A Carrot Was Dangled to Make Her Give Up Her Salvation (Alternate Recording)

Sermon outline

God called you before you were born, so do not trade your salvation for whatever is dangled in front of you: yield to the Holy Spirit, speak in faith, refuse fear, and God's favour and promotion will restore more than you gave up.

1. Called before the womb, and the carrot of the inheritance

   God called you and set you apart before you were born, and made every person in His image, whatever their religion or culture. When she came to Christ out of a Muslim home, already married to a Hindu policeman, her father told her she would inherit nothing. She never looked back, and over the years her family reconciled with her. About ten years after her father died, the property was sold and every child, saved or unsaved, received a share.

   Illustration: The chairs they are sitting on in the studio come from her father's home. They are over sixty years old and have been refurbished: inheritance from a Muslim home, given to her.

   “So never think when a carrot is being dangled in front of you, that you should give up your salvation. You stick with God and the decision to serve God.”

   • Jeremiah 1:5
   • Ephesians 1:4
   • Jeremiah 29:11
   • Genesis 1:26-27
   • Genesis 19:26
   • Joel 2:25

2. Three in one: the Holy Spirit is the power to live this life

   People from her background ask how Christians can serve three gods. She explains the Father as the Father, the Son as the light that comes from Him and the Holy Spirit as the warmth of its rays. Jesus is the vine and the Father the farmer; the Holy Spirit is sent from the Father's presence to empower us. That is why going to church matters: faith comes by hearing, and the Spirit takes the word and brings out knowledge for every circumstance.

   Illustration: The sun, its light and the warmth of its rays: three, and yet one.

   “This Christian walk is not a religion, it's a lifestyle.”

   • 2 Corinthians 5:21
   • John 15:1-5
   • John 16:7
   • John 15:26
   • Ephesians 3:20
   • Hosea 4:6
   • Luke 4:16
   • Acts 3:1-2
   • Hebrews 10:25
   • Romans 10:17
   • Hebrews 4:12

3. Favour is the glory of God on you

   Favour is not a Christian catchphrase but the glory of God on a person, causing them to go forward, be noticed and have influence. They started poor but did not stay poor, and if you have been a Christian for twenty years with no change, the problem is not God or His word. Jesus cursed the fig tree to show the disciples the power in their mouths, and the same power that raised Christ lives in you.

   “We were poor. But we didn't stay poor.”

   • Luke 2:52
   • Psalm 1:3
   • Mark 11:12-14
   • Romans 8:11
   • Proverbs 16:3
   • Psalm 37:23

4. Speak to the crates: the power of your tongue

   From the back yard of their first home she looked over an industrial area at a company's red crates and said, 'Lord, that is where I want to work.' That same week a man from that company walked into her office and asked whether she was looking for a job. She did not get the post she interviewed for, partly because she said too much, but was offered reception, was promoted within eight months and stayed twenty-six years, into senior management. She worked as if she owned the company and learned every machine.

   Illustration: Her salary went from sixty rand a month to six hundred and then six thousand, and her employer paid for the degree her father had refused to fund.

   “I called forth the job at that place.”

   • Romans 4:17
   • Matthew 6:33
   • 1 Corinthians 1:30
   • Revelation 1:6
   • Ecclesiastes 8:4
   • Job 22:28

5. Yield, and God will promote you

   She and Pastor RJ had very different, strong personalities, and she says only Jesus kept them married. There is a law of submission like the law of gravity: the more she gave in, the more ground she gained, and the more doors opened at work. God is training you for reigning, so do your best where you are. Grace works with the peace of God; when a deal looks perfect but there is no peace inside, there is no grace to go forward. Pastor Wesley adds that losing his own business was five years of proofing that brought him into his calling.

   Illustration: Walking with God is not popcorn in the microwave, ready in three minutes. First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn.

   “The more I gave in, the more ground I gained.”

   • Isaiah 55:8
   • 1 Corinthians 2:16
   • Ephesians 2:6
   • Matthew 18:18
   • Romans 12:3
   • 1 Corinthians 6:12
   • Mark 4:28
   • Ecclesiastes 3:1

6. Fear is a person, and you can cast it out

   The enemy fights those carrying destiny. She recalls each of her sons nearly losing his life as a small boy, Wesley in a swimming pool and Adrian in a rusted water tank, and God's protection both times. Fear followed her even after she was born again and speaking in tongues, and for years she suffered a bladder problem that doctors could not explain. Every time fearful thoughts came she said, 'In the name of Jesus, fear, I cast you out', and the problem left without anyone laying hands on her. Fear is a prison; learn to laugh at yourself.

   Illustration: When Wesley was about three he jumped into a pool thinking he could swim, and a gardener cleaning it held out the pool scoop and pulled him out. Years later Adrian, chasing a ball at the coast, was found clinging inside a rusted tin water tank, and his father had to pull the metal apart to free him.

   “But it can never bite you unless you allow it.”

   • Psalm 91:11
   • 2 Timothy 1:7
   • Psalm 27:1
   • 1 John 4:18
   • Mark 5:36
   • 1 Peter 5:8

7. Failure is a pit stop, not a destination

   When David's child died, he washed, changed his clothes and moved on. The righteous fall seven times and rise again. Change the tyres, reconfigure and keep going, and lay down what is in your hands so God can give you more.

   “Don't make failure your destination. It's just a pit stop.”

   • Proverbs 24:16

In this message