Resurrection Sunday – Resurrection Identity
Matthew 4:18-20 April 5, 2026
Introduction
A couple weeks ago Halle and Jackson, two Pitt students from our congregation,
asked us to pray for an upcoming outreach event they were having on Campus.
UniteUS happened on March 25, 2026. I am happy to report that thousands of
Students showed up…students from all walks of life – seeking to find out what
the gospel is and to hear a message of truth, hope, and unity in the midst of a
world that is full of deception, despair, and division.
o Baptisms in Pickup Trucks, Physical Healings Reported in UniteUS College
Revival at Pitt | CBN News
Students showed up from various religious, ethnic, political, and socio-economic
backgrounds and the love of Jesus was preached. Many students who
responded to the message of Jesus’s truth and hope had previously considered
themselves “Christians” but really in name only – their lives didn’t much reflect
the teachings of Jesus; or their spirituality was not the primary aspect of their life
by which they identified – instead claiming some other identity as the core of
what they were.
This deception that has grown in the church of calling oneself a Christian but not
really caring very much about the teachings of Jesus or considering yourself a
Christian only after some other identity, has continued to grow in the American
church.
And so today, I want to take this opportunity as we celebrate the victory of
Jesus’s resurrection and defeat of sin and death, I want to talk a little about what
Jesus says about what it means to be His follower.
Jesus didn’t die so that we can affirm Him as God and then live how we want.
Jesus didn’t defeat death so that we can tack on our faith as an afterthought to
the worldly identities and affiliations that we make most important to us. Jesus
rose from the dead and confirmed He is who He said He was – the Son of God,
who is the only and exclusive way to relationship with God the Father, the only
means through which we can have our sins forgiven, and the True King of this
world who will rule and reign forever.
So in light of His resurrection, I want to took at 7 aspects of what it means to be a
Christian – 7 marks of what it means to be a follower of Jesus
Seven Marks/Fingerprints of Identity of a Christian
Matthew 4:18-19 “18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea,
for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you
fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
Selected
o Jesus called them
Submitted
o They immediately responded to Jesus; let down their nets and followed
Sealed
o I will make you = The Lord does the work
Phillippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good
work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
Luke 24:45-49 “45 Then he opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ
should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that
repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his
name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses
of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my
Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power
from on high.””
Ephesians 1:13-14 “13 In him you also, when you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed
with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his
glory.”
Student
o I will make you= learner/imitator
o John 13:34-35 “34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By
this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one
another.”
Servant
o Fishers of Men 1:
o Matthew 25:37-40 “37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord,
when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and
clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of
the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
o Matthew 25:21, 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter
into the joy of your master.’”
Sibling and Friend
o Fishers of Men 2
o Mark 3:31-35 “31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing
outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around
him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside,
seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my
brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of
God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”” (see also Matthew 12:46-
50)
o John 15:12-15 “12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another
as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone
lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I
command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not
know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I
have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
Sent
o Fishers of Men 3
o Matthew 10:16 “16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of
wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
o John 20:21 “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father
has sent me, even so I am sending you”
o Matthew 28:18-20 “18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the
age.””
Bonus #8 = Sanctified Saint
o 1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in
every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord
and ours” (see also Romans 1:7, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1,
Colossians 1:12)
o Revelation 14:12 “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who
keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”
Conclusion
Hundreds of students were prayed over for healing, rededication of their life to
Jesus, or to submit to Him for the first time. There were many testimonies of the
Lord doing miraculous things in the lives of those being prayed over. After the
teaching and praise was finished, they had baptismals set up in the parking lot
and were baptizing students until midnight.
But the organizers of the event weren’t looking for an emotional moment where
people prayed a prayer and then never think about Jesus again; they connected
those students with various local churches and on campus ministries so that they
can learn the true identity of a Jesus follower.
This Resurrection Sunday, let me invite you to walk ever more deeply in the
identity of what it means to be a Jesus follower. Like the students at Pitt, and
many other campuses around the country, stop falling for the deception that any
other identity matters or that you can claim to be a Christian and yet have nothing
in your life that actually reflects a devotion to, desire for, and delight in Jesus.
Elders stand up….invite folks to be prayed for after the service for whatever
prayers they need. Healing, rededication, submission….Jesus will meet you right
where you are and show you the true identity of His followers.
Amen. Amen.