
Values: Every Person Follows
February 14, 2021
Values! Every one of us have values that influence how you live. Your values shape how you interact with your neighbors. Your values guide you in how you spend your money. When you worked, your company had a set of values that determined how you did your work. Your company may have had values like, excellence, efficiency, and hard work.
When you got married, you brought values into that relationship. For example, in our marriage, Becky and I have always valued harmony. If we’ve ever had a disagreement, we made sure we never let the sun go down on our anger. We’ve always tried to work out our conflict before we went to sleep. It wasn’t always easy, but we’ve done it.
And most of you have raised a family. So you had family values. For example, before Becky and I started our family, we were good friends with the Slover family. They had two teenagers, Jeff and Wendi. And we noticed how well they got along with each other. And so we determined that once we had children, we’d instill values that would help them love and cherish one another, respect and encourage one another. And although they did their fair share of fighting early on, today both Kayla and Courtney have healthy respect and love for one another. And now they are building values into their growing families.
And when it comes to our Church Family, we also have a set of values. So what are our values? What kind of qualities are helping us reveal to the world that we belong to Jesus? Well, over the past six years, we’ve embraced five key values that we’ve sought to instill in the people who call Rock Springs Church, their family. And they are:
- Radical Inclusivity: Accepting others as Jesus has accepted us
- Extravagant Generosity: Giving of ourselves as Jesus gave to us
- Mutual Interdependence: Serving one another as Jesus served us
- Unleashed Potential: Becoming all Jesus has called us to become
- Kingdom Mindset: Seeking His kingdom and righteousness in our daily lives
Now, different churches have different values. But these are the values we believe will best help us reflect the beauty and grace of Jesus as we seek to become the blessing God wants us to be in our world. So beginning today, we’re going to take a brief break from the Gospel of Matthew to reintroduce these values in words that should be a bit easier to communicate with one another. So, instead of saying: “Radical Inclusivity,” Now it’s“Every Person Includes”
- Instead of saying “Extravagant Generosity:” Now it’s “Every Person Gives”
- Instead of saying “Mutual Interdependence” Now it’s “Every Person Helps”
- Instead of saying “Unleashed Potential” Now it’s “Every Person Follows”
- Instead of saying “Kingdom Mindset” Now it’s “Every Person Matters”
These are the values that should permeate all we do as God’s people. These are the values that should influence our worship together, our mission together and our life together as we seek to help people become friends, family and followers of Jesus.
And the value I want to reintroduce to us today is the value of unleashed potential: “Every Person Follows” And the reason I want to start here, is this is where God started with me months before coming to Robson Ranch was ever on my radar.
It all started one morning in January 2014 while I was reading in the gospel of Luke. That morning God met me in a most profound way. Jesus had been standing on the shore teaching a crowd of people who had been pressing in on him. And he saw nearby, two fishing boats, with fishermen who had finished for the night and who were now cleaning their nets. Here’s what happened next: Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught them from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5
After reading this, God’s Spirit gave me this message: If you follow me wherever I lead you, I will lead you to a people who everyone else has written off, but who, if you help them follow me, will experience the most fruitful days of their lives.
Now I thought God was going to lead me to a Church whose glory days were in the past, but where He was going to blow the doors off that church in ways they could have never imagined. Little did I know at the time, he was leading me to a group of people He wanted to bless in ways they never could have imagined. That group of people is you. God led me to come to you, to a people most of have written off, but who, if I can help you follow Jesus, will experience God working through you in ways you never imagined.
