In this sermon, Brother K.P.U. Hannan emphasizes the importance of Christians becoming more like Jesus and seeing people the way He does. He references Romans 29, which states that the goal of being born again is to become like Jesus. Hannan highlights the significance of having a purpose as Christians and not just focusing on daily tasks and responsibilities. He then delves into the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, explaining how Jesus saw beyond the physical needs and recognized the woman's spiritual condition. Hannan challenges listeners to have the same perspective and to share the good news of Jesus with others.

Becoming like Christ and seeing people the way He does, that's next on the Road to Reality with Brother K.P. Yohannan. The goal of your life here on earth must be day by day that you may become more and more like Jesus himself. That must be my goal. Romans 8 29. Why are we born again? Why did the Father love us? We are predestined for what? Verse 29. That we may become like His dear Son. Yes, we all have our daily list of tasks and responsibilities and that's part of life, but it's not all of it. As Christians, we're here with a purpose. Hello there from me, Richard Bews, and again, welcome to the weekly ministry of Gospel for Asia. We title it the Road to Reality. Today, we'll be listening to a message given by K.P. Yohannan a while back at a special Christian conference. He'll show us in a moment how we become more like Jesus, but also how we see people the way the Lord does. We're in John's Gospel chapter 4. Won't you join us? For our study tonight, I'd like us to read a few Bible verses in the book of John, John's Gospel. Chapter 4. The background, the context of this portion is this. Jesus had to go through Samaria, it says, and the disciples went off to buy food while Jesus stayed back at the well. And there comes this Samaritan woman and they're having a conversation. Now, keep in mind, culturally, Jesus was not supposed to do that. I mean, this is something that normally you don't expect a man to do in that setting. Now, the disciples having gone to buy hamburger and french fries, now they are back. Now, I'm reading from verse 31 on. Meanwhile, his disciples urged him, Rabbi, eat something. But he said to them, I have food to eat that you know nothing about. Then his disciples said to each other, could someone have brought him food? My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work. Do you not say four months more than the harvest? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields. In King James, lift up your eyes. Look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages. Even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying, one sows and another reaps is true. I send you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. Then there's a verse in the Old Testament, Jeremiah chapter 8 verse 20. He reads like this, The harvest is past and the summer has ended, but we are not saved. One of the saddest words in the Bible. The entire Bible has two subjects, 66 books. One about Christ's first coming into the world. Second, about his second coming. That's all. The entire Old Testament speaks about the promised Messiah coming and the four Gospels talks about how that was fulfilled. That he would come and die and then he'll rise again and those who believe in him will have forgiveness of sin and they become part of his body, the church. That we see in the book of Acts. Then all the letters until Revelation talks about how God is instructing his body, the bride to get ready for the coming of the bridegroom. Book of Revelation, the great marriage supper of the Lamb that we read about. Now, Jesus came and died on the cross. He rose again, then he went back. But that's all. There's no story left. So what he did, he picked a handful of disciples, 12 of them, out of many thousands that sought to follow him. And you know, unlike some of our churches, try to find people come to your church any way possible. Dancing and singing and magic tricks and whatever we do, Jesus tried to get rid of people. When he had a whole bunch of people come in to them, he would say something really terrible. You know what? You want to follow me? Drink my blood and eat my flesh. They said, what? Cannibalism! And they all got up and walked away. Some rich guy would come and want to be his disciple. He would say, well, I'm glad. You are? Yeah, but first you go and give up all your riches, give it away. And then today, what will you do? You want to join us? Please come. You are already in. Come on in. Jesus had all things different from our approach to things. He picked these disciples not because they were the smartest, the most educated, the most intelligent. No, sir. There was only one who was really sharp. He knew how to count. He lost out. But three and a half years, Jesus, his commitment was to train these men so that they will continue the journey after he's gone. That was his job. As a matter of fact, if you take John's gospel, 21 chapters, you will find chapter 1 through 12 covers three and a half years of his life. 30 to 21, just a few days, hours. What do you mean? So much of the gospel is spent on Christ. Intimacy, spending time with a handful of his disciples. Therefore, we understand the priority Christ had on his mind, on his heart, was somehow infusing his life into these men. And finally, they get baptized in the Holy Spirit and they will go forth and transform the world. Acts 17, 6 says about a bunch of these people, these, those who have caused so much trouble, have come here also. Philip's translation, these world revolutionaries have come here also. It was not they were rich and famous and smart, had all the technologies. No, their very lifestyle was so revolutionary, you couldn't resist it. You cannot walk away from it. And they turned the world upside down. Thomas, one of Christ's disciples, we call the doubting Thomas, remember him? AD 50 to first century, he