0:00:00.000,0:00:05.930 Today's special music is a good friend 0:00:05.930,0:00:08.270 of ours, from India, from Bangalore. 0:00:08.270,0:00:11.000 But he's not there very much. He is the 0:00:11.000,0:00:13.370 world's most traveled musician. And 0:00:13.370,0:00:15.349 that's not an opinion! He's... Actually, I 0:00:15.349,0:00:17.390 received a world record... he's been to 0:00:17.390,0:00:19.160 every single country in the world. 0:00:19.160,0:00:21.320 He plays for the poorest of the 0:00:21.320,0:00:23.150 poor, the richest of the rich. He's open 0:00:23.150,0:00:25.519 for everything. From the World Cup to the 0:00:25.519,0:00:27.708 Olympics. He gets through here about once 0:00:27.708,0:00:29.570 a year, on this very important and 0:00:29.570,0:00:32.449 special day. His name is Benny Prasad. He 0:00:32.449,0:00:35.870 will be... just added he agreed to do 0:00:35.870,0:00:38.390 this. At 6:30 tonight, if you come to the 0:00:38.390,0:00:40.100 meeting early at Thomas Road, he's going 0:00:40.100,0:00:42.170 to do a mini-concert, right before the 0:00:42.170,0:00:43.910 meeting. Welcome, all the way from India, 0:00:43.910,0:00:45.500 one of the world's best known musicians, 0:00:45.500,0:00:47.040 Benny Prasad! 0:00:47.040,0:00:57.400 [Applause] 0:01:00.799,0:01:07.500 Thank You Johnny. Good morning everybody! 0:01:07.500,0:01:09.970 Come on, you can do that better! Good 0:01:09.970,0:01:13.720 morning everybody! Yes, that was a quick 0:01:13.720,0:01:15.729 lesson on good morning. Well, I want to 0:01:15.729,0:01:17.590 thank Jesus for giving me this gift of 0:01:17.590,0:01:19.750 life. And every time I come here I'm just 0:01:19.750,0:01:21.869 so thrilled to see so many young people, 0:01:21.869,0:01:25.539 on your way to missions. if you have not 0:01:25.539,0:01:27.670 decided, today's your deadline for that, 0:01:27.670,0:01:31.210 actually. And, you know, it's so 0:01:31.210,0:01:33.159 wonderful to live! I just celebrated my 0:01:33.159,0:01:37.119 38th birthday. And, at the age of 16, 0:01:37.119,0:01:39.190 the doctors had given me 6 months to 0:01:39.190,0:01:41.679 live. I was born with asthma. And, from 0:01:41.679,0:01:43.630 the age of 2 till the age of 16, I was on 0:01:43.630,0:01:45.759 wrong medication, on high dosage of 0:01:45.759,0:01:47.860 cortisone steroids. And, as a result of 0:01:47.860,0:01:49.990 that, 60% of my lungs got 0:01:49.990,0:01:51.700 damaged and my immune system broke down. 0:01:51.700,0:01:55.119 And I developed rheumatoid arthritis. At 0:01:55.119,0:01:57.520 the age of 12, by accident, I was hit 0:01:57.520,0:02:00.580 by javelin and my spinal cord was 0:02:00.580,0:02:04.060 damaged. And everything went wrong in my 0:02:04.060,0:02:06.490 life. Well, that's what the human said. And 0:02:06.490,0:02:09.479 my father, being an aerospace scientist, 0:02:09.479,0:02:12.640 he expected me to become like him. And I 0:02:12.640,0:02:14.920 became the scum of the family. I was 0:02:14.920,0:02:16.630 thrown out of school in my 10th grade, 0:02:16.630,0:02:18.970 saying that "you are not worth studying, 0:02:18.970,0:02:20.859 you are useless, you are good for nothing." 0:02:20.859,0:02:23.049 These were the words that were spoken 0:02:23.049,0:02:25.660 over my life for 16 years, where 0:02:25.660,0:02:27.190 medically they told me you will not live 0:02:27.190,0:02:29.769 any longer. In education, as well as 0:02:29.769,0:02:31.780 society and family, they looked at me and 0:02:31.780,0:02:33.160 they said: "Benny, you are a shame and a 0:02:33.160,0:02:35.829 curse to the family." And, having no hope, 0:02:35.829,0:02:39.549 no talent, no life, nothing left in me, I 0:02:39.549,0:02:41.620 contemplated to commit suicide, at the 0:02:41.620,0:02:44.290 age of 16. Even if you're really 0:02:44.290,0:02:46.269 sitting down and wandering "Benny, can God 0:02:46.269,0:02:48.370 use me in missions?", I want to tell you 0:02:48.370,0:02:50.410 that there are so many Benny's like me 0:02:50.410,0:02:53.799 out there, who