The University of Life | Billy Graham Classic Sermon

FROM OUR ARCHIVES... THE BILLY GRAHAM CLASSICS. [applause] TONIGHT I WANT YOU TO TURN WITH ME TO THE 11TH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW, THE 11TH CHAPTER OF MATTHEW. "COME UNTO ME, ALL YE THAT LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, "AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. "TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU, AND LEARN OF ME; "FOR I AM MEEK AND LOWLY IN HEART: "AND YE SHALL FIND REST UNTO YOUR SOULS. "FOR MY YOKE IS EASY, AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT." I WANT TO SPEAK TONIGHT ON THE UNIVERSITY OF LIFE. I WANT TO SPEAK TO YOUNG PEOPLE, AS WELL AS OLDER

PEOPLE ON THE SUBJECT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LIFE. NOW WE USUALLY THINK OF THIS TEXT THAT A PASTOR WILL TAKE AND USE AT LABOR DAY. BUT THAT'S WRONG IN ONE SENSE AND YET IN ANOTHER SENSE IT IS CORRECT. BUT THIS IS AN INVITATION TO MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE EXHAUSTED WITH THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH. JESUS SAID, "YOU'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR TRUTH, "YOU'RE TIRED. "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. "YOU'VE FOUND IT. "THE SEARCH ENDS WITH ME." NOW AT THIS UNIVERSITY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TONIGHT YOU CAN FAIL, B

UT YOU CAN NEVER DROP OUT. ALL OVER THE WORLD PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE CIVILIZATION IS HEADED. ONE OF THE FOREIGN EXPERTS LEFT WASHINGTON IN DESPAIR THIS PAST SUMMER AND WENT BACK TO THE UNIVERSITY TO TEACH. AND HE WAS ASKED WHY. AND HE SAID, "SOMETIMES I GET THE FEELING "I'M SITTING ON A HILLTOP WATCHING TWO TRAINS "RACING TOWARD EACH OTHER ON THE SAME TRACK." VICE PREMIER DENG, OF CHINA, STATED RECENTLY, THIS PAST SUMMER, THAT "WORLD WAR III IS INEVITABLE "AND INDEPEND

ENT OF MAN'S WILL IN THIS DECADE." A BRITISH EDITORIAL SAID RECENTLY, "THE WORLD IS ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH DISASTER." NOW WHEN WE COME BACK TO AMERICA AND SEE THE AFFLUENCE OF AMERICA; I ALSO READ AND HEAR ABOUT THE NEW SURGE OF PROBLEMS THAT OUR AFFLUENCY HAS CREATED. PSYCHOLOGISTS, ECONOMISTS, CLERGY, POLITICIANS ARE DEALING WITH SOCIAL AND MORAL PROBLEMS ON A SCALE THAT THEY'VE NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH BEFORE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE MARRIAGE BREAK UPS EVEN AMONG SO CALLED PROFESSING CHRISTIANS. S

OME OF THEM WELL KNOWN CHRISTIANS IN OUR NEWSPAPERS EVEN TODAY. MARRIED WOMEN HAVING ADULTEROUS AFFAIRS HAS TRIPLED IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. BUT THE PRICE THEY PAY IS ESCALATING; DRUG ADDICTION, ALCOHOLISM, AND SUICIDE. RACIAL TENSIONS, WE THOUGHT THE RACE PROBLEM IN AMERICA WAS SETTLED, IT'S NOT SETTLED. LOOK AT MIAMI OR PHILADELPHIA THIS PAST SUMMER. THE PSALMIST SAID, "AND I SAID, OH, THAT I HAD WINGS LIKE A DOVE "FOR THEN I WOULD FLY AWAY AND REST." HAVE YOU EVER FELT THAT WAY? YOU'D LIKE TO

FLY AWAY FROM LIFE AND REST. YOU'D LIKE TO GET OUT OF THAT KITCHEN AND REST. YOU'D LIKE TO GET OUT OF THAT JOB AND REST. YOU'D LIKE TO FLY AWAY SOMEWHERE. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE OUT EAST COME TO NEVADA AND TO CALIFORNIA THINKING THAT THEY'RE GOING TO FIND IT HERE. AND THEY MAY FIND SOMETHING HERE BUT... THEY FIND WONDERFUL AIR HERE IN RENO, I'LL TELL YOU THAT. THEY FIND BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS HERE. AND THEY FIND A LOT OF ACTIVITY HERE. BUT THE REAL THING THEY'RE SEARCHING FOR IS GOD. BECAUSE YOU SEE T

