I'm glad that some of you good people
have been praying for me because I went
to see my doctor on Friday.
I told him I was going to Amsterdam
to help Billy Graham in that conference for
evangelists.
He said well if that's the case I'm
going to give you another cardiogram.
He said the last time it showed some
irregularity.
That was after the operation I had.
So he took it and then he made
a certain sound.
I said how do you interpret that?
He said it's normal.
So apparently the Lord has been helping us
and I still have to conserve my strength.
My wife of course doesn't want me to
get out of her sight and I have
to keep in mind SWMBO.
You know what that means?
She who must be obeyed.
So I do hope that you'll pray for
me.
I have to be in Europe for about
a month and I'd be glad of your
prayers.
I was talking to a lady recently and
she told me about a certain speaker.
Oh she said it was so inspirational.
I said what did speak about?
Well she said I don't really remember but
it was so inspirational.
I said well what was his text?
She said I don't remember the text.
I said what was the topic?
Well she couldn't remember the topic either but
she insisted it was so inspirational.
Now I like people to remember what I
talk about.
Do any of you remember what I spoke
about last time?
Nobody?
I didn't hear that.
I spoke on conscience and the time before
that I spoke on repentance.
When Billy Graham went to Britain in 1954
one of the archbishops criticized him for his
emphasis upon decision.
He said decision is not a New Testament
word.
Had I been there I would have been
glad to tell the archbishop that the word
decision is not the New Testament word but
the word repentance is.
And the word repent means to change.
To change your attitude.
To change your way.
It's the first word of the gospel.
But I don't see how any man could
repent without deciding to repent.
Therefore decision is really a synonym for this
word repentance.
Certainly we need to make decision in order
to obey the gospel.
So I'm going to talk to you this
morning about decision.
We make decision every day of our lives.
We get up in the morning we decide
what to eat for breakfast.
Some people may decide just to have cereal.
Others may decide to have a full bacon
and egg breakfast.
But that's a decision.
You decide.
Sometimes when you're driving, when I'm driving home
during the rush hour I take 210 away
around through the mountains because Ventura freeway is
a nightmare during the rush hour.
So I make decision.
On the other hand when I came this
morning I decided to come straight through.
Now these are little decisions.
They don't last forever.
But there are some big decisions you make
in life.
For instance my father was an American citizen.
My mother was British.
I was born a citizen although I was
born abroad.
So I was never naturalized.
But my wife was naturalized.
She decided to become an American citizen.
It was a twofold decision.
She had to announce her intention first and
then she had to take the oath of
allegiance in a public ceremony.
Now whenever you decide to go to university
you decide to matriculate.
That's the word they use.
You enter the university.
But they must find out first of all
if you're graduated from high school.
They want to know if you're qualified.
So you make a double decision.
You decide in your heart to go and
then you follow the rules and make your
declaration.
I served as a chaplain in World War
II in the Air Force.
I decided I'd like to be a chaplain
and serve the Lord with the men who
were overseas.
So I wrote to the chief of chaplains
to announce my decision.
But in due course I got a letter
from President Roosevelt telling me to report for
duty.
I had to go and take the oath
of obedience to the president as commander in
chief.
When you decide to get married you don't
say well let's get married tonight.
No you have to get a license.
That's your intention.
But that doesn't make you married.
You have to go to a church or
a synagogue or to some registry and there
declare your vows publicly.
So that the great decisions of life are
twofold.
You decide in your heart and you declare
with your lips.
Now the greatest decision in life is not
one of these.
These don't last forever.
A man may decide to get married but
it's just for as long as you both
shall live.
When I enlisted in the Air Force it
was just for the war and six months
beyond.
We call that for the duration and six
months beyond.
But when a man decides to be a
Christian it's an eternal decision.
It's for this life and for the life
to come all eternity.
So I'm not going to apologize for talking
to you about the importance of the decision
to become a Christian.
Now it may be difficult for you to
realize that at one time I was a
sports reporter.
I started my writing career as a sports
reporter in Ireland.
My editor said to me the secret of
good reporting is to get the facts.
Find out who did it and why it
was done and how it happened and what
involved and where and when.
He said you may write a clumsy sentence.
We can always rewrite it.
You may misspell a word.
