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A Great Faith

February 23, 2010

Dr. Elmer Towns, co-founder of Liberty University and Dean of the School of Religion here at LU, gave the convocation message on Wednesday, February 10. Although Dr. Towns had planned a speech beforehand, he admitted to changing it last minute in order to encourage students with an urgent call to "great faith".

The faith called for was illustrated in Dr. Towns’ chosen passage from Scripture, Hebrews 11:6: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Seeking God became the theme of Dr. Towns’ motivating message – in which he used LU founder Dr. Jerry Falwell as the foremost example of great faith.

“Jerry determined to know God for who he was,” said Dr. Towns. “He began to trust God for great things. He didn’t underestimate God.”

Dr. Towns took students back to Dr. Falwell’s freshman year of college, a time in which Jerry was tested for his resolve. It was during that time that Dr. Falwell determined to become a man of great faith. “Jerry locked himself in an empty dorm room and prayed until he could pray no more,” Dr. Towns related to the students. “He read books by the great saints of the past – George Muller and Hannah Whitall Smith, and others. His heart was set on doing something great for God.”

Dr. Towns encouraged students to follow Dr. Falwell’s example. “The greatest thing you can learn is that you can do great things for God,” he said. “You need a vision, a hope, a goal, people, and a purpose... You can be that one – you can stand – you can take Dr. Falwell’s place.”

Dr. Towns concluded his message by inspiring students to take the same stand as Dr. Falwell did. “You can’t call [God] ‘Lord’ and tell him no... you have to have that great faith. You want to touch the world? Have great faith. Liberty is a result of a great, great faith.”

-Phylicia Duran

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