In this sermon, Dr. K.P. Yohannan emphasizes the urgency and importance of fulfilling the call of Christ to be fishers of men. He highlights the lack of concern and empathy within the church for the lost and suffering in the world. Dr. Yohannan challenges believers to embrace the cross of inconveniences and difficulties in order to fulfill the Great Commission. He references the book of Acts as a model for true discipleship, where believers are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the gospel.

Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men. You probably recall those words of Jesus, but maybe you don't realize there's a heavy price attached to this heavenly calling. It'll cost you everything, including your own life. But remember, Jesus also said, if you lose your life for my sake, you will find it. Today on The Road to Reality, we turn your attention to the price to become fishers of men. Here's Dr. K.P. Ohanen. You know, America's an amazing place. For many reasons, I never forget this. In Dallas, Texas, I heard this cuckoo preacher, that's my word to say he's stupid, saying, if Paul had the faith, then he would not have to go through all the sufferings he talks about in 2 Corinthians. It's just amazing. These disciples who heard this, come, follow me. They understood something more than the evangelical jellyfish in our churches understand or hear about it. They understood he was asking them for total surrender to his lordship. And what happened to them? Like Thomas, Christ's disciple who came to India in AD 52. He preached the gospel, planted 7 churches, then he went on to Madras, preaching the gospel, and the enemies of the gospel brutally murdered him. His tomb is still there. Except John, all of them lost their lives. For what? Preaching the gospel. 14,000 believers around the world get murdered every year today for their testimony, preaching the gospel, never giving up. I am asking you, as people in this free nation, with all the freedom we have, all the Bible teaching we have, do we understand the call of Christ on our lives? Is it, oh Jesus, me and my little family, my little congregation will be comfortable, take care of me, or are we becoming truly revolutionaries to shake our community, our nation, our world? You know why? We are going home fairly soon. One of the interesting things about my life in America, when I first came here, watching television, I saw this actor, George Burns. He's dead, no? But I liked him at that time, I remember, because he had this Gandhi glass, and he looked really old, and he would sing this song, you know, when he goes off from the act he was doing, I wish I was 18 again. I can't sing like our brother here, but if you never heard it, go to Google search, and you'll find that. He's dead, but he's still there. I was barely 17 when the Lord Jesus called me to leave my home, 2,000 miles traveling to North India, where I was beaten, abused, ostracized, and suffered along with others. I was barely 17. It was like yesterday it happened. I can feel it. I can smell it. But today, I'm 62. Whatever happened to time, I don't know. Some of you live like you are going to be here forever. You are a fool. Before you know it, go and look at your wedding picture. Look at the time you were in diapers. You can't imagine. This is gone. This is the reason why we need to be absolutely passionate about the day when we see the Lord face to face, and nothing on earth really matters except embracing him, and loving him, and pouring our life out for the things that he's passionate about. That is people that he died for, and they're on their way to hell, like the rich man, forever lost and undone. And this is the reason, my precious brothers, Christianity cannot be something that makes me feel good and happy, but something that should tear me up and break me up for the sake of a world that Jesus died for, and without our suffering, and our praying the prize, our waking up in the middle of the night, and our fasting, our changing our vacation plans to go to Mexico City, or to Spain, or to India, or somewhere, and be revolutionaries. We will not be able to fulfill the call of Christ on our lives. I'm telling you, this is radical. This is true to the New Testament, and these disciples who heard it, but you know, you talked about it, the three and a half years, why on earth Jesus spent that much time to heal the sick? No, there's lots of sick people he didn't heal, and I agree, I agree with you. Those three and a half years Christ spent to train his disciples about what he was all about, and so when you read Matthew 5, 6, and 7, people say sermon on the mount. What do you mean sermon? There's nothing like that. When he saw the multitude, basically he called them and said, kids come out and talk to you, and just sat down, and he just talked to them. He didn't preach and scream at them, and he just talked to them. The principles of the kingdom, don't worry about tomorrow, give it away, don't worry about it. Then he takes them on a journey, chapter 8 and 9. You read that, the blind, the crippled, the demon possessed, the hurting, the miserable conditions, that breaks his heart. Then you come to the end of chapter 9, verse 35, you read that scripture says, and Matthew writes after three decades, Matthew, the apostle writes, saying that when he saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion, because they were lost like sheep without a shepherd. Well, what do