This sermon emphasizes the importance of following Jesus wholeheartedly, focusing on the need to prioritize a personal relationship with Christ over religious rituals or knowledge. It challenges listeners to consider if they are truly following Jesus in their daily lives and to seek a deeper understanding of Him. The speaker shares powerful stories of individuals who sacrificially followed Jesus, illustrating the transformative impact of genuine discipleship.

Good evening. I did bring a very nice jacket with me because I was told I put it on and I was freezing. And I was way too cold. And I am so happy with the prayer leaders, that those two brothers only had simple clothes on. Those are real spiritual brothers. If you are a married man, be obedient to your wife. My wife said to me, you will get too cold. Take warm clothes with you. I said, no, I am strong. But it didn't work. Anyone here familiar with Gospel for Asia or any of the things that I have written? Would you raise your hand? Well, I got friends. Well, then I got friends here. Do you know that in the Bible schools or the theological education, theologians often talk about the reasons for the mountains in Matthew 5, 6 and 7? It makes you think that Jesus was speaking in a very loud voice to lots of people. But you will find there, when he saw the multitude and huge numbers of people, but if you look closely, you will see that when he saw the multitude of people, you can read there that Jesus, in the midst of the multitude, said to his disciples, come, I want to tell you something. And with this handful of these disciples with him, he just walked away and sat down. Wherever they went, it was private enough that it was like a family. They just had this conversation. And wherever they went, it was as if they were like a family, they could be together to have a private conversation. And I wonder if Jesus said to Matthew, with a whispered voice, shh, come, we are going somewhere else, I would like to tell you something. It was a kind of private conversation. And he talked to them. And you know, what I wish I could do, which is not practical, I could go with you to your home, we sit down and have a coffee or whatever you give. Pancake, pancake! This evening I was given pancake from this country. It's the best in the world. Yeah, better than America, I can tell you that much. Yeah, they are better than the pancake in America, I know that for sure. And I would find it much more realistic and meaningful to talk to you in such a private setting, at your home, about the things that are in the mountains, than to be in such a large crowd at a conference. The sound brothers are really having a hard time trying to figure out this Indian's voice. Is there anything I can do to make it better? I can speak in Indian. Good. It's okay? It's on the accent. Thank you. I will go to heaven for being so helpful. I knew this was going to happen. Don't touch my beard. This is much better. I'm here with you tonight and tomorrow we'll have several sessions that we'll be talking. And I'd like to maintain, I'd like to maintain this. You want to move the mic? Something is hot. If I move this way, would that help? You see, he's a mental doctor. No, no, let me move that there a little bit. You don't need to be so close to me. I need to read your lips there. How is that? Let's face each other. Let's just face each other. I think we're looking for the ideal speaking position. He's 50 years old, but he looks 15. That's a problem with him. He says I'm 50 years old, but I look 15. I'm somewhere in between, to be honest. But I'd like to talk to you about what it means to follow the Lord. But I'd like to talk to you about what it means to follow the Lord. You see, we use big words. Being born again. Holiness. Discipleship. And we make things so complicated. You see, I went to college and spent about five years getting my theological degree. And I was a clergy of a congregation in America for nearly five years. And I had some 30 plus professors. All of them had one or two PhDs. So, history, philosophy, psychology, and everything else. And, you know, in the end I realized, dear me, 66 books on the Bible, it is not that big a book. Why we make it so complicated? Do you think when Paul wrote the letter to the Corinthians, they said we have to analyze the Greek. What did he mean by all that? It was a letter. And when Jesus talked to his disciples, they understood what he was saying. And our problem sometimes is that we are looking for some mystical, some strange explanations to Bible instead of simple childlike obedience. And God is speaking to us all the time. And God speaks to us all the time. When you look up in the sky. Do you see stars here in this country? Not as good as in India. But there is sun, there is moon, and the Bible says they declare the glory of God. And the Bible says that the sun, the moon and the stars declare the glory of God. And when we look at the creation around us, we have to be able to see the God who created all this through the creation. And in Colossians? Colossians chapter 3. So that means we look at things, we listen to things, we respond to things, not based on earth and here. So that means that when we look at things, when we hear things, when we experience things, we don't look at them in an earthly way. That we look at those things in a heavenly way. But what we do is that we separate God from our daily experience in life. My daughter and her husband and their two children were in Kathmandu, Nepal. My son-in-law is a medical doctor. And I have two children, Danny and Sarah. They both were raised in the United