Rebellion and Youth | Billy Graham Classic Sermon

from our archives the Billy Graham

classics now tonight I want you to turn

with me to the 15th chapter of Luke’s

gospel Jesus tells three

stories first he tells the story of a

lost sheep a man had a hundred sheep and

one of them got lost now he was lost

through his own

stupidity and Jesus is indicating that

you are the one lost sheep because the

shepherd goes after that sheep and Jesus

said indicated that that was the reason

he went to the Cross God sent him to the

Cross to find you that you could have

forgiveness of sin have eternal life

know that you’re going to heaven and

have fulfillment and purpose and meaning

in this life as long as you remain in

this life you are the one lost sheep and

then the second story has to do with a

coin a woman lost a coin now that’s not

uh so unusual a lot of women lose coins

and men too I’m always losing

something but she lost it through

carelessness and many of us are careless

about our spiritual condition and Jesus

is teaching something else here that you

can be careless about your spiritual

condition and lose your

soul and so this woman had uh the reason

she was collecting those coins she

collected 10 coins and when she got 10

coins she had enough in her diary to get

married and the rest of her life she

would wear them as a hairpiece around

her head and so it was very important

and she looked everywhere for her coin

she lit a candle and looked under the

bed she swept the rug she went outside

she swept the outside she looked

everywhere and tears were streaming down

her cheeks she couldn’t find her coin

this may mean two or three more years

before she could get married but one day

she found the coin

and when she did she called all of her

neighbors and friends in and said I

found the coin and they rejoiced

together and then Jesus tells another

story the third story it’s about the

story of a lost son or a loving father

now there’s one thing Jesus also wants

to teach in here he’s teaching about

repentance of sin turning from sin

changing your lives and the joy in

heaven over one sinner that repents of

sin think of the angels in heaven

singing and rejoicing over you when you

make your commitment to Jesus Christ

because you see when the one lost sheep

was found they all gathered and

rejoiced when the one lost coin was

found they gathered and rejoiced

eventually when the sun came home they

gathered and rejoiced and had a great

banquet and a feast in his honor and

Jesus is saying that’s what happens in

heaven over one person that repents of

sin and comes to

Christ but the story of the lost son is

what I want to dwell on there was a

16-year-old boy in London when we were

there not long ago written about in the

paper and he had no ticket from Glasgow

to London he was a runaway running away

from home in search of the bright lights

and the life in London and that’s one of

the great problems in America at this

hour runaway young people but in this

text in Luke the 15th chapter beginning

at the 11th verse we have the story of

this runaway

son and it’s a picture of God loving and

searching a picture of a man away from

God and it’s one of the tenderest and

greatest stories in all the Bible

instead of calling it The prodal son we

could call it the story of the loving

father he loved his two sons he loved

his family this father had a farm and

there was a great deal of love and

discipline and faith in God in that home

but this young man was dissatisfied with

it he didn’t like it so he goes to his

father and he says father I want to

leave home I want to go out on my own

I’m old enough now and I want to go out

and see a little bit of life I want to

go uh to Seattle or I want to go to

Chicago I want to go to New York I’d

like to go to Miami or honol Lula

someplace Lord just anywhere let me go

to Anchorage get away from here where I

am I want to see something and and meet

some young friends and live it up a

little bit and said you know when uh

when you die a third of this estate Goes

To Me by law according to the old Jewish

law and so the father said to him well

son you’re

right but I would advise you against it

I don’t think you’re going to find what

you’re searching for in the big city and

in the bright lights and the good times

but young people today are that way they

want instant solutions to problems and

we think we can find satisfaction in our

lives just a little change maybe moving

away from home or getting out from under

father and mother or getting away from

the old familiar surroundings maybe if I

could just go to New York or someplace

like that it would be different for me

I’ll find the satisfaction that I’m

looking

for so the father didn’t argue he knew

that his son has has a right to do it

we’re not satisfied with the way we are

constructed we’re not satisfied with the

way we look we’re not satisfied with the

way we live we’re not satisfied with

where we live we’re not satisfied with

our education we’re not satisfied with

our inner self and there’s something

lacking and we don’t know what it is

like the girl that was crying and crying

and crying at the University and they

couldn’t find out what was wrong and

finally they brought up parents and she

finally blurted out to her father and

she said father I want something and I

don’t know what it is

most everybody’s searching for something

and they don’t know what it is do you

know why because you were made in the

image of God you were made for God you

have a body but living down inside of

your body is your spirit your soul made

in the image of God and made for

fellowship with God and that Fellowship

has been broken by sin and so inside