HEY WERE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. AND WITHOUT GOD THEIR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS 'TIL THEY COME TO KNOW GOD. YOU CAN NEVER FIND TRUE REST UNTIL YOU KNOW GOD. AND YOU THAT ARE WATCHING BY TELEVISION, IF YOU WANT TO FIND PEACE WITH GOD AND REST IN YOUR OWN SOULS CALL THAT NUMBER ON YOUR SCREEN RIGHT NOW AND LET SOMEBODY TALK TO YOU, AS MANY PEOPLE HERE WILL DO LATER ON IN THE EVENING. YOU SEE, THE PSALMIST LONGING TO ESCAPE HAS BECOME THE CRY OF THE WORLD TODAY. THE PSALMIST ALSO SAID, "I'M FULL OF HE

AVINESS "AND LOOKED FOR SOME TO TAKE PITY, "BUT THERE WAS NONE. "AND FOR COMFORTERS, BUT I FOUND NONE." THE BIBLE ALSO SAYS, "BUT THE EYES OF THE WICKED WILL FAIL "AND ESCAPE WILL ELUDE THEM, "THEIR HOPE WILL BECOME A DYING GASP." NO WAY OUT! JESUS SAID, "I AM THE WAY OUT." HE SAID, "THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO ESCAPE, ONE WAY OUT, "AND I'M IT." YOU HAVE TO COME BY THE WAY OF THE CROSS AND THE EMPTY TOMB. AND FIND RECONCILIATION WITH GOD AND PEACE IN YOUR HEART AND JOY IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU HAVE LO

ST. AND HOW MANY OF YOU ARE TRYING TO ESCAPE? YOU'VE COME OUT HERE FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE TO ESCAPE ALL THE RIGORS OF LIFE SOMEWHERE ELSE. BUT YOU HAVEN'T REALLY FOUND IT YET. YOU HAVEN'T FOUND THAT JOY AND THAT PEACE THAT YOU THOUGHT YOU'D FIND. OR THAT SENSE OF FULFILLMENT. YOU DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTIONS, WHERE DID YOU COME FROM, WHAT IS LIFE ALL ABOUT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING WHEN YOU DIE? YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE ANSWERS YET. YOU CAN FIND IT TONIGHT BY COMING TO JESUS CHRIST. YOU SEE JESUS

SAID, "LEARN OF ME." IT'S A PICTURE OF JESUS CHRIST AS THE GREAT PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY. HE'S THE GREATEST TEACHER THAT EVER WAS. THE BIBLE SAYS, "HE TAUGHT THEM AS ONE HAVING AUTHORITY." HE SPOKE WITH AUTHORITY. YOU NEVER FIND JESUS SAYING, "I HOPE THIS IS THE WAY. "I THINK THIS IS THE WAY." THE BIBLE SAYS, "THERE'S A WAY THAT SEEMETH RIGHT UNTO MAN "BUT THE ENDS THEREOF ARE THE WAYS OF DEATH." THERE ARE MANY WAYS IN LIFE THAT SEEM RIGHT, BUT THE END IS DEATH, DESTRUCTION, JUDGMENT, AND HE

LL. AND JESUS WARNED ABOUT THAT. JESUS SAID, "I AM THE WAY." NOW MOST OF THE WORLD WOULD AGREE THAT HE'S THE GREATEST TEACHER THAT EVER LIVED. AND SO TONIGHT I WANT YOU TO SIT FOR A FEW MOMENTS AT THE FEET OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST TEACHER. IN MOST AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES THEY HAVE WHAT IS CALLED REQUIRED COURSES AND ELECTIVE COURSES. NOW, IN LIFE THERE ARE CERTAIN REQUIRED COURSES. WHAT ARE THEY? THERE ARE THREE, THREE REQUIRED COURSES AND THREE ELECTIVE COURSES THAT I WANT YOU TO THIN

K ABOUT TONIGHT. THE FIRST REQUIRED COURSE IS LIFE ITSELF. PHILOSOPHY MEANS THE STUDY OF LIFE AND IDEAS CONCERNING LIFE. AND ONE OF THE MOST DISCUSSED NEW BOOKS PUBLISHED LAST SUMMER WAS THE PHILOSOPHERS , IN WHICH 20 OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PHILOSOPHERS OF THE WESTERN WORLD, IN MODERN TIMES WERE PSYCHOANALYZED AS TO THE AMOUNT OF FULFILLMENT THAT THEY THEMSELVES ENJOY. AND IT DEMONSTRATED THAT ALL 20 OF THEM THAT THEY STUDIED, WERE CHARACTERIZED BY LONELINESS AND ANXIETY. YOU SEE, WE DID NOT CH