We can always correct it.
But if you don't get the facts we
can't invent them.
If I say did you hear about the
tidal wave that hit Southern California?
You say no.
When did that happen?
Well that's what I was dreaming about about
5 30 this morning when I woke.
About a tidal wave hitting California.
It's important to find out where it happened
or if it did happen or the circumstances.
So I've never forgotten that.
Who?
Why?
How?
What?
Where and when?
Now I'm going to read a short passage
of scripture to you.
In fact I think I can quote it.
And in these six short verses you'll find
all the answers that you can ask about
deciding for Christ.
It's from Romans 10 and 9.
But what does the scripture say?
That's verse 8.
Romans 10 and starting at verse 8.
But what does the scripture say?
The word is near you, on your lips
and in your heart.
That is the word of faith which we
preach.
Because if you confess with your lips that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead you
will be saved.
For man believes with his heart and so
is justified.
And he confesses with his lips and so
is saved.
The scripture says no one who puts his
trust in him will be put to shame.
For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek.
The same Lord is Lord of all and
bestows his riches upon all who call upon
him.
For everyone who calls upon the name of
the Lord will be saved.
Six short verses.
Yet they contain the whole of the gospel.
Now I'm going to ask some questions again.
Who?
Why?
How?
What?
Where and when do we make decision for
Christ?
Now the first question is who makes the
decision?
You'll find the answer in that short passage
of scripture.
You might as well keep your finger in
the place, look at it now and again.
You say well this is a strange verse
to quote.
There is no distinction between Jew and Greek.
The same Lord is Lord of all and
bestows his riches upon all who call upon
him.
You say I'm not Jewish, neither am I
Greek.
You might say I'm an American.
You might even say I was born in
California, which is a rather rare thing for
anyone to say.
Or you might say I'm Canadian.
Or you might say I'm Mexican.
You're neither Jew nor Greek.
But the Apostle Paul was not referring to
nationality when he wrote this.
At that time both Jew and Greek were
subjects, citizens of the Roman Empire.
Just as a Californian and a New Englander
are citizens of United States.
Just as a Scotsman and a Welshman are
citizens of Great Britain.
Then what does it mean?
There's no distinction between Jew and Greek.
He's referring to something else.
The Jew was the God-fearing man.
The Greek, so far as Jehovah was concerned,
was the godless man.
He didn't believe in the God of the
Bible.
The Jew was the church-going man.
The Greek was the pleasure-seeking man.
The Jew at that time was a religious
man.
And the Greek was irreligious as far as
true worship was concerned.
So the Apostle Paul is saying, in effect,
whether you believe in God or not, whether
you go to church or not, whether you're
religious or not, you must come to this
point of decision.
Who?
Everyone.
I was talking to an Indian in Bombay.
He said to me, Sahib, I enjoyed your
sermon.
I said, thank you.
Are you a Christian?
He said, oh yes, I'm a Christian.
I said, how long have you been a
Christian?
He said, all my life.
But I said, surely you've had some personal
experience.
You've been converted or you've confirmed your faith
in some way?
He said, Sahib, you don't understand.
It was not I that was converted.
It was my great-great-grandfather.
He was converted from Hinduism to the Christian
faith.
So he said, not only am I a
Christian, but I come from a long line
of Christians.
I said, and do you know the Taj
Mahal Hotel?
He said, yes.
I said, supposing you saw a young couple
having breakfast there.
And you say to them, how long have
you been married?
And they say, we're not married.
But our parents were married, our grandparents were
married, our great-grandparents were married, and we
both come from a long line of married
people.
I was talking to a man, and he
told me he was a Presbyterian from a
way back.
I said, how far back?
Well, he said, since the Revolutionary War.
I said, you mean you knew George Washington
personally?
He didn't get the point.
How can you be anything from a way
back?
You have to be it yourself.
Who makes the decision?
Everyone.
Everyone needs to come to a point of
decision.
That was the first question.
Who must decide?
The answer is everyone, whether you believe in
God or not, whether you go to church
or not, whether you're religious or not.
You must come to the point of decision.
Now, this brings us to a second question.
Why must the decision be made?
Again, let's look at a scripture.
It says in verse 10, man believes with
his heart and so is justified.
