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blandina
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Joined: 2011/1/25
Posts: 48


 Billy Graham's Prophecy


The following quote was authored by Billy Graham in the year 1965. Turns out it was a prophetic word that has come to pass in our time.

Multitudes of Christians within the church are moving toward the point where they may reject the institution that we call the church. They are beginning to turn to more simplified forms of worship. They are hungry for a personal and vital experience with Jesus Christ. They want a heartwarming personal faith. Unless the church quickly recovers its authoritative Biblical message, we may witness the spectacle of millions of Christians going outside the institutional church to find spiritual food.

Quoted in “World Aflame”, pp. 79-80.

Here is another priceless quote by Graham:

I think one of the first things I would do would be to get a small group of eight or ten or twelve men around me that would meet a few hours a week and pay the price. It would cost them something in time and effort. I would share with them everything I have, over a period of years. Then I would actually have twelve ministers among the laymen who in turn could take eight or ten or twelve more and teach them. I know one or two churches that are doing that, and it is revolutionizing the church. Christ, I think, set the pattern. He spent most of his time with twelve men. He didn’t spend it with a great crowd. In fact, every time he had a great crowd it seems to me that there weren’t too many results. The great results, it seems to me, came in his personal interview and in the time he spent with the twelve.

Quoted in “Billy Graham Speaks: The Evangelical World Prospect,” Christianity Today, vol.3, no.1, p.5, Oct.13, 1958.

 2011/1/27 7:03Profile
mguldner
Member



Joined: 2009/12/4
Posts: 1862
Kansas

 Re: Billy Graham's Prophecy

Wow both quotes are so true! I know there has been many people pull away from Institution for relation to me this will definitely happen more and more. In my mind I don't believe the Church is to far from persecution and this will soon push us into the more relational set that many are seeking. Thank you for sharing!


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Matthew Guldner

 2011/1/27 7:28Profile









 Re: Billy Graham's Prophecy

Quote:
I think one of the first things I would do would be to get a small group of eight or ten or twelve men around me that would meet a few hours a week and pay the price. It would cost them something in time and effort. I would share with them everything I have, over a period of years. Then I would actually have twelve ministers among the laymen who in turn could take eight or ten or twelve more and teach them. I know one or two churches that are doing that, and it is revolutionizing the church.

That is a very interesting quote. This is EXACTLY how the Emergent Church operates. They get twelve dedicated people and they train those twelve and those twelve would get their twelve and so on. I wonder if the couple of Churches that Dr.Graham saw back in his day was the beginning of that movement.

 2011/1/27 10:06
KingJimmy
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Joined: 2003/5/8
Posts: 4419
Charlotte, NC

 Re:

Quote:

is EXACTLY how the Emergent Church operates



That's how the early church operated.


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Jimmy H

 2011/1/27 11:44Profile
staff
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Joined: 2007/2/8
Posts: 2227


 Re:

hi,I think we including Billy are talking about this subject as if God hasnt a say in.Surely its God that structures the groups and leads to the formation of the groups.If God builds the structure it should surely stand,staff

 2011/1/27 13:14Profile
sermonindex
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Joined: 2002/12/11
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Online!
 Re:

Quote:
I think one of the first things I would do would be to get a small group of eight or ten or twelve men around me that would meet a few hours a week and pay the price. It would cost them something in time and effort. I would share with them everything I have, over a period of years. Then I would actually have twelve ministers among the laymen who in turn could take eight or ten or twelve more and teach them. I know one or two churches that are doing that, and it is revolutionizing the church. Christ, I think, set the pattern. He spent most of his time with twelve men. He didn’t spend it with a great crowd. In fact, every time he had a great crowd it seems to me that there weren’t too many results. The great results, it seems to me, came in his personal interview and in the time he spent with the twelve.

Quoted in “Billy Graham Speaks: The Evangelical World Prospect,” Christianity Today, vol.3, no.1, p.5, Oct.13, 1958.



Tremendous! Biblical discipleship oh how we need more these days.


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SI Moderator - Greg Gordon

 2011/1/27 13:47Profile
blandina
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Joined: 2011/1/25
Posts: 48


 Re:

With Billy's vast experience that he obtained through travel and meeting Believers all over the world, this is a significant statement and observation by him. He is only giving utterance to what he is witnessing. I am sure he sensed more than he could see with his eyes.

The structure that God is building is the Church, His Body, His City and it is surely standing, despite man.

