LWC SERMON GUIDE
FOLLOW ME
Scriptures to Read and Ponder
Matthew 4:18–20 — Jesus calls Peter and Andrew: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” This is the anchor text of the message.
Matthew 4:15–16 — The promise of Isaiah is fulfilled: people living in darkness see a great light.
Matthew 4:17 — “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The arrival of the King demands a reorientation of life.
Isaiah 9:1–7 — The prophetic background to Matthew’s announcement: light dawns in a land accustomed to darkness.
Matthew 11:28–30 — Jesus invites us to take His yoke and “learn from me”: the language of apprenticeship and discipleship.
Acts 2:14–41 — A glimpse of what Jesus would eventually make of Peter: the impulsive fisherman becomes a Spirit-filled witness for Christ.
Sermon Recap
The message began with a simple image: the Royal Standard flying above Windsor Castle. When that flag is flying, it announces something significant:
The King is here.
The castle may look the same. People may still be carrying out their normal responsibilities. Yet the presence of the sovereign changes the reality of the place. Protocols change. Priorities change. Attention changes.
Matthew 4 introduces us to another apparently ordinary day. Fishermen are working beside the Sea of Galilee when suddenly the ordinary is interrupted:
The King arrives.
And when King Jesus comes near, He does not simply offer to improve our existing lives. He calls us to reorient our lives around Him.
1. A Light Has Dawned
Before Matthew tells us about Jesus calling the fishermen, he reaches backwards to the prophet Isaiah:
“The people living in darkness have seen a great light.”
Galilee knew darkness. It was a region familiar with invasion, oppression, warfare and humiliation.
It had seen kings who brought darkness.
Now Matthew announces the King who brings light.
The place accustomed to gloom becomes the place that sees glory.
The place that had known invasion becomes a place of visitation.
The place associated with darkness becomes the launching ground of the Light.
The fishermen are not searching for Jesus. Jesus comes searching for them.
That is the Gospel.
Christianity does not begin with humanity successfully finding its way to God. It begins with God coming looking for us in Jesus Christ.
This also means that darkness does not have the final word.
Our darkness may look different from first-century Galilee. It may be a struggling relationship, concern for a child, uncertainty about the future, sickness, disappointment or a situation in which we cannot yet see a way forward.
The Gospel never asks us to pretend darkness isn't real.
It announces that darkness doesn't get the final word because the King has arrived.
2. The Kingdom Has Come Near
Jesus begins His public proclamation with:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Notice the order.
Jesus does not say:
Repent so that the Kingdom will come near.
He announces:
Repent because the Kingdom has come near.
God has acted first.
His good, loving and wholesome reign has broken into history in the person of Jesus Christ. The King is standing among His people.
Therefore, everything must now be reconsidered.
The biblical idea of repentance carries the sense of changing our mind, reconsidering and reorienting ourselves. But biblical repentance does not stop with feeling differently. A changed mind produces a changed direction.
The sermon pictured this through a familiar experience: taking the wrong road while driving and hearing the GPS announce:
“Recalculating.”
Realising we are travelling in the wrong direction is not enough. Driving faster in the wrong direction will not help.
We need to recalculate the route.
That gives us a powerful picture of repentance.
When Jesus announces that the Kingdom has come near, He is effectively saying:
The King is here. It is time to recalculate your life around this new reality.
This changes the fundamental question of discipleship.
Instead of asking:
“How does Jesus fit into my life?”
we begin asking:
“How does my life fit into the reality that Jesus is King?”
That means allowing His loving reign to reach every part of us:
our work
our relationships
our money
our sexuality
our ambitions
our priorities
our time
our decisions
Repentance is not simply turning away from something.
It is turning towards Someone.
Jesus announces a better Kingdom, a better King and a better way of being human:
“Come home. Turn towards Me. Get close.”
3. Follow Me
Then Jesus comes to Peter and Andrew and says two words:
“Follow me.”
Those words could almost be described as the Kingdom condensed into two words.
The light has dawned.
The Kingdom has come near.
The King is present.
Now comes the invitation:
Follow Me.
