Billy Graham - Who is Jesus? - Chicago

Billy Graham - Who is Jesus? - Chicago

I'm going to ask that we all bow our

heads in prayer every head bowed and

every eye closed for many thousands of

people here today this will be an hour

of decision and you will never be the

same today even if you refuse Christ

you'll never be the same

once you've faced him once you've heard

the gospel and rejected it you can never

be the same it says when the rich young

ruler rejected Christ he turned away

grieved emotionally disturbed because

when you reject the claims of Christ

that's a very serious thing it will be

an hour of decision for many of you who

receive him today your life will never

be the same your home will never be the

same so let's listen carefully and

prayerfully today and reverently to the

message of the Word of God shall we pray

our Father we thank thee for this love

of God that reaches around the world and

engulfs all of mankind now dust love the

Russians and the Chinese as much as they

love the British or the Americans or the

African doubt us love the whole world

about it sent my son to die for the

whole world and we're all included in

thy Redemption plan and we thank thee

that at this hour of history we can

stand and proclaim good news that God is

love and that God is willing to forgive

we pray that many this day will receive

that message accepted and act on it and

live by it for we ask it in his name

Amen

we've been having a marvelous time here

in Chicago I think clip has already told

you how big this building is there's no

indoor arena in the world except the

Astrodome in Houston Texas that's bigger

than this and here today thousands of

people just about filled to capacity

today as it has been almost every night

during this crusade except I think the

opening night but we've had gigantic

crowds that have come here to this great

arena night after night and we've seen

thousands of people coming forward to

make their commitment to Christ now

today I want you to turn with me to

Luke's Gospel the 11th chapter the 11th

chapter of Luke's Gospel beginning with

verse 29 beginning with verse 29 I hope

you have your Bibles how many have a

Bible today lift them up look at the

Bible thousands of Bibles everywhere now

the twenty ninth chapter of the eleventh

chapter and the 29th verse of gluts

gospel and when the people were gathered

thick together he began to say this is

an evil generation they seek a sign and

there shall no sign be given it but the

sign of Jonah the Prophet for as Jonah

was a sign unto Nineveh so shall also

the Son of Man be to this generation the

Queen of the South shall rise up in the

judgment with the men of this generation

and condemn them for she came from the

uttermost parts of the earth to hear the

wisdom of Solomon and behold a greater

than Solomon is here the men of Nineveh

shall rise up in the judgment with this

generation and shall condemn it for they

repented at the preaching of Jonah and

behold a greater then

Jonah is here now ancient Israel wanted

Jesus to do something sensational to

prove that he was really the Son of God

but Jesus is saying in this passage

you're seeking for a sign all right I'll

give you a sign I am the sign and Jesus

was saying that the people of Jonah's

day listen to the message of God and

repented and they're going to rise up at

the judgment as witnesses against the

people of Jesus day that rejected him he

said the Queen of the South recognized

the wisdom of Solomon but he said in me

you have a greater wisdom than all the

wisdom of Solomon he said you're blind

you cannot see the truth you're deaf and

you cannot give the truth he said I'm

the truth I'm the light of the world

I'm the sign now when you face Jesus

what is your reaction when you're

confronted with Jesus Christ what is

your reaction the reaction of the

scribes and the Pharisees was one of

hostility the people of minimas day were

humbled and repented when they faced and

confronted God I'm the question that we

all asked today is this question that

think ye of Christ there's a rock opera

at the moment called Jesus Christ the

superstar

all over the country thousands of young

people are talking about Christ they

can't escape him there's a Broadway play

right now entitled Godspell a musical

version of Saint Matthew's Gospel

there's a new movie right now called

brother John in which Sidney

gay plays Jesus Christ in the form of an

Alabama black man the front cover of

Life magazine a few weeks ago when Jesus

Christ Superstar and this rock opera

from England was confronting young

people with one question who is Jesus

Christ

an 87 minute long electronic probe into

the life of Jesus who is Jesus and the

opera concludes with the voice of Judas

coming back from the dead and still

questioning who Jesus is don't get me

wrong says Judas in the Opera I only

want to know and then the haunting

chorus follows Jesus Christ Superstar do

you think you're what they say you are

Jesus Christ do you think you are what

they say you are it's interesting to me

that in 1971 the plays the books the

operas the movies about Jesus our

generation cannot escape Jesus and when

good news for modern man came out a new

translation of the New Testament by the

American Bible Society

they sold 25 million copies we cannot

escape Jesus I've never heard of an

opera or a play even about Buddha or

Mohammed or Gandhi but our generation

has become hung up on Jesus young people