OOSE TO BE BORN. WE WERE NOT CONSULTED ABOUT LIVING. AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP LIVING. WE DID NOT CHOOSE WHERE TO BE BORN. WE DID NOT CHOOSE WHAT COLOR OF SKIN WE HAVE. THERE'S NO ESCAPING LIFE. "OH," YOU SAY, "I CAN COMMIT SUICIDE." THAT DOESN'T GET YOU OUT OF LIFE. YOU ONLY KILL THE BODY. YOUR SOUL, YOUR SPIRIT IS ETERNAL. IT LIVES ON. SO YOU CANNOT ESCAPE BY SUICIDE. SUICIDE DOES NOT END IT ALL AS SOME PEOPLE THINK. YES, YOU'RE REQUIRED TO LIVE. HOW DO YOU FACE LIFE? WHAT RESOURC

ES DO YOU HAVE TO CALL UPON WHEN THE PRESSURES GET GREAT AND THE CRISIS COMES AND THE DIFFICULTIES COME? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO CALL UPON? WELL, IF YOU KNOW JESUS CHRIST, YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. BECAUSE WHEN HE LIVES IN YOUR HEART HE GIVES GREAT INWARD PEACE AND JOY AND ASSURANCE AND A SENSE OF SAFETY AND WELL BEING, WHEN YOU COME TO CHRIST. IT AFFECTS YOU PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY AND SOCIALLY; EVERY WAY, EVERY PHASE OF YOUR LIFE IS AFFECTED WHEN CHRIST DOMINATES YOUR LIFE BECAUSE YO

U LET HIM COME AS SAVIOR, AS WELL AS LORD. AND THEN THE SECOND REQUIRED COURSE THAT YOU HAVE AT THE UNIVERSITY, YOU'RE REQUIRED TO DIE. NOW WE'VE BEEN HAVING A LOT OF STUDIES ON DEATH LATELY. WE READ ABOUT DR. KUBLER ROSS AND DR. RAWLINGS AND DR. MOODY AND OTHERS, AND COURSES ON THANATOLOGY IN OUR UNIVERSITIES ARE SPRINGING UP ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TEACHING PEOPLE ABOUT DEATH. AND THE CLASSROOMS ARE FILLED WITH STUDENTS STUDYING DEATH. GEORGE BERNARD SHAW SAID THAT "THERE'S ONE STATISTIC THAT WE

CAN BE SURE OF." NOW EVERYBODY IN THE GAMING BUSINESS HERE IN NEVADA OUGHTA HEAR THIS. "THE ODDS AGAINST WHICH NO GAMBLER CAN WIN "THAT ONE OUT OF EVERY ONE DIES" NOW THAT'S A SURE THING. GOD SAID TO HEZEKIAH, "THOU SHALL DIE AND NOT LIVE." THE BIBLE SAYS, "IT'S APPOINTED "UNTO MAN ONCE TO DIE." THE BIBLE SAYS, "THERE'S A TIME TO BE BORN AND A TIME TO DIE." THE NUMBER OF YEARS IS SIMPLY RELATIVE. THE FACT IS, WE ALL DIE. AND THE BIBLE SAYS, "THERE'S A DAY, THERE'S AN HOUR, "THERE'S A MINUTE, AL

READY APPOINTED FOR YOUR DEATH." IT MAY BE TONIGHT. IT MAY BE TOMORROW MORNING. THERE'S A DAY, THERE'S AN HOUR, THERE'S A MINUTE ALREADY APPOINTED. THE BIBLE SAYS IN JOB 14 , "SEEING HIS DAYS ARE DETERMINED, "THE NUMBER OF HIS MONTHS ARE WITH THEE. "THOU HAST APPOINTED HIS BOUNDS BEYOND WHICH HE CANNOT PASS." THERE'S A MOMENT BEYOND WHICH YOU CANNOT LIVE ALREADY APPOINTED. AND GOD HAS GIVEN YOU THIS MOMENT OF GRACE RIGHT NOW TO FIND CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND YOUR SAVIOR. THAT'S THE REASON THE BIBL

