This sermon emphasizes the importance of surrendering to Jesus, sharing stories of missionaries who sacrificed comfort and security to spread the Gospel. It challenges listeners to make Jesus the Lord of their lives, get involved in missions, pray for the world, consider missionary training, and boldly share their faith. The speaker encourages a deep commitment to following Jesus, reminding that God's love surpasses all understanding.

Good morning. Nice to meet you. Thank you. I pray for you that the blessing of the Lord will come with your words. Good. Dear God, our Father in heaven. We thank you for allowing us to meet here this morning. We thank you that you have awakened us again. That the sun may shine. That we can meet each other, but above all, you. We thank you, Lord, for your love and your faith in us. We thank you that you want to be our Lord. We thank you that we can follow you in our lives. And if we struggle with it, or are in conflict with ourselves... ...if we want to, if we can, if we doubt... ...or if we don't want to, or if we are insecure... ...if we lack certainty, we lay it all down at the feet of the cross. Because you have come, Lord Jesus, and died on the cross to save us. Because we couldn't save ourselves. Help us, Lord, to believe that our hearts, our eyes, our ears... ...will open to the word that this brother will speak. Blessed brother Johan, with your words... ...that it will touch our hearts and challenge us to go. To go into the world. Because the world, your gospel, needs you so much. Lord, we pray for a holy spirit for brother Johan. May the blessing of the Lord be with you. Amen. Good morning. Good morning, good morning to you. Good morning. So, how many of you are aged between... How many of you are between 16 and 20? 16 and 20, put your hand up. Okay, how many under age 16? And how many are younger than 16? Are you? Like you. They are probably as old as I am. Everyone who is 18 or older, put your hand up. Ah, this is a complicated group. Anyone heard the story of Adoniram Jetson? Has anyone heard the story of Adoniram Jetson? Good. There is one person in the corner. He doesn't belong to this group. Okay, Adoniram Jetson was the first American missionary... that would leave America to go to India and Burma. Burma. Myanmar, Burma. Myanmar, Burma. And that was in 1810. That was before I was born. But what happened... he fell in love with a girl during that time. That's a big problem. He didn't know what to do. Because many people make decisions to do something for God. Hey, don't worry about the camera, let it go. Because many people make decisions to do something for God. So he had to deal with this emotional battle. To go or not to go. Many of you are like that. We all are like that. We get attached to something... and we give up something. You fall in love with someone... and you give up something. All night you're talking. All night. On the telephone. And you spend a lot of money. After six months... you fall in love with someone else. And the first one is gone. It happens here, no? Or not? But then... Jetson talked to this girl. Her name was Nancy. And she was born to a multimillionaire. And she was born to a multimillionaire. Her name was John Hasseltine. Her name was John Hasseltine. And Jetson asked... if he could marry his daughter... and take her to the mission field. And Jetson asked the man... if he could marry his daughter... and take her to the mission field. And thank God, John Hasseltine... he himself was a believer in Christ. And thank God, John Hasseltine... was also a believer in Christ. He said, ask her. He said, ask her. So young man Adoniram Jetson talked to Nancy. So young man Adoniram Jetson talked to Nancy. But when Adoniram asked permission... to marry his daughter... he wrote a letter. But when Adoniram asked permission... to marry his daughter... he wrote a letter to him. This is what he wrote to John, the father. Sir... I now ask this question. Whether are you willing to part with your daughter early next spring to see her no more in this world? Would you be willing to let her depart from America and be subjected to hardship and suffering? She will suffer horrible illness and deal with terrible climate. She will be persecuted and may end up in a violent death. Sir, would you be willing to let her go? Believing that soon you will see her in heaven with others. That she will receive a crown of glory. Would you let her go, that she will see her in heaven with others? Would you become the means to save eternal souls? That's what the father said. You ask her. So Nancy responded to Adorian Jackson. I already made up my mind. To give up all the comforts of America. I will have no friends. No relatives. My normal foods. My comfortable mansion. I will have no female companions. I have already made up my mind. I will go with you. They got married. They left for India. Their first baby, Roger, died. They buried them. In a foreign