There is a moment in Matthew chapter 4 where Jesus walks along the shore of Galilee and interrupts the working day of some fishermen with two words: “Follow me.” It is a simple invitation, but it carries the weight of everything. Ps Andy opened this passage with a honest word about where the church has been and where God seems to be leading — and the call that shapes both is this: to be disciples who make disciples.
The Gospel Jesus Preached
Before Jesus calls anyone, Matthew records what he was already preaching. Starting at verse 17, we read:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Andy paused here to point out that many of us grew up thinking the gospel was simply about going to heaven when we die rather than hell. That is part of it, but the heart of what Jesus announced was something present and active — the kingdom of heaven breaking into the here and now. It has come near to us through Jesus Christ, and it is real today, even if we are still waiting to see it in its fullness.
God Has Something Better
When Jesus calls Simon, Andrew, James and John, they are doing what they always do — casting nets, mending nets, working the lake. They were fishermen. It was their livelihood, their family business, their identity. And Jesus says, come and I will make you fishers of people.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:19-22)
What Jesus was offering these men was not easier or more comfortable or even more financially secure. Leaving the family business could well have been seen as an offence to their father. But it was better — because it was caught up in the purposes of God for their lives. Andy drew a direct line from that shoreline to where we sit today: where we are going, God wants to do something greater. Even in seasons of deep grief and loss, even when that is hard to say out loud, our God is good and his plans are good, and he is calling us into something beyond where we currently stand.
Nothing Is Wasted
Andy drew on a story from 2 Samuel 23 that was shared at the ACC state conference. David’s mighty men broke through enemy lines to bring him water from Jerusalem — risking their lives for a single drink. David received it and promptly poured it on the ground as an offering to God. To the men watching, it might have looked like all that sacrifice had been wasted in an instant.
But it was not wasted. It was worship.
That reframe matters for anyone who has gone through a hard season and wondered what any of it was for. When we share our faith and people do not respond. When we prepare for something that never arrives. When we grieve something we cannot explain. None of that is wasted on God. He receives the love and the faithfulness and the sacrifice as worship, and worship is never wasted.
Disciples Who Make Disciples
The one clear theme Andy kept returning to is the vision taking shape for the church in this next season: not just church attenders, not just people who call themselves Christians, but disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus. Jesus summed the whole law into two commands — love God and love others. The gospels show him first saying “follow me” and then at the end, in Matthew 28, “go and make disciples.” It is the same call for us.
Being a disciple does not stop. There is always a new level. Andy was honest enough to say that after walking with Jesus for years he is still nowhere near where he needs to be. That is not discouragement — it is the beauty of lifelong growth with a living God who always has more to show us of himself.
The challenge is equally personal and outward-facing. The kids in our church right now will one day be the young adults, the parents, the leaders. They need people who are further along the road to pour into them. The families in our city who do not yet know Jesus need people who are ready and willing to carry the good news to them. We pray for growth and revival — but are we prepared for those prayers to be answered? Are we ready to disciple people if God brings them through the door?
Responding to the Call
The disciples did not delay. Matthew’s account uses the words “at once” and “immediately.” They did not have the full plan. They did not know where following Jesus would lead them over the next three years. Obedience does not require knowing the whole picture in advance.
Andy’s encouragement for this season is straightforward. If you have been sitting in a hard place — grieving, worn down, just surviving — then sit, and receive, and let God heal you. But there will come a moment when he calls you to stand. Then to walk. Then perhaps to run. The right response at each of those moments is the same: say yes.
If you want to go deeper this week, Andy suggested reading Matthew 4, Luke 5 and John 21 together. Each of those passages tells a story of disciples, fishing and a call that changed everything. Read them with this question in mind: what is Jesus inviting me to leave behind, and what is he calling me into?
