Following Jesus will cost you. Hear Billy Graham explain what it means for Jesus to be Lord of your mind, body and heart in this 1983 message from Orlando, Florida. Watch more #MondayNightClassics every Monday at 8 p.m. EDT. CONNECT with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillyGrahamE… on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/BGEA on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BGEA on Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/bgea on YouTube:    / billygraham   on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bgeaofficial

from our archives the Billy Graham

classics

you that are watching by television

already know I suppose that we’re in the

Tangerine Bowl in Orlando Florida

tonight I want to talk to young people

primarily on counting the cost

what it cost

to follow Jesus Christ there’s a price

to be paid

and beginning at verse 27 in the 14th of

Luke will find the text the 14th chapter

of Luke beginning at 27.

and whosoever does not bear his cross

and come after me cannot be my disciple

for which of you intending to build a

tower sitteth not down first and count

it the cost whether he has sufficient

money to finish it lest happily after he

have laid the foundation and is not able

to finish it

all that behold it begin to mock him

saying this man began to build and was

not able to finish or what king going to

make war against another king sidth not

down first and consulteth whether he is

able with ten thousand to meet him that

cometh against him with twenty thousand

or else why or else while the other is

yet a great way off he sendeth an

ambassador and desireth conditions of

peace so likewise whosoever he be of you

that forsaketh not all that he hath

he cannot be my disciple

now all over America and throughout the

world there are thousands of young

people that are turning to Christ

probably more young people turning to

Christ at this moment in the United

States than any other time in American

history

what does it mean to come to Christ

Christ said count the cost

when you come to Christ you must count

the cost of your body

your mind and your heart because he

demands that he be Lord of all three

Lord of your body

Lord of your mind and Lord of your heart

first the body

the Apostle Paul said in First

Corinthians 9 I keep my body under

discipline

I keep my body under

do you keep your body under discipline

the Bible is full of stories of people

who were not able to control the

passions and the appetites of the body

remember Eve

our first mother

she was told not to eat of the fruit of

a certain tree

and she looked at the tree and she saw

the forbidden fruit which was good for

food that’s the lust of the flesh

it was pleasant to the eyes the lust of

the eye it was a tree to be desired

that’s the pride of life

and because of her sin and Adam’s sin in

yielding to the lust of the flesh the

lust of the eyes and the pride of life

they were driven from the garden and you

and I and the whole world tonight are

suffering because of it because all the

suffering and troubles in the world

tonight come from the fact that our

first parents broke God’s law and sinned

against God and passed that disease from

generation to generation down to our

generation even death is a result of

that sin it’s not just ancient history

it’s modern as you

you can read it on the front page of

every newspaper every day the lust of

the flesh the lust of the eye and the

pride of life here’s what the Apostle

John says about it

he said the lust of these lusts shall

pass away but he that doeth the will of

God shall abide forever and he named all

three of those lusts they’ll pass away

but if you’re doing the will of God you

will abide forever the lust of the flesh

the lust of the eye and the pride of

life

Esau remember sold his Birthright for a

mess of pottage or mess of beans he was

hungry and all he could think about was

satisfying his hunger Jacob wanted his

Birthright and he sold it

and it says and he did eat and drink and

Rose up and went on his way

