Celebrating Christ and Transforming Lives - Part 2

We're delighted to share the next quarter hour together with you and welcome again to the Road to Reality. The typical American family Christmas involves going to a few parties, decorating the home, and exchanging more gifts than you can count. Much of that will soon be forgotten.

But today, Dr. K.P. Yohannan is going to share an opportunity before us to really make an eternal difference this Christmas. If you think about it, when Jesus was on earth, he cared for the poor and the lost world. So it just makes sense that we should too.

Let's join K.P. and hear all about Gospel for Asia's Christmas gift campaign. Someone said, the beggar you see under the bridge here in the United States or Canada happen to be like the richest man in many parts of the world. To own a car, even an old car, you have to be the richest individual in many nations.

Yes, in this generation, in our world. So, we have so many things to complain about. Really? Not so.

I agree. With someone who said, I complained and murmured about the shoes I didn't have until I saw a man without legs. My dear brothers and sisters, I speak to you on the behalf of people that are in such great suffering in our generation.

Jesus is all about caring for the needy and the poor, the unforgiven, the lost. For he himself said this, Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost. And I think you'll agree with me, the most important call on our lives it is to manifest his life, his love to others around us.

But then others around us, yeah, I mean our neighbors and people who are suffering here but then let's think about people that never heard the gospel even one time in their life. And as we go to these multitudes in the mountains, in the valleys of Nepal, in Bhutan, in India, in Bangladesh, in Sri Lanka a country that is almost destroyed by civil war and tens of thousands of widows and orphans and helpless people what better way the Lord has given us than this to say, you know this is Christmas time Jesus came into the world and this is the reason why he came and we are here to share his love and his concern for you. And they live in such abject poverty and helplessness.

Oh, by the way, as a matter of fact, I think it is a silly thing and it is a very sad thing for Christians to wait for someone like me to come and tell them Hey, you know what? You better do something about it. There's so much problem in the world and this and that. No, no, no.

I think you and I ought to be looking, searching out for opportunities to demonstrate his life and his love for others. You remember in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 11 you read this passage where John the Baptist happened to be in prison and he really believed that the Messiah, the one he talked about is going to come and just, you know, free him and everything will be alright but nothing happens. So he sent his disciples to Christ and asked the question Hey, are you the real thing? Are you the Messiah? Or should we look for someone else? And Jesus says, you know what? You go and tell John what you see and what you hear.

And then he explains. Blind see, sick people get healed and people in distress and hopelessness find hope and the good news is preached to the poor and that is the proof you need. You see, sometimes evangelical Christians or more fundamental believers would say, Oh, Sodom and Gomorrah, they were destroyed by God because of their sin of the flesh and they explain and preach about it.

But you know what? In the book of Ezekiel, God says, The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, it was that they did not care for the poor and the needy. They will not do justice for the helpless. Now, let me ask you if you will, read the Gospel of Matthew chapter 9. You will find there Christ's encounter with the suffering, the lepers, the blind, the demon possessed.

And finally, when you come to the end of chapter 9 in the Gospel of Matthew, we read there, When he saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion, for they were harassed, abused, mistreated, helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. My dear brother, my sister, just pause for a minute and think about some 150 million child laborers in our world. I ask you to go to your computer and look for bonded child laborers.

You will find children tied up to steel posts in carpet making factories. Little children carrying heavy load of bricks on their head in brick making factories. You will find little kids, semi-naked, skin and bones begging on the streets.

Well, if you saw the movie, The Slumdog Millionaire, you know what I'm talking about. That is the harsh reality of multiplied millions, especially in South Asia, in such suffering and pain, because they do not know Jesus loves them. They never heard the good news, there is hope for the poor and the struggling.

And that's what Gospel of Asia missionaries are trying to do. So, what am I trying to tell you? Well, here is an interesting verse. Book of Proverbs 9, verse 17.

He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for what he has done. So, here is what my offer to you is. Gospel for Asia.

During this Christmas season, we have this beautiful thing called Christmas Gift Campaign. What we are doing is, we got thousands of missionaries working among the most poor, slum-dwellers, helpless, forgotten people in many other nations. And what we are trying to do is, at least reach out to 100,000 homes of this kind of people.

Some of them need some chickens, some of them maybe need a goat, buffalo, or some pigs, or a sewing machine, or whatever we can give them, which will become the means for them to get out of poverty and hopelessness. And then, of course, our missionaries will always tell them, we do this because of Jesus, and explain the gospel to them, and give them gospel portions, and often lead them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Through this yearly program we do, that is, showing Christ's love through caring for the poor and needy to break the cycle of poverty.

And these people are finding hope. May I ask you, would you please take this opportunity, and go to our website, and look for the catalog. I mean, it is a marvelous, beautiful catalog that explains to you how you can buy a bunch of goats, or chickens, or buffalo, or cows, or sewing machines, and blankets, and whatever.

And every penny you give will go to help these people. And I can assure you, someday you will hear from Christ Himself. You know what? I was poor and helpless, and you cared for me.

I was naked, and you clothed me. I had nothing to eat, and you fed me. I was lonely and forgotten, and you came to visit me.

And I was poor and needy, and I didn't know what to do, and you came and provided the means for me to find hope. And you will say, Jesus, that's strange, but we never saw you in a situation like that. And He will say, well, you remember that radio broadcast? My servant, he talked to you about people that do not know, do not understand, they are poor and needy, and you are the one who decided to join in, and go to the Gospel of Asia website, and look at the catalog, and join in, in buying and helping to touch the lives of the poor and needy.

It just happened to be me. You didn't know that. You can read that in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 25.

So, thank you so much for caring. Thank you for loving Christ. Thank you for taking time to celebrate Christmas the way we ought to celebrate Christmas.

And thank you for being part of Gospel of Asia, our ministry. And we love you very much, and appreciate you more than words can tell you. And let us make this Christmas the best Christmas celebration.

And I believe Jesus will be so pleased, because we are now bringing this good news into the lives of millions that never heard the first Christmas story. Together, we will make the best and the biggest difference for nations. The Lord bless you, and I look forward to hearing from you.

You're listening to The Road to Reality with K.P. Yohannan. How would you like to reach out to a family like the one K.P. just spoke about? Take a look through our Christmas gift catalog at roadtoreality.org for some great ideas on how you can share the love of Christ with a poor and needy family. Talk about a gift that is meaningful and lasting.

Around here, we like to refer to it as The Critter Campaign. On our website, you'll find our Christmas gift catalog. Simply click on the banner, select from a wide variety of gifts, and send it to a family in need.

That's waiting for you now at roadtoreality.org. Again, we're roadtoreality.org. Or call us, if that's easier, at 866-WIN-ASIA. 866-WIN-ASIA. This has been The Road to Reality with Dr. K.P. Yohannan, where we're all about reaching the unreached of Asia.

www.roadtoreality.org