Lincoln’s stone of sorrow for historic persecution

Tributes to Billy Graham, from Charles Gardner and Dr Clifford Hill.

On Wednesday 21 February 2018, in his 100^th year, the most tireless, faithful evangelist of our time went home. Used of God to reach millions, from ordinary citizens to presidents and royalty, Billy Graham was renowned for both preaching and living out the true Gospel.

The many thousands of tributes pouring through the media offer but small glimpses of the immense legacy of this one man’s service. Nevertheless, we are honoured to contribute ours below.

May we all have the grace to accept the challenge of his example.

A Humble Servant

Charles Gardner

He carried an awesome presence I have never witnessed in another human being.

Tributes are pouring in from all over the world in honour of one of the greatest evangelists of modern times, and I am privileged to add my own.

Billy Graham has died at his North Carolina home in his centenary year after a life of tireless service to Christ carried out with God’s clear anointing.

It is estimated that he has preached the Gospel to over 200 million people, and his global influence is incalculable. A confidante to many US presidents, he was also a man of true humility.

I remember the occasion, at All Souls, Langham Place, in the 1970s, when he quietly slipped in among the central London congregation, sitting a few rows behind me. No-one would have known he was there until the Vicar, Michael Baughen, (or was it John Stott, the Rector?) publicly welcomed him to the service.

On another occasion, he was actually down to speak and it was flagged up as a ‘guest service’ to which we were encouraged to bring seekers. I brought my mum along and he spoke with powerful eloquence on Psalm 23, but I remember how gutted I felt at my mother’s reaction – she was totally unmoved. I had to learn that no matter how good the preacher is, Jesus said: “No-one can come to me unless the Father draws him” (John 6:44).

My son Julian, however, was among the first to respond to his message when Billy came to Sheffield in 1985. He was just nine years old and went marching out onto the Bramall Lane pitch all on his own, indicating that he didn’t need anyone to accompany him. The preacher had chosen what I considered a somewhat obscure Bible passage for his sermon, but thousands of hearts were touched.

It is estimated that he has preached the Gospel to over 200 million people, and his global influence is incalculable.

A year earlier, when he spoke at Birmingham’s Aston Villa stadium, I attended the press conference. I don’t recall what was asked or said, but I will always remember how the atmosphere changed when he walked into the room. He carried an awesome presence about him that I have never witnessed in any other human being.

Perhaps the most significant mark he made on my life was through a Jewish lady called Helen McIntosh, who found her Messiah through Billy’s famous meetings in Haringey, north London, in 1954.

Helen became leader of John Stott’s ‘nursery class’ for new Christians and seekers, a forerunner to the likes of Alpha and Christianity Explored. She always referred to herself as a ‘completed Jew’ and, through the scriptures, taught me a great deal about my new-found faith. She eventually took me under her wing as assistant, and those early years from 1972-4 were foundational to my Christian life.

Thank you Billy for changing lives all over the world through the simple Gospel message that Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification! Glory to God!

Billy Graham speaking in Florida, February 1961.

A Man of Integrity

Dr Clifford Hill

My outstanding memory of Billy Graham is how he loved to talk about Jesus. His favourite text was John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” He must have preached on this text many hundreds of times, all over the world and in many different nations. It was the same message of God’s love for all people and that the only way to God was through Jesus.

Billy Graham was indeed an evangelist to the world and he was used to meeting presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and world leaders. He was often consulted by presidents of the USA, but in private he was just an ordinary humble man who loved to talk about Jesus. I had quite a bit to do with him in the 1970s and 80s – what now seems another lifetime! But my memories of sitting chatting with him are quite vivid and they were precious times.

We often talked about the state of the Church as well as world events. It was a time when several big-name televangelists were getting unwelcome publicity for either sex or money scandals. These things never touched Billy. His ministry was always clean and despite the size of his organisation he maintained firm standards of righteousness so that scandal never reached him. Billy insisted that members of his team who travelled with him on foreign tours brought their wives with them, because he knew the pressures and temptations that occurred when married couples were separated for long periods.

My outstanding memory of Billy Graham is how he loved to talk about Jesus.

Ruth was his lifelong wife and companion with whom they had five children. She died in 2007 aged 87. Billy has outlived her by more than 10 years but no doubt they have had a glorious reunion and he has achieved his desire to meet Jesus.

Millions have benefited from his ministry and there is no Christian preacher who has ever reached more people or been more influential with ordinary people and with world leaders than Billy Graham. He leaves an amazing legacy and his ministry will continue long after his departure through his writings and recordings, both audio and video. Both in this world and in the next, multitudes of believers will be echoing the words of the Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

It was with great sadness that we heard of the death of Dennis Wrigley earlier this week. He was the founder and leader of the Maranatha Community, with prayer groups in many parts of the UK and Ireland. Dennis had a unique ministry that was both prophetic and practical. His wise and biblically-based teaching and personal witness will be greatly missed among ministry leaders as well as in his own community.

The funeral will be on Monday 23 November, in Manchester.

Details from Maranatha Community Office, 102 Irlam Road, Flixton, Manchester M41 6JT. Tel (01617) 484858.