are talking about Jesus he's the subject

of conversation today on the campus in

the high schools everywhere young people

are discussing Jesus Christ and they're

asking the

who is he who is this Jesus we cannot

escape you you remember that day when

Saul was persecuting Christians was on

the road to Damascus and a blinding

light came and he fell down and the

first question he asked was who art thou

Lord the question that our generation of

young people on the campus are asking

today is who are thou Lord who is Jesus

why cannot we escape him why is he in

our conscience and in our mind so that

our plays and our poems and our operas

are about him is he just a revolutionary

hero

why is he something more he only lived

33 years he never travelled more than a

hundred miles he never had any formal

education and yet 2,000 years later an

entire generation is talking about Jesus

Christ some say that he was a madman

some of the people of his day said he

was mad said he was a maniac was he

there Lovelace that said he was

revolutionary he come the leader

revolution was he a revolutionary in the

sense they changed men's lives he was

but he never led a revolution against

Rome he never led a revolution against

the existing authorities as a matter of

fact some of them tried to get him to

and some of them thought he was going to

and when they found out that he was

building a spiritual Kingdom they were

no longer interested in him and when

they tried to tempt him about that he

said bring me a coin and he said whose

pictures on that coin

they said season he said all right

render to Caesar the things that are

Caesar's and to God the things that are

gods and the scripture says they could

ask him

they didn't know how to answer that all

was Jesus an establishment man some

people say that he represented the

status quo some people say that Jesus

Christ is the one upon which Western

culture has been built and that America

is really Jesus organization on earth

well I want to tell you his organization

depends on the bureaucracy we built up

in Washington we're finished he's not

much hope for the world Jesus Christ

it's not the establishment Christ he's

building another kingdom he's building

an eternal Kingdom and then there's some

people that say that he was the first

hippy they said he had long hair went

around with his disciples in a commune

you know actually we don't know what he

looked like we don't know whether he had

a long beard or not those are just

pictures that artists have painted we

think he did we don't know whether he

had long hair or not he probably did

because the people of that day that was

the style but we don't know we don't

have a picture of Jesus and God did that

purposely so that we would not be

worshipping an image because God is a

spirit and must be worshiped in spirit

and then there were people that said

that he was deliberately evil that he

was an evil man baby was a devil I see

that's the question Jesus Christ who are

you who is Jesus we can't escape him

we try to run from him but there he is

he keeps popping up everywhere

our greatest philosophers write about

him

our greatest historians write about him

our greatest poems and plays are about

him

our greatest architectures about him

even in the Soviet Union you go to the

Kremlin I've been in the Kremlin and

it's all filled with paintings and

pictures about Jesus you go anywhere in

the Soviet Union and you'll see images

in art and much of the music has to do

with Jesus they can't escape him

well we know some things about him we

know he was a man Jesus was completely

human he was representative of man

because the Bible says he was identified

he was numbered with the transgressors

we know that he was hungry we know he

got thirsty we know he got tired we know

that he had the joys of friendship we

know that he wept at the tomb of a dead

loved one we know that he had all the

characteristics of a man and yet very

interestingly the Bible says that he

never come into sin in fact he stood in

front of the people of his generation

and he said I've never committed a sin

he said if any of you my neighbor's ever

seen me commit a sin they couldn't say a

thing

now wouldn't that be something for a man

to come along 33 years of age and say

who of you have ever seen me commit a

sin well I'll tell you if I said that

all my team had jumped straight up say I

have my wife's here all of us are

sinners but Jesus was tempted in every

point like as we are he went through

every temptation you've ever been

through there isn't a trial or a testing

or a temptation that Jesus has not been

through before you

he resisted them and overcame them all

everyone he was a man just like you but

he was more than that he claimed to be

the unique only begotten Incarnate son

of God

in fact he claimed pre-existence the

scripture says in the beginning was the

word and the Word was with God before

time began he existed he said before

Abraham was I am I am in eternal

existence

no wonder they got angry no wonder they

threw stones at him no wonder they tried

to kill him and no wonder they

eventually did crucify him he stood and

said I am God was he was he who that he

claimed to me the son of the Living God

one day he asked his disciples who do

men say that I am and Peter answered and

said well some of them say you're John

the Baptist come back are you a Jeremiah

you're Elijah he said I'm really not

interested in what the people say I'm

