Why Am I Here?

Introduction

Why are you here? Think about that question for just a minute. Some of you are here at Camp Joy because your parents or grandparents signed you up and told you that you were going to come to Camp Joy this week! Others of you are here because you wanted to come to Camp and you told your parents that you wanted to be here. Some of you are here because you’ve come for several years and others of you are here and this is your very first time at Camp! We’re so excited that you all are here this week as we learn more about Jesus and have fun along the way.

We have different reasons for being here at camp this week… But we all have the same reason for being alive tonight. We are all here because we were created by God. Think of some of the things that God made - what’s something God made?

Do you know what the Bible says about God’s most special creation? In Genesis 1:26 we see something really cool!

Genesis 1:26 CSB

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

We as humans are made in God’s own image. Every single person you know is made in God’s image and we are supposed to treat every human with respect because of that truth. But why did God create us? What are we supposed to do with our life? Jesus gives us some pretty straightforward instructions in the Gospel of Luke. If you have a Bible the first 2/3 of it are books in the Old Testament, the last 1/3 or so is the New Testament. Luke is the 3rd book in the New Testament and Luke tells us about the life of Jesus Christ. Let’s read from Luke chapter 9 verses 18-27. The Bible says this:

Luke 9:18–20 CSB

18 While he was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They answered, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.” 20 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

Luke 9:23–27 CSB

23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. 25 For what does it benefit someone if he gains the whole world, and yet loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and that of the Father and the holy angels. 27 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:28–35 CSB

28 About eight days after this conversation, he took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly, two men were talking with him—Moses and Elijah. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep, and when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him. 33 As the two men were departing from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it’s good for us to be here. Let’s set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he was saying. 34 While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him!”

I’m Here to Know Jesus

Jesus liked to ask His audience a lot of questions and He taught in stories called parables a lot of times. This confused some people. Whenever Jesus was born, do you know who was in charge in Israel? (Romans) Do you think this made the Jews happy? (No) A lot of people alive in Jesus’ day wanted the coming Savior to help them out. Jesus healed people, He fed people, He did all of these miracles that we read about in the Bible… But people wanted more - they wanted Jesus to kick out the Romans because they thought that the Romans were their biggest problem. But Jesus didn’t do this and a lot of people are confused about who He is… In Luke 9, Jesus asks Peter who he thinks that he is and Peter says that Jesus is the Messiah. Do you know what the word messiah means? Literally it means the anointed one or the chosen one. In the Old Testament the king was looked at as God’s chosen leader. David was chosen by God’s prophet Samuel. We see in the Old Testament several promises (prophecies) that talk about God sending a Savior, a Messiah, to save His people from their sins.

This week we’re going to study a lot about “the truth” about who Jesus is, Why we’re here, Why Jesus came, and what we’re supposed to do now. We read in the Bible that Jesus is the Savior - what does Jesus save us from?

Romans 6:23 CSB

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If all Jesus did was help us out or if all Jesus did was help kick the Romans out, everyone would still be facing this punishment of our sins. Jesus might help us with one problem, but our bigger problem would still be here. So instead of just helping us with a little problem, Jesus helps us with our biggest problem which is our sin. Do you know what sin is? Sin is anything we think, say, do, or don’t do that displeases God. The Bible tells us that we all have sinned - meaning that we all need Jesus.

The reason that you and I are here - not just tonight but here on planet earth is to know Jesus. A lot of people know a little bit about Jesus in our world - if you were to ask 100 people at your school about Jesus, how many of them do you think would say that they’ve heard about Jesus before? Probably a lot. Any sports fans? Who is your favorite athlete? For me growing up it was Albert Pujols and then in high school it was Kevin Durant with the OKC Thunder. If you have a favorite athlete or celebrity that you look up to, you know a lot about them, don’t you? For me, I could tell you Albert Pujols’ batting average, home runs, RBI’s, MVP’s, and World Championships - I could tell you all about his stats… But I really don’t know Albert Pujols. You might love Patrick Mahomes or Steph Curry and you might know all of his stats and records and you might even have his jersey… But you and I don’t really know those guys because we don’t have a relationship with them. We might know about them, but they don’t know anything about us.

