Yielding to God’s Cleanup Plan

Transcript

Week 5, the final week, of the series D.I.R.T.Y. Transcribed from the service recording and lightly edited for readability.

Welcome: Concluding D.I.R.T.Y.

This week we're concluding the series D.I.R.T.Y.: confronting the sins that pollute our character and cloud our witness. This week we're talking about yielding: surrendering to God's cleanup plan.

Romans 12:1–2

This morning's scripture is Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2. If you've hung out with me long enough, you know I'm kind of fond of this scripture:

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

How Do We Clean All This Up?

We've looked at all these sins, these things we call dirt, and how they affect our lives and get in the way of our relationship with God. So this week we're going to look at how we fix it all. How do we clean up this situation so that we can live 100 percent all out, sold out for God?

Trying to Clean What Won't Get Clean

So let me ask you: have you ever tried to clean something that just wouldn't get clean? You had that mirror that, no matter how much you wiped it, still had streaks. Something was smeared on it, and you couldn't get it clean. Or have you ever been so dirty, say you played in the mud, that every time you looked around you found another spot that wasn't quite clean?

Here's the problem: we're always trying to clean ourselves. Instead, today we need to yield to God and allow God to clean up the situation.

Yielding Begins With a Willing Heart

Let's jump right into it. Yielding begins with a willing heart.

There's the prophet Isaiah, and God called him to do some weird stuff. But one of the things he had to do was yield. He had to say, "Here I am, God. I'm willing to go wherever You send me. I'm willing to step up and take the assignment." The question is, are we willing to step up and take the assignment? Sometimes we don't, because we're looking at ourselves and wondering what we're capable of.

But yielding starts when we're aware of who God is and who we are not. So often we look at ourselves and wonder, "Why is He calling me to this? I'm not capable of doing this." And you're in good company, because character after character in the Bible went through the same thing: "Why are You talking to me, God? You must have the wrong one." But God says, "Just allow Me to use you, and I'm going to take you places you've never been."

God Wants You Available, Not Perfect

We think we have to be perfect, but God doesn't care if you're perfect. He just wants you to be available.

My boys back here play sports. In sports, when you're sitting on the bench, you're like, "Put me in, coach. Put me in, coach." Why? Because you want to play. You want to get in the game. But how many of us are sitting on the sidelines of life, and God says, "Just be available. Just let Me put you in the game." Your skills might not be all there. You might not be fully qualified, but it doesn't matter. Just be willing to let Him put you in the game.

Holiness begins with a clean heart, not a polished image.

"This Ain't What I'm Looking For, but It's What I Need"

A lot of us look at our résumés and say, "There's stuff on my résumé that doesn't fit. I'm not qualified for this job. I don't have the right accolades, the right school, the right positions." But God is saying, "Just fill out your résumé. Just put in your application. Just step up and show up."

This happened to me once. When I was out of work and applying for jobs, I applied for a job I wasn't qualified for. I thought, "I'm just going to put my résumé in anyway." And when the guy got my résumé, he said, "This ain't what I'm looking for, but this is what I need."

Y'all didn't hear me. "This ain't what I'm looking for, but this is what I need." Some of us don't put ourselves out there because we don't think we're qualified, but some people don't even know what they need until they see what you've got. If God says go, go.

The Yield Sign

But we think we've got this thing figured out. Look at this traffic sign. Some of y'all can't drive, but this sign is very important. It's the same color as a stop sign, but it doesn't function like a stop sign. A stop sign means you've got to stop. This one says yield: pause, slow down, observe the situation, and figure out where you fit in.

Some of us are just pressing on the gas. Just on the gas. Others are just on the brake, wondering, "God, when am I going to get there?" Take your foot off the brake and go, but slow down enough for Him to guide you in exactly where He needs you. With a yield sign, sometimes you have to stop, and sometimes you just need to slow down enough to pay attention and get in where you fit in.

Yielding Requires a Renewed Mind

Here's the next thing: yielding requires a renewed mind. That's what Paul says in Romans: be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The spiritual transformation we're about to go through starts with the unlocking of your mind.

A lot of us are believing lies right now, and those lies are what's holding us back. This word is the holy truth from God. We say we believe it, but our actions don't match up. Why?

