March 20th, 2005: Kimber
Kauffman, Senior Pastor of CPC, continued Joe Baremus’ series on Matthew
9:35-38, providing a more in-depth study Jesus’ motivation(s). As Kimber noted,
Jesus’ compassion was motivated by what he saw in the crowds – not necessarily
by what he saw with his eyes, but with his heart and mind.
1. Jesus was motivated by what he
saw. Recall Kimber’s two pictures: one of a
person who was looking up and outside of himself, which enabled him to see the
crowds through the lens of the Cross; the other person who was constantly
looking at himself (at his navel) and was about to fall off a cliff.
a. Are you more concerned about yourself – your own opinion, thoughts,
ideas, concerns, desires, wants, needs, etc – than you are about others? How do
you know?
b. How can you measure how well you do at focusing on the needs of others
above your own (cf Phil. 2:3-4)?
c. What are some ways you need to do a better job at looking out at the
Cross and the crowds rather than looking at yourself?
2. What did Jesus see as he was
‘sawing’? Jesus’ guts were wrenched; he was
exhausted by what he saw in the crows, particularly that they had no sense of
faith or good theology that could guide them.
a. Do you believe that a person’s greatest need is spiritual/theological?
b. If a person’s greatest need is a spiritual need, why do we so often base
our thoughts and assumptions of people on the way they look or dress, their
level of education or résumé, or by some other comparison?
c. If we really care about the spiritual needs of people how will we respond
to the lost and helpless we come across on a daily basis in the malls, on the
streets, on billboards, or in the elevator at work? How will we respond to bad
teaching that is leading people astray?
3. Consider the metaphor that God is our shepherd. What does this mean? How
should this effect our relationship with him? How does this apply to our daily
life (cf. Ps. 23; Ps 80; Jn. 10:1-18; Heb 13:20; 1 Pet 2:25; 5:4; Rev 7:17)?
4. What does God think about leaders who do a poor job of caring for God’s
Flock use the position of leadership for personal gain (cf. Eze 34:1-31; Zech
11:17; Matt. 23)?
a. How should this fact effect your interactions with other people? The
words you say? Your desire to teach or preach?
5. Are you motivated like Jesus?
a. What do you see as you look at the world? Do you look at it the same
world Christ did?
b. How does God’s compassion on the crowds influence your:
i.
Worldview?
ii.
Passion for World Missions?
iii.
View of big decisions you make?
iv.
View of how you define success?