E ALWAYS SAYS "TODAY, TODAY, TODAY "HARDEN NOT YOUR HEART." "NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME OF SALVATION." THE BIBLE IS SAYING, "DON'T PUT IT OFF." TOMORROW IS THE DEVIL'S WORD. COME WHILE YOU CAN. THERE'S ONLY ONE MAN IN HISTORY THAT DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE AND THAT WAS JESUS CHRIST. HE SAID, "NO MAN TAKETH MY LIFE FROM ME. "BUT I LAY IT DOWN OF MYSELF. "I HAVE POWER TO LAY IT DOWN. "AND I HAVE POWER TO TAKE IT AGAIN. "THIS COMMANDMENT HAVE I RECEIVED OF MY FATHER." HE WAS PERFECT, HE WAS FREE FROM SIN AN

D ITS EFFECTS. AND YET, HE DIED ON THE CROSS. WHY? BECAUSE HE DIED FOR YOU. HE TOOK THE THINGS THAT CAUSED DEATH IN YOUR LIFE ON THE CROSS IN YOUR PLACE. HE DIED FOR YOU. GOD LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL. AND NOW TONIGHT YOU COME TO THAT CROSS AND SURRENDER YOUR LIFE TO JESUS CHRIST AND GOD SAYS, "FORGIVEN! "YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN. "I FORGIVE YOU. "I WRITE YOUR NAME "N THE BOOK OF LIFE." "FOR HE HATH MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR US WHO KNEW NO SIN "THAT WE MIGHT BE MADE "THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD

IN HIM." BUT NOT ONLY DID HE DIE, HE ROSE AGAIN. HE'S ALIVE TONIGHT. "WHO WAS DELIVERED FOR OUR OFFENSES "AND WAS RAISED AGAIN FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION." I HAVEN'T SEEN THE PICTURE THE RAISING OF THE TITANIC , BUT I'VE READ ABOUT IT. THEY'RE GONNA TRY TO RAISE IT NEXT SUMMER. THAT'S GOING TO BE A VERY INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. THEY'RE DOING A SIMILAR THING OFF THE COAST OF JAPAN WHERE THEY FOUND A RUSSIAN SHIP. THEY THINK IT MAY HAVE 30 BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF GOLD IN IT. THEY'RE AFTER THAT GOLD.

IT'S GOING TO BE QUITE INTERESTING TO SEE WHO GETS IT WHEN THEY FINALLY GET IT ALL UP. SO THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF RAISING GOING ON. BUT THE BIBLE SAYS THERE'S COMING A TIME WHERE THERE'S GOING TO BE A GENERAL RESURRECTION WHEN ALL OF THOSE THAT ARE LOST ARE GOING TO BE RAISED. AND ALL OF THOSE THAT ARE SAVED ARE GOING TO BE RAISED. JESUS CHRIST DIED ON OUR ACCOUNT ON THE CROSS, WAS RAISED AGAIN AND THAT IS LIVING PROOF. HE IS LIVING PROOF TONIGHT THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A RESURRECTION SOMEDAY.

THINK OF IT, JESUS CHRIST CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD TO TELL US, "THERE'S MORE." BECAUSE HE LIVES I CAN FACE TOMORROW. THE BIBLE SAYS, "THE LAST ENEMY THAT SHALL BE DESTROYED IS DEATH." ARE YOU READY? AND THEN THE THIRD THING IN THIS SCHOOL THAT IS REQUIRED OF YOU; THE JUDGMENT OF GOD IS REQUIRED. YOU'RE GOING TO FACE THE JUDGMENT. THERE'S A MOVIE OUT CALLED THE JUDGMENT AND SOME DAY YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE A MORAL ACCOUNTING. THE SEARCHING EYES OF GOD WILL MISS NOTHING IN THAT DAY WHEN YOU STAND BE

FORE HIM. NOW THE WHOLE COUNTRY'S TALKING ABOUT WHO SHOT J.R. [laughter] I'LL TELL YOU EXACTLY WHO DID IT. A SINNER. [laughter] [applause] AND SOME DAY ALL THE EWING FAMILY AND ALL THE SUSPECTS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO STAND BEFORE GOD JUST LIKE YOU ARE. "EVERY IDLE WORD THAT MEN SHALL SPEAK "THEY SHALL GIVE ACCOUNT IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT," THE BIBLE SAYS. "MANY SHALL SAY UNTO ME IN THAT DAY, "LORD, HAVE WE NOT PROPHESIED IN THY NAME, "AND IN THY NAME CAST OUT DEVILS, "AND LORD, WE'VE DONE ALL THESE