States. And my wife and I prayed that they would give their life to Christ and serve Him. And I'm glad they both are doing that. And they both are married and I have four grandchildren. Now, when my daughter was the age to be married, we were quite worried about who is going to marry her. I know in Europe and America and all that, you find your own partner. It is not a bad idea. But in our culture, parents help. So there were a lot of proposals for my daughter. So there were a lot of proposals for my daughter. And it didn't work. Anyway, finally this young man who felt he had to marry my daughter. So I asked him, you are a medical doctor. And my daughter don't want to live in America. She want to live in India and serve God and die here. Because all his relatives are in America. He said, you know, when I was studying in college, God put a burden on my heart. And with my parents permission, he said, I went on to medical college and study to become a medical doctor. But he said, you need to understand, being a medical doctor is my profession, but my call is to be a missionary. But he said, being a medical doctor is my profession, but my call is to be a missionary. I said, you got it. And he married my daughter. That is a good choice. They were travelling in Nepal. The very interiors. The hill areas and remote areas. And Gospel for Asia through our ministries over 30 years now, we have 450 churches there. 450. And some 20 schools. And huge amount of work is going on there. So I was very happy that they were in Nepal for several weeks, ministering to people, caring for people. But from there they went on to North India. But just this last Saturday. Do you know what happened? Saturday morning, the earthquake hit Nepal. For Nepal, Sunday is not our Sunday. It is Saturday. So it is Saturday all the churches gather for worship. And the news came immediately. And first said 1500 people died. Then said 2000 people died. I was desperate to make telephone call connection, trying to figure out what is happening. And finally I got hold of our leader, Bishop Narayan Sharma. And he began to describe. Crying and sighing and words. Very painful explanation to what is happening in Nepal. And two churches collapsed. 45 people died. And he talked about another 9 churches that are collapsed. And then he described about tens of thousands of people on the streets. And of course immediately he dispatched some 250 of our students and believers to minister to these suffering people. And the more I began to hear this. I began to imagine. If my daughter and my son-in-law and my grandchildren were in Kathmandu at that time. How would I feel about it? If they were still there during the earthquake. And for me that was very emotional. And this morning I landed on the airport nearby. And I came from Dallas. And the last few days I was so busy with radio interviews and on different places busy with the service. And what always happened was when I spoke about the subject of the earthquake in Nepal. Then I broke again and then I became emotional. There were 2 million people in California listening to the radio. And then I'm crying. Do I enjoy doing that? No. But I prayed a prayer many many years ago. A prayer from someone else that I borrowed. Lord Jesus break my heart with the things that break your heart. You watch television. You read newspapers. You have your social media going. Most of you understand English. English is the second language. Look at you. And you type in. Go to Google. Dalit children. Or untouchables. You type it in. You will be surprised. 62 million children. Living in slums on the streets. Working to make a few pennies to fill their stomach. Why I'm saying this to you? Do I do this to make you feel guilty or so that I can get money from you? No, this is the question. How should we as followers of Christ live? It's about a daily choice that you make. Maybe you came to this conference to hear some more brilliant, deep teachings about some theology. And there's a simple scripture I want to point you to in the Gospel of Mark chapter 1. Jesus saw these young people, a few, and he said this to them. Come and follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And they understood what he was talking about. You see, in Mark chapter 1 verse 16. You see, in Mark chapter 1 verse 15. Verse 16. Let me finish it. Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men. At once, they left their nets and followed him. At once, they left their nets and followed him. Why does it say that in the Bible? It's meant for us. How should we hear the Lord say to us today, come, follow me? The emphasis here is clearly on Jesus. I do teach the Bible and explain the Bible and write books about it. What is the whole Bible about? It only has one subject. Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ. The entire Old Testament talks about him. The New Testament talks about him. And a bunch of people called Pharisees came to Jesus. They knew the Bible. They knew theology. They were brilliant scholars explaining the deep things of God. And their commentaries they wrote endless. They gave enormous explanations about every word in the scriptures. He understands everything I say in Dutch. But then Jesus said to them, All of you are going to hell. What do you think they replied to Jesus? Because we don't have everything in the Bible. They must have said. He must go to a mental doctor. He should be taken to a psychiatrist. So what would you do with Jesus? You tell pastors and Bible teachers, all of you are going to hell. It makes no sense. And then Jesus explained. You study the Bible. You are experts