Whose Fool Are You? | Billy Graham Classic Sermon

from our archives the Billy Graham

classic

tonight I want to talk on fools

and I want you to turn with me to the

third chapter First Corinthians

beginning with the 18th verse let no man

deceive himself

If any man among you seemeth to be wise

in this world

let him become a fool that he may be

wise

for the wisdom of this world is

foolishness with God for it is written

he taketh the wise in their own

craftiness

and again the Lord knoweth the thoughts

of the wise that they are vain

a couple years ago Anthony Newley sang

what kind of a fool am I to the top of

the charts

and uh

I looked up in the dictionary to see

what a fool is or one of my associates

did for me

and the Bible has a lot to say about

fools and what a fool is proverbs 10 21

it says fools die for the one of wisdom

Proverbs 1 7 says fools despise wisdom

uh when PT Barnum came to this country

many years ago he said the American

people want to be fooled and I’m here to

fool them he said a fool is born every

minute

and now synonyms that you can find for

the word fool is stupid person bonehead

Blockhead simpleton chump nitwit Goose

sat numbskull ignoramus Beetle head

whatever you want

a one who has been imposed on by others

a stooge a gullible or dupe

now in the Bible it may mean all of this

but it also has a moral meaning in the

Bible and is a very important word in

the Bible and the verses seem almost

paradoxical First Corinthians 3 18 says

let him become a fool and Proverbs 1 7

says fools despise wisdom

and God is speaking from the Divine

standpoint in one passage the fool is an

unthinking thoughtless careless person

without true understanding in the other

passage the word fool is used from the

standpoint of people who have received

Christ because the world laughs at them

and says they’re foolish and ridiculous

they’re fools

so there are unwise fools and their Wise

Foods now Jesus said whoever calls his

brother a fool is in danger of Hellfire

you be very careful how you call another

person a fool I wouldn’t dare use that

name for you or for anybody else

never use the word fool and anger the

Bible says but I’m telling you what God

says about it in certain instances first

there’s the atheistic fool it’s repeated

twice in Psalm 53 1 and Psalm 14 1 the

fool has said in his heart there is no

God but in Hebrew it actually means

there is no God for me

in other words the this fool

deliberately says there is no God for me

he’s not saying there’s no God he’s

saying there’s no God for me

then there’s the Practical atheist

you see there are many people that are

really not atheists but they are

practical atheists in the sense that

they live like an atheist you profess to

believe in God but you don’t live like

you believe in God

you live as though there is no God you

too in a sense are an atheist and there

are hundreds here tonight like that you

believe in god with your mind

you may go to church but you live as

though God does not exist as far as you

are concerned

and so you are an atheist in a sense

and then secondly the Bible talks about

the mocking fool the mucking food

fools make a mock of sin Proverbs 14 9.

