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The Sun Is Setting - Part 1
K.P. Yohannan

K.P. Yohannan (1950 - 2024). Indian-American missionary, author, and founder of GFA World, born in Niranam, Kerala, to a St. Thomas Syrian Christian family. Converted at eight, he joined Operation Mobilization at 16, serving eight years in India. In 1974, he moved to the U.S., graduating from Criswell College with a B.A. in Biblical Studies, and was ordained, pastoring a Native American church near Dallas. In 1979, he and his German-born wife, Gisela, founded Gospel for Asia (now GFA World), emphasizing native missionaries, growing to support thousands in the 10/40 Window. Yohannan authored over 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, with 4 million copies printed, and broadcast Athmeeya Yathra in 113 Asian languages. In 1993, he founded Believers Eastern Church, becoming Metropolitan Bishop as Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan I in 2018. Married with two children, he faced controversies over financial transparency, including a 2015 Evangelical Council expulsion and 2020 Indian tax raids. His ministry impacted millions through Bible colleges, orphanages, and wells.
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In this sermon, Brother K. P. O'Hannon shares a personal experience where he felt the Lord asking him to walk with Him. They walked to a beautiful grass field and looked at the sunset, which reminded Brother K. P. of his childhood. He emphasizes that fulfilling the call of God is a personal and subjective journey, and he is still learning about it himself. He also highlights the importance of making the most of the few days we have left and getting to know the Lord intimately.
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Welcome to Road to Reality. Today we're delighted to share a message Brother K.P. Ohannon delivered at a recent pastors conference, but as you'll hear, it has great relevance whether you're in church leadership or not. K.P. believes the Lord spoke to his heart that the sun is setting. There are just a few days left, so it's important to get to know the Lord. Consider what you'll do with the few days that you have left as K.P. delivers this stirring message called The Sun is Setting. If you would listen close, I want to basically just share with you and talk to you as a brother in this pilgrimage serving Christ. You may not be a pastor or a senior pastor, doesn't matter, but based on Act 17, I am convinced you're being here tonight the Lord before the world began and my getting here and the Lord has definitely a specific plan for our being together this evening. When I turned 50, I know I look 30 but I'm a little older than you think, that was 12 years ago. I decided that day that I would try to be with the Lord and talk to him. My ambition, honestly, my hope was now I'm 50 and there has to be something new the Lord will want to share with me. Usually about once in 10 years something interesting and new I learn from the Lord for the future. And so being totally involved and deeply committed, traveling non-stop, teaching, speaking, missions, writing books, I'm desperately passionate about reaching the lost world for Christ. Some two billion people need to hear the gospel and you know that's all my life about. So naturally I was looking for some new understanding, some new plan the Lord will have for our work. Plus you know what he wanted to tell me. Now let me say this to help you understand I am not a spooky person looking for signs and wonders and neon lights, dreams, any of those things. I'm just normal in and out hamburger, you know, just a normal guy. So I read my Bible every day and the Lord speak to my heart and dine to self and I obey the best I know. But something strange happened that day. It was quite late into the evening, afternoon, and did I dream, did I doze off? What was it? I don't know. But it was a strange feeling that he asked me to walk with him. I could see him but I couldn't see him. I could hear him but I didn't hear him with my ears. And I said, Lord, where are we going? He said, just come and follow me. And we walked and there was an incredibly beautiful grass field. It's kind of a sloping, such a hilly area. Everything was so absolutely amazingly beautiful. And we got to the plateau, the top of it, and he said, look and what do you see? Strange. It was like a flashback. And I was a young boy, 14 kilometers from my home where I was born and raised. We have the ocean. So we watched the sunset. And here I was looking almost exactly the same thing. The sun was setting. And I said, Lord, the sun is setting. The next thing I heard, son, a few more days left, get to know me. And he left me kind of in a daze and shock. I must say, I don't have very many regrets in my life. You know, I came to know Jesus when I was eight years old. My mother led me to the Lord and I was called to serve him and I finished my high school. And so I didn't go around doing dumb things, you know, to say, oh my goodness, this and no. But that again reminded me, God was not terribly worried about my performance or great works I do. And if you know me enough, you know, you know, in my entire life, I think because of, you know, Gail Irwin and the board members insisted, I think we took one vacation, I think. He said he's going to kill me if I didn't do that. So not that I'm against vacation, because this is our life is consumed with following the Lord. But then I didn't do these things as a worker for God. No, if I have the freedom from the Lord, I will tell you more about my personal life and I don't have the freedom. But so for the Lord to tell me, the sun is setting, a few more days, son, get to know me. I was looking for him to tell me I have such a huge plan for your life and for the ministry and nations I'm going to give you, the harvest is going to take place