I Had Just Graduated from College and Was Getting Ready to Go to My First Church As a Pastor

I had just graduated from college and was getting ready to go to my first church as a pastor. And I sat down with my father and asked him, “Dad, do you have any words of advice for me as I begin pastoring?” I’ll never forget his words. He said, “John, if you value people and unconditionally love them, your church will always be full.” He went on to explain that few people receive unconditional love or are highly valued by others. He said, “If you just do those things, you’ll fill your church.”

I want to talk to you about a person much wiser than my father who said it long before my father: Jesus. Jesus said, “If you follow me, I’ll teach you how to value people.”

Matthew 4:18-22

Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.” They didn’t ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed. A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee’s sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them, and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father. (The Message)

“Follow Me” Thoughts

There are three “follow me” thoughts I want us to immediately integrate into our minds and hearts today.

1. Jesus is looking for people to follow Him. He wants you and me to be his disciples. He wants us to follow Him. In fact, look at your neighbor right now and say, “Jesus wants you to follow Him.” Tell them that right now.

2. He finds people in their environment. In other words, he came to where the guys were. They were fishermen, they were in their boats. He comes to where you and I are. The very fact of the incarnation, Christ leaving heaven and coming to Earth, just shows us that he finds us where we are. He doesn’t say, “You find me, you look for me. Good luck. I’m God. Hope you can somehow get to me.” He says, “No, I’m going to find you where you are.”

3. His words “follow me” are the greatest leadership words ever uttered.

Why? Because the person who said it was Jesus.

“Follow Me” means…

1. Jesus will be your example. He was saying, “If you follow me, I’ll show you how to live. I’ll teach you the values you need to have, just watch me. Just observe me.”

2. Jesus will be with you. This means that he wants to be our companion. He wants to hang with us, he wants to have a relationship with us, he wants to communicate and connect with us.

3. Jesus will help you discover significance. These guys were fishermen by trade. And all of a sudden Jesus said, If you’ll follow me, I’m going to upgrade you. Instead of you catching perch and bass, I’m going to help you catch men.

Their response was immediate. Now, this always amazes me. They hear these words and they just immediately respond. I ask myself this question all the time: why was it that they were so quick to respond? Was it what he said? I mean, what he said was pretty amazing. Was it his reputation and who he was, that they knew he was Jesus? Or could it have been, and I think this to be true, that there was something about Jesus when he interacted with these fishermen, that they could tell that he valued them? Maybe through the way that he looked or the tone of his voice, they could tell that he truly valued them as individuals.

Three questions followers ask their leaders:

1. Do you care for me? Before somebody’s going to follow you or me, they want to know that we care for them, that we have their best interest at heart.

2. Can you help me? In other words, if I follow you, is it going to get better? Is my life going to change? Are things going to become a little bit better and brighter in my life? That’s why they stand in line. That’s why they follow.

3. Can I trust you? If I follow you, will you be true to your word? Will you be faithful to me?

Now, for those three questions – Do you care for me, Can you help me, and Can I trust you? – Jesus says yes to all three of them. Yes, I care for you, yes, you can trust me, and yes, I can help you. And then those words, “Follow me,” become quite contagious. They become quite inviting to the ear, when you know the person that says follow me is trustworthy, cares for you and can absolutely help you. That’s exactly who Jesus was.

I’ve heard it said many times that it’s wonderful when the people believe in the leader, but it’s even more wonderful when the leader believes in the people. Jesus was a believer in people. He saw these fishermen, who others would have overlooked in society. No one would ever look in those boats and

see those men mending nets or catching fish, and think that they would become absolute transformational leaders who would be known for centuries to follow. No one would ever look at them and see that, but Jesus did. Why? Because he valued them. He not only sees that in them, he sees that in you and me. He values us.

Follow the footsteps of Jesus throughout the Gospels, and you will realize that Jesus values people.

One example is…

Zacchaeus - Luke 19:1-10

Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way— he was a short man and couldn’t see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by. When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.” Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, “What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?” Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.” Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.” (The Message)

Jesus valued Zacchaeus more than Zacchaeus valued himself.

Jesus valued Zacchaeus more than others valued Zacchaeus.

What did the rest of the crowd do? They were indignant. They couldn’t believe that Jesus would go home with a crook.

