Franklin Graham: Until Jesus Comes, We Have Our Marching Orders

We witnessed one of the greatest political comebacks in U.S. history as Donald J. Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States, becoming only the second president ever to win two non-consecutive terms.

When President-elect Trump is sworn in to the White House on Jan. 20, he will have a majority in the U.S. Senate and quite possibly in the U.S. House of Representatives, though that was too close to call at press time. 

In his victory speech, President Trump pointedly referenced the assassination attempts: “Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason,” he said.

Donald Trump’s election win is historic in many ways. Millions and millions of people were praying, and I believe God allowed it by His merciful hand. 

We certainly need to continue in prayer for President Trump in the days to come as he assembles a team to lead our nation. We need godly men and women who will make policies that best reflect Biblical values, so that as Scripture informs us, we “may live a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (2 Timothy 2:2).

As this year comes to a close and the New Year begins, I can assure you the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will as always be eagerly about our one great and consuming goal—preaching the saving Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We desire to see as many people as possible saved, “not wishing that any would perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

This has been BGEA’s marching order for more than seven decades. Matthew 28:18-20 records Jesus’ Great Commission: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

When I think about what it means to dutifully obey and faithfully follow Jesus’ commands, I’m reminded of the historical account of an officer in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II.

Eighty years ago, in 1944, Hiroo Onoda, a second lieutenant, was assigned a covert mission by his commanding officer to gather intelligence on the Philippine island of Lubang, located just outside Manila Bay. Onoda was commanded to avoid fighting the enemy or being captured and to continue his secret surveillance until his commanding officer returned for him.

So when the war ended, Onoda remained in the jungle for 28 years awaiting evacuation orders to be personally delivered by his superior. Occasionally, he got into a skirmish and reportedly killed more than 30 Filipinos over those years, refusing to leave the battlefield he had sworn to occupy until his commanding officer released him from his assignment. He even ignored the pleas of his mother, whom the Philippine government had brought to make her appeal through a bullhorn. 

After nearly three decades, a Japanese explorer named Suzuki set out in 1974 to find Onoda, completing the mission in four days. Onoda told the explorer he would not surrender unless his orders were rescinded by his commanding officer. Suzuki relayed Onoda’s demands to the Japanese government. Officials tracked down the former commanding officer-turned-bookseller and had him squeeze into his old military uniform and return to Lubang Island.

Then and only then would Hiroo Onoda come out of the jungle. His commanding officer saluted Onoda and finally read the surrender order. Onoda still had a backpack with 500 rounds of ammunition, a couple of hand grenades and a rifle. He placed the backpack on the ground and put his rifle on top, and then he cried. He surrendered. 

Jesus commanded His followers to go into all the world. That’s exactly what the early disciples did, and that order is still in place for every person who follows the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re to proclaim the Gospel—the Good News that God loves sinners; that Jesus Christ shed His blood and died for our sins; that He was raised to life and is coming back. 

Yes, Jesus is coming back. But until then, we still have these orders, and they haven’t been rescinded. 

That’s why the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association does what it does. Jesus’ last words on Earth, before He ascended to Heaven following His resurrection from the grave, are recorded in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus’ last words should remain our first priority until He returns. And this is what we have done throughout 2024, beginning with Mexico City, followed by a 10-city tour along our nation’s Southern border, Krakow, Poland, and the United Kingdom, before ending the year by proclaiming the Gospel this month in Can Tho, Vietnam.

Please pray for a harvest of souls as I preach during the first week of December in Can Tho, the second-largest city in Vietnam. Prayer is crucial because only God can change hearts. The Prophet Zechariah proclaimed, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). Until Jesus Christ returns or calls us Heavenward, we must be faithful in obeying His command to make disciples of all nations. ©2024 BGEA

Scripture verses are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version.