In the late 1960s, I was on a ministry mobile team along with about 10 others. I remember one particular morning when we were stationed near the city of Jhansi in northwest India. Our leader called me to his side and said, “You know that we are stuck.”
I said, “I know.” You see, our old vehicle, packed with crates of Bibles, tracts and personal belongings, had two flat tires, and we had no spares. We also had no money to buy new tires.
My leader then told me, “You are the only one who has a watch. So why don’t we sell your watch, and we can buy the needed tires?”
At first I couldn’t believe he would ask me to do something like this. Though it was difficult for me to handle his request, I had been told, “Obey your leader.” Honestly, it was a hard decision for me. But I prayed about it, and God said, “Obey him.” So even though I didn’t like it, I took my watch and gave it to him. He smiled while I cried on the inside. The watch was sold, we bought the tires, and the team went happily along its way.
I didn’t remain without a watch. Actually it’s amazing how many watches people have given me over the years. God has paid me back for my watch many times.
“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down . . . running over” (Luke 6:38). This verse is not just about money. When we give away our rights and surrender our wills, when we give our obedience, our return is “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”
Be the first to react on this!
K.P. Yohannan ( - Present)
Dr. K.P. Yohannan, the Metropolitan Bishop of Believers Church, was born and brought up in Niranam, Kerala. Niranam has immense historical significance in the tradition of Saint Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ who planted the first church there in AD 52. K.P. Yohannan dedicated his life to God at a young age to serve the needy and downtrodden. He prayed, “Oh my Lord, let my heart break with the things that break Your heart” and his life was never the same. It’s his belief that one can only demonstrate God’s love by loving people. After over four decades of selfless service, he says, I have no regrets in praying that prayer for I know God has touched millions through what He did in and through me. It is all God’s grace.He spent the early years of his service in North India and traveled to the remote villages sharing the love of Christ and doing charitable works. Through numerous encounters during those years, he was instilled with an increasing passion to bring hope, peace, and comfort to the needy and deprived. His sacrificial commitment, farsightedness and aptitude to perceive helped him to lead a life of unhindered devotion to serve Christ and His church. K.P. Yohannan is also the voice of Athmeeya Yathra, touching millions through his daily radio and TV broadcasts. His 250 books offer practical and spiritual guidance on hundreds of subjects.
Recommends these books by K.P. Yohannan:
Living in the Light of Eternity: Discovering God's Design For Your Life by K.P. Yohannan
The Beauty of Christ through Brokenness by K.P. Yohannan
Crisis in Leadership by K.P. Yohannan
K.P. Yohannan is the founder and president of Gospel for Asia, a mission organization involved in evangelism and church planting in the unreached regions of Asia. Currently Gospel for Asia supports thousands of church planters in the heart of the 10/40 window.
Born in a remote village of South India, K.P. Yohannan's personal journey toward spiritual reality began at the age of eight when he gave his heart to Christ. While he was still a young boy, his mother began fasting each week, praying God would call one of her six sons into full-time gospel ministry. Her prayers were answered in 1966 when 16 year-old K.P., her youngest, volunteered to serve in North India with Operation Mobilization.
From 1974 to 1979 K.P. attended Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas, where he earned his B.A. in Biblical Studies. He was also awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Hindustan Bible College in Madras, India. During the time he attended Criswell, he pastored a local church in Dallas. However, he was unable to forget the millions still lost without Christ in his homeland of India, and knew God was calling him to reach his own people. In 1978 K.P. resigned his pastorate and he and his wife, Gisela, organized what is now Gospel for Asia.