Road to Reality - Christ's Call - Part 2 — K.P. Yohannan

Welcome to Road to Reality, the radio ministry of Gospel for Asia. Today, Brother K .P. Yohannan asks, is it possible to live the abundant life Jesus promises, and how can I overcome sin that continually hinders my walk with the Lord?

Listen in as Brother K .P. shares his secrets to living the victorious life in the second half of this message entitled Christ's Call.

Embracing Christ's Call Among the Slum Communities

This one missionary who was employed by the government of India, making big money, a beautiful wife, two beautiful children, living in Delhi in the capital city. He heard the call of God for the slum people.

He took his wife and kids, went to the slum. Our leader said to my wife, Andy, if you just walk on the edge of the slum, you are to close your nose. You cannot breathe. It is so dirty, so stinking, pollution, open sores and bodies.

Yet in that one small slum, over 5 ,000 families live, and the missionary took his wife and kids and decided he will live among those slum people in that little hut, sleeping there, eating their food, and if need be dying there for the sake of him who left all and gave his life to reach the lost and this world, including you and me and our children, our family.

It was not easy. It was deliberate embracing of the cross, not forced upon him. Within a few months time, he was able to baptize quite a lot of people, and the church was born right in the middle of that slum.

People coming half naked, children with a bloated stomach, hungry and dying, but now come and sit on the dirt floor, clapping hands and worshipping Jesus. You know what? They are looking not for a better, healthy future here, they are looking for something far beyond and glorious beyond all this.

And that is the call of Christ that He put upon our life. But you know what? This is of a truth. My wife can tell you this, and my kids can tell you this too. Having traveled quite a bit, lived in America quite a bit, it's not my choice to come to America.

No, sir. I come here because I want to obey my Lord. The 2 -3 weeks I spend here to travel, like to speak, then I jump back to China or India or some other place and come back again to do the speaking.

So this is one of those little halts I have to be here to speak to you. The reason I come here is this. Soon, very soon, soon, very soon, listen to me, time shall no more be. You ain't going to be here, but you will face the Lord of Glory face to face.

The Regret of a Wasted Life and the Lost World

A man called me from Houston, Texas some time ago, answered by the KP, I read your book, and he started weeping. I thought I told him something terribly bad. Then he would catch himself, he would keep talking, he said, but KP, I am over 60 years old and I am just a broken hearted.

He said, I am a believer, I know Jesus, but soon my life will be over here and I stand before the throne and I realize, if only I could invest my life today, millions of people from China, India, Bhutan, Burma, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, all these places, from every tribe, every kindred, from every nation, people that never, never, never heard the name Jesus will be there.

And oh, I just thought about that. And I am so grieved that I wasted so much of my life. Finally, he said, KP, sorry for weeping like this, sorry for being so emotional, but I am just calling to ask you, is there anything I can do, anything I can do to become real and touch the lost world?

I said, you know, the first thing is, you must, by the grace of God, make a decision that, Lord, I want approval from you and no one else. So much of Christian work originates in the flesh and carnality.

Lord, I only want your approval. I said, make the commitment to the Lord, walk with Him with the purity of heart and integrity and holiness and honesty, even if you do nothing in the world, that is more important.

Secondly, I said, if God is speaking to you, take your resources. If you cannot go to India or China, the best thing you can do, live a simple life and give your resources to reach the lost world. And he asked me more questions.

Within a couple of weeks' time, he sent a check to our office for $235 ,000. That money was to go to buy the Life of Jesus film in eight different languages for illiterate, the tribal, the poor, the suffering people in slums and the un-riched areas.

Our missionaries took this and began to go and preach the gospel. A year went by. I told my people on the mission field, would you please do a study, because we have very serious accountability system kept up, asked to see what is happening on the mission field.

I said, I want to know what is happening with that projector, with that film, and what God is doing with that project. They wrote a report back, and I was shocked. The report said, every month, no less than 100 ,000 people come to the Lord Jesus Christ by watching the Life of Jesus.

Stewardship, Giving, and Discerning Missionary Support

And I said to myself, who gave him this side of life? The Bible says, you take care of your wife and children, and you be a nice family man and nice guy. So, I am going to put my money in the CD, Doody, whatever account, and take care of me.

That is where Indians talk. No, sir. No, sir. But I am pleading with you, so that demons will not deceive you right now and take your thoughts somewhere else. I am not here after anything from you. A man from Florida called me up a few years ago and said, KP, I want to send a check for the ministry.

