Will you miss out on eternity because you made excuses? In this 1986 message from Tallahassee, Florida, Billy Graham talks about the danger of waiting to make a decision for Christ. Watch more #MondayNightClassics every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern.
from our archives the billy graham
classics
today i want you to turn with me to the
14th chapter of luke’s gospel the 14th
chapter of luke’s gospel
and turn to the
15th verse
jesus is telling a story
and when one of them sat at meat with
him heard these things he said unto him
blessed is he that shall eat bread in
the kingdom of god then said he unto him
a certain man made a great supper
and he asked many people to come
and send his servant at suppertime to
tell them that they were bitten come for
all things are now ready and they all
with one consent began to make excuses
the first said unto him i bought a piece
of ground and i must go and see it i
pray thee have me excused
and another said i bought five yoke of
oxen and i go to prove them i pray they
have me excused and another said i’ve
married a wife and therefore i cannot
come
so that servant came and showed his lord
these things
then the master of the house being angry
said to his servants
go out quickly into the streets and
lanes of the city and bring in hither
the poor and the maim and the halt and
the blind
and the servants said lord it is done as
thou is commanded and yet there’s room
and the lord said unto the servant go
out into the highways and hedges and
compel them to come in that my house may
be filled for i say unto you
that none of those men which were bitten
shall taste of my supper
here he tells the story
of christ eating at the home
of the chief pharisee
and while eating he used two stories to
illustrate
spiritual truths jesus always did that
he always told stories common everyday
stories to illustrate spiritual truths
jesus always knew how to adapt himself
to every surrounding
and his use of common everyday
happenings as illustrations made him the
great preacher of all time
but this is the story of a supper
invitation
he said come for all things already and
there are three things that stand out
come
immediately
and it’s personal
no greater invitation has ever been
given than this invitation that jesus
illustrates in this little story it
includes everyone the rich the poor the
beggars the lame the halt the blind
everybody all colors all races are
invited because he’s telling us the
story that we’re invited to the cross
for salvation
everybody’s bidden to come
because it was there that he spared not
his own son but delivered him up for us
all and he said how shall we not with
him also freely give us all things
the apostle paul wrote for when we were
yet without strength in due time christ
died for the ungodly but they all began
to make excuse here they were invited by
the king of kings and the lord of lords
to a gospel feast to have their sins
forgiven to have eternal life to have
their name written on the book of life
and they begin to make excuses
and one of them said well
i’ve bought a piece of ground and had to
go see it
now this man was either a liar or a fool
this man was more interested in the
things of the world he was interested in
wealth and materialism and in his
business
and this jesus said how hard it is for
them that trust in riches to enter into
the kingdom of god
notice he said trust in riches it’s not
wrong to be a rich man
it’s not wrong to have money
the wrong is when you put your trust in
it and make it first
because you can be the richest man in
the world and die and go to hell and you
won’t have one penny to take with you
you leave it behind for people to fight
over
i read the other day about a robber who
shot a man dead for two dollars
and sometimes wealthy people feel that
they don’t have any need now you people
in leon county and all around here are
wealthy did you know that you have one
of the highest per capita incomes in the
united states
and by the world standards you’re
wealthy
so jesus is talking to you he’s talking
to me
the people of bangladesh and the people
in some parts of india and africa live
in absolute poverty
compared to even our poor people
in this country
and we today give preference to the body
over the soul and to the things of time
above those of eternity jesus said what
shall it profit a man if he gained the
whole world and lose his own soul then
there was a second guy
who had been invited and he said i’ve
bought five yoke of oxen and i go to
prove them please excuse me
he had been invited to eat bread in the
kingdom of god
to eat with the lord jesus christ
he too was either a liar or fool who
goes to prove oxen at night he didn’t
have any flashlights
he was just making an excuse
like buying a used car without trying it
out
and then the third man said i’ve married
a wife and therefore i cannot come now
he might have had a little bit of an
excuse
but most married men if they’re marrying
a
the right kind of a girl want to show
her off
she would have been invited i’m sure
jesus but jesus had earlier said that if
any man come to me and hate not his
father and his mother and his wife and
his children his brothers and sisters
and his own life also he cannot be my
follower he didn’t mean to use the word
hate in the sense you and i do he said
the priority is christ the priority is
god everything else is second even your
family
and the scripture says they were without
excuse romans 1 20 so that they are
without excuse
several things christ is teaching
these men were naive or they were an
insult to intelligence or they simply