Rev Dr Clifford Hill

A Tribute by the Revd Dr Clifford Hill

Lance Lambert has had an outstanding ministry of huge significance for relationships between Jews and Christians. His father was a member of an aristocratic family in Italy but as a Jew, he feared for his family when Mussolini joined forces with Hitler. He sent his wife and two children to England, where she changed her name in case Hitler won the war and persecution reached these shores. As a Messianic believer, Lance was in a unique position in Jerusalem where he was accepted as a wise counsellor by many in leadership in Israel. He kept a kosher household so that his orthodox friends would always feel comfortable in his home.

Lance Lambert has had an outstanding ministry of huge significance for relationships between Jews and Christians."

I've known Lance since the days of his ministry at Halford House in the Richmond area of London back in the 1970s in the early days of the Charismatic Movement, when he was already an established leader. His ministry at Halford House was always biblical and even in those days showed his interest in the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith - which was long before he made Aliyah to Israel. He also had a considerable interest in the prophetic ministry which grew out of his love for the prophets of ancient Israel and their role in the history of the nation.

Journey to Faith

After he settled in Jerusalem, my wife and I often spent time with him in his home on our visits to Israel. He talked about his family and how his father was arrested and sent to Auschwitz. They never heard from him again. His mother rarely spoke about their Jewish family background. Then one day, there was a tent mission near their home and Lance's sister went with some friends and responded to the call for salvation. She came home full of it and Lance's mother reacted strongly, forbidding her to go again. Lance was so intrigued by his mother's reaction that he went to the mission the following day and he also responded to the gospel which was the beginning of his Christian life. It was only after this that he learned about his Jewish past and it wasn't really until he was pastoring the church in Richmond that he began to take it a particular interest in his family history.

Lance's ministry was always biblical, and even in its early days showed his interest in the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith."

His home in West Jerusalem (near the Windmill) was full of antiques and I remember over the stairs there was a wall hanging that he said was of great historical interest and was of the same era as the Turin Shroud. Having a conversation with Lance in his home was usually in competition with two very noisy parrots but it was always worthwhile to listen to his scholarship and to benefit from his great knowledge of Israel and the contemporary Middle East.

A Word about Syria

He lived in the area where most of the ruling class of Israeli politicians and businessmen lived, so he knew most members of the Cabinet and he was always well-informed on contemporary issues. On one occasion my wife and I were enjoying a Shabbat meal at his table and I told him that I'd had a strong word of warning which I believed to be from the Lord that there was an imminent attack coming from Syria within a few days. It was Friday 13 April 1984, which was just prior to Passover. It was not long after the bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut and most Western forces were being withdrawn from Lebanon, leaving Syria the dominant force in the Middle East.

Lance thought it highly unlikely, as there was no special alert and Israeli military intelligence was usually very efficient. We returned to England the following day and we listened to every news bulletin over the next day or two but there was no incident, so we concluded that I must have been mistaken in the word that I thought I had heard. But a month later Lance came to London and telephoned asking me to meet him. He sounded excited and I arranged to go to Richmond the next day. This is the remarkable story he told me.

Early on the Saturday morning, Lance called to see one of his neighbours who was the Minister of Defence in the Government, who dismissed the suggestion of an impending attack from Syria but promised to check with the military. Two hours later he came to Lance's house and began asking numerous questions about me; who I worked for and questions about my background. The Minister was convinced that I must have high-level contacts in Syria as satellite information revealed the massing of military forces in southern Syria moving towards the Golan Heights with an imminent invasion possible. Within hours Israel was on full military alert so Lance began calling Messianic leaders inviting them to meet in his home on Sunday afternoon. They concluded that if God had revealed this to them they should do something about it.

Saved in the Storm

They began a time of fervent intercession for the protection of Israel. By 6 o'clock that Sunday evening a storm swept across the land and struck Jerusalem with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain. Storms in Israel at that time of year are very unusual and this was a storm of great intensity. Lance said the noise was so great that they had to shout to hear each other praying and he expected a tree in the yard to come crashing through the window at any moment. The storm continued right through Monday 16 April and through to Tuesday 17, covering the whole of Israel, southern Lebanon, southern Syria and parts of Jordan.

On Wednesday 18 Lance met the Minister, who quietly said "Lance, the storm saved us". He reported that intelligence indicated that there was to have been a missile attack followed by a full-scale assault by tanks and troops, but the ground was so soft that heavy armoured vehicles would not have been able to make progress. Once the surprise element was lost the planned assault had been cancelled. He also told Lance that Israeli intelligence had been checking his friend in London but that so far they had been unable to identify my source of information! Lance thought that was hugely funny and he said that he hoped they would soon find out.

Lance was wise, generous and loving. He will be greatly missed for the hugely influential ministry that he exercised."

This incident firmly established my friendship with Lance. I learned a lot from him: he was wise, generous and loving and he will be greatly missed for the hugely influential ministry that he exercised. After that incident in 1984, Lance gladly agreed to be one of the leaders of the prophetic gatherings at Mt Carmel and in Jerusalem, some two years later in 1986. He played an important part in both these meetings. At Carmel he received an important prophecy which is still quoted today (click here for a full transcript). It spoke of the shaking of the nations which he believed began with the First World War and was about to escalate in line with the prophecy of Haggai 2 and Hebrews 12 and the warnings that Jesus gave concerning the end times.

As a Messianic Jew, Lance was in a unique position as a bridge between Christians and Jews in Israel. He was a man with a mission, raised by God at a special time in history. He was surely a forerunner of what St Paul in Ephesians describes as "the one new man" – fully accepted by both Jew and Gentile – a very precious brother.

Long may his influence continue!