Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here. You're listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, and my objective is to deliver, hopefully, compelling practical insights in faith, culture, and current events from a biblical perspective.
To find out more about our ministry, just go to our website, harvest.org. So thanks for joining me for this podcast. personally, and spent a lot of time with him. I heard all of his jokes many, many times, and he had some good ones, so I'm going to start with a Billy Graham joke. This is how he would often start. I won't do it in his voice, but he would come up and say, I heard a story about a man who was asked to say a few words at a meeting, and the moderator introduced him and said, you had five minutes, and so the man filled his five minutes quickly, and he kept speaking. And the moderator cleared his throat, and still the man continued to speak, and the moderator pounded his gavel lightly, and the man continued to drone on.
25 minutes later, the man is still speaking, finally in frustration. The moderator takes his gavel and throws it at the speaker. He barely misses him and hits an elderly man who fell asleep in the front row. The old man woke up and saw the man was still speaking and said to the moderator, hit me again, I can still hear him. Now, that's a classic Billy Graham joke. And Billy often, when he would be in a room full of important people, though of course we all knew he was the most important, but he always deferred to others, would always start with this joke about the farmer that entered his mule in the Kentucky Derby. And they said, farmer, you don't think your mule can win that race, do you? And he said, no, but the association will do him some good.
And you know, they would laugh like that. These are Billy Graham jokes that he would often start with. But you know the amazing thing about his life is it almost reads like a Bible story, doesn't it? Young Billy Frank working on a farm, a dairy farm in Charlotte, North Carolina, as we already heard, invited to a meeting to hear the evangelist Mordecai him. Billy gives his life to Christ.
Who could have ever imagined that that young farm boy would go on to change the world? Billy would often say, I'm just a country preacher. And people would say, oh no, Mr. Graham, you're a great preacher. And he would again say, I'm just a country preacher.
And in his heart, that's who he always was. I first became exposed to Billy Graham when I was a young boy living with my grandparents. And whenever he was on television, we would watch on our black and white television set.
That was in the days of Gunsmoke and Bonanza, remember that? And I always thought that Billy Graham looked a little bit like Marshall Dillon, actually. And little did I ever imagine that I would meet him one day. But now fast forward many years, I came to Christ at the age of 17 in 1970. And so I heard that Billy Graham was preaching in San Diego, which isn't far from where I was, and so I decided to go see him in person. So as I sat there in the stadium with thousands of other people and listened to him, I thought, that's what I want to do when I grow up. Never thinking I'd speak in a stadium, but I thought, I want to present the gospel to people and invite people to Christ. In fact, I even went forward at the invitation. Not to get saved, I already was a Christian.
I just wanted a closer look at this guy. So now fast forward many years. In 1985, Billy comes to California, to Angel Stadium, to do one of his crusades. And so I was a pastor and I was asked to participate in the event. And they said, we want you to do a prayer on the stage before Mr. Graham speaks.
I said, okay. I was very nervous, very excited. So I'm sitting on the stage and Cliff Barrow says to me, now listen, when that person is done singing, you go right up there and you lead the prayer. I said, yes sir, I'll do it. And so the person finished singing and I was just in awe of everything, sitting on the stage of a Billy Graham crusade and I missed my cue.
And Cliff yells over, get up there! And I walked up and I was so nervous praying in front of Billy Graham. You know, because I thought, he's listening to me right now. But then when I got to know him, and that happened through my friendship with the son Franklin, and I know Ann very well and the whole family, they're just such a great family, they really are. But as I got to know him personally, and I began my crusade ministry actually in 1990, Billy was sort of in the last decade of his ministry. And he became aware of what I was doing and he asked if I would help him with his sermons, specifically in the area of illustrations. He wanted current illustrations. So I would comb through newspapers and magazines and I would take his notes and his font size was like 24, I think.
There's like eight words in a page and you'd flip the page. And so I would write my illustrations in and then the secretary, Stephanie, would type them. And then I would go up to Billy's hotel room and sort of rehearse the lines, almost like how you would preach them. And Billy, toward the end of his life, was struggling with Parkinson's disease, as you may recall, and so his movements were a bit slow.
But as it turns out, he was misdiagnosed and the medication was affecting him, so he moved very slowly. But I'll tell you what, I would sit there in his hotel room going over these illustrations and he would just sit there looking at me and if he liked one, he'd call his secretary and say, Stephanie, type this into the message. But then that night when he walked into the pulpit, it's like 40 years fell off of him. And just that power and that energy came through as he would preach the gospel. And no matter, despite the fact that I was with him on many occasions, I was always nervous around him because he was still Billy Graham, you know.
