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from our archives the Billy Graham
classics tonight I hope you have your
Bibles with you I’ve been asking you to
bring your Bibles because we’re
here to see what the Bible has to say
about your problems and my problems and
the nation’s problems and the world’s
problems not what someone else has to
say but what does God have to say and I
want you to return with me to the second
chapter of John’s gospel the second
chapter of John’s
gospel in the 23rd verse Jesus said all
the scripture says now when he was in
Jerusalem at the Passover in the feast
days many believed in his name when they
saw the Miracles which he did but Jesus
did not commit himself unto them because
he knew all
men and needed not that any should
should testify of man for he knew what
was in
man there was a man of the Pharisees
named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews the
same came to Jesus by night and said
unto him Rabbi we know that thou are a
teacher come from God for no man can do
these Miracles that you do except God be
with
him and Jesus answered and said unto him
verily verily I say unto thee except a
man be born again he cannot see the
kingdom of
God I remember the first day that I ever
went to
school I was scared to death we had to
walk to school in those days about two
or three
miles and walk back in the afternoon
after the school was finished and my
mother had fixed me a little lunch to
take and eat at lunchtime all the recess
time no one told me that there were two
recesses so they had one recess about
10: or 10:30 for us to go out and
stretch ourselves a little bit and so I
ate my lunch very quickly at that time
well when the real lunchtime came at
12:30 I had nothing to
eat and I’ll never forget that day as
long as I live I got on the bus the
wrong way or some or this was four years
later I got on the bus the wrong way and
the principal came out and he grabbed my
ear and I think part of it is still
gone but sometime ago Bill hibl said in
one of his sermons that there are so
many changes happening rapidly that we
don’t even realize how many of them are
affecting us he said that this is an era
of information
overload you and I have access to more
information data facts and news and
knowledge than anybody in history and
the information in the world is doubling
every five years and then we get
information through magazines and
newspapers we’re
told that we forget up to 80% of it in
24
hours and virtually all of us will be
forgotten but the time we reach
eternity Nicodemus the man that we were
just reading about in the Bible was a
great religious
leader and he came by
night he probably was afraid of
criticism or he had a desire for a
private conversation with Jesus and
maybe that was the only time Jesus could
give
him or maybe he thought about committing
himself in a new way many of you have
thought a long time about religion and
Christianity we’re living in a
revolutionary and changing World man’s
ability is man’s moral abilities lagging
behind his technological ability and it
could mean disaster and catastrophe for
the whole human race and many people
have a feeling that something is about
to happen I’m ask more questions
wherever I go today about the end of the
world than I ever have in all of my
Ministry put together people look at our
world with all the
crime and all the headlines screaming at
us about the
killings and we see the moral depravity
on so much of our
entertainment and we ask ourselves are
we nearing the end are we living in the
days of Noah as Jesus predicted would
come
someday I heard about a drunk in
London he was under a street light and
he was looking for his wallet that he
had
lost and somebody came by and said did
you lose it here he said no about a half
block back well why don’t you look there
there’s no street lights back there he
said searching is important searching
for purpose and meaning is very
important do you have purpose and
meaning in your life I told many times
about the 10-year-old
boy who went to his mother and said
mother how was I born and she said the
stor brought
you then he went to his grandmother and
said Grandmother how were you born said
the stalk brought
me said how was my mother born well the
stalk brought
her and he was to write a little paper
in his class on birth and he wrote in
his paper and said there hasn’t been a
natural birth in our family in three
generations
now Nicodemus was
surprised and stunned when Jesus turned
to him and said Nicodemus you must be
born again if Christ had said that to
zakus who was cheating the people out of
money you could understand that or the
woman at the well who had had five
husbands you could understand it all the
thief on the cross who was guilty of
robbery and mugging and all kinds of
things who begged je who said to Jesus
Lord remember me when you come into your
kingdom or the woman taken in
adultery but to say it to a religious
leader like Nicodemus surprised
everybody you see Nicodemus was a ruler
he was rich he was religious and yet he
was searching for reality and that’s why
he was there he wanted fulfillment in
his life which he hadn’t found in all of
his
religion let me tell you how religious
Nicodemus was and see how you stack up
he fasted two days a
week he spent two hours every day in
prayer he tithed all of his
income he was a professor of
theology he worked hard at his
religion but Jesus said
Nicodemus all that is not
enough you must be born
again why did Jesus say this Jesus could
see in his heart he could see that he
had all this outside religious
experience he had all the traditions of
religion like fiddle on the Roof
Tradition tradition tradition
is what he’s saying and we have
traditions in our church and all the
churches we have traditions and we stick
to those Traditions but all of it’s not
enough Jesus said you must have a
personal experience with