needs the Gospel. And you 0:02:53.799,0:02:55.600 are one among them who can really go and 0:02:55.600,0:02:58.420 share that Gospel. And, at the lowest 0:02:58.420,0:03:00.310 point of my life, when I wanted to kill 0:03:00.310,0:03:02.980 myself, I heard the voice of Jesus-Christ 0:03:02.980,0:03:04.390 saying: "Benny, even though you are called 0:03:04.390,0:03:06.910 useless, I still need you. "I said: "Jesus, 0:03:06.910,0:03:08.170 why do you need me when the whole world 0:03:08.170,0:03:10.479 says I'm useless?" He said He could 0:03:10.479,0:03:12.130 transform my life and make me a new 0:03:12.130,0:03:14.620 person. I said "Okay, I have nothing to 0:03:14.620,0:03:15.970 offer; all that I have is 0:03:15.970,0:03:18.700 a broken life and 6 months to live." He 0:03:18.700,0:03:21.160 said: "That's enough for me to start a new 0:03:21.160,0:03:23.560 work in you!" And that's what He has done. 0:03:23.560,0:03:29.880 I gave my life to Jesus-Christ. And 0:03:29.880,0:03:33.100 I've already 0:03:33.100,0:03:35.290 surpassed the expiry date that 0:03:35.290,0:03:37.030 the doctors had put on my life, actually. 0:03:37.030,0:03:39.550 And I'm just so thrilled to live 0:03:39.550,0:03:42.880 this. And, in 2004, I asked Jesus: "What 0:03:42.880,0:03:45.040 is your call for my life?" The Bible says: 0:03:45.040,0:03:47.290 "God's ways are higher than man's ways 0:03:47.290,0:03:48.459 and His thoughts are higher than our 0:03:48.459,0:03:49.780 thoughts." And I want to tell you a 0:03:49.780,0:03:52.480 Christian life is the most exciting life 0:03:52.480,0:03:54.580 to live. And a life that is surrendered 0:03:54.580,0:03:57.370 in Christ is just so adventurous. My life 0:03:57.370,0:04:00.190 is more than James Bond movie. Because 0:04:00.190,0:04:02.560 it's a reality. James Bond is only a 0:04:02.560,0:04:06.070 movie, mine is a reality. And, in 2002, 0:04:06.070,0:04:07.630 with 25 dollars a month, being a 0:04:07.630,0:04:09.940 ??? missionary, I asked Jesus: "What do 0:04:09.940,0:04:11.380 you want to do with my life?" because my 0:04:11.380,0:04:13.510 dream was to go to one country. He said: 0:04:13.510,0:04:15.490 "Benny, I want you to travel to every 0:04:15.490,0:04:18.760 country by 2010!" I said: "Jesus, this is 0:04:18.760,0:04:21.100 impossible! Till today, there has never 0:04:21.100,0:04:23.200 been one example in the history of 0:04:23.200,0:04:25.600 mankind. Whether it is Michael Jackson or 0:04:25.600,0:04:27.760 Mariah Carey, or whoever it is, they have 0:04:27.760,0:04:29.169 never been to every country in the world! 0:04:29.169,0:04:32.560 How can I, being a broken person, be able 0:04:32.560,0:04:34.180 to achieve this?" He said: "Benny, what 0:04:34.180,0:04:36.580 is impossible for you is possible for me!" 0:04:36.580,0:04:38.500 And what it takes my dear friend, today, 0:04:38.500,0:04:41.320 is to surrender your brokenness and your 0:04:41.320,0:04:43.060 life into the hands of Jesus. And He will 0:04:43.060,0:04:45.910 shape it after His will. And so I said: 0:04:45.910,0:04:48.220 "Jesus, as long as you are my provider, I 0:04:48.220,0:04:50.380 will be your traveler." We had a good deal. 0:04:50.380,0:04:52.810 I said: "I will live a life of faith and 0:04:52.810,0:04:55.120 you provide for me." So today, this is my 0:04:55.120,0:04:59.979 one passport; this passport is my travel 0:04:59.979,0:05:01.690 record to every country in the world. 0:05:01.690,0:05:03.760 On 22 of November 0:05:03.760,0:05:05.530 2010, I arrived in my last 0:05:05.530,0:05:08.260 country, Pakistan. And I broke 6 world 0:05:08.260,0:05:10.750 records. And, one among them, was I became 0:05:10.750,0:05:13.120 the fastest man in the history to travel 0:05:13.120,0:05:14.790 to every country, in the shortest time. 0:05:14.790,0:05:17.890 245 nations, including Antarctica, in 0:05:17.890,0:05:20.890 66 months and 22 days. If Jesus 0:05:20.890,0:05:23.650 can use my life to make history for his 0:05:23.650,0:05:25.539 glory... I'm sorry I don't have time to 0:05:25.539,0:05:27.310 wait for your clapping. I'm not trying to 0:05:27.310,0:05:29.150 be rude... But if Jesus 0:05:29.150,0:05:31.400 do that in my life, today He has a plan 0:05:31.400,0:05:33.650 for your life. And He took me to amazing 0:05:33.650,0:05:35.690 nations. One among them was North Korea. 