Depression, Anxiety and Focusing on Myself

I've said this time and time again: I've struggled with depression. I struggle with anxiety. But here's the thing. My struggle with those things happens when I focus on myself and not God.

I get depressed when I'm focusing on past struggles I haven't been able to overcome. I struggle with anxiety when I'm focusing on the future. Either way, I'm not yielding to the will of God. But when I slow down and get in tune with the Creator of the universe, when I yield to His will and His way, I allow Him to transform my mind. I let Him get in there and tinker with what's going on in my head.

Transformation Needs a Renewed Mindset

You cannot walk in transformation with a conformed mindset. What do I mean? When I'm conformed to this world, when I think the way this world thinks, I cannot walk in transformation.

Help me, Holy Ghost. But when I have faith in what this word says, I walk differently. When things are going wrong in your life that seem contradictory to where God is taking you, being reminded of what He's promised you gives you strength to press on. When I'm broke and don't have any money in my pocket, I can still walk knowing God has called me to be a lender and not a borrower. "God, I don't know how You're going to do this, but it's going to happen."

When I'm struggling with whatever anxiety is going on for me, I have to put it aside and say, "God, You have called me. I am a child of the King. You own the cattle on a thousand hills. You have everything I need. You said You've got stuff with my name on it. So I'm going to keep walking in faith, claiming that I already have the victory."

When your mind gets in tune with God's will, life is going to change for you. That's why they call it walking by faith: you've got to believe it's already there. It's already coming. And the cool thing is that when you start seeing people around you get blessed, you can say, "Cool, I'm one step closer. I was 999th on the list; now I'm 998th."

As long as God is in the blessing business, it should be evident He's going to come through for you. And if He's not, you can call God on it. "God, You said You were going to do this. Where are You? God, You said You're not a liar. Why do I feel like You're lying to me right now?" Oh, okay. I guess I can't say that. Okay.

Repentance Begins in the Mind

Repentance begins in the mind before it shows up in your habits.

The Prodigal Son Came to His Senses

Take the prodigal son. This dude was so mad at his daddy that he basically said, "I wish you were dead. Matter of fact, let's act like you are. Give me my inheritance now. I want my bread now, and I'm going to go do what I want to do."

And his dad said, "Okay." That seems kind of crazy to me. He didn't push back; he gave him his inheritance. The son went out and lived lavishly until it all ran out. Then he had to work and slave just to make ends meet. He was hungry, feeding pigs, and he said, "Wait a second. My daddy's servants eat better than this. My daddy takes care of his people better than this. I'm going to go home and be one of my daddy's servants."

But it happened when his mind got right. Luke 19... no, wrong one. Luke 15:17 says:

When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I'm dying here with hunger!"

When he came to his senses: when his mind got right. His mind was off when he told his daddy he wished he were dead. His mind was off when he had all that bread and was spending it however he wanted, buying everything he wanted, doing everything he wanted. Some of us are in bad situations because God knows He needs to get our mind right. "Why am I in this dark place? Why am I in what seems like the pit of hell?" Because your mind ain't right.

Stuck in the Roundabout

Instead of a yield sign, some places have these things called roundabouts. In a roundabout, you just go in a circle, and you can keep going in a circle as long as you want until your mind gets right and you figure out how to get out.

Here's the thing about the roundabout: the person in the roundabout has 100 percent control. All the roads going into it say yield, which means you have to wait until it's clear. And some of you are in the roundabout because you want complete control of your life. Yes, you're going as fast as you want to go. You have control of every situation. But the reality is, you ain't going nowhere.

How many of us have gone through the same situation year after year? Found ourselves in the same place, the same struggle, the same depression, the same brokenness, the same self-doubt, hating the same job year after year? Why? Because you think you're in complete control, and God is going to let you go around that roundabout until you realize you have to yield and get out.

Let God Retrain Your Thinking

Yielding means letting God retrain your thinking before He redirects your footsteps. I always used to wonder why I see stuff funny, why I don't see things the way everybody else does. But God is saying, "I'm showing you some weird stuff so you can train other people to see things differently," because how God sees things is nowhere close to how we see things.

Yielding Produces Lasting Transformation

Yielding produces lasting transformation: not partial transformation, not temporary transformation, but lasting transformation.