interested Peter in what you say what do

you say Peter said thou art the Christ

the Son of the Living God and Jesus said

Peter you've done well you've passed

your examination but Peter those are not

your thoughts those thoughts came from

God it has been revealed to you by God

Jesus Christ claimed to be the son of

the Living God and you know it at his

incarnation or his birth that was not

his birth

or that wasn't the beginning that wasn't

the origin of Jesus that was the

beginning that was the beginning of his

incarnation because he has always

existed from everlasting to everlasting

he is God the Bible says and the Word

was made flesh and dwelt among us in

other words the logos the Word of God

the eternal God became flesh in the

person of Jesus Christ and lived like a

man among us that's what the Bible

teaches and when you come to Jesus

Christ you have to accept that he wasn't

just another revolutionary he wasn't

just another hippy he was not just

another great man he was God in the

flesh and old the ethics that he taught

never a man speak like that man when you

get hit on one side he says turn the

other cheek

he never said what to do after that but

he did say forgive seventy times seven

count data how about the little

irritations from your wife or your

husband seventy times seven you forgive

my wife once said that the secret of a

happy marriage is two good forgivers

and that's what it is two good forgivers

people that can forgive each other

Jesus taught that we're to forgive he

taught a revolution in the way we're to

live he taught us that it wasn't just

our outward actions that God judges but

it's the inward thoughts and intents he

said Moses said that in the Ten

Commandments thou shalt not commit

adultery but I tell you that if you even

look on a woman to lust after you've

already committed it he said Moses said

thou shalt not murder but I tell you if

you have hate in your heart against your

brother with

out cause you're already guilty he

lifted man's ethics to the highest plane

and demanded that we live that kind of a

life he himself lived that kind of a

life and the scripture says that he

judges the inside the Attorney General

of the United States said the other day

that America is imperiled more from

within than without and so are you here

today in your personal life David said

in sin did my mother conceive me

jesus said out of the heart proceed evil

thoughts and murders and adulterers and

thefts and blasphemies all the evil in

the world comes from the human heart

that's got to be changed and that's why

Jesus said you must be born again you

must be converted you must have a new

beginning and he can do it how do you

explain Jesus Jesus Christ are you what

you say you are you know they only

brought three charges against him to

crucify one they said this man loves

sinners that was one charge the second

he healed on the Sabbath day I'm the

third he claimed to be the son of God

was he the son of God look at his

authority Jesus came unto them and spake

unto them saying all Authority has been

given to me I know one thing he forgave

sin and no prophet ever did that Jesus

himself forgave sin he said thy sins are

forgiven thee I know that he had

authority over nature one day he one

night he was in a storm the lightning

was flashing the Thunder was roaring the

sea was raging the wind was blowing

the disciples were afraid and Jesus was

asleep in the boot and he stood up in

the boot and said peace be still the

Lightning quit its flashing and the

Thunder quit it's roaring in the rain

ceased to fall and the wind quieted down

in the sea quieted down and nature

obeyed him and our young people believe

that today because one of their top

tunes at the moment is put your hand in

the hand of the one who calmed the sea

he combed the sea he had power over

nature I was flying cliff barrows and

some of us were flying some time ago I

think we were leaving we win a typhoon

leaving the Philippines and just before

we got out of the typhoon I was the

captain of the plane had invited me to

sit up front with him and it was fairly

smooth we had a lot of rain and all it

wasn't too rough but all of a sudden the

plane hit something it seemed to me as

though it hit a wall it choked it and

jerked and quivered and went up and down

for about two minutes

and then all of a sudden we plunged out

into brilliant sunshine into smoothened

and the captain turned to me with the

perspiration coming down his face he

said you know he said that was God

telling us there's something up here

more powerful than this airplane but

Jesus could take a storm like that and

turn it around he could take the

lightning and throw it back in the cloud

he has power over nature why because

he's the god of nature

those are his laws there are baying him

he had authority over disease I read the

other day where Mao Zedong in China

claims to have cured 80% of all the deaf

people in China and one of those men

that came back on the ping pong team

said that Mao Zedong is the Jesus Christ

of China today they talk about

personality cult looks like to me

they've got quite a

personality over there but Jesus did

make the blind to see

he made the Deaf to hear he made the

dumb to talk he raised the dead

according to the record he had authority

over demons you say Billy do you believe

in demons I surely do

and Jesus confronted demons time after

time and he could cast them out and

people that were insane under the powers