0:05:35.690,0:05:37.400 Last year, I was invited by the 0:05:37.400,0:05:39.050 government of North Korea to come and 0:05:39.050,0:05:41.330 perform for the 100th birth anniversary of 0:05:41.330,0:05:43.610 their founder, Kim Il-sung. 834 0:05:43.610,0:05:45.380 performers were chosen from all over the 0:05:45.380,0:05:47.780 world and I was the only Indian chosen, 0:05:47.780,0:05:49.700 from my country. And it was a great 0:05:49.700,0:05:52.370 opportunity to play but more so an 0:05:52.370,0:05:54.890 opportunity to share the Gospel. Yes, if 0:05:54.890,0:05:56.450 you share the Gospel, you don't need to 0:05:56.450,0:05:58.070 be a prophet to understand that you will 0:05:58.070,0:06:00.260 be killed. But I understood in the Word 0:06:00.260,0:06:01.940 of God that, if anyone tries to save 0:06:01.940,0:06:04.970 their life, will lose it. If anyone loses 0:06:04.970,0:06:06.500 their life, for the sake of Christ, will 0:06:06.500,0:06:08.720 find it. So, I informed my parents, there's 0:06:08.720,0:06:10.490 a big possibility that I might be killed 0:06:10.490,0:06:12.590 in North Korea. "So if you don't hear from 0:06:12.590,0:06:15.740 me on the 17th of April that's a 0:06:15.740,0:06:17.480 mutual understanding that either I am 0:06:17.480,0:06:19.310 killed or in prison. And I will see you 0:06:19.310,0:06:20.900 in Heaven. Because for me to live is 0:06:20.900,0:06:23.030 Christ and to die is gain. "So I went to 0:06:23.030,0:06:25.430 North Korea, so excited to live and to 0:06:25.430,0:06:28.250 die for Jesus. Two spies followed me every 0:06:28.250,0:06:29.870 single day of my life, every single 0:06:29.870,0:06:32.000 minute in fact. When you have 2 0:06:32.000,0:06:33.687 ungodly spies following you 0:06:33.687,0:06:35.630 all the time, what do you do? 0:06:35.630,0:06:37.260 You share the Gospel. 0:06:37.260,0:06:39.396 Because they're always with you. 0:06:39.396,0:06:40.680 They will never leave you. 0:06:40.680,0:06:41.930 They might forsake you but 0:06:41.930,0:06:43.266 they will never leave you. And, since 0:06:43.266,0:06:45.447 they're always with you, what a great 0:06:45.447,0:06:48.060 opportunity to talk about Jesus. You 0:06:48.060,0:06:49.850 don't need to go to North Korea to talk 0:06:49.850,0:06:52.130 about Jesus. Jesus is putting a nation in 0:06:52.130,0:06:54.800 your heart. Be obedient to Him. Say "yes" to 0:06:54.800,0:06:57.975 Him. And I got into trouble. Sure, next day 0:06:57.975,0:07:00.226 my interpreter went and inform 0:07:00.226,0:07:02.870 to the official that Benny is doing this 0:07:02.870,0:07:04.400 because I used her to translate my 0:07:04.400,0:07:06.597 testimony to the spies. Now, I'm in big 0:07:06.597,0:07:09.250 trouble. It's sure, I'll be killed. But 0:07:09.250,0:07:10.810 the right perspective is what a great 0:07:10.810,0:07:12.960 opportunity to stand in front of the 0:07:12.960,0:07:15.573 official. And I shared my testimony, 0:07:15.573,0:07:18.720 knowing that I might be killed. But the 0:07:18.720,0:07:20.065 official asked me a question: "How could 0:07:20.065,0:07:22.230 you be so sure you heard the voice of 0:07:22.230,0:07:24.760 Jesus at 16? It could have been your own 0:07:24.760,0:07:26.990 imagination." I told him: "Sir, my own 0:07:26.990,0:07:29.720 imagination told me to kill myself. It is 0:07:29.720,0:07:31.950 the voice of Jesus that gave me life and 0:07:31.950,0:07:33.950 life in abundance." And he heard my 0:07:33.950,0:07:36.010 testimony. And I want to tell you my 0:07:36.010,0:07:38.276 friends, be courageous, even to the point 0:07:38.276,0:07:40.181 of death to share the love of 0:07:40.181,0:07:42.730 Jesus-Christ. Don't ever fear 0:07:42.730,0:07:44.660 for your life because