Reverse Your Worry | Gamechanger | Pastor Steven Furtick

hey don't start clicking off I promise we're gonna get to the preaching in just a moment but I'm excited about this this is a very special tradition at elevation and we want to speak to all of you who call our church home especially our extended family our eFam around the world because once a year we have a special series it's really more than a collection of teachings it's a faith experience for all of the people who are part of our ministry at elevation and this year our theme is gamechanger I think one of the most exciting things that God is doing in our ministry is to open the doors of our ministry beyond our walls what I mean by that is we are amazed at the thousands and thousands and thousands of you who are letting us know that you're impacted by this ministry in another zip code in another state in another country maybe eventually on another planet but what I wanted to mention to you is that you can be a part of this beyond just consuming many of you've been blessed by God to be a blessing and I wanted to ask today would you be willing during this special time of year to make a one-time donation to the ministry or maybe partner with us on a monthly basis through recurring giving I believe God could use your gift to enable this ministry to continue to reach to continue to break paradigms to continue to lift up Jesus and I wanted to ask you personally to go to Elevation Church.org and you can see the ways to give there but most importantly know that we feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to Minister the Word of God not only to you but to challenge you to partner with us in reaching people for the gospel I believe your gift today could be a game-changer so don't put it off right now elevation church or you can find all of the details I hope you enjoy this message and thank you for being a part of the family I'm going to continue this series from Matthew chapter 6 I don't know if I preached at all from the Sermon on the Mount but it's a very good place to start a very good place to start what's that from let's start at the beginning a very good place to start what's that from okay sound of music that was unintentional I don't like sound of music but anyway we're gonna we're gonna look at Matthew 6 which I do like and these profound powerful words from Jesus and last week's message was intended to help you evaluate your values I was thinking that a lot of times if we if we play the game and even if we play the game well but we win at things that are not true to our values eventually we will get good at winning but what are we winning at and and what have we won and so in order to try to avoid all of this this empty sense of chasing after victories that are not meaningful we're getting into God's definition of success God's idea of what is worth winning at and we're looking at this together and it was cool to me when I was in the airport Monday I got the opportunity to meet one of our new church members he said I've been coming for a little while been going to church all my life been learning a lot it's been helpful I said what did you learn yesterday I put him on a pop quiz and he said oh yeah that was good yesterday when you said shallow values produce empty victories it was like whoa you got it exactly right usually people when they quote back your sermon to you they mess it all up and they don't make it rhyme and they switch the words all around makes you mad and but he got it just right then he started preaching other parts and he said I went home and I told my wife and my kids I love y'all but leave me alone the rest of the day and he's a successful person in his field his name is Stephen I knew he was a great man of God from that fact and he said I'm really just dealing with emptiness and in that emptiness I realize it's a lot of times because my values are shallow so I've been listening I've been spending just since you preached he said I've been thinking about my values not what I think they should be not what I want them to be but what are my values and then aligning those values with God's values so let's continue the process let's go right on to Matthew chapter 6 verse 25 a very relevant scripture today that I want us to look at together Matthew 6:25 Jesus speaking therefore I tell you do not worry about your life what you will eat or drink or about your body what you will wear it's not life more than food and the body more than clothes look at the birds of the air they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet I love that somebody say and yet I don't deserve the grace of God and yet I don't have the educational background and yet nobody in my family ever broke this barrier and yet I made some mistakes in my life and yet I just like little stuff like that when I'm reading the Bible y'all do what you want to do i'ma stop for those little phrases and point them out to you and yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not much more valuable than they tell somebody next to you say I'm I'm better than a bird um I might not be better than you but I'm better than a bird I'm worth more than a bird I know that much are you not much more valuable than they we're going to come back to that can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life no but you can take some off or you can wish you were dead because it'd be more peaceful than being in this living hell called your mind sometimes so he asked a question now notice how it starts with a command and then it turns to a question he said do not worry and now he says and why do you worry why do you worry about clothes see how the flowers of the field grow they do not labor or spin yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all is good she was dressed like one of these if that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today tomorrow stone in the fire will he not much more clothe you oh you of little faith so do not worry stop telling me that you know the worst thing you can tell somebody when they're worrying is what don't worry unless you know something that they don't because like I was watching a football game the other day but it was recorded because I missed it but the person that