of demons would regain their sanity and

then look at the death he died did ever

a man die like Jesus the lightning

flashed and the thunder roared and the

earth began to shake and even the

soldiers confessed that this must be the

Son of God

anyone that can see Jesus on that cross

and not be touched has a heart of stone

they first took off his clothes then

they took long leather thongs with steel

pellets or LED pellets on the end and

beat him across the back until he could

hardly stand up then they put a crown of

thorns on his brow and his face was

bleeding and they laughed at him and

they spit on him and they mocked him and

with one snap of his finger 72,000

angels had already drawn their swords

ready to come to his rescue and wipe

this planet out of existence in the

universe and Jesus said no to this end

was I born and he dragged and lifted and

hauled that cross and don't you black

people ever forget one thing the man

that helped Jesus carry that cross was a

black man

and don't ever forget another thing

Jesus belongs to Africa as much as he

does to Europe and Asia he was born in

that part of the world that touches

Africa and Asia and Europe and Jesus was

not a white man like me nor was he as

black as some of you we don't know what

the color of his skin but it must have

been a dark color like the people of his

day because he was a man like them

don't ever say it's a white man's

religion or a black man's religion it's

a world religion he belongs to the world

when he died on that cross and they

nailed him they put the nails in his

hands and you know what he said forgive

them they know not what they do

forgive them could you forgive somebody

that's putting nails in your hands and

you know you didn't deserve it he didn't

squirm he didn't yell he didn't scream

he just took it and said Lord forgive

him they don't know what they're doing

that's how he confronted the violence of

his day and then on the cross he said my

God why style-- forsaken me and then he

dropped his head and said it's finished

what did he mean he meant your plan of

salvation is finished

God can now forgive you of all your sins

because Jesus had finished God's plan

for your salvation because you say God

knows every one of you by name he has

the hairs of your head numbered God

looks upon you as though you were the

only person in the whole universe

he sees you and you alone and on that

cross Jesus had the capacity to think of

you and he loved you enough to stay on

the cross was there ever such a love is

that when he could have been rescued and

taken back to heaven and to sit on his

throne but he didn't he said no I'm

doing it for the joy that is set before

me because he saw that he would be

raised from the dead he saw that they

would be a gathering in the generations

to come of a people for his name that

would make up his body he saw the day

when we will reign with him in his

kingdom yes they laid him away in a tomb

and that's where Jesus Christ Superstar

leaves him

but out in tens of cities some people

got hold of the rock opera and they

carried it right on to the next step the

resurrection and if you don't have the

resurrection you don't have any gospel

Jesus Christ is alive and when they went

out to the tomb that morning they heard

the greatest news the world is ever

known he is not here he is risen he is

alive today I'm the thing that inspired

the disciples to turn the world upside

down in their day with the resurrection

they went everywhere declaring that

Jesus is alive you know some of us

Christians live as though Jesus is dead

he's not dead he's alive oh you're going

through your troubles and your trials

and your temptations and your testings

and your pressures and you're under

satanic attack all the time constantly

you know I think in many ways in some

ways it's easier not to be a Christian

in this world because the devil may

leave you alone the moment you receive

Christ as Savior you're in for it unless

you live on your knees and live in the

scriptures and keep your guard up and

have your spiritual armor on at all

times because if you let down even one

day as a Christian you're in trouble the

moment you receive Christ you see all

the world is going this way you turn

around and start against the tide as a

Christian and that's hard but you know

it's hard to be a sinner to the older

you get because the Bible says the way

of the transgressor is hard i watch

sometimes the programs on television

where they have crime I have never in my

life seen criminals worked so hard for

the money they get it looks like to me

they could get a legitimate business and

have a much easier time

to get their money they work at it that

is according to the script and I'm sure

they do in real life Jesus Christ is

alive and if he's not risen from the

dead if he's not alive then there is no

such thing as Christianity we're yet in

our sins Paul said in the whole thing's

a farce forget it I meant the people

very very seed Christ what has happened

to them

we had a fella here the other night that

was a Black Panther leader he said that

he thought he could change the world

through the Black Panther movement until

he said he met Jesus and he said Jesus

changed his life and took all the hate

out now he said I believe the world can

be changed but he said I believe it can

be done with Jesus power that's it

Jesus coming into our hearts

you know if I had if I had no proof

whatsoever no scientific proof that