you’re constantly screaming and crying

out for something you’re not quite sure

what it is you think you’ll find it in

drugs you think you’ll find it in sex

you think you’ll find it in something

else power success money it’s not there

and you end up with emptiness still

searching and you’re actually searching

for God and don’t know it and you’ll

never find that total satisfaction and

peace and purpose and meaning in your

life until you have surrendered your

life to God surrendered your life to

Christ one of the most important uh

most listened to songs I suppose of all

time maybe was Rolling Stones when they

used to sing I Can’t Get No

Satisfaction and there are thousands of

people Just Can’t Get No Satisfaction no

matter what you do you just don’t have

it oh you have a good time for a short

time there is pleasure in sin for a

short time the Bible says but in the end

it ends up and you don’t have the

satisfaction and there are many people

watching by Television right now you

don’t have

satisfaction you don’t have purpose and

meaning in your life but you’d like to

have it and you’re hungering for

something and you’re thirsty for

something you don’t know what it is why

don’t you pick up a telephone right now

call the number on your screen talk to

that person that is at the other end of

the line ready to talk to you if you get

a busy signal call back again and again

and again they’ll be there all evening

to answer your questions and help you

with your problem and your

need well this young son in his

Rebellion headed for some city I don’t

know what city it was in America many of

them go to the West

Coast and that used to be the jumping

off place now they can go to Hula or

come to

Alaska and they search for something but

they don’t find it they say oh if I can

get to Los Angeles if I can get to San

Francisco if I can get to Hawaii if I

can come to Alaska I know that’s where

I’m going to find everything I’ve been

searching for but they don’t find it but

this young fell did find it he found it

for a short time he wanted to get away

from the boredom of the country to the

city with its bright lights and its

throbbing

lifestyle and you know boredom is an

age-old problem this young man was bored

as well as Restless at home and when he

got to the big city he wasted his

inheritance the Bible says on rius

living when he got there with all that

money he found a lot of friends he was

the toast most of the of the young

social set they they took him into their

crowd because he had money he had

beautiful girls on his arm he probably

drove the best automobile he had

everything and he attracted friends but

then a depression came recession came he

lost his money he gambled a lot of it

away he drank a lot of it away the women

took a lot of it his friends took a lot

of it and soon he found out he didn’t

have any money

left and when he had no money left he

had no

friends and he went from friend to

friend trying to get a job he couldn’t

find a

job nobody was interested in helping a

fellow that was broke like he was and a

depression and a recession had set in

and jobs couldn’t be found finally he

got one

job you see the Day of Reckoning always

comes he had rebelled against his father

he had rebelled against his family he

had rebelled against God now he’s paying

the price and the scripture says he

begins to be in want he begins to be in

want when a man leaves God his troubles

begin sometimes it’s a long process

sometimes it’s a quick process but when

he R ran out of money and his friends

left

him he was worth nothing no home no

money no friends no

job and it’s impossible for us who were

created for for eternity ever to find

anything in the things of this world to

satisfy our

souls and yet the Bible says for those

that know the Lord I shall not want his

body began to be in want his body wanted

drugs or alcohol for

kicks drugs affect the mind there’s a

great deal of drunkenness today there

are many articles in stories in the

papers about alcoholism alcoholism as a

killer is the number two in America

having jumped over cancer heart

alcoholism and cancer one two three and

drunk driving in America kills more than

25,000 people each

year and then his mind began to be in

want you see the Bible says sin affects

your mind that’s the reason you can’t

think clearly that’s the reason we’re

confused in our thinking today and we

cannot think clearly about world

problems National problems State

problems Community problems personal

problems family problems because sin has

affected our minds you see the Bible

says that Satan blinds the Mind 2

Corinthians 4 but if our gospel be hid

it’s hid to them that are lost in whom

the God of this world the devil has

blinded the minds of them which believe

not lest the light of the Glorious

gospel of Christ who is the image of God

should shine unto them Satan blinds our

minds that’s the reason you cannot come

to Christ with your mind you cannot come

with your mind alone you can’t think

your way to Christ you can’t go to a

university and study how to find Christ

out of a

textbook you cannot come intellectually

alone your mind has been affected by sin

it’s affected by Satan he blinds you

that’s the reason it takes the

supernatural act of the Holy Spirit to

convict you and to break through that

blindness so that you can know

Christ his Spirit his soul began to be

in one it was Restless alienated empty

without God you see the human soul is so

large that the world cannot fill it what

shall it profit a man if he gain the

whole world and lose his own soul your

soul your spirit living there in your

body for which you’re responsible is

