March 21, 2016
II Timothy 2:1-3
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
Spiritual Dominoes – the line of Christian influence from one generation of believers to the next – is suggested in II Timothy 2:1 through 3:
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And
the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit
these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore
endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
As stated in the last blog, there are five generations of believers implied in this scripture: Stephen (whose dying testimony influenced Saul, who became…); Paul the Apostle; Timothy; those whom Timothy taught; and those whom they would then teach. This string of Spiritual Dominoes went on for many other generations!
We have been examining another string of Spiritual Dominoes, starting with…
• Edward Kimball – the Sunday school teacher who in 1855 led to the Lord…
• Dwight L. Moody – the renown evangelist of the last half of the 19th century who influenced…
• F. B. Meyers – a successful English pastor who inspired a young man named…
• J. Wilbur Chapman – a powerful evangelist who hired and trained…
• Billy Sunday – the fireball evangelist of the early 1900’s who, when he could not fulfill a requested campaign, recommended…
• Mordecai Ham – who in 1934 preached a revival in Charlotte, North Carolina where salvation came to…
• Billy Graham – William Franklin Graham, Jr. came forward to receive Christ as his Savior on November 1, 1934. Six days later he turned 16. After high school he furthered his Christian education at Bob Jones University and Florida Bible Institute. While still a student there, he preached his first sermon – just eight minutes long – on Easter Sunday, 1937, at Bostwick Baptist Church in Palatka, Florida. Ordained a Southern Baptist minister in 1939, he continued his education at Wheaton College, Illinios where he met and then married Ruth Bell in 1943. Five children – all in Christian ministry – resulted from their marriage. Also at Wheaton, and after a mighty struggle, Graham settled the question of the infallibility of God’s Word – a decision that affected the rest of his ministry.
Graham pastored the Village Church in Western Springs, Illinois until 1945. He then began preaching for Youth for Christ in both the United States and Europe until 1948. He also served as president of Northwestern Schools – three Minnesota evangelical colleges – the youngest college president in the country, at age 29! At Grand Rapids, Michigan, Billy preached his first city-wide crusade in 1947. But his fame skyrocketed at the Los Angeles campaign in the fall of 1949. William Randolf Hearst, after hearing of the conversion of cowboy singer Stuart Hamblen at Graham’s crusade, sent a two-word telegram to his newspaper editors, “Puff Graham.” The crusade was extended from three to eight weeks because of the crowds. By the time this one crusade was over, Graham had preached to 350,000 people, and 3,000 had made decisions to become Christians.
Billy Graham has gone on to be the most widely recognized evangelist in history! He has authored 33 books, many of which were top sellers. His Billy Graham Evangelistic Association sponsored a radio program – The Hour of Decision; publications – Decision Magazine, Christianity Today; a movie production company which has produced over 130 films – World Wide Pictures; and has coordinated numerous crusades around the globe! It is estimated that through broadcasts and crusades, over 2.2 billion people have heard Billy Graham’s voice bring the gospel to them! As a result of the crusades alone, Graham’s staff reports that more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation to receive Jesus as Savior.
Billy Graham has been the most effective evangelist ever – especially with the aid by modern technology. And to think it started 160 years ago with an unknown English Sunday school teacher who was trying to be faithful to the Lord, Edward Kimball! But it does not end with Billy Graham. There is still one more Spiritual Domino in this string that we are considering. We will look at this Domino in our Wednesday blog.