So when I came here and saw your hunger for God’s Word and how enthusiastic you were for making a difference with your lives, I understood that one of our key values had to be: Unleashed Potential. In other words, every Christ Follower has an unlimited potential that God wants to not only awaken within you but unleash through you to bless others with the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
That’s why I want to reintroduce this value as: Every Person Follows. For it’s not just your enthusiasm to make a difference with your lives that led me to identify this value… But it is what God sees in you that convinces me that He wants you to experience the most fruitful days of your lives. So, if you brought your Bible today, please open it to John 15:16 where Jesus tells us what He has done for you to unleash His potential in you – so that as you follow Him, He will unleash the potential in you to be a blessing He has called you to be. Let’s read this verse together: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16
Here’s the first thing Jesus did for you: 1. Jesus chose you to be with Him He said: “You did not choose me, but I chose you” In other words, Jesus initiated a relationship with you to bring you to God. You didn’t choose Jesus. Jesus chose you. He drew you to faith in Him through the work of the Father. Your heavenly Father had plans for you to come to faith in Him before time every began. In fact, Jesus couldn’t be any clearer about this when He said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up the last day.” John 6:44
So then you were drawn to faith in Jesus Christ, when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. So when you heard the message of God’s grace to you in Jesus Christ, that salvation is found in what He did for you on the cross, by taking the punishment you deserve, taking away all your sin and shame through His blood shed for you on the cross. It was the Spirit of God who convinced you or your sin and a need of a Savior. And at that moment, the love of Christ filled your heart and you believed. You did not choose Jesus, Jesus chose you.
Jesus chose you to be with Him so you would follow Him, learn from Him, and come to know Him – and by knowing Him, you would come to know the Father who has always loved you. You see, in the verses leading up to this, Jesus told his followers that they were no longer servants, but friends – For everything Jesus knew about the Father, he made know to them so they could know Him too. That’s why He chose those first followers, and that’s why He chooses you.
Jesus chooses you so you can know the Father who has always loved you. Jesus chooses you so you can know God and enjoy a relationship with Him. That by the way, is the definition of eternal life found in John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Here’s the truth that is meant to unleash your potential to be a blessing in this world: Before you do anything with God or for God, Jesus wants you to know God! Knowing God is at the core of unleashing your potential. That’s why Jesus chose to die for you. That’s why Jesus initiated a relationship with you: so he could remove your guilt, and take away your fear of judgment, so you could be free to know the One who has always loved you. And once you begin to know Him, once you begin to know how good and loving He is, a freedom explodes in your heart.
So if Jesus chooses you, then the sky’s the limit for you. You are now free to be yourself. You are now free to be who God created you to be. You are now free to love without strings attached. You are now free to give of yourself to others. You are now free to live above the chaos and confusion of this world. You are now free to go anywhere or do anything. There is something so affirming about being chosen. I still to this day believe that when Becky chose to spend her life with me, she was the key to my calling as a Pastor. Because now with her at my side, I had someone who believed in me and was going to be there for me no matter what.
And that’s what Jesus does by choosing you! He chose you to set you free. He chose you to reconcile you to God. He chose you so you could enjoy the same kind of relationship with God that He enjoys. To be His beloved. To enjoy His presence, to rest in His grace, and know that He wants to be with you. And once you realize the depth of His love for you – He sets you free to step into the life He has for you when you follow Jesus.
Are you starting to get a glimpse of why Jesus choosing you is the key to unleashing your potential? With Jesus there is freedom, there’s confidence, and there’s hope to step into a life of following Jesus where the sky’s the limit. Jesus chose you to be with Him. That’s why Every Person Follows must always be a core value for us.
But there’s more: Jesus appointed you to go and bear fruit! Jesus also said, “and I appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit— fruit that will last” Most of us severely underestimate what God wants to do through our lives. Understanding what Jesus wants to do in you and through you is the second key to unleashing your potential to be a blessing in our world. And he tells us right here just what he wants to do through you: He wants you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last, fruit that will endure.
But just what exactly is this fruit Jesus wants to produce through you? After all when you look at the rest of the New Testament, there are all kinds of things called fruit that God wants us to produce. For example, in Galatians we are called to walk by the Spirit, and when we are walking by the Spirit, then the Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit in us. He will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 So it could be that the fruit Jesus wants us to produce is the fruit of the Spirit. And there’s some truth to this. For when we love like He loves, when we express kindness, when we are joyful or faithful or gentle, others are blessed by the Spirit of Christ flowing through us.
But then in Colossians 1, Paul prays that we would live lives worthy of our calling by bearing fruit in every good work. Colossians 1:10 And the teaching of Ephesians 2:10 seems to confirm this when we are told that we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So then the fruit we are to go and produce must have something to with doing good works that will bless people. Maybe that’s what Jesus meant here?
But then Peter prays that we might be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. 1 Peter 1:9-11 Again, this prayer narrows it down to living a new kind of life – the life of righteousness, where we live the way God intended – where we live out the intent of the law that Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount: where we now practice the golden rule: doing to others what we would have them do us – and by simply loving our neighbor and even our enemies. So we have to ask: It this the fruit Jesus sets us apart to produce?