you mean? I mean, Matthew, as he describes the life of Christ from his experience, all of a sudden he realized that he was walking with Christ, and watching all these events going on, the sick, and the brutalized, the pain, and the agony, the blind, and the demon possessed, all the lepers, and all those things. But then Matthew remembered, in my imagination, when Christ having walked through that pain, and agony, and the lostness of humanity, a time came, the man Jesus, who understood the father's heart, broke down. What do you mean? Did he collapse? Just wept? He couldn't stand up. He just couldn't handle the emotion. When he said, they're lost, was it like a preacher says, they're lost without shepherd? Or was it, so lost, I just don't know what to do. Then he said, pray, would you please pray to the Lord of the harvest, that somehow He will send out someone to tell them, I want to believe. He was weeping while he talked. Then he walked to chapter 10, he says, my followers, you know me, you have seen it, you understood it, but you can't feel it. But would you do something for me, would you please go, please go and tell them. And then he said, I'm sending you a sheep among wolves. I wish Jesus said, I'm going to send you us wolves among the sheep, that would be easier for me. He said, they'll abuse you, they will hurt you, they will persecute you, they'll take you to prison. And chapter 10 ends, but please don't love your life, give it away. It's worth doing it for me. And they understood it. So then you walk in the book of Acts, we are brilliant teaching and preaching about it. But 30 years of church history in the book of Acts, it's like a tornado. It's like, just like people going haywire, all four directions, what they're doing. Here, filled with the Holy Spirit, baptized in the Holy Spirit. By the way, I'm of the opinion, absolute conviction, you cannot serve God unless you are filled with the Holy Spirit. However you do it, whatever theology you hold, I plead with you, cleanse yourself from the sins and the mark and the evil and cry out to God to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. I wish I had time to tell you about my journey years ago in North India, but you know what I'm talking about. And the Holy Spirit came not to give them goosebumps or make them crawl like snakes and rats and cats, to give them power to become His witnesses. And there you find the journey, they make Peter stand up and preach, and all of a sudden people come to Christ, and then the persecution starts, and then you find the prayer meeting take place. And 30 years, I mean, you know what, book of Acts is not a theology book, although all the theology in the book of Acts is correct theology, but it's a historical narration document. What do you think is the reason God gave you the book of Acts, whether you're a preacher or not? It is in the Bible. Why do you think God gave this? Whether you know it or not. The book of Acts must become our model. It is not a book of theology, you read the book. Have you found yourself spending all night in prayer? Have you found yourself preaching the gospel here and there and getting in trouble? Have you found yourself willing to sell all for the sake of the gospel? Have you ever found yourself sitting and writing letters to people and helping them and discipling people and traveling? Have you ever found yourself hungry and starving without clothes? And some of you have the trouble of trying to figure out what you should wear because you've got 20 million shirts and pants and all kind of stuff sitting all over the place. When half of the world go to bed with empty stomach and naked bodies, don't have a gospel track in your hand, we are absolutely consumed with ourselves no matter what it is. Please understand, I'm not trying to put you on a guilt trip, I have nothing to gain from you, but I'm trying to tell you the call Christ gave us to know him, to follow him, and then he said I will make you fishers of men and that will never happen without our willingness to embrace the cross of inconveniences and difficulties. What has our Christianity done to us? We have no pain, no feeling about the reality of a world going to hell, two billion people, and I say this to you because the call of Christ still remains the same, saying go into the whole world and preach the gospel. This is The Road to Reality and our speaker is Dr. K.P. O'Hannon, the founder and director of Gospel for Asia. Maybe as you're contemplating the direction of your life, the Lord is stirring in your heart a desire to reach the unreached. We'd encourage you to pray about joining our one-year school of discipleship. It is a very unique program. As you're being discipled, you'll have a ministry role in Gospel for Asia's domestic headquarters. Think of some of the things you take part in. You'll help unreached people hear about Jesus for the very first time. Children will go on to receive education and experience Christ's love, and you'll serve to help families break the cycle of poverty. We can tell you more about the one-year school of discipleship and how to enroll at roadtoreality.org. Order an information packet while you're at it. Again, we're at roadtoreality.org, or call us toll-free with any questions you may have at 866-WIN-ASIA. That's 866-WIN-ASIA. With that, we'll say goodbye, but we look forward to our next time together with you on The Road to Reality with Brother K.P. O'Hanlon. Until then, God bless.