You Are Called to Minister | Billy Graham Classic

in 1949 of bold and dynamic young preachers set out on a journey that would have an impact on every continent for generations to come for more than 50 years and to more than 210 million people Billy Graham is passionately spoken about the certainty of wholesome found in Jesus Christ I don't understand or comprehend I accept his revelation of himself by faith he's brought races and denominations together toward a common purpose as he's preached in 185 countries around the world he is stood alongside presidents met with dignitaries and world leaders and today Billy Graham is recognized among the most influential religious leaders in the history of the world from our archives the Billy Graham classics now tonight I want you to turn with me to the 12th chapter of the book of Matthew Matthew's Gospel the 12th chapter beginning at verse 34 beginning at verse 34 I want to speak on the subject tonight of Jaws and I'll tell you why I call it jaws in just a moment here's the words of Jesus Matthew 12 old generation of vipers how can ye being evil speak good things for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh our good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things but I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof at the judgment for by the words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned then certain of the scribes and the Pharisees answered saying master we want to see a sign show us a sign so that we can believe in you but he answered and said unto them an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign you're only going to get one sign from me and that's the sign of Jonah who is three days and three nights in the whales belly so shall the Son of Man be three days in three nights in the heart of the earth the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and behold a greater than Jonah is here during the past few months we've been listening and hearing and reading all about the Hollywood's blockbuster of the year it's already been viewed by one out of every four Americans and it's the account of a killer shark in the waters around Martha's Vineyard in New England who swallows victims and de limbs a lot of victims and they made a motion picture out of it that's shown all over the world and Time Magazine's made a cover story of it and they could only liken it to Jonah and the Whale they could only find that one literary reference in literature of Jonah and the Whale and so the front pages of our newspapers have carried story after story about how people are afraid to go swimming on the beaches in California and Oregon and Washington and up and down the East Coast this past year or this past summer and then I read the other day about a man in Australia that lassoed a two-ton shark in Australian waters well I can understand that because I've seen on many a shark in Australia cliff Barris and I were out swimming one day in the surf and there came running up to us the men and they said watch out the Sharks are on the way there was a shark alert up and we were out swimming right where the Sharks was supposed to be and we had a girl in Australia that played in one of our motion pictures the shadow of the Mumma rang she played the part of a nurse and she was a very wonderful girl and she went out with her fiance and the boat got stuck in the water or in the sand and she got out to help lift the boat off the sand and she wasn't in water more than waist-deep and a shark came along and took off a leg and she died before they could get any medical attention to her and down into Tona Beach Florida they said they had five shark attacks on humans this past year but this is the year of the big fish stories both factual and fictional and it's interesting to me that at the same time this pictures come out frightening people we have another picture called the towering inferno and another one called earthquake besides all the B pictures with all their horror and Munster pictures that are coming out to frighten people no wonder people are biting their fingernails often taking tranquilizers and afraid to move in their sleep at night there's never been such an avalanche of horror and fright and some of it very sophisticated to descend upon the human race and in addition to that we have to think about the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb and so we're living at a time when people jesus said their hearts would fail them for fear and today if ever there was a frightened generation from almost every angle it is today but that's not what I want to talk about I like Jonah's story the story of Jonah and the big fish better than I do jaws because Jonah was saved not destroyed by a big fish you say Billy do you really believe that this fish swallowed Jonah notice I'm calling it a fish because the Bible says a big fish was prepared by the Lord it doesn't call it a whale it does in this passage in the New Testament but in the Book of Jonah it says a big fish I don't know what kind of fish it was it could have been a big shark for all I know you said you believed that actually happened yes I believe it why because Jesus said it did and that's all the proof I need if Jesus believed it then I believe it but I believe that it took an even bigger miracle for this particular fish to be on the very spot where Jonah was thrown overboard and then by some mysterious programming of an internal computer to deposit Jonah precisely on the spot where God wanted him to be and with all the things that are happening in the biological world today people have much less difficulty editing this story than they did 50 years ago 50 years ago they'd laugh at Jonah and the big fish but not today after we've seen jaws and some of these other things and after all the scientific and technological achievements and every once in a while you'll pick up a newspaper and you'll find that a man or a crocodile or an alligator or something has been swallowed by a big fish and they found him inside the fish having never been digested whatever now the story of Jonah is one of the most thrilling stories in all the Bible it's only for little chapters in fact you could read it in about five minutes maybe 10 minutes I'm the scripture says that the word of the Lord came unto Jonah and told him to go and preach judgment to the people of Nineveh now Nineveh were had 600,000 population and Nineveh was a city that was very wicked and very godless in very materialistic it was a permissive society