And you couldn't get over that. One time I was at a board meeting and after we were done I said, Mr. Graham, and he'd say, just call me Billy. And I'd say, okay, Mr. Graham.
I was never comfortable calling him Billy, though I did occasionally do that. But I said, if you need any help with your upcoming crusade message, just call me and I'll help. He says, okay. And so I went to my room, it was very late, like 10.30, and I got a phone call in my hotel room. And I thought it was my friend Dennis Aghajanian who plays guitar and has sung with Billy Graham at many of his crusades. Because Dennis would often call me after I'd been with Mr. Graham and say, how did it go tonight? And Dennis did a flawless Billy Graham imitation. So Dennis calls me with the voice of Billy Graham and says, hello, this is Billy Graham. And I said, well, hello, Billy.
I know it's Dennis. I'm flipping the channels on the TV. I said, well, hello, Billy, how you doing? Click, click, click. And I've been thinking a great deal. Uh-huh, click, click, click.
And I could really use your help with my messages. Uh-huh, click, click, then it done to me. Wait, only Billy would know that because they said that to him. I'm talking to Billy Graham and I'm blowing him off right now. I snapped to attention.
Yes, sir, Mr. Graham, yes, I'd be happy to. So, you know, that was the impact of the man. One time I was at his home for lunch. And I'll tell you what, Billy was the godliest man I ever met.
And I've met a lot of godly men. And I would say Ruth was the godliest woman I ever met. She was the perfect match for Billy. Just watching them together was classic because they were a real husband and wife. They had little disagreements.
But I'll tell you, they loved each other so much. And Billy's face just lit up whenever Ruth walked into the room. While we're at their home, it's me, Franklin, Billy, and Ruth. And Ruth made us a little lunch, fried chicken, some black eyed peas, and she had a lazy Susan. You know what a lazy Susan is?
The little thing you turn around. So we're eating the food and Billy is looking at me and he says, Greg, would you like a Coke? And I just, no one said Coke like Billy Graham. Would you like a Coke? And I said, yes.
I don't even want one but I just like the way you say it. Please, Coke. Billy Graham gave me this Coke.
I'm drinking it. And I was always thinking of questions to ask him. And I turned to Billy and I said, Billy, let me ask you this. If an older Billy Graham could speak to a younger Billy Graham, after all these years of being in the ministry, what would the older version of you say to the younger version of you?
Without missing a beat, he says, I would tell myself to preach more on the cross of Christ and the blood because that's where the power is. You know, I never forgot that. And he was just an incredible guy and he has left a wonderful legacy. You know, it was Corrie ten Boom that said, quote, the measure of a life is not its duration but its donation.
A lot of people live long lives. But he lived a long and godly life. And I can tell you what he would say if you were here right now.
He probably wouldn't be all that happy, to be honest with you. He didn't like it when people talked about him too much. And he would remind us, talk about Christ.
And I saw that happen on more than one occasion. Because whenever people were gathered and Billy was there, everybody wanted to tell their Billy Graham stories to him. And he was very sweet and loved to hear them.
But he always wanted the glory to go to God. I was with him at a crusade in Portland, Oregon. And I tell you, it was almost like a revival broke out. And I have to tell you, Portland, Oregon needs a revival badly, okay. You ever see that TV show, Portlandia?
That's a crazy place, Portland. But it was a great work of the Spirit happening. Thousands of people coming to Christ. And so as we were leaving the meeting, there were people lined up on both sides as Billy walked through the middle. And it was like Moses was walking through.
So much admiration. And so we get in the car. And so T. W. Wilson, his longtime aide, brother to Grady Wilson, and I were in the front. I was riding shotgun. Billy's in the back, seated next to Franklin.
So we're driving out of the stadium. And I wanted to compliment him on his sermon. I turned around facing him over the seat and I said, Mr. Graham, that was a great message tonight. And he looked at me with those steely blue eyes and he said, well it's just gospel. I was like, I know.
I was just trying to compliment you. Turned back around. I thought about something. I'll say this. I turned back and I said, Mr. Graham, I loved your point when you said Christ can resensitize your conscience. And he looked back at me and said, well he can. I know. So what's the point of that? He didn't really like to be complimented all that much.
It was sort of like water off of a duck's back. And in a way, is that not one of the secrets of his effectiveness? That he wanted the glory to go to God. So I know that Billy wouldn't want me to give a sermon on him.