GREAT THINGS "IN YOUR NAME." BUT THE BIBLE SAYS JESUS IS GOING TO SAY, "DEPART FROM ME, I NEVER KNEW YOU." YOU SEE, YOU CAN BE IN THE CHURCH. LAST NIGHT A NUMBER OF CATHOLIC PEOPLE CAME FORWARD AND EPISCOPALIAN PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE CONFIRMATION. I WAS CONFIRMED MYSELF WHEN I WAS ABOUT 12 YEARS OF AGE IN AN ASSOCIATE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. AND I KNOW WHAT THEY MEANT WHEN THEY CAME. THEY WANTED TO RECONFIRM THEIR CONFIRMATION. WHAT HAD THEY PROMISED GOD IN ACCEPTING JESUS CHRIST AS T

HEIR LORD AND SAVIOR? AND HOW MANY OF YOU TONIGHT NEED CHRIST? YOU NEED TO COME TO HIM. YOU'VE BEEN AWAY FROM HIM. YOU'RE IN THE CHURCH. YOUR NAME IS ON THE CHURCH ROLL BUT YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW CHRIST. MORE THAN A THIRD OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN COMING FORWARD HERE TO RECEIVE CHRIST HAVE NO CHURCH CONNECTIONS, BUT NEARLY TWO THIRDS DO. SOME OF THEM ARE BACK EAST AND THEY HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT THE CHURCH SINCE THEY'VE BEEN IN RENO OR IN NEVADA AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA OR WHEREVER YOU MAY BE. C

OME TO CHRIST TONIGHT AND RECEIVE HIM INTO YOUR HEART AND START ALL OVER AGAIN. NOW THOSE ARE THE REQUIRED COURSES. LIFE ITSELF; YOU CANNOT BE UNBORN. YOU'RE REQUIRED TO DIE. YOU'RE REQUIRED TO FACE THE JUDGMENT. NOW THERE'S CERTAIN OPTIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY TONIGHT, THE UNIVERSITY OF LIFE. FIRST, YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR WAY OF LIFE. THE BIBLE SAYS, "CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY." AS I SAID A MOMENT AGO, "THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMETH RIGHT." NOW SOME OF THOSE ROADS THAT SEEM RIGHT; THERE'S THE LUST OF THE EYE

, THE BIBLE TALKS ABOUT. POSSESSIONS, IT SEEMS THAT TO GAIN ALL THE POSSESSIONS YOU CAN, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT IT SEEMS. THINGS ARE NOT WRONG. BUT WHEN YOUR LIFE IS CENTERED IN THE ACQUISITION OF PHYSICAL POSSESSIONS THEN THE LUST OF THE EYES HAS GOTTEN THE BEST OF YOU. AND THAT'S SIN AND IT SEEMS RIGHT, BUT IT'S WRONG. IT LEADS TO A DEAD END. THEN THERE'S THE LUST OF THE FLESH. THOSE ARE THE PHYSICAL THINGS WHICH OFFER BY WAY OF LUXURY AND ENTERTAINMENT. SOME OF US ARE SELLING OUR SOU

LS FOR SINFUL PLEASURE; OVEREATING, THE WRONG USE OF SEX, EXCESSIVE USE OF ALCOHOL, ALL OF THESE THINGS. THE SCRIPTURE SAYS, "THE WORLD PASSETH AWAY "AND THE LUST THEREOF, "BUT HE THAT DOETH THE WILL OF GOD "ABIDETH FOREVER." THEN THERE'S ALSO THE PRIDE OF LIFE. THAT SEEMS RIGHT; EGO, POSITION, GETTING THE BEST, SELF INTEREST. BUT THAT'S A WRONG ROAD. WE OUGHT TO THINK SOMETHING OF OURSELVES. WE ARE TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES. WE ARE TO LOVE OURSELVES BECAUSE YOU CANNOT LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

, YOU CANNOT BE A TRUE CHRISTIAN WITHOUT HAVING A RESPECT FOR YOURSELF. THERE'S A CERTAIN LOVE OF SELF, BUT NOT THIS EGOCENTRIC THING BECAUSE THE VERY HEART OF SIN IS SELFISHNESS. THE VERY HEART OF SIN IS EGO. WHEN YOU COME TO CHRIST YOUR EGO HAS TO BE SURRENDERED TO CHRIST UNTIL HE BECOMES LORD. AND THEN SECONDLY, NOT ONLY CAN YOU CHOOSE YOUR WAY OF LIFE, BUT YOU CAN CHOOSE WHO WILL BE THE MASTER OF YOUR LIFE. WHAT'S GOING TO MASTER YOUR LIFE? WHAT PHILOSOPHY ARE YOU GIVING YOUR LIFE TO? WHAT G

