All My Friends are Dead

Sermon: All My Friends are Dead

Dr. Freddie Gage

FOREWORD

Dr. Gage and I grew up together on the tough, dangerous, drug soaked streets of Houston, Texas. We have been close friends for over thirty years. Barbara, his lovely wife, and I were in school together. His second son is named after me. Freddie led me to Christ. The tragic end of each life recorded in "All My Friends Are Dead"is true. These young men were friends of mine. Freddie Gage has probably preached to more underworld personalities than any preacher in America. I have seen him bail them out of jail, keep them in his home, feed, clothe, and go to court with them. I have also seen him pray, plead, and weep with them. I have been with him when he has walked into grief stricken homes to bear the sad news of the senseless drug death or prostitution murder or shotgun slaughter of a son or daughter. He has stood before huge cross sections of dissipated, drug controlled audiences at funerals to make a final plea for them to give their lives to Christ. If I had not attended a Freddie Gage Church revival on August 7,1952, it is very likely that my story might be among those recorded in "All My Friends Are Dead." The book is powerful and honest. It is destined to become one of the great "life changing" books of this decade. I pray it will get into the hands of every inmate, drug user, prostitute and teenager in America. "All My Friends Are Dead" should, by all means, be read by every parent. The stories are history, but still being lived out daily in cities across this country. In the concrete jungles of large metropolitan areas, in quiet, sophisticated urban communities embryos of these tragedies are alive. The only possibility for a changed life is Jesus Christ. Fromexperience I have learned that for a life to turn around there mustbe an internal change. People will not change from the outside in,only from the inside out. Values, priorities, goals, attitudes allmust change before there can be a change in lifestyle. Only Christcan perform the miracle of internal transformation.This is the message Freddie Gage has preached in churches, foot-ball stadiums, under tents, in open air meetings, prisons, andjails.This is the message of "All My Friends Are Dead"-only Christ canchange the human heart. Time can run out! A person's ticket canbe punched!" However, while there is life, there is hope of new lifein Christ. Paul CarlinHouston, Texas DR. BAILEY SMITH SAYSThis famous sermon has been preached by Freddie Gage over2000 times resulting in over 100,000 decisions for Christ. Dr.Bailey Smith, past president of the Southern Baptist Convention,says, "On Sunday when Freddie Gage preached his sermon, 'AllMy Friends Are Dead', I feel we had the greatest single serviceever for First Southern. The joy, love and conviction I felt in thatservice is the kind of spirit that will continue to make us grow inquality and in quantity. Frieddie Gage has maintained the integrity of his calling. Helives what he preaches. I know of no one more sold out to bringmen to Jesus than Freddie Gage. I am thankful always for hislife. He has been a blessing and enrichment to my ministry:' Dr. Bailey SmithFormer Pastor, First Southern Baptist ChurchDel City, Oklahoma ALL MY FRIENDS ARE DEAD! Have you ever stopped to count the cost that must be paid tofollow Jesus? Have you ever stopped to count the cost if you don'tfollow Him? The strongest conviction I have when I preach is the tragic truththat there will be some who will wait too long to commit theirlives to Christ-they will cross God's deadline. One day theirnames will appear in the obituary column, sooner than anyoneexpected, and they will have missed heaven because they chosenot to get right with God when they had the chance. They willhave committed the unpardonable sin. This may be YOUR last chance to be saved-this may be yourlast word-there may be no tomorrow for you. Yet, I believe withall my heart God has given you the opportunity to read thefollowing words. Someone somewhere has been praying for you,and this is your chance to get right with God. OPEN YOUR HEART Will you just take a moment before you read any further andpray with me? God, I realize it is not by might, nor by power. that people aremade aware of their need for You. It is only by Your HolySpirit. Please speak to my heart and draw me closer toChrist. Please don't let anyone cross YOUR deadline andrefuse to commit his life to Jesus. Please stir their hearts.Their lives can be changed by your Holy Spirit within them.Please save them in Jesus' name. Amen. Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, "He that is not with Me is againstMe." There is no middle ground with Jesus. You are either for Him,or you are against Him. You either accept Him. or you reject Him.You confess Him, or you deny Him. You take a stand for Him, oryou take a stand against Him. There is no middle ground withChrist. As you read this message, you will either choose to follow Jesus,or you will choose to follow the devil. There is no other choice. Matthew 12:30-32 says:He that is not with me is against me; and he that gatherethnot with me scattereth abroad. Wherefore I say unto you, allmanner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; butthe blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgivenunto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Sonof man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speakethagainst the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neitherin this world. neither in the world to come. When I was saved, Christ changed my life. The night I was bornagain God put a burning desire in my heart to see my friends andfamily won to the Lord. I took a Bible, and I wrote in the front of it300 names of my friends, acquaintances, family members andsome police officers I knew. I have preached the gospel to all 300without exception. I have either shared one-to-one in prisons, orthe streets, in psychiatric wards, at funerals, or in crusade meet-ings. I can truthfully say there is no blood on my hands for anyperson I knew on the streets of Houston, Texas. I tried to leadevery one of my friends and family members to Christ. Man, when God saves you, He doesn't expect you to forsakeyour friends; He expects you to introduce them to Jesus. One of the police officers I knew was Lieutenant BrackenridgePorter, known on the streets as "B" Porter. He used to say I woulddie with a knife in my back or by an overdose of drugs by the age of21. But because of Jesus, his prophecy backfired. I had the privi-lege of leading "B" Porter to Jesus Christ, along with the othermembers of his family. Today he is one of my closest friends-abrother in the Lord. I have only one desire in mind with regard to this book, and thatis to awaken you to the terrible fate that awaits everyone whorejects Christ. May this be a message of warning, urging you not totake that final step across God's deadline. Please stop and con-sider! Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, "For what is a man profited, ifhe shall gain the whole world, and lose his own souf? or what shalla man give in exchange for his sour?" THE UNPARDONABLE SIN Jesus said that there is a sin which is unpardonable; but what isit? On death row at the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Texas is aman who is waiting to die.* He had the gospel shared with himmany times. In fact, he is listed as a member of a Baptist church inHouston. But several years ago on Halloween night he put potas-sium cyanide in some candy and poisoned his nine year-old son.The story made the headlines of major newspapers. All the tele-vision stations in Houston came to a stop when the news direc-tors announced, "There is a maniac loose in the city of Houston.Bring your children in off the streets." In the wee hours of the morning the boy died from having con-vulsions. Reportedly, his father said at the hospital, "I'll spend therest of my life tracking down the murderer." *All stories are documented in the files of the Houston PoliceDepartment. A few days later the entire city of Houston was shocked whenthe mayor and the chief of police called a newscast to announcethat the father had been indicted for the murder of his son.On death row the inmates call him "the candy man." He ishated. But "the candy man" did not commit the unpardonable sin.What he did was a horrible crime, but murder is not the unpar-donable sin. In another part of Houston, there was a 23-year-old mannamed Johnny Garrison, who robbed a liquor store. Johnny was afriend of mine. Johnny went into the liquor store and when themanager who was confined to a wheelchair grabbed a pistol,Johnny shot him to death. I visited Johnny many times on deathrow, and I preached his funeral after his life was snuffed out. But,listen, murder is not the unpardonable sin. I have preached to thousands of people who are in far worseshape than some murderers I have met. Why? Because their sinshelped murdertheSon of God,JesusChrist. They helped nail Himto the cross. If the unpardonable sin isn't murder, what is it? Is it adultery?In New Orleans, Louisiana, several years ago I was preaching and ayoung woman came forward during the middle of my sermon. Shefell at the altar and began to scream, "God won't forgive me! Godwon't forgive me!!" I noticed that her hair was bleached and she had needle tracksdown her arms. She was a junkie. Two women counselors cameand began to pray with her, but she kept saying, "I've committedthe unpardonable sin." I slipped down from the platform and knelt beside her. "I'm aprostitute," she said. "I sell my body in orderto get a fix. My fatherasked me to come hear you preach tonight. Can you help me?"Her father later told me his daughter had been on drugs sinceshe was 17 and had become a prostitute to support her habit. Hehad sent her a book I wrote, called Pulpit In The Shadows. I hadappeared on a talk show that day and she recognized me as theauthor of the book So, she had called a cab to bring her to theCentral Baptist Church where she now knelt at the altar a brokenwoman. We told her, "You haven't committed the unpardonable sin."But she said, "You don't understand. I've murdered three innocentunborn babies." "God will forgive you," I insisted. "He will change your life. JesusChrist will set you free." Tragically, we never convinced her. She left the church withoutChrist in her heart. A few weeks later we received a newspaperclipping which said she had gone to a third-rate motel, taken apistol, put it to her head and blown her brains out. Her father was a millionnaire, but it just wasn't enough to keepher satisfied. Sin! It always thrills at first, and then it kills. It fasci-nates, and then it assassinates. It's the one game you can neverwin-the sin game. In New York City, I preached one night, and down the aislecame a young man who knelt at the altar, Bible in hand. Hemotioned for me to come talk with him, so I did. As I knelt besidehim, he said, "God won't forgive me. I'm a homosexual ... a sexpervert. God can't save me. I've committed the unpardonable sin."I told him, "God can make you a new creature." Listen, there will be no homosexuals in heaven, but I've seenhomosexuals completely transformed by Jesus Christ. Godchanged their lives. Homosexuality is not the unpardonable sin. Itisn't murder, or adultery, or prostitution. But what is it then?It is not gambling. A friend of mine in Houston lost his entirefortune through gambling. Ten years ago he was a multi-million-naire. Today he is bankrupt because of his gambling, but theunpardonable sin is not gambling. Jesus declared that there is a sin you can commit for which youcan never be forgiven. He said it is possible to commit a sin thatcannot be pardoned in this world or in the world to come. Themere thought makes me shudder! It makes cold sweat break outon my body! It brings before my vision screaming, damned menand women. I can see their horrified faces and the hopeless condi-tion of their souls. I can see something of what Jesus meant whenHe said, "They shall never be forgiven." In Genesis 6:3 God said,'My spirit shall not always