God has begun a good work in us but He is not through,” said Rob Jackson, pastor of Central Baptist Church, Decatur.
Developing the third of three convention themes revolving around “together,” Jackson shared his message out of Philippians 1:6 with the state convention Nov. 16.
“In the passage, the church at Philippi was growing, excited, had a passion for Him and was involved in missions sending and giving to the apostle Paul,” he said. “Paul [tells the church], ‘I am confident you will finish the race because God has placed His hand upon you and it was He that is doing this.’
“The same I believe is true for us (as Alabama Baptists),” Jackson noted. “God who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.”
To do this, “we must”
• remember,
• reflect and
• revitalize.
“We must remember how God began a good work in us,” he said, taking the audience back to the beginning days of the state when the fertile soil and warm climate enticed people to settle in the area.
This was the 1800s, when people were coming out of the second Great Awakening and had an expectancy of God, Jackson noted. “They had evangelism and missions at the core of their being.”
But when many were choosing between the two, Alabama Baptists came together and “the anti-missions movement was drowned out.”
“God began to move in the Alabama Baptist State Convention like a mighty tsunami,” he said. “Alabama was turned upside down because we came together.”
Alabama Baptists didn’t stop there, however. They helped form the Southern Baptist Convention and took missions global. “Missions and evangelism were at the very forefront of everything we did.
“The work God has called us to do is a good work,” Jackson said. “It’s not a work we can do on our own. It’s not a work where we argue over the color of the carpet or whether we have chandeliers or pipe organs or drums. … God has called us to … turn the world upside down for the glory of God.”
Reflecting on the work brings memories of Alabama Baptists’ leadership in ministering to Civil War soldiers and how 150,000 men gave their hearts to Christ through that effort.
Reflecting means understanding the amazing healing work done by God in China in 1929 that led to the Shandong revival and how a discouraged missionary team seeing only a handful of converts were inspired after more than 3,000 believers came out of one village during that time.
“God did a great work among Southern Baptists,” Jackson said. “It spread beyond Southern Baptists and Shandong province, so much so that revival began to shake the foundation of China. … Today there are 10,000 Chinese coming to faith in Jesus Christ every single day. … When we got our hearts right … a country was changed. … What is keeping us today from seeing this revival?”
He described glimpses of this type of transforming faith with his family and in his church. “We see it in pockets,” he said.
“God wants us to remember what He started with Alabama Baptists in changing this world and reflect upon the good works He’s done in your life,” Jackson said. “But then He wants us to revitalize together.
“God is looking for … a convention to say, … ‘Here are we; use us for your glory,” he said. But “we have to come together in expectant faith … bodacious evangelism and missions … and radical leadership.
“As we come together as people in faith, God begins to overflow in our lives and people begin to hear of Jesus Christ and … want to experience … a living Lord.” (TAB)
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