ROUP ARE YOU GIVING YOUR LIFE TO? WHO IS GOING TO CONTROL YOU? ARE YOU GOING TO CONTROL YOUR OWN LIFE AND MAKE A WRECK OF IT? "THOU SHALL CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH THE LORD JESUS "AND BELIEVE IN THY HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD "THOU SHALL BE SAVED." BY NATURE WE WANT TO RUN OUR OWN LIVES. WE THINK WE KNOW BETTER THAN EVEN GOD KNOWS. BUT GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE, AND HIS PLAN IS PERFECT. FOR EVERY YOUNG PERSON HERE, GOD HAS A PLAN. HE HAS THE RIGHT PERSON PICKED OUT FOR YOU TO MARRY,

IF YOU'D ONLY TRUST HIM TO HELP YOU. HE HAS THE RIGHT JOB FOR YOU, THE RIGHT VOCATION FOR YOU. IT'S ALL PLANNED IF YOU'LL SAY, "LORD, THY WILL BE DONE." AND YOU SURRENDER TO HIM AND LET HIM BECOME INVOLVED IN ALL THE AFFAIRS OF YOUR LIFE. OR SOME OF YOU THAT ARE ALREADY MARRIED AND MAYBE YOU'RE OLDER NOW AND YOUR LIFE IS ALL MESSED UP. DID YOU KNOW THAT GOD CAN REARRANGE YOUR LIFE AFTER YOU'VE MESSED IT UP BY FORGIVING YOUR SIN. NOW HE CAN'T TAKE THOSE SCARS AWAY OF SIN. I'VE WATCHED PEOPLE COM

E FORWARD HERE. AND I'VE SEEN MANY OF THEM AS THEY'VE STOOD IN FRONT OF THIS PLATFORM NIGHT AFTER NIGHT, I'VE SEEN THEM WITH SIN SCARRED FACES. BECAUSE SIN LEAVES ITS MARK. BUT GOD CAN FORGIVE ALL THAT. HE CAN TAKE ALL THAT MESS THAT YOU'VE MADE IN YOUR LIFE AND STRAIGHTEN IT ALL OUT AND GET YOU BACK ON THE RIGHT ROAD IF YOU'LL TRUST HIM. YOU SAY, "WELL, BILLY, SUPPOSE I'VE BEEN DIVORCED "AND REMARRIED AND MY LIFE IS ALL...WHAT'LL HAPPEN?" WELL, YOU CAN'T UNSCRAMBLE EGGS. BUT YOU CAN START FROM

WHERE YOU ARE BY TRUSTING CHRIST WHERE YOU ARE. HE'LL FORGIVE THE PAST AND GIVE YOU A WHOLE NEW SPIRITUAL LIFE AND GIVE YOU A POWER BEYOND ANYTHING YOU EVER DREAMED, AND A LOVE AND A JOY AND A PEACE. DON'T LET THE DEVIL WORRY YOU ABOUT PAST SINS ONCE YOU'VE BEEN TO THE CROSS. IF YOUR SON ASKS FOR BREAD WILL YOU GIVE HIM A SNAKE? NO, GOD LOVES YOU. HE HAS A PLAN FOR YOU. "YOU ASK FOR SOMETHING GOOD HE'S NOT GOING "TO GIVE YOU A SNAKE," SAID JESUS. THE RICH YOUNG RULER, THE PROBLEM WITH HIM WAS NO

T HIS WEALTH, BUT HE WANTED TO CONTROL HIS OWN LIFE. MANY OF YOU WANT TO CONTROL YOUR OWN LIFE. YOU SEE, WE WANT TO RUN OUR OWN LIVES. SUPPOSE I'D GO UP IN AN AIRLINER AND TELL THE PILOT, "I WANT TO PILOT THIS PLANE." I'VE NEVER PILOTED A PLANE IN MY LIFE. "I CAN TAKE OVER FROM YOU." "NO," GOD SAYS, "GET UP OUT OF THAT SEAT. "YOU'RE MAKING A WRECK OF YOUR LIFE. "YOU'RE HEADING TOWARD DESTRUCTION. "LET ME TAKE THE CONTROLS OF YOUR LIFE. "I'VE BEEN OVER THE ROAD BEFORE. "LET ME HELP YOU." AND THEN