was watching it with me checked the score and we were cheering for the same team so while I was watching the game I was also watching them and when it got a little scary I just watched them but when they didn't look scared I didn't get scared so when Jesus says don't worry I figure he's already seen how this thing turns out come on it's early to have church but if you are grateful that the one who knows the end from the beginning has already prophesied to this current moment and declared that God is faithful come on give him a shout of praise don't worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink yeah yeah hallelujah is right that's the only thing you can't say when you think about this this is good this preaches itself I don't need to make a comment I could just read this over and over again for 50 minutes we'd go home do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for the pagans run after all these things these are shallow values this is what the world worries about I want to worry about something worry about something weren't worrying about worry about teen suicide rates you just got to worry worry about that worry about racism you want to worry about something worry about that I'm gonna worry about something worry about this crazy cycle of fear that we're all living in if you want to worry about something but don't worry about this for the pagans run after all these things your heavenly Father knows that you need them but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself each day has trouble enough of its own the word God gave me to give to you today is reverse your worry reverse your worry we're gonna get this thing turned around before lunchtime today reverse your worry came in thinking one way gonna go home thinking another reverse your worry turned to somebody and say it's time to turn it around so why do you worry that's the question the command is do not worry and then the question is verse 28 let's see it again why do you worry and at this point if it was anybody other than Jesus asking the question I would say sit down and let me tell you you know oh I got a list you want to know why I worry well where do you want me to start like first of all let's start with October in the stock market if you want to talk about worry you're gonna talk about the first week in November you want to talk about if you want if you want if you want to know why I'll worry ok I got I got a 13 year old an 11 year old and a 7 year old and they have the internet that's why I worry Jesus because something tells me that they are not yet of the emotional and mental health and capacity to have all of the information in the history of humanity in their pocket and I'm worried about what they're going to access and there's no Bible verse about how much time to give your child on Instagram if it is I didn't find it somebody send me the scripture this week that's why I'm worried I'm I'm worried you know why do you worry put the verse up again why do you worry and I think that's important that we stop and think about the reasons that we worry ok the the reason that we worry and be really honest about it because what I worry about more than anything is not what's happening to me but it's whether or not what's within me is enough to handle it's whether what's in me is strong enough to handle what happens to me that's why I worry I worry because as a pastor I am concerned that maybe the way that I communicate would be more for consumption and the people would come and hear the word or tune in online and hear the word and then just click off but you know it seems like more and more that people are just coming to church for what to get out of it or just you know what I like that preacher or I like that song but that's a really shallow reason to come to church and I worry that if people come from surface motivations they're gonna get surface results in their life and if people come from selfish motives then they're gonna get empty empty results so why do you worry let's talk about it just me and you now this is us why do you worry what what do you worry about more than anything else what's what's the thing that had you up at 3:30 this morning and your mind started spinning because this is what happens your mind starts spinning some of us get up to use the bathroom and then we never quite make it back to a rested state because our bladders and our brains are both under demon possession and and so both of them are too full and so we wake up in the middle of the night and and here we are and this is how it happens for me my mind just starts spinning spinning and the way that is constructed in the original language I've studied this passage quite a bit I've come back to it several times in preaching is that it says do not worry that's the command or take no thought that's literal take no thought think about that he's saying a thought that presents itself to you can start you spinning in a direction if you take it but it can't start you spinning if you don't hold on to it I preached the whole message one time called hold that thought hold that thought and you get a hold of a thought and and you let it take you somewhere but where you take that thought eventually you find out it takes you somewhere and for me a lot of times I end up in this spin cycle do you know what I'm talking about talk to me the spin cycle of stress I've noticed this about worry worry is circular worry is going round and round it's not being concerned about something that's that's not what Jesus means by don't worry this isn't Jesus Bob Marley moment you know because I was reading it like look at the birds yeah it almost sounds it almost sounds like Jesus is telling me not to not to pay my bills just look at the birds look at the birds and the flowers isn't it beautiful isn't God good isn't He just the best don't you just love Jesus and as muchness it's not what He's saying you know you want me to be like a bird Lord is no I want you to observe the birds I want you to consider what they know that you don't and maybe what they know that you don't is because they live where you don't at a higher altitude observe the birds if I could title this message something other than reverse your worry I'd call it Look Up