I know he'd want to give me to talk about Jesus. So I'm going to read a passage of scripture, but I think as I read these words they really sum up his life. These are the final words of the Apostle Paul to a group of leaders there in Ephesus.
And he's sort of summing up what matters to him. And he said to them in Acts chapter 20, none of these things move me. There were threats against Paul's life. Nor do I count my life dear to myself, but I want to finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now I know that none of you whom I have preached the kingdom to will ever see me again.
But I declare today I've been faithful and if anyone suffers eternal death it's not my fault for I didn't shrink from declaring all that God wanted you to know. So in these statements Paul compares himself to a runner in a race, a steward, a witness, a herald, and a watchman. First he says he's a runner in a race. He says none of these things move me, but I want to finish my race with joy. You know we're all in this spiritual race. There's a beginning, there's a middle, and there's an end.
We don't know when the end necessarily is and maybe sooner than we think. That's why we want to run this race well. And the key to running the race of life is to do it for Jesus. You know the Bible says that we're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, so let's run with endurance, a race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And I know that Billy ran his race for Christ. He ran it for the glory of God.
He wanted to be faithful to the very end, and he was. When I was doing track and field when I was a kid, I hated to practice, but I would run around that track on my high school campus. And I remember I always ran better when a pretty girl was watching me, right son?
Always helped a little bit. And I think we need to remember that in the race of life, we're not running it to impress you. You don't run your race to impress me. We're doing it for the Lord. And that's a very important thing, and that'll keep you going.
That'll keep you going. And also Paul says, I finished my race. You know, later Paul wrote in 2 Timothy, I fought the good fight, I kept the faith, I finished the course, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me in that day, and not to me only, but to all who love his appearing. So Billy didn't just start his race well. He ran it well to the end. He reminds him of the old Bible character Caleb, who at the age of 85 held up his arm and said, give me this mountain, putting a lot of the younger guys to shame. You know how old Billy was when he preached his last crusade in New York City?
86. And he wanted to keep going, by the way. He wanted to go to England after he completed New York, but he wasn't able to do that, but he actually lived many years after that. But he finished his race well. You know, some people start the Christian life with a lot of excitement and passion, but then they crash and burn, or they get off track, or they break the rules. You know, when you run a race you need to play by the rules.
You can't just make up your own rules as you go. 1 Corinthians 9, Paul says, I am a runner in a race, and I discipline my body, lest when I preach to others I would be disqualified. Billy lived a moral life. He was a godly man. He had something that you've probably heard of called the Modesto Manifesto. And when he was just starting his ministry out after the Youth for Christ days and the L.A. Crusade, there was a lot of controversy about preachers.
And a lot of them were seen as going after people's money and being sensational and exaggerating. So Billy came up with this set of rules that he and his team agreed to, and it became known as the Modesto Manifesto. And one of them was they would be accountable with money, that their crusades would be audited, you would know where the money was spent. Number two, there would be moral purity.
You would never be alone with any woman besides your wife. Number three, you would work with local churches and never criticize a fellow pastor or spiritual leader, which I think is a good rule. A lot of people would have to give up Twitter if they didn't do that anymore. Another one of the principles of the Modesto Manifesto was never exaggerate your numbers. And you know, with all the crusades, they would always be very exact in how many people came to the event, how many people came forward. And he lived by those things, and he was a very humble kind of guy. One time we were at a crusade, and afterwards we're leaving, and someone gave Billy these roast beef sandwiches, and we were told these are very good. So we get to the hotel, and they're cold at this point. So he invites us up to his room. He always got free rooms at the Marriott Hotel. And they gave him a nice suite, and so we were usually at a Marriott. In fact, Ruth said, if heaven doesn't look like a Marriott Hotel, Billy won't know where he is, right? At Billy's funeral service back in Charlotte, I got in an elevator in a Marriott Hotel. And who's in the hotel elevator?
Mr. Marriott himself. And so I chatted with him a little bit. He says, you know, he's a Mormon man.
But I thanked him for all that he had done for Billy over the years. And anyway, so we're in the Marriott Hotel suite. And so Billy disappears, and he comes back in. He's wearing pajamas and his dress shoes, right? He's surrounded by people he's comfortable with. He doesn't want to talk about that night. He just wants to talk. Some of them would tell jokes.
And we ate cold roast beef sandwiches. And I thought, this is it. This is the key to the whole thing.
