this is Los Angeles a lot has happened in recent years but one of the events that really had an impact on this city spiritually happened over four decades ago I wasn't around at that time but I've heard the stories of the tent that was in the downtown area they called it the canvas Cathedral a young evangelist and his team had come to town to minister no I wasn't around at that time but I want you to meet that young evangelist as Lloyd Ogilvy talks to him let God love you you see that evangelist is my dad Billy Graham [Music] [Music] welcome to a special let God love you program with Billy Graham in a few moments we'll have a wonderful informal visit with our friend but before that I want you to see 40 years of miracles all rolled together in just a few moments that capture what God has done through the Billy Graham Crusades when young Billy Graham accepted the invitation to come to Southern California doubtless only the Lord knew what tremendous opportunities for worldwide evangelism would eventually be provided Los Angeles was far different in 1949 there was only one freeway the Pasadena and although there were fewer buildings smog seemed to drop its choking veil over the city at the downtown crossroads of Washington and Hill however a spiritual veil was about to be lifted people from all over the Southland came to see and hear Billy Graham for the first time in most everyone's memory nearly 1,000 churches had banded together United in showing sophisticated Angelenos that God had an eternal plan for their salvation at each service young and old alike crowded inside to find out what was happening God flash or fanfare the preliminary program was always kept simple might be a musical duet to quiet the crowd and of course the ever abelian song leading a faithful friend and associate cliff barrows and then the straightforward message of Billy Graham with Scripture texts frequently punctuated by the Bible says there are physical problems there are financial problems there are problems of sin 25 years later on 1974 that Lloyd Ogilvy was privileged to be chairman of a return Billy Graham crusade held in the historic Hollywood Bowl now four decades since the 1949 Los Angeles crusade response to the gospel call has been experienced were why just this year mission 89 in England provided the largest satellite coverage in Great Britain's history while Mr Graham spoke to a capacity crowd at Earls Court 250 other venues throughout the Isles including Scotland and Ireland received the message swelling the audience - well over 800,000 and on the other side of the world in China every available space was packed as people came to hear the word of the Lord but it was earlier this year that the Billy Graham team saw the largest response to any invitation in crusade history a record 92 thousand crowded into a 75,000 seat stadium in Budapest Hungary in this his fourth visit to the nation the people showed an obvious hunger for the gospel as Mr Graham shared the message of salvation the invitation was given almost a third of the audience surged forward to respond mr. Graham explained carefully don't come unless you really mean it from that early 1949 10th meeting in Los Angeles 240 years later in all parts of the world Billy Graham exalts only in the power of the gospel and in praising the Lord he react was a favorite crusade him How Great Thou art and now Lloyd Ogilvy with his special guest last summer I was in Edinburgh Scotland and I hailed a cab when I got into the cab the cabbie turned to me and said what's your name and what do you do I told him my name and told him I was a Christian and that I was a pastor and he said do you know Billy Graham and I said yes I do he said what's he like well I said he's exactly what you see a man of God filled with love and integrity and he is a wonderful friend to me and then he explained that he and his wife become Christians through the crusade in Britain and then as I got out of the cab he said would you do me a favor I said yes when you see Billy Graham would you thank him for me and my wife would you just take a hold of his hand and thank him that we're gonna live forever because he preached the gospel so I said yes Billy and Here I am with that opportunity to on behalf of that cab driver and millions of other people say thank you for all that God has done in you and through you during these years welcome to let God love you you're a part of this family I understand you and Ruth to see this program we do on this on Sunday nights when we're home we see it every Sunday night it comes on at the right time for us and it's a privilege to be here with you because there's no one in Christian work today that we love and admire more than you thank you and we thank God for the ministry that He has given you and I'm honored to be on this program and never dreamed that I'd sit here some day with you and talk with you about things of the Lord and thank you for that little story because it's not Billy Graham it's really a team of people that God has used and it's the work of the Holy Spirit as you well know yes and all about work God has called us and so it's a privilege to be here today just a few days ago a star was placed on Hollywood Boulevard with your name on it the City Council voted to place a star there in recognition of your use of media and we're so thankful that along with all of the other stars up and down the boulevard people will be able to see Billy Graham's star and remember that the people and God have honored but has been done through you the placing of that star marks the 40th anniversary of the Billy Graham Crusades and we want to present you with a very special recognition of something that happened prior to that first crusade now it's my understanding