God you must come to know me as your
lord and your savior personally you
can’t depend on your Traditions you
can’t depend on your
family Jesus said to Nicodemus Nicodemus
all your religion is not not
enough why the little boy put his finger
on it when he said I guess I was just
born wrong yes the Bible says in sin did
my mother conceive me I was born in
iniquity what causes
lying cheating hate Prejudice greed
Injustice selfishness
cruelty racial
tensions what causes it what causes
perversion Jesus
said the
heart he said but those things which
proceed out of the mouth come forth from
the heart and they defile a
person they’re in our hearts we were
born with that tendency to sin and is we
grow older we make choices to sin so we
become Sinners by choice
and then we become Sinners by practice
we practice this sin it’s a
disease worse than cancer worse than
AIDS and the whole world is
infected and you may live to be 70 or 80
or 90 or 100 years of
age but your
spirit your soul that part part of you
that will live forever either in heaven
or hell that part of
you is
dead dead toward
God and it’s
sinful and that’s the reason you need
forgiveness that’s the reason you need
for God to come along and justify you
you did you know that tonight before you
leave here you could be justified before
God just as though you had never
committed a sin that’s what the cross is
all about that’s what the resurrection
is all about that’s what the blood of
Christ is all
about Jesus came to give himself to you
because he loves you and when he died on
that cross God laid all of our sins on
him he became guilty of murder of lying
of adultery of greed all the sins that
you and I have were laid on him
he voluntarily did it because he loves
you God loves
you there are many words used in the New
Testament for sin I’m not going to try
to use them
all one of them is turning aside from a
straight path all we like sheep have
gone astray we’ve turned everyone to his
own way said
Isaiah in Romans 5 it says wherefore as
by one man sin entered into the worth
world and death by sin and so death
passed upon all men for all have
sinned thus a radical change must take
place before you can get into heaven
before you can be accepted by God and
that change can take place
tonight to find true or real fulfillment
even in this life that change must take
place to be acceptable to God that
change must take place now what is this
New Birth when Jesus said you must be
born again Nicodemus asked that question
he said how can a man be born again when
he’s old can he enter his mother’s womb
and be born
again he wanted to
understand Jesus indicated the Bible
indicates that we will never understand
all these
things we’ll never understand all the
mysteries of God God we come by
faith Nicodemus could only see the
physical and the material and Jesus was
speaking of the spiritual when Jesus
said you must be born again he didn’t
mean that you’re going to inherit it you
don’t inherit salvation from your father
and mother the scripture says in John
1:12 which were born not of blood nor of
the will of the flesh nor of the will of
man but of
God I could be born in a garage with but
that doesn’t make me an
automobile you can be born in a
Christian home but that doesn’t make you
a Christian there has to come a time in
your own life when you make your own
decision and your own
choice and then some people think they
can come by their own works by being by
doing many good things and great things
that’s wonderful keep doing
them but that doesn’t save your
soul it’s a result of your
salvation in Titus 3:5 it says not of
works of righteousness which we have
done but according to his Mercy he saved
us you are saved by the grace of God now
Grace means unmar favor Grace means
something you don’t deserve you can’t
work for it you can’t pay for it it’s a
gift from
God have you received that gift you
receive that gift by faith and he comes
into your heart and changes you and you
become born a new you see man sinned in
a perfect environment we had it
all Adam and Eve had
everything they didn’t even need to have
police forces they didn’t need to have
government they didn’t need anything
because they had it
all but they rebelled against God they
sinned against God and they passed it on
down from generation to generation down
to you and me till we are all
sinners not to be born
again means being born into God’s family
in Ezekiel it says a new heart also will
I give you and a new spirit will I put
within you in Romans Paul speaks of it
as being alive from the the dead in 2
Corinthians he calls it being a new
creation old things have passed away
behold All Things become new has that
happened to you Peter
said we become partakers of the divine
nature how wonderful to become a
partaker of God’s very nature John calls
it passing from death into life you’re
no longer heading for death and
destruction and hell and judgment
you’re heading for a new life an eternal
life with God in heaven and you receive
it
tonight well how is this new birth
accomplished there’s a mystery to it the
Bible says Jesus said the wind blows
where it
listed I can’t see the
wind I can feel
it I can see the results of the Wind
but I can’t see the wind the wind blows
where it wants to and then there’s the
analogy to natural birth there’s
conception just a few seconds when the
sperm and the Egg are joined
together and then there’s gestation for
9
months then birth
comes and and the labor last a few
minutes
or maybe a few
days and how does
that become an analogy to the New Birth
well does the reception of the word of
God that’s
conception 1 Peter 1:23 being born again
not of corruptible seed but of
Incorruptible by the word of God which
liveth and abideth
forever and then Romans 10:7 says faith
cometh by hearing and hearing by the
word of God
it pleased God by the foolishness of
preaching or Declaration or proclamation
