Come As You Are: Follow and Become

Matthew 4 opens with Jesus walking beside the Sea of Galilee and calling ordinary fishermen by name. Jesus does not hand Peter, Andrew, James, and John a test, ask them to clean up their language, or make them prove they understand everything first. Jesus simply says, “Come, follow me.” The invitation comes exactly as they are, because nobody has ever come to Jesus any other way.

The lie of the enemy says people need to get their lives together before they can come to church or follow Christ. The lie keeps pointing toward tomorrow, toward a future day when the depression is gone, the money is better, the divorce is settled, or the secret is cleaned up. Today remains the only day anybody has, and Jesus keeps saying, “Come follow me.” The church must not do the enemy’s job by deciding who would fit in, who has too much stuff going on, or who needs to become like everybody else before coming through the doors.

Jesus also joins his invitation to a promise: “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” The words are not, “Come follow me and figure it out,” but “I will make you.” Coming to Jesus cannot be separated from who a person is becoming. Jesus loves people in addiction, anger, pride, shame, broken marriages, pornography, and depression, but his love refuses to leave them there. Jesus does not demand change before people come to him. Jesus brings change because they come to him.

The tension between comfort right now and becoming who God created a person to be shows why transformation matters. Love that only protects present comfort does not prepare anyone for the future. Christ gives acceptance without conditions, and Christ also gives strength, resilience, freedom, healing, and a new direction. A come-as-you-are church must also be a become-who-you-were-created-to-be church.

Jesus calls the disciples while walking along the beach, not while standing at a big event with perfect music, lighting, and a packed room. Everyday life becomes the place where the mission moves forward: at the oil field, the PTA meeting, the store, the school hallway, soccer practice, and the neighborhood. The gospel saturates a city when ordinary people carry the mission as they go, praying, inviting, texting, and making room for people to meet Jesus. Christ uses the invitation of a friend long before anyone responds on a Sunday morning.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus invites people exactly as they are. Jesus never asks the fishermen to prove themselves before he calls them. The invitation comes before the cleanup, before the understanding, and before the transformation. Shame always tells people to wait until tomorrow, but Jesus meets people in the only place they can actually stand: today. [32:49]
• 2. Coming to Jesus produces real change. Jesus says, “I will make you,” which means discipleship is more than getting out of hell. Christ receives people in the middle of their mess, yet his love is far too serious to leave them trapped there. Grace does not ignore addiction, shame, anger, or brokenness; grace draws people into the freedom God intends. [44:03]
• 3. Church must never become a country club. The church loses its identity when it expects outsiders to look, talk, or act like insiders before they come. Jesus people make room for people with reputations, questions, secrets, struggles, and doubts. The invitation of Christ remains “come follow me,” not “fix yourself and then maybe come.” [37:37]
• 4. Mission happens while life is happening. Jesus calls disciples while walking, showing that God works outside the big moment too. The oil field, Albertsons, school halls, parks, and workplaces become places where the Holy Spirit sends believers. A personal invitation from someone already in a person’s life may be the very thing God uses to bring them near.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [19:35] - Why the Church Sings
• [22:00] - Come and Become
• [22:55] - Jesus Calls the First Disciples
• [24:25] - What Becomes Normal Goes Unnoticed
• [29:50] - Come to Jesus as You Are
• [32:13] - The Lie That Says Clean Up First
• [38:34] - Jesus Will Make You
• [42:48] - Accepted As You Are, Called to Change
• [44:59] - Jesus Calls People While Walking
• [47:05] - Living Everyday Life on Mission
• [49:06] - Gospel Saturation in Gillette
• [50:36] - Invite Someone Next Sunday
• [52:02] - Prayer for Love and Mission

Bible Reading

Matthew 4:18-22
“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. [22:45] [22:52] And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ [22:55] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [23:01] And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. [23:07] [23:12] Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. [23:16]”

John 6:37
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Matthew 28:19-20
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Observation questions

1. What were Peter and Andrew doing when Jesus saw them, and what did Jesus say he would make them? [22:45]
2. What details in Matthew 4 show how quickly Peter, Andrew, James, and John responded to Jesus’ call?
3. What are some of the reasons people believe they need to wait before coming to Jesus or coming to church? [32:13]
4. What everyday places were named as places where believers can carry the mission of Jesus? [47:05]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” What does the phrase “I will make you” show about Jesus’ role in changing a person who follows him? [38:41]
2. John 6:37 says that Jesus will never cast out the person who comes to him. How does that promise answer the fear that a person’s past, secrets, doubts, or struggles make them unwelcome?
3. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, becoming a new creation is part of being in Christ. How can a church hold together both acceptance as people are and the real hope of change? [43:22]
4. Matthew 28:19-20 calls believers to make disciples, not simply gather a crowd. What might it look like for someone to help a friend take steps toward following and obeying Jesus after an invitation? [49:46]

Application questions

1. Is there an area of life where shame, fear, or the thought “I need to get this together first” has kept you from honestly coming to Jesus? What would it look like to bring that part of your life to him today? [34:34]
2. Jesus receives people as they are, and he also refuses to leave them trapped in sin and brokenness. Where do you most need his help to become who he created you to be—perhaps in anger, pride, addiction, shame, a relationship, or another struggle? [42:57]
3. Have you ever quietly decided that someone would not fit in at church because of their reputation, lifestyle, questions, or mess? How can you replace that assumption with the invitation of Jesus: “Come, follow me”? [35:54]
4. Who is one person in your everyday life—a neighbor, coworker, family member, classmate, or friend—who may need hope in Jesus? What is one simple next step you could take this week: pray for them, send a text, share your story, or invite them to spend time with you? [48:40]
5. What normal places in your weekly routine could become places of gospel intentionality? How could you be more aware of the people around you at work, school, the store, practice, or in your neighborhood? [47:22]
6. When change feels slow or difficult, what helps you remember that Jesus is still at work making his people new? How can this group encourage one another toward freedom, resilience, and hope without pretending that growth is easy? [44:03]