Embracing Surrender: Finding Identity and Wisdom in Christ

And today we are in the book of Habakkuk, the prophet Habakkuk, and the Book of James. So if you have your physical Bible or you have your smartphone, I want you to turn to Habakkuk chapter 2, verse 18, and then hold your place because I need you to go to James chapter 3, verses 13 through 15.

I'm going to be reading out of the NLT.

So Habakkuk 2:18: "Oh, what value or what good is an idol carved by man or a cast image that deceives you? How foolish to trust in your own creation, a God that can't even talk."

So we're talking about idols today. And then when you read in James chapter 3, verses 13 to 15, we're talking about what is genuine wisdom.

So if you are wise, if you are wise and understand God's ways, James says, "Alright then, prove it. Prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."

But if you are bitter, jealous, and there is selfish ambition hidden in your heart that you don't even know is there, the Holy Ghost is going to uncover that today. Don't cover up the truth. Say, "You got me, Lord. You got me. It's me."

With boasting and lying, for jealousy and selfishness are not God's wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.

So we tend to think that idolatry is like literally bowing down to a golden statue in an ancient temple or praying to a wooden trinket. And since we don't do these things, we assume, "Ah, I don't have any idols. I'm good. Bye, have a good day."

But we are going to uncover what exactly is an idol that's in our lives.

So an idol is when something or someone becomes more important to us than God. Even good things can become idols. Anyone or anything can become an idol if we place the value of that thing or person above our value for God.

John Piper says it this way, and I love this description: "It starts in the heart." Tell your neighbor, "It starts in the heart."

Craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God—that's an idol.

Paul calls this covetousness. Do I love or treasure anything or anyone more than God? Do I prioritize anything or anyone before God? Does anything bring me more pleasure than the things of God?

Do I place my identity in anything over my status as a child of God? Do I look to anything or anyone to meet my needs instead of God? Do I seek fulfillment or satisfaction from anything outside of God? Do I seek comfort outside of God?

I think about our identity. Our identity has become an idol. It's a spirit of abandonment that's causing us to abandon Christ and then adapt to the identity of the world.

So we've allowed the world to tell us who we are. And I think about the precious young kids that are here today. You may have allowed the world to tell you who you are, and that's a much heavier burden to carry—your identity in school, your position at work, your abilities, your skills, the social media following, your achievements, your accolades that you're longing for.

Your identity is not in these things of the world. But actually, I got good news for you: your identity in Christ is not based on your education, economic worth, or social status, but in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Now that'll be a mic drop right there. [Applause] Amen!

So that takes the stress off, doesn't it? The burden—your identity is in your relationship with Him. He knows your name, and as long as He knows your name, that's all that matters.

The Bible says in Psalms 5:12 that the favor of the Lord goes before me and surrounds me as a shield. So as long as Jesus knows my name, I don't have to measure up to what nobody says—how I look, how I act, how I conduct myself. As long as Jesus knows my name, He'll open up every door for me. All I gotta do is wait. Wait on Him, and He'll do it.

So we've gotta ask the Holy Spirit, "Have I traded my identity for the world?"

We look in Daniel 11:32: "Those who know their God intimately." Do you know Him intimately? Because He says you are marked for great exploits. That means when you've been marked for Jesus, baby, and you know Him intimately, He's going to open up every door.

He's going to cause your purpose and destiny to be fulfilled. You don't have to hook up with this person or that person or try to think you gotta do anything special for the boss. Baby, God will do it all by Himself.

And ain't nobody gonna be seen but Jesus. You ain't gotta sleep with your boss. You don't have to stay late. You do—if you know Him intimately, God's gonna do great and mighty exploits.

I'm tired of the devil taking away these young kids' identity. Devil, you better back off! We send you back to the pit of hell. You will not steal their identity.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. He knows you when you rise and when you sit down. You were knitted in your mother's womb. You are not an accident. You don't have to perform for nobody. You know Jesus intimately, and that's all you need to worry about—your relationship with Him.

Your relationship, your relationship. So that means you gotta bow low. Now, your relationship—I want to know Him intimately.

There are some things I can't hear when I'm up here, but oh, when I start bowing low, oh, when I start humbling myself and I take myself off the throne and I begin to put Jesus on the throne and I bow low, then I can hear the things that I need to hear in the spirit.

