The Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade came down on the same day that former President Lyndon Johnson died....January 22, 1973. Watergate would consume the rest of the year. In November Billy Graham held a crusade in St. Louis, Missouri. In one of his nightly messages he thundered about the Babylonian king Belshazzar. Nebuchadnezzar was dead and his grandson took the vessels previously taken from the temple in Jerusalem.....and all present in that great feast of his drank from the holy vessels. That's when the hand appeared....writing on the wall....as the book of Daniel describes to us. Billy Graham pointed out to the people in the packed arena....once again this back in 1973....that America was becoming as Babylon had been under Belshazzar.
Folks....that crusade was over forty-five years ago. I was partying on the Pitt campus at the time. Did I somehow catch that particular night's message? Possibly....as I did spend some time at home....and I did surf the 13 or so channels....but at the time I would not have known the Old Testament book of Daniel from a bottle of Jack Daniels....but here's the thing....what Billy Graham saw in the America of 1973....was absolutely nothing in terms of rebellion to God as we have today! Reverend Graham would continue to preach this message....with increasing fervor....until he went to be with his Lord more than forty-four years later.
Was Billy Graham incorrect or premature with his message of judgment forty-five years ago. Was he about a half century too early to give such a message? No....Jeremiah prophesied God's warnings for forty years. Most of God's prophets in the Old Testament did not live to see their prophesies come true....and Billy Graham would never see his beloved nation undergo the full judgment of God.
I've had it said to me....eyes rolling....many times....'Oh Special Dog....you've been saying for a long time that God is going to judge America." My usual response has been....'What would you rather have....God judging us without a warning.....without giving us an opportunity to turn to Him....or would you rather have what He has been doing for at least a half century....sending faithful preachers to show exactly how we have turned away from Him....what God's Word tells us will happen....and what we must therefore do?
We are reeling in America. Clowns to the left of me....jokers to the right....here I am....stuck in the middle with you....that's part of the refrain from the hit song by Stealers Wheel....Stuck In The Middle With you....released in April of 1973. I watched a portion.....the final summations....of the Democrat debate tonight.....and I've read 40 books on Donald Trump since it became apparent that he was not who he said that he was during the campaign. Folks...we're in the middle of all of this. This that we have become is judgment from God.
We don't have the Billy Graham Crusades for the unbeliever to stumble upon....and we don't have Christian bookstores anymore....and we are losing these faithful preachers who warned us one by one. In short....our supply lines have been cut. My God open our eyes once again....in the pulpit and in the pew....in time to turn to Him.....to look to Him....and to rely only upon Him in the turmoil that surely lies ahead.
KEEP THIS DREAM IN MIND....June of 2018:
The equation works with any family member that one might choose. Let's see....I'll go with father. Here's the situation....you were raised in a loving household and provided with everything that you need....your father was there for you to put food on the table....to answer your questions....to help in sports....everything! You grew up....uh....let's say that you are around 30 years old right now....and then let's continue on from there....
A strange and fantastical thing happens to you. Through whatever means....you come to be born again....you see your sin and you see where not only yourself but all men are going unless something is done about it....and you see that something was done about it....it happened at the cross on Calvary and in an empty tomb about two thousand years ago. For some reason the very words in the Bible that you may have read or heard many times over the years all of a sudden passed through your thick skull. Now momentarily....maybe even longer....maybe even for a few years....you were so overwhelmed with joy that you didn't feel it necessary to contemplate anything else but your own blessed salvation. Now that would indeed be too long but it happened and now you are starting to realize some other realities....let's go on from there....
This father who provided so lovingly for you for so many years and who without him....who knows where you would be today....what about him? Let's go over some possibilities....one....you get two free passes when when you become a Christian so you can give them to you mother and father! No...that's not it. Hmmm! Two....you have watched your father for thirty some years now and if anyone knows him it is you.....and since you know him and how nice and hard working and caring that he is....then God....who is so much more knowing than you....must certainly know this also....and therefore your father will wind up in heaven....even though he has never mentioned the name of Jesus....exhibited any outward love of the gospel or of God.....nor have you ever seen him just sit down to read the Bible....or even mention the Bible? You know the answer to this as well....it's not an answer that you want....so you keep it as far back in your mind as is possible....and simply never let it see the light of day. You do this because you love your father so much....or so you tell yourself. Let's go on from there.....