land. Then went on to Burma. There he suffered much persecution. He was imprisoned. And his constant suffering and illness was his companion. One time he was 17 months in prison. After he was released. His beloved wife Nancy died. Little later. Their little daughter Maria now dies. He must dig the graves and bury them. Before him lays the prospect of more illness, more persecution. More diseases. Behind him years of loneliness and suffering. Many Americans came as missionaries, young people during this time. But they all left very fast. Many wrote letters to Jetson. Come back, please don't stay in Burma. But he said. How can I come back? Millions of these people. They are my people. They must hear about Jesus. I came here for that. And Jesus came here to suffer. And he died. And I follow in his footsteps. And he continued to serve with horrible pain and agony in his skinny body. And he continued to witness. His devotion to life. To Christ and the mission. Became the reason for over a million people, Burmese, come to Christ. In many places he would witness publicly. And there were many places where you were openly beaten. And there were people who went to Jetson and asked him. Are you the Jesus man? We hear from people that there is a hell. And we don't know how we will get there. We don't know how we will escape from there. How can we escape from hell? And Jetson would give them gospel tracts. And they would weep. They gave their heart to Christ. I've been to Burma many times. Today we have over 500 congregations, our own mission. And even today the Burmese people attribute the Christian faith to this one man. That is the real life of a missionary. And that is the real life of a missionary. And this morning the subject I have to talk about is the mission to go. You have probably heard so many of these things. And you probably think there must be a very special person to make me do something like this. I was barely 17 when Jesus called me to speak for him. From the tiny village of India. I didn't know English. I didn't know Hindi. These languages I had to learn later. I spoke my native language. I didn't wear these kind of clothes. You just got to wrap around a little dhoti. And no shoes and socks. It's quite a different life. I was born and raised on the bank of a river. Our transportation, not bicycles and cars and aeroplanes, it was canoes. That's where in a tiny church I heard about things like I'm telling you. That there are people living in North India by millions that never heard Jesus' name. And I said to myself, What can I do? I'm a small boy. I don't have education. I have no money. I know nothing. But then they said, God is not looking for able people. God isn't looking for big people. He's looking for small people. Willing people. Willing to do whatever. And I said to myself, What can I do? And in my village there was an evangelist. I was a tiny boy. He was a tall man. And I watched him often going around giving gospel tracts to people. So one day I told him, Can you teach me how to do what you're doing? He said, yeah you can, come with me. He had a bag like this. He excited like this. And it was filled with gospel tracts. And booklets. And he would go from house to house. And he would stop at a house. He said, hello, anybody here? And then a lady would come out. Or a man would come out. Or a little boy would come out. And then he would take the tract from his pocket. And then he would give it to me. Then he said, give it to them. That's what I used to do. Then he would tell them. This is about peace with God. This is about Jesus. Then he would say, Can I say a prayer for you? They always said yes! I'm telling you my story. And then he would pray. He always had his hands up. Oh God, thank you for bringing us here. Thank you for this sister. Thank you for her family. Thank you for these children. Dear Jesus. Please help them to understand you. Bless them Jesus. Amen. That's all he would do. Then he said, I will see you later. Sometimes people give us coffee and tea also. That is very nice. After a few weeks. He gave me one of these bags. He said, now you carry it. When we go to house. Then he stand there. He says, now you do it. I was scared to death. I would give it to them. I would give it to the people. And I didn't know how to say things. From one house to the next one. He will tell me things. Then one day he said, Now you pray. I never did that. He said, don't worry. He just talked to God. He talked to him just like you are talking to me. I did that for the whole summer. That was my greeting. I was very shy person. In school. When the teacher asked something. I would tremble. But now. I began to learn to talk about Jesus. You may be very young. 