Rock Springs Family Values: Unleashed Potential

In January 2014 I was reading in the gospel of Luke when God opened my eyes and gave me a glimpse of the future He had in mind for me. In that passage Jesus had borrowed Peter’s fishing boat so he could move out from the shore and teach all the people who were gathered there. After he was done speaking, Luke says that Jesus spoke 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.

After reading that passage the message Jesus gave me is this: That if you follow me wherever I lead you, I will lead you to a people who everyone else has written off, but a people, who, if you help them follow me, will experience the most fruitful days of their lives. Then a few months later God opened the door for Becky and I to come here to start this church. He led us to you, a group of people who have come here to enjoy life, but haven’t stop believing you can make a difference with your lives.

In fact, when I tell my friends about the people God has gathered to be Rock Springs Church I don’t just tell them how alive you are and how much fun you are, but I tell them how you are hungry you are for God’s Word and how much you still want to make a difference with your lives. That’s why, when I was identifying the core values of our Church, unleashed potential had to be one of them. But it wasn’t just your enthusiasm about making a difference that led me to identify this value… It was what God’s Word says about your potential that convinced me of how much He wants to see you experience the most fruitful days of your lives. So, if you brought your Bible with you today, I want to encourage you to open it to John 15:16 where we’re going to unpack three things Jesus has done for you to help unleash His potential in you.

So if you’ve found John 15, before we begin unpacking this value, lets do a bit of review. We are in a series called Rock Springs Family Values.   We’ve identified five values that God wants us to embody in everything we do together as His people. As we embody these values we will be the blessing God has called us to be.

Three weeks ago, we looked at our first value: Radical Inclusivity. Jesus includes anyone and calls us to do the same. There are no “ins” or “outs” with Jesus. As we live out this value, we will see everyone as someone Jesus wants to love through us.

Two weeks ago, we looked at a second value: Extravagant Generosity. Jesus gave his all so He could change us all – that we might give like him. As we live out this value, we will give of ourselves, our time, our talents and our treasures in everything we do.

Last week, we looked at our third value: Mutual Interdependence. Jesus put us together to do life together. Gave us gifts to use so we can bless one another, and he poured out His love in our hearts so that might love and support one another. And the truth that rang through that entire value is this: We need you. We need each other.   There are no lone rangers in God’s family.

But now we get to look at what Jesus did for us to help us live out these values and unleash our potential. So what’s the first thing Jesus did for us?

Your New Relationship was Initiated by Jesus                                                                                         Listen to what Jesus did for us. He says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you” In other words, Jesus initiated a relationship with you to bring you to God. He came to you. He pursued you and He chose you to be with Him. He didn’t just initiate a relationship with you to forgive you, although he did that when you first trusted in him. And He didn’t just initiate a relationship with you to bring you into His family, but that also came as a result of trusting in him. No, ultimately, He initiated a relationship with you so you could know the Father. You see, in the verses leading up to this declaration, Jesus told his followers that they were no longer servants, but friends – intimates with him in the knowledge of God. For every thing Jesus knew about the Father, he had shared with them so they could know Him too. That’s why He chose them, and why He chooses us.

Jesus sought you and bought you with His precious blood, so that you could know the Father through Him. That by the way, is Jesus’ definition of eternal life. He says as much 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: Before you do anything with God or for God, Jesus wants you to know God! Knowing God is at the heart of unleashing your potential. That’s why Jesus chose to die for you. He chose to give you the forgiveness you needed so you could stand fully accepted in God’s presence.

That’s why Jesus initiated a relationship with you – to remove your guilt, to remove your shame, to remove your fear so you could experience a relationship with God. Jesus chose you so He could bring you into relationship with the very One who Created you in His image and likeness. And once you begin to know the Father, once you begin to know how good and loving He is, there’s a freedom that explodes in your heart. You are now free to become the person God meant you to be. Knowing God unleashes your potential to become like Jesus – to live and love like Jesus.

So if Jesus chooses you, then the sky’s the limit! Think about it. Do you remember being in Elementary School when they lined you up to choose teams? Were you ever the last one chosen? It didn’t feel very good. You were humiliated by that choosing. But then think about when your spouse chose to spend the rest of his or her life with you? You felt safe and secure. You felt fully alive. You were now free to be yourself. With her you could go anywhere or do anything. 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 with her at my side, I had someone who believed in me no matter what, someone who as going to be there for me no matter what. With her my confidence soared. And we’ve been able to go places and do things together we never thought possible. Now, think about Jesus choosing you! He chose you to bring you to God. He chose you to set you free. He chose you to pour His life into. And now He believes in you no matter what. He will be there for you no matter what. He will never leave you nor forsake you!… 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 is confidence, there’s great security.