You finally come to the point that all Christians should come to sooner or later. You look at this loved one....or these loved ones....and you face the fact that they too must be born again also....they too need Christ....there is no other way....or they will go to....hmm....I'm not sure that one can say that word in America anymore? There are all kinds of things that we cannot say in America anymore. They are not putting us in jail yet.....but they will take away our livelihood if they can. Let me see if I can sneak this one past the censors....if your father....or any family member that you love....never becomes born again....then...."there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." That's all that you should need to know....that your loved one....father/mother/son/daughter/anyone will weep and gnash their teeth when they stand before the glory of God and are judged.
Now I could describe this in other words than 'born again' but a century of easy-believism made these other phrases utterly ineffective....one example might be.....'unless they became a Christian'....but that's not nearly specific enough....or 'unless they have a personal relationship with Christ'....but that sounds more like getting saved from boredom than from you know where....or I could just say....'unless they believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior'.....that's absolutely true but so incomplete and easy to say that pretty near everyone uses it today....if asked....for they would never volunteer it. Folks....you do not have to use the words 'born again' but if you understand the enormity of what one soul regenerated is then you would never let your loved ones rely upon anything less!
I'll get very personal here for a minute. I loved my father. He passed away in November of 1979. I was lost in my sins at the time and therefore utterly useless to him in the matters of his eternal soul. I visit his grave site occasionally.....he's buried in Arlington National Cemetery....and I walk away more determined than ever to pray for those family members that I love....who mistakenly believe that an amiable personality is enough to enter God's eternal rest....but discipleship comes with a cost. The very least of this cost is that you may become a persona non grata on occasion....because you care more for the soul of your loved ones than their approval.
So consider this....a dream maybe....you are lost....hanging by a thread over you know where....and that thread begins to unravel.....a Christian passes by.....you always gave him the impression that you were a Christian even though you didn't even have the slightest idea what that really was...."tell me about Jesus Christ" you plead.....but he cannot hear....."tell me the gospel of salvation!"....you look up and the thread continues to unravel...."what must I do to be saved" you shout....but no one responds....because they are not listening....they 'love' you but just assumed that you are safe....for you go to church.....the thread then breaks and you fall....it gets colder and colder.....the evil all around you makes your skin crawl....you shout....."Nooooo!"....and then you wake up. Now the next time that you think about loved ones....remember this dream....and see if you can so easily avoid the issue because you just....assumed....that they are not lost and hanging by a thread....when if you are honest then you must admit that they never gave evidence to the contrary....and you never even looked for any evidence anyway.
Folks....that crusade was over forty-five years ago. I was partying on the Pitt campus at the time. Did I somehow catch that particular night's message? Possibly....as I did spend some time at home....and I did surf the 13 or so channels....but at the time I would not have known the Old Testament book of Daniel from a bottle of Jack Daniels....but here's the thing....what Billy Graham saw in the America of 1973....was absolutely nothing in terms of rebellion to God as we have today! Reverend Graham would continue to preach this message....with increasing fervor....until he went to be with his Lord more than forty-four years later.
Was Billy Graham incorrect or premature with his message of judgment forty-five years ago. Was he about a half century too early to give such a message? No....Jeremiah prophesied God's warnings for forty years. Most of God's prophets in the Old Testament did not live to see their prophesies come true....and Billy Graham would never see his beloved nation undergo the full judgment of God.
I've had it said to me....eyes rolling....many times....'Oh Special Dog....you've been saying for a long time that God is going to judge America." My usual response has been....'What would you rather have....God judging us without a warning.....without giving us an opportunity to turn to Him....or would you rather have what He has been doing for at least a half century....sending faithful preachers to show exactly how we have turned away from Him....what God's Word tells us will happen....and what we must therefore do?
We are reeling in America. Clowns to the left of me....jokers to the right....here I am....stuck in the middle with you....that's part of the refrain from the hit song by Stealers Wheel....Stuck In The Middle With you....released in April of 1973. I watched a portion.....the final summations....of the Democrat debate tonight.....and I've read 40 books on Donald Trump since it became apparent that he was not who he said that he was during the campaign. Folks...we're in the middle of all of this. This that we have become is judgment from God.
We don't have the Billy Graham Crusades for the unbeliever to stumble upon....and we don't have Christian bookstores anymore....and we are losing these faithful preachers who warned us one by one. In short....our supply lines have been cut. My God open our eyes once again....in the pulpit and in the pew....in time to turn to Him.....to look to Him....and to rely only upon Him in the turmoil that surely lies ahead.
