Being A Witness： Who Will Go! — K.P. Yohannan

Would you all stand with me just for a second? This week, without any doubt, has been the most exciting and exhilarating for our church. And for me, it's been an absolute joy to see all of you, I consider my children.

All of you, you are brothers and sisters. So, turn to the person right, left, behind you and give them a smile and a nice hug.

No boys hugging any girls, all right? You can be seated.

Some of us were talking today, saying that how sad it is our week went by so fast. I am sure we will have many more opportunities like this. I was so glad to hear this afternoon from our Father Sijo and Gina Kochamba and several other people that some of the most brilliant young people in our generation, they are here in our meeting.

Young People Serving Their Country

I was hoping that our church will be able to pray and sponsor at least hundred young people who will want to go for their civil service education to become IAS officers. These are people, those who become collectors and people responsible to serve our country.

And they are extremely powerful positions. Recently when we had the Maasi flood in Kerala, I happened to see the collector responsible for this district. He was speaking on the television. I was so moved by his genuineness and his compassion as a young person.

My religious beliefs, he is a Muslim and I said to myself, I must do whatever I can to help him. And I went to see him. And together we helped thousands of families. And someday Believer's Eastern Church should have thousands of young people serving our country.

And that's what God wants from us. And I am glad you are called by God to do it. And think about it in many parts of our country and in neighboring countries, up to hundred kilometers radius, there is no doctor, there is no nurse, there is no hospital.

Who will care for those poor people? And Jesus said to us, you must go. And you must love others just as I loved you. And I am so glad that God has burdened our heart to do things like that. And today our special theme is about the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Is a Person Who Empowers Witness

And Holy Spirit is not just power. He is a person. I mean, look at me. I can raise my hand. I can lift things. And I can pick up things. I can write things. It all takes energy. I am a person. Some people think Holy Spirit is a power.

It is like you. You are walking. Why? You have energy. Walking is not you. You are a person. Holy Spirit is a person. So Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, that's what the very special privilege the church has to worship the Holy Trinity.

And the Holy Spirit's role is to give us the power to be a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the reason we are asked to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit. That is the reason we are asked to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit.

I remember when I was around 19 years old, I was in Jammu. And because of my ability to speak and teach, lots of people, lots of churches invited me to be the speaker. And I was very glad to do it. I was proud of it.

And I thank God for the intelligence God gave me. And you have your abilities. But I remember that evening. There was a big crowd. And I was supposed to be the main speaker. And I just didn't have any strength in me.

I was traveling many, many weeks. And I was so desperate. So I went into a tiny room. And I knelt down beside the bed. And I prayed. And I said these words. See, prayer always for me means talking to someone.

And I said, Jesus. You said you will give me power. And I ask you, please, would you do that for me? And give me the power of the Holy Spirit. So I can speak to all these people tonight on your behalf.

And I was so sincere. Because I had my message and my notes. But I felt so helpless. And you know the amazing thing happened. It is like you put your hand in the socket, in the electric socket. And I think God had to do that for me.

I felt a strange strength coming into my being. I was so filled with God's love. It is like a thousand watt electricity going through my body. And then I said, God, please stop it. I can't take it anymore.

And the amazing thing was, my heart was so completely filled with God's love. And I preached that night. Not in my strength. He gave me the filling of the Holy Spirit. And this is our birthright. There are people who teach us all kinds of false doctrines about the Holy Spirit.

Our Bishop Timothy Oss this morning talked to you about it. And this is the reason why Believers Eastern Church stays with God's Word. And also the teaching, the tradition of the Apostles and the early Church Fathers.

Faith, Repentance, and Love for All People

Anything God has for us, it comes through faith. How do my sins get forgiven? I don't see any signs in the sky. Why? It says in the scripture. If I say I have no sin, I am deceiving myself. But if I say, Oh Lord, I am a sinner.

When I get angry with people. When I lie to people. When I am proud. The Holy Spirit convicts me. My conscience bothers me. What am I supposed to do? I say, Lord, please forgive me. And if I offended my father.