Zacchaeus Ran Ahead

I read this story and it triggered something for me. There was a dude named Zacchaeus, a tax collector back in the day. Tax collectors were known for being crooked. They overtaxed people and did all kinds of things. Zacchaeus heard Jesus was in town and wanted to see Him, so he ran ahead and climbed up a tree to get a view of Jesus.

Afterward, Jesus says, "Zacchaeus, I'm going to your house today. We're going to have dinner." And we see the transformation of Zacchaeus' life. I always thought the transformation didn't happen until Jesus said, "Zacchaeus, I'm going to your house." But I just realized the transformation had already taken place.

It says Zacchaeus ran and climbed up a tree. His mind was already changed. Jesus already had him. What does that say to Christ chasers? If you're running to get a peek at Jesus, He's already got you.

But if you're sitting there thinking, "Hope this man preaches something good today. Hope he talks about something," you've lost already. The Psalm says, "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise." That means come here already on fire. When you come here not hoping I'm going to preach something but knowing God is going to say something, your life is going to get changed. It starts here. You've got to expect God to do something in your life.

Mailbox Money

Every day I go to the mailbox, I sing my song: "Mailbox money, mailbox money, mailbox money." Why? Because I want some mailbox money. Mailbox money is money coming in the mail that you don't even expect. You aren't even looking for it. You don't know why it's there, but for some reason there's money in the mailbox. My check is direct deposit, so if I go to the mailbox and get some mailbox money, that's blessing on top of blessing on top of blessing.

We have to expect God to do awesome things for us. I told y'all a few months ago that the land next door is going to be given to us. I expect it. I don't know who's going to buy it or who's going to sign it over. I don't know any of that, and I don't care. I just know God said it's ours, so it's ours, and I have to operate like that's true. Get your mind made up: "God, this is what You're going to do for me." And He will do it.

The TV Show

Okay, let me give y'all one more, and then I'm going to sit down. I told y'all a few months ago that I wrote a TV show. I didn't tell y'all much because it might get rejected, and it did. It's been rejected twice: by NBC and by Netflix. But it's in my spirit that Netflix is going to call me back. Netflix is going to pick up the show at some point.

In the meantime, I'm writing another one. I'm going to work on some more stuff. I'm going to write another book. I'm not waiting on that, because I know it's already done. I don't have to pray about it anymore. I don't have to ask God about it anymore. I just have to wait for it to happen, because my mind's made up. He said He's going to do it, so He's going to do it. I don't have to keep whining, "But God, when are You going to do this?"

Instead it's, "God, what am I supposed to do until it happens?" That's where I'm operating from. "God, what am I supposed to do until I get this land over here?" He said, "Fill up the building. Keep preaching the uncompromising gospel. Figure out how to help people change their lives."

Tell Your Friends to Come

Ooh, I said I wasn't going to say this today, but I'm going to go ahead and say it. Y'all need to tell your friends to come to this church, and I'm going to tell you why.

Everybody in here is going to be debt-free. Everybody in here is going to see God miraculously moving in their lives. If you're addicted to something, it's going to be released. Why? Because I told you at the beginning, I don't play fair. I called my Daddy and said, "Daddy, this is what You've got to do. You've got to show people You're actively working in their lives. I know the Old Testament talks about all the things You did, and in the New Testament Jesus was physically present doing all these miracles. You're going to do miracles here, and people are going to see their lives fully transformed."

And if you bring them and it doesn't happen, cool beans. I'm not afraid of it not happening. But I promise you, I know how my God works. My God transforms lives. Let people come and see whether it happens. I believe there are people waiting for you to invite them, waiting to see their lives awakened.

Because I promise you one thing I'm not going to do: I'm not going to lie to any of the people you bring here. I might hurt their feelings. I might tell them the truth. But I'm not going to lie to them. This Christian walk is about to be unlocked. And when it unlocks, you'll have more battles, more struggles, more fights, more wars than you ever imagined. But guess what? We're going to be living life.

Yielding Is What Makes You Clean

You don't have to clean yourself before you yield. Yielding is what makes you clean.

We're all trying to get done up, trying to take a bath before we come to church. God says, "You can't clean yourself." It's like wiping that mirror: you don't know what oil is on it, there's something on there you just can't seem to get off. The reason your life isn't quite clean, no matter how much elbow grease you use, is that it's the blood of Jesus that cleans your life. You're washing with the wrong stuff. You're washing with soap when you need to be washing with the blood.

