In this sermon transcript, the preacher shares his personal journey of how God transformed his life from being a barefoot country boy to becoming a worldwide evangelist, author, and founder of a church in Toronto. He encourages young people to read his book, "The Story of My Life," which details his experiences. The preacher also emphasizes the importance of studying biblical prophecy and understanding the future events mentioned in the Bible. He mentions upcoming topics he will speak on, including the victorious life, the spirit-filled life, and his own conversion story. The sermon concludes with a call to purchase several of the preacher's books, including "Prophecy, What Lies Ahead," "The Man God Uses," and a hymn book.

I simply cannot tell you, my friends, what a joy it is to be back in Australia once again. I came for the first time in 1938. I'll never forget the campaigns of 1938. I was here in Adelaide in 1938, and we had a wonderful, wonderful time of blessing. I wonder if there's anyone in this great audience tonight who was in our meetings here in Adelaide in the year 1938. May I see your hands? Yes, quite a large number. And I'm glad to welcome you again. Glad to be with you once more. I came back to Australia in 1961. I never expected to come back after that, but here I am again, having accepted an invitation from Ambassadors for Christ. And here I am in Adelaide for the third time. And I want to thank God for this opportunity of being with you in this great Youth for Christ rally. My, what a meeting this has been. I've heard a great many canaries singing, but I've never heard a canary sing like this canary sang a little while ago. I've heard that song sung again and again by George Beverly Shea and some of the greatest soloists in the United States of America and the Dominion of Canada. But I don't know where in the world she ever got the voice that we heard tonight as she sang the song of the soul set free. I think I'll never forget it. Now, tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to answer this question. What is the supreme task of the church? I trust that you'll tell everybody about it. I trust you'll bring every friend you can. And I trust that you'll come tomorrow afternoon for the message. What is the supreme task of the church? On Monday night, on Monday night, the Lord willing, I'm going to speak on the victorious life. And I think once you hear that message on the victorious life, you'll be a different man, a different woman. On Tuesday night, I'll probably speak on the spirit-filled life, speaking directly to the Christians. On Thursday night, my last night with you, I want to tell you the story of my life, the story of my conversion, the story of my boyhood days, how God found me, how God saved me. And I trust that every young man and every young woman who can will be here on Thursday night to hear the story of my early life or how a newspaper was the means of my conversion. Now, this is my main ministry. I do not need to tell you that this voice of mine will soon be silent and silent forever. But these books will still continue to speak. God has permitted me to write 35 books, 35 cloth-bound volumes. They've had a sale of 3 million copies, 3 million copies in 70 different languages. Now, I do not get one single cent from the sale of these books. Every cent goes into missions, goes into my foreign literature fund. But I want you to get these books because I want to leave something in your homes after I leave Adelaide. And this is the bargain price at which you can buy them in the vestibule on either side tonight. Some of them sell for $2.50. Some of them sell for $3.50. You can have any book you want tonight for $2. You can have any three books that you want for $4.50. That means that for an extra 50 cents, you get an extra book. And I trust that you'll do what they did in Melbourne where they bought hundreds of copies. I trust that you'll go out with three copies for $4.50. That's a special bargain price. Here's the passion for souls. These are the lectures on evangelism and revival that I deliver to 3,000 students in one of the American universities every day. If you want your heart stirred for evangelism and revival, you should read this book, The Passion for Souls. My very dear friend Billy Graham wrote the foreword for this book. And you'll find his foreword in it. It tells about the great revival I saw with my own eyes on the Russian mission fields of Europe. It tells about the revival in my own church in Toronto, Canada a number of years ago. The Passion for Souls. Here's the story of my life. Every young man and every young woman should read this story. If you'd like to know how God took a barefoot country boy, sent him to 72 countries in worldwide evangelism, enabled him to write 35 books, 1,200 hymns and poems, and to found the Great People's Church in Toronto, Canada, you'll get the entire story in this book, The Story of My Life. And I trust every young person will get a copy of The Story of My Life. And then prophecy. What lies ahead? We're living in awful days. It'll not be long now until the end. Do you know anything about the coming of the Antichrist? Do you know anything about the return of Christ? Do you know what the Bible has to say about the future? You ought to study this book, Prophecy, What Lies Ahead. An exposition of Daniel, an exposition of the last book of the Bible, Revelation, and many other messages on prophecy. Prophecy, What Lies Ahead. And then the book our brother mentioned a moment ago, the book for young converts, the book for young Christians, the book for those who want to go deeper with God, the man God uses. Would you like to be the man God uses? Would you like to be the woman God uses? Get a copy of this book, The Man God Uses, and I think that you'll be a different kind of Christian in the days that lie ahead. And so as you go out tonight, don't forget, at