Are you tired of searching for truth? Hear Billy Graham explain how your search ends when you commit your life to Christ in this 1980 sermon from Reno, Nevada. Watch more #MondayNightClassics every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern. CONNECT with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: on Facebook: 
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from our archives the Billy Graham
classics
tonight I want you to turn with me to
the 11th chapter of Matthew the 11th
chapter of Matthew
come unto me all ye that Laban a heavy
laden and I will give you rest take my
yoke upon you and learn of me for I meek
and lowly in heart and ye shall find
rest under your souls for my yoke is
he’s in my burden is light I want to
speak tonight on the University of life
I want to speak to young people as well
as older people on the subject of the
University of life now we usually think
of this text that a pastor will take and
use in labor day but that’s wrong in one
sense and yet in another sense it is
correct but this is an invitation to men
and women who are exhausted with the
search for truth Jesus said you’ve been
searching for truth you’re tired
I am the way the truth and the life you
found it the search ends with me
now at this University we’re talking
about tonight you can fail but you can
never drop out all over the world people
are beginning to ask questions about
where civilization is headed one of the
foreign experts left Washington in his
in despair this past summer and went
back to the university to teach and he
was asked why and he said sometimes I
get the feeling I’m sitting on a Hilltop
watching two trains racing toward each
other on the same track
Vice Premier Dunn of China stated
recently this past summer that world war
three is inevitable
an independent of man’s will in this
decade
a British editorial said recently the
world is on a collision course With
Disaster
now when we come back to America and see
the affluence of America
I also read and hear about the new surge
of problems that our fluency has created
psychologists economists clergy
politicians are dealing with social and
moral problems on a scale that they’ve
never had to deal with before for
example the marriage breakups even among
so-called professing Christians some of
them well-known Christians in our
newspapers even today
married women having adulterous Affairs
has tripled in the last five years but
the price they pay is escalating drug
addiction alcoholism and suicide racial
tensions we thought the race problem in
America was settled it’s not settled
look at Miami or Philadelphia this past
summer
the psalmist said and I said oh that I
had wings like a dove for then I would
fly away and rest
have you ever felt that way you’d like
to fly away from life and rest you’d
like to get out of that kitchen and rest
you’d like to get out of that job and
rest you’d like to fly away somewhere
thousands of people out east come to
Nevada and to California thinking that
they’re going to find it here
and they may find something here but
they find wonderful air here in Reno
I’ll tell you that they find beautiful
mountains here
and they find a lot of activity here but
the real thing they’re searching for is
God
because you see they were made in the
image of God and without God their
hearts are restless till they come to
know God you can never find true rest
until you know God and you that are
watching by television if you want to
find peace with God and rest in your own
Souls call that number on your screen
right now and let somebody talk to you
as many people here will do later on in
the evening you see the psalmist longing
to escape has become the Cry of the
world today
the psalmist also said I’m full of
heaviness
and looked for some to take pity but
there was none and for comforters but I
found none
the Bible also says but the eyes of the
wicked will fail and Escape will elude
them their hope will become a dying gasp
No Way Out
Jesus said I am the way out he said
there’s only one way to escape one way
out and I’m it you have to come by the
way of the Cross and the empty tomb and
find reconciliation with God and peace
in your heart and joy in your heart that
you have lost
and how many of you are trying to escape
you’ve come out here from somewhere else
to escape all the rigors of Life
somewhere else but you haven’t really
found it yet
you haven’t found that joy and that
peace that you thought you’d find or
that sense of fulfillment you don’t have
the answer to the questions where did
you come from what is life all about
where are you going when you die you
don’t have those answers yet you can
find it tonight by coming to Jesus
Christ you see Jesus said
learn of me it’s a picture of Jesus
Christ as the great professor
at the University
he’s the greatest teacher that ever was
the Bible says he taught them as one
having Authority he spoke with authority
do you never find Jesus saying I hope
this is the way
I think this is the way the Bible says
there’s a way that seemeth right unto
man but the end thereof are the ways of
death
there are many ways
in life that seem right
but the end is death destruction
judgment and Hell
and Jesus warned about that Jesus said I
am the one
now most of the world would agree that
he’s the greatest teacher that ever
lived
and so tonight I want you to sit for a
few moments at the feet of the world’s
greatest teacher in most American
universities and colleges they have what
is called required courses and elective
courses now in life there are certain
required courses what are they they’re
three three required courses and three
elective courses that I want you to
think about tonight the first required