He confesses with his lips and so is
saved.
Now, there are two theological words.
First of all, justified.
We don't use that word in the biblical
sense so often, but the word justified means
to be set right, which supposes that we're
not right.
I think you could say that there's bad
in the best of us and good in
the worst of us, but we all need
to be set right.
We all fall short of the glory of
God.
I was talking to a man who said
to me, well, I'll tell you what my
religion is.
Do your best and God will do the
rest.
That's a nice religion.
That's where you get it from.
Well, is that what I believe?
But I said, you must have some reason
for believing it.
What's your authority?
I mean, who told you that's how you?
He said, that's what I believe.
I want to ask another question.
Do you always do your best?
Well, he said, not always.
I said, then you're disqualified as far as
your religion is concerned.
We need to be set right with God.
I remember during the great campaigns of my
boyhood, one of the slogans they had was
get right with God.
That's justified.
To be justified is to be put right
with God.
And then it says, we must confess with
our lips in order to be saved.
Some people don't like that word.
One man said to me, I'm not lost.
I'm right here.
I don't need to be saved.
But indeed he did.
He needed to be saved from his sins.
My wife was with me in Brazil in
1952, when we had bad news from Africa.
Her sister had married a Baptist minister, and
they had gone off to serve the Lord
in Central Africa.
And the word came that her sister was
dying of cancer.
That was a rapid cancer.
She was going down fast.
So my wife took the children across the
South Atlantic, traveled up country, left the little
ones with a girlfriend of hers, and then
traveled into Central Africa and nursed her sister
until she died.
The doctor told her that her sister must
have had cancer for about 17 years.
And that surprised my wife, because her sister
was a healthy woman, a busy Baptist minister's
wife.
But then she remembered that 17 years back,
her sister had complained of a backache.
And that's where it began.
And I think you'll agree with me that
the tragic thing about cancer is you don't
know when you have it at first.
I was talking to a specialist in Melbourne,
and he said to me, I wish cancer
were more painful.
I thought that was a cruel thing to
say until he explained.
He said, I wish it hurt more at
the beginning than we could do something about
it.
And the same thing is true about sin.
You don't need to be a night stalker
to be a sinner.
You don't need to be some vicious crook
to be a sinner.
You don't need to work for the mafia.
All have sinned and come short of the
glory of God.
When I mentioned about that man disqualifying himself,
because he didn't always do his best, the
word sin means to fall short of the
mark.
We all fall short.
There's none completely righteous, not one.
So the scripture says.
Therefore, the scripture very clear, we confess with
our lips in order to be saved.
We believe in our heart in order to
be set right.
We must put our trust in Christ in
order to be set right.
But we need to confess it openly in
order to be saved.
Now, of course, we could ask some further
questions.
Another question is how is this decision made?
We've already talked about who makes the decision.
Everyone.
Why must we decide?
Because we need to be justified, set right
with God, and because we need to be
saved from our sins.
But then how is the decision made?
Let's look at those verses again, because you
find the answer scattered throughout the six verses.
Verse eight, the word is near you on
your lips and in your heart.
That is the word of faith which we
preach.
But notice the second, next verse, verse nine.
If you confess with your lips that Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart that
God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved.
That's the second time it mentions lips and
heart.
And then look at verse ten.
Man believes with his heart in order to
get right with God, confesses with his lips
in order to be saved from his sins.
That's the third time, lips and heart.
And then between two verses, verse eleven, verse
thirteen, the scripture says no one who believes
in him will be put to shame.
Everyone that calls upon the name of the
Lord will be saved.
You believe in your heart, you call with
your lips.
So that four times over in six short
verses the apostle Paul tells you how you
make the decision, with your heart and with
your lips.
And it must be both.
There are some who will do one and
not the other.
There are some who say I believe everything
you believe, but they won't stand up and
say so.
They won't confess.
On the other hand, there are people who
will stand up and make any public profession
required by their denomination, whatever the denomination is.
Yet if you are to sit beside them
and say do you know that you are
truly saved, they are not sure.
They don't really believe in their heart, although
they said it with their lips.
At the end of World War II, I
was still in uniform when I reached London
and met a friend of mine who had
served in Montgomery's 5th Army in North Africa.
