When we choose to follow Christ, it is a matter of the heart that requires a total shift in thoughts and actions. Billy Graham explains more in this 1983 message from Orlando, Florida.

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 and 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 at the cost whether he

has sufficient money to finish it

lest happily after he has 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

sitteth 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 are 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

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 and 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

premarital 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 will power to say

no

but if you have christ in your heart

you’ll have the power to say no

there had no temptation taken you but

such is his 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

or they inherit it from their 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’re 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

5160 15 1550 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

now the bible says to study to show

yourself approved unto god a workman

that needed not to be

ashamed we ought to be studying and

reading the bible all the time in 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 to study constantly all my life

the word of god you see an idol mind is

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 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 exhorted let this

mind be in you which was also in christ

jesus

thou shalt love the lord thy god with

all thy mind

evil thoughts are 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 mind 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 change their minds

it will change when you have the

humility of mind 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 for

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 up 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 honoreth 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 talk 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 if you

ever hate it i’ve 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 the bible says your 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 knoweth 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 by 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

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 bringing 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 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 your 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 unto 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 reservation tonight

young man young woman father mother you

may be the older generation or the

younger generation but you need christ

you get up and come right now i’m going

to i said 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

me

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

trained counselors are standing by to

help and pray with you

if 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

you 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 1

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

it’s anne 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 where are

the jews

i knew that i could take on the world

it’s like you’re in a dream but not

really a dream this is reality

i don’t really believe in all this but i

know something crazy is happening right

now