The Sun Is Setting - Part 4 — K.P. Yohannan

The book of Romans begins as follows. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God. That verse really is a beautiful description of his life. He was totally committed to Christ, surrendered to the will and ways of God.

Today on The Road to Reality, we'll be encouraged to follow in those footsteps. Our speaker, as always, is Dr. K .P. Ohanan, who currently leads a worldwide missions movement, Gospel for Asia. He'll be sharing the last part of his message called The Sun is Setting.

Set aside the next quarter hour to join us, won't you?

Knowing God Beyond Bible Study

A friend of mine some years ago went to the Lord and said, Lord, I'm confused. This church I go, they have Bible study almost every day, all kind of stuff going on. Lord, the carnality, the rivalry, the jealousy and the lust and all the stuff going on, I don't know.

He's a new believer. And he said the Lord spoke to his heart and said, Son, they spend time with the Bible, but not with me. Please don't misunderstand, I read my Bible every single day. I even don't like computer for my Bible reading.

I read the real book. And I study this. But what I'm saying to you, Pharisees also knew the Bible very well. And they will know it better than you do. And I do. So what am I saying? This word is given to us for us to know him.

And become his in all ways of our life. And this is what I think one of the greatest lessons we can learn about someone so fragile, so weak like Paul when he writes about his life. Why the Lord stood by him.

Belonging to Christ in the Midst of Crisis

When the whole world is going crazy, he says, the Lord whom I serve. No, that is there. Whose I am. Send his angel and say, Paul, don't worry about it. I'm here. The storm didn't go away. The crisis didn't go away.

The shipwreck didn't vanish. No. In the midst of the chaos, Paul knew him that he belonged to. And I say to you, my brothers and sisters, if we make a commitment to be his. It's not mere preaching. Honestly, I didn't have very many big sins to give up in my life.

Like I was this and that. Nothing. Not like that. But you know, the worst suffering I must experience in my life. In knowing the Lord was to say, not to the good things. Not the right things. Not to things that was proper and appropriate.

And it never been easy. It never, even today it is easy. I have a lot more freedom now in my life than in the past. But I am more a slave now than ever before. I was tempted to ask the Lord to take away a certain burdens and agony I live with.

And a few times he said, you are the freedom. I come back to him and say, I am sorry. Just give me grace. That's all I ask. I don't ask for you to deliver me from this and kill these stupid people who are opposing me.

Or these enemies. But give me grace. And I tell you, it didn't happen next day or next week. But I found him to be incredibly precious, sweet. It makes my life easier to obey him. And follow him. The sad thing about this ministry that you and I are given.

The Danger of Self-Centered Ministry

Someday we will wake up. Maybe too late to realize so much of the work we have accomplished. It was all about us. And I remember some of the pastors in the early days that I walked with. There are 20, 30 members.

And how tender and simple and broken they were. But the years will go by. They become unapproachable, elite, and powerful. And some of them I meet, my heart is so grieved. Because I know they left the Lord.

But they are still brilliant Bible teachers. And God is not looking for us to change the world. He is looking for us to be his, so he can change the world. Maybe not in our lifetime. It may happen after we are gone.

The Lord Working Through His Servants

And it's something that impacted my life more than anything else. The last 10 years, it is reading the lives of church fathers. And people that followed the Lord as a young Christian. In the early days, when I read about writers, A .W. Tausser, Andrew Murray.

And Alan Redpath, and Major Ian Thomas, and Buck Singh. And all these people. I thought, wow, how great, wonderful leaders they are. And amazing and all that. But later I learned, really, they didn't make any of these things happen.

They just happened to be born slaves of Christ. And he lived his life through them. So, my application about this whole thing is this. I don't know where you are, and you are hungry to know him. Ask the Lord to give you grace that he will become the most important person in your life.

That Bible and information will not become a matter of making you and your family, your children, good people. But rather, it is to know him. And it says, when we see him, we shall be like him. And Paul, when his journey came to an end, in 2 Timothy.

Paul's Desire to See Christ Face to Face

He says, Timothy, it's been a long, drawn out battle. I ran this race and I fought this battle. And Timothy, I just want you to understand something. I did it. But the one thing on my mind, to see him face to face, changed my thinking so much.

What was it that was driving Paul as almost a maniac, non-stop, to give up all? I think that you find in his last words, Now waits for me a crown the righteous judge will give to me. Not only for me, but all those who love his appearing.

When all is said and done, nothing really matters. Six weeks ago, I was going to the airport to catch my flight to Europe. And before I would go, I would go and visit a dear sister who was on our staff for a long, long time.

I mean, she must be close to 50. Walked with the Lord. Really good looking lady. Very tender hearted. Very sweet and gentle. She went to the doctor and they found out she had cancer. And then too, it was in the very final stage.

Obviously, she had no pain or nothing to figure this out. So they said, we can do chemo, but the chance is 5 or something like that. And she opted not to do it. So I was in a room alone. I watched dying people.

Facing Death With the Hope of Christ

But nothing this close. Her eyes so bright. Her face like a young girl going to get married. Because I saw her for years, almost every day. And she couldn't talk very strong, very soft. So I leaned over and she said, Oh, Brother KP, thank you for showing me the way of the Lord.

Thank you for helping me to love him. Please don't stop. Please don't. Prayed with her and I loved him. I was overseas when I got a call that she just passed away. But minutes before she slipped away, the last thing she said, Oh, it's so bright, so wonderful.

He's smiling at me. And she closed her eyes. What is it you're looking for? What is it you want to take with you? In the end, you are all alone. It's a lonely, alone journey. But if you know him, you could enter heaven and the whole world.

The saints wait for you, for me. And Jesus lived like that. And I pray that in the midst of busyness, not that I'm saying you get lazy and do everything and sit on the top of the mountain in a cave. No.

But when Paul said, I am his, ministry comes after that. Let me conclude with this poem that I didn't write. But when I was in my early twenties, I heard this and I wrote in the back of my Bible that, I read it a million times, I think.

Surrendered Obedience as a Slave of Christ

I am seeking for one who will wait and watch for my beckoning hand, my eye, who will work in my manner the work I give and the work I give not pass by. And all the joy that's brought to me when one such as this I can find, a man who will do all my will, a man who is set to study his master's mind.

I am but a slave. I have no freedom of my own. I cannot choose the smallest thing, nor even my way. I am a slave, kept to do the bidding of my master. He calls me night or day. Were I a servant, I could claim wages, freedom sometimes, anyway.

But I was bought. Blood was the price my master paid for me. And I am now his slave and evermore will be. He takes me here. He takes me there. He tells me what to do. I just obey him. That is all, and I trust him too.

You're listening to The Road to Reality with Brother K .P. Yohannan. Before we leave you, we'd like to tell you about an excellent resource by K .P. called That They All May Be One. In this easy-to-read booklet, K .P. shares past struggles and offers real-time examples of how to maintain unity.

Jesus prayed that his church would be one, and this will serve to help us in that direction. You can order that online at roadtoreality .org. That's roadtoreality .org. And please remember us in your prayers.

And as the Lord leads, we would appreciate your support as we continue to help people seek a deeper walk with Christ and reach out to the lost world. Let me also give you our toll-free number, 1 -866-WIN-ASIA.

That's 1 -866-WIN-ASIA. K .P. Yohannan has been crisscrossing the globe for the last 40 years, challenging the body of Christ to discipleship and encouraging listeners to reach the unreached with the love of Christ.

This has been The Road to Reality.