Dr. Mike Murphy
February 22, 2019
A young pastor made his way to a small town to preach a sermon he had been asked to deliver. Not knowing the town well, he asked a young boy if he could tell him where the post office was so he could mail a letter he needed to send. After the boy gave him directions, the pastor thanked him and said, “If you come to church tonight, I can tell you how to get to Heaven.” The young boy thought for a minute and then answered the pastor. “No, thank you, sir. I do not think I will be there. How are you going to tell me how to get to Heaven when you do not even know how to get to the post office?”
The young boy never realized that day, but the young pastor he was talking to would show many throughout the world ‘how to get to Heaven’. The young pastor that day knew his directions well, and would lead countless numbers to the foot of the Cross. Who was the young pastor you may ask? Billy Graham!
Throughout the Bible, we have seen God use faithful men and women to lead His people. Moses led them out of the Wilderness, and Joshua led them back into the Promised Land. David led his people in victory, and developed Israel into a powerful nation. Solomon led with wisdom, and built a Temple for the Lord. Esther led her people from certain destruction, and by following the call of God saved them from a terrible fate. And in the days before and of Christ, we read as John the Baptist, prepared his people for the Coming and Promised Messiah. His words would lead many to follow the Son of God.
John was a man unlike most others. As his name indicated, he did baptize. But his life and his ministry were so much more. John was the perfect example of what anyone who serves in ministry should be. He served the Lord with an unquestioned devotion and he was willing to sacrifice and surrender all to Christ. John shouted for the needing world to hear that the Promised One was coming, and he publicly and unabashedly proclaimed the Good News of Christ.
John had been foretold by Isaiah over 700 years before his ministry began. Isaiah 40:3-5, “A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." John had been the first prophet the people had seen called by God since Malachi, over 400 years before his birth.
Little is known about the early life of John. We know that he was the son of a Temple priest(Luke 1:5), and was related to Jesus(Luke 1:36). We know that John lived a simple life. He dressed in simple clothes, and ate simple food(Matthew 3:4). John used his life to follow the calling the Lord placed on him, focusing not on what he had, but on the work the Lord had called him to do. Matthew tells us that John’s ministry was very popular among the people. Matthew 3:5-6, “Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.“ Even with his popularity, John was quick to let people know he was just the messenger, telling the world of the Messiah who would soon follow, and what the purpose and role of the Messiah would be. Matthew 3:11-12, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
In life, ministry, and death, John was steadfast in his faith. He trusted God, and the call on his life above all. Jesus said of John, “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John”, Luke 7:28. What sweeter words could we possibly hear from our Savior?
John was not Elijah, but came in the ‘spirit of Elijah. Just like Elijah, he called all who would hear to repentance, and preached to them a message of obedience before God. He came to prepare a way for the Lord, calling all with a message of reconciliation(2 Corinthians 5:18). In the words of Paul, we hear the echo of John. John’s life was the epitome of Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.“ John showed us that when testing and persecution comes our way, we will turn in one of two directions. We will either hesitate and waver in our faith, or we will be like John, standing steadfast for Christ until the very end.
Throughout the Bible, we have seen example after example of men who stood steadfast in their faith. Unfaltering and unfazed by all this world may throw their way. Examples of men who put God’s purpose and needs before self. In my lifetime, I have seen the Lord send another such man into all of our lives.
As I have grown up watching Billy Graham, I have seen that same ‘spirit of Elijah’ the world saw in John the Baptist. Billy Graham called all who would hear to repentance, and he told anyone that would listen of the Lord’s plan of salvation that can only be found through Christ. He preached to millions the world over, reaching as many as he could for Christ, and preparing the world for His return. He worked at a tireless pace to fulfill the purpose the Lord called him to. Reverend Graham once said, “My one purpose in life is to help people find a personal relationship with God, which, I believe comes through knowing Christ.” He brought that message to over 185 countries around the world, and it is estimated that he led some 3.2 million people to a faith in Christ.
In 1947, Billy Graham started holding revivals he would later refer to as crusades. His first was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where an estimated six thousand attended. At the end of each crusade, the song “Just As I Am” would play, and an altar call would be given. Reverend Graham made sure everyone who came forward was prayed with and counseled, and a Bible or the Gospel of John was given to each so they could continue to grow as they read the Word of God.
Reverend Graham not only called people to God, but preached that all should live the Word of God. He spoke and taught that the Church had a responsibility to speak out against Communism and Segregation. In 1953, he took what was a strong stance for his day, he refused to speak to segregated audiences. He told event organizers and ushers at the time, if they did not tear down the barriers that separated the audience by race, then they would have to hold the revival without him. Billy Graham practiced what he preached, leading a generation to see that Christ is our hope for today and our promise for tomorrow. Reverend Graham has lived those words, and has been unfaltering in the teachings that prove those words.
In an interview he gave in the fall of 2013l, Reverend Graham continued to emphasize those words in his message to this nation. When asked about the spiritual dangers America was and still is facing, Reverend Graham warned that America had turned to a “trendy faith”, a little Christianity mixed with all the other religions of the world “Many people do not want to face the truth of the Gospel. They water it down to a myth, causing young and old to doubt the authority of the Bible. We as a nation have turned our back on God who blessed our country because its fundamental principles were grounded in the Word of God.” He went on to say, “Our early fathers led our nation according to Biblical principles. Hope and change has become a cliché in our nation and it is daunting to think that any American could hope for change from what God has blessed.”
In the article, Reverend Graham was asked if he thought the return of Christ was near. He said, “God keeps His promises and this is why we can be sure that the return of Christ is near. Scripture tells us that there will be signs pointing toward the return of the Lord. I believe all of these signs are evident today. What a time to take the news of the day in one hand and the Bible in the other and watch the unfolding of the great drama of the ages come together. I would not want to live in any other time.” “Regardless of what society says, we cannot go on much longer in the sea of immorality without judgment coming. We are at a crossroads, and there are profound moral issues at stake. It is time to return to biblical truth.”
Reverend Graham concluded the interview by saying, “Hope is certain only through His Son Jesus Christ — not in the change agents of the world, and when the end of the world as we know it takes place at Christ's return, no government can prevent it and no individual can escape it. Those who hope for it will welcome it; those who refuse to embrace its reality will never change its certainty.”. All I could add to his words would be, AMEN!
Just like John the Baptist, Billy Graham called a world to repentance and reconciliation with God. Both were steadfast in the faith. One called all who would hear to prepare for the coming Messiah, the other called all who would hear to prepare for the Messiah’s soon return. Both spoke with the “spirit of Elijah”, words the world did not always like, but words the Lord needed the world to hear.
I never had the chance to meet Billy Graham, but I cannot tell you how much I look forward to an eternity with him. Thank you Reverend Graham, for being the example to so many as to what one who works in the ministry should be. Thank you for your steadfast faith, telling all who would listen the Lord’s plan of salvation. The Lord called you to the ministry at a time this nation and the world needed you most, and you faithfully served and went wherever He led you. Your faithful message brought countless numbers to the foot of the Cross, and prepared people the world over for the soon return of Christ. You lived your life as a willing servant, and we praise the Lord He sent you to us as “the voice of one crying in the American wilderness”.Praying each who read this take heed in the words of Reverend Graham, and are prepared for the soon return of Christ!