in theology thinking that doing it. But by doing that you will find life. But it talks about me. But this Bible talks about me. And you don't want to come to me. What does that mean? It is like a man and a woman living in the same house. Spouse and spouse. They live under one roof. They sleep on the same bed. But they are divorced. Their hearts are no longer connected. There is no care left. There is no sharing of the others burdens. And Jesus said, all your spirituality is about yourself. I want to ask you the question. Is this conference we gathered and the studies and all the books we have. Do we really learn all these things help us to see Jesus a little more clearly? And I pray that we will rediscover the Jesus of the New Testament. This is what I like to talk to you today. And the next few sessions. One of the things Jesus said, I do nothing of my own. I do not say anything by myself. I only do what my Father tells me to do. So when Jesus said, come and follow me. What was he saying? I am a man. I am living here on earth. See how I live. And this is what the disciples said. Jesus, all I want is just show us the Father. And that is why the disciples said to Jesus, the only thing we want is that you show us the Father. And Jesus said. You have been living with me all this time and you are still asking that question? If you have seen me, then you have seen the Father. It is confusing. God is spirit. The creator of the universe. And Jesus said. You have been living with me. There was a young man who was educated in the United States who went to the mission field. He went as a missionary. And the dream of his parents was that he would study and get a good job and that he would become really important in his life. And they had enough money on the bank, that was given by grandparents, so that the children could do whatever they wanted. But the boy chose to do something else. He decided to leave the shores of America. And he went to the mission field. And eventually people came to know who he was. And his possibilities to make something very important in this world. And somebody asked him a question. What are you doing in Nepal? Why do you want to be here? Why are you giving your life like this? The 3, 4, 5, 8 hours of walking and talking and living and eating the food. What makes you decide to do something like this with your life? And of the many answers he gave. One other thing he said. One of the things he said was this. It went like this. I saw my father and my mother. And they lived like Jesus lived. And I saw how their life was behind closed doors. And I decided that I also wanted to follow this Jesus. Paul did not say something like that. He said to Timothy, follow me. Like I follow Christ. Parents are so worried about raising their children in the right way. Because America is a classic place. We have home schooling and Christian curriculum and Christian school. And Sunday school for children. Youth classes. And while the others are having the worship service. The children start going on. And while they are praying they have a separate children's service where the children go. And there is nothing wrong with that. But with all that. But scientific research shows that 80% of the young people in the Christian church in America leave the church when they get older. They are known as the Millennials. People under the age of 26. They were raised in Evangelical, Bible teaching, Bible believing homes. Billions of dollars spent on teaching about Christian doctrines and faith in their Evangelical churches. And there are billions of dollars spent in the Evangelical churches to teach those young people. But when they leave home. They also leave the church. And I asked the question. Why is that so? I don't know how it is here in the Netherlands. But I am pleasantly surprised to see the young people in this community here. I mean lots and lots of young people. And I thank God for you. But what is the key to all this? But what is the key to solving this problem? But the big question is. Are the children able to see the example of Jesus Christ at home? Is it still possible. Nowadays. That a young boy or a young lady. Will follow Jesus. And say I follow Jesus because I have seen the example of Jesus in my father or in my mother. Think about Nepal. At this moment there are one and a half million people who are walking around on the streets and trying to survive. And they are around the clock to feed hundreds of them. Please understand me. I am not trying to make you guilty right now. But here is a simple question. How many of you heard and watched the news of Nepal? Raise your hand. It is the biggest thing going on right now. But here is the thing. Did that make you to feel the pain and decide to spend a day or two in fasting and prayer. Looking at the map of Nepal and crying out to God. Because that is what Jesus I think is feeling. The question is. Did that news make you to pray, to fast, to get a world map and to look up Nepal. And to feel the pain that the Lord is feeling about this situation. Could it be possible for your four year old daughter or son to come to you and say mommy. Mommy why is daddy crying? Why in the night he is staying up and weeping? Why he is not eating food with us? Last two days he has not been eating. What happened? Is it possible for you to say my child. Remember we saw what is happening in Nepal. And your dad is heartbroken and he is fasting, he is praying, he is not angry, he is not upset. He is feeling the pain God feels. And to say, do you know son, do you know daughter, do you know that news we heard about Nepal. Daddy is so broken because