Do you know the really cool thing about Jesus? You and I are created by Him. You and I are known by Jesus. The Bible says that He knows the numbers of hair on our head! He knows us and He wants us to know Him. What does Jesus want us to know about Him?

He wants us to know that He is our Savior

We’ll talk about this tomorrow morning a little bit, but think about this for a moment. How many ways are there to be saved? The Bible makes it clear that there’s only 1 way - by grace through faith in Christ. Jesus wants us to know that we all need Him to save us from our sins!

He wants us to know that He loves us

If someone tells you that they love you, how can you know that they really do? Through actions and words. My dad knows that I love Krispy Kreme donuts and one day I was working at the church gym in Ozark and he brought me back a donut - why? Because he loves me and wanted to give me something that he knew that I liked. Think about God’s love for us. Do any of you know John 3:16? What did God do for us? He loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins. Romans 5:8 says this Rm 5:8

Romans 5:8 CSB

8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He wants us to know that He is with us

You and I are here on this earth to know Jesus Christ. Not just the miracles that we read about in the Bible… But to have a relationship with Him. The way that this happens is by doing what comes next in Luke 9. Look back at verse 23 - what does Jesus say we have to do? We have to follow Jesus - this is the 2nd thing that we are here to do

I’m Here to Follow Jesus

How many of you like to follow directions? How many of you prefer to give directions to someone else? Sometimes it can be hard to follow directions because we think that we have a better idea. In Luke 9:23 Jesus says that if we want to follow Him, we have to first deny ourselves, take up his cross daily, and actually follow Him. Why do we need to follow Jesus?

Jesus is the “light of the world” - think of what light does for us. Light helps us see in the darkness so we don’t stub our toe. Light keeps us safe. Light guides our path. Light is helpful in so many ways… But light is only helpful if we make smart decisions. Light shows us the situation and then we are forced to decide how to respond.

In Luke 9:23 Jesus says that before we follow Him we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross. Why do you think Jesus says that we have to deny ourselves? Because we normally wouldn’t do this - we’d want to follow ourselves. Why do you think Jesus says that we have to take up our cross? Because we have to do something about our sin. The Bible tells us that we can’t cure our sinfulness by ourselves. Several of you all wear glasses or take medicine - I have to take something called insulin every time that I eat because my pancreas doesn’t work the way that it should. This is called Type 1 Diabetes. The solution to the problem is to take insulin. If you have eye problems, the solution might be to wear contacts or glasses. Think about the problem of our sin… What can we do to fix it? The Bible tells us that we can’t fix it ourselves. That we require someone else to come in and do the work for us. This is what Jesus does for us on the cross. He died so that we would be forgiven! This is good news! But it’s not enough to just know what the Bible says about Jesus and the cross… We have to do something about it - Jesus wants us to follow Him!

So, how can you and I follow Jesus? We obey His commands. Think for a moment: What are some things that Jesus wants you and I to do today?

Become more like Him

Read the Bible

Pray

Produce fruit

Jesus wants us to follow Him wherever He calls us to go. This week we’re going to talk about several Christians who followed God’s call on their life. Tonight I want to introduce you to a person named Paul - some of you know about this person in the Bible… What did Paul do before he was a Christian? He killed Christians and was an enemy of the Christians. What changed in Paul’s life? Paul met Jesus in Acts 9 and was called to follow Jesus. Paul had a problem… He thought that he was doing the right thing but whenever he met Jesus he quickly realized that he was doing the wrong things. Have you ever thought that you were doing something that was good only to discover that it wasn’t what you were supposed to do? It’s not fun to admit that we were doing something wrong, but this is what we have to do as we follow Jesus. We have to admit that we were doing the wrong thing before Jesus and ask Jesus to change us and help us to follow Him. Paul was excited to go tell others about Jesus and this is what God called him to do.