So we gotta walk in a place of humility to know Him more intimately. Amen?

Now, this is not an easy word to preach. Mama Moses, General Moses, has to preach it today. But I need to know if y'all are still going to love me. [Applause]

So another idol is sex. Oh, I said it! I said it! I said it! You still love me?

Sex might be the only thing that we think about more than money. It's everywhere. It's a gift from God for marriage only, but Satan has perverted it.

And I can't tell you in deliverance on Wednesdays when I do deliverance on Zoom how many Christians—they love Jesus, but they've been so bound because that door has opened up to lust and perversion: pornography, adultery, masturbation. It's all about me, me, me—the self-gratification.

Wisdom will keep you out of the sexual bed. When you're walking in wisdom, it's going to keep you out of the bed. It's going to keep all these cones around you. I'm not going there.

You like me? Good! I got all these cones. You probably didn't see the tiara on my head. I am God's queen. So in case you didn't see that tiara, I'm just gonna make it known to you that I am God's queen.

And I'm living by this wisdom, and so I am going to wait until I marry. And if you don't like it, bye-bye! Don't let the door hit you.

Come on, we gotta know who we are. I'm feeling sassy today, and I got my Paris hat on. I've got my little outfit on. I had to say, "Mallory, is this approved?" And she said, "Yes." As long as it's Miss Mallory approved, then I'm okay.

But you know what? We gotta know who we are. And men, if there's that cute little girl, oh, and she's all cute but she just really likes you, you best say no!

You probably didn't see the king on my head. I'm a king for Jesus, and I'm living by wisdom. So I'm not gonna fall for those shenanigans. I'm gonna keep these doors closed.

In whatever way you need to keep it closed, wisdom will keep you out of the sexual bed, but you've got to submit and yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. You gotta do things that you wouldn't have done before, and you can do it too because Jesus believes in you.

What about career status? Have we made that an idol? It's not a crime to make your way up the ladder, to be the best in your field. That's great! And if you like doing what you know, like doing in that career, then yes, we want that.

But we have to ask ourselves: Does my career bring me more satisfaction than my relationship with God? Do I identify more as a girl boss than a child of God? Do I trust my employer to provide for my needs more than I trust God?

So here's what wisdom says in Proverbs 16:3: "Commit your work actions to the Lord, and He will establish your plans."

God will put the right plans, the ones according to His will, in your heart. His plans will become your plans, and then He will make sure that those plans succeed.

So put it in God's hands. Put your career in God's hands.

What about comfort? Have we traded comfort for an idol? Do I love the things that money can buy more than I love God? Do they bring me more joy than the things of the Lord?

Many times we struggle because when God calls us to do something and it's difficult, we want to stay in the comfort zone, and we want to say, "No, I'm not qualified."

Well, since when do you have to be qualified to do what God has called you to do? He calls the unqualified! Mic drop! He calls the unqualified!

So we are going to have to face trials and tests and persecution and difficulty, but we can't live in the boat. God is going to call us out of our comfort, out of the boat, and say, "Alright, walk on water."

"Me? Yes, you! You've been found faithful. Yeah, you! I see you praying. I see you reading your word. You're taking notes. You show up on time. You serve. Yep, you're qualified."

"But God, I don't feel like I can do this."

Good! I'm so glad you said that because then God says, "I'm going to do it through you. All you have to do is depend on Me. I'll do the rest."

So get out of your comfort. Make yourself available. You might be shaking in your knees, but that's okay. Yield to the Holy Spirit. Just yield and surrender and let Him do it through you.

What about money? Have we made money an idol? Having money, even incredible wealth, is great. That's a blessing from the Lord—to be wealthy and to have money and to have a savings account. That's good.

But 1 Timothy 6:10 says, "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil."

Do I love money excessively? Do I have to work 50-plus hours a week because I love money? Because I want the latest Gucci or Louis Vuitton? Or excuse me, I just can't walk into church in anything other than name brand? What would the people think?

My goodness! So do I love money and things? Do I trust money to meet my needs more than I trust God? Am I drawing a sense of stability from God or having a huge savings account?

And we got many Christians that come in, and they just tip God. "Dear God, I got 20 in my purse. You can have it. It ain't costing me nothing."