were cover-up for unwillingness to come
now what are some of the excuses that
people make today
one of them that i hear is i cannot
understand the bible
jesus never said only understand
he said only believe
augustine was a great scholar before he
became a christian and looking back he
said i always had to understand socrates
and plato and aristotle before i could
believe them with jesus christ i
believed in him first then i began to
understand
who understands gravity
who understands electricity
who understands how you can eat a meal
and that food becomes blood and hair and
bone and muscle and fingers and nerves
and brains and teeth and skin
who understands a black cow
that you can milk and get white milk and
yellow butter
who understands all that
no one can explain all of it so when you
eat we’re strengthened
you have to start with the abcs when you
come to christ
come in simple childlike faith i’ve met
some of the greatest scientists in the
world
who are believers and they came just
like you have to come by simple
childlike faith the bible does not say
you have to think your way the bible
says by wisdom man knows not god
now that’s hard on a professor here at
the university
that’s hard on a student sometimes
because we want to understand everything
but when you come to christ and you come
to spiritual things there’s some things
you don’t understand you accept by faith
i don’t understand how
god never had a beginning
god never has an end
that he’s the same yesterday today and
forever i don’t understand that
i quit trying to understand that a long
time ago i accept it by faith that god
is
and that god is the creator
of the universe and he’s my creator
and he’s my savior as well
the wonderful things about the bible are
the simple things
the things that are peripheral though
important are the most difficult things
to understand everybody can understand
john 3 16 for god so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son that
whosoever believeth in him should not
perish but have everlasting life
25 words a minute to a bible
you can understand that that god loves
you
that christ died for you
that you’re a sinner
that you’ve broken god’s laws and in
order to know god in order to be sure
you’re going to heaven
you must believe and trust in his son
all you need to know to be a believer
is that you’re a sinner and that god is
looking for sinners
mark twain once said it’s not the things
in the bible i don’t understand that
bothers me it’s the things i do
understand that give me trouble
you see our problem many times are the
things we do understand
the disciples were not educated at the
great universities but they went out and
turned the world upside down
and thousands of universities and
colleges and all kinds of things are
named for them today
two thousand years later
these ignorant and unlearned men but
they knew one thing they knew jesus
and that’s all you have to know to get
to heaven and to have eternal life
and that’s more
than a grave many of our great men knew
or know
and second excuse that i hear sometimes
is i want to make a commitment to christ
but i’m too sinful
i’ll wait till i do better
i read in the press the other day of an
actress who said i’ve ruined my life
no she hadn’t ruined it
if she’d come to christ at the cross
this power and the blood of christ to
cleanse her from all the mistakes and
all the sins that she’d made
paul said this is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that christ
jesus came into the world to save
sinners of which i’m chief notice paul
said he’s the chiefest of sinners
don’t you feel like saying that
sometimes
i do
i feel like saying i am the chief of
sinners not paul it’s billy graham
and i come to the cross
and i recommit my life to christ and i
find cleansing and forgiveness there
jesus christ came to save sinners and
you cannot justify yourself all our own
righteousness is filthy rags the bible
said
all the good works that we do will not
save us we’re to do good works we’re to
give to the poor and the hungry and
we’re to help build hospitals and we’re
to help in the work for peace and to
help better race relations and all these
other things
but that is not going to save our souls
our souls are saved by the grace and the
mercy of god as we come in simple faith
to the cross
have you done that
i told last night about the preacher
that came here for our school of
evangelism this week and he was a highly
educated clergyman
and he came forward one night and the
counselor was talking to him and said i
suppose you’ve come to rededicate your
life he said no i’ve come to accept
christ
i’ve been to school i’ve been to
seminary i’ve been to all of that but i
don’t really know christ is my savior
and there are many of you like that you
may be an eld in the church or a deacon
or a sunday school teacher and we’ve had
many of them this past week that have
come and said i need to recommit my life
to christ
and you’re one of those
and then there’s some people that say
well i’m self-sufficient i don’t really
need christ there are people right here
in tallahassee
i took a tour out here these beautiful
homes that are being built
and i looked at those homes and
beautiful golf courses and all of that
and i just wanted to grab one of them
and say i’d like to just stay here for
about a year and not have to go anywhere
and see anything and just play golf
every day and just relax
but i thought to myself i imagine a lot
of people like there are in my hometown
self-sufficient we don’t really need
anything
we have everything what do we need