I go and tell him. Father, I am very sorry. Father, I told you the truth. But the way I said it to you. It was not kind. And I ask you to forgive me. Many people think. Doing the right thing is love. It is not.

Love is greater than truth. This is a problem of the church many times. You think about someone in your village. He may be a Muslim. He may be a Hindu. He may be somebody who doesn't believe in God. And he may have leprosy.

And how do you deal with them? Somebody died in their home. Somebody is poor. The children cannot go to school. What do you say? Oh, they are not my religion. They don't believe in my God. So they are not my family.

No. All people are our family. How do you know that? One God made all of us in his image. If a father has ten children. Suppose my father has ten children. And you take all the ten children's DNA. All of them are his children.

The same way. Regardless of caste, creed or religion. Bible says God made all of us. Out of love he made us. And Jesus Christ is God. Bible is not Christian's God. Bible is not Christian's book. God loves all people.

So here is a Hindu family. Here is an atheist family. And I hear early morning that somebody died in their home. So what do I do? I think it is just like my family. I take the two wheeler. Or bicycle.

And early morning I rush to their home. And knock at the door. And they open the door. They are crying. They are weeping. They ask. Why did you come here? Why you came here? And then you say. Oh I am a student here at the college.

I heard about your son died. I just want to come by. And tell you I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? And that mother may say. We don't have any help. We don't know what to do. And my husband died.

And I have no money. So what do you do? And you say. Andy. I will do what I can. You are not pulling your Bible out. You are not preaching Bible verses. And you go home. And ask your father. And your mother.

Can I have some money? And they say. We are also poor people man. I have no money here. What can you do? And then you think. I want to help their family. Then you realize you have a watch. And you quietly go.

Go to a shop man. Or anyone. Please help me. Can I sell this watch to you? What do you want with that? I paid 500 rupees for this. Anything you give. It is only one year old. The man says. 10 rupees. And you say.

Please. I went to your home. And they are poor. Somebody died. And they are needing help. And all I have is this. Can you please help me with more money? And he is a Hindu owner of the shop. And he says to you.

Are you telling me the truth? Yes. Then he says wait here. Then he makes some telephone calls. Then he comes back. He says yes I know it happened. What do you want? I don't know sir. But they need some help.

And he gives you 1000 rupees. And then you take the watch. And give it to him. He says no. You keep the watch. You take the money to them. And help them. And you bring it to them. And you say to the aunty.

I got this money for you. Anything else I can do? She is wondering. If you are a human being or an angel. All you do is love. Let me ask you this. Why you feel kindness in your heart towards them? Because God's kindness is inside you.

And you went to the shop man. He is a Hindu Brahmin. He heard the story. What made him to give you the money? It's a kindness God put in his heart. See you understand. We all are connected. Whether we are near or far.

Witnessing Through Humility and Daily Dependence

This is how Jesus wants us to live as his witness in this world. I remember one day I was travelling in the train in Rajasthan. And those days there was no second class. It was first class and Gandhi class.

That is before you were born. And I had my seat. It's my seat. And then I saw. An old Marwari mother was standing there. And I said to her. Please sit here. And she sat there. She didn't even look at me.

Didn't say thank you. I was very sad. Later. I said to myself. I am so selfish. I did that. So she will thank me. She will think I am a good person. But that's not what God does. He gave his grace and blessings to all people.

In spite. Instead of people. Getting mad at God. But the question is this. How can we live as Jesus lived on earth? That's what Jesus said. As the father sent me. So I am sending you. You be the light of the world.

You be the salt of the earth. How do you do that? You allow the living Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit. Dwell in you. Every morning you get up. You kneel by your bedside. And you pray. What do you pray?

What I do. I first make the sign of the cross. My life is sealed with the cross of Christ. I am his. Then I say to him. Today please Jesus be with me. Then I read the scripture. Then I say the Nicene Creed.

Then I pray the Lord's prayer. And end with the sign of the cross. And that day. I want the Holy Spirit to guide me. People talk to me on the telephone. All the time I am on the telephone. Many times.

When I am talking on the telephone. Inside me. I am saying. Holy Spirit. Help me to understand what I must do. What I must say. How I must respond. The amazing thing. From inside me. I can hear the Lord speaking.