Christian discipleship cannot be reduced to believing correct things about Jesus while leaving the basic orientation of our lives unchanged.
Jesus did not simply say:
Study Me.
Admire Me.
Agree with Me.
He said:
Follow Me.
We can admire someone from a distance.
We cannot become their disciple from a distance.
A disciple stayed close to the rabbi, learning not simply what the rabbi taught but how the rabbi lived.
That helps us understand Jesus' later invitation:
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”
Following Jesus means becoming His apprentice:
watching how He treats people
learning how He responds to opposition
seeing His compassion towards broken people
learning how He prays
learning how He serves
learning how He forgives
learning how He loves
until increasingly:
His way becomes our way.
Sunday worship matters deeply. Gathering as the Church matters.
But the goal of Christianity is not simply to attend church once a week.
It is to become a disciple of Jesus every day.
The shoreline also reminds us that Jesus meets people in ordinary life. The office, classroom, kitchen, workshop, business and home can all become places where Christ calls us to follow Him.
4. “I Will Make You”
Jesus does not merely say:
“Follow me.”
He adds:
“And I will make you…”
There is extraordinary grace in those words.
Jesus does not say:
“Fix yourself and then follow Me.”
“Prove yourself and then follow Me.”
“Make yourself useful and then follow Me.”
He says:
“Follow Me — and I will make you.”
Jesus knew Peter before He called Peter.
He knew his impulsiveness.
He knew his overconfidence.
He knew his future failures.
He even knew that Peter would deny Him.
Yet Jesus could see beyond the fisherman standing in front of Him.
He saw the apostle.
He saw Pentecost.
He saw a man filled with the Holy Spirit boldly announcing the resurrection.
Jesus calls us knowing every weakness because He already sees what grace can make of our lives.
As we remain close to Him:
His compassion challenges our indifference.
His generosity challenges our selfishness.
His humility challenges our pride.
His purity challenges our compromise.
His peace challenges our anxiety.
His courage challenges our fear.
Grace does not merely forgive.
Grace also forms.
Grace receives us where we are, but loves us too much to leave us unchanged.
5. Fish for People
But transformation is not the final destination.
Jesus says:
“I will make you fishers of men.”
He takes something Peter and Andrew already understand — fishing — and reorients it towards the purposes of His Kingdom.
Their experience, skills and ordinary working lives are suddenly caught up in something much bigger.
Jesus still does this.
Whatever our occupation, age or season of life, Jesus can take the ordinary material of our lives and reorient it towards His mission.
He forms us in order to send us.
And we do not have to wait until we are perfectly formed before God can use us.
He forms as He sends.
He sends as He forms.
The natural consequence of encountering Jesus is that His love begins flowing through us towards others:
Found people start finding people.
Loved people start loving people.
Forgiven people start forgiving people.
People who have encountered the Light start carrying the Light into the darkness.
6. Action This Day
Matthew tells us:
“Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”
There is urgency in that word:
Immediately.
Their nets represented livelihood, security and familiarity.
Yet Peter and Andrew held the things of this world loosely enough to take hold of Jesus.
The sermon closed with Winston Churchill's famous wartime instruction placed upon urgent documents:
ACTION THIS DAY.
It meant:
This cannot simply be considered.
It requires action.
There are moments when the words of Jesus require the same response.
Perhaps there is something Jesus has already been speaking to us about.
Something to surrender.
Something to begin.
Someone to forgive.
A direction that needs changing.
An area that needs bringing under His reign.
A step of obedience we keep postponing.
The call of Jesus remains:
“Follow Me.”
The question is whether we will keep postponing what Jesus has already made clear, or respond:
Action this day.
Hold the things of this world loosely so that you can hold tightly to the King who loves you.
Memorable Quotes & Aha Moments
“When the King comes near, everything changes.”
“Jesus enters our world not to improve the life we have, but to reorient it around Himself.”
“We do not see humanity finding the Light; we see the Light coming looking for humanity.”
“The Gospel doesn't deny the darkness. The Gospel declares that darkness doesn't get the final word.”
“Repentance is the reorientation of your life around the reality that Jesus is King.”
“If the King has come, you cannot keep travelling as though He hasn't.”
