I know my son went down in a tragedy, but Calvary makes it a triumphal moment, because those who die in Christ shall be raised to live with Him,” said Robert Smith Jr., whose son Antonio or “Tony” was murdered Oct. 31. “So I preach the cross, because it means life to me.”
Smith, associate professor of divinity at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, was one of six speakers who preached Nov. 15 at the Alabama Baptist Pastors Conference, held at Gardendale First Baptist Church.
“Life and ministry go up and down,” he said. “Christ is not only the bright and morning star but He’s the lily in the valley when you’re down and He’s with you wherever you are.”
Smith’s message, preached from the alternating themes of hope and despair in Psalms 42 and 43, exhorted attendees to rely on God even when things don’t make sense, since “many questions will never be answered.”
“This psalm wants to remind us that we ought not to always research for reasons but rely on the promises of God,” he said. “While we walk through the mist of mystery, we know God is still in control and we still preach, even though we don’t understand.
“Believers are inspired to worship God even in the absence of the voice of God, because of the presence of the face of God,” Smith continued, explaining that “even though God’s not saying anything, being in His presence affects my face, so I can praise Him even without saying a word.”
Near the end of his message, he brought the focus back to the certain purpose of Christ’s death on the cross, proclaiming, “Calvary was not an accident; Calvary was an accomplishment.”
The cross and the crucified Christ were also addressed by Buddy Gray, pastor of Hunter Street Baptist Church, Hoover.
“When we look at the cross, we see God’s mercy at its greatest and the depths of our sin at their greatest,” he said.
Preaching from the account of Jesus’ crucifixion in John 19, Gray said people seek community, intimacy and eternity in life but they often look in the wrong places. In the cross, Jesus provides all those things, he said.
Jesus provides community because His death allows believers to enter into a new fellowship, Gray noted.
“At the cross, all of our relationships are rearranged and all our loyalties are realigned,” he explained. “When Jesus Christ died, He was creating a new family.”
Gray said Jesus provides intimacy because He satisfies our deepest longings. People have a deep thirst in their souls, which many try to satisfy with the things of this world."
“You can drink and drink of those things, and your soul’s thirst will not be quenched,” Gray said. “You have a profound thirst in your soul. The Bible teaches what we thirst for and need the most in our lives is not stuff but God, and people die of that thirst.”
Because Jesus’ death purchased redemption for mankind, Gray said, He provides the eternity people seek if they believe in Him.
“When you understand what grace is and what God has done, all of a sudden, this desire for eternity is given to you by God,” he said. “You will be with God forever, and He is with you now.”
Zach Terry, senior pastor of Capshaw Baptist Church, warned pastors about the creeping influence of seemingly small sins that can lead to major failures.
“I want to talk to you this evening about things that can take our eyes off Jesus,” he said.
Terry identified three issues in the life apostle Peter’s that led to his denial of Jesus: pride, ignorance and lack of prayer.
He said Peter’s frequent insistence that he would never deny Jesus indicated pride, which is a common temptation to all pastors today.
“Pride is one of those unique sins that has a pull on each of us,” Terry said. “We may not all feel the temptation to gambling, and we may not all feel the temptation toward drunkenness. But we all sense the tug of pride, and Satan capitalizes on that effect.”
Peter’s pride led him to feel he was spiritually invincible and made him ignorant of the fact that he could fall into sin, he said.
“When you see people who fall, do you ever see yourself as incapable of the same thing?” Terry said. “I used to hear about it, and I would get angry, thinking, ‘Did they count the cost?’ Today, when I hear about somebody who falls, it terrifies me. But for the grace of God, there go I.
“We must be reminded, lest we toy with sin, that we’re capable of great disgrace,” he said.
Terry also identified a lack of prayer in Peter’s life as contributing to his denial of Jesus. He encouraged pastors to remain faithful in prayer to guard against falling into sin.
“The Lord told Peter, ‘Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation,’ but he neglected prayer,” Terry said.
Ed Litton, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, North Mobile, in Saraland, told those gathered for the afternoon session about “the gift no one wants.”
That gift is suffering, he explained.
“How’s your heart? How is it really?” Litton asked. “How many of you in this room are suffering?”
Suffering is not a stranger to him. Litton explained he knew the depth of suffering when he received the call that his wife of 25 years had been killed in a car accident Aug. 16, 2007.
“They rushed me to the scene, the hardest place I ever stood, and my world was forever changed. And I stood there in real pain,” Litton said. “But … He was there.
“Those of you who are hurting today will not consider your suffering a gift … but it has put you in a position of not trusting yourself,” he continued, adding, “You have no one else to depend upon but the Spirit of the Lord — but that is all you need.
“It takes one man of God yielded, broken,” Litton said. “We don’t know what to do … but the Lord knows what He’s doing. You can trust Him.”
Even though suffering is the gift that no one wants, it is what draws us near to God, he explained.
“When we suffer, God’s presence is real,” Litton said. “My brother pastor, you’ve never been closer to the Lord than when you’re suffering, when you’re hurting.”
Learning from Paul and how he dealt with suffering in 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, Litton pointed out that God did not take suffering — the thorn in his flesh — away from Paul. Instead God’s grace was sufficient.
“God’s answer to grief and suffering is grace,” he said. “I need the same grace that it took to save me when I was 8 years old … to get me up on Monday mornings. When we suffer, God’s grace is enough.”
Trusting in God through life’s difficulties was the message Lawrence Phipps, senior pastor of Vaughn Forest Baptist Church, Montgomery, had for attendees. He encouraged them to rely on the Lord and prepare to win life’s battles in His strength.
“When you get in trouble, where do you run?” Phipps asked, referencing the account in 2 Chronicles 20 in which King Jehoshaphat of Judah seeks the Lord for deliverance from an attacking army. “The first place I run is to the altar, to my knees, to my Father, because I want to find out what He says before I find out what anyone else thinks.”
He urged attendees not to fear their own inadequacies or an uncertain future.
“Oh, that we would leave this place tonight and say, ‘God, I still don’t know what I’m going to do, but my eyes are on You,’” Phipps said. “If everyone leaves here tonight with that attitude, everything else is going to be OK.”
He also exhorted attendees to carry out their callings without fear, faithfully obeying God’s commands despite opposition.
“What we’ve done is shrink from the enemy,” Phipps said. “We’ve got to decide we’re going to face the enemy. We’re going to move in the direction God wants us to go, wherever that is.” He urged pastors to live righteously, spread the gospel and spend serious time with God. Only by relying on Him can victory be won, Phipps said.
“When God is fighting the battle, He’s got a path to deliverance,” he said. “All we’ve got to do is follow Him.”
Officers elected for the 2011 pastors conference were President John Copeland, pastor of First Baptist Church, Fulton; President-elect Michael Cassity, pastor of Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Montgomery; First Vice President Fred Lackey, pastor of Westside Baptist Church, Jasper; and Treasurer Doug Chappelle, pastor of Thelma Baptist Church, Wetumpka. (Kristen Padilla contributed)
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