more important than all the world

than all the gold and all the oil and

all the riches of the whole world your

soul your individual soul is worth more

you say well Billy how could that be I

don’t know how it can be but that’s how

the Bible teaches it and I believe

that’s true God Made You In His Image

and you are important to God God loves

you as an individual I don’t care what

your sins are what your failures are God

loves you he sent his son to die for you

he suffered and died on the cross in

your place so this young man’s body

began to be in want his mind was in want

his Spirit was in

want why because of the slavery of sin

whosoever committeth sin is a slave of

sin the Bible

says so he got a

job and became a slave to a former

friend of his who had a farm out here

raising pigs so he got a job feeding the

pigs

now what are you trying to fill your

soul with

money Fame sex intellectual

attainment or maybe you’re a perennial

student at the

University I I’ve been to universities

where students were 40 and 50 years old

they’ve been there for 15 and 20 years

it’s an escapism they get their parents

to support them and they get degree

after degree after degree they don’t

want to face the responsibilities of

life

you see he had walked out from under the

discipline of his father but he’s now

under the slavery of a

stranger he exchanged one type of

discipline for slavery you cannot be

neutral you’re either a servant of God

or a slave of Satan Jesus said no man

can serve two masters for either he will

hate the one and love the other or else

he will hold to the one and despise the

other you cannot serve God in

materialism you cannot serve God in

yourself you have to put Christ first

you have to make a choice and you stand

tonight at the crossroads here’s the

broad Road there’s the narrow road and

when you receive Christ you go against

the tide of the broad Road that’s the

reason it’s not easy to be a Christian

it’s not easy to really follow Christ

I’m not going to kid you young people

and tell you it’s easy it’s not it’s

hard if you want to be an allout

Christian if you want to serve Christ

with all your heart and be everything

Christ wants you to be it is not

easy it’s tough but if you want a

challenge it’ll pay off a million times

in this life and the life to come then

give your life totally to Christ tonight

March under his

flag march shoulder-to-shoulder with the

people that have committed their lives

to

Christ which Master are you serving

serving tonight which road are you on

the narrow road he said leads to eternal

life but you have to go through a narrow

gate you have to come by the way of the

Cross you have to come to the foot of

the cross and say to God I have sinned

I’m sorry for my sin I receive Christ as

Sav if you that are watching by

television will do that and would like

to do that pick up the phone and call

the person on the other end of that

number that you see on your screen you

can do it right

now well this young man had all these

experiences and now he sits down with

the pigs he’s eating with the pigs he

looks like a pig he grunts like a pig he

fights with the pig over the food he

becomes discouraged and despondent he

decides that maybe he ought to just

commit suicide and I imagine the Hogs

watching very curiously this new hog

that’s joined

them and that’s how low we sink morally

we sink to the very bottom when we turn

ourselves over to the devil but we are

told that this young man came to himself

the Bible says he came to his right

mind you tonight can come to yourself

the holy spirit is speaking to you

tonight you’re away from God you’re not

yourself but you can come to

yourself so this young man said I’ve

sinned against Heaven how right he was

he hadn’t only sinned against his father

he had sinned against heaven

he admitted that the fault was not God’s

but it was his he said I have sinned

then he said a very wonderful thing he

began to think about his father and he

thought to himself well the servants

that my father hires get more to eat and

live a better life than I Live Now if I

could go back and just be a servant of

my father maybe my father would would

would let me do that and so the

scripture says that he said to himself I

will arise and go

I’m going to ask you to do that tonight

to arise and come and receive Christ

come back to God come back to Christ

Surrender Your Life to him maybe you’re

a member of the church and you go to

Sunday school and you go to church and

you try to live a good life but deep

down inside you know that you are away

from

God so this young man had rebelled he

was regretful for it he had reflected

about it he had repented about it

now he decides to go home and we see him

walking toward

home and his father what had his father

been doing all this time his father

still loved him and every afternoon when

the day’s work was over and the sun was

setting in the west the father would go

out on the front porch and watch down

the road praying for his son thinking

about his son loving his son wanting his

son to return hoping that he would see

him some evening walking down that

road and after 2 or 3 years it passed

and everybody else had given up the

father was still loving him he knew his

son was spending his money and spending

his life in while living but this father

loved him in spite of all that and one

evening he looked down that road and he

saw somebody coming and he thought to

himself well that looks like Jim but it

couldn’t be but he walks like you the

son was just going down the father

rushed out a little bit and took another

look a little closer and he saw this boy

stumbling toward him in rags dirt and