That is Holy Spirit. Your conscience. Is the most powerful. Weapon God has. To speak to you. And through you. As you live this life. So living by the power of the Holy Spirit. Simply means you allow the Lord Jesus Christ.

To be your Lord. All the time. But how do you do that? Okay. This morning. You ate breakfast. And lunch time. You ate lunch. And evening dinner. You haven't eaten yet. Are you starving? It's okay. You will get it.

You will have your lunch and dinner. But why do you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner? In between tea and biscuit and all that. Because our body needs energy. This evening I had a glass of juice. And I ate one egg.

I also was swimming in the water. This is true. I need a strength to speak to you. The food. And the drink. Gives me the strength. So somebody says. Did you eat food? And that person says. Yes, yes, yes.

But when? Oh, 25 years ago. And you say. 25 years ago? You never ate anything since then? You will say. Something is wrong with his head. Then you will say. That's not normal. The same thing. Everyday.

You need. To be connected with the. Life of God. That's what Jesus said. In Saint John chapter 15. Abide in me. And I in you. And if you do that. You will bear the fruit automatically. If the branch is cut off.

It will dry out. Now the question. How do you live. In constant fellowship. Experiencing the life, the power of God. How is it possible that with God. You can live. Experiencing the power of God. The early church fathers.

In the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th century on. The true name. They are orthodox fathers. And they taught. Always live in the presence of God. But how do you do that? See. I recommend. You make it a point. You pray in the morning.

You read your scripture. We have a book that. Help you to read through the whole. Scripture Bible in one year. Then you ask God. Please speak to me. Give me strength. And then you pray for the day. Then.

Just before noon time. Stop whatever you are doing. You know we have a lot to learn. From our Muslim brothers and sisters. And from the Jewish people. How many times a day they pray. In the book of Daniel you read.

He prayed three times a day. Morning. Noon. And night. So I ask you young people. This is something our church teaches. All individuals. All people. Make a habit. To pray in the morning. Pray in the noon time.

And pray in the evening. This is your personal prayer. Because you can talk to God. You know. You know how I pray. I have a little car. And nobody is in the car except me. You saw that. You know I charge with electricity.

So when I get in the car. I sit for a second. And I say oh Lord. I am starting this day. Please help me. And I pray whatever I need to pray. And I make the sign of the cross. Then the car takes off. But then.

On the right side of my car. Or on the left side is the passenger seat. And nobody is sitting there. And I imagine. Jesus is sitting there. And I say all kinds of things to him. One day I said. Jesus I don't know what you are doing.

I have been telling you about a lot of problems I am dealing with. Please do something about it. And this is a conversation. Prayer is basically talking to someone. He is not a million miles away. He is near you.

How we do that. Because the Holy Spirit in us. Gives us the grace and strength to pray. Without the Holy Spirit. We cannot live the Christian life. Without electricity. The bulb will not shine. There will not be any light.

The Evidence and Purpose of Spirit-Empowered Witness

And as young people as you are. You should pray earnestly. The Lord will help you. To live by the power of the Holy Spirit. But what is one of the proof. Of the filling of the Holy Spirit. And we saw the scripture verse.

But you shall receive power. When the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be witnesses to me. The Holy Spirit was not sent. To give us goosebumps. And shake around. Or fall down. No. The Holy Spirit came as a person.

To empower us. To give us strength. To be Christ's witness. So all these things I told you. You don't know it is happening. The bulb has no clue it is happening. But the energy is flowing through. And how we do that.

You surrender your life. Continually. To the Lordship of Christ. And the Holy Spirit and the Father. It is called the sacrament life. But when we live like that. Life becomes much easier. You know I do exercise.

Like push ups. You don't believe that? I will show you. Here. I did that. I do that everyday. I think Father they are all going to do push ups. They are all going to do push ups. It is important to exercise.

But you see. Unless we engage our life. Unless we yield our life. I can stand here. And say I am going to do push ups. In my mind. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Nothing will happen. This is what you need to understand.

