This information provided by The Federal Observer, http://www.federalobserver.com
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NEW YORK 1957 – A new and internationally famous evangelist, “Billy” Graham, has emerged in the last decade as a leading force in religious work, by almost completely reversing the older “hellfire-and brimstone” techniques of earlier evangelists epitomized by “Billy” Sunday.
A quiet and handsome young man. At this writing 39 years old, “Billy” Graham has been described as looking like a junior business executive and speaking like a college professor. Yet there is a fiery magnetism in his quiet delivery that has filled auditoriums including Madison Square Garden, attracted a sober crowd that jammed Wall Street when he spoke from the steps of the Federal Building, and found equal responses in foreign countries.
His constant theme is “humility,” and his preaching is more in the nature of mass-counseling on that theme. His “crusades” are marvels of organization, with his appearances timed to coincide with detailed and specific follow-up work by local churches.
His words on “National Humility” are an oft-repeated text.
WHY IS there such a lack of grace today? There can only be one answer. The people have gotten away from humility. We must recognize it and face it. May God help us to be a humble people.
As God gives grace only to the humble, therefore, we need to study humility and learn what real humility is and then practice it daily. Practice it just as you would practice music if you wanted to be a musician. And above all things, do it right when pride is trying to manifest itself.
To humble yourself is to oppose self, to abase self, to break your stubborn will to do what self does not want to do, and to expose self by confessing faults and acknowledge wrongs. Nothing short of this real humility. Humility is putting down pride. Smash pride, step on it, crush it, mash it, break it, and above all, expose it – not in the other fellow but in yourself.
You can break down and thresh out and destroy every mountain of self and every obstacle in your way, if you will just be a worm. To deny self is to disown self.
Christ who was and is our example was the personification of humility. He came to demonstrate humility to us. And we get the secret of His success and victory when we hear Him cry out in Pslam 22:6, “But I am a worm and no man.” In other words, Christ took the attitude of a worm.
A worm is perfectly helpless. It has no strength to fight or protect itself from danger. Whether food for birds or to be trampled underfoot by man, it resigns itself to sacrifice; but a worm is always busy. Hidden away out of sight, it gets little credit for what it does, yet it is the greatest blessing to plant life in the world. It lives entirely for others. A worm is of the earth, earthly but it plows its way through the darkness, it feeds and thrives and grows fat on the very earth that brings such trials and headaches to others.
I beg of you, Christians, learn the lesson of the worm and humble yourself before God.