It's like, don't take yourself too seriously. You did the job God called you to do. You delivered the message God called you to deliver.
Now get back to a normal life and give God the glory. And Billy certainly was that man. Paul also likens himself to a steward.
A steward is someone that guards something. He protects something. You know, Billy could have done a lot of things with his life. When he first started out, he was offered roles in films.
They wanted him to be a movie star. Then a little bit later on, he was offered opportunities to run for office. He probably could have become the president if he had wanted to be. But his response was, I have a higher calling.
And he did. But yet, despite that fact, he could go to both sides of the aisle and minister to people. He was a friend of presidents going back to Harry Truman. And he was close to Lyndon Johnson. And he was close to, of course, Ronald Reagan and President Bush and George W. Bush and with President Clinton. And even President Obama met Billy at his home in Montreat, North Carolina.
And at Billy's 95th birthday party, Donald Trump, our present president, sat at Billy's table. He knew all these presidents. But he was always there to minister to them. He was a pastor to presidents. And he was a pastor to America. He really was a steward of the message that God gave him. He would not get too polarized from people over political issues because he never wanted to lose that opportunity for the gospel.
To share Jesus Christ with people. That is always what his focus and objective was. As it has been said, Billy was a bridge builder.
And I think a lot of times we burn bridges more than we build them. And I think one of the qualities of Billy's life is that it was a winsomeness. Even if he disagreed, he would share what the Bible said. But he did it in this sort of friendly way. And I thought, you know, if you want to win some, be winsome.
Be nice about it. And Billy was a master at that, of course. And also Paul compares himself to a herald. He says, I have gone preaching the kingdom of God. I sat on the platform many times and watched Billy Graham preach. I was learning.
I was absorbing. I was in the finest evangelistic university on the planet. Learning from the greatest modern evangelist.
And so I would observe him in different situations. And, you know, Billy actually said on more than one occasion, I don't think I'm really a very good preacher. But I think God has given me the ability to give the invitation. Well, actually he was a very good preacher, as we all know. But he was also very gifted in giving the invitation. I asked him once, Billy, what do you feel physically when you invite people to Christ? And his response was, I feel like power is going out of me. And I think what he was describing was that element of spiritual warfare that takes place when you're inviting people to Christ. It's not an easy thing to do.
It's something one must be called to do. And he once said in an interview with David Frost, I study to be simple. And I think, you know, it's not hard to preach over people's heads.
It's not hard to bore people. Billy always wanted to connect with people. He wanted to be understood by people. And he always wanted it to be a simple message that anyone could respond to. And of course, many people did, young and old. He really was like a prophet to America and the world.
And I don't think anyone will ever take his place. And anyone who says they will is loco, man. But I've been inspired by him and I'm one of many that want to keep preaching the gospel as long as we can. Because really, the Christian life, it's like a relay race. We just hand this baton over to the next generation.
Then they run with it for a while and they hand it off to the next generation. We've all been given this sacred trust of proclaiming the gospel. And you know, one person will not take Billy's place, but thousands need to. And you need to be the Billy Grahams, so to speak, in your family, in your neighborhood, in your sphere of influence.
And go into all of your world and preach the gospel. Shortly before he went to be with the Lord, Billy approved this statement, which really sums up his life. He said, and I quote, I hope to be remembered as someone who is faithful. Faithful to God. Faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Faithful to the calling God gave me, not only as an evangelist, but also as a husband, father, and friend. I'm sure I've failed in many ways, but I take comfort in God's promise of forgiveness. And I take comfort also in knowing God's ability to take even the most imperfect efforts and use them for his glory. By the time you hear this or read this, I'll be in heaven. And as I write, I'm looking forward with great anticipation to the day when I will be with God.
Now Billy, in typical fashion, always brings it to the gospel. But I won't be in heaven because I preach to large crowds or because I try to live a good life. I'll be in heaven for one reason. Many years ago, I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ who died on the cross to make our forgiveness possible and rose again from the dead to give us eternal life. Do you know you will go to heaven when you die?
You can by committing your life to Christ today. I love that. Even in a summation of his life, he makes it a gospel presentation. That's Billy. And that should be you.
And that should be me. Let me say this in closing. You know, we can admire a man like this today, and it's good. But the ultimate thing that he would want, if he were here with us, is for us all to know Jesus Christ personally.
And I'm glad you've come here and taken time out of your schedule to join us today. But, you know, even as it was said a little bit earlier, you know, just because you're at a Christian event doesn't make you a Christian. You know, Billy was in the choir, and he heard Mordecai ham. And Billy would often say in his crusades, you may be in the choir, but you have come to Christ, right?