And my answer would be yes. Because the key to understanding the fruit that Jesus wants us to bear is found in that little phrase “fruit that will last.” Now some argue that fruit that will last are people who come to faith in Christ through our mission. And that is true. Because anyone who puts their faith in Jesu Christ will last forever! Jesus promises this. He will never let you go. The moment you put anyone puts their faith in Jesus, Jesus says that you possess eternal life, and you have passed from death to life. So whenever we go and make disciples of Jesus, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded us – we are producing fruit that will last!
This is our calling. Jesus chose you to know God, but He has set you apart to make a difference with your life for eternity, by bearing fruit that will last. So if I understand Jesus’ words correctly here: “to go and bear fruit that will last” He has set each one of us apart for an intended purpose: to go and live the life Jesus would live if He were you. Loving as Jesus loved, doing good works that Jesus has prepared for us to do, living the new life of kingdom righteousness, and making disciples just like Jesus did. This is the potential Jesus wants to unleash you. That’s why this value: Every Person Follows, must be part of our Rock Springs Church DNA.
But here’s the good news with Jesus setting us apart to live and love like Him. Just a few verses previous, Jesus said, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5
So here’s our potential: Jesus chose you so He could unleash His life through you. And when he does that, you will produce fruit that will last. That’s what he means when he says “I appointed you so that you might go and bear much fruit”
That’s our potential. That’s what God sees in you. He sees your potential to live like Jesus, love like Jesus, and make disciples like Jesus. But not to do this in your own strength, but by faith as you follow Jesus and learn how to let Him live through you. This is your potential. This is why Jesus choses you to be with Him, and why Jesus sets you apart to do ministry through Him.
But he doesn’t want you to do this alone. That’s why the final truth we see in this verse is this: 3. Jesus Promises to Help You Bear Fruit Jesus chose you so you could know the One who loves you and set you free to be who God created you to be. And Jesus chose you so that He could live and love through you. And now in the last part of this verse, Jesus promises to help you. And the way He promises to help you, is the same way he received help – by praying to the Father. Let me read this verse again: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit— fruit that will last and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”
To unleash your potential to live and love like Jesus you need the Father’s help. And He wants to give it. All you need to do is ask in the name of Jesus for His help. This is how you remain in Christ. This is how you unleash your potential. This is how the days ahead can be your best days, your most fruitful days. Because when you ask the Father to help you bear fruit in Jesus’ name, that’s the kind of prayer He promises to answer. Jesus said so just a few verses previous to this, when he said: If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my followers. John 15:7-8
The bottom line is this: God wants your life to bring Him glory. And you will bring Him glory when you live and love like Jesus: When we are faithful to our spouses. When we welcome the stranger as one of us. When we refuse to judge. When we do good to our enemies. When we turn the other cheek, and when we rescue the perishing and help them follow Jesus. That’s why Jesus chose you to follow Him – so in bearing much fruit, you might bring the Father glory. And all He asks of you is to pray in His name – and He will help you do what He has chosen you to do.
So don’t underestimate what it means for you to follow Jesus. Don’t let your past hold you back from becoming who God created you to be. Don’t let time seduce you into thinking that you can wait till tomorrow to start following Jesus. Jesus chose you, not just to give you eternal life, but to give you a life that can make a difference for eternity. This is why HE died for you – so that when you follow Him, you can start living and loving like Him and bear the kind of fruit that gives God all the glory.
This is the potential that God sees in you when you follow Jesus. And that is why this value “Every Person Follows” must permeate our culture as God’s people. For when every person follows Jesus, God will hear our prayers and unleash our potential to be the blessing He created us to be and bring glory to His name.
So let me ask you: Do you want God to unleash your potential to be a blessing today? Then follow Jesus. Trust in Him. Walk with him daily. Learn from His Word. Connect with others who follow Him in a Journey Group – and learn to obey His Word and ask the Father to help you bear much fruit for Him.
Jesus chose you to be with Him. Jesus chose you to bear much fruit through Him – this is your potential. This is what God sees in you and why He promises to help you – so your life might bring the Father glory – when you follow Jesus.
Let’s pray.
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