Excuses | Billy Graham Classic Sermon

from our archives the billy graham classics today i want you to turn with me to the 14th chapter of luke's gospel the 14th chapter of luke's gospel and turn to the 15th verse jesus is telling a story and when one of them sat at meat with him heard these things he said unto him blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of god then said he unto him a certain man made a great supper and he asked many people to come and send his servant at suppertime to tell them that they were bitten come for all things are now ready and they all with one consent began to make excuses the first said unto him i bought a piece of ground and i must go and see it i pray thee have me excused and another said i bought five yoke of oxen and i go to prove them i pray they have me excused and another said i've married a wife and therefore i cannot come so that servant came and showed his lord these things then the master of the house being angry said to his servants go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor and the maim and the halt and the blind and the servants said lord it is done as thou is commanded and yet there's room and the lord said unto the servant go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled for i say unto you that none of those men which were bitten shall taste of my supper here he tells the story of christ eating at the home of the chief pharisee and while eating he used two stories to illustrate spiritual truths jesus always did that he always told stories common everyday stories to illustrate spiritual truths jesus always knew how to adapt himself to every surrounding and his use of common everyday happenings as illustrations made him the great preacher of all time but this is the story of a supper invitation he said come for all things already and there are three things that stand out come immediately and it's personal no greater invitation has ever been given than this invitation that jesus illustrates in this little story it includes everyone the rich the poor the beggars the lame the halt the blind everybody all colors all races are invited because he's telling us the story that we're invited to the cross for salvation everybody's bidden to come because it was there that he spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all and he said how shall we not with him also freely give us all things the apostle paul wrote for when we were yet without strength in due time christ died for the ungodly but they all began to make excuse here they were invited by the king of kings and the lord of lords to a gospel feast to have their sins forgiven to have eternal life to have their name written on the book of life and they begin to make excuses and one of them said well i've bought a piece of ground and had to go see it now this man was either a liar or a fool this man was more interested in the things of the world he was interested in wealth and materialism and in his business and this jesus said how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of god notice he said trust in riches it's not wrong to be a rich man it's not wrong to have money the wrong is when you put your trust in it and make it first because you can be the richest man in the world and die and go to hell and you won't have one penny to take with you you leave it behind for people to fight over i read the other day about a robber who shot a man dead for two dollars and sometimes wealthy people feel that they don't have any need now you people in leon county and all around here are wealthy did you know that you have one of the highest per capita incomes in the united states and by the world standards you're wealthy so jesus is talking to you he's talking to me the people of bangladesh and the people in some parts of india and africa live in absolute poverty compared to even our poor people in this country and we today give preference to the body over the soul and to the things of time above those of eternity jesus said what shall it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lose his own soul then there was a second guy who had been invited and he said i've bought five yoke of oxen and i go to prove them please excuse me he had been invited to eat bread in the kingdom of god to eat with the lord jesus christ he too was either a liar or fool who goes to prove oxen at night he didn't have any flashlights he was just making an excuse like buying a used car without trying it out and then the third man said i've married a wife and therefore i cannot come now he might have had a little bit of an excuse but most married men if they're marrying a the right kind of a girl want to show her off she would have been invited i'm sure jesus but jesus had earlier said that if any man come to me and hate not his father and his mother and his wife and his children his brothers and sisters and his own life also he cannot be my follower he didn't mean to use the word hate in the sense you and i do he said the priority is christ the priority is god everything else is second even your family and the scripture says they were without excuse romans 1 20 so that they are without excuse several things christ is teaching these men were naive or they were an insult to intelligence or they simply were cover-up for unwillingness to come now what are some of the excuses that people make today one of them that i hear is i cannot understand the bible jesus never said only understand he said only believe augustine was a great scholar before he became a christian and looking back he said i always had to understand socrates and plato and aristotle before i could believe them with jesus christ i believed in him first then i began to understand who understands gravity who understands electricity who understands how you can eat a meal and that food becomes blood and hair and bone and muscle and fingers and nerves and brains and teeth and skin who understands a black cow that you can milk and get white milk and yellow butter who understands all that no one can explain all of it so when you eat we're strengthened you have to start with the abcs when you come to christ come in simple childlike faith i've met some of the greatest scientists in the world who are believers and they came just like you have to come by simple childlike faith the bible does not say you have to think your way the bible says by wisdom man knows not god now that's hard on a professor here at the university that's hard on a student sometimes because we want to understand everything but when you come to christ and you come to spiritual things there's some things you don't understand you accept by faith i don't understand how god never had a beginning god never has an end that he's the same yesterday today and forever i don't understand that i quit trying to understand that a long time ago i accept it by faith that god is and that god is the creator of the universe and he's my creator and he's my savior as well the wonderful things about the bible are the simple things the things that are peripheral though important are the most difficult things to understand everybody can understand john 3 16 for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life 