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TechnoratiThe Rev. Franklin Graham is a man who wears many hats - from serving as president/CEO of the humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse to heading his father’s ministry, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, to devoting 10 percent of his time preaching.
(Photo: DemossNewsPond)
Graham spoke to The Christian Post just an hour before he was scheduled to share the last message at the closing night of MissionFest Toronto this month. During the interview, the evangelist shared about his recent trip to Sudan where he met with Muslim President Omar al-Bashir, his vow to rebuild at least 600 churches in Sudan, and the power of the Gospel.
On the Gospel
CP: During your mission festivals attended by tens of thousands of people, how do you feel as you look at the crowd?
Graham: First of all, the message that I preach isn’t mine. It is the Gospel; it is God’s Gospel. I’m just a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ who is given the mission to proclaim God’s Gospel, and when I see the people out there I don’t think ‘Wow, that’s a lot of people’ or something like that.
I just realize that out there in that audience are people who are on their way to hell and I pray that God will give me a very clear voice and that people will understand what I’m saying and people will come by faith to Jesus Christ confessing their sins, repenting and inviting Christ to come to be the Lord of their life and take sovereign control of their life.
When you see people come forward it is always a very humbling moment because you see the work of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. It is not Franklin Graham doing it; it is not my gifted preaching because I am not a gifted preacher. It is the work of the Holy Spirit of God in people’s lives. You see God’s hand at work and it is always a thrill and it’s a humbling experience.
It is also a frightening moment too because you realize that these people are making decision between life and death, and heaven and hell.
CP: Do you change your message according to the country and culture that you are in?
Graham: No it doesn’t change. The Gospel message is the same.
I remember about 30 years ago my father was doing a tour in Africa and he was in a very remote part of Nigeria and he preached John 3:16 and several weeks later he was in England at Oxford University and he thought, “hmmm, I think I’m going to preach the same message that I preached in Nigeria word for word.”
The impact that the Gospel had on the people’s lives in Nigeria – people came forward, received Christ - and Oxford where you have the elite of the elite was the same thing. It pierced the hearts of men and women and they stood on their feet to confess their sins, to repent and ask Christ to come in their hearts and become Lord of their lives.
So the Gospel is the same and it has power. Apostle Paul said that I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God and the salvation to the Jews first and then to the gentiles; the Gospel is God’s power there’s power in the Gospel.
CP: How do you keep yourself grounded in the Gospel and focused on God with your busy schedule and intense activities?
Graham: I try to start every day with my own private Scripture reading and taking time to pray. Then every evening I try to do the same thing. When you travel sometimes your routine gets broken and it’s not as easy to do so then you try to make up on the weekend. If you have a day with some extra hours then you want to read a little more and study a little more. Continue »