of that that he is fasting, that he is praying and that he feels the pain about that. You know it is not about fasting or giving money, I am not talking about that. But the question is, do we look at Jesus in all of this? Are we on the road with Jesus? Do we see Jesus as he was walking with the Father? You know we are living in a time where we, Evangelicals or Biobelieving people, are confusing obedience with Weticism. Look at the life of Jesus. It was actually Zak Poonen, some years ago told me. He said, take a pencil and go through the four Gospels. Zak Poonen. I think he has been here. He is a good brother. He has no hair on his head now. He has no hair on his head now. But he said, Brother Johan, go through the four Gospels and take a marker pen. And he said, go through the Gospels and look at one thing, the man Jesus. Now Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, that we know. But this time you look for the man Jesus who lived on earth. So when Jesus said, come and follow me. He was not a spirit. He was flesh and blood. He was tempted with every temptation you can imagine. Have you ever considered that? To get angry? To get upset? And poke his eyes out? Have you ever experienced that, that you wanted to do that? And that you ever thought, now I would like to call the fire from heaven to come down and destroy everything? Every request that you are being asked for, every request that you can imagine, Jesus has been asked for it. As the Bible says. And here the disciples are now walking with him. He said, follow me. How he lived his life. You can read it. And when you see that, then you say, I want to be like this Jesus. And if you see that well, then you will say, wow, I want to be like Jesus. And you know, he had 12 disciples. He had 12 disciples, Jesus. And one went bad. You know, Judas who betrayed Jesus. But in John's Gospel, chapter 17, just before he went to the cross, he prayed this prayer. Father, I pray for these that you have given me. But when he went out to call them, saying, come and follow me. He didn't say, by the way, God told me to call you. He didn't read that. What happened? You will find all night long, Jesus was on his face, all night. Saying, Father, what do you want me to do? I need to get some young people I can train. Who are these? Where must I go? Common sense says, go to theological seminary. Common sense says, get the best educated. And the most brilliant in theology. Talk to the high priest. And all night long. And in the morning. He goes. And find the fishermen. Now start imagining this. Come and follow me. And they follow him. And a lot of people wanted to follow him, but he wouldn't accept them. Because it says, he knew what was on the inside, he would commit himself to them. My dear brothers and sisters. Today, Bible and Christianity and church has become a reason for us to have a nice, wholesome life. Life on earth. It is how to be a good husband. How to be a good wife. How to raise the children. How to be a good person. Even do good things. Be kind people. I mean, all these things are good. But the focus must be, every day when you read the Bible, when you pray, when you think. That I am going to meet Christ one of these days. When I see him, I shall be like him. But here in this life journey, I want to be like him. What does that mean? They saw him praying. They saw him praying so many times. In the end they said, Jesus, teach us to pray. Teach us also to pray. In America we have something called a school of discipleship, a discipleship school. And we invite the young people, when they are done with high school, to spend a year with us. In our community. And in our headquarters of the organization Gospel for Asia, we have 100 families. He invites David to come forward, who comes from Texas. And we did not plan that. It was not planned. I want to see what a handsome American he is. He was born and raised in California. Went to college and university and whatever, became a CPA. And his wife is a Jew. Born again. And she is an incredibly beautiful woman. And he is a handsome dude. His dream was this. To make millions by the age of 25 or 30, then retire. And then he happened to read one of the crazy books I wrote. How many years ago that was, David? 25, thank you. That is 25 years ago. And he says that destroyed his life. He sold his business. Sold his home. Left everything. He left everything. And he is now one of my biggest leaders for the Gospel for Asia organization. But do you know what happened? His evangelical tradition was broken by the conviction that Christianity is not about having a little information in your head or a few facts on a list. But that it is about the revolutionary Jesus Christ who has to be obedient. How much salt do you need to make a good pot of soup? You do not need 2 kilograms of salt for that. Often it is only one spoon of salt. Why can't we put our society upside down? Do you think that it is enough to just go to church and share a folder about the gospel and just be a good human being, that that is enough? No. A month ago I read the story of one of our local missionaries. He finished his training. And we have 56 bible schools. In 14 different countries. And after his 3 and a half years of training, he felt the Lord wanted him to go to a certain mission field. It so happened it was an extremely difficult mission field where super upper caste people live. Upper caste. Religious. Which means you will be considered untouchable. That means if you give them a glass of water they will not drink it because they will be contaminated. He went there with his wife. And he knew he is going to get in trouble. And he knew he could get beaten up and killed. But he went there because there was years of prayer and God's voice for him to go there. If you follow in the footsteps of Christ those footsteps will take you to places that you don't want to go. That was his journey. And he said Jesus, you came here before I came here. I am here in your place. Please do something here. Then he went into a season of prayer and fasting. 