121122 “A Final Word From Billy Graham,” “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Billy Graham & Me”

A Final Word from Billy Graham I am humbled by the gracious comments from the contributors to this book. I am grateful for their friendship, but give all credit to the Lord for any influence or impact of our ministry through the years. I am not a great man, but I serve a great God. For more than six decades, I had the privilege of preaching the Gospel on six continents. For those readers who may have never had opportunity to attend one of our crusades or view one of our telecasts, the Chicken Soup for the Soul publishers have asked me to share the essence of my message. One of my favorite sermon texts is John 3:16, a verse that you may already know. "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." That is the Gospel in a nutshell. That's a miniature Bible. Everything you need to know about redemption and salvation is in that one verse of Scripture--25 wonderful words that my mother taught me when she was giving me a bath on a Saturday night on a farm in North Carolina. She said, "I want you to learn this passage from the Bible." And she taught me that passage. "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." Many people ask me, "Well, if God loves the world, why does He allow so much suffering in the world--war, disease, poverty, hate, loneliness, boredom, emptiness, psychological problems, unemployment, violence, tension, all of these things. Why doesn't God just come and stop it all?" That's the question many people are asking. Some people today are saying, "I can't take it anymore," and they're committing suicide. The pressures of life are too great. They can't take it. Why? If there is a God, why doesn't He end it? Some people say, "Why has God abandoned us?" But God has not abandoned us. We've abandoned Him. Years ago I became aware of a song by the rock group Styx off their “End of the Century” CD, with the following lyrics: NOTE: PER AMY’S DIRECTIVE TO EXCERPT LYRICS, HOW ABOUT BELOW (FULL VERSES INTACT AFTER, FOR COMPARISON, THAT WILL NEED TO BE DELETED AFTER CUT):

Every night I say a prayer In the hopes that there's a heaven.. And I feel this empty place inside, So afraid that I've lost my faith. Show me the way, show me the way. Take me tonight to the river and Wash my illusions away. Show me the way, show me the way. Give me the strength and the courage to believe That I'll get there some day… Every night I say a prayer In the hopes that there's a heaven, But everyday I'm more confused. Have the saints turned into sinners? All the heroes and legends I knew as a child Have fallen as idols of clay, And I feel this empty place inside, So afraid that I've lost my faith. Show me the way, show me the way. Bring me tonight to the mountain and take my confusion away, and show me the way. And if I see a light, should I believe? Tell me how I will know. Show me the way, show me the way. Take me tonight to the river and Wash my illusions away. Show me the way, show me the way. Give me the strength and the courage to believe That I'll get there some day and Please show me the way. And every night I say a prayer in the hopes that there's a heaven.

This passage says, "For God." Do you believe in God? Yes. I can't prove God. I can't take you to a scientific laboratory and prove to you that there is a God, but the Bible teaches us about Him.

He is the Creator. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). All those stars at night that you see --God created them.

He is also a Spirit. The Bible says, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). He doesn't have a body like you and me. He could only be in one place at one time if He had a body like yours. But God is a Spirit. He can be everywhere at the same time. He can be in Russia. He can be in China. He can be in America. He can be in Africa. He can be in Latin America. He can be everywhere at the same time.

God is also unchanging. "...I am the Lord [God],I change not," says the Bible (Malachi 3:6)"...with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" says James (1:17). The Bible teaches that God is a holy God, absolutely holy. He cannot even look upon sin.

The Bible also tells us that He's a God of judgment. "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing" (Ecclesiastes12:14). Think of it! Every secret thing you ever did, all your secret thoughts, things that you thought nobody knew about are someday going to be brought into the open and you're going to be judged. The Bible says that God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world (Hebrews 9:27). Think of it! He's appointed a day, a moment, in which He's going to judge the world; and you'll be there.

But God also is a God of love. My mother loved me, but she didn't love me nearly as much as God loves me; and that seems impossible to believe. My wife loves me. I love her. We have five children. I love them. I have 19 grandchildren. I love them, and I hope they love me. I have three great-grandchildren. I think they love me and I love them. And I know that they all love the Lord.

But nothing is to be compared to the love of God. They had to invent a whole new word in the Greek language to tell us something about the love of God. God is a God of love. He loves you. And if there's one thing I want you to take away, it's this--God loves you. God loves you. God loves you.

And God is interested in you. And He has the hairs of your head numbered. He sees the sparrow fall. He knows all about you and He loves you. No matter how many sins you've committed or whatever you've done, God loves you.

And if God could change me and the lives of some of the people who tell their stories in this book, He can change you--if you will let Him. And He can do it today, beginning right now.

Yes, God is a God of judgment. He'll bring every work into judgment. And He's appointed a day in which He will judge the world.

In Acts17 the apostle in his sermon says, "...God [commands] all men everywhere to repent" (verse 30). Think of it! God commands it. It's a command for you to repent. Have you repented? Are you sure of it? If you haven't repented of your sins, you'll never see the inside of the kingdom of heaven.

And then you come by faith. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and...not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). You'll never be able to work your way to heaven. You have to come by faith in Christ, and you come by the grace of God. Grace means it's something you don't deserve. You can't work for it. You come by faith in Him. That's how I came, by simple childlike faith.

And all of you today who are willing to say, "I will repent of my sins. I receive Christ as Savior. I want to follow Him and serve Him" or "I want to rededicate myself." You might want to renew your vows. And I'm going to ask you to do that today. I want us to bow our heads and I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Pray it out loud.

"Oh God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I'm willing to turn from my sin. I receive Christ as Savior. I confess Him as Lord. From this moment on I want to follow Him and serve Him in the fellowship of His church. In Christ's name, Amen."

May God richly bless you.

Billy Graham (insert real signature)

November 28, 2012