because in order to consider the birds you've got to stop looking all around you to make sense of your life you know because as long as you look around you you spin around and around and around and around but when you break the cycle and consider that there is a God above you who has gone before you who lives within you who is always for you and that you are spoken for and known and named and called and chosen and set apart you see your life at a different level can't praise you a little bit cuz I've been doing this a lot it's funny that I just finished a whole series about anxiety called triggered and here we are back in this same idea still spinning it's still spinning worry worry is is like this it's around and around and around but know this one thing about all my spinning other than the fact that some of y'all are getting dizzy just watching me do this imagine how it feels to actually do it imagine how it feels for me actually doing it well this is what it feels like when you're spinning spinning spinning lots of motion but I keep ending up right where I started I'm right back here only now I can't see straight now that's what it's like to toss and turn over stuff you can't control because after you spent all night spinning all day spinning in your head and what if they and you know it starts with the most innocent thought it's not not the depth the devil the devil's been at this a long time sweetie he's not gonna give you a bad thought he's gonna try to give you an innocent thought and get you to take it in the wrong direction a scenario then on the surface doesn't seem that bad but but it's the way you spin it it's like you know Fox News and CNN assists it's one story they're telling but it's spinning different ways and it's how you spin it that determines how you see it I am preaching Matthew chapter 6 like it's my last time today because when you get in that spin cycle it's just around and around and around and around and it doesn't make any difference I'm not getting anywhere I'm not working on it I'm not making progress anywhere and the devil gets me so dizzy that now by the time that I'm facing my real life challenges I don't have the equilibrium to apply the effort in the direction that would create a result because I'm so busy I can't find my balance and now I don't know who to trust I don't know what to do whoa hang on I need a minute I need a minute I've been spinning by the way that's why it takes you a few minutes when you get to church to get your heart in the right place for the caffeine to kick in and for you to stop spinning Jesus said look up at the birds and then look at the flowers the flowers so when we look up you look down I want you look both and notice something that the flowers don't do that your mind has been doing lately He says when you look at the flowers notice how they do not labor or give me the verse please verse 28 they do not labor or and yet your father they they don't they don't spin they don't so the birds don't store away the flowers don't spin yet look how God does that on that level and if he made you in His image what makes you think that you have to spin out in these cycles you know these tormenting cycles these confusing cycles where you start thinking you know oh my god my kid my kid needs braces and you know just it's the littlest things isn't it it's the littlest things that get you spinning my kid needs kids only two years old but my kid's gonna need braces cuz the first tooth grew in kind of crooked and now you're looking at one crooked tooth and you're two-year-olds got one little crooked tooth groaning oh my gosh they're gonna need braces and braces with inflation it's gonna cost four hundred and seventy three thousand dollars and I won't have any money to send him to college so they're only gonna have to resort to gang violence and then my child's gonna wind up in prison I'm a visit much now you're in prison your kid is two and your kid's still two and you didn't keep them out of prison and they're still gonna need braces so you've been going around and around and around in circles but God said today is your day to stop spinning if your mind has been doing this I came to preach to you in the presence of the Lord is in this place and your Father knows what you need so stop spinning stop worrying about what God is already working on and just worship Him come on take 15 seconds I know you can't do it all the time but you're in the right place today let's give Him praise and honor and glory that's all worship is you know worship is worry in reverse see worry is when I start with my situation and then I spin around and round and round and round and round and round and round and round but God said stop spinning and instead of starting your meditation with your situation start with your source when you know who your Father is is since you spin it in a different direction come on I know who He is I know what He's done stop spinning find seven people tell them stop spinning it's not working round and round in circles like the Israelites for 43 years why are you worried I would understand it if it was working I wrote a country song one time well not a whole song just of course okay well that's never happened before yeah I know it's an Amber Alert Father bless them in the name of Jesus well it's like that you know like worry is like that it's like the alarm and sometimes it's going off but you can't you can't do anything about it sometimes it's like that it's like they think about think about the day we live in where we're constantly being hit with breaking news breaking news Trump had lunch breaking breaking news and so it's almost impossible for us to have priorities because we're being fed so much fear when your Father feeds you it builds your faith and you start with who God is you know when you start with that when you start with your source you end up where you started and if you start with God you end with God if you start with fear you end with fear if you start with shortage you end with shortage if you start with your situation you'll be like Elijah's servant in 2 Kings 6 this is a great Old Testament story to illustrate what I'm talking about because the servant woke up one day and found that the camp was