In this sermon, the speaker shares a powerful story of a missionary who was brutally attacked while preaching the gospel. Despite the scars and the pain, this missionary continued to faithfully serve God. The speaker emphasizes the importance of prayer and encourages listeners to develop a disciplined prayer life. He also warns against mistaking obedience for legalism and urges believers to truly know and have a personal relationship with God. The sermon concludes with a reminder of the privilege of being born in a Christian home and the responsibility to support and pray for missionaries around the world.

Becoming a World Christian rather than a Worldly Christian, next, on the Road to Reality. Hey, I'm Richard Bews, welcoming you right now. Today, the Me First mentality has very largely taken over. You're worth it, you deserve it, per the advertisements. But God wants us to develop an outlook that takes in the small matter of eternity and experiences a life that is centered on the things of Christ. So, what are we living for, friends? A hundred years from now, it won't matter how much we have in our bank account, or how exciting our retirement plans are. We won't be thinking how great it would have been to holiday in the Bahamas every year, or about the biggest TV screen on the market. What will matter? I'll let Brother KP Yohanan take it from there. Here is what I believe the Lord is calling us during these last few years that are before us. Do not hold on to your life. This man was so concerned about his own little life, especially now the economy is going haywire, I think, in America. And in some ways, think about it. If you got two shirts, a bicycle, and a room where you can sleep, no air condition, maybe a little running water, you will not die. Please, think about it. Don't be so paranoid about, Jesus said, what are you going to eat, what are you going to drink? He said, he didn't start thinking about all these things. You know what? We have 60 some Bible colleges scattered throughout a dozen nations, and every year graduate some 2,000 young people in Bhutan, and India, Nepal, China, and all these places. You know, it's a strange thing. When the graduation service takes place, they all line up, now having made the decision to go to the mission field, wherever the Lord leading them to go, with the consultation with the mission leaders and all those things. And the last thing happens, we lay a hand on these young people, and pray for them, and these are the words spoken over them. My young brother, my young sister, the Lord called you to go to the mission field. When you get to the mission field, you may face some problems and difficulties, some persecution. And if the Lord allow you to lay down your life on the mission field, if that's where you must give your life for Him, remember, heaven is a much better place. You wait there for us, and we will come and see you later. And I can tell you, story after story after stories, like the young missionary I met a while ago. The guy is handsome, very well-trained, good-looking, everything was wonderful. But after being on the mission field, now coming back for a pastor's conference, seeing him, I was startled, amazed, and shocked by that, because there was a deep scar on his forehead, and whatever, whoever did what they did with it, it was a messy job in stitching it up. And I asked him, brother, what happened to you? Before he could answer, another brother stood next to him and said, well, I'll tell you the story. Well, the story is, on the mission field, as he led a whole bunch of people to Christ, the anti-Christian fanatics came one Sunday morning, and simply began to beat him up with iron rod and chain, and left him in a pool of blood, saying that we'll come back to bury you, don't stay here. It took a long time for him to recover. But the senior leaders told him, now you better don't go back there, they will come and kill you. This is not unusual. I don't know if you know this or not, just in the last one and a half years, in Orissa State, some 4,000 Christian homes were completely demolished by anti-Christian fanatics. Over 500 believers lost their lives. And when they told him, maybe you should relocate, this is what he said. He said, I will do what you ask me to do. But when I was sent here, this is what I was told, heaven is a much better place. He said, I'm already dead. My life is not mine. See, at Stundi, when people told Paul, hey, don't be that dumb, you're going to get in trouble, walk away. His response, you remember, this is not to be studied for Greek and Hebrew and theology and fancy talk, no. He said, I know, but I do not regard my life precious to me. Why, I ask you, my sister, my brother, we cannot spend two or three days fasting. Why can't we spend at least an hour a day on our knees for a world that is dying? How come that our spirituality is not making us to say no to self and what we want for the sake of him? You understand the dichotomy that exists, the way we handle spirituality? And that's the reason I said 95 percent of the