Man tries to overlay the Church with his idealogical template, but it just will not stick.

There is only one Builder and Maker of the City of God. I think Billy simply gave voice to what he "saw" and what he suspected might continue to happen. Of course, Billy did not and cannot make it happen. He is only a witness as are all of us.

I hope I understood what you were saying.

 2011/1/27 14:19Profile









 Re:

Quote:
That's how the early church operated.

Not exactly. There is no given formula that that is what was done. However, we do read that an Apostle and more commonly a Prophet would have an apprentice. Jesus had twelve representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The Apostle had one or two perhaps three disciples that he discipled, Barnabas, Silas and Timothy. There is no record that he took on a mass number of disciples at once, nor is it recorded that the early church Fathers did any such things. It was encouraged by Jesus that they would go out two by two's. And perhaps there was a reason for that.

I am not knocking what Dr.Graham said, I am making an observation that the Emergent Movement does the same thing.

1 Corinthians 11:16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

Neither do I! :-)

 2011/1/27 16:24
blandina
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Joined: 2011/1/25
Posts: 48


 Re: Billy Graham's Prophecy

Exactly Approved!

I was keying more on the first part of what he talked about. That many would reject the institution that we call church.

There is no precedence in scripture for the other thing that he talked about. One man taking on eight or ten or twelve men, that would meet a few hours a week and "pay the price". That is not what Paul or any of the other Apostles did. They learned by doing and usually 2 or 3 at a time. They walked the walked, together. There were only a few cases where there were many in one place.

Here are all the examples of Apostles working in plurality with other believers. You don't see big groups of 8 and 12 or more. Another "good idea", but not the way God works. It's not real life or realistic that a man could do this. Paul was single, but most of the others were married and this would be even more difficult.

It sheds light on the fact that many were taught by the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures. It was their own devotion to God and the ever present reality of the Holy Spirit leading them. Most of the 12 were fisherman and tax collectors with no formal training. If you graduated from high school, you have more formal education than the Apostles did, save Paul.

Anyway, here is the list I came up with.

Acts 3:1 “Peter and John”

Acts 4:36-37; 11:22,25-26,30 “Barnabus alone and with Paul.”

Acts 13:1-4 “In Antioch, certain prophets and teachers: Barnabus, Simeon, Lucious, Manaen, and Saul…They laid hands on Barnabus and Saul and sent them out.”

Acts 13:13 “Paul, Barnabus and John Mark.”

Acts 14:4,14 “Barnabus and Saul.”

Acts 15:2 “(apostles) Paul, Barnabus and certain other of them.” (Antioch)

Acts 15:2,4,6,22,23;16:4) “Apostles and elders.” (listed separately) I Peter 5:1; II John 1:1; II John 1:1 “apostles and elders.” (listed together)

Acts 15:22 (apostles, prophets & teachers) “Paul, Barnabus, Judas Barsabas, Silas, chief among the brethren.”

Acts 15:32 “Judas and Silas, being prophets.”

Acts 15:39 “Barnabus and John Mark.”

Acts 15:40 “(apostle) Paul and (prophet) Silas.”

Acts 16:1 “Timotheus (evangelist & apostle)…certain disciple of Lystra and Paul.”

Acts 16:10 “Luke (Physician-Colossians 4:14), Timothy and Paul.”

Acts 18:1-18,26 “Aquila and Priscila and Paul.”

Acts 18:24 “Apollos of Alexandria came to Ephesus.”

Acts 19:22 “Timotheus and Erastus sent by Paul to Macedonia.”

Acts 27:1 “Luke and Paul.”

Romans 16:7 “Andronious and Junius.”

I Corinthians 9:5 “Apostles, sisters and wives.”

II Corinthians 8:23 “Titus and messengers(apostles) of the churches…unnamed.”

Galatians 1:19 “But other apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.”

Philippians 2:25 “Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labor, and fellow soldier, but your messenger(apostle), and he that ministered to my wants.”

I Thessalonians 2:6 “Paul, Silvanus and Timotheus, as apostles of Christ.”

 2011/1/27 16:54Profile
staff
Member



Joined: 2007/2/8
Posts: 2227


 Re:

hi,I get what the posts are saying here.Was it a prophesy though?or an observation?
If God calls a group together so be it.
I really enjoyed his last interview on youtube,staff

 2011/1/27 17:22Profile





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