that you went to forest home and met dr. Henrietta Mears who is at that time director of Christian education of our church and that that was a significant time in your life prior to that first crusade she invited me to come and speak at forest home well I was staying at a small hotel here and I never I didn't know how I was gonna get out that I didn't know where it was or anything and all of a sudden here came dr. Lewis Evans to pick me up personally yes and carry me out there he was passed of his church well I looked on him you know as one of the great men of our time and here I was just a boy preacher just out of school as it were and they took me out to Forrest home and they had a number of students there from Princeton and other places and there were big discussions about the authority of Scripture and things that students talked about and they were some there that were doubting and some thought that I was a bit old-fashioned and some of the views on Hell because I was just out of a Bible School and a Neve Angelica Christian College and so I went out in the woods and at night and opened the Bible and I said lord I do not understand all that's in this book there are many things here that seemed to me to be contradictions but I accept this as your word by faith and from that moment on I never had a doubt and so that when we had accepted the invitation to hold meetings by a group of businessman and a few clergy on at Washington and Hill Street every time I quoted the scripture I felt I was quoting the word of god and it put a new authority in my speaking and in my preaching that has not left till this day praise God for that Philippians 1:6 was important to you and then on front of this very thing that he which had begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ and has he ever performed that through you Billy millions of people in over sixty countries six continents of the globe have been led to Christ if we put a star on Hollywood Boulevard I want you to know that there are stars in your crowd and each one is for a person who's been led to Christ as a result of your preaching well you know as I said on that occasion there's only one star and that's the bright and Morning Star the Lord Jesus Christ and I'm committed totally to him and these stars for people who deserve them in their industry and in their field I do not deserve a star because I'm not a star I'm not a celebrity I am a servant of Jesus Christ and Jesus always was a servant and exemplified servanthood in his ministry and that's what I want to be considered as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and not some celebrity on in the newspaper or a star on Hollywood Boulevard well that's what we had in mind when we made this plaque Billy we wanted to be able to put this in the Henrietta Sameer's Family Life Center to remember that event prior to that first crusade and this is what we put on the plaque in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Billy Graham crusade in 1949 just prior to this crusade at a crucial point in the life of Billy Graham the love influence and encouragement and guidance of Henrietta Mears proved eternally beneficial to the young evangelist the crusade that followed caught the attention of the world and in subsequent years dr. Graham's ministry has brought salvation to millions now 40 years later God's servant Billy Graham joins with the people of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood to dedicate this marker to that god blessed event and to make a renewed commitment to the evangelization of the world that's one that will hang in our Family Life Center in affirmation of that wonderful event thank you but the commitment is to the future Billy what do you see for the future of evangelization well there every generation needs to be realized and to say that we have finished the job I don't think we can ever say that until the Lord comes because every generation has its various spiritual needs and social needs and we're living in such a fast-moving pace in the world today things are changing overnight yes and we don't know exactly what is going to happen I don't think any of us can be prophets about that but just for example in Eastern Europe where I have spent a great deal of time in the last 11 years we have seen vast changes that I would not have dreamed possible in 1977 when we first went there to preach the gospel and here doors are opened that I thought would be forever closed yes and last year we went to China and went to the various universities and spoke and of course that's closing back down again it it's constantly changing throughout the world and just a few weeks ago we went hungry and we expected maybe 20 or 25,000 people at their great peoples stadium but it broke the stadium record 90,000 people came and when I gave the invitation for people to receive Christ something like 27,000 people came and I thought they'd misunderstood because I tried to make it as hard as I could that you must take up your cross and what it costs to be a Christian in the West and in days and still they came and it was I felt like a spectator and as I told you I don't have tear ducts that bring forth tears in my eyes and yet I was choked up as I watched this crowd of people hungry for the gospel so chair the thing is changing and here in this country it seems to me that we're becoming more secular more materialistic and looking to secularism and materialism to satisfy us the Communists to prove that it doesn't satisfy they're looking for something else and I think we're going to be seeing that same thing happen here I think they're people in America the searching for something they don't know what it is but I think it's Christ I believe that Billy you would do not refer