Whose Fool Are You? | Billy Graham Classic Sermon

from our archives the billy graham classics tonight i want to talk on fools and i want you to turn with me to the third chapter of 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 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 him he said a fool is born every minute and now synonyms that you can find for the word fool as stupid person bonehead blockhead simpleton chump nitwit goose sap numbskull ignoramus beetlehead whatever you want a one who has been imposed on by others a stooge a gullible or duke 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 they're unwise fools and they're wise fools now jesus said whoever calls his brother a fool is in danger of hell fire 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 atheist but they are practical atheist 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 mocking food fools make a mock of sin proverbs 14 9. here is god in 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 death 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 a filip 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 is 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 we'll find you out will it's only a question of time the word will is definite we'll 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 uttereth a 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 are 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'd 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 were on 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 has passed and we heard rumors that he might be raised from the dead but we don't accept that and then jesus said old fools your fools 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 open 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 all 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 fool 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'd 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 thy knees 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 announced their retirement you read two or three weeks later that they dropped 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're 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 had 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 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 a fool and then seventhly there's another kind of a fool off 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 hear the hollow laughter and i see them drinking trying to drink their themselves into some happiness or taking the drugs and that hollow stair 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 on 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 off scoring 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 of 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 called foolishness because you see when you come to christ there's 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 cannot be a mug womp that's what a mug wap is a fence 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 was 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 10 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 until 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 are 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 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 and 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 [Music] as hundreds are responding to mr graham's invitation to make a public commitment to jesus christ you can make that same commitment right where you are just pick up the phone and call the number you see on your screen special friends are waiting to talk with you and pray with you about this most important decision 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 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 [Music] 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 1 billy graham parkway department c charlotte north carolina 28201 or you can contact us on the web 24 7 at peacewithgod.tv we'll get the same helps to you that we give to everyone who responds at the invitation on behalf of franklin graham and the billy graham evangelistic association thank you for watching and thank you for your prayers [Music] [Applause] day witness the story that i met [Music] [Music]

Channel: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Views: 227,440

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Id: AhkCK9bH8b4

Length: 27min 32sec (1652 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 05 2022