When God Gets Your Heart, He Gets Your Habits

When God gets your heart, He also gets your habits. I know some people here who can testify to that. When you gave God your heart, there were things you didn't think you'd ever be able to stop doing that you just can't do anymore. It doesn't even feel right. You try it and it's like, "This just doesn't feel right anymore."

You want to go to the club and ball out, but once you're in there it's kind of weird: "Why are these people acting like this? I guess I'll just go home and sit in front of my TV, because this just doesn't feel right anymore." Why? Because God gives you the desires of your heart. God gives you desires for things you never thought you'd even want.

Stopping for a Student

I've told y'all I really don't like people. I don't care for people. I had a conversation the other day, and somebody said, "You're always around people. You like people?" No. But when I'm operating in my giftedness and my calling, I can enjoy being around people, having conversations, talking with them. Why? Because when I yield, I pause myself long enough to step out of myself and let God use me.

The other day, one of my students looked like they were going through something. I stopped and had a conversation, and the first thing they said was, "You don't want to hear my problems." I said, "Dang, then I'm a horrible pastor. Baby, thank God. This is my job. This is what I'm here for." So we stopped and talked, and I made a point of checking in with them the next week, because I was really concerned and wanted to make sure I'd given them good advice.

That's nothing but an act of God, because that ain't me. That isn't naturally me. That's God saying, "Do this." "Okay, if You say so." That's yielding. Despite what you want to do, you say, "Okay, God, if You say so."

Throw Your Nets on the Other Side

After Jesus died on the cross and was laid in the tomb, the disciples went back to what they normally did: fishing. They were out on the boat fishing all night and caught nothing. Then some random stranger standing on the beach said, "Throw your nets on the other side."

It's the wrong time of day. There aren't any fish in this water. "We dragged these nets all night." They didn't have fishing poles; they had nets, and they just dragged them. You'd think they'd catch something. They hadn't caught anything.

And Jesus says, "Throw that net back in." They threw it back in and caught so many fish. I'm sure when He said it, they recognized that voice: "That's the Messiah. Go ahead, do whatever He says."

And here's the crazy part. After they caught all those fish, they had a meal, and then they went on their way. It happened twice: the first time Jesus called His disciples, and the last time He told them to throw their nets in. I believe Jesus was setting up their families to be taken care of, because the disciples weren't going to be there. They had to go on the mission God gave them. All those fish meant the family business could take care of the whole family while they were on mission for Jesus.

Y'all are worried about how the people in your lives are going to be taken care of. You're worried about the wrong thing. All you have to focus on is what Jesus tells you to do, and Jesus is going to take care of it all. "But how am I going to do this? How am I going to do that?" Don't worry about any of that.

Because here's how crazy we are: all the stuff we're trying to take care of, everything we currently take care of, the only reason we can do it is because God gave us the gifts, talents, and ability to do it. So we've got to keep doing what He tells us to do so it can keep flowing.

Will We Yield?

Alright, alright, here we go. Let me read the conclusion I wrote, and then I'm going to my seat.

We spent this series talking about deception, insecurity, resentment, and temptation. Now we stand at the crossroads. Will we keep cleaning ourselves with stained hands, or will we finally yield to the One who can make us truly clean? Paul didn't call us to just behave better. He called us to present ourselves, body, mind, and soul, as a living sacrifice.

A living sacrifice. What's a sacrifice? It was the gift they put on the altar to give away, a pleasing aroma in God's sight. Cain and Abel had a falling out because one offering was better than the other. So what is your sacrifice? It's not half an offering. It's not part-time surrender. It's full surrender: "God, all I have belongs to You."

So what are you going to do? Are you going to yield to God and allow Him to transform your life from the inside out?

Weekly Challenge

This week's challenge:

Reflect: Where in my life am I resisting God's control: my thoughts, my time, my desires, or my direction?

Act: Take one bold step of obedience this week. Say yes where you've been saying later.

Pray: "Lord, I surrender not just my sins, but my plans, my preferences, and my pride. Transform me from the inside out."

Closing Prayer

Most gracious and heavenly Father, we come before You today saying thank You. Lord, thank You for all that You're doing in and through our lives. Father God, I pray that as we surrender to You, You take us to places we've never even imagined. Father God, we love You and praise You. In Jesus' name. Amen.