As Luke 9 tells us, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it.” If you want to follow Jesus, it will cost you something. It might cost you a friend. It might cost you some free time where you have to start reading your Bible instead of playing 15 more minutes of video games. It might cost you your plans as Jesus has something better in store for you than what you have planned.

Jesus wants us to follow Him and to trust in Him… But it’s not enough to just know the right answer and keep it to yourself, finally the Bible tells us that

I’m Here to Make Jesus Known

How many of you like to talk with others about things that you really like? If you like sports, you probably like to talk with other people about sports. If you like books, you probably like to talk with other people about your favorite book. If you like science, you probably like talking with other people about the science that you’re learning about. We like to talk with other people and tell them what we know!

There can be a temptation for us to keep what we know in our head, though. Maybe we think that the other person isn’t interested. Maybe we think that the other person doesn’t care. Maybe we think that they don’t deserve to know what we know. What good does it do to keep the right answer in our head? It doesn’t do any good!

How many of you have ever worked with a group on a project? Maybe at school or maybe in a club or team? There was a time whenever I was in school and I was working with a team on a group project and the teacher asked a question to our group and we were supposed to work together to figure it out. There were 4 of us in the group and me and 2 others were working hard to solve the problem while the 4th member was sitting quietly. Whenever the time came for us to go up and solve the problem, the person who didn’t participate at all volunteered to go up to the board and answer the equation perfectly. She didn’t bother to help our group, but she knew the answer. What good did that do for me and the others in our group? No good! We wasted time working hard whenever she already had the right answer.

See, there are lots of people around us in life who are searching for the right answer. They are trying to figure out why they are here and what matters in this life. They’re looking for answers but they can’t seem to figure it out… If you’re a Christian, you already have the right answer. You know why you’re here: You were made by Jesus with a purpose, to know Him and bring Him glory! You already know the truth of the Gospel. You know that Jesus came, lived a perfect life, died a criminal’s death on the cross in our place, rose 3 days later from the grave, ascended back to heaven, and promises to come back and make all things new. You have the answer if you’re a Christian! Yet, there is a temptation for us to not listen to Him and tell others about Him.

Luke 9:35 tells us the truth about Jesus, He is the chosen One. He’s the Messiah. He’s the Savior. He’s the only way that we can be saved. We need to tell others about Jesus Christ and what He has done and what He promises to do. Keeping that truth to ourselves is the worst thing that we can do. Jesus instructs us to go and make disciples of all nations. We are supposed to tell others about the truth of Jesus and what He has done for us! You and I exist to tell others about Jesus.

Tonight I want you to think about this truth for a moment and ask yourself a couple of questions:

Do you know Jesus? Not do you know about Jesus or do you know the stories of Jesus but do you actually know Jesus? Have you repented of your sins and placed your faith in Him as Lord and Savior?

Are you following Jesus? Jesus has a lot of fans who like Him whenever life is good… But Jesus wants us to be faithful followers who go wherever He calls us to go and do whatever He calls us to do. Are you following Jesus today? Jesus doesn’t just want us to make a 1 time decision, the Bible tells us that whenever we become a Christians we become a new creation and we do things differently because He lives in us! Are you living differently? Are you following Jesus?

Who is someone that you know who needs to hear about Jesus? Maybe tonight this person is you - maybe you have heard all the stories but you haven’t repented of your sins and placed your faith in Christ. Maybe tonight this person is you… But maybe God is putting someone on your heart who needs to hear about Jesus. Maybe a family member or a friend from school. Maybe a person that you know from church or someone that you play sports with. Maybe it’s a person that you don’t like or maybe it’s your best friend. Tonight as we close, think about someone that you know who needs to hear about Jesus. Someone that you can go to after camp and tell them the good news of what Jesus has done.

Who is this person to you?

Grab a sticky note and write their first name down and put it on the cross. After this, let’s take a minute or two to pray for these names!