work remains and we must engage in order to get the job done. And by the way, they allowed this brother to go back to the same mission field and he did face some problems, but the church is built and people are serving God. And the reason I'm saying this to you, you belong to the Lord and you know him, but often he speaks to you not with loud words and thunder and lightning. No, he often speaks to you in silence and you know it, but you are more concerned about peer pressure, what others will say about you, think about you, what your wife will say, what your husband will say, what your dad will say, what your mom will say. We are so preoccupied about our well-being that we cannot listen and do those things, what the Lord asking us to do. And the reason I share my heart with you is because I know the days are few before us and the Lord's coming is near. And the Lord said very clearly in this particular passage, he says, but seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give it to the poor. Provide purse for yourself that will not wear out. A treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted where no thief comes or moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. I am one of those people who say, you know, it's not wrong to be rich, but it is wrong to have the richest have you. We can make all the fancy statements, all those things, whereas you and I, given so much from the Lord, I ask you a question, which I have done often. How much more rationalization we make excuses for our casual, shallow living and we come to the place and say enough is enough and this is it. And by the way, this is quite interesting. I prayed a prayer this 34 years ago. I said, Lord, just give me the grace to do this. And I know what you are telling me, the lost world and all those things. You know, it's strange that I thought, no, I am going to do one thing for you. You raise this dragon and you kill it and you take the first step and I will give you the strength. And it was not easy. I say this to you because, you know, for me, I have an alarm clock. You know what an alarm clock is? It makes funny noise. I have destroyed at least half a dozen alarm clocks. I hate alarm clocks. But the early days when the Lord instructed me, my day is so full, so busy, the only way I can be with him is one o'clock in the morning or two in the morning. And I would turn the alarm clock on and when it goes off, because all day I went to bed late, I kill it. And then I lay there on the bed and make all the excuses in the world about tomorrow. And then I drag myself like you drag a dead rat and get me the bathroom and wash my face and get my world map and spread it in the living room and look at the world map. And I say, Lord, give me your passion. Give me your burden. Give me your tears. And this journey didn't start yesterday. And I'm telling you today that you and I have the tremendous opportunity to touch the world and invest our life for eternity in whatever way. Parents, you have children, you have grandchildren. You are thinking to yourself, if only I can give this toy, that toy, send that kid to that Christian school, that private school, get this book, that particular DVD or whatever, their lives are going to be better or they can get to the church and hear that. They're all good by the way. Do everything you can. But I'm telling you, what will make the difference, dear sister, for your husband, for your wife, for your children, my brother, it is going to be those hours and silence and agony and death to self by waiting upon God and embracing the sacrifice and suffering. And however you translate this into your life, the Lord has to give you the wisdom because this is not an easy journey that I am promoting. Now, my goodness, it's not an easy journey. The Lord said the road would be difficult and narrow, but that's the captivating challenge of life with Christ who we expect to see one day face to face. We'll return to Brother KP soon. But first, let me share with you about some people who truly inspire us with their commitment to live for eternity. Gospel for Asia has supported national missionaries' work to reach some of the most unreached villages in the world with a transforming news of Jesus. With few or no cultural barriers to overcome, these missionaries work among their own people, but they need our help. You can sponsor a national missionary for only £20 a month, give support by your prayers and so help reach an unreached village with the good news of Christ. To find out more, go to roadtoreality.org.uk. That's roadtoreality.org.uk. Or call us on 01904 643 233 01904 643 233 Hey, I think it's time to return to Brother KP. The subject is still eternity. My heart is concerned about one thing. There is a world out there that do not know the Lord. How do you apply something so elusive, something not so tangible, the way I'm talking to you? There are a couple of things I'll suggest, maybe four things. One, develop a habit of disciplined prayer. Average Americans pray, believers, less than eight minutes a day, the