Tonight they are showing one that I believe is from 1959. It is in the old black and white and Billy is looking a lot younger. As I first started watching the program, the thought occurred that there is no one that has drawn a bigger crowd in our time than Billy Graham. When he speaks, people tend to listen. But what stuck out to me more is that back in 1959, from what I know of that time period, you did not have the crusades and big gatherings to hear people talk about Buddhism. You did not see large crowds come together to hear Mormon preachers. You did not see large groups gather to hear lectures on eastern mysticism or things of that bend. You only saw large masses gather to hear about Jesus Christ. Today, the story is much different.
Today we do have large conferences where people openly preach false doctrines. People drop dollar after dollar to hear a 'spiritual coach' tell them how they can be a better person. A lot of times they will use Jesus' name or God's name while they teach, but the focus is not on them, but on the person themselves and what they can do for themselves. Today we hear the name it and claim it teaching quite often. Today we see large groups gather to study eastern mysticism or large atheistic gatherings. Whatever it may be, we no longer live in 1959, but rather 2009. In 40 years, the paradigm has shifted.
Another thought that occurred to me was that in 1959, the distractions from the truth, the truth being Jesus, were miniscule compared to the distractions of 2009. In 1959, people were searching for truth, just as people in 2009 are searching for truth. The difference is that the way truth is defined in 2009 is different from the way truth was defined in 1959. You may say or think that this is not possible; truth is truth. Yes, truth is truth, but the difference is that in our world today, truth is widely accepted as relative. Many people in our postmodern world will say your truth works for you but it does not work for me. The greatest example of this mentality is the broad acceptance of the various world religions.
A common theme is that all religions are basically the same and they all lead to the same end, or they all lead to God. Because our society believes that truth is relative, this is widely accepted. But is this what Jesus said? Absolutely not! Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 ESV). Jesus claimed to be the truth. Jesus did not say that you could find another way to God. Jesus did not say that this truth only applies to some people. No, the truth of Jesus Christ applies to all people. Jesus is the truth and His truth is absolute!
In John 18, Pontius Pilate asks Jesus, "What is truth?" (ESV) This is the fundamental philosophical question that people have been asking for years. The correct answer, thus, is Jesus Christ. He is the truth and the only truth. Do not be distracted by the other so called truths of our world today. Anything that is contradictory to Christ and says that its truth is just as true as the truth of Christ is incorrect and should be discarded. Truth is not relative. There are such things as absolutes. Just because some "deep thinker" says that truth is relative, does not make it so. This is one of the great lies that the enemy is spreading today. Do not be deceived by this line of thinking.
What is truth? Jesus Christ is the truth.