the close of the service, this is so important, choose three of these volumes for only $4.50, and long after God has called me home, you'll turn to these books, and they'll be a great blessing to you in the days to come. Now I suppose of all the 1,200 hymns that God has permitted me to write, I suppose the best-known hymn is Then Jesus Came. George Beverly Shea sings Then Jesus Came at every campaign held by Billy Graham, and he sings it over the air again and again and again. I wrote it a number of years ago. God has made it a great blessing down through the years. Then Jesus Came, you'll find it in this book, this green-covered book which contains the hymns that God has given me, The Song of the Soul Set Free, just sung a little while ago. Then Jesus Came, The Glory of His Presence, God Understands, and many other songs that have been used in the great Billy Graham campaigns and that have been sung now for a generation. The hymn books are 75 cents each, and there are two different hymn books back there containing a number of my songs. Gordon Hamilton from Toronto, Canada, is going to sing at this time Then Jesus Came. Then Jesus Came One sat alone beside the highway baying His eyes were blind, the light he could not see He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows Then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee When Jesus comes, the tempter's power is broken When Jesus comes, the tears are wiped away He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay So men today have found the Savior able They could not conquer passion, lust, or sin Their broken hearts had left them sad and lonely Then Jesus came and dwelt himself within When Jesus comes, the tempter's power is broken When Jesus comes, the tears are wiped away He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay I want to thank all those who have had a part in making this crusade possible. And I'm so glad to learn that my very dear friend Bill Bright is going to be with you. I think Campus Crusade is the greatest movement today on the face of the earth among young people, students, in our universities and colleges. I know Bill Bright. He's a man of God. I've lived with him in his home. I've spoken for him at his rallies. And I'm sure that you'll not be disappointed. He'll have something to say to you that will be a real blessing. And I trust that you'll be present, that you'll come when Bill Bright is here. There was a time in my life when I didn't know whether I was saved or whether I was lost. I'll never forget that time. I didn't know whether I was bound for heaven or whether I was bound for hell. I remember I was working in the great Massey Harris Company of Toronto, Canada. I was carrying messages along the underground corridors from one department to another. But I wasn't interested in the message I was carrying. I was asking myself just one question. Am I saved or am I lost? That was the only thing that concerned me when I was a teenager. That was all I thought about as a teenager. I wanted to know whether I was bound for heaven or whether I was bound for hell. One night I went to a Presbyterian church. I sat in the gallery at the left side of the church. I bowed my head and prayed. I said, Lord, grant that the minister tonight may speak on salvation. Grant that he may make perfectly plain the way of salvation. That night I listened with both ears. I watched with both eyes. But at the close of the service, with hundreds of others, I got up and I went out into the darkness of the night, still not knowing whether I was saved or whether I was lost, and afraid to go back home for fear I might fall asleep and wake up in perdition. Why was it that I didn't find the way? Was it because the minister had not preached the gospel? No, he did preach the gospel. Again and again he cried out, Believe, believe, believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But listen, here was the trouble. During the entire time of his message, he never once stopped to tell us what he meant by the word believe. And that was my trouble. I knew I had to believe, but I'd always believed. I had believed from my childhood days. There never had been a time when I didn't believe. There wasn't one single word in this book that I did not believe. I believed the Bible from cover to cover. Moreover, I did not know anyone in our community who did not believe. There were no atheists in our community. There were no agnostics. There were no unbelievers. Oh, there were many who got drunk. There were many who swore and who cursed. There were many who never darkened a church door from one year end to another, but I did not know of a single individual who did not believe. Everyone in our community believed, and yet I knew perfectly well that they were not Christians, that they had never been born again. And that was my problem. Then at last I got hold of that wonderful little pamphlet, Safety, Certainty, and Enjoyment by George Cutting, and I came into the light. And from that day to this, I have never for one single moment doubted my salvation. Now, there are three steps in saving faith. They're like the three rungs of a ladder. In order to reach the top rung, you have to take the first two rungs, or you'll never get to the top rung. It is only the third step that saves, but you can never take the third step until you take the first two steps to begin with. The first step I emphasize by the simple word hear, H-E-A-R, hear. The second step I express by the simple word believe. The third step I express by the simple word trust. And these are the three rungs of the ladder, and these are the three steps that must be taken. First of all, you must hear. That's why we send missionaries to Africa. They must have a knowledge of God's salvation. No one can believe until he first of all hears. But I do not need to depend upon that step tonight. Is there anyone in this congregation who