I said, what are you talking about? He said, one million dollars. I said, can you repeat that? He said, one million. Being so curious, I said, where did he get the money from? Because I am not supposed to ask that, because it is private.

Because I know the guy. He lived in a frame house, drive an old pickup. And he said, but KP, nobody knows about this thing. It is inheritance we got through my wife. And we looked all over America to find a mission, preaching the gospel, in the 1040 window or places where no one ever heard the name Jesus.

And we came to the conclusion after one year of search, that Gospel of Asia is the place to really invest this kind of money. I said, look Chuck, if this is all the money you have, I cannot tell you to send it.

You give me three days to pray. I told our office staff to fast and pray. I was in Akron, Ohio to speak at a mission conference. And I was going up the elevator, and the Lord very clearly asked, I can hear now, clearly He said to me, are you listening?

I said, yes Lord. You need to call Chuck today. I said, yes. Tell him all he can take from him is the money you need for the project you are praying about. And we were praying for a project of a training center in India to train workers.

It cost about less than $300 ,000. And I said, Lord, it's not fair. I want that money and him and his wife, children, everything. No, I didn't argue. I said to him, this is funny. We could use $10 million that day.

And I went back to the office and told Chris Davis, our office manager, I said, Chris, I'm sure the Lord spoke to my heart. This is it. He said, fine. So I called him up and said, Chuck, I'm glad for your money, but I can't take all the money.

The Lord told us we can only take this much money from you. And I said, I can give you other mission organizations name and address if you want to call and give it to your money, that's fine. But just for us, this is what we have to do.

Sacrificial Giving and Listening to God's Direction

A lady from another part of America gave me a huge diamond ring. I grabbed that thing. And she said, I want this to be used for printing gospel tracts on the mission field. I take it to Dallas, gave it to Chris to sell it.

She appraised it $20 ,000, the thing worked. And that night I couldn't go to sleep. Somebody troubling me and my conscience. The first thought, send the ring back, send the ring back. And the boy said, I ain't a devil.

And I said, Lord, you mean that money can be used to reach millions of people, gospel tracts. The Lord said, I understand, send that back. Next day in the office, Chris, don't argue with me, I just understand, I'm spooky maybe, but I have no rest.

We're going to send this ring back. She said, what? She said, now you brought this thing in your pocket, now I have to insure this thing and send it back. Send it back. And of course that night I said, Lord, what am I going to say to this lady?

Maybe she's going to think we reject her thing because we don't think it's worth anything. The Lord said, tell her, I see your sacrifice as Abraham did. It is yours to keep now. I'll tell you what to do with it later.

And I wrote the letter with my own hands. A year later when I was there to speak in a mission conference, I saw this lady. Then I learned the story. As a young girl, she left the United States with her husband to the mission field in South America somewhere, among the tribal people.

Her husband died on the mission field. The only thing she ever had was a ring handed down to her from her parents. Alone living in a one room house back in America, as an older woman now, loving Jesus, serving God.

The Urgency of Reaching Those Who Have Never Heard

And I said, Lord, I'm grateful that you gave me the heart to listen to you. I am not after anything from you, but I am so concerned. I'm so concerned when I see a church like this and the appearance of affluence and the nice things and all the stuff you have.

I pray you will not forget a world out there that do not know Jesus and they are and forever. If one man went to hell and cried out for a drop of water to cool his tongue, it is not one, it is multiplied millions and the tears would be forever.

I want to die, but there's no death. And Jesus, my Lord, died for them and I cannot sit and be at peace. That's how I became a crazy maniac radical. And I have one thing on my mind, to live for him and challenge you to come along to walk on this narrow road.

At 1 -866-WIN-ASIA. We'd love to send you a copy.

And now back to Brother KP. I got two children, a Danny and Masada, 20 year old boy and 17 year old girl. From the day they were born, my prayer was, Lord, please save them and call them to be your workers.

When they finished the high school, they both took the flight and went off the mission field now serving God in India. My son is in a place where I was beaten up and stoned and persecuted numerous times.

Obedience, Fasting, and the 1040 Window

And I said, Lord, if he must be killed and martyred on the mission field, I'll be the first one to jump up and down, thank you for the privilege you gave us to give our life for you. American Christians, my brother, my sister, are you godly enough to keep the alarm clock, to wake you up, to weep over the lost world, to fast before the lost world and for God?