and many times you’ve done the same

thing

Esau thought nothing of the moment now

the years came and went and he sobbed

and he wept bitter tears because of that

one moment that he wanted food more than

he wanted his Birthright

and how many of us have made a shipwreck

of our life in one moment

just a moment of time

just a compromise here or there

with our body

and we’ve lived to regret it a thousand

times over or Samson the strongest man

in history defeated an entire army with

the Jawbone of an ass

he defeated a lion in battle

but another lion

the lion of his own body he could not

control beautiful Delilah

lured him into her arms and destroyed

him

he was destroyed by lust

and the wrong use of sex

then in our generation we have something

sort of new

in a way

and that is drugs the drug culture when

I was a boy we never thought of such

things we never heard of them but today

we have the pushers and we have the

people flying planes in loaded with them

and they’re destroying the Youth of our

country

then there’s the problem of sex

and what a problem that is to young

people today a sex saturated culture but

we have a lot of peer pressure today the

friends and classmates and teammates in

essence they say conform or get lost

no one enjoys losing their friends what

does the Bible say not the works of the

flesh are manifest which are these

adultery fornication uncleanness and

lasciviousness Jude 10 says these be

they who separate themselves sensual in

not having the spirit of God the Bible

says flee fornication that’s premarital

sex

flee

the Bible says we’re to run

get away from the temptation

he that committeth fornication or

pre-marital sex sinneth against not only

God but your own body

the Bible warns don’t do it abstain

you say well how can you abstain in our

culture

well I want to tell you you can’t

without Christ

there are not very many people that have

the willpower to say no

but if you have Christ in your heart

you’ll have the power to say no

there hath no temptation taken you but

such is this common demand but God is

faithful who will not allow you to be

tempted above that which you’re able but

will with the Temptation make a way to

escape

there’s always a way to escape God

provides it every time to the believer

so there’s no excuse for any believer

committing that sin then there’s another

sin we don’t think much about but it’s a

sin that’s gluttony one out of every

three adults in this country is believed

to be overweight now some can’t help it

it’s a glandular problem perhaps all

they inherited from there

parents it’s in the genes somehow

but I do know that the Bible speaks

about it a number of times

Daniel in Babylon purposed in his heart

that he would not defile himself with

the king’s meat

Philippians 3 the Apostle Paul says

whose end is destruction whose God is

their appetite and whose glory is their

shame

and he warned against it

now we have the body are you ready to

present your body a Living Sacrifice to

God tonight

that’s what he demands if you were to

follow him if you’re to come to the

cross and have your sins forgiven and

follow Christ you must present your body

a Living Sacrifice to God and say Lord

here’s my appetites here’s my lust

here’s my body my eyes my hands my feet

my private members all yours

then the second thing is your mind

bringing into captivity every thought to

The Obedience of Christ

second Corinthians 10.

now no American has an IQ above 180 only

a dozen have about 180 only 3 000 have

170. five thousand one sixty fifteen

thousand hundred and fifty and a million

140 and so on down

but God is going to hold you accountable

for the mind he has given you whatever

your IQ

somebody said a penny for your thoughts

but your thoughts are worth far more

than a penny in God’s sight the true

wealth of your life is in your thoughts

how rich are you

the literature the television the radio

are competing for your thoughts

constantly

there was a classified ad in a newspaper

which read for sale

Encyclopedia Britannica

never used my wife knows it all

[Applause]