study shows. Ministers, pastors like us spend less than 12 minutes a day in prayer. You think about a boy and girl falling in love. The telephone bill used to be $30 a month, now it turned out to be $3,000. And the dad says, what are you doing? What dad? I only just hallowed to her. You mean, how many hallows you said for $3,000 bill? Well, the problem is time flies. You have no clue because the affection, the emotion, the love affair. And I'm telling you, please forgive me. I am not condemning you. That's not my job. Let's not misunderstand obedience for legalism. If you are not in the habit of spending time with your Lord, and seriously, you may know about him, but you may not know him. Start with 10 minutes a day maybe. Let the Google search and the computer tell you what's going on in the world. Like in Pakistan, 1,800 people died in the flood. How do we pray? How do we pray for what's going on in the world? And God will give you what to pray for as you spend time with him. Just add one day of the week for fasting and prayer. You know, some people think if they fast, they will die. If you fast and pray and die, you please let me know. Yeah. Just out of seven, I mean, you know, some of you are trying to lose couple of pounds. Don't worry. Just fast and pray for the reason to share his burden. And Jesus still says to you, Can't you, my daughter, my son, just at least spend one hour with me? And he calls you to be alone, to be silent. Stop reading those books telling you how to do things. Be on your face before him. And then he can share with you his burdens that you can pray and receive. And God is looking for that. Number two, life is so precious when you keep it simple. When I decided I don't need 70 silk neckties from Europe. I just need two. I found out my life is so simple. This or that. You know, I like nice things in life. And I decided I only need a couple of jackets. It's been 30 to 33 years I own a three-piece suit, by the way. That all vanished. I just have a couple of jackets. So I wear this one. Next time I come, I wear the other one. Life is so beautiful, so simple when your life is not destroyed by materialism. You know, we live in the most affluent, richest nation on planet Earth. The poorest individual is the richest in many nations. Let's not fool ourselves with saying that, you know, these things are going to be so bad. You know what? Walk with the Lord. If you have to die of starvation by living for him, heaven is a much better place. I can assure you of that. So let the Lord give you a tour. Let him walk with you through the stuff that you're dreaming about and simplify life. For what? You know, there was a time I used to chew gum like a cow all the time. And one day I said to myself, what am I doing? Each chewing gum translates into a gospel tract for someone that never heard Jesus' name. And my perspective changed. Because, by the way, people give me chewing gum, I chew them too. There's nothing bad about that. And so please think about that. I wrote a whole book about it, by the way. Some people say, I don't want to read the book, it ruins my life. And wrote a reality. And by the way, I think I talked about knowing the Lord. This book you want to read, Touching Godliness. And there are a bunch of materials out there. Especially if you didn't get this book, please do get it. If you don't have money, you can steal a copy also. The number three application. Young people especially. If you are 18 years old, finish your high school, whatever. Or you're in college, whatever. Take a year of your life to come and spend one year with us in the school of discipleship. And your life will be absolutely radically changed. And then you go back to university or job, whatever. Part of the time we send you to the mission for your parents. If you're not good enough, one of those kids you have. Pick up one of those brochures and send your kids to us. In Dallas, Texas, they spent a year with us. And you can learn more about that. Time will not permit me to talk about all that. Number four. I talked about these nations. The 1040 window. And I talked about prayer. You see this map here? Wherever I go, anywhere in the world, I tell them get a world map. Become a world Christian, not a worldly Christian. The 1040 window. Some 2 billion people wait to hear about the Lord. How do we pray for these nations? Now, when you start praying, I know 99% of the people sitting here, you are going to go to Bhutan or India, Burma, China, Tibet or these places. But you can actually go and see millions come to Christ. You say, how? Romans 10. How will they go to preach unless somebody sends them to go? When we say we are 16,000 brothers and sisters preaching the gospel and see some 17 churches planted every single day on the mission field, it happens through someone like you and me that prays for these missionaries from these countries and helping them to do the ministry. Let me conclude by saying this. It is an awesome thing to have the privilege to be born in a Christian home. I mean, I look at you. I'm absolutely