Preaching hope

I missed the initial broadcast of Billy Graham's "My Hope America" but had the opportunity to watch it last night.  Several things came to my mind as I watched the broadcast.  The first was the simplicity of the message.  One of the things that always fascinated me about Billy Graham's messages was how simple they were.  They were clear, simple, and direct to the point.  Mankind is lost without Christ, but because of the cross a relationship with God is available to anyone who will simply invite Jesus Christ into their lives.  And, like in this most recent message, he wasn't bashful about insisting that Christ is the only way to God.  You may not agree, and you may even want to argue, but Graham would just respond, "The Bible says...," and you would be left to deal with it.  Anyone was free to reject what he said, but no one could walk away and say they didn't understand his message or how he was asking them to respond.

A second thing that I thought about was the level of respect he has maintained throughout his long ministry.  We live in a time when religious leaders are not held in the highest esteem by many people, but Graham has always been respected.  He has modeled a life of integrity that has earned him the right to be respected.  This is something that each of us in ministry must seek to emulate.  If we can finish our ministries respected by the majority of people who have known us we will have done well.  Such respect does not come naturally.  Scripture teaches that we are to avoid even the appearance of evil, and that requires that we set boundaries for our lives and activities.  Graham always carried himself with dignity and avoided the kinds of scandals that brought down other ministers with high-profile ministries.  He was able to do that by identifying the core values that would guide his life and ministry and then faithfully living according to those values.  We should do no less.

In his younger years his voice rang with authority and his eyes flashed with passion when he preached.  I enjoyed the clips of him preaching in some of the great crusades he led.  I was privileged to attend several nights of the crusade in Indianapolis in 1980, and I still remember the power of his voice.  I listen to so many preachers today who seem timid when they speak.  Their voices lack authority and passion.  Graham had both when he preached, and I think it is because he believed what he was saying.  He didn't apologize for anything he said because he believed he was right.  We need that kind of bold preaching in our pulpits today.  Although his voice was not as strong in this recent telecast, the passion and authority is still there.

Finally, I thought about how true his words were.  Jesus Christ is the only hope for America, and for our world for that matter.  Our salvation will not come out of Washington DC.  It will not come through the United Nations.  It cannot come from technology, science, the business community, or from other religions.  The stories of the two young people that we saw throughout the telecast illustrates how every path other than the one that leads a person to the cross of Christ proves to be a dead end.  There is no hope at the end of those false paths.  It is only when one takes the narrow path that leads to the cross and salvation can one find the hope we all need to live our lives.

Friends, you are the messengers of that hope.  No one else has the message that you and I have to share.  Mankind is lost because of sin, but God loves us so much that he sent his Son to be the sacrifice for our sins.  All who will may come and enjoy a relationship with God, but such a relationship is only available through Jesus Christ.  That may not be PC enough for some folks in our pluralistic society, but that is their problem, not ours.  God sets the conditions for a relationship with him.  We are free to accept or reject those conditions, but we are not free to change them to suit ourselves.

It is time this message of hope is heard once again throughout the churches of our nation.  It is time for a clear trumpet to be heard throughout the land.  We who have been called to serve as pastors and ministers must preach once again with passion the message of hope that is the Gospel.  When we do that we will once again see our altars filled with people seeking God, and when that happens a revival will break out that will bring hope back to America.