strive with man." GOD'S DEADLINE I have looked into the faces of hundreds who thought they hadstepped over God's deadline. On each one was an unforgettablelook of agony, despondency, utter helplessness and distress. It isthe most tragic sight I can ever imagine seeing, and I've seen hun-dreds doomed by the unpardonable sin. We call things unpardonable because we judge them from thehuman standpoint. These same things, when looked at throughGod's eyes of infinite mercy and love, are not unpardonable at all.They fall well within the great scope of His mercy and grace.But there comes a time when God says, "I've had enough." Godis a God of love, and He is a God of patience. The apostle Paulspoke of a man that God had "given up." Felix, Festus, and Agrippaall stepped across God's deadline. In the first chapter of Romans,we find these words repeated three times: "And God gave themup ... and God gave them up. . . and God gave them up." Couldthese verses be clearer? One of the first revival meetings I ever preached was at theFaith Memorial Baptist Church in Houston. I had been saved onlyfive months. I remember walking onto the platform to preach andseeing how people had filled the building. Some had come to thechurch as early as 5:30 p.m.; and still there were people who couldnot get into the auditorium. When I walked into that service, I feltthe power of the Holy Spirit. I sat down and said to the pastor,"Look, there is one of my friends." H is name was Donnie Patton,and sitting next to him was a young girl named Patricia, whom wecalled Pattie. I noticed in the balcony there were other friends ofmine from the streets. They had come to hear me preach. Ipreached my heart out that night. When the invitation was given, I walked to the back of thebuilding and took hold of Donnie's hand. He was shaking becauseof the tremendous conviction he felt from God. I said, "Donnie,man, give your heart to Jesus." But he kept holding onto the backof the seat and simply said, "I'm not ready." I looked over at Pattie and asked, "Will you give your heart toJesus?" She said, "I will if Donnie will." But Donnie just said, "Man,I'm not ready." How many times have I heard the words, "I'm not ready"?Probably thousands. How many times have you said them?Listen, the truth is that we have to be ready to meet God; we haveno choice. I was staying the night in the home of a high school principal. Itold him Donnie had been in the service. He said, "Yes, I know.""I tried to reach him for Jesus," I continued, "but he kept sayinghe wasn't ready." Years before the principal had expelled Donnie from campus forstabbing a young man over drugs.dThe next morning I spoke at two schools but all I could think ofwas my friend, Donnie. I asked the pastor to take me to Donnie'shouse after lunch. That afternoon I walked up the steps andknocked on the door. Mrs. Patton came to the door, crying."Oh, Freddie, come in," she said as she threw her arms aroundme. Across the room I saw Donnie's grandmother; she was crying,too. "Where's Donnie?" I asked. "He's in the bathroom, doing dope," his mother answered,motioning me inside. I walked straight to the bathroom. I saw Donnie sitting with asyringe. hypodermic needle, burnt spoon and bottle of paregoric.He had boiled the paregoric down and was shooting up morphinefrom it. "Donnie, man, there's a better way," I said. "Listen, you don'thave to do this. You can be a new creature in Jesus. You can be anew man." He rolled his sleeve down, and I noticed blood dripping down hisarm. He put up the syringe and came in and sat on the couch in theliving room. As I knelt on my knees and looked into his face, I tookmy Bible and read 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be inChrist he is a new creature." Tears streamed down my cheeks. Isaid. "Donnie, you need God." He looked at me and said, "I'm coming to the church meetingtonight. I've got over 40 people committed to come with me, butI'm not ready to turn my life over to God yet." He had been run-ning drugs illegally for some time and fully believed he was trapped.He thought there was no way out for him. That night Donnie was true to his word. He brought about 40young people with him, including the 23-year-old daughter of aprominent law enforcement officer. She was a drug addict. Ipreached with everything I had that night. Many of the youngpeople came to Christ, including one young man who is nowpastoring a Baptist church in Houston. After the sermon, I walkedback to Donnie once again and grabbed his hand, but he just said,"I'm not ready." I could really feel the power of God and the anointing of theHoly Spirit upon that service. But Donnie stayed in his seat andsaid, "I'm not ready. I'm not ready!" He left the service withoutChrist. The pastor baptized 144 people following that revival, butDonnie wasn't among them. I closed that meeting on Sunday afternoon and flew to Waco,Texas, to begin another revival at the Emmanuel Baptist Church.That night a young man, an All-American from Baylor University,got right with God. Another man, who is a well-known evangelisttoday recommitted his life to God. But somehow, my mind wasnot on the meeting. All I could think about were my friends inHouston, especially Donnie Patton. On Tuesday morning, the pastor told me I had an emergencytelephone call from Houston. At the other end of the line Mrs.Patton was crying. "Donnie was found at 4:00 this morning by mybrother in the city park." she said. "He was slumped over the steer-ing wheel of an automobile dead! The front page of the Houston Chronicle read: "Son Dies ...Mom Mourns . . . Pusher Goes Free." Mrs. Patton asked if I would preach Donnie's funeral; so I flewback to Houston. It was a very sad time, but I was able to lead 22of his friends to Jesus as we stood around his coffin. One young man who served as a pallbearer was named TracyReid. As he walked away, he took his hand off the coffin, turnedand said to me, "Hey. man, when I get it, come and preach myfuneral." It was no joke; he was serious. Following the service many of Donnie's friends got on theirknees and