amazed, Lord. So many people that know you. Think about your children, your grandchildren. They have the privilege to see the Bible in your hand. They are blessed. So it was my life. When I was an 8-year-old little boy, my mother led me to the Lord. We are six boys in my family. I am the youngest. My mother's wish was that one of her sons would go for full-time ministry. But she never told this to anyone. She prayed one by one. Her older sons went into farming and business and all these different things. When I was born and growing up, timid, skinny, shy, withdrawn, she kind of gave up her hope. It's not going to happen. That's when she decided to pray fasting. For three and a half years, my mother prayed every Friday, full fast. One prayer request. Dear Lord, call one of my sons to serve you. When I finished my studies, when I told my parents, if they allow me, I want to go and serve Christ, before I could finish my sentence, my mother was sitting on a bench, jumped up and said, Go! I thought it was an accident or she hated me. I didn't know any of these stories until two years of my life in North India. When I came back home, my mother told me this story, how the Lord answered her prayer. At the age of 84, she was taken ill with some heart problem. I was on the way to Seoul, Korea. I canceled my trip and went to see her. That morning, she passed away. The saddest day of my life. After the funeral service, my brothers and I, we met to talk about our mother. Our father went to be with the Lord earlier. We sons, they gave her anything she wanted. Everyone imagined, including me, there must be a huge amount of money sitting somewhere in the bank. Because she never spent any of those monies. We never saw her spending it. While we were talking about it, we found out she had a notebook that she left under the pillow of her bed where she slept. One of my brothers opened it up and said, as far as I know, there's not a penny she left anywhere. One of my brothers asked, what happened to all the money? He said, well, all I can tell you, pages and pages of scribblings of my mother, with names of young people studying in Bible schools and missionaries in North India, and against their names, the money she was sending every month, but never told one human being. The moment he said that, I broke down and began to weep. Not because there was no money in the bank. Because two years prior to that incident, my mother's death, I was there from America, visiting her, and I saw her wearing a dress, a blouse, torn from here to here. It looked a terrible thing. And I was so angry, and I said, Mother, what madness got into your head? Don't you care about your sons? The whole world will think that we don't care about you. Mother, you have money to buy a new dress. We know what you want. Why are you bringing shame on us and then putting cow dung on our face and shame on our head? They are very strong words to use. My mother, this very small frame, hardly five feet tall and very fragile, but incredible bright eyes and smile, I never forget, she said, you little son, my boy, you don't understand nothing. Someday you will. That's all she said. Now I'm sitting in the room hearing this, what my mother did. It was as though she walked back into the room saying to me, my little son, which she called me often, I could have bought a brand new dress every month if I wanted. Whatever, I had it. But, son, that was a choice I made to walk alone and spend all to reach the lost world. That's not the end of the story. The last thing she left with us reads like this. When I'm dead and gone, the only thing I will leave behind is my earrings and my wedding ring and the gold chain my husband gave me when he married me at the age of 19. I want you to sell these items and give the money to preach the gospel. Among people that never heard Jesus' name, I want to meet them also in heaven. I ask you a question. What are you living for? A hundred years from now, will you have any regret the way you spent your time, the friendship, what you listened, what you've been reading, and the way you handled the finances? I can't answer for you, but all I'm encouraging you, as a brother in this journey with you, please let your heart break with the things that break his heart. Be honest with him and with yourself. You know, one young man said, if I could, I would have every friend and every person I meet go through the school of discipleship. To learn more, go to roadtoreality.org.uk or call 01904 643 233. That's roadtoreality.org.uk or 01904 643 233. And like Gospel for Asia UK on Facebook or follow GFA underscore UK on Twitter to receive encouraging quotes and up-to-date stories and prayer requests from the mission field. We look forward to hearing from you and hope you'll join us next week for a challenging message from, yeah, K.P. Yohannan here on the Road to Reality. This is Richard Bews with Gospel for Asia where we're trusting you are sharing with us in our burning vision for the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in reaching the unreachable.