course is life itself
philosophy means the study of life and
ideas concerning life and one of the
most discussed new books published last
summer was the philosophers in which 20
of the most influential philosophers of
the Western World in modern times are
psychoanalyze as to the amount of
fulfillment that they themselves enjoy
and it’s so demon it demonstrated that
all 20 of them that they studied were
characterized by loneliness and anxiety
you see we did not choose to be born
we were not consulted about living
and there’s nothing you can do to stop
living we did not choose where to be
born we did not choose what color of
skin we have there’s no escaping life
all you say I can commit suicide that
doesn’t get you out of light
you only kill the body
your soul your spirit is eternal it
lives on
so you cannot Escape by Suicide
suicide does not end at all as some
people think
yes you’re required to live
how do you face life what resources do
you have to call upon when the pressures
get great and the crisis comes and the
difficulties come what do you have
to call upon well if you know Jesus
Christ
you don’t have anything to worry about
because when he lives in your heart he
gives great inward peace and joy
and assurance and a sense of safety and
well-being
when you come to Christ it affects you
physically and mentally and socially
every way every phase of your life is
affected when Christ dominates your life
because you let him come his savior as
well as law
and then the second required course that
you have at the University
you’re required to die
now we have been having a lot of studies
on death lately we read about Dr
Kubler-Ross and Dr Rawlings and Dr Moody
and others and courses on paleontology
in our universities are springing up all
over the country teaching people about
death and the classrooms are filled with
students studying debt
George Bernard Shaw said that there’s
one statistic that we can be sure of now
everybody in the gaming business here in
Nevada ought to hear this
their odds against which no Gambler can
win
that one out of every one dies
now that’s a sure thing
God said to Hezekiah thou shall die and
not live the Bible says it’s appointed
unto man wants to die the Bible says
there’s a time to be born and a time to
die
the number of years is simply a relative
the fact is we all die and the Bible
says there’s a day there’s an hour
there’s a minute already appointed for
your death
it may be tonight
it may be tomorrow morning
there’s a day there’s an hour there’s a
minute already appointed
the Bible says in Job 14 seeing his days
are determined the number of his months
are with thee thouest appointed his
bounds Beyond which he cannot pass
there’s a moment Beyond which you cannot
live already upon
and God is giving you this moment of
Grace right now to find Christ as your
lord and your savior that’s the reason
the Bible always says today today today
Harden not your heart now is the
accepted time of Salvation the Bible is
saying don’t put it all tomorrow is the
devil’s word
come while you can
there’s only one man in history that
didn’t have to die and that was Jesus
Christ
he said no man taketh my life for me but
I lay it down of myself I have power to
lay it down and I have power to take it
again this commandment have I received
of my father he was perfect he was free
from sin and its effects and yet he died
on the cross why
because he died for you
he took the things that caused death in
your life on the cross in your place
he died for you God laid on him the
iniquity of us all
and now tonight you come to that cross
and surrender your life to Jesus Christ
and God says forgiven your sins are
forgiven I forgive you
I write your name in The Book of Life
for he hath made him to be sin for us
whom you knew no sin that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him but
not only did he die he rose again he’s
alive tonight who was delivered for our
offenses and was raised again for our
justification
I haven’t seen the picture the raising
of the Titanic but I’ve read about it
and they’re going to try to raise it
next summer and that’s going to be a
very interesting experiment they’re
doing a similar thing off the coast of
Japan where they found a Russian ship
and they think it may have 30 billion
dollars worth of gold in it and they’re
after that gold
and it’s going to be quite interesting
to see who gets it when they finally get
it all up
and uh
so there is
a great deal of raising going on but the
Bible says there’s coming a time when
there’s going to be a general
Resurrection when all of those that are
lost are going to be raised and all of
those that are saved are going to be
raised and Jesus Christ died on our
account on the cross was raised again
and that is living proof he is living
proof tonight that there’s going to be a
resurrection someday
think of it Jesus Christ came back from
the dead to tell us there’s more
Because He Lives I Can Face Tomorrow
the Bible says The Last Enemy that shall
be destroyed is death
are you ready and then the third thing
in this school
that is required of you the Judgment of
God is required
you’re going to face the judgment
there’s a movie out called the judgment
and someday you’re going to give a moral
accounting
the searching Eyes Of God will miss
nothing in that day when you stand
before him
now the whole country is talking about
who shot J.R
I’ll tell you exactly who did it
a sinner
and someday
all the Ewing family and all the
suspects are going to have to stand
before God
just like you are
and Every Idle word that men shall speak
they shall give account in the day of
judgment the Bible says many shall say
unto me in that day Lord have we not