Sacramental life. Means a life filled. And led by the Holy Spirit. This reason is so important. That you be faithful to your church. It is so important that you partake from the Eucharist. Because it is supernatural.

It is not something we are doing. And through the Eucharist. Jesus life is flowing into us. But how? By the power of the Holy Spirit. When the priest takes the bread in his hand. And he blesses and consecrates it.

When he takes the chalice in his hand. And he consecrates it. What is he doing? Saying may the Holy Spirit. And all the mystery happens through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason why our church teaches so strong.

About the mystery of Eucharist. I am telling you things that are practical. I am telling you things that are practical. Talking about doctrines without. Real reality of life has no meaning. We read about the Lord Jesus.

He was led by the Holy Spirit. To go into the wilderness. To fast and pray. Here you are. You are in college. High school. You live with your family. Your relatives. Lots of problems with people. He knows some of that.

Prayer, Fasting, and Resisting Destructive Influences

What do you do? He knows someone who is taking drugs. And you know he is going to destroy his life. He is eating pan all the time. Like a cow. But you know what is going to happen? He is going to get cancer.

And he knows that. You should tell him. Don't do this. But there is a problem. In Saint John chapter 10 verse 10. Jesus said. Satan has come. And demons at work. We cannot see them. What is their purpose?

To destroy your life. To make you poor and helpless. And cause you to be ill and sick. And Jesus said. I have come. To give you life. And life abundant. And Jesus. He was led by the Holy Spirit. Forty days of prayer.

And fasting. So now you see your friend. He is doing a wrong thing. He is going to hurt himself. He could be a family member. So what do you do? You say Lord Jesus help me. What must I do? And you will hear him speak to you.

How do you hear? With your ears? No. In your heart. You feel this urge. It is like drinking water. When you drink water. We should drink more water. But we will drink when we are thirsty. So in your spirit.

You feel the urge. I should pray. Maybe I must fast. So you take a day or two or three. Fasting and pray. For what? For God to set him free. From the addiction. Why do you do that? Because the Holy Spirit.

Alive in you is guiding you. Because the Holy Spirit guides you. You take any part of your life. You will be surprised. When you are led by the Holy Spirit. You will do things normally you don't do. Some of your friends.

They are dangerous friends. And our bishop this morning told you about that. And you don't know what to do. You are struggling. God can do wonders. Through the power of the Holy Spirit. If you depend on him.

In our own strength we cannot do it. But with his power we can do it. So Christian life is not. Living a life by our strength. But a life lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. But a life lived by the power of God.

But how we experience that. The connection is prayer and faith. That's the reason I told you the other day. About the Jesus prayer. In the orthodox faith. They made a string with knots in it. And each knot.

At that knot they hold. And pray the prayer. Jesus Christ. Son of God. Have mercy on me. I am a sinner. So we always live with the awareness. Who we are and who God is. There are lots of false prophets going around.

False Prophets, Money, and the Discernment of Spirits

They say they got power of the Holy Spirit. They can heal people. Be very careful. The power of the Holy Spirit. More than anything else. Is giving us. The understanding. Of others need of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And all this healers going around. How much money they are collecting. You never find the apostles. Collecting money for healing people. In the book of Acts. Chapter 16. You will find a young girl. And he was going around.

Talking about people's future. And people are giving money. Who are making money? He says her owners. Huge amount of money they are making. I can tell you this. As your spiritual father. Anyone. Who pray.

And heal. And preach. And ask for money. Take money. For the ministry they are doing. They are false prophets. I didn't say it. The early church fathers said it. And there are prophets going around. They speak in some strange language.

I am not saying. Holy Spirit will not enable someone. To speak in tongues. That is not what I am saying. But they go around. And say these strange languages. I don't know if it is language or not. But they will tell you what God said.

They cannot show that in the Bible. And what do they do? They collect money. They put fear on you. I tell you listen to me young people. Anytime. Anytime. You get afraid. You fear. That is not from God.

It says in 2 Timothy. God has not sent. The spirit of fear. So in the book of Acts chapter 16. This young girl was. Talking about people's future. And people. Believed it. I tell you something happened to me.