surrounded with the arameans who were the enemies and he woke Elijah he's like oh my lord what shall we do that's exactly what the Bible says and that's exactly what you've been saying oh my lord you know like I'm surrounded and now this creature is talking about birds and lilies and petunias and chrysanthemums and here I am trying to pay bills and my mom has Alzheimer's and this dude's up here talking about birds alright well Elijah could have prayed that God would destroy the enemies that were surrounding the camp but he didn't he didn't he prayed something more powerful and and what he said is what I'm praying for us in this gamechanger series because this is the game changer not that God takes your enemies away but that He enables you to see beyond them not that He takes your problems away but that He enables your faith to see beyond them now the first circle is the enemies and they were real but he likes to pray Lord open his eyes that he may see that he may see what that there are more with us than with them so the first circle says I'm overwhelmed the first circle says I'm outnumbered the first circle says there's nothing I can do and on the surface this is the truth but the second circle when the servant opened his eyes he saw what had been there all along there was a host of Angel armies surrounding the first circle and what was on the outside was greater than what was on the inside whatever is surrounding you God is already surrounding it and so much of our peace is dependent on whether we can perceive the second circle when you live in the first circle it's it's always it's always never enough if you start with not enough you end with not enough if you start with el-shaddai who is more than enough you end with more than enough so reverse your worry my Father knows what I need I had needs but I don't start with the need because if I start with the need I'm gonna end with the need but if I start with a God who knows what I need I will end with a God who knows what I need He is Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end the first and the last so reverse your worry Jesus says look at the birds look at the flowers you are more valuable than them and yet your father cares for the lesser will He not much more take care of you means this if God is doing this level of detail don't you think that He has already determined your expected end if He can do that surely He can do this if He did that He can do this so there are some things in my life that God did and if He did that He can do this this is the second circle and this is where we've got to live but in order to do it we'll have to reverse it because when we start with shortage we end with shortage time energy money any of it Jesus says here's the game changer one of the most famous verses in scripture by the way but now that you've got it in context I hope it comes alive for you in a new way He said if God cares for the lesser He will take care of the greater if you take care of the little He'll take care of the lot you're the lot you're valuable to him but you verse 33 seek first the kingdom and His righteousness not your own not not your own ideas and appearances what shall we eat what shall we drink what shall we eat what shall we drink isn't it funny that we're still posting today 2,000 years later about the same stuff that Jesus said not to worry about in Palestine what we ate and what we wore this is a circular you know like we're still worried about the same things how am I gonna make it how am I gonna pay that how am I gonna this and that and the other you know my income taxes now went up in a bracket and like God blessed me but now I got more taxes or I'm waiting on God to bless me why shall we eat that survival what shall we wear that status and we go around in these circles over and over and over and over and over and over and over again but if I start with the kingdom God will give me the things seek first His kingdom give them the scripture verse I want you to see this more than see it I want you to believe it if you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness all these things will be given to you as well see you protect what you prize and your peace ought to be important to you but the only way to live in God's peace is to have God's priorities now in my life every time that I have had a lack of peace it was because something was wrong with my priorities and the reason that I can prove that now is because it wasn't the presence of problems that created the absence of peace sometimes in the midst of my greatest problems I had the greatest peace that makes no sense I understand but it's true nonetheless in some of the seasons of my greatest problems I experienced my deepest peace I think that's because sometimes problems help us to clarify priorities if my priorities if I don't seek first the kingdom and I'm seeking the things I will run after all the same things that the pagans run after and it will be like I don't even have a God in my real life thanks mom it's like there's somebody give me your phone give me your phone somebody with an iPhone what is it now 10/10 super another way for Apple to get my money by changing the way I charged the stupid device you're a note-taker oh thank God for this guy will you send me these when the sermon's over my notes are terrible I don't even look at them they are horrible you're notes are good oh I'm gonna ask you something if you left your phone at church would you come back and get it how about if you left your phone an hour away would you drive an hour to get it two hours three hours this phone is important I'm starting to wonder what you got on this phone you got a business transaction you trust me a lot hand me this phone and you come back and get it but I noticed people will leave their peace just anywhere and we would run back I see some of you while I'm preaching you can't even sit through a 50 minute message without reaching for your phone you breaking out rashes coming all up on you can't check your phone phones buzzing in your pocket but but you leave your peace just anywhere and we would put more importance on a possession and we'll go back and get it oh I lost my phone like you're not wearing pants out the house or something