12 years old. 16 years old. The main thing is your heart. But here is the thing. What is the greatest profession on earth? Being a psychiatrist. It's a good profession. I like psychology. Did you read Carl Jung? Not yet. I read all about it. He is one of the famous psychologists from Sicily. He is a good one. What did he say about me? I told him that you need a psychiatrist. I told him that I am a doctor. He is a doctor. Thank you. Absolutely. You know what Charles Spurgeon told his son? My son. If God calls you to serve Him. Do not go down and down and down and become the king of England. The greatest of all privilege is to witness and serve Jesus. Does that mean someone cannot be a medical doctor? A teacher? Or engineer? Or a politician? No. Those are all our vocations. My son-in-law is a medical doctor. But he is 24 hours telling people about Jesus. And we live on earth with our little time and we work to meet our needs. But our heart's longing is for one thing. That is to serve Jesus. Why? Why? Look, I have a ring on my hand. And it is made of pure gold. And that is the ring of the Bishop of the Church. Because... Because I am the Bishop of the Church. We have 2.7 million people in our church. And we have many bishops. And this is the reason I wear that also. When you come to Asia I don't wear these clothes. I have different clothes. Are you surprised? Wow, I should say it more often. But then. When I was made the Bishop this is like the wedding. I am married to my church. I will die for my church. And this when I got married to my wife. And this is my bible. And this is my shirt. This is my shoes. Birkenstock. But let me ask you this. I told you I was 17 when I left my home. Now I am little older. I want to ask you one question. You know how old you are. But 100 years from today what will you take with you? The house you will own? The ornaments you will own? The car you will want to drive? All the clothes you acquired? All the education degrees and papers you have? Answer that for yourself. I tell you we have to answer that very fast. Think about your great great grandparents. I never saw them myself. My grandparents I never saw them. They died. And my parents of course they died. Nothing is permanent here. And think about Jesus. When he came to this earth he lived 33 and a half years here. What did he take with him? Nothing. Even his clothes somebody took it away. So it will be yours. It is your life. But what did Jesus take with him? He saw you. He saw me. For the joy that was set before him he went to the cross. And he tells you come and follow me. I will make you fishers of men. As the father sent me so send I you. You don't need to be superstar to do that. You just need to have a heart. But what kind of heart? A heart that loves Jesus. How much you love him? With the little life you have. You may not understand all about it. But then you can say to him Jesus I want to follow you. I want to be yours. Whatever you want me to do please give me the strength. I want to read to you a bible passage. If you have a bible please look at it. In the gospel of Saint Luke chapter 14 verses 25 to 33. My doctor will read it carefully and you please look in your bible. My doctor will read it carefully and you please look in your bible. My doctor will read it carefully and you please look in your bible. My doctor will read it carefully My doctor will read it carefully and you please look in your bible. If you can read If you can understand it If you can understand it It is to you who live in the Netherlands. It is to you who live in the Netherlands. Those who live in India Those who live in India Those who live in the first century Those who live in the first century Those who live in the century To Americans and English To Americans and English To Russians and Albanians To Russians and Albanians To Pakistanis and Bangladesis To Pakistanis and Bangladesis To young and old To young and old Yes, especially to the young. Yes, especially to the young. Do you see what is happening there? Do you see what Jesus is saying here? There is a big crowd following him. There is a big crowd following him. There is a lot of people here. Look around you. How many are sitting here? But here is a question. He is talking to you. He is talking to you. He is saying Out of this multitude Out of this multitude Out of all the churches in the Netherlands Out of all the churches in the Netherlands Do you care to follow Jesus? Do you care to follow Jesus? Multitudes will not. Multitudes will not. When I gave my life to Christ When I gave my life to Christ There were hundreds of young people like me. There were hundreds of young people like me. But I only know And still walking with Jesus. And still walking with Jesus. But think about it. By coming to the Netherlands But think about it. David Carroll, my colleague We both left America. We both left America. We went to the airport And caught a Lufthansa flight And flew 10 hours to Frankfurt. And flew 10 hours to Frankfurt. We went to the airport in America And flew 10 hours to Frankfurt And flew 10 hours to Frankfurt And from Frankfurt we took a plane to Dusseldorf And from Frankfurt we