25 words a minute to a bible you can understand that that god loves you that christ died for you that you're a sinner that you've broken god's laws and in order to know god in order to be sure you're going to heaven you must believe and trust in his son all you need to know to be a believer is that you're a sinner and that god is looking for sinners mark twain once said it's not the things in the bible i don't understand that bothers me it's the things i do understand that give me trouble you see our problem many times are the things we do understand the disciples were not educated at the great universities but they went out and turned the world upside down and thousands of universities and colleges and all kinds of things are named for them today two thousand years later these ignorant and unlearned men but they knew one thing they knew jesus and that's all you have to know to get to heaven and to have eternal life and that's more than a grave many of our great men knew or know and second excuse that i hear sometimes is i want to make a commitment to christ but i'm too sinful i'll wait till i do better i read in the press the other day of an actress who said i've ruined my life no she hadn't ruined it if she'd come to christ at the cross this power and the blood of christ to cleanse her from all the mistakes and all the sins that she'd made paul said this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that christ jesus came into the world to save sinners of which i'm chief notice paul said he's the chiefest of sinners don't you feel like saying that sometimes i do i feel like saying i am the chief of sinners not paul it's billy graham and i come to the cross and i recommit my life to christ and i find cleansing and forgiveness there jesus christ came to save sinners and you cannot justify yourself all our own righteousness is filthy rags the bible said all the good works that we do will not save us we're to do good works we're to give to the poor and the hungry and we're to help build hospitals and we're to help in the work for peace and to help better race relations and all these other things but that is not going to save our souls our souls are saved by the grace and the mercy of god as we come in simple faith to the cross have you done that i told last night about the preacher that came here for our school of evangelism this week and he was a highly educated clergyman and he came forward one night and the counselor was talking to him and said i suppose you've come to rededicate your life he said no i've come to accept christ i've been to school i've been to seminary i've been to all of that but i don't really know christ is my savior and there are many of you like that you may be an eld in the church or a deacon or a sunday school teacher and we've had many of them this past week that have come and said i need to recommit my life to christ and you're one of those and then there's some people that say well i'm self-sufficient i don't really need christ there are people right here in tallahassee i took a tour out here these beautiful homes that are being built and i looked at those homes and beautiful golf courses and all of that and i just wanted to grab one of them and say i'd like to just stay here for about a year and not have to go anywhere and see anything and just play golf every day and just relax but i thought to myself i imagine a lot of people like there are in my hometown self-sufficient we don't really need anything we have everything what do we need christ for well one day they're going to wake up and they're going to realize that they've waited too late they need him they need him now to prepare for the future because whether they like it or not they're going to die and they're going to face the judgment it's appointed and demand wants to die and after that the judgment and everybody that you see on the streets of tallahassee they're walking dead people they're on their way to the grave they're on their way to their own funeral there was a man here the other night you read it in the paper he accepted christ he was an alcoholic but he really came to know christ and when the police found him the next morning dead on the street here in tallahassee all they could find was was the identification of the counselor that had spoken to him the night before and the little card that he had filled out that's how they were able to trace him down he didn't know that in the next few hours he would be an eternity but he went into eternity with christ and he's going to be in heaven not because he lived a good life or deserved it he's going because of what christ did for him on the cross there are four words i want you to remember fact faith feeling fruit the first thing is fact what is the fact in so far as your salvation is concerned first corinthians 15 that christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures that's the fact christ died he rose again for you second faith in that fact the second word is faith faith in that fact he that believeth on the son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the son shall not see life but the wrath of god abides on him now the wrath of god is on you right now if you haven't come to christ john 3 38. you see faith is the fact faith in the fact fact failing now feeling what kind of feeling feeling of peace forgiveness assurance a living hope feeling of deliverance now that my sins have been forgiven and then the fruit follows by their fruits you shall know them said jesus if someone professes to be a follower of christ and they are so and they're no different than before we have ever a reason to question whether they have had a genuine experience with christ because the bible says therefore if any man be in christ he is a new creature old things are passed away behold all things have become new because when you come to christ a change takes place a change in direction a change in attitudes you begin to love love begins to dominate your life you're a different person in the home you're a different person in the community you're a different person at school or at work and then there are other people that say well there are too many hypocrites in the church i think that's the most foolish of all excuses they're quacks among doctors does that mean you'll never go to a doctor because there's a false one somewhere the church is not a perfect organization the family isn't perfect you're not perfect we live in an imperfect world and we're not going to be perfect till we get to heaven but when you come to christ you're on your way that's called sanctification you start being sanctified and you are sanctified progressively and you're fully and totally sanctified when you stand in the presence of christ i don't expect perfection till i get to heaven and then there are people that say well i would come to christ but i'd have to give up too much you give up a great thing great deal for other things you give up a great deal to get an education or to give your children an education some of you'll give up almost anything for power look at what we've heard during the past few days of all the politics people going for offices that's fine we need them