to yourself as a televangelist no nor do i I call myself a pastor who uses television to communicate with the America and I was so pleased to hear your explanation of your firm and clear call to be an evangelist and share with me again that your definition of an evangelist the good news teller well I think an evangelist is is a person who is called to announce very much like a television announcer for news on newscaster that's what he is he's bearing news and that news is the gospel which is the good news in the scripture the good news that God loves you and God is interested in you and that God will forgive you if you repent of your sins and receive Christ into your heart and that he's interested in every aspect of your life and the hurting people and the people that are then maybe watching that are having burdens right now he's right there beside you to help you if you put your trust and your confidence in him and that's good news to people today and it's a marvelous thing to stand up and proclaim that it's a thrill every time I do it and I I counted a great privilege to be an evangelist you know the word evangelist is only used a few times in Scripture in the New Testament though its various derivations they used many times when it comes to the gospel the Evangel and so forth and so I'm not going to deny that I'm an evangelist because of a couple headlines about it two or three people and I liken it also to the Los Angeles Airport it has hundreds of planes landing and taking off all through the day and there's no news to it but you let a couple of them crash and that's big news and we've seen a couple so-called teller evangelists crashed and so it's big news and of course it's what some of the press enjoy because it's a long story of it brings in all the elements that they like in their type of coverage and it is like a soap opera and I feel sorry for those involved but that doesn't mean that the work of the church has been stopped I think it has had a good effect it's been a cleansing effect and I know know some people that are changing their whole method of operation as a result of what has happened and I think we'll have more accountability well Billy you know that the 10 commitments of financial accountability which we have under girding this ministry were written as a result of the challenge that you gave at a clergy conference once where I was sitting in the back of the room and you were so effective in my life and calling for financial accountability that we wrote out those 10 commitments and they've been the basis of this ministry so I thank you for that well thank you Billy the opening of the program was done by Franklin your son and I just had the wonderful privilege of meeting Ned and I know that your family and your grandchildren mean a great deal to you but I know also the impact that Ruth has had in your ministry yet and we're so thankful for her and for the partnership you've had together well thank you she's a marvelous woman the Lord arranged it because when I was going with a girl and engaged to another girl I didn't know that way out in the middle of China God was preparing my wife and she became the great right arm for me through all these years I've never heard her say that she was discouraged I've never heard her say she was even tired even though she's been in the hospital with all different things because of a fall that she had she just is one terrific positive person always encouraging never saying I think you ought to stay home when maybe I was called to go and preach the gospel Billy we're so thankful that the television audience that used this program is made up of the rich in the poor people who know Christ and who are searching for Christ I know that right at this moment there are literally thousands and thousands of people watching the two of us who don't know Christ what would you say to them I would say to listen to the voice of the Spirit of God because I don't think that anybody can come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit draws them and convicts them and he uses messages like yourself or maybe a Bible or it could be just a gospel tract I remember for example the Surgeon General of Portugal was walking down the street and a piece of paper stuck to his shoe and when he got home he pulled it off and decided to look at it and it was a gospel tract and through that he found Christ and became a great influence for Christ in Portugal and I could tell story after story like that and I think God prepares certain people and when I stand up to preach to a congregation I know that they're people there and answer to prayer that maybe people that have gone in another generation or perhaps people somewhere else in the world that's the reason we ought to pray for every region of the world constantly because there are people whose hearts God will prepare and they're just ready to make their commitment to Christ and how about people who made a commitment some years ago and have drifted into blandness or are no longer on fire for Christ what what should they do what advice would you call so as we know in the Old Testament the word revival is used it's not used in the New Testament but it it comes about in the New Testament in another language but there needs to be renewal and revival in each of our hearts I have in my own life and that's the reason I read 5 Psalms every day because the psalmist had an up-and-down experience in his own personal spiritual experience and I have told my son's and I've told my children I tell audiences that there are times when we feel a bit down and when troubles come and difficulties common pressures come and when we neglect the Scriptures and when we we used to call it in the old days backsliding yes and when we