A real story. It was 1973 December. I was in Delhi. And that night. I was supposed to catch. Air India flight. From Delhi to Frankfurt Germany. And I went to the Air India. Ticket office to get my ticket.

And. They said. Where is your passport? I gave my passport. The man looked all through this. He said we cannot give you a ticket. I said what happened? I had to go tonight. He said you are not buying clearance.

I had no bank account. What clearance I must get? He said sorry. You need to get bank clearance. For you to leave India. And I didn't know what to do. So I called a friend. I said sir. This is what happened.

He said come here. No problem. So I went to his house. He said in Connaught Place. There is a bank. You go and tell so and so. That I send you. Please give me the stamp. So I had few hours left. I was in panic.

Connaught Place in Delhi in the afternoon. Is like an ocean of people. I was rushing. And people everywhere. And right there. Among 100 ,000 -200 ,000 people. The man looked at me. He said one minute.

Please stop. I said what do you want? He looked into my face. And he said. Tonight. You are going to the airport. You are catching a flight. You are going to Germany. Give me five rupees. I will tell you the rest of the story.

This really happened. But I knew enough of the Bible. I said this. I don't want to listen to him. I said sir. I have to go. Please let me go. I rushed to the bank. And got my paper. And I caught my flight.

How did that man knew? How did he know? It is Bible called familiar spirit. They are demons. That's what you read in Acts 16. So many people in the name of Jesus are going around as prophets. Don't let them come to your house.

Don't let them in the church. I know too many families destroyed by these people. I am sure there are godly prophets. And they will say what the Lord said. And give them hundred rupees. They will not take it.

You give them one crore. They will not take it. I knew people like that. But Jesus said. In the last days. The greatest falling away from faith will happen through false prophets. And I warn this to you.

Because when you go home. You need to tell your parents. You need to tell other people in the church. Believers in Eastern Church believe in the book of Acts. Everything there we believe. I lived in Rajasthan for two years.

Healing, Compassion, and the True Work of the Spirit

And I was in Kota for many months. But I am telling you the real story. This team of young people like me. We go around and distribute gospel tracts and booklets. And tell people about Jesus. One of those teams.

They were doing not far from Kota, Rajasthan. And free literature. There was a little booklet. It is named The Good Shepherd. It is about Jesus. And this man came and got that. He was in his early fifties.

And he left. But what happened? This man had cancer in the last stage. And the hospital said. There is nothing we can do. You go home and die. And he decided. He wanted to go far away from his home. And commit suicide.

It was on the way to kill himself. He met this team and got this booklet. And he sat by the roadside. And he read it. He talked about the Lord Jesus. He forgave your sin. Whatever you need. Call upon him.

God loves you. He cares about you. And he never prayed to Jesus. And he sat there on the roadside. In his own words. He said. Jesus, I don't know who you are. But this booklet says. You are a loving God.

And I ask you to please help me. I am going to kill myself. Can you please heal me? I don't know. I am a sinner. But I am praying to you. All of a sudden. He felt. Something strange happened in his body.

A new strength came in his body. He didn't go and hang himself. Instead he went back to the hospital. And the doctors said. We told you everything you need to know. There is nothing more we can do. It is too late.

Then he said. Doctor. One request. Please test me again. Give me all the tests. And he insisted. He said I will give you all the money anyway. I am not poor. And they did. And the doctors said. We don't know what happened.

And many doctors came together. They said. All our tests. All was wrong always. This man has no cancer. He is completely normal. And this man. Pulled out this booklet from his pocket. And he said. Doctor.

This book healed me. And they thought he went mad. Hallelujah. And with the address on the booklet. He went to the station. Where our people are. And told them the story. And they explained to him. The Lord Jesus is a loving saviour.

He heard your prayer. And he healed you. Think about that. What real event in the life of that man. How did that happen? The power of the Holy Spirit. That's what you read in the book of Acts. Saint Peter and Saint John were going to church.

They saw a man sitting there. He is begging. He is crippled. He can't walk. And Saint Peter said. Look at me. And he looked at Saint Peter thinking. He is going to get some money. And Saint Peter said.

