Miller, Sammons preach during conference 'camp meeting'

SHERWOOD – Tommy Miller, pastor at Union Valley Baptist Church, Beebe, and John Sammons, pastor at Marshall Road Baptist Church, Jacksonville, spoke during a special “camp meeting” session of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention’s 2012 State Conference on Evangelism and Church Growth.

MillerIn discussing being discouraged in ministry, Miller pointed out that sometimes opposition comes from within the church and causes people to want to back away from their calling.

Miller said he came to such a point in his own life, but he continued praying and seeking God and God brought him to Romans 1:16, which begins with the phrase, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.”

The word “ashamed,” Miller said, carries the idea of backing away from responsibilities, and he said the fact that Paul mentions not being ashamed implies he may have previously struggled with it.

Miller used Romans 1:16 and other verses in Romans 1 to show Paul’s motivation for sharing the gospel. Paul knew that he was Christ’s slave (Rom. 1:1) and that he was obligated to share the gospel (Rom. 1:14).

“And I want to tell you something, I mean, (if) you ever get down, if you ever think about quitting, you all stop just a moment and look at Paul’s own life, and let it be an inspiration to all of us because the words that apply to Paul’s life apply to each and every one of us,” Miller said.

He closed by pointing to Hebrews 11:6, which says, “Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.”

Miller emphasized that faith is imperative and that God rewards.

“And anytime, my friend, we make the sacrifice, anytime we make the commitment to be true to Him, to be true to our calling, I’m going to tell you God never sends us away empty,” Miller said. “And it may not be a big church, and it may not be a big congregation and it may not be recognized by people, but my friend, it’s just having more of Him in our life – that is the reward.”

Miller encouraged listeners to remain faithful to God.

“For all of us, we just need to remember it’s Christ and Him crucified, and if we keep that as the main thing, everything else will take care of itself.”

Sammons spoke about the need to evangelize.

Sammons“And I want everybody to have the opportunity to go to heaven, so you and I, that is our challenge as God’s people is to take the message of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world,” Sammons said.

He said fear often keeps Christians from witnessing.

“However, sometimes I’ll say it’s pure laziness,” Sammons said. “We want to use this thing – fear – because it fits, and everybody talks about fear ... but the fact of it is, we are just plain lazy people. We’re plain lazy Christians.”

But Sammons pointed out that a desired result could motivate someone to overcome fear. He talked about how he was so excited the first time he lead someone to Christ that he wanted to do it again. It helped him have faith and overcome fear.

He read from Jeremiah 24 about Jeremiah’s vision of two baskets – one basket with good figs and the other with bad figs.

He pointed out how Jeremiah was able to make observations about the figs because he had experienced figs.

“You know, here is the truth: People need to experience leading someone to Jesus just one time, and they won’t be able to get enough of it,” Sammons said.

He said there are people all across America who have never lead someone to Christ. 

“Folks, all you got to do is talk,” he exhorted the crowd. “Share your testimony. Get up out of your seat. Go across the street. Do something.”

Along with personal experience, Sammons said recognizing that God is a God of wrath is also a motivator. Again pointing to the text, Sammons noted how God told Jeremiah to consider both the good and bad figs, which represent two groups of people – one God showed favor toward, and one God judged.

“There’s a judgment day coming,” Sammons said. “You’ve got friends and neighbors and family members and church members that are going to die and go to hell if you don’t start caring. We must care. There is a place called hell. Jesus has not erased it. Jesus has not closed it. It’s still open, and unfortunate many people are leaving this earth every day and going to hell. Many people – and here’s the truth – don’t witness to friends and family because in our churches we have not made real to them the wrath of God.”