has not heard? I'll guarantee that every individual listening to the sound of my voice has heard again and again and again. Therefore, you have already taken the first step. Then I come to the second step, believe. What is the meaning of the word believe? Do you realize that that word has changed its meaning? Do you realize that it does not mean today what it meant when Jesus used it? It does not mean today what it meant when the Apostle Paul used it or the Apostle John? It has changed its meaning. What does it mean today? It means to give intellectual assent to a truth. And as soon as you have given intellectual assent to a truth, then you have believed, as the word is used today. Some time ago I turned to the dictionary and I looked up the word believe in the dictionary. Do you know what it said? To consent with the mind. To consent with the mind. Is that going to save anyone? That's the meaning of the word believe today. When you have given intellectual assent to a truth, when you have consented with the mind, then you have believed, but you're not saved. That doesn't touch your heart. That doesn't touch your will. That doesn't bring about any change in your life. And therefore it doesn't save you. And yet that's all that the word believe means today. To give intellectual assent to a truth. To consent with the mind. Some time ago I studied the history of this King James Version. It was published in the year 1611, as you know. The translators were translating the Old Testament scriptures. They came across a certain word in the Old Testament and they searched for an English word with which to translate that Hebrew word. At last they chose the word trust. And that's why you have the word trust appearing so frequently in the King James Version in the Old Testament. 152 times in the Psalms alone. Then they came to the New Testament. They came across the same word in the Greek. And once again they searched for an English word with which to translate that Greek word. But for some reason, known to no one, instead of retaining the Old Testament translation, they chose an entirely different word. They chose the word believe. And that's why you have the word believe occurring so frequently in the New Testament scriptures in the King James Version. Especially in the epistles of Paul and in the writings of the Apostle John. Again and again you have the word believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But do you realize that that is the faith of the demons? What does God say about it? The demons also believe and tremble. Why do they tremble? Isn't it sufficient for a man to believe in order to be saved? And if the demons believe, are they not saved? You know as well as I do that there isn't a single demon saved and never has been and never will be. And yet they believe. How do they believe? They give intellectual assent to the truths of God's word. They consent with the mind. They believe everything that you believe in this book. They believe the Bible from cover to cover. They were the very first to fall down and recognize the deity of Jesus Christ. They recognized his deity before men recognized his deity. The devils knew who he was. The demons knew who he was. They believe but they're not saved. And my friends let me say this. There are millions upon millions of so-called Christians in our churches today who have believed, who have given intellectual assent to the great truths of God's word and still are not saved. Now I come to the third word. The only step that has ever saved anyone and the only step that ever will save anyone, the word trust. T-R-U-S-T, trust. When I was holding campaigns in Australia in 1961, the New English Bible was published. The committee here in Australia presented me with a copy of the New English Bible. Now just as soon as I get hold of a new version, I sit down and I read it through from the first words of the last word. I want to see how it differs from the other versions. And as soon as I was handed that copy of the New English Bible, I immediately sat down here in Australia and I read it through right from the first word to the last word. Now there are a number of things in the New English Bible that I do not like. But there is one thing that arrested my attention. To my utter amazement, I made the discovery that the word believe had been completely eliminated from the New English Bible. You don't find it there. Not in connection with salvation. It is never used. Other words are used, but the word believe is never used in the New English Bible. Why? Because the translators of the New English Bible knew perfectly well that that word had changed its meaning since the King James Version had been published in 1611. And that in order to enable people to realize what it meant, they would have to use some other word. And so they did. Now you take an example. You remember the Apostle Paul said to the Philippian jailer, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. Do you know the way the New English Bible translates it? The New English Bible translates it like this. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Now that explains it. That doesn't need any comment. That has to do with the heart. That has to do with the will. That means a decision. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. And that's exactly what Paul meant when he said 1900 years ago, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved. I never say that today because that has to do with the head only. When I use that verse today, I say put your trust in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Now what is the meaning of the word trust? Let me be so clear and so simple but so plain that you'll never misunderstand it again. First, the word trust excludes effort. If there is effort, there is no trust. If there is trust, there is no effort. No one excludes the other. It's either effort or else it's trust, but not both. Did you ever have anyone try to teach you to float? Do you remember how your instructor stood there by you in the water and he said to you, Now just throw yourself back on the water and trust the water to sustain your weight. And do you remember how you threw yourself back on the water and how you floated to the bottom? And then do you remember how your instructor said, Now listen, you mustn't put forth any effort. You mustn't struggle. You mustn't try to assist the water. The water carries great navies. It can easily carry you. Just throw yourself back on the water and trust the water. And for a second time, you threw yourself back on the water, but there was a slight catching of the breath. There was a slight tightening of the muscles. And once again, you gently floated to the bottom. Then when you came up, your instructor said, Now listen, you're never going to float until you let the water do it all. Until you allow the water to sustain your weight. Don't struggle. Don't put forth any effort. Just trust the water and you'll float. And this time, as you throw yourself back on the water, you'll find to your delight and pleasure that you're actually floating. I wish someone tonight would float on God's salvation. Let go your efforts. Let go your endeavors. Let go your reliance upon the church. Let go your reliance upon religion. Let go your reliance upon your good works and just float on the salvation of God. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus. Lean your whole weight on the Lord Jesus. Commit yourself to the Lord Jesus. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. And I'll guarantee it will work. It excludes effort. Second, trust implies committal. Now there can be no trust until there is committal. And the reason so many church members have never been saved is because they've never committed. They've never committed themselves to Jesus Christ. They've committed themselves to the church, but they've never committed themselves to Christ. What is the meaning of committal? I think the best illustration is the wedding ceremony. Now I don't know how you marry people in Australia, but I've married hundreds in Canada and I know how we marry people in Canada. A young man and a young woman go together for some considerable time. At least they should. Then at last, the young man asks the all-important question. And without a moment's hesitation, the young woman answers, yes. Now they're engaged. A little while after their engagement, the girlfriends come along and they say, we understand that this young man has made you a great many promises. Yes, he has. And do you believe him? Yes, I do. But we understand he has promised you a home. Do you have the home? No, I don't have the home. I'm still living in my father's home. And yet you believe the young man. Yes, I believe. You see, she has taken the second step. She has believed. And she has gotten absolutely nothing in spite of her belief. We understand this young man has promised you clothes. Yes, he's promised me clothes. Do you have the clothes? No, he's never given me any clothes. Not yet. My father still supplies my clothes. And yet you believe. Yes, I believe. And we understand he has promised you food. Yes, he's promised me food. Well, is he giving you the food? No, my father's still supplying my food. Except when we go to the restaurant together. And then sometimes I pay the bill. No, I haven't received the food. And yet you still believe the young man. Yes, I believe. Now she has taken the second step. Just as thousands of church members have taken the second step. They believe. But she has received nothing. Because the second step does not result in salvation. After a while, the young man stands at the front of the church. Facing the minister. First on one foot. Then on the other. The longest time he has ever stood in all his life. Waiting. Patiently or impatiently. Waiting. For the young woman of his choice. At last on the arm of her father. To the strains of the wedding march. She comes down the aisle slowly. Oh, so slowly. She's not the least bit interested in that young man. She doesn't even give him a thought. All she's interested in is what the people are saying about what she's wearing. She wants everybody to take note of what she's wearing. So that they'll talk about it. After the wedding's over. And so she comes slowly down the aisle. As slowly as she can. While the poor young man has to stand there patiently waiting. For her arrival. At last. After an age. She arrives at the front of the church. And she takes her stand by the side of the young man of her choice. Then the minister asks one or two very important questions. Dost thou and she dost? Wilt thou and she wilts? And then something happens that has never happened before. For the first time in her life. And I want you to mark it now. For the first time in her life. She hands herself over. She gives herself up. She commits herself to the young man of her choice. It is not now a question of believing. It is now a question of trust. And now she puts her trust in the young man of her choice. Now she is his responsibility. It is up to him to look after her. It is up to him to take care of her. Never again will she have to work. Her working days are over. The time has now come when someone else is going to do the work. Someone else is going to supply her needs. Someone else is going to take care of her. Someone else is going to look after her. Simply because she has taken the third step. And she has put her trust. She has committed herself to. She has handed herself over to the young man of her choice. My friends, that's exactly what you will have to do. A little later on, the girlfriends come around again. And they say, what about his promises? He promised you a home. Do you have the home? Oh, yes. He bought a home for us. We're living now in our own home. Yes. I now have the home he