asked Jesus to save them, right inside the tent at thecemetery. Some of them are preaching today, and most of themwere drug addicts. But Tracy stood out in that cemetery and weptover the loss of his friend. READY OR NOT? Two weeks later I went to the Norhill Baptist Church inHouston, and as I looked out into the audience, I saw Tracy Reidwith a young girl named Jenny Winn, who had also been one of myfriends. Sitting on the other side of Tracy was his attorney. aprominent Houston lawyer. Again. I preached with everything Iknew. At the invitation the pastor was counseling some peoplewho had responded to God's call. I told him one of my friends wasin the back of the church and asked if he would go talk with himabout Jesus. As I watched him share the gospel with Tracy. I couldsee Tracy shaking his head and saying, "I'm not ready"' At the conclusion of the service I took Tracy, Jenny and theattorney into a room where I shared the Bible until 2:00 o'clockthat aftemoon. But all the while Tracy kept saying. "I'm not ready,man, I'm just not ready!" Tracy was a panderer (pimp) into drugs and Jenny was a prosti-tute. Over and over he said. "Not today! Not today! I'm not ready!"Have you ever said those words to God. the Creator of the uni-verse; God, who spoke the world into existence, who put the sunand the moon and the stars into the sky; God who gives you airtobreathe, who at this very moment is giving you life; Have you evertold this great God, "I'm not ready?"' The very fact that your heartis pumping blood is only because of God's mercies. Maybe, like Tracy, you have told God you aren't ready yet.Maybe you've said something like this: "God, when I've done mything, when I've sown my wild oats, then I'll be saved." But myfriend, it doesn't work that way. You can come to God only whenthe Holy Spirit draws you. The Bible says in John 6:44, "No mancan come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him."A few days later Tracy Reid walked across the lot of the SandersFord Company on the Gulf Freeway to Galveston. A young mannamed Fred Dunlapjumped out of a pickup truck with a sawed offshotgun and shot Tracy in the back of the head. He literally blewhis head off. Fred Dunlap is now serving a life sentence in theHuntsville State Penitentiary. I preached Tracy's funeral-I kept the promise I'd made to him.The headlines of the Houston Press told the tragic story of TracyReid, and I kept hearing him say, "I'm just not ready yet."Another man by the name of Benny Lyles attended Tracy'sfuneral. Benny and I went to school together as kids. I beggedBenny to give his heart and life to Christ. In a high school audi-torium in Texas City I was preaching and my heart became soburdened. That night a reporter from the Galveston Daily had come tothe service to interview me, but I had forgotten all about it. I wassupposed to speak to the young people in a special service at theFirst Baptist Church; but I forgot about that, too. All I could thinkabout was my friend, Benny Lyles. I wanted to win him to Jesus. Itried so hard to win him to the Lord. I gave him a new Bible andwrote in the front "The Bible will keep you away from sin, or sinwill keep you away from the Bible." I had heard an evangelist saythat, and I firmly believe it. Benny told me, "I'm coming back Saturday night to hear youtell your life story." When he went home he told his mother, whowas a member of the Calvary Baptist Church in Houston, "Satur-day night I want you to go to Texas City with me. I want to hearFreddie Gage. He's going to tell his life story." His mother wasthrilled. Benny got their family Bible and they read it together.He had been in all kinds of trouble with drugs. He was a pimpand had lived in sin for years. Now his mother thought there washope for the first time. She told the people in her church thatBenny was going to the revival meeting. She called the pastor andasked him to pray that God would speak to Benny's heart. TOO LATE Saturday night came and Benny's mother waited for him toshow up. She waited and waited. Then the news came that herson had been found in a lounge. Benny had pulled a switchblade ona young man and stabbed him. The bartender went to the cashregister, got his pistol and shot Benny three times in the head,when Benny lunged for him with the switchblade. Benny droppedto the floor. He died in a puddle of blood. Now it was too late forBenny. Galatians 6:7 says, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked:for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."I preached Benny's funeral with the help of a young evangelistnamed James Robison. A lady sang, "If I Could Live My Life Over,"and I felt totally broken. I had known Benny for years, but now hewas gone. I firmly believe he waited too long and stepped acrossGod's deadline. I believe God gave him up to sin-and finally Hetook Benny's life. Tracy's friend, Jenny Winn, died a few weeks later in a carwrecknear Galveston. She was the same young lady who said, "I'll go ifTracy goes." She flipped a Corvette over and had the right side ofher face totally torn off. She had been high on quaaludes and booze.When I arrived, I asked the funeral director if I could seeJenny.He opened the coffin lid, and I saw that her hair was pulled outover her face. The entire right side of her face was completelygone. Jenny had been one of the most beautiful girls I had everknown. Her appearance was so bad after the wreck that the coffinremained closed during the funeral. A joint, a few quaaludes andbooze took her life. You can't beat the sin game. The Bible says in Romans 6:23,"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal lifethrough Jesus Christ our Lord." And again in Ezekiel 18:4 the Biblesays, "The soul who sins will die." I will never forget Jenny's little nine-year-old daughter askingme at the cemetery, "Freddie. did my mommy go to heaven?"Some of you are going to have friends and family who ask thatsame question concerning you-did you go to heaven? COME TO JESUS Dear friend, the only way you will ever go to heaven is to comeby way of the cross. You have