He asked me to attend his wedding.
He was getting married the following Tuesday.
I met the girl and there was something
about her that made me very uneasy.
I said to my friend, you are sure
you are doing the right thing?
He said rather crossly, well, it is rather
late to talk about it, don't you think?
We are getting married on Tuesday.
I felt very uneasy.
I am glad he didn't ask me to
perform the marriage.
When I conduct a service of marriage for
a couple, I like to think it lasts
forever.
That is the way I feel about it.
I wasn't surprised when he came to see
me about a month later.
He said I am in trouble.
I said what is your trouble?
He said my wife.
Well, I said you won't even be married
a month maybe.
It takes a little while to get adjusted.
Look, he said we went to Edinburgh for
our honeymoon and she wouldn't even speak to
me during the honeymoon.
I said what do you mean she wouldn't
speak to you?
He said she huffed.
You know, I am not speaking to you.
And I said why?
You know why I am not speaking to
you.
Well, I don't know.
Of course you know why I am not
speaking to you.
That is all she would say.
I had to admit it was a very
poor start for a marriage.
He said to me what do you think
I should do?
I said what did she marry you for?
He said I wish I knew.
I said are you living together like man
and wife?
He said we have got an apartment.
I said I didn't ask you about an
apartment.
I asked you.
No, he said we are like two disagreeable
lodgers.
So I wasn't surprised.
He said I wish I knew what you
married me for.
So he said do you think I should
get a divorce?
You don't need to get a divorce.
You go to the judge and tell the
judge what you have just told me and
the judge will annul the marriage.
He will say it never was a marriage.
It is not enough to go through a
form.
You must have the right intention in your
heart.
You know full well there are people here
in the states, for instance, I have known
of G.I.s to go through a
ceremony of marriage with a girl in Germany
and as soon as she reached New York
they parted company and then she got a
divorce.
If they are caught doing that the girl
is deported and the fellow goes to jail
because you can't make a declaration like that
without meaning it in your heart.
So you must really mean it in your
heart.
Besides confessing with your lips.
But the opposite is also true.
I was in business in Ireland and I
remember there was a girl there who was
engaged to be married but she wore a
lovely diamond ring.
But she didn't like you to admire her
ring.
Now her young man was honest, honourable.
He was a gentleman in his intentions.
But he was terribly shy.
Every time she said to him, John don't
you think we ought to get married next
June.
He got so scared he went away and
didn't come back for two weeks.
When I knew them they had been engaged
17 years.
In fact after World War II when I
reached my native city the first thing I
said is, what ever happened to John and
Ruby?
They said, oh he was killed during the
Blitz.
So they never did get married.
Now he had the right intention in his
heart but he wasn't willing to say so.
And this verse of scripture is very plain.
It says you must believe in your heart
and you must confess with your lips.
Believe doesn't mean merely you agree.
The word believe means to put your trust.
You must put your trust in Christ in
your heart.
And you must confess openly with your lips.
You must say so.
Christ said very plainly, those who confess me
before men I will confess before my father.
Those who deny me before men I will
deny before my father.
So this is pretty simple isn't it?
How is the decision made?
Believe in your heart, confess with your lips.
It must be both.
Now this brings us to the biggest question
of all.
What does this decision involve?
Well, let's look at the scripture again.
What is it you are supposed to confess
and what is it you are supposed to
believe?
Verse 9.
Because if you confess with your lips that
Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved.
If you confess with your lips that Jesus
is Lord.
That's what you are supposed to tell people.
That Jesus is your Lord.
I spoke to a lot of musicians, composers
down at Maranatha.
Chuck Fromm, who is the nephew of Chuck
Smith, is a good friend of mine.
And I said to those who write these
popular choruses for Christians, always be sure to
say who you are singing about.
There is a popular song called My Sweet
Lord.
The Beatles used to sing it.
But it wasn't about Jesus Christ, it was
about Krishna, who was their sweet Lord.
Much he did for them.
So we must believe that Jesus is Lord.
It doesn't say you must believe in a
religious system or some particular denomination.
It's a personal faith.
You must believe in your heart.
You must confess with your lips.
And what you confess is, first of all,
that Jesus is Lord.