came to India. Who sent him? Who paid him salary? Who gave him life insurance and medical insurance? Any of those stuff normally talk about, but then none of those things, I guess. There was no 747 jumbo jet. He came to preach the gospel. As a matter of fact, planted seven churches. One of those church happened to be the tiny village I come from. Three kilometers from where I was born and raised is one of the church. You know what? That makes me a better Christian, I think. The question, what made these men to give up all and surrender all and in turn change their generation? It was Christ's life in them. They became His. How did Christ do this? He didn't have seminary classrooms. He said, today we're going to study, listen, this. No, nothing like that. He was the teacher. He was the subject and the classroom was normal life events. Think about that. They watched Him. They lived with Him. They're learning from Him. After they saw Him praying all night long, so many times they watched Him. They will say, Lord, how do you pray? Please tell us, teach us. Now, this is one of those times Jesus reveals to them His nature, who He is, His concern, His passion. Christ's goal was life transformation in all that He was doing. Let me pause here, my brothers and sisters. Somehow, learn this and write it on your heart. The goal of your life here on earth must be, day by day, that you may become more and more like Jesus Himself. That must be my goal. Romans 8 29. Why are we born again? Why did the Father love us? We are predestined for what? Verse 29, that we may become like His dear Son. There are so many scriptures that talks about that. That is, we are becoming like Jesus as we follow in His footsteps. The Holy Spirit came for what? To give us goosebumps, make us shake and stretch our words. Listen to this. Jesus said, when He comes, when He comes, He will take the things of mine and He will show it to you. 2nd Corinthians 3 18. The Word of God, it says, is a mirror. As we read the Word of God, we behold the face of Jesus. Then it says, and the Holy Spirit changes us from inside out, that we may become like the face we see in the mirror, the Word of God. If you go to the Bible to get your doctrines, degrees, be the most expert individual in all the Bible knowledge and theology, you will get all you want. How to raise your family, there's a million things you can learn from it, but if you want to be like Jesus, go to the Bible to see His face. Yeah, if we want to be like Jesus, we need to meet with Jesus, to go to the Bible to see His face. That was K.P. Yohannan, the director of Gospel for Asia. We're in the middle of a study from John's Gospel, chapter 4, and we'll return to K.P. in just a moment. But I'd like to encourage you to go to our website and take a look at what God is doing through our school of discipleship. Now, if you're between the ages of 18 to 25, you can take part in it. You'll not only draw closer to Christ as a result, but you'll find your faith stretched quite a bit, as you give help to the untouchable children of Asia, as you actively support thousands of missionaries and increase your commitment for the lost. Prayerfully consider, would you, spending a year at Gospel for Asia's school of discipleship? Ah, your life will never be the same. To learn more, go to RoadToReality.org.UK That's RoadToReality.org.UK, or call 01904 643 233. Got it? 01904 643 233. Let's return now to K.P. as he speaks frankly about measuring the things we read and hear. One of the true test of a ministry, a book, a preacher, a teacher who represents the Holy Spirit is this. The Holy Spirit never speaks of himself. He speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, when he comes, you will receive power. For what? To become my witnesses. Everywhere, all over the world. Now, watch the master teaching them through his life. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He was tired. You know what? Recently, I read through the four Gospels with a pencil in hand. Now you can do this. To see the man, Jesus, not God. No, no, I understand Jesus is God and he is my God. He is my Lord. But I want to see the man, Jesus, who was tempted in all manners. I am tempted. Really? Yes. How did he live a victorious life? That's what I want to know. Try that. You will be astounded how Jesus, the man lived on earth. When you read the passage, I would say this to you. Yeah, yeah, you know, father had an appointment for Jesus. Talked to the woman and the well, all is fine. But I want to say this. He was so tired, so worn out. He said, you guys go and get hamburger. I'm just tired to go. You know, how do I know that? I do that all the time with my associate. So I know he faces the same problem. I understand Jesus' problem because I have the same problem. He just sits there and the disciples comes. Master, because according to the culture, they couldn't eat their food unless he eats first. He is the boss. And they are quite selfish. Then he turns and says, oh, by the way, I have food to eat that you know nothing about. In America, I call it, it's a real bummer. And then the disciple says, what do you mean? Did someone bring him something to eat while we were gone? To buy the food for him and for us? What is going on? Jesus says, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work. Now that is spooky. He was hungry. He was desperate. He says, he is not hungry. He ate. He ate what? A God's will. What on earth is this? You see, if you and I watch our children, people who drive on the road next to us, the lady giving you the donut and coffee at Tim Horton, at the ticket counter, at the airport, your associates, your husband, your wife, your boss, your subordinates. If you watch close enough, God is speaking every day, thousands of times, something he wants us to learn. But we are blind. We are deaf. We are waiting for Sunday for the preacher to preach half hour and then walk away and for us to walk away. That is not the way God works. So Jesus, he