Junior Hill challenged those at the Alabama Baptist State Convention Evangelism Conference to be fishermen like the disciples of Jesus.
But Hill, speaking at the annualevangelism conference Jan. 24-25 in Dothan, warned Baptists not to make the same mistakes the disciples did.
“Just because you believe the Bible doesn’t mean you’re going to catch fish,” he said.
Hill was one of three Alabama evangelists speaking at the conference.
Harper Shannon, retired director of evangelism with the State Board of Missions, said Monday that only One is worthy to approach God’s throne of judgment. Speaking prior to Hill on Tuesday morning, Glenn Graham Jr., senior pastor of East Memorial Baptist Church, Pratt-ville, said Christians must proclaim the gospel to a lost world.
Reading from Luke 5:1, Hill said the passage is a story most pastors can identify with.
Hill said that last year in the Southern Baptist Convention, more than 10,000 Southern Baptist churches did not baptize any one.
“No, that is not an unusual thing, because we’ve always had thousands of churches that did not baptize anybody,” Hill said, “but to my knowledge, that is the first time in the history of this convention where that number has been so phenomenal — over 10,000 churches that did not baptize one single, solitary person.”
The statistic led Hill to do some calculations. If all the churches have a Sunday morning and evening service and the pastor preaches twice on Sunday, “then last year, in the Southern Baptist Convention, over one million, forty-thousand sermons were preached and nobody was saved.”
“If they sang four songs in the morning and four at night,” Hill continued, “they sang over four million songs and nobody got saved.”
If giving was only a minimum of $300 each week, he said the 10,000 churches gave in excess of $156 million.
“All of that effort and not one single person baptized,” Hill said. “So, when we read about these men who had fished all night, we can identify with that — can’t we, because we have folks that have labored just like that and are barren in their ministries.”
The 63-year-old evangelist said the disciples were professionals who fished for a living. “If they were professional fishers, it stands to reason that they knew how to fish.”
Saying the situation left disciples discouraged, Hill added that three conclusions can be drawn from their story:
-The catch must never determine the commitment.
“If your mentality is built around the catch … when you don’t win anybody, then you’re going to quit.”
-The evaluation must not overshadow your proclamation. Hill said the disciples understood fishing, but Jesus knew the fish.
“You don’t have to know what’s in a man’s heart to reach him for the Gospel,” he said.
-Peter understood toiling, but didn’t know anything about God’s timing.
“I don’t believe God is ever an on-time God,” Hill said. “God is not in the business of showing up when you set your clock.
“We serve a sovereign God that operates in His own time,” he added. “God will always be there when He’s supposed to be there.”
Using Revelation 5 as a Scripture reference, Shannon warned in a fiery sermon that only one is worthy to approach God’s throne of judgment.
“Today, God still sits upon His throne of eternal grace and mercy,” said Shannon, adding anyone can approach the throne.
But he said One day God will sit upon a throne of judgment that is unapproachable.
Shannon reviewed how John told of a book of judgment.
“Alas, no man was found worthy,” Shannon said. “You and I could not assume to be worthy at a moment like that.”
The Lamb that was slain (Christ) was found worthy, Shannon said, thus cleansing us of our sins.
“One is worthy and He’s worthy because He was obedient, even to death on the cross,” he said.
Shannon also said Christ emptied Himself of God-like qualities to become human. “He left the crown of glory, for the crown of thorns.
“He has redeemed us,” Shannon said. “He paid our sin debt, our hell debt; He paid a debt we could not pay.”
Cautioning that believers have a responsibility to live Christ-centered lives, Shannnon said we should live like priests — set apart from others and holy.
Shannon noted that Romans 8 says those in Christ are pre-destined to become conformed to the image of God’s Son.
“God’s trying to reproduce the characteristics of His own Son, Jesus, in your life and in mine,” he said. “And bless God, He’s not yet through with me, and I doubt that He’s finished with you.”
Graham said we are to be like the messenger in Revelation 14:6-7. Southern Baptists, he said, must pull together to reach the lost.
“The message we’re to have as messengers is the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Graham said.
“There’s to be an urgency and concern,” he added. “We need to get back to where we realize folks don’t have a chance without Jesus Christ.”
Graham said there is a lack of fear of God today. He said a healthy fear of God will keep Christians on track.
Another problem he identified in proclaiming the gospel is that Christians don’t give God glory as commanded in the Bible.
“Let me put it in simple terms, we’re to worship him,” he said.
Worshiping God, Graham said, it not something Christians are called to do only on Sundays, but throughout the week. He added we’re to worship God with our entire being.
“It’s a lifestyle,” he said. “It’s to permeate every aspect of our life.”
Identifying a third solution to reaching the lost, Graham said Christians have to stop watering down the judgment of God.
“We need to start with the basics (in sermons),” he said. “Every message I preach, I want it to have Gospel content.”
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