LASTLY, YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR OWN DESTINATION. THE DESTINATION IS HEAVEN OR HELL. THE BIBLE SAYS, "WIDE IS THE GATE AND BROAD IS THE WAY "THAT LEADETH TO DESTRUCTION. "NARROW IS THE GATE AND HARD IS THE WAY "WHICH LEADETH UNTO LIFE." WHAT ARE WE TO DO? WHAT CAN YOU DO TONIGHT TO MAKE YOUR PEACE WITH GOD? THE BIBLE SAYS, "PREPARE TO MEET GOD." WELL, HOW DO YOU PREPARE? FIRST, BY REPENTANCE. REPENTANCE MEANS THAT YOU'RE WILLING TO LET GOD CHANGE YOUR LIFE. IT MEANS THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND SO MUCH

THAT IT CHANGES THE WAY YOU LIVE AND YOU'RE WILLING TO GIVE UP ALL THOSE THINGS THAT ARE SINFUL IN YOUR LIFE AND TURN OVER TO JESUS CHRIST YOUR LIFE. THE SECOND THING, YOU COME BY FAITH. "BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST "AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED," SAYS THE BIBLE. JUST BELIEVE. YOU SAY, "WELL, THERE MUST BE A CATCH SOMEWHERE." THERE IS. THAT WORD BELIEVE MEANS THAT YOU PUT YOUR TOTAL CONFIDENCE IN. YOU DON'T PUT YOUR CONFIDENCE IN YOUR OWN WORKS. YOU DON'T PUT YOUR CONFIDENCE IN ANYTHING BUT THE

PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST WHO DIED ON THE CROSS FOR YOU. YOU CANNOT WORK YOUR WAY. YOU CANNOT PAY YOUR WAY. YOU COME BY SIMPLE, CHILD-LIKE FAITH. THEN THE THIRD THING, YOU MUST BE WILLING TO BE A DISCIPLE OR A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST. EARLIER IN THE YEAR IT WAS MY PRIVILEGE TO HOLD A TEN DAY MISSION AT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND, AS WELL AS, OXFORD UNIVERSITY. I COULD NOT HELP BUT REMEMBER THAT YOUNG MAN AT CAMBRIDGE WHO MADE THIS STATEMENT WHEN HE GAVE HIS LIFE TO CHRIST. HE WAS THE SON OF A VERY

WEALTHY MAN AND HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST CRICKETERS THAT CAMBRIDGE HAS EVER HAD. HE SAID, "IF JESUS CHRIST BE GOD AND DIED FOR ME, "THEN NO SACRIFICE THAT I CAN MAKE FOR HIM CAN BE TOO GREAT." THAT WAS C.T. STUDD WHO SAID THAT. HE WENT OUT AS A MISSIONARY WITH THE CAMBRIDGE SEVEN THAT STARTED A WHOLE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT AT THE END OF THE LAST CENTURY. JIM ELLIOT WHO WAS KILLED BY THE AUCA INDIANS IN SOUTH AMERICA, AS A YOUNG STUDENT WROTE THIS, "HE IS NO FOOL WHO GIVES UP WHAT HE CANNOT KEEP

"TO GAIN WHAT HE CANNOT LOSE." I ASK YOU YOUNG AND OLD ALIKE TONIGHT, DO YOU KNOW CHRIST? IS HE YOUR LORD AND YOUR SAVIOR? IN A FEW MOMENTS I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO DO SOMETHING VERY DIFFICULT. I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO GET UP OUT OF YOUR SEAT AND COME AND STAND IN FRONT OF THIS PLATFORM AS WE SAW OVER 500 LAST NIGHT DO. STAND HERE AND SAY BY COMING SYMBOLICALLY, "I OPEN MY HEART TO CHRIST. "I WANT HIM TO FORGIVE MY SINS AND CHANGE MY LIFE. "I WANT TO KNOW WHERE I'M GOING. "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LIFE

IS ALL ABOUT. "I WANT FULFILLMENT IN MY LIFE." I ASK YOU TO COME PUBLICLY BECAUSE EVERY PERSON JESUS CALLED IN THE BIBLE, HE CALLED PUBLICLY. I ASK YOU TO COME PUBLICLY BECAUSE THERE'S A PSYCHOLOGICAL AND A BIBLICAL REASON FOR YOU TO COME. YOU STAND HERE A MOMENT, AND AFTER YOU'VE COME I'M GOING TO SAY A WORD TO YOU, HAVE A PRAYER WITH ALL OF YOU, AND THEN GIVE YOU SOME LITERATURE TO HELP YOU IN YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE. THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT COMING FORWARD LIKE THAT THAT SETTLES IT AND SEALS IT.

