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2001 Soap Box Archives Some thoughts on the Billy Graham Crusade in Fresno As I write this I am sitting on the bus in Fresno, California a few hours away from appearing at our seventh Billy Graham Crusade. I really can’t articulate what it’s like to sit on a stage and listen to Mr. Graham preach the word of God and what it’s like to sit there at the end of the service and watch thousands of people come forward to give their lives to Jesus. Suffice it to say that it is just an incredible feeling. Billy Graham has been part of Christianity for well over fifty years, holding crusades all over the world and leading untold multitudes to the salvation of Jesus Christ. Year after year he is voted to be one of the most trusted men in the world. He has been the confidant of presidents and had audiences with generations of world leaders. He is a man of honor and eminence and yet is one of the most self effacing, humble men you’ll find anywhere. He is completely dedicated to the preaching of the gospel. As he mounts the stage tonight he will be doing so with an injured foot but it takes more than discomfort and inconvenience to keep Billy Graham from his beloved pulpit. He is over eighty years old and his eyes are full of fire and his sermons are strong and compelling. He has kept a nucleus of faithful helpers around him for over five decades. Cliff Barrows and George Beverly Shea are a standard part of any Billy Graham service, and it would be hard to imagine Mr. Graham without either one of them. Watching a crusade unfold is a fascinating experience. There is always a huge choir and they always sing a couple of songs. And there is a local pastor who says a few words and usually leads the crowd in prayer. When Cliff Barrows introduces me and I walk out onto the stage in front of that tremendous crowd I am always well aware that this is not your ordinary concert. People are here, not to be entertained but to hear a man of God deliver a message of hope. They always want me to say a few words while we are on stage and as I look out across that vast crowd I try to think of something. Explaining the simplicity of accepting Jesus, that it’s a free gift and there’s nothing you can do to earn it. I think that’s one of the hardest things to understand, I feel that so many people feel that they are just not good enough to come to God. And that they have to clean up their lives before making the commitment. That’s just not the way it works. You come to Jesus just as you are, with all your baggage and bad habits and sins. You ask for forgiveness and let Jesus help you clean up your act. Tonight we will play our songs and I will say my simple words and then we’ll get back out of the way and let God’s champion take the stage. As he has so many other times he will offer the people the salvation of Jesus Christ and I feel confident that when he is finished people will stream onto the field to make their decision for Christ. It’s an eternal decision and the single one most important thing they will ever do in their lives. I pray that there will be so many that the field can’t contain them. This world needs God. What do you think? God
Bless America
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