Our Identity Response

Introduction

Team, here we are. This is the last day, the last time we’ll be gathered at Streator Camp in 2024! This is it guys!

And we aren’t done yet. God has really put this message on my heart and I’m excited for us to jump into this.

We’ve learned so much about identity this week. All week we’ve been wrestling with what GOD SAYS about our identity!

And last night, you might think that we kind of hit the peak of it! We saw that we are MADE NEW BY CHRIST!

2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

But can I tell you something? We haven’t reached that peak yet! We aren’t done yet! Our message today is so important.

So I know you’re tired, but I need you to dig deep and really listen to God today!

Today, our main point is:

MAIN POINT: Our Identity DRIVES US to reach the WORLD FOR JESUS!

Body

This morning we are going to be looking at 4 verses from Matthew 9. Matthew is the first book of the New Testament.

The entire purpose of Matthew is about identity. Did you know that?

Matthew is literally about WHO JESUS IS! WHAT IS JESUS’S IDENTITY!

And do you know what the conclusion is that we come to when we read Matthew?

It’s that Jesus is our SAVIOR, the PROMISED MESSIAH, the ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE US!

So Matthew, one of Jesus’s disciples, actually, he was a tax collector like Zaccheus, tells us about Jesus’s life from a first hand perspective.

In Matthew 9, Jesus returns to a city called Capernaum. In Matthew 9:35-38, we are going to see so much of Jesus’s heart for people.

Let me read verse 35 for us.

Matthew 9:35 CSB

35 Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

So Jesus goes to the towns that are around Capernaum and he does three things.

Jesus TEACHES IN THEIR SYNAGOGUES,

Jesus PREACHES THE GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Jesus HEALS EVERY DISEASE AND SICKNESS!

Do you see the significance of this?

Let me bring this out for us. Jesus isn’t just doing things.

Jesus is meeting the people where they were!

Jesus meets the people, teaches the people, preaches HOPE for the people- gives them the GREATEST NEWS EVER THAT THEY CAN BE MADE NEW- and then Jesus heals them physically!

Jesus is literally meeting these people in their pain and their hurt!

Back in Jesus’ time, a simple fever could kill you easily! Alexander the Great, the literal greatest soldier ever died of a mild fever!

So for Jesus to HEAL SOMEONE is so important!

JESUS IS LITERALLY GIVING THEM physical and SPIRITUAL life!

Like really absorb this! JESUS WHO IS GOD’S PERFECT SON, HOLY AND FULLY GOD, JESUS WHO WAS AND IS AND IS TO COME, JESUS WHO REIGNED OVER ALL THINGS WAS GOING AROUND TO SYNAGOGUES- think of a Jewish church almost to teach!

Jesus WAS PREACHING TO THESE PEOPLE!

But then JEsus goes further.

JESUS HEALS THEM!

JESUS HEALS INDIVIDUALS!

JESUS TAKES THE TIME TO SEE THEM AND TO MEET THEM!

Can I tell you guys a story. When I was a kid, my dad would sometimes get these incredible baseball tickets.

They were in the second row right next to the dugout. And these players would walk by and sign autographs before every game.

One player named Vance Wilson stopped and signed autographs for every kid! It didn’t matter who you were or anything about you! HE SAW EVERYONE, SAID HI TO EVERYONE AND SIGNED AUTOGRAPHS FOR EVERYONE!

There was another player named Ivan Rodriguez who was nicknamed PUDGE. And Ivan didn’t sign many autographs. But when he did, it was for someone important. He didn’t see everyone else.

Listen, PUDGE was a great baseball player. But somewhere in his mind, thathad become his identity and if you couldn’t help him with that, you didn’t matter. So, a bunch of kids didn’t matter!

But, do you see what JESUS DID?

JESUS- WHO IS ALL THAT- came to earth and he cared for individual people!

Now, can I tell you soemthing?

God will meet you right where you are! Jesus will meet you right hwere you are!

You don’t have to do something special to make Jesus meet you. You don’t have to be a certain level of good, you don’t have to be of a certain position- JESUS WILL MEET YOU WHERE YOU ARE!

This is what we talked about last night!

But this isn’t all that we see in Matthew 9. Look at verse 36.

Matthew 9:36 CSB

36 When he saw the crowds, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.

When Jesus sees these people he FEELS COMPASSION!

This word for compassion is powerful.

It’s pronounced Splanchnizomai. It means to literally feel compassion from your innermost being, or literally, your BOWELS!

Guys, that’s the compassion Jesus feels! EVERY PART OF HIM FEELS COMPASSION! This isn’t partial, it isn’t forced; it isn’t faked.

Jesus literally feels compassion that consumes him!

Let me tell you why Jesus feels this way. Jesus feels this way because he loves them! Jesus cares for them!

And look at what he sees.

He sees that the people were distressed and dejected. It literally could be translated as TIRED AND DESTROYED!

Jesus sees this! He sees the weight of the world on them and HE CARES!

Jesus knows that following him will change this! Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28–30 CSB

28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Look at that! Think about that! JESUS SEES THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE TIRED AND HE KNOWS THAT WHEN THEY COME TO HIM, IF THEY WILL JUST COME TO HIM THEY WILL EXPERIENCE TRUE REST!

They won’t be run down, they won’t be destroyed, they won’t be tired anymore!

