Here we present 3 inspirational life lessons from the extraordinary life of Billy Graham. Billy Graham’s life teaches us that should we answer the call of God and serve Him with a faithful heart and a fervent spirit. Graham lived a faith-filled, focused, and fruitful life. May we successfully use the platform that we have been given and deliver the message of the gospel to lead people to Jesus.
3 Inspirational Life Lessons
Stay True to Your Mission and Be Bold (Inspirational Life Lessons #1)
Billy Graham’s calling in life was to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. For seven decades, his mission was to introduce Jesus to as many people as possible and to preach the love of Christ to a world that desperately needed it.
His message was based on God loving the world so much that He gave His begotten Son. He quoted John 3:16 over and over. He asked people to place their faith in Christ. He trusted in God completely and believed with all his heart that the Bible is God’s true word to humanity. “The Bible says” was the most familiar phrase that he used in his preaching. He knew that only through Jesus Christ we can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father.
He never turned away from the call to be a preacher of the gospel, even though he faced numerous trials and temptations. He kept going through the years, even after he had suffered several ailments. He had Parkinson’s disease, prostate cancer, was hospitalized multiple times for pneumonia, and suffered several broken bones because of falls. He lost much of his hearing, sight, and mobility. He never complained about his physical and emotional sufferings. He was committed to his evangelistic calling and focused always on Christ. He remained faithful to the gospel all the days of his life. He never quit and accomplished his calling in life.
He turned down a highly lucrative television hosting contract. He was the president of a Christian college for some time but resigned from the post after he realized it was diverting him from his real calling, which is preaching the good news of the gospel to the world. He rejected President Richard Nixon’s offer to become the US Ambassador to Israel and Lyndon Johnson’s offer to run for the US presidency.
He stayed faithful to God and his single-minded dedication helped him to preach the gospel to more than 2 billion people, including television and radio broadcasts. He employed every resource at his command and every ounce of his strength to spread the gospel. He had more than three million responses to his gospel invitations. Even when he turned 80, he spoke in gospel meetings. He wrote three books after he turned 90.
He preached to thousands of people standing under a huge banner with the words of Jesus “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” In a world of political correctness, he never gave in, kneeled, or buckled to the pressure of pluralism (a belief that many paths lead to God). He boldly declared that Jesus was the only way to God and Heaven.
We must stand by our beliefs and never compromise on our faith. We should share Christ boldly with others, but always with gentleness and respect.
Diligently Pursue Integrity and Accountability (Inspirational Life Lessons #2)
Billy Graham lived a life filled with integrity and accountability. Recognizing earlier in his ministry that greed, pride, and sexual immorality were the reasons for the downfall of fellow preachers, he and his associates developed and signed the Modesto Manifesto, which voluntarily imposed safeguards regarding sex, money, and truthfulness.
The manifesto clearly stated the key issues they would face along with the strategies to overcome them. Graham and his team committed themselves to honesty in their reporting, pursuing sexual morality, handling finances transparently, and operating along with churches rather than alone. The manifesto helped Graham to avoid moral disgrace and live above reproach.
Billy Graham set a high standard of integrity and held himself accountable in every area of his life, from finances to purity. He kept things real and transparent, which included the numbers reported in attendance and the number of commitments made in gospel meetings.
We should follow the principles of integrity, ethics, and accountability in our lives. We should flee temptations and put everything above board, which will help us evade the moral failure, so many great people have fallen to.
Handle Criticism with Grace and Honesty (Inspirational Life Lessons #3)
Billy Graham was criticized by both fundamentalists and liberals during his lifetime. Fundamentalists such as Bob Jones and Jerry Falwell never ceased to attack him. He was accused of preaching a shallow message of unity, cooperation, and love at the expense of Biblical truth. He was a simple preacher with a basic message of faith in Jesus Christ and trust in the Bible as the Word of God. He was reproved by liberals for his close friendships with politicians, and his closeness with Nixon caused Graham trouble years later.
However, Graham was gracious with his critics and never let the criticism divert him from the ministry. He did not feel bitter or angry and sometimes responded publicly with grace and honesty. He would try to make contact with his critics by writing letters to them. However, he was both fair and firm when needed.
We should handle criticism with poise and dignity and should not get upset and lose focus. It is the real measure of spiritual maturity.
These inspirational life lessons will help us follow in the footsteps of Jesus. The above inspirational life lessons encourage us to study, memorize, meditate, and quote the Bible every day in our lives. The aforementioned inspirational life lessons motivate us to pray and become close with our Almighty Creator. Inspirational life lessons from Billy Graham should persuade us to be humble, warm, and attentive to our fellow human beings.
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