Hope for Broken Things | Billy Graham
Hope for Broken Things | Billy Graham
There’s nothing more valuable to God than your soul—and you won’t find rest until you come to Him. Billy Graham explains in this 1992 message from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world.”
― Billy Graham
I want you to turn with Mate Bahe.
And they came over on to the other side of the sea into the country of the gatherings.
And when he came out of the ship, immediately, they met him out of the tombs.
A man with an unclean spirit who had his dwelling among the tombs and no man could bind him.
No, not even with chains because he’d been so often bound with feathers and chains and the chains had been plucked asunder by him and the feathers broke in pieces.
Neither could any man tame him and always night and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying and cutting himself with stones.
And when he saw Jesus a far off, he ran and worshiped him, fell down before him and cried with a loud voice and said, what have I to do with thee Jesus?
Thou son of the most high I thee by God that you do not torment me for?
He said unto him, come out of the man thou unclean spirit.
There was an unclean spirit in this man a demon.
And Jesus asked the demon, what is your name?
And the demon replied, my name is Legend for where many.
And I want to tell you the rest of the story of what I want to leave with you tonight.
Because the Bible teaches that there is such a thing as a devil.
And the Bible teaches that there’s such a thing as demons. And these demons have tremendous power and tremendous influence.
And they’re at work in our world today and they’re at work in Philadelphia today.
Here’s the disciples and a storm at sea.
And there’s nothing sadder than a wreck but the saddest and the most tragic wreck of all is the wreck of a human soul.
Christ said for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul.
He was comparing the world with the soul.
He said your soul, your spirit is more valuable than all the rest of the world put together.
How can that be? All the money, all the wealth that there is in this world is not as valuable in the sight of God as your soul.
Your soul is that part of you that lives forever?
You, when you were born, you were born, a living soul, a living spirit and that part of you is gonna live forever.
Nothing you can do about it. You were born to live forever.
Now your eternal home may be hell or it may be heaven, but you’re going to live and it’s up to you to decide which road of life you’re going to take.
Jesus said, there are two roads, there’s a broad road that leads to destruction and a narrow road that leads to life eternal.
And you have to make a choice.
Now, in the story that we read about this boat with Jesus in it, and the disciples lands on the beach and all of a sudden they hear these wild cries on a cliff above them.
They see a dreadful wreck and ruin of a man rushing down, he’s disheveled, his body is naked, he’s gashed, he’s bleeding fragments of chains on his hands and feet.
A wild wretched remnant of a man probably came from a fine home, perhaps a man of superior intelligence in every way, he begins to act strangely, he grows worse and eventually he leaves home.
He was possessed by an unclean spirit.
Now, the Bible teaches that there are demons that can possess a person and he was living among the dead.
This man was possessed of an unclean spirit and he lived among other people with unclean spirits.
He was spiritually dead and in destitution and wretchedness, the devil pays his wages.
Yes, the devil pays you serve him live separated from God. You may live in a fine home.
You may have everything that will bring pleasure and happiness and money.
But deep inside you’re not sure that you know Christ, there’s something wrong and eventually the devil will pay you off because you’ve neglected Christ and turned your life over to the devil.
Even though you didn’t mean to, you just did it by neglect. You see, you are in torment.
Your conscience is in torment.
Your conscience acts as a salt in the wound or a whip on your rebellious back.
So many in the press tell the story of their tormenting drugs.
What have I to do with thee Jesus. Thou son of the most high God torment us.
Not many people say, what do I have to do with the? That’s what this man said.
What do I have to do with you?
A working man will say, well, he’s too busy for Christ.
A rich man says that religion is for the poor people.
An intellectual man says it’s for the uneducated. The common man says, I can’t understand it.
The radical says it isn’t revolutionary enough whether you like it or not, you will someday have something to do with God at the judgment.
Every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess that He’s the Christ, whether you like it or not.
Some day you will bow when I was taken to some of these areas in the Philadelphia area of disadvantaged people, people that don’t have as much as maybe some other people, maybe some of them involved in certain types of crimes.
But there are people out in the suburbs just like them.
They just live in better homes, maybe drive a better car.
But their hearts and their souls are in torment from their own conscience.
But Jesus moves among both groups.
He moved among the wealthy, he moved among the poor and he was unafraid, always tender, always loving.
And he asked this man, he said, what is your name?
And the demon answered back, my name is Legion because there are many of us that occupy this man’s life and heart.
And there are many demons today.
The demon of sex perversion, the demon of lying, the demon of anger, the demons of drugs, the demon of strong drink, the demon of sex that’s out of hand.
You can’t get it off your mind. You can’t get away from it.