and I'm with you and all these things I wanted to hear, but none of those things. And to my brothers and sisters, our fellowship with God determines the quality of our life and our work. You read in Corinthians, which we preach about, a day is coming, everything about our life, the works is going to be tested by fire, not for the quantity, but for the quality of it. And God wants to be the most important person in our life. And Jesus very clearly said that, unless you love me more than father, mother, son, daughter, and I wish he just ended there. He said, no, even more than your own very life, you cannot be my disciple. Those who believe in me, those who allow me to embrace them and be embraced by them, the divine embrace, he said, out of their belly, the innermost being, reverse of living water will flow. The question is not about living water, the source of it, where this is coming from. Every plant, which my father has not planted, will be plucked out. It is not the plant is good or bad. That is not the question. Who planted it? And this I say to you because, as I told you in the introduction, all these 40 years of serving Christ, how much have I witnessed, especially the work of God. Just the other day I got an email that really made me sad. When I was in Punjab, northwest of India, coordinating the work of God, I had the responsibility of leadership. I'm talking about the year 1970 to 73 years. Several teams, people from different countries under my leadership. And my associate, my assistant was this person from England. And he actually has a PhD from Oxford University. And I remember his brilliance for teaching Bible. The guy was absolutely smart. And as a matter of fact, you know, we will have 60, 70 people in our teams and he would teach the Bible. He actually takes the Greek New Testament, not English. And he simply would read from the Greek New Testament, translating literal English. And his ability to communicate, I mean, he could teach for two hours, he thinks two minutes. Just I heard he's a professor in England and he became an agnostic. I heard about it five years ago, but I was surprised to get a communication. But you see, these kinds of things should not frighten us. And we are often worried about the amount of work we do. I mean, I know this conference, the theme is, let's go and possess the land. You know, let us go up at once and take possession. You know, the statement Caleb made. My angle tonight is talk about the life of someone who actually will fulfill the call of God. It's very personal, quite subjective. And this is because in my own journey, I'm learning it. That's the reason I'm not trying to talk down on you or make you feel less spiritual or anything like that. But you see, God would destroy the whole earth to save one family. Especially America, a country with our basic mindset is, you know, we are pragmatic. We don't tell me you can't do it. We can do it. It's a wonderful quality, by the way. I'm not against that. In England, you want to change something, you wait 20 years. But here we change in 20 seconds. I mean, it's a wonderful quality, but in God's economy, it don't work like that. This is a very sobering, if you listen to me close and tell you, much of our church services and our gathering, it is not about him. Unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Someone came to Dallas a few years ago and started a church. The next Sunday, he had 5,000 people in his congregation. Now I know for sure, if he's not there teaching Sunday, 40% of the people will not be there. So who are we gathering to? Worship team? Brilliant music that entertains us? Or is it God who is a consuming fire that dwells in light that no man can approach? Where is the reverence? Where is the fear? Grace of God was preached to people who knew the fear of God. But today we preach the grace of God to people who actually think God is a little friend in our pocket. We dictate to him. Why? Because we have not come to know him the way God is. We are given a gospel that makes our life good and better. Health, us, and worship is not, following him is not about us. God is the audience, not us. And this I say to you because somehow we need to come to the place, myself and you and all of us, individuals, your housewife or pastor or preacher, teacher, whatever. We somehow need to come to the place, recognize that God is looking for a mighty minority. You know that. You and I preach about Gideon's story to Noah and Paul and all that. And that's the reason why we need to learn the greatest need, as Jesus said, one thing you lack to Martha, he said, that is translating in simple language to know me. 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.
The Sun Is Setting - Part 1
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K.P. Yohannan (1950 - 2024). Indian-American missionary, author, and founder of GFA World, born in Niranam, Kerala, to a St. Thomas Syrian Christian family. Converted at eight, he joined Operation Mobilization at 16, serving eight years in India. In 1974, he moved to the U.S., graduating from Criswell College with a B.A. in Biblical Studies, and was ordained, pastoring a Native American church near Dallas. In 1979, he and his German-born wife, Gisela, founded Gospel for Asia (now GFA World), emphasizing native missionaries, growing to support thousands in the 10/40 Window. Yohannan authored over 250 books, including Revolution in World Missions, with 4 million copies printed, and broadcast Athmeeya Yathra in 113 Asian languages. In 1993, he founded Believers Eastern Church, becoming Metropolitan Bishop as Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan I in 2018. Married with two children, he faced controversies over financial transparency, including a 2015 Evangelical Council expulsion and 2020 Indian tax raids. His ministry impacted millions through Bible colleges, orphanages, and wells.