The University of Life | Billy Graham Classic Sermon

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 Labon a heavy laden and I will

give you rest take my yoke upon you and

learn of me for I am meek and lowly in

heart and you shall find rest under your

souls for my yoke is easy and 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 at 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

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 church 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 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 on the same

track Vice Premier dung of China stated

recently this past summer that World War

III is

inevitable and 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

psychologist 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 wellknown Christians in our

newspapers even

today married women having adulterous

Affairs has tripled in The Last 5 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 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 we’ll 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 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 seeth 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 way 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 there are

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 col of

skin we have there’s no escaping life oh

you say I can commit suicide that

doesn’t get you out of life 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 as Savior as well as Lord

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

kuer Ross and Dr Rollings and Dr Moody

and others and courses on than anology

and our universities are springing up

all over the country teaching people

about death and the classrooms are

filled with students studying

death 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 the odds against which no Gambler

can

win that one out of everyone

dies now that’s a sure

thing God said to Hezekiah Thou shalt

die and not live the Bible says it’s

appointed under 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 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

determine the number of his months with

thee thou Hast appointed his bounds

Beyond which he cannot pass there’s a

moment Beyond which you cannot live

already a point

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 off 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

from me but I lay it down of myself I

have power to lay it down 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 who 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

offences 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 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 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 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

Jr I’ll tell you exactly who did

it a

sinner and

someday all the ying 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 a in the 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 from

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 promis

God in accepting Jesus Christ as their

lord and

savior and 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 Reena or in

Nevada or 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

light the Bible says choose you this day

as I said a moment ago there is a way

that seeth 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 in

the lust thereof but he that doeth the

will of God abideth

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 there’s a certain love of

self but not this egocentric 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 shalt confess with

thy mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in

thine heart that God ha raised him from

the dead Thou shalt 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 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 Billy suppose I’ve been

divorced and my remarried and my life is

all what what’ll 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 Rula 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 airlin and tell the

pilot I want to Pilot This Plane I’ve

never piloted a plane in my

life I can take over from

you no God 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

and Hell the Bible says wide is the gate

and Broad is the way that leadth to

destruction narrow is the gate and hard

is the way which leadth unto

life what are we to do 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 believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

and thou shalt be saved says the Bible

just believe you say Well there must be

a catch somewhere there is that word

believe means that you put your total

confidence in you don’t put your

confidence in your own works 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 7 that started a whole

missionary movement at the end of the

last century jeliot who was killed by

the Ala 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 old alike

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 5 minutes or 10 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 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

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on

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

[Music]

decision

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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 bow your 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 would 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

877772

4559 that’s

877772

4559 or you can write to us at Billy

Graham 1 Billy Graham Parkway Department

C Charlotte North Carolina 28

2011 or you can contact us on the web

247 at peacei good.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

[Music]

prayers there’s only one way only one

hope

the sound of a new day witness the and

give your life to Christ and see what

[Music]

happen with me to the Billy

Library