40 days he and his wife fasting. Was it something he just doing it because it is a nice thing to do? Because he realized he is dealing with spiritual warfare. People are held captive by demons. And someone must enter into the suffering of Christ. Intercede and pray. And the 40 days was up. The question is why 40 days? Well, I didn't ask him that. But I said to myself. He must have read it in the Bible. Before Jesus would start the ministry. He chose 40 days to fast. If you ask me if I did something like that. No, I didn't do it. I don't want you to think. Wow, so everybody start ministry must fast 40 days. But for him it was a call. After the 40 days of fasting and prayer. He was out there witnessing. When the first man he met. This man was going blind. And the medical science said there is nothing left to do. And this brother said I will pray to Jesus for you. And prayed for him. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Explaining God's word. The man was healed. Supernatural healing. That sent a shockwave to the community. By the time I was talking to them. He had baptized 44 adults in the community. And the first church was born. It was not just the 40 days of fasting that did the job. But his willingness to say Lord what do you want me to do. Jesus said. Follow me. The one question I ask. Are you following him? Is he your focus? Young people. Young people. Your dream is to get married. To find the right man or woman. Or to do a certain study. But do you ask yourself. Do I follow Jesus? Can I follow Jesus? Can I follow Jesus? In the United States. It's said. Average American evangelical pastors. Spend less than 12 minutes a day in prayer. And the believers. Spend less than 8 minutes a day in prayer. So if you think coming to this conference and hearing someone like me speak or Lily Graham or how many preachers buy a ton of books, if you think that's going to change you be the answer, I'm telling you, this will all help you, but you need to cry out to God and long for one thing, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what happens in Nepal is not the other side of the world, it is in our hearts. And so what happens in Nepal is not the other side of the world, it is in our hearts. For God so loved the world, becomes very subjective when you walk and live and breathe with Jesus. The text, God so loved the world, can become very tangible and real when you walk with the Lord Jesus. Well, when the journey comes to an end, you're going to meet Him, meet Jesus. It is good to figure out how to be like Him now. And may the Lord create that hunger within all of us. And may the Lord create that hunger within all of us. I began my journey as an 8 year old when I gave my life to Christ. Eight. I was barely 17 when I committed my life to serve Him. Now I'm 65. Now I'm 65. And I have a million miles to go to understand Him. The more I learn of Him, the less I know. But the more I begin to learn of Him, the less I have the feeling that I really know Him. And the better I get to know Him, the more pain and suffering I experience in my own heart. But I am glad I made it this far. I invite you to journey with Him. So what is discipleship? It is becoming like the Master. Discipleship means that you become like the Master. Let's pray. Would you stand with me as we pray? I just want to take a minute of absolute silence as you consider the Lord Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, that He is here right now with you. I just want to take a minute of absolute silence as you consider the Lord Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, that He is here right now with you. He doesn't ask anything of you, but He asks, Would you be mine? And the disciples left everything behind and followed Him. What are the things you are holding on to? Who is that individual that is holding you back? What are those things that you must walk away from? Maybe they are good things. But tonight your opportunity to say, Lord, I am willing, please help me see you clearly, so I can come after you. Our Lord, we want to thank you for your love, your mercy, your kindness to us. Lord, none of us can say that we did everything right. We remain sinners needing your grace and your mercy. We allowed friendship, materialism, our own dreams and ambitions, titles and positions. Certain friendships, materialism, certain desires. So many things, Lord, to distract us from you. Lord, through the power of your Holy Spirit, please open our understanding. Lord, draw us so that we can come after you. Forgive us, O Lord, we pray. Have mercy on us, O Lord. Help us to know you better. Let us see you as the pearl of the great prize. Help us to say no to everything and all things for your sake. Dear Lord, please remove the veils from our faces. Help us to see you clearly. Thank you for hearing our prayer. In the name of Jesus, our Lord. Amen. The greatest, most significant work of God is always done. You may be seated. In secrets and the privacy of your heart. In the secret, hidden environment of your heart. And if you sought the Lord's face tonight, believe that the Lord answered your prayer. And he will continue to guide you. And may the Lord speak to us.