to come to Christ. You have tocome to that "fountain filled with blood drawn from Immanuel'sveins; and sinners, plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guiltystains." Who are you to tell God you're not ready to commit yourlife to Him? There are some of you whom God has been calling because of apraying mother or a praying friend. He's been calling you through aChristian at the office where you work. He has been calling youthrough your pastor. He's been calling you through the gospelpreachers on television. He has been calling you through somegreat church. He has been calling you from your sick bed, from thehospital, from an automobile wreck, or from a motorcycle acci-dent. He's been calling you while you watched Billy Graham onenight in a hotel room. He's been calling you through a Gideon Bibleor through the gospel tract. He's been calling you through asermon you heard on the radio. There is hardly a person in thissociety who hasn't had an opportunity at some time to be saved.Remember the passage in Proverbs 1:24-29: Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out myhand. and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all mycounsel, and would have none of my reproof: I also will laughat your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; Whenyour fear cometh as desolation and your destruction comethas a whirlwind; Then shall they call upon me, but I will notanswer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me;For they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear oftheLord. The Bible says there is a deadline. I understand that if you take apiece of clay and keep working with it, eventually it just becomeshard and unmanageable. Are you like that-hardened to thegospeL? I'm told after a man reaches the age of thirty. he has onechance in a thousand to come to Christ; somehow it doesn't seemthat important any more. Recently in Indianapolis, Indiana, a lady who was 100 years oldwas saved in a crusade where I was preaching. She was an excep-tion. God has let me see half a million people walk the aisles tomake some kind of decision for God, and a quarter of a millionpeople accept Jesus into their hearts. But I've seen only a fewpeople with gray hair come forward. THE LAST TIME? For some of you, there was a time when you went to churchand sobbed openly over your soul; but nothing moves you anymore. Some of you can't even cry at a funeral. There are some ofyou that God is speaking to forthe last time. If you don't give Himyour life now, you will never be saved. You may be a church mem-ber somewhere, but that doesn't matter! The new birth is amatter of surrendering your heart, mind and body completely toGod. We recently had a revival meeting in our church where BaileySmith preached. Two Baptist preachers were saved in thatmeeting. Over 200 church members were saved. Deacons weresaved. Church leaders were saved. One evangelist was saved.Do you know for sure you are saved? You can commit theunpardonable sin of rejecting Christ just as easily while singing inthe church choir as you can while sitting on a bar stool. You may bethe most faithful member of your church and still be on your wayto hell, because you never gave your heart to the Lord.I believe the night God spoke to me, He spoke for the last time.I believe there would have been no tomorrow for me if I hadn'taccepted Jesus that night. Three times God told Jeremiah not to pray for certain peoplebecause there was no hope for them. Concerning Ephraim, Hesaid, "Ephraim is joined to idols." God gave him up to his own sin.Do you love the idols of this world more than you love God?Suppose God should say, "Leave that person alone, conscience.Leave him alone, Holy Spirit. He's not going to repent and turn toMe." Do you know what is keeping you from God right now? It isn'tthe hypocrite you see in the church; it's sin. Do you know what'skeeping some of you teenagers from getting right with God? It'syour own lust. It's fornication and adultery, immorality, promis-cuous sex. You love sex more than you love Jesus Christ. You lovebooze more than you love J esus. And if you continue, one of thesedays God is going to say, "You joined yourself to passion, to lust,to sin!" Some of you are saying after I have done my thing I will becomea Christian. It doesn't work that way. You only come when Godspeaks or you never come. John 6:44, "No man can come to me,except the Father which hath sent me draw him." John 12:39, "Therefore they could not believe"' They hadsinned away their day of grace. There are many of you who havemade promise after promise to God, but actually all you have doneis lie to God. In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira lied and God killedthem on the spot. In 1 Cor 5:5, Paul said. "Deliver such a one overto the devil for the destruction of the flesh:' In 1 John 5:16, it says."There is a sin unto death.' And Hosea 13:9 states, "Thou hastdestroyed thyself:' That is exactly what some of you are doing.If we could show on a screen what some of you teenagers havedone in the last three Saturday nights in the back of your cars, youwould be ashamed. And some of you even carry a Bible under yourarm. But in reality, all you have become are religious con artists.You don't have to live that way. Don't let religion keep you from a relationship with the Savior.Don't use the church. Get right with God now! Some of you reading this may be standing in the way of otherpeople who want to get right with God. If you would commit yourlife to Him, many others would give their hearts to Jesus, too! Thewhole church could come and square things with Almighty God ifyou were willing to come first. THAT'S IT At a large church in Houston a young girl named Cynthia handedme a note from the choir. It read, "Freddie, my brother is in theservice tonight. He's a friend of yours. He has come to hear youpreach." I preached about hell that night, and when the invitation wasgiven I spotted Jack Long in the back. There were two more of myfriends there, also. One was Fred Chambless, and the other boywas Bobby Southerland. I walked to the baCk of the auditoriumand put my arms around them as they shook under God's convic-tion. I said, "Man, give your heart to Jesus." But Fred shook hishead and muttered, "I'm not ready." I looked over at Bobby and said, "Will you give your heart toGod?" But he said, "Not tonight, not tonight; but I'll be back."I slipped out the side door of the church and met them. It hadbeen sleeting and it was a very cold night. Fred was driving a brandnew hard-top Oldsmobile. I got in the front seat and asked wherethey were going. They told me they were headed for Austin. I knewimmediately who they were going to see and said, "Man, you don'twant to go." I begged them to stay, but they wouldn't listen."I was the last person to leave that church parking lot, and whenthey drove off, something inside me said, "That's it. You're nevergoing to see them again. Fred and Bobby just stepped across thedeadline." It broke my heart. Well, they went to Austin all right and lived three nights in sin.But as they were coming back on Saturday night they came to acurve in the road. They were doing about 80 to 100 miles per hour.A lady testified at the inquest that they were driving on the wrongside of the highway. They missed the curve right outside of Austinand hit a big oak tree. Fred was thrown from the car and rippedapart. Bobby was pinned in the wreckage. Pinned in the wreckage,his mind blown on drugs and alcohol. It took five and a half hoursto get him out of that car. I preached both of their funerals. closed coffins, one on the rightand one on the left. As I stood to preach, John's mother came and fell on the coffin,knocking off the roses. She began to scream, "My baby's in hell! Mybaby's in hell! I wanted to tell her, "He didn't have to go to hell,Mrs. Southerland, he chose to go to hell. He chose sin. sex, drugs,and alcohol. He chose to go with the devil instead of Jesus."Later, I was preaching near Houston at the First Baptist Churchin Pasadena, and one of my friends named Joey came. We hadgrown up together. Every night for eight nights Joey sat in thebalcony of the church. For three straight nights I walked to thatbalcony and told him about Jesus. After the service one night, Itook him over to the pastor's house, and together we tried to leadhim to the Lord. He was only 26 years old, but already he wasdriving a new Cadillac and had great looking alligator shoes andfancy clothes. i begged him to give his life to God. After the service Joey wentby to see his mother and told her, "I'm going to get religion." Buthe didn't understand that he didn't need religion. He needed togive his life to Jesus. He already had religion; he belonged to aCatholic church. The last night of the crusade we saw over 200 people saved inone service alone. Joev stood in the back sobbing. My wife wentback there and pleaded with him to give his life to God. She saidthat he had a Bible in his hand. He almost tore it up from beingunder such conviction. She said that sweat poured from him.A local pastor and I stood before ajudge in Houston a few weekslater. He was about to send Joey to the penitentiary. The pastorknew the judge and helped convince him to put Joey on ten yearsprobation instead. Joey made a alot of promises during that time,but he never gave his heart to Jesus. A few weeks later he stole anautomobile and left Galveston with four other young people, allspaced out on drugs and alcohol. Joey was my friend. He had told his mother, "I know Freddieloves Jesus. He's for real." She had replied, "Joey, why don't you gotalk to him then?" But instead he left Galveston in a stolen car. Hewas going about 100 miles per hour when he hit an embankmentand was thrown through the windshield of the car. He ended up 40feet away, in a ditch. He and his four friends were killed instantly. Ipreached three of the funerals and another Houston pastorpreached the other two. I believe God had spoken to Joey and hisfriends for the last time. I know 47 tragic stories of people, family and friends of mine,who committed the unpardonable sin. They all stepped acrossGod's deadline. I tried to reach my 24-year-old cousin, Dean, for God. He washooked on drugs and was a compulsive thief. He stole everythinghe could get his hands on just so he could pawn it later.I called a well-known preacher once and said, "Sir, I have a reletive who is hooked on drugs. I've carried him all over the countryand preached to him constantly. I took him to hear Billy Grahamevery night in the Astrodome. Every night! But he would alwayssay, 'I'm not ready.' Listen, I believe he would come to your church,and if you would give him a job, maybe your men could pray him toGod." Well, my cousin did go to that church, and they gave him ajob.The men there began to pray with him and tried to help him. Buthe just used that church. He conned them out of money again andagain. Finally he moved back to Houston. Late one night my uncle called and said, "Freddie, Dean is dead.They found him less than an hour ago. Someone pitched him outof a fast-moving car at the Houston waterfront. They just tossedhim out. Apparently, he had overdosed on drugs, and the pushersand addicts just threw his body out. He hit the pavement and thenthe curb. Freddie, his body was scattered all over the highway."I preached my cousin's funeral. His little boy cried all the way tothe cemetery and all the way home. He kept saying, "My daddywent to hell!" That boy later developed emotional problemsbecause of that experience. But the tragic truth in all of this is thatmy cousin chose to go to hell. GOD LOVES YOU Some of you, who are reading this, are choosing to go to hell;and one day God is going to say. "That's enough." If that timeshould come, it will only be because you kept turning your back onGod, not because He didn't love you or reach out to you.My grandfather helped raise me when I was growing up. Myparents were divorced when I was five and until I was seventeen, Ilived with my grandfather. I practically worshipped Him. I calledhim Big Fred. He owned a beer tavern in Houston called Fred'sPlace. It was