prophesied in thy name and in thy name
cast out devils and Lord we’ve done all
these great things in your name but the
Bible says God is Jesus is going to say
depart for me I never knew you
you see you can be in the church
last night a number of Catholic people
came forward and Episcopalian people and
people who have confirmation I was
confirmed myself
when I was about 12 years of age in a an
associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
and I know what they meant when they
came they wanted to reconfirm their
confirmation
what had they promised God
in accepting Jesus Christ as their lord
and savior
how many of you tonight need Christ
you need to come to him you’ve been away
from him
you’re in the church your name is on the
Church Road but you really don’t know
Christ more than a third of the people
that have been coming forward here to
receive Christ have no church
connections but nearly two-thirds do
some of them are back east
and they haven’t thought about the
church since they’ve been in Reno are in
Nevada in Northern California or
wherever you may be
come to Christ tonight
and receive him into your heart and
start all over again
now those are the required courses life
itself you cannot be Unborn
you’re required to die you’re required
to face the judgment
now
there are certain options at the
University tonight the University of
light first you can choose your way of
life the Bible says choose you this day
as I said a moment ago there is a way
that seemeth right
now some of those roads that seem right
there’s the lust of the eye the Bible
talks about
possessions
it seems that
to gain all the possessions you can
there’s nothing wrong with that it seems
things are not wrong but when your life
is centered in the acquisition of
physical possessions then the lust of
the eyes has gotten the best of you
and that’s sin and it seems right but
it’s wrong and it leads to a dead end
then there’s the lust of the flesh those
are the physical things which offer by
way of luxury and entertainment some of
us are selling our souls for sinful
pleasure
overeating the wrong use of sex
excessive use of alcohol all of these
things
the scripture says the world passeth
away and the lust thereof but he that
doeth the will of God abide in Forever
then there’s also the pride of life
that seems right
ego position
getting the best
self-interest
but that’s a wrong road
we ought to think something of ourselves
we’re to love our neighbor as ourselves
we are to love ourselves because you
cannot love your neighbor you cannot be
a true Christian without having a
respect for yourself
and as a certain love of self but not
this ego-centric thing because the very
heart of sin is selfishness the very
heart of sin is ego and when you come to
Christ your ego has to be surrendered to
Christ until he becomes Lord
and then secondly
not only can you choose your way of life
but you can choose who will be the
master of your life what’s going to
master your life what philosophy are you
giving your life to
what group are you giving your life to
who is going to control you are you
going to control your own life
and make a wreck of it thou shall
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus
and believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead thou shall be
saved by Nature we want to run our own
lives we think we know better than even
God knows
but God has a plan for your life and his
plan is perfect
for every young person here God has a
plan
he has the right person picked out for
you to marry if you’d only trust him to
help you
he has the right job for you the right
vocation for you it’s all planned if
you’ll say Lord thy will be done and you
surrender to him and let him become
involved in all the Affairs of your life
or some of you that are already married
or maybe you’re older now
and your life is all messed up
did you know that God can rearrange your
life after you’ve messed it up by
forgiving your sin now he can’t take
those scars away of sin I’ve watched
people come forward here and I’ve seen
many of them as they stood in front of
this platform night after night I’ve
seen them with sin scarred faces
because sin leaves its mark
but God can forgive all that and he can
take all that mess that you’ve made in
your life and straighten it all out and
get you back on the right road if you’ll
trust him
you say well bill I suppose I’ve been
divorced in my
remarried and my life is all what what
will happen
well you can’t unscramble eggs
but you can start from where you are by
trusting Christ Where You Are
he’ll forgive the past and give you a
whole new spiritual life and give you a
power beyond anything you ever dreamed
and a love and a joy and a peace don’t
let the devil worry you about past sins
once you’ve been to the cross
if your son asks for bread will you give
him a snake
no God loves you he has a plan for you
and you ask for something good he’s not
going to give you a snake
says the scripture said Jesus
the Rich Young Ruler the problem with
him was not his wealth but he wanted to
control his own life and many of you
want to control your own life you see we
want to run our own lives suppose I’d go
up in The Airliner and tell the pilot I
want to Pilot This Plane I’ve never
piled to the plane in my life
I can take over from you
no
God says get up out of that seat you’re
making a wreck of your life you’re
heading toward destruction
let me take the controls of your life
I’ve been over the road before
let me help you
and then lastly you can choose your own
destination the destination is Heaven or
Hell the Bible says why it is the gate
in Broad is the way that leadeth to
destruction Narrows the gate in hard is
the way which lead it unto life