When my younger son, who is a lawyer
now, came back from Sunday school, I think
he must have been about four years of
age, he was talking about God said this
and God said that and God said the
other thing.
So I said to him, David, what do
you think God is like?
Now we were taught in seminary that God
is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, transcendent, imminent, immutable,
ineffable, eternal, sublime, and so on.
The definition of God is very exhaustive.
So I wondered what a four year old
would say.
He said, that's easy, Daddy.
That's easy.
But what is God like?
You see, explaining it to me, God is
just like Jesus.
Now I couldn't say anything better than that.
God is just like Jesus.
If someone came up to me and said,
what's your wife like?
I could describe her, but you still wouldn't
picture her.
But if I said, well, let me show
you the photograph in my wallet.
That photograph shows you what she is like.
Not completely, but at least gives you some
idea.
But in the Lord Jesus Christ you have
a living photograph of God.
God in human form.
It says here, you must confess with your
lips that Jesus is Lord.
I was speaking at the University of Chicago
on one occasion for InterVarsity, when a girl
raised her hand to object.
She said, I don't understand all this.
She said, if a man believes in Communism,
he is a Communist.
If he believes in Socialism, he is a
Socialist.
I believe in Christianity.
Am I not a Christian?
I said, not necessarily so.
She said, then I don't get it.
But I said, you see, it's not like
believing in something.
For instance, if a man believes in Vegetarianism,
he is a Vegetarian.
But this is different.
To be a Christian means that you put
your trust in a living person.
I could see she still didn't understand, so
I noticed she was wearing an engagement ring.
I said, could I ask you a personal
question?
She said, certainly.
I said, do you believe in marriage?
She said, well, I'm engaged to be married.
I said, would you mind standing up and
telling all these girls why you believe in
marriage?
She said, that's too personal.
She didn't exactly say, mind your own business,
but that's too personal.
I said, forget the personal side.
Tell us why you believe in marriage as
a philosophy.
As an institution.
You know, love is blind, and marriage is
the institution for the blind.
She got up and she said, well, I
haven't given this much organized thought, but she
said, marriage gives a woman a career, a
work to do, family to take care of.
Oh, she said, there are so many good
reasons for marriage.
I said, do you really believe in marriage?
She said, yes.
Well, I said to the audience of girls,
how many of you believe in marriage like
that?
There was a lot of giggling, and then
they all raised their hands except one.
Feminism wasn't very popular in those days.
I said, now this young lady says if
you believe in communism, you're a communist.
If you believe in Christianity, you're a Christian.
And now, I said, you all tell me
you believe in marriage.
I said, I'm a chaplain of the United
States Air Force, recognized by the state of
Illinois to perform marriages.
So I said, why wait, girls?
Allow me to pronounce you all married.
Well, there was a roar of protest.
One girl said, you're teasing us.
I said, of course I am.
Another girl said, you've got to get a
guy.
I said, that's right.
That's the difference between Christianity and every other
religion.
It's not a philosophy you believe in.
If you believe in Hinduism, you're a Hindu.
If you believe in Islam, you're a Muslim.
But just believing in the principles and philosophy
or even the theology of Christianity doesn't make
you a Christian.
You must believe in your heart.
You must confess with your lips that Jesus
is the Lord.
It concerns a person.
You put your trust in him.
But it also says, believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead.
You must believe that he's alive now.
Now, why this miracle of the resurrection?
Why does it not say, you must believe
that he walked on the water?
You know, there is a popular song about
putting your hand in the hand of the
one who walked on the water and so
forth.
Why does it not say, you must believe
that he walked on the water?
You must believe that he changed water into
wine.
May I say, frankly, if the Lord had
forgotten to walk on the water and hadn't
bothered to change the water into wine, it
wouldn't make much difference to our salvation.
But if he had not risen from the
dead, our faith would be vain.
The scripture says so.
We must believe that he is alive right
now.
And so he's able to help us by
his spirit.
So when I ask the question, what does
the decision involve?
Not a religion.
It doesn't say you must believe in Christianity
instead of Buddhism.
It doesn't say you must believe in Protestantism
instead of Roman Catholicism.
It doesn't say you must believe in the
New Testament as well as the Ten Commandments.
It doesn't say anything about religion.