Jesus ever lived I still would trust it

because of what he's done for me the joy

and the peace and the security and the

love that he's given to me his grace

that is mine today and then the

satisfaction that he gives to those who

have trusted him our Lord Jesus Christ

are you who you say you are this is the

question that every one of you today are

going to have to answer who is Jesus if

Jesus claimed to be God knowing he

wasn't God then he's a liar and we will

have to say Jesus you're a liar you're a

fraud and a hoax and you're the biggest

fraud in the history of the human race

or if Jesus thought he was God and did

not know the difference then he

desperately needed mental health he

needed several psychiatrists the third

alternative is that he was who he claims

to be God in the flesh I believe that

the evidence is overwhelming that he is

who he claims to be the son of the

Living God but I cannot prove it

scientifically

but I can prove it by the lives that he

transforms every day I can prove it

because in my heart I don't say I think

I hope I say I know and you know there's

another element in our lives that we

don't think much about and that's the

element of faith you think of the faith

that you have to have every day you have

to have faith that your wife didn't put

poison in your coffee this morning you

have to have faith in her she might have

felt like it but she didn't

you have to have faith in the bank when

you write a check and sign it you have

money in the bank you have to have faith

that the bank is going to pay it you

have to have faith in the government

when you pull out a dollar bill now I

know it's shrinking but you have faith

that back up it is a dollar that people

will accept it is money everything we do

is by faith now for example when I come

upon a hill and I live in the mountains

of North Carolina we have a lot of hills

I don't stop my car before I get to the

crest of the hill and get out and walk

over and see if somebody's coming up the

other side on the wrong side I have

faith to believe that the drivers are

gonna stay on their side faith faith

faith everything when you sat in that

chair had you ever sat in that chair

before I bet you didn't pick it up and

examine it and put your hands on it to

see if it had hold you by faith you just

sat down in it you had faith that people

wouldn't build a chair that wouldn't

hold you everything we do is by faith

all right take the same faith put it in

Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and

you will know who Jesus is you accept

him by faith and he comes into your life

and into your heart and you know that

he's who he claims to be

on that Damascus Road that I referred to

a moment ago the Apostle Paul said who

art thou Lord and then Paul asked him

another question

Paul said what do you want me to do Lord

and Jesus said arise and go I'm asking

you today to arise and come to him now

some of you can Riddick you some of you

can reject him some can just put it off

and say I'm gonna wait till another time

or you can accept it as your Lord and

your savior and your master I'm the son

of God and He will come into your heart

and forgive your sin and change your

life Jesus Christ Superstar Judas don't

get me wrong I only want to know he said

and then the haunting chorus Jesus

Christ Superstar do you think you are

what they say you are yes and more

10,000 times more then two men in

England ever put in those lyrics is

Jesus Christ the Son of God and you are

asked today to receive it in fact if

you're going to go to heaven the Bible

teaches you have to receive him if

you're going to have your sins forgiven

you have to receive it and I'm going to

ask you to do it today and I'm going to

ask you to do it publicly how do you do

it I'm going to ask hundreds of you to

get up out of your seat right now and

come and stand in front of this platform

quietly and reverently and say I want

Christ in my heart I want him to forgive

my sin I want to know I'm going to

heaven I want him to change my life I

receive him as my Lord and Savior if

you're with friends or relatives or in a

delegation they'll wait if you've come

in a bus they'll wait why do I ask you

to come forward because every person

jesus ever called in the New Testament

he called publicly

you come publicly and openly and declare

yourself you may be Protestant you may

be Catholic you may be Jewish you may be

Orthodox or you may not have any

religion but God has spoken to you today

and you know that you need Christ you

come and make sure right now we're going

to wait and I'm going to ask that no one

leaves the service please not at this

holy moment I know you want to go

because of the crowd but don't leave

just get up and come right now quickly

from everywhere hundreds of you we're

going to wait from all over the stadium

as God is speaking you may be in the

choir and this may be your last moment

with God you may never have another hour

like this you come

you that are watching by television

there are hundreds of people coming here

at McCormick Place in Chicago to make

their commitment to Jesus Christ to

accept him as their Lord their Savior as

their master as the Son of the Living

God I'm going to ask you to make that

same commitment where you are at home

I'm praying that you'll make that

decision god help you to do it and I

hope that you'll go to church next

Sunday god bless you

you

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