to save them that
believe it’s also the work of the Holy
Spirit the Bible teaches that the Holy
Spirit
convicts us of our sins you can’t come
to Christ except the Holy Spirit convict
you and draws
you John 16 says and when he has come he
will reprove the world of sin and
righteousness and judgment he’ll use a
mother’s prayers he’ll use a tragic
experience he’ll use a pastor’s sermon
he’ll use a tract or something you’ve
read out of the
Bible the holy spirit gives New Life the
Bible teaches that we’re dead in sin and
you hath he made alive who were dead in
trespasses and in sins man needs new
life and that new new life is brought by
the Holy Spirit that’s the new birth and
that could happen to you tonight you can
leave here born a new and start life all
over again with Jesus Christ being born
from
above and then the Bible teaches that
when you receive Christ the Holy Spirit
comes to
indwell he dwelleth with you and shall
be in you the scripture says know you
not that your body is the Temple of the
Holy Spirit and the spirit of God that
dwelleth in you he gives you a new power
but you shall receive power after that
the Holy Spirit has come upon
you that power can come from God tonight
beginning
tonight I read of a woman who tried her
drive’s test for the 38th time and
failed in
England perhaps you’ve tried nearly that
many times in religion but you haven’t
found it you still searching you’re
still wondering you’re still uncertain
about the future you’re not absolutely
sure oh you’ve been baptized and
confirmed perhaps and you’ve been in the
church or maybe you’re a leader in the
church but something is missing there’s
still a vacuum there there’s still a
search there there’s still an
uncertainty
there I’m asking you tonight to move
over and Trust the Holy Spirit to drive
and control your
life you can do that tonight and I’m
going to ask you to do it you say well
what do I have to do there are three
things that are important for you to do
first you must repent of
sin repentance means that you change
your way of living and change your
thinking be willing for a change to take
place in your
life the second thing by faith and faith
and repentance go together there’s no
dichotomy they they go
together you repent and you believe
believe in Christ you don’t believe in
anything else for your salvation except
the Lord Jesus Christ and you receive
him in your heart and say Lord Jesus
come in and he’ll come
in then the third thing is to obey him
say Lord I know I can’t live the
Christian Life and Billy Graham can’t
live the Christian Life and I can’t
if I didn’t have the help of the Holy
Spirit every day I would be a total
failure every day as far as living the
Christian Life I’m a fail you a great
deal of the time as it is but it’s the
holy spirit that comes and lives through
you and in you and gives you a power to
resist temptation that you never had
before and gives you a new joy and a new
peace that you never knew existed that
can all be yours tonight
if you’re willing to say Lord I do
repent I do receive
you I open my heart to
you I’m going to ask you to do what
we’ve already seen hundreds of people do
I’m going to ask you to get up out of
your seat from up here and out there way
back in the back and over here back
there and come and stand in front and
say by coming I do receive him
I am willing to repent of my sins I want
there to be a change I want to know that
I’ve been saved I’m not sure where I am
now but I want to know you get up and
come we’re going to wait on you and
going to ask people to be in prayer for
those that are making those commitments
now ask nobody to leave now this is the
holy moment of the service just very
quietly
let the people come that God is speaking
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to
for
me
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and
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to
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PR
to my
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soul
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to
just as hundreds here have responded to
the invitation so can you wherever you
are just call the number on your screen
right now special friends want to help
you with the most important decision you
can ever make so don’t wait call
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now
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to of
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God I want to say a word to you that
might have been watching by television
we’re not on television
live this may be
shown several weeks or several months
from
now but you have participated in this
service you’ve heard the message you’ve
heard the music you’ve heard the
testimony and God has spoken to you and
you would like to give your life to
Christ tonight and make sure of your
relationship to him I’m going to ask you
to pick up the telephone and call that
number that you may see on your screen
most cities will have it may God help
you to make that commitment
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tonight there’s still time to make that
important decision just call the number
on the screen or write that letter
tonight to Mr Graham someone is waiting
to pray and talk with you and help you
don’t put it off call
now 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 45
559 that’s
877772
4559 or you can write to us at Billy
Graham 1 Billy Graham Parkway Department
C Charlotte North Carolina
28201 or you can contact us on the web
247 at peacewithgod.net
istic Association thank you for watching
and thank you for your
prayers we still have a window of
opportunity to reach a lost and Dying
World with the truth of God’s
love it’s not too late we’ve got an
opportunity to tell others about Jesus
Christ what are you going to do with
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it