get away from though that that wonderful intimacy with Christ will sometimes in those moments God may be closer to us than any other time and I remember that I had one of those experiences when I was in Bible School and I wrote to my mother and told her that and she said son she said reach up in the fog and in the darkness and you'll find that God's hand is already there and and I'd never forgot that and when times of discouragement come and they do to me I have those experiences like everyone else I do tube and and I can reach there by faith and God is always there and he's never let me down and I thank God for the privilege of walking with him every day Billy how can we pray for you we feel like you're a part of this whole family of faith that are a part of this program how could people across the nation pray for you at this wonderful and exciting time of your life well it is a wonderful time of life I've come toward the end of my ministry I know that that I've already spent the greater part of my life because I'll I'm 70 almost 71 years of age and I need strength I need physical stamina I need mental alertness I need spiritual power because we have it seems more open doors right now than I can ever remember in various parts of the world and I would like to take them all but I can't do that and give the attention to my family and grandchildren that I would like to give and I want to write my memoirs I want to make it a book that would glorify the Lord tell people the mistakes I've made hoping they won't make the same mistakes and making it a book that young seminary students can rehab get some help from in the things that God has led us to do not to do that's wonderful you know at the end of Henrietta Mira's life she was asked the question if you had to do it all over again what would you do differently mm-hmm and she said I trust God more that's if I asked you the question if you had all of the 40 years to live over again would you do anything differently yes I do many things I would spend a great deal more time in study I would take far less speaking engagements and interviews and things like that and I would study and I would pray more I would spend more time in devotions I would spend more time with my family those are the things I look back on and wish that I had done differently but we can't go and relive our lives and we can't hold on to the regrets of the past we have to move forward and what lies ahead and say thank you Lord for the present and thank you for what you're going to do in the future Billy one of the vivid images that people hold in their minds when they think of you it's of you standing proclaiming the Word of God with a Bible in your hand and you've always referred to the Scriptures as the authority of everything that you've said and your invitation for people to meet Christ we've prepared a special pocket Bible for you to commemorate this event it's in special remembrance of 40 years of blessed ministry since the historic Los Angeles crusade of 1949 and it's to dr. Billy Graham and it's to commemorate this special event and I pray that as you've used the Scriptures every day of your life for your own devotions and have preached from them and have taught millions of people to trust in the Bible as the inspired irrevocable Word of God that you'll accept this gift from the let God love you family and use it and remember all of us and they were praying for you thank you very much and I cannot thank you enough for the support and the prayers of you and the people that you influenced because so many people are influenced by you and your graciousness and your love and I always think of you I shouldn't use the word perhaps but sweetness in Christ because you you have all the earmarks of think of the spirit filled man and the one whom the Holy Spirit is producing the fruit of spirit in and you can sense that and feel that when you're with you and I've often coveted that wonderful marvelous face of yours which comes over the screen and into our homes and our hearts and we love you Thank You Billy so often Billy Graham and I have said I hope we can get a good visit together sometime and then life gets busy but we've had that opportunity today and it's been wonderful that you've been a part of our visit god bless you I want you to have your own personal pocket New Testament just like I presented to Billy Graham it's made of soft leather it has the entire New Testament and the Proverbs in it and it will give you a wonderful opportunity to have the scriptures with you in every moment put it in your purse or in your pocket and have it there to call on when you need it I'm suggesting a donation of $30 or more for each one of these New Testaments it would make a marvelous Christmas present so if you write for more than one include an appropriate amount we need your help to continue this ministry we're committed to preaching Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and we're thankful that God has given us a wonderful response across the nation we need your help to continue right for your New Testament god bless you for one of these handsome New Testaments with proverbs just like the one Lloyd overly has presented to Billy Graham right to Box 5c Hollywood California 9 to below 7 8 each $30 you send for this ministry entitles you to one of these unique editions they'll make an ideal and spiritual a practical gift for your loved ones and in requesting a copy you'll know that you've also helped in this television outreach so please write void Ogilvie box 5c Hollywood California nine double-o seven eight next week one of the most important questions you'll ever have to answer a personal concern which will impact eternity join Lloyd Ogilvy and let God love you [Music] you