now the Bible says to study it to show

yourself approved unto God a Workman

that needeth not to be ashamed we ought

to be studying and reading the Bible all

the time and all of our spare moments

and I’m convicted sometimes when I turn

the TV on and watching some program that

I can’t even remember and there’s the

Bible lying closed beside my bed

or beside my chair

because I know it’s wrong and I have to

confess it

I’m just steady constantly all my life

the word of God you see an idle mind as

the devil’s workshop give your mind to

Christ

the scripture says he that ruleth his

spirit is greater than he that taketh

the city your mind is a heaven or a hell

all the time

which is it when you come to Christ you

must bring your mind to him there’s a

lot in the scripture to say about the

mind he’s to be lord of the mind and

Paul wrote to the Philippians and said

whatsoever things are true whatsoever

things are honest whatsoever things are

just whatsoever things are pure

whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever

things are of good report if there be

any virtue if there be any praise think

on these things that’s what you’re to be

thinking about

pure lovely righteous God that will keep

him in perfect peace whose mind is

stayed on thee

keep our minds on Christ many Minds here

tonight are filled with pride and anger

and envis jealousy lust

the remedy is to let Christ take control

of the mind and bring every thought into

his captivity Paul taught we have the

mind of Christ and exalted let this mind

be in you which was also in Christ Jesus

thou shall love the Lord thy God with

all thy mind

evil thoughts of the suicide of the Soul

the Bible speaks of those who have

hostile Minds Minds that are blinded

reprobate Minds doubtful Minds carnally

minded

or shaken in mind or troubled in mine or

double-minded man some have blown their

minds on drugs the bible promises that

we can be transformed by the renewing of

our minds

you can have your mind tonight

transformed

you can have it renewed

and surrendered to Christ and the peace

of God will keep your mind

habakkuk promises then shall his mind

change

the Lord has actually asked you to

change your mind see he doesn’t ask you

to change your heart

he asks you to change your mind that’s

repentance change your mind

he’ll change your heart

change your mind and he will come in and

regenerate you and you will be a

born-again person

it’s the work of the Holy Spirit we read

in Acts 26 that when they will come to

him they changed their minds it will

change when you have the humility of

mine and the Readiness of mind the

willingness of mine to give you a whole

life to Christ

Paul told the Corinthians that there

must be of a willing mind are you

willing that your mind be surrendered to

Christ tonight

let him control your thinking processes

control the things you read the things

you watch the things you do

then the Third the body the mind the

heart

the Bible says in Proverbs 6 that you

have a heart that deviseth Wicked

imaginations

Jeremiah 17 says the heart is deceitful

above all things and desperately wicked

who can know it

I have a deceitful heart I can’t trust

my heart

my heart was sick till I came to Christ

Jesus said from within out of the heart

of men perceive evil thoughts and

adulteries and fornications and murders

and thefts and covetousness and

wickedness and deceit and lasciviousness

and blasphemy and pride and foolishness

all these evil things he said defile a

man

you don’t have to appoint a new

committee to find out what’s wrong with

the world it’s the human heart

and the human mind

and the human body it’s man man is what

is wrong

the human heart is a volcano and the

Bible teaches that it’s far from God

this people draweth nigh unto me with

their mouth and unearth me with their

lips but their heart is far from me I

want you to think about that a moment

you draw close to Christ with your lips

with your profession

with your mouth

but your heart is far from him

singing on Sunday morning all hail the

power of Jesus name and you’re thinking

about a deal that you’ve got on Monday

you see you’re singing

the songs of Zion

but your heart

is still somewhere else

is that true of you

how many of us are really hypocrites

if you want to just call it what it

really is and what Jesus called it

because Jesus great fight was with the

religious leaders of his day he didn’t

fight with the Sinners he loved them

it was with religious people and I

wonder if he came to Central Florida

tonight what he would say

who he would talk to

would he talked to church people and say

oh yes you go to church and you have a

lot of religiosity but you don’t have

the real thing your body your mind your

heart doesn’t really belong to me a

hundred percent

he Demands a hundred percent

the Bible teaches that you have a

rebellious heart in Jeremiah 5 it says

but this people have a revolting and a

rebellious heart they’re revolted and

gone when we read The Ten Commandments

and read The Sermon on the Mount we say

I don’t want to keep that I can’t keep

that of course you can’t

nobody in this audience can keep the Ten

Commandments

in fact you can’t even keep one command

nobody in this audience has kept even

one commandment you say well Billy I’ve

never committed adultery haven’t you

Jesus said if you look on a woman or a

person of the opposite sex

and have lust in your heart you’ve

already committed it

I’ve never killed anybody but it you

ever hated or been jealous of someone

you’ve broken that commandment then but

then the scripture says suppose you have

done pretty well with all of them if you

break just one commandment tell one

little lie

you’ve broken all the Commandments

and to break the Commandments is the

definition of sin sin is a transgression

of the law

and you have broken the law of God

and all of us have to say to God as we

stand in front of the Cross I’m a sinner

I have to say it you have to say it

everybody here has to say it I am a

sinner we’ve broken God’s law and then

heart can be hardened Pharaoh hardened

his heart

now God knows the heart he knows your

heart you don’t have to sit and try to

tell him and rationalize the whole thing

he knows it already shall not God search

this out for he know that the secrets of

the heart psalm 44.

he knows the secrets of your heart he

knows what you’re hiding he knows the

things you’ve swept under the rug he

sees all of that

he knows the hypocrisy of it all

and he pronounces

I the Lord search the heart

he said I try the heart in Jeremiah 17.