This is a beautiful story demonstrating the fact that Jesus puts a 10 on our heads. When he sees us, he puts the highest number possible. Why would he do that? Very simple: he created us in his image. He gave us gifts. He gave us a purpose, a why for living. When Jesus sees us, he sees us with a 10 on our forehead.

When the people in town saw Zacchaeus, they didn’t have a 10 on his forehead, trust me. It might be a 10 but it would be a -10. Are you with me? It wouldn’t be anything on the plus side, that was for sure. What I want you to see again is how Jesus values people, and he valued Zacchaeus in such a way that even he was surprised. Let’s go to another story…

The Samaritan Woman - John 4:7-9, 27

A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.) The Samaritan woman, taken aback,

asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

…Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it. (The Message)

Oh yes, I’ve seen those faces before. Haven’t you? I’ve seen those faces on Christians who were shocked when somebody would reach out and value someone that the rest of them wouldn’t value.

Jesus valued the Samaritan woman more than she valued herself.

Jesus valued the Samaritan woman more than the Disciples valued her.

Are you starting to get the picture here? I want you to hear this: Jesus values you more than you value yourself. Jesus values you more than anyone else values you. That’s the Jesus that I’ve fallen in love with. In fact, he wanted to make sure we didn’t miss the point. We not only have pictures throughout the Gospels of him interacting with people, showing how much he valued them, but Jesus wanted to make sure we didn’t miss it. So he said, “Let me tell you a parable.” It’s the parable that we all know, the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

Now, we’re picking up in the middle of the story. The son has already asked for his inheritance, he’s already gone out and blown his money, he’s partied it all away. Now he’s in a pig pen, he has nothing, he’s in desperate shape, he’s now starting to come to his senses, and that’s where the story picks up.

The Prodigal Son - Luke 15:17-32 vv. 17-24

“That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father. When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’ But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.” (The Message)

Notice this phrase. “I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.” When he went home to his father, the son started his speech. Now, that’s an interesting phrase: The son started his speech. This boy had practiced his speech every day because he was coming back to his father, the one that he had left, one that he had taken his inheritance from. This was a practiced speech because he wanted to get it right. I love that he said, “Okay, what I’ve been practicing every day, I’m going to say it now to my dad. I’m going to make sure that my dad hears this.” What was his speech that he’d been practicing? “Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned against you. I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.”

And I love this phrase, “But the father wasn’t listening.”

What’s dad doing? Well, here’s what he’s doing. He’s calling the servants. He said, “Quick, bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Get a grain- fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast. We’re going to have a wonderful time. My son is here. Given up for dead and now alive. Given up for lost and now found.” They began to have a wonderful time. Oh, I love that.

The first response of the father was to celebrate, not condemn.

Don’t miss this. The first response of dad was to celebrate, “My boy came home.” He didn’t look at hisboy and say, “Son, what have you been doing? Do you understand you’ve blown your money?” I mean, I would’ve done that. Wouldn’t you have done that? He could have said a whole list of stuff. I mean, he could have considered it a teaching time for the boy. No, instead it was loving time for the boy. He wanted to celebrate, not condemn. vv. 25-32

“All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast —barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’ The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’ His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’” (The Message)

Now notice this, the older brother stalked off and sulked, and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him. Oh, here’s a phrase. We’ve heard this before: “But he wouldn’t listen.” Oh my. The son wouldn’t listen either. The son said, “Look, how many years have I stayed here, serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who was throwing away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast.” His father said, “Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time and everything that is mine is yours, but this is a wonderful time and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead. He’s alive. He was lost and he’s found.”

The father valued the son more than the son valued himself.

Twice he said, “I don’t deserve to be called your son.” In fact, the son was so disappointed in himself that he lowered his expectations of how the father would respond. He practiced a speech, “I don’t deserve to be your son. I’ll be a servant. I’ll tell you what, let me have a bunk in the barn, and I’ll do the chores with all the rest of the servants.”

Our disappointment in ourselves gets projected on God.

