Good News - January 2020

24 JANUARY 2020 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition COVER STORY See Pg. 8 ranklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, will embark on a Decision America Sunshine State Tour, visiting six Florida cities in January with a message of hope. The free tour will begin on January 11 in Jacksonville Beach, followed by stops in Plant City, Panama City Beach, Key West, Boca Raton and Fort Myers. Franklin, the son of the late Evangelist Billy Graham, will be in South Florida on January 18 at the Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Boca Raton at 4 p.m. for an exciting evening of prayer, music and a powerful message of Good News. As a speaker and author, Graham regularly addresses current moral and social issues, calling Christians to stand for godly values while providing biblical context and application to national and world events. He and the organizations he leads have helped people impacted by crisis in- cluding 9/11 and other terrorist attacks; civil war in Sudan; the Iraqi and Syrian refugee crises; and national disasters ranging from the Ebola outbreak inWestAfrica to earth- quakes in Japan, Haiti and China. He has also met privately with six U.S. presidents and world leaders from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America. Just before Christmas, Graham shared his thoughts with us about his leadership role, growing up Graham and the upcoming Florida tour. Les Feldman - We admire your outspoken role of leadership in politics. What is the reaction that you generally get, understanding that leaders lead? Franklin Graham – Our world has changed so much in the last 25 years. We used to have some great Christian leaders who spoke out on some of these issues. You had Jerry Falwell, Dr. Kennedy and others who were able to defend the faith. But what is so surprising today is there are so few voices speaking out. As an evan- gelist I want to warn people about the danger of sin, and I want people to know that there are consequences to sin. I want people to know that Jesus Christ paid the debt of sin, that he shed his blood on the cross and died for our sins and then God raised to life. But I want every person to know that God will forgive them. But the issue is the churches, so many are giving in because of culture and acceptability, and they don’t want to be on the outside of the crowd. They want to kind of fit in with the crowd. And I want to warn not only sinners to repentance but I want to warn the church that we have a responsibility and that is to hold to the truths of scripture and to present the truth of the scripture to the next generation. LF – Wonderful. Along those lines, what do you feel are the next steps? We’re in difficult times right now. You constantly point out that we need prayer for our lead- ership, for our president. In bringing the factions together, what do you feel is neces- sary at this point? FG – Well first of all there has to be revival in this country. You can’t bring oil and water together. You’re not going to bring darkness and light together. There has to be a revival. People’s hearts have to be changed. And the only way that can be changed is through the preaching of the gospel. LF – Samaritan’s Purse is global. It’s an awesome undertaking. Based on the disaster relief that you provide, how many countries can you actually be in at the same time in providing disaster relief? FG – Well that’s a good question. We operate in about 110 countries. When I say operate, we have people inside those countries, nationals that work with us at some level or another, whether it is Operation Christmas Child or whatever. As far as providing relief in a large way, it would probably be around 10 or 15 countries at a time that we would be able to get in a large way and then many others in a smaller way for just a short period of time. We don’t go in and stay in every country. We work on a particular need and then we leave. LF – What message are you trying to get across to the public at this time? I know you are a spokesperson for the Christian community, but your political and per- sonal points of view stretch well beyond that. What’s the message? FG – Well, what we call the Decision American Sunshine State Tour that we are doing in January. First of all, the greatest decision that any of us have to make is what we’re going to do with Jesus Christ and whether we are going to accept his sacrificial death on the cross for our sins, and that’s the greatest decision that we’re going to make in life. But also I want the church to know – I’m talking to believers now, not the unsaved, but believers – the greatest decision before us now is the direction our nation is going, and their vote can make a difference. And I encourage Christians to vote. I don’t tell themwho to vote for, but vote for the candidate that is going to support biblical values, conservative judges, traditionalAmerican values.And those are important. Not every candidate out there is going to necessarily believe in God, but they may support the values that are Christian-based that this nation was built on. We’ve got politicians out there that are totally opposed to the principles that made America great, and they want to radically change this nation and turn it into socialism. LF – I’m sure you’ve been asked this a lot, but what was it like growing up the son of Billy Graham? FG – Well that has always been a very difficult question for me to answer be- cause I don’t have any other home to compare it to, and I just assumed the way I grew up was just normal for everybody, and I think that’s true of other people who grew up in a home of a person who was well known. But I am just grateful for my parents because the life that they lived publicly was the same life that they lived at home. There weren’t two Billy and Ruth Grahams, there was just one. And they lived a very consistent life, so I’m very proud of my parents, very thankful to God for the way they raised us children. Of course, all of us grow and have to make our own de- cisions in life, and we make our own mistakes, but the example our parents set in the home had a huge impact I think on all of us. Shelly Pond – I’ve read your book “Rebel with a Cause,” so I know you were a self-described rebel in your youth. What was it that finally caused you to follow head- long after Christ, and do you ever waver in your faith now? FG – Well, no, I do not waver in my faith. I think all of us in life ask the question, Why God? Why did this happen or why did um… many times a loved one is lost, and so, why? Many times in life we don’t get those whys answered. We’ll have to wait till we get to heaven to find out sometimes the whys, but I’ve never wavered in my faith, and I am just thankful to God that he loves me, that he’s forgiven me and that he’s sent his son from heaven to this earth to die for my sins. And if I had been the only person to ever live, he would have sent his son Jesus Christ to take my sins. I’m just thankful that he loved me that much. SP – You were just in Cambodia, and I understand 23,700 people came out to hear you proclaim the gospel in Phnom Penh. You’ve spoken all over the world. Is there anything unique in speaking to Cambodia and then coming here to Florida? Are the messages different? FG – The gospel is the same whether you preach in Cambodia or whether you preach in Florida, and it’s the Good News that God loves sinners that Christ died for our sins, then God raised him to life and if we’re willing to surrender and repent and turn from our sins and believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we’ll be saved. Franklin Graham Is Coming to Florida In January; Here’s What’s On His Mind F Leslie Feldman Good News Publisher Photo Credit: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.