like that but you won't even apologize to get your peace back and seek the kingdom come get this phone you got a snap coming through that's from aaSteph I don't know who she is hope she's cute so somebody shout I want my peace back and the only way for that to happen is for you to get your priorities straight friends and family this is why I teach tithing whoo a wave of silence visited the church because when I put God first and I prioritize His purpose in my life don't you see that in any area of my life when I start with God I end with God so look it's not some Old Testament principle it is a principle that when you trust God you invest your treasure in the one that you trust so when I say God this portion is set aside for you guess what I start my resources spinning in the direction of God's kingdom and then I can trust Him to take care of my needs that's why we bring the offering at the end of the year it's about trust it's about training my heart to trust God aren't you sick of spinning like this just like the world spins I mean really really People of God if we are if we're gonna worry like the world worries how are we gonna win the world that we worry just like I think the distinguishing mark of the people of God and the day that we live in is a supernatural peace that will become so attractive to people in the world that we won't even have to preach to them they will see our peace and they will want to meet the author of the giver of peace the Prince of Peace whose name is Jesus and so in this season I've been asking God to start me spinning in the right direction even the way I start my day I need to start my day spinning in the right direction you know I really don't need to read the news within the first 30 minutes that I'm awake and by the way there are certain people that I don't need to talk to for the first hour I'm at work because they might start me spinning tell somebody stop spinning and learn what the flower learned if I stay planted learn what the bird learned if I stay above it then my God will supply all my needs let's give Him praise for it today come on give him a good praise like you think He deserves Matthews give Him the praise you think He's worthy of how I've proved him 'ore and 'ore Jesus Jesus precious Jesus Oh for grace now listen how many of you would say everyone's standing now no one leaving please how many would say I am a world-class worrier like I am an Olympic level worrier those of you here if you could stand I'm about to pray for people thank you I'm a worrier wave at me if you're a world-class worrier like they need to write a front page Sports Illustrated about good news good news if you are a world-class worrier you have the potential to become a world-class worshiper because worship is worry in reverse come on spin around one good time if you know God's got this I'm not looking at tomorrow worried about it I will be confident in this that I will see goodness of the Lord come on take a good spin man if you can stay please stay I want to pray a blessing over you when you start with God you end with God and the situation that you're facing today is not necessarily going to lift or remove but the second circle is what God is already doing and I just thought it'd be good to join our faith together today you know I really want to treasure these moments to minister and that's why I've been asking hey if you don't have to leave if nothing is like gonna burn your house or anything like that while we're in here please stay with us because sometimes you hear the word but you don't seal it and you just let the devil take it just take it just take it you just let him take your take your word and snatch it and snatch it snatch it back snatch it back this is a moment for you to take your peace back this is a moment for you to take your focus back and I want to pray for that but peace only comes through correct priorities it's not a feeling it's a sense of ordering your life Jesus said if you build your life on the right foundation you can withstand any storm and I just feel today that as I've been ministering the Spirit of the Lord has been translating my feeble attempts to get this message preached but putting it in the exact frame where you need to see what God is doing in your life and I want to ask you today if you have been spinning around trying to solve things in your own strength and you want to steel your heart in the presence of God one thing I love to do is lift my hands to my Father in heaven would you do that right now and close your eyes oh you of little faith when you have a Father who knows how to feed you you don't have to run to the world for scraps you have a Father who knows what you need you can trust your deepest desires are being met in each moment greater than the breath that we breathe greater than the song that we sing the grace of God is in this moment Holy Spirit I thank you for this ministry that has gone forth today I ask that you would now enable it to become active in our lives that not only would we be hearers of the word but doers also and that this week you would show us how to how to reverse instead of starting with what's wrong what's missing what's not what's gone we would start with who you are and that the peace of God that transcends all understanding would guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus hey thanks for watching the Elevation Church YouTube channel if you enjoyed this message take a minute click the subscribe button on your screen that way you won't miss a single video and if this ministry has impacted you and you'd like to partner with us to continue to reach others you can click the link in the description below to give now thanks again for watching and don't forget to subscribe

Channel: Elevation Church

Views: 1,106,601

Rating: 4.9086738 out of 5

Keywords: elevation church, pastor steven furtick, elevation church steven furtick, furtick steven, stephen furtick, elevation church reverse your worry, pastor steven furtick reverse your worry, reverse your worry, gamechanger, gamechanger elevation church, gamechanger steven furtick, gamechanger reverse your worry

Id: yIrjgi2JJ3Y

Length: 41min 23sec (2483 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 12 2018