here is God and all of his holiness

and the Bible tells us that we’ve sinned

against him we’ve broken his laws and

we’re under the sentence of death

we’re under the sentence of death I saw

a film tonight on television on one of

the news programs telling how many men

and women are on death row in the United

States right now under the sentence of

death

all of us here tonight are under the

sentence of debt the wages of sin is

death and we have all sinned and broken

the laws of God

and so we’re all sentenced to die we are

to die physically

the graveyard’s of full of people that

are there because sin caused death

and then sin also causes spiritual death

your soul is dead your spirit is dead

physically you’re alive but your soul

that lives inside your body is dead

toward God so you’re a walking dead

person under the sentence of death and

the only way that you can have that

sentence lifted is to come to Christ by

repentance of sin and faith in him as

your lord and your savior if you would

like that sentence lifted if you would

like your sins wiped out as though they

had never existed if you would like to

be justified in the sight of God pick up

that telephone right now you that are

watching by television pick it up and

call the number that you see on your

screen and a counselor will answer and

the counselor will talk to you about how

you can come to know Christ as many

people here tonight I hope and believe

and pray will find Christ as their lord

and savior but there are many people

that make a mockery of sins

they mock God’s standards God’s

standards of sex God’s standards of

marriage God’s standards concerning

divorce and ethics and morality and

social justice we make a mockery of it

we laugh at it

the Bible says be sure your sins will

find you out

don’t ever doubt it

your sin your sin will find you out

though no one on earth may discover it

you may never be caught

you may never have to pay for it here as

far as you can tell but your sin will

someday be found out no one ever commits

one sin that isn’t found out

everything that you did in the Darkness

every evil thought that you ever had is

going to be found out because it’ll all

be recorded it’s being recorded awaiting

the Judgment Day

it’s being recorded on tape machines far

more sophisticated than anything we have

it’s being recorded

even your thoughts and your sins will

find you out

and it’ll be exposed to the whole

universe

will find you out will it’s only a

question of time the word will is

definite will find you out

find perhaps you’ve deceived everyone

else your wife your family your church

your friends but the Bible says your sin

will definitely find you out a detective

at last after running away so long and

hiding so long God’s hand will come on

your shoulder and say I have found you

you’ve been found out we now know

and then thirdly there’s the slandering

fool the slandering fool he that hideth

hatred with lying lips and he that

others the slander is a fool passing

along an evil story about others

maligning other people’s character

wrecking their reputations by evil

gossip

gossiping is listed in the Bible as one

of the worst of all sins

and yet how frequent that’s done even in

circles that call themselves Christians

it’s a terrible sin in the sight of God

and God says that person is a fool

you wouldn’t think of killing a person

with a gun or a knife

but then many times we assassinate a

character or try to pull someone down or

to get even or because of jealousy by

Whispering innuendos someone told me or

he did thus and so we commit murder By

character assassination worse than

killing a man with a pistol a knife or a

club

he that others the slander the scripture

says is a fool

and then fourthly there’s the Christian

food

the Christian food remember the road to

Emmaus after Jesus Christ had died on

the cross for our sins and he had been

raised again

and remember he was appearing to the

disciples in fact 11 different

appearances after his resurrection and

this is one of them and these two

disciples won the way to Emmaus outside

of Jerusalem they were sad they were

disappointed they were disillusioned

and they were mumbling and groaning

among themselves

and another man joined them

and they didn’t recognize who he was

and he talked to them said why are you

so downcast

they said oh

we thought he was to be the Messiah

haven’t you heard all the happenings in

Jerusalem during the past week

about this Jesus who did wonderful

things we thought he was the Messiah we

thought he’d come to save the world but

he didn’t he disappointed us

they killed him on a cross and now the

third day is passing we heard rumors

that he might be raised from the dead

but we don’t accept that

and then Jesus said oh fools

your foods

then he started expounding to them the

scriptures from Moses through the

prophets as to who he really was and

then he went to spend the evening with

him and he was sitting at the meal in

their home in Emmaus

and all of a sudden their eyes were

opened and they saw it was Jesus

in other words

the Christian fool who has the word of

God in his hand who reads his testimony

and yet doubts the promises of God

Jesus said oh you fools for not

believing the scriptures that he was

going to rise from the dead and someday

he’s coming back

and then fifthly

there’s the Covetous food

and the story is told in Luke the 12th

chapter Jesus told the story about a

rich man in his barns you remember he

built his Barns and he said he was going

to retire because he had made enough

money now probably going to go to

Southern California Florida come here to

Idaho to this beautiful place and retire

he’d made enough money

and he said Soul take thine ease drink

and be merry

and that night he had a heart attack

and when he was dying there was a voice

heard from Heaven that said thou fool