It says you must believe that God raised
him from the dead and that he is
the Lord.
That becomes a great confession.
Now this brings us to the last question.
Where and when do we make this decision?
Look at those six verses again.
Who must decide?
Everyone, whether you believe in God or not.
Why must you decide?
Because you need to be set right with
God.
You need to be safe from your sins.
How is the decision made?
You must believe in your heart.
You must confess with your lips.
What does the decision involve?
Putting your trust in Jesus Christ as a
person and confessing him openly.
You must believe that he is alive today.
That he is the Lord.
So it finally brings us to where and
when must this decision be made?
Look at the very first of the six
verses.
What does the scripture say?
The word is near you, on your lips
and in your heart.
That is the word of faith which we
preach.
Now what does that really mean, the word
of faith which we preach?
Phillips translation.
I knew J.B. Phillips.
He is still alive by the way.
He was a speaker at Forest Home when
I was there in 1950 I think it
was.
J.B. Phillips translation translates this word of
faith as the secret of believing.
The word of faith.
The secret of believing.
You have to admit you have met some
people who seem to find that secret.
You know sometimes unbelievers say I wish I
had your faith.
Or I wish I could believe what you
believe.
Sometimes they really mean it.
They are wistful.
They wish they could.
But apparently there is something holding them back.
What is the secret of believing?
Well it says here the word is near
you, as close as your lips and your
heart.
During the battle of Manila in World War
II I was trying to sleep in a
miserable old tent.
It was called the bachelor officers quarters.
Miserable old tent with twenty army cots.
Now if any of you have been in
the military service you know there is only
one way to be comfortable on an army
cot and that is to lie on your
back.
There is always one frog in the pond
to start the other frogs croaking.
And soon these other men were snoring.
Some snored bass, some baritone, some tenor.
I wish I had gone to sleep before
they started the barrage.
In the distance you could hear the artillery
hammering away at the walled city of Manila
because the Japanese fought to the last man.
But a soldier can sleep through artillery fire.
Just as for instance when you hear a
thunderstorm in the middle of the night it
awakens you and then you go to sleep
even though there are still thunders.
But this snoring was too close.
Then I heard a step on the gravel
path.
It was a pilot.
He was looking for a bed.
He had been flying all day and half
the night.
He was tired.
All he wanted was sleep.
When he came under the tent he heard
the barrage of snoring.
So he started to swear.
He said where is that light?
He didn't know that I was awake so
I spoke up.
I said if you stand right where you
are.
He started to swear again.
He said just tell me where it is
man.
Why doesn't the army do things right?
If they were in business they would be
bankrupt he said.
And he started to swear again.
I said look I'm trying to help you.
You won't even listen to me.
If you stand right where you are.
Reach out your hand.
There is a string hanging there.
Pull that cord and the light will come
on.
I wasn't going to get up and switch
on the light for him.
He could do it himself.
So after a few more mutterings he pulled
the cord and the light came on.
And his bad temper evaporated.
He saw there was one army caught empty.
Now he could have sworn all night.
And it wouldn't have helped him.
He could have cursed the darkness.
It wouldn't have helped him.
He could have asked me to explain the
principles of electricity.
And that wouldn't have helped him either.
All he needed to do was to do
what he was told.
It was within his reach.
Pull the cord and the light would come
on.
That's the exact meaning of this verse.
The word is near you as close as
your lips and your heart.
You can't get any closer than that.
You can do it.
What do you mean?
You just believe in your heart.
You decide to put your trust in Christ
in your heart.
And then you decide to admit it with
your lips.
It's as close as that.
Now today is the 22nd of June.
Midsummer 1986.
Supposing you put it off till tomorrow.
It's still the same decision.
You must believe in your heart and confess
with your lips.
Supposing you put it off till the end
of the year.
You must believe in your heart and confess
with your lips.
Supposing you say wait till I graduate from
college.
You must believe in your heart and confess
with your lips.
Wait till I get married.
Then you must believe in your heart and
confess with your lips.
You say wait till I'm on my deathbed.
Then the minister can't tell you anything more
than believe in your heart and confess with
your lips.
So in that sense it's near you.
It's so close to you.
It's within your reach.
That means that you can do it right
now.