I search your heart think of God

searching your heart tonight in my heart

what does he find there

we would be afraid to stand before God

and face the Judgment with him searching

our hearts and knowing our record

unless we had been to the cross and been

provided with a righteousness that was

not our own that Christ provides by his

death on the cross and by his

resurrection from the dead

yes God knows your heart

and he searches your heart you can’t

hide from him

because the penalty for a sinful heart

is death and judgment and hell and

throughout the scriptures we have the

expression the blood of Christ

has your heart

been under the blood of Christ has it

been cleansed of the blood

you see the word blood carries with it

the idea of life

when you take blood out you take the

life away

and the blood means life

Christ gave his life on the cross for

you

he took your sins your penalty your

judgment your hell on the cross in your

place

so that now you come and stand at the

cross in all sincerity

and give him your body and your mind and

your heart and he forgives all the past

he justifies you just as though you had

never committed a single sin

and he gives you a new heart

a new desire a new Joy a new peace and a

certainty that if you died you’d go to

heaven and he writes your name in the

Lamb’s Book of Life

now the Bible says that God prepares

your heart

the preparations of the heart in man is

from the Lord in Proverbs 16. the Bible

says in Acts 16 whose heart concerning

Lydia whose heart the Lord hath opened

God will give you a new heart

Ezekiel 36 26 says a new heart also will

I give you Jesus said except a man be

born from above he cannot see the

Kingdom of Heaven you can be born from

above and receive a new heart and a new

nature

a good man out of the good Treasures of

the heart bringeth forth good things

says the scripture

haven’t you seen shops that were dirty

and shabby and drab and they were sold

or maybe a restaurant and it has a big

sign outside that says Under New

Management

that’s what it means when you come to

Christ you get Under New Management you

no longer manage your own life God

manages it Christ manages it the Holy

Spirit within helps you to manage your

life

he redecorates it he makes it attractive

therefore If any man be in Christ he’s a

new creation when you come to Christ you

must come with your body your mind and

your heart

would you do that tonight

you know you need it

and the Bible says he that hardeneth his

heart being often reproved shall

suddenly be cut off in that without

remedy

the Bible says now is the accepted time

today is the day of salvation don’t wait

there’s no promise of tomorrow in the

Bible

I’m going to ask you to come publicly in

just a moment and stand in front of this

platform

quietly and reverently for just a few

moments

and I will say a word to you we’ll have

a prayer

then you can go back and join your

friends

we’ll give you some literature before

you leave

and you that are watching by television

pick up that telephone and call that

number that’s on the screen right now

and there’s somebody there that will

answer and if you call several times and

it’s busy keep calling they’ll be there

all evening

and make you a commitment by telephone

right now

yes I’m going to ask you to do that in a

few minutes

come and stand here and by so coming

you’re saying I give my mind my body my

heart to Christ I want him to be first

in my life from now on I want there to

be a sign over me saying Under New

Management

I know my sins are forgiven I want to go

to heaven and I want to be sure of it

I’m going to ask you to do it in a few

moments

this is God’s moment for you

the Bible says you can choose Christ or

chaos Satan or the Savior life of death

tonight I’m going to ask you to believe

with all your heart and all your mind

and present your body

you mentally accept the fact that Jesus

Christ died and rose again for you

in your heart you ask him to come in and

be your Savior and Lord and with your

body you come forward and present

yourself in person

will you do that tonight

I’m going to ask you right now to make

that commitment I’m going to ask you to

get up out of your seat all over the

stadium right now

and say that’s what I want to do I want

Christ in my heart and when I leave here

tonight I want to be a new person

I want Christ to walk with me and to be

with me

I give him my heart my mind

and my body

without a reservation tonight

young man young woman father mother you

may be the older generation of the

younger generation but you need Christ

you get up and come right now I’m going

to ask that no one leave

no one leave the stadium people leaving

the stadium can disturb many people just

get up and come quickly hundreds of you

[Music]

this is

[Music]

oh God

[Music]

as you can see many hundreds of people

are making their commitment to Jesus

Christ tonight here at the Tangerine

Bowl

you can make that same commitment

yourself simply call the number on the

screen

counselors are standing by to help and

pray with you

the lines are busy write the number down

and call later our counselors will be

there as long as the phone calls keep

coming in God bless you

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

that are watching by television can see

that here in the Tangerine Bowl in

Orlando Florida scores and even hundreds

of people are coming to Christ as they

have each night this past week you can

make that commitment Where You Are

right now quietly in your heart and mind

you can present your body and your heart

and your mind to Christ

if you will pick up the telephone and

call someone that on that screen you’ll

see a

telephone number

and talk to someone God help you to make

that commitment 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’ll 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

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

thank you for your prayers

[Music]

it’s Ann she’s in trouble if you don’t

take it to the edge every chance you get

you’re dead already baby

I was in trouble and I didn’t know what

to do well the juice I knew that I could

take on the world

like you’re in a dream but not really a

dream this is a reality I don’t really

believe in all this but I know something

crazy is happening right now

foreign