Another Giant Has Fallen

My heart is heavy today. We received word last night that brother Johnny Ramsey has passed away. Brother Ramsey was an outstanding preacher of the Word of God and a wonderful man. I vividly remember the first time it was my privilege to hear him preach. He preached God’s Word with passion, with a heart of love for those who listened, and with an unsurpassed knowledge of the Bible. The first sermon I heard him preach was an overview of the entire New Testament. He covered every book in the New Testament in one sermon! He gave interesting facts, such as how many chapters each book contained, information about the first recipients of each book, the theme of each book, key words, & key verses in each book. He must have quoted more than one hundred scriptures in that sermon. As a young preacher, I was spellbound when he preached. It was obvious that he had committed the Word of God to his heart and mind. Brother Ramsey had learned the Bible, he loved the Bible, and he lived the Bible.

Every time I had the privilege of hearing him preach after that first time it was the always the same. Whether it was that outstanding sermon on the book of Revelation, or the marvelous series on Jeremiah, the lessons he preached were always packed with scripture. And, as I said, it was not just his preaching. Through the years, I have been blessed with numerous occasions to spend time with this great man of God. He was always very kind to me as a younger preacher. He encouraged me to stay in the Word, he patiently answered my questions, he talked with me about the work of the church, and he was very kind to me every time we were together.

As I grow older and see more of the great preachers in our brotherhood pass away, there is sadness in my heart. I am happy for them that they are going to their reward (Revelation 14:13), but I am sad because of the void they leave in the church. We are in desperate need of others who will be committed to learning, loving, and living the Bible the way that these men have. We all need to be better students of the Word. If we are going to make an impact in this world, we must know the Word of God. It is vital for the future of the Church, that not only leaders in the church know the Word of God, it is extremely important that every Christian be filled with biblical knowledge.

We thank God for men like Johnny Ramsey. We pray that many other Christians will commit their lives to the study of the Word, just as brother Ramsey had done (2 Timothy 2:15). Our prayers will certainly be with sister Ramsey and her family during this difficult time. May God bless each of them with His love, comfort, and the knowledge that brother Ramsey lived the kind of life worthy of the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8).