We don't have any money. But that which we have. We will give it to you. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You stand up and walk. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You stand up and walk. And he stood up.

He got healed. That's exactly what the Holy Spirit came to do. You will find that throughout the Bible. The real Holy Spirit. Leads people to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. The false Holy Spirit. Will cause people to follow the man.

And the man makes money. And he becomes a millionaire. That is not the Holy Spirit. And I tell this to you. Because we are living in a dangerous time. I want you to follow Christ till the end of your life.

Being a Witness Through Simple Acts of Faithfulness

I will end by telling you another real story. This happened in Trivandrum. It was told to me by a professor. He was teaching in the Kerala University. In the class there were 30 -35 students. And there was one girl in the class.

She was in the post graduate studies. MSc, MA, whatever. And the professor was an atheist. He didn't believe in God. He just made fun of the girl. All the time. Where is your God? Where is Jesus? What is this?

Why all the suffering in the world? Can't God do something about it? And the poor girl didn't know anything. One day. She went to the professor. And said. Sir. I don't know how to answer your questions.

But one thing I know. The blood of Jesus. Purifies us. From all sins. And he loves you. That is all she knew. She didn't know how to preach. Some years later. This professor got sick. And he was in the hospital.

All his friends left him. And he was battling with death. And one day he was laying in his bed. Helpless. Lonely. Forsaken by all. And he was looking at a blank wall. All of a sudden. It was as though.

Somebody was writing on the wall. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. Jesus loves you. That came back to his mind. And laying there. He said. I don't believe in God. I don't believe in Jesus.

But I am dying. I remember the girl telling me this. Jesus. If you are real. If the girl said it is true. Please have mercy on me. And please help me. Miracle happens. The man got healed. He recovered completely.

Here is the question. How did that happen? A young girl studying in college. She is not a Bible scholar. But she had in her. The love to tell others. About the dear Lord Jesus Christ. She didn't back off.

She didn't say. If I tell this to him. He will hate me. She didn't know how to argue. All she could say. Is what she knew. That. Is being a witness. Of Christ. When you go to a shop. You buy things. And they give you change back.

You get home. They find. They gave you five rupees more. And then you rush back. And you say. What happened? Sir. You gave me five rupees more. And you give it back. That. Is. You are the witness of Jesus.

That is what it is. I recommend you. Every week. Go to a hospital. And see the sick people. Especially cancer hospital. Spend a few hours. And see the pain. See the agony. If you are from a city. Go to the street.

And see the poor children. See the beggars. And say to yourself. But for the grace of God. That is me. Think like that. And even if you don't have any money to give. That night you will pray. Oh God. That woman I met.

The children I met. Please have mercy on them. Why? Jesus lived on earth. Not for himself. He lived for others. And now. You live for others. But how can we do that? We need supernatural strength. I myself am a selfish person.

I am thinking about my stomach. I am not thinking about your stomach. But if I live by the Holy Spirit. Depending on him. Then I think about you. I think about all people. And I pray. That Believers Eastern Church.

A Final Call to Surrender and Witness

Our future. Is in your hand. And you will become. Living Christ everywhere you go. And people think. What is wrong with him? What is wrong with her? And they will discover. You are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is the reason the Holy Spirit came. And you allow the Holy Spirit. To witness about Jesus. Through your life. I must conclude. I know. You are special. Why? Because God brought you here. You say I had no plan to do this.

But God had a plan. He loves you. He brought you here. What you heard this week. What you hear tonight. Is to tell you. Lord Jesus is more closer to you. Than you can ever imagine. And by faith. Take his hand everyday.

And say Jesus lead me. And the Holy Spirit. Will give you the strength. And you are the living Christ today. And Believers Eastern Church. Will become. The reason for. Millions of people to find hope.

And new beginning in their life. May the Lord bless us. Would you stand with me. Just for prayer. I just want us to be. Absolutely quiet. No one making any noise. Close your eyes. Keep your heads down.

And think. Think. One thought. Holy Spirit. Possess. Come and take control of my life. Lord Jesus. Here I am. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. In silence. You. Surrender. Your whole life. At the feet of Jesus.