“If the Kingdom has come near, you cannot keep organising your life using the old map.”
“The question is not, ‘How does Jesus fit into my life?’ but ‘How does my life fit into the reality that Jesus is King?’”
“Follow Me is the Kingdom condensed into two words.”
“You can study, admire and agree with someone from a distance, but you cannot become a disciple from a distance.”
“The objective is not simply to attend church once a week; it is to become a disciple of Jesus every day.”
“Jesus calls you knowing every weakness because He already sees what grace can make of your life.”
“Grace doesn't only accept and forgive; grace also forms.”
“He forms as He sends. He sends as He forms.”
“Found people find people. Loved people love people. Forgiven people forgive people.”
“Hold the things of this world loosely so that you can hold tightly to the King who loves you.”
Questions for Discussion & Reflection
What part of Sunday's message stayed with you most strongly, and why?
Matthew deliberately places Jesus' ministry in a region associated with darkness. What does that reveal about the kind of places into which Jesus chooses to come?
Is there an area of your life that currently feels like a “land of darkness”? What would it mean to believe that darkness does not have the final word?
What difference do you see between “repent so that the Kingdom comes near” and “repent because the Kingdom has come near”?
Think about the GPS illustration. Is there anything in your life where you sense God saying, “Recalculating”?
Where are you most tempted to ask, “How can Jesus fit into my life?” rather than, “How should my life fit around Jesus as King?”
Which area is hardest for you to place fully under the reign of Jesus — time, relationships, money, ambitions, sexuality, work, habits or something else?
What is the practical difference between believing in Jesus and following Jesus?
If following Jesus means apprenticeship, what aspect of Jesus' way of life would you particularly like the Holy Spirit to form in you right now?
Jesus said, “I will make you.” What pressure does that remove from the way you think about spiritual growth?
Can you identify something that Jesus has already changed in you since you began following Him?
How might God use your existing profession, relationships, experience, personality or skills for His Kingdom purposes?
Who are the people Jesus has already placed around you whom you could intentionally love, serve, encourage or introduce to Him?
What might your “net” represent — something good and legitimate that nevertheless has too tight a grip on you?
If Jesus placed an “ACTION THIS DAY” label over one area of your life, what do you already know it would say?
Further Reading & Deep Exploration
Bible passages
Isaiah 9:1–7 — The promised Light and coming King.
Matthew 5–7 — What life under the reign of King Jesus actually looks like.
Matthew 11:28–30 — Taking Jesus' yoke and learning His way.
Luke 9:23–25 — The daily cost and invitation of following Jesus.
John 15:1–17 — Transformation and fruitfulness through remaining close to Christ.
Acts 2:14–41 — What grace eventually makes of Peter.
Optional books
Practicing the Way — John Mark Comer
The Divine Conspiracy — Dallas Willard
The Great Omission — Dallas Willard
The King Jesus Gospel — Scot McKnight
Prayer Points
King Jesus, reorient my life around You. Show me where I have been trying to fit You into my plans rather than surrendering my plans to Your reign.
Jesus, shine Your light into the places that feel dark. Give me faith to believe that darkness will not have the final word.
Holy Spirit, show me where I need to recalculate. Reveal attitudes, habits, priorities or directions that are taking me away from the way of Jesus.
Jesus, teach me to follow You closely. Move me beyond simply knowing about You into a daily life of apprenticeship, trust and obedience.
Lord, form Your character in me. Let Your compassion challenge my indifference, Your generosity my selfishness, Your humility my pride, Your purity my compromise, Your peace my anxiety and Your courage my fear.
Thank You that You know me completely and still call me. Help me trust what Your grace can make of my life.
Lord, reorient my ordinary life towards Your mission. Show me how my work, relationships, experience, gifts and opportunities can become instruments of Your Kingdom.
Give me eyes for the people around me. Make me someone who carries Your light, love, forgiveness and presence into their lives.
Give me a loose grip on the things of this world and a tight grip on You. Show me what “nets” I need to release.
Give me courage for “Action This Day.” Where You have already spoken, help me stop postponing obedience and respond immediately to Your invitation: