Billy Graham: "Are You Ready to Die?"

[Music] [Applause] the moment you read in the paper that billy graham is dead you'll know that he's more alive than he's ever been before and i'm in heaven [Music] we've become spectators we watch the events happening all around the world and it seems that it's going to happen to everybody else but it won't happen to you [Music] most people think that about death they say well the other fellow's gonna die but i i'm not gonna die it's gonna happen to somebody else we live as though we're going to live forever and we're not you've been

to a funeral for a few moments you're solemn you're thoughtful that night you go back you go to bed you think about it [Music] you try to put it out of your mind you don't want to think about it and yet the bible says it's appointed unto man once to die that is the hearse carrying the body the reverend billy graham in that simple casket built by prisoners in louisiana it's just something for that man to even want me to build his character one of these days they're going to be taking me out to the

cemeteries [Music] they'll be saying some words over me is that the end [Music] is it all over here is the question if a man die [Music] shall he live again so [Music] reverend billy graham one of the most inspirational spiritual leaders of the 20th century he was a giant he won't see his likes again i want us to look at the cross tonight he's met and talked and preached the kings queens and heads of state around the globe i'm just an ordinary messenger of the kingdom of god the humble farmer's son who helped change the

world is a spiritual gift to all of us [Music] got that locked down there you go you ready you know as i look back over my life it's full of surprises [Music] i never thought i would become friends with people in different countries all over the world i want us to look at the cross tonight i see how god's hand guided me what a wonderful and glorious hope love one another when i began preaching many years ago it was not with any thoughts that i'd be preaching to large audiences come to the cross his gospel

is for everyone god has done this christ is alive modern america today there is a victim of the soul our country is in great need of a spiritual awakening well there have been times that i've went as i've gone from city to city and i've seen how far people have wandered from god [Music] of all the things that i've seen and heard there's only one message that can change people's lives and hearts there is a way if you come by the way of the cross i want to tell people about the meaning of the cross

[Music] not the cross that hangs on a wall or around someone's neck we receive our freedom purchased by the ransom at the cross but the real cross of christ the cross expresses the great love of god his scarred and blood state his was a rugged cross real purpose for coming was to die i know that many will react to this message but it is the truth and with all my heart i want to leave you with the truth god says i love you i love you i love you with an everlasting love that he loves

you willing to forgive you of all your sins [Music] [Music] i look out across an audience when i stand up to preach and i think of all the people within different backgrounds and their various needs and i know that they are objects of god's mighty love to the point that he gave his son his only son to die upon a cross and the cross was the most terrible form of execution by the romans for criminals and jesus endured all that in our place because of our sins we deserve the cross we deserve hell we deserve

judgment and all that that means [Music] i know that there are many people that dispute that people don't want to hear that they're sinners to many people it's an offense the cross is offensive because it directly confronts the evils which dominate so much of this world [Music] you see the bible teaches that all of us are wrong we've all gone astray with everyone turned to his own way and when we turn to our own way we go astray from god's way and that includes the whole human race and that's why the world is in such

terrible danger right now it's not dangerous so much because we have atomic bombs it's dangerous because of the human hearts back of the bombs filled with envy and hate and strife and greed and lust and all the other things that could pull the trigger now these things about the cross of christ being able to save people and find forgiveness of sin and find eternal life at the foot of the cross sounds foolish to modern ears the bible says but the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of god for their foolishness unto him

neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned you see your mind was affected by sin our minds have been distorted all of us are sinners we've turned our back on god and that's a very dangerous thing for us as individuals sin is a disease in the human heart it affects the mind and the will and the emotions every part of our being is affected by this disease [Music] how can we break this bondage how can we be set free [Music] we're under condemnation we're already condemned we're on death's road right now all of

us and god through the cross is saying to you i'll pardon you i give you a pardon i'll forget your sins i'll never hold you accountable for your sin again you can enter the kingdom of god and have eternal life but first we've got to settle the score with god and that's what christ did on the cross he made atonement he reconciled us to god on that cross god was laying on jesus our sins they not only put nails in his hands but before that they scourged him a roman scourge was a terrible thing they

took whips and pellets on those whips and beat a person almost to death and then they took that cross and made him carry the cross which was in his weakened condition was almost impossible but he carried that crosstalk place outside of jerusalem and then they put nails in his hands but that was not the real suffering the real suffering is when he said my god why i still forsaken me in that terrible moment he and god the father were separated [Applause] [Music] he shed his blood and the shedding of that blood carries with it god's

very life the blood is the meeting place between god and man and the bible says without the shedding of blood there's no forgiveness and that's what christ was doing on the cross he was making atonement for our sins he became sin think of it jesus christ the greatest person that ever lived the holiest person that ever lived the son of the living god became sin he had never known sin and he became guilty at that moment of adultery he became guilty of lying of idolatry he became guilty of every ugly dirty thing you can think

of because it was your sins poured out on him jesus took it on the cross and shed his blood for us and he was shedding his blood now when you take the blood out that means you're giving your life and that's what it means it means the life of christ the cross and the resurrection of christ offers forgiveness of sin offers a whole new life and offers you eternal life if you come to the cross by repentance and faith [Music] there is no other way of salvation except through the cross of christ jesus said i'm

the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the father but by me the only way to the father father god is through his son jesus christ now why jesus he's the only one that was born in this world without sin but more than that he was a righteous one and when you come to him you're clothed in his righteousness god no longer sees your sin he no longer sees your own heart he sees jesus now i don't understand all about it there are many things about the cross and about salvation that i

do not understand and i'm not told that i have to understand it all i'm told that i'm to believe and that word believe means commit i commit my life totally to him [Music] jesus christ from the cross says i will save you i will forgive you i will change you i'll make you a new person if you come to the cross by repentance and faith come to christ come to christ when you come to christ you come by the way of repentance repent means to change to change your way of living and turn from your

sins and turn to jesus christ and say bye my son i need forgiveness and i know that you're the only one that can change me a lot of people say well i don't really want to change in my life the scripture teaches without that change that god demands we'll never get to heaven but for me i was a member of a church but i hadn't really come to christ from the very beginning i was reading a christian atmosphere my father and mother both were christians by the time i was a teenager there came an evangelist

out town mordecai ham iron back got under such conviction and one night they gave the invitation to receive christ and i reluctantly went but i really meant business with the lord [Music] i came just as i was with all my sins all my failures and the lord received me and changed me that has transformed me till this day i've never been the same [Music] [Music] i found during the latter years of my life when i've had sicknesses and been in the hospital and so forth there's a piece that just resides there and stays there that

i cannot explain everybody could have that same peace if they received christ as their savior i know i'm going to heaven i'm looking forward to it with great anticipation because of what jesus did on that cross he died for us but he was raised by god if christ is alive there is hope in the world yes jesus christ is alive he rose from the dead in that day that easter sunday morning that first easter when mary and mary magdalene and stallone went to the grave expecting to anoint a dead body they saw the angel sitting

there and they said where is jesus the angel said he is not here he is risen i submit to you tonight that that's the greatest news the world has ever heard he is not here he has conquered the grave he's alive and the whole early church went up and down the country preaching the resurrection of jesus christ [Music] and you'll notice that when the disciples went out after the cross and the resurrection it says they went out preaching that jesus was alive and that because he lives we too are going to live someday in that

same resurrection glory and because of the hope we have in jesus we can all be in heaven someday forever but first there must be a decision here and now in this life today i'm asking you to put your trust in christ i'm going to ask you to pray this prayer sentence by sentence after me dear heavenly father i know that i'm a sinner and i ask for your forgiveness i believe you've died for my sins and rose from the dead i turn from my sins i repent of my sins i invite you to come into

my heart and life i want to trust and follow you as my lord and savior in jesus name amen [Music] he's alive i've given my life not to a dead christ but to a living christ i know where i've come from i know why i'm here i know where i'm going do you [Music] guilty [Music] i'm guilty was all that i could say mercy [Music] your mercy crashing like a wave and all my sin was washed away [Music] washed away [Music] forever washed away spotless spotless wider [Music] [Music] covers and all my sin was washed

away washed away you took them all [Music] forever washed away and all my sin was washed away washed away you took them all there's not a trace [Music] forever washed [Music] away oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow no [Music] nothing but the god of jesus [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] precious [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] the focus of billy graham's message and ministry was the cross of christ his book what happened at the cross explores the true meaning of this extraordinary event as a thank you for your

support we'll send you this powerful book call 877-567-8989 or go to billygram.org book for over 60 years billy graham shared the good news of the cross and resurrection and today that work continues partner with the billy graham evangelistic association in our ongoing mission to proclaim the gospel through every means available [Music] internet evangelism allows us to reach the world with the good news 24 hours a day our rapid response chaplains offer hope to the hurting during times of tragedy and we continue to share god's love through franklin graham festivals and willgram celebrations join us in

taking the gospel to the ends of the earth visit billy graham.org book or call 877-567-8989 as a thank you we'll send you what happened at the cross by billy graham call or log on today you're invited on a journey of discovery at the billy graham library retrace billy graham's path from humble farm boy to international ambassador of god's love tour the restored grand family home place browse ruth's attic bookstore and have a meal at the dairy bar enjoy special exhibits events and seasonal activities for the whole family admission is free so come walk this journey

of discovery at the billy graham library [Music] millions of people are searching for answers to the crushing problems and fears that they face today that ought to give us a new urgency to declare the one answer my father his whole ministry he never got sidetracked he stayed focused on what god has called him to do jesus said follow me follow me there's a generation now that doesn't know billy graham that doesn't know jesus christ doesn't know anything about god we see a spiritual need here at the billy graham evangelist association we're called to meet it

[Music] the billy graham archive and research center will be a facility that will hold all of my father's correspondence and records it will be a state-of-the-art facility it's going to be two-story 34 000 square feet of the audio and visual and photography records papers everything about this 70-year plus ministry we're bringing all that together in charlotte we feel that this is so important for future generations to have this material where people can study what god did through billy graham and how god did it i'm sure mr graham had no idea that he would develop such

a treasure trove of materials first of all of the manuscripts that he carried into the pulpit probably the most valuable piece of the archives are those sermon notes that reflect that incredible anointed preaching ministry right next door is the billy graham library what's so neat about the archive center being right beside the library is that you get not just the research side but the practicality side of it so when people come to study his life they can go to the library and see his life and how god brought a group of men and women around

him to reach millions and millions of people for jesus the ultimate impact of the billy graham archive center linked to the library is to encourage a younger generation to the task of proclamation evangelism and that's what i hope that this archive center will do that it will call young men and women to proclaim the good news of jesus christ wherever they go and that's what's exciting to see if this center can be a place that spurs them on and gives them an inspiration for fulfilling the great commission in their day then it's worth every dollar

that's raised every moment of work that it takes to bring it together so that someone else can learn to do the work of evangelism [Music] you