Guys, can I encourage you with something. If you are tired, if you feel discouraged, RUN TO JESUS!

We’ve seen it all throughout this week, but hear me! Don’t run to something that promises satisfaction, RUN TO JESUS!

Because listen, when we run to Jesus, do you know what we are reminded of?

Let me tell you! When we run to Jesus we are reminded that we are made VERY GOOD INDEED!

If you hear nothing else this week, I hope you have heard this! YOU WERE MADE BY GOD AND GOD CALLED YOU VERY GOOD!

EACH ONE OF YOU WAS CALLED VERY GOOD IN HEAVEN! (Go around the room and call on kids and say something like- “GOD MADE YOU AND CALLED YOU VERY GOOD!”)

There’s a second thing that Jesus sees. Jesus sees that they were “like sheep without a shepherd.”

Do you know what Jesus talks about in John 10? John 10:11

John 10:11 CSB

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

JESUS IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD!

Jesus is the shepherd that these people need and Jesus is the shepherd that you and I NEED!

Jesus is the shepherd who GUIDES US, protects us and looks out for us.

And don’t miss that shift I made there. Jesus wasn’t just THEIR shepherd- like people in the first century; JESUS IS OUR SHEPHERD!

Do you BELIEVE THAT?

Listen, JESUS IS GOING TO LOOK AFTER YOU!

And trust me, you aren’t outrunning Jesus! You can try, but you aren’t outrunning Jesus! He is going to love you and forgive you and He’s going to CARE FOR YOU with that SPLANCHNIZOMAI COMPASSION THAT CONSUMES!

Now, let’s look at what Jesus says about all this.

Matthew 9:37–38 CSB

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

Jesus feels this deep compassion and care for the lostness that He sees and He addresses his disciples.

Remember, he’s already looking out for these people! He teaches them, He preaches to them, He heals them!

But Jesus’s love doesn’t stop there and praise God for that, because their needs aren’t done there!

Instead, Jesus looks at his disciples and says, “THE HARVEST IS ABUNDANT, BUT THE WORKERS ARE FEW.”

Let’s stop there.

Guys, the harvest is a spiritual harvest. Jesus is saying, “Hey, all these people need to hear the GOSPEL! They need to hear the TRUTH OF HOW THEY ARE SAVED!”

But look at what Jesus says. He says, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few.”

The harvest is plentiful, but we need more workers in the harvest!

And guess what, this is true today also!

The harvest is all around us and it’s plentiful.

But listen, we don’t have enough workers.

We don’t have enough Christians who are willing to go into the harvest to talk to their friends, their families, their neighbors and EVERYONE THAT THEY MEET ABOUT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!

And can I tell you something? Let me be really blunt- WE NEED TO DO IT!

No one else is going to reach your friend. I’m going to be honest!

I could give you example after example of this. No one else is reaching your friend!

I can’t go reach your family or your neigh ors and tell them about Jesus- unless they come to Cornerstone, or I meet them.

But can I tell you something awesome?

God knew all this already. So do you know how God plans to reach your friends, family, neighbors?

THROUGH YOU!

You are going to do it!

Now, that’s a big job! But can I tell you something else that is big?

THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF BELIEVERS ALL AROUND THE WORLD PRAYING FOR YOU!

There are hundreds of millions of believers all around the world who are praying that the LORD OF THE HARVEST- that is GOD- would send people into HIS HARVEST!

And let me be clear- that can be you and we need that to be you!

We as Christians need YOU to go into the HARVEST!

Can I just remind you of what we saw last night in 2 Corinthians 5:20

2 Corinthians 5:20 CSB

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”

We are what?

We’re ambassadors!

For who?

FOR CHRIST!

And by the way, CHRIST MADE US NEW!

And why are we ambassadors?

Because God is making his appeal through us!

God is telling the world about HIMSELF THROUGH YOU!

God has given you this mission of living your life in a way that reflects back to GOD!

And guys, how do we do that? How do we live out this mission?

It’s simple- we PLEAD WITH PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS!

We tell people through our words, our actions, our LIVES- “BE RECONCILED TO GOD!”

Guys, there’s a mission for us! We need to go into the harvest!

But there’s a second aspect of it! We need to pray for our non-believing friends.

We need to pray for their very souls! Just as people have prayed for you, we need to pray for the friends we have that don’t know Jesus!

And let me be clear on what prayer is- you are talking to Jesus! It doesn’t have to be fancy, but you do need to be TALKING TO GOD!

And one of the things you can talk about with God is your friends and how you want them to know Jesus!

And can I be really honest with you?

Listen, this may make you uncomfortable, but it’s the truth.

Either your friends will come to know Jesus personally and will be saved, or they will not.

If they do not, they will spend eternity separated from Christ in a place called hell.

Guys, we HAVE TO GO TO OUR FRIENDS!

I have friends and neighbors who need to hear this too!

Like I want to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus and my friend Tim! But Tim has to hear about Jesus and has to get saved!

So guys, take this mission to heart! We need to reach our friends!

Conclusion

God Made You and Loves You!

Genesis 1:31 CSB

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

John 3:16 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Our Identity means that WE have to GO!

Our

Start Fresh Today!

Whatever you’ve learned this week, do it!

Take it and start fresh as you go home!