this night thy soul is required of Thee

and the scripture says Jesus said so is

he that layeth up treasure for himself

and is not rich toward God

you see he tried to find happiness

in the wrong place

money

he ignored the power of influence in

that no man liveth unto himself he must

have had a family he disregarded death

he had made no provision for eternity he

had provision for his retirement how

many men and women I know who have

planned for retirement

planned everything

but they haven’t prepared to die and

they die shortly after they retire it’s

amazing

I’ve thought about that

some people announce their retirement

you read two three weeks later that they

drop dead of a heart attack

they thought they were going to have 5

or 10 or 15 or 20 years that they could

just take it easy and enjoy life

but it doesn’t always work out that way

you better be sure that you have

prepared to meet God

every person who is more concerned about

getting some of this world’s Goods

and leaving out the preparation for

eternities of food

or the person who spends their time in

social climbing or having pleasure more

than Eternal things is a fool in the

sight of God if you’re not concerned

about your home in heaven you’re not

concerned about the riches that will

never fail not concerned about laying up

treasure where moth and rust does not

corrupt and where thieves do not break

through and steal then you’re a fool

if you’d asked this man what is your

name

well he’d say my name’s the rich man

or I’m the prosperous man that you read

about or I’m an imminent man I’m a great

man in the neighborhood or I’m a famous

man my name is in the paper all the time

then ask God lord what is this man’s

name and the answer comes back fool

he’s a fool that’s his name

the rich man knew every name but the

right one

he had been called by his family name

his given name his ranks his titles his

wealth the flatteries of men

but in the sight of God his name was

thou fool

that’s all we know about him that he was

just a rich fool

that laid up Treasures on Earth but laid

up nothing for heaven

and how many of us are in the same

category you may not be rich

in the sense that this man was rich but

everybody in America is Rich compared to

Bangladesh and people that I’ve

where we’ve been in many places of the

world like in Africa or

as Victor was talking about in in

Vietnam

where he was a missionary for some years

very few of you would stir if I would

look out on this audience and say fool

come here I’d like to see you

how many of you get up and come

very few maybe nobody

but the Bible says how are they brought

into desolation as in a moment

quickly

it can all end

your dream house comes tumbling down

trouble in the family

the wealth is gone

here was a man a multi-millionaire

perhaps but standing a hand’s breath

away from his own grave

counting on everything in this life the

happiness the joy that this life could

give him and he’s called in the Bible by

Jesus of food

and then seventhly

there’s another kind of a fool of sixly

the preaching of the cross

is foolishness to them that perish

First Corinthians 1 18 but unto us which

were saved it is the power of God what

the world counts foolish we have rested

our Eternal salvation on

and when you accept Jesus Christ as your

lord and savior

turn your back on the pleasures and the

sensual lust and things of this world

people think

you’re a fool

the world that does not know Christ

looks foolish to me

why can’t they see why can’t they

understand I want to grab everybody I

see on the street and everybody we pass

everybody in the hotel I want to grab

them and say look here Christ could

change your life I see their empty faces

and I I see the I hear the hola laughter

and I see them drinking trying to drink

their themselves into some happiness

or taking the drugs in that Hollister

that they have

and I say oh if I could only just shake

them loose but you see only the Holy

Spirit can do that I cannot do the work

of the holy spirit for him the Holy

Spirit must convict them of sin he must

also lift this Veil that’s over their

minds

and so salvation is of the Lord the

Bible says

if anyone desires wisdom let him take

his place in identification with Jesus

Christ

what the world calls foolish

I’m resting my salvation arm

the Cross of Christ no matter what the

world may think of him or of me we’re

fools for Christ’s sake willing for the

world to look at us as out of our minds

willing to be accounted as the very

upscoring of the Earth because we’ve

turned to Christ

are you one of the devil’s fools

are you willing to be a fool for

Christ’s sake the Bible says in Proverbs

12 the way of a fool is right in his own

eye there is a way that seemeth right

unto man but the end thereof are the

ways of death

which road are you on

the narrow road that leads to eternal

life or the broad road that leads to

destruction you have to make a choice

the scripture says choose you this day

whom you will serve

are you going to continue to be a fool

in the sight of God

are you going to become another kind of

fool

the Christ food

that the world will call a fool

and call foolishness because you see

when you come to Christ there is a price

to pay and one of the prices you pay is

being misunderstood by some members of

your family some people in the community

some people where you work or where you

go to school

and that’s what Jesus meant when he said

come and take up the cross and follow me

you see the cross that you bear

the cross that you bear

is identification with Christ

it’s not some special sickness that you

get or some trouble you get it’s

identifying with Christ and letting

people laugh at you and being willing

for them to make sport of you if

necessary for following Christ that’s

your cross and if you’re not willing to

take that cross

you cannot be his follower he said

