The following is a sermon given by Billy Graham on April 24, 1988 at the Pure Heart Church in Shanghai, China.
The mighty god of the universe is called I AM. In Exodus 3:14 the Bible says: "And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM" (King James Version). Moses had said: "If I go down to Egypt and they ask me who sent me, what will I answer them?" (cf. Exodus 3, 13). God said, "Tell them that I sent you."
Jesus completed the statement given to Moses. Seven times in the Gospel of John he uses the phrase "I am."First he said: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry again” (John 6:35).
I know there is a lot of rice in China, but there is also bread. Without bread and rice, a meal would not seem like a meal. Jesus fed the physically hungry. But Jesus' biggest concern was spiritually hungry people.
A doctor in the United States said a while ago that more people die of loneliness and guilt and depression and insecurity and hunger of the heart than of physical hunger. Bread is the symbol of spiritual life in the Bible. People all over the world are the same; they have an innate hunger for something, and that something is Christ. Men can be satisfied with nothing less than Christ. Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven" (cf. John 6:33). "Whoever eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:51).
How is this living bread obtained? In the United States we have had a terrible disease called polio for the last few years. He crippled people for life. Many people died for it. Then a vaccine was discovered and polio was nearly eradicated. When I got the polio shot, they gave me a little white wafer. They put a medicine on it and I ate it and swallowed it. That was the vaccination. It seemed so easy, such a painless act.
Carrying Christ in your heart seems so easy. He'll just open his heart and say, “Lord Jesus, come in. I am ready to turn from my sins and accept you as my Lord and Savior." Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry again” (John 6:35). This bread satisfies the inner longings and hunger of the human heart. you have taken this bread You must repent of your sins, change your mind, turn your back on sin and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Second, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).Scientists say they don't know what light is. We know about the effects of the sun, but we don't know exactly everything about it. We know that no plant, animal or human life on this earth can live without light.
God placed the sun at a precise distance from the earth. If the sun were a few kilometers closer to us, we would all be incinerated. If it were further away from us, we would freeze to death.
What the sun is to the earth, Jesus Christ is to the human heart. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). As I have traveled the world I have seen the light of thousands of Christian hospitals and Christian educational institutions; I see that light shining all over the world, extending our Christian hand of compassion to a world in need. But I see that it not only helps the body, but also penetrates the soul of people. You have a body. But the Bible also says that you have a soul, a spirit that lives within you.when you die, your body goes to the grave. But the spirit, the real you, lives forever. Jesus said that if you come to him, you will live with him.
In America, many people stumble blindly through life looking for something they don't have. Oh, they have money. They have televisions. Maybe they have a car. They have all these things, but they are not happy. Peace is not in his heart. Because? Because they do not know Christ. Jesus Christ is the one who brings peace to our hearts. He shines his light in our hearts.
Third, Jesus said, "I am the door" (John 10:9).Every building I've ever been in has an entrance somewhere. The kingdom of God also has an entrance. it is jesus christ. Jesus was probably familiar with doors because he was the son of a carpenter. He probably had made many doors. Now, a building can have many doors. But God has only one door to his kingdom, and that door is Jesus Christ.
Fourth, Jesus said, "I am the true vine" (John 15:1).The hour of his death was approaching and he was having a last supper with his disciples. He told them some wonderful things. He said, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit" (John 15:5).
When you receive Christ, He gives you the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit produces fruit in your life. What fruit? Love. He gives you supernatural power to love even people you don't like. Joy is another fruit. Joy in the midst of all kinds of problems and sufferings. There is peace. you have peace in your heart And then you have patience, meekness, kindness, faithfulness, self-control. These are produced by the Holy Spirit. And you can live that kind of life with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Fifth, Jesus said: “I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep ”(John 10:11).Sheep could not exist without a shepherd. Wolves and wild dogs and thieves would get them. And they would run away because sheep can't see very far. The Bible says, "All of us who are like sheep have gone astray" (Isaiah 53:6). Man is like a sheep. We wander blindly; we lose ourselves We are lost from God. We have strayed from God.
My family and I live in a log cabin in the mountains of the southern United States. We have grass and grass, so we decided to get three sheep to help chew the grass. We put up a fence hoping they wouldn't get lost, but sometimes they would get out and not find their way back.
Jesus tells the story of a lost sheep. This farmer had 99 sheep that were safe, but one got away. He was lost. So this shepherd decided that he would go after the lost sheep. After a long search he found the sheep. And he gathered all his friends, and they rejoiced because he had found the sheep (Luke 15: 4-6).
you are the lost sheep Jesus Christ would have died on the cross if no one but you had been lost. God loves you and is looking for you.
The shepherd lives with his sheep. He gives them food, shelter and security. Jesus said, "I will be with you always, until the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20). No matter what, no matter how sick you are, you can lose a child, you can lose a father or a mother, Jesus is with you. you are the sheep; He is the shepherd. He loves you and gave his life for you. When he died on the cross, God took all our sins and took them on himself.
Sixth, Jesus said in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life."He offers us eternal life. One day one of Jesus' friends died and Jesus raised him from the dead. He told Lazarus: "Lazarus, come out!" And Lazarus came out of the tomb (John 11:11-44). This is an example of what Jesus can do for us spiritually. We can become new creatures. Jesus said that we can be born again and we do not have to enter our mother's womb.be reborn(John 3:3-7). We are born again spiritually. This could happen to you. I could start tonight.
Seventh, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).In John 6:44 he says: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." This is how we come to God. The Holy Spirit will use an incident in your life to speak to you. It can be when you are meditating or thinking in silence. Or it can be when you are walking down the street with thousands of people. In the midst of all these people, God can speak to you. He uses the Holy Spirit to convince people that they need God. He attracts us. He calls us to accept his Son Jesus Christ from him as the fulfillment of our lives, the One who can forgive our sins, the One who can give us eternal life. Will you make that commitment?