But David said, "I'm not going to give to the Lord that which costs me nothing."

God said, "Test me. Prove me because you robbed me."

Well, what do you mean, God? How have I robbed you?

"You robbed me in tithes and offerings because money is your god."

But God said, "If you'll let loose what's in your hand, I'm gonna let loose of what's in My hand."

And I can tell you one thing, Pastor Dean—you tell me if I'm right or wrong—can you outgive God? That man's a giver right there, and I have never seen his well run dry. Never!

You can't outgive God!

So we gotta get back to wisdom. Now, just because you have a whole lot of money but you're not a tither, you may not be keeping all that money. The enemy may steal it from you, but there is an investment in heaven.

Oh, that I'm so glad that I began to read in Malachi chapter 3 about giving my first fruits to the Lord. "God, you are the God of my money. It don't belong to me. It never belonged to me. I'm gonna yield and surrender to you and give you what is due you."

And then He releases all that we need because you can't outgive God.

And then what about our phones? Technology—we can't go five minutes without checking our phone. Who texted me? Who called me? Pinterest? Google? All of these things.

And yes, we love our phones. We gotta have them. But have we placed more value on it, and has it become an idol?

You know, our phones and computers and all those things are such a gateway for pornography, lust, and perversion.

So I want to ask you, what is your relationship with your phone? Have you placed it more value than God? Technology has become a competition for prayer. It is a distraction. It's like a stumbling block. It's an open door for other sins and other areas that we don't need to be in.

We need accountability. Psalms 101:3 says, "I will not set my eyes on anything that is worthless."

So we have to take accountability here and say, "God, where am I at in all of these things?"

You know, you can have an idol of appearance where all you're thinking about is getting the next muscle, the next cream to make you look a little bit more younger and not see those wrinkles. And you gotta have the best of clothing and all of these things.

They're not bad, but you gotta have a balance. But some people make this an idol.

And so we have to come to a place where we say, "Holy Spirit, have I made this an idol and not even realized it? Where am I at? Could I be giving more in the area where I need to give more that you're revealing to me rather than where I'm at right now?"

Jesus is more concerned about us fearing Him so that He can bless us with wisdom and knowledge.

James tells us there are two kinds of wisdom: the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below—that's demonic.

True wisdom can't be measured by the depth; it can be measured by the depths of a person's character.

So what does your character look like? Are there a lot of poopy diapers? So you know, are you a control freak? Are you trying to control your husband all the time? Are you trying to control your children, your household?

What does your character look like? Husbands, where are you at? Are you constantly slamming doors and angry and full of rage and not happy with where you're at and expecting maybe too much?

What is your character? Where are you at? We all have to give an account.

Many times we can just keep acting a certain way, and our spouse is like, "I can't change him. I don't know what to do."

And we don't even care what other people think because of the way that we're acting all the time, and we're refusing to change.

And so we act like a toddler—a two-year-old toddler. And there's so much immaturity in the church. There's so much toddler-ism.

And God is not desiring that we stay that way. He wants us to mature and go to the next level.

You know, I say, "God, I want to come up higher and higher. I want to go to the nations and preach. I want to do all that you call me to do because there's greatness locked up inside of my belly."

So whatever you need to do, do a Jeremiah 18:1-4. I give you permission to break me, shape me, prune me, and cut me. Whatever you need to do with me, I give you permission.

I'm gonna lay myself on that operating table. But see, that doesn't work for some Christians.

"Oh, well, we don't need to do all that. She's a little crazy for me. I'm just gonna sit in my nice little boat. I'm gonna go back and forth. Yes, Lord, yes, Lord."

But God's calling you to greatness. He called you by name. You got a purpose and a destiny written all over you, and He wants to use you to do great and mighty exploits.

So you know what? I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy.

Don't cover up the truth with boasting and lying, foolishness, jealousy, selfishness, gossip, discord, conflict. These are not God's wisdom.

Don't assume that you are wise because assuming is the lowest form of knowledge. The only one that could know is the Holy Spirit.

Because Jeremiah said, "Oh, wait, hold up! We think that our heart is so good, but we have to ask the Holy Spirit, 'Wow, what does my heart really look like?'"

And a lot of Christians, they don't want to do that because they don't want to know. "I do not want to know."