I know those are strong words. Unless you are sensitive to the Lord, you can easily misunderstand. I'm here to put you on a guilt trip or condemnation trip. We have a problem in America, in our church.

We misunderstand obedience for legalism and bondage. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, a day soon coming, you will regret and repent. Too late it will be over the wasted life we spend for ourself here.

A world out there that do not know Jesus and a priority number one, number one must be, Lord, I love you, as a result of that, I give all to touch the lost world. And where is the lost world? The 1040 window, nearly 2 .7 billion people in India, in Iran, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, part of Africa, in Bhutan, in Bangladesh, that's where people that never heard the gospel and that's where you put your radio broadcast on.

That's where you should spend your money on. Many of you are praying for the lost world. Many of you are giving to touch the lost world. May God give you more grace to do more. Conclusion. Some applications.

Using a World Map to Pray for the Nations

One, I would encourage you to get a world map. People ask me all over the country, KP where did you buy this map? Oh, we just got one done. This is the first church, first meeting that we are offering it.

What is new about it? This tells you how to pray for the lost world. Color coordinate, whatever coordination you want to do, put it in your house. NBC, CBS, newspaper, magazine, whatever radio news you hear about Rwanda, Bangladesh, whatever.

Hey listen, let the news become prayer letter for you. Ask God to break your heart with the things that break his heart. His heart is breaking over the slums. The 100 ,000 died in Rwanda. And the blood flowing situation, the cruelty in Sri Lanka, or Afghanistan, or Bangladesh, that's where his heart is.

And you look at the world with you and the children. And if he came to a house in Dallas, you take a shower in our shower, the shower curtain is made a world map. When you take a shower, you come from Burma, or Mongolia, or Afghanistan.

Hey listen Jesus, you can be. Don't try to keep up with the joints next door, that joint is not going to make anywhere. Yes. And so, I'll plead with you, get a world map. By the way, this map, I don't know, shops sell them for 15, 20, whatever dollars.

We are trying to give all the materials for, whatever we can give you, it's about 5 dollars a piece. You can buy your own map and put it in your house, your children, your husband, wife. You look at the world and say, Lord, I pray for Afghanistan, Bihar, or Pakistan, whatever.

Living Simply for the Sake of the Gospel

So become a world Christian, not worldly Christian. Second, live simple. That means, you know, there was a time, and I say this not out of great pride or joy, I'm broken over this thing when I think about it.

There was a time, I was living by the lake, 10 acres of property, 3200 square feet house, A grade lumber I bought from Arkansas just to build a house, best, most expensive carpet, the most expensive items you can buy in America.

Money was sent through my father-in-law and all that in Germany so I can buy all this stuff. And clothes for Neiman Marcus, I mean, that's no fun. And I lived like that for 2 years of my life. But finally, when Jesus said to me, son, how can you live like this with the dry eyes, and a stone of heart, when the world is going to hell.

He didn't condemn me, He didn't beat me up on my head, it was His love. And I said, Lord, stamp eternity on my eyes. My life immediately began to change. Not that selling my property and my house, my cars, my clothes made me any spiritual nonsense.

Poverty and having no money means you are spiritual. Bangladesh, Africa, India, more spiritual people. I have friends who are millionaires who are living for God and giving all to serve and reach the lost world.

It is not, you know, we give here out of abundance. In India, in Burma, in Pakistan, other places, they give their little rice they have to cook for their children. One meal a day, that's all they may have.

They take out one handful of rice and put it aside for mission work. They give out of nothing and sacrifice. Hey, live simple. You don't need another diamond ring, a new car, new house. Hey, listen, how much you need?

Trim down your life, simplify your life. Let no one dictate you what you should do. Let Jesus tell you and you follow His instructions. If I were to tell you how to do it, I recommend you to read this book, Wrote Reality, Coming Home to Jesus, Unreal World.

And I wrote this book as a result of that long journey, one year. And thousands write to me, said, Brother KP, read the book. We save now thousands of dollars every month that we are wasting. How to simplify your life?

You may want to get and read the thing. It's not free. If you don't have any money, you can take one free also. It's about six dollars. But third, take one day of the week to fast and pray. Some of you need to lose half a pound, add one more day.

