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As a teenager, I heard a recording of two sermons by a man named, Billy Graham.  Having surrendered to preach the Gospel not long before that, I was captivated by the messages and the power with which Dr. Graham delivered them.  Those messages inspired me to want to communicate the truth in a powerful way.

Later, as a twenty-year-old Pastor, I would have the privilege of attending the Billy Graham Knoxville Crusade in 1970.  There, I was blessed to serve as a counselor during the invitation times.  It was extremely moving to be on the field among those who came searching for a relationship with Jesus Christ.  During the day, I met with about 500 other preachers in the Crusade School of Evangelism, where we heard some of the greatest men of God in America share how they had led their churches to reach people with the Gospel of Christ.  It inspired me to lead other believers to become soul-winners.  Dr. Graham came and spoke to the group.  That was the only time I was ever near him.  As always his message was powerful, but the thing I remember most was the humility with which he spoke.  He seemed so aware that only the Holy Spirit can communicate the Gospel of Christ.  I never forgot that.  I learned:  Only Christ can preach Christ!

My wife of nearly 45 years, Vickie, says she doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t know of Billy Graham.  As a child her father would gather the family to watch Billy Graham on television.  As an older teenager, she and her Dad drove to Lexington, Kentucky to be in on of Dr. Graham’s Crusades.  It was a very important moment in her spiritual development.

We often told our children as they grew up what the Crusades were like; and in 2001, Billy came once again to Kentucky.  We made the six hour round trip to get to be part of that gathering.  Christis, our daughter tells the story in her own words:

“When I was fifteen-years-old I had the incredible privilege of actually attending a Billy Graham Crusade in Louisville, KY.  It was summer of 2001, only a few months after I fully surrendered my life to Jesus Christ.  Sitting there in those red Cardinal seats, surrounded by a sea of people, listening to the living legend my parents had told me of, is a memory I will never forget.  Though already quite elderly, Rev. Graham’s steady, powerful voice never wavered as he proclaimed the same Good News he had proclaimed since a young man—the same Good News that had just changed my life.  Even though I could not fully comprehend the significance of the moment, I knew it was special, and as I watched the flood of people move forward to accept Christ as their Savior during “Just As I Am”, I cried and laughed for joy.  It was then that I came to love ‘Billy Graham, The Evangelist’.”

Just a few months later, with the attacks on our nation by the Islamic Terrorists, she tells how, as she watched God use Billy Graham to help our nation begin to heal, she “…came to love ‘Billy Graham, The Pastor’”.  But then, after reading the biography of Ruth Graham, Billy’s amazing wife, she came “to love ‘Billy Graham, The Man’”.  She says she found out that Billy and Ruth were just, “Two ordinary people who had entrusted their lives to the care of an extraordinary God.” and that “There was nothing special about Billy and Ruth Graham…nothing, that is, except Jesus.”

Though Billy is gone from this earth, his Lord Jesus is not.  And I can almost yet hear Billy saying something like, “This is your moment with God, will you surrender to Christ tonight?  Will you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord—your personal Savior?”  Can you hear the Holy Spirit saying that to you—right now?

Think about it; because all of us need the Christ as our Lord and our personal Savior, Whom Billy so faithfully proclaimed throughout his life.