumatized, which is going to

cause them to enter into a life of gang violence.

And then they'll probably, out of that life of gang violence,

it's probably going to lead to drugs. Not only will

they use drugs, they'll probably distribute drugs.

And then I'm going to be busted.

And then....

When you finished all that, let me make it more

real life.

All the other kids are, are, uh, are a little

developmentally ahead of my kid. Wonder if my kid's going

to be able to get in Harvard.

Probably not. You didn't get in Harvard. That's beside the point.

Come on, man.

I had 1100 SAT. I wasn't going to Harvard. Not

even worried about it.

Or, um, These scenarios, it starts with a scenario. It

starts with a situation in your life.

But then what worry does is it starts you at

the place of scarcity and shortage. So whatever's wrong. And

then you take that thought and then you start spinning.

And as you spin and spin around and spin around,

And your mind spins around and around and around and

around and around and around. I want you to know

this one thing about all this spinning that I'm doing.

I am ending up exactly where I started. Only difference

is after I'm done tossing and turning and worrying about it,

but not working on it and not praying about it,

but worrying about it and calling it prayer. After all

this spinning, all I end up with at the end

of it, the only difference between when I started and

when I stopped is now I'm dizzy and I can't

see straight.

So now I'm going to work the next day.

And I'm worthless at work because I'm drunk and dizzy.

From what I stayed.

Up all night worrying about that God was already working on.

Oh yeah, he was working on it.

You know how I know?

The bible says that he that keepeth thee neither slumbers

nor sleeps.

So god was on the night shift.

I should have been sleeping because while my mind was spinning,

God was working. And I'm spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning. This

is a very dangerous illustration. I am very worried about

the possibility of ending up on YouTube, but I love

you enough to show you this.

Y'all on the front row, you ready?

In case this turns into an accidental stage dive. Here

I am, and here you still are, but I can't

see straight.

So Jesus says, look at the flowers, and I'm like,

the flowers? What do flowers have to do? with birds.

It's about position. It's about position.

The birds are above it, and the flowers are rooted

beneath it. But here's what the flowers know that.

You don't know. Here's what the flowers have learned that

I haven't learned yet.

Jesus said, what is it, verse 28? See how the

flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or

So the word of the Lord for you today is

stop spinning.

Stop spinning. You are in a spin cycle right now.

And it's wearing you out because you are living on

the level of what you can see and feel and understand.

And you are living on the level.

Of these streams which will stress you out if you

live in them long enough. But if you have a

father who feeds you, if you have a father who

is above you, if you have a father who is

the soil beneath you, and if your life is planted

in his purpose....

Come on, hit somebody. Say, stop spinning. Hey, thanks for watching.

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