took another plane to Dusseldorf And two girls picked us up took us one and a half to two hours by car Would I be here talking to you? You would not see this handsome face? You would not see this best beard in the whole world? See, unless you leave something, you cannot get somewhere. This is a problem with a lot of young people. They want the world. And then also have this God. That is a struggle we all have. As a matter of fact, I thought about not coming here. I have a thousand other things going. Can I get out of it? But then I thought about the commitment I made. And I felt this is what I must do. So I said goodbye to my wife. Goodbye to my children. And I am here. The same way. Right now. When you are hearing the call of Christ. How do you hear God's call? Is He speaking to you through the loudspeaker? No. Inside you. There is a little light. Little light. Small light. Small feeling. Some longing. I want to live for Jesus. I want to follow Him. Sometimes it is a strong feeling. I make my stand. Let others do what they want. I follow Jesus. And you make that decision. And your parents will say. What happened to her? What happened to him? He is crazy. People don't understand it. But you know who you are. Hey, I tell you something else. You live with a lot of people now. But finally. When you die. You die alone. Think about it. There is no one with you. Even when they are standing close to you. A hundred people in the house. You alone are there. That is the reason why it is good to choose Jesus in this walk alone. And that is what Jesus did. If anyone wants to come after me. He must love me more than anything. Love me more than father. Mother. Son and daughter. He didn't stop there. I wish he didn't stop there. He said, even your own very life. What does that mean? We all have ambitions. You have all dreams. Something you value the most. You must walk away from it. For Jesus sake. He becomes everything. There was a girl. Born near Stuttgart, Germany. In 1915. Her father. Was a world renowned engineer. Her mother. The bank president. The two sisters in the family. Her older sister. Became a psychiatrist. They both went to school. Had the same education. They were sent for special education in Switzerland. And when they were young girls. The older one was 13 years old. The younger one was 11 years old. They went to a church meeting. There they heard about following Jesus. They both went forward. And gave their life to Christ. That very day. This young girl. The younger one. Felt. Rest of my life I want to serve Jesus. Not only she gave her life to Christ. But she said Jesus come into my heart. I want to be serving you. So both girls went to their school. Both went to college. But there is a difference. The older daughter. Chose to live. As a normal person. Learning all the graces of dancing. And behaviors of their culture. And very fashionable dressing. Both girls get the same kind of money every month. The older one would buy new dress. And whatever jewelry everything for her. But the younger one. Would collect all the money. And she liked chocolate. But even that she refused to spend money on. And at the end of the month. She takes all the money. And send it to a missionary in South America. Working within the cliff. As a 14 year old girl. She said to herself. I know I'm going to be a missionary. But I must remind myself about it. I don't want to lose it. I don't want to become like my sister. I don't want to become like anybody else. You know what she did? She took an American Indian coin from South America. And on the coin she made a hole. And she made a string. And she started wearing it. And she says. Every time she stood in front of the mirror. She sees the coin. That all American Indian head coin. Reminded her. That she her life. Belonged to Christ. And to the mission world. And when she finished her studies. She couldn't wait until the last examination. She said to her parents. I'm leaving. I'm going to Iran. Afghanistan. India. Indonesia. And they thought she went mad. And already her people began to say. Something is wrong with her. Because she was not dating anyone. But her sister had dozens of boys. Not at one time. So they said. Something is wrong with her. But often she was alone. With her Bible in her room. Reading. Praying. When her friends are enjoying her life. During college days. She was alone out on the street. Talking to people about Jesus. And in the dormitory. She was living in. The girls were living with her. Will bring magazines. Books and pictures. And talk about stuff. But she refused to even look at them. The first year. She led 25 young people to Christ. She started a Bible study. That was her life. But now she is leaving Germany. Her parents didn't understand. But her grandmother was a real believer. But Oma sounds very nice. The word Oma is very nice. And the old 90 year old woman. Told her granddaughter. You must go. Jesus is more important. She