actually a dive. When I got saved, I led many people in his tavern to Jesus,including my grandmother. In fact, I baptized her. I also won mymother to the Lord, and my stepfather. I led all three of my half-sisters to Christ, twenty-eight members of my family in all.We used to go to Big Fred's bar and tell the customers aboutJesus night and day, but we never could convince my grandfatherto give his heart to the Lord. We sent many dedicated Christians tosee him. We sent evangelists and preachers. I wrote him letters. Icalled him on the phone late at night, burdened for his soul, but hewouldn't talk to me. We gave him a Bible. We gave him tracts. Wetried to get him to watch gospel television shows, but he nevertuned in. We tried to get him to listen to Christian radio programs,but he wouldn't; not even when I was on a radio program myself.The Lord allowed me to preach over 2OO revival meetings in SouthTexas, but big Fred never came, not one time. I couldn'tunderstand it. I was preaching in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when my wife called andsaid, "Freddie, Big Fred has had a stroke and is dying." I had severalplaces where I was supposed to speak the next day, but I knew Ihad to get back to Houston as soon as possible."My grandfather is dying and going to hell," I told the preacher."I've got to go back before it's too late." When I arrived in Houston my wife took me straight to the hos-pital. I got off the elevator on the fifth floor and heard my grand-father screaming, "The devil's coming! The devil's coming!"Out in the hall doctors were talking with members of the family."Freddie, he's only got a few hours to live, I wouldn't disturb him,"one doctor told me. "But he's going to die and go to hell," I said. "May I talk to himby myself?" The atmosphere was so oppressive in that room. It felt like thedevil himself was there. As my grandfather screamed. I began toquote scriptures about the blood of Jesus. All of a sudden, hebecame totally alert and started to calm down. "Big Fred," I said, "what has kept you from Jesus all theseyears? I've got to know." He looked at me and replied, "Many years ago when I lived inOmaha, Nebraska. a preacher came and preached for six weeks inthe Tabernacle. I was running liquor illegally in those days, and forsix weeks I felt God drawing me to Him. but I always said. 'I'm notready to give God my life yet; there's too much I want to do."'My grandfather had heard a lot of preaching and he knew theBible. He could always quote scriptures. but he wasn't interested ingetting saved. He told me that on the last night of the meeting ashe walked out he felt the Holy Spirit leave him. "I turned my back on God for the last time. I knew He was leav-ing me alone after that," he said. Five hours later I watched my grandfather die one of the mosthorrible deaths I have ever witnessed. I watched him die withoutGod and slip into hell for all eternity. I knew he had chosen to go tohell. What a needless tragedy! TODAY IS THE DAY The man who introduced me to my wife was named Sonny. Wehad grown up on the streets together and were inseparable. Hewas both handsome and dynamic. When I got saved I wanted tosee Sonny saved too. My conversion made all the Houston news-papers. and told of my efforts to lead others to Jesus. Sonny and I were close friends, and I wanted him to get savedlike I had. His father was a Houston detective, but Sonny had beenarrested 22 times. I talked to him about God every chance I got.One day I took him with me on a plane to Texarkana and thought,"Sonny's going to get saved, and he's going to join my team." I justknew he was going to give his life to Jesus, but he didn't. He onlycried and said. "I'm not ready yet." He came for eight nights tohear me preach, but he never gave his heart to the Lord.Later 34 Baptist churches sponsored a tent crusade which wasattended by 3,000 to 4,000 people every night. One night a pastortold me that Sonny was in the audience somewhere in the back. Ispotted him and preached my heart out, hoping and praying hewould accept Christ. His wife had divorced him and taken theirtwo precious little girls with her. Now Sonny was totally alone.I walked to the back of that tent, grabbed his hand and said,"Sonny, this is it. Man, God's told me if you don't get right withHim tonight, you're never going to do it." I stood there andbegged him to get right with God. He smiled but I noticed he was bent over the chair. I asked,"What's the matter?" He told me after the service he had just gotton out of the hos-pital. It took 168 stitches to sew up a stab wound he had receivedin a nightclub brawl. "Sonny, man, what is God going to have to do?" I asked. Wetalked until 4:00 that moming, but all he said was, "I'll be back.I'm coming Sunday morning." That Friday night, immediately after midnight. I received a tele-phone call. It was his sister, Marjorie. She was crying. "Freddie, Sonny's been shot. He's dying, and he's calling foryou," she said. He had five bullet holes in him. He had been driving anew Cadillac. and had twenty-nine $100 bills stuffed in his frontpocket. He had been a pander and thought he had everything heever wanted. When I got to the hospital, detectives, news reporters and tele-vision cameras were there. I walked into the room and saw hismother. The doctors were pumping blood into his body. He wasbarely conscious. "Sonny, you're going to live!" his mother kept saying. "You'regoing to be a preacher." ButSonnyjust looked at me and said, "Man, if you play, you pay.If you try acid and smack you never come back. If you play, youpay." I will never forget it. He was in terrible pain when he said, "Freddie, God gave me up. Icommitted the unpardonable sin." I preached Sonny's funeral at a local Baptist Church. God hadindeed given him up. The Bible says in Luke 12:20, "But God said unto him, Thoufool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee." Psalm 95:7-8 says, "... today if ye will hear His voice, harden notyour heart." Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not thyself in tomorrow; for thouknowest not what a day may bring forth." Isaiah 55:6 says, "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, callye upon Him while He is near." Joshua 24:15 says, ". . . choose you this day whom ye willserve... Hebrews 2:3 says, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so greatsalvation . . .?" Hebrews 10:26 says, "For if we sin wilfully after that we havereceived knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrificefor sin." James 1:4, "Life is like a vapor." There is a line unseen by us, that crosses everyone's path. It isthe hidden boundary hptween God's patience and His wrath. Tocross that line is to die, for as Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sinis death." Friend, I must warn you that you may never hear the voice ofGod again if you say "no" to Him today. There are men and womenand young people to whom God is speaking for the last time.My prayer for you is that you don't make excuses and lie to God.I would rather you get up and run away than to play games withH im. I would rather you spit in my face than to lie to God. Don't lieto Him!! Some of you can truly say, "Freddie, I'm positive I'm saved. Godchanged my life. I love Jesus with all my heart. I love lost souls, andI'm sharing the gospel with someone every day. I'm reading myBible every day. I'm praying. Even those who know me best knowI belong to Jesus Christ. God changed my life, and I'm headed forheaven. I know I'll never commit the unpardonable sin. I know Godwill never give me up." On the other hand, some will say, "Freddie, I 've never really beensaved." Maybe you're a member of a church, maybe one of its lead-ing members. Maybe you sing in the choir. But down deep in yoursoul you know that if you were to die tonight or get killed on theway home in a car wreck, or if cancer began eating away at yourbody, you would not go to heaven to be with Jesus. You knowthat! You might say, "Freddie, I've never really been saved. I don'twant to commit the unpardonable sin. I don't want God to giveme up. Show me how to pray to be saved." If God is speaking to your heart right now, pray these words outloud: Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and right now Iask You to forgive me. I know You died for my sins;and I invite You into my heart to be my Savior andLord. I willingly turn from my sin and give my life toyou. Thank you, God. for saving me. Amen. WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT THE SOUL-WINNINGMINISTRY OF EVANGELIST FREDDIE GAGE "Outside of Billy Graham, perhaps no other Southern Baptist hasinfluenced so many to turn to Jesus, many of whom are now servingas missionaries, pastors, and evangelists in our great denomina-tion, than Freddie Gage has." Dr. Morris ChapmanPast President, SBCPresident, Executive Board, SBCNashville, Tennessee "I exalt the grace of God for the marvelous soul-winning ministryof Freddie Gage. He has been used for more than forty years as oneof America's mostgifted and God-used eangelists.' Dr. Adrian Rogers, PastorBellevue Baptist ChurchMemphis, Tennessee "Freddie Gage knows more about evangelism than any man I know.' Dr. Darrell RobinsonVice President, EvangelismHome Mission Board,SBCAtlanta, Georgia "Syllable and sentence cannot describe our deep gratitude for hismany achievements in the work of our Saviour. He has achieved anincomparably blessed ministry, and we praise the dear Lord for thethousands he has won to Christ and for the hundreds who are nowpreaching the Gospel because of his testimony." Dr. W. A. Criswell, Senior PastorFirst Baptist ChurchDallas, Texas "Second only to Billy Graham, Freddie Gage was undoubtedlythe most succecsful evangelist of the fifties sixties'. and seventies.Very few who begin the ministry fight the good fight all the way tothe end. May your four wonderful sons perpetuate your good name,your ministry, and the glory of your Lord until He comes." John R. Bisagno, PastorFirst Baptist ChurchHouston, Texas "I have known Freddie Gage since 1953. I have watched hisministry over all these years as he has developed into one of thegreatest soul winning and evangelistic ministers in America." Dr. James T. Draper, PresidentBaptist Sunday School BoardNashville, Tennessee 'I am confident when historians write the influence of the history ofevangelism, Freddie Gage will be included at the top of the list." Dr. Junior Hill, EvangelistHartselle, Alabama "Freddie Gage is still sought after by 95 percent of all youngevangelists. He is a mentor to most young evangelists, and hisinfluence will be felt well into the next century.' Michael Gott, EvangelistJacksonville, Texas 'Words cannot express the impact Freddie Gage has had on mylife. The first time I heard his message, 'Tears for Souls,' I resolvedto spend the rest of my life winning my generation to Christ.Everywhere I go I meet those saved as a result of his ministry.' Dr. Jay Strack, EvangelistDallas, Texas "Freddie Gage is one of the most outstanding preachers and soulwinners in our world today. I shall never forget the first time FreddieGage came to our church twenty-five years ago. I have never seenanything like it. Over 1,300 professions of faith with more than 400being baptized as a result of a week-long revival." Dr. Jerry Falwell, PastorThomas Road Baptist ChurchLynchburg, Virginia "One of my earliest childhood memories was at the age of six. Mymother accepted Christ in the Freddie Gage crusade. I rememberseeing my mother and 100 others who had accepted Christ duringthe week standing at the front of the church. That was when Godbegan to work in my heart as a little boy." Dr. Ronnie Floyd, PastorFirst Baptist ChurchSpringdale, Arkansas "No one has influenced my life like Freddie Gage. I love himliterally like a son. He is one of few men I would fight and die for." Dr. James Merritt, PastorFirst Baptist ChurchSneIlville, Georgia "I have concluded that the greatest fruit of all his ministry is beingleft in the lives of those four wonderful sons. Their love for the LordJesus speaks volumes about Freddie Gage." Dr. O.S. Hawkins, PastorFirst Baptist ChurchDallas, Texas