Billy Graham: Perhaps ‘My Last Message to Our Nation’
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/billy-graham-perhaps-my-last-message-our-nation
By Michael W. Chapman | November 7, 2013 | 1:28 PM EST
(CNSNews.com) – Reverend Billy Graham, who turns 95 today, released a letter on Monday urging Americans to watch the evangelical program The Cross this evening, Nov. 7, stressing that the show “may well be my last message to our nation.”
Rev. Graham is among the most respected and renowned Christian evangelical pastors in the world, who started holding evangelical revivals and crusades in the late 1940s.
“I’ve recently prepared what may well be my last message to our nation,” said Graham in his letter. “With all my heart, I want to remind Americans of God’s amazing love and, as simply and clearly as I can, call people to ‘a repentance that leads to salvation.’ (2 Cor., 7-10).”
The program, The Cross, tells several stories about Americans whose lives have changed as a result of the Gospels. “Woven around those stories is a message I believe God has given me for people in our nation today,” said Rev. Graham.
“On a television talk show the other night, I heard a commentator say, ‘This country is headed straight to Hell,’” said Rev. Graham. “ When you listen to the news day after day or simply pay attention to what goes on around you, it’s not hard to understand why someone might say that.”
“Ungodliness floods our land,” he said. “Moral decline has become normal. We see killing, theft, dishonesty, greed, and open immorality everywhere. Many flaunt what they do and even demand public approval. The Bible says, ‘They proclaim their sin … ; they do not hide it’ (Isaiah 3:9).”
“But this is no cause for despair,” said Rev. Graham. “Jesus has always sought out sinners, called them to Himself, and redeemed all who respond. The Bible says, ‘Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more’”(Romans 5:20).
The reverend went on to talk about the tax collector Zacchaeus, who changed his life after meeting Jesus Christ, as detailed in the Gospel of Luke. “This can happen in your house or wherever you invite others to sit with you and hear the call of Jesus,” said Graham.
The Cross airs this evening on several channels and will be re-broadcast in the coming days. Rev. Graham, born in 1918, has led evangelistic crusades in more than 180 countries and on six continents. He also served as a spiritual adviser to several U.S. presidents. Rev. Graham has five children. His wife, Ruth Graham, died in 2007. The reverend resides in Charlotte, N.C.
Billy Graham
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr., KBE (born November 7, 1918) is an American evangelical Christian evangelist, ordained as a Southern Baptist minister, who rose to celebrity status in 1949 reaching a core constituency of middle-class, moderately conservative Protestants. He held large indoor and outdoor rallies; sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast today. In his six decades of television, Graham is principally known for hosting the annual Billy Graham Crusades, which he began in 1947, until he concluded in 2005, at the time of his retirement. He also hosted the popular radio show Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954. He repudiates segregation and in addition to religious goals he helped shape the world view of fundamentalist and evangelicals, leading them to appreciate the relationship between the Bible and contemporary secular viewpoints.
Graham was a spiritual adviser to American presidents; he was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson (one of Graham's closest friends) and Richard Nixon. He insisted on integration for his revivals and crusades in 1953 and invited Martin Luther King, Jr. to preach jointly at a revival in New York City in 1957. Graham bailed King out of jail in the 1960s when King was arrested in demonstrations. He was also lifelong friends with another televangelist, Robert H. Schuller, whom Graham talked into doing his own television ministry.
Graham operates a variety of media and publishing outlets. According to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to "accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior". As of 2008, Graham's estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. Because of his crusades, Graham has preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity.
Graham has repeatedly been on Gallup's list of most admired men and women. He has appeared on the list 55 times since 1955, more than any other individual in the world. Grant Wacker reports that by the mid-1960s, he had become the "Great Legitimator":