are you willing to take that cross

are you willing to turn your life

totally over to Christ some of us have

got one foot

in heaven

and one foot

in hell as it were one foot in the world

one foot

in the kingdom of God and we’re

straddling the fence

God does not allow fence straddlers you

can be a mugwump that’s what a mugwap is

a spence straddler God Christ does not

allow that he allows no neutrality you

can’t not be both

you must come all out

for him and you’ll find that all the way

through the Bible you’ll find it all the

way through the teachings of Jesus a

great crowd who’s following Jesus one

day

and he turned and talked to them about

the fact that he was going to die on the

cross and it said many

followed him no more

why because they couldn’t take this talk

of the cross

do you want Christ in your heart pick up

that telephone right now if you’re

watching by television

talk to that counselor make that call

and if you if it’s a busy signal call

again they’ll be there all evening

all over the country

and you can talk to somebody and receive

Christ into your heart tonight

because you see when Christ died on the

cross

it says that the crowd down below the

mob below ridiculed and laughed

and they said what a fool

you saved others but you cannot save

yourself

and Jesus was hanging there and in

heaven 72 000 Angels ten Legions Drew

their swords ready to come and rescue

him

but he said no I love them

and when he died on the cross he took

your sins

every sin that you’ve ever committed he

took on that cross he took your death

penalty for you and because he was the

son of God and because he was sinless he

could bear your sins and God has

accepted his death as a sin offering for

our sins

so that when God looks at me now he

doesn’t see Billy Graham The Sinner

I am a sinner

I have sinned

but I’ve placed my sins under the blood

of Christ

and the blood that was shed on the cross

washes my sins away

symbolically

in the sight of God

so that when God looks at me he cannot

see my sins

and God has a unique ability that you

don’t have

God can forget and it says that he

forgets your sins in other words the

tapes are erased

from the time you were born till the

time you die

because if one sin ever remained on

those tapes

you’d never make it to heaven

God is righteous and holy

and before you can get into heaven you

must be righteous too and the only way

you can get any righteousness is to be

clothed in the righteousness of Jesus

Christ and he offers you that righteous

clothing Tonight free

you don’t have to pay for it but you

have to do three things

you must repent of your sins

that means you’re willing to change your

way of life

you’re willing to change completely and

put Christ first in your life from this

moment on you may be a member of the

church you may be a Catholic a Mormon

Jewish

Protestant whatever you are

you need Christ

and you want to make that commitment I’m

not asking you to join a church tonight

a specific church I’m asking you to make

sure that your sins are forgiven and

that you’re ready for heaven

first repent second receive him by faith

into your heart

faith means trust total commitment it

means that he becomes the pilot of your

plane or he becomes the driver of your

car of your life you turn all the

decision making over to him and that’s a

wonderful thing you trust him for your

salvation and then the third thing

you’re willing to obey him

study the scriptures and pray and Obey

him and do what he says and be his

follower no matter what the cost

I’m going to ask you to make that

commitment tonight

I’m going to ask you to do what we’ve

seen

hundreds of people at each service do so

far I’m going to ask you to get up out

of your seat

and come and stand in front of the

platform and say by coming I want to

make that commitment I want to know my

sins are forgiven I want to know the

sentence of death has been lifted I want

to know I’m going to heaven

why do I ask you to come forward

publicly because Jesus said if you’re

not willing to acknowledge me before men

I’ll not acknowledge you before my

Father which is in heaven Jesus said now

is the of the scripture says now is the

accepted time today is the day of

salvation nowhere in the Bible does it

promise that there’ll ever be a tomorrow

for you

it’s tonight I believe there are

hundreds of people here tonight that may

never have this moment again in your

whole life in which you’re so close to

the kingdom of God

just get up and come fathers mothers

young people hundreds of you you want

Christ in your heart tonight you want to

make that commitment you get up and come

quickly

as people are coming forward here at the

Coliseum you make that telephone call

right now the number is on your screen

and counselors are standing by ready to

help you

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is

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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

you that are watching by television can

see that here in Boise Idaho many people

are coming to make this commitment to

Christ tonight

you can make that commitment right now

where you are you may be in a bar room

you may be in a nightclub you may be in

a hotel room you may be in your living

room or in your bedroom

just say yes to Christ and let him come

into your heart

as you can see men and women and boys

and girls from all over the Coliseum

have come forward tonight to commit

their heart and Life to Jesus Christ

this is also a time of decision for many

of you

until then this is Cliff Barrow speaking

for Billy Graham and every member of the

team saying goodbye and may God richly

bless you

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

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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

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