If my wife were here this morning and
someone were to say when do you want
to decide to get married.
She would say we've been married for nearly
50 years.
If you've already decided you don't need to
decide again.
But if you're not clear in your mind
about it.
You need to decide right now.
I've tried to illustrate this.
I'm going to conclude with a rather personal
illustration.
When I was on my honeymoon.
I said to my new bride.
When did you actually decide to marry me.
She said would you like to know.
I said that's why I'm asking.
Well she said it wasn't when I told
you.
It was the day before.
You see I was in Lapland.
That's north of Norway.
And this girl that I decided to marry
was a Norwegian girl in South Africa at
the time.
So I proposed to her by cable.
I asked her to marry me.
She sent back a cable which I got
in Norway.
Which said no.
But I prayed about it.
So I decided.
I sent another cable grant to say I
was coming.
I traveled all the way out.
I use a little psychology.
Every place I got to like London, Southampton,
Canary Islands, St. Helena and so forth.
I sent another cable to say I was
getting closer.
I didn't say it in so many words
but I let her know I was getting
closer.
That's what you call a war of nerves.
And when I met her after traveling 1200
miles up country in Africa.
I proposed to her again on the station
platform.
We talked about this another time.
She was a bilingual telephone operator.
Well actually she spoke four languages.
When I discovered that she was on the
phone as an operator.
I would call up and if I heard
the familiar voice I would propose again.
And she would say I can't talk to
you on official business.
I said when do you knock off?
3 o'clock.
I said alright I'll meet you coming out.
So I just kept proposing every day.
Until she decided to marry me to get
rid of me.
Now when I asked her when did you
actually decide.
She told me the day before.
I said why didn't you tell me then.
She said I wanted to be sure.
My mother advised me this.
My sister advised me that.
She said I wanted to be sure for
myself.
She said the next day I told you.
And that gave me a wonderful conviction.
When it comes to deciding for Christ.
You must decide in your heart.
Sometimes you put the cart before the horse.
We ask people to make a public declaration
before they've really decided in their heart.
So I want to give you that opportunity
today.
Perhaps this is your first time here.
Maybe you've been coming right along.
But if you have not decided for Christ.
If you have not put your trust in
him in your heart or confessed him with
your lips.
You should do it now.
And the first thing is to do it
in your heart.
Let us all pray.
And those of you who are sure that
you're Christian.
Pray for those who are not sure.
Now if you are truly converted.
You don't need to make this decision.
But if you're not converted.
Or if you're not sure.
Or if you're not satisfied.
Or frankly you know you're just not converted.
You can make that decision now.
You say what do I say.
Tell the person most concerned.
Tell the Lord.
Say oh God.
I want to be a true Christian.
I want to be truly converted.
Say that in your heart.
He says him that cometh unto me I
will no wise cast out.
He will not turn you down.
So just you say in your heart.
I want to be a true Christian.
That's your decision.
You know what it involves.
Repenting means to change.
You just turn right around as far as
your attitude is concerned.
But you must also confess with your lips.
Now most people are shy in a public
meeting.
They don't like to make a spectacle of
themselves.
But at least you could tell someone sympathetic.
I drove 70 miles to come here to
talk to you.
I'd like to pray for you.
Have you any objection to my praying for
you that you may become a real Christian.
I don't see how you could have any
objection if you've already said it in your
heart.
So I'm going to ask you if you'd
like me to pray that you may become
a true Christian.
Let's keep it between you and me.
Just raise your hand.
Take it down again.
I'll pray for you.
Yes I see your hand and yours.
Are there others?
Yes I see other hands.
You've prayed Lord I want to become a
true Christian.
Now if you're truly converted.
If you're sure of it.
If you're satisfied.
You don't need to ask my prayer.
But if you're not satisfied or if you're
not sure or if you know you're just
not converted.
I want to pray for you.
Any others who'd like me to pray for
you.
Raise your hand.
Yes I see other hands raised.
Yes I see your hands.
I wonder if you'd be willing to go
one step further.
You've told me you want to be a
Christian.
How about letting someone help you to be
sure.
In other words would you be willing to
wait behind and let someone counsel with you.
Check up on it.
Help you with any difficulty.
If that's the case.
I want you to do that.