filth and the father ran to him and

threw his arms around him now the boy

had made up a speech he was going to

give to his father he was going to say

father I’ve sinned against Heaven I’ve

sinned against you I don’t deserve to be

your

son but please give me a job just as a

hired servant he didn’t get his speech

out at all he just got the first part of

it out the father had engulfed him in

his arms and the tears were streaming

down both their cheeks as Father and Son

came together and that’s a picture of

God tonight with you God is waiting on

you and God is waiting with love he

loves you he’ll put his arms around you

he’ll be closer to you than a brother

the scripture says

but here was the father who couldn’t

have cared

more there was a a song sometime ago

show me the way to go home BJ Thomas

used to sing home is where I belong

there was an old hymn that we used to

sing when I was a boy Softly and

Tenderly Jesus is Calling come home the

Bible says let the wicked forsake his

way and the unrighteous man his thoughts

and let him return unto the Lord and He

will have mercy Mercy on him and to our

God for he will abundantly pardon I tell

you right now there are angels gathering

in heaven ready to sing the orchestras

are ready to play and there’s to be

rejoicing as tonight God puts his arms

around you and says Jane Mary Susie Bill

Jim I love you you’re forgiven you

forgiven because of what my son Christ

did on the

cross

he’ll put his arms around you wouldn’t

you like that tonight to give you a

purpose and a meaning for your whole

life to help you when you go to pick out

a mate to help you to overcome

temptation to help you to understand

some of the mysteries of life to help

you to have absolute Assurance if you

died you’d go to heaven to forgive all

your sins Come and Let Us return unto

the Lord it says in Hosea for he hath

torn and he will heal us and ha smitten

and he’ll bind us

up and the father ordered a robe to be

brought he ordered a ring to be brought

to put on his son that gave him the

authority of a son he said you’re not

going to be my servant you’re going to

be my son you’re my son I love you I

forgive you

welcome and they began to

rejoice and the father’s words in that

case he is my son no matter what and God

is saying tonight you’re my son you’re

my daughter come come

home will you do that tonight will you

receive Christ but there was another

part of that story that I’ll just

mention there was another brother the

elder brother he was out in the field he

heard the dancing he heard the music he

heard the party he said what’s going on

they said your brother that was lost has

returned and he became became very angry

and the father went out and tried to

appease him and he said father I’ve been

here all the time you never gave any

party for me you never killed a fatted

catf for me look what you’re doing for

this boy that’s gone out there and lived

a life like that and the father said but

you’ve always been my

son you see it’s an interesting thing

there were two Lost Boys there one was

outside the home the other was inside

the home you can be inside the church

and have the wrong attitude you can be

inside the church and still not belong

to the father you can be inside the

church and still not have the right

love for Christ that you should have I’m

going to ask you tonight to commit your

life to Christ to make sure of your

relationship to him and you may never

have another Moment Like This as long as

you live the Bible says he that hardened

his heart being often reproved shall

suddenly be cut off and that without

remedy I’m going to ask you right now

now from up in the stands everywhere to

come and stand in front of the platform

and say by

coming I do want Christ I want him to

fill my life I want him to forgive me I

want God to put his arms around me and

love me I do come home to him

tonight I’m going to ask you to get up

and come right now hundreds of you

friends can come together husband and

wife can come together sweethearts can

come together but just get up and come

we’re going to wait on you quickly you

get up and come

hundreds of

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you the phone number on your screen

right now is a number that you can call

for Spiritual help and counsel many of

you need to make your commitment to

Jesus Christ or there’s some spiritual

need that you have have that you need

help with a counselor is standing by

ready to talk with you so make that call

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now you that have been watching on

television you can make that same

commitment just pick up the telephone

and call that counselor right now that’s

standing by to talk with you about your

problem and your need of Christ you can

make that commitment with these hundreds

of people that are coming here in

Anchorage

tonight God help you to make that

commitment now and be sure and go to

church next

Sunday if you just prayed that prayer

with my father or if you have any

questions about a relationship with

Jesus Christ I just call that number

that is on the screen there’ll 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

877772

4559 that’s

877772

4559 or you can write to us at Billy

graham1 Billy Graham Parkway Department

C Charlotte North Carolina

28201 or you can contact us on the web

247 at peacewithgod.net

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only one

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hope of

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new and give your life to Christ and see

what

happen

come come with me to the Billy gr

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