So he always knew that there were people who went to church that weren't Christians. And so there has to be that moment when you ask Jesus to forgive you of your sin. Because one day your race will be run. And your life will come to a close. My life will come to a close. And I don't know that we'll be celebrated like Billy Graham, but I hope I'll be remembered as someone who is a follower of Jesus Christ.
And most importantly, I hope that we can all know that people realize that we love the Lord and follow the Lord. And if you don't know Jesus in a personal way, let me invite you to come to him today. Because he can forgive you of all of your sins, no matter what you've done wrong. He can transform you from the inside out. You say, oh no, I've gone too far in my life, Craig, you know, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well, you're not a dog and these aren't tricks.
This is called conversion. It doesn't take years, it doesn't take months, it doesn't take weeks, it doesn't take days, it doesn't even take hours. It just happens like that, this quickly, where you believe. And you can believe in Jesus and have all of your sin forgiven.
I mean, think about that. Every sin you've ever committed, removed, and when God forgives our sins, he forgets our sins, the Bible says. That doesn't mean that God has a, you know, a lapse of memory. But it means he chooses not to remember them. So I should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. He'll forgive you, he'll forget your sins, push them away as far as the east is from the west. You say, well how does that happen? By saying to him, I know I'm a sinner, I believe Christ died on the cross for me, I turned from my sin, and I want Jesus to come into my life.
Have you done that yet? The greatest tribute or gift, if you will, that you could give on the celebration of the birthday of Billy Graham is to receive the gift of eternal life. You know, when you give a gift to people, it's interesting how folks react to gifts in different ways. When you give a gift to a woman, let's say it's beautifully wrapped, a woman will first of all take the card and read the card. She might even be touched by what the card says, then she'll carefully undo the ribbon and the paper and say, I might use this later, right? Then she opens the gift and enjoys it. That's how a woman receives a gift. Give a gift to a man. He'll look at the card, but he's not reading it. The only reason he opened it was to see if there was money in there or a gift card in there. He doesn't care about your card. Am I right, guys? Come on.
We don't care. Then he tears the paper. It's just an obstacle. Get the paper off. He wants the gift. I don't care if you open this like a lady or you open it like a man. Just open the gift. It's called the gift of eternal life. It's the only gift that keeps on giving. No batteries required.
No assembly required. It's all done. You just say, Lord, I want that gift and I want to be forgiven. I'm going to close in prayer right now. I'm going to extend an opportunity for you to receive this gift of eternal life and be forgiven of all of your sin. If you need to do this, if you need Jesus in your life, respond now as we pray, okay?
Let's all bow our heads. Everybody praying, please. Father, thank you for this time to gather together and remember the life of a remarkable man. But now our thoughts are turned toward Jesus who died on the cross for our sin and rose again from the dead. And I pray now for any Lord that are here in this place or are watching wherever they may be. If they do not know you, Lord, help them to come to you now and believe in you. Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying, maybe some of you would say today, I need Jesus. I'm not sure if my sin is forgiven. I don't have the confidence that I will go to heaven when I die, but I want it. Listen, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven, would you raise your hand up and let me pray for you right now?
Wherever you're seated, just lift your hand up. I'd like to pray for you. Anybody at all in this room, you need Christ in your life. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you. God bless you as well. Anybody else? Just raise your hand up and I'll pray for you today. God bless you.
Anybody else? I'll wait one more moment. You're not sure if your sin is forgiven. You don't know that you'll go to heaven when you die. Let me pray for you. Raise your hand up and I'll pray for you. For you to raise your hand, would you just pray this simple prayer after me? Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I choose to follow you, Jesus, from this moment forward. Be my Savior and Lord.
Be my God and my friend. In Jesus' name I pray. Now, Father, let us all go now with the boldness of a Billy Graham, the boldness of an Apostle Paul, and proclaim the gospel wherever we are, looking to be bridge builders instead of bridge burners, seeking to be a stepping stone instead of a stumbling block. Use us, Lord, to bring other people into your kingdom. Thank you for this day, and we ask your blessing on each of us, and we pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here. Thanks for listening to our podcast. And to learn more about Harvest Ministries, please subscribe and consider supporting this show. Just go to harvest.org. And by the way, if you want to find out how to come into a personal relationship with God, go to knowgod.org. That's K-N-O-W-G-O-D dot org.
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