sexual immorality was rampant throughout Nineveh and God said I'm going to destroy Nineveh but God said Jonah I want you to go to Nineveh and I want you to warn them that they are going to be judged in 40 days unless they repent but Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh every Christian that is here tonight is called to Ministry yes your call I didn't say you were called to the ministry I said you were called to ministry you know what the word ministry means the word ministry means service our Lord Jesus Christ came as a servant to serve and every Christian is called to be a servant to serve to serve God to serve the Lord Jesus Christ to serve his fellow man Jonah was called of God to go and proclaim the message that God had given him but secondly Jonah refused you know it's tough to do the will of God you say to God tonight Lord I'm willing to do your will I'll do what you want me to do in go where you want me to go and be what you want me to be and you're going to find tough going because you see to do what God wanted him to do it was several journeys the wave over mountains and forests and burning deserts and Nineveh was the wickedest city in the world a city of six hundred thousand people he would face disease and wild beasts and highway robbers and then when he got there that people may stone him to death and Jonah began to run from God Jonah couldn't take it so he decided to flee from the presence of God and he went down to Joppa and he got on a boat going to Tarsus and the scripture says he paid the fare thereof and I want to tell you something if you start running from the Lord the devil will always have a boat there for you and you'll always have the money to pay the way and at first it'll be smooth going you'll say boy I've made the right choice I know I'm not doing God's will but I'm doing what I want to do and I know that I have made the right choice but after a while you're going to start running into some rough seas then the storms and the Hurricanes and the tornadoes and the rocks and the reefs are going to come no man ever turned away from God and found happiness and peace and joy that was permanent and lasting the psalmist asked father shall I go from thy spirit or whether shall I flee from thy presence and you know Jonah thought he had paid the fare and the captain thought so too but then the storm came up and the sailors were frightened Jonah was asleep and they said what's wrong with our ship somebody on the ship must have displeased their God and they began to pray to their gods isn't it strange how people began to pray when they're in trouble and maybe they haven't prayed in all their lives they began to pray and finally Jonah told them that he was the one after they'd cast lots and the lot came to Jonah he confessed that he was running from God and they said what we do with you Jonah he said throw me overboard they said no we'll try something else first and they began to row and row and row and they threw everything else over but the storm got worse and worse and it looked like the ship was going to be wrecked so finally in desperation they threw Jonah over and immediately the sea calm down and the Bible says that Jonah was caught by a big fish now you think of the jaws that fish had how wide his mouth must have been but see that was a specially prepared fish by God to be there at that precise moment and let me tell you when you run from God you're going to be under God's judgement and Jonah had three days in three nights in the belly of that fish to think and brother let me tell you he was doing some thinking and he was doing some pray he was saying lord save me help me I don't know where I am what happened and God said Jonah I called you into my service and told you what to do and you refused me now Jonah if you're willing to repent of your sin I'll give you another chance and Jonah said yes Lord I repent I'll keep my vow and the Bible says on the third day the fish vomited up Jonah and jonah found himself on dry land and the scripture says and the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time now God doesn't give many of us a second chance like that but he gave Jonah a second chance and Jonah ran as fast as he could in every way he could strengthen innama and he went up and down the streets of Nineveh crying out repent turn to God judgments coming in 40 days repent repent repent of course he didn't expect anybody to repent but do you know what happened that was the greatest and most successful evangelistic campaign in the history of the world there's never been anything recorded in history like it the king the people 600,000 of them repented and turned to God and God spared Nineveh suppose everybody in Washington suddenly repented and turned to God I'm the people of America turn to God as we approach this bicentennial year what a glorious and thrilling thing it would be and I want to tell you this if we didn't God would spare us but if we don't this country is in for judgment tonight you as an individual can resist God's call to you and go deeper and deeper in sin or you can turn back to God and obey God and do God's will which is it going to be there are many of you young people that have come to Texas Tech University and you have gotten away from God you need to come back to him tonight and God will forgive the past and give you another chance in another moment to serve and follow him and I'm going to ask you to do that in just a few minutes Jonah preached the gospel of judgment but you know there was an interesting thing about the message that he preached there was no mercy in it he didn't offer the people mercy he didn't tell him that God loved him but tonight I have an opportunity to say to you much more than Jonah said to the people of Nineveh I can say to you tonight that God loves you and God is a merciful God and God will forgive you but Jonah didn't say that he just said judgments coming judgments coming repent repent and the people repented and that's why Jesus made this astounding statement he said the people of Nineveh are going to rise up at the judgment and testify against you you see they repented never hearing the gospel of mercy in the grace of God in Jesus Christ but you've heard the gospel of grace in Christ and you have refused to repent they had never heard that Jesus Christ was to die on the cross for their sins they didn't know that God loved them so much that he was willing to give his son to die on the cross but in spite of that they repented and Jesus said they