came to India. Her name is Gisela. Her older sister's name is Edith. A few years ago. Edith got sick all of a sudden. But in a few months. She died. Left all the riches. All the jewelry. That Gisela young girl happened to be my wife. And we have two children. Both know Jesus. They are married. I have four grandchildren. They all are serving God. Two girls. Two decisions. From the same family. Same resources. I ask you the question. What about you? I think I should conclude, no? Right? Since you said it, I'm going to close. We are going to close. But what do you do? There are a few things. I want to encourage you to do. One. In your own private heart. Make Jesus the Lord of all. How do you do that? You simply say. Lord Jesus. I don't understand how. But I know this. You died for me on the cross. My body. My soul. My spirit. It's all yours. Please Jesus. You be the Lord of my life. I want to follow you. And that's all. You have to talk to him. And he's waiting for you. He's not angry with you. He loves you. But he's waiting that you respond to him. Make him the Lord of everything you have. Second thing you should do. Just like that evangelist in my village. Get involved with doing whatever he can do right now. Just like the young girl in Germany. Do what you can. Don't waste your money. Don't live like others. Think about people that need to hear Jesus. Even Gospel for Asia have a table there. You can think about praying for and supporting someone in Nepal, India and other countries who are preaching the gospel. Some of you together can become a sponsor of a missionary. And someday you may go there. But do what you can right now. Then start praying every day for missions. Get the book Operation World that talks about different countries of the world. Get gospel tracts and give it to people as the Lord guides you. And I think this book is in Dutch. I'm sure it is. True discipleship. I think I saw it there. And get this book. I read this book. I mean this is published by, you know, I read this book. I read this book as well. And it contains very practical advice. The third thing I want to say. When you finish your high school. Think about going for a year of training. You know, even when you become a doctor you need training. You need a training. Even when you become a teacher. Jesus has his disciples. And Gospel for Asia, the mission I work with, we have a one, two year training in America. You can apply and you come to America. And we have young people do that. Recently we had a young man from New Zealand who came. And they spent one long year with us. It's a discipleship training center. You learn about the whole world. You learn about discipleship. You learn to pray. And after one year, part of that we send you to the mission field. You can even go to the second year. Then you come back to your country. Wherever God sends you. This is important. So if you are interested, all you need to do is to go to gfa.org and look for discipleship. And there it's cheaper than here. And we'll give you good food. And number four. Tell others about your commitment to the Lord. Encourage others to follow the Lord. Never be ashamed about Him. And then keep praying where the Lord will have you go. Finally. Many years ago you were born. When you were born, you were a tiny little baby. You didn't have any clothes on even. Then you grew up. Slowly. You tried to stand up. You fell down. And you stood up. And you tried to walk. And then you tried to run. And you go to school. And you're growing up. The same thing about call of God in your life. We continue to grow. Never give up. You will fall many times. Many problems. But you don't die. Get up. And keep walking. Because God is on your side. God is not against you. Jesus said He is the Father. And that's important. He loves you more than you can imagine. He is never against you. And even when you do the worst thing, He still loves you the same. It's difficult to understand that. John 17 says The Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus. Stand with me for prayer. We're just going to have a minute of total silence. And I want you to consider the things I said. And I want to consider the invitation of Jesus. And I want you to go on talking to the Lord Jesus what you want to say to Him. And if you're interested in any of these things I told you about you can talk to David Carroll you can talk to me and you can go to our website and learn about the opportunity to go for the one year discipleship. Then launching out to serve God. Dear Lord Jesus I want to thank you for this very special being. Thank you for these my precious young brothers and sisters. Honor their commitment Oh Lord fill them with your love. All the temptations all the works of demons I pray Jesus you break them off and give them victory. Please Lord call many here to go to the whole world. Even now use them. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Please be seated.