You see, disappointment is the gap between expectation and reality. But you can’t surprise God. He’s God. He knows everything. When you mess up, he doesn’t look and say, “Oh my goodness, I hadn’t expected that. Oh, I had no idea he would sin. Oh, I’m just shocked. What am I going to do?’ You can’t disappoint God. What happened was this: Because the prodigal was disappointed in himself, he lowered his expectations of how the father would receive him. He thought the father would maybe accept him as a servant. But he never considered the idea that the father would accept him as a son.

The father valued the son more than the brother valued his brother.

In fact, they both didn’t listen. The father wouldn’t listen because he had unconditional love and his unconditional love valued people. When the son began to say his speech to the father, he said, “I’m not listening to that. I love you unconditionally. I love you just as you are.”

The older brother, when he heard about the music and the party and he stalked off and he was greatly disappointed, he wouldn’t listen either. He wouldn’t listen to his dad try to say, “Look, your brother is back. He’s returned, he was lost, he’d been found.” He wouldn’t listen.

Unconditional love values people.

Legalism overvalues works and undervalues people. The son was a legalist. Basically, his first response was to condemn, not celebrate. Can you see the great difference between the father and the son? The prodigal son comes home and the dad says, “Oh my goodness, let’s celebrate!” He didn’t condemn. The brother, he says, “Oh my goodness, I want to condemn. I mean I’ve been working hard. He hasn’t been working hard.” Did you notice how the brother overvalued himself? Overvalued all the things he was doing for his dad. He was counting. He was counting all of his works, all the good things he was doing.

No unconditional love, no value of someone else. In verse 2 he said, “Look how many years I’ve stayed around serving you. Never giving you one moment of grief.” Can I tell you something? The older brother was giving the father all kinds of grief. What an arrogant statement.

You know what gives the father grief? When we don’t love and value people like the father does. That grieves his heart. You see, God values people. If I value God as a Christ follower, then I also need to value people.

I was out with Mark Cole, our CEO, at Pebble Beach, at a golf tournament for EQUIP. He told me, “My family is here. Would you mind going out to dinner?” I said, “I’d be glad to.” And we had a great time, a wonderful time. On the way back, Mark said, “Thanks, John. You just really valued my family.” I said, “I’m glad to. Of course, I valued your family. I value you, and you value your family.”

Can I tell you something? When you value a person, you value who they value. To say that you and I are Christ followers and yet not unconditionally love and value other people is to say we are Christ followers in words but certainly not in deeds.

I brought with me something I’ve enjoyed reading for a long time. It just summarizes this message of

how Jesus valued people. Here’s what it says.

The Pit

A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out.

A SUBJECTIVE person came along and said: “I FEEL for you down there.”

An OBJECTIVE person came along and said: “It’s logical that someone would fall down there.”

A CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST came along and said: “You only THINK you are in a pit.” A PHARISEE said: “Only BAD people fall into a pit.”

A NEWS-REPORTER wanted the exclusive story on his pit.

A FUNDAMENTALIST said: “You DESERVE your pit.”

A CALVINIST said: “If you’d been saved, you’d never have fallen into that pit.”

A WESLEYAN said: “You were saved and still fell into that pit.”

A CHARISMATIC said: “Just confess that you’re not in that pit.”

A REALIST said: “That’s a PIT.”

An I.R.S. agent asked him if he were paying the taxes on the pit.

The COUNTY INSPECTOR asked if he had a special permit to dig a pit.

An EVASIVE person came along and avoided the subject of the pit altogether.

A SELF-PITYING person said: “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen MY PIT!!”

A BOOKIE said: “CHANCES are that anyone could fall into a pit.”

AN OPTIMIST said: “Things COULD be worse.”

A PESSIMIST said: “Things WILL get worse!!”

JESUS, seeing the man, took him by the hand and LIFTED HIM OUT of the pit.

~Kenneth D. Filkins

[Prayer] Lord, I ask that you would help each one of us today to see people like you see them and to value people like you value them. Help us to not be the elder brother, always thinking of the good things we’re doing for you and how much more we must be your favorite son because of all of our wonderful deeds.

Help us to understand that you love all of us unconditionally. Help us to have the heart of the Father: a heart that celebrates, jumps for joy and rejoices when a lost person is found. One that doesn’t just have a list of all the rules and legalism and condemnations that we so quickly thrust on others. Help us to see people like you see them. Help us to love people like you love them. Help us to value people like you value them. In your name I pray, and everybody said Amen.