But the ones that are the wild ones, the ones that they know that they've been anointed and appointed to do great things for God, they're gonna lay post right at the altar and they're gonna say, "God, I give you permission to go in every room of my heart. Show me what's in there. I may not even know. I may think that I'm all good and a bag of chips, but God, I need you to search my heart. Show me where I'm jealous. Show me where I'm envious. God, it may hurt. I might cry.

"God, I'm desperate. I want to be the desperate one. If I gotta look like a fool, then let me look like a fool. I don't care. I want to go to the next level. God, I know that my life has purpose. My life is purpose. I'm not an accident.

"God, empty me out of me. I don't wanna walk around with pride and stubbornness and haughtiness and rebellion. God, clean me out. I'm ready. God, I want to apply the wisdom that you say is in your word for me.

"I don't want to keep walking around these cycles. I want to yield and surrender to you, Holy Spirit. I don't want to play no more games. My wife was right. My husband was right. This is how they truly see me."

And God is a wake-up call. Today is a wake-up call that we all—from the front to the back, baby—we all need to get up and say, "God, I'm gonna mark my way to the altar. If I'm not dead, then I'm not done. If I'm not dead, then I'm not done. I want to yield and surrender to you so that you can do your will in my life."

Wisdom helps us apply knowledge. Knowledge is having clarity of facts and truths, while wisdom is the practical ability to make consistently good decisions in life.

So that will become not only a hearer but a doer. Wisdom will keep you out of danger. It will break cycles in your life. Wisdom will get you the breakthrough and victory.

God wants us to know His wisdom so we can apply it and have the ability to handle life instead of life handling us.

Wisdom helps you make wise decisions that are beneficial not only for you but for others.

I like that person, man. Their life is so good for them. Well, I want to meet them. I want to talk to them. It's because they've been following the word. They've been taking time to get into the word.

And if you can't find time to pray or study your Bible, then you got a problem. It's called prioritization. God has to be number one.

He said, "I will have no other idols, no other gods before me." He's got to be number one. If you are anointed and appointed, then you've got to put Him first so that fire and that anointing can be released in you.

It's the word that you study that will make you wise. Wisdom helps you make decisions. That's why we have connect groups. That's why we have V1 Church—so that we can help you to become wise by the preaching of the word.

I love this: Psalms 119:98 says, "God's word makes you wiser than your enemies."

The enemy's fighting you all around, and you can't seem to find any release. He's chasing you down, but right here, this word—there's a wisdom. It will make you wiser than your enemies.

It will direct you. "I don't know what to think. I don't know what to say. I don't know how to act." Right here—this wisdom, wisdom, wisdom.

It will tell you where to go and what to do. It is life to you when you find it, and it will be health to your flesh.

And if you lack wisdom, God says, "Ask Me liberally, and I will give it to you."

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Don't be one of the foolish people.

So I want you to stand to your feet. Do not forsake wisdom. She will protect you. Love her, and she will watch over you.

For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

When you read things in the word and you're like, "Man, I don't know if I understand that," that's what the Holy Spirit is there for. He is your teacher, and He longs for you to come to Him intimately.

"Oh, you want help with that scripture? So glad you came to me. I'm so glad. Let me help you. No problem, no worries. Let me—I'm going to give you the secrets in the darkness. Oh yeah, I'm going to give you those secrets. No worries, I got you."

So I'm gonna open up this altar today. I didn't carry this word for nothing. I didn't carry this word for nothing. It has been a burden. I've been praying for Global, for all of the campuses.

I want you to come. Come, come! I want this altar to be flooded. You don't even have to have anyone lay hands on you if you don't want, but come close to the anointing.

How close to the anointing? And the Holy Spirit, where are the idols that I have hid in my heart? Where are the idols that I have not repented and renounced?

Show me, Holy Spirit. I yield and surrender to you. I open up my heart to you. I want to know wisdom and understanding and knowledge.

So Holy Spirit, empty out my belly and cause me to hunger and thirst for more of you and your righteousness.

Here I am. I know I have a purpose. I know I have a destiny. I know I've been marked. I know there's greatness locked up in my belly.

I surrender. I say, "Holy Spirit, come."

I will do a Jeremiah 1-4. Come on, come, come, come!