KEEP THIS DREAM IN MIND....June of 2018:
The equation works with any family member that one might choose. Let's see....I'll go with father. Here's the situation....you were raised in a loving household and provided with everything that you need....your father was there for you to put food on the table....to answer your questions....to help in sports....everything! You grew up....uh....let's say that you are around 30 years old right now....and then let's continue on from there....
A strange and fantastical thing happens to you. Through whatever means....you come to be born again....you see your sin and you see where not only yourself but all men are going unless something is done about it....and you see that something was done about it....it happened at the cross on Calvary and in an empty tomb about two thousand years ago. For some reason the very words in the Bible that you may have read or heard many times over the years all of a sudden passed through your thick skull. Now momentarily....maybe even longer....maybe even for a few years....you were so overwhelmed with joy that you didn't feel it necessary to contemplate anything else but your own blessed salvation. Now that would indeed be too long but it happened and now you are starting to realize some other realities....let's go on from there....
This father who provided so lovingly for you for so many years and who without him....who knows where you would be today....what about him? Let's go over some possibilities....one....you get two free passes when when you become a Christian so you can give them to you mother and father! No...that's not it. Hmmm! Two....you have watched your father for thirty some years now and if anyone knows him it is you.....and since you know him and how nice and hard working and caring that he is....then God....who is so much more knowing than you....must certainly know this also....and therefore your father will wind up in heaven....even though he has never mentioned the name of Jesus....exhibited any outward love of the gospel or of God.....nor have you ever seen him just sit down to read the Bible....or even mention the Bible? You know the answer to this as well....it's not an answer that you want....so you keep it as far back in your mind as is possible....and simply never let it see the light of day. You do this because you love your father so much....or so you tell yourself. Let's go on from there.....
You finally come to the point that all Christians should come to sooner or later. You look at this loved one....or these loved ones....and you face the fact that they too must be born again also....they too need Christ....there is no other way....or they will go to....hmm....I'm not sure that one can say that word in America anymore? There are all kinds of things that we cannot say in America anymore. They are not putting us in jail yet.....but they will take away our livelihood if they can. Let me see if I can sneak this one past the censors....if your father....or any family member that you love....never becomes born again....then...."there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." That's all that you should need to know....that your loved one....father/mother/son/daughter/anyone will weep and gnash their teeth when they stand before the glory of God and are judged.
Now I could describe this in other words than 'born again' but a century of easy-believism made these other phrases utterly ineffective....one example might be.....'unless they became a Christian'....but that's not nearly specific enough....or 'unless they have a personal relationship with Christ'....but that sounds more like getting saved from boredom than from you know where....or I could just say....'unless they believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior'.....that's absolutely true but so incomplete and easy to say that pretty near everyone uses it today....if asked....for they would never volunteer it. Folks....you do not have to use the words 'born again' but if you understand the enormity of what one soul regenerated is then you would never let your loved ones rely upon anything less!
I'll get very personal here for a minute. I loved my father. He passed away in November of 1979. I was lost in my sins at the time and therefore utterly useless to him in the matters of his eternal soul. I visit his grave site occasionally.....he's buried in Arlington National Cemetery....and I walk away more determined than ever to pray for those family members that I love....who mistakenly believe that an amiable personality is enough to enter God's eternal rest....but discipleship comes with a cost. The very least of this cost is that you may become a persona non grata on occasion....because you care more for the soul of your loved ones than their approval.
So consider this....a dream maybe....you are lost....hanging by a thread over you know where....and that thread begins to unravel.....a Christian passes by.....you always gave him the impression that you were a Christian even though you didn't even have the slightest idea what that really was...."tell me about Jesus Christ" you plead.....but he cannot hear....."tell me the gospel of salvation!"....you look up and the thread continues to unravel...."what must I do to be saved" you shout....but no one responds....because they are not listening....they 'love' you but just assumed that you are safe....for you go to church.....the thread then breaks and you fall....it gets colder and colder.....the evil all around you makes your skin crawl....you shout....."Nooooo!"....and then you wake up. Now the next time that you think about loved ones....remember this dream....and see if you can so easily avoid the issue because you just....assumed....that they are not lost and hanging by a thread....when if you are honest then you must admit that they never gave evidence to the contrary....and you never even looked for any evidence anyway.
