Everything we keep in our house, that doesn't belong there, takes energy; so what are we giving energy to today, that is taking energy away from the most important things?
If I looked at your list - at the most important people in your life, and the thing you're called to do; if you take that list, and only you can do this - take that list, and then look at your calendar. Look at your diary. Look at your schedule.
Does your schedule reflect that list? If it doesn't - you're choking. The worries of this life, and the deceitfulness of wealth, have got you; and it's choking the word of God out of a good-hearted person's life.
Can I give you just like one exercise to do? This is so cool, and if you were in my office, it would cost you $120 an hour; but this is free.
Everybody's got their piece of paper? This is part of our altar call - if you're really spiritual, and you need to think of it as an ‘altar call’, then think of it that way, okay? The altar call is starting - let me just get holy okay - altar call's starting. Here's form and function...
I want you to take your piece of paper. This is so therapeutic, this is going to help you so much, and I just want to deal with the worries of this life. The deceitfulness of wealth is something that takes some time to develop, but the worries of this life...
I want you to take five minutes; and I want you to list out everything you're worried about right now.
Don't think too hard! Man, some of you are writing fast, good Lord! I'm only kidding...
The worries of this life - what are you worried about right now? Money? Bills? Marriage? Whether your dad likes you or not? Whether Cooder Montgomery (at work) thinks you're doing a good job? What are you worried about right now?
Where do the worries of this life have a hold? Please don't think of this as ‘admitting you're wrong’, or something like that. This is just getting in touch with an emotion that you might not have touched - the ‘worries of this life’.
It's such an important emotion. It's the first thing Jesus mentions, of what keeps the word of God out of our life. Where are you worried? Maybe a way to identify it is: when you're here; but you're actually there - what is ‘there’?
You know for pastors sometimes, sometimes I'm in one place, and I'm already thinking about what God needs to do in the next. That's worry. God can handle that. He's like really big, and I'm really small. I'm a really small shot, and a big shot lives in me.
Below that list, I want you to write two columns. The first column is: things I can do something about; and the other list is: things I can't do anything about. Now look through your list and categorise it.
Category #1 is: things I can do something about - for instance, if you're worried about finances, and you don't have a job, then getting a job would be something you could do something about.
Things you could do something about, and things you can't. For those things you could do something about, let me just go Joyce Meyer on you for a second okay.
Joyce Meyer impersonation: “Shut up, quit complaining, get off your behind and do something about it! Make a plan of action, put that plan of action into place, and go and do likewise; and if you can't make a plan of action, go sit with someone who can help you make a plan of action. Put that plan of action into place, and go and do likewise”.
Or I could go Joel Osteen on you: “You're a champion! God loves you! You don't let that list get in your head, and get you all negative. You tell that list to go on back to hell, where it came from. Me and Victoria, we was talking the other day about what daddy used to say about y'all, and he wouldn't tell you to worry about your list. He'd tell you to do something about it! Think positive, and be a champion!”