but all the claims that were made and the counter claims and negative type of politicking in some instances people will give up almost anything for money whether it's money or power social prestige you'll do most anything but what about coming to christ the scripture says thou will show me the path of life in thy preciousness fullness of joy at thy right hand their pleasures forevermore in christ there's pleasure in christ there's joy in christ this fulfillment this purpose and meaning to life in christ moses gave up a home in the palace of pharaoh for the prospect of wearing the crown of an empire he gave the whole thing up for christ he gave up all the pleasures of egypt to become a leader for god you never give up anything that is worthwhile to become a believer everything you now have that is wholesome and worthwhile you can keep and everything that is unwholesome and unhealthy and destructive god will take away from you as you turn from sin and put your trust in christ god gave everything he had for you the scripture says he spared not his own son and when they were driving those nails in the hands of jesus and they were pulling his beard when they were pulling out his hair when he was bleeding and they put the spear in his side and the spikes through his feet how do you think god felt god the father seven to two thousand angels pulled their swords ready to come and rescue him but jesus said i love them too much because if i come down from this cross there will be no salvation for any human being i have come to do the will of my father to reconcile man to god and only through the cross can it be done and he stayed on that cross because he loved you and you're important to him and then there are others that say i've tried before to live a christian life but made a failure of it what do i do i'm just i've just given up you get up and confess your sins and he's faithful and just to forgive your sins and then there are people that said well i'm afraid of being misunderstood and the bible teaches that the world is admitted with god yea and all that will live godly and christ shall suffer persecution there's going to be a certain amount of persecution and misunderstanding if you start living for the lord you start carrying a bible and reading your bible and praying and witnessing for christ if you're a student here at the university and then there are others that say well i'm afraid i can't hold out do you say that about the university oh about being married i'm afraid i can't hold out a lot of them do that anyway all about to take a job i don't think i can hold out god can keep you now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy we are kept by the power of god no billy graham cannot hold out god holds me once i surrender to him i can only hold out as christ holds me up and then there are other people that say well i intend to make my decision for christ sometime but not now that's dangerous the scripture says in proverbs 27 boasts not thyself of tomorrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth the bible says behold now is the accepted time and behold now is the day of salvation there's a bestseller last year in england that was called if tomorrow comes there's always a big if about tomorrow we don't know whether tomorrow will come for us or not what is your excuse what's keeping you from making your commitment to christ i mean you're a total commitment notice that the host here in this story gets angry he said none of these which are biden shall taste of my supper god says you're without excuse he said cast them out and go out and get some others now there's other interpretations to this passage that i'm not going to go into but this is a story for us to take to our own hearts and our own lives because you see the bible teaches that there's a dark line in god's face and that dark line is the line of judgment god can become angry with you when you refuse christ you refuse god's offer of mercy and love and he's done everything he can for you and you reject him and turn him down and say no what else can god do there's nothing he's offered you salvation he's offered you everything that he can offer you now what do you have to do all you have to do is receive i offer you this book it's not yours till you receive it he's offering you forgiveness of your sins he's offering you a new life and some of you here today need to recommit your life to christ you belong to the church you've been baptized you may have been confirmed in your church if it's a liturgical church but you have not yet really come to know christ in your own heart he doesn't really live in you and this is the next to the last day of this crusade and you may never have another moment like this when you're as close to the kingdom of god because you cannot count on tomorrow now is the time right now i'm going to ask you to do something that we've seen hundreds of people do this past week in the arena i'm going to ask you to get up out of your seat right now quickly hundreds of you and come and stand here on the grass right in front of the platform and as you come you're saying in your heart i really want my sins forgiven i want to know i'm going to heaven i want my name on the book of life and i want to know it i want to be sure of it and by coming you're saying yes well you say billy why do i have to come publicly because every person jesus called in the new testament he called publicly every person he called publicly why jesus hung on the cross publicly for you now he asks you to come he said if you're not willing to confess me before men i'll not confess you before my father which is in heaven the ushers will show you the way i'm going to i said no one leave the stadium i know the temptation is going to be to get up and go out and be the first away but you stay where you are and pray pray for the person to the right of you and left of you in front of you in back of you can bring somebody today as people come we're going to wait you may be in the choir and god has spoken to you you may be an officer in the church and god has spoken to you you come right now quickly and while you come the choir is going to sing as these many hundreds make their personal decision for christ here in tallahassee florida you too can make that decision call the number on the screen right now [Music] [Music] bye [Music] you that have been watching by television can see here in tallahassee florida the capital of this great state that many people have come to make their commitment to christ today ought to recommit their lives you can do the same where you are and if you will pick up the phone and call the number that's on the screen may god help you to make that commitment today and be sure and go to church next weekend god bless you 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 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 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] library

Channel: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Views: 223,429

Rating: 4.8975978 out of 5

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Id: Km7IhZKytiM

Length: 27min 32sec (1652 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 28 2020