Jesus is 0:07:44.660,0:07:46.472 in charge. I was not killed in North 0:07:46.472,0:07:48.650 Korea because it was not my time to die. 0:07:48.650,0:07:51.737 He knows my time, actually. And in the 0:07:51.737,0:07:54.769 end, 12 musicians were chosen out of 834 0:07:54.769,0:07:57.800 performers. And I was one among the 12, to 0:07:57.800,0:07:59.610 be awarded by the government of North 0:07:59.610,0:08:02.109 Korea. I played "Shout to the Lord", a 0:08:02.109,0:08:03.752 song which I'm going to play. "My Jesus, my 0:08:03.752,0:08:05.949 Savior, Lord there is none like You" in a 0:08:05.949,0:08:08.779 nation like that, on their national TV. If 0:08:08.779,0:08:11.286 God could use a Christian and Indian to 0:08:11.286,0:08:14.120 perform on this guitar... a guitar which 0:08:14.120,0:08:16.640 God helped me to design in 2004 for the 0:08:16.640,0:08:19.065 Olympic games in Greece... If God could 0:08:19.065,0:08:21.567 pick a broken worthless child like me, 0:08:21.567,0:08:24.060 written off by society, to design the 0:08:24.060,0:08:26.319 world's first guitar with drums inside, 0:08:26.319,0:08:28.620 there is nothing impossible for Jesus to 0:08:28.620,0:08:31.249 do in your life. If He could pick up, give 0:08:31.249,0:08:34.298 me a passport like this, 14 books, to go 0:08:34.298,0:08:36.893 and share the Good News to the nations, 0:08:36.893,0:08:39.470 there is nothing impossible. I am just so 0:08:39.470,0:08:41.634 excited. And I'm going to play the song. 0:08:41.634,0:08:43.959 "My Jesus, my Savior Lord there is none 0:08:43.959,0:08:46.159 like You." And again, with arthritis, when 0:08:46.159,0:08:48.172 I play this instrument, even the medical 0:08:48.172,0:08:50.609 doctor say this has to be God, and God 0:08:50.609,0:08:53.129 alone. And just to conclude with, when I 0:08:53.129,0:08:55.250 broke the world record, I had a hat wich 0:08:55.250,0:08:57.390 said "Thank you Jesus". And CNN was the 0:08:57.390,0:08:59.070 first news channel to interview me. And 0:08:59.070,0:09:00.610 they said: "Sir, that is a religious 0:09:00.610,0:09:02.229 statement. Please, take off your hat 0:09:02.229,0:09:04.387 because we are a secular channel." and 0:09:04.387,0:09:05.980 I'll tell you you want to share the 0:09:05.980,0:09:08.902 Gospel, share it creatively. Nobody can 0:09:08.902,0:09:11.140 stop you. And so I asked Jesus for an 0:09:11.140,0:09:12.990 idea because the whole world is going to 0:09:12.990,0:09:15.563 interview me for achieving this feat. And 0:09:15.563,0:09:17.509 I want to make sure that Jesus is known. 0:09:17.509,0:09:19.801 I am not ashamed of the Gospel. He gave 0:09:19.801,0:09:21.670 me life when doctors gave me 6 months 0:09:21.670,0:09:24.180 to live. He gave me protection. He gave me 0:09:24.180,0:09:26.149 this beautiful future. How can I keep 0:09:26.149,0:09:29.573 Jesus secret. No! It is sin for me to keep 0:09:29.573,0:09:32.112 Jesus just to myself. So He gave me this 0:09:32.112,0:09:36.658 beautiful idea of designing this new hat. 0:09:36.658,0:09:38.569 And my hat says: "Thank you Jesus, I am an 0:09:38.569,0:09:40.729 Indian." This is not a religious statement, 0:09:40.729,0:09:43.230 it is a patriotic statement. And hence 0:09:43.230,0:09:47.050 nobody can stop me. You know, nobody can 0:09:47.050,0:09:49.448 stop me from wearing these things. 0:09:49.448,0:09:54.050 And, even news channels, they 0:09:54.050,0:09:55.482 would come up to me and say: "What is this 0:09:55.482,0:09:57.700 on your head?" I said: "Well, I'm proud to be 0:09:57.700,0:09:59.576 an Indian." The cameraman says: "Do a close 0:09:59.576,0:10:01.962 up on his hat, also." At the United Nations, 0:10:01.962,0:10:03.729 they told me: "You cannot share about 0:10:03.729,0:10:06.080 Jesus." I said: "Fine." But I wore my hat 0:10:06.080,0:10:08.260 which talked about Jesus all the time. My 0:10:08.260,0:10:10.220 friends, if you really want to talk about 0:10:10.220,0:10:12.788 Jesus, nobody can stop you. 0:10:12.788,0:10:14.241 So don't use excuses.