promised. And he promised you food. Yes. He pays the grocery bills. He's supplying my food. And he promised you clothes. Is he supplying your clothes? Yes. Not as many as I want, but all I need. He's looking after my clothes. When did she get everything? When she believed? When she believed, she got nothing. It wasn't until she took the third step. It wasn't until she trusted that she got anything. And then she got everything. My friend, there are thousands upon thousands of church members and professing Christians who have taken that second step. They've heard. They've believed. But they've never trusted. Have you ever trusted? When did you walk down an aisle? When did you stand at the front? When did you go to an inquiry room? When did you kneel at an altar? When did you put your trust in Jesus Christ? When did you commit yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ? When did you do it? Third, trust demands action. Trust demands action. Look at this chair, if you will. I'll believe anything you want me to believe about this chair. It looks like a good chair. It has four legs. It has a back. It has a seat. I'll believe anything else you want me to believe about the chair. You just tell me what you want me to believe, and I'll believe it. But I'm standing here tonight, and I'm saying to you, I'm tired, and I'm weary, and I'm exhausted. Please tell me, what must I do to rest? And you answer back immediately, quoting the King James Version. You say, believe on the chair, and thou shalt rest. And I say, believe on the chair. What else is there to believe? I've already believed everything you've told me to believe. What else can I believe? But you have no other answer. And so all you can say is, believe on the chair, and thou shalt rest. And I'm still tired, and I'm still weary, and I'm not resting. I've taken the second step. I believed, but I'm not resting. Then someone else comes along, and I say, tell me, what must I do to rest? And the other one says this. Put your trust in the chair, and you will rest. Commit yourself to the chair, and you will rest. Give yourself up to the chair, and you will rest. Lean your whole weight on the chair, and you will rest. And I sit down on the chair, and I'm resting. It works! It works! The very moment I trust the chair, I'm resting. The very moment I give myself up to the chair, I'm resting. The very moment I commit myself to the chair, I'm resting. Why didn't you tell me that at the beginning? Why did you talk to my brain? Why did you talk to my intellect? Why did you talk to my mind? Why did you tell me to believe, believe, believe? Why didn't you tell me to trust? Why didn't you tell me to put my trust in the chair, to lean my whole weight on the chair, to give myself up to the chair, so that I might rest? Now I'm resting. And all I had to do in order to rest was to put my trust in the chair, give myself up to the chair, hand myself over to the chair, commit myself to the chair. In that moment, I found myself resting. My friend, the reason you've never found salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ is because you've never, never, never put your trust in Him. You've never acted. And trust demands action. And when you take a physical step, it will be followed by a spiritual step. And that's why Billy Graham always gives the invitation. And that's why I give the invitation. I've been preaching this gospel now for over half a century. But listen to me. I have not seen a dozen people saved in their seats. I haven't seen a dozen people saved in their pews. But I have seen thousands of people saved by getting up out of their seats, walking down an aisle, standing at the front, kneeling at an altar, going to an inquiry room, taking a physical step of some kind. For that step has always been followed by a spiritual step. Have you ever taken that step? Have you ever walked out for the Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus always demanded a decision. That man who had the withered arm in the synagogue, he wouldn't heal him until he stood to his feet, until he put up his hand. Only then would he heal him. And he had the power to heal him, but he wouldn't use that power until the man had made a decision, until the man had stood to his feet, until the man had raised his hand. Only then did Jesus heal that withered arm. And my friend, if you're not a Christian, if you're not saved, if you do not know Jesus Christ, it's only because you have not taken the third step and you've never acted, you've never trusted Jesus Christ. I want to ask you tonight to put your trust in the Lord Jesus. I was 16 years of age when I opened my heart to Jesus Christ, when I walked down a Nile before 3,400 people and stood at the front. It only took a few moments, but it has lasted for over half a century, and it's going to last through all the countless ages of eternity. And it was the greatest thing I ever did in my life. And my friend, if you've never trusted, I want you to trust tonight. In a moment, I'm going to ask you to come and stand here in front of me. Stand up against this railing here, and I want to pray with you. I want to ask God to enable you to take this step. But I want you to take this physical step first, for you'll never be able to take a spiritual step until you take a physical step. We're going to sing a verse now of just as I am without one plea, for that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidst me come to thee. O Lamb of God, I come. It's hymn number four, and as we sing it, I want you to come and stand here, if you will, right in front. And then as soon as you have gathered here at the front, we'll have prayer together, and I'll commit you to the Lord Jesus Christ. But I want you to act. I want you to do what that young woman had to do. I want you to come down the aisle. I want you to put your trust in Jesus Christ. Let us stand together, everybody standing.