Fasting and Praying for the Unreached

Remember I told you about art of following the Lord, learning to walk on a narrow road, the cross. Hey, the cross is not somebody say, Here is a man, take your cross. Nobody dump cross on you. You go after it.

You wake you up in the middle of the night to pray for the Lord. You decide to fast, not to lose weight, but for Afghanistan, India, whatever burden God put upon your heart. You know what? We are trying to save America by marching to Washington, instead of fasting and praying for two months.

I'm challenging you to find a way to spend one day of the week to fast and pray. Fourth, if God is calling you to go, go somewhere to give your life and serve God. But finally, the most important thing I want to conclude with next two, three minutes is this.

Romans 10 and the Call to Send Missionaries

Most of you will never make it to India. Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, none of those places. But Romans 10 says, All those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how will they call on Him?

They never heard His name. They never heard His name. How will they hear without a preacher or a missionary? How will they preach except they be sent? The Scythians and the Leninites, when I first met them, began to support several native missionaries.

People from India and other countries. They pray for those missionaries in their family prayer time. Every month they send the money they can send to support those missionaries. And each missionary planned at least one church per year on the mission field.

Your greatest investment in this side of life for eternity. And today I ask you, if the Lord is speaking to you not out of guilt or because any other reasons, I tell you God is not in any trouble. I am not in any trouble either.

It is our privilege. There is a card given to you in the bulletin. Would you please pull it out? If you don't have one, you can get it when you go out from the service. Look at this card. I care about the lost and forgotten millions of Asia.

I will help native missionaries reach their own people for Jesus. Starting now, I will prayerfully help sponsor one missionary. Or you can support more than one. $30 a month or whatever money you want to put there and name and address.

And in the back of the card, it explains the logic and how it is done. To send an American overseas to a missionary, you take $70 ,000, $80 ,000 per year. It takes less than $1 ,000 to keep a native missionary full time, a whole year preaching and planning at least one church.

Because they live simple. They live like their people in all these unreached areas. So I would encourage you. Like many of you are already doing. Would you please, please today decide, Lord, I want to be a sender of one of those missionaries as a tangible way of living for you and reaching the lost world.

All you need to do is fill your name and address. And there's a medical doctor that supports 80 missionaries. He and his wife and kids from Fort Wayne, Indiana. And my wife and I support four missionaries.

My kids used to go and collect beer cans, Pepsi Cola cans from the streets and sell them, bring the money to us. So we can support those missionaries also. Now they are on the mission field. And I ask you, please do not rush and walk away from this meeting.

Supporting Missionaries as an Act of Serving Christ

Ask Jesus. Ask Jesus. Because he said, what you have done to the least of these, my brothers, you have done it for me. We are brought with us hundreds of these missionaries. We have a 2 ,000 missionaries who are ready to launch out to the mission field.

To reach the lost. They cannot go unless we help them. When you bring your card. Say, Brother KP, I want to support one or two or ten missionaries. We will give you your missionary to take home with you today.

Yeah. Put on a refrigerator in your Bible. Start praying with your family. I tell you, I can't tell you the joy that comes when you look at the four pictures beside our dining table in Dallas. And look at their faces and see what God is doing through them.

Our life is mixed with them. Their life with us. And you can do the same. You will hear from us every month that the envelope that comes tell you about how you can send your support to the missionary.

And 100 of all the money you send, go to the mission field. Nobody takes one penny out of it for anything. All our people in Dallas, 45 people, they raise their own support. We don't take anything out of this.

And you can be sure that go to the mission field. And I wish the Lord and I pray would help you to know what he's asking to do from your heart. And he will speak to you. Would you please ask the Lord about helping and praying for these missionaries right now on the field.

You're listening to K .P. Yohannan from Gospel for Asia in a message entitled Christ's Call. If you've been challenged by Brother K .P.'s commitment to authentic Christianity, visit our website, won't you?

Gospelforasia .org. We'd love to send you a free copy of his most popular book, Revolution in World Missions. Now, this is the story of Brother K .P. as a young evangelist in India and his calling to launch a worldwide organization, Gospel for Asia.

And in this book, you'll find stories of God's amazing work in the lives of people here in the West and on the Indian subcontinent. The thousands have written to us over the years with the same testimony.

For your free copy of this life-changing book, simply go to our website, Gospel for Asia, or call us 866-WIN-ASIA and request Brother K .P.'s book, Revolution in World Missions. Thank you for listening to Road to Reality, the radio ministry of Gospel for Asia.