christ for
well one day they’re going to wake up
and they’re going to realize that
they’ve waited too late
they need him
they need him now
to prepare for the future because
whether they like it or not they’re
going to die and they’re going to face
the judgment it’s appointed and demand
wants to die and after that the judgment
and everybody that you see on the
streets of tallahassee they’re walking
dead people they’re on their way to the
grave they’re on their way to their own
funeral there was a man here the other
night
you read it in the paper
he accepted christ
he was an alcoholic but he really came
to know christ and when the police found
him
the next morning dead
on the street here in tallahassee all
they could find was
was
the identification of the counselor that
had spoken to him the night before and
the little card that he had filled out
that’s how they were able to trace him
down
he didn’t know that in the next few
hours he would be an eternity but he
went into eternity with christ and he’s
going to be in heaven
not because he lived a good life or
deserved it he’s going because of what
christ did for him on the cross
there are four words i want you to
remember fact
faith
feeling
fruit
the first thing is fact
what is the fact in so far as your
salvation is concerned first corinthians
15
that christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures and that he was buried
and that he rose again the third day
according to the scriptures that’s the
fact
christ died he rose again for you
second
faith in that fact the second word is
faith faith in that fact he that
believeth on the son hath everlasting
life and he that believeth not the son
shall not see life but the wrath of god
abides on him now
the wrath of god is on you right now if
you haven’t come to christ john 3 38.
you see faith is the fact
faith in the fact
fact failing now feeling what kind of
feeling
feeling of
peace forgiveness
assurance
a living hope
feeling of deliverance now that my sins
have been forgiven
and then the fruit follows
by their fruits you shall know them said
jesus if someone professes to be a
follower of christ and they are so and
they’re no different than before we have
ever a reason to question whether they
have had a genuine experience with
christ because the bible says therefore
if any man be in christ he is a new
creature old things are passed away
behold all things have become new
because when you come to christ a change
takes place a change in direction
a change in attitudes
you begin to love love begins to
dominate your life you’re a different
person in the home
you’re a different person in the
community you’re a different person at
school or at work
and then there are other people that say
well there are too many hypocrites in
the church
i think that’s the most foolish of all
excuses
they’re quacks among doctors
does that mean you’ll never go to a
doctor
because there’s a false one somewhere
the church is not a perfect organization
the family isn’t perfect you’re not
perfect
we live in an imperfect world and we’re
not going to be perfect till we get to
heaven
but when you come to christ you’re on
your way that’s called sanctification
you start being sanctified and you are
sanctified progressively and you’re
fully and totally sanctified when you
stand in the presence of christ i don’t
expect perfection
till i get to heaven
and then there are people that say well
i would come to christ but i’d have to
give up too much
you give up a great thing great deal for
other things
you give up a great deal to get an
education or to give your children an
education
some of you’ll give up almost anything
for power
look at what we’ve heard during the past
few days of all the politics
people going for offices that’s fine we
need them
but all the claims that were made and
the counter claims
and negative type of politicking in some
instances
people will give up almost anything for
money
whether it’s money or power social
prestige you’ll do most anything
but what about coming to christ
the scripture says thou will show me the
path of life in thy preciousness
fullness of joy at thy right hand their
pleasures forevermore in christ there’s
pleasure in christ there’s joy
in christ this fulfillment this purpose
and meaning to life in christ
moses gave up a home in the palace of
pharaoh for the prospect of wearing the
crown of an empire he gave the whole
thing up
for christ
he gave up all the pleasures of egypt to
become a leader for god
you never give up anything that is
worthwhile to become a believer
everything you now have that is
wholesome and worthwhile you can keep
and everything that is unwholesome and
unhealthy and destructive god will take
away from you as you turn from sin and
put your trust in christ
god gave everything he had for you the
scripture says he spared not his own son
and when they were driving those nails
in the hands of jesus
and they were pulling his beard
when they were pulling out his hair
when he was bleeding and they put the
spear in his side and the spikes through
his feet
how do you think god felt god the father
seven to two thousand angels pulled
their swords ready to come and rescue
him
but jesus said i love them too much
because if i come down from this cross
there will be no salvation for any human
being
i have come to do the will of my father
to reconcile man to god
and only through the cross can it be
done and he stayed on that cross because
he loved you and you’re important to him
and then there are others that say i’ve
tried before to live a christian life
but made a failure of it