takes the food and drink issue, something tangible and practical, helping them to see something more eternal and significant for them to understand. So he says, lift up your eyes, walk away, look away from your own life, from your own little world and see out there what I see. Then you will understand. Let me translate it more simply. Disciples, while you guys went to buy food, you know, I've been taught as lady. I know what you thought. You couldn't believe I was doing it. It's all right there. But you know what? The more I talked to her, the more I realized her lostness, how lost she is without my father's love, that she's plunging toward eternal hell. And one soul is more precious than the whole world. And all of a sudden I realized it is not just one little woman from Samaria, but her life represent multiplied tens of thousands. Her face became a window, a door for me to look through. And I saw multitudes and the realization destroyed, killed, eliminated. My very physical appetite, I can't eat anymore. When my mother died at the age of 84 in 2000, for three days, three days, I couldn't eat, I couldn't drink. My brothers had to force me, say you eat something or you will die also. I was so heartbroken, emotionally ruined, I couldn't get up. Please listen to me. I don't want to go through another exercise of preaching and getting in the plane in the morning and walk away. You know, my dear brother, my dear sister, I'm deeply, deeply concerned that you and I understand the heart of Jesus. I know him because that's the only way we can be effective in our personal life, in our family, in our society, or wherever we may be for his glory. Some years ago there in Dallas, Texas at the headquarters, my wife Gisela came to me with a letter in hand and she handed the letter over to me and said, You want to read this letter? Then she added a phrase. She said, By the way, please don't speed read. I don't like that. I do speed read, but why she had to preach at me? When I finished reading the letter, I was no more sitting on my comfortable chair. I was on my knees weeping. The letter came from one of our missionaries at that time working near Haridwar by River Ganges. Now, River Ganges in India, Hindus believe is a river sent by Gods and it is once in a lifetime. You must go into the river, take a bath for the forgiveness of sin. Now, I must tell you, the most polluted, dirty, stinking, rotten waters on planet earth you find in River Ganges. Multiplied millions of dead bodies over the centuries being dumped into that water. Body cremated, ashes dumped into that place. It's a holy waters. The time when this missionary wrote the letter, they had the Kumbh Mela once in 10 years. Millions come for the special celebration. 35 million people came in one week from all over the country going into the water, washing themselves for the forgiveness of sin for they never heard about the blood of Christ can wash their sins away. He writes in his letter that evening I was coming home after all day work of distributing tracts and witnessing to people. Tired, weary, as he was coming home, he saw a young Hindu woman sitting by the bank of the river weeping uncontrollably and pounding upon a chest. According to the culture, when that happens, you must know something happened worse than death itself. He writes, I went to her and asked What happened? What happened to you? She said, We are very poor people. My husband is so sick and my sins are so many that nobody knows about. To find forgiveness for my sins, solution to the problems of my home, I have given the best offering I can give to God as Ganges. My six-month-old baby boy, my only child, I just threw him into the river. Paragraph, I began to explain there about Jesus, read Bible verses to her and I said, God is not mad at you. He loves you. God never made you poor. That is not his job. Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood for the forgiveness of your sin. As a matter of fact, your sins are forgiven 2,000 years ago. All you have to do is just to believe. It is all done. After hearing his explanation, he writes, she wiped her tears, looked straight into my eyes and simply said, But why didn't you come to me half-hour sooner? I didn't have to kill my child. It is too late. Nearly 200,000 people die every day without Christ and going into eternity. How does that affect the heart of Jesus? I want to know. I need to know. If only people knew that Jesus would forgive them and that he already paid the price of their forgiveness. You might not encounter a woman on the banks of the River Ganges or a woman at the well as Jesus did in John chapter 4. But could it be someone at the store or at the office? Let's think out how we can share the good news with people and even if we don't know it, even help us spread that good news in Asia. That's really why Gospel for Asia exists. You're listening to the Road to Reality with Brother K.P. Johannan. There are other stories like the one you heard today and you can find them at our website or receive an updated story from the mission field by email. On our website you can also learn about our School of Discipleship. Now, this is geared for young adults between the ages of 18 and 25. One young man said after going through the school, the year has spurred me to move from knowing about God to living that knowledge. You could spend a year at Gospel for Asia's home office in Texas and deepen your walk with the Lord. You will serve alongside Gospel for Asia staff members, pray for the lost and even visit the mission field itself. Learn more at roadtoreality.org.uk Again, go to roadtoreality.org.uk and find out more about our School of Discipleship or call us on 01904 643 233 That's 01904 643 233. We look forward to hearing from you. The Road to Reality is sponsored by Gospel for Asia. Please join us next time for more updates and Bible study from K.P. Till then, from me, Richard Bews, may the Lord Jesus Christ energize and inspire you this very day.