It’s everywhere you look on a magazine stand and you see sex at every turn, you turn on the television, there’s sex, you go to a movie, there’s sex and profanity.
And if you want to see a good picture, sometimes you have to sit through a half dozen of that kind of picture to see one good one.
And today that’s difficult to find even a good one because it seems that all of them are dripping with these sins that the Bible teaches are coming from the devil.
Mary Magdalene had seven devils and this man was filled with evil spirits.
And some of you are like that here tonight, you yield to temptation and it becomes easier to yield.
The next time you become a slave, a slave to lust and passion and your own evil nature.
Jesus says to this man with the voice of authority, Jesus said come out of the man, the same voice that he used to steal the storm at the sea.
He says, come out of the man.
And at once a change took place in that man, his muscles relaxed, the stones fell from his hands.
The wild look on his face left a look of reason came. Humanity was restored.
A disciple leaned over and wiped blood from his face.
Another one came and put some clothes on him.
And there were three prayers that were prayed in this story. Only one was answered.
The first prayer came from the demons.
There were 2000 pigs or hogs that were feeding out in the fields up on the cliff and they were watched over by herdsman.
And the demon said to Jesus, send us into the swine.
And I’ve often thought to myself how awful the existence of hell must be if you want to live in a swine instead of hell, one of the most tragic and dreadful prayers ever uttered.
They didn’t want to go to hell.
Hell must be awful if the demons beg Christ to send them to the swine, it’s a terrible lesson for us to learn.
Hell is called in the Bible many names. It’s called a horrible tempus in Psalm 11.
It’s called a place of sorrows in Psalm 18, it’s called a place of wailing in Matthew 13.
It’s called a place of Weeping and Matthew eight.
It’s called a Place of Torment and Luke 16, it’s called a Place of Out of Darkness and Matthew eight in Revelation 2015.
It’s called the lake of fire. Whatever, all those things mean. It’s terrible. It’ll be separation from God.
That is hell to be separated from God and you can have hell on this earth and some of you are living in hell now because you are separated from God.
The problem with you is not your wife. It’s not your husband, it’s not your business.
It’s not your Children. It’s the separation from God. God loves you. He’s there to help you every day.
He died on the cross for you because He loved you.
And then the second prayer was the people’s prayer.
These herdsmen. They rush into the city to inform the people that an awful catastrophe has befallen the hogs.
That’s where they made their living from.
Those pigs, those hogs they saw the transformed man, but all they could think about was the loss of money.
They begged Christ to leave their country, leave us alone. Go somewhere else. We don’t need you here.
You’re spilling the money that we use for our pleasures and our livelihood.
Now here Jesus was ready to bring healing and salvation to that whole area.
But they were more interested in money and material things than they were in Jesus.
And this is true today, there are many people who do not want Christ, they’re afraid that if he comes into their lives, it will be a revolution.
They don’t want to be disturbed. I know many church members today that are comfortable with their situation.
They go to church. They live any way they want to, they don’t want to be disturbed.
They don’t want the preacher to talk about sin. They don’t want him ever to mention hell.
They don’t want him to talk about the blood that was shed on the cross.
They don’t wanna be disturbed.
They don’t wanna be told that they need to repent of their sins and receive Christ as Savior personally.
They think everything’s all right. They’ve been baptized as I was in the church.
They were confirmed as I was in the church and they say, well, that’s enough.
And I go to church once in a while. That’s enough. I believe in God.
I believe in Christ. Yes. You have a head believe Jesus said, you believe in me.
You serve me with your mouth, but your heart is far from me.
Does Jesus live in your heart? Do you know he’s there? Are you certain that he’s there?
Because you see, if you’re not sure you ought to make sure tonight before you leave here now is the accepted time of salvation.
Today is the day of salvation come while he, he’s able those people that don’t want Christ.
I like a drowning man who’s throwing away a life belt.
They’re like a poisoned man, throwing away the antidote.
They’re like a wounded man tearing open his wounds.
They’re like a lost man shuddering in the darkness on the brink of hell refusing Christ.
Do you fear that? You’ll have to give up something?
And so you’ve asked Jesus to leave, you’re afraid he might look in some secret chamber of your life.
The most terrible verse in all the Bible Is found in Psalm 106 15 and he gave them their request, but sent Leanness to their soul.
God is answering your prayer.
He’s sending you your request far job, a decent home, a decent place to live, but your soul is lean toward God and you’re separated from Him and you need to come to Him.
That’s what the cross is all about. That’s why he died.
And those two arms of the cross, how to bring you together.
And he reaches out with one hand and you reach out with the other and grasp his hand and he’ll hold you.