what do i do i’m just i’ve just given up
you get up and confess your sins and
he’s faithful and just to forgive your
sins
and then there are people that said well
i’m afraid of being misunderstood
and the bible teaches that the world is
admitted with god yea and all that will
live godly and christ shall suffer
persecution
there’s going to be a certain amount of
persecution and misunderstanding if you
start living for the lord
you start carrying a bible and reading
your bible and praying and witnessing
for christ if you’re a student here at
the university
and then there are others that say well
i’m afraid i can’t hold out
do you say that about the university
oh about being married i’m afraid i
can’t hold out
a lot of them do that anyway
all about to take a job i don’t think i
can hold out
god can keep you
now unto him that is able to keep you
from falling and to present you
faultless before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy
we are kept by the power of god
no billy graham cannot hold out
god holds me
once i surrender to him i can only hold
out as christ holds me up
and then there are other people that say
well i intend to make my decision for
christ sometime
but not now
that’s dangerous
the scripture says in proverbs 27 boasts
not thyself of tomorrow for thou knowest
not what a day may bring forth
the bible says behold now is the
accepted time and behold now is the day
of salvation
there’s a bestseller last year in
england that was called if tomorrow
comes
there’s always a big if about tomorrow
we don’t know whether tomorrow will come
for us or not
what is your excuse
what’s keeping you from making your
commitment to christ i mean you’re a
total commitment
notice that the host here in this story
gets angry
he said none of these which are biden
shall taste of my supper
god says you’re without excuse
he said cast them out and go out and get
some others
now there’s other interpretations to
this passage that i’m not going to go
into
but this is a story for us to take to
our own hearts and our own lives
because you see the bible teaches that
there’s a dark line in god’s face and
that dark line is the line of judgment
god can become angry with you
when you refuse christ
you refuse god’s offer of mercy and love
and he’s done everything he can for you
and you reject him and turn him down and
say no
what else can god do there’s nothing
he’s offered you salvation he’s offered
you everything that he can offer you
now what do you have to do all you have
to do is receive i offer you this book
it’s not yours till you receive it
he’s offering you forgiveness of your
sins he’s offering you a new life
and some of you here today need to
recommit your life to christ
you belong to the church you’ve been
baptized you may have been confirmed in
your church if it’s a liturgical church
but you
have not yet really come to know christ
in your own heart
he doesn’t really live in you
and this is the next to the last day of
this crusade and you may never have
another moment like this when you’re as
close to the kingdom of god
because you cannot count on tomorrow
now is the time right now
i’m going to ask you to do something
that we’ve seen hundreds of people do
this past week in the arena i’m going to
ask you to get up out of your seat right
now quickly hundreds of you
and come and stand here on the grass
right in front of the platform
and as you come you’re saying in your
heart i really want my sins forgiven i
want to know i’m going to heaven i want
my name on the book of life and i want
to know it i want to be sure of it
and by coming you’re saying yes well you
say billy why do i have to come publicly
because every person jesus called in the
new testament he called publicly
every person he called publicly why
jesus hung on the cross publicly for you
now he asks you to come
he said if you’re not willing to confess
me before men i’ll not confess you
before my father which is in heaven
the ushers will show you the way i’m
going to i said no one leave the stadium
i know the
temptation is going to be to get up and
go out and be the first away
but you stay where you are and pray
pray for the person to the right of you
and left of you in front of you in back
of you can bring somebody today as
people come we’re going to wait you may
be in the choir and god has spoken to
you you may be an officer in the church
and god has spoken to you
you come right now quickly
and while you come the choir is going to
sing
as these many hundreds make their
personal decision for christ here in
tallahassee florida you too can make
that decision
call the number on the screen right now
[Music]
bye
[Music]
you that have been watching by
television
can see here in tallahassee florida the
capital of this great state that many
people have come to make their
commitment to christ today ought to
recommit their lives
you can do the same where you are
and if you will pick up the phone and
call the number that’s on the screen
may god help you to make that commitment
today
and be sure
and go to church
next weekend god bless you
if you just prayed that prayer with my
father or if you have any questions
about a relationship with jesus christ i
would 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 1-877-772-4559
that’s 1-877-772-4559
or you can write to us at billy graham
one billy graham parkway department c
charlotte north carolina 28201
or you can contact us on the web 24 7 at
peacewithgod.tv
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 thank you for
your prayers
[Music]
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