YOU THAT ARE IN THE OTHER AUDITORIUM WHERE WE WERE A MOMENT AGO, WHERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE GATHERED, YOU COME FORWARD IN YOUR AUDITORIUM WHERE YOU ARE. BRADY WILSON WILL BE THERE TO SAY A WORD AND TO HELP YOU. MANY COUNSELORS ARE THERE AS WELL. THEN YOU THAT ARE WATCHING BY TELEVISION, YOU PICK UP THE PHONE RIGHT NOW AND CALL THE NUMBER ON YOUR SCREEN. DON'T LET THIS MOMENT PASS BECAUSE THERE MAY NEVER BE ANOTHER MOMENT QUITE LIKE THIS IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU'RE SO CLOSE TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

ALL IT NEEDS IS A PHONE CALL TO TALK TO SOMEONE. THEN IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IMMEDIATELY, WAIT A MOMENT OR TWO AND CALL AGAIN. OR WAIT FIVE MINUTES OR TEN MINUTES AND CALL AGAIN. BUT DON'T LET THIS NIGHT PASS. THOSE PEOPLE, SOME OF THEM, WILL BE THERE FOR SEVERAL HOURS TO ANSWER YOUR PHONE. YOU GET UP AND COME RIGHT HERE AS PEOPLE ARE MAKING THEIR DECISION HERE AND IN THE OTHER AUDITORIUM AND ALL OVER AMERICA RIGHT NOW. YOU JOIN THEM. COME AND STAND HERE AND SAY YES TO CHRIST. WE'RE GOING TO

WAIT ON YOU. YOU MAY BE IN THE CHOIR, YOU MAY BE A LEADER IN THE CHURCH OR YOU MAY NOT HAVE ANY CHURCH CONNECTIONS. WHOEVER YOU ARE, GOD HAS SPOKEN TO YOU, GET UP AND COME. WE'RE GOING TO WAIT ON YOU. ♪ ♪ JUST AS I AM WITHOUT ONE PLEA ♪ ♪ BUT THAT THY BLOOD WAS SHED FOR ME ♪ AS THESE HUNDREDS ARE RESPONDING TO MR. GRAHAM'S INVITATION TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMITMENT TO JESUS CHRIST, YOU CAN MAKE THAT SAME COMMITMENT, RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE. JUST PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THE NUMBER YOU SEE ON YOUR SCR

EEN. SPECIAL FRIENDS ARE WAITING TO TALK WITH YOU AND TO PRAY WITH YOU ABOUT THIS MOST IMPORTANT DECISION, ♪ O LAMB OF GOD, I COME ♪ ♪ I COME ♪ YOU THAT ARE WATCHING BY TELEVISION CAN SEE THAT MANY SCORES OF PEOPLE, I SUPPOSE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, ARE COMING TO MAKE THIS COMMITMENT HERE IN RENO, NEVADA. YOU CAN MAKE THAT SAME COMMITMENT RIGHT NOW WHERE YOU ARE. JUST PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL THAT NUMBER THAT'S ON YOUR SCREEN AND HAVE A TALK WITH THAT COUNSELOR AND TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.

OR MAKE THE DECISION RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE. MAYBE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES ARE SUCH YOU CANNOT CALL RIGHT NOW. ALL RIGHT, MAKE YOUR COMMITMENT NOW. BOW YOUR HEAD AND SAY, "LORD JESUS, COME INTO MY HEART." "I RECEIVE YOU AS MY LORD AND SAVIOR." IF YOU JUST PRAYED THAT PRAYER WITH MY FATHER, OR IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST, WHY DON'T YOU CALL THE NUMBER ON THE SCREEN. THERE WILL BE SOMEONE THERE TO TALK WITH YOU, PRAY WITH YOU AND ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS. AND REMEMBER,

GOD LOVES YOU! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMIT YOUR LIFE TO JESUS CHRIST, PLEASE CALL US RIGHT NOW, TOLL FREE AT 1-877-772-4559. THAT'S 1-877-772-4559. OR YOU CAN WRITE TO US AT: BILLY GRAHAM 1 BILLY GRAHAM PARKWAY DEPARTMENT C CHARLOTTE, NC 28201 OR YOU CAN CONTACT US ON THE WEB 24/7 AT PEACEWITHGOD.TV. WE'LL GET THE SAME HELPS TO YOU THAT WE GIVE TO EVERYONE WHO RESPONDS AT THE INVITATION. ON BEHALF OF FRANKLIN GRAHAM AND THE BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION THANK YOU FOR WATCHING AND THA

NK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS. (Billy Graham) There's only one way, only one hope. ♪ Hear the sound of a brand new day ♪ ♪ Witness the story that never fa-a-ades ♪ ♪ Come, come with me ♪ ♪ To the Billy Graham Library ♪