are going to be your accusers on the day of judgment they will testify against you but then something very interesting happened Jonah was upset he didn't want anybody to repent you see he was a paying God's called to go and proclaim the message but his heart still wasn't quite right with God because he was afraid that the Ninevites were going to attack his own country Israel and he had prophesied that judgment was coming and he didn't like the people of Nineveh and he wanted to see judgment conquered he wanted to be able to say I told you so but he didn't know the mercy and the Grace and the love of God that would take these wicked godless Ninevites and forgive them and change them and transform them if they would only turn to him and the Bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved God is willing to forgive anybody even you whatever your sins are however bad you've been God says I love you I gave my son for you I forgive you but Jonah didn't like that so he went outside the city and got up on top of a hill and looked down over the city and he had a a hard mean scowl on his face as he looked down on the city waiting for God to burn it up and the hot wind and the Sun came and he was tired and he was angry and the Bible says that God allowed during the night a gourd to grow up by a miracle and covered Jonah and the next morning a worm came and cut it off and it fell and Jonah sat there in the Sun and the hot wind blowing on him and God said Jonah you're worried about that gourd and you loved that gourd more than you do those 600,000 people of Nineveh and that's how the Book of Jonah ends and tonight many of you are more interested in materialism your own personal safety you're interested more in the things that money can buy and the comforts of life and their fluency that we've developed in the United States you are more interested in that than you are doing the will of God and sharing in the mercy in the grace of God and let me tell you you're going to have to make a choice jesus said there are two roads of life the broad road in the narrow road there are two destinies heaven and hell there are two ways to live two masters materialism and God which is your master which world are you are and God has put a little computer down inside of you you've got a computer system down there it's your will and you have the ability to choose whether you're going to serve Christ and whether you're going to serve God in his kingdom and put yourself in the will of God and say oh Lord I'll march in your army I'll March under your flag I'll go out with love in my hearts to try to help change the world I'll go out and do your will no matter what it costs whether it's a burning desert or steaming jungle I'll go out even if it means I have to break up with my boyfriend who doesn't live for God I will go out o Lord and serve you no matter what the cost and Jesus said count the cost if you're not willing to pay the price then quit it don't even fool with it it's costly to follow Christ but I want to tell you the rewards are absolutely unbelievable the reward of joy and peace and security knowing that your sins are forgiven knowing that you're going to heaven knowing that you're in the will of God whatever comes in whatever codes I'm going to ask hundreds of you tonight to get up out of your seat and come and stand in front of this platform and say tonight I want Jesus Christ into my heart I want him not only as Savior but I want him his Lord I want to put myself in his hands I want his forgiveness I want his transforming power and I'm willing to serve him if he should call me and I'm going to ask older people and younger people you need Christ whoever you are I'm going to ask you to come and stand and after you've all come and stood I'm going to say a word to you and have a prayer with you and give you some literature then you can go back and join your friends if you're with friends or relatives they'll wait on you if you've come in a bus or a delegation from a distant city they'll wait it'll only take a couple of three minutes for you to come perhaps more from the upper stands but get up and come now bring your friend with you whole families can come together you need Christ tonight you want Christ to be yours and you're ready to pay the price whatever it costs to serve and follow Christ you get up and come quickly from all over this stadium we're going to wait on right now men women young people you say well Billy why do you ask us to come every person Jesus called in the New Testament he called publicly he said if you're not willing to acknowledge me before men I'll not acknowledge you before my father which is in heaven it's very important that you come publicly and openly and declare yourself for Christ many people are already on the way you come and join them right now [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 [Music] you're watching the Billy Graham classics please call the phone number on the screen right now for spiritual help and guidance [Music] [Music] as you that are watching by television can tell there are many hundreds of people that are coming tonight to find Christ is their Lord and Savior to confess their faith in Christ or to say Lord I'll go where you want me to go I'll be what you want me to be I wish you could see this great sight that we see from this platform is hundreds and hundreds of young people and older people alike are coming you can make that same commitment where you are in your hotel room in your living room in your bedroom or perhaps at a bar somewhere I had a man just two days ago tell me he accepted Christ at a bar watching one of these telecasts and it changed his life that could happen to 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 if you would like to commit your life to Jesus Christ please call us right now toll-free at 187 seven seven two four five five nine that's one eight seven seven seven seven two 45:59 or you can write to us at billy graham one Billy Graham Parkway Department C Charlotte North Carolina two eight two zero one or you can contact us on the web 24/7 at peace with God TV will 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] brand-new witness the story there and give you one [Music] me do the Billy [Music]

Channel: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Views: 298,969

Rating: 4.8885193 out of 5

Keywords: Billy Graham, Crusade, Lubbock, Texas

Id: 8uoXn5EOmbg

Length: 28min 30sec (1710 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 09 2019