But that’s just the first thing Jesus did for us. Your new relationship was initiated by Jesus, to unlock your potential – but that’s not all.

Your New Potential was also Given to you by Jesus
   Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you “and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit— fruit that will last” Now, most of us 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.   And he tells us right here just what he wants to do through you: He wants you to go and bear fruit!

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 the Spirit is at work in us, then He will produce the fruit of the Spirit: 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: then His life would flow through us to bless others.

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 in that 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 among one another the way God intended – where we practice the golden rule: to do unto others as you would have them do unto you – and by simply loving our neighbor. Is this the fruit Jesus wants us to produce?

And my answer would be yes, yes, yes and 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 will argue that fruit that will last are the other people who come to faith in Christ through our mission. And that would be true. Because anyone who puts their faith in Jesus will last! Jesus will never let you go. You belong to Him forever. But when I read these words in context, I see this: Jesus wants us to go and produce fruit that endures, fruit that will bear up over the course of time, fruit that remains – fruit that makes an eternal difference.

And so if I understand Jesus’ words correctly here: “to go and bear fruit that will last”   He means for us to go and to live the life Jesus would live if He were you. This is the potential Jesus gives us to turn our world upside down – the potential to truly make a difference with our lives.

So how do I know this? Well, that’s what we get from the context. 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 the point: Jesus initiated a relationship with you so He could unleash His life through you. How amazing is that? The only fruit that lasts is what Jesus does through your life as you love and serve others. That’s the potential Jesus gives us. You see, Bearing fruit is not about what you can do for Jesus, it’s about what Jesus wants to do through you.

And when he says “I set you apart to do this.” He is identifying your calling in life. That’s what he means when he says “I appointed you so that you might go and bear much fruit” In other words, Jesus didn’t just chose you to know Him but He chose you to live and love like Him – that’s our potential. And God wants to see us embody this value in everything we do together as His people! You see how this fits into our vision? If we are to be people helping people become friends, family and followers of Jesus, then we need to unleash our potential to include anyone, to give of ourselves, and to serve one another. And the only way this happens is if we let Jesus live His life through us!

But here’s the DILEMMA we all face: Jesus gives us our potential. But not everyone taps into their potential. Jesus says, “I appointed you so that you might go and bear much fruit.” Here’s the dilemma: “so that you might go.” This means we might not go and bear fruit. You may never live out your potential – and wouldn’t that be a tragedy? To have Jesus die for you, bring you into a relationship with the Father, give you this incredible potential for good, but then you never go and learn to live and love like Jesus. You never put your faith into practice.

Can I say this in the strongest terms possible: Don’t underestimate what God wants to do through you!   Don’t let fear keep you from becoming the force of good Jesus has called you to be. Don’t let the time seduce you into thinking that you can wait for tomorrow to follow Jesus. Don’t let past failures derail you from getting in on what God wants for you. Jesus has chosen you so that you might go and bear much fruit – fruit that will last. This is why HE died for you – to unleash you to be His hands and heart in our world.

Maybe you never thought God could use you. Maybe you had given up believing that your life matters. Maybe you’ve been there, done that. But maybe you’ve forgotten who is the master of your potential – it is Jesus. He said, You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit— fruit that will last”

So, you say, Okay I see this. Its hard to believe, but I believe it. I know Jesus lives in me and wants to live through me. So how do I unleash His potential in me? And if you are asking that right now, you are asking the right question. And that leads us now to the final thing Jesus has already done for you to help you tap into your potential.

That’s where Your New Partnership Promised by Jesus
 comes into play. Because this verse doesn’t end just stating our potential, but reveals who will help us unleash it: “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 you need the Father’s help. And He wants to give it. The Father wants to see us succeed. All we need to do is ask Him to help us. We can’t bear fruit apart from Jesus, but we can bear much fruit when we ask the Father to work through us. This is how we unleash our potential. This is how the days ahead can be our best days, our most fruitful days. Because when we ask the Father to help us bear fruit, that’s the prayer He promises to answer. Jesus said it himself: 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 disciples. John 15:7-8

Jesus chose you to be with Him – He set you free so you can live your potential  Jesus called you to bear fruit that will last – So that you might live and love like Him Jesus promises the Father’s help – He wants to help you make a difference with your life for Him. For then He will be glorified.   This is our potential. Shall we unleash it?