what are we to do
what can you do tonight
to make your peace with God
the Bible says prepare to meet God well
how do you prepare
first by repentance repentance means
that you’re willing to let God change
your life
it means that you change your mind so
much
that it changes the way you live
and you’re willing to give up all those
things that are sinful in your life
and turn over to Jesus Christ
your life
the second thing you come by faith
by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shall be saved says the Bible just
believe you say Well there must be a cat
somewhere there is that word believe
means that you put your total confidence
in
you don’t put your confidence in your
own work you don’t put your confidence
in anything but the person of Jesus
Christ who died on the cross for you
you cannot work your way you cannot pay
your way you come by simple childlike
faith
and then the third thing you must be
willing to be a disciple or a follower
of Christ
earlier in the year it was my privilege
to hold a 10-day mission
at Cambridge University in England as
well as Oxford University
and I could not help but remember
that young man at Cambridge
who made this statement when he gave his
life to Christ he was the son of a very
wealthy man and he was one of the
greatest cricketers
that
Cambridge has ever had he said if Jesus
Christ be God and died for me then no
sacrifice that I can make for him can be
too great that was CT stud
who said that
and he went out as a missionary with the
Cambridge seven that started a whole
missionary movement at the end of the
last century
Jim Elliott who was killed by the Orca
Indians in South America as a young
student wrote this
he is no fool who gives up what he
cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose
I ask you young and older like tonight
do you know Christ
is he your lord and your savior in a few
moments I’m going to ask you to do
something very difficult
I’m going to ask you to get up out of
your seat and come and stand in front of
this platform as we saw over 500 last
night do
and stand here and say by coming
symbolically I open my heart to Christ I
want him to forgive my sins and change
my life I want to know where I’m going
I want to know what life is all about
and I want fulfillment in my life
I ask you to come publicly because every
person Jesus called in the Bible he
called publicly
I ask you to come publicly because
there’s a psychological and a Biblical
reason
for you to come
you stand here a moment and after you’ve
come I’m going to say a word to you and
have a prayer with all of you and then
give you some literature to help you in
your Christian Life there’s something
about coming forward like that that
settles it and seals it you that are in
the other Auditorium where we were a
moment ago where thousands of people are
gathered you come forward in your
Auditorium where you are Grady Wilson
will be there to say a word and to help
you and many counselors are there as
well
and then you that are watching by
television you pick up the phone right
now and call the number on your screen
don’t let this moment pass because there
may never be another moment quite like
this in your life when you’re so close
to the kingdom of God and all it needs
is a is a phone call to talk to someone
and then if you don’t get through
immediately
wait a moment or two and call again wait
five minutes or ten minutes call again
but don’t let this night pass those
people some of them will be there for
several hours to answer your phone
you get up and come right here as people
are making their decisions here and in
the other Auditorium and all over
America right now you join them and come
and stand here and say yes to Christ
we’re going to wait on you you may be in
the choir you may be
our leader in the church or you may not
have any church connections whoever you
are God has spoken to you get up and
come we’re going to wait on
[Music]
as hundreds are responding to Mr
Graham’s invitation to make a public
commitment to Jesus Christ you can make
that same commitment right where you are
just pick up the phone and call the
number you see on your screen special
friends are waiting to talk with you and
pray with you about this most important
decision
[Music]
oh
you that are watching by television can
see that many scores of people I suppose
hundreds of people are coming to make
this commitment here in Reno Nevada
you can make that same commitment right
now where you are
just pick up the phone and call that
number that’s on your screen
and have a talk with that counselor and
tell them what you want to do or make
the decision right where you are maybe
your circumstances are such you cannot
call right now
all right make your commitment now value
ahead and say Lord Jesus Come into my
heart I receive you as my Lord and
Savior
if you just prayed that prayer with my
father or if you have any questions
about a relationship with Jesus Christ
I’ll just call that number that is on
the screen there’ll be someone there to
talk with you pray with you and answer
those questions and remember
God loves you
if you would like to commit your life to
Jesus Christ please call us right now
toll-free at
1-877-772-4559 that’s
1-877-772-4559 or you can write to us at
Billy Graham One Billy Graham Parkway
Department C Charlotte North Carolina
28201 or you can contact us on the web
24 7 at peacewithgod.tv
we’ll get the same helps to you that we
give to everyone who responds at the
invitation
on behalf of Franklin Graham and the
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
thank you for watching and thank you for
your prayers
[Music]
hear the sound of a brand new day
witness the story
[Music]
Graham Library