You don’t have to worry about holding on to him. He’ll do the holding.
And then the scripture says, Ephraim is joined to his idols, let him alone.
And three times in the book of Romans, it says, God gave them up.
See God can give you up because you cannot come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit convicts you and draws you and speaks to you and gives you an opportunity like this.
You better come while you can.
If there’s even the slightest disturbance in your heart or the slightest indication that you need Christ, you better come tonight.
They may not be another night like this for you.
What a terrible thing for God to quit speaking to you and for God to quit disturbing you.
Thank God. He does disturb you. Thank God. He does use your conscience. Thank God.
He does use your brain. God will continue to love you and it’s never too late.
My father had the strange idea when he was a young man that he had committed the unpardonable sin and he carried that with him for years.
He thought it was too late for him.
But one day Christ came into his heart and changed him when he was in his 50s, when he was in his 50s and made him a new person.
And I’ll never forget what a change it made in our home.
And then the last prayer was the healed man’s request.
He wants to follow Christ and stay with Christ and live with Christ.
And Jesus said, no, go home, go back to the street where you live, go back to your friends, go back to your neighborhood, go back to your community and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and he had compassion on him.
You see, we’re to go back home tonight and tell people what God has done for us because Christ is going to do something for you tonight that you never expected before.
You came here. You can have a brand new life.
When you walk out of the stadium, you say, can it happen that fast? It happens that fast.
Did you know that every person that Jesus called? He called publicly?
Everyone now, Nicodemus came to him by night.
I know that but everyone that Jesus called and transformed and changed, it was an instantaneous and it was public.
And I’m going to ask you in a moment to get up out of your seat and come publicly and say tonight, I want my sins forgiven.
I want to know I’m going to heaven. I received Christ into my heart by faith.
I repent of my sins. There were three things that this man had.
He now had rest come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I’ll give you rest.
Said Jesus, he now was clothed because he’d been naked before like Adam and Eve and you and I are naked before God.
Sin makes us naked. And Christ provided the clothes at Calvary and we’re clothed in the righteousness of God.
And when God looks at me, he doesn’t see Billy Graham. He doesn’t see the evil heart that I have.
He doesn’t see the sins I’ve committed.
He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ because I’m clothed in his righteousness fall by grace, fall by grace.
Are you say that not of yourselves? Not of works list? Any man should.
You can’t work your way to heaven. You can’t buy your way.
God gives it to you, but it comes by the way of the cross.
Do you know that Christ lives in you tonight?
If I had a doubt in my heart, you couldn’t get me to leave this stadium till I found out because it’s too dangerous.
What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but lose his own soul.
And then he had reason. He came to his senses.
He was in his right mind.
Sin destroys the mind and distorts the mind and many people have moral insanity so Christ can cure, he can cleanse and he can change and he’ll do that for you tonight if you let him and I’m going to ask you to get up out of your seat right now and come and stand in front publicly and openly and say, I want to be sure you may be a member of the best church in your community.
You may be looked upon as a good person, but you’re not sure how you stand and you’d like to be sure I’m going to ask you to come, especially you from up here in the upper gallery because it takes a minute or two longer.
And after you’ve all come and stood here, I’m going to say a word to you, have a prayer with you and give you some literature to help you in your future Christian life.
Tonight, you come, men, women, young people, fathers, mothers, whoever you are grandparents, going to ask that no one leave the stadium.
Now, I know some people will want to go and leave and be ahead of everybody else.
But this is the holy moment of this meeting tonight. You get up and come and make sure.
Yeah, thank you the same.
Yeah, just as hundreds here have responded to the invitation to make a public commitment to Jesus Christ.
You can too, wherever you are just call the number on your screen right now.
Special friends want to help you with the most important decision you can ever make. Don’t wait, call right now.
And you’ve been watching tonight, you’d like to make your commitment to Christ.
You can make that commitment where you are in a hotel room, in a bar, in your home.
Wherever you are just say, yes, Lord Jesus come into my heart, forgive my sins.
I receive you into my heart by faith.
If you’ll do that, he’ll come and he’ll be there because he loves you.
It’s my prayer that many will make that commitment tonight.
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 18777724559. That’s 1877772 45 59.
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 peace with God dot 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 to the battle into the darkness.
Any time this is our mission and sharing us the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Always bringing good news. The Bible says, seek the Lord while he may be found, found, call on him while he is near the Bible says without faith, it’s impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him.
You come to Christ tonight, you’ve got to be willing to turn your back on your sins.
You call upon his name when you seek him tonight.
Name only one hope.
Brand new witness, the story that and give your life to Christ and see what happens.
Yes, Cream Lire.
